is organic REALLY organic?

[greenpinky]

One of the main reasons that I started growing is because I was tired of all the sacks I was getting were giving me head aches. So my father is a master composter and he has some truly wonderfull soil. The soil contains a mix of tree limbs horse manure leaves and a few more things all decompose together for years. The only thing is I cook the soil to kill all the bugs and unwanted seeds. I add peralight and slight moss for the drainage. So my plants have never suffered any nutrient deficiencies, the leaves are always green even on harvest. Just in the name of experience I've added nutrients to them and I got an overload(I added only 10% of the rec. Dose).. so I'm wondering why there's not too many growers on hear doing the same. Everyone on hear uses the N.P.K strategies..... tell me the pros and cons of ur grow

 

[mugenbao]

Everyone on hear uses the N.P.K strategies

While that's certainly true for many, if you look around in the organic forums I think you'll find quite a few excellent examples of growers whose style is akin to what I think you're describing.

There's a tremendous amount of accumulated knowledge here on icmag for every grow style, including ones that rely on nothing but rich organic living soil, compost, mulch, etc.

 

[xmobotx]

yeah theres very few guys in the organic forum using NPK strategies ~more like a handful of this a handful of that and DIVERSITY! look @ the living mulch thread and dig in the recycled soil or no-till

think about reactivating your mix w/ compost tea and/or adding EWC (w/ the worms) you know, go your own way but your post makes me think youre lookin for these kinds of informations

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

If your father is a master composter then you really shouldnt need to cook your mix. That may kill some stray weed seeds but it will also kill all the good microlife that has been accumulated.

A good layer of mulch will take care of any weeds popping up. Bugs can be good too.

You will find a wealth of info here.

 

[greenpinky]

lol i only grow indoors and sterile is a must ive reused soil befor with a little bone meal and ash,,but got thrips threw a rouge clone from a friend so i no longer reuse my dirt it go's out to the garden.. otherwise i wouldn't need to cook the dirt, but its so easy, and the product is a+++ i was wondering why people dont do it more

 

[xmobotx]

been my experience that neem seed meal makes up for a lot of woes i would never sterilize my compost

 

[mad librettist]

lol i only grow indoors and sterile is a must ive reused soil befor with a little bone meal and ash,,but got thrips threw a rouge clone from a friend so i no longer reuse my dirt it go's out to the garden.. otherwise i wouldn't need to cook the dirt, but its so easy, and the product is a+++ i was wondering why people dont do it more

I've heard plenty of people get thrips whether they think of their soil as "used" or "new" (kind of a laughable distinction).


AFAIK, tilling does not deter aphids.

 

[jaykush]

lol the reason you got thrip's is because you were sterile.

 

[ixnay007]

data is not the plural of anecdote, one episode of thrips (which you got from a clone) is not an indication of your compost being infected (though popping it back onto the compost heap is a good idea)..

 

[guest2012y]

I've learned that the chances you actually get destructive pests from native or compost like materials is very low. These guys usually come from things introduced to your garden like bagged soil mixes and planting medium products from far away sources.

So you have thrips...learn how to build a soil that interupts the life cycle of soil pests that make a reproductive loop through the soil. Some thrips do,some don't. believe the common type of flower thrip does not...in that case,get some Spinosad. It's a bacteria that kills them.

Unless you are absolutely infested with something like root aphids or symphilids,why mess with attempting to sterilize soil? You'll kill your good guys. From my experience most of the soil born pests often don't like the indoor environment and either die off or leave.

 

[greenpinky]

ya i dont have those little bastards any more took cair of them but, im pulling compost from a ten+ year pile and there is a lot of good things in there but a few bad things too ... ive never had a problem from cookin the soil... i live in a warm climate, thats all year around and, that doesnt get the deep freez. so for me i got to have things sterile... cuz when u take chances your risking everything. but i didnt know that you can get stuff from bag soil.... i would of figured it would be clean..... cuz they are expencive

 

[RudeDog]

ya i dont have those little bastards any more took cair of them but, im pulling compost from a ten+ year pile and there is a lot of good things in there but a few bad things too .

What you composting? Dog shit?

 

[xmobotx]

maybe you should try a side by side w/ sterile and non-sterile compost.

neem seed meal deters a lot of soil pests and, as CC1 pointed out spinosad

we're all certain your non-sterile will outperform your sterile regardless of your region. one issue is that, once you sterilize, the bad guys are the first to move in. when it's been sitting for a while, a balance will be achieved. this doesn't mean the pests are absent but that there are predators ther controlling them too

another thing is, if you do sterilize, try re-activating w/ compost tea ~ this way you re-apply your micros but not insects. however, it would still be slower than just not bothering w/ the sterile thing

 

[greenpinky]

very informative thanks guys ill be doing experments till i die... and the compost is a mixture of horse goat and rabbit manure with wood chips and leaves, sand,,, and a few more things.......

 

[mostnonymouse]

ya i dont have those little bastards any more took cair of them but, im pulling compost from a ten+ year pile and there is a lot of good things in there but a few bad things too ... ive never had a problem from cookin the soil... i live in a warm climate, thats all year around and, that doesnt get the deep freez. so for me i got to have things sterile... cuz when u take chances your risking everything. but i didnt know that you can get stuff from bag soil.... i would of figured it would be clean..... cuz they are expencive

Don't touch it! "Sterile" is a human concept....completely unnatural. You can't have the good without the bad, and the bad without the good. They keep one another in balance. Trust us And BTW, that junk that's been sitting in a bag for at LEAST several months, traveling around in a trailer, and sitting on a shelf practically suffocating has way more "bad" microorganisms and bugs in it than your there are in your compost!

 

[tuinman]

Just to add in another anecdotal story - topdressing with neem seed meal has eliminated my soil pest worries. The last and current cycle I'm on for the first time ever have had no bugs - only major difference being neem.