My organic soil recipe

[wannagrowbuds]

I plan to grow some autos outdoors in 5 gallon fabric air pruning bags once it warms up a bit. After months of reading about organics I have just mixed up a batch of fully organic soiless mix which I will now leave to cook for a couple of months. This should be a water only mix and need no extra nutrients for the grow.

 

I mixed 40 litres which is what I require for two 5 gallon pots.

 

4 parts (16 litres) Coco Peat

3 parts (12 litres) Earthworm Castings

2 parts ( 8 litres) Spongolite

1 part (4 litres) Zeolite - I used the sand form instead of the gravel form

1 cup Dolomite Lime

1 cup Neutrog Rocket Fuel

1/2 cup Powdered Kelp Flour

1/2 cup Diametaceous Earth

 

I mixed it all up dry then watered it with 5 litres of water with Neutrog Go Go Juice and Fish Hydrolysate mixed in to start activating the bacteria in the mix. I then split it up into two bags to sit and cook.

 

The Spongolite and zeolite replace the perlite that would normally be used. They do the same job as far as improving drainage, but have additional benefits as far as getting nutrients to the roots go.

 

The Diametaceous Earth provides a source of silicon and can be beneficial in keeping pests out of the mix.

 

If you are growing photos instead of autos you could double the amount of rocket fuel.

Edited August 10, 2014 by wannagrowbuds

[itchybromusic]

need to be lill careful with that Spongolite mate 

care should be taken to avoid breathing dust particles , its needle like structure is similar to asbestos

 

& maybe adding some MycoApply Maxx http://www.maiaustralia.com.au/store/store.php?crn=208 would have been a good idea as well

[wannagrowbuds]

Yeah I'm pretty slack on the safety side of things like that, but the DE is the same deal with breathing the dust. Once it's all in the mix and damp it's fine though.

 

I think I will do the first auto run as is then maybe try the myco on the second run and see if there is any difference.

[wannagrowbuds]

So I ended up letting it cook for around 4 weeks and then doubled the dose of rocket fuel and kelp and adding some Myco. It then sat for a few more weeks before planting.

 

My autos at four weeks old are happily growing in it now. They haven't shown any deficiency but they weren't as dark green as I thought they should be so using some more fish hydrolysate sorted that out. I would say the mix could do with more Nitrogen but you never know how an auto will react so playing it safe with mix is probably best and adding some more organic N as it is needed.

 

It will be interesting to see if the kelp provides enough potassium come flower time.