Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

kushking42

kushking42

Well-Known Member
im looking for an alternative to perlite. local landscape supply carries 5/16 lava rock for $66 per yard, price seems good, perlite is at least twice that. thoughts anyone?
 
Kalyx

Kalyx

Active Member
Pumice Stone IME its heavier but works well. Dunno about bulk cost comparisons tho. Also burned rice hulls will give you lots of silica.
 
kushking42

kushking42

Well-Known Member
i dont know how easily i can get my hands on the rice hulls. added silica does sound good though. i like the idea of the volcanic rock not floating to the top. wonder if any of the good stuff in the volcanic rock makes its way into the soil?
 
headtreep

headtreep

Well-Known Member
Rrog and Cann this for you:






Ancient OG update
That's my little lazy style compost tea. Quality compost with pure water dripping on it. I'm ACTing a fool hehe.
 
Kalyx

Kalyx

Active Member
If you are in Cali rice hulls are a huge waste product in the central valley rice plots, ie should be real affordable. Non synthetic silica that is actually natural AND organic if the rice was.
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
headtreep said:
That's my little lazy style compost tea. Quality compost with pure water dripping on it. I'm ACTing a fool hehe.
Click to expand...
That's what I do! But also compost drenches (I like the VC vs. just the castings) and botanical teas. Looking really good!
 
headtreep

headtreep

Well-Known Member
Rrog said:
That's what I do! But also compost drenches (I like the VC vs. just the castings) and botanical teas. Looking really good!
Click to expand...
Yeah man it's actually 3 different composts, worm castings, and vermicompost topdress. Variety is the spice of life :)
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
I agree wholeheartedly. I posted elsewhere that I use three sizes or aeration amendments. Small biochar, medium Pumice, and larger lava rock.
 
Rising Moon

Rising Moon

Well-Known Member
The rice hulls should be SUPER cheap if you can find them...

$15 for a 50lb OMRI certified bag all the way in MI.

But Ive heard that when they break down, they can acidify the soil, so proper adjustments of limestone will be needed.

Ive been thinking to use them as a mulch outdoors, for long term organic matter and weed/moisture control.
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
People like them a lot. I've never used them.

As a side note- Biochar is another CEC contributor when it's a little older. Fresher biochar has a + charge initially, and a great Anion Exchange contributor. After the char mellows, the charge changes, making it more Cationically attractive.

Another related side note- Fresh partially composted material like VC (not castings) has Anionic holding capacity as well.
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
I used to, but don't now. Last run I used straight well water, which is too high in Ca and Mg. Next run will be RO water under pressure, and run through the Blumats. I don't use a res.
 
John Nie Canna Guy

John Nie Canna Guy

Member
I have been trying to get away from using calmag. But this grow I royally fucked myself because I didn't get enough lime in my mix and for a while i was trying to just supplement with the calmag for a while. The top dress is FINALLY beginning to work too, plants are starting to darken up after about a week.
Edit:
I use RO water. The water where I live is so bad that a glass of tap water smells like bleach. During summer my PPMS out of my RO filter can be as high as 60-70.
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
The RO won't remove Chloramine. You can get a specific chloramine filter:

Filter Direct Co- You want the 3 stage filtration unit, AWT-505. Fully assembled, ready to use.

This unit is for under-the-sink installation, for drinking water use, not for the whole house.

$90 for the unit shipping = $15
 
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