Regulator Dave
Member
Are you wasting time and money on applying amendments to your soil that the plants do not actually need? Are you sure that your amendment combinations result in maximum plant growth? Would you like to build a rich soil that requires little or no soil inputs through the growing season? Would you like to be able to grow in native soil? I am considering developing an amendment calculator to assist outdoor growers in determining what amendments and how much of the amendment they should apply to their soil.
The calculator would give specific recommendations for their soil. The way that it would work is that growers would take a representative number of soil samples determined by total soil volume and area. The samples or composite of samples would then be (anonymously) sent to a cooperating soils lab and analyzed for appropriate parameters i.e macro/micro nutrients, soil texture, pH, base saturation, cation exchange capacity, micro/macro soil organisms and more (or a person if equipped could analyze their own soil). The parameters would vary depending on how much the grower wanted to spend on the tests.
The grower would then plug the lab results, site specific parameters and their locally available brand specific amendments and/or available materials (manure, sand, worms etc.) into the calculator. The calculator would then tell the grower how much of each of the amendment should be applied to their soil for optimum plant growth. Amendment recommendations would be given as a range and those ranges would get smaller as more research is conducted. I'l also likely include cost options where growers can choose between bare minimum, middle of the road or premium recommendations.
The information that I would use to determine amendment application rates would be based on the best available science and information, the calculator would be updated when new data is available.
I am also very interested in dialing in application rates with my own research. I would design experiments where one variable is manipulated at a time, including controls and replicating the study multiple times per run. Currently I develop calculators and amendment science for food crop industrial agriculture. I am academically trained in agriculture research with a specialty in soil science and organic amendments. I develop models that show nutrient release over time from organic materials on a large scale. Also, I have adequate experience both indoor and out with small and large pot grows. I chose my career path out of a love for Cannabis with a plan to return to the industry someday and really sit down and dial in precise nutrient and amendment requirements for maximum yield and quality. I want to do the kinds of studies that other ag. industries started doing over a hundred years ago. I had to actually learn how to do that first. I will be free in one year to start work.
Its not that I am arrogant/naive and think people don't know how to grow pot, its that processes can invariably always become more efficient saving money while reducing unnecessary resource consumption and their associated environmental costs.
Are you interested?
What would you like to see in a soil amendment calculator?
Questions-comments?
The calculator would give specific recommendations for their soil. The way that it would work is that growers would take a representative number of soil samples determined by total soil volume and area. The samples or composite of samples would then be (anonymously) sent to a cooperating soils lab and analyzed for appropriate parameters i.e macro/micro nutrients, soil texture, pH, base saturation, cation exchange capacity, micro/macro soil organisms and more (or a person if equipped could analyze their own soil). The parameters would vary depending on how much the grower wanted to spend on the tests.
The grower would then plug the lab results, site specific parameters and their locally available brand specific amendments and/or available materials (manure, sand, worms etc.) into the calculator. The calculator would then tell the grower how much of each of the amendment should be applied to their soil for optimum plant growth. Amendment recommendations would be given as a range and those ranges would get smaller as more research is conducted. I'l also likely include cost options where growers can choose between bare minimum, middle of the road or premium recommendations.
The information that I would use to determine amendment application rates would be based on the best available science and information, the calculator would be updated when new data is available.
I am also very interested in dialing in application rates with my own research. I would design experiments where one variable is manipulated at a time, including controls and replicating the study multiple times per run. Currently I develop calculators and amendment science for food crop industrial agriculture. I am academically trained in agriculture research with a specialty in soil science and organic amendments. I develop models that show nutrient release over time from organic materials on a large scale. Also, I have adequate experience both indoor and out with small and large pot grows. I chose my career path out of a love for Cannabis with a plan to return to the industry someday and really sit down and dial in precise nutrient and amendment requirements for maximum yield and quality. I want to do the kinds of studies that other ag. industries started doing over a hundred years ago. I had to actually learn how to do that first. I will be free in one year to start work.
Its not that I am arrogant/naive and think people don't know how to grow pot, its that processes can invariably always become more efficient saving money while reducing unnecessary resource consumption and their associated environmental costs.
Are you interested?
What would you like to see in a soil amendment calculator?
Questions-comments?
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