Good read for those that are looking to start organics.

[H.A.F.]

I leave the thin hairy roots in the soil. I really need a big 50-60 gal bin so I can keep enough soil for an entire grow cycle cook so it’s ready for the next grow. Then put the soil from the next completed grow in to cook and use that cooked soil to repeat the cycle.

I have two large totes that I rotate. I use new soil for babies, but the used stuff for the girls that get up-potted. As to the roots, I use a half inch grid over a bucket. most of the root clumps stay in the grid. I bust up any soil, sticks and throw it back in the busket as well.

 

[H.A.F.]

Taking @Heisenbeans advice from one of his videos and bought some perlite to refresh the drainage.

 

[Evergreengardener]

I leave the thin hairy roots in the soil. I really need a big 50-60 gal bin so I can keep enough soil for an entire grow cycle cook so it’s ready for the next grow. Then put the soil from the next completed grow in to cook and use that cooked soil to repeat the cycle.

i use garbage cans way easier to move than a huge bin filled with soil if you had to move it i use brute cans and have a wheel dolly that goes under

 

[treefarmercharlie]

i use garbage cans way easier to move than a huge bin filled with soil if you had to move it i use brute cans and have a wheel dolly that goes under

That’s a good idea. The tall narrow container probably also helps the soils retains the moisture better, too...and it takes up less floor space than a huge tote or bin.

 

[Evergreengardener]

That’s a good idea. The tall narrow container probably also helps the soils retains the moisture better, too...and it takes up less floor space than a huge tote or bin.

i also like to throw a seedling heat mat into the can when i first reamend the soil. it might do nothing but imo it helps the soil break everything down being warmer. but where i store my soil is un heated so in winter it can get down into the 40s in temp out there

 

[TerpyTyrone]

i also like to throw a seedling heat mat into the can when i first reamend the soil. it might do nothing but imo it helps the soil break everything down being warmer. but where i store my soil is un heated so in winter it can get down into the 40s in temp out there

Where's the recipe for your soil mix located? I'm looking into making a variation of subcools ss. Thanks E

 

[Evergreengardener]

Where's the recipe for your soil mix located? I'm looking into making a variation of subcools ss. Thanks E

Evergreens water only soil

ok guys here it is this is how i mix up my soil. let me start by saying idk how you would break this down for smaller batches you will need to @ a math head for that lol I start with a high grade organic soil that i can get locally. I buy this by the cubic yard this would equal 9 3 cubic ft...

chuckersparadise.com

 

[TerpyTyrone]

Evergreens water only soil

ok guys here it is this is how i mix up my soil. let me start by saying idk how you would break this down for smaller batches you will need to @ a math head for that lol I start with a high grade organic soil that i can get locally. I buy this by the cubic yard this would equal 9 3 cubic ft...

chuckersparadise.com

Youra doesnt have lime? So no "cook time"?

 

[TerpyTyrone]

I need soil. Like yesterday hahah

 

[Evergreengardener]

Youra doesnt have lime? So no "cook time"?

No it still needs time for all the amendments to start to break down into the soil. I’ve used it as soon as 2 weeks after mixing without seeing problems.

 

[wierdly]

I would like to use old Roots organic soil I have been saving from past grows to start reusing and eventually turn it into living soil. I need more terps! I feed them with Dyna grow and I recently added FF Big Bloom to try to get some terps going . My weed looks great but dosent have much smell while growing, triming, etc. I am trying different curing methods, but if it aint stinkin in flower somthing is missing. From what I read above it can be just as easy as cleaning it up and adding some perlite to start reusing it. I put it in a trash can in the sun to kill the fungus knats and dont see any moving around, picked up some bat poop, What else should I throw in there to get it headed in the right direction. You know bring it "back to life".

 

[FluffySquish]

worm castings are your friend

 

[Kushash]

ELEMENTS FOR OPTIMUM GROWTH There are 19 beneficial elements that contribute to healthy plant growth. Three of these essential elements, oxygen, hydrogen and carbon, are provided by air and water, while the rest are absorbed by plants through the soil.

Boron (B)- stimulates cell division, flower formation and pollination.
Calcium (Ca)- raises soil pH, promotes root hair formation and early growth.
Chlorine (Cl)- is needed for photosynthesis, stimulates root growth and aids water regulation.
Cobalt (Co)- improves growth, water regulation and photosynthesis.
Copper (Cu)- stimulates stem development and pigment formation.
Iron (Fe)- stimulates the formation of chlorophyll and helps oxidize sugar needed for energy. It is also necessary for legume nitrogen fixation.
Magnesium (Mg)- aids in chlorophyll formation and energy metabolism. It increases oil production in flax and soybeans, and helps regulate uptake of other elements.
Molybdenum (Mo)- is needed for nitrogen fixation and nitrogen use. It stimulates plant growth and vigor much like nitrogen.
Nitrogen (N)- is necessary for chlorophyll and genetic material (DNA & RNA) formation, and stimulates green, leafy growth.
Phosphorous (P)-is necessary for genetic material (DNA & RNA) formation, and stimulates fruit, flower, root production and early season growth, and increases disease resistance.
Potassium (K)- produces strong, sturdy plants with thick cell walls, increases disease resistance and stimulates fruit, seed and root production.
Silicon (Si)- increases seed quantity and strengthens cell walls.
Sodium (Na)- increases sugar content and resistance to drought (in some crops).
Sulfur (S)- aids in formation of certain oil compounds that create specific odors in some plants such as onions, garlic, mustard, etc.
Magnesium (Mn)- is necessary for the formation of chlorophyll.
Zinc (Zn)- stimulates stem growth and flower bud formation.

Typo. Mn should be manganese.

 

[Sparks714]

I would like to use old Roots organic soil I have been saving from past grows to start reusing and eventually turn it into living soil. I need more terps! I feed them with Dyna grow and I recently added FF Big Bloom to try to get some terps going . My weed looks great but dosent have much smell while growing, triming, etc. I am trying different curing methods, but if it aint stinkin in flower somthing is missing. From what I read above it can be just as easy as cleaning it up and adding some perlite to start reusing it. I put it in a trash can in the sun to kill the fungus knats and dont see any moving around, picked up some bat poop, What else should I throw in there to get it headed in the right direction. You know bring it "back to life".

Check out Buildasoil online. Theyve got kits for buildasoil or putting together a nice living organic soil, or you can even buy it ready mixed out of a bag. But it's not cheap to ship! Or just buy some of there "craft blend " it's a mixture of things like rock dust, and meals, and oyster shell flowers and stuff. You can amend your soil with it, and scratch it into the top couple of inches of your pots with some worm castings, and you can use it in teas with worm castings. Or Down to Earth has some good dry amendments and fertilizers you can use. KISS organics has alot of stuff too.

 

[wierdly]

Thanks, I will check it out. I started using a top dressing, Pride lands formally Nature Pride. A kind of "craft blend" It has been working pretty good just as a top dressing. But also I found a recipe for super soil that incliudes many amendments including the Pride lands top dresing worm castings, Neem meal, sea kelp, Oak char and a few other things. This recipe is supposed to bring the soil back to life. I have one Wedding Cake plant I ran all of flower with only the Super Soil recipe and the Top dressing once a week and a tea the last few weeks. So far it has been working well. Saves a lot of time and soil. It was just a little sketchy reusing the soil the first couple of times.

 

[H.A.F.]

It was just a little sketchy reusing the soil the first couple of times.

That was probably the DynaGro effect. Not that there's anything wrong with DG - but it is a salt based nute. Not organic. They don't play well together.

 

[wierdly]

Out of my four comp plants I ran two on Dyna Grow and two using the new top dressing with soil. Dyna Grow plants went very smooth, still swelling up today. I burned up one top dressed plant with a compost tea "Boogie Brew." The other was fed exactly the same and had no issues, I poured the leftover tea in a few flower pots I had with random flowers. that stuff works! Way more effective than I imagined. I Ph d it to 6.5 the 1st time I used it and no burn. The second time I did not and the tea was around 7.4. I let it rip and I guess it was too much of somthing. Do you guys ph the tea or the water before/after brewing or leave it wherever it lands. Trying not to burn up any more plants. I can have really seen the advantages of switching to the organics. Some of the organic growers on this forum are really blowing my mind with they're plants. Its hard to believe they came from the same seeds.

 

[H.A.F.]

Some of the organic growers on this forum are really blowing my mind with they're plants. Its hard to believe they came from the same seeds.

I think the big surprise is how little effort it takes. "What's a ppm?"

I think pH will always matter to some extent.

 

[treefarmercharlie]

Out of my four comp plants I ran two on Dyna Grow and two using the new top dressing with soil. Dyna Grow plants went very smooth, still swelling up today. I burned up one top dressed plant with a compost tea "Boogie Brew." The other was fed exactly the same and had no issues, I poured the leftover tea in a few flower pots I had with random flowers. that stuff works! Way more effective than I imagined. I Ph d it to 6.5 the 1st time I used it and no burn. The second time I did not and the tea was around 7.4. I let it rip and I guess it was too much of somthing. Do you guys ph the tea or the water before/after brewing or leave it wherever it lands. Trying not to burn up any more plants. I can have really seen the advantages of switching to the organics. Some of the organic growers on this forum are really blowing my mind with they're plants. Its hard to believe they came from the same seeds.

You don’t want to pH the tea. The whole purpose of tea is to boost the microbe population so adjusting the pH can kill off a lot of the bacteria you just created in the tea. If you think your tea was what burned the plants then you could try cutting it with water before you feed it. There’s absolutely zero science behind how I feed my tea…it’s just something I came up with that seems to work well for me, but I brew it for 24 hours, then feed it at full strength once a week and give each plant 100mL of it for every gallon of soil. So a 10gal pot gets 1L of tea.

 

[H.A.F.]

You don’t want to pH the tea. The whole purpose of tea is to boost the microbe population so adjusting the pH can kill off a lot of the bacteria you just created in the tea. If you think your tea was what burned the plants then you could try cutting it with water before you feed it. There’s absolutely zero science behind how I feed my tea…it’s just something I came up with that seems to work well for me, but I brew it for 24 hours, then feed it at full strength once a week and give each plant 100mL of it for every gallon of soil. So a 10gal pot gets 1L of tea.

I think that depends on how much you are feeding and the soils ability to mitigate that pH difference. If you are giving a plant 100ml of whatever then the pH is not going to matter. But eventually you soak the pot. THAT is where I think the pH matters. Even if it is just a few drops of up or down to get it heading in the right direction.