my mix

I went today and got most of my mix. I already have 4 bags of peat, and I added two large bricks of coir. (I was going to experiment to see which one worked better, but heck, maybe I should just mix both of them in together, per the information about Mel's pre-made Mix having both in it.) I got 4 cft of vermiculite and also 4 cft of perlite. Again, according to the book, while Mel prefers vermiculite (because perlite makes him sneeze), perlite is half the price, and if I'm not mistaken, he's said it's an acceptable substitute. So I'm going to mix them together and use as one product.

I got 2 bags (6 cft) of Happy Frog Soil Conditioner, which I'm hoping is OK to count as a compost. (It is mostly forest humus, but also has earthworm castings, bat guano and microbes in it.) I also got a large bag of earthworm castings, and I might add another one if needed, which, I probably will.

I'm going to get some OMRI certified organic compost from one of the nurseries here (that has chicken manure in it), and I thought I would add some mushroom compost and leaf mold compost, if I can find it. Do you think this will be a good enough blend? I know it's not "by the book" but I have a problem with animal manures, unless I know what that animal was fed. Since the local nursery has OMRI certified organic compost, I'm assuming the manure in that did come from certified organic animals. (If I could get away with it, I wouldn't use any manure, except from earthworms.)

I also sprang for a 44lb bag of micronized azomite, some mycorrhiza and some biozome. These are all suggested by John Kohler. I know it's not suggested by Mel (at this point) but from everything I've seen/heard about the azomite/mycorrhiza, I think I'm doing the right thing. The biozome is RNA based microbes (as opposed to DNA based), and is supposedly the oldest organisms out there. They will neutralize toxic anything, and will help break down the nutrients for the plants. Since I'm building the soil, I figured I might as well give it as much of a variety of microbes as possible.

Soooooo, do you think I'm doing all right?

Can someone please comment on the "Happy Frog Soil Conditioner" counting as one compost ingredient? I would think it's OK because it's mostly forest humus (with a couple of added ingredients) but I want opinions. THANKS!

I would count it as one. Just check out how much peat it has in it and adjust your amount you put in accordingly.

chjbr63 wrote:I would count it as one. Just check out how much peat it has in it and adjust your amount you put in accordingly.

It doesn't have any peat in it. It's forest humus, not peat. Which is why I thought it would be OK. Just want to be sure though.