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Living organic soil from start through recycling

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bajangreen

So if the "hydro shop" was selling Organic recycle Soil (ORS) how would i know witch container is best to pick up? is there a test or something i could do to gauge how "active" a soil is?
 
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BlueJayWay

If a tree fell in the forest, and no one heard it..........

Sounds like a theoretical question since no "hydro" store I've ever encountered would be selling a recycled soil, as in previously used and I wouldn't trust a strangers previously used soil - period. That would also suck if each container of recycled soil they have for sale is different enough that you wouldn't know which one to pick! Consistency in product, retail business 101! This hydro shop doesn't sound too good!

Otherwise, stick your hand deep inside and see how it feels, take a deep breath of the soil....... And then stick it under a microscope - to really see how alive it is.

Stick a bamboo stick in the soil and see how long it takes for it to breakdown?
 

ClackamasCootz

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Cann

The 3 primary companies producing Humic acids in the states are TeraVita, BioAg & Mesa Verde. The products found in grow stores are sourced via Alibaba.com - hit that web site and type in terms like 'Leonardite' and 'Humic acid' and 'Fulvic acid' - it's a mess.

These acids are not unlike the other materials that we try to find the very best. All vermicompost isn't equal - it's a concept and in the execution of that concept the processes used determine its viability.

That is even more true because it's in the method of extraction as well as the rocks you start with. Dumping black sand with the term 'Leonardite' on the label does not make a 'liquid Humic acid' and if you look closely at many of the labels you'll see that molasses is added. The reason for that is to increase the viscosity of the base so that the bits of black sand will achieve some level of aqueous suspension - a far cry from 'liquid Humic acid'
Here's a quip from Dr. Jerzey Weber:

Humic acids - the fraction of humic substances that is not soluble in water under acidic conditions (pH < 2) but is soluble at higher pH values. They can be extracted from soil by various reagents and which is insoluble in dilute acid. Humic acids are the major extractable component of soil humic substances. They are dark brown to black in color

Fulvic acids - the fraction of humic substances that is soluble in water under all pH conditions. They remains in solution after removal of humic acid by acidification. Fulvic acids are light yellow to yellow-brown in color
BioAg's products are the best available, IMO

CC
 

ClackamasCootz

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1oz fulpower
2oz aloe
1tsp Protekt

Per gallon water - boom! No clonex or anything needed, but I heard rubbing your stem in fresh aloe gel is excellent as well!
BJW

That combination has always given me the strongest root development up and down the entire shaft of the cutting. 40+ roots sticking out of a plug was proof enough for me.

That solution is also good for soaking your garden seeds this spring before planting them into your seedling cups. Water the potting soil with the same solution and you'll have very strong plants to go into your raised beds.

I used this for starting some old seeds and it made a difference - definitely worth the effort.

CC
 

Cann

Member
glad to have ya back cootz :) hope all is well.

thanks for the science behind that, I knew that the hydro store employee was full of shit... (big surprise eh?).

if you had some plants that were fading around week 3 flower, what would you feed/topdress to bring them back to vigor? Is any topdressing going to be effective at this point? Because if I am not mistaken it will take a while for the nutrients to become available, yes? Just want to make my ladies as happy as possible :)
 
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BlueJayWay

Cann -

if you had some plants that were fading around week 3 flower

As in turning yellow / light green earlier than you'd want in flower? Hit it with an alfalfa/kelp tea.

1/2 cup alfalfa
1/4 cup kelp


Per 5 gal water and bubble for 24hrs - then add:

25ml potassium silicate (Protekt)
50-100ml fulpower
1/2 cupaloe Vera juice (like Lilly of the desert, or blend up some fresh aloe)

Water undiluted and see if you don't notice any greening up in the next 24-48 hrs. The N in the alfalfa becomes instantly available along with a sleu of micronutrients from the kelp and a long list of secondary metabolites from both.

CC - that's become my tried and true cutting solution - whenever I venture out and try something new and it doesn't quite work out I reel myself in and stick with that recipe - thanks!
 

quitelost

Active member
Hey, anyone heard of Fulvic JUICE by Horticultura Tecnica S.L.U?
It's derived from wine, 29% fulvic acid, it looks and smells like vinegar but seems to do the trick.
 

ClackamasCootz

Expired
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if you had some plants that were fading around week 3 flower, what would you feed/topdress to bring them back to vigor? Is any topdressing going to be effective at this point? Because if I am not mistaken it will take a while for the nutrients to become available, yes? Just want to make my ladies as happy as possible :)
Cann

Top-dress the plants with 2" of EWC today! Make the kelp & alfalfa tea and apply as Blue Jay Way suggested. If you started the tea today then you would be ready to apply that on Wednesday night at the latest.

Done. Finis. Ovah.

HTH

CC
 

ClackamasCootz

Expired
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Cann

Back to your original question about which products you might consider.

Ful-Power - because of a change in regulations, Oregon & California banned this term from appearing on labels and advertising/promotion venues. This is a legitimate, pure Fulvic acid and it's their extraction method that makes the difference.
Fulvic acids - the fraction of humic substances that is soluble in water under all pH conditions. They remains in solution after removal of humic acid by acidification. Fulvic acids are light yellow to yellow-brown in color.

[cite]
BioAg also offers human food-grade Fulvic acid products - Wu Jin San
Humic substances: humic, fulvic, ulmic and humin are part of the soil/food web. Fulvic acid is the smallest molecule and helps to catalyze reactions. It's the most beneficial fraction for human health because it acts as a biochemical bridge between non-living things and living cells. At BioAg we like to say it's a catalyst for catalysts as it assists in enzyme reactions. In a purified form it helps to increase nutrient absorption, chelate heavy metals and pesticides (based on veterinary and plant studies as funding for such human studies are rare in the English language) and is traditionally used to decrease inflammation.

Each culture has some form of humic/fulvic acid that is used for better health and/or agriculture. In China it has been used in medicine since the Ming Dynasty, and it is the Chinese methods of purification that have inspired WuJinSan.

Fulvic acid is not a single, repeatable molecule. Rather it is like gathering millions of snowflakes, each unique, but all under a specific size. It's because of this small size that it is able to penetrate even into the mitochondria, the workhorse of the cell. And because of its many receptor sites, if properly extracted, it has the potential to be a very powerful antioxidant. - Dr. Robert Faust

If you look at the link above you will find the molecular formula and structure of Fulvic & Humic acids. Humic acids should be applied to the soil only because the molecules are too large to be absorbed through the leaves and branches. Fulvic acid are small enough to be absorbed directly into the plant's vascular system. They play very different roles though there are some shared functions but the differences are huge.

If you wanted to buy one product and you wanted to stretch your dollars by applying via a foliar spray (1/2 vs soil), then the Ful-Power would be a good choice.

If you wanted to include a soil amendment then the TM-7 would be a good choice. The 7 trace minerals (TM) are not unique to BioAg. If you were to take the list and enter that as a text string at Google or whatever, you would find a number of fertilizers that include these minerals. What separates TM-7 from other products is that the minerals have been chelated with Humic & Fulvic acids vs using EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) which is what is used in many grow store products like Botanicare Cal-Mag - chelated Limestone via EDTA

These 7 trace minerals are often lacking in soils that have been poorly managed and in particular potting soil mixes. The better the humus you source, produce, etc. will lessen the possibility of a deficiency. Kelp meal accumulates 83 Elements and contains a chelating agent called Mannitol. Then you also get Alginic acid for its myriad of benefits.

I use the TM-7 because the base is their Humic acid (Ful-Humix) and the chelated minerals are a cheap insurance policy.

There is a new thread about Mycorrhizal fungi and if you read the opening post and look at the endo strains that have been identified as the ones to look for and then review BioAg VAM-Endo Mix and especially the 'propagules per gram' numbers against the information Microbeman and CT Guy provided you can see that you're getting the 'real deal'

For more information: International Humic Substances Society

To understand how the 'beneficial microbes' game is played you only have to look at the product page from Mycorrhizal Applications and what you will see is that under their retail marketing brand, MycoApply, is a product packed under other names such as Orca, White Shark, et al. For reasons that escape me he jerked their sheets off with a link to Mycorrhizal Online and there are several products from different companies but when you look at the label, note the various types and species, the propagules per gram numbers, etc. you'll see that it's one of the MycoApply products.

Then consider that the most expensive product from this company for single bulk packs is less than $9.00 per lb. That's at my rinky-dink price, semi-wholesale. More semi than wholesale actually. $9.00 per f*cking pound!

At the link check the price on Orca and White Shark - pppffffttt

They should include a small can of buttered-flavored Crisco with each order to 'ease the pain'

Pond Scum

CC
 
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Gascanastan

Gone but NOT forgotten...
Veteran
Here's your kidz Coot..if you missed the posts a while back when I was in the midst of harvest. This plant had to be moved each and every watering,which tends to make the leaves turn down from being handled so much. Who wouldn't want to handle this though eh..

Blue Orca

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The One

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Gascanastan

Gone but NOT forgotten...
Veteran
If the world really knew how many grows were saved due to an EWC topdress,we'd have access to higher quality EWC on very local levels by now...and for shits and giggles the latest results of TO x BMR Bx1....

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Gascanastan

Gone but NOT forgotten...
Veteran
This old guy in the hills turned me on to these Tibetan barley enzyme seed teas and things blew up...this is one of the biggest TO's I've played with yet. They get big if you let 'em huh! This one gave me over 1/4 lb...which is good. That 1/4 lb will last for 4 months used simply as medicine.
 
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ClackamasCootz

Expired
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Gas

Do a search for 'Tibetan purple barley in Washington state' - then you'll find sources for Black Barley from North China which is also an heirloom. There's 2 or 3 other varieties being grown by organic farmers in Eastern Washington - pretty amazing.

CC
 
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