the soil recipe. simple version and complex version

Believe it or not, no issues whatsoever.
*Some* of the longer running Thai plants actually need a booster of nitrogen about 14-16 weeks in.
Haze, Mex, Lumbo, I just give a shot of standard bloom nutes about 12 weeks or so.
 
I'll give it a shot. It's a straight forward mix. I'm guessing the large bag of ocean forest is the 3 cubic foot? and Light warrior, i think, comes in 1 cubic foot bags.
 
Specifically ?
My personal mix is 1 large bag FFOF (fox farms ocean forest) and 1 large bag Fox Farms light warrior
Add ~about~ 1.5 cu. ft. of perlite
About 6 cups worm castings
About 3 cups blood meal
About 3 cups bone meal
About 2 cups bat guano (fruit bat if possible...the package will say)
About 2 cups dolomite lime
Maybe a cup of epsom salts

Everythings kinda about'ish since I really never measure.
Mix the shit till if feels like your arm is going to fall off.
Drink a beer or smoke a bowl
Mix some more.
Put it into a large opaque or *clearish* plastic bin with a lid and set it out in the sun for at least 4-5 days. (DO NOT skip this step)
It will sweat and the texture will change dramatically becoming a foamy kind of thing for lack of a better description...once you see it you'll understand.
Mix till arms fall off.
Use freely at this point.

You will need ZERO nutrients during a 10-12 week flowering plants life cycle, long term sats will need a flowering nute only once.
Tap water only, adjust nothing, straight from tap.

As you can see from that grow log I linked JetDro has a particular hate for anything fox farms so he subbed the base soil for SS#4 and Roots organic.
It should be nearly the exact same as FF.
I've also had luck with Miracle grow moisture control soil as the base....it's not quite as good, but it's close.
Walmart used to carry Sams Choice potting soil in a purple bag, it works every bit as well but I haven't seen it in years and think they stopped making it.

Specific enough ?
Thanks for that specifics man. Ni2 and Medman. Really appreciate it. It is always helpful when you guys post up those recipes and the process. I like to see the results that go with them too. I know theres alot of factors, How about any difference in taste/aroma vs outside (ground) as far as the dirt goes?
 
I am against perlite. Often it is standard in premixed soil. But when handling it I think it is similair to asbest. Maybe not so extreme but it contains fine dust nonetheless
Also the space it takes can be used for extra soil adding up to an extra week of nutes.
Maybe I am wrong, but it is how I think about it.
 
You could add a cup of kelp meal to Nishuns mix as well.
Horse feed stores sell it. Rice hulls from homebrew shop are a good replacement for perlite.
Aid with drainage and gradually break down to be a source of food over time.
Alfala or lucerne meal would also be a good addition. Like the kelp it will provide trace elements but will also provide
good quality macro nutrients as well. Peace ✌
 
We have been using our own mix for our strains since inception...easy to make and scale up.....

50% sterilized potting mix
30% perlite
10% worm castings
5% coarse river sand
5% coco fiber

hope it helps those who like to keep it simple and using this with watering nutrients is fine....we also reuse 50% and mix in 50% new mix each subsequent crop. Then spread the 50% we discard onto the outdoor gardens! Waste not want not! all the best Shantibaba
 
I am against perlite. Often it is standard in premixed soil. But when handling it I think it is similair to asbest.

I am dead against it, rather use Coco coir it holds more oxyen and the roots can grow through it.

Why sacrifice 30% of your available root space and risk getting dusty crap on your lungs?

It baffles the mind.



@shantibaba drop the perlite for more coco mate (y)

Perlite is not a finite resource and involves digging up or mining good earth in some cases to retrieve volcanic rock which takes thousands of years to produce naturally.

I feel the same way about Peat production which has destroyed so many habitats over the years.

I am surprised you aren't producing your own living soil Shantibaba, composting is not a hard thing to do.
 
I am dead against it, rather use Coco coir it holds more oxyen and the roots can grow through it.

Why sacrifice 30% of your available root space and risk getting dusty crap on your lungs?

It baffles the mind.



@shantibaba drop the perlite for more coco mate (y)

Perlite is not a finite resource and involves digging up or mining good earth in some cases to retrieve volcanic rock which takes thousands of years to produce naturally.

I feel the same way about Peat production which has destroyed so many habitats over the years.

I am surprised you aren't producing your own living soil Shantibaba, composting is not a hard thing to do.

Perlite is a naturally occurring mineral in the form of siliceous rock,
Perlite ore is found worldwide with the best mines located in North America, Greece, Turkey, China and Northern Australia.
No shortage really,not compared to peat. You could argue against the cost of heating it to make it expand. That would be hard to argue with.One thing you are forgetting here is that coco uses a lot of fresh water in its processing and is no bed of roses environmentally speaking either.
Everything you use has to come from somewhere. In my case perlite is a more environmentally friendly option as it is already here and does not do all those freight miles either.
The soil mix Shanti posted will be a great help to me as it will allow the plants I grow to be in a similar mix to the one they are used to.
Also, all the ingredients are easily obtained. For a mid-level grower like myself who has learnt from trial and error,
it is a good reminder to get the building blocks in place first and experiment from there once you are dialled in. It is very easy to get ahead of yourself and I have paid the price quite a few times. A mix like this with a bio nutrient will allow less experienced growers to improve their other skills, like keeping an eye out for pests, air flow etc. One less thing to worry about.
It's also shown me I might be using a bit too much coco!
Peace ✌
 
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The reason for the perlite is to have air pockets in the soil.
No matter how ridiculous it sounds, roots need air to be healthy.
If you don't use it it will be very easy for the soil to compact and become harder for the roots to grow in and be starved for the air they need.
 
Just to let you know when we use Perlite we first put a water hose into the bags and saturate the entire bag which eradicates the dust and allows use to mix all the elements together without any other water added. So while there are many people doing many things, with good thinking and some planning before hand there are always ways to over come issues. All the best Sb
 
Gonna have to review my perspective on it. Principles don’t beat the fact wether it is beneficial or not. I also went out from the assumption it took space away. But my noodle said it is better to take an even bigger pot. On 30L soil I would add perlite now since you guys are kings and I’m a humble shrimp still looking up. :D

Besides perlite there is also lavameal which adds a lot of spores and bacterial life to your soil. Should we prep our soil a month before planting our plants to get better results?
 
Gonna have to review my perspective on it. Principles don’t beat the fact wether it is beneficial or not. I also went out from the assumption it took space away. But my noodle said it is better to take an even bigger pot. On 30L soil I would add perlite now since you guys are kings and I’m a humble shrimp still looking up. :D

Besides perlite there is also lavameal which adds a lot of spores and bacterial life to your soil. Should we prep our soil a month before planting our plants to get better results?

I'm only speaking from experience: my yields and quality of the flowers have drastically improved since I started mixing in enough perlite to the soil mix and composting/reusing the old soil. In the beginning I added mycorrhizae to the mix but stopped doing that recently, they will reproduce throughout the composting period..

Have you seen some of the pix on Shanti's Instagram? That's the kind of flowers we all want, right? :D
 
We could split hairs but the fact is you're using perlite to cover yourself for poor potting practices and probably incorrect watering.

I could share some pics of nice flowers on here but I don't think the security is up to scratch and what would it matter anyway you've all set your bias and got your blinders on, keep chasing that carrot on a stick!

Principles only play a part of it, I stand by my outlook on Perlite.

What a nice little clique you have here, it's not hard to see why these forums are so quiet!
 
We could split hairs but the fact is you're using perlite to cover yourself for poor potting practices and probably incorrect watering.

I could share some pics of nice flowers on here but I don't think the security is up to scratch and what would it matter anyway you've all set your bias and got your blinders on, keep chasing that carrot on a stick!

Principles only play a part of it, I stand by my outlook on Perlite.

What a nice little clique you have here, it's not hard to see why these forums are so quiet!

Hello MB, while you may have a right to your opinion as all people do, I think you may be incorrect about security here, we have that up to date and a designated person who looks after all the back up and security. We do not use a lot of apps that are vulnerable nor do we share sensitive information and data with any programs...so while you may have your opinion please do not mis inform or make people think you know what is going on behind the scenes here at MNS, because you obviously do not.
There are many ways to make soil and if you do not like what people share as their choice it is fine, but it is hard to take you seriously when you look too extreme about things most companies in the world continue to use as part of the recipe of soil. Enjoy your day all the best Sb
 
the-big-lebowski-thats-like-your-opinion-man.gif

"Many believe that we have squeezed the phosphorus cycle to the point that the world is going to reach the peak of production and then quickly run out of phosphorus. More than 22 million tons of it are being applied to fields every year. The Global Phosphorus Research Initiative estimates that mined supplies will be insufficient for crops in only 30 or 40 years." J. Lowenfels

Should we give up using phosphorus too?


🤙mu
 
We could split hairs but the fact is you're using perlite to cover yourself for poor potting practices and probably incorrect watering.

I could share some pics of nice flowers on here but I don't think the security is up to scratch and what would it matter anyway you've all set your bias and got your blinders on, keep chasing that carrot on a stick!

Principles only play a part of it, I stand by my outlook on Perlite.

What a nice little clique you have here, it's not hard to see why these forums are so quiet!
I appreciate your input, and as I evolve with growing cannabis, your thoughts on perlite and alternatives will definitely be a factor on my decisions. The same goes with anyone elses opinions on such matters. Implementing such things can take time though, especially when one has found a system that works

As far as the clique goes, first and foremost, I'm here to learn and love the diversity of ideas. The pace here appeals to me, I wouldn't be commenting or hanging out here as much if it was an aggressive one like it has been in the past or found elsewhere on the internet. But then there's the lack of women thing...
 
Hay Merlin.
This is exactly 1 square meter with a simple 400 watt high pressure sodium (using full words so you don't get confused).
I'm using my soil mix that is linked to in this thread and it has plenty of perlite in it.
Light out picture so you can verify it is a 400 watt bulb.....light on so you can see the health of the plants.
I have $1000 US that says you can not come close to such a yield in a per watt or per space grow.
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