[Easy7]

Kelp helps plants when transplanted. Also has hormones, macros and micros. Humic acids and kelp help plants tolerate stress.

[Buddah Watcha]

Down to Earth - Vegan Mix, no animal by products and very good! You can probably find big bags on amazon for a decent price! Mix that with some compost and promix and you good to go! Always did me good! Just cage your plants for the first few months... peace and good luck!

[baduy]

I work my holes straight after havest time so leaving the soil undisturbed till replanting. As said before if you do so boars,racoons etc might dig in your holes just after you came but will forget it next spring. I take several garbage bags and I collect on the way to my spot. Instead of bringing coco coir I collect rotten wood to make my calcareous clay more water retentive, wormcastings from forest soil and nettle spots (you can get a big quantity easily while walking) those wormcastings are basically good local topsoil plus all the microbes from the worm digestive system. Each hole gets a half garbage bag of wormcastings from the surrounding, a big bag of rotten wood another big bag of decayed leaves all mixed with the best part of the native soil. The only things I bring aresmall ones, a little kelp, mycorhizal fungi, lactobacillus to make sure the buried wood will be evenly decomposed when I come back, a handful of scrapped drywall per hole
Let it cook for 6 months and come back for planting
On top of each hole I drop at least three bags of dried leaves,pine needles and/or bark (depending on what I find on the way) as a mulch
I don't use much nutrients especially no phosphorous as added phosphorous like bat guano is killing fungi, fungi provide phosphorous to the plant instead
I rely a lot on EM during grow season
One thing I'm thinking about is making bokashi compost on site with dead leaves and...hum...human manure.
AlsoI don't know about the vegatation in your area but you can learn to spot the specific plants of your area under which the soil is rich in insect dungs. In my place it's Arundo Donax, top soil underneath is half made of tiny little round black dungs which are great for a top dressing along with wormcastings. Bamboos are good too usually.

[Easy7]

Rotten tree logs are great to add to soil. They add a bit of potassium. Some fungi really love it and never had bugs in it.

[baduy]

Originally Posted by Easy7

Rotten tree logs are great to add to soil. They add a bit of potassium. Some fungi really love it and never had bugs in it.

Yes.yu just need to make sure it's well rotten If not enough it sucks out nitrogen from the soil but past this point it gets perfect.
And you feel much more confident entering the bush with just a few plastic bags in your pocket than carrying a big backpack in case someone sees you. you just look like a mushroom hunter going in the woods and are ready to have a nice small talk with anybody you might encounter.

[Kygiacomo!!!]

the vegan mix is good i used it last year. u could also use a bit of neem seed meal as it will have azadiractin in it and will help with bug control.

[VonBudí]

has anyone tried a no cook soil recipe approach?dig a hole, amend & plant immediately?

[DuskrayTroubador]

Originally Posted by VonBudí

has anyone tried a no cook soil recipe approach?dig a hole, amend & plant immediately?

That's basically what I've always done. In my experience it works fairly well as long as you stay away from the hot-hot-hot amendments that need time to "cook" (though I think "cool" is the more appropriate term).

Regarding the humic acid: does it need time to settle once you use it? I've read some more about it and it seems like some serious shit, but the application directions refer to using it on acreage. So I'm a little worried about overdoing it on holes that are a few feet in diameter...

Also, thanks for the comments everyone!

[DuskrayTroubador]

Also, how much kelp meal should one use for holes 3' in diameter and 18" deep?

...should I just go with the trusty ol' handful?

[Easy7]

Never used too much kelp. It's more about budget and getting the best bang for the buck.