Thinking of using local soil...maybe?

[Clackamas Coot]

That is a great idea! Their website lists 3000 cocoons for $55 dollars including shipping. Does anyone know roughly how many worms come out of a single cocoon? It seems like a great deal, as I paid 25 dollars a pound when I got some Red Wigglers a year ago from someone locally.

Trichgnomes

Don't laugh but the quote I received when I inquired was, seriously, approximately 3.2 worms per cocoon.

Who figures out this stuff anyway? LOL

Then at maturity, it's approximately 1,000 worms per lb. if the worm seller is legitimate.

Good luck on that one.

CC

 

[guest2012y]

Their EWC are available in Portland but not their potting soils.

I met the owner last August at a trade show up in Portland. Nice gentleman and has a nice operation.

RE: Redworms

Have you considered buying cocoons vs. actual worms? Blue Ridge Organics & Earthworms out of California is a top-notch supplier if you're interested.

They carry any number of composting worms as well as actual earthworm cocoons.

HTH

CC

I did meet with a local supplier of Wiggle Worm brand EWC. He has a worm farm out towards the mountain. Gave me 3-30 pound bags for $45..I thought it was a deal because of the prices I see everywhere else. The cocoons thing sounds trippy,wonder how long a feller could store them?

 

[Clackamas Coot]

The cocoons thing sounds trippy,wonder how long a feller could store them?

Cocoons hibernate over winter so perhaps you can refrigerate them?

That's probably a question better answered by the supplier.

CC

 

[Clackamas Coot]

before I use outside compost I bake it in the oven for 10 minutes at 300, kill any bugs, not long enough to destroy the goodies of the soil. Add xtra perlite, you're golden.

moonie

My all-time favorite pot growing author "Whore? Hey! Cervantes" used to recommend 'baking' one's soil to kill a bunch of icky things like bacteria, fungai, etc. This advice in one volume of his tome actually had this suggestion on the same page as a photo of Fox Farm Ocean Forest - heh!

Back to the magnanimous, omnipotent, all-knowing Cervantes - a seeker of wisdom as it were - I was trying to imagine the size of oven required to even bake-off a round of soil for someone like me growing in 5-gallon pots and growing 5 plants = 25 gallons. About 4 gallons short of 4 cf. if my calculations are close.

Forgetting the size of the oven required there are other pertinent question like should I use a standard commercial over? Would a convection oven be better? How about a microwave oven?

Then there's pizza ovens - metal deck or would a stone deck pizza oven be better?

Finding a restaurant/commercial operation that would allow a new grower with a load of FFOF into their kitchen to kill icky things might prove problematic.

At least in Oregon.

CC

 

[guest2012y]

Oh,and I would say that this garden is okay,I have had much better. The fact that these were on the verge of death and made such a great comeback is what I'm happy about. I expect the overall health to improve greatly as the soil becomes balanced. On a scale of 1 to 10 I give this garden a 7.....I've just had plants that were so glowing with life before in my past organic gardens. I've also had issue with lockout before,but never like this.

 

[guest2012y]

moonie

My all-time favorite pot growing author "Whore? Hey! Cervantes" used to recommend 'baking' one's soil to kill a bunch of icky things like bacteria, fungai, etc. This advice in one volume of his tome actually had this suggestion on the same page as a photo of Fox Farm Ocean Forest - heh!

Back to the magnanimous, omnipotent, all-knowing Cervantes - a seeker of wisdom as it were - I was trying to imagine the size of oven required to even bake-off a round of soil for someone like me growing in 5-gallon pots and growing 5 plants = 25 gallons. About 4 gallons short of 4 cf. if my calculations are close.

Forgetting the size of the oven required there are other pertinent question like should I use a standard commercial over? Would a convection oven be better? How about a microwave oven?

Then there's pizza ovens - metal deck or would a stone deck pizza oven be better?

Finding a restaurant/commercial operation that would allow a new grower with a load of FFOF into their kitchen to kill icky things might prove problematic.

At least in Oregon.

CC

That's funny,when I was in my early 20's and growing in closets,I think I read something about that and then proceeded to bake a bunch of soil I dug up. Bad mistake!!! The whole house reeked and it was one of the biggest pain in the ass's I ever dealt with in the indoor garden trip next to my ex-wife!

 

[moonie]

When I screened the soil I visually inspected it as I did each screening. I saw various bugs,spiders,centipedes,larvae,etc. I noticed that there were 5 types of grub type bugs,but an equal # of predators. I picked out ANY grub looking ones I found. I was originally worried about introducing a pest into the indoor environment because of the fear that I wouldn't have any natural predators to keep them in check. A few weeks into my tests I noticed several active species of predators on the hunt. The most amazing thing is the activity of the predatory soil mites,they are trucking! Very active,about 25 per cubic inch of soil. Since then I have not seen any spider mites,and the fungus gnat larvae are probably having a hell of a time hanging out peacefully.

Sweet, another good way of doing it. Good viusula inspection. I love the fact you leave the predator mites alone! I love those guys, they're wonderful, they eat aphids, root aphids, gnat larve, spider mites.
The main reason I suggested the cooking was because of the grubbs in rich soil such as forest soil, those grubbs can wreak havok on a root system when they haych and want food depending on what species.
I usually cook my compost because I live in an Oak forest, so the bug ratio is just huge, I'd rather cook em out and reintriduce a few than to risk a big infestation.

 

[mad librettist]

why not just give the soil a "spring" so the grubs hatch and starve? If it's in compost, it's probably a dead stuff eater anyway. If you want to find root eating grubs, the eggs are laid where there are roots to eat.

of course with seedlings, anything will eat them.

 

[guest2012y]

why not just give the soil a "spring" so the grubs hatch and starve? If it's in compost, it's probably a dead stuff eater anyway. If you want to find root eating grubs, the eggs are laid where there are roots to eat.

of course with seedlings, anything will eat them.

Actually I do in a way. I bring the amount of topsoil I'll be working with indoors a few days before I mix it. Originally the idea was to warm it up,and as I did things began to come out of dormancy. I guess I'm lucky that there are no major pest problems with it...so far. This is not compost,it's topsoil from a local natural undisturbed area...the forest on my property. Glacial washout/volcanic in origin/forest humus type sandy loam...best description I have @ the moment.

 

[jaykush]

i find that you will have more problems with random plants growing out the medium(what some people call weeds) than pests when using topsoil from outdoors. but really that's not even a problem at all as some can be used as ferts, you might get something eatable, or you simply just pull it out and compost it.

sounds like you have a good start with your soil. i recently got 5 yards of killer topsoil for free i am mixing into some fresh soil.

 

[guest2012y]

i find that you will have more problems with random plants growing out the medium(what some people call weeds) than pests when using topsoil from outdoors. but really that's not even a problem at all as some can be used as ferts, you might get something eatable, or you simply just pull it out and compost it.

sounds like you have a good start with your soil. i recently got 5 yards of killer topsoil for free i am mixing into some fresh soil.

I have just noticed some of that happening,It doesn't bother me. They don't take much,sometimes I pull 'em,sometimes I just let them be. They are tiny little species,not sure what,but they stay really small. I figure they make good homes for spiders and such. When I dug it up,I removed the first 6 inches off the top,then screened the stuff I was using. I wanted to minimize any dormant bad shit. I conducted the extraction like a archelogical (sp?) dig. Seems the whole "don't use soil from outside" thing could be a myth propagated by large bagged soil comps.............no,I don't really believe that,because there obviously was a reason we prepared mixes for indoor use. Which was elimination of pests,disease,and control over drainage,ferts,etc.....right?

 

[guest2012y]

Update pix with the topsoil mix. Using nothing but rain water on the potted ones. Using a aerated tea of fish hydrolysate,acadian kelp,P.bat guano,EWC,and a splash of piss from my organic eatin' bladder on the flowering.
The PK's tower in the back,the Hawaiian X Cotton Candy is the shorter girls in the middle. 3 1/2 weeks in 12/12
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=14655&pictureid=298045
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=14655&pictureid=298028
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=14655&pictureid=298029
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=14655&pictureid=298026
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=14655&pictureid=298027

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Stunning - nothing more to say. Absolutely stunning.

CC

 

[guest2012y]

Stunning - nothing more to say. Absolutely stunning.

CC

The green color is interesting....they don't look real dark under that 1000 MH in the photo,yet with the MH off and just a regular 100 watt light bulb they look pretty dark green. The bulb is an enhanced MH bulb in a digital ballast. And of course the flowers are under a 1000 Hortilux bulb and magnetic ballast which makes them look yellow when they are actually way too dark from the last couple feedings. I only gave those girls rain water tonight...And some worms from the side walk on the way in the door.

 

[guest2012y]

UPDATE.......Topsoil in the mix. (I'm a cat who uses piss too)

http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=15565&pictureid=316132
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=15565&pictureid=316125
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=15565&pictureid=316104
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=15565&pictureid=316100
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=15565&pictureid=316144
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=15565&pictureid=316140
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=15565&pictureid=316167

 

[barletta]

LUSH

Last fall, I was raking leaves and pulling ground vines/cover from my yard, and I noticed TONS of castings deposits. Under the castings was 20+ yrs of undisturbed oak leaves/trees. The top ~4" was/is KILLER reddish soil with the exact same consistiency as dry 'fine' coco. I added maybe ~10% back into my soil mix, and grabbed the castings to topdress while my first bukkit got going.

Plants LOVE it, but I pull the same fat ass white grubs out that I manage to get in my compost. I need to get a finer screen for my goodies. The bread tray leaves it a lil chunky, lol.

Plants look great, Holmes

 

[guest2012y]

Time for some late update pix......more soon. Topsoil....bugs and all.

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

Wow man.... just fucking wow

I don't think I have a single leaf that nice in my entire garden......

jesus

quit pissing on them.... please..... or quit admitting it for the peace of mind lol

You're under 2k in flower?

Smiley

 

[guest2012y]

Wow man.... just fucking wow

I don't think I have a single leaf that nice in my entire garden......

jesus

quit pissing on them.... please..... or quit admitting it for the peace of mind lol

You're under 2k in flower?

Smiley

HEHEHE............an MH and a HPS both with enhanced blubs.

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

Do you ever switch the bulbs in the room or does one half get primarily MH and one HPS?

I see plenty of people primarily commercial vertical guys that swear by the mixed lamps.

I can run both so I'm interested in it. Hps over one half? stretch much ? lol