NewGrower2011
Well-Known Member
So in another thread earlier I listed several amendments I had sourced locally from the big box stores/local nursery... I finally got around to trying to finalize and get my 1st batch cooking...
Base mix I started with a large tote of recycled (heavily rinsed in tap water) coco coir with perlite and hydroton intermixed... along with this I added a 1/2 bag of EWC, 1/2 bag of FFoF, 1/2 bag of locally source compost which claims to have bio-char, 1/3 large bag of chunky perlite, 1/2 bag of mushroom compost, 1/4 bag on Ancient Forest and some coco husks that were laying around... say 1/3 of a bag... I included a bag of diatomaceous earth as well since i had that handy. A couple days later I found a source for a bag of horticultural charcoal.... not quite a biochar source but I did buy a small bag of that to include...
This all was mixed together and it mounds up nicely and fills a standard wheel-barrow - after mixing things up it seems like it fills 7 or 8 #5 gal buckets so let's say 40 gal of base mix as ball-park...
The amendments I've added so far are as follows....
4 cup Crab Shell meal
2 cup Greensand
2 cup Gypsum (pelletized unfortunately)
1 cup Garden Lime (Dolo)
2 cup Soft Rock Phosphate
2.5 cup Bone meal
1.5 cup Blood meal
2 cup Cottonseed meal
1 cup Azomite
2+ cup Kelp Meal
2 cup Seabird Guano
1 cup High P Bat Guano
1 cup Chicken Compost Manure
1/2 pack of Ful Humix
Once I had the mix sitting for a week, I also made a simple compost tea... I used a little of the 2 guanos, some ancient forest, some EWC, some Liquid Karma, some Hydroguard, some Floralicious Plus and a good bit of Molasses. I also had some fish/seaweed liquid fertilizer I put a dash in to help start things off. For some extra measures based on what I've seen/read online I also went into the woods behind me and got some 'funk' from a composting pile of grass clippings and a couple other wild samples to add to the biological diversity...
I let that tea brew for 48 hours and it had a decent foam going, I used that to then wet-down the mix and all the amendments thus far and let it sit in a trashcan for several days before dumping it back into the wheel-barrow. I can feel the heat coming off so I believe I've got a good 'cook' started...
Now my worry is will this mix be suitable for use... Have I overshot it on amendments? Or perhaps even under-shot and need to supplement with more? I do intend to re-use/re-charge this soil a few times at least...
Anyone give some good input? Anything you'd add more of? or anything you'd "fix"?
I still need to read-up on how to do soil pH check. I have a pH meter and test strips as well as the test drops... just need to see how to do it for soil...
Base mix I started with a large tote of recycled (heavily rinsed in tap water) coco coir with perlite and hydroton intermixed... along with this I added a 1/2 bag of EWC, 1/2 bag of FFoF, 1/2 bag of locally source compost which claims to have bio-char, 1/3 large bag of chunky perlite, 1/2 bag of mushroom compost, 1/4 bag on Ancient Forest and some coco husks that were laying around... say 1/3 of a bag... I included a bag of diatomaceous earth as well since i had that handy. A couple days later I found a source for a bag of horticultural charcoal.... not quite a biochar source but I did buy a small bag of that to include...
This all was mixed together and it mounds up nicely and fills a standard wheel-barrow - after mixing things up it seems like it fills 7 or 8 #5 gal buckets so let's say 40 gal of base mix as ball-park...
The amendments I've added so far are as follows....
4 cup Crab Shell meal
2 cup Greensand
2 cup Gypsum (pelletized unfortunately)
1 cup Garden Lime (Dolo)
2 cup Soft Rock Phosphate
2.5 cup Bone meal
1.5 cup Blood meal
2 cup Cottonseed meal
1 cup Azomite
2+ cup Kelp Meal
2 cup Seabird Guano
1 cup High P Bat Guano
1 cup Chicken Compost Manure
1/2 pack of Ful Humix
Once I had the mix sitting for a week, I also made a simple compost tea... I used a little of the 2 guanos, some ancient forest, some EWC, some Liquid Karma, some Hydroguard, some Floralicious Plus and a good bit of Molasses. I also had some fish/seaweed liquid fertilizer I put a dash in to help start things off. For some extra measures based on what I've seen/read online I also went into the woods behind me and got some 'funk' from a composting pile of grass clippings and a couple other wild samples to add to the biological diversity...
I let that tea brew for 48 hours and it had a decent foam going, I used that to then wet-down the mix and all the amendments thus far and let it sit in a trashcan for several days before dumping it back into the wheel-barrow. I can feel the heat coming off so I believe I've got a good 'cook' started...
Now my worry is will this mix be suitable for use... Have I overshot it on amendments? Or perhaps even under-shot and need to supplement with more? I do intend to re-use/re-charge this soil a few times at least...
Anyone give some good input? Anything you'd add more of? or anything you'd "fix"?
I still need to read-up on how to do soil pH check. I have a pH meter and test strips as well as the test drops... just need to see how to do it for soil...
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