Soil / coco coir / perlite mix

[ziggy1909]

Okay I have quite a few questions; for my guerilla grow I was thinking of using 45% soil, 45% coco coir and 10% perlite. Is this an alright ratio? I will be visiting my site approx. every 3 days, would I need to water them any more than 3 days apart? Also, how much water would I need for 7 plants? I realise I'll need more as time goes on but can anyone estimate how much I'd need per plant at the point I plant it and at the point it's nearly ready for harvest? Another question about soil too - does anyone know anything about Westland multi purpose compost with John Innes?

[Wacky Wardrobe]

Hi. There are a lot of questions there that don't seem so straight forward to answer and I'm afraid I don't have much experience of guerilla weed growing, but:

Are you planting them in the ground or in pots?

What sort of ground are you going to be planting into? They may well do OK without much watering if the weather and/or water table are in your favour.

Your mix is more than 50% inert "drainage/aeration" material. Are you planting somewhere boggy?

You might do all right with just enriching the soil and opening it up by just digging in the compost.

A bit of fish, blood and bone and/or chicken shit pellets as well maybe but don't go mad and burn your plants. Dig that stuff in now to break down a bit before planting out.

ATB

[Sasquatch]

20 minutes ago, ziggy1909 said:

does anyone know anything about Westland multi purpose compost with John Innes?

 

It burns leaves if used neat - and if it's the only compost in a mix of inert media, that might possibly be considered neat.

[ziggy1909]

7 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

 

It burns leaves if used neat - and if it's the only compost in a mix of inert media, that might possibly be considered neat.

What do you mean by 'neat'? Never heard the term used like that.

[monkeypig]

11 minutes ago, ziggy1909 said:

What do you mean by 'neat'? Never heard the term used like that.

 

Neat in this sense means undiluted/unmixed.

[ziggy1909]

8 hours ago, Wacky Wardrobe said:

Hi. There are a lot of questions there that don't seem so straight forward to answer and I'm afraid I don't have much experience of guerilla weed growing, but:

Are you planting them in the ground or in pots?

What sort of ground are you going to be planting into? They may well do OK without much watering if the weather and/or water table are in your favour.

Your mix is more than 50% inert "drainage/aeration" material. Are you planting somewhere boggy?

You might do all right with just enriching the soil and opening it up by just digging in the compost.

A bit of fish, blood and bone and/or chicken shit pellets as well maybe but don't go mad and burn your plants. Dig that stuff in now to break down a bit before planting out.

ATB

Yeah I know they're quite specific I wasn't looking for exact answers just more anecdotal advice so I can get a vague idea, I'm planting them in the ground in 20L holes, the ground I'm planting it in is just forest trail dirt, I don't know much more than that sorry. I'm not planting somewhere particularly boggy, it's a little distance from what Google maps says is a river but it's more like a stream to be honest so I wouldn't of thought that'd make much of a difference. Do you think a mix of say 60% - 65% compost, 25% - 30% coco coir and 10% perlite would be better? I forgot to say in the original post that I was gonna leave a slow release fertiliser tab in the mix when I germinate the seed, is that advisable?

[ziggy1909]

Just now, monkeypig said:

 

Neat in this sense means undiluted/unmixed.

So was sasquatch saying that the compost contains too many fertilisers that if I were to use it alone without mixing anything in it could cause nutrient burn?

[Wacky Wardrobe]

1 hour ago, ziggy1909 said:

I'm planting them in the ground in 20L holes,

I think I'd be inclined to dig the compost and coco (and perlite too, maybe) into the soil that's there rather than dig out a hole and replace the soil with whatever mix you're using.

Forest soil with leaf mould should be pretty good. You just want to nourish it and loosen it up with your mix to create good drainage and aeration.

Slow release feed tabs/pellets are a good idea.

As for water it sounds ideal with a stream nearby. It will depend on how wet the soil is and what sort of summer we get whether you need to water often or not and how much. You could get lucky with a spot that doesn't need much watering once they get their roots down. If the soil is light and dry you'll maybe need to go more often.

I used to live near a forest on chalky, sandy soil and that stuff dries out really quick.

[ziggy1909]

What kind of ratio should I use for the mix and the forest soil? Also for the mix should I keep the original ratio of compost to coco to perlite or the second one I suggested? I could try to get something instead of the westlands compost, some local suppliers sell manure and organic loamy top soil - would that be a good combination along with the coco and perlite?

Edited April 12, 2021 by Owderb
Quote removed

[Wacky Wardrobe]

Mate. There probably isn't a definitive answer to your question. The plants would probably grow there without all the inputs.

Just use what you have mixed in with what's there and don't get too hung up on the ratios. You'll learn from how it goes and can adjust as necessary next time. So much will depend on the site.

Manure might be a bit too hot and probably needs digging in much earlier to break down. Loamy topsoil would probably be heavy to cart in and wouldn't be contributing a huge amount.

I suggest you have a read through some guerilla diaries on here and see what others have done and pay attention to the ones using a site like yours.

ATB

[ziggy1909]

Alright fair enough, I just don't wanna spend a fuck ton and then waste it all from being uninformed, I'll just mix the native soil 50/50 with the original mix of the multi purpose compost, coco coir and perlite. Deciduous soil is still pretty nutrient rich apparently bc of the decomposed leaves so maybe there'll still be nute burn, and idk the soil pH either, should I get a pH tester? It's just frustrating cause nobody seems to be able to offer sound advice and what ever someone says is good is contradicted by someone else, the only knowledge I have is "give it a stab in the dark and hope it works" having done research on it for fucking hours it's doing my head in honestly lmao

Edited April 12, 2021 by Owderb

[Wacky Wardrobe]

3 minutes ago, ziggy1909 said:

should I get a pH tester?

No :-)

4 minutes ago, ziggy1909 said:

Deciduous soil is still pretty nutrient rich apparently bc of the decomposed leaves so maybe there'll still be nute burn

The well decomposed stuff in the soil won't burn anything.

 

5 minutes ago, ziggy1909 said:

It's just frustrating cause nobody seems to be able to offer sound advice

Chill out :-)

6 minutes ago, ziggy1909 said:

what ever someone says is good is contradicted by someone else,

That's the nature of these things. Your mission is to weigh it all up. Work out what makes sense. Have a go. And before you know it you'll have your own opinions.

 

9 minutes ago, ziggy1909 said:

having done research on it for fucking hours it's doing my head in honestly lmao

Remember. Some of the peeps on here have been doing this since before you were born probably. (Unless your handle indicates your year of birth.) There's a shit ton to learn. Chill out and enjoy it.

 

13 minutes ago, ziggy1909 said:

"give it a stab in the dark and hope it works"

Weed has grown without human help for longer than humans have existed. Have a little trust in nature. She knows what she's doing.

:-)

[ziggy1909]

Okay, I'm gonna try to find some organic compost somewhere otherwise I'll just have to use the shit saturated with fertilisers, I had one last question - apparently it's bad to overwhelm your seed with fertiliser rich soil when you first plant it, when I sow the seeds I was thinking of digging little areas out of my mix and replacing it with this Westland John Innes no.1 compost which is supposed to be better for young plants.

[Revive]

@ziggy1909 dude dig some slightly bigger holes 2x3ft is about right.. go to your nearest wooded/forest area, you want to be under the big trees where most of the leaf falls.. carefully pull back the leaf layer under this you will find about 3/4 inches of topsoil rake this into a pile and collect it and take it to your plot... add 1 coco brick to your hole half bag of what you collected 2/3ltrs of Perlite and a 3rd of the native soil that came out your hole mix it all together with a handful of FBB and your be good to go..you will not beat the soil from the forest it is the best ready made compost you will lay your hands on, high in humus so it will hold water really well.. this is full of nutrition and microbial activity so will take care of most issues... watering no need to worry unless we get weeks and weeks of sunshine and no rain... cover your plot in leaf litter/mulch to help retain moisture and also this will slowly break down and help your native soil if its so bad.. when in the ground the plants don't dry out like in pots, just keep an eye out when it been dry for ages if they are in desperate need of a drink then get it to them... moisture absorbing crystals can also be added to the soil mix as another bit of help..

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by Revive

[ziggy1909]

@Revive

Alright cheers, you think I should ditch buying multi purpose and mixing it with the native soil? Could you also just confirm what kind of ratio I should use? I know there's no exact answer but just saying "1 coco brick" is kinda vague cause they come in different sizes and I want to have the best chance possible of getting a decent yield - based on the advice given here earlier I was thinking 40% native soil, 30% multi purpose compost, 20% coco and 10% perlite. I have quite a few rivers near me too that run through or by forests so I'll get the topsoil from there, apparently soil by rivers has a lot of silt which is good for water retention. Also, should I use fish blood and bone as well as the slow release fertiliser tabs or instead of?

Edited April 12, 2021 by Owderb
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