Living organic soil from start through recycling

[Gascanastan]

All you need is a couple of Nemo Toads, a couple of carp and of course a Bass-O-Matic 77

Nemo Toads are a saltwater amphibian that can be harvested over at Aberdeen - toss a couple into the machine and puree. Add the carp (or trout, salmon, guppies, etc) and continue to puree.

Once it's finished add 4 tablespoons of Dolomite Lime and apply directly to the surface of the soil. Top-dress with FFOF (or Root's Organic) and hope for the best.

This is the method taught at Portlandsterdam University by Professor Jennifer Valley

CC

Wow..that's awesome!!

Bass-o-Matic made local amphibian/fish puree.

Sounds like it would work as far as basic decomposition goes...but awfully silly.

Anyone could come up with any kind of home-made critter fert and topdress...and it would show results...if it didn't burn the piss out of 'em first....maybe after composting the frogs and such.

I'm going to have to look into this and hope that I don't know this person.

EDIT: Oh that particular female human...Yeah if that was one of my friends they'd never hear the end from me.....more wtf to chew on before dinner~

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I have this theory about the state of Washington and I believe that it could be easily proved by having someone from out of state spend a weekend in Aberdeen, another in Centralia and a final one in Moses Lake with $20.00 to spend anyway that they wanted - that basically once SeaTac is removed from the equation - the state of Washington is exactly like Oklahoma with an ocean view.

Let's face it, the only way that Kurt Cobain could have ever married Courtney Love was from growing up in Aberdeen. At the very least it explains that whole 'angst' thingie......

CC

 

[Microbeman]

Oh My! It is true. It really is true. I thought it was a joke....Stoney Girl
http://www.pdxu.gro4me.com/

Do I remove Shade Leaves?

Learn to Grow like a Pro from the experts.


Where do I sign up?

Why the hell didn't we start a school?

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Oh My! It is true. It really is true. I thought it was a joke....Stoney Girl
http://www.pdxu.gro4me.com/

Do I remove Shade Leaves?

Learn to Grow like a Pro from the experts.


Where do I sign up?

Why the hell didn't we start a school?

Check out her seeds and the claims made by she & her insignificant other.

Equatorial sativas that finish in under 40 days and even sillier claims about THC levels.

A real piece of work......

 

[YosemiteSam]

Let me ask another question about plant teas. I assume a lot of the beneficial stuff is in the essential "oils" and "waxy" parts of the plants. Does that stuff actually transfer to the water based teas...oil and water and such?

 

[YosemiteSam]

shmalphy

I root cuttings directly in soil in #7 or #10 SmartPots and as soon as I see legitimate new growth I begin applying alfalfa for the reasons I mentioned earlier - PGR, auxins, et al.

Once the plant is firmly established then I do like I mentioned - whatever is handy.

I should have mentioned that I also add aloe vera extract @ 1/4 cup per gallon. Aloe vera contains 3 root development compounds, i.e. Salicylic acid, indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 20 specific enzymes.

HTH



CC

And the questions never end...when you root in those big pots do you use any special watering technique. Like, for instance, the donut watering deal trying to coax roots out? Or is that just counterproductive to the living soil?

 

[ClackamasCootz]

And the questions never end...when you root in those big pots do you use any special watering technique. Like, for instance, the donut watering deal trying to coax roots out? Or is that just counterproductive to the living soil?

Yosemite Sam

The only thing that I do that you might consider procedural is something like this:

I remove about a cup of soil to make a hole. I take 1 cup of vermicompost and mix 1 tsp. of BioAg VAM (their mycorrhizal fungi product) as thoroughly as possible. I put that mix into the hole that I made, water with a mix of aloe vera, kelp meal tea and BioAg's pure fulvic acid. I place the cutting into the vermicompost and cover it with a clear beer cup.

I lift the cup off in the morning and evening, spray the inside of the cup if necessary and put it back over the cutting.

That's it......

CC

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Let me ask another question about plant teas. I assume a lot of the beneficial stuff is in the essential "oils" and "waxy" parts of the plants.

Does that stuff actually transfer to the water based teas...oil and water and such?

The term 'oil is misapplied more often than not. A more accurate term would be resin and even in that context......

I'll get a couple of PDF files you can look at.

CC

 

[YosemiteSam]

Deep down I really like the idea of starting plants in the pot they are going to end up in. If you can pull it off the plant bushes out way more...they seem to go up more than out in small pots.

It is a technique I have had both successes and failures with. But when you get it right it works awesome.

 

[Gascanastan]

I have this theory about the state of Washington and I believe that it could be easily proved by having someone from out of state spend a weekend in Aberdeen, another in Centralia and a final one in Moses Lake with $20.00 to spend anyway that they wanted - that basically once SeaTac is removed from the equation - the state of Washington is exactly like Oklahoma with an ocean view.

Let's face it, the only way that Kurt Cobain could have ever married Courtney Love was from growing up in Aberdeen. At the very least it explains that whole 'angst' thingie......

CC

LOL...the three worst places known. Then there's Shelton,Spokane,and Longview. If I had 20 grand and could only be limited to the city of Aberdeen...I'd proly end up on heroin and stick a shotgun up against my head as well.
Really though...lots of cool places...just have to know where.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

From Science Daily - Want Bigger Plants? Get to the Root of the Matter

Plant scientists have imaged and analyzed, for the first time, how a potted plant's roots are arranged in the soil as the plant develops. In this study, to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on 30th June, the team has also found that doubling plant pot size makes plants grow over 40% larger.

From their 3-D MRI root scans, the researchers observed that potted plants quickly extend their roots to the pot's walls. It is likely that the plants use their roots to 'sense' the size of the pot, although the details of how the roots relay the message about the pot's size remain the plants' secret.

They also looked at 65 independent studies across a wide range of species including tomato, corn, pine tree, cactus, wheat, and cotton plants, and found that all species reach larger sizes when grown in a bigger pot. On average, doubling pot size allowed plants to grow 43% larger.

Dr Hendrik Poorter (Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany) who led the study, said: "There has been commercial interest in seeing how small pots can be, but our aim was to see how big a pot needs to be to avoid affecting plant experiments."

The work is relevant for gardeners too. Poorter added, "After this study, I immediately changed the pot size for all the plants I had in my house."

To understand the pot size effect, the scientists looked at various aspects of the plants' growth. They found that the plants in smaller pots grew more slowly because of a decreased rate of photosynthesis. But, looking for causes for the decrease, the scientists ruled out limitations in water and nutrients and did not find any differences in the thickness of the leaves for plants in smaller pots.

It is therefore unlikely that the plants use water and nutrient levels to sense the pot size, supporting the possibility that sensing happens another way, such as by the roots.

 

[rrog]

Interesting about the plant sizing up the pot. I wonder if that's part of the benefit of a fabric pot

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I wonder if that's part of the benefit of a fabric pot

Through auto-pruning that is a huge part of using this type of containers, i.e. increased root mass

Root mass is as much of a consideration when growing for commercial brokers as biomass. In some cases even more important. Plants are removed from the containers and the plant is cut at the soil line and then the root 'ball' is cut vertically and the roots are assessed and graded.

CC

 

[Microbeman]

Through auto-pruning that is a huge part of using this type of containers, i.e. increased root mass

Root mass is as much of a consideration when growing for commercial brokers as biomass. In some cases even more important. Plants are removed from the containers and the plant is cut at the soil line and then the root 'ball' is cut vertically and the roots are assessed and graded.

CC

Speaking of fabric pots, a while ago I posted info about a company in Canada producing fabric Vermi-beds http://www.interwrap.com/IFD/rhinovermi.html

Apparently they also produce fabric pots so I'm hot on the trail, hoping for a decent price.

Coot; I sent my man, James to the store for Lily of the Desert but there were two kinds 1/ Leaf Fillet 2/ Whole Leaf
Kindly tell us which one to purchase old boy.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Coot; I sent my man, James to the store for Lily of the Desert but there were two kinds 1/ Leaf Fillet 2/ Whole Leaf

Kindly tell us which one to purchase old boy.

A difference without much of a distinction other than to the Lily of The Desert marketing team - the usual promotional fluff considering it's sold as a 'health & beauty aid'

CC

 

[YosemiteSam]

An article from one of my favorite sites (and yes there is a lot of bullshit marketing...one of those read at your own risk deals.

http://www.nutri-tech.com.au/blog/2012/10/five-profit-boosting-tips/#more-1887

If you look at the end of point one they talk about soils with cec over 30 and how they store so much that balancing becomes much less important.

If one of you with great humus ever does get a test done I would love to know what the cec on these soils really is.

edit...once upon a time I test Black and Gold Natural and Organic Potting Soil...cec was not quite 27

 

[ClackamasCootz]

YS

It is true that they sell products. It's also true that their web site is full of solid information. I've had that same experience with several sites from Australia particularly in the area of using aloe vera for agricultural and horticultural applications.

Australia is #3 in aloe vera production (as a crop) behind China & Mexico. The dry aloe vera powder that I use (freeze-dried) is from Australia. Human food-grade as well as pharmaceutical grade, certified organic by 3 international agencies (legitimate) and it ends up costing me < $4.80 per gallon of pure extract.

'chump change'

CC

 

[jerry111165]

But how much do you have to buy, and, I'm imagining it lasts (stores) for quite awhile?

J

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Jerry

A kilo is $250.00 delivered. I buy the 200XX - add 1 gram of powder to 199 grams of water = 200 grams aloe vera extract.

A kilo is the amount used with 55 gallons of water (if my figurin' is right - "Jethro - commence cipherin'") for commercial packers of HABA products.

CC

 

[ClackamasCootz]

MM

I just hit the link you posted on the Vermi-beds! That is a great concept. I'll see if they're exporting them to the USA and see what's up on pricing.

CC