Going Organic - Soil Opinions

[SeaBow]

Hello Organic People,

I'm taking the plunge and going organic. I have a vague idea of what to mix for my no nute feed soil so I'll put up my inventory and humbly ask for your opinions on the mix ratios or what to use or not to use.

Lamberts 100% Organic Garden Soil

Black Kow

Perlite — Straight up — not Miracle Grow

Espoma Tomato-Tone 3-4-6

HiYield Agricultural Limestone

Earth Worm Castings 1-0-0

Happy Frog Bat Guano — 0-5-0

Alaska Fish Fert — 5-1-1

Super Thrive

Thanks for your help.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Depends on if you wish to be 100% organic or near organic as best as you can... & may look at other alternatives than the espoma tomato tone / super thrive...


Most good brands of compost should be PH buffed between PH 6 to 7 & be labeled on bag some where, if you got an 100% peat based compost then is going to need liming as peat is acidic in nature.


So ya its looking pretty good... heres a link to other organic alternatives - Organic Nutrient List


Other guanos such as bat/bird can be useful & all along with sea weed based fertilizers

 

[SeaBow]

Thanks for the input Fuzzy. I've followed your posts throughout my learning curves and appreciate your advice.
The Lamberts - reading the site and the contents I see it contains
peat moss
kelp meal
limestone
dolomite
That makes me feel better about not finding dolomite anywhere near me, as well as kelp meal. I did find seaweed fert in a liquid form but read it to be a 0-0-1, pretty confusing stuff here.
The list I have is everything in the kitchen. I know SuperThrive may not be organic.

 

[Bud Grant]

I hear a lot of people using Superthrive, however The Rev (who I don't claim to be right about everything) says that it is not organic and may kill off microbes, which is undesirable. You could use it who knows. I guess an alternative would be AZOMITE (which is what I use) and/or greensand and dolomite.
If that lime you using is Hydrated Lime, you need to be careful (or so I have read)
also use up to 25% worm castings and your golden, I heard it's best to mix it in right before your going to do your potting. As to keep the microbial life happy.

 

[SeaBow]

I hear a lot of people using Superthrive, however The Rev (who I don't claim to be right about everything) says that it is not organic and may kill off microbes, which is undesirable. You could use it who knows. I guess an alternative would be AZOMITE (which is what I use) and/or greensand and dolomite.
If that lime you using is Hydrated Lime, you need to be careful (or so I have read)
also use up to 25% worm castings and your golden, I heard it's best to mix it in right before your going to do your potting. As to keep the microbial life happy.

I really wanted to start the batch out organic so I understand about the SuperThrive. I want to reuse the dirt over again. As I said I have this inventory and have searched every store for Azomite and dolomite specifically with no luck. It's pretty thin down here in N. Cuba.

How about a base of this....

3 gal Lamberts = 1/3
1 gal castings/2 gal Black Kow = 1/3
3 gal Perlite = 1/3

2 cup Lime
2 cup Guano 0-5-0

Wet and sit for 2 weeks with

Alaska Fish Fert 5-1-1
Casting/Kow tea aerated 48 hrs

That looks like to me it will lack K which would have come from the Kelp meal.... but its in the Lamberts along with lime and dolomite already. In small quantities, I'm sure. Sorry but it's what I have.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Sea weed fertilizers/nutrients are often very low NPK ratio but do host a whole range of trace micro nutrients & other benifits for plant health with a large majority of sea weed products gets the fuzzy 100%


Neptunes Harvest do a fish/sea weed blend nutrient also & their crush crab shell looks pretty interesting to.


From what you have mention about lamberts compost that would suggest its already PH buffered as it contains lime & dolomite being in a suitable PH range already !


But over application of lime/dolomite can be deprimental to plant health, if any thing you will only need a half of cup of lime at best if worryed about PH... i still think that would be an over reaction tho.


Most animal manures of a well rotted nature are a nuetral PH value pushing early alkline & believe that Black Kow falls with in the neutral range of PH.



Mmm still stumped for a little bit of K - potassium, well theirs always wood ash from a fire with some wood being better than others !

Ya wanna do some home work on the wood ashe tho... ya don't want go to mad / heavy hand with that stuff.

 

[Bud Grant]

Fuzzy has a point, and I agree, the Lime has to be watched out with. Also Kelp has K as well. There has to be boat loads in Cuba. But it has sodium as well. Unless you buy prepared kelp. Or soak it and compost it

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Fuzzy has a point, and I agree, the Lime has to be watched out with. Also Kelp has K as well. There has to be boat loads in Cuba. But it has sodium as well. Unless you buy prepared kelp. Or soak it and compost it

Ye i really would not worry about the sodium content of dry sea weed tho... most of it gets washed off & what ever remaining in the flesh of the dryed sea weed will be leached by rain fall & watering being a only short term effect at best !


I collect sea weed from my local beach & directly apply that to my veggie garden/compost heap with out ill effect.

 

[Bud Grant]

and save the lime for when you re cycle your soil

 

[SeaBow]

Great information here guys.
I think I need to strike out again and hunt down some seaweed juice.
I did add 2 cups of Ag Lime in the mix. I didn't read this thread until now and mixed the soil earlier.
So.... Uh....
Should I mix in an alter ego mineral?

Here's what I did... under severe time constraints with family coming this weekend.
4 gal Lamberts
1 gal Castings
2 gal Black Kow
3 gal Perlite
2 cup Lime
1 qt Wood Ash
3 qt Compost Tea
2pks-Root Ext from Nirvana (mycorrhiza spores)

 

[Bud Grant]

through some elemental sulfur in there, like gypsum

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Here's what I did... under severe time constraints with family coming this weekend.
4 gal Lamberts
1 gal Castings
2 gal Black Kow
3 gal Perlite
2 cup Lime
1 qt Wood Ash
3 qt Compost Tea
2pks-Root Ext from Nirvana (mycorrhiza spores)

Looks pretty good

I've double checked the liming stuff & you should be ok... if you feel concerned about it just mix in another bag of lamberts etc to help dilute down the lime ratio.

A bag off peat/spag moss will do the same trick... any spare soil mix left can be saved for the next grow.



I've PM you a link which ya find in ya mail... Its from the Royal Horticultural Society more less a bunch of old boy english gardeners with degrees, PHDs etc they write hardcore gardening books with various collages/uni's teach their work/qualifications.

Have a flick throught their site, the link in particular is about liming.

 

[JJ Bones]

If you want to never feed and always use water I recommend you setting up the soil with layers of fertilizer.

 

[SeaBow]

Looks pretty good

I've double checked the liming stuff & you should be ok... if you feel concerned about it just mix in another bag of lamberts etc to help dilute down the lime ratio.

A bag off peat/spag moss will do the same trick... any spare soil mix left can be saved for the next grow.



I've PM you a link which ya find in ya mail... Its from the Royal Horticultural Society more less a bunch of old boy english gardeners with degrees, PHDs etc they write hardcore gardening books with various collages/uni's teach their work/qualifications.

Have a flick throught their site, the link in particular is about liming.

Thanks for the link.
Yet another huge learning curve coming......