I'm not sure what the yard charges for mixing but my guess is 40$ a yard or so?
fuck no thats way too much, shouldnt be more than a few bucks per yard. i think i paid $2.50 last year
I'm not sure what the yard charges for mixing but my guess is 40$ a yard or so?
Actually Pine wood chips (PWC) have equivalent porosity too, which means they also hold water like perlite too. It also improves the permeability of water through a soil much like perlite does. Is there anything else perlite does?
Some believe it kills earthworms. I don't know that there is proof.
As far as the nitrogen issue goes, it is minor. Simply feed the detritivores; either mix in about 10% extra N fert in hot soil or use a full time feeding schedule (no breaks/flushing) during veg. The N tie up shouldn't be an issue during flowering but you might want to use a foliar if you're doing heavy defoliation (or just defoliate properly).
How did you arrive at 10%? I have doubts that it is that simple. People bury whole logs for moisture retention and soil warmth but the surface area of the log or twigs is small. If you incorporate a bunch of chips there is much more surface area to initiate decomp and N use.
Just be sure to correct pH, if necessary. My soil guy adds some lime to his mix but not everyone will.
There are three other growers on this site with more experience that would advise not to use wood chips like this.
A little bit of google digging turned up a study where ornamental flowers were grown in pure pine chips vs a peat based mix. The pine chip mix is doable but you need 100ppm more N than the peat based mix. Most growers (including myself) don't have to add such high amount of N all the way through the grow like that. Furthermore, the N math would change for different types of soil or wood. I guess what I'm saying is that I agree it is possible, but is it pragmatic?
There are three other growers on this site with more experience that would advise not to use wood chips like this.
A little bit of google digging turned up a study where ornamental flowers were grown in pure pine chips vs a peat based mix. The pine chip mix is doable but you need 100ppm more N than the peat based mix. Most growers (including myself) don't have to add such high amount of N all the way through the grow like that. Furthermore, the N math would change for different types of soil or wood. I guess what I'm saying is that I agree it is possible, but is it pragmatic?
fair enough, but "ornamental flowers" is pretty vague.
Check out this study from NCSU with french marigolds (Tagetes erecta). Both mixes were peat-based; only perlite and wood chips were compared.
One of their experiments tested growth rates at varying applications of lime. Despite the fact that French marigolds prefer a neutral pH, they achieved higher growth rates in a mix of 80% peat and 20% screened pine wood chips than in a equivalent mix of peat and perlite.
The difference between 100 ppm and 200 ppm N is just 0.1 ml/L N or 2.5 ml/L (9.5 ml/gal) 4-X-X fertiliser. Since I pay less than $.01 per mL for my organic veg liquid fert, this adds up to a whopping extra $0.29 per week per plant in veg, or around $1.50 per plant per crop. Totally worth it IMHO since my soil mix costs less than half what any bagged mix does, made with 100% plant based compost and worm castings
]Mr Weedwolf, do you reuse your potting soil? How many grows til the wood chips break down? What is drainage like once it does break down?
It is vague, but I'm not trying to point out differences in poinsettias or marigolds. I think the N demand may be higher with cannabis considering a lot of people using the commercial mixes are growing trees not 1 ft plants. N cost is less important to me than what I'm doing to the soil, how much can potentially get in the ground water, what effect I'm having on diversity, etc.
I'd like to see a grow like you suggest and a good experiment. Pictures would be great, soil and tissue samples would be better.
It is vague, but I'm not trying to point out differences in poinsettias or marigolds. I think the N demand may be higher with cannabis considering a lot of people using the commercial mixes are growing trees not 1 ft plants. N cost is less important to me than what I'm doing to the soil, how much can potentially get in the ground water, what effect I'm having on diversity, etc.
I'd like to see a grow like you suggest and a good experiment. Pictures would be great, soil and tissue samples would be better.
yes that is the oly mountain.having used both products, i get the impression the bu's blend is simply screened finer. They both bring the humic quality and will "wake up" your mix
what we really need is analysis to make certain we aren't radically boosting K levels like many commercial humic products do
leadsled is that just a sample of OMFC?
The tests are not equal. Best to stick with one lab so your baseline is solid.Schrews- Im not sure if you should use logan's or FGL... I figured the pro's may be able to learn something from the tests and tell us what it may mean. My opinion isnt super qualified but if i were you i would use logan because its real fast to get results back.
To milky, orechron, leadsled, essentail and everyone else- You fella's keep mentioning how 'light' the standard 1/3 compost, 1/3 aeration / 1/3 peat mixes are. I have talked with other people here in cali that say the same thing. Its the first thing out of there mouth when i show them schrews mix from last year. I dont want a 'light' mix, and i dont want anything real heavy obviously, there must be something in the middle ey? Should i use less peat, or less aeration when adding the clay based topsoil? How much less? I still need to source a clay based topsoil. My pad is almost pure clay, what about just throwing a wheelbarrow of pure clay and mixing in each pot, instead of worrying about using less aeration or peat.
Milky- you wrote about the importance of knowing how much N is in nitrate form, and Lbs of elements per yard- from the Penn states compost test. How long do their test's typically take, before they get back to you? I was going to send the 3 casting samples in to penn state, but decided last minute to go with logans because its always 3-5 days for me and its 1/2 the price. As far as the other test's the yard is supposed to have for me from logans labs on their different compost's- Should i spend the $ on my own penn state tests (for some of them), or should i just save the test money for all the samples ill have to send in for the mixes we come up with / guessing in the next couple weeks?
I'm a little disappointed in myself for slacking off the last couple weeks. I was really hoping to have my mix figured out by the end of this month, and dirt delivered in mid march so i could start getting them into their pots and applying tea's / further testing. So much work to do this spring its stressful to think about.