fishinnutt
Member
I am having trouble finding the procedure for using my no till soil the second time and beyond. What are the procedures for amending your no till soil?
One of the things I want to share and develop within this journal is the establishment of a "drug type" cannabis specific N-P-K profile on a per acre basis.
Personally, one of the last big hurdles I see with reusing organic soil, which issues are amplified in a soil bed, is knowing how to properly re-amend the crop after each cycle to ensure a consistent flower. The general "use half original amounts" works but I don't believe it to be the best approach.
That being said, there are a couple of formulas I'm going to use along the way that are essential to this goal.
The first formula, will tell us how much of any given amendment to apply to achieve a desired nutrient level within a known planting area.
[(pounds per acre needed/square foot in an acre) x sq ft to be fertilized] / elemental percentage of fertilizer being applied
Example: A soil test says you need to apply 120 lbs per acre of P. You decide to use steamed bone meal. 2-14-0. Let's assume you have a 2' x 5' soil bed, so 10 sq ft.
[(120 lb/acre / 43,560 sq ft/acre) x 10 sq ft] / 0.14 = 0.1968 lbs of 2-14-0 steamed bone meal to provide 120 lbs of P to the 10 sq ft bed.
However, notice we also applied nitrogen in the bone meal. So that brings us to the second necessary formula, which is a simple 3 part process.
A. weight of fertilizer applied x percent of elemental nutrition
B. Square Foot per acre / square foot fertilized
C. A x B
To continue with the example above, in the process of applying the bone meal to get 120 lbs of P, we also added:
A. 0.1968 lbs bone meal x 0.02 (nitrogen) = 0.0004
B. 43,560 sq ft per acre / 10 sq ft = 4,356
C. 0.004 x 4,356 = 17.424 lbs of N applied
Using this basic approach, I am going to start with a known set of values and then test the soil bed frequently and amend accordingly until I have enough data to establish an optimum amendment process that is truly care free.
When I build the soil, I'll share all the data for the inputs and where things are starting. Let's just say I've learned a few things over the years and it's time to apply some of that knowledge.
The main goal with this project is to increase input efficiency while by default reducing input costs, without, diminishing quality. However, there is zero sense in throwing more at the soil than is necessary.
This is the same process that was used to develop the NSPB mix, except organic options and my own personal knowledge have both improved in the last decade and in some ways I view that mix as obsolete as a result. I think I can develop something more cost effective without diminishing the positive aspects that formula provided.
One of the most common questions I see on organic forums is some version of, "can I sub ____ for ____. It is generally a sourcing issue that prompts such questions.
By sharing these equations, and documenting this process, I hope to give others the tools they need to create mixes that work for them, based on what is available to them. I hope to eliminate the nagging fear of altering a recipe.
I'm not totally sure i buy into the whole no till theory or understand it. I usually only till into the top 1/3 soil, but it seems difficult to not till at all and still get good results. I was looking for a simple explanation of the benefit of No till but i couldn't find one.
It seems difficult to leave the soil in tact after removing the main stem of a well rooted plant.
Cover crops are cool, but there is only so much N you can get into the soil from cover. Legumes don't even fix N from the atmosphere unless all the soil N is exhausted. I don't think it usually is for me. I do love adding fresh organic matter and do do cover crops, but I'm not sure how much n it really adds
Red clover can also transfer fixed N to companion non-legumes (Ta and Faris 1987; Høgh-Jensen and Schjoerring 1994, 2000; Pirhofer-Walzl et al. 2011), which helps farmers to reduce inorganic N fertilizer applications and lessens subsequent nitrate leaching into ground water. The transfer of N is the “movement of N from a legume to another plant, either during growth of an interplant associated with a legume component or as residual N for the benefit to a succeeding plant” (San-nai and Ming-pu 2000). Below-ground N transfer can be categorized as being direct or indirect. Direct N transfer results from mycelia networks formed by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and directly supplies N from the donor plant to the companion plant by interconnecting the root systems of both species (Haystead et al. 1988; McNeill and Wood 1990; Dubach and Russelle 1994; He et al. 2003). Indirect N transfer occurs through the soil compartment. This takes place through the rhizodeposition of N into the soil followed by uptake by grass (Paynel et al. 2008). Proposed sources of rhizodeposition include: death and decay of nodules and roots (Ta et al. 1986; Dubach and Russelle 1994; Trannin et al. 2000; Sierra and Desfontaines 2009) and exudates from legume roots (Paynel et al. 2001, 2008; Jalonen et al. 2009a, b; Sierra and Desfontaines 2009). Among the different N compounds exuded by legume roots and nodules are ammonium, amino acids, ureides, peptides, and proteins, which have been identified in leachates of legumes (Ta et al. 1986; Wacquant et al. 1989; Paynel and Cliquet 2003; Paynel et al. 2008; Fustec et al. 2010). The most abundant amino acids found in clover root exudates are serine and glycine (Paynel and Cliquet 2003).
Hello CYI'm not totally sure i buy into the whole no till theory or understand it. I usually only till into the top 1/3 soil, but it seems difficult to not till at all and still get good results. I was looking for a simple explanation of the benefit of No till but i couldn't find one.
It seems difficult to leave the soil in tact after removing the main stem of a well rooted plant.
Cover crops are cool, but there is only so much N you can get into the soil from cover. Legumes don't even fix N from the atmosphere unless all the soil N is exhausted. I don't think it usually is for me. I do love adding fresh organic matter and do do cover crops, but I'm not sure how much n it really adds
I have had great success going half back with meal per cycle and quarter back on dusts
it is dependent on soil/plant ratio
I can't see things like organic n and bone meal would break down without being mixed like compost. Had to have some "browns" mixed in to really break down
No-till IME does not mean adhering to a strict regimen of not disturbing the soil in the slightest bit. Of course there is often something remaining of the small root-ball left by the original transplant. (e.g. peat pellet) which we yank out. The root system, however is left to degrade. As far as working any amendments into the soil surface we restricted this to a depth of about 2 inches, excepting the hole created for the new transplant. The longest I've gone doing no-till in a bin is 7 years.
As far as legumes transference of N to surrounding non-legume plants, this occurs ongoing. I discussed this recently but cannot remember what thread so here is a link concerning this;
https://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full/10.4141/cjps2012-036#.W_7aLGfQZjp
This does not mean I advocate the use of cover/companion plants indoors, especially not red clover which would need consistent cutting to limit height. It could be an interesting concept/project for some growers and I'd suggest a low growth clover like Alsikes. Infection of both species (cannabis & clover) with endomycorrhizal fungi would be highly recommended (essential).
Personally indoors I found it more trouble than valuable.
Outdoors, red and crimson clovers have been true saviors for our cannabis, forage (hay), corn and medicinal herb crops. Red clover has not only provided N to our Reed Canary, blue grass and Fescue but also outcompeted thistle.
Handy estimate with some results to back it up. Thanks Weird.
Assuming if you were using guanos, you would lump them in with the meal measurements.
What about gypmsum/lime/oyster shell, would you lump them in with the dust measurements?
Thanks,
Mr^^
I'm not totally sure i buy into the whole no till theory or understand it. I usually only till into the top 1/3 soil, but it seems difficult to not till at all and still get good results. I was looking for a simple explanation of the benefit of No till but i couldn't find one.
It seems difficult to leave the soil in tact after removing the main stem of a well rooted plant.
Cover crops are cool, but there is only so much N you can get into the soil from cover. Legumes don't even fix N from the atmosphere unless all the soil N is exhausted. I don't think it usually is for me. I do love adding fresh organic matter and do do cover crops, but I'm not sure how much n it really adds
I have had great success going half back with meal per cycle and quarter back on dusts
it is dependent on soil/plant ratio