Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

It is a 3 stage filter with pre and post carbon. I also have one of those ice box filters before it in the line. So I THINK I am getting the chloramine out. If not I'm sure storing the water in a 20g res with calmag takes care of it.
 

Cann

Well-Known Member
yo kushking I can get a yard of pumice down here for $50...call around to local landscape supply places. California Lightweight Pumice is also a good resource.

the price on that lava rock isn't bad though...but it's a bit chunky for what I like to use in my mixes (although like rrog I do throw some lava rock in there for variety :)). pumice is nice and small, but heavier than perlite so it doesn't float as easily. i'm sure the lava rocks (be it pumice, perlite, whatever) break down and add something to the soil...a volcanic "rock dust" of sorts i guess...but mostly the aeration is there to provide a home for the creatures in the soil, as well as to assist with draining/moisture retention.

headtreep that plant is looking nice! wtf is ancient OG anyway? lol...the names of your OG's always get me. Goji OG...talk about a fun one to say!
 

kushking42

Well-Known Member
yeah i like it chunky. the perlite i use is huge. and that price is from a local landscape company. but thats just the first place i looked. regardless, it underscores what a ripoff perlite is. ill keep looking though. im trying to put together a price per yard for some custom mix for a ranch im planning. plants to get 4-5 yards a piece so every dollar counts!!
 

fattiemcnuggins

Well-Known Member
I got a big tote full of compost that looks close to ready. Been loading it up with worms. would that make it "vermi"compost? :dunce:

Also wondering some of the stuff you guys like to compost?

I do the typical- coffee grounds, lots of organic fruit rinds/cores(no citrus right?), some mushrooms, fan leaves/stems, leaf litter, pine needles, beer dregs


anything listed I shouldn't be adding?
 

Cann

Well-Known Member
yeah i like it chunky
:hump:

sounds like the ranch is going to have some nice soil! 4-5 yards of each...jeezus...how are you going to mix that?? lol. youre gonna need a lot of #50 bags of rock dust ;)


EDIT: fattymcnuggins that seems right on point...try throwing some soil amendments through your bin..like kelp/crab meal, rock dust, even neem if you want, etc. i like to grind stuff in the mortar and pestle first to increase the surface area and help it break down and incorporate into the castings faster. are you planning on using the compost soon, or turning it into a worm bin and letting the worms work it for a few months? check out the official vermicomposters thread or whatever its called that Rising Moon started...great stuff in there.
 

fattiemcnuggins

Well-Known Member
I was gonna let the worms work it for a bit if that sounds good, I know it isn't quiiite there yet anyway.

good tip on the grinding, thank ya

Good to know I didn't mess up!I added shrimp shells, alfalfa meal, fish meal, rock phosphate, some homebrewed lacto-b and molasses. Might as well throw some nematodes and bt dunks on while I'm at it.
 

Rising Moon

Well-Known Member
Skip the leaf litter and pine needles for your compost pile.

Leaves break down by fungal, rather than bacterial action, and in most composting situations, bacteria is what is dominating.

So, the leaves are best "composted" all by themselves, in order to make "leaf mold", a product similar to peat, but WAY better.

The pine needles will create acidity as they break down, and are considered "unsuitable" for most compost piles...

Ever been to a pine forest and checked out the soil? Years worth of pine needles pile up, dont break down, and can literally kill everything else trying to grow...

They require LOTS of time, PH buffer and fungal action to break down.
 

Cann

Well-Known Member
i wish i had an endless source of quality leaf mold....

gonna have to start hoarding leaves when I move to the PNW in the fall :mrgreen:

the desert isn't very conducive to decay...i have to water my leaf pile daily and it still dries out all too often
 

Mohican

Well-Known Member
Throw a cover over it.

I was going to say cover it with plastic but, who wants plastic residue in their organic compost?
 

sullivan666

Active Member
Hey guys, I know at some point I found a link to a site that gave detailed info on different herbs to use in teas and how to brew them...it may have been an IC Mag thread...anyone here have it? I'm gonna brew a yarrow tea soon and wondered how much and how long I need to brew...
 

sullivan666

Active Member
yep...couldnt find the link I remembered but just as well:

"Cut the flowers and remove as much of the stem as possible. You want about 4 cups of loose flowers and add that to 1 gallon of clear water. Let that stand for 2 days and then drain & strain.

Mix 2 cups of the Yarrow 'tea' with 14 cups of water = 1 gallon. This is an uber safe tea to apply to the soil or as a foliar application.

DO NOT LET IT FERMENT"

-Cootz
 

hyroot

Well-Known Member
I'm loving this method. Its cut my work load by hours. Ive been recycling my soil for quite a long time. After each harvest I had been breaking down the soil and removing all roots. Mix ewc and compost with it. Water with a compost tea. Cook for a couple weeks. Then add in 1 cu ft of new soil to 3 cu ft of recycled soil. Add more ewc and compost and amend. Then cook for a month. Then when clones and larger plants are transplanted into mix. Top dress guano, kelp meal, etc..... when I'd break down 10 7 gals it would take me 6 or 7 hours. I just did 10 transplants into old pots of soil n ammended them and watered with a coconut water mix in less than 90 min. Before I felt like I was in a sweat lodge after I finished. I'm dry and highly medicated now.

Btw I found a year or so ago that top dressing with compost (non poop) keeps away bugs, gnats, spider mites etc. Bugs seem to hate compost plus predator mites live in compost and they eat all other bugs then die off after their food source is gone. I have not had a single bug since.

Also I remember reading a Harvard study stating how molasses neutralizes chems in water.. Another study where a candle flame will create co2 and increase Rh. Ive posted the link on riu somewhere in organics or indoor or led section. I'll look for both.

Happy Growing
 

sullivan666

Active Member
Sorry to bump this thread again but kushking brought up a good link. That is where this whole thing started. I lurked grasscity lumperdawg posts before getting turned on to that thread. Cootz=lumperdawg for those who don't know.
Didn't know that but it makes so much sense. I think the link I'm searching for is actually from a GrassCity post by LD. As soon as I find it I'll post it here.
 
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