Living organic soil from start through recycling

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Planted a TO x BMR (clone) and gave here a nice drink of aloe vera, kelp/fulvic acid, spirulina and some sprouted broad bean ferment... she seems to like her new home

 

[DuckDuckGoose]

Regarding the Neem ban in Canada... today I was able to purchase some 100% organic Neem meal and oil even though the products are not to be sold on shelves after Dec. 31 2012. The distributors of these products will continue to sell their stock to the United States, but eventually these products will not be available at retail locations in good old Canada. I doubt that your local store will remove the product from their shelves, but restocking will not be an option in the future. I inquired about Karanja oil but the salesperson was not familiar with the product and could not comment on whether or not it would also be restricted. In order to register Neem with the government it will cost over a million dollars. All of this information I received from the salesperson from amaizeinglygreen.com. I went to the warehouse to make my purchase and noticed a shit load of pallets of Neem meal and crates of oil, so if you are in Ontario and in need, these guys have no problem bending the rules for the organic gardener. I got a discount of 10% for taking one of their torn bags, sweet bonus, bring your own box cutter just incase they don't have any ripped bags in stock! They also seem to be hip to my operation and are very supportive which makes things more comfortable when I walk in to their office smelling like Bob Marley's roach clip. Hope this helps, and I hope the info that I was given is accurate.
DDG

 

[MJPassion]

DUDE!!! SS_OG... You Stole my Planters!!!

Just funnin yo! I've got a few of those too... Love 'em!! Absolutely Gopher PROOF!

 

[LITHOS]

This is my first post to any forum as it runs counter to my secretive,paranoid nature.I guess it's time to man-up and stop lurking in the shadows.First,the usual heartfelt thanks (gush,gush)to the core contributers to this thread!It's been like a breath of fresh air after reading the reams of bull shit I've found most everywhere else.

I've got a few questions and observations stored up and since yucca has been brought up again here's my 2 cents worth...

While I,ve always been a believer in organic soils and methods (old school Rodale&Mother Earth News circa early seventies)I've gotten lazy in recent years and began relying on Miracle Grow&fish revulsion in a sterile nursery mix with all the problems and poor yields you'd expect (not to mention shitty taste).The current run is all organic but as I discovered this thread only lately it's less than ideal.

I've always been skeptical about foliar feeding but after reading this thread decided to give it a whirl.Being chronically short of cash the idea of using as much locally sourced,free materials as possible is very attractive.This got me to wondering about the old yucca plant in my backyard (Ohio).A bit of research proved it to be Yucca filamentosa http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_yufi.pdf a native of the S.E. but very hardy, cultivated and naturalized over much of the Eastern U.S..It' horticultural name is Adam's needle and one of it's common names is soap root.It was used as a fiber source,medicinal and as soap by Native Americans.A very similar species is Yucca glauca aka great plains yucca or soap weed.Y. glauca is found over a broad swath of the central U.S. from Texas to Alberta (I know,Alberta isn't in the U.S. ....yet).About the only part of the country without some kind of native yucca seems to be the PNW & extreme NE.

I dug up some chunks of root,pureed them and added about a half a cup of the slimy glop to my first batch of AACT along with the usual suspects.Bubbled it vigorously for 36 hrs. and created a huge mound of foam in the process.After dilution I sprayed my girls and clones.Wow!The next morning they awoke with an erection(wish I still did).After several more batches (with somewhat less yucca)they look amazing.Count me as a new cult member!One caution;the recommended dilution rate of 15:1 seemed kind of weak so operating under the theory that if a little is good more must be better I made it stronger.Wrong,there was some leaf damage with that first batch.Ok now though.

With winter coming on I decided to try and store some of the yucca so I dug out a big chunk of root over 4 lbs.You need not worry about killing the plant as it will readily return.After minimal hosing off (don't want to lose any useful microbes)I cut it in chunks and pureed it in the food processor.Spread the puree on cookie sheets about 1/2" thick and put in the freezer till hard.When frozen I broke it into suitable size pieces and put them back in the freezer in zip-locks.

So now that I've got a shit-load of this gunk I'd be interested in opinions,observations on saponin value verses Yucca schidegera.

I'll shut up now as both my typing fingers are exhausted but I'll be back.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Yeah that tubs been laying around for a while without a use. Someone was kind enough to drill lots of nice round holes all over it... should make for some air pruning action maybe!

No gophers around here just possums and wallabies to really watch out for.

Hey LITHOS as far as first posts go that was pretty damn good. This is a gardening bullshit free zone! I could do with some hardy yucca's down this way. Working on an aloe vera crop.

 

[MJPassion]

So I was just reading an article in my free copy of ACRES USA and stumbled across an interesting article titled "RAW MILK FOR GRASS GRAINS". In it the farmer mentions using 2-3 gallons of RAW, unpasteurized, non-homogenized, milk and spraying his PASTURE GRASS LAND (not his cannabis). He also mentioned sometimes using small amounts of sea water in the mix as well as molasses with great results. There were brix improvements, and soil compaction was significantly reduced in the sprayed area.

HOWEVER... There was one paragraph that I believe was missed when this guys experiment was reported out. IMO, it's the one everybody touting these things as good, for your indoor container bound cannabis plants, missed! So... without further ado... Here's that line...

I strongly encourage you to consider spraying your pastures with raw milk. For most of you, I think the results will be rewarding. If you already have your pastures in great shape due to good grazing practices or spraying with other soil amendments such as compost tea and liquid fish -- and as a result have high microbial activity in your soils -- you may not see the same spike we witnessed"

MYTH BUSTED!!!

If I had to guess, Ralphs soil was low in Ca.

Happy Growing folks.

 

[rrog]

What myth had been busted? They are feeding Lactose to soil microbes, and if the soil is already quite alive, it's not going to get much more so. Sort of like ACT. It's good once in a great while. Not doing much good if done all the time.

 

[puntacometa]

Good info. Scrap..

For those organic purists....be aware that some alfalfa is sprayed with insecticides and also grown with chemi ferts.... for the mass production of livestock feed. You can research the companies and find out.

I use alfalfa in every single re-amend. Careful kids...it can burn if not used correctly.

I believe that the tricontanol alfalfa contains had prolonged flowering on some types of cannabis in my garden when overused.

Sorry. Late to the party. Alfalfa pellets often have a binder that is high in sodum as well.

 

[E.C. Organics]

Gascanastan:

To make a seedling mix:

1 gallon perlite/pumice
1 gallon peat moss
2 tablespoons dolomite,oyster shell,etc.
1/2 gallon EWC

What size container? Would a solo cup be good size or too big?

 

[MJPassion]

Wondering if wheat Hulls are as good as rice hulls?

They're free from the flour mill and I just picked up 8-10 cu/ft.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Weyenot]

Its a new year; here's to open minds, discoveries and growth of all kinds!! I am grateful for this life, the biggest blessing of all and everything contained within; from the hard knocks and the soft hugs to the simple gift of having a local source of good EWC, I give thanks.
I am so grateful for all the awesome information on this thread, I am inspired and will show my thanks by continuing to observe and practice these concepts so I can share the experiences in the hopes that it might of some use. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

 

[think_fast]

I've gotten lazy in recent years and began relying on Miracle Grow&fish revulsion in a sterile nursery mix with all the problems and poor yields you'd expect (not to mention shitty taste).

Lithos,

Way to break out of the lazy habit and brew yourself some local sh!t brah!

 

[think_fast]

What size container? Would a solo cup be good size or too big?

E.C. Organics,

If by solo cup you also mean beer/party cup, then hell ya! A great many growers use such a sized container for seedlings, organic or otherwise. Actually, as far as I understand you can never go too big as long as you maintain proper soil moisture levels (i.e. don't overwater).

 

[Weyenot]

CC and Lithos - Thank you for the Yucca and saponin info, its good to learn of more options for these interesting compounds. Ive already see n the effects of Aloe juice in a foliar spray, mostly observed in the praying of the leaves, even though Yucca has a higher amount of saponins compared to aloe I think I will use the Aloe as a mainstay and play around with the Yucca on the side possibly. I have Yucca growing in several places where I live and it seems that it is the filamentosa variety. I wonder if the leaves are as effective in a foliar compared to using the root; does anyone have thoughts on this?

Also; I tried using the water from a young coconut in my last cloning run. I diluted the water in some of the other water, I got about a pint of coco water and added that to a pint of H20. I would have added this to CC's recipe for a clone soak( the one with fulvic acid, silica,aloe juice...I think Im forgetting something....maybe) but I dont have protekt or fulpower so I added some aloe juice and then proceeded to soak the cutting in the mixture overnight. As far as the FulP and protekt goes, I will be ordering the Ful soon and will get the agsil whenever it is back in stock; I have never used a fulvic acid or a silica product of any kind so I am interested to see what results these might bring to the table. Anywho....so after soaking overnight in the solution I put the clones in a tray( a standard 72 plug one with a solid tray underneath and a humidity dome on top ) filled with peat that had been soaked in water and then watered the clones with the mixture they had soaked in. Two days later I noticed some mold beginning to grow on the tops of a few of the sites, right on top of the peat, so I peeked under the plug tray into the bottom and saw a little mold there as well. I emptied the tray of water then rinsed it and sprayed with a mild peroxide solution( around 2% ) in addition to spraying the top layer of peat in the plugs with it as well, I then refilled the tray with plain water and let it be. The mold hasn't made and appearance since and it has been at least a week. The coconut seemed quite fresh, I used to eat alot of them so I have some practice spotting the good one; things to look out for include any discoloration of the husk such as pink or black patches and any obvious mold. Maybe the coconut was infected and I didnt notice. Anybody care to share their thoughts?

 

[Weyenot]

E.C. O- I just mixed up a similar batch of seedling soil, the only thing I changed was I added a little xtra EWC and I added a cup of Azomite out of inspiration; so with 3cuft of peat, around 2cuft of EWC, 3cuft of some kind of aeration media( I havent added that part yet) and 1c Azomite/1c dolo lime/2c calcitic limestone I think this should be a good for some new babies and clones to stretch out in. I will let this sit for around a week so everything can marinade so to say.As far as sizes go I am liking the idea of less transitions for hopefully less stress so I will be going straight from the starter pot which will either be a four incher or something close to a solo cup to a 5g in my case. Id be interested to hear any experiences you have with your pot choices and the new mix; have you mixed up a batch yet? Ill be sure to share what I observe as I go along

 

[think_fast]

I got about a pint of coco water and added that to a pint of H20.

Not saying this is the cause of your mold, but if my notes serve me correctly the recommended dilution for using coconut water given in this thread is 1 parts coconut water to 15 parts water.

 

[Weyenot]

Not saying this is the cause of your mold, but if my notes serve me correctly the recommended dilution for using coconut water given in this thread is 1 parts coconut water to 15 parts water.

Thank you for the reminder ThinkFast, I totally skipped over that part! True, it might not have caused the mold but at a ratio of almost 50/50 if there was any mold in that nut it would have been much easier to spread. I will try that dilution on my next batch and do my best to remember to post results
Thanks again brother, stay free!

 

[ColorGRo]

Great thread glad i found it. Have finished 29 pages tonight and will catch up asap. I am new to organics so a lot of this is confusing. Trying to figure out what exactly to feed my plants as i would like to throw away my botanicare pbp bottles. I'm in colorado. Any help would be great.

 

[JoeDudeGuy]

Its a new year; here's to open minds, discoveries and growth of all kinds!! I am grateful for this life, the biggest blessing of all and everything contained within; from the hard knocks and the soft hugs to the simple gift of having a local source of good EWC, I give thanks.
I am so grateful for all the awesome information on this thread, I am inspired and will show my thanks by continuing to observe and practice these concepts so I can share the experiences in the hopes that it might of some use. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

That was well put my friend.

I'd rep you for that if I could.

 

[ColorGRo]

Can i make a soil that can be recycled but not so hot that I only need to feed water and an occasional tea. I would like to be 100% organic but do more work then having a super soil.