Soil from outdoor grow
- Thread starter abcdef
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problem with bring out door soil inside for mono cropping , is you end up getting any pests that are in the soil inside. and inside their natural enemies are missing so you can quickly get an unbalanced situation. some people will microwave their soil if bringing outdoor soil inside, to sterilize it. if you have a steam oven they work too. but be warned by all accounts this procedure will stink like hell. both oven and microwave.
I bring in native topsoils and forest debris all the time. I don't worry about bugs and most of the ones that stick around are beneficial anyway. I can't think of one bad bug I've encountered.
Common misconception that there will be no balance of predators to prey,also a common misconception that bugs in a soil that is used indoors is a bad thing. Depending on where you live depends on what type of insects you are going to be having an arrangement with.
Yeah it's got insect life,but that's what you want. I've seen predator mites...nothing like gnats,mites,root aphids...those come from bagged soil mixes and your buddies garden.
Pointless to kill your soil with heat in an oven....if you are that concerned about bugs put it inside black trash bags and set it in the sun for a week...that'll kill it.
After that re-amend with the standard organic amendments,you may want to re-introduce the microbial life to the soil with an ACT after the final mixing.
I would be concerned more about wether or not that manure is fully composted. Could go for some kelp meal in the mix though.
Common misconception that there will be no balance of predators to prey,also a common misconception that bugs in a soil that is used indoors is a bad thing. Depending on where you live depends on what type of insects you are going to be having an arrangement with.
Yeah it's got insect life,but that's what you want. I've seen predator mites...nothing like gnats,mites,root aphids...those come from bagged soil mixes and your buddies garden.
Pointless to kill your soil with heat in an oven....if you are that concerned about bugs put it inside black trash bags and set it in the sun for a week...that'll kill it.
After that re-amend with the standard organic amendments,you may want to re-introduce the microbial life to the soil with an ACT after the final mixing.
I would be concerned more about wether or not that manure is fully composted. Could go for some kelp meal in the mix though.
sounds like very sensible advise. it really depends on what kind of animals you bring in that's true. to be honest i never tried it again after doing it with my first indoor grow and getting a bunch of black flies in with the soil. after that i didn't use any but store bought. but i have also killed off infestations of gnats by letting the coco sit in black rubbish bags all winter outside.
black flies need water to reproduce. Very clean water.
maybe we don't mean the same? Black, biting flies that can swarm you out of nowhere? They are a sign of a clean ecosystem believe it or not.
maybe we don't mean the same? Black, biting flies that can swarm you out of nowhere? They are a sign of a clean ecosystem believe it or not.
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CC_2U
With some sound advice from CaptCheeze1 on mixing ratios, the mix I'm running this cycle is 25% topsoil (with sphagnum peat moss, thermal compost, worm castings, pumice & rice hulls) and these are the healthiest plants I've ever grown indoors.
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Man I'm loving these rice hulls....really builds a nice texture for the mix.
The first cycle I ran using topsoil in a indoor soil mix was like night and day from the old mixes I'd worked with.
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CC_2U
CC1
There are several things about rice hulls which add a number of benefits to a container soil.
Price - least expensive of all the so-called aeration amendments. It's plant-based and contains 43% Silica which will become available over several months. Since it breaks down over a fairly consistent time period, rice hulls can be used as a 'marker' of sorts on when to recharge the soil with amendments, etc.
CC
There are several things about rice hulls which add a number of benefits to a container soil.
Price - least expensive of all the so-called aeration amendments. It's plant-based and contains 43% Silica which will become available over several months. Since it breaks down over a fairly consistent time period, rice hulls can be used as a 'marker' of sorts on when to recharge the soil with amendments, etc.
CC
Far better than perlite....best textured soil I've used yet,but you know me,I have a little bit of everything in there....including perlite.
When I first started with the topsoil trip I used to measure it all....now it's just rough estimates on amendments and additives.
Like 5 handfulls of this and 2 bags of that type estimating. I've got pretty good at estimating mass in a pile or a bag.
EWC...I'd not forget the EWC.
Maybe some other little goodies like glacial rock dust,oyster shell flour,crab shell meal,etc..
Would it be smart to mix 5gal of good outdoor soil with a 15gal batch of LC1 Recipe 2, I just mixed it a day or 2 ago, still cooking. Or should I wait and then mix it whenever im ready to re-pot into the mix?
This soil is very rich, from my backyard, lots of worms, mostly leaf mold and wood barks n shit been decomposing forever there.. 1 shovel turn and you can see 10-20 worms and bunch of other activities on the soil, the top of the soil looks like straight EWC too.
This soil is very rich, from my backyard, lots of worms, mostly leaf mold and wood barks n shit been decomposing forever there.. 1 shovel turn and you can see 10-20 worms and bunch of other activities on the soil, the top of the soil looks like straight EWC too.
I would. I am always looking for diversity, and if the worms dig it, so would I. scrappy
Word^^^
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CC_2U
Word - redux
WTF does redux mean? It seems it's everywhere lately and I swear it must have crept up on me. is this early dementia? Is it the northern berry? I mean WTF?
Does it mean U2?
Over and out, I'm cleared for landing........
.,.,,. .."......
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Sorry trouble in the heart land
