anyone ever give a "zero cost" grow a shot? looking for guidance

[mostnonymouse]

I can find free compost and manure on craigslist and a pot can be made from just about anything...just trying to figure out how to get the best drainage and aeration for my non-existant dollar and what free amendments I can use to achieve a quality mix that won't burn or starve my plant. I plan on running the resulting mix along side supersoil to see how the two compare.

 

[mad librettist]

mad lib's zero cost outdoor technique:

sow a shitload of seeds. smoke what survives.

 

[Scrappy4]

I can find free compost and manure on craigslist and a pot can be made from just about anything...just trying to figure out how to get the best drainage and aeration for my non-existent dollar and what free amendments I can use to achieve a quality mix that won't burn or starve my plant. I plan on running the resulting mix along side supersoil to see how the two compare.

A worthy challenge, I guess. Indoors, and you have lights, ventilation, just need plants, dirt, pots or outdoors? Just looking for our parameters......scrappy

 

[tuinman]

I'm currently doing something similar with two 15g outdoor scrap wood bins - I was just going to use 1/3 compost (currently cooking), 1/3 EWC from my bins, and 1/3 wood chips/mulch for aeration. Everything more or less was gathered from around the yard and other projects.

 

[mostnonymouse]

This will be outdoors in a 55 gallon drum (why not if it's free right?) I'd even be willing to call it a low cost grow and pick up some peat from lowes for $10. It's just that the more I read and learn about farming and soil, the less I feel like I need to be buying $25 bags of soil.

 

[FunkBomb]

Buy a few bags of mushroom compost instead. They are around $3.50 at Lowes. Throw some dolomite lime and perlite in there and you're ready to go. You won't spend over $15.

-Funk

 

[Eatatjoes]

Check out this thread:
The Gardening with free supplys Grow!

It seems reasonable that it could be done as long as you have fertile soil or sources to get the soil for free. Manure and compost along with some kind of P booster would be essential, sand would be good for aeration and free if you live near a river. Chicken poo would be a great choice for manure, find someone with a sign out that says "eggs for sale" and ask about cleaning out their pen for them. Make that stuff into a tea, brewed for a couple weeks and poured around the plants it makes some amazing fertilizer.

 

[mostnonymouse]

Awesome. I'll rep when I'm on not on my phone. Thanks guys. Anyone with experience feel free to chime in

 

[supermanlives]

horse shit composted is cheap or free

 

[jaykush]

its easy to grow pounds for pennies with natural methods and the good ol sun. ive grown 5+ lbs for under 20$.

 

[Scrappy4]

Well since you have free compost, maybe a cheap bag of peat, some dolomite lime, and if you can get, well composted manure, and you would be good to go. You could feed along the way with compost teas. You should also get something to lighten the soil, something local and free would be best, if possible....scrappy

 

[spiralofeyes]

sorry,somebody already linked to that thread

 

[mostnonymouse]

its easy to grow pounds for pennies with natural methods and the good ol sun. ive grown 5+ lbs for under 20$.

what's your take on this Jay? I understand there is a certain level of comfort and consistency with store-bought composts, manures, guanos, meals, what-have-you, but are they really necessary? If you've done it in the past, how have you changed your style since and why?

 

[jaykush]

what's your take on this Jay?I understand there is a certain level of comfort and consistency with store-bought composts, manures, guanos, meals, what-have-you, but are they really necessary?If you've done it in the past, how have you changed your style since and why?

i used to go to the store and buy organic products just like everyone else, and in doing so it can sometimes be expensive with the cost of all the various amendments out there. they work good, but ive found there are plenty of natural materials that do the same job just as good if not better. it does take a completely different mindset though. now i grow tons of the highest quality pot for pennies. smooth, tasty and potent.

 

[mostnonymouse]

i used to go to the store and buy organic products just like everyone else, and in doing so it can sometimes be expensive with the cost of all the various amendments out there. they work good, but ive found there are plenty of natural materials that do the same job just as good if not better. it does take a completely different mindset though. now i grow tons of the highest quality pot for pennies. smooth, tasty and potent.

Love where your head's at my dude. I'm still a beginner, but I always knew better than to subscribe to the bottled nute mentality that most do. I'll continue using my guanos and meals indoors for the sake of more accurately dialing in my mix smaller containers, but as far as outdoors go I see no reason no reason not to use the local amendments (AND microbes which I imagine are a huge plus) that I can get for next to nothing.

 

[jaykush]

you can use the natural materials indoors too though. i didn't grow indoors but what i did was slowly transition from things i buy, to things i make myself. say i grew 10 plants, 2 could have been natural the first year, the next year 4 and so on. now there all grown with natural materials and i get better results for cheaper.

 

[mostnonymouse]

I grow on a micro scale so amending the soil for an entire grow as i'd like to is out of the question in my little pots. Guano teas simplify things in that aspect, at least for now. Anyway, what I do have access to for my outdoor mix is leftover peat and vermiculite from my veggie garden, composted chicken bedding, composted cow manure, and composted horse manure. I try not to ask people to put my mixes together for me, but in this situation I am pretty clueless, but i'd like to use these 5 ingredients if nothing else is necessary. I like to vary my compost sources when possible.

 

[Manitoid]

Check out this thread:
The Gardening with free supplys Grow!

THANKS SO MUCH EAT AT JOES! Noone has ever linked to thread of mine as a reference! +K

A low to no cost outdoor is very much so attainable.

all of the matter you are listing (cow poo, chicken bed, horse poo) are all under the heading "brown matter"

What you need to complete this is VARIED "green matter"... grass clippings, straw (rotten is better and free-er), pine needles, dead leaves... the more varied the green matter, the more varied the nutrition in your hole (good thing)

All these things can be found for free. Because you want to create soil for free, I would read the first link in my sig. Learn about lasagne gardening. With this you are very close to almost free gardening.

In flower i supplemented with some purchased things for Aerated COmpost Tea. However it should be said even though some money was spent, it came out to $0.0244 per gram in purchased flower nutrition.

Your dollars to pounds ratio is truly inspirational. I'm going to try out a couple lasagna mounds for fun

So it looks like approximately 27 pounds on 12 plants. On $300 of fertiliser (if you count the $75 air pump). grade A for sure!

$300/27 = $11.11/lb

$11.11/454g = $0.0244 per gram

12,258 grams @ $0.02(44) / gram = $300 + a lot of work.

That is the sort of 2 pennies I can sign up for...

That's my ...

Hope you find this helpful

 

[TACOE]

I was just about to suggest Manitoid's threads. Surprised I only ran into those today. good cheap method.

 

[mostnonymouse]

Thanks manitoid. I'm in the process of building a 55 gallon compost tea brewer so aact will definitely be readily available. Have you found that you must feed with the aacts in flower or is it possible to get by without them? I noticed your teas have quite a variety of nutrients in them. I actually have everything on the list except rock phosphate. I guess a tsp per gall isn't very significant after all. Pom fruit & flower is good stuff and fairly cheap for a grow store product!