Help with Indoor NoTill

Hey Riu this is my first post here, and its gunna be a long one,
I've been lurking the forums here for the last year or so and been growing most of that time.
I really just want to start out by saying thank you to the organic sub, everything I've learned here has really opened my eyes to how easy and fulfilling growing this plant can become.
My first 2 plants I used the g.o. box. Meh is all I can say, I'm in Western Canada and we know what real herb is out here.
Then I found super soil, and the issues that came with it, but it still was the push that turned me onto organics.
Now I'm running with better meal amendments, watering with enzymes and hitting them with aacts to keep my soil healthy, and my last couple WWxBB have has been some great smoke, and my best yet, but not quite fire.
I'm using 3 gallon pots at the moment,and I know my girls aren't getting to their full potential its time to make the transition to no till, and I need some advice on a couple things;

What is the best container for indoor no till? I have a 36x30 inch area I want to set up my first bed(s) in, I was thinking 2 20 gallon rubbermaids with 2 girls in each, but without experience I'm worried about air getting to the roots, and what to do about drainage and runoff.

I'm also not sure if I'm covering all my amendments or not for long term healthy soil life, this is my current game-plan.

30/30/30
Canadian peat
Ewc/mushroom compost
Perlite,chick grit,local rocks,rice hulls
Per c.f.
1/2 c kelp
1/2 c alfalfa
1/2 c bone with a couple tbs of guano
Cup of dried crushed dandelion

1 cup oyster shell half powder half small shell
1 cup glacial rock dust
1/2 cup dolomite lime
1/2 cup soft rock phosphate

Then I water down with eme water and let cook, couple weeks later I apply aact, then 2 more and she's done.

Does this sound like a solid plan? Really appreciate any input and advice I can get, thanks a lot!

Seemsodd said:

1/2 cup soft rock phosphate

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The whole reason for No-Till and the "Clackmas Cootz" recipe is to keep phosphate to a minimum. They say that it hinders the Mycorrhizal life and they say that their amendment list has enough P. Where did you get your recipe from? Most people are subbing bone/blood meal for fish meal/fish bone meal, but Cootz says to not use fish bone meal either. Oh, dolomite is an inferior rock dust compared to basalt. Dolomite is very common and cheap, save it for non-consumable plants lol... I am not telling you to buy from this company, I used to, but they have good information and a good list to go off of... Happy Smoking!!! Oh, dont get caught up too much in the "brands" listed like Brix blend basalt. I think that it is what this company uses and they wanted to list it.


http://buildasoil.com/products/the-clackamas-kit

Nutrients: (Use at 1.5 Cups Per cubic foot of soil or about 3 Tablespoon per gallon of soil)

1. Crustacean Meal - Crab and Shrimp

2. Kelp Meal - Acadian Seaplants Brand

3. Neem Cake - Premium Organic Neem Cake Imported from India.

Minerals: (Use at 4 Cups Per Cubic foot of soil or about 1/2 Cup per gallon of soil)

1. Brix Blend Basalt - Our Favorite Rock Dust for trace minerals. Highly paramagnetic.

2. Gypsum Dust - Calcium and Sulfur

3. Oyster Shell Flour - Calcium Carbonate - Adds available calcium and limes the Peat moss.

What You'll Need To Get To Finish The Recipe:

1. Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss: Available in 2.0 Cubic Foot Bales and 3.8 Cubic Foot Bales at Home Depot and most gardening stores. Notice: The 2.0 Bale will fluff up to about 3.0 Cubic Feet and the 3.8 Bale will fluff to about 6 Cubic Feet.

2. High Quality Compost or Worm Castings: Search for local compost or castings on craigslist or order some here on our website.

3. Aeration Amendment: Something to aerate the soil like perlite does in normal potting mix. We like to use Pumice and Rice hulls but you can use whatever is available to you including perlite, rice hulls, lava rock, pumice etc.

You'll notice there isn't any High P ingredient like Soft Rock Phosphate or Fish Bone Meal and after speaking with Coot about this I realized a few things. This Kit has many ingredients that contain Phosphorous at normal levels which will not be harmful to Mycorrhizal fungi. High P amendments can have a negative effect on the soil Mycorrhizal life, for this reason Coot recommends using this recipe.

Seemsodd said:

Then I water down with eme water and let cook, couple weeks later I apply aact, then 2 more and she's done.

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If you follow the exact Cootz recipe, you should be able to have soil in two weeks!!! Oh, dont skip or go short on the vermicompost/compost!

Thanks Mustang,
I didn't really take my recipe from anywhere just what I have kicking around in my grow room right now, but I'm open to changing it up.
I really want to source locally and I can't find neem or karanja, are there any substitutes?
Going to go searching for better minerals for sure, see what I can come up with.
On the no till aspect, will a Rubbermaid work?

Seemsodd said:

neem or karanja

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It can be found online. It is a pain trying to order bulk online because of shipping cost, its what turned me off of Build-a-soil, but only getting a couple of things is not that bad. I have to order my kelp online, and you might have to get your neem that way. Neem is good for pest control while not disturbing the microbes, plus it has a touch of nutrients with it.

Are you asking about a rubber maid tub as a pot? I am sure that it wont hurt... Oh, are you talking about aging your soil? I heard that smart pots are the best for aging soil and allowing airflow. You dont want your soil to get anaerobic. Come to think about it, smart pots are popular for no-till

your rice hulls will last longer and gain surface area if you carbonize them. pretty easy. make some good hot coals from a grill. toss on the ground. smother with only enough rice hulls, wait patiently until you see blackening on the surface, smother that spot with more rice hulls, continue until you're out of rice hulls and everything is blackened.

iHearAll said:

your rice hulls will last longer and gain surface area if you carbonize them. pretty easy. make some good hot coals from a grill. toss on the ground. smother with only enough rice hulls, wait patiently until you see blackening on the surface, smother that spot with more rice hulls, continue until you're out of rice hulls and everything is blackened.

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that's interesting, I wonder if it changes the PH of the rice hulls to a more alkaline?
you'd think so ya?

greasemonkeymann said:

that's interesting, I wonder if it changes the PH of the rice hulls to a more alkaline?
you'd think so ya?

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nah they should get rinsed. if you make ashes you messed up.

this method is easy when carbonizing small particle sizes. not good for carbonizing wood, bamboo, or just generally larger marterial.

you need an enclosed chamber/kiln for carbonizing woods

iHearAll said:

View attachment 3775353
this method is easy when carbonizing small particle sizes. not good for carbonizing wood, bamboo, or just generally larger marterial.

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Ah I love this Immediately makes me think of compost toilets too
I think you can substitute for other grain hulls too in case no rice is grown nearby. A friend was looking into the properties of spelt as compared to rice hulls (however, in terms of insulation, fire-proofness, and fungal resistance for use in construction) and found it to be quite comparable

calliandra said:

Ah I love this Immediately makes me think of compost toilets too
I think you can substitute for other grain hulls too in case no rice is grown nearby. A friend was looking into the properties of spelt as compared to rice hulls (however, in terms of insulation, fire-proofness, and fungal resistance for use in construction) and found it to be quite comparable

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absolutely! sawdust even. careful though because it takes much longer so dont forget about it

iHearAll said:

nah they should get rinsed. if you make ashes you messed up.

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so you should probably charge it right?
Does it sequester nitrogen?
like biochar?
nitrogen tea?

greasemonkeymann said:

so you should probably charge it right?
Does it sequester nitrogen?
like biochar?
nitrogen tea?

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charging is optional. if you're just making raised beds you can add 5 gallons or "sack" of biochar per square yard or meter every crop. reapply compost in the same volume as well. if you are adding microorganisms regularly you can assume they'll wiggle into the carbon's pours and trade particles around. you can use biochar as a layer in the compost pile too. that is if you do the carbon carbon nitrogen layers repeatedly until to have a meter tall pile. dont make every layer of carbon to be biochar but interchange leaves, gradsclipping, whatever else that's mostly carbons. it'll naturally charge itself in there and when you add "raw biochar" to the bed it looks like it's helping soak up nutrients that would normally wash out. so imo charging is overkill unless you're making a soil mix with minimal inputs. then soaking it in compost tea would be a cheap way of getting elements in your mix.

its an expensive input in the states. Asia, where i practiced with it, its change on the dollar for a 5-10 gallon sack

iHearAll said:

charging is optional. if you're just making raised beds you can add 5 gallons or "sack" of biochar per square yard or meter every crop. reapply compost in the same volume as well. if you are adding microorganisms regularly you can assume they'll wiggle into the carbon's pours and trade particles around. you can use biochar as a layer in the compost pile too. that is if you do the carbon carbon nitrogen layers repeatedly until to have a meter tall pile. dont make every layer of carbon to be biochar but interchange leaves, gradsclipping, whatever else that's mostly carbons. it'll naturally charge itself in there and when you add "raw biochar" to the bed it looks like it's helping soak up nutrients that would normally wash out. so imo charging is overkill unless you're making a soil mix with minimal inputs. then soaking it in compost tea would be a cheap way of getting elements in your mix.

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good information man, thank you.