Living organic soil from start through recycling

[invocation]

I have been wanting to read Gary Zimmer's book. Let me know how it is

Will do!

 

[Microbeman]

i use powdered food grade de and my plants show the anecdotal signs (more rigid stems, whiter ash) just like when I use silica

I am happy with it in this regard

and I was a proponent of it when I read it was not harmful to earthworms (but effects other insect populations) then I saw conflicting information, such as microbeman say it does (which I am not contesting)

I seed parts of my property (lots of dead fill no topsoil veggie gardens) with the recycled soil (i had soil from years of growing chemically that i eventually recycled, reclaimed organically and transitioned outdoors) so I would rather not negatively effect biological diversity by putting in something that eliminates part of it

so I am transitioning to neem meal in hopes it will serve the same purpose but degrade faster but I will need to replace the source of silica at least because even though its anecdotal it makes a difference

curious to see some other takes

Be sure to know what I stated is cautionary to my own practices and is not validated for sure. It has just been stated by others and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[RanchoDeluxe]

Invocation- I'm not sure why you are not following Coots mix exactly. Or why you are not trying to mimick Stan's mix. Stan's seems to be the hotter of the two if that's the route you are going.

I did notice 4 cups per c.f. of Glacial Rock Dust. It's supposed to be 4 cups per c.f. of mineral mix. The rock dust ends up being a little more than half of the mineral mix. Will it matter? I dunno. Following directions is crucial at times.
RD

 

[invocation]

RD, I took that into consideration earlier and plan to adjust this week. I do agree with you, it's just I was making due with what I had and supplementing with stuff in my inventory. Will adjust as I can

 

[Durdy]

My mineral mix for my outdoor this year is looking like this:

Per 1 C.F.
-1 cup glacial rock dust
-1 cup basalt rock dust
-1 cup azomite
-1/2 cup oyster shell flour
-1/2 cup gypsum

 

[W89]

theres nothing wrong at all with 4 cups of glacial rock dust per cuft!

 

[Dawn Patrol]

food grade DE is completely different than calcined...and I don't think they should even be grouped in the same conversation.

Agreed - once calcined, a totally different substance for our applied purposes.

I absolutely have seen benefits in soils amended with food grade DE.dank.Frank

I bought a 50 lb bag two years ago, need to reorder soon. I typically use 1/2 cup per cu ft of soil mix and haven't seen any benefit from increasing the % in the mix.

I still use as a dust in veg if I see signs of predation on the plants and I use around my house as an organic pest barrier.

 

[invocation]

theres nothing wrong at all with 4 cups of glacial rock dust per cuft!

Not too worried about this one but maybe the 2 cups of fish bone meal was a little too much. I'm going to cut it down with peat, perlite, compost, ewc. I get really good quality local castings for about a buck a pound. I have started a worm farm and compost as well.

 

[invocation]

My mineral mix for my outdoor this year is looking like this:

Per 1 C.F.
-1 cup glacial rock dust
-1 cup basalt rock dust
-1 cup azomite
-1/2 cup oyster shell flour
-1/2 cup gypsum

That's really nice and simple as it prob should be. Is your indoor mix similar? Mind posting that one?

cheers!

 

[vonforne]

I was speaking of the Napa 8822 and not the DE powder.

 

[RanchoDeluxe]

theres nothing wrong at all with 4 cups of glacial rock dust per cuft!

I agree completely. Not sure about the lack of oyster, bentonite and basalt.

Fish bone meal should be all good...

 

[invocation]

I got all 3 coming this week actually so I will reamend my soil when it gets here. I'm used to mixing my soil every other week. Should I avoid that in this case letting it sit undisturbed? I think Stan's recipe mentions that.

Keep the love flowin

 

[Durdy]

That's really nice and simple as it prob should be. Is your indoor mix similar? Mind posting that one?

cheers!

The only difference in my indoor mix is that theres no gypsum and more oyster shell powder to replace it.

Not because it's indoor just because I didn't have any gypsum on hand at the time.

Just found a source for bentonite, will probably add that in the future.

 

[xmobotx]

usually turn my soil mixes from time to time

been pretty certain that 'leave it sit' means dont use it yet but not 'leave it completely alone' on account of the mix can become anaerobic in 'deeper' regions if it sits undisturbed too long w/o the plant's symbiotic action

idk~ also more of a 'more mixing is better than less' ideal w/ mixing these organic mixes

 

[Neo 420]

been pretty certain that 'leave it sit' means dont use it yet but not 'leave it completely alone' on account of the mix can become anaerobic in 'deeper' regions if it sits undisturbed too long w/o the plant's symbiotic action

Whenever I make soil batches I tend to give it a good mix every couple of days. That and longer nutrient cycles seem to make the soil behave better and shows less signs of clawing and burnt tips when potted.
Its funny because my first batch of "real living soil" I could hardly wait for the 3 weeks to use the mix but now I like 2 months or more sitting time.

Side note:
Currently I run no tills containers and recycled soil smart pots. One of the recycled soil plants had just been cut down and I had several clones on deck that needed to be transplanted pronto.

Well I have several mixed that are still compost'in but none ready for use. Immediately after cutting the flowering plant, I took the dirt out out (roots and all) and planted several clones with it.(No re-amends) The clones have taken off extremely fast. Rapid growth and behaves like there was no disturbance.
The plants will be transplanted into the awaiting compostin mix in a month or so....

 

[xmobotx]

i run an occasional container w/ no re-amend {no-till} and see little if any variance

this compared to the NSM/EWC topdress/mulch for veg w/ FBM/compost(nut-cycl'd) for flower

fbm=fish bone meal {not sure if thats a common enough acronym yet}

 

[Cann]

you lost me at NSM too...

neem seed meal? thats the only thing I can think of lol.

anyone topdress bu's blend? I'm out of EWC at the moment...

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

No, but I've top dressed with farmer Ds' which is similar without any problems at all.

 

[John Deere]

Last summer I had a batch sit a bit too long undisturbed and it got pretty smelly. I started turning it daily and it cleared up. I still turn it occasionally but not nearly as often.

 

[invocation]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm glad mixing soil every week or so is my norm already.

@Cann- I've used another commercial compost called bioflora as a top dress with great results. I typically use 50/50 ewc and compost.