Living organic soil from start through recycling

[Heliopolis]

Wow - so I'm 50 pages back and have to catch up this week, but wanted to share this email I got this week from the Cornell University online extension

That sounds fun and informative. Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful color and structure on your plant, Helio!

Very nice!

Thank you. So far, it seems to be doing quite well. I'm trying my best not to screw up my first attempt. I would like to experiment with something more sativa-leaning.

This has me thinking about strains... My situation is not one where I can access any sort of local supply. I hear there is a lot of shady stuff and lack of quality in many seed banks, and to be frank, I try not to depend on the many recommendations I see from people who are apparently incapable of showing any sort of coherent thought beyond "THS SH!T GTZ ME BLAAZEdD BRO!!11".

Would you folks have any suggestions?

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Would you folks have any suggestions?

Keep doing what you're doing?

 

[Heliopolis]

Keep doing what you're doing?

LOL. I suppose I could manage that.

 

[BlueJayWay]

Living in 'Bizzaro' world these days eh....on line..off line..."holy mutations Superman"

Who remembers this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpaazJvCZBE

....a strange square planet... HAHAHA!

 

[JoeDudeGuy]

Keep doing what you're doing?

Did the message get lost that when you "get the soil right" it becomes very very easy - almost to the point of BORING

 

[Heliopolis]

Did the message get lost that when you "get the soil right" it becomes very very easy - almost to the point of BORING

I was speaking specifically about the topic of sourcing different strains of the plant when you have very few available options.

But, since you mention soil... (I'm always full of questions, lol.) When it comes to rock dusts, are we looking for a particular particle size? I only ask because I've noticed that they can be purchased at different levels of refinement.

 

[Durdy]

What's everyones take on composting orange rinds?

A friend of mine mentioned, too many can cause a negative environment for the microbes and what not.

Most of the reading I've come up on about it says not worry unless you are really going through quite a few oranges.

Well My situation involves quite a few oranges! I have three trees in my yard that produce well, and I also take home the rinds from the fresh squeezed we make at work. I'm adding a lot to my bins.

They seem to be decomposing fairly fast. My trees are ripening now though so my influx of rinds has greatly increased, should I be worried? Is there alternative uses for orange rinds?

 

[rrog]

Interesting question about the screen size on the rock powders. Obviously more surface area, but aeration suffers. I cut back on DE, for example. Can make a mud.

I've also wondered about the potential for biochar to crush over time and make mud. Not sure on that.

 

[Durdy]

For anyone living in California, it's olive harvest season! Many smaller olive farms generally haul their olive oil pomace off to a landfill. If you happen to be near one of these operations look into procuring their waste as it's supposed to make a fantastic addition to compost piles.

Some benefits.....

* Operators create an optimal mixture of olive mill pomace and structural raw material (generally other by-products such as olive leaves, olive branch clippings and soil remains, straw and manure).

* Many benefits of the regular application of olive pomace compost are directly related to the soil enrichment through its high organic matter content (30-50% dry weight).

* Benefits include increases in soil cation exchange capacity, soil water-hold- ing capacity and stability of soil aggregates, reducing the potential for soil loss by erosion.

* In addition to being a nutrient source (especially potassium), the high carbon content of the olive mill pomace compost provides energy and the “skeleton” for the proper development of soil microorganisms.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

When it comes to rock dusts, are we looking for a particular particle size? I only ask because I've noticed that they can be purchased at different levels of refinement

Helio

Almost universally, rock dusts, oyster shell powders and shell meals and almost every mined mineral compound (Limestone, et al) are screened at 200 mesh.

That is about the size of a grain of sand - or close.

HTH

CC

 

[Heliopolis]

That does help! I'm considering going in on the offer from Rock Dust Local for 30 lbs. basalt microfines for $35 shipped.

 

[Heliopolis]

I read that you add rock dusts and various meals to your compost. Do you still add those amendments to your soil mixes even after having added them to your compost?

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I do but take that for what it's worth. I'm also only paying $.38 per lb. for Basalt and $.18 per lb. for Canadian rock dust so I'm pretty liberal with it.

Here's why you add rock dusts to your compost pile.

CC

 

[shmalphy]

Is this the line your referencing, CC?

"Since a transition to a green manure- and compost-managed farm may take several years before sustained yields can be expected solely through adequate humus and microbial activity, organic farmers are advised to amend their soils with limestone and rock minerals in the transition phase, as necessary."

 

[ClackamasCootz]

shmalphy

More this section:

The following helpful instructions on the use of rock dusts in composts were published in the Spring 1993 issue of Remineralize the Earth, in an article by George Leidig titled "Rock Dust and Microbial Action in Soil: The Symbiotic Relationship Between Composting and Mineral Additives":

• Finely ground rock dust should be added at a rate of 10-20 lbs per cubic yard of raw material
  
• The particle size should be less than 20 microns in diameter, or pass through a #300-mesh screen or finer.
  
• The fineness of the material is important, since you want to assure that the minerals are readily available to the microbes during the composting process
  
• Magnesium levels should be under 5%, since high Magnesium levels rob Nitrogen from the compost and soil
  
• Calcium levels between 5-10% are preferred — Calcium is a macro-nutrient essential for microbial life and plant growth
  
• The rock dust analysis should display a well-balanced array of micro-nutrients, which, as in the soil, stimulates microbial action. This is even more important in composting, since the microbes are totally limited to the materials present in the pile for their nutrition
  
• Granite dust is not recommended for compost because of its quartz content. The larger size and slickness of the quartz particles resist breakdown and inhibit the attachment of organic particles necessary for proper humus crumb formation
  
• Rock dusts of volcanic origin are preferred, such as Diabase or Basalt, because of their high Silica value.
  
• Silica is an often forgotten element necessary for proper cell structure in plants and animals. Recent studies have shown Silica plays a vital role in Calcium and Phosphorus assimilation

 

[Heliopolis]

I do but take that for what it's worth. I'm also only paying $.38 per lb. for Basalt and $.18 per lb. for Canadian rock dust so I'm pretty liberal with it.

Here's why you add rock dusts to your compost pile.

CC

Ahhh, excellent. I wish I had a local source for rock dusts. I have a source for most everything else.

Intriguing article; I am enjoying it.

 

[MrSterling]

God I fucking love grow reports here sometimes. "The yield wasn't very good and I vegged forever" . And then a paragraph down "I heavily defoliate and then lolipop halfway up when I flip to flower". Fucking geniuses.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I wish I had a local source for rock dusts. I have a source for most everything else.

See if these sources make any sense for you - from Remineralize the Earth's web site

 

[ClackamasCootz]

God I fucking love grow reports here sometimes. "The yield wasn't very good and I vegged forever" . And then a paragraph down "I heavily defoliate and then lolipop halfway up when I flip to flower". Fucking geniuses

Maybe their lumens | ppm ratio numbers were off?

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Interesting info on the rock dusts. Must remember to ask for volcanic stuff.

rrog: So long as the majority of your char is made from hardwood then it wont crush up just from the weight of soil. Its certainly tougher than perlite. Also if you are worried about your soil turning to mud, biochar would be one of the best things to use. Certainly if you only crush it up to say pea size.

Personally i crush it up quite fine so it goes further. But there are always random pieces floating around. I live in an area of high winter rainfall, classed as temperate rainforest and my soils never turn to mud.