Living organic soil from start through recycling

[ClackamasCootz]

rrog

Sometime in the past 2 or 3 issues of Acres USA Magazine was an article about Flint Corn and why it's a better choice for organic and sustainable farms. If you subscribe to this publication then you definitely want to read this article.

CC

 

[Kaptain_Kronic]

base mix
50/50 mix spm/coco
25% mix of ewc and humus and compost
10% foest duff
20% aeration (perlite, vermiculite growstone mix)


per 2 cubic feet

mineral mix copied from cootz
1 cup granular humic
2 cups crab shell meal
4 cups acadian kelp meal
4 cups fish meal
4 cups fish bone meal
2 cups neem seed meal
1 cup alfalfa
1 cup feather meal
probably still going to use my cotton seed meal till i run out.

top dressings of compost/vermicompost
foliars with aloe
and a variety of teas depending on plant need

how am i doin?

 

[BlueJayWay]

I would drop the granular humic, unless your humus component is really lacking, or maybe you're just trying to get rid of it.

Drop all the 4 cups to 2 cups, drop the feather meal or use it sparingly until it is gone, like you plan on using your other seed meals.

Aloe foliars and various teas and ewc topdressings - all sounds good!

Keep us updated

Edit - since you have plenty N from fish meal, I would also drop alfalfa meal since I make extensive use of alfalfa in teas.

 

[Microbeman]

but this lime mix still works for the peat moss ph regardless.

Coot; Could you give us your take on this liming peatmoss for the pH...thing?

 

[Kaptain_Kronic]

yes, some of those ingredients im just trying to get rid of.

should i drop the alfalfa completely? or justy drop to 1/2 cup?

i am interested in doing the no-till recycling, is anyone doing that in 7gal smarties?

 

[Cann]

people are doing it in 5gal smart pots...you're golden.

thanks cootz for the clarification and endless knowledge. great info about zeatin

what would we do without you....

 

[BlueJayWay]

KK - personally, I would drop it completely, but if you are going to let it cook for a month or more then sure throw it in there. If you plan on using lots of alfalfa teas then just keep it for teas... If you're going to make teas with alfalfa, I really don't think you will notice a difference whether its in the soil or not.

Yea like Cann said 5 gal smarties you're golden. I flower in 5gal buckets and 5, 7, 15 and 45 gal smarties.

 

[rrog]

I used to do 5 gallon pails and now use 7 gallon Geopots. Is 7 better than 5? Not for my little Scrog, probably, but I really like the fabric pots vs. hard sided.

 

[xmobotx]

Coot; Could you give us your take on this liming peatmoss for the pH...thing?

oo! oo! let me try;

w/ these mixes we are not 'liming' precisely ~more like 'adding calcium amendments' {w/ considerations to sulfur and mag} BUT FTMP; we are adding diverse biologically derived mineral amendments

PH is irrelevant

 

[W89]

Hows it going mobot you cool mate? oregonism seems a plum lol

 

[YosemiteSam]

I have drunk the compost is the single most important thing Kool Aid and just wondering exactly what direction to go. I find it totally impressive that the Luebke's have 15% true humus on a farm...that says a lot for their method. If you achieve that just imagine how easy it would be to grow a little weed.

But deep down I really buy the get some good compost and add some minerals and then let some worms turn it into vermicompost. I suspect for container grows that is even better. Although the true goal imo is get your actual, true humus as high as possible. But think...at 1/3 compost...almost half of that true humus would be an accomplishment.

Just thinking out loud really. Not aimed at anyone specifically.

This next summer I kinda gotta limp by with what I got. But it is also the time to prepare for the summer after that with the goal being once I get it right...use that same soil forever.

And I will admit...also deep down I think the Ca:Mg ratio is totally important even though it isn't measured by guys in this thread. I think it influences the O2 levels of the soil and that affects microbiology and that is the true point of this thread...so how can it not be highly important.

As far as liming...that ratio is all I care about...not pH per se. Get it right, along with microbiology and never think about pH again...is my thinking anyways.

I have accomplished that with salts in indoor grows...pH control is looking to see if everything is dissolved in the reservoir...if it is good to go, if no add a little acid. End of story. No need to worry about pH in the soil.

But...it don't taste as good as pure organics I don't give a shit what anyone says...that is a fact. So I am making the move to organic.

That is where I find meself...feel free to judge anyway that seems appropriate.

 

[Gascanastan]

ph???...what's that?

Oh yeah,I remember now.....almost forgot about that little ol' meter again,wherever it is.

Almost forgot that @ one point I had all that crap.
ph meter,ph up,ph down,calibration fluids,storage fluid,batteries,measuring,adjusting,and of course waiting.

How simple life really is w/out it~

 

[xmobotx]

YS have you read the QR compost book on journey to forever?

not that it is "essential" reading but; expounding on her thinkings in the direction of using a lot of targeted amendments in the pile seems like a very good direction

not only the herbal choices presented in the book but also as it may apply to nutrient cycling

 

[YosemiteSam]

I will check it out. I agree completely though...something about loading minerals in compost brings something you cannot measure to the table. I almost find myself buying into the "life force" thing...just don't wanna get caught saying it out loud.

eidt....and I will say this...with the 1/3 drainage amendment maybe that Ca:Mg ratio doesn't mean as much either. You cannot collapse lava rock regardless of how much Mg you have.

 

[Pseudo]

can i use hydroton for aeration/drainage, since i wont be doing a flood table any time soon, or should i look elswhere?

 

[YosemiteSam]

Hydroton is almost too big to be useful. What you are looking for is creating a particle size distribution that allows for good overall drainage. You put too big of particles in there and you end up with a big chunk of clay surrounded by a bunch of soil that does not drain.

If that makes any sense at all. Look for something maybe say 1/3 the size of those hydroton pellets.

 

[Microbeman]

YS; I thought you were asking about soft rock phosphate. Am I wrong? I lost the line of dialogue back there.

 

[BlueJayWay]

I'm confused

 

[Microbeman]

I'm confused

Here, this might confuse you even more;

Originally Posted by YosemiteSam
Has anyone looked into the Luebke compost method? Pretty impressive claims for actual humus building.

http://www.ibiblio.org/steved/Luebke...-compost2.html

I really like the idea of combining compost with minerals


YosemiteSam


Microbeman provided that link on another venue a couple of years ago and I began to use the Canadian glacial rock dust in my compost recipe as well as an addition to the vermicompost set-ups.

Since I started doing this, the Basalt rock dust from Eastern Oregon became available and that's what I'm using these days.

CC



MM said
Hey old man, more like a few years ago...eh?


CC said
LOL - you're probably right!


Originally Posted by YosemiteSam
so do you use 10% clay (and can that be soft rock phosphate), do you include 10% compost and do you innoculate it all with a tea?

I see Nutri Tech doing a very similar thing...layers of basalt, srp, something else I forget...then a compost tea on that. And that is used to innoculate fields.

Suppose to be a very strong synergy between the minerals and compost this way.

edit...I think the third ingredient is coal...the leonardite (no clue on spelling that word) stuff


MM said
I believe (AIR) that Steve recommended soft rock phosphate and bentonite. I've used both but am now second guessing SRP because of the polonium (sp?) 210 issue.




YS said
Even if it is good stuff you would play hell picking a reliable supplier out of that bunch...I am guessing quite a variety of quality control processes in there. How would you sort that out?


MM said
Are you talkin ta me?

__________________
Is this the joke thread?

 

[Gascanastan]

...and I ask what you all smokin' on?

Myself some Kali Mist x Burmese/Cherry Bomb...aka 'V.Shiva'...me likey!