Richard_Dripski
Member
Amendments Amendments Amendments.
Living organic soil from start through recycling CONTINUED...
- Thread starter gaiusmarius
- Start date
weird : how you like the fluence lighs? i see LEd are finally coming down in cost enough to consider...
So far I am digging them but I have yet to complete a cycle. Everyone I know who has went LED (fluence or otherwise) isn't looking back for whatever that is worth.
Let you know how this round goes.
i see myself getting a couple led panels like the one you have but the costs over 1k per light has put me off, i hear you can get them for a quarter of that now so.... got my attention
pls keep us posted how u like them upon completion
pls keep us posted how u like them upon completion
This thread is gold! What they were talking about in the orig thread with the cations and clay is real. I am fighting that on my property which has a lot of clay - red (good), yellow (bad), gray (gumbo), each has issues. That yellow clay is terrible with the neg ions. Working it with a machine when it is dry makes the stuff act strange, like it wants to repel from itself.
When that ion charged clay washes into a pond it continues separating from itself, and the pond stays cloudy. There is a trick of putting cal or mag sulfate in the water to fix the ionization, but it will crash the PH, so they have to add buffer at the same time. Cations at work.
I have been working my veggy garden the last few years to make it much healthier, and these two threads are gold. Someday I'll grow outside dope in it, although might have to start with "hemp" until laws change. Still a lot of work, getting it to where worms live there on their own.
When that ion charged clay washes into a pond it continues separating from itself, and the pond stays cloudy. There is a trick of putting cal or mag sulfate in the water to fix the ionization, but it will crash the PH, so they have to add buffer at the same time. Cations at work.
I have been working my veggy garden the last few years to make it much healthier, and these two threads are gold. Someday I'll grow outside dope in it, although might have to start with "hemp" until laws change. Still a lot of work, getting it to where worms live there on their own.
dangbongdang
Member
Great thread! I am nearing week 5 of my first entirely organic dry amendment run. Not a single deficiency since day 1 but had a light leak that i was slacking on and got some stress nanners on every plant. Unfortunate, but I addressed the light leaks and am hoping they will taper off. Sure hope its because of stress
3 x compound genetics sundae best
1 x mango sapphire humboldt seeds
2 x coco (5 gal, 3 gal)
2 x promix (5 gal, 3 gal)
amendments:
gaia green 4-4-4
welcome harvest flower power
guano
kelp meal
alfalfa meal
bokashi
basalt rock dust
diatomaecous earth
dolomite lime (in the promix only)
worm castings
insect frass
3 x compound genetics sundae best
1 x mango sapphire humboldt seeds
2 x coco (5 gal, 3 gal)
2 x promix (5 gal, 3 gal)
amendments:
gaia green 4-4-4
welcome harvest flower power
guano
kelp meal
alfalfa meal
bokashi
basalt rock dust
diatomaecous earth
dolomite lime (in the promix only)
worm castings
insect frass
looking real good. been scared to jump to led, always worried ill be getting the wrong ones lol. seems most of the good grows i see here are made with self made or self assembeled versions. what are those called you are using? what about 315cmh in comparison?
Thanks.
Those are fluence 2i. They are meant to be 1000w DE replacements. They run at 630 watts each when turned up to 100%. I have them on full power. So total wattage is 1890.
Previously I ran 1300-1600 watts in that room of DE, past that the heat was problematic. I averaged about a gram per watt.
FWIU I haven't replicated it yet personally with enough consistency to report as accurate BUT LED should give a minimum of 1.2 - 1.5 watt per gram all things equal.
I know others have gotten this result and I trust it to be accurate but this is the first time I am using just LED to grow a complete run.I have a 400 watt spectrum king on a mover for my veg.
Things should finish faster too from what I understand. Will keep the updates going.
yeah, keep it going, interested to see the rest. health and resin coverage looks tip top. gpw and total veg time will be most interesting too.
Tynehead Tom
Well-known member
tried searching this thread to see if any of the Tom Hill recipes were being discussed but came up empty.
I began using the basic recipe 3 years ago and the finished product was everything I hoped it would be and it seems to be an excellent water only mix for my northerly season. I have been recycling it each season by essentially doubling it up.
Started as a 110 gallon mix and this year it is approx a 220 gallon mix and I'll continue to add to it as the seasons go.
6 x56liter bags of Black Gold potting soil
1 bale promix or sunshine mix 4
1 1/3 bag of composted chicken or sheep manure. *I use sheep
16 1/2 pounds of steamed bonemeal (not prilled)
1/3 of a large bag of perlite
5 pounds granulated gypsum
1 1/2 pounds of dolomite lime
water in and cook for 3 weeks
last year I added a full mix and then to re ammend the previous years mix I just reupped the manure, bonemeal,gypsum and dolomite. Mixed the 2 batches together and let that cook before using last year. Plants were awesome last year.
So did the same this year and when I pulled last years soil from the 60 gallon holes in the ground it was nice and soft and loamy...... real nice feel to it.
I am building a proper compost but have complete and covered year one and don't expect to start using material from the 1st stage compost area until year 3. I add manure from our 4 chickens and sheep from down the road. Started year 2 compost pile this spring on top of a good layer of chicken bedding and wood chips.
fun dirty work but will be awesome when I can start using this compost in my soil mixes for veggie and weed gardens
I began using the basic recipe 3 years ago and the finished product was everything I hoped it would be and it seems to be an excellent water only mix for my northerly season. I have been recycling it each season by essentially doubling it up.
Started as a 110 gallon mix and this year it is approx a 220 gallon mix and I'll continue to add to it as the seasons go.
6 x56liter bags of Black Gold potting soil
1 bale promix or sunshine mix 4
1 1/3 bag of composted chicken or sheep manure. *I use sheep
16 1/2 pounds of steamed bonemeal (not prilled)
1/3 of a large bag of perlite
5 pounds granulated gypsum
1 1/2 pounds of dolomite lime
water in and cook for 3 weeks
last year I added a full mix and then to re ammend the previous years mix I just reupped the manure, bonemeal,gypsum and dolomite. Mixed the 2 batches together and let that cook before using last year. Plants were awesome last year.
So did the same this year and when I pulled last years soil from the 60 gallon holes in the ground it was nice and soft and loamy...... real nice feel to it.
I am building a proper compost but have complete and covered year one and don't expect to start using material from the 1st stage compost area until year 3. I add manure from our 4 chickens and sheep from down the road. Started year 2 compost pile this spring on top of a good layer of chicken bedding and wood chips.
fun dirty work but will be awesome when I can start using this compost in my soil mixes for veggie and weed gardens
skillz
Member
Hi all --- been scouring the forums for info on organic soil and it's reuse...
Can someone clarify a few points on soil 'cooking' (i will have about 50 gallons to reuse and I live in an apartment with a balcony that gets sun all afternoon):
- Ideal environment to 'cook' soil (temperature / sunlight)
- Covered or uncovered? Need for drainage in container?
Thanks for the help and sorry if it's been posted (there's a LOT of pages to sift thru )
- How much of the old roots need to be removed?
Can someone clarify a few points on soil 'cooking' (i will have about 50 gallons to reuse and I live in an apartment with a balcony that gets sun all afternoon):
- Ideal environment to 'cook' soil (temperature / sunlight)
- Covered or uncovered? Need for drainage in container?
Thanks for the help and sorry if it's been posted (there's a LOT of pages to sift thru
)- How much of the old roots need to be removed?
Veggia farmer
Well-known member
Just coming to brag about how living my soil has become after a long time of working with, beds with same soil over and over and over again ....
Harvested some big plants in my 500L + containers. four in each container. Dried the plants and manicured them, and went on a little vaccation and party and went inside the room again after two/three weeks for a cleanup... Then I started to pull up the thrunks that was left behind for a couple weeks.. Needed NO power, almost all roots dead and GONE! Very happy about that And I know from experience if I would have taking them out right after harvest or soil wasnt alive I would need quite a lot of power to pull em up. Cheers to a living soil!
Harvested some big plants in my 500L + containers. four in each container. Dried the plants and manicured them, and went on a little vaccation and party and went inside the room again after two/three weeks for a cleanup... Then I started to pull up the thrunks that was left behind for a couple weeks.. Needed NO power, almost all roots dead and GONE! Very happy about that
And I know from experience if I would have taking them out right after harvest or soil wasnt alive I would need quite a lot of power to pull em up. Cheers to a living soil!
Hi all --- been scouring the forums for info on organic soil and it's reuse...
Can someone clarify a few points on soil 'cooking' (i will have about 50 gallons to reuse and I live in an apartment with a balcony that gets sun all afternoon):
- Ideal environment to 'cook' soil (temperature / sunlight)
- Covered or uncovered? Need for drainage in container?
Thanks for the help and sorry if it's been posted (there's a LOT of pages to sift thru
- How much of the old roots need to be removed?
There is an unfortunate use of this word, 'cooked' which has spread amongst growers. It actually refers to composting or allowing raw nutrients added to the soil to break down.
If you are doing no-till just topdress your nutrients and carry on.
skillz
Member
Thanks Micro - I understand the cooking = composting misnomer - however I'm looking to re-use soil in containers growing indoors... I have read some about no-till but I don't understand how it could be used when growing in 3-5gallon containers (I don't see how you could successfully re-pot into a container of this size without removing a significant part of the rootball / trunk to make room for incoming plants...
People also use the term "composting/cooking" when preparing your first batch of living soil anyway - so I'm still seeking info on best practices in this process on ventilation / climate with my limited space options (either sun-exposed balcony or inside)...
People also use the term "composting/cooking" when preparing your first batch of living soil anyway - so I'm still seeking info on best practices in this process on ventilation / climate with my limited space options (either sun-exposed balcony or inside)...
