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Living organic soil from start through recycling
- Thread starter Gascanastan
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YosemiteSam
I put a reminder on my phone to call them tomorrow morning and I'll ask about their certs and see about getting a .gif or .pdf - whatever they have. Since they're an actual manufacturer and packer they are required to have more paperwork than others.
2 Legal Co
The Stutzman's product should have a different name on the bag, i.e. it's legitimate thermal compost - straw, manure - ramp up to 140F or whatever the USDA requirement actually is. The name should be something saying that it's compost that was made, in part, with chicken manure.
It really doesn't have much of a 'manure smell' at all. More like compost which it is. Not saying it's the world's best compost but for certain applications it does a good job and it's very inexpensive.
They sell a lot of totes out of there for commercial organic farmers in the valley - especially the orchards like you mentioned and tomato growers around Eugene & Corvallis. Pretty good sized operation and they do co-packing on potting soils and a few are ones that are often discussed here at good ol' ICMAG which is ironic on several levels.
CC
I put a reminder on my phone to call them tomorrow morning and I'll ask about their certs and see about getting a .gif or .pdf - whatever they have. Since they're an actual manufacturer and packer they are required to have more paperwork than others.
2 Legal Co
The Stutzman's product should have a different name on the bag, i.e. it's legitimate thermal compost - straw, manure - ramp up to 140F or whatever the USDA requirement actually is. The name should be something saying that it's compost that was made, in part, with chicken manure.
It really doesn't have much of a 'manure smell' at all. More like compost which it is. Not saying it's the world's best compost but for certain applications it does a good job and it's very inexpensive.
They sell a lot of totes out of there for commercial organic farmers in the valley - especially the orchards like you mentioned and tomato growers around Eugene & Corvallis. Pretty good sized operation and they do co-packing on potting soils and a few are ones that are often discussed here at good ol' ICMAG which is ironic on several levels.
CC
Weyenot
Member
Thats a fantastic way to put it brother, Im with you on that; that paves the way for true growth in life I think
Cann
Member
Alright bout to mix up some soil, wanted to run the mix past y'all first just to make sure 
30 gallons sphagnum (Lakeland brand - anyone used this? appears minimally processed)
15 gallons humus (10 gal EWC, 5 gal Bu's Blend)
15 gallons aeration (10gal pumice, 5 gal rice hulls)
60 gallons base mix = 10 cuft (6 dry gallons per cuft, right?)
to this 10 cuft I am planning to add:
40 cups glacial rock dust
5 cups azomite (am i correct that this is relatively the same thing as bentonite? need to use up the huge bag I have...)
5 cups oyster shell flour
3 cups neem cake
3 cups karanja cake
6 cups kelp meal
6 cups crab shell meal
2 cups alfalfa meal
1 cup fish meal
2 cups sul-po-mag
biochar (how much should I add? heard as much as 10% of the mix..? seems a bit heavy..)
thats all I have so far...what do you guys think? I've been considering adding dolomite, but it seems the consensus at this point is that the dolomite isn't needed...
things I have laying around that I could potentially add:
greensand
large oyster shell chunks (from the feed store)
prilled dolomite
fish bone meal
gypsum
thoughts...? i would love to hear what you guys think. I can easily go more simple, or more diverse - it's up in the air at this point. thanks in advance
30 gallons sphagnum (Lakeland brand - anyone used this? appears minimally processed)
15 gallons humus (10 gal EWC, 5 gal Bu's Blend)
15 gallons aeration (10gal pumice, 5 gal rice hulls)
60 gallons base mix = 10 cuft (6 dry gallons per cuft, right?)
to this 10 cuft I am planning to add:
40 cups glacial rock dust
5 cups azomite (am i correct that this is relatively the same thing as bentonite? need to use up the huge bag I have...)
5 cups oyster shell flour
3 cups neem cake
3 cups karanja cake
6 cups kelp meal
6 cups crab shell meal
2 cups alfalfa meal
1 cup fish meal
2 cups sul-po-mag
biochar (how much should I add? heard as much as 10% of the mix..? seems a bit heavy..)
thats all I have so far...what do you guys think? I've been considering adding dolomite, but it seems the consensus at this point is that the dolomite isn't needed...
things I have laying around that I could potentially add:
greensand
large oyster shell chunks (from the feed store)
prilled dolomite
fish bone meal
gypsum
thoughts...? i would love to hear what you guys think. I can easily go more simple, or more diverse - it's up in the air at this point. thanks in advance
Another good worm food is Oly Mountain Fish Compost which is certified organic by Washington State Department of Agriculture. Made from salmon which should give you plenty of Nitrogen & Phosphorus. Worms really take it down quickly.
I have a #65 SmartPot worm bin with fish compost, Stutzman's, comfrey sludge (experiment that went south on me) and aged horse manure - big hopes on this one!
CC
I have a #65 SmartPot worm bin with fish compost, Stutzman's, comfrey sludge (experiment that went south on me) and aged horse manure - big hopes on this one!
CC
Cann
From Sun Gro Horticulture (Sunshine Mix, etc) and it was a small producer that was bought by Sun Gro a few years back. The harvest is out of Northern Alberta (like Premier Peat, Alaska Peat, etc.)
Straight Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss - nice product and you probably got a good price on it as well.
CC
Cann
Member
$10 for 3cuft which expands to at least 5.5cuft...can't beat that!
cootz, have you ever heard of a product called N'Rich? it's a chicken manure that is sold at the local HD..wondering if it is worth buying some for a smartpot wormbin. cheap as all hell.
also whaddya think of my soil mix?
cootz, have you ever heard of a product called N'Rich? it's a chicken manure that is sold at the local HD..wondering if it is worth buying some for a smartpot wormbin. cheap as all hell.
also whaddya think of my soil mix?
Cann
This one? The two on the right?
This one? The two on the right?
Cann
Member
don't think so...this stuff
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/9b/9b7134ed-e0f4-4e06-a8be-00dfd80dbba2_300.jpg
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/9b/9b7134ed-e0f4-4e06-a8be-00dfd80dbba2_300.jpg
Cann I added a few hand fulls of my chicken manure pellets to my worm bin, coffee grounds and comfrey..I also chuck all the dregs of everything I use in my teas and also the tea bags from my morning tea lol... Im planning to let my worm bin now cycle for a good 6 - 12 months as I have lots of soil and will just be re-using what I have in the pots anyway... should be good
and your soil mix sounds great mate.. you sure do mix up a hell of a lot of soil batches don't ya
and your soil mix sounds great mate.. you sure do mix up a hell of a lot of soil batches don't ya
Kellogg is one of the oldest names in potting soils and horticulture on the West Coast. You can use their products with confidence - again read the label.
Originally based in Orange County - going back to the WWI era.
BTW - your soil mix looks great. The only suggestion that I would have is to not include the Sul-Po-Mag directly into your mix.
This mineral compound is water soluble but you have to coax it a bit. Take 1 tablespoon and add to 1 gallon of water and stick an airstone in it. Not to grow microbes but to get the pieces bouncing around - you'll get to about 98% solubility in a couple of days. Apply to your soil undiluted every 3 or 4 weeks - Sulfur, Potassium & Magnesium
CC
Originally based in Orange County - going back to the WWI era.
BTW - your soil mix looks great. The only suggestion that I would have is to not include the Sul-Po-Mag directly into your mix.
This mineral compound is water soluble but you have to coax it a bit. Take 1 tablespoon and add to 1 gallon of water and stick an airstone in it. Not to grow microbes but to get the pieces bouncing around - you'll get to about 98% solubility in a couple of days. Apply to your soil undiluted every 3 or 4 weeks - Sulfur, Potassium & Magnesium
CC
Cann
Member
sounds good CC, i'll hold back on the sul-po-mag. now, what about gypsum? I noticed in the "ultimate soil mix" thread you said 1/2c gypsum per cuft...you think I should include this? I sure have enough gypsum...lol!
i'll definitely pick up some of that N'Rich, its $8 for 3 cuft...no brainer. if not only for my outside gardens and worm bins...
btw I soaked a bunch of vegetable seeds for 30 hrs in a mix of 12oz coconut h2o, 1oz fulpower, 1oz aloe and 1 gal h2o...2 days after planting in GC's seedling mix and watering with a light enzyme tea (sprout rinses undiluted) all I have to say is....wow! wish i would've known about this earlier. crazy germination rates/speed.
w89 - sounds good man, you're gonna have some great EWC after 6-12 months! My lease runs out in 7 months so we'll see what my EWC looks like in may or june...i've had the bins since mid december. and yeah, i try to stay busy with my soil mixes lol..i'm building a lot of raised beds this summer so I will be needing a lot of soil. Also, I have a bunch of "super soil" from december that I don't know what to do with now...maybe i'll just layer it on the bottom of the raised beds and see how that goes for my veggies...i'm not worried about the longevity of the soil cause I'm leaving lol...but who knows what damage the "supersoil" is capable of....definitely not using it inside, thats for sure. maybe i'll run 1 pot as a comparison...
i'll definitely pick up some of that N'Rich, its $8 for 3 cuft...no brainer. if not only for my outside gardens and worm bins...
btw I soaked a bunch of vegetable seeds for 30 hrs in a mix of 12oz coconut h2o, 1oz fulpower, 1oz aloe and 1 gal h2o...2 days after planting in GC's seedling mix and watering with a light enzyme tea (sprout rinses undiluted) all I have to say is....wow! wish i would've known about this earlier. crazy germination rates/speed.
w89 - sounds good man, you're gonna have some great EWC after 6-12 months! My lease runs out in 7 months so we'll see what my EWC looks like in may or june...i've had the bins since mid december. and yeah, i try to stay busy with my soil mixes lol..i'm building a lot of raised beds this summer so I will be needing a lot of soil. Also, I have a bunch of "super soil" from december that I don't know what to do with now...maybe i'll just layer it on the bottom of the raised beds and see how that goes for my veggies...i'm not worried about the longevity of the soil cause I'm leaving lol...but who knows what damage the "supersoil" is capable of....definitely not using it inside, thats for sure. maybe i'll run 1 pot as a comparison...
Cann
Member
lol yeah luckily i have a hookup at a hydro store nearby...but still, not a wise investment on my part. it will still go to use, but not inside. i see it as just another part of the learning process..i was trying to transition away from bottled organic nutes..made it partway lol. finally found what i was looking for in this thread, so at this point everything else is old news and being put to use outdoors...should produce some impressive tomatoes here in so-cal LMAO. also I got some hop vines that should go 15 or more feet easily...should be fun to watch.
got ahold of some trichocereus pachanoi seeds...any advice on how to germinate? would love to leave a few cacti gifts for friends who live down here...
got ahold of some trichocereus pachanoi seeds...any advice on how to germinate? would love to leave a few cacti gifts for friends who live down here...
Cann
1/2 cup of Gypsum in 1 c.f. of potting soil is a good amount to use.
CC
1/2 cup of Gypsum in 1 c.f. of potting soil is a good amount to use.
CC
Looking for some advice for a friend.
I have a buddy that had a bunch of used Pro-Mix and I helped him amend some with a mix similar to super soil... (Before I knew Better)
Long story short he vegged along time, topped every branch like crazy maybe a foot off the top and then vegged longer.
Once into flower everything looked BEAUTIFUL. Big Bushes everywhere....
Problem being, these huge plants are in 3-5 Gallon containers and root bound.
Within a week they starting yellowing everywhere and and now are showing rust looking spots on the yellow leaves.
I brewed a compost tea and he applied it.... no help yet.
Any Ideas for something that could give them some assistance?
Maybe a TM-7 Foliar Spray?
I would suggest a top dress but these small containers are filled to the brim already and now he's having to water by hand every single night or they will run out....
I have a buddy that had a bunch of used Pro-Mix and I helped him amend some with a mix similar to super soil... (Before I knew Better)
Long story short he vegged along time, topped every branch like crazy maybe a foot off the top and then vegged longer.
Once into flower everything looked BEAUTIFUL. Big Bushes everywhere....
Problem being, these huge plants are in 3-5 Gallon containers and root bound.
Within a week they starting yellowing everywhere and and now are showing rust looking spots on the yellow leaves.
I brewed a compost tea and he applied it.... no help yet.
Any Ideas for something that could give them some assistance?
Maybe a TM-7 Foliar Spray?
I would suggest a top dress but these small containers are filled to the brim already and now he's having to water by hand every single night or they will run out....
It beats using the colonoscopy procedure...
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