Rice hulls do take a while to break down, I doubt you'll need to add them very often.
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Average 4 to 5 months in a very living soil. I've started running rice hulls through the compost first.
D
Durdy
GAS - are you running them through the compost to"charge" them in a similar fashion to char?
Yeppers...
It's basically a 'brown' material and will sequester nitrogen....all the while maintaining some kind of structure and providing trace amounts of silica as it breaks down.
It's basically a 'brown' material and will sequester nitrogen....all the while maintaining some kind of structure and providing trace amounts of silica as it breaks down.
the dude cant hear you Gas - he's off grid atm, gatecrashing the teddybears' picnic so he can tell them that they're best off sh1tting in the woods
VG
Like the toilet paper commercial with the happy domesticated animated version of 'bears' selling you on the quilted softeness.the dude cant hear you Gas - he's off grid atm, gatecrashing the teddybears' picnic so he can tell them that they're best off sh1tting in the woods
VG
D
dogfishheadie
bubbling up my soak I intended to use tonight to hydrate my soil for the new seeds and have a quick question to put my mind at ease.
originally was going to just bubble up 4 gallons of water with 1/4 cup kelp then add my agisil, aloe and fulpower at the end. yet after harvesting fresh EWC for the starting mix, I couldn't help but throw in a cup + 30ml or so of the leachate from the bottom bin. not sure if that's a bit too much goodness to germinate the seeds in?
should I stick with that mix or do a H2O + agisil + aloe hydrate instead? I can see the kelp + EWC tea good for once they've popped and doing their thing, just not too comfortable in the germination stage, hate to waste those expensive seeds!
originally was going to just bubble up 4 gallons of water with 1/4 cup kelp then add my agisil, aloe and fulpower at the end. yet after harvesting fresh EWC for the starting mix, I couldn't help but throw in a cup + 30ml or so of the leachate from the bottom bin. not sure if that's a bit too much goodness to germinate the seeds in?
should I stick with that mix or do a H2O + agisil + aloe hydrate instead? I can see the kelp + EWC tea good for once they've popped and doing their thing, just not too comfortable in the germination stage, hate to waste those expensive seeds!
B
BlueJayWay
^^^ I'm unsure about that man - i've always had the best luck just keepin' it simple (water/kelp or water/aloe etc), I get myself into trouble when I get excited and mix up too many things 
I had been mentioning a mulch mix I was trying out, Comfrey/Yarrow/Nettle - and in a conversation with CC we both noticed how Comfrey mulch turns nearly pitch black - well here's one I mulched with that mix:
From fresh dried herbs to a black mess in ~30days - wonder how much benefits is already being had by the plant?
Here's the plant that is in it BO x CB....
I had been mentioning a mulch mix I was trying out, Comfrey/Yarrow/Nettle - and in a conversation with CC we both noticed how Comfrey mulch turns nearly pitch black - well here's one I mulched with that mix:
From fresh dried herbs to a black mess in ~30days - wonder how much benefits is already being had by the plant?
Here's the plant that is in it BO x CB....
TwistedPistils
Member
Comfrey is so awesome! I need to try adding it to the soil, so far I have just been adding it to teas...
D
dogfishheadie
sorta was afraid of that. I'll be more up for experiments down the road, want to go with tried and true methodologies first, I'll make a new batch tonight of just the kelp.
on that note, think my seeds will be okay if they go for another 24 hours or so in the starting solution after they've sunk to the bottom of the shot glass? I'm using coco water, regular water, aloe + agisil and bioag fulpower in four different shot glasses. really only concerned about the aloe and fulvic as aloe ferments and the bottle instructions for fulpower says to soak seeds for 24 hours and vegetable seeds for 36, don't want it to soak for too long.
would I be okay just taking them out and leaving on a paper plate till the kelp tea is ready?
thanks for all the help!
on that note, think my seeds will be okay if they go for another 24 hours or so in the starting solution after they've sunk to the bottom of the shot glass? I'm using coco water, regular water, aloe + agisil and bioag fulpower in four different shot glasses. really only concerned about the aloe and fulvic as aloe ferments and the bottle instructions for fulpower says to soak seeds for 24 hours and vegetable seeds for 36, don't want it to soak for too long.
would I be okay just taking them out and leaving on a paper plate till the kelp tea is ready?
thanks for all the help!
Y
YosemiteSam
Basalt? Zeolite?
Basalt? Zeolite?
So I found a source of Basalt that is convenient for me. The directions say add 15% for a potting soil.
When I calculate roughly what Cootz is adding he is around 4%. Did I get some weak ass basalt? Has anyone ever run it at higher levels than Cootz? Is anyone aware of a lab that can test the paramagnetic levels of various basalts?
Zeolite...has anyone ever tried this stuff? I am guessing it is not so important when one has good humus levels. But I am curious. I know it suppose to be great for holding NH4 and K...but does it also hold onto anions?
Basalt? Zeolite?
So I found a source of Basalt that is convenient for me. The directions say add 15% for a potting soil.
When I calculate roughly what Cootz is adding he is around 4%. Did I get some weak ass basalt? Has anyone ever run it at higher levels than Cootz? Is anyone aware of a lab that can test the paramagnetic levels of various basalts?
Zeolite...has anyone ever tried this stuff? I am guessing it is not so important when one has good humus levels. But I am curious. I know it suppose to be great for holding NH4 and K...but does it also hold onto anions?
It shouldn't matter,but you know Coot,he may have some very good reason for that %..and he probably told us somewhere back there.....
I've never used Zeolite.
You may not vote on any more threads today.
I think I got that message about a dozen times so far in this thread today.
I think I got that message about a dozen times so far in this thread today.
D
Durdy
I believe CC mentioned that suppliers suggest far more than he does and that it didn't really matter one way or the other, but my memory betrays me sometimes so take that advice with caution.
On another note I got to "weed" some borage that was growing into the pathways of a garden I help in a few times a week. Can't wait to mulch my no-till with it when the lights switch on later
Scored two free Jerusalem Artichokes (sunchokes?) from a cutie at the plant nursery today! I love a chick whose super into gardening.
On another note I got to "weed" some borage that was growing into the pathways of a garden I help in a few times a week. Can't wait to mulch my no-till with it when the lights switch on later
Scored two free Jerusalem Artichokes (sunchokes?) from a cutie at the plant nursery today! I love a chick whose super into gardening.
I usually soak seeds untill they crack or if the majority has cracked.. too long and they will drown and rot
Here's a paper on recycling soil.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/sag-fact/pdf/0016.pdf
http://ohioline.osu.edu/sag-fact/pdf/0016.pdf
SoooHaggard
Member
Bookmarked thank you!
FunTimesIndeed
Member
Paramagnetic levels? Basalt is basalt unless it's something else; I don't see how you could get a weak-ass version. I would guess going higher than 4% wouldn't leave enough space for other ingredients or be needed.
LilMan72003
Active member
^^Enjoyed the read, thorough and informative. Found this interesting:
"The rate of SOM (soil organic matter) decomposition increases when the soil is exposed to cycles of drying and wetting compared to soils that are continuously wet or dry."
"The rate of SOM (soil organic matter) decomposition increases when the soil is exposed to cycles of drying and wetting compared to soils that are continuously wet or dry."
Bookmarked thank you!
Did you read this part?
Mycorrhizal fungi live in the soil on the surface of or within plant roots.
On the surface of the soil is news to me, I wonder what microbeman will say.
And after reading this paper I wonder if in no till horticulture if we should add more carbon, or if the peat and leaf mold are plenty....scrappy
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