Living organic soil from start through recycling

[Gascanastan]

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

Nice summary think fast.

All,
I've use quite a few native weeds to make Teas with and it seems with all of them there are nearly instant positive results. Wondering if there might be a listing of what NOT to use as it seems it would be a much shorter list.

Also, considering that silica is the most abundant element on the planet and it is what makes quite a few toxic plants toxic (vetches and nettles comes to mind), could those plants be used in leu of the silica products or is the silica locked up inside the plant tissues, unavailable until it's been broken down?

It can't hurt,but I wouldn't expect results like potassium silicate. I have used horsetail as a dried amendment and in teas..the idea at the time was to get the silica rich materiel in the soil and cycling through the web.

The horsetail broke down in one complete cycle,and also would be a great material to add to compost.

 

[MJPassion]

Thank you Gascanastan...
That's a pretty clever handle by the by.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

"a work in progress"

 

[BlueJayWay]

It's a NO_TILL New Year!

Everything in here is a no-till container of some sort. The middle with the freaky Peyote Purple ladies is a #45 smartpot with 18 month old soil finishing it's 1st run in the #45 and will be immediately replanted @ time of harvest, and continually heavily mulched - assuming I have mulch!

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Pretty slick garden there!

 

[DuckDuckGoose]

sweet plants blue jay way! they look amazing. what kind of mulch do you have in that #45 smart pot and when is harvest?

 

[think_fast]

After you emulsify the oil and it's ready to mix with the water, it's important that you do not use cold water as this will cause the oil to clump together.
CC

Thanks CC!

I think I understand why all my shoes have velcro. lol.

Now I'll need to educate myself more on the role of saponins.

Back into the worm hole!

 

[BlueJayWay]

Hey DDG - thanks man. Picture is a day before harvest - ~60 days

Mulch is a variety of whatever's available from indoors - Cannabis leaves and stems, leaves/stems from barley, wheat, nasturtium, nettle, clover, leftover material from teas etc etc, vast majority of mulch throughout is cannabis leftovers. I like mulch, the plants and soil seem to benefit from it, watering seems to be easier & use much less, all the good stuff you'd expect from a mulch - but you probably wouldn't notice a difference on thelook of other plants in the garden that aren't mulched. No-till and mulch certainly go hand in hand, I try to do it as much as possible.

I like mulching with straight comfrey too, when i have it. I'd like to grow yarrow also for this.

 

[DuckDuckGoose]

BJW
very nice indeed. trimming that will be a great way to start the new year. let us know how she smokes when it's ready!
i think i will do the same as you. i'm gonna take all the stalks and stems and cut them down from my next harvest and use them as my mulch. seems like a good thing to do with that material. better than tossing it on my compost pile which is under 2 feet of snow right now. if you were to do a top dress of worm castings or compost would you stack it on the current mulch and add more on top, or would you move the mulch and put down a top dress and then place the mulch back on top?
thanks man. awesome stuff!
DDG

 

[think_fast]

to emulsify u just need neem ,bare minimum), drizzle slowly as blender of some kind runs ....

Thanks cyat. This does sound kinda labour intensive though. Even ensuring the solution is at 75 degrees will take some mechanical meddling. But this all leads me to think that the 'paste' I created did absolutely nothing for the plants, meaning they have yet to truly taste the delicious treat that fits their palate. I can see why threads on neem foliars are full of mixed opinions/results.

Then again, there's always the ready-made stuff at the dro store. jk. lol.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Now I'll need to educate myself more on the role of saponins

think_fast

Aside from the foaming (surfactant) benefit, Saponins trigger the plant's Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR) as well as the Hormonal Acquired Resistance (HAR) - auto-immune compounds created by plants for defense against a number of pathogens.

While you're looking terms up online, compare the differences between the terms 'blended' vs. 'emulsified'

I can see why threads on neem foliars are full of mixed opinions/results

Any time you couple sub-standard products (versions) of any material with 'I think that (fill in the blank)' you have everything set-up to experience complete & utter failure.

HTH

CC

 

[BlueJayWay]

if you were to do a top dress of worm castings or compost would you stack it on the current mulch and add more on top, or would you move the mulch and put down a top dress and then place the mulch back on top?

Probably just pile it up on top in order as mulches are laid down, ya know. I very rarely topdress with any compost except at times of transplant which usually by then most mulched materials are well into decomposing with no real separation from soil and mulch, so i think in the long run you'll find it to be a nonissue.

 

[think_fast]

usually by then most mulched materials are well into decomposing with no real separation from soil and mulch

Oh How I envy you BJW! lol

CC,

It looks like yet another reason to grab me some yucca.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

think_fast

Here's an organic Yucca extract product which is made from the species that you want to see on a label: Yucca schidigera and does not contain the usual fungicide Sodium Benzoate as a preservative. You can find Yucca extracts at eBay and elsewhere but when you look closely at their products (dry or liquid) you'll see that it's a species out of Asia (China) and then scan for the preservative used. Sodium Benzoate would be a blessing.

The organic extract is fine, works great, etc. but it is pretty expensive. If you want the absolute highest levels of Saponins then buy Horse Chestnut powder at Mountain Rose Herbs - it contains 4x the levels of Saponins. Or buy the Soap Nut Powder from Neem Resource.

But remember that regular ol' aloe vera juice has 75% the same levels besides the slew of other benefits that Yucca extract does not contain and Aloe vera juice (the good stuff) is about 25% the cost. A gallon of organic Yucca extract costs $80.00 before you add his ridiculous S & H charges. A gallon of the best retail Aloe vera juice is around $25.00 which you can buy at many stores in your area - healthfood stores, Whole Foods, regional natural grocery stores, etc. It's no big deal to find.

Setting price aside, Yucca extract falls far short of Aloe vera juice (extract or whatever name they're using this week) in almost every area of comparison.

CC

 

[think_fast]

Wow what a thorough breakdown CC!

In that case I'm good with my 200x aloe powder.

I'm just hesitant to use it since I have some bottled stuff remaining, and I still have to acquire a reliable method of preservation.

Where would one obtain ascorbic or citric acid?

I just cannot see myself mixing 0.1 grams of this powder lol.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

wrong thread

 

[Scenario420]

1st I want to give my personal thanks to all who have took the time to share knowledge and experience. Also for taking an intemidating topic and breaking it down in a very simple and straight forward manner. Just finished reading (from the 1st post) and taking rough draft notes, now its back to the beginning for a good (re-read) and to tighten up these notes...
Once again thanks all...

 

[invocation]

1st post and want to just say what an amazing library of information you got going. Totally spaced it on the mulching after making my switch to organic living soil about a year ago. I used to use sand when I grew in coco. I look forward to hanging out with you dirtbags in the future.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Ok dirt farmers. I have finally joined the club!

Heres my new mix for pots:

1/3 screened native soil
1/3 recycled coco, perlite, soil, biochar (my old mix, LC's#1)
1/3 biochar compost/vermicompost

The recycled component has been doing the rounds for a few years and is full various amendments - sand, hydrotron, crushed bones, diamatecous earth etc.

But now its mostly full of worms and hopefully plenty humus!

What i really liked is after mixing it all up and planting there was a light rain. The drips falling off the leaves really soaked in and left dark wet spots under the plants profile... cool!

 

[MJPassion]

Those are some gorgeous plants BJW.

Makes me jealous.

Same for all you other guys/gals running around with those TO, BO and VR crosses. I'd love to grow a couple of those out once I get my shit dialed in. Hoping these Bluemoonshines work out for me.