J
JackTheGrower
The Flour thread : Micronization and microbial feeding
With organic soil gardening providing plant nutrients often means managing a system of life.
Organic soil growing is more than supplying plant ready ionic forms of nutrients in some "Organic fashion." It's about providing materials that support not only plant life but also support the soil biology.
I have been experimenting with rice in compost and my soil mixes for a while now and the subject of rice flour has come up. I had planned to wait to write about it but I have broached that subject today and so it is time to lay a proper foundation on micronized materials as a way to "fast track" feeding the microorganisms and in turn providing the plant with nutrients through the soil food web.
Organic Soil in small containers is a unique situation for applying organic feeding techniques. Often we can just apply what we would do in the open areas outdoors to our indoor ( or outdoor ) containers but, some practices need to be modified to help the smaller volumes of "soil" and the biology in them take advantage of some materials.
Teas come to mind as an example, where we can provide an abundance of microbial and fungal life to small containers and, with this thread I introduce Micronization of materials as another important tool.
Micronization allows more surface area of the feeding materials to be accessed by more microorganisms and in turn allows more materials to be consumed and thus supports larger populations that feed other organisms and in time service the rizosphere of the plant.
Micronization also allows a more uniform and economical distribution of materials over smaller areas.
Micronization is simply grinding fine what materials we use already and some materials we hadn't thought of.
Since my experiments are not finished I cannot make statements about an over all effect; however, I have noticed an obvious surge in plant growth after an application of micronized mix and I feel overall development time has been relatively short for the three strains I am trying this medical grow.
I'll open the topic and say I'm not an expert just an enthusiast and , besides, I need to get my donations worth of wikipedia links out of wikipidea.
Simply put we grind fine to powder and dust or top dress the surface of the soil with tiny bits of microbe foods so that they surge in populations and in turn feed others who in turn end up servicing our plants..
The mixing of these finely ground materials allows for a uniform distribution of all materials across a given surface area such as a garden pot or planter bed.
Think of it as blending all your food for dinner in the blender; all the meat and veggies and what not ( don't forget the sugars too and coffee ) and then knowing that in each spoon full you got everything at once.. Just that you get it in a smaller area ( a spoon full )
That's the positive side of micronization.. Everything mixed together covering every bit of soil surface or even mixed into the soil and ready to be ate by the microherd!
And again do not over feed and take notes because you may discover a secret formula you would like to repeat later.
This is an effort to gather and share information on using micronized materials.
I am interested in micronized top dressings and microbial actions and the effects on soil biology and plant development.
So here is a shout out!
Jack
-------------------
I am currently watching this grow and using rice in the soil mix and rice flour in feeding mixes along with other things.
Some info posted earlier..
Rice flour:
-------------------------------
Shameless cut and past...
Also I see that Potato flour offers some interesting perks as in a kick in the ass shot of potassium
Minerals
Amounts Per Selected Serving
%DV
Calcium 104 mg 10%
Iron 2.2 mg 12%
Magnesium 104 mg 26%
Phosphorus 269 mg 27%
Potassium 1602 mg 46%
Sodium 88.0 mg 4%
Zinc 0.9 mg 6%
Copper 0.3 mg 16%
Manganese 0.5 mg 25%
Selenium 1.8 mcg 3%
Source
With organic soil gardening providing plant nutrients often means managing a system of life.
Organic soil growing is more than supplying plant ready ionic forms of nutrients in some "Organic fashion." It's about providing materials that support not only plant life but also support the soil biology.
I have been experimenting with rice in compost and my soil mixes for a while now and the subject of rice flour has come up. I had planned to wait to write about it but I have broached that subject today and so it is time to lay a proper foundation on micronized materials as a way to "fast track" feeding the microorganisms and in turn providing the plant with nutrients through the soil food web.
Organic Soil in small containers is a unique situation for applying organic feeding techniques. Often we can just apply what we would do in the open areas outdoors to our indoor ( or outdoor ) containers but, some practices need to be modified to help the smaller volumes of "soil" and the biology in them take advantage of some materials.
Teas come to mind as an example, where we can provide an abundance of microbial and fungal life to small containers and, with this thread I introduce Micronization of materials as another important tool.
Micronization allows more surface area of the feeding materials to be accessed by more microorganisms and in turn allows more materials to be consumed and thus supports larger populations that feed other organisms and in time service the rizosphere of the plant.
Micronization also allows a more uniform and economical distribution of materials over smaller areas.
Micronization is simply grinding fine what materials we use already and some materials we hadn't thought of.
Since my experiments are not finished I cannot make statements about an over all effect; however, I have noticed an obvious surge in plant growth after an application of micronized mix and I feel overall development time has been relatively short for the three strains I am trying this medical grow.
I'll open the topic and say I'm not an expert just an enthusiast and , besides, I need to get my donations worth of wikipedia links out of wikipidea.
Simply put we grind fine to powder and dust or top dress the surface of the soil with tiny bits of microbe foods so that they surge in populations and in turn feed others who in turn end up servicing our plants..
The mixing of these finely ground materials allows for a uniform distribution of all materials across a given surface area such as a garden pot or planter bed.
Think of it as blending all your food for dinner in the blender; all the meat and veggies and what not ( don't forget the sugars too and coffee ) and then knowing that in each spoon full you got everything at once.. Just that you get it in a smaller area ( a spoon full )
That's the positive side of micronization.. Everything mixed together covering every bit of soil surface or even mixed into the soil and ready to be ate by the microherd!
And again do not over feed and take notes because you may discover a secret formula you would like to repeat later.
This is an effort to gather and share information on using micronized materials.
I am interested in micronized top dressings and microbial actions and the effects on soil biology and plant development.
So here is a shout out!
Jack
-------------------
I am currently watching this grow and using rice in the soil mix and rice flour in feeding mixes along with other things.
Some info posted earlier..
Rice flour:
-------------------------------
Shameless cut and past...
I do believe the white rice flour is hull less when ground. Brown isn't.
There are difference such as sodium so, let me make a chart here with this data.
Minerals Amounts Per Selected Serving. Percent daily values for humans %DV
Serving size 1 cup 158 grams
WHITE RICE FLOUR | BROWN RICE FLOUR
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Calcium 15.8 mg 2% | Calcium 17.4 mg 2%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Iron 0.6 mg 3% | Iron 3.1 mg 17%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Magnesium 55.3 mg 14% | Magnesium 177 mg 44%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Phosphorus 155 mg 15% | Phosphorus 532 mg 53%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Potassium 120 mg 3% | Potassium 457 mg 13%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sodium 0.0 mg 0% | Sodium 12.6 mg 1%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zinc 1.3 mg 8% | Zinc 3.9 mg 26%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copper 0.2 mg 10% | Copper 0.4 mg 18%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manganese 1.9 mg 95% | Manganese 6.3 mg 317%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Selenium 23.9 mcg 34% | Selenium ~
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fluoride ~ | Fluoride ~
============================== ================
Source: Rice Flour
What is Brown rice flour
What is White rice flour
Brown rice flour will spoil faster and white rice flour keeps longer, but this is for the soil so...
So higher percentages are in the brown but, you will still do fine with white rice.
In fact you can use a coffee bean grinder to make your flour if you like.
Also I see that Potato flour offers some interesting perks as in a kick in the ass shot of potassium
Minerals
Amounts Per Selected Serving
%DV
Calcium 104 mg 10%
Iron 2.2 mg 12%
Magnesium 104 mg 26%
Phosphorus 269 mg 27%
Potassium 1602 mg 46%
Sodium 88.0 mg 4%
Zinc 0.9 mg 6%
Copper 0.3 mg 16%
Manganese 0.5 mg 25%
Selenium 1.8 mcg 3%
Source
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