I'm just curious how many of the people who consider themselves organic growers are using the commercially available organic fertilizers and nutrients in bottles etc?
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Organic commercial nutrients
- Thread starter Microbeman
- Start date
When doing indoor, I have to use some bottled liquid nutes as well. Mostly seaweed extracts or some kind of compost leechate. Smells much better when using them than the ones I can do myself around the house.
I do mix as much organic dry ammendaments as possible into the soil mix before the grow so I don't need as much bottled nutes.
I also make and use compost/ewc aact and various fpe's, when needed.
I do mix as much organic dry ammendaments as possible into the soil mix before the grow so I don't need as much bottled nutes.
I also make and use compost/ewc aact and various fpe's, when needed.
Steviewunder
Member
I grow strictly organic. My goal each year is to put in as little needed inputs as possible and mimic nature as much as I can. I use a liquid kelp on occasion but try not to use any bottles nutrients. Instead I started composting, vermicomposting and sourcing all my amendments locally without spending a dime. The past two years i started doing actively aerated compost tea and have had great results. At this point I would never even consider alot of what is being offered as organic in bottles. There is something about making something thats "alive" on your own... that could never be bought nor sold
Fish oil? Enzymes? I seem to use more top dress stuff and water them in with teas, usually supplemented with microbes and coconut.
I've used down to earth and elevation organics stuff before, but imo there is something the power of the sun adds to organic as far as breaking stuff down to its full potential and doing it indoors is wasteful, really nice bud but when I do get back to growing I'm going to give hydroton dwc with Jacks a try maybe even hempys with aquarium gravel, for me at this point indoors I need to be able to rinse and reuse the medium
I was thinking pretty strictly of the stuff like General Hydroponics or Advanced, etc. floral this or veg that but interesting feedback for sure. I have used fish hydrolysate and molasses of course which are bottled. BTW using plain dried kelp meal is much superior to processed extracts. If you want it liquid just mix with water and let it sit overnight.
I do not use any prepared fertilizers myself and get pretty good results from compost, ACT, vermicompost, tea made with fresh chopped alfalfa.
I do not use any prepared fertilizers myself and get pretty good results from compost, ACT, vermicompost, tea made with fresh chopped alfalfa.
Steviewunder
Member
Thanks for the tip on the kelp meal Microbeman, Lots of my knowledge involving organics I owe to you. Much appreciated sir you serve a great purpose! I also just recently got into KNF and fermenting different fresh chopped crops , Peas ,Alfalfa, Buckwheat etc...I love making teas and the "smells" they create. very natural and earth like but all unique
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the mother earth from advanced is good stuff but pricey, the best bud I've ever grown albeit a lot of it was probably genetics was with botanicare pure blend pro and liquid karma which I believe can't be labeled organic only because of the way one of the ingredients in it is processed
I made a kelp, alfalfa, EWC, BAS top dress, and maybe a TBSP of chicken poop... steeped about a day, a few times total in mid veg and flower. The tea gets more microbes, enzymes, and a little fish oil. That is the mix I use to water in make-up soil (I use BAS top dress for the make-up), and the amendments I add on top. I scratch in more cover crop seeds when I add more soil, because the old crop is now covered, and is worm food. Takes about 3/4 gallon of tea on a 10 gallon bag. This seems to work, so I am gonna do it again. I will never foliar spray anything but for insects again.
Funny how the worms don't eat the fan leaves I put in their bin, but they gobble up lettuce. I suspect the bug spray, which is purecrop1.
Well, not me... Nothing out of a bottle (or bucket) other than Neptune's Harvest fish fertilizer since more than 20 years ago..
I know it makes a difference where you live... I'm way in the country so it's mostly compost from my yard and the woods around my house...
I do buy bales of alfalfa from the farm co-op to make nitrogen tea..\\
I use wood ashes from the burn piles for calcium, K, and to bring up my low pH..
I buy 50 lb. bags of crab shell for the chitin from Neptune's Harvest, and sometimes a big sack of kelp meal from them too.. Both last me about 2 or 3 years...
Oh, and I do buy epsom salts from the store to keep my mag up....
No poison herbicides or pesticides are used anywhere near my veggies or my weed...
I know it makes a difference where you live... I'm way in the country so it's mostly compost from my yard and the woods around my house...
I do buy bales of alfalfa from the farm co-op to make nitrogen tea..\\
I use wood ashes from the burn piles for calcium, K, and to bring up my low pH..
I buy 50 lb. bags of crab shell for the chitin from Neptune's Harvest, and sometimes a big sack of kelp meal from them too.. Both last me about 2 or 3 years...
Oh, and I do buy epsom salts from the store to keep my mag up....
No poison herbicides or pesticides are used anywhere near my veggies or my weed...
Great outdoors
Active member
Sounds very similar but 10yrs for me now.
Only thing bottled I use is fish hydroslate and kelp (locally made) and some molasses. Will get soybean and alfalfa meal from the feed store. Buy some bat guano, crabshell, fish bone and kelp meal from the plant store. Otherwise it's lots of compost, wood chips, biochar and some wood ash. I also locally collect for free my own sand, silt, rock dust and pumice/ volcanic rock. Never spray or worry about pests. Super healthy organic plants with high brix levels don't have an issue with pests. They will be on the natural plants all around but won't touch my weed plants.
My outdoor grow costs me less than $100 a year to get my 5lbs.
I have a big burn pile, and need to incorporate the ash somehow. How does one make "biochar"?
Great outdoors
Active member
In simple terms, charcoal.
Simplest way you could make some is get the pile ripping so it becomes a big pile of glowing coals and then dose it with water. Then you should age the char at least a few months and then you need to inoculate it before you use it. Cheapest and easiest way to inoculate it is with your own urine.
How does sterile urine introduce microbes and bacteria? Charcoal more readily available carbon than what is in the wood/leafs of the compost?
Great outdoors
Active member
You need to read up on biochar.
But basically the char will pull nitrogen and other nutrients from your soil if you don't charge it up with nitrogen, etc prior. Urine has large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Think supercharged cec.
I think you need to let it burn without oxygen. Water on hot embers does not make charcoal.
I've seen it done in big metal barrels or in mud holes. In both methods after the wood starts burning properly you have to cut the air intake so that the wood becomes charcoal /biochar.
Look online for detailed method, if you have clay soil locally it's really easy to do it cheaply.
I've seen it done in big metal barrels or in mud holes. In both methods after the wood starts burning properly you have to cut the air intake so that the wood becomes charcoal /biochar.
Look online for detailed method, if you have clay soil locally it's really easy to do it cheaply.
I've posted a really good video on here twice.
Great outdoors
Active member
Charcoal is charcoal. Yes burning it in the absence of oxygen is the most efficient way of doing it. But if you have lots of burn piles anyways and are not worried about making every bit of it char, this works fine. Water is just to keep it all from burning to ash if left to it's own devices.
Do you think the ancient amazonians were burning it in oxygen free burners? My take is they were simply burning waste and whether they intended it for soil use or not is debatable.
Been making it for 10yrs this way with excellent results in all my gardens, be it cannabis or veggies.
