Plenty of room and glad to have you here, Brother!
My pleasure, glad to be aboard.Thanks, Brother!
You pretty much got most of the benefits of organic nutes there but I will add that having grown with both organic and synthetic nutes, I definitely prefer the flavor and smell of organic.
I am growing in soil - HP Pro-Mix and worm castings left to cook for about 3 months.
I like that about being able to reuse soil. You mention alkaline level which I know affects long-term pH so I was wondering if one were to use ProMix HP with Geoflora would a person have to adjust the pH of their feedwater?
No need unless its your personal preference or its really skewed to one side or the other. Id say its good practice, but not necessary.
Thanks, Brother!
You pretty much got most of the benefits of organic nutes there but I will add that having grown with both organic and synthetic nutes, I definitely prefer the flavor and smell of organic.
I am growing in soil - HP Pro-Mix and worm castings left to cook for about 3 months.
I mixed the ProMix and worm castings, put it in a large container (trash can) with a lid and let it sit for three months to let the microbial colony build up. With Chemical nutrients, the nutes are in a format that can be ingested by the plant, so you're feeding the plants with the nutes. With organic, the nutrients are not in a format that's usable by the plant UNTIL they're broken down by the microbes. So, with organic nutes, instead of feeding the plants, we're basically feeding the soil and the microbes. Those compost teas you spoke of don't add nutrients to the soil, they just boost the microbial colony that facilitates the uptake of nutrients. Letting the soil sit for a month or two before use does a similar thing by increasing the microbial colony.
Soil is a natural PH buffer, so if you have a good soil mix and good water source, there's no need to PH.
Could have been!
And it’s called ‘cooking‘ partly because that’s exactly what happens. When you first mix an organic soil it’s usually very rich and the initial the microbial activity can be ballistic at the beginning of a cook. It’s not a happy place for plant roots for a little while in many circumstances. So cooking allows time for this heat and activity to rise and settle as the microbial population balances everything out.Including itself.
Thanks, Brother!
You pretty much got most of the benefits of organic nutes there but I will add that having grown with both organic and synthetic nutes, I definitely prefer the flavor and smell of organic.
I am growing in soil - HP Pro-Mix and worm castings left to cook for about 3 months.
That's 420% correct! The breakdown of organic matter is an exothermic reaction in that it gives off heat. Think about how hot a compost pile can get. Letting it cook gives the microbes a change to work on the organic material and convert some available nutrients.And it’s called ‘cooking‘ partly because that’s exactly what happens. When you first mix an organic soil it’s usually very rich and the initial the microbial activity can be ballistic at the beginning of a cook. It’s not a happy place for plant roots for a little while in many circumstances. So cooking allows time for this heat and activity to rise and settle as the microbial population balances everything out.Including itself.
Could have been!
The Zon had 30 lb. bags on sale a few months ago for $18 & change with 2-day free Prime delivery. Normally, they charge over $30 a bag, so I bought four bags!
Thank you for the detailed explanation, Mr. Krip. I actually started growing with an organic mixture from my local grow shop but quickly switched to, a non-sponsor single ingredient chemical fertilizer whose name I shall not mention, because my organic mixture was a disaster but in hindsight, after reading your journal I realize perhaps the missing ingredient was I was not given any microorganisms to add to the organic mixture so the nutes were not available to the plant in the proper form.I mixed the ProMix and worm castings, put it in a large container (trash can) with a lid and let it sit for three months to let the microbial colony build up. With Chemical nutrients, the nutes are in a format that can be ingested by the plant, so you're feeding the plants with the nutes. With organic, the nutrients are not in a format that's usable by the plant UNTIL they're broken down by the microbes. So, with organic nutes, instead of feeding the plants, we're basically feeding the soil and the microbes. Those compost teas you spoke of don't add nutrients to the soil, they just boost the microbial colony that facilitates the uptake of nutrients. Letting the soil sit for a month or two before use does a similar thing by increasing the microbial colony.
Soil is a natural PH buffer, so if you have a good soil mix and good water source, there's no need to PH.
Thank you for the informative post!And it’s called ‘cooking‘ partly because that’s exactly what happens. When you first mix an organic soil it’s usually very rich and the initial the microbial activity can be ballistic at the beginning of a cook. It’s not a happy place for plant roots for a little while in many circumstances. So cooking allows time for this heat and activity to rise and settle as the microbial population balances everything out.Including itself.
I use the same U*** "wiggle worm" castings. If you keep an eye on the price, you can find them at a good deal ($20 range for a 30 lb. bag). I have a hunch it's expensive now due to being summer time. I'm in the subtropics so winter time is still summer time for me and I'll get them whenever I see them on sale!
Could have been!
The Zon had 30 lb. bags on sale a few months ago for $18 & change with 2-day free Prime delivery. Normally, they charge over $30 a bag, so I bought four bags!
The real problem with the single product fertilizer is that, at different stages of the growth cycle, the plant requires nutrients in different ratios. More Nitrogen in veg and more Potassium and Phosphorous in flower. This is why most formulas are two or three part and you mix them in different ratios depending on the stage of growth. With the single part fertilizer, you're always giving the same ratio of nutes, regardless of what the plant needs.
If you let the soil cook for 30+ days, you shouldn't need an enzyme additive, at all. The microbes should break down most of that organic material. If you wanted to rush the process, you could add some of that Soil Activator discussed in the first couple of pages but I don't know how much that would reduce the cook time. I'd probably also add some of the Geoflora Veg mix, which has microbes and will prepare the soil for the next use.
I use the same U*** "wiggle worm" castings. If you keep an eye on the price, you can find them at a good deal ($20 range for a 30 lb. bag). I have a hunch it's expensive now due to being summer time. I'm in the subtropics so winter time is still summer time for me and I'll get them whenever I see them on sale!
