using "wild" soil

[river rat01]

ive been thinking about digging some soil up from different areas like from the woods, near a river and in flood plains and experimenting with it.

the idea is that this soil has been in the making for millions of years so it should have all the nutes that you need. although im sure it would have to be amended with rice hulls or shredded straw to fluff it up.
after all, other plants that i see are growing in it very well.

ive never seen ragweed or sun flowers having any nute def problems.

and dont freak out and say NO! ITS FULL OF DANGEROUS PESTS AND BACTERIA!
bullshit, farmers go out and plow up wild fields all the time.
if anything the soil should be rich in biodiversity.

anyone ever try this?

 

[CANNATOPIA]

I have tried it before. It will work but could end up leading to many headaches.
It will be hard to get all Bugs & eggs out of the soil but it is possible. Good luck friend.
Baking the soil in an oven or some type of cooker is a way to rid of pests.

 

[bigwity]

try it and document your findings.

 

[CANNATOPIA]

Keep this thread going & you may find someone already doing it here with more advice. BUMP -

 

[mad librettist]

I would expect a year of hard work, suppressing infestations and trying to develop a self-regulated system. This is because you are likely providing enough habitat and food for pests, but not enough for a sustained population of predators.

If you plan on doing this, talk to microbeman, and think large perpetual bed. You must provide habitat if you expect to have residents.

Small containers, straight from the wild - that will be a disaster.

 

[big_daddy]

Baking the soil in an oven or some type of cooker is a way to rid of pests.

I would think that baking the soil would defeat the purpose of even harvesting the native soil. Baking will also kill off the micro biology in the soil.

b_d

 

[mad librettist]

I would think that baking the soil would defeat the purpose of even harvesting the native soi

partially. if the mineral content is good though (loamy), you are still getting good dirt. Old growth or very developed forest soil will also contain more complex carbon chains than soil from a field. Even after baking, some of that would still be there. If you do bake, make sure you inoculate after with compost tea.

If you keep a compost pile outside, good organisms from outside will be in there. I like to grab handfuls of healthy wild dirt and throw them in my worm bin. I throw it in the bin because that is a solid system that is hard to throw out of whack.

 

[jaykush]

i do it on a weekly basis. im ALWAYS taking soil samples from locations while hiking and just out and about. you want a nice light clay loam if you can find it. i amend with crushed lavarock and compost, thats it.

you can also do beneficial indigenoous micro organism cultures from wild soils and bring back just the microbes.

it helps A LOT to simply know soils. the types, what made which soils, which plants are growing in that soil and why, etc...

 

[mad librettist]

Jay, are you outdoor or in a greenhouse?

can you talk about what you look for a little? I know you have been over it a million times, but it's always good reading.

 

[love?]

and dont freak out and say NO! ITS FULL OF DANGEROUS PESTS AND BACTERIA!
bullshit, farmers go out and plow up wild fields all the time.
if anything the soil should be rich in biodiversity.

anyone ever try this?

We used it outdoors for landscaping. Plowed up by a farmer no less. It resulted in a ton of wild flowers and other weeds showing up that were not seen in the area previously. It was kinda nice for landscaping since many of the wild flowers are very pretty (except that they seem to attract rabbits) but I wouldn't use it for indoor growing. Not so much because of the pests (even though they could be an issue too) but more because of the weeds.

 

[guest2012y]

I use native soils and forest debris often. Bomb stuff!!...and everything Jay said. I don't know about bringing native soils indoors without proper drainage,water retention,aeration amendments,etc. if that's what you plan on doing. This is probably where knowing soil types is pretty important when it comes to what to add and what not to add for an indoor garden.
I simply use the native soil and forest debri as a part of a soil mix.

 

[Hank Hemp]

Listen to the Capt. OK.

 

[mosstrooper]

If you keep a compost pile outside, good organisms from outside will be in there. I like to grab handfuls of healthy wild dirt and throw them in my worm bin. I throw it in the bin because that is a solid system that is hard to throw out of whack.

Interesting, so, what would happen if you bokashi composted wild woodland soil?

Would that process eliminate some of the pests/eggs/nematodes etc?

 

[mad librettist]

Interesting, so, what would happen if you bokashi composted wild woodland soil?

Would that process eliminate some of the pests/eggs/nematodes etc?

what would the lacto eat? You would have to add sugar. I guess then you would get pickled dirt?

This doesn't strike me as a good approach, if what you're after is forest soil biology. Bokashi is all anaerobic/microaerophilic organisms (except the yeast).


Forest soil is not just about accumulated elements, it's about complexity expressed as carbon chains. Fungal. Magic and soulful is an equally valid way to think about it. The opposite of entropy.

Bokashi is the opposite. It's about breaking things down. Crowded. Bacterial. I think of bokashi as animal, material, simplicity. Raw and reduced, ready energy.

 

[bentom187]

DO NOT BRING IT INDOORS if you have another garden in there,why cause everything in that soil will come out and you may get some nasty infestations of all kinds.that was my experience,and i dont know of anyway to check for eggs and bugs before you bring it inside so i say better safe than sorry.

 

[mosstrooper]

what would the lacto eat? You would have to add sugar. I guess then you would get pickled dirt?

I see your point, but in the sense that the Bokashi organism takes over in a bokashi bucket, would it be possible to layer "wild soil" with bokashi bran and make that soil less full of potential infestation.

I understand that the organisms in woodland soil are good stuff, particularly outside in your garden, but if you wanted to make a good compost for use indoors, could you utilise bokashi/lacto bacteria (even if it meant adding extra molasses) to help "sanitise" wild harvested soil? As opposed to baking it, i dont have the facility's to cook large amounts of soil.

 

[mad librettist]

you have a good idea, but substitute stinky anaerobic soil for healthy forest soil. Then you are making progress.


Bokashi from forest soil is kinda going backwards.

 

[guest2012y]

There are many types of soil. The richer ones are full of life and nature keeps the good/bad bug thing in balance. Research what type of soils you find and the organisms in it to determine if it's something you can work with.

 

[mosstrooper]

Bokashi from forest soil is kinda going backwards.

Yes, OK, i know what your saying
But there is nothing very forwards about taking a 200 mile round trip to buy decent pre bagged compost then sneaking it into my house so the neighbours dont see, in order to spend a small fortune on electricity to grow dope in my bedroom.

What im interested in, is a low carbon(if you like) way of making good potting compost that is relativly bug free so i could bring it indoors.

After all, none of us know what the future will bring, and having low tech ways to create situations is always good, if a little backwards at times.

Sorry for spamming up your thread river rat with my daft questions, and thanks Librettist for your patience.

 

[mad librettist]

better safe than sorry.

are you safe? 100% bug proof?