Soil Food Web Gardening with Compost Teas

Thanks I'll give the aloe leaves a go.

In regards to the soil - The only possible way that urine could've got into the mix is if my pup took a piss on the soil...but honestly she is so afraid of going near my soil after last time I yelled at her...so I doubt it. Also, the ammonia smell is coming from 2 of my soil mixes, and one of them is like 15 cuft...so that would have to be a lot of piss to set that off. honestly, I think i might just have a super sensitive nose to ammonia...it is not a powerful ammonia smell at all, just a subtle one, but it's there. I was definitely shocked though by the fact that the ammonia stank didn't go away when I spread the soil on a tarp and let it dry until it was crumbly...really strange. even coot didn't really know what was happening...

i'll give it time and see how the scent progresses....

SpliffAndMyLady said:

How much did you add?

And Cann use that stuff ASAP bro.

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3 table spoons at least!

Cann my soil gets that smell if I don't wash my new containers from the store with dish soap before I use them, just my guess. Did you wash your trashcan or bin that you stored it in before you used it? Maybe it picked up some plastic residue from that tarp, did you wash that before using it?

hmm...didn't wash the tarps, but the bins have been washed. I doubt it is a plastic related smell...but you could be on to something there. i would be curious as to the science behind unwashed plastic and ammonia smell...let me know if you have any literature or something of the sort

hmm...just realized I never factored in the stray cats in this town...it's possible they saw my soil mixes as a litter box...no feces, but they may have urinated and there would be no way for me to tell (except the gnarly ammonia smell). unfortunately, if this is my problem, it is not a very solvable one...

for now the soil is going on the backburner until the smell disappears or I decide to throw it on part of my yard. Puzzling.....


oh, and I found a local source for Bu's Blend Biodynamic Compost so my humus is jamming now alongside the local living EWC. Will never go back to bagged crap again (yes bu's blend is bagged...but its not crap!!!) well it is crap...but it has been transformed into gold.

heres a link for those that don't know about bu's blend:

http://malibucompost.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=53

$15 per cuft (locally), and well worth it IMO

Fun watching all of this. Once your worms start really putting out, that'll be it. Fresh and maximally bioactive. Amended the way you wanted. Wow.

I'd certainly use the cat piss soil. Microbes will help sequester a lot of they're up and running. Have you added char? Especially if fresh, that would help.

can someone recommend a good book for organic growing? thanks in advance.

That bagged biodynamic stuff looks interesting. I just read about it in the peaceful valley catalogs my house gets bombarded by.

Cheak out the "Joshephene Porter Biodynamic" something or other, they make compost activators and field sprays will all the preps 501-507 I believe...good stuff, used it for years on my piles with GREAT success.

Found it:

The REAL DEAL.

http://www.jpibiodynamics.org/node/258

very interesting rising moon...thanks for sharing. great link

Cat problem? Buy a BB gun

lol i would do that if there wasn't an apartment complex adjacent to my backyard...

gunshots are not out of the norm here though...so perhaps

Cann, I did a little reading from my trusty old, pre chemical USDA year book on soil, and the solution to your ammonia problem is:

Gypsum!

According to the book, gypsum will cause a chemical reaction to "fix" the ammonia into other forms of nitrogen.

Fresh 2 De@th said:

can someone recommend a good book for organic growing? thanks in advance.

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Haha try Teaming With Microbes which page one comes from! And maybe The Organic Gardeners and Organic Gardening Soma Style.

The Best book for the serious organic student is Elliot Coleman's New Organic Grower.

It will teach you the old, ancient techniques, combined with tested modern approaches to truly sustainable agriculture.

Elliot is known in farming circles as the organic guru.

Rising Moon said:

The Best book for the serious organic student is Elliot Coleman's New Organic Grower.

It will teach you the old, ancient techniques, combined with tested modern approaches to truly sustainable agriculture.

Elliot is known in farming circles as the organic guru.

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Never heard of it but gonna get it RIGHT NOW if I can find it! Thanks

He's got a TON of books. The Winter Greenhouse book is seriously a groundbreaking set of experiments and insights into what is possible. He now grows food year round in Maine feeding over 100 families using unheated greenhouses, in a closed loop system he calls "farm generated fertility".

sounds awesome...unheated winter greenhouses in maine??? that are productive??? champion...

about the gypsum...how much should I add? i already have epsom salts as a source of sulfur so I would hope the gypsum doesn't overdo it...

If it does get too hot, just add some soiless medium to cool it down.

SpliffAndMyLady said:

If it does get too hot, just add some soiless medium to cool it down.

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make sure it's inert/unamended soil if your going down this path....otherwise you might be adding more fuel to the fire.