The only things I see him mention are...
That the peat has no nutrients, which is true for our purposes...but in the long run is inaccurate. Eventually the peat decomposes and turns into organic matter, which is a component of soil, and releases the nutrients it holds. That point is way past when we use it for potting up plants, because it becomes too dense for our needs. Once it has decomposed that much, it needs to be mixed with soil to provide enough aggregate to aerate the soil. That's why many of us till our used potting soil into outdoor gardens.
The other point he mentions is the lime, saying it is needed for the peat, but not for soil...which is wrong. Any composting organic material, whether it be peat, leaves, or wood chips, raises acidity in the process...which lime is used to counter act. For farming, gardening, and lawn care, lime is a common amendment for when the soil becomes too acidic.
And remember, he is talking aboot non-cannabis plants. For cannabis, we benefit greatly from having a loose medium...growth is much more vigorous because the roots can easily penetrate it. Use some heavy compact soil and see how fast your cannabis grows.
Potash....a very good source of K. Another amendment commonly used on farms and in gardens. A good source of which are the ashes from your fire pit, provided you have one.
You don't need to go with Ionics specifically, any good nute package will work. I had good results with Botanicare products as well.
If you would like to continue working towards an organic soil, I recently posted this in a "Just add water" thread elsewhere...
Years ago I did a couple 'organic vs synthetic' trials. It was the first time I ever did an organic soil. There were countless 'recipes' to be found...which one to use?
So I did some academic research on organic soils and amendments. Then, armed with that info, I took another look at the recipes, compared and contrasted them, and formulated my own based on all the information I had looked at. I looked at the entire process as having three components, which together would have to provide everything the plant would need, organically.
The soil base:
3 parts Pro-Mix BX w/ mycorrhizae (for structure, and microbes)
2 parts Pro-Mix for Hanging Plants w/mycorrhizae (for structure, water retention, and microbes)
2 parts Used soil (for structure, and microbes)
1 part Worm castings (for moisture retention, micro-nutes, and microbes)
The soil amendments:
(per 16 gallons of soil base)
- 1 cup Bone Meal (for P)
- 1 cup Blood Meal (for N)
- 1 cup Kelp Meal (for K, and micro-nutes)
- 1 cup Granulated Lime (for time release ph control)
- 1 cup Alfalfa pellets (dissolved in water) (for N)
- 1/4 cup Epsom Salts (for magnesium, and sulfur)
- 10 ounces Pyroclay (for silica, and micro-nutes) <--used in trial #2, but not in #1
Additional amendment options:
- Dry-Bar Bat Guano (mostly for additional P, but has higher N content as well)
- Liquid Seaweed (for additional K, and micro-nutes)
- Fish Emulsion (for additional N)
- Molasses (to feed the soil microbes)
I mixed up the soil base and soil amendments, and let it 'cook' for a month...to let the microbe colony establish and begin breaking down the nutrients for the plants. The guano was scratched in when the plants were put to flower. The liquid seaweed and fish emulsion were kept on hand in case a need arose...I don't think I ever needed them during the trails. And I think I used the molasses just once, half way through flowering.
I'm not purporting this to be the 'miracle' soil...I'm just providing the information for you to compare with all that you have gotten already.
Everything listed I've seen at Walmart, except for the guano and pyroclay, which were attained at a grow shop.