My organic grow

[daylighting]

There's no drywall to speak of in this part of the world! Every single building is solid concrete (aside from a few corrugated tin shacks).

EDIT: Due to the Chinese population here, I should be able to get some in Chinatown through Chinese medicine stores!

 

[VerdantGreen]

seaweed should be fine as a K source.
ive seen chicken pellets used successfully in container grows indoors but it is strong stuff so you need to use it very sparingly at first.

VG

 

[xmobotx]

i dont intend to say manure wont work either ~obviously we been farming w/ manure for millenia

just basically; in a container it can pose some risks and indoors it can present some odor issues

 

[daylighting]

I will use about a teaspoon at a time on prewatered soil and then water it through. I know how potent the stuff is from experience; I first used it back in 1996!

I picked up some azomite and leonardite today, and I'll go pick up the castings and manure in person later this week. It's a long drive, but worth it!

 

[daylighting]

I've decided to use bidi (Indian cigarettes rolled in ebony leaf) and pot ash for my K needs, and then adjust pH with lemon or orange juice which will help chelate the calcium in my tap water. How does that sound?

 

[daylighting]

OK, after reading more about organics, I've managed to get some fresh worm castings, fish/crab meal/kelp organic fertilizer with EMs, rice husk charcoal, azomite and leonardite. I can get alfalfa meal very cheaply too, and I bought a brick of professional grade coco and a ten gallon bag of perlite. I can buy professional grade peat from Germany a few blocks away. I have no need for chem ferts now.

 

[vonforne]

Thanks! Unfortunately being where I am in the world, getting more 'exotic' organics means paying hefty shipping fees from the US. I am trying to make do with what I can get locally.

I've never heard of a barley sprout rinse to get things going...looks like I need to do some reading!

As for basalt dust, I could just use some outdoor dirt since it's the parent rock here.

Are you in the EU?

 

[daylighting]

Nope, in Asia, although I will be in the EU again shortly I think! I recently found a way to get pretty much all the organic amendments I need cheaply and relatively easily. I can even get neem meal, and the locals use gypsum to make tofu.

 

[vonforne]

So, you are near Germany.You can get Brennesstle which is rolled Stinging Nettles from Dehners Gartencenter. They also carry a line of rock dust that has coral calicium in it and it is what I used when living in Germany. Also you can pick up some guanos from there also.

The chicken manure will be alright to use as long as it is composted well. It also has lots of calcium since farmers feed the chickens oyster shells as grit.

Good Luck

 

[daylighting]

Danke schon, I'll try and get some nettles, rock dust and other goodies when I am in the EU.

As for the manure, I get it in pelletized form for agriculture, and use it very sparingly. I am actually not going to be using it as I feel the EWC/alfalfa/fish meal will cover my nitrogen needs.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

daylighting

Do you have Taro plants (shown below) where you are? If it is available then this plant is on par with Comfrey, Seaweed, Stinging Nettles or Alfalfa.

Do you have tropical plants in general?

CC

 

[daylighting]

Yes, I didn't know those were taro plants, but they're everywhere here! I am very much in the tropics. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[ClackamasCootz]

You don't need animal manures if you have taro leaves to work with - at all.

You have a slew of options on how you can incorporate this into your soil and gardening program.

CC

 

[MrSterling]

Coot, there are a couple different taros. Are both colocasia and alocasia applicable?

 

[daylighting]

Leaves may be harder to come by than root it seems...alfalfa is a lot easier! No farms anywhere near me, just lots of produce.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Coot, there are a couple different taros. Are both colocasia and alocasia applicable?

MrSterling

You want to use the edible Colocasia species which is grown as a food around the Pacific. It is a nutrient powerhouse and biomass production is very high if you have the optimum weather on your side.

Alocasia with it's oxalate compound can cause severe damage to your body - even death. Whether or not it would affect your plants is probably something that needs to be tested or at least researched.

CC

 

[daylighting]

So there is a plant that looks a lot like taro that grows wild here; I'll take some pics.

 

[Old_Headbanger]

Taro looks a lot like eastern skunk cabbage (symplocarpus foetidus). It has calcium oxalate in it, which is known to burn if you ingest it. Was hoping to use it in my compost piles, but I think i will stay away from it. Don't need any of those oxalate crystals getting into things they shouldn't, not that I know what they would really do.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Taro looks a lot like eastern skunk cabbage (symplocarpus foetidus). It has calcium oxalate in it, which is known to burn if you ingest it. Was hoping to use it in my compost piles, but I think i will stay away from it. Don't need any of those oxalate crystals getting into things they shouldn't, not that I know what they would really do.

Old_Headbanger

Thermophyllic composting would degrade the oxalate compound as well as others. Neutralize might be another term you would read or hear.

I'd use it just in a compost pile as I do Rhubarb leaves which contains Oxalic acid and Anthraquinone Glycosides - both compounds can lead to death in humans and some livestock.

You're good to go using the leaves...

CC

 

[ziggestardust]

Have you checked with local well drillers for rock dust? If they have a mine or blow rock up somewhere nearby you could just ask/scavenge it from there. I have access to basalt and red granite this way.