Ready to pull the trigger on my soil mix...advice/recommendations?

[BigPerm]

Hey guys, I'm going to try something similar to the recipe in the "Grow @ Lowe's" thread here: https://www.autoflower.org/index.php?threads/new-growers-guide-grow-lowes-easy-dirt-guide.16495/

I'm new at everything, but have done quite a bit of research, so bear with me. I can't source a lot of things I'd like to have locally (which I'd rather do), so I'm going to experiment with the bulk of my recipe coming from local sources, and small amendments sourced online. My goal is to create an organic mix that is fairly inexpensive and simple, that can yield good results. The main soil is going to compose of:

HARVEST Organic Potting Soil http://www.lowes.com/pd_385540-79138-ORGPM32H___?productId=3692380&pl=1&Ntt=organic+soil
HARVEST Superpowered Organic Compost http://www.lowes.com/pd_459653-79138-NFCOMP1H___?productId=4573226&pl=1&Ntt=organic+soil
Miracle-Gro Perlite http://www.lowes.com/pd_156581-446-74278300_0__?productId=1036853&Ntt=

The potting mix contains perlite, but I think I need more. The MG will be thoroughly flushed/rinsed before mixing to (hopefully) get rid of any chemical ferts. The mix also contains dolomite lime to help with pH issues if I have any. Since I can't source any worm castings locally, I'm going with the HARVEST which contains mostly poultry manure/forest compost and BioChar.

Amendments will be pretty basic. I'm going to go with Epsoma Bio-Tone: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Espoma-4-Lbs-Bio-Tone-Starter-Plus-4-3-3/19243303
It has a lot of good amendments (Feather Meal, Dehydrated Manure, Bone Meal, Alfalfa Meal, Greensand, Humates, Crab Meal, Cocoa Meal, and Sulfate of Potash Magnesia) and lots of endo/ecto mycos, plus a Cal/Mag. I'm also going to order some:
Azomite http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GOH6WVY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3D28KPR7F80E5&coliid=I343FS043IS8UB
Endo Mycos Amazon product ASIN B00IFY6GEC
I'm also thinking some Diatemaceous Earth for pest control.

I think this mix will have enough nutrition to get the plant through veg, but I'm thinking I'm going to need something for the flowering process to help it through. I'm confident that there will be a lot of myco activity and I think it will be a nice, rich soil to support very healthy plants. I know it doesn't contain everything they need to be a true "water only" soil mixture. I'm also afraid it's going to be too hot for starting seeds, so I'm thinking about transplanting. I only plan on growing 2 plants at a time, so I'm going with big (7 gallon) Smart Pots to get the most I can out of the strains (Mephisto).

So what do the experts say? Is it too hot to start my seeds in? Is it hot enough to get by without a veg nute? Would a 60/40 ratio of soil to compost be a good starting point? Do you think there will be enough CalMag support? I sincerely thank you all for taking the time to read/critique this. I'm looking forward to the discussion.

 

[thetreeman]

Too hot to start, get some pro mix or something similar with no nutes and mix it half and half with the organic potting soil for the top 1/3 of your pot, if you are growing under led I would go with 1/3 pro mix, 1/3 washed perlite and 1/3 potting soil. For the middle section I would try 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 compost and 1/3 perlite and for the bottom I would do the same, but include 1/3 cup espoma / pot. I dont really know how hot these particular soils are, but if they are similar to others on the market, you dont wanna start seeds in them without diluting slightly. Theres a good chance this will take you from seed through flower, but you might need to give a little boost for the last month or so, depending how the plants look. What varieties are you planning to grow? I would suggest the bigger ones if you are going with such large pots, or you could double up and put 2 24c / pot, just plant them near the edges...

 

[BigPerm]

I had thought about the layering technique...I might fill the top 1/3 with some kind of cheap organic soil, Jiffy or something. As for the strains, I'm going with Walter White, SODK, and Hubbabubbasmelloscope. Mitch said they would be the biggest strains that also smelled the least during flower. I might end up going with compost teas for flowering, although I have debated on a bottled organic nute just for the quick and ease of use.

 

[thetreeman]

Miracle grow organic is too hot for seedlings generally also, just fyi

 

[BigPerm]

Ok good deal. I think Jiffy is 45-50% peat/45-50% Vermiculite and some lime....strictly for seed starting. That's what I'll go with. Any recommendations on how much Azomite to add?

 

[thetreeman]

GBD pretty much has the layering thing down, you might wanna hit him up for some info, hes got some wicked organic LED grows with a lot of info that might help you.

 

[BigPerm]

Thank you sir!

 

[DABaracuss]

Watch out the MG perlite has nutes in it too . I wouldnt use it.

 

[BigPerm]

Yea I know, I was going to flush it well before using it. If I can find another brand without any nutes in it locally, I'll gladly use it.

 

[DABaracuss]

I think it would take a while to flush it out..I would go without it rather then use it..I would rather use lava rock ..you just want to keep yor soil from getting compacted and have some air pockets.