The Clackamas Coot Mix

Here is the recipe for my personal potting soil mix and this will make 1 cubic foot (which is just a little over 7 gallons).

You'll need a 5-gallon bucket, like the ones you can get at Home Depot. We’ll use this to measure out our base ingredients, which isn’t a long list. This was created for new gardeners so there’s nothing o worry about - it’s easy! 

1. Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss (CSPM). Think of this as the frame on your car. This material is standard in the nursery industry and we can get this at Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Lowe’s and other stores. This material is compressed, so we’ll want to break it apart so that it’s loose and you can move your fingers through it easily. We want 1/2 bucket which is about 2.5 gallons.
2. Vermicompost. A good alternative is 80% compost and 20% worm castings. If CSPM is the frame for this project, the vermicompost is the entire drive-train. I cannot stress enough the importance of sourcing the finest vermicompost that you can find in your area. Measure out 1/2 bucket and add to the CSPM. I’m going to switch gears a bit and we’ll add the amendments to this combination and it’s only 6 items so nothing to worry about. 
3. 2 cups of malted grains from a home-brew store. Have them grind it for you at the store. Try to get it ground to as close to whole-heat flour as possible.
4. 1 cup limestone (I.e. Calcium Carbonate - CaCO3). You do not want to use Dolomite Lime which will have 10% or so of Magnesium. We want to use limestone only.
5. 2 cups of granite rock dust. Almost every retail and even commercial potting soil lacks this all-important item. Soil at it’s basic level is rotted plant and animal material and shattered rock. For the microbialhealth in the soil as well as other reasons we want to add either basalt rock dust(West Coast) or granite on the East Coast. Please avoid Azomite, Bentonite,Zeolite because all are alumina-silicate compounds and the last thing that wewant in our soil is aluminum especially at the levels found in these colloidalminerals. 
6. 1 cup Gypsum (Calcium and Sulfur)
   
7. 1 cup Crustacean Meal (Crab and/or Shrimp Meal) (Calcium, Nitrogen and Chitin along with other benefits)
8. 1 cup kelp meal (North Atlantic) to our developing soil mix. No other plant has the array of nutrients, compounds and such as kelp meal.
9. 3/4 cup of Karanja Meal
10. 3/4 cup Neem Meal
11. Now, water this mix and let it soak for a few hours to make sure that we have good hydration in all of the material. 
12. 1/2 bucket of perlite or rice hulls for aeration. Use a pitch fork or hoe and thoroughly mix everything together. So, you will see your potting soil coming together. 

You’ll notice that the soil has a very rich smell like the floor in a forest - humus! 

This exact recipe has been used by hundreds and hundreds around the USA and it grows in popularity every year as friends tell friends about what it did for their gardens. 

"This mix is perfect for starting seeds or for planting seedlings or transplants that you buy at shows." -Clackamas Coot

Earthworm castings are easy to use. This makes an excellent potting mix or mix to plant in the ground: 25% earthworm castings mixed with 75% soil is a common mix.
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PuttingWorm Castings To Use

Potting mixes/seed flats—Mix 1 part worm castings to 3 parts potting mix. 

Flower beds, shrubs, roses, vegetables—Top dress with 1 to 3 inches of worm castings and

incorporate into the soil with a fork or spade. 

House Plants—Spread 1 /2 to 1 inch of castings around established plants and scratch into the soil, every 2-3 months. 

New Lawns—Apply 10 pounds to 100 square feet. Work lightly into the topsoil. 

Established Lawns and Greens—Top dress at 4 pounds to 100 square feet. 

Perennials—Top dress 1 to 3 inches in spring, early summer, and fall. 

All plants and vegetables—Apply every 30 days. 

New plants in pots—Mix 10% worm castings with any potting soil, then add %" layer on top before planting. 

Plants already in pots—Scratch the top of the soil. Add ½ inch layer of worm castings on top and water thoroughly. 

Worm Tea—Soak 1 part worm castings in 3 parts of water for 24 hours or more - mixing several times. Use immediately.

Apply one - 8 ounce cup of tea per plant every 30 days or add 4 ounces of tea to 1 gallon of water for use as a foliar spray. Apply every 30-60 days.

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