when your done
- Thread starter 420stoner
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haha
I agree. would love too. but living in a 700 sq ft house in the city.. wife and i bedroom in the basement ( where the room is) with daughter living upstairs in only bedroom of house, surrounded by parking lot and rental 4 plexes.. probably shouldnt be doing it at all but have utmost of security measures. have very small yard in front, no yard in back... small pepper and tomato garden in front ( 10 gallon gets tilled into that yearly) . I hate living here, its just the circumstance... please dont tell me it can be done... I would love to but for security and space reasons it cant.. there are most out there that can compost and recycle, even when they say they cant.. there there are a few of us that absolutely cant no matter how you cut it.
Someday I will be in the country but till then... you gotta do what you gotta do
Then you don't have the space to grow. If you are visiting this forum (organic soil) you must have some inkling that soil is alive....really. If you are quitting growing then fine. If you are growing again then dumping your soil is not only criminal, it is stupid. I used the same soil in the same containers for years without dumping it out once.
If your circumstances are so awful, then maybe you should try hydroponics.
For those of you dumping in the country, consider whether you are spreading unwanted pathogens, mycorrhizal spores, etc. to farmers and wild flora.
nukklehead
Active member
BTW I reuse the bags, I wouldnt pollute those. Hydro is def. an option , but I dont want the chems. I grow for myself and 2 cancer pts. Microbe if you want to sell me some that would be fine. Until then you should keep your peace and let me make mine. As long as the utmost security is in place Im not worried. Hell I had coffee with a DEA agent on the deck pointing out the trouble spots in the hood. He didnt have a clue. Al Im saying everyones situation is different. And as far as polluting farm ground?.. As long as anhydrous and all other chems are put on fields, polluting our food supply, well maybe they should be organic too
P.S have to maintain a perpetual grow at all times putting another crimp on logistics. I am educated (public schools and OG) and maintaining quality, quantity, and timeliness is that ... logistics
really guys roots and all you just re use?
tell us some parts per old soil to new soil?
what do you add to keep it goin?
is it best to compost it? and re use it next year?
tell us some parts per old soil to new soil?
what do you add to keep it goin?
is it best to compost it? and re use it next year?
redneck shogun
Member
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@ nukklehead - Next time you finish a grow you should save one pot, cut the stem out, and replant straight away. If you need to re-amend do so by topdressing. It might work well and overtime it would save you a ton of money and hassle. I'm trying this now in a large container (20 gallons) and it is working well. I suspect it would also work in 5 gallon (and perhaps smaller) pots.
Pine
Pine
i dont know if you know this but they sell these big ass rubbermaid tubs, they can also hold dirt. im just sayin.
also why are you guys so paranoid? its just dirt the shits everywhere and get this... they sell it in like every single goddamn store on the planet. i dont know how you having dirt in your house is against any law, and if a cop is in your house and he finds dirt i really think you got bigger issues like why theres a cop in your house snooping around.
also why are you guys so paranoid? its just dirt the shits everywhere and get this... they sell it in like every single goddamn store on the planet. i dont know how you having dirt in your house is against any law, and if a cop is in your house and he finds dirt i really think you got bigger issues like why theres a cop in your house snooping around.
normal consumers don't bring in large amounts of dirt, then dump it every 3 months. Using soil once is something only potheads would come up with, or those who supply weed to potheads. Veggie and flower growers who use soil once are paying a lot of money to garden, and are not offsetting the cost by spending less on weed. WHen you are growing weed, it's easy to let your sense of what something should cost get a bit turned around.
It's also suspicious to have dirt coming in and out, but no flowers or veggies. 200 gals of dirt in your trash is pretty damn reasonable suspicion. I never have anything in the trash that can't be explained by normal gardening - ever. Then again, I have a fruit tree in a small walk-up apartment. Anyone who asks me about the bag of peat I am bringing upstairs is going to have their ear talked off about dwarfing an orange tree, having it pollinated by moths living in the mulch, my clivia, my drosera, my south american rhodos, ETC...
I don't keep track, but sometimes I blend them when I have been doing test runs, which leaves me with root balls in small containers. Bigger containers you can plant right after harvest. However, my method has been to chop, and then when the stump comes free from the root mass with a tug, it's ready.
Keeping it going is about being aware of what "going" means. A microscope helps but is not necessary. With a scope, I can look and tell you if the soil is on the right track, but the presence of microarthropods visible with a magnifier is an indication that things are and have been going well.
Most important thing, IMO is a good population of wigglers and arthropods, which means providing habitat and food. I avoid neem and other oils/DE/any other insecticide on the surface of the soil as best I can, and there is lots of movement even looking with the naked eye.
I try to treat the soil right at all times and I avoid feeding the plant directly as much as possible. Mulch is the key. In my big pots, I am now using a living mulch of micro clover. I just put a barely rooted cut in a 15 gal alongside a volunteer cucurbit of some kind, and if it makes vines, I'm going to see if I don't get a second source of shade for my containers.
I will feed a soil that needs food even the day before harvest. Ignoring the "flush imperative" is, well, imperative. Cannabis is always a short-term planting, but my soils are always long-term assets. The "flush" happens on its own, as in the plant below, which was a test run of mandala 1 grown by a friend. The soil was fed until the end.
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pray4pistils
Member
When I've got spent medium to get rid of, I put it in a bag and wait for the garbage truck to roll up. Then, say "good morning, guys" to the collectors, smile warmly, and throw it in the back. Nobody rummages through the stuff, of course. They also take it as a sign of respect that I'm happy to "join" their team for a moment. Also, once it's in there with everybody else's stuff... even if they found 10lbs of nugs in there, they wouldn't know where it came from. Safe n' easy.
Other than that, though, I try to recycle what I've got (including throwing it in the compost bin).
Other than that, though, I try to recycle what I've got (including throwing it in the compost bin).
I
Iron_Lion
I had the bad idea to spread a bunch of it around my yard and in the flower beds but after it rains heavy the perlite floats to the top and it sticks out like a sore thumb the whole surface turned white. Perlite is the WORST not to mention coco and peat mixes stand out pretty good next to real dirt.
I've now been saving my soil for a year, and not I have about $2000 worth saved up Im recycling it for the first time with great success.
I've now been saving my soil for a year, and not I have about $2000 worth saved up Im recycling it for the first time with great success.
avoiding perlite is the first step towards more permanent soil.
LEO in your neighborhood finding ten pounds, or even a single fan leaf, and not knowing where it came from is not a good thing.
LEO in your neighborhood finding ten pounds, or even a single fan leaf, and not knowing where it came from is not a good thing.
I don't understand the knock on perlite. It does break over time, but if you have the large chunky stuff this breakage is going to provide a diversity of particle sizes. Additionally, in no-till applications the perlite is unlikely to break up over time.
I understand you can use other stuff (pumice, DE, clay, rice hulls, ect) in place of perlite, but perlite is just easy, cheap, available, and seems to do a good job overall.
Pine
im sorry you feel this way, but there is a better path i promise. not only can you build better soil indoors better with natural methods. it is FAR safer than any other method out there, while benefiting your plants, your soil AND your family in the same go. buying bags of soil, bottles of ferts, bags of perlite. totally not doable or safe in a situation like you described, hell i wouldn't in the situation i am in. If your growing food outside, your already off to a much much better start than a lot of others. i used to live in a very large city in an even smaller place. so i know somewhat what your thinking. natural methods helps no matter how small the space. if you got space to grow you got space to grow naturally.
when your done
diversity of sizes is not something you want from your drainage component. those "varied sizes" of perlite are all in fact "smaller sizes" than the large chunk you went put of your way to source. so as time goes on you have more and more perched water.
I would not say it does a good job overall compared to other choices.
diversity of sizes is not something you want from your drainage component. those "varied sizes" of perlite are all in fact "smaller sizes" than the large chunk you went put of your way to source. so as time goes on you have more and more perched water.
I would not say it does a good job overall compared to other choices.
So this is what i have read in 3 pages
1. bokashi bin http://www.bokashicycle.com/?gclid=CJrul9zHoagCFQkFbAodaSUlHg
2. cut the stem, leave the soil in the pots and do a top dressing and liquid organics...
3. pull the root ball out the rest is good, remix with amendments... no real info on how much this or that. kinda the experiment route
4. composting, use next year
anything i am missing
anybody care to go into detail...
Thanks inadvance
1. bokashi bin http://www.bokashicycle.com/?gclid=CJrul9zHoagCFQkFbAodaSUlHg
2. cut the stem, leave the soil in the pots and do a top dressing and liquid organics...
3. pull the root ball out the rest is good, remix with amendments... no real info on how much this or that. kinda the experiment route
4. composting, use next year
anything i am missing
anybody care to go into detail...
Thanks inadvance
I use all the old roots...they go right into the remix. I only cut the bulky stump out of the way and now feed those to the worms. I add nothing to break the old roots down,the soil is alive and takes care of that by itself.
On this next cycle I'm going to experiment with the no-till concept in pots. Not all,but some. That way I can get an idea how successful it will be or not with my own methods by comparison. Topdress with various goodies...mostly EWC and compost.
On this next cycle I'm going to experiment with the no-till concept in pots. Not all,but some. That way I can get an idea how successful it will be or not with my own methods by comparison. Topdress with various goodies...mostly EWC and compost.
Someone should do a side-by-side.
Maybe a bit of an experiment, but one that is probably not hard for an experienced gardener to get right. One of the things that surprises me about organic gardening is how fast plants respond to grower inputs. If you see a problem starting to develope with plants that were put into recycled soil it should not take very long to fix with a teas, top dressing, or a combination of the two.
Pine
ok, im still not getting it. sure it looks fishy when you're moving tons of dirt in and out of houses, but dont you think thats stupid in the first place that you would be doing a large commercial grow indoors and you didnt plan out a better method of growing than buying big pallets of dirt and bringing them into your house every 4 months.
but for everyone else growing on a small scale, theres nothing wrong with having dirt or perlite? wtf is wrong with perlite? why would perlite in my garden raise suspicions? OMFG ITS PERLITE CALL TEH COPS. even if you dont have a single plant on your whole premise visible, buying a couple of cubic feet of dirt and perlite is hardly suspicious. some of you are making sense, well not really cuz if im gonna be growing enough weed where i need to worry about dumping 5 cubic feet of dirt i would have figured out a way to recycle it cuz trying to dump that much dirt is like the most retarded and suspicious thing ever. like moving my rolled up carpet with a big body sized lump in the middle of the day on public transportation.
i understand why you can't just dump tons of soil, what i cant understand is why. even if you dont ammend the soil and you only use chemical ferts, you can still reuse it unless you're one of those people who uses ferts up until the last day and even still you can reuse it, just root your seedling or clones in something else and then transplant into the old soil and fert as neccessary.
one more thing. mad librettist, whats wrong with perlite again? last i checked it was just puffed glass like rice crispies. how is that in any way harmful in soil? or anywhere for that matter.
but for everyone else growing on a small scale, theres nothing wrong with having dirt or perlite? wtf is wrong with perlite? why would perlite in my garden raise suspicions? OMFG ITS PERLITE CALL TEH COPS. even if you dont have a single plant on your whole premise visible, buying a couple of cubic feet of dirt and perlite is hardly suspicious. some of you are making sense, well not really cuz if im gonna be growing enough weed where i need to worry about dumping 5 cubic feet of dirt i would have figured out a way to recycle it cuz trying to dump that much dirt is like the most retarded and suspicious thing ever. like moving my rolled up carpet with a big body sized lump in the middle of the day on public transportation.
i understand why you can't just dump tons of soil, what i cant understand is why. even if you dont ammend the soil and you only use chemical ferts, you can still reuse it unless you're one of those people who uses ferts up until the last day and even still you can reuse it, just root your seedling or clones in something else and then transplant into the old soil and fert as neccessary.
one more thing. mad librettist, whats wrong with perlite again? last i checked it was just puffed glass like rice crispies. how is that in any way harmful in soil? or anywhere for that matter.
when your done
I suggest going on over to my thread "beyond perlite".
short answer - perlite does not hold enough water or air to play with the big boys. as it gets broken into smaller pieces, it adds to the forces resisting gravity's pull on water in your medium.
in your garden - nothing suspicious about perlite in the garden. just looks like a newbie gardener lives there.
I promise if you become an advanced gardener the perlite starts to drive you nuts.
in the trash though? red flag.
I suggest going on over to my thread "beyond perlite".
short answer - perlite does not hold enough water or air to play with the big boys. as it gets broken into smaller pieces, it adds to the forces resisting gravity's pull on water in your medium.
in your garden - nothing suspicious about perlite in the garden. just looks like a newbie gardener lives there.
I promise if you become an advanced gardener the perlite starts to drive you nuts.
in the trash though? red flag.
