Organic no till, probiotic, knf, jadam, vermicomposting, soil mixes, sips etc... Q & A

Rainbow Warrior

Rainbow Warrior

Well-Known Member
hyroot said:
My soil mix - coots mix adjusted

Equal parts peat moss, wormcastings / compost and garden pumice.

per cubic foot
1/2 cup kelp meal
1/2 cup crab shell meal
1/4 cup ahimsa indian neem cake
1/4 cup karanja cake
1/2 cup malted barley seed
2 cups basalt rock dust
2 cups gypsum rock dust
1/2 cup em1 bokashi or grokashi

Mix and cook in a tote or trash can for 4 weeks ( all soil mixes must be cooked). Cooking is basically fermenting the soil. Allowing everything to be broken down by microbes so everything is readily available for uptake when the plant wants. If you don't cook your soil you will be running into deficiencies early on.

If you use a more amended mix with any bone meals (fish or cattle) you will have a much hotter soil and could burn your plants. With bone meals ( fish or cow) you should cook the soil for 2 months minimum for them to break down fully.

Green sand and dolomite lime are both useless as they take up to 2 years to break down. Dolomite lime has the wrong ratio of cal and mag. You want more of a 5:1 cal:mag ratio with liming. Oyster shell flour or gypsum rock dust is a better option. Dolomite lime is a 2:1 ratio


Never use perlite. It floats to the top of the soil ( not aerating the rest) and over time it breaks down into a powder and clogs the soil.

Rice hulls are better for a mulch as the break down pretty quick. Worms love them

2nd round plant new clone or seedling off to the side of the main stalk.. The main stalk from the last grow will break down eventually. Top with worm castings and water

Also add red wigglers and night crawlers to your pots or sips

Use mulch or cover crops.

Pot size 15 gallons minimum. 25 is better. If you run octo pot style sips you can get away with 10 gal pots
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hyroot said:
My soil mix - coots mix adjusted

Equal parts peat moss, wormcastings / compost and garden pumice.

per cubic foot
1/2 cup kelp meal
1/2 cup crab shell meal
1/4 cup ahimsa indian neem cake
1/4 cup karanja cake
1/2 cup malted barley seed
2 cups basalt rock dust
2 cups gypsum rock dust
1/2 cup em1 bokashi or grokashi

Mix and cook in a tote or trash can for 4 weeks ( all soil mixes must be cooked). Cooking is basically fermenting the soil. Allowing everything to be broken down by microbes so everything is readily available for uptake when the plant wants. If you don't cook your soil you will be running into deficiencies early on.

If you use a more amended mix with any bone meals (fish or cattle) you will have a much hotter soil and could burn your plants. With bone meals ( fish or cow) you should cook the soil for 2 months minimum for them to break down fully.

Green sand and dolomite lime are both useless as they take up to 2 years to break down. Dolomite lime has the wrong ratio of cal and mag. You want more of a 5:1 cal:mag ratio with liming. Oyster shell flour or gypsum rock dust is a better option. Dolomite lime is a 2:1 ratio


Never use perlite. It floats to the top of the soil ( not aerating the rest) and over time it breaks down into a powder and clogs the soil.

Rice hulls are better for a mulch as the break down pretty quick. Worms love them

2nd round plant new clone or seedling off to the side of the main stalk.. The main stalk from the last grow will break down eventually. Top with worm castings and water

Also add red wigglers and night crawlers to your pots or sips

Use mulch or cover crops.

Pot size 15 gallons minimum. 25 is better. If you run octo pot style sips you can get away with 10 gal pots
Click to expand...
What’s ir opinion on of-the-shelf organic soil mix?
Planning to use biobizz all mix (it’s difficult to get other organic dirt over here on mainland Europe); it consists of 20% sphagnum peat moss, 35% garden peat, 10% high quality organic Worm-Humus , 30% perlite and 5% Pre-Mix.
Should I add anything to the dirt, or use it as it is?

RW
 
projectinfo

projectinfo

Well-Known Member
Rainbow Warrior said:
What’s ir opinion on of-the-shelf organic soil mix?
Planning to use biobizz all mix (it’s difficult to get other organic dirt over here on mainland Europe); it consists of 20% sphagnum peat moss, 35% garden peat, 10% high quality organic Worm-Humus , 30% perlite and 5% Pre-Mix.
Should I add anything to the dirt, or use it as it is?

RW
Click to expand...
You posted the recipe . . Follow the recipe. Add the ingredients that are not included in the bag of dirt.


The quality of castings is key .
 
madvillian420

madvillian420

Well-Known Member
Im about to make a soil mix in some 5gal buckets and was wondering if i should keep them covered or exposed when letting them cook?
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
hyroot said:
Running a new soil mix. Its a budget mix. It seems to be working great.

Peat moss / pumice/ homemade ewc

Per cubic foot
1 cup Bio fish (down to earth)
1 cup bokashi (red wheat, lab, molasses, himilayan salt, photo plus, rock dusts)


After mixing. Water down. Sprinkle a layer of bokashi and spray water . Cover and let cook for 2 weeks. Then turn soil and use.

Still watering with lab and flower power. Watered wcap at mid flower only.

Same foliars I've been doing during veg and early flower

Day 29. Bermuda Breath in a 15 gal fabric pot.
View attachment 4271141

View attachment 4271142
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I love "Budget" mixes!!! I just got the PhotoPlus in the mail today and I'm going to try using it with the wheat bran. I just got 3x bags of wheat bran from the feed store for $12ea. It's cheap enough that I might start using bokashi bran in my compost pile.

I had trouble finding information on PhotoPlus and I don't know if I can expand/activate it like EM1?
 
SSGrower

SSGrower

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
I love "Budget" mixes!!! I just got the PhotoPlus in the mail today and I'm going to try using it with the wheat bran. I just got 3x bags of wheat bran from the feed store for $12ea. It's cheap enough that I might start using bokashi bran in my compost pile.

I had trouble finding information on PhotoPlus and I don't know if I can expand/activate it like EM1?
Click to expand...
I think it might need a more complex nutrient regimine, but idk. KSO4 and sugar maybe?

Personally I'd dilute make the grokashi/bokashi.
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
SSGrower said:
I think it might need a more complex nutrient regimine, but idk. KSO4 and sugar maybe?

Personally I'd dilute make the grokashi/bokashi.
Click to expand...
My compost/recycled soil has most of what I need, I just need to add micronutrients. So, my budget mix has been azomite, greensand, alfalfa, and a little kelp. It hasn't provided enough Mn but I also didn't give the rock dusts enough time to break down. I've been having to use Mn, Zn, and Fe sulfates for a quick release, the rock dusts for a slow release. Hyroot pointed out that red wheat bran has Mn and I would rather go that route than using sulfates because the bokashi helps break down my compost and gives me healthy worms. I still don't have anything perfected yet though and I'm always trying to learn.
 
SSGrower

SSGrower

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
My compost/recycled soil has most of what I need, I just need to add micronutrients. So, my budget mix has been azomite, greensand, alfalfa, and a little kelp. It hasn't provided enough Mn but I also didn't give the rock dusts enough time to break down. I've been having to use Mn, Zn, and Fe sulfates for a quick release, the rock dusts for a slow release. Hyroot pointed out that red wheat bran has Mn and I would rather go that route than using sulfates because the bokashi helps break down my compost and gives me healthy worms. I still don't have anything perfected yet though and I'm always trying to learn.
Click to expand...
I think you may have misunderstood?
I was talking KSO4 and sugar for activating/expanding photosynthesis plus. Again IDK 0.
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
SSGrower said:
I think you may have misunderstood?
I was talking KSO4 and sugar for activating/expanding photosynthesis plus. Again IDK 0.
Click to expand...
Yes, I think that I most def misunderstood! Sorry, I'm drinking some Jameson and it's a eye opener. I probably need to drink a lil more and be chill... Thinking about buying Jameson by the case right now, maybe it's me that needed the ferments...
 
TheTinkerer

TheTinkerer

Active Member
I posted this in a different thread, but this seems like good place to ask.

So, in these large 20+ gallon sips made of totes, do you ever clean the reservoir?
I mixed up some super soil, it’s been cooking for two weeks. I’d like to try no till, sub irrigated, but I’m not sure if I should use large fabric pots sitting on trays of perlite, or build a tote sip. I worry about something getting funky in the res and it being impossible to clean. Any comments?
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
TheTinkerer said:
I posted this in a different thread, but this seems like good place to ask.

So, in these large 20+ gallon sips made of totes, do you ever clean the reservoir?
I mixed up some super soil, it’s been cooking for two weeks. I’d like to try no till, sub irrigated, but I’m not sure if I should use large fabric pots sitting on trays of perlite, or build a tote sip. I worry about something getting funky in the res and it being impossible to clean. Any comments?
Click to expand...
Are you using EM1 in your rez? It'll keep it from getting funky.
 
projectinfo

projectinfo

Well-Known Member
TheTinkerer said:
I haven’t made my planters yet. So, you use em1 in your res and haven’t had trouble?
Click to expand...
I used 20gal totes but im Switching to multi plant sip beds .


The totes work good, its just a peat wick . But the plastic degrades and breaks . Its just not ideal long term for this living soil .

I suggest getting some cheap ply wood and angle brackets . And wheels if you want to get fancy.

Line with 6ml vapor barriar from hardware store. Lay down pumice. Not perlite.

Perlite breaks down and floats. And makes alot of dust .. Im just not a fan And im guessing by the end if your first run youll have a layer of perlite dust at the bottom of your res.

After your pumice layer, put a layer of cheap landscape fabric . From the hardware store, then put your clackamas coots mix with 50% aeration and 25%castings/compost and 25% peat/coco - this is adjusted for sub irrigated soil, for better drainage
- but you can decide your own soil mix

And the rest of the coots mix./hyroots mix at the start of the thread .

Then 4-6 inches of dead leaves , straw, hay, grass, dead brown meterials .

The more greens you put in, the more hot composting will happen .... And the more bad guys get in


The more browns you use the more fungal your mulch layer will get and fungi breaks down much like a boss forming a beautiful mycelium mat and a fast humis layer .. Not to mention the boatload of other benfits the fungi offer From breakingdown cellulose in the brown meterials, to transporting water and nutrients to your plants , they aerate your soil and form complex intellegent networks with your plants .

With the sip make sure you put a good size fill tube, and drain .. It makes a vent to prevent stale air in your res, also no light in the res youll get slime. Go get a thru hull fitting from a boat shop. That way yoy can add a proper drain. Google thru hull fitting. Tthey screw tight and have a gasket on each side with a barb fitting to add a hose if you like.

And honestly i gave up keeping the res soaked/full all the time . Instead , learn to move your pots every day and get a feel for when they feel lighter,. Not dry by any means Ok.... But lighter like you know the res is empy for a day or two . And the pot isnt mega heavy any more might even be handy to have a dipstick for the res to make sure their drinking what theyve for befor you drown them again. If their not drinking, somethings wrong. Just wait befor doing anyrhing or change your environtment check for pests.

The way i do it , is in full bloom when their drinking heavy il give them a 2 liters of water with a splash of em1 or labs or aem

Then the next day the mulch layers getting dry so i might grab the sprayer and give a couple passes on the mulch. Also a good time to add things to be watered in like boksshi, malted barley, kelp, molasis, knf ferments, castings, compost. Not all at once. Just whenever you need at the time ok.

Next day the mulch is pretty wet i wont do anything .

Next day im kind of moving things around feeling how heavy ..

If the pots still heavy and the mulch is dry il wet the mulch a bit more to slow down water evaporation and this is the sweet spot ...

Where you can slow down the soil from evaporating for a few days i notice the most growth . Not soggy But not light either more aeration might help this.

When i tried keeping the res full with 2 inches of water all the time i got problems with slime and anaerobic smells its a touchy game playing the soggy soil game . The trick is if your keeping the res full all the time, overflow the res with new water every 2-3 days and plastic mulch or a thick mulch

But i suggest just monitering your water usage and switch between letting the res go dry and spraying your mulch while adding good castings and bokashi weekly/by weekly to keep your mulch colonized.
 
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