Side by side organic soil mix's

I've liked the idea of rotting wood ever since reading about it, I suppose it's a similar theory to Hugelkulture, but have been nervous about using it for the reason Midwest states above(nitrogen deficiency). I've got access to copious amounts of rotted logs, so I'm gonna go 7-7-7 litres of biochar-pumice-rotted wood, should I charge it just like the biochar, with fpe/fish hydro or would it be best making a strong kelp/alfalfa tea?

DonBrennon said:

I've liked the idea of rotting wood ever since reading about it, I suppose it's a similar theory to Hugelkulture, but have been nervous about using it for the reason Midwest states above(nitrogen deficiency). I've got access to copious amounts of rotted logs, so I'm gonna go 7-7-7 litres of biochar-pumice-rotted wood, should I charge it just like the biochar, with fpe/fish hydro or would it be best making a strong kelp/alfalfa tea?

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I like alfalfa for that, but that's just because of availability to me. Either would work, why not use both? Does anyone see an issue with that?
The concept of huglekultur is the exact reason that made me decide to start using wood in my mix, with the advice of @greasemonkeymann as well of course.

So your aeration amendments are going to be split evenly between those three amendments? If so I'd aim for using a bit more pumice than both wood and bchar. Too much rotted wood worries me just as much as too much char. Though I have never used them in those ratios, so it's purely conjecture.

Midwest Weedist said:

One thing I will add though is please charge your wood materials before you use them or preammend your mix heavier in N and let it homogenize a bit longer. I had mixed up a small batch for some other garden plants and grabbed the rotted wood that I hadn't charged and every plant in the mix was completely nitrogen starved, so be warned wood will sequester a lot of Nitrogen from your soil

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absolutely true, it sequesters nitrogen if not charged prior, exactly like biochar does.
I was just talking to mustang about that in his compost thread

Just brought a rotten log home, gave it a poke with a garden cane and it fell in half. The middle of it is fookin soil/wormcastings, worms, roots, eggs and various other critters pmsl. It might be good for making some kind of IMO, but I think I'd better go find another for aeration.

DonBrennon said:

I've liked the idea of rotting wood ever since reading about it, I suppose it's a similar theory to Hugelkulture, but have been nervous about using it for the reason Midwest states above(nitrogen deficiency). I've got access to copious amounts of rotted logs, so I'm gonna go 7-7-7 litres of biochar-pumice-rotted wood, should I charge it just like the biochar, with fpe/fish hydro or would it be best making a strong kelp/alfalfa tea?

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you want a readily available source of nitrogen that is water soluble, so you could make a tea with alfalfa, or comfrey/dandelion, some have used high nitrogen guano, urine, I speculate blood meal would work too... albeit messily...
fish hydrosylate is great, probably the best, but most expensive, but you'd also be loading up the fungal activity, which is crucial for the microbes that make the phosphorus bio-available to the plant

DonBrennon said:

Just brought a rotten log home, gave it a poke with a garden cane and it fell in half. The middle of it is fookin soil/wormcastings, worms roots, eggs and various other critters pmsl. It might be good for making some kind of IMO, but I think I'd better go find another for aeration.

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If you're looking for a rotten log with no bugs in it... it's gonna take a while man... those guys LOOK for those, that's also why it's broken down too, keep in mind anything eating a dead log isn't gonna like fresh cannabis.
I've never gotten any bugs from the forest in that regard, but mites out here are everywhere..
But mites aren't in the wood.
But that's my only concern.
Mites.

greasemonkeymann said:

If you're looking for a rotten log with no bugs in it... it's gonna take a while man... those guys LOOK for those, that's also why it's broken down too, keep in mind anything eating a dead log isn't gonna like fresh cannabis.
I've never gotten any bugs from the forest in that regard, but mites out here are everywhere..
But mites aren't in the wood.
But that's my only concern.
Mites.

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I honestly ain't worried about the bugs, my no tills are full of them and there's definitely only decomposing bugs in there(detritivores? or have I just made that up?), there's just no wood in it pmsl

Here's the vid I learn't to make biochar from

greasemonkeymann said:

If you're looking for a rotten log with no bugs in it... it's gonna take a while man... those guys LOOK for those, that's also why it's broken down too, keep in mind anything eating a dead log isn't gonna like fresh cannabis.
I've never gotten any bugs from the forest in that regard, but mites out here are everywhere..
But mites aren't in the wood.
But that's my only concern.
Mites.

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I don't even really worry about mites. I think my soil has so much neem and karanja in it that they won't even touch it lol. I had a bunch of lemon seedlings that were completely webbed over by spider mites in my garage with the rest of my garden plants and over the winter house plants. Well I had forgotten that they were in nothing but old vermi and rice hulls, added some of my soil as a topdress and sprayed the hell out of them with a super strong neem solution and within a week I couldn't find one anywhere. Not even with a jewlers loupe. I've still been looking and nothing, it's been two months and I haven't seen one. The only thing I worry about not is grey mold from rh spikes when it rains.

Right, just found this while searching for pumice, can anybody help me out, pmsl

On a serious note, I have found that pumice is available here. Bonsai enthusiasts use it so it's still quite pricey, but it's the perfect size for just throwing in your mix. I found it online, but my local garden center has a little bonsai section, I've just never thought of looking there, I've been looking for aggregates in the landscaping yards. Been looking all over and I bet it's right under my nose.

This is the log I opened up



I couldn't be arsed boiling up rice and the rest of the IMO shit, so I thought...........instant IMO

DonBrennon said:

Right, just found this while searching for pumice, can anybody help me out, pmsl
View attachment 3589216
On a serious note, I have found that pumice is available here. Bonsai enthusiasts use it so it's still quite pricey, but it's the perfect size for just throwing in your mix. I found it online, but my local garden center has a little bonsai section, I've just never thought of looking there, I've been looking for aggregates in the landscaping yards. Been looking all over and I bet it's right under my nose.

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If it's for bonsai cultivation and is actually pumice (My Japanese is rusty at best haha), then I say you're good to go. What's the cost per lb?

Midwest Weedist said:

I don't even really worry about mites. I think my soil has so much neem and karanja in it that they won't even touch it lol. I had a bunch of lemon seedlings that were completely webbed over by spider mites in my garage with the rest of my garden plants and over the winter house plants. Well I had forgotten that they were in nothing but old vermi and rice hulls, added some of my soil as a topdress and sprayed the hell out of them with a super strong neem solution and within a week I couldn't find one anywhere. Not even with a jewlers loupe. I've still been looking and nothing, it's been two months and I haven't seen one. The only thing I worry about not is grey mold from rh spikes when it rains.

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I have mites. There in my worm farm, and help decompose shit. I also have preditory mites too. Long pipes showed up about 1 month after the bins birth, and there everywhere. My plants are in perfect health. I don't even have to use neem anymore for my gnats. The mites and BTi are working beyond expectation.
The majority of mites are benificial and if they're found on wood, I'd want them. But that's just me I guess as most people are terrified at the notation of mites and assume the worst.

Grandpa GreenJeans said:

I have mites. There in my worm farm, and help decompose shit. I also have preditory mites too. Long pipes showed up about 1 month after the bins birth, and there everywhere. My plants are in perfect health. I don't even have to use neem anymore for my gnats. The mites and BTi are working beyond expectation.
The majority of mites are benificial and if they're found on wood, I'd want them. But that's just me I guess as most people are terrified at the notation of mites and assume the worst.

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When I said mites I was referring to the ones we don't want, my apologies. I've noticed that predatory organisms will do a heck of a job defending too. Geographical location plays a lot into it as well. In my state, the highway department sprays out spider mites every year to kill off county road - side weeds and weed (Grows native here, Most are feral strains that bred with the native hemp, which that make for good hash). Which means I see them every summer and fall in at least my garden plants.
I'm a fan of bti as well. I mix up some dunks with my mix and that seems to destroy any gnats that wonder in.

Midwest Weedist said:

When I said mites I was referring to the ones we don't want, my apologies. I've noticed that predatory organisms will do a heck of a job defending too. Geographical location plays a lot into it as well. In my state, the highway department sprays out spider mites every year to kill off county road - side weeds and weed (Grows native here, Most are feral strains that bred with the native hemp, which that make for good hash). Which means I see them every summer and fall in at least my garden plants.
I'm a fan of bti as well. I mix up some dunks with my mix and that seems to destroy any gnats that wonder in.

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Leave it to a state department to fuck up a good thing. Lol SMH-
Most soil mites will feed on fungal mycelium that have colonized (wood/ organic) and/or anything highly acidic that detours fungal and encourages bacterial dominated decomposition.
The mites internal digestion process is very similar to that of worms, thus being bacterial, the worms then benifit from consuming the mites excrement and so on.
Just to be clear, proper identification is key to introducing any mite to a controlled environment, but composting mites are very hardy and actually go dormant when too cold. Freezing is a different story but I'm sure most burrow down below the frost layer.
Eitherway it goes, if the mite is on rotten wood that's actively undergoing cold composting, mycelium is the cause, and the mite is beneficial. It's also safe to assume the mite is not harmful to plants if it's found near healthy plants but prefers decaying matter.

A side note to the herbaceous poison used by the state department. Mites are very resilient and most often when chemical agents are used some will die, but the ones that don't have a probable chance to develop a resistance to toxins.
Mites have a very protective exoskeleton and they possess the ability to completely resist some eradication efforts. I Don't Recall at this time if it has to do with their pH or a compound they produce that protects them. But their is some scarry shit out there on mites, some like the bulb mite are completely immune to any eradication efforts/methods.
Mites are a very interesting read I think, just too much to cover so I focus on select benificial and predatory.

Micro organisms are a whole other universe of complexities, I gave up trying to completely educate myself on them and settled with what little I need to actually know.

Any idea why my hypoaspis ain't eating my fungus gnat larva? Not had any for about 6 month, but they're back with a vengeance. I've definitely still got the hypoaspis, when I disturb my mulch you can see em running all over. I'm gonna get some mossy bits for a topdress to address the issue, how much do you suggest to use for each 20gal fabric pot? It'll help me decide how much to buy.

DonBrennon said:

Any idea why my hypoaspis ain't eating my fungus gnat larva? Not had any for about 6 month, but they're back with a vengeance. I've definitely still got the hypoaspis, when I disturb my mulch you can see em running all over. I'm gonna get some mossy bits for a topdress to address the issue, how much do you suggest to use for each 20gal fabric pot? It'll help me decide how much to buy.

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Mossy bits? Like spagnum moss used for potting orchids or sheet moss?
If your mulched and you can see h. miles run around then I'm sure your mulch layer is working.
Alternatively you can remove the mulch layer, add 1" of sand and put back the mulch. This will trap in anything but also trap out. Treat the mulch layer with BTi.

As far as the gnats returning with vengence.... no offense but your h.miles population wasn't that large to combat. Or.... it was and it did work like you stated but after the gnat larva food source was gone, h.miles population diminished. This is probably why your having a gnat outbreak.
Miles will repopulate but will have to go through its multiple growth phases and reach adulthood before mating. BTi is your best defence for now while miles repopulates.

Don't worry so much about the mulch layer, just maintain the prefered RH and temps to keep miles happy.

Grandpa GreenJeans said:

Mossy bits? Like spagnum moss used for potting orchids or sheet moss?
If your mulched and you can see h. miles run around then I'm sure your mulch layer is working.
Alternatively you can remove the mulch layer, add 1" of sand and put back the mulch. This will trap in anything but also trap out. Treat the mulch layer with BTi.

As far as the gnats returning with vengence.... no offense but your h.miles population wasn't that large to combat. Or.... it was and it did work like you stated but after the gnat larva food source was gone, h.miles population diminished. This is probably why your having a gnat outbreak.
Miles will repopulate but will have to go through its multiple growth phases and reach adulthood before mating. BTi is your best defence for now while miles repopulates.

Don't worry so much about the mulch layer, just maintain the prefered RH and temps to keep miles happy.

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Sorry for the misunderstanding, I mean't mosquito bits, I used gnat off when I grew in coco, same bti, I was gonna get some of that but it's recently been banned here. The mosquito bits are gonna be more expensive even for the smallest size I can get.