Photosynthesis
Member
I use em ferments every other week or so. 1 oz -2 oz. per gallon. Lately I have just been using straight Em because I have slacked off making ferments.
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Lets Make Soil
- Thread starter Siris
- Start date
hehehehe
Photosynthesis
Member
Even outdoors I've never seen rice hulls be completely devoured in shorter than 2 growing seasons.
I like the revised plan. good luck!
keep us posted on the grow!
keep us posted on the grow!
Photosynthesis
Member
Exactly.
Gillgemesh
Member
Cool thread!
Edgimicated
New member
Hey guys just a test first time posting and unsure about how
So I made a small batch of soil. I only added 1/4 cup of fish and crab meal and I cut the Kelp meal down to 1/2 cup but wondering if maybe I should have kept it to 1 cup?
I have to make another batch just didn't have enough small lava rock. I bought a bag of it and they were in big chunks so I have to break them down still. I run a perpetual so I have a plant going in in a couple of weeks once the soil settle downs. I figure by then I'll have the rest of soil all cooked up too.
My mycos, EM and humic acid came as well this week so I'm super excited to start using those, I already made up a batch of tea with the added EM and humic acid along with some alfalfa and kelp that the girls in veg are going to get tonight. I hear great things about the mycos as well so I can't wait to see that in action.
I have to make another batch just didn't have enough small lava rock. I bought a bag of it and they were in big chunks so I have to break them down still. I run a perpetual so I have a plant going in in a couple of weeks once the soil settle downs. I figure by then I'll have the rest of soil all cooked up too.
My mycos, EM and humic acid came as well this week so I'm super excited to start using those, I already made up a batch of tea with the added EM and humic acid along with some alfalfa and kelp that the girls in veg are going to get tonight. I hear great things about the mycos as well so I can't wait to see that in action.
Edgimicated
New member
I am concerned about the soil I have already mixed up. I have tried to educate myself over the past two weeks the best I can but time is tight. I am 100 pages into the Living Soil thread, and gave it my best. Now I am concerned with my mix as far as nitrogen is concerned. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated, and not just about the nitrogen.
The Mix:
6 cu ft Premier Peat
1 cu ft sand
3 cu ft Commercial Dairy Doo compost
16 Ibs (2 bags) Buffaloam compost
3 cu ft Big worm and wiggle worm (all I can source currently)
1 cu ft leaf mold from forest
1/2 cu ft topsoil
4 cu ft perlite
2 cu ft expanded shale "Rocks" by sunleaves (1" in dia much like lava rocks)
--This adds up to 22 cu ft
To this I added:
11 cups crab meal
11 cups Alfalfa pellets
16 cups Neemseed meal
8 cups Kelp meal
For minerals I added 88 total cups (4 cups per cu ft of soil and Aeration)
30 cups Glacial Rock Dust
20 cups Gypsum
20 cups Oyster shell powder
9 cups sulpomag
9 cups Bentonite
I have two months to let this compost in 20 gal smartpots
What problems can anyone foresee if I grow in this mix, and what sort of schedule should I set for my sprays and drenches with 200x coconut, 200x aloe, popcorn sprouts, alfalfa tea, and kelp tea?
Like I said I already mixed it so I am also asking if I can "fix" any issues
The Mix:
6 cu ft Premier Peat
1 cu ft sand
3 cu ft Commercial Dairy Doo compost
16 Ibs (2 bags) Buffaloam compost
3 cu ft Big worm and wiggle worm (all I can source currently)
1 cu ft leaf mold from forest
1/2 cu ft topsoil
4 cu ft perlite
2 cu ft expanded shale "Rocks" by sunleaves (1" in dia much like lava rocks)
--This adds up to 22 cu ft
To this I added:
11 cups crab meal
11 cups Alfalfa pellets
16 cups Neemseed meal
8 cups Kelp meal
For minerals I added 88 total cups (4 cups per cu ft of soil and Aeration)
30 cups Glacial Rock Dust
20 cups Gypsum
20 cups Oyster shell powder
9 cups sulpomag
9 cups Bentonite
I have two months to let this compost in 20 gal smartpots
What problems can anyone foresee if I grow in this mix, and what sort of schedule should I set for my sprays and drenches with 200x coconut, 200x aloe, popcorn sprouts, alfalfa tea, and kelp tea?
Like I said I already mixed it so I am also asking if I can "fix" any issues
Edgimicated
New member
I would also like to say I am a three-year bottle grower. I have been concerned for some time about the quality and safety of the medicine I am producing for some very sick people. I am sold on living soil, and will continue until I make it right. I have people who count on me though, and will be indebted to any guidance I can get that will save me from a ruined crop. To all of you who take the time to help others, Thank you, it is restoring my faith in my fellow man.
Edgimicated
New member
Thank you Granger2
I did use fine sand, is it bad because it will settle, or is there another problem with fine sand? I added sand to aid the worms in processing the soil better. Sounds like I was wrong about that.
I did use fine sand, is it bad because it will settle, or is there another problem with fine sand? I added sand to aid the worms in processing the soil better. Sounds like I was wrong about that.
That's general advice, but you'll be OK as long as your finished mix isn't too tight. Fine sand often gets used to break up clay and it just makes concrete like soil. In fact, if your mix is a good texture or tilth, finer sand will contribute silica and whatever else faster because of more surface area. I don't think your wrong about the worms. -granger
TheyCallMeJJay
Member
I think it needs to be said that meals such as crab, fish, he'll anying that has either walked or swim WILL attract things that walk and dig to your soil. While you may not be able to smell it. They sure as hell can. Tread lightly with those.
TheyCallMeJJay
Member
Let me just add that it's ok to make these super soils. Just scale them and try them with just one pot.
IMO it helped me greatly by converting everything to weights versus volumes.
Examples
Fish meal @ 9-3-1 1 cup equals 149 grams
Bone Meal @ 0-10-0 cup equals 250 grams
Blood Meal @ 12-0-0 cup equals 180 grams
Doing this allows you to calculate your nutrient loading and you can really see where you're at in terms of NPK ratios.
Every single plant I've ever grown IME liked ratios a little bit different than the rest. So I keep a detailed journal of my loading. With weights, I can hit the numbers every time. I've never understood why we don't follow the rest of the agriculture world with this approach.
IMO it helped me greatly by converting everything to weights versus volumes.
Examples
Fish meal @ 9-3-1 1 cup equals 149 grams
Bone Meal @ 0-10-0 cup equals 250 grams
Blood Meal @ 12-0-0 cup equals 180 grams
Doing this allows you to calculate your nutrient loading and you can really see where you're at in terms of NPK ratios.
Every single plant I've ever grown IME liked ratios a little bit different than the rest. So I keep a detailed journal of my loading. With weights, I can hit the numbers every time. I've never understood why we don't follow the rest of the agriculture world with this approach.
I very much prefer volume measures, because many things do not weigh the same simply because of their moisture level or porosity. When one is growing with a living soil philosophy, available NPK values are not very significant. If you are calculating molecular weights for soluble mixes, then you have a point.
