All Natural Organics. The Dons' Summaries + FAQ Thread. <2017-'18>

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
@Canadain Closet Gardener I'm working on a better source of DE Rocks than Reindeers. They do say that you can get in various sizes but mail order won't show you that. Let's give them a call or email and see what they say / see if they budge.

Apparently there were Diatomite mines in BC and Nova Scotia back around WWII, I am trying to find some more info out. I would like to set up a claim if possible if there's no one active.

For the USA, Nevada and Cali are the biggest producers. If that helps anyone.
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
@calliandra

yeah that much powder will contribute to some clogging, a few % would probably be ok in terms of powder, but I don't like it myself!! We have heard of people growing in 100% DE Rocks, though, so cheers to progressing forward along the multiple learning curves... you're obviously doing great!!

How did your Crazy Calli's turn out by the way, did you get to enjoy them yet??
 

Canadain Closet Gardener

Well-Known Member
@Canadain Closet Gardener
Does BAS ship to Canada now? WOW I can't believe it costs $163 US so like 200 CAD to bring in one cu ft of soil! Thats ridiculous!

@giglewigle did you get a quote yet?
I looked into ordering from them for some soil amendments as they have a nice reputation. I was blown away on the shipping costs.
I still might order from them and use the Ship it shop in Massena, NY

I had trouble to find a local source here for, Neem oil, Karanja oil,Neem Meal, Humic Acid, Crab meal, Endo Mycocorrizae
So I ended up getting it here.
http://www.boogie-brew.ca/amendments.php
http://blackswallowsoil.com/
I ordered from those two a few times and the shipping was quite reasonable. BB always seems to add something extra.
 
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giglewigle

Well-Known Member
If you can keep that there light in the sweet spot, probably about 18" away, then you should be able to yield a gooey ounce or two. It should give you some pink trichs too but I would super crop it pronto, bud.
sweet im felling pretty confident that i did the right thing some body advised me to top it i can tie it if i need two side note i dodent want it to go to waste so i smoked the bit i topped i scoped it 2 my scope is kinda a pain but i could make out a few glanduler trychomes clear none visable 2 the naket eye yet my goal for this plant is gunna be 2 oz dry i rekon i can do it cant wait to shoot tje vid im gunna do like a sesh like ill chope ap a certain amount and pretty mutch from there anything can happen i might start putting work into my facebook page and post it there lol iv had maybe 5 bowls allready amd this is is just like fan leaf but my eylids like i can feel them sort of thing i think kinda to my temples 2 daum tnis is ginna be some fucken fire fuck yes ✌
 

giglewigle

Well-Known Member
@Canadain Closet Gardener
Does BAS ship to Canada now? WOW I can't believe it costs $163 US so like 200 CAD to bring in one cu ft of soil! Thats ridiculous!

@giglewigle did you get a quote yet?
not yet im gunnna do my own compost i got a tumbler and a worm bin home made comost recycled soil as well and i might add some neem and some kelp meal and some rock dusts im thinging for those my needs are gunna ph and short meadiem and long term use i pretty mutch wanna keep reusing this soil making it better over time same as my compost amd im gunna collect dead leaves oh maybe some charged biochar 2but ill take eaqul parts and charge it using difrent things thats all i can tning of right now im actuellt pretty stoned iff of pink gravy fan leaves im not even ashamed to say i enjoyed it
 

giglewigle

Well-Known Member
I looked into ordering from them for some soil amendments as they have a nice reputation. I was blown away on the shipping costs.
I still might order from them and use the Ship it shop in Massena, NY

I had trouble to find a local source here for, Neem oil, Karanja oil,Neem Meal, Humic Acid, Crab meal, Endo Mycocorrizae
So I ended up getting it here.
http://www.boogie-brew.ca/amendments.php
http://blackswallowsoil.com/
I ordered from those two a few times and the shipping was quite reasonable. BB always seems to add something extra.
ye i cheked out the site im wondering tho if the growkashi is worth it and basickly can it be diyed and can i charge biochare with mycrobes i mean in all of the soil its brobebly tje most carbony
 

calliandra

Well-Known Member
@calliandra

yeah that much powder will contribute to some clogging, a few % would probably be ok in terms of powder, but I don't like it myself!! We have heard of people growing in 100% DE Rocks, though, so cheers to progressing forward along the multiple learning curves... you're obviously doing great!!

How did your Crazy Calli's turn out by the way, did you get to enjoy them yet??
Ah, I haven't even popped them yet - still getting my new environment set up and tuned in at the moment. Early next year I hope!
Cheers!
 

MrKnotty

Well-Known Member
Hey Don as always your spreading that organic knowledge! Love it man! Was hoping you could talk a little about making bio char, I've never done it, but im really interested. Also, would you mind maybe discussing your practices for re-amending your soil after a season .

Gracias as always!!
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Hey Don as always your spreading that organic knowledge! Love it man! Was hoping you could talk a little about making bio char, I've never done it, but im really interested. Also, would you mind maybe discussing your practices for re-amending your soil after a season .

Gracias as always!!
Yo MK whats good, hope you been well, man!

There are many ways to make biochar.. you're on some good shite there, very nice to see and hear that..

one of the cheapest simply is out of trenches in the ground.. or doing big piles in the bush after a rain..
then there are the cone drums with 62.5* angled sides, barrel / double barrel retorts, barrel retorts with unground chimneys, kontiki's, and from there you get into semi- professional set ups, some of which I went over in the little thread called Dons' Dirt.. but most of those are getting quite industrial in size, requiring permits and government clearance.. so if you look through those methods, and pick one that suits a brotha, or tell me what amount of biomass you have or are after, then I can more accurately help you out.

I also can you in touch with bio char CEO's in your region if you tell me where you are, via PM or what not, and we can see how much tonnes are in your area, I dont mind doing that at all..

I love learning the markets further and sharpening the saw..


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As for re-amending, it depends..

like for one, on the size of the bed, its age since inception, strain types being grown, IBL sativas hybrid kushes etc.. as well as the original recipe (and time) since the last re-amending.. as well as what is being re-amended, be it meal, mineral, or EM food..

but that said, let me say this:

IN GENERAL..

for me, if I run a mix at 2% kelp, 1% neem, in a pot bigger than 15-20 gal, and so on and so forth, I usually can pull off a water only grow, maybe an odd coco or aloe water but thats it, aside from the foliar regime which only takes place from day 1 to day 14 of flower, then it ceases, then between rounds do NO AMENDING, and grow again, water only predominantly.. with probably only one topdressing / tea.

If you run a mix on the minimum Side of things, you probably want to re-establish the minimums, cause they aren't that strong to begin with really, in the scope of things.. for example, half a cup of meal mix A or B, per cubic foot, is only ...

less than a half percent of total volume.

0.42 % to be exact ..

Now, I'm nowhere near my final recipe, this is only our fourth or 5th official year growing, but I think that both neem and kelp can be pushed past that less than half of one percent of the total volume, and also that GRD or the rock mineral recipes can be pushed past 4 Cup / cu ft. .. which is only 3.3% of the TotVol.
So to answer that question best, I would first have to know what school of thought you prescribe to mostly, as well as style, its all relative, once again!
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
ye i cheked out the site im wondering tho if the growkashi is worth it and basickly can it be diyed and can i charge biochare with mycrobes i mean in all of the soil its brobebly tje most carbony
You sure can charge biochar with microbes, be it in a tea or in a pile of compost or castings..

even with pee, alfalfa or almost anything can do the trick... what I would do is look at my mix, see if any components need balancing, then work the biochar so your component gets the equilibrium factor, so to speak..

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

but yeah, as per gro-kashi, which is basically bokashi but a bit rebranded / better cause its less table-scrappy and more .. stable,

take out the meat and veggies, and just ferment red wheat bran .. along with molasses or beet sugars as a food source for the EM (with a touch of minerals and microorganisms as well, usually) the end product being a stable anaerobic inoculant, so yes, it could work wonders..

its faster than pulling off a purely leaf mould compost thermophilic style for two years, which if you pull of you may be able to skip growkashi altogether, for example, and its a bit more stable and consistently predictable than putting pure oatmeal or even bran sprinklings on.

Especially if chunky, thats where the green bastards / trichoderma can come in. The finer the oatmeal though, the less you need to worry. But if you go with an anaerobic inoculant, it acts as a pathogen killer as well. So its a step up. I will post a tutorial for Bo/Grokashi but I will also show you what happens with just plain oatmeal when used finely vs chunky, as well as what happens when you add just red wheat bran. What I'm looking for either way is a nice fluffy, white (not yellow) bed of mycelium.

Interesting to note, I am noticing the peat mixes are a bit slower to fuzz over than to coco mixes, this time around.. I will have to see if its consistent and try another couple batches..

more pics once back home!!
 
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DonTesla

Well-Known Member
I looked into ordering from them for some soil amendments as they have a nice reputation. I was blown away on the shipping costs.
I still might order from them and use the Ship it shop in Massena, NY

I had trouble to find a local source here for, Neem oil, Karanja oil,Neem Meal, Humic Acid, Crab meal, Endo Mycocorrizae
So I ended up getting it here.
http://www.boogie-brew.ca/amendments.php
http://blackswallowsoil.com/
I ordered from those two a few times and the shipping was quite reasonable. BB always seems to add something extra.
They probably add a shit tonne so it covers their time for filling out bullshit forms, tis the shame with the border these days.. then they get mad and add more cause they are sour aha..

but hey, that's cool, so what did you end up paying..

did you get everything you were after then??
 

Canadain Closet Gardener

Well-Known Member
They probably add a shit tonne so it covers their time for filling out bullshit forms, tis the shame with the border these days.. then they get mad and add more cause they are sour aha..

but hey, that's cool, so what did you end up paying..

did you get everything you were after then??
Oh god no, their shipping is too crazy.

I ordered most of my soil amendments locally and a few by mail order but in Canada. I think the most i had to pay for shipping was $20 and that was for 10lbs of Humic acid from BC, I'm in Ont.

Here is a list of my soil amendments

ALFALFA meal Locally
Azamite Locally
BENTONITE CLAY (CALCIUM TYPE)
Bat Guano bloom Locally
Bat Guano Veg Locally
Blood Meal Locally
Bone Meal Locally
CRAB MEAL
Doleimite lime Locally
Endo Mycorrhizae
FEATHER MEAL 11-0-0
FISHBONE MEAL 5-20-1
Glacier Rock Dust Locally
Granular Humic Acid Locally
Humic Acid Soluble
K-MAG 0-0-22 Locally
Kelp Flour Locally
Kelp soluble
NEEM CAKE
Oyster Shell
ZEOLITE

NEEM OIL
KARANJA OIL
Cheers
CCG
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Oh god no, their shipping is too crazy.

I ordered most of my soil amendments locally and a few by mail order but in Canada. I think the most i had to pay for shipping was $20 and that was for 10lbs of Humic acid from BC, I'm in Ont.

Here is a list of my soil amendments

ALFALFA meal Locally
Azamite Locally
BENTONITE CLAY (CALCIUM TYPE)
Bat Guano bloom Locally
Bat Guano Veg Locally
Blood Meal Locally
Bone Meal Locally
CRAB MEAL
Doleimite lime Locally
Endo Mycorrhizae
FEATHER MEAL 11-0-0
FISHBONE MEAL 5-20-1
Glacier Rock Dust Locally
Granular Humic Acid Locally
Humic Acid Soluble
K-MAG 0-0-22 Locally
Kelp Flour Locally
Kelp soluble
NEEM CAKE
Oyster Shell
ZEOLITE

NEEM OIL
KARANJA OIL
Cheers
CCG
wow thats a rounded list.. I would be tempted to test out at least 2 recipes.. you could make the same base and then amend it in 2 different ways.. one style could be more slaughterhouse inputs, the other could be a more medical style as if you were growing for someone who battles cancer. then compare the two.

ALFALFA meal Locally
Azamite Locally
BENTONITE CLAY (CALCIUM TYPE)
Bat Guano bloom Locally
Bat Guano Veg Locally
Blood Meal Locally
Bone Meal Locally
CRAB MEAL
Doleimite lime Locally
Endo Mycorrhizae
FEATHER MEAL 11-0-0
FISHBONE MEAL 5-20-1
Glacier Rock Dust Locally
Granular Humic Acid Locally
Humic Acid Soluble
K-MAG 0-0-22 Locally
Kelp Flour Locally
Kelp soluble
NEEM CAKE
Oyster Shell

ZEOLITE

The bold ones are what I would use on the clean mix, with Alfafa on stand by. I bet you will prefer the herb from this one, it will cure faster, burn better and be much smoother. The only thing I didnt bold was the fish bone meal, only cause I would be careful with that one cause the numbers are really high for some reason, and high P can hinder myco-plant relationships, so I would use literally one to 2 TBSP max per CF of that one. or introduce after your myco has taken hold via a top dress under the mulch. Or if you return it I can get you a blend thats cooler.

Basalt and Gypsum would be better than Zeolite and Azomite, plus dolomite, put together, but you should feel accomplished for putting so much together, so just make note for future use.

You can also skip acids if rocking the fresh diy ewc, but you are set for a hell of an experiment my friend, gonna be awesome!!
 

Canadain Closet Gardener

Well-Known Member
wow thats a rounded list.. I would be tempted to test out at least 2 recipes.. you could make the same base and then amend it in 2 different ways.. one style could be more slaughterhouse inputs, the other could be a more medical style as if you were growing for someone who battles cancer. then compare the two.

ALFALFA meal Locally
Azamite Locally
BENTONITE CLAY (CALCIUM TYPE)
Bat Guano bloom Locally
Bat Guano Veg Locally
Blood Meal Locally
Bone Meal Locally
CRAB MEAL
Doleimite lime Locally
Endo Mycorrhizae
FEATHER MEAL 11-0-0
FISHBONE MEAL 5-20-1
Glacier Rock Dust Locally
Granular Humic Acid Locally
Humic Acid Soluble
K-MAG 0-0-22 Locally
Kelp Flour Locally
Kelp soluble
NEEM CAKE
Oyster Shell

ZEOLITE

The bold ones are what I would use on the clean mix, with Alfafa on stand by. I bet you will prefer the herb from this one, it will cure faster, burn better and be much smoother. The only thing I didnt bold was the fish bone meal, only cause I would be careful with that one cause the numbers are really high for some reason, and high P can hinder myco-plant relationships, so I would use literally one to 2 TBSP max per CF of that one. or introduce after your myco has taken hold via a top dress under the mulch. Or if you return it I can get you a blend thats cooler.

Basalt and Gypsum would be better than Zeolite and Azomite, plus dolomite, put together, but you should feel accomplished for putting so much together, so just make note for future use.

You can also skip acids if rocking the fresh diy ewc, but you are set for a hell of an experiment my friend, gonna be awesome!!
I like eating a balanced diet, I figured my plants would too.
I have currently have 420L (two 210L / 55 Gal bins) of composting soil sitting in bins out side for use in the spring.
I also have 45 gal in the house for the next grow.
I plan on reusing my current soil for outside next spring.

Question I found this on Clearance at a local store here
50253591.jpg
Thoughts on this?
Cheers
CCG
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
I like eating a balanced diet, I figured my plants would too.
I have currently have 420L (two 210L / 55 Gal bins) of composting soil sitting in bins out side for use in the spring.
I also have 45 gal in the house for the next grow.
I plan on reusing my current soil for outside next spring.

Question I found this on Clearance at a local store here
View attachment 4051334
Thoughts on this?
Cheers
CCG
Well, I hear you on that... just remember that we humans (and plants) don't do too well with too many metals in our body, AL for one example.

In humans, it causes all sorts of problems,


What are the side effects of aluminum toxicity?

  • Muscle weakness.
  • Bone pain.
  • Fractures that do not heal, especially in ribs and pelvis.
  • Altered mental status.
  • Premature osteoporosis.
  • Anemia.
  • Impaired iron absorption.
  • Impaired immunity.
In plants, it has somewhat similar effects.

One of the worst, is that it binds up Phosphorous which then has a cascade effect on all sorts of performance factors, nevermind the ripple effect on human health. Another example is how humic acids can potentially break down the azomite in a compost situation and make the AL leech freely..

That said, less can be more. I would run your cleaner ingredients to peak potential and eliminate those with more cons than pro's. Your set up will allow you to test 2 to 3 recipes at once so may as well.

We worm farming yet over there by chance? Cause that would be the biggest favour you can do yourself, cut out the junk-fed unfresh castings.

Now..
Regarding the fish hydrolysate, its better than emulsion, no metals. I don't use it myself (have a big jug for emergencies too but haven't used it yet, especially the way I love kelp, neem coco and aloe). As always, I recommend separate side by side trials, starting small at first, and see if you like its results. And most importantly, get back to those you care about! Hopefully one of them folks is a Don, cause we care to know your experiences, plus then we can share them with our friends and fam too, to keep the cycle continuing.

DT
 
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