SOIL Question about super soil grow guide

[Sunshine1004]

Hello, I was reading the just add water super soil grow guide and have a question about natures living soil. I see they make an original and an autoflower living soil. While I am going to be growing autoflowers, I did see some reviews of the autoflower living soil saying they had to supplement towards the end of the grow. While not a huge issue, I am just wondering about peoples experiences with either the autoflower living soil and original. I am wondering which one to go with. I am new to living soil and have decided to give it a go. I usually have used coco with general hydroponics flora trio + calimagic, floralicious, kool bloom and terpinator, but am intrigued by the idea of letting the living soil do its thing and just doing some lst and maybe topping. Ive never topped an autoflower but am mulling it over, that also seems to be a topic that is kind of split on peoples opinions on what is acceptable. Any input is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[Bluey]

I've never grown autos but am this grow just to tick a box. The breeder said not to top but some say it is OK to do that if it is growing fast, a good size early on and totally healthy.

I've never used branded soil sorry and only grow in coco indoors. Quite a few here do though and amend and suppliment later on. Good luck

[No3odiesShad0w]

I was going to grow 3 autos and 2 photos this grow and decided to not do the autos. For about the same grow period, I get 2-3x more flower with photos. They're more resilient to stress and stunting. They're more forgiving since they're not on a fixed time schedule. Plus if you find that unicorn, you can hold onto it for future grows. I said 2023 I would do all autos and I did like 80% autos. In the future I'll be doing 80% photos with some autos peppered in here and there.

[Rootsruler]

I agree @no3odiesshadow. I'm still perplexed at how autos got to be synonymous with beginners. I've never grown one but have seeds to. Most of my friends that have grown autos tell me they can be finicky.

[SoOrbudgal]

I mix my own soil similar to living soil but cheaper LOL. My mix i've found last my seedlings and teens plus vegging prior to flip. If i see lack of N in the leaf i'll give them some bat quano mixed into the watering schudule. I've found worm castings last through the soil mix for about a month. Yes i'll use liquid NPK further into the vegging stage as needed and a bloom nute once i flip to flower on the photos. Auto flowers i treat less they grow so fast i just use my soil mix until flowering then will maybe feed them 4x with bloom nutes. It just depends how the plants health is.

[No3odiesShad0w]

I've used NLS for about a 2 years. The soil is pretty good. Cheaper if you buy the larger bags. Buying it by the 1lb bag comes out to like $125 for 5lbs but a 5lb bag goes for $45. This stuff is expensive. Though you don't need the whole 3.2oz/gallon that they recommend. 2.5oz/gallon is good enough for most unless you have a really hungry plant. It'll help you stretch that expensive soil. It's expensive because they literally put everything into the mix...... The only thing missing is the kitchen sink. Half the ingredients are redundant and just add to the price.

When it comes to original vs autoflower, I prefer the original. The autoflower blend seems to be really spicy. I always got nitrogen toxicity and then later in bloom, calcium/magnesium deficiency. So if you use less then the recommended to avoid nitrogen toxicity, you run into more calcium and magnesium issues later. The original blend seems to be a bit more well rounded, but no matter which you choose, make sure you add some calcium, gypsum, oyster shell or at least some dolomite lime to address the calcium needs. You can foliar spray as well but I think you'll need some kind of calcium on the actual soil because it can get a bit acidic with all the microbe activity.

Overall it's a good super Soil. If you follow their grow guide (and you are extra calcium) you should get some really nice sticky buds. It makes great compost tea. It's LOADED with microbes and fungi.

But be warned this stuff stinks.... My good Lord does it stink BAD. That's the main reason I stopped using it. Also the price. I found out I get better results with a simple Coots Soil recipe and it doesn't stink like something died in my house.

I hope that helps some. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. My current grow is going to have 2x 7-gallon pots with Coco/perlite/castings with NLS Autoflower (because I have half a bag left and I don't want it to go bad. I spent good money on it). So if you're interested in seeing how it performs. I've also used it in past grows. Including the Blue Dream that I'm smoking on currently. .... Absolute 🔥🔥 The same Blue Dream Auto that I accidently topped. I got some nice even golf balls sized buds all over.

But after this time, I don't think I'll be buying more. That smell is so off putting even though it grows really nice flower.

[Sunshine1004]

Hey, thanks for all the responses! I ended up ordering the original NLS, it did seem pricey but I wanted try something new, and it sounds like living soil works pretty well. I guess I just have one question about adding calcium and magnesium. So I'm using 5 gallon pots, with 1 pound nls in the bottom 1/3 with roots organics potting soil, what would be better for adding calcium? Oyster shell, gypsum, and doĺomite lime look pretty comparable in price. How much would you use in a 5 gallon pot? Would I mix it in just the bottom portion with the living soil? Sorry, a lot of questions but I've really only ever done coco/perlite with liquid nutrients. Thanks for the advice!

[No3odiesShad0w]

All valid questions.
1. I usually do the living soil method so I just mix the 1 lb throughout all of the soil instead of just doing the bottom third. Mainly because in nature the food is at the top while the bottom roots are mainly just looking for water they're not feeder roots. Stop being said it does work but some plants are a little more finicky with it than others especially when it comes to autos. Photoperiods Won't care.
2. All calcium isn't the same. Dolomite has calcium, magnesium. You can get away with using just dolomite lime 2Tbsp per gallon of soil.
Oyster shell and Ag lime are both calcium carbonate and makes a great addition to the dolomite because you always want a ratio of 4 calcium to 1 magnesium. So you would add 2Tbsp of oyster or ag lime to the dolomite and you're set.
Gypsum is calcium carbonate with sulfur another important compound. 1Tbsp per gallon of using dolomite and Ag lime.

I definitely recommend a little bit of all three but if money is tight you could definitely skate by with just the dolomite. Maybe crush up some egg shells if you got them at home in a coffee bean grinder and mix it in with your soil. The bacteria in the soil will break down those egg shells and release the calcium over time so the plants will have the initial calcium that they need and then the other calcium will be broken down as time goes on.

3. When it comes to mixing I would mix the calcium all throughout not just in one particular section because as the microbes break stuff down it tends to get a little more acidic in the environment and the calcium does a good job of keeping that in balance.

[No3odiesShad0w]

Just make sure you stand like 10 ft away from the bag when you open it and if it looks all moldy then it's imperfect condition. I know there's so many comments on the website like my stuff came moldy it's not good there's a whole bunch of white stuff in here like yeah it's called mycelium lololol

[Sunshine1004]

Hey, thank you again! Very thorough answers to my questions. Sounds good going to go with the dolomite and some egg shells this time and see whats what. Looking forward to trying something new, thanks!

[No3odiesShad0w]

I'll be lurking like a creep 🪴🫡