Meat in the mix

MacGuyver4.2.0 said:

... Compost that is organic/plant based is really the best. Although meat or flesh can orginate from herbivores, you want to stay as low on the food chain as possible. Plant matter does not have the chances of building harmful toxins as easy as organisims higher on the food chain can. Think Mercury and Lead, among others. Plant based material is very near the bottom of the food chain meaning they will not pick up as many pollutants along the way.

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This is called bioaccumulation: "“Bioaccumulation is defined as the accumulation of chemicals in the tissue of organisms through any route, including respiration, ingestion, or direct contact with contaminated water, sediment, and pore water in the sediment.” – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000" http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/bioaccumulation.html

Looks like you are going large scale, but for all you DIY types- I have a real nice EcoComposter I bought at Costco that is a sphere, it rotates 360 degrees and is black, so it absorbs the suns warmth keeping the beneficial microbes alive. Some of the best soil I have ever made comes out this simple sphere and it does 50 gallons at a time. It was 99 bucks and well worth it IMO. (The larger one goes for more (199.00) which I may pick up next as it holds more- 71 gallons)
http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?ec=BCCA-EC17294-ProdID10334521&pos=1&whse=BCCA&topnav=&prodid=10323101&lang=en-CA[/QUOTE]

420God said:

If you're trying to argue that what I'm doing doesn't work or is not as good than you clearly didn't read the link I posted on the first page.

Do you know why bat guano and sea bird shit is so highly sought after in gardening, it's because they eat living things and there feces has more nutrients than basic plant material. I do this for a living so I think I know what I'm talking about, almost $100k a year so maybe you should educate yourself.

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On the contrary. I KNOW that alot of people who try to compost at home, do not know the implications of adding uncooked meat, bone and fat to their compost pile. They find out real quick. You seem to have large enough piles and use that as the defense against scavengers and other critters. I know that bat guano is highly beneficial due the main diet of the bats...insects. Insects eat plants (and other insects) and are also low on the food chain. Birds are very simliar in dietary intake.

You do not need to get defensive, you can compost body parts for all we care. I was simply trying to point out that the general public should steer clear unless they know exactly what they are doing. Speaking of which, BOTH of my parents are nationally certified Master Gardeners, so you are preaching to the choir. Happy Growing!

MacGuyver4.2.0 said:

On the contrary. I KNOW that alot of people who try to compost at home, do not know the implications of adding uncooked meat, bone and fat to their compost pile. They find out real quick. You seem to have large enough piles and use that as the defense against scavengers and other critters. I know that bat guano is highly beneficial due the main diet of the bats...insects. Insects eat plants (and other insects) and are also low on the food chain. Birds are very simliar in dietary intake.

You do not need to get defensive, you can compost body parts for all we care. I was simply trying to point out that the general public should steer clear unless they know exactly what they are doing. Speaking of which, BOTH of my parents are nationally certified Master Gardeners, so you are preaching to the choir. Happy Growing!

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Mac has valid points. MOST people should steer clear of animal composting. You are literally a pro, and the EXCEPTION to a generally good rule.

post edit: mac - birds are FAR from insect eaters, think about it, they are scavengers... they could be eating medical waste or worse.

Matt Rize said:

Mac has valid points. MOST people should steer clear of animal composting. You are literally a pro, and the EXCEPTION to a generally good rule.

post edit: mac - birds are FAR from insect eaters, think about it, they are scavengers... they could be eating medical waste or worse.

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Thank you Matt and sorry Mac for getting so defensive. You guys are right, this is very dangerous stuff I deal with because some of the animals I pick up may have died do to illness or other questionable reasons. I have to take special care when handling everything. I have state inspectors come through and make sure that everything is done properly and that I am not contaminating the environment.

The other thing to remember is that my compost isn't your basic garden clippings, it's made from almost all manure which gives a much better breeding ground for the microorganisms to thrive in. Plant material takes a very long time to break down but when using manure I'm steps ahead of basic compost. I'm just adding more nutrients to what would normally be an already good fertilizer.

As far as I know, many municipalities routinely scoop up roadkill and throw it into giant compost piles along with plant matter, then offer this compost at a pretty decent price compared to buying the stuff from the garden center. I know a few organic homesteaders/farmers that use it and they have some of the nicest fruits and veggies that I've seen anywhere.

The difference is in the scale of the operation, and the OP said in his first post that he uses giant piles.

Here's the seedlings that I planted 5 days ago on the 15th. They're 1 inch tall with nice thick stems. One of the WC is already starting a set of true leaves.

Another pic of the bagseed I started flowering on the 27th of last month. I have given it 2 feedings of Beastie Bloomz so far.

420God,

What are those seedlings planted in? Is this a mix containing some of your compost? What about the older plants? also compost, or some ratio of compost to neutral medium/dirt?

Do you use this indoors exclusively(for MMJ) or are you using it indoor and outddoor?

As an aside, Myself and a couple buddies of mine take pride in the fact that my plants are pretty darn close to being carnivorous - feeding on the blood and crushed bones of the slain. I have no qualms at all about what you are doing here - animals in the forest die and feed the plants all the time. You obviously are sticking to established and tested safety standards.

EDIT: That soil in those plastic cups sure **looks** like pure compost - uniformly sized little balls, deep brown/black color, small bits of organic matter particulate throughout... I've never dared to try starting MMJ seedlings in pure compost, but other garden plants have never responded well to this in my experience.

Yes, they are planted in pure compost. The only thing I added was Perlite to help drainage. I had an outdoor grow that was destroyed by a windstorm, here's the link to that- https://www.rollitup.org/blogs/blog2602-100-organic-grow.html

After my outdoor girls were killed off I bought everything for indoor. If you go through my journals it explains a lot.

hello, im 420 gods roomate also helping along in the grow. i will admit that this soil is very primo. everything we've grown in it so far has been thick stacks, lush green leaves, and at a rapid pace too. and it seems to be unharmful to seedlings and they took right away. i see composting animal remains as nothing different then adding bone meal and blood meal, just naturally with micro organisms. it just has to be completely covered by a good layer. (small scale not recomended) and as 420god said, we dont use compost from a fresh steaming pile, we use from piles that have "cooled off" all ready.

420 god: The 9-fingered lady tree looks very healthy. What is your anti-bug (i.e. plant eaters) solution??

420god, totally dig what you are doing. there is nothing wrong with composting with meat, as long as you know what youre doing... good stuff to find something to do with the extra carcasses... good luck in the future with your endeavors...

defcomexperiment said:

420god, totally dig what you are doing. there is nothing wrong with composting with meat, as long as you know what youre doing... good stuff to find something to do with the extra carcasses... good luck in the future with your endeavors...

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yeah, and in addition, it's not wise to eff with someone who can make large animals disappear so quickly.

Tempestt said:

420 god: The 9-fingered lady tree looks very healthy. What is your anti-bug (i.e. plant eaters) solution??

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I never really had any problem with bugs, I always noticed ants and ladybugs crawling around on it but nothing ever took a bite. A strong healthy plant fights off bugs pretty good on it's own.

I did have some little black mite things hiding in some larger buds but I think they were just using it for shelter, little spritz of water took care of them.

For my indoor grow I hang a pest strip in the room the tent is in and I haven't had any problems yet.

A couple more pics. The bagseed is now at 3 weeks 5 days and the seedling are now 10 days old. For the bagseed I have been giving reduced feedings of the Beastie Bloomz every watering instead of giving it a large dose once a week. I feel this is better/safer for the plant as it not trying to take up too many nutrients at once or give it more than the plant can handle. My light is about 8 inches from the top most cola and it's been staying around 75F inside the tent.

Those buds are nice and fat on that bagseed, good job my friend.

Is this a purpose-built grow tent that you bought from a grow shop, or just a regular tent that you outfitted to be light proof?

It's a purpose built 3x3x6.5', I bought it for $70 from Amazon.com.

So I noticed slow growth on one of the WW and I believe it's because the soil was too compact in the cup so I've transplanted to a slightly larger pot with drainage. Hopefully I'll see some better progress in the next day or two.

hey man the grow looks good so far, im subbed, and nice outdoor plant to. i assumed you were a guy but theri is a female in the pic. are you a female? if so thats cool, theri needs to be more lady growers of MJ

Thanks, and yeah I'm a guy, that's my wife in the pic.

Always thought useing meat mixed soil would been better than the normal soil, as i seen a dead bird laying on the grass after a while going to and from work i noticed as it decayed that the grass were the dead bird was laying was easy 3-4 times taller than that of the rest of the grass around it. So to the people saying its not as good show us all your experiments to prove it wrong.... somehow i dont think you ever will be able to. From what ive seen and from the looks of this experiment its got serious potential, but i do agree that there could be some dangers to your health from the soil but hey so fuck il smoke couldnt be much more damageing than that lol