Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

I don't have any recommendation other than a vermicompost topdress... . more often than not I would do nothing here.

Toby Hemenway
May 5
Some amazing news on the soil science front. Humus doesn't exist. Several recent articles are showing that humic and fulvic acids and many of the other humic components of soil are artifacts of the alkaline treatment that is used to measure humus content, and don't, in fact, exist in untreated soil. When OM is measured using non-destructive methods such as NMR spectroscopy, no humic compounds can be found. Organic matter does not degrade into "stable" humic components, it simply decomposes into a continuum of smaller and smaller carbon compounds. There is constant, slow turnover of carbon in soils, not a semi-permanent trapping of carbon into "humus." Humus, meaning a stable form of carbon visualized by alkaline extraction, seems not to exist. It's an artifact of the lab method. This is kind of blow-away news for those of us who teach soil science--and it's a good lesson on how the methods we use determines what we see. Teachers, start revising how you teach soils, and stop talking about humus.

Most of the articles on this are behind journal paywalls, but some of the abstracts are available. One article is Lehmann, J.; Kleber, M. (2015-12-03), "The contentious nature of soil organic matter", Nature 528:60-68. There is a short video based on that article linked below.

Thought id throw up an update of some of my organic practices...



Use this mix of comfrey, fish and seaweed and rainwater and random liquid from my EM1 guff for my plants in veg. Still lots of bits in it....so no good in a irrigation system. A delicious pong for sure


Also use this as a flood when my no till plantz are done flowering and the soil is in itz 'rest and recover' mode. I pull the main stall out, top up with worm castings and amended soil, sprinkle new micro clover/ afalfa mix and water with comfrey brew. (Stand plants for 2 to 3 weeks)



Makes for a happy veg tent. (foilar every other day with local company'z essential oils + fish and seaweed mix for fert and pest prevention.

Just had to swing in and say thanks to all the posters in here. Just chopped my first 4 organic no till pots and they look great.
So just wondering what you do after the harvest. growing in coots mix, and using clover as a living mulch. worked really well. Now ive harvested and I have all this clover growing plus the leftovers from the plant. I got some worm casting at the ready as well as some kelp meal. These pots wont have anything planted in them again for 2 months. So what should I do with them for the next 60 days to ensure theyre good and ready to go for the next round? as of right now, ive piled all the leaves and stick on top of the plant, wetted it down and covered it.

Critical Sensi Star - ROLS

Don't know why the double pic. Oh well,twice as nice!

Hey guys Hola! Long time lurker here, first time poster. Some of u might remember me from the bodhi thread, howdy.

Question. Im relatively new to organic living soil. Grew hydro for years, made the switch from the dark side bout a year ago. Love my organic soil

One problem i seem to have is keeping some of my phenos full w Mg. Some just cant get enough. I find myself foliar spraying w epsom salts alot. I dnt ammend w dol lime because all i can get is the long lasting granular kind. I live in the desert so cooking soil is not so easy for me. Its hard to get a micro colony goin when the temps soar past 120 on the reg.

Basically what i do is i make a custom soil mix based off the recipe here at the beginning of the thread(Cann's recipe). And since i cant cook it i will mix in 50% roots organics or ffof, and amend w oyster shell azomite and hf 5-5-5 all purp dry fert. This lets my plants feed while the rest of the nutes break down. Works pretty damn good honestly.

My prob is i dnt wanna buy bag soil anymore. But when i try to make my own, im always getting Mg def. I feel like even if i leave my soil to cook for a month, nothing breaks downn especially the granular dol lime i have.

Any suggestions on what to add for more available Mg? Ive tried langbenite, epsom salts, molasses, calmag, etc. Only thing that keeps em full w Mg is epsom salts foliar at 4-5 tbs per gal, but i cant spray em in late flower.

kmog33 said:

Ok so for you living soil guys. Have my first run going and most of my plants in the bed look like this

dark green and happy. A couple (1-2) of them in the same bed are getting a bit lighter and getting minor deff/lockout. Like this.

any easy fix?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Kmog that looks to me like an Mg problem. Did u ever figure it out? Cuz i have mg probs just like that sometimes and im yet to totally understand it. Have u checked ur ph?

Ive got a ph soil probe on order. I know they say u dnt need it in organic soil but i need it lol. To me its like when yr car breaks down whats the first thing u do? U check if it has GAS. Same w ph. Theres a prob, whats the ph is my first question. I wonder if urs is a ph problem?

Anyways, hope u figure it out bro! Peace!

apbx720 said:

Hey guys Hola! Long time lurker here, first time poster. Some of u might remember me from the bodhi thread, howdy.

Question. Im relatively new to organic living soil. Grew hydro for years, made the switch from the dark side bout a year ago. Love my organic soil

One problem i seem to have is keeping some of my phenos full w Mg. Some just cant get enough. I find myself foliar spraying w epsom salts alot. I dnt ammend w dol lime because all i can get is the long lasting granular kind. I live in the desert so cooking soil is not so easy for me. Its hard to get a micro colony goin when the temps soar past 120 on the reg.

Basically what i do is i make a custom soil mix based off the recipe here at the beginning of the thread(Cann's recipe). And since i cant cook it i will mix in 50% roots organics or ffof, and amend w oyster shell azomite and hf 5-5-5 all purp dry fert. This lets my plants feed while the rest of the nutes break down. Works pretty damn good honestly.

My prob is i dnt wanna buy bag soil anymore. But when i try to make my own, im always getting Mg def. I feel like even if i leave my soil to cook for a month, nothing breaks downn especially the granular dol lime i have.

Any suggestions on what to add for more available Mg? Ive tried langbenite, epsom salts, molasses, calmag, etc. Only thing that keeps em full w Mg is epsom salts foliar at 4-5 tbs per gal, but i cant spray em in late flower.

Click to expand...

Why dont you water with Epsom salts...?

Chronikool said:

Why dont you water with Epsom salts...?

Click to expand...

I do, occasionally. Mostly foliar tho. Not sure of its affects on the micro herd

Edit: maybe i shoulda mentioned- things are going fine, its not like its all hell broke loose. I shoulda mentioned that im trying to go more w a "water only" type soil. Yes i can keep em happy w fertigation and foliar feeding, but i wanna get away from having to mix water everyday. What could be amended that would supply enough Mg, given my situation?

apbx720 said:

I do, occasionally. Mostly foliar tho. Not sure of its affects on the micro herd

Edit: maybe i shoulda mentioned- things are going fine, its not like its all hell broke loose. I shoulda mentioned that im trying to go more w a "water only" type soil. Yes i can keep em happy w fertigation and foliar feeding, but i wanna get away from having to mix water everyday. What could be amended that would supply enough Mg, given my situation?

Click to expand...

What size potz..? No ACT's..? I put Epsom saltz straight into my res (only use it in flower) and they go through my Blumats. Microlife seemz to be flourishing if the worm count is any indication.. ( thatz what i use) heading into my 5 round with this soil...

Chronikool said:

What size potz..? No ACT's..? I put Epsom saltz straight into my res (only use it in flower) and they go through my Blumats. Microlife seemz to be flourishing if the worm count is any indication.. ( thatz what i use) heading into my 5 round with this soil...

Click to expand...

Sounds good! Ive heard alot of people water w epsom salts w great success. Im always sketchy tho and im always cautious.

Yes aact prolly weekly (simple recipe compost+molasses+alfalfa+kelp+fish hyd.

I was doing 7 gal fab pots and still am. Not no til but organic living. But i just started round 1 no til 4×4' raised bed. I didnt amend w dolomite but used oyster shell, langbenite, green sand, azomite etc. Hope i will have enough Mg

What dilution rate do u use for the ES root drench? Do u amend with dol lime? Or topdress ES?

apbx720 said:

Sounds good! Ive heard alot of people water w epsom salts w great success. Im always sketchy tho and im always cautious.

Yes aact prolly weekly (simple recipe compost+molasses+alfalfa+kelp+fish hyd.

I was doing 7 gal fab pots and still am. Not no til but organic living. But i just started round 1 no til 4×4' raised bed. I didnt amend w dolomite but used oyster shell, langbenite, green sand, azomite etc. Hope i will have enough Mg

What dilution rate do u use for the ES root drench? Do u amend with dol lime? Or topdress ES?

Click to expand...

Ok. Seem to have it locked in pretty good.

Ummmmm....not really sure..throw some in to my reseviour when i top it up with a 10litre bucket..? A tablespoon maybe..??

I used dolomite lime in my initial soil start up...now i dont bother at all with it.

Now im trying to work oit where my magnesium source comes from..? Probably the rock dust and kelp mix i top dress with every week..?

Not sure if Comfrey is high in mag...but i water with that every watering in veg.

Soooo just a little bit of everything often i guess..haha

I just mixed up a batch listed below
Whats is a good organic silica additive and is there anything for bud swell and bud booster to top dress with in flowering or a alfalfa or grass tea.
I have no idea what I am doing just want to grow some fire organic with huge buds hahaha


5 gallon bucket Premier sphagnum peat moss
5 gallon bucket Worm Castings
5 gallon bucket perlite
1 cup kelp meal
1 cup neem meal
1 cup crusteacean meal

1 cup gypsum
1 cup oyster shell flour

6 cups of Rock dusts (basalt,glacial,granite)

JayY2015 said:

I just mixed up a batch listed below
Whats is a good organic silica additive and is there anything for bud swell and bud booster to top dress with in flowering or a alfalfa or grass tea.
I have no idea what I am doing just want to grow some fire organic with huge buds hahaha


5 gallon bucket Premier sphagnum peat moss
5 gallon bucket Worm Castings
5 gallon bucket perlite
1 cup kelp meal
1 cup neem meal
1 cup crusteacean meal

1 cup gypsum
1 cup oyster shell flour

6 cups of Rock dusts (basalt,glacial,granite)

Click to expand...

Your rockdusts will take care of the silica.

As for boost... P/K high additives such as comfrey, (i water with) guanos (also water in), kelp perhaps (pretty slow release)

Some people like to add blackstrap molasses (water) toward the end of flowering (week 5 onwardz)

As for teas, i dont subscribe anymore...

apbx720 said:

Kmog that looks to me like an Mg problem. Did u ever figure it out? Cuz i have mg probs just like that sometimes and im yet to totally understand it. Have u checked ur ph?

Ive got a ph soil probe on order. I know they say u dnt need it in organic soil but i need it lol. To me its like when yr car breaks down whats the first thing u do? U check if it has GAS. Same w ph. Theres a prob, whats the ph is my first question. I wonder if urs is a ph problem?

Anyways, hope u figure it out bro! Peace!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the post. It was either potassium deficient or could access the p, just leveling out now. Other than being a bit ugly, no harm done.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Chronikool said:

Your rockdusts will take care of the silica.

As for boost... P/K high additives such as comfrey, (i water with) guanos (also water in), kelp perhaps (pretty slow release)

Some people like to add blackstrap molasses (water) toward the end of flowering (week 5 onwardz)

As for teas, i dont subscribe anymore...

Click to expand...

I grow my best pot when I leave them plants alone, big pots, lots of room for roots, lots of worm casting, tap water, lol, so easy!!

Blueberry Gum - ROLS

CaptainCAVEMAN said:

Blueberry Gum - ROLS

Click to expand...

Nicccccceee!!!

Crab Pot said:

Nicccccceee!!!

Click to expand...

Thanks man!