the trick is making the conversion for volume from the lbs/acre info
all that info is in the ideal soil book
I understand the conversion to volume. The queation was what to amend with if im looking at maintaining a close toperfect ratio. Im aware it wont ever be spot on. So my question remains "what do I ammend with?"
Say im low in borron copper and magnesium do I just find an amendment that is rich in all of these or do I ammend each one Individually. Juat looking for a straregy to picking amendments to get the ratio right is really what im after.
Ahh that give me a handle on what I will need to do. Basically throw together thought out ideal mix» test» reamend based on weight of needed material using organic based amendments high in x » shove rabbits foot up ass »test again? Sound about right? Haha I know the ratios will probally never come out exact id just be happy to get close to good enough.With out throwing everything else out of wack that is. I guess for the home gardener its a bit of an art/work/time to getting it correct.
Am I over thinking it?
I bought my refractometer for $30 on ebay. It works just fine. Its not a particularly advanced tool... So you don't have to spend a bunch of money on one. Better to spend some money on a good tensiometer imo.
Put some worms in your no till beds to mix the soil up... They are part of the soil food web dontcha know.
Gonna have to give all sorts of good rep here! Haha good call on the tensiometer tbis is exactly the tool I was looking for to take good control of a blumat system. Inferesting you can do a similar drip setup with an automated tensiometer. Maybe for later
Could you recomend a good one. I saw one on amazon for 85 but I need to buy a calibration kit?
Also could you share some of your experiences with it? What sort of levels do you find work best? I read these have to be serviced bi weekly. Im fine with this wondering your thoughts.
Thanks In Advance as a newb im still not quite sure what the diffrence between good and perfect soil moisture levels and this should help me get a grasp on it. Im assuming finding the best most consistent moisture levels will translate to higher brix.
Adding 1 cup of 6-5-3 to 2.0 CF of soil (25% happy frog 75% peat perlite mix) 6-5-3 = 6 parts Calcium Carbonate 90% pure or better CaCo3(Limestone not Dolomite Lime) 5 parts Soft Rock Phosphate and 3 parts gypsum
3 quarts EWC
1/2 cupAzomite
1/2 cup Bone Meal
Mycos
mix it pour microbial tea over soil mix and let it cook 1 month in warm place, making sure it does not dry out during the cook period. like I said I didnt create this this was formulated for me for high brix by ag lab
No math needed it is already done here 6-5-3 is the core for mineralization , no meters needed. its still the same organics just taken to another level, except this is calculated by ag lab and eliminates the nutty professor syndrome.This is not to say that other soils won't pass the test...only that this was the first soil that I had tested that made it.
FFOF-fail
SubCool Super Soil-fail
ProMix HP-passed, borderline high on Potassium.
FF Happy Frog partially passed had to amend with peat
I started off gardening with salt based ferts and had great results, then tried organics and fell in love with the taste and smells of organics, then high brix comes along and takes my organics to a much higher complex level of taste, smell and medication.
Gonna have to give all sorts of good rep here! Haha good call on the tensiometer tbis is exactly the tool I was looking for to take good control of a blumat system. Inferesting you can do a similar drip setup with an automated tensiometer. Maybe for later
Could you recomend a good one. I saw one on amazon for 85 but I need to buy a calibration kit?
Also could you share some of your experiences with it? What sort of levels do you find work best? I read these have to be serviced bi weekly. Im fine with this wondering your thoughts.
Thanks In Advance as a newb im still not quite sure what the diffrence between good and perfect soil moisture levels and this should help me get a grasp on it. Im assuming finding the best most consistent moisture levels will translate to higher brix.
I would assume that this was for me? What brand did you order, and how long have you been using it?
IME, sub-irrigated planters (SIP's) allow for fine irrigation control, without the need for a new meter and calibration kits. The plant hydrates itself as it needs it. I'm not knocking the tensiometer (never heard of them before now), or how it may benefit an automated watering system. Just seems easier to top of a reservoir by hand when it needs it...
Look for a 0-30 sugar refractometer on ebay. I forget the vendor, but they claimed to have the most accurate model available, and it was only $30. Its the same refractometer used for beer and wine. I've been using mine for 5-6 months now. Its just a prism that bends light.
My tensiometer is a blumat digital from sustainablevillage.com, and it cost $50. Sustainablevillage recommends 150-180mbar moisture level for cannabis... Funny how they know who their customers are. . I find that moisture level to be good. Soil moisture most definitely affects brix.
Sub irrigation works... Roots adapt to that method and I'm sure you're plants do just fine... However with passive bottom fed irrigation, the plants have to spend more energy sending their roots to the bottom where the water is, and that water has to travel up the plant via osmosis. Idk how you run your garden. Mine is top fed with drains in the bottom. I don't irrigate to the point of runoff, b/c that would cause me to overwater my beds, and then my worms might crawl out in addition to drowning my plants. I irrigate when the plants need it, and no sooner.
A tensiometer is invaluable when it comes to dialing in blumats. I've had tons of problems guessing how much moisture my plants need. Now that I use a tensiometer, I have almost 0 problems. Being a commercial cropper I need consistent results.
Water effectively. Soil organisms require an environment that is damp (like a wrung out sponge) but not soggy, between 50–90°F. Soil organism activity may be reduced due to dry soil conditions that are common in the fall and winter. Avoid over-irrigation because water-logged soils will be harmful to beneficial soil organisms.