Living organic soil from start through recycling

[BlueJayWay]

3 months? I think I'm sitting on around seven months growing season.

I've had snow in June with daytime highs in the 30's if that tells ya anything :/ ....

 

[b_all_in]

BJW

BJW

Thank you, that helps. I have many high mountain streams in my area, as I live at 7500 ft. Would it be advisable to not purchase glacial rock dust or minerals like that, and use what i can find up here? The nearest place to locate those kind of amendments is 4 hours away or ridiculous shipping costs. Maybe I can just purchase less now. Thanks for fielding my questions. The knowledge on this thread is phenomenal.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

finally found a BlueO x Cherrybomb female! ten more seeds up and outta the soil too!

View Image

schwagg

I'm not familiar with the Cherry Bomb so I may be talking gibberish but that plant sure looks like the F1 plants from the original breeding that produced the TO, BO, CC, NC, et al.

Beautiful structure and color......

CC

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Came across this in a gardening magazine - thought of everybody here

View attachment 187986

Pretty telling......

The other thing to remember on dry fertilizer mixes is that the list of ingredients are not in the order of % like you find with food products at the grocery store. Or even pet foods - sort of.

You'll notice that things like bat or bird guano are always listed first and by the time you get to the end of the listing are the items that aren't well known to the general public like Sulfate of Potash Magnesia, Langbeinite (same thing), Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salts), etc.

Pretty much a joke really......

CC

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I was out collecting pumice today and found myself wondering what the difference is between the types that I found. Mostly light red to tan/white. I intend to use this in place of perilite. I then found this grey stuff that was extremely brittle and crumbled in my hands. Is this something that I can use to mineralize my soil? I live in an extremely geothermal/volcanic area that has tons of granite, pumice and obsidian. I have read a few posts about harvesting rock dusts from creek beds and there are many here that I would like to explore. Can anyone tell me what it is that I am looking for? Is it just the dirt in a creek bed? Nothing is ever that easy.

b_all_in

Take a large glass or Mason jar and fill it about 2/3 with water. Take 1/4 cup of the pumice and drop it into the water. Run each pumice test separately. Particularly the one that crumbles in your hand.

Let me know what you see and perhaps I can give you a better answer.

Perhaps......

CC

 

[BlueJayWay]

B_all_in - I couldn't tell you to for sure use what you collect in lieu of a commercial product, I started picking up some rock dusts/sediments and will be using it in conjunction with glacial rock dust and also may do my own tests when reamending with either /or and also reduced amounts of both together, at that point I can determine how effective my local minerals are.



So I was at the big box hardware store and see a fresh new pallet of compost labeled Ecoscraps, the parent company is Agromin, a search will give you their website, although ecoscraps is only shown on their site not agromins site . They collect fruit n veggie scraps & expired produce from restaurants and groceries stores and then of course turn it into compost. Great concept and it truly does have the look smell and texture of "black gold" so for $6 a cuF I had to try it out. They label it as having at least 25 different fruits n veggies and no poop lol. I just don't get how they can label it Organic when most likely the majority of the veggie scraps are not organic grown?

Made some tea the other night so we'll see how the plants respond. Interesting to see they also make a soil amendment derived from montmorillonite clay.... Hhhmmmmmm

 

[swisscheese]

B_all_in - I couldn't tell you to for sure use what you collect in lieu of a commercial product, I started picking up some rock dusts/sediments and will be using it in conjunction with glacial rock dust and also may do my own tests when reamending with either /or and also reduced amounts of both together, at that point I can determine how effective my local minerals are.





So I was at the big box hardware store and see a fresh new pallet of compost labeled Ecoscraps, the parent company is Agromin, a search will give you their website, although ecoscraps is only shown on their site not agromins site . They collect fruit n veggie scraps & expired produce from restaurants and groceries stores and then of course turn it into compost. Great concept and it truly does have the look smell and texture of "black gold" so for $6 a cuF I had to try it out. They label it as having at least 25 different fruits n veggies and no poop lol. I just don't get how they can label it Organic when most likely the majority of the veggie scraps are not organic grown?

Made some tea the other night so we'll see how the plants respond. Interesting to see they also make a soil amendment derived from montmorillonite clay.... Hhhmmmmmm

The ecoscraps aren't readily available except in colorado it seems, I couldn't find one within 500 miles of Detroit. Their products look nice and I would love to try the compost for an organic dirt grow and maybe a soilless mix.

 

[BlueJayWay]

Yea looks like mostly California and Colorado, parent company is out of beautiful Oxnard, ca lol

 

[ClackamasCootz]

B_all_in - I couldn't tell you to for sure use what you collect in lieu of a commercial product, I started picking up some rock dusts/sediments and will be using it in conjunction with glacial rock dust and also may do my own tests when reamending with either /or and also reduced amounts of both together, at that point I can determine how effective my local minerals are.



So I was at the big box hardware store and see a fresh new pallet of compost labeled Ecoscraps, the parent company is Agromin, a search will give you their website, although ecoscraps is only shown on their site not agromins site . They collect fruit n veggie scraps & expired produce from restaurants and groceries stores and then of course turn it into compost. Great concept and it truly does have the look smell and texture of "black gold" so for $6 a cuF I had to try it out. They label it as having at least 25 different fruits n veggies and no poop lol. I just don't get how they can label it Organic when most likely the majority of the veggie scraps are not organic grown?

Made some tea the other night so we'll see how the plants respond. Interesting to see they also make a soil amendment derived from montmorillonite clay.... Hhhmmmmmm

BJW

Under the 'rules of engagement' a compost does not have to be made from organic materials to be certified organic. What is required is that the compost hits a specific temperature.

RE: montmorillonite clay

Bentonite and the other clay volcanic materials are "montmorillonite clay"

A bit of advertising hyperbole perhaps? LOL

CC

 

[BlueJayWay]

I knew you'd be able to clarify that! Interesting, temperature huh, makes sense, kinda...

 

[ClackamasCootz]

BJW

I did not mean to imply that 'heat' takes care of the synthetic fungicide, pesticides, herbicides, etc. at all. These compounds will breakdown (deconstruct) in the actual compost process. The big issue is the use of biosludge - THAT is what you want to ask about.

Therein lies the real problem.

CC

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of Plants
Chapter 24 - Natural Products (Secondary Metabolites)

65 page PDF that should answer many questions for you

Plants produce a vast and diverse assortment of organic compounds, the great majority of which do not appear to participate directly in growth and development. These substances, traditionally referred to as secondary metabolites, often are differentially distributed among limited taxonomic groups within the plant kingdom. Their functions, many of which remain unknown, are being elucidated with increasing frequency. The primary metabolites, in contrast, such as phyto- sterols, acyl lipids, nucleotides, amino acids, and organic acids, are found in all plants and perform metabolic roles that are essential and usually evident.

Although noted for the complexity of their chemical structures and biosynthetic pathways, natural products have been widely perceived as biologically insignificant and have historically received little attention from most plant biologists. Organic chemists, however, have long been interested in these novel phytochemicals and have investigated their chemical properties extensively since the 1850s. Studies of natural products stimulated development of the separation techniques, spectroscopic approaches to structure elucidation, and synthetic methodologies that now constitute the foundation of contemporary organic chemistry. Interest in natural products was not purely academic but rather was prompted by their great utility as dyes, polymers, fibers, glues, oils, waxes, flavoring agents, perfumes, and drugs.

Recognition of the biological properties of myriad natural products has fueled the current focus of this field, namely, the search for new drugs, antibiotics, insecticides, and herbicides. Importantly, this growing appreciation of the highly diverse biological effects produced by natural products has prompted a reevaluation of the possible roles these compounds play in plants, especially in the context of ecological interactions.

As illustrated in this chapter, many of these compounds now have been shown to have important adaptive significance in protection against herbivory and microbial infection, as attractants for pollinators and seed-dispersing animals, and as allelopathic agents (allelochemicals that influence competition among plant species). These ecological functions affect plant survival profoundly, and we think it reasonable to adopt the less pejorative term “plant natural products” to describe secondary plant metabolites that act primarily on other species.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Role of Enzymes in Maintaining Soil Health

Abstract

Soil enzymes are constantly playing vital roles for the maintenance of soil ecology and soil health. These enzymatic activities in the soil are mainly of microbial origin, being derived from intracellular, cell-associated or free enzymes. Therefore, microorganisms are acting as the indicators of soil health, as they have active effects on nutritional cycling, also affecting the physical and chemical properties of soil. Microorganisms respond quickly even to minute changes by changing their population and activities, and thus, can be used for soil health assessment.

On the other hand, soil enzymes are the direct mediators for biological catabolism of soil organic and mineral components and they are often closely related to soil organic matters, soil physical properties, and microbial activities or biomass.

They are the better indicators of soil health as changes of enzymes are much sooner than other parameters, thus providing early indications of changes in soil health. In addition, their activities can be used as the measures of microbial activity, soil productivity, and inhibiting effects of pollutants. The potential enzymes playing major roles in maintaining soil health are – Amylase, Arylsulphatase, Β-Glucosidase, Cellulase, Chitinase, Dehydrogenase, Phosphatase, Protease, And Urease.

Deterioration of soil, and thereby soil health, is of concern for human, animal, and plant health because air, groundwater, and surface water consumed by humans can be adversely affected by mismanaged and contaminated soil.

 

[BlueJayWay]

Biosludge yummmmm -

- excellent link there CC, added to reading list!

 

[Gascanastan]

schwagg

I'm not familiar with the Cherry Bomb so I may be talking gibberish but that plant sure looks like the F1 plants from the original breeding that produced the TO, BO, CC, NC, et al.

Beautiful structure and color......

CC

MR G's Cherry Bomb is a fine example of line breeding. An IBL Maui Wowie from 1979 seed. Half highland Mexican and half Afghani from BOEL exploits in both regions bred on the Hawaiian islands by someone hip enough to do it.
Oddly enough I'm the only one who hasn't popped any BO x CB.....Got BO x NLH and TO x Burmese/Cherry Bomb going....should get some pix up soon. These things are fast in veg.

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

MR G's Cherry Bomb is a fine example of line breeding. An IBL Maui Wowie from 1979 seed. Half highland Mexican and half Afghani from BOEL exploits in both regions bred on the Hawaiian islands by someone hip enough to do it.
Oddly enough I'm the only one who hasn't popped any BO x CB.....Got BO x NLH and TO x Burmese/Cherry Bomb going....should get some pix up soon. These things are fast in veg.

Man - those old school genetics are just so hard to compete with in terms of consistency and stability, not to mention nostalgia!!

Anyone ever heard of The Piff? It's an east coast haze strain that was prevalent around Harlem in the early 90s - what I've read traces it to the Haze bros (and therefore a west coast origin), but I haven't seen a legit cultivar in over a decade

EDIT: a little further research suggests that the cultivar is actually Dominican in origin, but as with most illegal things in NYC, this could be an intentional deception.

http://forum.opiophile.org/showthread.php?31704-NYC-Uptown-quot-Piff-quot-Haze-vs-California-Haze&

 

[Gascanastan]

Blue Orca x NL5/Haze

Lots of fat leaves in this cross....

 

[BlueJayWay]

Good lookin bunch there, I like the looks of that middle one, maybe it's the same plant as the last picture, with its head cut off?

Speaking of nostalgia, I remember growing up we had the simple choice of Red Hair or Skunk, besides mexi brick of course. And then came CHRONIC and it was over! LOL

Sometimes the brick weed produced near hallucinogenic experiences, hit and miss! Dealer stash mixed up in the wrong bag!

 

[shmalphy]

Sometimes the brick weed produced near hallucinogenic experiences, hit and miss! Dealer stash mixed up in the wrong bag!

Or PCP lol

I can't believe biosludge is being sold in stores as compost... That is beyond gross.

Great info on secondary metabolites and enzymes, thank you very much CC.

 

[BlueJayWay]

Shmalphy - probably right! That made me remember conversations we'd have "WTF did they lace that shit with?!?" Thanks for the reminder lol