Living Soil

[snapper]

@itchybro
I saw your living soil mix consisted of

"when i mix soils my amendments consist of
added to 42lts of the base mix ( peat , compost , scoria = 1/3 each )
3/4 cup neem meal / cake
3/4 cup kelp meal
3/4 cup gypsum
3/4 cup crab , shrimp / crustacean meal
1.5 cups malted barley powder
7.5 cups basalt rock dust
9.0 cups activated bio-char

don't PH anything & i add to water EM -1 which is 3.5 ph & potassium silicate which is 11 ph
i don't use any NPK type fertilizers like powerfeed , i however do keep a bottle of eco aminogro in my toolbox which is similar to a powerfeed type bottled nutrient but generally only use it if i have a problem & mostly , not solely as foliar spray"

Can you please provide more detail into this living soil mix. I want to try and see what the difference is to my current style of growing.

What type of peat is used ? And is the compost home cooked or sourced elsewhere ?
How long do you let the mix cook if at all ?
Where is the best place to source your ingredients and what brands are good ?

Cheers,
Snapper

 

[itchybro]

hi snapper

I use Canadian peat moss if i can get it but the last time i brought peat i got

Lithuanian Peat Moss https://www.petandgarden.com.au/potting-mix/1369-lithuanian-sphagnum-peat-moss-200-litre.html

i use 7 - 10mm scoria https://www.soilworx.com.au/shop/product/7mm-Drainage-Scoria-1

homemade compost or worm castings will always be better than brought imo & that's what i was using , i haven't needed to mix soil for a while due to my living arrangements atm but i was looking at trying compost from http://www.elmorecompost.com.au/

it is the hardest quality product to find & i have no idea if these guys are any good but most if not all suppliers of compost will need to be tried to find out if there any good

you can get amendments form any of these guys
https://easyasorganics.com.au/
https://www.drgreenthumbs.com.au/
https://www.organicgardeningsolutions.com.au/

with this mix i find it can be used straight away but letting it sit for 2 to 4 weeks doesn't hurt
I'd also say if you workout the time money & effort to find & buy all ingredients , mix all of it then store the final mix
it might financially work very similar to buying a pre mix soil from one of the suppliers above , i have used easy as organics soil mix many times , imo it preformed as good as i can make myself plus the owner is a member on this forum ( @Donothing-garden ) if you have questions

hope that helps snapper

 

[snapper]

Thanks Itchybro.
Ill do some research into those sites you mentioned.
What issues can I expect first time with living soil ?
Just had a quick squiz at easyasorganics and noted they recommend 50 litres soil as a minimum per pot. At $50 a 25l bag, its $100 per pot. Seems pretty expensive to me although its a one off purchase as soil can be reused.

What benefits have members found with living soil ? Is it really that different than well grown weed with salt fertilizers ?

 

[Bigfoot (aka Lil’ Wristy)]

What benefits have members found with living soil ? Is it really that different than well grown weed with salt fertilizers ?

I found living soil to be better for myself because i have the ability to produce it.
I don't think i would spend $100 a plant on buying it though.

Personally i noticed the plants can go a full grow without anything added, The natural balance in the soil means little to no work required maintaining the plants they have a buffet and access what they need.

Why not try a side by side grow?

 

[itchybro]

What issues can I expect first time with living soil ?

imo 99% of the time it's water = 2 much or 2 little , what we want moisture wise is consistency so we don't want wet then dry periods , prefer to water in small amounts more frequently rather than lots of water once a week , we don't want runoff , utilizing a moisture meters like the Blumat unit or similar would be handy , the moisture is important not only to the plant but to the soil microbes which will feed & protect your plant , those added amendments need to be converted into plant available nutrients , organisms will do that conversion but if the soil drys out to much those organisms that are so small they can't be seen by the naked eye & as big as worms , will die , go dormant or leave the container , ultimately starving the plant

if you go the opposite & water to much you promote pathogenic (anaerobic) organisms , effectively making the plant much more susceptible to disease , changing PH & doing the same by starving the plant

that's my simplified version , I'm sure you could chat to much more educated experts than i on the subject

Just had a quick squiz at easyasorganics and noted they recommend 50 litres soil as a minimum per pot. At $50 a 25l bag, its $100 per pot. Seems pretty expensive to me although its a one off purchase as soil can be reused.

imo 50 liters is a absolute minimum i would prefer 75 liters at a minimum personally , we want soil volume for the same reasons as i mentioned above " moisture consistency " larger volumes of soil don't dry as quickly , it's allot easier to keep those organisms in place when your pot doesn't dry out with in hours as a 25 liter pot could

as to price i would suggest getting the ingredients list off easy as website , sourcing & pricing the items to mix your own soil at home & see what that pricing comes to , once you add your labor , then see what your costs are , isn't that much different i would suggest

your correct you would be re-using / re-amending the soil for each grow & what growers find is the soil improves over time

What benefits have members found with living soil ? Is it really that different than well grown weed with salt fertilizers ?

i can't tell you what you like when it comes to your idea of quality cannabis

imo though flower produced organically in a living soil would be the equivalent to an aged Grange red wine , if you only desire to get pissed then buy cask wine , you'll achieve that goal no problem , for me i want to enjoy the whole experience from rolling the joint or making a mix / packing a bowl , smelling the terpenes as i chop flower , then tasting as you take your first draw & finally the high you feel

again this is my lived experience or opinion , well grown weed with salt fertilizers can be better than cask wine but ain't no Grange