Organic Fanatic Collective

[Guest]

I have been using worm castings that the producer claims are very high in protien due to the fact that they feed cow manure to the worms. The last 3weeks or so I have been adding 3cups EWC, 1/4cup lentils, 5tbs seaweed extract, 5tbs molasses and 40ml of cannazym to 2 1/2gallons of water. After about 3days of aeration and temps at 76F, the mix is dilluted to 1/2 strength. I have found this grow to be very, very, very, healthy and vigorous. I wonder if the high protien EWC and lentils are providing a large amount of amino acids? I have allways ran the classic teas (with experimentation and variation in recipe), but these castings look and feel different and the amount of cannazym is way beyond normal for me. The lentils are new as well. I have been foliar and top drench feeding with this mix.

I posted a link a while back in this thread in regards to another amino acid producer and have yet to source their product. I think DIY is possible and maybe underway now that I think more about it!

 

[ThaiPhoon]

jaykush..2 weeks !! Can you share your recipe for the activator?

azeotrope.. I also feed my worms cow poo. I chuck in a few handfulls of rice bran once in a while as well as azomite, lime and other rock dusts. worms breed like crazy given all that. I don't know for sure, but I think the amino acids in the rice bran break down and become available through the vermicompost process...That tea recipe you listed is awesome...I don't have cannazyme here, but I made some bionutes with pineapples and papayas so the enzymes may be in that...

 

[jaykush]

jaykush..2 weeks !! Can you share your recipe for the activator?

hey its still a work on progress but heres what i got so far.

ingredients:
nettle, yarrow, dandelion, oak bark, chamomile, lacto bacillis culture, wildflower honey, amino's, and a few other things cant remember. all goes in the tumbler, in summer fresh compost in 2 weeks. takes 3-4 when its freezing cold in the winter, bu still a lot faster than other processes. still getting the ingredients and ratios right as well as the compost materials top notch. as for the batches ive done there great i have bout 80 lbs of compost waiting for spring.

 

[vonforne]

hey its still a work on progress but heres what i got so far.

ingredients:
nettle, yarrow, dandelion, oak bark, chamomile, lacto bacillis culture, wildflower honey, amino's, and a few other things cant remember. all goes in the tumbler, in summer fresh compost in 2 weeks. takes 3-4 when its freezing cold in the winter, bu still a lot faster than other processes. still getting the ingredients and ratios right as well as the compost materials top notch. as for the batches ive done there great i have bout 80 lbs of compost waiting for spring.

JK, I will be using the same things now. I have them growing in my yard now.

I will do some documenting on them with pictures. I will also be cloning with willow bark. I have never tried it yet but have talked to some who do and they say it is very effective and not to mention free. There are a few others like Valeria and Horsetail. All the ingredients for Biodynamics.

Simply cut away some bark from a white willow and steep in water for about a week. Soak the cuttings in the solution and then treat as you would any other clone.

V

 

[Suby]

Great Topics all,

I wish I had more to share, I have been busy doing the toddler thing, she is so cute it doesn't make you want to sit at a computer, it makes you want to call in sick and go to the mall and watch her run around and feed her A&W french fries from the food court.

JK your composting skills are the shit, can we get a pic of what that compost looks like finished?

Peace All,

thank you all for continuing where some of us left off...

Suby

 

[jaykush]

hey V yea only thing i don't got around here is Valerian(or at least i cant find it), i will be getting some seeds though for this spring. and horsetail we got in the mountains so its freeee as well. ive made the willow root hormone a few times when my old friend had one in his front yard. it got chopped cant find one close by and dont want to go hacking at random peoples trees. works good but i still like honey.

suby. yea ill try and get u a snap, one of the batch thats going now and some finished product i got sitting. its all good though gotta spend more time with your kid than us or id have to come over there and do something to ya. the composting has only begun here my friend. so many experiments to do so little space. compost is the key ingredient to quality organic nugs either it be a tea or amendment or top dressing.

oh yea forgot to mention this is anaerobic compost not aerobic. ive stopped tumbling the tumbler and let the microbes do there thing all by them selfs. more of a set it and forget it type thing. once i get the ratios down to perfection ill be up my nose with compost and have to find materials faster.

so be back later with some pics.

 

[ThaiPhoon]

I found an interesting link about a test done about using coffee grinds...kind of surprising info. The article claims that used coffee grinds provide good source of potassium and magnesium, which is great, but I thought it was a stronger source of N. Turns out is a slow release of N...
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/garden/article/0,20633,1208232,00.html

Now I've got a question about blood meal. I understand that blood meal is just dried blood scraped from the slaughter house floor. I can not find blood meal here, but it is very easy to find chicken blood and pig blood, because they are used to make noodle soups and stuff here. What do you all think about adding straight blood to the soil as a fert? Or should I dry it and make it into blood meal first?

 

[Guest]

Many years back I learned to make shelter belts of poplars....

We'd cut sticks off established trees and stick them (top side up!) in a trough containing water with scraps of willow bark. Soak a few days, and plant. Every tree took, and we planted thousands.

Just a wee heads up for willow bark.

 

[Suby]

Great link TP

Great link TP

Had to horde this in here, it was too worthy of discussion

The Starbucks coffee compost test
Lab report: Those free grounds really are good for your soil
Used coffee grounds make good soil amendments. That’s the buzz among gardeners lately. But what do your coffeepot’s leftovers really add to the soil?

To find out, Sunset sent a batch of Starbucks’ used coffee grounds — the company gives them away for free — to a soil lab for analysis. Turns out the grounds provide generous amounts of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and copper.

They also release nitrogen into the soil as they degrade. And they’re slightly acidic — a boon in the Western climate.

Dig or till them into the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches.

FULL REPORT

The following information was developed for Sunset by Soil and Plant Laboratory Inc., Bellevue, WA.

Summary: Use of Starbucks coffee grounds in amending mineral soils up to 35 percent by volume coffee grounds will improve soil structure over the short-term and over the long-term. Use of the coffee grounds at the specified incorporation rates (rototilled into a 6- to 8-inch depth) will substantially improve availabilities of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper and will probably negate the need for chemical sources of these plant essential elements.

The nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium “guaranteed analyses” would be as follows for the coffee grounds:

Nitrogen: 2.28 percent
Phosphorus: 0.06 percent
Potassium: 0.6 percent

Available nutrient levels: The pH or reaction of the coffee grounds is considered slightly acidic and in a favorable range at 6.2 on the pH scale.

Salinity (ECe) is a measurement of total soluble salts and is considered slightly elevated at 3.7 dS/m. The primary water-soluble salts in this product are potassium, magnesium, sodium and chloride. The potentially problematic ions in sodium and chloride are each sufficiently low as to be inconsequential in terms of creating problems for plants.

The availabilities of nitrogen, calcium, zinc, manganese and iron are quite low and in some cases deficient. Thus, the coffee grounds will not supply appreciable amounts of these essential plant elements when used as a mineral soil amendment.

However, the availabilities of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper are each sufficiently high that there will be a very positive impact on improving availabilities of these elements where the coffee grounds are used as a mineral soil amendment. The coffee grounds will negate the need for additional sources of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper when blended with mineral soils.

In summary, the available plant essential elements which will be substantially improved where the coffee grounds are used as a soil amendment, include phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper.

Total nutrient levels: Each cubic yard of these coffee grounds contains a total of 10.31 lbs. nitrogen, of which 0.01 lb. (0.09%) are available. Thus, even though available nitrogen is considered deficient in this product, there still remains over 10 lbs. of total nitrogen per cubic yard of coffee grounds. Thus, nitrogen is primarily bound in the organic fraction and is unavailable to plants until soil microorganisms degrade the organic fraction. Through this process, the nitrogen is converted to plant available forms. Over the long term the coffee grounds will act like a slow release fertilizer providing long-term nitrogen input which can then be utilized by plants.

Nearly all potassium and all magnesium are in the available forms. This means that immediate availability improvements for these two elements will take place when the coffee grounds are blended with mineral soils. About half of the copper and calcium are in their immediately available forms.

All other plant essential elements are primarily bound in the organic fraction and will thus be subject to slow release over time as soil microbes continue to degrade the organic fraction.

Physical properties: Virtually all particles passed the 1 millimeter (mm) screen resulting in a product which is very fine textured. Each cubic yard of the coffee grounds will supply an excellent amount of organic matter, measured at 442 lbs. organic matter per cubic yard. At the use rates indicated in this report, the input of organic matter will be substantial and will result in considerable short-term and long-term improvement of mineral soil structure.

Carbon/nitrogen ratio: On the basis of dry matter bulk density (452 lbs. per cubic yard), organic matter content (97.7%) and total nitrogen (2.28%), the estimated carbon/nitrogen ratio is about 24:1. This means that there is more than sufficient nitrogen present in the coffee grounds to provide for the nitrogen demand of the soil microorganisms as they degrade the organic fraction.

Use rate: Based on the overall chemistry and physical properties of the coffee grounds, they can be utilized at rates similar to other organic amendments when used in amending mineral soils. These data indicate that 25-35 percent by volume coffee grounds can be blended with mineral soils of any type to improve structure of those soils.

This sounds like we should mix some in with our soil mixes.
I like the fact that there are readily available minerals for plant absorption, now I'm not sure when they say plant that it includes MJ, our fav herb's needs at optimal rates are on the high side.

Maybe 10% by volume as a test could be cool to tryout, maybe I'll try some in a tea and see what happens, if some minerals are readily available then they should make it to the tea.

S
S

 

[jaykush]

well seems like we need some more info, as always it seems. today we have the plant survival kit. its a EXCELLENT read for newbies to growing even people who think they know everything. its not really about organics but it also made me realize why i dont like synthetic nutrients or (mineral salts as some like to call it) even more.

THE PLANT
SURVIVAL KIT


http://www.google.com/search?q=cach...id&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=34&gl=us&client=firefox-a

 

[judas cohen]

Suby: IMO, it all works (more or less), but it might work better to treat it like kelp meal and premix into the soil/compost before using. (Sounds like a good slow release N amendment.) I feel immediately available amendments like guanos, AKF 5-1-1, Maxicrop kelp extract, etc. work better in tea.....

Just a thought.....

 

[ThaiPhoon]

I made an organic mulch today using equal parts of the following: used coffee grounds, rice husk charcoal, EWC, and composted cow manure(very fluffy fibrous stuff!) I then worked a handful or so into the top inch of the potted MJ plants.

This should be a pretty decent mulch, lots of places for microbes to live/grow, food for them, slow release ferts...I could have even added a bit of guano, but I top dress with that stuff already.

 

[Suby]

Yeah JC i concur mixed directly into the soil would be best.
I think I might topdress my plants during flowering and see how it goes, I am flowering in very small containers for my grow style, I am doing a test to see the real difference using a smaller container with a higher ratio of coco peat.

TP sounds like a great mix, hope your outdoor grow is looking good.

Suby

 

[Smurf]

That does sound like a good mix you've made there thaiphoon, would love to see some pics of your outdoor,,, would also like to get my grubby little mitts on some of that rice husk charcoal that you frequently talk about,, I think its a great idea but not sure where to find it tho,,,

smurf

 

[Guest]

Smurf, the only place I've been able to find them is here :http://www.hhydro.com/cgi-bin/hhydro/HH00250.html
I'm looking for some place on the east coast. No luck so far. Sorry can't get it to post as a link. Well, hell's bells it did work.

 

[Smurf]

Cheers for that Old Fool, I have some where to start from now,,, might have to make some calls. Must admit I've never seen it on any the local manufacturers product listings. But I do know there are some rice farmers in New South Wales. You never never know.

 

[ThaiPhoon]

It sucks that you can't find the charcoal. It's practically free here. I think the shipping costs would be expensive unless you wanted many many kilo's of it... I know there is a foreigner around my area that DOES export the stuff. I could look into it a bit more. send a pm.

Even if you can get the unburned husks, making the charcoal is as simple as starting a small fire and heaping the husks onto it..letting the pile burn from the inside out...There are many pages of info if you Google it.

 

[Smurf]

,,,much appreciated ThaiPhoon,,,,

Remember that slack stoner sex reversal plant that never made it into a pot ? ,,, well I found a pic taken not long after I started it,,,, pity I cant find a pic of when the plant was covered with staminate flowers,,, I'll keep looking tho. The best part is she is now breaking out with pistils all over her,,, and not a nana in sight!


these first 2 pics were taken 23-Oct, about a month after I castrated him.
the centre image (if you look hard enough) you can see the original main stem (dead wood on angle), also in the 3rd.

below is from yesterday 23/Jan...



I'm gonna have to build some type of boxing around the soil if I want her to survive this heat,,
I've already had to cover the soil with old plastic to help retain the moisture.
Last Sunday I returned home from a few days up the Riverland
and she was wilted to the shit house.

Feeding is strictly teas,,, actually, she only gets the dregs of what's left over, nothing more.
The soil/compost mix has a little bit of almost every thing, including some zeolite & spongolite.
Not sure if I said this before, the mum was a NL#5 x Big Bud, and the dad was a Moroc x Afghan.

my pipe is packed full of bubble,,, I'm pumped! lol
happy gardening fellas
smurf

 

[Guest]

I cant wait till the outdoor so I can make some teas and do the organic thing for once. Is there a way to check the ppm of a tea to ensure you wont burn?

 

[Suby]

Smurf gorgeous monsters you are growing there.
I am still incredibly jealous of all you outdoor growers, I love being outside tending to my plants, one day when the world is free from opressors I will use the great halide in the sky again.

Sticky organic nutrients are not immediately available to the plant like hydro ferts, they break down over time so burning is less of an issue depending on what organic nutrients you put in your tea.

PPM's measure dissolved particles, hydro nutes dissolve immediately and are immediately available.
Organic nutes are broken down by the microherd in the rootzone into a form that is plant usable, this means organic teas don't read well on the ppm scale.

Using things like castings and guanos is a good way to go, start low and work your way up and your plants will do fine, or use one of the recipies in this forum or hell ask here and we'll help.

Welcome to the OFC!

Suby