The New & Improved [ROLS MEGATHREAD].

[HughMungus]

Some people have mentioned using poop. I have a couple rabbits that are fed a timothy hay/alfalfa mix along with some fruits and veggies, and was wondering if/how I could incorporate this?

Would their droppings be best used in my worm bin? Compost teas? Directly in to my soil mix? All of the above?

 

[TwistedPistils]

Hugh, my guess would be compost (edit- compost heap, not compost tea) but worms sounds good too. The experts will chime in shortly...

 

[Gascanastan]

Some people have mentioned using poop. I have a couple rabbits that are fed a timothy hay/alfalfa mix along with some fruits and veggies, and was wondering if/how I could incorporate this?

Would their droppings be best used in my worm bin? Compost teas? Directly in to my soil mix? All of the above?

Run it through a compost...or allow it to breakdown thoroughly in a soil mix. I recently acquired about 5 cubic feet of sloppy and wet rabbit shit from some hippie rabbits....it's was just so gooey and fresh the best option was adding to the compost which will eventually be part of the same soil I use anyway.

 

[xmobotx]

When I walk around my back yard, the life surrounds the wood. Turn over an old log, so much is going on right there underneath it. I like incorporating wood into the soil, I am turning my backyard into Hugelkulture hills. Hugelkulture utilizes old logs and woody debris buried in the ground, which in turn supports lots of life in the soil and creates a superior raised bed. When I set up my indoor no-till beds I plan on burying rotting log chunks into the container.
My whole gardening out look has changed since I discovered the ROLS threads. You guys truly are amazing with all your information, and ALOE VERA ROCKS!!!

and what you are seeing is one of many manifestations of that perma-culture tenet pertinent to transitions

e.g. the water's edge; hills to valleys ~same applies to varying textures {i.e. hard to soft}

of course the role of decaying wood in nature is a studied and diverse thing of it's own ~habitat is part of it

 

[LilMan72003]

Interbay Mulch

Interbay Mulch

The Interbay Mulch is the use of a layer of burlap placed over the top of various organic material that you pile up on top of soil. Organic matter decomposes much faster on top of the soil than it does if tilled in as long as it is covered and kept moist and dark. The byproducts of this process enrich and feed the soil under it in some very interesting ways.
A few years ago a four day course on soil ecology was held at Oregon State University. This course was attended by one of the Interbay site coordinators and the idea of Interbay Mulch occured to him while driving back to Seattle.

The OSU microarthropod expert, Dr. Andy Moldenke, said in his presentation that 90% of all soil organisms live in the top inch of the soil. Dr. Elaine Ingham of SoilFoodweb then said in her presentation that plant health and productivity depends on that biological activity in the soil. These two bits of information inspired the concept of using a burlap "cover" to create a deep,dark,and damp "litter layer".

The Interbay Mulch attempts to expand the conditions in that biologically active one inch litter layer to 6, 12, or even 18 inches. The idea is to recreate and magnify the natural conditions that produce rich, fertile soil. The use of damp burlap (coffee sacks are readily available in the Seattle area but purchased burlap can be substituted) proved to be the ideal material for enhancing the biological activity associated with the humus production.

Depending on your soil needs, and the amount of organic material you have access to, you would build a mulch 6" to 18" deep.
Mix the materials well and wet them down. Cover over this with the burlap. The burlap should also be damp. You could soak them in a large barrel (they will be HEAVY) or water over the "hump" with a sprinkler until everything is nice and damp. Monitor the pile for moisture content and water if any materials are dry. Decomposition comes to a halt when materials dry out. The mulch will probably be reduced to 30% it's original height when it is finished and will have turned into a rich, dark and most importantly biologicaly active humus.

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/soil/2000081841014638.html

The breakdown/decomposition time will vary depending on your zone and the time of year you build your mulch. Expect 4-6 months on average before you can move the burlap aside and plant.
This has been compared to a long-known method of soil building known as "sheet composting" and, more recently, "Lasagna" gardening. While there are similarities in these methods and some common benefits, the Interbay approach differs in that it is proven to be a faster and more effective means of producing a large volume of rich humus as well as a rich diversity of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, beneficial nematodes, microarthropods, and worms.
The Interbay method actively seeks to create conditions that culture the maximum populations of beneficial soil microorganisms thereby achieving the maximum benefit from the inputs.
Interbay Mulched soil, according to the lab that tested it, is "uniquely active".
Living soil is successfull soil! And best of all, it's free!
What is the purpose of the burlap?

Here is a list of benefits attributed to the burlap cover:
Maintains the optimum dark, moist conditions prefered by most decomposer organisms.
Encourages colonization by, and reproduction of, soil organisms as well as the microorganisms associated with compost and those introduced with new materials. Using the burlapped system, the biodiversity and abundance of life in finished humus is extremely high according to the analyses done.
Protects from driving rain and minor freezes. Burlap, if dried out, will absorb a lot of rain before letting it gently pass into the mulch.
Burlap covers the mulch but, also acts as host to a multitude of fungi and other organisms, performs an important habitat role.
Protects worms, etc from birds. Birds consume a huge quantity of worms. In an Interbay Mulch worms reproduce and populate without predation.
Burlap covers the mulch but is permeable enough for required oxygen to reach all parts of the system.
The materials used to create an effective pile, or "Humps" as they are called, can be gleaned from a number of sources. Almost any organic material can be utilized and it has been shown that the wider the variety of inputs you can use the richer the resulting humus will be. People who have done this have been very creative in finding sources of suitable materials.

A few of these include:
Yard waste and grass clippings
Shreaded newspapers
Spent grain from breweries
Coffee grounds from Starbucks
Vegatable waste/trimmings from greengrocers
Used floral arangements
Pulp left over from Juice Bars
Shredded fall leaves
Composted manure
The ingredients you use to build the "Humps" can be fine tuned to produce specific conditions and soil chemistry depending on what type of crop you wish to grow in each bed. i.e. using some pine needles to prepare a bed for more acid loving plants.

To make the whole idea fun and interesting the latest version of the recipe was modelled after a local juice bar menu.
INTERBAY MULCH" RECIPE

Enough burlap bags to cover the area you are developing. (2 layers work better than one).

Basic Recipe (Just a guideline. Mulchers are encouraged to be creative): 50% leaves 50% fresh garden debris (put any seed heads in compost bin)
Supercharged: Add one wheelbarrow of young or unfinished compost per 100 sqare feet of area.
Supercharged plus: Add one bucket of leaf mold per 100 sq. ft of area.
Nitrogen Boost: Add fresh grass clippings, carrot pulp, espresso grounds, wine pressings, seaweed, spent grain, composted manure.
Mineral Boost: Add fresh seaweed, eelgrass, glacial till, granite dust.
Calcium Boost: Add egg shells, ground oyster shell.
Carbon Boost: More leaves, rotted sawdust, rotted straw, dryer lint, rotted burlap
Energy Boost: Add "green" materials (low C:N) such as kitchen waste over the winter to increase worm density.
It has been noted that, over time, Interbay Mulched soil can generate up to 750 lbs. of available nitrogen per acre per quarter from the nitrogen cycling activity of the micro and macroorganisms living in it.
CAUTION:

One user points out that in some areas this process may attract scroungers. Skunks, raccoons and such looking to make a meal of the worms and other critters working to break things down under your "Humps'. This can be annoying as well as messy. You could place a layer of chicken wire over the burlap and pin it to the ground but critters can be determined if they sense an easy meal is to be had.

If you need to build humus and tilth, and aren't plagued with four legged scroungers, it has much to offer as it utilizes materials that might otherwise wind up in the waste stream and ultimately landfills.

 

[mapinguari]

Really cool, tho "uniquely active" sounds like marketing imo.

 

[Coba]

better! than most samples... in MY AREA

ain't that the truth. that's why I grow. everything else is just bland chemmy dro in comparison... even the deez...

Killer Guava was tasty... tasted like pure guava... haven't seen it in a while though. I would love to get my hands on a cut.

Lou, it takes ballz of steel, mixed with a lil crazy just to grow MJ in FL. but to pull off what you've done... well, that's just a whole 'nother level man... Respect.

 

[John Deere]

I've got a couple 20 G geopots on the way. I'm going to set up 2 no-till containers and just swap them back and forth between my veg area and flower cab. I'm still a few amendments short of what I'd like to have in my mix but things seem to be going well so I may as well get the ball a-rollin'.

 

[vonforne]

I've got a couple 20 G geopots on the way. I'm going to set up 2 no-till containers and just swap them back and forth between my veg area and flower cab. I'm still a few amendments short of what I'd like to have in my mix but things seem to be going well so I may as well get the ball a-rollin'.

I always add later. lol Today I transplanted 15 skunkberrys and added Calcium Bentonite. Might top off with some fish meal next week or some Neem cake. Don´t know for sure yet.

I have the 5s ready to go for flowering so might add the fish meal to those and let it break down before they go in there all the while adding compost teas.

V

 

[Microbeman]

I always add later. lol Today I transplanted 15 skunkberrys and added Calcium Bentonite. Might top off with some fish meal next week or some Neem cake. Don´t know for sure yet.

I have the 5s ready to go for flowering so might add the fish meal to those and let it break down before they go in there all the while adding compost teas.

V

Where did you get the calcium bentonite? How much did it cost?

 

[Cann]

wondering exactly the same thing...

also how much did you add to your mix?

 

[Gascanastan]

Coot's 1976 Nigerian Landrace x BMR...ROLS with a couple ACT's,continual doses of Coot's barley seed enzyme tea,and a single alfalfa tea @ 1 cup of alfalfa meal to 55 gallons water.



This has a PTSD relieving property reported by many military veteran's of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars...

 

[Cann]

crazy doubleheaded nug on the bottom left at the edge of the frame..are those just chunky foxtails? looks like some great smoke

 

[Gascanastan]

crazy doubleheaded nug on the bottom left at the edge of the frame..are those just chunky foxtails? looks like some great smoke

Not really a heavy foxtailing cross. Finishes at 55 days....the bigger they get the bigger the yield. 1/2 lb. plants possible for sure. The mother Nigerian did some foxtailing,not a whole lot like some Blueberries do. The flowers are silver-ish looking w/red hairs...something these pix don't show to well.
Super frosty..not sleepy,not racy...just a pretty balanced and comfortable thing that isn't too weak nor too strong. The taste is indescribable since most people will never know what a Nigerian landrace taste and smells like. The Durban's have a watered down Nigerian smell.....it is clear to me the similarities between the Durban and the Nigerian even though they are decades apart as well as regionally separated....the cross carried mom's traits WELL!

 

[RicoT]

This has a PTSD relieving property reported by many military veteran's of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars...

View Image

This entire forum has a PTSD relieving property..
Gives me so much to look forward to getting home!!
In Afghanistan now btw

Also huge thanks to all you guys who contribute to the knowledge base in the organics forum now! Only a year or two ago it wasn't NEARLY so conducive to new comers... Not to mention educational.

 

[BlueJayWay]

Coot's 1976 Nigerian Landrace x BMR...ROLS with a couple ACT's,continual doses of Coot's barley seed enzyme tea,and a single alfalfa tea @ 1 cup of alfalfa meal to 55 gallons water.



This has a PTSD relieving property reported by many military veteran's of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars...

View Image

I need to do my seed run of these already to make a selection - I have an Afghanistan war veteran w/ PTsD as a patient that is dying to try this one out.....

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

I like the sound of the burlap mulch technique. I do something very similar with lots of thick hay mulch outdoors. Really helps keep the topsoil moist and active with worms, springtails etc. Even seems to keep the slugs happy and away from my tomatoes and strawberries as they prefer it underneath.

Indoors i am now using a straw mulch with kelp, bat guano and composted (certified organic) manure pellets (these just in each corner of the pot) underneath. There is an abundance of insects and decomposition going on underneath.

I will try the burlap if i can pick some up for free.

 

[Cann]

i wish i could find burlap for free around here...

i was at home depot today and they have 25' x 4' rolls of burlap for $12...might have to pick some up next time.

first i'll call some local coffee shops...again lol. fingers crossed...

 

[BlueJayWay]

the local coffee shop after crazy guy on phone asks for used burlap saks - "uhhh...whats burlap?"

 

[RanchoDeluxe]

I have really good success sprouting barley seeds in burlap. I bought five rolls at the dollar store for 5 bucks. Think I'll add some clover between the burlap and try to mulch w/ it and see what happens.