Living organic soil from start through recycling

[IncredibowlBoss]

some of the "big dawgs" in the thread don't like GH's ancient forrest.

is this because the stuff is just plain garbage or is it because there are much better products out there? the good stuff costs 4-5X what the GH product costs in my area and $$$ always throws a wrench in the garden gears. i was thinking about using the Gh stuff in the mix and buying a bag of the good stuff for teas. i know it's not optimal, but i have to work with what i can A)get and B) afford.

"the rectangle" is a really shitty place to find good organic amendments without a really thick wallet IMHO ........ at least now i know to look for buffaloam in the health food store thanks to incredibowlboss. vitamin cottage is where i get a bunch of the stuff i eat, but looking for compost in there never crossed my mind

They usually have the Neptune's Harvest stuff as well - I try to buy as much of my garden stuff from there as possible and get pretty creative - the bulk manager will order you a lot of bulk botanicals (some stuff isn't in their catalog though) - and you can get case prices on many things (or they'll custom order you large volumes of stuff in some cases, like aloe vera). They sometimes ask out of curiousity what I'm doing, and I tell them I use it for my garden - I've seen some very strange people in there - the clerks don't even bat an eyelid at grocery store gardening guy.

As with everything at Vitamin Cottage, it's a bit more expensive than you can find on the internet, but especially as you get bulk prices, it's really not that much - and it's still way cheaper than any options thru the hydro store.

 

[greenmatter]

As I recall its just Alaska magic, Denali, GO (whatever) and its just peat moss and some volcanic rock dust. With the price jacked......

Could be wrong..... I smoke dope

GS

what? sweet jebus i just realized i've been listening to stoners advice on how to grow weed ....... silly me. must be the drug ..... puff,puff,pass

 

[MrSterling]

I fucking love Neptune's Harvest. Just wish they were a little bit cheaper, but we can't get everything we want.

 

[Weird]

Weird

Have you used any of their potting soil mixes vs. their compost products?

CC

a close friend has been raving about their lobster compost

i have a hard time sourcing it locally but i was able to get bumper crop

i started using it this season in various applications

http://coastofmaine.com/blog/?p=108

outdoors in a raised bed, to condition soil for a new section of garden and for various container plants indoor and outdoor 30-70% mix

my soil is recycled promix that gets mixed amendments and teas added to it as needed

it works well as a conditioner but when i used it in a 30-70 with peat as a ewc substute but it fell little short

i like the added diversity but I have to run experiment with it to really get an idea of its effectiveness and value add

while im adding more sources to my organic repertoire my experience with the recycled peat keeps telling my KISS and less is more

im planing a lil side by side action so i can have some definitive ill let know know when i see some results

 

[Microbeman]

some of the "big dawgs" in the thread don't like GH's ancient forrest.

is this because the stuff is just plain garbage or is it because there are much better products out there? the good stuff costs 4-5X what the GH product costs in my area and $$$ always throws a wrench in the garden gears. i was thinking about using the Gh stuff in the mix and buying a bag of the good stuff for teas. i know it's not optimal, but i have to work with what i can A)get and B) afford.

"the rectangle" is a really shitty place to find good organic amendments without a really thick wallet IMHO ........ at least now i know to look for buffaloam in the health food store thanks to incredibowlboss. vitamin cottage is where i get a bunch of the stuff i eat, but looking for compost in there never crossed my mind

What exactly is the good stuff? Ancient Forest and so-called Alaska Humus are not terribly different from northern harvested Canadian sphagnum peatmoss. [Premier & Alaska Peat]

 

[BlueJayWay]

What exactly is the good stuff? Ancient Forest and so-called Alaska Humus are not terribly different from northern harvested Canadian sphagnum peatmoss. [Premier & Alaska Peat]

I think the issue is the unsuspecting hydro/online store consumer perceives this product to be much more than just sphagnum peat moss (?) As opposed to an actual ancient forest humus

 

[Weird]

They do... I told him to either go with the straight potting mix or use the compost in pro-mix.

Have you tried Neptune's Harvest? They are on the same level of quality, the parent company is Ocean Crest Seafoods, so all of their materials are leftovers from seafood production. I have seen a few threads about people using the fish/seaweed as their only fertilizer, and I have used it myself, until I started making my own fish hydrolysate and seaweed fpe. It works GREAT as a foliar.

neptunes and earth juice are my go liquid ferts

if i feel my amendments are a bit light i ad da tap of neptunes

if i feel my microbiology needs a boost i make some ej tea

i use neptunes fish as well when i feel the need but its strong stuff and you dont want that mixture sitting in a pot for any length of time so i use it with plants that ware moving fast and only if i pre water

 

[Microbeman]

I think the issue is the unsuspecting hydro/online store consumer perceives this product to be much more than just sphagnum peat moss (?) As opposed to an actual ancient forest humus

But what is the good stuff which is 4 times as expensive? Is it Denali Gold?...sputter...cough

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I think the issue is the unsuspecting hydro/online store consumer perceives this product to be much more than just sphagnum peat moss (?) As opposed to an actual ancient forest humus

EarthFort carries this as a premium humus source under the Denali Gold Humus label - $29.00 FOB

Add another $12.00 S&H - minimum

Overview

Denali Gold Humus is harvested from ancient Alaskan humus deposits. This fully decomposed organic matter degraded very slowly over time and has been preserved by the unique climate of the region. Cubic foot bags ship UPS, larger sizes are freight items.

Blow me

 

[Bodean]

I know it takes experience to estimate yields and i understand the variables in this factor. But as I have witnessed a few of the veteran growers seem to 'guesstamate' the final dry yield.

At what point in the flowering stage can you do this?

I'm aware of the 'what ifs' like mold and screwups. But that aside, even HighTimes correspondents make estimated guesses and quite accurately.

 

[BlueJayWay]

But what is the good stuff which is 4 times as expensive? Is it Denali Gold?...sputter...cough

OOOOOHHHHhhh, the expensive stuff is in my backyard, it's a year in the making and currently some volunteer cantaloupes are reaping the rewards a little early

 

[Seandawg]

I know it takes experience to estimate yields and i understand the variables in this factor. But as I have witnessed a few of the veteran growers seem to 'guesstamate' the final dry yield.

At what point in the flowering stage can you do this?

I'm aware of the 'what ifs' like mold and screwups. But that aside, even HighTimes correspondents make estimated guesses and quite accurately.

Lol, sometimes you can make a guesstamate at the end of your veg and make a pretty good assumption. I havent done that in forever tho. With experience you'll be able to tell. But with experience you wont really give a crap any more either lol.

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

I know it takes experience to estimate yields and i understand the variables in this factor. But as I have witnessed a few of the veteran growers seem to 'guesstamate' the final dry yield.

At what point in the flowering stage can you do this?

I'm aware of the 'what ifs' like mold and screwups. But that aside, even HighTimes correspondents make estimated guesses and quite accurately.

If you've run the cut before, it's relatively easy to tell if you're doing better or worse than last time, but I can say with some confidence that the growers who are calculating yields never do as well as the ones trying to keep their plants as happy as possible.

After harvest, calculate your grams/watt and grams/square foot of canopy space - these benchmarks will help you estimate in the future.

That said, the best growers I know dont even weigh their harvests...

 

[Bodean]

Lol, sometimes you can make a guesstamate at the end of your veg and make a pretty good assumption. I havent done that in forever tho. With experience you'll be able to tell. But with experience you wont really give a crap any more either lol.

Cool. I can tell you grow for the good reasons. You are right in the fact that its not the destination, but the journey.

 

[Bodean]

If you've run the cut before, it's relatively easy to tell if you're doing better or worse than last time, but I can say with some confidence that the growers who are calculating yields never do as well as the ones trying to keep their plants as happy as possible.

After harvest, calculate your grams/watt and grams/square foot of canopy space - these benchmarks will help you estimate in the future.

That said, the best growers I know dont even weigh their harvests...

Thanks for the wise words. I guess my anxiety is getting the best of me. Its difficult to contain my enthusiasm when all has gone so well so far. Although my whole grow is for my head I'm going to weigh it just as a benchmark. I'll always keep my girls happy! Thanks!

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

Thanks for the wise words. I guess my anxiety is getting the best of me. Its difficult to contain my enthusiasm when all has gone so well so far. Although my whole grow is for my head I'm going to weigh it just as a benchmark. I'll always keep my girls happy! Thanks!

How many plants?
How much light/floor space will you flower them in?

EDIT: I just read in the outdoor 2012 thread that it's blueberry bag seed outdoors in a 5 gal - if you haven't started bloom yet, transplant to a 10 gal - if I read it right tho, you're in week 9, so harvest is a week or two away. Gather the branches together, imagine the buds are in a bag, and eyeball estimate the weight, then divide by 4 - that should be close to your dry yield

 

[Toes.]

Rise and Shine Living Organic Soil Recyclers!

get out there and recycle some shit.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I'd like to recycle some shit but our new resident botanists have cornered the market so to speak - recycling shit that is

 

[Weird]

vericomposting for victory

 

[Gascanastan]

Rise and Shine Living Organic Soil Recyclers!

View Image

get out there and recycle some shit.

....ahhh wise words. I have watched my pile of massive shit and kitchen scraps become compost and in turn build mass and turn blacker over the last two months.....in a few more months I will have at least 1 cubic yard of usuable material to incorporate into my soil.