Few outdoor beginner questions

I’m wanting to grow outdoors. Something I’m struggling to find an answer to, is the recipe for making a good homemade and organic soil/fertilizer. Reason I want to make my own, is because I’m on a budget currently. Does anyone have a good recipe for a soil/fertilizer mix. I prefer something without animal bi-products. Here are a couple questions I’ve formed while doing research online about this:

Once you plant outdoors in a soil/fertilizer mix, do you need to change the mix at all during the grow life, or should the mix be good for the plants life?

Does anyone have a decent recipe for a mix? After doing some research, it seems to put me further back the more reading I do. Also, if it helps, I live in OZ.

There is nothing better for soil than rabbit manure…period.
But you might have hard time to get it…
Then your choice should be bat guano and some earthworm casting, mix it with the dirt add some forest humus and if your native soil is clay then mix it with a lot of coarse sand…

You can buy soil already made, with perlite and other stuff, but I just told you what I do here at our homestead for all our gardening needs…

Should you amend the soil well, you dont have to do nothing but water it and harvest it…

I amend our gardens once either in fall or in the spring…
Organic matter matters !!!

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I was gonna tag you in this haha but you beat me to the punch

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Are there any other options besides bat guano and earthworm castings? Anything I can substitute them with? I don’t have the option in using animal bi-products. Also, I looked up Ancient Forest Humus. I can buy a 1/2 cu ft bag online. Would that whole bag get used for one plant? I’m a beginner at this, so I’m not sure the mixing ratios.

I was reading online about prepping a site for outdoors. I read that you prep your outdoor grow site by excavating holes that are 3-5 feet in diameter and 3-5 feet deep, In those holes, mix in your rich customized soil in as high a ratio as you can. With that being said, do you have a suggestion in what you might use for a recipe in this situation?

Thank you for your response by the way.

I looked up the ancient forest humus, its pretty good stuff, but 1/2 cubic foot for $ 12 is pretty pricey…
Look, if you dig a hole 3x3x3 thats 27 cubic feet, you would have to use at least 4 of the bags in one hole to make it worthwhile…
Plus if you dont want to use any kind of composted animal manure, you will have to feed npk type of fertilizers to supply the huge amounts of nutrients massive plant needs…
I would really like to give you better answer, but I dont use anything else but composted rabbit manure and spent substrate after fruiting my oyster mushrooms…
Ok , can you at least get some good mushroom compost and used coffee grounds ?

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I can use compost. I had to look up what bat guano was. I thought it was ground up bat bones or something (noob thought). I can definitely use coffee grounds. I was thinking of using that at some point while i was researching. Cow and horse manure is pretty regular where I live. Could those be used, or should I stick to bat? I can probably get that somewhere here.

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Great , now you have good choices…
If you use cow or horse manure, you gotta make sure it is aged at least 2 years , it is pretty hot, but if you add just a little, maybe up to 10% of the soil, you should be good…
If you can get bat guano, go for it !!! This is the amendment of choice for outdoor guerrilla growers here in North California…
Spent coffe grounds are great for balancing the soil PH around 6.5 also good nitrogen source…

If you want to go creative, get little bit of everything, mix it well and you be good till harvest…
Make sure your substrate drains well, can use coarse sand if needed…
Never use any fresh manure !!! Only rabbit manure could be used fresh for top dressing the beds if you need a boost, just because rabbit manure is considered " cold"…

Here is what I was planning on using so far: Soil (no idea yet), bat guano, or some sort of manure, coffee grounds, seaweed (either liquid seaweed, or bits of seaweed), and something to hold or help drain water, depending on what is needed in the area. Are these options good in your opinion? I was also thinking of using nutrients with the water when I water them, so do you think that would be unnecessary? As far as soil goes, I was going to go for something store bought with a good NPK rating.

In regards to the NPK for the soil, what do you recommend? I’ve seen different ratings for the different stages of the plants.

If you use bat guano and all the other stuff you had described, do not buy any soil with added fertilizers…Not needed !!!
The only thing you might need I said might , is some organic source of phosphorus when you in flower…
But if you use bat guano, you should be completely fine…
Any additional feeding you do, I recomend in a form of " compost tea"…

Look, you are willing to take your time and make organic soil yourself, do not spoil your effort and mix it with some commercial grade fertilizers…

Our ladies are called weed for reason, the most issues in growing are coming from overfeeding…

Keep it simple, you do fine, Happy growing !!!

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Hope it’s cool to jump in on this thread, I have been growing in the great outdoors for over 30 years and one thing I found out is, if your soil is good to start with no need to add anything, but if I have to I take good soil, ff, and some cheaper stuff and mix it, say miracle grow with ff, yes I know I said something ugly, miracle grow…but regardless I have grown some monster plants using it…but mixing it with ffof and some good local horse,cow manure it works awesome! As far a expenses go it’s not too bad…and mixing it makes it go a lot farther…this is just my opinion…but in the end the most important thing about growing is don’t over think it…it’s a plant that has been around a long time and will be here long after we are all gone…the plant will tell you what it needs

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Here is what i use. and you have to use the worm castings and bat guano

Will

Soil mix

Mixing ammounts will veary dependeds on how much you make. read instructions on wach package for amounts.
( Mexican Bat Guano

(10-2-1) This type of guano is very high nitrogen. This makes it perfect for the vegetative stages of growth. Even when the plant is young it can be fed a dilute mixture if the soil happens to contain very little nutrients. This type of guano can be used throughout the vegetative stage of growth.

( Jamaican Bat Guano (1-10-0.2) This type of bat guano is high in phosphorus. It is perfect for the early-mid flowering cycle once females are well established. )

3.) WORM CASTINGS

(because this stuff is so nutritious, the more the better).

Worm poop is gardening gold. Properly known as “worm casts”, what worms leave behind is actually
vital to the soil food web and is one of the key substances to maintaining healthy, nutrient-dense
soil for your plants. To quote fromSustainable World Radio:

“Research has shown that fresh earthworm casts are five times richer in available nitrogen,
seven times richer in available phosphates, and 11 times richer in available potash than the
surrounding upper six inches of soil. […]

Plant roots often seek out available earthworm casts. They follow the worm Burroughs and feed
on the nutrients in the available vicinity even if it means that the roots have to grow upward.”

While growers often spend a significant chunk of change on fertilizers throughout the grow cycle,
adding worm castings to your soil inundates them with the vital, natural nutrients they most desire.

4.) BONE MEAL

This additive is a nice way to get some additional phosphorous and calcium to your plants. An abundance of phosphorus
is especially important once your plant has reached flowering phase. To again draw from Gardening Know How:

“Using bone meal will help your flowering plants, like roses or bulbs, grow bigger and more plentiful flowers.”

As a flowering herb, the added phosphorus from bone meal helps your plant produce buds that are nice and big.

5.) BLOOD MEAL

Blood meal is yet another source of nitrogen. It’s also not vegan/vegetarian-friendly.
Blood meal is made from the dried blood of slaughtered animals, most predominantly cows.
Though the idea behind the fertilizer is a little unpleasant, its well-known natural gardening product.
Because it’s so nitrogen lush, it will help produce extensive growth during the vegetative phase.

6.) FISH MEAL

7.) Kelp and/or humid acid

Marijuana growers are very smart gardeners. There are a lot of things that growers do to increase
their yields that actually helping to build healthy soil microbiology. Adding kelp meal and humic
acids are some of these tasks. Both of these natural products are fungal foods. The interaction
between your plants roots and soil fungus helps the plant produce the nutrients it needs to thrive.

Kelp also adds a significant amount of potassium and copper to your soil mix.

8.) Epsom salt

A lot of people use Epsom salt to increase magnesium in their soil. As mentioned earlier,
you want to be careful not to add too much. You don’t want to over do it with the magnesium.
However, if your plant is showing signs of a magnesium deficiency, this is a very quick and
easy way to add some back in. Magnesium iscrucial to the absorption of other key nutrients,
like nitrogen and phosphorous.

All about microbes

Subcool’s soil mixture is definitely a good one. As is probably obvious by the various additives
in this recipe, this soil is extremely nutrient-rich. It’s chuck full of natural fertilizers and
makes it easy on the plant to have its favorite nutrients right at its root tips, so to speak.
Many of the extra or leftover additives can then be diluted with water and sprayed on during
the grow cycle as fertilizer.

If there’s one downfall to this recipe, it’s that it relies heavily on organic additives over
encouraging microorganism growth. In a plant’s natural environment, they get vital nutrients
from synergistic interactions between the plant and other organisms in its ecosystem. Plants
photosynthesize sunlight into sugars, and these sugars are in turn secreted by the roots. This
is a much more consciousprocess than commonly believed.

A plant can make an extremely wide variety of sugars and secrete them to attract specific types
of bacteria and microorganisms to its roots. These bacteria then eat these sugars, called exudates.
Through the bacterial metabolic process, essential nutrients like nitrogen are created for the plant
to use. Yet, nitrogen isn’t the only nutrient created through this process. This is how much-needed
vitamins and trace minerals make it into your plant.

9.) Dolomite lime

Recommended amount: 1 cup

Dolomite lime adds calcium and magnesium to your soil. Like rock phosphate, dolomite is also
a kind of mineral rock. It’s used to counteract mineral leaching. It also helps keep the
soil from becoming too acidic. Be careful not to add too much, though. It has high calcium
to magnesium ratio, and you may risk adding too much magnesium to your plants.

Azomite (trace elements)

Azomite is a brand of trace minerals. It’s mined from volcanic rock and contains over
70 minerals and trace elements. This particular brand is mined in Utah and is used to
re-mineralize soil. The product contains everything from gold, silver, and selenium
to potassium, choline, copper and calcium. Adding a few trace elements into your
increases the diversity of nutrients available to your plantss.

10.)

Marijuana growers are very smart gardeners. There are a lot of things that growers do to increase
their yields that actually helping to build healthy soil microbiology. Adding kelp meal and humic
acids are some of these tasks. Both of these natural products are fungal foods. The interaction
between your plants roots and soil fungus helps the plant produce the nutrients it needs to thrive.

Kelp also adds a significant amount of potassium and copper to your soil mix.

.

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@garrigan62 Are there any replacements for azomite, kelp meal, and fish meal that can be procured from lowe’s, home depot or wal mart. Also can Doctor Earth bat guano (7-3-1) be used in place of mexican guano. The other ingredients I can get locally. I do not like to order online or travel 400 miles round trip to get these items. Ty

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Probably a beginner question, but what is ff?

Fox farms…ocean forest, I mix with my soil I plant in…

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I’m sure you can i’ll check into it for ya no problem

Don’t go to much trouble if I have to order the other stuff on line I might be able to have it delivered to another location or take a road trip. Would be nice if I could get a decent soil without having to go out of town or order online. Want a grow system as simple as possible with high yield and quality for indoors and out. The less nutes I have to use during the cycle the better I’ve ordered 20 gold leaf earlier this week and placed an order for 10 chop???, 5 cal dream, and 5 chronic widow for my second attempt(3rd, 4th, etc). today. Could not pass on the discount.

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You gonna love the Gold leaf, I am growing 18 different strains all in home made soil with rabbit manure and they all love it…Nothing else , just water…
They all do great , but the Gold leaf is like a monster outgroving everything…I am planting it outdoor to my grow site tomorrow and just let it grow as it wants to…
To the sky brother, to the sky :slight_smile:

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Hello Ragnar I have been reading your post on soils there is so much info here, makes it hard to make a decision. You seem to be like me keep it simple, so many post on different methods I just want a proven system that is simple for both in and outdoor. Have you seen one of yoshi’s journal where he is using a dozen different fertilizers and nutes to complicated for me. Anyway your recipe is simple worm, bat and forest humus.(rabbit manure). Would love to put them outside and only have to water them every other day or so. When the gl arrive I will start them inside and transplant outside if its not to late, do not expect to put them out til June is that too late? Happy 420 to you also.:heart_eyes:

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Late may or early june is pretty ok here in North California mountains…
I dont know where you are, but if you get them of to a good start , you be fine planting early june, harvesting mid october my guess…
Yeah, I have a lot of things going on at our homestead, I need to keep things simple and kind of low maintenance…
I grow it like a tomato, so far it works great, my WW autos are in flower, they be 4-5 feet tall when finished I bet…
Happy 4/20 …

I was watching a video on worm farms and worm castings. I definitely think I’ll invest time in doing that for soil. Do you think it would be better to have the worm casting soil in chunks, or do you think it might be better to screen it to be a finer soil?