To "cook my soil mix" or not

[xmobotx]

gotta agree w/ having 2 mixes; 1 growing and 1 just sitting there (w/ some moisture)

of course different people in different circumstances; i.e. if one is cycling their amendments through the compost pile there is no need to "cook."

 

[jerry111165]

Just for the sake of an "organic argument", I do bet that you could sterilize/cook a compost in an oven and then revive it again by adding, lets say, 25% viable, good compost, mix it up and let it sit for a bit. I bet the bacteria in the viable compost would repopulate the sterilized compost.

I have no idea where that came from - some dark, deep corner of my brain...lol

J

 

[jerry111165]

gotta agree w/ having 2 mixes; 1 growing and 1 just sitting there (w/ some moisture)

of course different people in different circumstances; i.e. if one is cycling their amendments through the compost pile there is no need to "cook."

Good stuff Xmobotx. I agree wholeheartedly.

I personally feel that the longer the better as far as cycling goes. Get those amendments, rock dust and vermicompost cranking away and let it sit for a damn year so that every amendment is now total plant food.

J

 

[Gascanastan]

Just for the sake of an "organic argument", I do bet that you could sterilize/cook a compost in an oven and then revive it again by adding, lets say, 25% viable, good compost, mix it up and let it sit for a bit. I bet the bacteria in the viable compost would repopulate the sterilized compost.

I have no idea where that came from - some dark, deep corner of my brain...lol

J

Sure...almost like inoculating a cubensis medium.


I've killed mixes and brought them back to life, Look at MGD's thread where she watered with treated tap water and wiped out her microherd...I made an ACT and turned the scene around in hours.

 

[xmobotx]

why not? every time a container mixes gets too dry; i like to hit it w/ compost tea ~ kinda long the same line

have expressed before; i like the idea of a hot mix made to actually compost for a while before use

to be fair; when i see suggestions to literally cook a soil mix; its been because of outside amendments which may harbor "bad" micros or for seed starting and cloning mixes

would probably not try it but i do think misconceptions arise from these types of suggestions ~applying the limited scope suggestion to ALL mixes

 

[jerry111165]

This is exactly why I prefer the "nutrient cycling" terminology instead.

Hope y'all had a good weekend. Man but its starting to get cold here - like winters comin'.

I'm off to go nutrient cycle some burgers.

J

 

[DrFever]

pretty simple really mix your stuff up keep turning it every so often till that god dam amonia smell goes away
cooking is a very bad term you either sterilized by baking it or ferment it
keep it simple keep it green why so many worry about this unless your growing pounds is beyond me

 

[sneaky_g]

I would like some more information and specifics about the cooking process. From what I have gathered from four pages on this thread, its never a bad idea to "cook" your soil mix..

In this case of my
1 x Bag of Ocean Forest
1 x Bag of Canna Coco
1 X Bag of Happy Frog
1/2 Bag Chunky Perlite
30# Earthwormcastings
6 cup pulverized dolomite lime 1-2 Cal/mag ratio
6 cups Bone Meal
3 cups Blood Meal
3 Cups Azomite
3 cups Greensand
3 cups Kelp Meal

I have purchased 2 45 gallon rubbermaid containers, drilled holes in the lid.. Should I mix the above very well and put the contents in the 2 rubbermaids? At that point do I add water, and how much water would I add for that much content to be mixed. is their a rule of thumb?

Also, Do i store it in the house at room temperature, can i let the rubermaid sit outside in the sun light.. I'd prefer not to have to put my rubermaid outside to let it cook with the heat of the sun because I fear bringing spider mites and other buggers into my garden.. I'm hoping "cooking" is just adding a gallon of water and turning the pre mixed dirt ..


Any advice from gardeners about how i can specifically change my above recipe for the better. If at all possible , maybe keep most of the material i already paid for since its not returnable.

 

[Neo 420]

Moisten with water or act tea and let sit covered in a corner in your indoor room for 3 to 10 weeks. Then watch em grow...

 

[dank.frank]

I like to mix everything up in a kiddie pool, which is also when I moisten the mix. Soil should just be damp enough to clump together when picked up and balled in a fist - but should also easily break apart...

You don't want it wet....just moistened.

How many cu ft is all of those various mediums mixed together? Assuming you have around 50 gallons of medium when all that is mixed, roughly....give or take a bit. ???

You have to keep in mind FFOF / HF already have a good amount of nutrients in them.

I'd seriously back off on the lime for certain - no more than 2 cups. Also only about 1 cup of azomite. Greensand really aids in soil tilth, but without a long 3-4 month compost, you're not really getting too much from it nutrient wise...a bit of silica, perhaps. I'd only put about 2 cups max. I'd also cut your blood, bone, and kelp in half as well....even then you are running on the high side of things...



dank.Frank

 

[OrganicOzarks]

There is no need to mix a soil that needs to be cooked for great results

OrganicOzarks, are you saying that basic soil amendments such as kelp, neem and alfalfa should not have time to break down prior to planting for best results, or that we should just not use these items?

Just wondering.

J

My soiless mix has 15 ingredients, and I do not let it cook. It is not necessary. I have tried it both ways, and I have not found a benefit to letting it cook.

Now remember that I apply compost tea twice per week soil drenched, and foliar fed. I do this through the entire life of the plant. I change the tea brew from veg to flower. I believe this to be the great equalizer.

I wouldn't want to deal with cooking my soil. It is just one less thing to worry about.

 

[sneaky_g]

Thanks so much for the advice dank.. I will get on that.. Unfortunately i've been to home depot lowes walmart and target, but the kiddie pools are out of season so i went with the 45 gallon rubbermaid alternative.

As for the mix above its approximately 50 gallons of dirt.. I'm thinking if i pre mix it on a tarp, than split the contents equally in their own rubbermaid I should have plenty of room to "turn" the cooking dirt. Room temp is about 60-70, and i'll add just enough water to allow it to clump (6.5 PH from my tap at this house).

I have some Kali mist in 2 liter containers that are about a foot and a half tall day 33 from seed, I just started LSTing them.. if i get on the cooking today , do you think i will have enough time too allow the mix to cook, before I Transplant them with the mix into 5 gallons? I also have 12 purple kush clones that are freshly rooted day 5, that i would like to use the same mix for.. I'm gonna do exactly what you said cut the lime down, azo down, and blood , bone and kelp in half..

i'm thinking i'll have let it cook for 2-3 weeks by the time i use the dirt, that should suffic right? I know its not ideal, but i'd like to make it work.. I just know now in the future to "pre cook" my mixes and always have one on standby.. Dank you are a life saver, i'm new to this , used to just buying my pre made ocean and letting them do their thing .. But instead of liquid foxfarm nutes im hoping my plants can more rely on the medium rather than the liquids..

 

[dank.frank]

The longer you allow it to compost the more readily available the various amendments will be more available for uptake. Many times I only get about two weeks because I get lazy - but my best results come from soil that has composted for at least 6 weeks...

It makes a HUGE difference when the soil has time to become more biologically active...



dank.Frank

 

[jerry111165]

I would like some more information and specifics about the cooking process. From what I have gathered from four pages on this thread, its never a bad idea to "cook" your soil mix..

In this case of my
1 x Bag of Ocean Forest
1 x Bag of Canna Coco
1 X Bag of Happy Frog
1/2 Bag Chunky Perlite
30# Earthwormcastings
6 cup pulverized dolomite lime 1-2 Cal/mag ratio
6 cups Bone Meal
3 cups Blood Meal
3 Cups Azomite
3 cups Greensand
3 cups Kelp Meal

I have purchased 2 45 gallon rubbermaid containers, drilled holes in the lid.. Should I mix the above very well and put the contents in the 2 rubbermaids? At that point do I add water, and how much water would I add for that much content to be mixed. is their a rule of thumb?

Also, Do i store it in the house at room temperature, can i let the rubermaid sit outside in the sun light.. I'd prefer not to have to put my rubermaid outside to let it cook with the heat of the sun because I fear bringing spider mites and other buggers into my garden.. I'm hoping "cooking" is just adding a gallon of water and turning the pre mixed dirt ..


Any advice from gardeners about how i can specifically change my above recipe for the better. If at all possible , maybe keep most of the material i already paid for since its not returnable.

It looks like you have around 4? CF of soil mix? You have a lot of amendments. I generally use (Approximately) 2 to 3 cups per cubic foot Of nutritional amendments.

That's also a lot of lime for 4 ft.³ of soil.

J

 

[sneaky_g]

I'd seriously back off on the lime for certain - no more than 2 cups. Also only about 1 cup of azomite. Greensand really aids in soil tilth, but without a long 3-4 month compost, you're not really getting too much from it nutrient wise...a bit of silica, perhaps. I'd only put about 2 cups max. I'd also cut your blood, bone, and kelp in half as well....even then you are running on the high side of things..

Changed recipe too:

1 x Bag of Ocean Forest
1 x Bag of Canna Coco
1 X Bag of Happy Frog
1/2 Bag Chunky Perlite
30# Earthwormcastings
2 cup pulverized dolomite lime 1-2 Cal/mag ratio
3 cups Bone Meal
1 and a half cups Blood Meal
1 Cups Azomite
2 cups Greensand
1 and a half cups Kelp Meal


Other than that, would you recommend drilling holes in the sides of the rubbermaid when i'm "cooking", or just the lid?

Once again, I very much appreciate any advice from the experts. Dank frank u the man!!

 

[Mr.Fastcast]

I just leave the lid on with about a two inch gap for air circulation.The holes are a good idea though.

 

[sneaky_g]

When it comes to the perlite in my recipe, what would you guys recommend using as a brand? Would miracle grow perlite from walmart go good with that recipe or would you go nutrient free? Their are some questions google just can't answer

 

[dank.frank]

That Miracle-Gro perlite has non-organic nitrogen in it...and is mostly DUST, in my experience.

Perlite comes in different sieve sizes, like most things, and the common used for our plants is called "chunky" or coarse perlite - it is a bit larger in size. I'm not sure the exact size number but I am wanting to say it is #3, which measures in sizes up to 1/2" and number 4 measures in sizes up to 1".

I also recommend you look into expanded slate products like Permatill - these expanded slate products are PERFECT for a re-usable porous substance that can replace perlite in a medium....and have much better longevity, which makes it much more ideal for those who want to recycle a soil for repeated uses, with out having to worry about the drainage of the medium changing as perlite gets crushed...



dank.Frank

 

[jerry111165]

I use buckwheat hulls for my aeration vs perlite and love them. Not a fan of perlite - just another reminder of my hydro days lol

The buckwheat hulls seem to take quite awhile to break down, are very inexpensive and when they do break down I get the benefits of the buckwheat itself - which you don't get from the basically inert perlite. Plus they are local harvested here in Maine.

J

 

[sneaky_g]

That Miracle-Gro perlite has non-organic nitrogen in it...and is mostly DUST, in my experience.

Perlite comes in different sieve sizes, like most things, and the common used for our plants is called "chunky" or coarse perlite - it is a bit larger in size. I'm not sure the exact size number but I am wanting to say it is #3, which measures in sizes up to 1/2" and number 4 measures in sizes up to 1".

I also recommend you look into expanded slate products like Permatill - these expanded slate products are PERFECT for a re-usable porous substance that can replace perlite in a medium....and have much better longevity, which makes it much more ideal for those who want to recycle a soil for repeated uses, with out having to worry about the drainage of the medium changing as perlite gets crushed...



dank.Frank

That answers all my questions thx a ton

K+