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Saurkraut in the soil ?!

MrTonkle

Member
Hello guys this might be abit weird but i have a question which iv been googling on without much sucess - we know that micro organisms live in the soil and help break down the nutrients to be readily accessible for the plants, and say we are using a soil that is lacking in those organisms for some reason would it be a good idea to add saurkraut to the soil to add those bacteria to the soil (im sure theres supplements to so that but im asking specifically about saurkraut) this might be abit weird and even stupid but i just felt like i had to get some opinions and ideas about this hehe.:tiphat:
 

WelderDan

Well-known member
Veteran
Real Sauerkraut is made with fermented cabbage. It has merely been salted and allowed to ferment. Cheap stuff uses vinegar.

Both will break down and contribute. I'd say the real stuff is probably better, but they both break down.
 

MrTonkle

Member
Sure im talking about the real stuff i honestly didnt even know there was a cheap variety, im only using the real organic one. But my question however was if the beneficial bacteria associated with saurkraut would continue to thrive and benefit the plant if i were to pour the juice or bury the actuall cabbage pieces in the soil. Im asking because i have a feeling my soil is "dead" it was supposed to have a ph at 5.5-6.5 but its actually 7.5 and im almost certain it had been frozen even though it was not supposed to (to keep the beneficial bacteria) would that be wrong ? Im a novice grower and i like to experiment abit but i might be conpletely wrong about this ?
 

bigbadbiddy

Active member
Could always go the way around and just feed it to your worm bin.


I have formed the opinion that if one is unsure if one should add something to the soil directly/feed the plants with it by topdressing or whatever, one might want to consider letting the worms eat the stuff up and poop it out and then use the worm castings.


In theory, the worms should act as a sort of bio filter for stuff that would harm the stuff and only "let through" stuff that will benefit the plants in the form of its poop.


If the stuff would just harm the plants/soil food web and wouldn't add anything positive, then the worms will likely let you know by trying to flee the worm bin or the worm bin turning bad and worms no longer thriving or even dying off.


Knowamsayin? :D
 

MrTonkle

Member
Hehe yeah man sounds good indeed, but in this case i was more concerned about the microorganisms wouldnt they die if a worm ate them ? I thought that the microorganisms break down the organic materia into accessible nutrients for the plant aswell as lower the ph when they "poop"? Same with the worms but i dont really want worms in my indoor grow hehe besides its below freezing here in sweden so thats something ill definately do in the summer though:tiphat:
 

MrTonkle

Member
Hmm.. maybe iv been wrong about the ph in the soil after all and perhaps its not that important ? Should i be more focused on the waters/feeding(1/10urine/water) ph cause when i think about it my ph meter is not all that great and i dont think it works to stick it down the soil to get an actual reading due to it being to dry ?
 

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h.h.

Active member
Veteran
Be more focused on the plant.
Is it healthy and growing?
Forget the salted cabbage and don't feed it to the worms.
They'll hate you for it.
They may make it with salt, but its still vinager making it sour. Not like you'd want salt anyway.
Surely you can find some compost.


Not "vinager".
I was thinking it was a product of , Acetobacter, which it isn't.
Its a lacto fermentation.
Still too sour and salty.
You could aeriate it by spreading it out.
I do that with lacto fermentations.
But you'll just have salty cabbage.
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Hmm.. maybe iv been wrong about the ph in the soil after all and perhaps its not that important ? Should i be more focused on the waters/feeding(1/10urine/water) ph cause when i think about it my ph meter is not all that great and i dont think it works to stick it down the soil to get an actual reading due to it being to dry ?

Those pH meters do not work accurately. The sauerkraut is a terrible idea and will kill your worms. Worms produce microorganisms. Do some research on 'the microbial nutrient loop' to really learn how microbes work in the soil.
 

MrTonkle

Member
Those pH meters do not work accurately. The sauerkraut is a terrible idea and will kill your worms. Worms produce microorganisms. Do some research on 'the microbial nutrient loop' to really learn how microbes work in the soil.
Ohh okay thanks alot i sure will do
 

MrTonkle

Member
Be more focused on the plant.
Is it healthy and growing?
Forget the salted cabbage and don't feed it to the worms.
They'll hate you for it.
They may make it with salt, but its still vinager making it sour. Not like you'd want salt anyway.
Surely you can find some compost.


Not "vinager".
I was thinking it was a product of , Acetobacter, which it isn't.
Its a lacto fermentation.
Still too sour and salty.
You could aeriate it by spreading it out.
I do that with lacto fermentations.
But you'll just have salty cabbage.

Thank you, they sure do grow and feel good now after i repotted thew with perlite it was 110% necessary for my grow the guys in the new growers said that and i sure noticed the differance, i got a thread in the new growers section if anyone want to check my progress :) ! :tiphat:
 

Donald Mallard

el duck
Moderator
Veteran
Hello guys this might be abit weird but i have a question which iv been googling on without much sucess - we know that micro organisms live in the soil and help break down the nutrients to be readily accessible for the plants, and say we are using a soil that is lacking in those organisms for some reason would it be a good idea to add saurkraut to the soil to add those bacteria to the soil (im sure theres supplements to so that but im asking specifically about saurkraut) this might be abit weird and even stupid but i just felt like i had to get some opinions and ideas about this hehe.:tiphat:
probably different bacterias ,
one lives in an environment with no air ...



you can inoculate your soil with beneficial bacteria...
 

MrTonkle

Member
probably different bacterias ,
one lives in an environment with no air ...



you can inoculate your soil with beneficial bacteria...

Yeah i think your right ill keep the saurkraut for myself and for my dogs and i sure gotta do aome more research on the microbes its really interesting
 

moses wellfleet

Well-known member
Moderator
Veteran
Do some research on Korean Natural Farming KNF. Particularly there are some videos on YouTube by a guy called Chris Trump.

Fermented plant juice and indigenous microorganisms 1-5 should interest you!
 

MrTonkle

Member
probably different bacterias ,
one lives in an environment with no air ...



you can inoculate your soil with beneficial bacteria...

Do some research on Korean Natural Farming KNF. Particularly there are some videos on YouTube by a guy called Chris Trump.

Fermented plant juice and indigenous microorganisms 1-5 should interest you!
Thanks sure will do !.

Had to say something about the saurkraut thing though, real saurkraut never has vineagar in it nor is it pasturised, that is the massproduced stuff and is really not the same thing, i do however agree that its probably not a good idea to add it due to the salt content. Picture provided of my saurkraut sadly its in swedish hehe.:tiphat:
 

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H

hard rain

I've begun using bokashi in my soil and it works great so far. It's basically fermented food scraps.

I wouldn't put saurkraut in my soil because of the salt.
 
T

Teddybrae

Sauerkraut is good for human digestion.

Thanks for reminding me, Mr Monolith ... Mr Tonkle, there's a human shit thread here too. Plenty bacteria there!

(And what's a 'tonkle'?)
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Be aware that the collection of primarily fungal and yeast cultures is only one part of the equation for nutrient cycling in natural farming. The other part is bacteria/archaea, flagellates and naked amoebae.
 
The best way to go about it would be to take some of the crout juice dilute it heavily and then aerate it to get the good lacto bacterias to start multiplying. Then u could water it in to boost the micro life in your soil. People use raw milk in soil and it works in a similar fashion. Straight crout juice is going to be way too acidic and salty.
 
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