Critique my soil mix

[Weird]

Was hoping you could provide some input

I have been recycling soil for years now but always used teas and ewc

I am running amendments now (recycling with light amendment schedule and teas) wanted some input on my latest amendment schedule for my recycled soil. I have been making the occasional tea for source diversity (earth juice) and to make up for any deficiencies

I am using coast of maine bumper crop for compost. I should be able to start being self sufficient on ewc and compost by the end of this upcoming outdoor gardening season but until then im relying on other peoples products

i skipped perlite this run, as I plan to eliminate it completely and simply incorporate something that doesn't break down and overall healthier alternative.

5 gallons used soil (approx a cubic foot of soil)\ 1 gallon coast of maine bumper crop compost\ 1 gallon castings

1/2 cup alfalfa
1/2 cup bone
1/2 cup kelp
1/2 cup lime
1/2 cup greensand
1/2 cup DE

I was thinking of adding some things I picked up and haven't used including some neem cake (big granules), cottonseed meal and some azomite (sp*)

basically im afraid of over amending

my goal in the end is to eventually be amending solely with plant based meals, compost and ewc and add a smidgin of organic diversity and biological diversity with teas (very light application of ej, plant meals etc), ideally no till via top dress

any input?

tyvm in advance

 

[xmobotx]

you could have success w/ that mix just like you outline

a variation might be to mix your amendments and your compost/castings parts to let them combine and compost together for a couple weeks to a month before combining w/ your used soil & letting it sit for a bit again

if you are concerned it seems like a lot of amendments; cut your amounts in half ~you can always add a little top-dress later

pumice makes a nice drainage amendment though it can be spendy

i actually dont use bone meal or cottonseed meal choosing fish bone meal and N sources like neem and alfalfa which is a common preference but; a preference

adding azomite to your compost constitutes mineralizing it and helps make the goodies in the azomite available ~similar w/ green sand

 

[Scrappy4]

Was hoping you could provide some input

I have been recycling soil for years now but always used teas and ewc

I am running amendments now (recycling with light amendment schedule and teas) wanted some input on my latest amendment schedule for my recycled soil. I have been making the occasional tea for source diversity (earth juice) and to make up for any deficiencies

I am using coast of maine bumper crop for compost. I should be able to start being self sufficient on ewc and compost by the end of this upcoming outdoor gardening season but until then im relying on other peoples products

i skipped perlite this run, as I plan to eliminate it completely and simply incorporate something that doesn't break down and overall healthier alternative.

5 gallons used soil (approx a cubic foot of soil)\ 1 gallon coast of maine bumper crop compost\ 1 gallon castings

1/2 cup alfalfa
1/2 cup bone
1/2 cup kelp
1/2 cup lime
1/2 cup greensand
1/2 cup DE

I was thinking of adding some things I picked up and haven't used including some neem cake (big granules), cottonseed meal and some azomite (sp*)

basically im afraid of over amending

my goal in the end is to eventually be amending solely with plant based meals, compost and ewc and add a smidgin of organic diversity and biological diversity with teas (very light application of ej, plant meals etc), ideally no till via top dress

any input?

tyvm in advance

Your list looks like a little to much if your re amending used soil. Assuming the soil did well for you, and it had a good living microbe population, and had a diverse mix at the start, I would not put much in the remix at all.

The breakdown times on bone meal, lime and greensand are very long' so if you had these in the original mix I would skip them. I like both kelp and alfalfa meals, if you plan on giving the mix some time to digest. The alfalfa can be hot, and off gas ammonia after it gets wet.
If you plan on using the mix right away, you could feed these guys in teas to not worry so much about burning the plants. If you did not have azomite in your original mix that's a nice addition too.

On my remixes I use a handfull of neem meal and a handfull of crab meal, top dressed, then top dress with mulch. This is as much for insects as any nutritional values. I run three cycles ( because i'm lazy and only grow for myself) then add the old soil to my compost heap.


Microbeman grew corn using only compost tea, so i know he trusts his microbes, and for me, I have learned to trust in microbes. But i admit it takes a different way of thinking, and you have to trust your soil and the process. And just in case I would give your new plants a nice ACT to start with and at any sign of trouble.

Hope this helps.....scrappy

 

[StayBlazinDawg]

I'm just getting into recycling my coir/soil mix and have the little white pot worms and predatory mites helping out in the indoor garden right now. Would a dose of nematodes help break down the mix better, got some in the fridge kicking around not sure how long they last. My list of amendments now are Endo, Great White Shark, Kelp meal, Fish meal, Menefee Humates, Humic acid, Fulvic acid, Fish Hydrolysate, Green Sand, EWC, Kompost 1, Coast of Maine compost the Lobster one and the Blueberry blends, Liquid Kelp and powdered Seaweed, Alfalfa meal, Tennessee Rizock, Azomite, ran out of Yucca should I get more or enough bio activity going on don't need it? I think that is it maybe more need to smoke some AlienDawg time for a punch in the head with my coffee. I have all my cards on the table using the soil food web and compost teas and beneficial bugs no pesticides and would love help to keep it going strong to supply my family and our patients with this cyber floating in thin air knowledge.

 

[hayday]

Mix the new soil(after a little ageing) with your old soil 50-50 and I'd say your good.You might still need some casting tea once in a while but you should be good to go.

 

[StayBlazinDawg]

Okay I have to pick probably two bags of hydroton I was using as a perlite almost, to help with aeration to the coir and soil mix so I thought in theory. I currently buy Coast of Maine compost in bags from an amendment store who convinced me to give it another shot, better quality because it was handled better with no environmental changes ie getting rained on left outside etc. So I would make my own soil/coir blend with kitchen sink with all the amendments or just add a bag of compost with more coir? Does anyone make fungal mats with soil for their compost tea. Has anyone ever tried growing a plant in a fungal mat? I have been using my compost tea to help amend and "cook" the soil in trash cans does anyone on this site pump oxygen into the amending soil to keep more microbes alive? or am I over thinking shit again.

 

[Weird]

other than the side effects of not cooking the soil and some temp/light issues so far so good

 

[TwistedPistils]

Nice! I really like your set up and your plants are looking very happy. Have you started using aloe vera yet? If not check out the ROLS Megathread for info, the stuff is AMAZING! My poor friend who is still brainwashed by the hydro store (poor soul has been twice THIS WEEK!) came by and saw my girls and was like "WOW, I don't know what your doing but your doing something right!". I was like Aloe Vera. Plant. Magic.
I have a similar soil mix to yours. I put 3-4 weeks old seedlings into the rich mix after it cooled down and they took off.
How far along are your girls, and what kind if ya haven't mentioned it already.

 

[xmobotx]

you're looking good weird
~ i m all out of thanks today but i sure like your post #7 there

 

[sith44]

Looks like a good recipe. Provide us updates se we can see how everything turns out!

 

[Weird]

I used to be in the pet industry and while my focus was reptiles I also did tropical and I still use tricks form that industry

Fish are a great "canary in the coal mine" in regards to plant compatible products and for years before the internet I used fish products in my grows

Dr wellfish makes a chlorine and heavy metal neutralizer with aloe vera and I used to use that to treat my plant water and it worked very well for me

I don't use it these days but I would if I had fish or ran aquaponics

 

[xmobotx]

here is "#1" my keeper from a litter of boas i produced in 2011

she is a hypo het anery
keeping her for her high color {salmon}
and i have a het anerythristic unrelated male

 

[TwistedPistils]

Very cool! I am very much into pets myself.

 

[W89]

xmo from the age of about 11 to 16 I was well into my Herpetology had about 40 snakes at 1 point, various types over the years, used to breed corns and make quite a bit of money.. royal pythons,albino royal python.(i think you guys call them ball pythons) common boas,Brazilian Rainbow Boa, rosy boa,argentinian boa,albino burmese python and the normal type, indigo snakes, hog nose snakes, albino rat snakes, various corn snakes /stripped/Albino 'Oak Phase'/Amelistic/Blizzard/Ghost/Candy Cane/Reverse Okeetee/snow corn/Hypo Bloodred/caramel.. had a couple chemeleons and amelanistic leopard geckos..too many too list. ended up seling them wen I got into motor bikes and drink drugs woman.... I may get another snake soon

 

[xmobotx]

dude!

always been a boa guy/had geckos too, one a blizzard

i get a kick out of 'old world' lizards w/ savannah monitors being top of the list ~maybe one day i will get one again but i just wanted 1 boa and well you know~~

 

[Weird]

I had rooms full o tanks since i was a kid

I bred alot of arboreal lizards, as I like to build self supporting ecosystems and let animals breed naturally

was part of an environmental recreation & preservation society and we created ecosytems and introduced all types of flora and fauna to let it breed

Private herpacutlure has helped save many reptiles and their habitats even though many of the animals breeders do develop could not survive in nature (albinos etc and so forth)

there is are huge parallels to the marijuana moments and the reptile movements to be gleaned from both breeder/cultivator segments