How to get started growing indoors organically - No bottles

ClosedCircuit said:
coffee grinder will do the job
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...mine doesnt even process green coffee beans, I doubt shells and bones will go through without permanent damage .. what kinda coffee grinder are we talking about ?
 
PlanetJ said:
...mine doesnt even process green coffee beans, I doubt shells and bones will go through without permanent damage .. what kinda coffee grinder are we talking about ?
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Probably a better coffee grinder :)

A burr grinder will get it down to size, like crushed egg shell size, and they are alot more rugged. Then pulse it through a cheap coffee grinder or better yet a food processor. I don't think you should be running animal bones (fish bones would be fine) through...but shells should be fine. I think most animal bone products that you buy for agriculture are burnt/charred first so that they crumble easier. You may want to go that route.

Whatever you do, you are going to have to crush it before you can turn it into powder.
 
I think I'll have to go sledgehammer & canvas and DIY sound isolated ball mill ... or the neighbours will send the cops after me for noise issues :p

10l paint can, good size ball bearings, placed on a turntable, encased in a box with sound isolation, and a bit of patience should do the trick ... I'll be replacing a lot of paint cans I guess .. tho one does not need all that much to begin with for a decent amount of soil.. 1 liter of rockdust (560 ml of which granite or basalt or the like) per 28l of 'base mix', sounds like doable.

If I want to have a stash of soil left after changing the current soil out, I'd need about 10x that with my current grow .. that's a modest amount of dust to scavenge .. it's not like I will need truckloads for a good amount of soil :)


Edit: Can I read 'my current potting soil' where it says to add 'humus' ? (Just plain potting soil, nothing added)
 
I do have two questions that I do not find a ready answer to:

1: I edited this into the previous post as well: can I use my current basic potting soil where it says 'humus' ?
2: Normally, we flush at around 2 weeks before harvest .. to my understanding, flushing this is useless .. how do you force the plant to use stored resources in this case to get rid of nutrients ? Or is this only an issue with liquid fertilizers ?
 
PlanetJ said:
I do have two questions that I do not find a ready answer to:

1: I edited this into the previous post as well: can I use my current basic potting soil where it says 'humus' ?
2: Normally, we flush at around 2 weeks before harvest .. to my understanding, flushing this is useless .. how do you force the plant to use stored resources in this case to get rid of nutrients ? Or is this only an issue with liquid fertilizers ?
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Flushing is not necessary at all. You wouldn't flush a freshly picked apple or tomato grown naturally. The reason you flush fertilizer is because it makes your bud taste like crap and is probably toxic to some degree, not for efficiency's sake.
 
ClosedCircuit said:
Flushing is not necessary at all. You wouldn't flush a freshly picked apple or tomato grown naturally. The reason you flush fertilizer is because it makes your bud taste like crap and is probably toxic to some degree, not for efficiency's sake.
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Rgr .. so the flushing is to get the liquid shit out, not for any other reason ... nice!

COorganics said:
I would caution you against using your old potting mix, but you could possibly use it.
What's in it?
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Mire, bark, some compost and that's about it I think by now .. it once had nutrients for 3 months, but that was more then half a year ago. Other then that, I used Bio Nova nutrient line on it .. would extensive flushing and cooking it be a good idea ?
 
I've read that you can sub out old soil just fine. That could be the 1/3 SPM part of your mix. Why not? Maybe instead of 33% of your total soil mix just use less (old)soil than that and bump up the humic material.

You'll be fine like that. Flushing and extensive cooking won't be necessary, but, I would recommend a solid dose or 2 of ACT to ensure you have a decent sized microherd of soil microorganisms working for you.
 
Sure Rado, cooking (letting soil sit after mixing) isn't a big deal really. If you're mixing soil and have a long period of time before you are going to use it... Growing something in it in the mean time is ideal.
 
Could even add myco stuffs before you ever even plant canna plants, too, given something was growing in containers. I'd just move cooking soil into flowering pots before doing any of this, and grow something in them, clover then chop and drop and re-sow living mulch seeds at time of canna transplant into containers would be a good plan.
 
What are ACT's ?

Do I understand you correct that when using old soil, use it in stead of SPM ? Instinct would say use it instead of humus ? Could you help me understand the rationale behind that ?

Also, reading up on SPM I found this: Why Not To Use Peat Moss: Organic Gardening
Are there any sustainable alternatives to SPM ? I'd hate to rape nature for better cannabis plants .. and it seems however I apply it, it will be raping nature in one form or another ... ?
 
Yes, ditch peat moss and add more compost, it's humic acid, fungi and bacteria you're really looking into here. I've had big success using about 70% compost mix in my potted grows, although I was thinking lately it could've been lowered to 50% in order to make room for more magnesium, phosphorus and calcium flow. Make it simple, adding worm castings and stimulating it with myco inoculant + some form of ACT will be enough to grow very healthy plants.
 
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