Guerilla_Farmer

can someone recommend a good mix to start off with? i was thinkin peat moss, black cow, some compost, blood meal and bone meal...anything else? or a good recipe?

Peacefully ,

Guerilla

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organic

I'm not sure what 'black cow' is

OK. Enough people have asked, so here is a recipe. Your mileage may vary.

30-50% good quality potting soil (not pre-ferted)
30-50% perlite
10-20% worm castings
10% compost

Per gallon of soil mix:
1 tablespoon each: blood meal, bone meal
2-3 tablespoons: kelp meal
2-4 tablespoons rock phosphate (grind to powder if possible)

And there ya go.

And remember that a little less is better than a little more. It's pretty hard to get organic ferts out of your soil if you over-do it, and you can always supplement with fish emulsion, blood meal tea, or guano if they need extra later.

If you have to leave anything out, the rock phosphate would be the first thing to drop. The most important nutrient to be careful not to overdo is blood meal; the one you can best get away with overdoing is kelp.

O

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Guerilla_Farmer

Thanx organic...

black kow is composted cow manure...comes in 50 lb. bags....i can't find worm castings, or kelp meal...for the worm castings ill get some worms and add in there, but the kelp meal is not available unless i order it online....i will get the rest tomorrow, and see what else i can come up with...

Peacefully ,

Guerilla

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lilbuddie

What about Alfalfa meal?

maybe if you list what you can get we can come up with a complete mix for you

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Guerilla_Farmer

iight, i went to lowes today and this is a list of what i could find...

Perlite
Vermiculite
Bone Meal
Blood Meal
Gypsum
Lime
Epsogrow
Fish Emulsion
Aluminum Sulfate
Super Phosphate
Black Cow (composted cow manure)
Spahagnum Peat Moss
Peat Humus
Organic Compost (very generic)
Scotts Organic Mix

any ideas?

Peacefully ,

Guerilla

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organic

The aluminum sulfate isn't organic...neither is the super phosphate. Not really a problem because the bone and blood meal supply the same thing, I think (I am assuming the a.s. provides N).

There still isn't anything to supply K (that's what the kelp meal is for) so you might have to go online to order. Another option, which gives you a much higher rate of K, is sulfate of potash, or alternatively, sul-po-mag (sulfate of potash magnesia)...you might have to do a little searching on the web to find it, but I was looking for the stuff for my farm a while back and was able to find online purveyors of it. Check out this page to get you started. Careful though, it's hot for an organic, despite what they say about it being hard to burn with.

I would also highly recommend getting some kelp or seaweed extract product as well, as it contains high levels of growth hormones and trace minerals as well as being very gentle.

You can use the black cow as the compost and maybe add in a little more if you can't find any worm castings. Don't go higher than 20% though. BTW my first grow was fertilized only with composted dairy cow manure and I got some very nice weed out of it, thanks for asking.

O

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lilbuddie

Well the compost will handle a small amount K as well as the micros and he can always water to supplement some K if it is needed like in the Fish Emulsion more than enough I'd think

oh and what about a real nursey close by? Any chance of that?

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Guerilla_Farmer

what if i added coffee grounds, egg shells, and wood ashes...would there be enough K then? and if so, does all this have to be composted or could it just be added to the mix? I didn't think the aluminum sulfate and super phosphate were organic, but they were in the "organic" section so i just wrote it down...

Peacefully ,

Guerilla

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organic

This would probably give you enough K, although you would have to be careful about the pH. The coffee grounds are acidic and the ashes are highly basic, so I'd guess you'd want something in the neighborhood of twice as much coffee as ashes. of course you would want to use a meter to be sure. Also remember the coffee has N so you might want to use less blood meal.

The only reason I even mention it is that a relatively recent theory (most eloquently promoted by Delta in his raw salts thread) holds that high levels of K result in denser, heavier buds. Seeing as how K is generally emphasized as crucial in fruit horticulture, and the buds are essentially the fruit of the plant, in theory this should hold true. I just haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

O

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Guerilla_Farmer

ok, so as of now, we have figure out a half decent mixture? i get paid today, but wont be able to get my check cashed until tomorrow...i think anyway, unless the checks come in early...so...as of tomorrow, ill have everything i need, and i can get my things goin....

right now we decided to use....

-the black kow for the base ingredient mixed with a little bit of compost....
-add perlite and a little bit of vermiculite...
-fish emulsion
-bone meal
-bloodmeal
-wood ashes
-egg shells
-coffee grounds
and ill see what else i can find layin around...


this will be my first real indoor grow, and first organic grow...after this one im gonna buy my seeds...i just wanna get my sh*t straight...

Thanx

Peacefully ,

Guerilla

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