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Never adjust pH again? Yes it can be done by building your own soil! It's EZ!

TOKABIGONE I may be a little confused. Are you saying you have made your own super soil recipe or that are using a store bought soil that you're adding amendments to? I looked at the SS recipe on the GWE site. Is that what you use? I totally like the idea of growing in soil for the same 'millions' of reasons that you do. I'm starting my first auto grow with FFOF soil amended with Bio Tabs organic. I'll be growing in the autopot system. That's the auto tent. Getting ready to drop some beans for the photo tent. Will be growing in coco there, also in the autopot system.
 
Good Morning golfnrl I'm amending with a twist I guess. I started researching how to grow without checking and adjusting pH because there are a myriad of things that change it which is where the expression 'chasing pH' originated I believe. It almost made me give up! I never blew anything
up but never excelled in chemistry! I believe the term 'organic' is way overused and has become a marketing ploy. I prefer 'Natural'. All that aside, I wanted to grow in coir w/perlite as a base so I found ME Coco Loco which has all the same basics but in small amounts for a couple weeks so I added more of all of it most especially perlite and worm castings. Proportions are above. Use a microbe seed mix like Recharge or others. Had to use a little math to figure amounts to add for 25 gallons and erred on the light side cuz planned to top dress with cast teas and fish emulsion plus unsulfered molasses which feeds the colonies. I will reconstitute and use the same batch in perpetuity hopefully. Happy Pharming!

Edit: Check the article on building soil on Dark Heart Nursery site. Best basic breakdown i've read
 
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For anyone interested. Just look up Clackamas Coot soil mix it’s so easy and it’s what I use. Had 20 gallon pots at first didn’t have to do anything for a whole year except water. The mix works and he explains it. On YouTube look up his interviews with Tad Hussey from kiss organics. Just YouTube Clackamas Coot and now he is in a lot of podcast when I first started it was just that one in Kissorganics YouTube channel.
 
Thanks Cali That one has been on my check it out list for a bit so I will Tube it. I lived in Clackamas county OR for many years. The river was awesome for float and fish! I'm curious if that's where they are? Sometimes you have to do a cost analysis on some of the better mixes vs from scratch for the same recipe. Listening to the experienced doesn't hurt either!
 
Should we crack open a can of worms and discuss "flushing" before harvest for living soil growers? I had assumed for a long while that it was unnecessary in a living soil but have read a lot of conflicting information on the subject. Most bottled nutrients use salts as a binding agent so I can readily understand the need for prolonged flushing prior to chop but why would I for organic? The information I have read about the need seems rather ambiguous when I try to understand it but some natural growers seem to think it's important.
 
I can see no logical reason why unless they've supplemented or amended with something they won't smoke. I'll put on hold until further study. Sorry not my can but I'll take the worms if you don't want them
 
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Just over a hundred bucks cuz I already had everything else just as you probably do. Certainly far less than up/down, grow this, grow that. A bag of coco loco and a few dry amendments for 30 gallons. Water and cast tea. Boxed up my testers and chemicals and never looked back!
 
Cool I never did the dry amendment route. Always used just homemade compost. Congrats on your first auto grow btw. Looks delicious. I would add dolomite lime to your recipe as I have found too many times now the bigger an auto gets the more they want calcium. Every time I've not used it I've had pH problems mid flower. The lime is a great buffer as the soil alone can only do so much.I'm also of the belief that if going organic you do not want to let your pots dry out too much. Especially if you have earthworms in your pots. After my last run I still had several live wigglers in each rootball. they work.
as far as all this buying amendments because it has beneficial bacteria or some such. Go outside and dig up some dirt from your lawn. Just a cup. Mix it with your soil. Bam.stop being scammed.
 
Yes indeed I will be adding more like azomite, oyster shell, which replaces dolomite lime, and kelp, which I forgot last time, for the next go which will be back to photos. Will have to be on my toes because photos will deplete the soil just from the longer veg time, 6 more weeks than photos. I would not use dirt because I have no idea exactly what's in it and my practically lifeless soil is desert ash, glass and sand. You'd have to sift a ton of it to find a few bacteria. Recharge and its ilk is $15 a bag which lasts many grows. It's like instant gratification of microbial colonies. The microbes replace buffering as they convert the raw elements to a form ready for uptake by the roots in their crap! There's a lot more in a tablespoon of Recharge than a cup of soil. Just add water (not adjusted!) and wait a couple weeks for them to establish so they're ready when the roots get there. I even left the bag unsealed for 6 months and it still is very good. 30% castings hold water well while the coir and perlite provide good drainage. The texture is very friable, excellent texture! Bonus points for reuse many times with no more expense! Less work, less worry, great harvest. Sounds like a no lose deal to me!
 
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TOKABIGONE For the past 4 years I've been adding a good dose of coarse sand to my soil and I have seen a difference. Lots of minerals like silica and it enables better drainage. Last year was my first season using Azomite. It works great, especially in my rooting soil for seedlings and clones.
 
Another good place to check out is Buildasoil YouTube channel. Jeremy the owner makes videos, right now he has a few series done and one close to harvest. Super informative if anyone is looking to transition to living soil/ organic that’s the channel you want to watch. He explains everything I mean everything and does live FAQ so don’t miss out. All his soil recipes are based on the original the one and only Clackamas Coot mix.
 
crucialbunny funny you bring up the flushing idea. Check out the Buildasoil YouTube channel, Jeremy just made a video recently in that check it out. I don’t bother with it.
 
Haha, been there done that, lmao. Bought my Neem/Karanja meal and volcanic basalt there. Haven't check their U Tube but I am going to read up on Clackamas Coots today. Thanks for that!
 
OK I'm back..they were short articles but what a wealth of info so thanks again Cali Of course I was happy to see I'm on track to do what I set out to accomplish. The coots recipe uses what I did with more I missed because I was in a rush to start my auto grow. I would have to go back to my high school biology and chemistry teachers for extra credit to understand the lingo in some of it but the basics are there for me as reference going forward. The only thing I question is the use of Sphagnum Moss versus Coir. Right now I believe they serve the same purpose so i'll continue with Coir. Maybe one of these days I'll get some CSPM to run a comparison. The conservationist in me makes me want to use a renewable resource. Coir is, decomposed Moss is not so that's where I am for now. I'm glad I started this thread as I have learned a ton about the true biology involved in what I want to do. Forget about pH and concentrate on healthy vigorous plants with a spectacular yield! Now I'm off to Build A Soil to see what Jeremy has to say about it.
 
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So I read and watched Build A Soil's Jeremy vid about soil mixing which really is an infomercial for there mix but the recipe is pretty clear and reaffirms what I've done but takes it a few steps further in addressing just about every element in nature they add. He helped dismiss a few of my misconceptions as well so I should have a well rounded medium for my next go. I'm going back to price their kit to see if it's worth buying vs trying to recreate it.
 
TOKABIGONE you are definitely on the right track. I would recommend you search Clackamas coot and listen to the man talk on YouTube he explains his recipe and also teaches what you can use for IPM. Teaches about pest control which in organic soil it’s a must. Jeremy has recipes on his site which once again is based off coots advice and those recipes teach you how to properly emulsify Neem oil or other oils that if made yourself can save you a lot a lot of money vs going to buy the same product watered down and paying an arm and a leg for it. That reminds me. I source out almost everything for my mix now it’s cheaper. For example I can buy a 3.5 cubic feet bale of SPPM for about 12 bucks at Lowe’s and online they are like 60 bucks plus shipping. Damn I wish I can go to Oregon that where Most of my shopping around leads me to online and the products are cheap it’s the dipping that gets you
 
Yes thanks, see my comment above from 3am. They have pre-mixed or amendment kits already portioned out for diff mediums including when you reconstitute used. Prices are better than DIY which surprised me. You add your own medium, perlite and castings but still cheaper. I like it.
 
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