Remineralization

Funkentelechy

Funkentelechy

Well-Known Member
One of my personal primary goals as a grower, and reasons for choosing to grow organically, is sustainability. The materials commonly used for remineralization are one area in which cannabis growers often fall short of achieving sustainable growing practices in my opinion, even organic growers. Gypsum, azomite, basalt, and soft rock phosphate(for example) are all pit mined and while these inputs are technically organic in that they are not manmade, the environmental impact of using these inputs is significant, and using them for remineralization is not very sustainable.

Luckily mother nature has an answer, no one ever had to apply CalMag to the redwoods.

Composted organic matter is rich in minerals and the minerals that are found in composted organic matter are in a more available form to plants. Of course, not everyone has room to do their own composting. And, some of these principles may be harder to apply to indoor growing, but there are some relatively good quality commercial composts available and I think that it would be possible for most folks to work some compost sourced remineralization into their growing practices.

Anyways, here is a good video that covers the subject, with lab results and fun stuff like that.

 
meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
Funkentelechy said:
One of my personal primary goals as a grower, and reasons for choosing to grow organically, is sustainability. The materials commonly used for remineralization are one area in which cannabis growers often fall short of achieving sustainable growing practices in my opinion, even organic growers. Gypsum, azomite, basalt, and soft rock phosphate(for example) are all pit mined and while these inputs are technically organic in that they are not manmade, the environmental impact of using these inputs is significant, and using them for remineralization is not very sustainable.

Luckily mother nature has an answer, no one ever had to apply CalMag to the redwoods.

Composted organic matter is rich in minerals and the minerals that are found in composted organic matter are in a more available form to plants. Of course, not everyone has room to do their own composting. And, some of these principles may be harder to apply to indoor growing, but there are some relatively good quality commercial composts available and I think that it would be possible for most folks to work some compost sourced remineralization into their growing practices.

Anyways, here is a good video that covers the subject, with lab results and fun stuff like that.

Click to expand...
Well shit! Thank you for this video! I have huge bags of various rock dusts i have already purchased but never again!

So do you think that making a mass of leaf mold maybe and using that as a mineral supplement would be a good route? I wonder what type of volume they are comparing here. For example can we add the same small amount of leaf mold to a batch of soil as you would rock dust? So much to un pack here.

Thank you again!!!
 
Funkentelechy

Funkentelechy

Well-Known Member
I would think that you would probably want to add more leaf mold by volume than you would rock dust.
Leaf mold has so many other beneficial qualities that adding more by volume would be a win-win as far as soil composition anyways.

If you are making soil as opposed to amending native soil you might want to include another form of minerals like earthworm castings, or compost. Most native soil has a lot of minerals already, whereas, peat or coco-choir-based soil is much more limited on minerals.
 
meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
Funkentelechy said:
I would think that you would probably want to add more leaf mold by volume than you would rock dust.
Leaf mold has so many other beneficial qualities that adding more by volume would be a win-win as far as soil composition anyways.

If you are making soil as opposed to amending native soil you might want to include another form of minerals like earthworm castings, or compost. Most native soil has a lot of minerals already, whereas, peat or coco-choir-based soil is much more limited on minerals.
Click to expand...
Yep I make all my own using my own compost, worm castings etc.
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Funkentelechy said:
One of my personal primary goals as a grower, and reasons for choosing to grow organically, is sustainability. The materials commonly used for remineralization are one area in which cannabis growers often fall short of achieving sustainable growing practices in my opinion, even organic growers. Gypsum, azomite, basalt, and soft rock phosphate(for example) are all pit mined and while these inputs are technically organic in that they are not manmade, the environmental impact of using these inputs is significant, and using them for remineralization is not very sustainable.

Luckily mother nature has an answer, no one ever had to apply CalMag to the redwoods.

Composted organic matter is rich in minerals and the minerals that are found in composted organic matter are in a more available form to plants. Of course, not everyone has room to do their own composting. And, some of these principles may be harder to apply to indoor growing, but there are some relatively good quality commercial composts available and I think that it would be possible for most folks to work some compost sourced remineralization into their growing practices.

Anyways, here is a good video that covers the subject, with lab results and fun stuff like that.

Click to expand...
I compost leaves but I'm always low in Mn and Fe. Have you ever had your compost tested, just curious and trying to start a conversation and not an argument.
 
Funkentelechy

Funkentelechy

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
I compost leaves but I'm always low in Mn and Fe. Have you ever had your compost tested, just curious and trying to start a conversation and not an argument.
Click to expand...
No, I haven't I would like to do that, where do you get your testing done?


I compost leaves and have a couple of household compost piles that are mostly coffee grounds, eggshells, lawn clippings, onion skins, potato skins, banana peels, and other vegetable waste. I rake other people's lawns and take their leaves home to mulch or compost sometimes, the hope being that different species of trees growing in different types of soils should provide a broader array of nutrients and minerals to my compost. And, I also like to throw in comfrey leaves, and horsetail ferns(reeds), and occasionally we get cases of overripe bananas from our local natural food store.

Most years the local native American tribe in my area gets wild salmon from a nearby fishery and distributes them to native folks in the area, I am 1/4 native from a different tribe, but they usually give me a few and I like to fillet them and throw the bones and head in an active compost pile in the fall. By the spring there is nothing left except sometimes the large cheek scales for some reason.

I also have chickens, so I compost their manure and bedding(wood shavings) in a pile and let it age for a while before I incorporate them into the garden.
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Funkentelechy said:
No, I haven't I would like to do that, where do you get your testing done?
Click to expand...
Logan Labs is the most popular, but Spectrum Analytic has a bar graph that makes it SO MUCH easier to read. Logan Labs doesn't give you target values and you are left scratching your head. However, I recently hired an agronomist to help with soil testing. I paid him and he filled out the paper work and I mailed the sample in. He got the results and gave me suggestions based on organic amendments and how much to use. My plants are now dark green. I used Bryant Mason, the Soil Dr... https://www.soildoctorconsulting.com/
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
ColoradoHighGrower said:
Reduce, reuse, recycle!

www.hobbyfarms.com

A Quick Way To Boost Iron In Your Soil - Hobby Farms

Are your young plants struggling? Perhaps the iron in your soil is lacking.
www.hobbyfarms.com www.hobbyfarms.com
Click to expand...
This is it, I have excessive phosphorus in my soil right now. Hiring the agronomist helped me understand that Calcium also helps lower P and I have been sparing Ca because of Ph levels(I wanted Ph low). However, he suggested that I used gypsum because it's a readily available form of Ca that won't raise Ph. I didn't see a use for gypsum, but I understand now... Rusty nails in the soil is what I have heard. I'm now using iron sulfate, Mn sulfate, and Humic/Fulvic acid(FulPro) in my water. Fe sulfate turns the water a rusty color.
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Funkentelechy said:
Most native soil has a lot of minerals already, whereas, peat or coco-choir-based soil is much more limited on minerals.
Click to expand...
This is it, I can use compost on my outdoor plants and do just fine but when I mix it with peat(indoor) it's a different story. I looked into it more and farmers call Native soil "mineral soil". It started to make more sense... I def agree that indoor mixes are SEVERLY lacking in micronutrients and it should be the #1 problem to fix for most growers. At first, I was adding too much at once and giving toxicity issues. Then, I wasn't adding enough and didn't fix the problem. It is easy to get caught chasing your tail... I'm def going to increase my iron in my compost from now on.
 
W

waktoo

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
Logan Labs is the most popular, but Spectrum Analytic has a bar graph that makes it SO MUCH easier to read. Logan Labs doesn't give you target values and you are left scratching your head. However, I recently hired an agronomist to help with soil testing. I paid him and he filled out the paper work and I mailed the sample in. He got the results and gave me suggestions based on organic amendments and how much to use. My plants are now dark green. I used Bryant Mason, the Soil Dr... https://www.soildoctorconsulting.com/
Click to expand...
Would you be willing to share the newest soil test results that you had done?

Not the recommendations offered by the agronomist, but the test results that he worked from.

I promise not to offer any commentary of my own. I just want to see them. :)
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
waktoo said:
Would you be willing to share the newest soil test results that you had done?

Not the recommendations offered by the agronomist, but the test results that he worked from.

I promise not to offer any commentary of my own. I just want to see them. :)
Click to expand...
Logan Labs. I was dealing with Fe & Mn def again, but he helped me get back on track. DSC01581.JPG
 
W

waktoo

Well-Known Member
waktoo said:
Would you be willing to share the newest soil test results that you had done?

Not the recommendations offered by the agronomist, but the test results that he worked from.

I promise not to offer any commentary of my own. I just want to see them. :)
Click to expand...

MustangStudFarm said:
Logan Labs. I was dealing with Fe & Mn def again, but he helped me get back on track. View attachment 4842213
Click to expand...
I'm glad things are working out well for you!

Could you post the newest results from the tests you had done at Logan Labs?
 
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