cooking directly in holes?

[f424]

what do you think about cooking my soil mix in final holes (outdoor grow). i'll have about 200 gals of soil to cook, and don't have enough space and containers to store it. is it a must for turning it over constantly? i guess not but it will affect quality of my soil, right? the question is how much?

will it work if I just fill the holes with mix, wait about 2-3 weeks, maybe add some compost teas/water, and then plant?

 

[fatburt]

will work no problem bro!

 

[dogfishheadie]

never been outdoors before but the only thing I would be a bit concerned about would be rain washing all the minerals / nutrients out before they're ready to do their things? maybe cover with a tarp until its finished curing up?

 

[Durdy]

It's my thinking that when we have a living soil, nutrients washing out of the media should be less of a concern. Many of the nutrients available will be immobilized in the bodies of our microscopic friends.

If one were to add biochar to the mix leaching would become even less of a concern as this would hold onto anions as well as create more space for microbes to live (and store nutrients within themselves).

The benefits of being able to turn ones soil come from mixing in more oxygen, which helps the breakdown of the amendments to occur faster. I remember seeing a graph somewhere that showed the heat retention over time of compost piles turned VS not turned. The turned pile had a spike in heat but it fell off quickly. The non turned pile had a lower overall temperature but maintained a higher temperature for longer.

My habit as of late has been to mix up my soil put it into the container it is going to be used in and plant a cover crop. The benefits of the cover crop are that it gets roots jamming in the soil which allows a more diverse and complex fungal population to get going which will greatly benefit the ganja once it's transplanted. It's a way to get the soil living faster!

My concern with your method would be the 2 - 3 week period of nutrient cycling, I don't think it's long enough (pending what your mix is and how much is in it) and would wait something more like 4 - 6.

Long days and pleasant nights

 

[RanchoDeluxe]

Durdy - Didn't bother to read you're post. I know you'll set em straight.

Good luck man.

 

[John Deere]

lol @ RD

 

[M.A.W]

lol @ RD

Agreed and it was solid advice!

I might add if its straight into the ground not a container....
I would personally wet/mix the soil on a tarp then put it in the hole...
As opposed to mix it all directly in the hole and give it its first SOAK of water while in the holes(thats the only way you would "wash" nutes out in my mind) like said before bacteria will hold nutes after a few days and same with your aeration amendments...

Just my 2 cents/how id go about it