The Dons' Organic Garden

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
ill be working harder than ever this year to learn as mutch as i can about every aspect of this hopefully one day i can do this for a living
Beautiful.

Man, 4 years ago I was soo broke, spent the very last of my money traveling all over, lived on a couple coasts, and came back home with literally a $5 bill in my pocket.

I borrowed some shovels, began a snow removal service and had a good 10k saved in a matter of 4 to 5 months.

I worked literally every day, 100 days in a row, then took a couple days off and repeated working another 75 in a row..even took on some factory jobs in between doing whatever I could to replenish the savings.

Then just like you, I said to myself, fuck that's it, I really need to do what I'm passionate about.

1000 days later, can finally say we now run a very unique seedbank that despite its small size attracts donations and various levels of support from over 5 continents, and 10 countries.. with several awesome testers, growers, breeders and even writers/magazines and artists backing and noticing us, w

Carrying forward the momentum..now we are slowly starting to get into consulting, writing, little bit of sponsorships, and we even have more than one investor wanting to back us in our medical-grade soil building venture!!!! Even a big geologist has our back and is donating mega tonnes of material to our cause! Plus a major timber mill!

So...all I can say is make goals, no matter how far off you are from them, and work relentlessly to achieve them!! I don't even know if I could have imagined this, but immersion can really pay off...You may not see the progress at first, but eventually you will be noticed as a passionate and informative source of information and growing & enthusiastic expert in the field and the doors will start to open for ya.

A habit (& that may include earning a living) requires 3 things:
Knowledge, Desire and skill. So if you have the desire down pat, all you have to do is work on the Knowledge and Skill constantly and big changes will occur! Align yourself with those who work in the same field and build a little network and community. As you go further you will see further and then you can make moves once immersed. You will also see problems that haven't been adequately solved and that's when big opportunity will knock.
 

giglewigle

Well-Known Member
i hope so bro this is all i think about it will be hard but the things in life that are worth it always is i dont know what it is man but shit im gunna contribute all i can i currently tryna think of a cool name for my farm lol even tho at this point its imagenery lol but one day im hoping to be able 2 grow enough vegies 2 go vegetarien it wiered man i think sub conchesly my body can taste all the crap thay grow vegies with iv never been able 2 eat vegies uncooked salad and saled all green taste and no other flavoer im over eating love a good stew in a slow cooker tho
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Happy 2018, Fumble! Yeah shit, that was one cute puppy holy smokes.. I actually rescued it I guess you could say, as someone had dropped it off last year at my grandma's not realizing she was blind and deaf and therefor unable to care for it... but we found her a really good home in the end! What a cute dog ... I will have to try load a video of it. ANC's cat reminded me of her! I named her Mary Jane, all she wanted to do was play all day everyday, and nap of course!!
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
A good review on NEEM Tree compounds from the International Research Journal on Pharmacy

http://www.irjponline.com/admin/php/uploads/730_pdf.pdf

Edit: Interesting to note that some compounds in the neem tree are indeed anti fungal and anti bacterial but not the compounds in the neem meal itself. The oil is another story but for meal, I green light it for soil integration. I still like it a lot.

Anyone experimenting !

Screen Shot 2018-01-02 at 4.56.39 PM.png
 
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DonTesla

Well-Known Member
6) Do your worms receive a specific “feed” or are they waste processors (what kind of waste)?

We used to use two types of waste produced by our local sugar cane refining factories. They are called Bagasse, the fibre component after the sugar juice is squeezed out of the cane and Mill Mud, the sludge from the bottom of the mollases tanks which is dirt mixed with thick sugar syrup. We now use relatively small amounts of these two waste products and focus more on sprouted grains as a major component of our feedstock and minerals as crushed basalt rock derived from a quarry. We mix several ingredients together to create what we call “live food” ie: food that is alive with beneficial micro-organisms that serve as the major component in worm food.

Interview with George Mingin – Kookaburra Worm Farms

https://www.redwormcomposting.com/interviews/interview-with-george-mingin-kookaburra-worm-farms/
 

ANC

Well-Known Member
The problem with grains (seeds, in general), is that they are very high in nitrogen.
Because of farming practices we already have too much nitrogen and compaction to boot a few inches down.

The only things that thrive in these high nitrogen anaerobic soils are bacteria and weeds and not the fungi we need.
Feeding molasses feeds the bacteria.

By feeding proper aerated compost tea made up from the correct ingredients in the compost (not shit with a fish tank air pump), will get the fungi into the soil, push through the compacted layer and help your roots go down the way the good lord intended.
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
The problem with grains (seeds, in general), is that they are very high in nitrogen.
Because of farming practices we already have too much nitrogen and compaction to boot a few inches down.

The only things that thrive in these high nitrogen anaerobic soils are bacteria and weeds and not the fungi we need.
Feeding molasses feeds the bacteria.

By feeding proper aerated compost tea made up from the correct ingredients in the compost (not shit with a fish tank air pump), will get the fungi into the soil, push through the compacted layer and help your roots go down the way the good lord intended.
Myco fungi will expand root mass by 700-1000x or so, thats the main fungal we need to worry about, and isn't it phosphorus toxicity early on that hinders an AMF or beneficial myco infection within the roots & rhizospheres..

Anyway, if using any leaf mould i.e. leaf litter compost and or rotted wood chunks, you're gonna have plethora of fungals present.. as white rot fungus is the catylist precursor and prerequisite to either of those existing, which are heavily aerating in themselves .. so that should dispel your compaction problem quite easily especially if using an aeration like 45% or so which is what I like for myself anyway. Nevermind if using homemade compost amended and matured. Or frass. Pumice. Biochar. A decompacting aeration. I don't like perlite for this reason, I'm going to guess you use that right now?

On to your molasses, though, it is a PITA to work with imo!! Sorry but, I much prefer an awesome mineral-rich sugar blend with crystallized molasses inherent over the sticky and messy syrup.. I hate making messes inside cause then you have to clean up, lol.

and compost teas are not so necessary either when you start off with a fresh living blends of bacterial and fungal inputs / composts and nice big beds, or SIP's, or adequate pot sizes. What size do you rock and how often do you tea though, to each their own I know having the ideal can be a lot of soil!

And once a no til is inoculated its inoculated, if kept alive each pre established rootlet and fugal hyphae can become a propagule and reinfect future roots of new cultivars embedded.

What farming practices do you speak of exactly, though, if you care to elaborate?

And, just to clarify,

The above was from a worm farmer not worried about making a fungally balanced end product, he makes castings and just castings, for growing vegetables..but I do agree that most castings are dense and poorly made, and much less living then I would like to see.. full of unfinished dense cow manure adding to that density issue you speak of. Just to stimulate convo.

I like a humus-rich & spongy soil for the record, fungal rich which isn't hard to achieve!!!
 
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DonTesla

Well-Known Member
I run a bit of both, my outdoor plants goes into the same pots each year but I never kill the weeds or grasses growing in them when I put in new plants.
But what farming practices do you speak of exactly and why is everyone N toxic and air deficient, I don't get that part is all..

but yeah, nice, man, most so called weeds are beneficial to us anyway, my girl is always steeping dandelions and any herbs good for the liver / detoxing. lol. One can even make dandelion wine or steep it before a meal to increase Hydrochloric acid in the stomach and bile flow. To me there is no such things as weeds.. just plants with rights aha
 
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Azoned

Well-Known Member
Puppy breath and fritos feet! Cute puppy DonT! Happy New Year to you!

Hi DonT,
You don't know me. I'm a friend of fumble.
Merry Xmas and HappyNewYear, hun [fumble -- Don, I don't know you well enough to call "hun" HaHaHa].

I garden in southern AZ. Worms are up in the garden now. They kinda disappear during the warm months. I biochar, make compost from weeds, grass clipping, household veggie scraps/coffee grounds/egg shells. I am building from scratch. Zero top soil. A two foot deep hole will yield on foot of dirt and the rest rock. 4 years in ... starting to show...
 

fumble

Well-Known Member
Hi DonT,
You don't know me. I'm a friend of fumble.
Merry Xmas and HappyNewYear, hun [fumble -- Don, I don't know you well enough to call "hun" HaHaHa].

I garden in southern AZ. Worms are up in the garden now. They kinda disappear during the warm months. I biochar, make compost from weeds, grass clipping, household veggie scraps/coffee grounds/egg shells. I am building from scratch. Zero top soil. A two foot deep hole will yield on foot of dirt and the rest rock. 4 years in ... starting to show...
Azoned! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too hun. You will learn a lot from DonT
@DonTesla meet my friend @Azoned
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Nice to meet you @Azoned, Happy New Year to you and yours down in AZ ! We welcome you to the Don's Organic Garden which is 100% Canadian but networks worldwide!

@fumble thanks for the intro and the pressure aha jk, jk,

But really, always happy to connect with more people, whether to help or share knowledge so we can continue to try make organics even more easy and fun and expressive!!! Oh and inexpensive and rewarding too aha.

Feel free to post any questions any time, or experiment findings here for the community to enjoy / absorb / help with!

Cheers,
DT
 
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DonTesla

Well-Known Member
The Dons' along with the Nation's Cannabis Capital Invite you to the 2018 Lift Expo

"Whether you’re a committed cannabis enthusiast, a cannabis industry professional or simply curious about this complex plant and the opportunities growing up around it, the 2018 Vancouver Lift Expo has you covered.

Featuring nearly 200 exhibitors from across North America and Europe, main stage talks by cannabis thought leaders, live cooking and growing demos, a vape lounge and a cannabis career fair, the expo is your chance to learn about medical and recreational cannabis, and to meet BC’s current and future brands.

The Lift Expo is Canada’s biggest and best-attended cannabis tradeshow, and we’re proud to be hosting our first event of 2018 in the city and province that paved the way for a flourishing cannabis culture in Canada."


Vancouver Lift Expo Highlights Include:

  • Almost 200 leading cannabis companies exhibiting from across the globe
  • Career fair
  • Two full days of speakers and panels
  • Live cannabis cooking demos
  • Vapor lounge for trying out the latest and greatest vaporizers
  • Cannabis career workshops
  • Home-growing demos and Q&A
  • Extraction demos
  • And much more!
Show Hours:
  • Saturday, Jan 13: 10am - 6pm
  • Sunday, Jan 14: 11am - 5pm

https://www.universe.com/events/lift-cannabis-expo-vancouver-2018-tickets-vancouver-SFD9GC

Feels good to be a part of the event circuit, we can't wait to go, or step up our role in the industry !!
 
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