Diesels Down & Dirty Soil Adventure

[Diesel840]

Has anyone else seen how outrageous the prices of bagged soil have become and how quickly that they inflated! . Even local soil mixes are going up, let alone my precious Ocean Forest and Happy Frog. Inspired by the indominable @Mr. Brown I have decided to cook my own soil . I have been wanting to make my own soil for a very long time and am so excited to be cooking up my first batches ! I'm aiming for a living super soil, something very rich with everything a resonated powerfully pungent flower might desire. I'll be cooking it inside a 27 gal tote. The base is a bag of Ocean Forest making up 45% of the mix with 7.5 gallons of castings, 3.75 gallons perlite, 2.5 gallons inoculated biochar, 1 2/3 cup insect frass, 3 1/3 fish bone meal, 3 1/3 cups kelp meal, 1 2/3 cups langbeinite, 1 2/3 cups oyster shell flour, 3/4 cup Azomite. I am going to sprout a few 1010 trays of microgreens and rip those up and add to it for the cook. I will brew a 24-hour aerated tea when ready to mix then let it cook for a month or two. I need to pick up some more castings and get some new air stones for the tea. The plan is to use this soil for the SSHf2HZAC testers. A super soil for Super Silver Haze, I can't wait!

 

[Ray]

I made used "Super soil" 10 0r so years ago, found it a very easy way to grow.
The reusing of said soil became a problem without proper testing, so i switched back because at the time it would of been cheaper to use bag & bottle apposed regular soil testing... Might be different now..

Good luck Diesel.

 

[musashi]

Yep, I used to pay $13 for Happy Frog (2CF) and $15 for Ocean (1.5CF), now they are both $30/bag! Though, a store here had the Ocean on sale for $15/bag 2 months ago- I grabbed 10 bags. How do they regularly sell it for $30/bag now but then are able to put it on sale for $15? The price of diesel? A fkn rip. At the new inflated prices for FF products, I recently switched to Pro-Mix HP. I picked up 3 bags (3.8CF) at my local Ace Hardware store for $55 each. Compressed medium, I have yet to see once broken up, how many pots will be filled. And, as living soil, it's the kind of soil that will easily be reusable.

mu

 

[Verti]

Sorry 1 CF means?

 

[PennyP]

It means cubic foot and that is around 28 litre

 

[Coney]

Yep, I used to pay $13 for Happy Frog (2CF) and $15 for Ocean (1.5CF), now they are both $30/bag! Though, a store here had the Ocean on sale for $15/bag 2 months ago- I grabbed 10 bags. How do they regularly sell it for $30/bag now but then are able to put it on sale for $15? The price of diesel? A fkn rip. At the new inflated prices for FF products, I recently switched to Pro-Mix HP. I picked up 3 bags (3.8CF) at my local Ace Hardware store for $55 each. Compressed medium, I have yet to see once broken up, how many pots will be filled. And, as living soil, it's the kind of soil that will easily be reusable.

mu

Years ago we raised 1000's of potted perennial flowering plants annually.We used Pro Mix exclusively.Nothing else compares.All of Pro Mix's competitors suck.$55 bucks a bag is a good price.I've seen it going for $90.I use 2/3 Pro Mix and 1/3 rabbit manure for my ganja plants.Pot 'em up and stand back and watch 'em grow. You can't beat Promix.You get about 150 U.S. quarts per bale once fluffed up.Takes water readily and even if left to dry too much never hardens where it won't take water.
.

 

[Coney]

B.T.W.--- Rabbit manure is THE most prized garden fertilizer.It's available on E- Bay.I raise rabbits so I have an inexhaustable supply.

 

[Coney]

By "Pro Mix competitors " I mean Miricle Grow and all of the Walmart and Lowes brands .Not specialty brands.

 

[Mate Dave]

The last 10 years things have become super expensive. I only ever paid £10 for dirt per sack 40-50litres. At times you be oils get bit cheaper. I used to nip to the grow shop 2-3 times a week and get a few bags and I stored them up in the grow gaff. I have some pro plus coir and all mix from
before 2018 back in the uk.

Last 10 years I’ve been working to move away from dependence on the grow shop. I promise you won’t look back Diesel.

I like the idea of Low till not No till.

It helps to have a lot more than you need just in bloom. So if you need 60-70 litres of dirt per light per run you really need probably 200 as you will have to have some cooking while some is blooming and some is vegging. Bonemeal and other slow release things gypsum and other things a while to become active.

I use pots bigger than you need media volume to be able to do some serous top dressing incase you have any issues in a long grow.

Your mix sounds great. I personally would cut the perlite out and have Peat or more biochar at different sizes or pine bark. Perlite is a bulk additive.

 

[Diesel840]

I made used "Super soil" 10 0r so years ago, found it a very easy way to grow.
The reusing of said soil became a problem without proper testing, so i switched back because at the time it would of been cheaper to use bag & bottle apposed regular soil testing... Might be different now..

Good luck Diesel

Thanks Ray. I think I'll love the results, once I get dialed in. I plan on changin the recipy for subsequent rins with the same soil, make aure I don't over do some with them building up, over time. Thanks for the heads up and kind words.

How do they regularly sell it for $30/bag now but then are able to put it on sale for $15? The price of diesel? A fkn rip. At the new inflated prices for FF products, I recently switched to Pro-Mix HP. I picked up 3 bags (3.8CF) at my local Ace Hardware store for $55 each. Compressed medium, I have yet to see once broken up, how many pots will be filled. And, as living soil, it's the kind of soil that will easily be reusable.

I wonder the same thing myself, Mu. Soil, fuel, food, food, electricity it's crazy. Makes me wish even more, that I had some land. I hope the new soil alternative works out well. Let us know!

B.T.W.--- Rabbit manure is THE most prized garden fertilizer.It's available on E- Bay.I raise rabbits so I have an inexhaustable supply

Must be pellets, everywhere! Lol

Your mix sounds great. I personally would cut the perlite out and have Peat or more biochar at different sizes or pine bark. Perlite is a bulk additive.

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into those for subsequent runs. Hopefully I didn't overload it.

 

[charlesufarley]

From an older Journal entry on the website:

I grow cannabis in soil, specifically cheap, easily obtainable, peat based potting soil. In the mid 90's when I first ventured into the online world of cannabis discussion in the Usenet group alt.pot.drugs.cultivation, two of the “veterans” of the group were the nyms pH and NPKaye. They were exceedingly knowledgeable cannabis developers, who were strong proponents of hydroponics. They were heavily into chemical fertilizers, measuring pH, etc.

I won’t say they were condescending to those of us who utilized soil rather than water for a medium to develop roots in, but it was pretty close. Another of the knowledgeable veteran groups were militant, organic soil growers. They utilized soil but were adamant about using bone meal, blood meal, etc. _only_. Like the hydroponic group, they were also quite condescending, almost arrogant at times, about only using organic products and looked down on those of us who used regular, chemical fertilizers. So, I’ve got a bit of a chip on my shoulder for anyone who is adamant about there being one “best” way to cultivate and develop cannabis, especially if it’s hydroponic or organic. In all my years of growing cannabis, I have found there to be only one truth in regards to developing cannabis:

There is no _best_ way for developing superior cannabis because not only is everyone’s environment different but the genetics of the cannabis seed they use are variable as well.

So this is the system I’ve been using for utilizing soil as a medium for root development of the cannabis plant. If you explore a link to the BCGA website I’m going to give here in a bit, you will read about Vic High utilizing an ozone generator, to try and control gnats, that were attracted to all the bone meal, blood meal and chicken shit he used in his organic soil. I just never saw a reason to make things that complicated and difficult. I strive to keep things as simple as possible, so there are fewer variables for me to contend with.

I'm a dirt guy, and I could bore you to death with how I came up with the system that I use. One time long ago, I extensively experimented with organic fertilizers. I tried more bone meal, blood meal, chicken shit ( I never got into bat shit ) than you can ever imagine. See this section of Vic High's website to understand all the stuff I tried and yes I was an active participant in these discussions under a different nym, because I was so paranoid I didn't even trust the Canadians:

BCGA Super Soil

And as Chris Farley used to say... "For the love of God and all that's holy" don't mention the name of the guy, who is now dead, whose name is usually associated with super soil.

What I ended up doing was taking the best that I had learned from pH and NPKaye (who were hydroponic fanatics) on chemical fertilizers and decided to just use regular, cheap ass potting soil but with chemical fertilizers. I used to argue with Vic when he started using ozone generators around his grow, just to kill the fungus gnats, that were attracted by all of that organic material.

BOG took my method (that I strongly advocated for on adpc) and posted it on OG like it was his own idea. And never even mentioned my nym, because he knew I absolutely hated the flashy, blinky emoticons/smiley faces that were so popular on OG.

I digress... (zBear but absolutely fucking love that).

Here's the system I use, with pictures. I start with this, which is old soil with fan leaves and other non-bud material from the winter grow that I recycle:




Mix it in with a couple of bags of this, which is composted cow shit:




Add in a couple of bags of this:




Which is cheap ass Lowe's potting soil but it used to be Miracle-Gro before this inflation bullshit. Whatever the fuck was on sale and cheap is what I was interested in. There's a nym on IC, who I can't remember... imagine that... who frequently states that he grows in Miracle Grow just to piss people off, we are kindred spirits!!!!

This is the next thing I do, in extremis:




Massive, 10 to 15 minute streams of pure Blue Ridge mountain spring water, spend about 15 to 20 minutes mixing it all up with a shovel and a hoe... and my wife just now said don't call me a ho. And we're almost done.

This is not a product placement and I put it in another thread, but here is all I need after I prepare the soil:



Didn't take a picture of the two handfuls of dolomitic lime and couple of pinches of Epsom salts that I throw in, just for old time sake. Many years ago, I was broke as a fuck and had to reuse soil... a bunch. After many grows, things got funky as shit, discolored leaves, stunted growth, etc. I used a little bit of Epsom salt and some lime I had left over from the vegetable garden. Things got back to normal. Don't know If it was a calcium or magnesium deficiency but it cured the problem."

So that's why I use soil and chemical fertilizers... it just works well for me, in the environment I develop cannabis in and at this point I just don't see a compelling reason to not only change but even to experiment with hydroponics and organics.

Here is how roots develop in this soil:

 

[Coney]

From an older Journal entry on the website:

I grow cannabis in soil, specifically cheap, easily obtainable, peat based potting soil. In the mid 90's when I first ventured into the online world of cannabis discussion in the Usenet group alt.pot.drugs.cultivation, two of the “veterans” of the group were the nyms pH and NPKaye. They were exceedingly knowledgeable cannabis developers, who were strong proponents of hydroponics. They were heavily into chemical fertilizers, measuring pH, etc.

I won’t say they were condescending to those of us who utilized soil rather than water for a medium to develop roots in, but it was pretty close. Another of the knowledgeable veteran groups were militant, organic soil growers. They utilized soil but were adamant about using bone meal, blood meal, etc. _only_. Like the hydroponic group, they were also quite condescending, almost arrogant at times, about only using organic products and looked down on those of us who used regular, chemical fertilizers. So, I’ve got a bit of a chip on my shoulder for anyone who is adamant about there being one “best” way to cultivate and develop cannabis, especially if it’s hydroponic or organic. In all my years of growing cannabis, I have found there to be only one truth in regards to developing cannabis:

There is no _best_ way for developing superior cannabis because not only is everyone’s environment different but the genetics of the cannabis seed they use are variable as well.

So this is the system I’ve been using for utilizing soil as a medium for root development of the cannabis plant. If you explore a link to the BCGA website I’m going to give here in a bit, you will read about Vic High utilizing an ozone generator, to try and control gnats, that were attracted to all the bone meal, blood meal and chicken shit he used in his organic soil. I just never saw a reason to make things that complicated and difficult. I strive to keep things as simple as possible, so there are fewer variables for me to contend with.

I'm a dirt guy, and I could bore you to death with how I came up with the system that I use. One time long ago, I extensively experimented with organic fertilizers. I tried more bone meal, blood meal, chicken shit ( I never got into bat shit ) than you can ever imagine. See this section of Vic High's website to understand all the stuff I tried and yes I was an active participant in these discussions under a different nym, because I was so paranoid I didn't even trust the Canadians:

BCGA Super Soil

And as Chris Farley used to say... "For the love of God and all that's holy" don't mention the name of the guy, who is now dead, whose name is usually associated with super soil.

What I ended up doing was taking the best that I had learned from pH and NPKaye (who were hydroponic fanatics) on chemical fertilizers and decided to just use regular, cheap ass potting soil but with chemical fertilizers. I used to argue with Vic when he started using ozone generators around his grow, just to kill the fungus gnats, that were attracted by all of that organic material.

BOG took my method (that I strongly advocated for on adpc) and posted it on OG like it was his own idea. And never even mentioned my nym, because he knew I absolutely hated the flashy, blinky emoticons/smiley faces that were so popular on OG.

I digress... (zBear but absolutely fucking love that).

Here's the system I use, with pictures. I start with this, which is old soil with fan leaves and other non-bud material from the winter grow that I recycle:

View attachment 117936


Mix it in with a couple of bags of this, which is composted cow shit:

View attachment 117937


Add in a couple of bags of this:

View attachment 117938


Which is cheap ass Lowe's potting soil but it used to be Miracle-Gro before this inflation bullshit. Whatever the fuck was on sale and cheap is what I was interested in. There's a nym on IC, who I can't remember... imagine that... who frequently states that he grows in Miracle Grow just to piss people off, we are kindred spirits!!!!

This is the next thing I do, in extremis:

View attachment 117939


Massive, 10 to 15 minute streams of pure Blue Ridge mountain spring water, spend about 15 to 20 minutes mixing it all up with a shovel and a hoe... and my wife just now said don't call me a ho. And we're almost done.

This is not a product placement and I put it in another thread, but here is all I need after I prepare the soil:

View attachment 117940

Didn't take a picture of the two handfuls of dolomitic lime and couple of pinches of Epsom salts that I throw in, just for old time sake. Many years ago, I was broke as a fuck and had to reuse soil... a bunch. After many grows, things got funky as shit, discolored leaves, stunted growth, etc. I used a little bit of Epsom salt and some lime I had left over from the vegetable garden. Things got back to normal. Don't know If it was a calcium or magnesium deficiency but it cured the problem."

So that's why I use soil and chemical fertilizers... it just works well for me, in the environment I develop cannabis in and at this point I just don't see a compelling reason to not only change but even to experiment with hydroponics and organics.

Here is how roots develop in this soil:

I grow in a similar way.Pro Mix-- rabbit manure and (OMG) Osmocote and Miricler Grow fertilizers.They do well for me.Soil and nutes designed for cannabis may do better.I never tried them.All my growing is done outdoors in 3 U.S. gallon pots.

 

[Diesel840]

Thanks for sharing your methods @charlesufarley and @Coney I can't imagine being able to grow outside!

 

[Diesel840]

I ordered castings online to fill in what my recipe calls for. Should be here in a few days.

In the meantime, I have a volunteer that I need to transplant! I wasn't sure where to put him. So I figured, why not here? This has to be a Mr. Nice offering or hybrid of a Mr. Nice. I doubt that it is a pure f2, what ever it is. that it is a female and we can all play guessing games.

 

[Coney]

Thanks for sharing your methods @charlesufarley and @Coney I can't imagine being able to grow outside!

I think growing inside would be cool but I don't have the room ! We have 3 acres ( i'm not sure what that is in Metric -- about 10,000 square meters ) .I let the weeds and shrubs grow on half of it and strategically place my pots here and there.Most of what I have is under 4 ft. tall except a Kuomoni female thats 8 feet.When she got way above the weeds I laid her down over some lumber and her branches are pointing upwards nicely.

 

[charlesufarley]

Thanks for sharing your methods @charlesufarley and @Coney I can't imagine being able to grow outside!

I'm right there with you, I can only imagine being able to grow outside! I'm all indoor myself, I only take them outside to take pictures of 'em.

I'm in a very Prohibition State here in the US.

 

[Diesel840]

'm right there with you, I can only imagine being able to grow outside! I'm all indoor myself, I only take them outside to take pictures of 'em.

Wow, you get some huge fan leaves on them indoor gals!

 

[Coney]

I think growing inside would be cool but I don't have the room ! We have 3 acres ( i'm not sure what that is in Metric -- about 10,000 square meters ) .I let the weeds and shrubs grow on half of it and strategically place my pots here and there.Most of what I have is under 4 ft. tall except a Kuomoni female thats 8 feet.When she got way above the weeds I laid her down over some lumber and her branches are pointing upwards nicely.

I meant I'd like to be able to grow indoors in the winter.Small house doesn't work.