Organic Fanatics - Australia

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Yes that may well be happening mate. Certainly this is the concept behind the quick return compost system that tiny amounts of certain herbs can have huge effects on organic breakdown rates. Fascinating reading and a system i am going to try this spring.

http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/QR/QRToC.html

Also its worth remembering that in this 'new' (ancient hehe) paradigm the soil is IMPROVING over time if kept within good organic practice. So we keep adding the good stuff (kelp, lucerne, comfrey, nettles etc), keep it 100% covered with plants 100% of the time (or close as possible) and the soil keeps improving. This is what i think of as holistic.

Once we have good fungi and microbe population we can add less and less inputs but our yields sould be maintained or improved

 

[Sat X RB]

Silver, you mention Nettles. they are not common in this part of the world ... requiring cooler wetter conditions than is usual here.

however our 3 year-long high rainfall has meant cooler conditions and a dairy farm I get cow plop from has Nettles in abundance. the farm was flooded not too long ago and nettles are spread thruout the farm especially where the mulch line remains from the receding flood.

I have brought some home in cow shit and now have them popping up around one of my citrus trees. this augurs well for that particular bed. now to get them growing thruout the garden!

(heard a story that during the first world war the Kaiser ordered farmers to grow and bale Nettle because it is exceptionally good stock feed).

cheers!

 

[Sat X RB]

Nettle

Nettle

 

[noyd666]

bastard of a problem on a lot of propertys, right hand side of that looks like another shit pest never get rid of it=WANDERING JEW. SAT? AND I SEE ANOTHER THAT HAS NICE SMALL BLUE FLOWERS= FORGET ME NOTS, SMALL LONG HAIRED DOGS LOVE EM LOL.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Yeah cool they are nettles alright. That will be one healthy tree.

They spread through very vigorous roots (and seed) and look very happy there! Some folk prefer to keep em in a corner out of the way but i have read that an orchard covered in nettles will be very long lived, productive and pest free. This may have something to do with the accumulation of silica.

Combine the nettles with comfrey and all of your ganja plants nutritional needs will be WELL covered.

Nettles for veg and comfrey for flower.

 

[Sat X RB]

bastard of a problem on a lot of propertys, right hand side of that looks like another shit pest never get rid of it=WANDERING JEW. SAT? AND I SEE ANOTHER THAT HAS NICE SMALL BLUE FLOWERS= FORGET ME NOTS, SMALL LONG HAIRED DOGS LOVE EM LOL.

Yes, Noyd ... wandering bloody jew. it's seasonal here so doesn't go too berserk. but yr right about it being impossible to eradicate.

no small blue flowering plants there. some pansies maybe. what yr seeing could be a northern plant that looks like one of yr southern plants.

 

[Sat X RB]

Yeah cool they are nettles alright. That will be one healthy tree.

They spread through very vigorous roots (and seed) and look very happy there! Some folk prefer to keep em in a corner out of the way but i have read that an orchard covered in nettles will be very long lived, productive and pest free. This may have something to do with the accumulation of silica.

Combine the nettles with comfrey and all of your ganja plants nutritional needs will be WELL covered.

Nettles for veg and comfrey for flower.

Just had the thought should go to the dairy farm and cut myself enuf Nettle to mulch my garden with.

but Comfrey? it goes crazy here and takes over so it is unpopular. dunno where I 'd get any of that. (deep roots, eh?)

 

[Rumblefish]

You can eat it you know! Good old weed pie. Heaps of recipe's on the net.
http://fat-of-the-land.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/italian-nettle-sausage-pie.html

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

That looks like a nice pie!

Comfrey does takeover but better that than many other weeds. Its useful beyond measure for all kinds of stuff - food, medicine and fertiliser!

I collect some that grows wild under some feral apple trees on the roadside.

 

[Sat X RB]

unexpected winter germ

unexpected winter germ

here's pic of something that's popped up in my garden.

it grew in some of last years soil and I 've amended it with half a cup of blackwater tea ... whereupon it doubled in size very quickly and took on the healthy shades of green you can see.

this experiment is giving me a better idea of how to amend used soils. N depletion was obvious. this recycling is an ongoing experiment of course ...

cheers All!

 

[noyd666]

good for some nice cuttings.SAT.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Nice one looks good and healthy. Volunteer plants are great! Your soil looks nice and rich also.

 

[_Ina_]

hey,Sat x RB,i wanted to show you how is my small guerilla garden in BG. it is organic ofcourseI wasnt go there for about a month and i was nice surprised when i saw these girls. nice weather for outdoor around here but i have few plants that will do better where you arei collect some sea weed this summer and may be in this hot weather in august i can use some for mulch there to keep the moisture under,what do you think?O,that almost dead plant you can see on one of the pics was one late male plant and i cut it.
Nettle there looks little bit different

 

[KITCHA]

For those in the big smoke that don't have easy access to nettle and comfrey plants check out onlinehorsesupplies.com.au that have great prices on nettle & comfrey leaves as well as alfalfa powder and kelp meal, there in QLD and ship anywhere in Aus.

Peace kit

 

[wallywombat]

kelp meal wooooohoooo cross that off the list

 

[greendream420]

Not sure if this has been linked up on here.
It is a nice and simple aussie article on maintaining living pasture, has some great tips.
I still am a noob, so any input would be appreciated!
Also, gives some advice on utilizing dynamic lifter, which is what got me reading it.http://www.ecogrowth.com.au/farmfert4.html

Sorry for my ignorance, Yates say that dynamic lifter on their web page, it contains -seaweed meal-fish meal- blood and bone, aswell as chook poo.
I have heard a few good things about it recently.
Any nice just add water recipes with dl as part the mix?
I am also interested in power pellets, which are alfalfa pellets! Here is the link http://www.powerpellets.com.au/powerpellets.asp

I am newly committed to learning organics as my form of growing medicine.
It really scared me at first years ago when I found subcools list of exotic ingredients that were to far out of reach and expensive...
Now im back and you guys have really opened my eyes!
I know it's an art form, but I have faith now I can cook an atleast average soil with the basics laid out. Thank you silver and everyone else for letting us in on some awesome down under knowledge and supply leads.

I am still sourcing so I'll try drop links here and there, hopefully not repeating the known.
Cheers

 

[Sat X RB]

Also, gives some advice on utilizing dynamic lifter, which is what got me reading it.http://www.ecogrowth.com.au/farmfert4.html

Sorry for my ignorance, Yates say that dynamic lifter on their web page, it contains -seaweed meal-fish meal- blood and bone, aswell as chook poo.
I have heard a few good things about it recently.
Any nice just add water recipes with dl as part the mix?

Cheers

I was also interested in the article's reference to Fish emulsions and the observation that the cheapest and least smelly was the best. anyone out there have a clue which brand the authors might be talking about?

on chook poo ... I 've been interested in this in the past simply because it's the best value for money at bummings. but in these pages there are plenty of warnings about too much Nitrogen being contained in chook poo so it's not desirable as the main fertiliser ...

on the other hand a well respected grower and plant breeder in Tropical parts of our land tells me he uses chook poo for most of his fertiliser needs and his results are visibly very good indeed.

so this business of organic growing and fertilizing is still puzzling to me ...

One thing tho', Green dream, is that the ingredients for yr organic garden need to sit and meld together for a while before you plant in it. especially (as Rumblefish once told me here) if yr in native soil and add Dolomite. ya gotta give things time to combine ...

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Too much N is only a problem in mid/late flower. Chicken poop is great stuff just strongly alkaline so its gotts be composted. The stuff in DL is composted but ISNT certified organic. I would be worried about blood n bone slaughterhouse contamination from the stuff thats sprayed on the animals/general area to kill germs, insects etc. Also industrial farmed animals are shot up with all kinds of vaccines, hormones, vitamins etc and possibly eat genetically modified food.. the composting process destroys many possible contaminants but i would rather not take the risk.

Chicken poop is great stuff it just needs composted or charred etc. Nothing wrong with using animal manures so long as they are genuine free range and have a healthy diet.

Best used in veg when the plants want all the nutrition they can get, especially those high in nitrogen.

 

[greendream420]

Sat x rb I am not sure if you noticed, but the author is a manufacture here in aus.
They say that the enzyme process appears to be the best, not sure of their process but I would hope they practice what they preach...

Yeh mate, dynamic lifters price and low cost is right up my alley. I Was spooked like you about chook poo been to hot, only of late I have found out that well composted poo is great.
Sorry,.do you mean dynamic lifter or just chook poo with the grower you know of?
Because dynamic lifter is more than just chook poo.
I have heard of people using extreme amounts of dynamic lifter pellets with no hot issues and great yields.
It's hardwork learning organics but with threads like this we will get there bud!

Silversurfer og, thank you for the heads up.
Not really a compromise I am willing to settle for, it seemed to good to be true.
Seems there is more than often a flaw of some sort in many proclaimed organic products.
Have had any experience with power pellets?
I may be able to get it local, I figure they would cover my veg demands for the most part.
I Will re read this thread soon damn it, and take notes for once...

 

[Sat X RB]

didn't see the Authors, Greendream ... will look again.

I was talking about chook poo in general. recognise that DL is something a little more ... especially because they offer a DL suitable for roses in flowering. as we know increased K is required for flowering and this is not normally available from chook poo. SO at least this variety of DL must be AMENDED.

Katek claim their chookpoo is organic. I used Katek Supergrow one season and it worked like a bomb. unfortunately I can't say how it helped flowering because I had a tragic accident when foliar spraying the plant ... but I 'm buying more this season and will report here.

cheers!