Building A Better Soil: Demonstrations & Discussions Of Organic Soil Recipes

jeffsmith said:
You guys are awesome :) I will be back after more googling and research :)
I can't.Thank you enough!!!!!!

Thank you for you time and info :)
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You are much welcome Jeff :) I started this journey to learn, after so many helped me in the early days, I decided that the best way I could repay them, and this forum, was to pay it forward and share what I learn through research with any and all who are interested :)

It is also the main reason I accepted the position as moderator, to help ensure this site is maintained as the awesome place of learning that it is :)
 
Guys, I'm bursting with pride, and thank you so much - all of you - for making the pages of this thread sing like you just did. I couldn't pull myself away. I feel like I just took a mini seminar and came away with a much stronger grasp of the process.

Robert, they only let me use that on you once a day, or you'd have certainly been hit again. :laughtwo:

I am so hungry. Now I can dash out to get a bite to eat before I tackle some posting. Thank you so much for the lessons. :love:

That heart is too small to fully communicate....... :hug:
 
jeffsmith said:
Hi and thanks so much :)
As for the alloe do i use it every water?or just once so it's in there? Also how much say per ltr of water or can I just add the powder to the soil mix?
Is basalt rock dust and green sand the same thing? Yes I will be reusing :)
And yes I plan on cooking.it :)
I will have a ring/look around over.here Monday morn and report back :)
Cheers and.Thank to you !
I
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Congratulations on the decision to re-use soil.

I think NOT moving, ammending, and removing 24,000 L of soil per year is an excellent environmental and monetary choice.

If you are planning on keeping the same soil for 4 years or more, I would suggest reducing the peat moss ratio and replacing with a nice compost. You may be able to overcome most of the problems of peat with aloe drenches and PH adjustments, but it will be easier not to spend years fighting the characteristics of peat moss.

If you are looking at keeping the same soil for 2-3 years, I suggest you look into the Doc Bud Hi-brix system. His total system of feeding soil, from soil building through drenches to yielding multiple harvests, is high quality, reasonably cost efficient and seems low in problems.


In my opinion, a low maintenance garden is a happy garden :)
 
Radogast said:
Congratulations on the decision to re-use soil.

I think NOT moving, ammending, and removing 24,000 L of soil per year is an excellent environmental and monetary choice.

If you are planning on keeping the same soil for 4 years or more, I would suggest reducing the peat moss ratio and replacing with a nice compost. You may be able to overcome most of the problems of peat with aloe drenches and PH adjustments, but it will be easier not to spend years fighting the characteristics of peat moss.

If you are looking at keeping the same soil for 2-3 years, I suggest you look into the Doc Bud Hi-brix system. His total system of feeding soil, from soil building through drenches to yielding multiple harvests, is high quality, reasonably cost efficient and seems low in problems.


In my opinion, a low maintenance garden is a happy garden :)
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Thanks for.the advice :) I will google it.
 
I am having problems.with some ingredients. Is there anything to replace the crab meal. Alfalfa meal .langbeinite is there replacements or other names for these?
Cheers and thank you
 
If i were to add compost and reduce the peat ratio. Does it matter.what the compost is made out of? If found one.made of
Decayed chopper fines. Straw. Horse and chicken carp.
Does that sound any good?
Thanks again
 
jeffsmith said:
If i were to add compost and reduce the peat ratio. Does it matter.what the compost is made out of? If found one.made of
Decayed chopper fines. Straw. Horse and chicken carp.
Does that sound any good?
Thanks again
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The overriding concern here would be making sure you cooked the mix for the full 30 days with the addition of manures, but I can't see any reason it wouldn't be acceptable, or even enviable. Great find Jeff. :high-five:
 
Also we have a product.over here called Scoria. My research tells.me that it might be lava rock? Can anyone confirm this? Am looking to replace my perlite with it. :)
 
jeffsmith said:
I am having problems.with some ingredients. Is there anything to replace the crab meal. Alfalfa meal .langbeinite is there replacements or other names for these?
Cheers and thank you
Click to expand...

Shrimp meal is close to crab meal.

You can't get alfalfa from a feed store? You don't need meal, or pellets....you could use sweeping from a hay barn.

Don't stress on the Langbeinite. Sulfur (S), potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg) come in plenty other forms.

Epsom salts = MgSO4 = 1 magnesium, 1 sulfur & 4 oxygen
Gypsum = CaSO4·2H2O=1 calcium, 1 sulfur, 4 oxygen bound with 2 H20 (water)
Molasses has potassium. Greensand, kelp meal, and hardwood ashes are all good organic potassium sources, though I have stayed away from greensand.



jeffsmith said:
If i were to add compost and reduce the peat ratio. Does it matter what the compost is made out of? If found one.made of
Decayed chopper fines. Straw. Horse and chicken carp.
Does that sound any good?
Thanks again
Click to expand...


Not sure how chipper/shredder fines very heavy in pine would be. Also make sure there are no allelopathic species in the chips. For instance Walnut tree's make Juglone to keep other plants from growing near them. Chips from something like that would seem like a curse on your growing ability and you would never know it.

Leaf Mold is a great compost. It's just leaf litter composted at least one year.

Horse and chicken manure...composted at least 1 year, is some of the best compost IMHO. I have worked hard to secure horse manure here at my new homestead. I left horse capitol of the US where I had free aged horse manure for life. The stuff is gold here in the new world and hard to come by.


Scoria = Lava rock

Note that pumice works too, but it is light like hydroton and will want to float to the top.
 
Good morning all :)

Nice info Heirloom :thumb:

I will add this for Jeff's benefit. Compost provides, among other things, "humus" which is essential in a good organic soil. The worm castings you considered using are a compost/humus source, but other composts are likely cheaper. As Heirloom mentioned, ensure that it is well "rotted" and that you know what the source of wood fiber is in it. Pine, spruce, fir and most hardwoods are fine but again as Heirloom said, don't use if it has walnut of any sort, including walnut shells.

When considering compost, aside from composition, look for compost that is almost black and is cool to the touch. These two things will guide you in knowing that it is well rotted and ready to use.

After your soiled has cooked long enough to be cool, it can be stored for years and still be good. Just ensure its covered so that the sun doesn't bake it, rain doesn't wash it away, and seeds from grass, weeds, etc can't contaminate it.

If you have other questions, shout them out, we are here to help :)

RC
 
Heirloom said:
Soil/compost and bugs go hand in hand.

You could bake sterilize it then inoculate with beneficials, either from nature or a bag. Or re-compost it with rock dust, neem, crab and let nature do it's thing. Probably still end up with f#$&ing gnats no matter what.
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You guys and your intolerance for tiny winged earthlings are a constant source of amusement to me. :laughtwo: Jeff and DankWolf, a healthy living soil grows healthy plants that are unaffected by the gnats, and a healthy living soil also resists the dangerous infestations that may challenge other types of mediums. DankWolf, you'd be positively freaked out then by the active community of crawly things in my oldest no-till, a pot holding some of the richest soil I have ever plunged my hands into. It's only a year old now, but I've added some interesting things like wild EWC and local decomposing leaves, so bugs came along for the ride. Surprisingly, as far as I can determine, they stay in that pot.

Excellent sharing going on here. It only hurts the head the first few times you read through it guys. LOL! You'll find yourself doing just that though, because now the bug has bitten you too, and the compulsion to learn more and replicate a luscious little plot in your own grow space will refuse to be ignored. We should probably warn people of that, shouldn't we? :laughtwo:
 
Its not the gnats im worried about, or the other good bugs.

Aphids like manure, and love to destroy mj.

Im now feeding with snowmelt, which is loaded with bacteria. Will this be a sufficient amount to make a good living soil..?

Another question,
I was just bragging to sue about my worm bin.
Then i opened for a look the other day and see mold.

Idiot over here forgot to burry the leaves.
First thought was bad, mold is bad.. I dont want mold near my mj...

Then i thought, mold is goood. Its doing its job breaking down the food for my worms to eat!

Is this wormcasted soil bad for mj now? Id hate to introduce some fungus, powdery mildew, bud rot, grey mold type shit..
 
Hey DankWolf :)

Chances are, its a beneficial fungus you are seeing rather than a mold that affects plants. Beneficial fungi will appear as white fur on the surface of cooking soils if it is dark (or low light). I have even seen it on the surface of my outside pots after top dressing, it appeared the next morning after a damp night and the morning was dim due to weather.
 
Heirloom said:
I just hate 'em. No good reason for them to be there. And I don't condone baking soil or compost. But I do enjoy seeing them stuck to a yellow tag.
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Every compost, and potting soil seems to come with fungus gnats.
I don't like them. Neem cake in the soil knocks them right out. 1% Neem solution knocks them right out.
When there is neem, gnats will be gone in 3 days and never get a good foothold.

Before I switched to living soil (Clackamas Coot style,) I had my grow go stagnant for months while my attention was on the friggin gnats.
 

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