Hi Sharper, My current grow is using soil from the TLO book and his genetics as well. Dark matter, Dark Poison Skunk, Red Sky, Chunky Cherry Thai. Nice to see a fellow from the TLO hood!
1gal organic grow with worm tea & KNF inputs only?
- Thread starter Azimuth
- Start date
@Bode is an outdoor grower with knf inclinations. Maybe he can shed some light on it
Diatomacious
Well-Known Member
Yes getting the pH of any soil mix exactly where you want it requires a bit of experience on the growers part. Different soils and different sources of lime can have different effects when mixed together. One time you may end up with a 7.0 pH and with a slightly different soil it could be a 6.4 mixed at the same ratio. It takes months for a liming to adjust the soil pH (think chemical reaction going to completion) which makes it all the more tedious.
If you have a spot that you normally garden in the summer outdoors, that soil should be fine to use. You could even dig under a healthy spot of grass and use that. I agree about the creepy crawlies being nasty but that's how organics work... every little creepy crawly has it's task of helping break down the organics into plant nutrients (you just don't want leaf or root eating creepies lol). I would never recommend growing organic inside a living space as there is just too much toxic gas released during the decomposition process (it makes me sick). Even too much chemical nutrients can cause plants to release some pretty noxious odors when trapped in a house.
Highya Azimuth, SO, guys and gals,
I did the Korean Natural Farming practices with my outdoor garden. I composted down some nettles, dandylion, and horsetail with brown sugar, and had some nice canna-ladies to harvest that year. I also had a bumper crop of green peppers (more than any other year). Tomatos were huge that year. Last year I didn't do any, but this year I most certainly will do more this year. I also suplement with AACT. Happy Smokin'
I did the Korean Natural Farming practices with my outdoor garden. I composted down some nettles, dandylion, and horsetail with brown sugar, and had some nice canna-ladies to harvest that year. I also had a bumper crop of green peppers (more than any other year). Tomatos were huge that year. Last year I didn't do any, but this year I most certainly will do more this year. I also suplement with AACT. Happy Smokin'
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- #65
That's good to hear. What kind of schedule were you on
That's great to hear. What kind of a schedule were you on for feeding of the various inputs?
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- #67
And did you use an organic soil mix with that? I'm assuming you did.
And diluted 100:1?? The suggested rates I'm seeing are more like 1000:1, but doesn't sound like you burned your plants. Lots of room for experimentation, sounds like.
And diluted 100:1?? The suggested rates I'm seeing are more like 1000:1, but doesn't sound like you burned your plants. Lots of room for experimentation, sounds like.
I grow in the ground. I've been composting for 4 years and applying it to the garden, so there's plenty of organic matter. Mostly needs nitrogen to start. the mixture rates are more likely how thin you can spread it. I only have a small area compared to 5 gal AACT, so not worried about mixes. No burnt plants. Garden soil is very forgiving. Happy Smokin'
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- #69
@Emilya and I were having a discussion on FPJs in response to a question I asked her about her dandelion thread, and I thought I would repost some of my (edited) thoughts for those interested in using FPJs in their gardens.
My sources for the table and other info includes the book "The Regenerative Growers Guide to Garden Amendments" by Nigel Palmer.
My conclusion is, that by using a combination of comfrey and horsetail fern (or comfrey and stinging nettle), one can get an even higher level of most of the desirous minerals and nutrients while keeping a relatively lower level of the heavy metals as compared to dandelion. Add ease and quantity of harvest, and comfrey + horsetail fern are going to be my new goto's for the base of my FPJ routine. I'll still use egg shell, LAB, kelp and other things, but these two will be my main supplements. Plus, they can be used as either a soil drench or foliar feed, so they can be applied as often as needed even if it is not watering day. The suggested application rate is 1:1,000. I use 1:750 which works out to 1tsp/Gal.
The combination is high in P and K and Ca and Fe among others. Still not quite as good as a good deep ocean blue fish ferment, but probably more accessible to many, and actually pretty close on most items.
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The following are the numbers from the table in the back of the book. You'll note that comfrey has a number for "P" that is more than twice that of dandelion, as is "K" as well. Dandelion is higher in things like chlorine, sodium and aluminum, but I guess I would question how much is too much (sodium+chloride =salt of which too much is generally a bad thing).
So, given the numbers, I am switching over to comfrey + horsetail fern, and I planted some Russian Comfrey, the Bocking 14 cultivar, in my garden this spring. Another advantage comfrey has over most of the plants on the list is sheer mass at harvest time. The mass of one comfrey plant can be equal to many dozens of dandelion plants. After reading your thread last summer, I went around my yard collecting dandelions with a dandelion weeder to get the roots as well, and remember it was a lot of work. This summer I expect to harvest 10x as much or more from one comfrey plant, and I'll also have enough to experiment with different methods and combinations. There are 2-3 harvests a year.
The book lists the ppms of 14 different plants from a lab analysis the author had done if memory serves. All of the following numbers are for a brown sugar ferment.
In any event, here you go and apologies in advance for the formatting. I listed a few in another thread and I remember having issues with the columns lining up...
....... Comf....Dand....Nettl.....Hors.......Fish
P......270.8.....128....35.34.......42.1.....836.8
K......1,025.....485.......376......876.5.....1,013
Ca....31.52.....143.......861......358.1.....718.8
Si.......15.4........28......24.6........28.8.......0.29
Fe......2.06.....3.17......1.57........6.74.......2.57
S........8.32.....33.5....70.17......56.79.....127.2
Cl..........80...1,340....1,050.........300.....1,000
Mg...34.15.....53.4.......141......90.92.....105.7
Na......0.58.....3.25......0.55........1.11.....109.3
Al........0.31.....2.51......0.90........1.15.......1.31
B.........0.40.....0.44......1.37........0.22.......0.12
Co.....<0.01.....0.02...<0.02.......<0.01......0.02
Cu.......0.15.....0.18......0.11........0.16.......0.17
Mn......0.65.....1.63......1.18........3.14.......1.23
Mo......0.07.....0.13......0.14........0.03.......0.02
Ni......0.034.....0.01......0.01........0.04.......0.02
Se........0.45.......1.8......1.03........0.30.......0.16
Zn........0.49.....0.56......0.57........0.65.......1.63
So, this table is why I suggested in my initial post that comfrey and nettle are even better than the mighty dandelion, and fermented fish is better than all of them on most measures. It also is why I think combining comfrey and horsetail fern is a great combination without getting too crazy. Two FPJs whose plants are easy to harvest in quantities that are useful even for larger gardens. Comfrey and S.Nettle also would be a good combination. I just happen to have a ton of horsetail fern and no stinging nettle on my property which is why I'm going that route. Plus, the HF is easier to harvest with bare hands. ; )
Anyway, that's the background for my plan for this season. And all thanks to you for getting me started down this path.
----------------
I guess that still leaves the question of what ppms do the plants want and need, but maybe the hydro folks can offer suggestions for that.
My sources for the table and other info includes the book "The Regenerative Growers Guide to Garden Amendments" by Nigel Palmer.
My conclusion is, that by using a combination of comfrey and horsetail fern (or comfrey and stinging nettle), one can get an even higher level of most of the desirous minerals and nutrients while keeping a relatively lower level of the heavy metals as compared to dandelion. Add ease and quantity of harvest, and comfrey + horsetail fern are going to be my new goto's for the base of my FPJ routine. I'll still use egg shell, LAB, kelp and other things, but these two will be my main supplements. Plus, they can be used as either a soil drench or foliar feed, so they can be applied as often as needed even if it is not watering day. The suggested application rate is 1:1,000. I use 1:750 which works out to 1tsp/Gal.
The combination is high in P and K and Ca and Fe among others. Still not quite as good as a good deep ocean blue fish ferment, but probably more accessible to many, and actually pretty close on most items.
--------------------
The following are the numbers from the table in the back of the book. You'll note that comfrey has a number for "P" that is more than twice that of dandelion, as is "K" as well. Dandelion is higher in things like chlorine, sodium and aluminum, but I guess I would question how much is too much (sodium+chloride =salt of which too much is generally a bad thing).
So, given the numbers, I am switching over to comfrey + horsetail fern, and I planted some Russian Comfrey, the Bocking 14 cultivar, in my garden this spring. Another advantage comfrey has over most of the plants on the list is sheer mass at harvest time. The mass of one comfrey plant can be equal to many dozens of dandelion plants. After reading your thread last summer, I went around my yard collecting dandelions with a dandelion weeder to get the roots as well, and remember it was a lot of work. This summer I expect to harvest 10x as much or more from one comfrey plant, and I'll also have enough to experiment with different methods and combinations. There are 2-3 harvests a year.
The book lists the ppms of 14 different plants from a lab analysis the author had done if memory serves. All of the following numbers are for a brown sugar ferment.
In any event, here you go and apologies in advance for the formatting. I listed a few in another thread and I remember having issues with the columns lining up...
....... Comf....Dand....Nettl.....Hors.......Fish
P......270.8.....128....35.34.......42.1.....836.8
K......1,025.....485.......376......876.5.....1,013
Ca....31.52.....143.......861......358.1.....718.8
Si.......15.4........28......24.6........28.8.......0.29
Fe......2.06.....3.17......1.57........6.74.......2.57
S........8.32.....33.5....70.17......56.79.....127.2
Cl..........80...1,340....1,050.........300.....1,000
Mg...34.15.....53.4.......141......90.92.....105.7
Na......0.58.....3.25......0.55........1.11.....109.3
Al........0.31.....2.51......0.90........1.15.......1.31
B.........0.40.....0.44......1.37........0.22.......0.12
Co.....<0.01.....0.02...<0.02.......<0.01......0.02
Cu.......0.15.....0.18......0.11........0.16.......0.17
Mn......0.65.....1.63......1.18........3.14.......1.23
Mo......0.07.....0.13......0.14........0.03.......0.02
Ni......0.034.....0.01......0.01........0.04.......0.02
Se........0.45.......1.8......1.03........0.30.......0.16
Zn........0.49.....0.56......0.57........0.65.......1.63
So, this table is why I suggested in my initial post that comfrey and nettle are even better than the mighty dandelion, and fermented fish is better than all of them on most measures. It also is why I think combining comfrey and horsetail fern is a great combination without getting too crazy. Two FPJs whose plants are easy to harvest in quantities that are useful even for larger gardens. Comfrey and S.Nettle also would be a good combination. I just happen to have a ton of horsetail fern and no stinging nettle on my property which is why I'm going that route. Plus, the HF is easier to harvest with bare hands. ; )
Anyway, that's the background for my plan for this season. And all thanks to you for getting me started down this path.
----------------
I guess that still leaves the question of what ppms do the plants want and need, but maybe the hydro folks can offer suggestions for that.
Highya Az,
I'm using fermented horsetail juice for the silica in it. Last time I used it, it made some mighty strong ladies! It grows a lot around our driveway. Stinging nettles are all over our lower field (exPasture). So I harvested some when about 4 " tall, and am composting down for more FPJ. I've also been reading about aloe juice inducing the plant to grow more roots. I used that to add to seedlings, and their root systems are better this year than the past. Then the seedlings became deficient of nitrogen, so I got some alfalfa hay, ground it in a food processor, made some tea (2 day soak, with added lactobacillis serum). Worked very well!! So far, that's where I'm at. Good luck with your growing!! Happy Smokin'
I'm using fermented horsetail juice for the silica in it. Last time I used it, it made some mighty strong ladies! It grows a lot around our driveway. Stinging nettles are all over our lower field (exPasture). So I harvested some when about 4 " tall, and am composting down for more FPJ. I've also been reading about aloe juice inducing the plant to grow more roots. I used that to add to seedlings, and their root systems are better this year than the past. Then the seedlings became deficient of nitrogen, so I got some alfalfa hay, ground it in a food processor, made some tea (2 day soak, with added lactobacillis serum). Worked very well!! So far, that's where I'm at. Good luck with your growing!! Happy Smokin'
- Thread starter
- #71
Hi Bode,
I too use aloe fpj. You can use it for the soap like qualities when used as a wetting agent to make foliar sprays wet more evenly, or make hydrophobic dry soils easier to water. Shake up your aloe fpj and see all the soap like bubbles you get.
I think the revelation I had with the comfrey fpj was using it in combination with the horsetail fern fpj. If you look at the combined nutrient profile, it's pretty robust! The horsetail is high in silica and calcium, both things these plants use in abundance.
Good to hear of your success with it. I know @bobrown14 makes a brewed tea from the horsetail fern and keeps the excess in his fridge. He's also reported great results. Lots of ways to get at it.
According to the chart, S.Nettle has among the highest levels of calcium and magnesium of any of the plants that the author tested. Another good reason to use it. And they call these things weeds. Sheesh.
I too use aloe fpj. You can use it for the soap like qualities when used as a wetting agent to make foliar sprays wet more evenly, or make hydrophobic dry soils easier to water. Shake up your aloe fpj and see all the soap like bubbles you get.
I think the revelation I had with the comfrey fpj was using it in combination with the horsetail fern fpj. If you look at the combined nutrient profile, it's pretty robust! The horsetail is high in silica and calcium, both things these plants use in abundance.
Good to hear of your success with it. I know @bobrown14 makes a brewed tea from the horsetail fern and keeps the excess in his fridge. He's also reported great results. Lots of ways to get at it.
According to the chart, S.Nettle has among the highest levels of calcium and magnesium of any of the plants that the author tested. Another good reason to use it. And they call these things weeds. Sheesh.
- Thread starter
- #72
For anyone following this thread, I've started a new one for the KNF extracts and my thoughts on using plant combinations here:
Plant Alchemy With KNF: Korean Natural Farming And Jadam
KNF, or Korean Natural Farming is a practice that is gaining more popularity among organic growers as it seeks to use naturally occurring plants and microorganisms to help plants grow. It generally uses the magic and alchemy of plant extracts made using mostly brown sugar, vinegar or alcohol to...
www.420magazine.com