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Tutorial Organics for Beginners
- Thread starter BurnOne
- Start date
The guy at the feed store said the regular ground lime won't be available for up take for up to 4 months. I would be done by then. Even if I let the soil cook for a month. please let me know I just bought pelleted and would like to know before it's too late to take it back.
keifsweat - you just answered yourself. You need pulverised/powdered dolomite lime. Water your plants with a slightly acidic water (eg rain water) as this will help dissolve the lime.
Keifsweat - Lime only elevates PH when PH is low enough to dissolve the lime. It will also release valuable amounts of Calcium and Magnesium when you water with rainwater.
You don't need to elevate the PH. Infact you don't need to worry about PH at all. Just water with rainwater and watch your plants thrive!
If you want I can post my soil mix which seems to be working well. I'm based in the UK so some products are quite UK specific (perhaps).
If you are based in the USA or Canada then in my view you should find a thread called 'Phillthy's Perpetual Padded Room' and a few pages in he lists his soil recipe...whic is super easy peasy to replicate if Fox Farm and Promix are available to you. His results speak for themselves.
I would advise not to ask him loads of questions though as ALL the information is within his thread.
H
You don't need to elevate the PH. Infact you don't need to worry about PH at all. Just water with rainwater and watch your plants thrive!
If you want I can post my soil mix which seems to be working well. I'm based in the UK so some products are quite UK specific (perhaps).
If you are based in the USA or Canada then in my view you should find a thread called 'Phillthy's Perpetual Padded Room' and a few pages in he lists his soil recipe...whic is super easy peasy to replicate if Fox Farm and Promix are available to you. His results speak for themselves.
I would advise not to ask him loads of questions though as ALL the information is within his thread.
H
J
jerry111165
Lime is not some instant miracle cure. Liming agents should be mixed into soil (if needed!!) during soil construction - not while the plants are growing. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a year to see the results.
Q: When lime is mixed into the soil, how long does it take to change soil pH?
A: With adequate soil moisture, lime begins to react immediately, and pH changes should be evident within a couple of months. However, it takes about 6 to 12 months for the total benefit of lime to be realized. As soil pH increases, the reaction rate of lime decreases due to a lower concentration of soil acids: e.g., the lime reaction rate is higher at pH 5.0 than at pH 6.0.
I personally feel that adding lime to teas is not good gardening practice and you are just asking for trouble by doing so.
Just my two cents.
J
Q: When lime is mixed into the soil, how long does it take to change soil pH?
A: With adequate soil moisture, lime begins to react immediately, and pH changes should be evident within a couple of months. However, it takes about 6 to 12 months for the total benefit of lime to be realized. As soil pH increases, the reaction rate of lime decreases due to a lower concentration of soil acids: e.g., the lime reaction rate is higher at pH 5.0 than at pH 6.0.
I personally feel that adding lime to teas is not good gardening practice and you are just asking for trouble by doing so.
Just my two cents.
J
keifsweat
To add to the advice Jerry gave you, Limestone (primarily) comes in 3 forms:
Powdered
Pellitized
Prilled
You have Pellitized which is made with 9% lignosulfonates as a binder which is released when it comes into contact with water. This is the version used for commercial agriculture because dealing with powered Limestone is a challenge - it blows around easily.
It's also becoming a public safety issue because of dust and as more states restrict the sale of powdered Limestone (and Calcite Lime) more and more of this version will be appearing at DIY stores replacing powdered versions.
Take 1 tsp. of your Pellitized Limestone and stir it into a glass of water and you'll see what I'm talking about.
What many people give advice against is Prilled Limestone. This is made the same way, basically, with a heavier coating = larger granules. This is again for commercial applications for genuine soil building, IOW the material will become available over a longer period of time.
Jerry was spot-on on this one: you don't want to add Limestone, Calcite or Dolomite Lime to an AACT. The less you obsess over 'lime' the faster you''ll get to a having successful garden. Even at the risk of experiencing 'Cal-Mag Lockout' - a condition more perilous than the heartbreak of psoriasis, post-nasal drip or even aural discharges.
CC
To add to the advice Jerry gave you, Limestone (primarily) comes in 3 forms:
Powdered
Pellitized
Prilled
You have Pellitized which is made with 9% lignosulfonates as a binder which is released when it comes into contact with water. This is the version used for commercial agriculture because dealing with powered Limestone is a challenge - it blows around easily.
It's also becoming a public safety issue because of dust and as more states restrict the sale of powdered Limestone (and Calcite Lime) more and more of this version will be appearing at DIY stores replacing powdered versions.
Take 1 tsp. of your Pellitized Limestone and stir it into a glass of water and you'll see what I'm talking about.
What many people give advice against is Prilled Limestone. This is made the same way, basically, with a heavier coating = larger granules. This is again for commercial applications for genuine soil building, IOW the material will become available over a longer period of time.
Jerry was spot-on on this one: you don't want to add Limestone, Calcite or Dolomite Lime to an AACT. The less you obsess over 'lime' the faster you''ll get to a having successful garden. Even at the risk of experiencing 'Cal-Mag Lockout' - a condition more perilous than the heartbreak of psoriasis, post-nasal drip or even aural discharges.
CC
J
jerry111165
Mornin' W89
J
J
S
SeaMaiden
It depends on what you mean by "lime," however if you mean dolomitic lime I personally would not. If by "lime" you mean quicklime (CaO, calcium oxide), then double-don't in my world. You'll be screwing with water chemistry in a way that may cause you problems later on down the road, and especially DL is easy to overuse. The main problem using DL and similar types of rock is the CO3 molecule. DL is CaMgCO3, calcium magnesium carbonate. CaCO3 and MgCO3 (calcium and magnesium carbonates, respectively) are the two main reasons for water hardness and alkalinity (alkalinity = resistance to pH shift). It is possible to use excessively hard water or excessive amounts of this product and create problems further down the road.
However, if your goal is to reverse too-acidic conditions, you can get some of that CO3 freed up by dissolving some DL in slightly acidic water. The reaction will finish in about 20 minutes, faster if you agitate. You should also be able to add back some tap water to achieve the same result.
DuckDuckGoose
Member
hey GDforlife,
you should check out the awesome thread on ACT. it has recipes and a bunch of info regarding the teas. i wouldn't use more than is recommended in the recipes, in fact i wouldn't brew the tea that was in your post. i usually do this per 5 gallons of water...
1.5 cups ewc
2 tbsps kelp meal
2 tbsps fish hydrolysate
3 tbsps bsm
1 tbsp humic acid
sometimes a half cup of sphagnum peat moss,
i brew for 36 hours + or - and try to keep the temps around 68-74, i use a little aquarium heater if it's cold. just trying to get the microbes multiplied, i'm not putting nutes in there because it should be in the soil to start with. but i think you should check out the tea brewing threads, so much good info in there...
DDG
you should check out the awesome thread on ACT. it has recipes and a bunch of info regarding the teas. i wouldn't use more than is recommended in the recipes, in fact i wouldn't brew the tea that was in your post. i usually do this per 5 gallons of water...
1.5 cups ewc
2 tbsps kelp meal
2 tbsps fish hydrolysate
3 tbsps bsm
1 tbsp humic acid
sometimes a half cup of sphagnum peat moss,
i brew for 36 hours + or - and try to keep the temps around 68-74, i use a little aquarium heater if it's cold. just trying to get the microbes multiplied, i'm not putting nutes in there because it should be in the soil to start with. but i think you should check out the tea brewing threads, so much good info in there...
DDG
DuckDuckGoose
Member
^^^^^^^correction as per Microbeman, don't put in the humic acid. sorry, i added it because my bag of Black Earth humic acid suggested 1 tbsp per 5 gallons. i suggest listening to Microbeman and ignoring packaging that may have conflicting information as to what is provided on his website.
DDG
DDG
just one question guys. seems like a crazy amount of guano?
Expiration date?
Expiration date?
I mixed up a batch of LC #1 with the bone/blood/kelp/greensand/LK additives for my current grow and had a few gallons left. How long will it keep? Will it be good for my next grow in a few months?
BTW, I used this same mix on my last(first) grow and pulled 3.5 oz off of two Nirvana Northern Lights under a 250w HPS! Since it was my first grow, I have nothing to compare with, but I'm saying the LC's is pretty damn good! Takes the guess work out of the nutes for a noob. Let's you focus on other variables.
Expiration date?
I mixed up a batch of LC #1 with the bone/blood/kelp/greensand/LK additives for my current grow and had a few gallons left. How long will it keep? Will it be good for my next grow in a few months?
BTW, I used this same mix on my last(first) grow and pulled 3.5 oz off of two Nirvana Northern Lights under a 250w HPS! Since it was my first grow, I have nothing to compare with, but I'm saying the LC's is pretty damn good! Takes the guess work out of the nutes for a noob. Let's you focus on other variables.
D
Durdy
Have you thought about putting it into a container (or even just leaving it wherever it is) and planting a cover crop in it? I just planted some dutch white clover into my "fallow" soil. When your ready to use just turn it back into the soil and plant away!
Ok so I am going to use LC#2 but I need to know how to kill any insects and also start building up the beneficial bacteria. Spray with Azamax and wait a few days? Spray with Neem oil and wait or start ewc and things a few days later? What? I have read a lot of this thread but I don't recall this information yet. I wanted to say THANKS SO MUCH TO EVERYBODY THAT HAS CONTRIUBUTED........especially B1, and others that put so much work in.....It is appreciated more than you know!!!
I got root aphids last run so I want to make sure they are all gone.
LC's Soiless Mix #2:
6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up) / Fox Farm Ocean Forest or Light Warrior
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered (NOT PELLETED) dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
I got root aphids last run so I want to make sure they are all gone.
LC's Soiless Mix #2:
6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up) / Fox Farm Ocean Forest or Light Warrior
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered (NOT PELLETED) dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
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