The Organic Way: Soil Science 101

[Conradino23]

That'd help you a lot!

 

[bobrown14]

Beef up the humus portion. Add in some compost.

2 brands you can purchase are:

Coast of Main - lobster compost (east coast)
Malibu compost - BU Blend (west coast)

Check out your local plant nursery. Lots of places that sell flowers etc usually have their own home made compost and soil mix. Problem is transporting. So the bagged stuff is easy to throw in your car or even get it delivered thru the mail.

I like the 1/3 - 1/3 - 1/3 recipe

1/3 humus (ewc/compost/vermi-compost)
1/3 peat moss
1/3 aeration

Then add into that your amendments of choice.

Good examples are:

Kelp meal
Neem cake / Karanga cake
Crustacean Meal

Rock dusts + gypsum + oyster shell flour

 

[I'mOne]

I'm in Oklahoma...lol...not east or west coast.... I have lots of horse shit and and mking a compost but it has never heated up. I did see some earthworms in it last week though. It is about two months old...or I can buy some local compost and load it on the Ram!

 

[I'mOne]

The dirt in the horse pen is black and loose. She has been there about 30 months should I just shovel it up and try it?

 

[bobrown14]

Here's one thing to consider about using horse manure. The horsey people tend to de-worm horses with some pretty serious chems. I'd ask about that. They can be composted - run the manure thru the worms again after it sits for a few months and add in some straw for some extra N to get the compost heated up.

Here's a good read on this subject.

Using Horse Manure In The Garden - Horse Wormer Concerns??? (organic forum at permies)

This is the challenge using manure. The source and how the animals are fed and cared for. Not everyone treats animals the same way.

Best advice would be to speak with the owner of the horses.

They probably will look at you like you're an idiot but you can tell them you're growing vegetables for your own consumption and you want to be safe.

Read up and make an informed decision.

 

[I'mOne]

I am the owner and no she doesnt get wormed often...as she should be..

 

[I'mOne]

So I can I add a couple bags of good compost then possibly get to the right ratio? I will need more spagnum and more perlite too. I could get close to the 1/3 ratios. That is if two bags of humus and two bags of foxfarm soil would count for the humus portion....how much diatomaceous earth can I use? I have lots of it for nearly free. What can it do for my soil?

 

[I'mOne]

It has occurred to me im making this more complicated than i should... I have two seedling that need to be up potted in a week or two. I can just put them in a foxfarm blend and rock on.....i found foxfarm at a local supplier for 20 bucks a bag so why am i sweating the small stuff?

 

[bobrown14]

You can use your manure that has composted and make your own or get your bagged soil and amend it with your own compost.

You likely have some kelp meal for the horse?? Add some of that in with the compost. Good stuff.

Any of your meals you feed the horse you can add to the composted manure and mix in aeration and peat moss.

 

[I'mOne]

Thanks you i often wondered if i spilled some grain pellets and didnt want tofeed them to her if they could go in the xompost pile. It amazes me there are no worm farms here. (Oklahoma) When i lived in Missouri they were lots of them.

 

[bobrown14]

Maybe they are planning another dust bowl??

Worms are pretty important.

I add "meals" to our vermi-compost bins weekly to supplement whats already in there.

 

[I'mOne]

I found one worm in my compost pile hoping it will reproduce lol... I feed it coffegrounds and eggshells.

 

[Rich 3033]

Hi everyone, i see the OP hasn't been active for a few years... I'm a coco grower but would like to learn organics.

Sorry to sound like a noob, but can someone experienced in organics give me advice about super soil?

More specifically the ratios/amounts of ammendments for 20 gallons of soil. The OP said about using peat as a base, is this still recommended or do you prefer something else?

I decided to give it a go this year as i have time to get everything ready for summer, one pot one plant.

 

[GodOfPot]

Using a Pete base just make sure one thing, it’s CSPM(Canadian sphagnum Pete moss)...there’s lots of Pete’s out there, so just be sure to use the right one.

Below are two separate recipes that have been around and have plenty of information on them. I’ve used both, they both come from the same group of people and have been producing wonderful results for years.

First recipe is what I currently use...this is BlueJays modified version of CC’s(Clackamass Coot) original recipe;
Base soil mix:

11: CSPM (Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss) : Pumice/Lava rock : Compost/EWC - Malibus B/U is an excellent choice if it is available in your area.

Amended per cuF with:

1/2 - 1 cup Neem or Karanja

1/2 - 1 cup Kelp

1/2 - 1 cup Crab/Crustacean meal

1 cup MBP (Malted Barley Powder)


1/2 cup Gypsum (nice sulphur source)

4-6 cups Basalt

6-8 cups Biochar

The second is CC’s original recipe taken out of @bobrown14 journal;

Acadian Kelp Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot
Neem Cake and Karanja Cake 50/50 Mix @ 1/2 to 1 cup per cubic foot
Crustacean Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot
Malted Barley @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot (ground fine in a coffee grinder)

Gypsum Dust @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot
Brix Blend Basalt @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot
Glacial Rock Dust @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot
Oyster Flour @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot

Mix with:

1 Quart of EWC (can be as much as 25% of the humus portion)
EWC = earth worm casting
1/3 humus = Compost/EWC/Vermicompost
1/3 aeration = Rice hulls or Perl-lite
1/3 CSPM = Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss (look on bag for country of origin = Canada)

Both are fantastic recipes....I’ve used my same soil for 4 cycles and I believe it’ll only get better and better as the time goes on.