Why No Clay? Manure? Sand? Forest Mould?!

cannakis

cannakis

Well-Known Member
Rrog said:
Those are all excellent N sources. I'd make a slurry so it's wet. Let the char soak a few hours.

Or you could do as St0w's wife insists- pee right into a bag of Cowboy Charcoal. Why do you think they call it cowboy charcoal?
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hahaha! i love it! you have a Good Wife St0w!
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
I'll actually be using the char I make for cooking on my grill. I don't use gas. I like to bake on this thing as well. Maybe some nice bakes pies with local organic fruit
 
cannakis

cannakis

Well-Known Member
Rrog said:
I'll actually be using the char I make for cooking on my grill. I don't use gas. I like to bake on this thing as well. Maybe some nice bakes pies with local organic fruit
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yes sir.! grow your own fruit. just ordered some foxwhelp and bulmers norman heirloom apple trees
 
cannakis

cannakis

Well-Known Member
st0wandgrow said:
You need aeration bits of some variety. Apx 25% to 33% of your base. Perlite is fine, as are rice hulls, lava rock, pumice, etc.
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rice hulls... like chaff? i added wheat straw heads and seeds, and granite rocks, and alfalfa cubes. what about some sand?
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
When I build a soil I factor the biochar as one of the aeration amendments. They're typically pretty small around a quarter inch or less and the surface area makes him an ideal aeration amendment in my opinion. I'm trying to use only local materials from Michigan, if not my backyard
 
cannakis

cannakis

Well-Known Member
Rrog said:
When I build a soil I factor the biochar as one of the aeration amendments. They're typically pretty small around a quarter inch or less and the surface area makes him an ideal aeration amendment in my opinion. I'm trying to use only local materials from Michigan, if not my backyard
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nice thats what i was wondering. i know me too... North Carolina baby! i do like Michigan's Natures Green Remedies.!
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Don't forget composted leaf mulch.

Canna- any material introduced into the soil should technically be composted, otherwise it'll rob the system of huge N reserves as the materials break down. Some isn't bad, for sure.
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
cannakis said:
p
That Is a good deal maybe local supply as it...

But my question is.. the rice hulls break down don't they? into just soil? So why not use saw dust and chips and straw and other things...? Unless the Hulls stay Whole for while and do not compost...?
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Over time they will break down. Adding some pumice or crushed lava rock is a good idea as well to counter this. I have run no-till buckets through 3 cycles using just rice hulls for aeration and they were fine. Beyond that I'm not sure.........
 
cannakis

cannakis

Well-Known Member
Rrog said:
Don't forget composted leaf mulch.

Canna- any material introduced into the soil should technically be composted, otherwise it'll rob the system of huge N reserves as the materials break down. Some isn't bad, for sure.
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got ya, i was actually just learning about that, and tgat the microbes when composting eat the fresh living plants for energy...

well thats exactly what i mean about leaf mulch... Hot Composting. 50:1 Carbon:Nitrogen ratio wetted sat for four days and turned every other dau after gives you beautiful black mould in 18 days. which is what im doing with the saw dust manure im getting. http://deepgreenpermaculture.com/diy-instructions/hot-compost-composting-in-18-days/
 
cannakis

cannakis

Well-Known Member
st0wandgrow said:
Over time they will break down. Adding some pumice or crushed lava rock is a good idea as well to counter this. I have run no-till buckets through 3 cycles using just rice hulls for aeration and they were fine. Beyond that I'm not sure.........
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Cool, what about oyster shells... That should help aerate to a degree too right?
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
cannakis said:
p
That Is a good deal maybe local supply as it...

But my question is.. the rice hulls break down don't they? into just soil? So why not use saw dust and chips and straw and other things...? Unless the Hulls stay Whole for while and do not compost...?
Click to expand...
I'm going to start a thread here for putting together a free organic soil once my leaf mold is ready. Leaf mold, worm castings, and foraged aeration bits will be the base. To that I will add rock dusts (free from a local quarry), composted rabbit poop (free from my bunnies), dried/powdered nettle, comfrey, dandelions, and horse tail. I will also make an FPE of each of those items. The plants will get plain water for the most part, and an occasional FPE and compost tea along the way.

My thinking is that if the humus content and mineral content of the soil is dialed in, the sources of NPK are a distant second in importance.
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
cannakis said:
got ya, i was actually just learning about that, and tgat the microbes when composting eat the fresh living plants for energy...

well thats exactly what i mean about leaf mulch... Hot Composting. 50:1 Carbon:Nitrogen ratio wetted sat for four days and turned every other dau after gives you beautiful black mould in 18 days. which is what im doing with the saw dust manure im getting. http://deepgreenpermaculture.com/diy-instructions/hot-compost-composting-in-18-days/
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Leaf mold (if that's what you're getting at) is actually a fungal dominant, cold composting process. the 50:1 ratio does not apply, but the addition of some N will expedite the process.
 
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