Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

I just have been adding soft rock phosphate for minerals plus phos. Plus with kelp meal, neem meal, and aloe I figured all minerals are covered. I can't find basalt locally. I don't want to pay shipping costs.
 
boblawblah421 said:
I have not read on this matter, but it makes sense. Let us know how that works out for you.
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Epsom Salts are magnesium sulphate. If you're looking to supplement mag, its a very easy and cheap way to provide it either in the soil, top dressed or through watering.
 
Shwagbag said:
Epsom Salts are magnesium sulphate. If you're looking to supplement mag, its a very easy and cheap way to provide it either in the soil, top dressed or through watering.
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I think he was referring to the rice flour. There's lots of foods high in Mag that the worms will love. As far as soil amending goes...what's high in Mg and low in Ca? I know Epsom salt is a great foliar, but would it kill microbes if tea fed/TD.
 
Have you heard of Miller Soils?? This to has bichar (why I used it as may name) Its been great and I don't have to mix it at home. Find Reds Premium mix. Its all in one soil but I do add some tea........
 
RedCarpetMatches said:
I think he was referring to the rice flour. There's lots of foods high in Mag that the worms will love. As far as soil amending goes...what's high in Mg and low in Ca? I know Epsom salt is a great foliar, but would it kill microbes if tea fed/TD.
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Red, if you want something slow release as a soil amendment you can use Greensand. It has a good amount of Mg. If you're looking for a quick fix, just add/disolve 1-2 tsp's of epsom salts per gallon of water for a soil drench.

Why are you thinking you need Mg? IMO, there should be plenty already in your soil. 9 times out of 10 when there's a deficiency diagnosed as Mg it's something else.
 
st0wandgrow said:
Red, if you want something slow release as a soil amendment you can use Greensand. It has a good amount of Mg. If you're looking for a quick fix, just add/disolve 1-2 tsp's of epsom salts per gallon of water for a soil drench.

Why are you thinking you need Mg? IMO, there should be plenty already in your soil. 9 times out of 10 when there's a deficiency diagnosed as Mg it's something else.
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I have tons of Ca...which prob isn't a bad thing with a coco mix, and not much Mg. Greensand takes years. I was wondering if the Epsom would hurt microbes.
 
Greensand is nice. I've never used it, mostly because its not available locally. Epsom salts should not hurt the microbial activity. Subcool's mix uses it, and I've also used it in soil drenches as well with no noticeable issues. G'luck!
 
I don't know why, but I don't follow other mixes. People hate coco yet it gives you yield and taste. I've achieved similar results with whatever practical mix. My brain is strained with all these recipes I've been reading...all different of course. Just going to stop buying and start reusing. My worm shit should take care of me.
 
If I were to do all coco. I would get air pots, and do nutrient teas, flood and drain. I've tried coco twice and had problems and didn't like it. Rols semi vegan pure organic grows have produced the best quality and the most resin production.
 
Coco is easy once PH and Ca buffered. It's really so newby, it tricks the more experienced growers into over thinking. I'm just a huge fan of its texture. After reading more, it probably isn't the best thing for a no till since it'll just break down eventually. I'm going to get a bunch of 10g fabric pots and do the live mulch with VC topping...I don't see anything easier, cheaper, or beneficial. I see the light now Rrog lol.
 
Speaking of seeing has anyone heard of or used "Berlese Funnel"..

Essentially it is a low tech easy way to get a census of the the critters in the soil to gauge health of soil.

One takes a 2 liter bottle or similar plastic container cuts the top of to create a funnel using the neck and a few inches of the body to invert into a funnel chamber.

A screen is placed inside and soil sample placed in it. The screen needs to hold the soil but allow critters to escape the heat.
This funneled device with soil is placed in another sturdy container with a board base and lid. For the plastic neck bottle will need to fit through lid and lid will need to support weight of the funnel with soil.

Next place a very warm light close to the soil to create heat, the critters will retreat down into the container.
For about 4 to 6 days.

Then once collected one can examine with a magnifying glass to visually verify critter count.

One should see hundreds if not consider brewing up some healthy microbes to encourage a healthier population of their predators which poop em out and make our lovely ladies delicious delicacies to satisfy the cravings from all that development going on.

DankSwag
Grow Organically My Friends Grow On!
 
Say Mo,

How long can you grow outside down there... makes me wish I lived somewhere closer to the equator....

Looks great....

DankSwag
 
How about you start will a real basic mix with quality compost/vc/ewc and do a 50 coco/peat blend. You guys seem to miss the point of this thread with all the complications.

No greensand, no dolomite, no blood, etc you get all you need with quality compost, kelp, crab, neem, and minerals. Fish meal is great too for some kick but focus on building a soil with the least of amount of amendments and go on from there as an "as needed" basis.

This will not happen over night but starting with quality will give you a first DANK run.

You don't even need SST, aloe, coconut etc. Those are all bonus. But DO KEEP UP WITH THE IPM eg neem, slicia, etc. Proactive rather than reactive.

Pot requires nothing special as it's a c3 plant like most of the plants we consume. High quality vermicompost and fuck all the rest. Seriously.....
 
Genetics FTW lol!!! Yeah I recently cut out the guano, blood, and slaughter house bone meal. I really want to cut out all the rock dusts too and rely on kelp, alfalfa, VC, and compost for traces. Has anyone here tried that?
 
I too have cut out all the guano and bovine products. A little fish bone meal is still in my mix, as well as loads of minerals. We'll see how it works out in a couple months.

I had some big moms in straight compost, and they seemed to need a little extra push. I top dressed with compost that had a little fish bone meal, alfalfa, kelp, neem, and loads of minerals. My plants thanked me in a matter of a few hours. That right there makes me just a little scared to try a big bloom cycle without a little extra macro/micro. Maybe I'll try a few smaller plants in straight compost next time. Actually... I'm definitely gonna try that.
 
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