So who here is growing in true organic living soil?

I like to let them coast through the end of flower. Not adding anything.

If you feel the need to add something a cup of coconut water per gal wouldn't hurt. but can get expensive. I like(d) doing it one time in veg, once in early flower

Who's got pics of their worm op?

...uhhh... uhhh... Well, that's a lovely bowel-O-worms ya got there...

Rrog said:

...uhhh... uhhh... Well, that's a lovely bowel-O-worms ya got there...

Click to expand...

:::::smiley-cocaine-drinky-face:::::

So how 'bout them worm bin pics? Any volunteers?

I killed my wigglers with bad food.

...not sure what it was, but I am thinking that it was a mass of ramen noodles
that I crushed dry and fed plain to the bin. They were imported from China...Lead?

LOL I do not know, but I do know that replacing them will cost a pretty penny....like
5,000 of them. Wow.

I will restart when I can. I am making plenty of worms all around my garden anyway.
(but these are the native earth movers, and not the waste lovers that RWs are)

JD

P.S. BTW, has anyone here ever raised the topic of Black Soldier Fly bins?

Rrog said:

So how 'bout them worm bin pics? Any volunteers?

Click to expand...

Each bin has 2,000-3,000 worms, and makes about 5 gallons of castings every 9 weeks. The bins are staggered on the exact schedule as my plants, so I yield 5 gallons of ewc every 3 weeks. I have a perpetual harvest every 3 weeks. 3, 1,000 watt lights. Each set of plants get's an ewc and dry amendment top dress at 3 weeks flower. I finally have this down to a science where I no longer need to supplement my ewc with store-bought stuff. My advice to anyone looking to ditch store-bought castings in favor of their own ...... buy more worms than you think you'll need. If you think you only need a lb (1,000) worms, buy 2 lbs. It takes quite a while for your bin to produce a modest amount of castings, and in the mean time you will be buying $40-$50 bags of castings when you could have just spent $30 (special for 2lbs of worms at Uncle Jims right now) on worms and made your own, superior castings.

Thanks St0w, maybe I can restart.

JD

Organic Against Chemical Growing


The most important factor to consider in marijuana growing is the quality. High quality marijuana plants can only be grown in soil using only biological fertilizers. Buds produced with the use of organic fertilizers are far better tasting than those grown using chemical fertilizers. Buds produced are extremely delicious tasting if grown in an organic soil. Organic farming is also essential if used for medicinal growing purposes.




Plants grown in organic mediums cannot be over-fertilized. Organic fertilizers, compared with chemical fertilizers which are simple to administer, sterile and precise, are not that simple to apply. They also have the tendency to produce pungent and unpleasant odors. With the use of organic fertilizers, harvest will give a bud with a remarkable taste, aroma and potency.


Two of the most effective and widely used organic fertilizers are bat guano and worm castings. These two contain enormous amounts of nutritional content which the plants could use to boost their growth. Worm castings and bat guano are mixed with water and applied two times a week. Critical are these when you want to have a top high quality buds grown in soil with high production. Grab some of these wonderful fertilizers and you will surely be amazed with the results.


It is still debatable among growers that the material the plant uses to grow has the same structure and content no matter which method was use. The only difference, the real one, between organic and inorganic is how the raw materials are supplied for their growth. The will still be using the basic building blocks, molecules from the air and the nutrients, which has the by product, oxygen.




Organic Against Chemical Growing


So what is the difference between organic and inorganic? Organic growing uses larger substances that will be broken down by a system of living organisms from the nutrient solutions that are present in the growing medium, the soil. In inorganic growing however, the nutrients are already broken down into smaller forms that the plant can readily utilize. Some organic components are found in inorganic nutrients. For example, a fertilizer intended for soil has urea nitrogen. Micro-organisms need to break down the nitrogen in the urea nitrogen before the plants could use it. The organisms that will be used to break it down can only survive in the soil, so hydroponic systems cannot use it.


For hydroponic growing, there are also mixtures that are organic and inorganic. No matter which way you will choose to use, you have to be sure that you control what you give your plants to eat and protect them from harmful pesticides and other various chemicals that are being used in the plantation. In cases where in the use of substances with chemicals cannot be avoided, flush your plants properly and thoroughly fro you to be sure to get the same result.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


To summarize: Inorganic (with chemicals) vs. Organic-





On Organic/ Chemical Nutrients:


Advantage: allows precise controls and formulations, with high substance availability and purity.


Disadvantage: build up of impurities like heavy metals can be hazardous to health and might have residual taste. Waste on the reservoirs can affect and contaminate the water source from the ground.




On Organic Nutrients:


Advantage: improved aroma, taste and resin with the use of live and beneficial components.




Disadvantage: precise or exact amounts of required nutrients are hard to determine.

http://www.slideshare.net/OMICSPublishingGroup/impact-of-chemical-fertilizers


http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/02/organic_cannabis_is_essential_43_of_marijuana_pati.php

http://healthwyze.org/index.php/component/content/article/100-how-chemical-fertilizers-are-destroying-your-body-the-soil-and-your-food.html


http://touch.americablog.com/americablog/?ref=http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Famericablog.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fchemical-in-fertilizer-linked-to-higher-cancer-rates.html&h=vAQGv1WGuAQFrbKOCISxkue9JJz3hiPY8fjgzAyigJ5M-uA&enc=AZPo5DEO2_ZpsG4uW02ArdTvIPOAWicS2m_PsDlTNQvFXG4hdfMM_yoX9ofrk2c1-StG7oxlT7Aut3oFX4n-J9t0&s=1#!/entry/527da3f5025312186c81a7d7&width=980&height=1185&origin=http://americablog.com/2012/03/chemical-in-fertilizer-linked-to-higher-cancer-rates.html&size=large&oswts=1390329274424

http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/pages/News---Government-Panel-Raises-Cancer-Concern-About-Fertilizers.php


from 'no till farmer ' magazine-

Rrog said:

So how 'bout them worm bin pics? Any volunteers?

Click to expand...

My worms are still on their way, today or tomorrow. I had a lot of mycelium growth on it already, covered that up and you can still see a couple spots come through over night.

THAT'S what I'm talkin' bout!!! keep it simple!

Yep just ran some holes in the bottom of the top one and set some old light covers in the bottom one to hold it up. I plan on drilling more holes in the top once the worms arrive.

Super Duper! Thanks for that. You'll be sooo glad

Buckaroo- I missed those posts with the links. Thanks for that! The no-till link looks really cool and promising.

Thanks for directing me over here rrog. Ill throw my question out here for you guys. Whats a good base recipe for a supersoil? What is the smallest size container you recommend using? I had a thread but id prefer to ask the question here as i think ill get more responses. Thanks in advance!!

I know that there are several good recipes in this thread.

Just a moment.... Just a moment....

Dang, I did not see it in the last few pages. I am sure that someone
will chime in, but I have saved a few...

Soil recipe from PK, the Blazeoneup mix, heavily modified under the advice of BurnOne

1 x Bag of Ocean Forest
1 x Bag of Canna Coco
1 X Bag of Happy Frog
1/2 Bag Chunky Perlite
30# Earth worm castings
6 cup pulverized dolomite lime 2-1 Cal/mag ratio
6 cups Bone Meal
3 cups Blood Meal
3 Cups Azomite
3 cups Greensand
3 cups Kelp Meal

Click to expand...

Giggles uses this:

I start of with Sunshine Organic Growers Mix which consists of 40% organic
peat moss, 30% organic coir (washed and inoculated with trichoderma spores),
10% perlite, 10% vermiculite and 10% pumice (medium size). The reasons that
all 3 are added by the manufacturer has to do with the CEC (cation exchange
capacity) of these 3 aeration amendments. The soil is ph adjusted with
dolomite lime and is treated with organic yucca extract as a wetting agent.

This is a professional 'soilless mix' for the nursery plant industry. All of
the products used are the best available.

BTW - Sunshine Mix is manufactured by Sun Gro Horticulture which also
manufactures Black Gold products (their consumer line) and some other products
that appear at Home Depot and Loews, etc. Sunshine Mixes are generally
available in the Western US and ProMix is manufactured and distributed in the
Eastern US. There is no difference between the 2 products if you're comparing
apples to apples.

To the soil I add 25% organic compost, 1 cf. of pumice or rice hulls and
that's the basic soil

To that I add 1 cup (per 1 cf.) seed meal (equal parts of canola, cottonseed,
flaxseed and alfalfa) to replace the bloodmeal ('N') and organic fish bone
meal (4-20-0) to replace the bonemeal in the original LC Mix.

I add about 1.5 cf. of glacial rock dust to the soil mix. This is important
because the fungai use the exudes created by the bacteria (a slime is produced)
that are 'mainlined' into the root hairs from mycorrhazie attached to the
root hairs.

About 1/4 cup of kelp meal and 1 tablespoon of mycorrhizal fungus to each 5
gallon pot and I sprinkle about 1/4 cup of neem seed meal as a top dressing.

That's it other than applying aerated compost teas at the beginning of the veg
cycle and then again at the beginning of the flower cycle (a high-fungai tea
facilitates the take-up of phosphorous). Just water and I hit them with a
foiliar spray of fish enzyme and seaweed extract 1x a week and neem seed oil
2x times a week through veg and the first couple of weeks in the flower cycle
to prevent mites and powdery mildew.

It works without any burning, stunted growth, whatever. Just add water.

Click to expand...

JD

randomhero1 said:

Thanks for directing me over here rrog. Ill throw my question out here for you guys. Whats a good base recipe for a supersoil? What is the smallest size container you recommend using? I had a thread but id prefer to ask the question here as i think ill get more responses. Thanks in advance!!

Click to expand...

Page 155 of this thread, post #1544. This is what Rrog recommends. I would follow his advice ....