Building A Better Soil: Demonstrations & Discussions Of Organic Soil Recipes

[CajunCelt]

It's only 1 pot. The smell is going away. Crazy.
Must have been some type of reaction somewhere. The seedlings are doing great. False alarm? Lol.
The health of the lil ones is awesome, so I'm going to chill out...
Thank you all for the help. I think we're good over here.

 

[SweetSue]

It's only 1 pot. The smell is going away. Crazy.
Must have been some type of reaction somewhere. The seedlings are doing great. False alarm? Lol.
The health of the lil ones is awesome, so I'm going to chill out...
Thank you all for the help. I think we're good over here.

Exactly what I hoped for and expected to hear from you Cajun. Best of luck with your new space and this new grow. I think you'll be pleased with the results. Remember, you're feeding the soil, not the plant. If you can, get yourself some malted barley grain to grind to a powder and use as an occasional topdress. I use about 1/16 cup per pot (a tiny amount really) and do so once a week. This will ramp up plant activity, particularly during flowering, and can be done at any time during the cycle with positive benefit. Having suggested that, you will have stellar results with water only.

I'll see you on your journal. You won't be able to get rid of me now Cajun. I had too much fun there yesterday.

 

[CajunCelt]

Lol. Thanx Sue & welcome to the madness.

 

[NuttyProfessor]

soil batch for next set of clones when they are ready

100 litres of top soil
50 litres ericaceous compost
50 litres tomato compost with seaweed extract
20 litres worms casting
1/2 kg bonemeal
1/2 kg flish blood and bone
1kg compost activator
4 kg sand blast sand
1/2 kg dolomite lime
1 kg lobster heads and claws
1 kg crab meal
200 g epsom salt
cup full volcanic rock dust
will add perlite tomorrow and will cook for 5/6 weeks , water with comfrey and molasses tea

Crab shell and Norway lobster is not a fungicide or nematocide. It's a great fertilizer with calcium and some extra benefits not found in other fertilizer products.

Lobster and Crab shell is high in chitin, which promotes the growth of chitin eating bacteria. The exoskeletons of fungus and harmful varieties of nematodes eggs are high in chitin. When added to the soil, crab shell helps to create a hostile environment for the fungus and root destroying nematodes by feeding the biological life that eats chitin and chitin based organisms.

The chitin in the crabshell and Norway lobster stimulates soil organisms to secrete enzymes called chitinases. These enzymes degrade chitin, which is a component of flea egg shells. The presence of chitin in the fertilizer makes it a natural biopesticide that is non-toxic to birds, animals, fish, and plants.

Fertilizing your garden with the use of crab meal and lobster meal can be done on its own or combined with the use of other fertilizers. When combined, the manufacturer usually has their own directions for use. The same it true of crab meal fertilizer by itself. These instructions are unique to the composition of the fertilizer and for the desired application.


When sowing the plant you should till the fertilizer into the soil before planting. If the plant is already in the soil, then tilling around the plant or simply spreading it around the base will be sufficient for a successful growing season. This is not a water soluble fertilizer. It must be applied by itself.

Mulching your garden bed has some great benefits. Mulch will hold moisture and keep weeds from starting around the plant. However, it is also useful for helping the crab meal better keep the plant fertilized. Spread the crab meal into the mulch and the time release qualities of it will continually feed the plant. You can also add some meal to your compost bin for an added boost in nutrition.

The meal makes for a tremendously beneficial organic fertilizer. Its time release quality will not over fertilize your plant, but will give it the nitrogen and protein it needs for beautiful, vibrant, and healthy produce.

 

[Kushtie]

Interesting thread on a topic I want to get to grips with.

My outside grow area is potentially about the size of a tennis court but it's miles away from the nearest road so I want to minimise the amount of stuff I need to haul out there. I'm doing a wee trial run this year with shop bought soil and nutes in pots but want to get to a point where I can cultivate the ground and let the rain do the feeding year after year.

The site appears to be pretty much just peat under a thin layer of moss, grass and heather. Can I use any of this material? What would you guys take out there? I've grown indoors in hydro a few times now and am on my first run with shop bought soil (and a bottle of nutes that says organic on it lol) so have zero clue about how to start LOS. Composting at home isn't desirable at the moment but there is plenty space on site if I can do it in the ground there.

TIA

 

[NuttyProfessor]

you could get some peat free compost and mix the soil with the soils thats there , add dolomite lime and lots of the stuff i have listed above , i would start with 10 square feet roughly so its not going to be a massive job for you ,

 

[Kushtie]

you could get some peat free compost and mix the soil with the soils thats there , add dolomite lime and lots of the stuff i have listed above , i would start with 10 square feet roughly so its not going to be a massive job for you ,

Cheers bud. That sounds like a big step in the right direction.

Ideally I think I'd go with a bunch of holes filled with good LOS laid out in the same pattern as the surrounding trees but I think I'll aim for one patch first if the autos in pots this year make it to harvest. Then all I need is tree sized plants and it'll blend in perfectly lol

 

[SweetSue]

Interesting thread on a topic I want to get to grips with.

My outside grow area is potentially about the size of a tennis court but it's miles away from the nearest road so I want to minimise the amount of stuff I need to haul out there. I'm doing a wee trial run this year with shop bought soil and nutes in pots but want to get to a point where I can cultivate the ground and let the rain do the feeding year after year.

The site appears to be pretty much just peat under a thin layer of moss, grass and heather. Can I use any of this material? What would you guys take out there? I've grown indoors in hydro a few times now and am on my first run with shop bought soil (and a bottle of nutes that says organic on it lol) so have zero clue about how to start LOS. Composting at home isn't desirable at the moment but there is plenty space on site if I can do it in the ground there.

TIA

Kushtie, here's a link to Conradino's current summer run. He does an outdoor garden scattered through numerous sites. He's been working this soil for years, creating some incredible excitement on the site and harvesting killer cannabis. He works in LOS and this year he's focusing on increasing the brix levels of his charges. An amazingly talented grower with a zest to explore and teach. I recommend you take a gander at his journals.

Still Growing - SoCal Hybrids & Mexican & Colombian Sativas Under Sun Natural Systems

 

[NuttyProfessor]

and this is my out door attempt . 2 single wardrobes on their back , filled with my own super soil , the leaves are scary big , im afraid of them ganging up and attacking me lol

 

[B A R]

Looking proper Nutty.

 

[CajunCelt]

and this is my out door attempt . 2 single wardrobes on their back , filled with my own super soil , the leaves are scary big , im afraid of them ganging up and attacking me lol

Outdoor attempt?
I'd say outdoor success! Very nice...

 

[SweetSue]

Wow Professor, they just exploded in growth! Looking freaking awesome! Those leaves.... And look at how nicely they blend in. This worked out well for you. Having a slamming year are we?

 

[Kushtie]

Kushtie, here's a link to Conradino's current summer run. He does an outdoor garden scattered through numerous sites. He's been working this soil for years, creating some incredible excitement on the site and harvesting killer cannabis. He works in LOS and this year he's focusing on increasing the brix levels of his charges. An amazingly talented grower with a zest to explore and teach. I recommend you take a gander at his journals.

Still Growing - SoCal Hybrids & Mexican & Colombian Sativas Under Sun Natural Systems

Cheers Sue. Will be back to catch up on the rest of that later.

Unfortunately it's not Northern Italy here though.....this might give you an idea of what my neck of the woods looks like and one of the hazards I face getting to it with a heavily loaded backpack.

[video]

It's a long, soggy walk to my site lol

 

[SweetSue]

I can appreciate your challenge better now Kushtie.

It occurs to me though, that Conradino has been doing this long enough that he may be able to give you pointers on how to maximize what you take in. See where I'm going here?

He's been working these sites for years now, building them up bit-by-bit. LOS is a long-term approach with the soil growing stronger every cycle. Minimal input applied consistently over years. You might not need to carry in as much as you think.

 

[Kushtie]

It occurs to me though, that Conradino has been doing this long enough that he may be able to give you pointers on how to maximize what you take in. See where I'm going here?

Yup, we're on the same wavelength there.....must be the quality homegrown

Hopefully the site has the best part of 50 years before anybody has any reason to uncover my site with logging machines, so long as I don't give anybody any reason to go looking for it that is. Short term plan was just to get something quick and easy out there to get an idea of whether it's worth working out a longer-term strategy.

I think the biggest risk here is outdoor temps not being high enough for the full range of nutrients the plants need to grow to be available. The last month would appear to have confirmed my fears as the plants have barely grown but it's early days yet and I don't think temps are that far off with what should be the best of what we call summer still to come.

 

[SweetSue]

Never underestimate the power of the sun.

 

[Scarfinger68]

Not honestly into organic but... leaning towards it.

I found this worm farmer not to far from me and I bought 2 cubic feet or worm castings for $15 dollars total. Now I have to figure out what to do with it.

I will head back to the first page and get some ideas.

 

[Scarfinger68]

you could get some peat free compost and mix the soil with the soils thats there , add dolomite lime and lots of the stuff i have listed above , i would start with 10 square feet roughly so its not going to be a massive job for you ,

That reminds me. I was talking to my local worm farmer and he mentioned having difficulty getting bulk peat moss. He buys it by the pallet load. He said "it was a finite product" and that he heard there was a moratorium place on some of the Canadian bogs making it harder to find.

If one chose not to use peat moss, could yard/leaf compost be used instead of peat moss?

 

[SweetSue]

That reminds me. I was talking to my local worm farmer and he mentioned having difficulty getting bulk peat moss. He buys it by the pallet load. He said "it was a finite product" and that he heard there was a moratorium place on some of the Canadian bogs making it harder to find.

If one chose not to use peat moss, could yard/leaf compost be used instead of peat moss?

First off, let me share a copy and paste from the garden web site:

"tapla (mid-MI z5b-6a)
I post this frequently (Remember please, it's a copy/paste from a thread I replied to a while ago):

Peat - Renewable or Not? - Does it Matter?

Chicken Little would be aghast at your inference!! In my estimation, it doesn't matter much if it's renewable or not, and I refuse to be made to feel guilty about using any form of peat.

Here is a reply I often leave when the non-renewable thing comes up:
"Sorry, but I'm not buying the non-renewable lament. In Canada alone, there are more than 270 million acres of harvestable peat bogs. If we make the conservative guess that the harvestable portions of these bogs are 10 feet deep, that means there are probably more than 900 billion cu. ft. available for harvest, just in Canada! That doesn't even take into consideration what's available in Europe, Asia, or places like New Zealand where they also mine peat. Canada currently has mining/harvesting operations underway on approximately 40 thousand acres or about .014% (that reads 14 one thousandths of 1 percent)."

Check the math - it's accurate and conservative. It's more likely that the next ice age will be upon us and glaciers will have covered what's available before we even use a noticeable percentage.

Renewable/non-renewable = moot.

Al"

Now, having said that, leaf mold can indeed be used to replace peat, although you need to be careful of the source of your leaves, due to the pervasive use of pesticides and fertilizers in yards around the world. If you have clean leaves (free of extras) it can take 6 months to a year to have them break down if you pursue it aggressively. If you have a good, clean source I'd recommend it.

After breaking down leaf mold should be loamy humus. It has nearly no nutrients, but its properties are similar to peat moss.

 

[ClosedCircuit]

That's what they said about the rainforest. Peat bogs serve more than just our needs for a soil aerator.