Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

[ShLUbY]

Yep my mix of only 1/3 pumice 1/3 ewc and 1/3 sphagnum

Perfect, noted down those sizes for near future use with the 600w.

So you would say 3 gallon plastics would be okay for some life in the soil bud ? As attached in the pics i already have 2 x 3 gallon plastic pots which you can see is quite a tight squeeze in there but 4 will fit ! : ) I do also have a 150w HPS which can allow the plants to get way higher but only gives out a mighty 18000 lumen lol 250w puts out 34000 lumen but it does get hot! I can however use the 3x3 600w but i feel that might be a waste of electricity with such small pots ? using the 250w and 150w in the 3x3 would be pretty sweet if i could somehow mount them both in my 6" super sun 2 reflector but i guess a 400w isnt way more efficient than a 600w.

Open to any suggestions. Thanks again bud !!!

but you have added amendments to this base or no? are you feeding bottled nutrients? I'm still unclear...

3 gallons will support life, the main thing is to be sure to compost the soil all together, then disperse it to each pot.

 

[ShLUbY]

It's a 5X5 foot tent. The 15 gallon pots are actually totes... well those blue-bin recycling boxes they sell at Home Depot for $9 Canadian. Honestly, I'd rather make it one "bed" of soil to grow the 4 legal (Canada here! LOL) plants. Like 100 gallons or something. I was thinking one of those small kiddie pools? Like the 4 foot ones?

Sadly my wife wouldn't like it because we need the space in between seedling time to grow out vegetable seedlings to plant out in spring (for eating, not smoking). I guess I could place those vegetable trays on top of the soil. I'll try convince her!

I plant my cover crop while my plants are still alive in flower. I do a staggerd harvest, where I take all the top ripe stuff off first to allow any buds underneath without as much light to mature. More light then hits my soil, so I plant my cover after that first harvest with an underlying new layer of worm poop. The cover crop grows while I wait for those lower buds to ripen, and when I finally cut off those stalks my cover is usually already a few inches high with a good root system. A couple weeks later, I make room for new seeds.

when i get into a new house, i'm going to have 5x5ft tents, each with its own large bed, like you are talking, 200 gals or so, that way i can independently control photoperiods for each bed. it's going to be amazing. I'm so tired of recycling soil, i want to get back to no-till, but i don't have the veg space for no-till to feed three 600w lamps for flower with my current set up.

 

[Northwood]

when i get into a new house, i'm going to have 5x5ft tents, each with its own large bed, like you are talking, 200 gals or so, that way i can independently control photoperiods for each bed. it's going to be amazing. I'm so tired of recycling soil, i want to get back to no-till, but i don't have the veg space for no-till to feed three 600w lamps for flower with my current set up.

Three 600w lamps? HPS? I'm just using regular household LED light bulbs. I used to use HPS with DWC. Now I've gone full circle and now organic with Dollar Store bulbs. Hahaha!

My current grow, light bulbs... 4 plants in a 5X5 tent, no-till organic. That was a week ago. I'll be taking more pics this weekend. Buds are much bigger now.

 

[ShLUbY]

Three 600w lamps? HPS? I'm just using regular household LED light bulbs. I used to use HPS with DWC. Now I've gone full circle and now organic with Dollar Store bulbs. Hahaha!

My current grow, light bulbs... 4 plants in a 5X5 tent, no-till organic. That was a week ago. I'll be taking more pics this weekend. Buds are much bigger now.

haha that's a lot of bulbs! yeah i have a 6.5x14 flowering room. i want to make the LED switch, but it's just not time for me yet. i totally am on board with them though!

healthy looking plants you have there!

 

[Northwood]

haha that's a lot of bulbs! yeah i have a 6.5x14 flowering room. i want to make the LED switch, but it's just not time for me yet. i totally am on board with them though!

healthy looking plants you have there!

Yeah a lot of bulbs is right! LOL... it's about 840 watts from wall worth - 20 bulbs per DIY fixture, 3 fixtures. It was an "experiment" that turned out rather well. Obviously the efficiency is no where near the newest diodes on new quantum boards and strips, but the lowest yield I got was 1.2 grams per watt. It saves me power though, because I can unscrew all the bulbs except for what I need on my plants as they develop, and choose the spectral temperature I want as they grow. Once you pop the plastic covers off, they're very directional. Spread them evenly over your canopy, and there's no such thing as shadows.

My wife originally gave me the challenge. Light a 5X5 foot tent under $300 Canadian. I did it

 

[ShLUbY]

Yeah a lot of bulbs is right! LOL... it's about 840 watts from wall worth - 20 bulbs per DIY fixture, 3 fixtures. It was an "experiment" that turned out rather well. Obviously the efficiency is no where near the newest diodes on new quantum boards and strips, but the lowest yield I got was 1.2 grams per watt. It saves me power though, because I can unscrew all the bulbs except for what I need on my plants as they develop, and choose the spectral temperature I want as they grow. Once you pop the plastic covers off, they're very directional. Spread them evenly over your canopy, and there's no such thing as shadows.

My wife originally gave me the challenge. Light a 5X5 foot tent under $300 Canadian. I did it

haha nice work! and yeah the flexibility of those bulbs is a nice thing!

 

[Northwood]

haha nice work! and yeah the flexibility of those bulbs is a nice thing!

My first real indoor grow was with florescent "grow" tubes... 8 of them, 4 feet long ones. That was back in 1978 I think if I remember correctly? LOL

What crappy plants I grew, but it did grow smokable bud. Just very little. Then I discovered HPS many years later, and oh my! What a friggin' difference. Then I went hydro with it, because back then that was the "best" bud to smoke. In the early 80's anything worth smoking was called "hydro". Hahaha

But also in those early 80s we bought a hobby farm, and I became interested in organic gardening, even to the point of getting organic certification for the farm a few years later. But organic produce wasn't popular back then, and most of the veggies I grew went to farmgate markets. Like I grew 2 acres of green tomatoes organically for a company who didn't care whether they were organic or not. Grrrrr. But for my tomatoes and especially for the environment, I think organic was the best way to go even if the buyer didn't appreciate it.

 

[SouthernSoil*]

but you have added amendments to this base or no? are you feeding bottled nutrients? I'm still unclear...

3 gallons will support life, the main thing is to be sure to compost the soil all together, then disperse it to each pot.

No amendments added bro at the moment its only the base and my tea for flowering which consists of lacto's, molasses, fish hydrolysate, chicken poo & EWC.

Would you say i should probably be adding some amendments for instance some alfalfa meal , neem powder , kelp meal & some local rock dust? Open to any other suggestions you recommend, it seems there's way more available locally than what there was 4 years ago down here !

I take it you have had some decent success with the 3 gallons then ? I dont mind waiting a bit longer training 1 plant in something bigger possibly a 7 gallon with 5 gallons of soil and 2 gallons mulch? The problem i am faced with down here is that this pumice is pricey, i would love to get the 4 x 10 gallons going right now but my budget doesn't allow for it, the pumice alone will set me back 125$

I can however get 15 gallons of base mix going, 20 will be pushing it as i still need amendments etc but then i guess i could try push for 4 x 5 gallons in the 3x3x6 which is still not efficient as you mentioned 4 x 10 gallons would be best.

I could also extend the 2x2x3 to a 2x2x4 as its a DIY the 4 x 3 foot polls are actually for my 3x3 but will be getting more as soon as the businesses open from vacation.

Thanks again for the help & tips, much respect Shluby !

 

[ShLUbY]

No amendments added bro at the moment its only the base and my tea for flowering which consists of lacto's, molasses, fish hydrolysate, chicken poo & EWC.

Would you say i should probably be adding some amendments for instance some alfalfa meal , neem powder , kelp meal & some local rock dust? Open to any other suggestions you recommend, it seems there's way more available locally than what there was 4 years ago down here !

I take it you have had some decent success with the 3 gallons then ? I dont mind waiting a bit longer training 1 plant in something bigger possibly a 7 gallon with 5 gallons of soil and 2 gallons mulch? The problem i am faced with down here is that this pumice is pricey, i would love to get the 4 x 10 gallons going right now but my budget doesn't allow for it, the pumice alone will set me back 125$

I can however get 15 gallons of base mix going, 20 will be pushing it as i still need amendments etc but then i guess i could try push for 4 x 5 gallons in the 3x3x6 which is still not efficient as you mentioned 4 x 10 gallons would be best.

I could also extend the 2x2x3 to a 2x2x4 as its a DIY the 4 x 3 foot polls are actually for my 3x3 but will be getting more as soon as the businesses open from vacation.

Thanks again for the help & tips, much respect Shluby !

The base mix alone is not going to carry you from start to finish. Even if you are using teas, those alone with the base mix Are not going to supply enough nutrition. The whole idea of organic growing is letting the plants and the soil do the work.

you want slow release nutrition in the form of amendments so that the plant and the microbes can facilitate the process of nutrient acquisition themselves. That way, you the grower, do not Need to worry about feeding the plant.

I personally do not have experience flowering with 3 gallon containers, but a member who used to frequent this forum would put 12 to 16 three gallon containers under each flowering light with success.

I would advise you to add another foot to your growth chamber

 

[SouthernSoil*]

The base mix alone is not going to carry you from start to finish. Even if you are using teas, those alone with the base mix Are not going to supply enough nutrition. The whole idea of organic growing is letting the plants and the soil do the work.

you want slow release nutrition in the form of amendments so that the plant and the microbes can facilitate the process of nutrient acquisition themselves. That way, you the grower, do not Need to worry about feeding the plant.

I personally do not have experience flowering with 3 gallon containers, but a member who used to frequent this forum would put 12 to 16 three gallon containers under each flowering light with success.

I would advise you to add another foot to your growth chamber

I understand bud, makes a lot of sense, dont want popcorn at the end of the day either right ? ill find that thread and let you know, should be really interesting.

Would you say even with 3 foot height its not good enough for a mother and clones as well ? Otherwise i guess i should just use my 250w in the 3x3 with the super sun 2, level 1 speed on the 6" inline fan and drop it quite low ?

Last question, say im done with the 3 gallon grow, could i then transplant that pot into say 5, 7 or 10 gallon fabric as long as i cover the bottom and sides with the fresh amended soil ? Thanks again bud

 

[ShLUbY]

I understand bud, makes a lot of sense, dont want popcorn at the end of the day either right ? ill find that thread and let you know, should be really interesting.

Would you say even with 3 foot height its not good enough for a mother and clones as well ? Otherwise i guess i should just use my 250w in the 3x3 with the super sun 2, level 1 speed on the 6" inline fan and drop it quite low ?

Last question, say im done with the 3 gallon grow, could i then transplant that pot into say 5, 7 or 10 gallon fabric as long as i cover the bottom and sides with the fresh amended soil ? Thanks again bud

yeah i mean 3' will only work for so long. factor in distance of the light away from the plants and the height of the container... doesn't leave much room for growth. for growing small plants (like cloning or starting seeds and what not) 3' is fine.. but if you intend on flowering, 3' is not gonna leave you wishing for more.

by "done with the 3 gallon grow" i'm assuming you mean, you've run a full cycle and harvested the plants? then yes you could transplant that into a new pot, but the soil from the 3 gallon will be short on nutrition. you could bust it all apart and add some more amendments and let it sit for a few weeks to compost. (any mix you make, whether new or recycled, must be composted for 3-4 weeks)

remember, with organics, you want to feed the soil, with the plant in mind of course, but more importantly stop trying to feed the plant directly. the plant can feed itself better than you can feed it

 

[SouthernSoil*]

yeah i mean 3' will only work for so long. factor in distance of the light away from the plants and the height of the container... doesn't leave much room for growth. for growing small plants (like cloning or starting seeds and what not) 3' is fine.. but if you intend on flowering, 3' is not gonna leave you wishing for more.

by "done with the 3 gallon grow" i'm assuming you mean, you've run a full cycle and harvested the plants? then yes you could transplant that into a new pot, but the soil from the 3 gallon will be short on nutrition. you could bust it all apart and add some more amendments and let it sit for a few weeks to compost. (any mix you make, whether new or recycled, must be composted for 3-4 weeks)

remember, with organics, you want to feed the soil, with the plant in mind of course, but more importantly stop trying to feed the plant directly. the plant can feed itself better than you can feed it

Thanks bud, looks like i could extend it to just over 4 foot about 50 " if i go that route, currently it sits at exactly 41.7". I take it you would still recommend over 41.7" even for a mother ?

I guess trying to pot a 3 gallon wont be too easy and ill be destroying the microbes anyway, will keep that in mind & re-amend like you mentioned ! 3-4 weeks will be minimum.

Definitely have to focus on the soil, feeding the soil is most important, appreciate the heads up man.

If i may ask would this imported German peat which is a mix of 60% black peat moss & 40% coarse white sphagnum peat moss be suitable ? I dont take it matters much between medium and coarse? Thanks again Shluby, cant wait to get this grow going ! Peace

 

[CanadianDank]

So I've received my order from black swallow soil and got everything mixed up now.

Current Amendments :
(per cubic ft)
0.5 cup neem cake
0.5 cup fish bone meal
0.5 cup crab meal
0.5 cup alfalfa meal
0.5 cup kelp meal
0.5 cup dolomite lime
1.5 cup glacial rock dust
1 cup greensand
0.5 cup gypsum

Thinking I may double the mix this weekend, just to be able to up my pot size.

Do you guys think this may be a tad too much N?
It's neem cake, so I was hoping that would have a longer release time than meal.

 

[ShLUbY]

So I've received my order from black swallow soil and got everything mixed up now.

Current Amendments :
(per cubic ft)
0.5 cup neem cake
0.5 cup fish bone meal
0.5 cup crab meal
0.5 cup alfalfa meal
0.5 cup kelp meal
0.5 cup dolomite lime
1.5 cup glacial rock dust
1 cup greensand
0.5 cup gypsum

Thinking I may double the mix this weekend, just to be able to up my pot size.

Do you guys think this may be a tad too much N?
It's neem cake, so I was hoping that would have a longer release time than meal.

looks fine to me. I've had great results with pretty much that exact same recipe

 

[CanadianDank]

looks fine to me. I've had great results with pretty much that exact same recipe

Thanks, I'm excited to really try this and do it right.

Got my worm bin set up 2 weeks ago and I've really noticed the food start to disappear now.
Quality humus is my weak point right now. Bought bagged castings that had been sterilized.

 

[SCJedi]

So I've received my order from black swallow soil and got everything mixed up now.

Current Amendments :
(per cubic ft)
0.5 cup neem cake
0.5 cup fish bone meal
0.5 cup crab meal
0.5 cup alfalfa meal
0.5 cup kelp meal
0.5 cup dolomite lime
1.5 cup glacial rock dust
1 cup greensand
0.5 cup gypsum

Thinking I may double the mix this weekend, just to be able to up my pot size.

Do you guys think this may be a tad too much N?
It's neem cake, so I was hoping that would have a longer release time than meal.

Is this a virgin mix or is this amendment to a system that has been grown in already?

 

[CanadianDank]

Is this a virgin mix or is this amendment to a system that has been grown in already?

Fresh mix, base is equal parts organic bagged soil, ewc, and perlite.

 

[Labrador weed]

Can someone help me?
Basically I’m about to start a worm bin so I can have my own worm castings
What I’m wondering is can I take Foxfarm soil that i used general organics liquid products in and Then use that for the dirt in my warm bin
Also will this dirt be fully organic after a while? and if not Is there anyway to get it back to it’s organic form or should I just toss it
Thanks
Also, general organic is Not fully organic (I assume) which is why I am asking
Thanks

 

[Mohican]

It will be fine. The worms do a great job of making any soil magic

 

[Northwood]

Can someone help me?
Basically I’m about to start a worm bin so I can have my own worm castings
What I’m wondering is can I take Foxfarm soil that i used general organics liquid products in and Then use that for the dirt in my warm bin
Also will this dirt be fully organic after a while? and if not Is there anyway to get it back to it’s organic form or should I just toss it
Thanks
Also, general organic is Not fully organic (I assume) which is why I am asking
Thanks

Keep in mind that you don't need much soil (or even dirt) to start a worm bin. It's more of an inoculant to supply organisms and some habitat to the worms that already have some castings with them. I started my original first bin from soil outside from my compost pile. It was filled with life - lots of springtails and woodlice that are alive in my growing medium today (along with worms). Adding living soil to your bin is better than dirt, but yeah, dirt will turn into soil eventually as long as you feed your worms because they will pass it through their bodies while travelling and enrich it with bacteria when they poop. The main thing is to keep a good "green to brown" ratio... or nitrogen rich to carbon rich ratio really. If at any time your bin smells of something other than rich soil or compost, it's likely because of too much food. If your bin heats up and kills all your worms, you've definitely added too much green food! Lol (Hey it's almost happened to me!)