HEADY BLUNTS' LIVING SOIL EXTRAVAGANJA

[ClackamasCootz]

dank.frank

See how this one works for you - go to Home Depot or Lowe's and look for a straight Sphagnum peat moss with the 'Premier' label. The parent company of Pro-Mix is Premier Horticulture xxxx (can't remember the last part - my bad).

A 3.8 c.f. bale will run about $14.00 and Sunshine Mix(es) and Pro-Mix are nothing more than Sphagnum peat somewhere between 60 - 70% and 30 - 40% aeration amendment and different mixes will have perlite, pumice or vermiculite or some combination.

Same bogs - same everything. You just don't have to pay either company $9.00 for mixing perlite and peat moss.

HTH

CC

 

[SeaMaiden]

I've recently seen big bales of Pro-Mix at my local Lowe's. I didn't note their size, but the price is right around $30/bale. I think they're around 3'cu.

I took note of the Pro-Mix because it's recommended if you're going to use soil blockers instead of pots for starting seeds.

 

[heady blunts]

your lil pups are lookin great heady! nice strain selection too... how is that hashberry from mandala? ive only messed with mandala1.. she was a sativa monster outdoors, and a great smoke! when do you plan on stickin em outdoors?

hey WH thanks!

i grew some of the hashberry outside last year and they were decimated by botrytis. didn't get to taste a single one. it was a very wet fall last year, however, so i'm hoping to avoid it with similarly dense nugs this year (sourbubble).

my close friend back east has grown it out and he likes it a lot. he keeps pushing me to plant the rest of my hashberry seeds.

my general impression of mandala is pretty good. i like their style, approach, customer service, prices, and their plants are hardy and vigorous.

the one i did get to smoke a bit of was definite keeper material---a really fragrant 8 miles high---but my noob ass botched the reveg. hoping to find something as delish in these 5 seedlings i've got going now.

Hi there,just wanted to say nice job. Looks good in there.
Props brotha!
Gascanastan

thanks gascan!

It's a TO (original) crossed with a NL#5

We'll see......

sounds like night-night meds

ohhhhhhhh REALLY NOW - now we are talking -

edit - totally random side note - I play the computer game "the sims" from time to time for kicks and I named my latest "sim" Swami Kushendz - hahahaha - he owns a farm and grows vegetables - closest I could come...lmao!

^^true story


dank.Frank

that is adorable.

I used to use 'Stoner Bob' on the international backgammon boards - the guys from the Middle East thought it was pretty funny......

also adorable.

What do you guys have to pay for a bale of Sunshine Mix or Pro-Mix? I'm talking about the commercial 3.8 c.f. bales

Just curious.......

i think i had to pay about 30$ for my 3.8 bale of alaska peat.

Nice Heady! So many seedlings, I love running seeds. I know you are going to find something stellar with those odds.

thanks PK! here's to hoping!

In MI the bale is about $50 .... and a bag of FFOF is around $22.

Much Much cheaper else where...



dank.Frank

yeouch!

dank.frank

See how this one works for you - go to Home Depot or Lowe's and look for a straight Sphagnum peat moss with the 'Premier' label. The parent company of Pro-Mix is Premier Horticulture xxxx (can't remember the last part - my bad).

A 3.8 c.f. bale will run about $14.00 and Sunshine Mix(es) and Pro-Mix are nothing more than Sphagnum peat somewhere between 60 - 70% and 30 - 40% aeration amendment and different mixes will have perlite, pumice or vermiculite or some combination.

Same bogs - same everything. You just don't have to pay either company $9.00 for mixing perlite and peat moss.

HTH

CC

yea, maybe it's cause i don't really like perlite, but i always thought "why not just get a bale of peat and mix my own aeration amendments?"

I've recently seen big bales of Pro-Mix at my local Lowe's. I didn't note their size, but the price is right around $30/bale. I think they're around 3'cu.

I took note of the Pro-Mix because it's recommended if you're going to use soil blockers instead of pots for starting seeds.

do you have one of those neat soil block presses? so cool! if you've used it already, how was the experience? how'd your seedlings like the blocks?

 

[ClackamasCootz]

do you have one of those neat soil block presses? so cool! if you've used it already, how was the experience? how'd your seedlings like the blocks?

I have the 6-unit one from England and if you lived around here you could take it home with you.

Try this - take a small styrofoam cup, cut the bottom off and use that to make seedling and cloning 'mounds' - you'll save about $50.00 and a lot more if you value your time.

CC

 

[Mister_D]

Clackamas - I tried your suggestion of using the premeier peat from home depot etc a couple years ago. It isn't just like promix with no perlite. That stuff from homedepot is very hydrophobic and has a tendancy to dry up, crack, and never want to suck up water ever a again (well almost never ). I think the promix is screened first, as it's not so soggy when wet compared to the home depot stuff. Also think the "wetting agent" in promix is key in a preforming peat based media. So in short I think the home depot stuff could be used if a person were to add a wetting agent and airation ammendments, but you still wouldn't have the equal of promix. It is great as a cheap filler when building a proper soil mix however . Just make sure it's not the majority of the mix.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Clackamas - I tried your suggestion of using the premeier peat from home depot etc a couple years ago. It isn't just like promix with no perlite. That stuff from homedepot is very hydrophobic and has a tendancy to dry up, crack, and never want to suck up water ever a again (well almost never ). I think the promix is screened first, as it's not so soggy when wet compared to the home depot stuff. Also think the "wetting agent" in promix is key in a preforming peat based media. So in short I think the home depot stuff could be used if a person were to add a wetting agent and airation ammendments, but you still wouldn't have the equal of promix. It is great as a cheap filler when building a proper soil mix however . Just make sure it's not the majority of the mix.

Correct - straight peat (whatever form/version) is hydrophobic which is why wetting agents are used at the time of mixing. On the organic lines that is usually Yucca root powder or another plant-derived Saponin.

All you or anyone has to do is to look at a product's promotion blab sheets at either Sun Gro Horticulture (Sunshine Mix, Black Gold) or Premier Horticulture. The information is right there as required by law.

Wetting agent - term used when a Saponin material is used in the soil and they're called a Surfactant when sprayed above the soil on the leaves and branches.

CC

 

[Gascanastan]

I recently purchased a bag of the Alaskan brand from large organic retailer out of Oregon,cheap enough at 13 bucks. When I opened the bag I noticed that the peat was more 'chunky' if you will as compared to the big names. The smell was definitely more organic. I added EWC and a 3 way lime mix and expect zero problems,overall I was happy about the seemingly increased microbial activity. It was more soil like than anything resembling decay (the smell)

 

[ClackamasCootz]

GC

I buy the Alaska Peat pony bales (2.8 c.f.) which I call 3 c.f. - it's close enough. To that I add 2 buckets of my thermal compost, a bucket of worm castings and a bucket of black leaf mold.

Another 4 buckets of some aeration material - lava rock from the landscape supply company up the street ($2.00 a bucket and you fill) or rice hulls or pumice or some combination. Whatever is handy - it doesn't matter.

Mineral mix - Canadian glacial rock dust, Basalt and Bentonite and the usual kelp, neem and crab meals. That gives me about 9 c.f. which fits perfectly in a #65 SmartPots.

Water with kelp meal tea and Aloe vera powder and let it sit. Check hydration a couple of times a week and adjust accordingly.

CC

 

[Gascanastan]

That's interesting CC. I only added it to a recycled soil to increase volume. I didn't feel the need to incorporate aeration amendments. Yet if I were just starting out I surely would have. I was pleased with the product.

 

[heady blunts]

i didn't add any kind of saponin element to my soil.

i told my friend to try and keep the soil moist, but the pots look dry every time i go over there.

i was figuring once it was colonized by roots, the moisture retention would be better.

should i try watering in aloe?

 

[SeaMaiden]

I once suggested to jaykush to try saving the rinse water from cooking quinoa. I keep forgetting to save mine, but it's quite rich in saponins. Seems it would do the same thing.

Heady, I never did get the soil blockers. When I was first reading about them (Eliot Coleman's New Organic Grower) I didn't realize that you really *do* need to use only a special mix with the right ratio of coir and peat, along with some soil elements, or the blocks won't hold together and take up water properly, I decided to hold off.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Saponins - Compromised Disease Resistance in Saponin-Deficient Plants

 

[SeaMaiden]

Dang! You are *quick* with this stuff, thank you.

I'd be doing this via the rep button, but I must spread mine like a well-composted manure, first.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

SM - LOL

Try using this text string at Scirus.com (science search engine) - "Indole-3-Acetic Acid Salicylic acid disease suppression"

You'll know IAA as a rooting compound in its synthetic form in several hydro-store products and you've also probably seen Salicylic acid discussed as a rooting agent as well. This compound is found in Willow shoots which you've probably also seen discussed on garden forums. One of the oldest rooting compounds (over 100 years) used by commercial nurseries contains Salicylic acid.

But as you'll see there's a lot more going on between these two acids.

Aloe Vera contains high levels of both compounds as well as Saponins, 21+ enzymes, the full array of elements plants need just like Alfalfa meal or kelp meal. Again all of these plants are pretty equal as far as elements - it's the specific compounds that they produce that gives them different benefits. It's not a case of 'which one' but perhaps using as many as possible (diversity) in the appropriate amounts. Hi-dosing with anything is silly but widely practiced.

CC

 

[heady blunts]

i have access to a lot of fresh aloe in this climate.

what is the best way to process the fresh aloe for soil application?

 

[ClackamasCootz]

heady

YouTube has a number of videos on pulling the 'juice' from Aloe Vera filets as they're called. No big deal.....

But you need to be aware of this - this plant has high levels of Benzoic acid which will begin to ferment in a few minutes once it's exposed to the atmosphere. Commercial Aloe vera products will have salt added which creates Sodium Benzoate which you've seen in almost every packaged food product you buy.

The purer forms of Aloe Vera juice/extract will use either Citric acid or Ascorbic acid and sometimes both. Depends on the brand. Other preservatives that you'll find are Potassium Sorbate and another that eludes me right now.

What this means is that you'll be better off only extracting the amount of juice you need and don't try to store it. Unless you know something about using Citric acid to arrest and stop the fermentation - that is not something I know anything about.

Even if you do figure out how to use the safe preservatives you still must keep this refrigerated. It is loaded with biological agents and it will spoil on you.

If I lived where I could source this plant or even grow it in amounts I would need then that would be the route I would go. Since I can't I buy the pharmaceutical-grade product from Australia - it's freeze-dried vs. spray dried (China & Mexico).

Use 1/4 cup of your juice to 1 gallon of water for general purposes.

HTH

CC

 

[heady blunts]

awesome.

 

[MissGreenDreamz]

Try an Aloe foliar at a rate of two tablespoons per gallon of water...and see if you don't notice something withen a few hours....someone once told me. YMMV

 

[dank.frank]

heady - your thread has been jacked

heady - your thread has been jacked

It's not a case of 'which one' but perhaps using as many as possible (diversity) in the appropriate amounts. Hi-dosing with anything is silly but widely practiced.

CC

This is one of the most exercised principles in my garden. People used to tell me it was silly and unnecessary to use 16+++ things in my soil mixes - but perhaps if YOU say it - people will listen and begin to approach things a bit differently...

Can you grow a plant with blood/bone/lime - sure - but you can get much much better results by diversifying the mix and allowing for an unimaginable amount of chemical reactions and natural balances and appearances of higher / different microbes within the medium - contributing to the whole of the soil as a living thing.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the whole "veganic" approach in regards to creating what I would consider a balanced / proper recreation of natural soil... In the natural environment - animals poop, die, bleed, bones decompose - there are certainly ways to utilize the best of these occurrences found through out the world.


Thoughts???


dank.Frank

 

[ClackamasCootz]

dank.frank

Give me your working definition of the term veganics as it relates to growing plants.

CC