Time Has arrived:Switching to organics..need advice!

[dreadlock]

guys i understand most of the stuff in regards to calcium etc. The soil mix does feel like a good strong base as it is. Maybe just pickup some DL for the sake of it..

right now more focused on the solution to hydrate peat to sort PH etc

Aloe sounds great with all the extra good stuff it brings, a good source of saponins however horse chestnut powder is looking to be a better source.. Containing much higher levels. question is can we use both?

came across this recipe for horse chestnut mix: take a gallon jug + 2 pints of water, 1-1.5 teaspoons of powder - shake well! should see 2 - 4" of foam. Stuck on the next step, Not sure how much to add? how to apply it..

..i'll only be hydrating what i need, around 45 liters for now. Tap water here is hard btw. for now i simply bubble water or leave open 2 days in advance. for the future i should have a water filter system setup + rain water collector.

Regards to ewc there two choices to go with till i get the bin running.. not much info. can always mulch with homemade castings later.
http://www.bucketofworms.co.uk/wormcast/31-standard-wormcast.html
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Organic-W...rden_Plants_Fertiliser_CV&hash=item3cc83088d6

 

[dreadlock]

an intresting study. thanks for sharing.. makes allot of sense already without having to read to much into it.

using perlite 50/50 with clay sounds like a good plan VG.. i'll make the changes.

planning to pick up some bio-char.. will this be good for using with mulch? ingredients really appeal to me, would be nice to add this in at some point..

 

[VerdantGreen]

biochar is to be mixed into the soil and it will need 'charging' with a high N liquid fert. i use 2.5% but my char is fine powder charcoal. at that rate i can get away with just watering with some 'veg' type fert the first few times to counteract the Nutrient absorbtion of the biochar.

the shamrock peat isnt that dry and i have never had a problem hydrating it as long as you keep the bag closed. i just use water to wet the mix or some seaweed/veg fert if i have used char, im sure aloe is good though, just not essential ime

my advice is to mix the soil together well whilst all the ingredients are dry - as the dusts etc can stick together in lumps when they get wet.

 

[dreadlock]

more i read up on bio char more interesting it gets. bacteria love it and is a good way to compliment our soil. If i have room for it i'd love to throw a little in. Maybe keep it simple like you have and i might be able to get away.. using it more as a catalyst if not for anything else.

let me get this correct, i should create the soil mix first hydrating all at once right? slightly confused here. under the impression were supposed to hydrate peat not rocks dusts, clay etc. If most ingredients require hydrating then guess the simplest option would be mixing it all first as you said..

 

[John Deere]

I hate perlite. It floats up in the soil and makes a mess. Plus it doesn't add anything other than aeration. A bag of landscaping lava rock is cheaper plus contributes trace minerals to your mix. Win win. Rice hulls is another I've seen recommended for the same reasons but I've never used it.

 

[BugJar]

oil dri 100% calcinated clay in roughly pumice sized chunks. heavy as hell but at 25 pounds for 4 bucks well worth it

 

[EclipseFour20]

Amen! Besides, Oil Dri can be scored anytime of the day--as most Walmart Superstores are open 24 hrs. NAPA (O'Reilly Auto Parts) does have a superior version, but--tad more expensive and pain in the ass (not always stocked and sometimes is a special order item). Besides, visiting your neighborhood Walmart at 3AM can be quite entertaining!

 

[BugJar]

Amen! Besides, Oil Dri can be scored anytime of the day--as most Walmart Superstores are open 24 hrs. NAPA (O'Reilly Auto Parts) does have a superior version, but--tad more expensive and pain in the ass (not always stocked and sometimes is a special order item). Besides, visiting your neighborhood Walmart at 3AM can be quite entertaining!

shit! I didn't know napa had something similar. I think oil dri is the only reason I have been in a walmart for years. I guess I can go to napa instead!

what is the product called?

 

[EclipseFour20]

Moltan "Safety Absorbent" made from Montmorillonite Clay from Tennessee. http://www.moltan.com/Products/absorbentsClay.htm

 

[bigshrimp]

I believe madlib had issues using confined clay as solo aeration ammendment. Best used as a secondary ammendment.

Check out the perlite and beyond thread for more details

 

[BugJar]

yeah I'm not sure I would use it alone, still pretty good stuff.

 

[VerdantGreen]

calcined clay is different to calcined diotomaceous earth (which is thought was the oil dri product)
never found lava or pumice in the UK, perlite dies float but you should water more gently if that is a problem

VG

 

[jaded1]

You can find red lava rocks over here,seem quite expensive,cheapest i've found was £25 for 10kg.
Edit:can be found on ebay under aquarium lava rocks for just under a score

 

[xmobotx]

i m big on pumice but havent experienced any probz w/ straight calcined DE

for the future i will probably go w/ pumice

 

[jaded1]

The cheapest pumice i've found is at specialistaggregates.com.
Still not cheap,seems most of these amendments cost a lot more over here

 

[EclipseFour20]

Here is some information that got me rethinking the value of pumice as a growing medium aggregate.

"Pumice possesses large pores and consequently its volumetric water content decreases sharply as water tension increases. (Boertje, 1994; Raviv et al., 1999). The water-holding capacity of pumice is relatively low compared with rockwool, perlite or organic substrates and may limit water and nutrient uptake by plants, especially in hot climates (Raviv et al., 1999)."

"Pumice has no buffering capacity and possesses a very low surface charge, derived mainly from impurities of carbonate and metal content ...However, caution is recommended when using new pumice material because high concentrations of Na are leached out at the beginning of use."

Source...UN's Food and Agriculture Organization....http://www.fao.org/hortivar/scis/doc/publ/8.pdf

Jump to the pdf file page 43...that is where the inorganic substrate discussion starts...and page 50 for pumice info.

Lets just say, my growing medium is now pumice free. Cheers!

 

[dreadlock]

guys thanks for the info.. sorry for the late reply

did some h/w, made up my mind simply due to costs / availability on certain ingredients already pointed out thanks to VG & jaded it would only be wise to go for an alternative route, all about convenience..

lava rock seems a great alternative, you can tell it's a great catalyst for microbes from appearance with little holes/caves n dents. Any difference between red and black lava rocks, i've found red ones mentioned the most..

would it be fine to use 1" lava rocks at the bottom for easy drainage then For 1 part aeration/drainage i'll add 12.5% c clay, 12.5% equal parts perlite + lava rocks(crushed)..

-Jaded nice one for the links, rocks look interesting..

 

[VerdantGreen]

the drainage layer at the bottom of the pot doesnt really do anything except reduce the soil volume in the pot.

the water in the soil has 2 forces acting on it, capillary action from the soil itself and gravity - so putting drainage at the bottom doesnt change either of these forces.
(its a very common horticultural practice but it comes from using terracotta pots with a huge hole in the bottom and it stops the soil washing out of the hole)
as long as the pot has plenty of drainage holes then i would skip the layer at the bottom and just fill the pot with soil.

VG

 

[dreadlock]

makes sense to leave it out, no point in wasting root space i guess...might try one with maybe 1/2 an inch for the sake.. lets see.

after learning about lava rocks, got me thinking for new ways to add it in.. I read somewhere it attracts beneficial bacteria that capture elements from the air , converting into organic form.. think sulfur oxide is a product along a few others.
Any idea if sprinkling some as a top layer crushed maybe would help the soil etc..

 

[EclipseFour20]

In my garden, I always add 2" of perlite to the bottom of my container before adding my custom growing mix--(I know different strokes for different folks)--but here is my logic:

1. Air exchange. Since I water until there is a slight runoff--the runoff will sit in the layer of perlite and not wick to the growing medium. As a result, the growing medium is not becoming saturated with runoff (no compaction) AND air is able to enter the bottom of the container.
2. Fusion of "soil" and "hydroponic"...or sort of. The roots in the growing medium obtain nutrition from the growing medium (soil)--while the roots in the perlite zone obtain nutrition from the runoff--which is full of nutrients in a "water soluble" form (hydroponic). Lets just say, I have roots escaping through the drain holes that are thick and white.
3. Bonus roots. I transplant from 1/2 gallon to 5 gallon container and layer 1" of perliite in the bottom of the 1/2 container. When transplanting, the perlite in the bottom comes loose resulting in rootball with an abundance of roots dangling from it--which I spread out and bury fresh growing medium.
4. Larger root mass. Comparing rootballs of harvested plants, without exception the plants with the 1-2" of perlite in the bottom had greater number of roots, and were larger in diameter.

The only way you can prove me right or wrong is to run a side by side. Either way--you win!