So who here is growing in true organic living soil?

st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
Rrog said:
My friend Coot - I am not worthy to carry his sandals. I'm just spreadin' the word. And it's a dirty 4 letter word.. S O I L

I use no guano, but local clean manure I'm all over. And Neem From http://www.neemresource.com/ is the real deal.

Base Soil

1/3 Sphagnum Peat from Premier Peat or Alaska Peat
1/3 Aeration material (pumice and lava rock)
1/3 EWC

Per Cubic Foot of the Base Soil:

3 cup Charcoal (activated)
4 cups Rock Powders (4X Glacial, 1X Bentonite, 1X Oyster Shell, 1X Basalt)

1/2 Cup Neem Meal (2 g / L)
1/2 Cup Crab Shell Meal
2 Cups Kelp Meal
2 Cups Fish Meal
2 Cups Fish Bone Meal
1 Cup Sul-Po-Mag
1/2 Cup Alfalfa

1/2 cup this 3 part lime mix:

1 part powdered dolomite lime
1 part agricultural gypsum
2 parts powdered oyster shell


1 cubic foot = 7.5 gallons.

Moisten with Fresh Aloe (2 Tbs Juice with 1 gallon water) and Accelerant Tea (Comfrey, Yarrow, Horsetail or Nettle)

I pre-inoculate with BTI and Nematodes.
Click to expand...

Dolomite Lime and biochar are the two things that I don't have in my mix that I see keep coming up. I have the oyster shell powder and gypsum, but no DL. I'm gonna have to pick some up. Can I just scratch some in Rrog, or is there a better approach? How much do you suggest I go with.

As far as the biochar goes, I'm a little intimidated by that video that you posted of the guy making it. That looks like a 2 month project for me to build one of those incinerator thingys he had going on. Any other options that don't require that level of handy-man skills?
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Biochar is yet another product someone should make and sell us in MI.

You can get a bag of BBQ charcoal. Just the plain char, like Cowboy brand. Crush it. Add N source to it so it doesn't suck it out of your soil. That be anything including urine.

The Ca / lime thing has been run through the ringer on other forums. At the end, this was what the group decided was best. I have no opinion on the grinding, other than it seems grinding it up would do it. It's all a mix of short and long term release sources.
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Whew! I would to... you gotta take it out of the bag, crush it, then letter rip first!.

Or just get some alfalfa
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
Rrog said:
Whew! I would to... you gotta take it out of the bag, crush it, then letter rip first!.

Or just get some alfalfa
Click to expand...
So, just bubble a half cup of alfalfa meal for a few hours and wet down the charcoal with that, then mix the charcoal in to the soil?
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Yep- standard botanical tea with a bubbler. These things are good for all sortsa tasks.

NOTE: The Alfalfa is like super-hot with N, so strain out the Alfalfa from the tea, and don't add the tea directly to the soil. The char will hold the N so as not to burn.

I'm planting Comfrey next week. Root cuttings of Bocking 14. Comfrey is such a super amendment. High N and much more. Grows like crazy. Add to your compost pile, worm bin. I'm using it to build my shitty soil outside.
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I use mine all of the time. I'm glad I went with a nice air difuser instead of a cheap air stone. The thing still bubbles like a champ after 4-5 months of constant use.

Thanks Rrog
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
Rrog said:
Yep- standard botanical tea with a bubbler. These things are good for all sortsa tasks.

NOTE: The Alfalfa is like super-hot with N, so strain out the Alfalfa from the tea, and don't add the tea directly to the soil. The char will hold the N so as not to burn.

I'm planting Comfrey next week. Root cuttings of Bocking 14. Comfrey is such a super amendment. High N and much more. Grows like crazy. Add to your compost pile, worm bin. I'm using it to build my shitty soil outside.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Coot and the crew sure like their comfrey. I purchased some seeds only to find out that there are a dozen + different varieties, and I bought the wrong one. 14 is the one that works apparently. Where did you get it from?

Edit: I usually toss the spent goodies that have been bubbled in to my worm bin. They seem to tear through it. No harm in that, right?
 
Someacdude

Someacdude

Active Member
Thanks fellas, btw
Ive seen how some mix their soil and i think ive found a better way.

I had a 30 by 40 foot tarp i bought at harbor freight or home depot or somewhere.

I place all the ingredients on one end , grab the ends of the tarp (takes two people) and walk the lead end all the way down, pulling the tarp as you go, this tumbles all the ingredients and mixes them.Then drop that end and grab the other end, walk it back where it came from, We do this 6 -7-8 times as long as it takes and everything is mixed really well.
 
Mad Hamish

Mad Hamish

Well-Known Member
Someacdude said:
Thanks fellas, btw
Ive seen how some mix their soil and i think ive found a better way.

I had a 30 by 40 foot tarp i bought at harbor freight or home depot or somewhere.

I place all the ingredients on one end , grab the ends of the tarp (takes two people) and walk the lead end all the way down, pulling the tarp as you go, this tumbles all the ingredients and mixes them.Then drop that end and grab the other end, walk it back where it came from, We do this 6 -7-8 times as long as it takes and everything is mixed really well.
Click to expand...
I use agricultural-size hessian bags, drop everything in there, tie them shut properly, then gently roll them around. I leave it all right in there to cook seeing as it breathes quite famously too. Open every now and then to check moisture-levels, if it needs a top-up you can add some H2O right through the bag if you please ;)
 
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