opinions on my living organic soil recipie

[oinkimacow]

Hello IC community,


I am fairly new to the no till living organic world and wanted to give my shot at making my own living soil. i have done a bit or research and came up with a recipe that i think is pretty diverse and would work great for my garden. i would just like some opinions on my ratios and materials used. if it will be too hot or if it needs more tweaking. the more input the better. so far my recipe is.



30% aeration:


5% bio char - 9 gallons
6.6% lava rock - 12 gallons
6.6% rice hulls - 12 gallons
6.6% pumice - 12 gallons



45% peat moss - 81 gallons
5% humus - 9 gallons



25% compost:


5% chicken manure - 9 gallons
10% oly mountain compost - 18 gallons
10% bu's blend bio dynamic compost - 18 gallons



I plan on making 180 gallons of soil using ingredients above and amending it with the kis organics nutrient "pack" ( 2, 5 gallon buckets full) i want to let it cook for about a month.

 

[Lapides]

I see too many numbers, but if you're letting it cook for a month and you're buying a "pack", I'm sure you'll be fine.


Only one way to know for sure.

 

[Lapides]

Only thing I would add is about 100,000 live worms, give or take 100,000.

 

[theJointedOne]

lots of good proven recipes here to try as well

good luck! post up some pics or a write up of how it goes!

 

[oinkimacow]

there is a lot of numbers not going to lie. i wanted to break it down to exactly what im using. im pretty sure it'll be fine, curious if anyone has done a similar mix and what the results were. appreciate the input!

 

[oinkimacow]

Only thing I would add is about 100,000 live worms, give or take 100,000.

will for sure be adding a Ton of worms, still debating if i want to continue using 20 gallon pots or go to a 4x8 raised bed.

 

[oinkimacow]

lots of good proven recipes here to try as well

good luck! post up some pics or a write up of how it goes!

i agree, there are some great recipes on here. if all fails on this run i will look into the more proven recipes. ill be doing the mix in about 2 weeks ill post my results probably by the end of December

 

[Lapides]

Pots or beds have good results. I'd go beds if you think you can be semi-permanent where you are.


I'm in 25 gallon pots now, but have done beds too. Both have their advantages IME.

 

[oinkimacow]

Pots or beds have good results. I'd go beds if you think you can be semi-permanent where you are.


I'm in 25 gallon pots now, but have done beds too. Both have their advantages IME.

i have a bed going in my veg tent, literally set it up like a week ago so far i like the looks of it. only problem is my op is on the second floor. id be a little worried about the weight if i do a 4x8 bed. if my math is correct it would be 1200-1500 pounds after water. i plan on moving in a year or two so i might do it then. i can see some of the pros and cons in beds. what has your experience been like between the two?

 

[thailer]

i just have two suggestions. if you're doing no till, the rice hulls will decompose fairly quickly so you may want to use something else. Also, i've used the KIS soil and it is pretty heavy on the nitrogen so i would not include the chicken manure. i would take the manure and build a compost pile to sit over winter.

 

[troutman]

Adding some carbon rich materials like straw or leaves helps in building a natural soil.

 

[oinkimacow]

i just have two suggestions. if you're doing no till, the rice hulls will decompose fairly quickly so you may want to use something else. Also, i've used the KIS soil and it is pretty heavy on the nitrogen so i would not include the chicken manure. i would take the manure and build a compost pile to sit over winter.

I am doing no till, thanks for the heads up! What els would you suggest to use? I would just increase how much pumice I add. If you were to sub out the chicken manure what would you use instead? Possibly seabird guano? Or would you just remove it completely?

 

[Lapides]

People pu-pu perlite, but my dirt is over 6 years old and my perlite pieces are all still bigger than popcorn kernels and bigger, not much smaller than what they started out at. You're going to be adding more of whatever you're aerating with in the future anyway and perlite is super cheap. IME no need in spending extra money for that big perlite boulder bullshit either, especially if you really do plan on having worms.

 

[bucketswithsoil]

People pu-pu perlite, but my dirt is over 6 years old and my perlite pieces are all still bigger than popcorn kernels and bigger, not much smaller than what they started out at. You're going to be adding more of whatever you're aerating with in the future anyway and perlite is super cheap. IME no need in spending extra money for that big perlite boulder bullshit either, especially if you really do plan on having worms.

Lapides knows the jam..... Always throwing around solid advice....

 

[Dr.Young]

I'd say... little more aeration... less compost... 40-40-20.. Good mulch layer..

I'm looking into the kis mix now, and would like to get it but... Dr.Earth bud is a little more affordable.... I just gotta add gypsum,glacial,oystershell, and lime to it is all. Dr.Earth flower has Alfalfa,Feathermeal,Fishbonemeal, fishmeal, kelp meal, kelp flour, potas sulfate, leonardite, and beneficial bacteria+myco.... I've been sucessful with it before I just gotta tweak the whole calcium\lime\ph thing....

Heres a link to the Kis that should realy help though
https://www.kisorganics.com/blogs/news/98112897-mixing-your-own-soil-using-the-kis-nutrient-pack