Making My Own Super-Soil...Am I Missing Anything?

Soil Building
#1

Hey all,

I am getting ready to make my own super soil. Here’s the recipe I plan on following:

Bulk Mix:
1 Part Organic Compost (Cow Manure, Aged 3 Months)
1 Part Peat Moss
1 Part Perlite (Medium - A3 Size)
0.1 Part Earthworm Castings

Others (all mixed according to manufacturer’s instructions on back of container):
Down To Earth Kelp Meal (N-P-K Ratio 1-0.1-2)
Down To Earth Neem Seed Meal (N-P-K Ratio 6-1-2)
Gia Green Organics Glacial Rock Dust (N-P-K Ratio N/A)
Gia Green Organics Power Bloom (N-P-K Ratio 2-8-4)
Gia Green Organics Mineralized Phosphate (N-P-K Ratio 0-9-0)
Gia Green Organics All Purpose (N-P-K Ratio 4-4-4)

After all ingredients are mixed, I’ll put the soil into 5 Gal Buckets (w/ holes drilled at bottom) and water thoroughly using Compost Tea. Cover and wait 3 months for soil to components to break down. Periodically water as necessary.

Is there anything you’d add to this soil or change with my procedure? Any and all comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

#2

Welcome Trent @Sehguh !

This sounds like a solid recipe to me. I doubt you really need to “cook” the soil, unless you plan on adding these all at the beginning. If the goal is to never fertilize all the way until harvest, I’ve never done it that way so I’m interested to see how it works out for you.

I also think “activating” with worm tea is probably unnecessary, you should have plenty of microbial activity from the compost.

#3

Since you are putting it in 5 gal containers you may want to add a few handfuls of broken up coco at the very end. To the mix before filling the pots. This will help prevent compaction. I think they (perlite + coco) work better together than either does alone. Also, I have found perlite alone is more prone to compaction from the “fines” particles with time. Like as they work their way down with waterings. And coco has this ability to wick capillary action water up real well if you accidentally get too dry. Your mix looks good to me.

I would not even mention it, but I believe the 5gals are just big enough to worry about lower compaction zone. Happy growing.

#4

Thanks for the feedback. I’m going to test out part of the batch without aging and the other with aging to see if there’s any differences. I’ll keep you posted.

#5

Good call, I’ll add some coco with the perlite to help prevent compaction. I was planning on using the 5 gal containers for temporary storage until the plants are mature enough to move into 7 gal fabric pots (which should help with drainage). Appreciate the feedback.

#6

I would keep casting and compost on hand for top dressing