Free soil amendments

[Corto Malteze]

Originally Posted by patriofarmer

Hey Corto have you had the soil tested in your area? I am not familiar with Spain whatsoever (other than there live two gentlemen there who love to grow herb)
P.S. ime have never had deficiency problem with chelated elements in soil, usually problem for hydro peeps in soiless medium, but thats on my side of the pond.

Ok Patriofarmer. Hahaha! Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I'm not really concerned with the soil itself. I'm just wondering if I can use old beach washed sea weed to get some K (and extra goodies) in the soil these days. I need to go read up on the subject I think!

[Corto Malteze]

I found some cool free stuff to add (in the compost pile -winter/early Spring hole- and/or directly on plants) from gardeners' sites:

Sea weed:see further down.

Mushrooms (don't say which ones): decomposes very quick. Good stuff for the compost pile (different than mushroom compost or mycorrhyza).

Sea shells: grind them before adding (or takes too long). Reduces acidity. Increases pH.

Bananas: Decomposes quickly. Lots of nutrients.

Feather meal: rich in Nitrogen (don't gather bird feathers: disease)

Old Tea bags: Rich in Nitrogen. Directly on plant roots.

Manure: horse, cow, (old!) pork, rabbit, poultry.

Coffee: worms eat it. Directly on plants' roots.

Eggshells: (Cantharis!) Dry and grind. Worms eat it. Decomposes slowly. Neutralizes acidity. Raises ph. As mulch, "discourages" slugs.

Compost etc...

SEAWEED for WEED?

A site explains that in the old days, people used seaweed without rincing, in direct contact with the soil and the roots of the plants. Some guys on the forum explain that they have gardens 1 mile from the Ocean and that their plants are fine despite the salt brought by the wind and rain. Too much seaweed can be bad (salt): before, farmers would put lots of sea weed to kill undesirable plants with the salt. After they were dead, the next plants grown there were stronger and bigger. So salt (in relative quantities) is not a problem.

One good site says you can use seaweed fresh and place it in the soil with the plant directly. Sounds a little hardcore (salty= kills micro life and possibly plant, especially if it's your precious mj!). Rince the salt off and place 1-2 months in the hole before planting, 1/4-1/6 shovel seaweed is good This site says that it decomposes quick so don't add it too early.

The seaweed NPK is 1 - 0,5 - 8---->12. So, a LOT of K + a lot of calcium + ALL the trace elements represented. Pretty good stuff!. K is often lacking in what mj growers give. Also found in greensand (green from the sea), molasses....

Liquid store bought seaweed: 10 ml / liter. It contains Potassium K, Nitrogen, Phosphorous P, amino acids, growth hormones, natural antibiotics, resistance against droughts, diseases, insects...

Placed in the hole for a few months, rinced of excess salts, 1/4-1/6 shovel of fresh sea weed should be fine with the rest. When you add the seaweed, take out some manures (don't put double the ferts but give a variety of organic or mineral nutrients to the plants). When you feed the plants after with seaweed (or any) tea, just go very light and see how they like it.

One site explains that darker (brown) seaweed (in the water) is better than green seaweed (on the shore). The green (grey on surface) one lying on the beach is less rich because washed by the rain , sea and time. Companies get their brown seaweed fresh from the sea (the brown one has a better composition they say, and less pollution in big waters). As I don't have a boat or big boots (lol), I'll use the green one on the beach but inside the pile: I'm sure it's good too (it looks full of micro life when you dig a little). There aren't any boats here so the pollution shouldn't be a problem (natural area).
Put the seaweed in your compost pile or the hole and wait 1 month (or 2). You can also till it in the soil (surface) just like you'd do with good compost or nutes.

Recommended for: potatoes, tomatoes ! , asparagus, cauliflower, oignons. Not recommended for:lettuce, beans, strawberries, cucumbers, fruit trees.

As Cantharis says, if it's good for tomatoes, it's good for marijuana so there you go!


OTHER THINGS from the internet

Horse manure is added 9 to 15 kgs per square meter. Use 1/2 shovel for 1 hole (2x2x2') If you're going to pick it up, make sure it's not rain washed (no good) but comes from a horse stable (with roof). So the manure also has horse urine and hay (works as saw dust) Horse manure is better for mj than cow manure. Cow manure takes 1 year before usable (and lasts longer than horse manure). Fresh Horse manure is good after 6 months and has more P. To be sure, add old, well rotted (store bought) horse manure to your holes in late Winter/early Spring (not fresh one).

Chicken manure is 4 kg per square meter (stronger and needs to be added 1 year in advance).

Mushroom compost is very rich in Calcium so it raises the pH (lowers acidity). Not very rich in NPK but has all the trace elements. Use on heavy and acidic soils. Too much will cause lack of Magnesium in the soil and a high pH (base). The recommended proportions are 1 to 1,5 kg per square meter of old mushroom compost.

Wood ashes (potassium: K + lots of calcium) are added 0,5 kg per square meter. Use plain wood (no paint etc... toxic!): many trace elements in natural wood. Adds Calcium, Phosphorous (P) and several trace elements. The high calcium makes the soil alcaline (base). They are used up quicker than lime. They raise the pH. Use in Spring. Too much wood ashes causes toxic levels of cadmium and lead. They are salty (yes): the micro organisms are killed by too much salt and the plant's growth stopped, many elements can't be used by the plant (lock). If you use too much, you can kill your plants. Add 1-2 months after manure and meals.

To increase the pH with wood ashes, use:
ex: from 6.2 to 6.5 use 10 kg/100m2
Once the right level is reached , use 5kg/100m2 to maintain it at 6.5


Gypsum: 22% Calcium, 17 % Sulfur. Good for clay soils, i.e. soils having very high Sodium. Gypsum does not change the Ph (very little).

If you use Lime, DO NOT add it with the manures but at least 1 month BEFORE the manures. . Lime (has calcium, like wood ashes) raises the pH (reduces the acidity). Dolomite lime has Calcium AND Magnesium so it's preferred for mj and other plants needing Magnesium (1 part Mg/ 4 parts calcium= Dol. lime). Test pH before adding any. Lime lasts 4 years in the soil. Lime decomposes slowly. Applied at all times but best in August-Fall or in spring for sandy soils. To raise the pH a lot, use fractions of the lime application in more time if you're keeping the same spot and want to amend the native soil. Applied in the first 10-15 cms of dirt but if you prep your hole you can mix it in too.

Sulfur, on the other end of the spectrum, is used to acidify the soil. Lowers the pH. But needs to be applied 1-2 years in advance. Same with other things with "sulfate" in it. Lol. (Not on mj site).

Blood meal 12-2-0 (N-P-K):rich in Nitrogen (acidic), has some Phosphorous. Quick effect and lasts long (5kg/100m2). Recommended use on surface but in the winter hole is good (OP uses it so). Can be replaced by alfalfa meal (mineral: no animal problem).

Bone meal 2-22 -0: (10-25 kg/ 100m2: very rich in Phosphorous (P) and Calcium. Slow effect but lasts long (4 years). Some gardeners replace it (because it can attract animals) with mineral phosphate (a.k.a. rock phosphate)(10 kg/100m2) which also has calcium (alkaline) and breaks down even slower (7 years). You can also replace bone meal by crab or shrimp granules (5 -10 kg/ 100m2). Mix in compost pile or hole.

Fish emulsion (5-2-1): To give vigor and new growth to any plant, used in Spring mostly and in all season (10 ml/liter).

Saw dust (in compost/hole):it adds carbon without nitrogen (no change of pH I guess as opposed to carbons with nitrogen like veggies). It absorbs the liquids (manures, rotting stuff like vegetables and fruit in the compost pile) and avoids rotting and also allows micro organisms to live in. The micro organisms who "fixate" the nitrogen (a certain kind of bug that does that), get their energy from the saw dust (eat it) in order to be able to gather nitrogen and live in there, thus protecting the plant later. Without the saw dust, they wouldn't be able to live so good and would die because of no access to nitrogen and there would be rotting.

Rock dust: has all the trace elements.

Micorrhyza mushrooms: Beneficial association between certain microscopic mushrooms and the plant through it's roots. They are found in manures, composts, worm castings. If your grow is organic, you do not need to add these (liquid store bought: for indor grows).

NPK Dosage: How to read the package?

The NPK written on the package represents the percentage of N, P , K for a certain weight.

Example: A fertilizer with 15-15-30 contains 15% Nitrogen, 15% Phosphorous and 30% Potassium.
To transform these percentages in kgs or pounds, just multiply the percentages and the weight of the bag of nutes or potting soil:

For a 30 kg bag,

N: 15% of 30 kgs = 4,5 kgs
P: 15% of 30 kgs = 4.5 kg
K: 30% of 30 kgs = 9 kgs

Total = 18 kg (60%)

The rest (12 kgs or 40%) is secondary elements, trace elements, impurities...

The Ratio of NPK in the fertilizer is very important. Plants react differently according to the ratio of N,P,K. To calculate the ratio, divide the 3 NPK numbers by the smallest number (of the 3).

ex:
A 20-20-20 fertilizer has a ratio of 1 (20/20)-1-1
15-30-15 has a ratio of 1-2 (30/15)-1
10-5-5 has a ratio of 2-1-1

If you want to develop the root zone, for example, choose a fertilizer rich in Phosphorous and with less Nitrogen or Potassium 1-2 Phosphorous-1

Guidelines:
Root system:1-2-1
Growing: 2-1-1
Flowering, fruit: 1-1-2, 1-2-2,
General: 1-1-1

Organic fertilizers have different variable ratios than these BUT they are nonetheless very efficient.

A fertilizer with 30% of an element in not necessarily more efficient than one with 8% of that element. You also need to take in account the how long the nutrients last and their availability for the plant.

Example:

Fertilizer with 30% fast release Nitrogen VS Fertilizer with 8% slow release Nitrogen

Fast: The plant gets enough N quickly but doesn't need that much. Increases leaching of nutes and burn.

VS

Slow: The plant absorbs small quantities of N as it is slowly released. Most of the N is used so not lost in leaching of the soil. No burn.

This site recommends slow release ferts (like the amendments you placed in Winter). Quick release ferts (like teas) are to be used sparingly because risk of burn and can be leached. Quick ferts are used mainly (for this site) to correct a problem with the plant. But quick release ferts are preferred for mj so you can flush in the last weeks with plain water. As OldPork said, go easy on the nutes!

1/6-1/4 shovel of (well) rinced fresh seaweed and 1/4-1/2 shovel of old horse manure + blood and bone meals + saw dust + rock dust sounds good and cheap for the winter holes. DON'T add too much. We'll see how it all works!

[Corto Malteze]

Bump for what I researched on sea weed and other amendments.

[redlion]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Corto Malteze again.

[Corto Malteze]

Haha Redlion. Nice digging up. I forgot I wrote that. I'll use spikes with kelp (careful with salty seaweed, if you use it, rince it well, I just use dry store kelp), general dry ferts 3-7-7, coffee grounds, some meals, high N bat guano if available etc... and more horse manure next year (30-50% manure depending on time it can rest and the castings/guano I have). That and aerated compost/castings teas, some molasses will give you a mega and cheap crop! I'll try to make a worm casting bin too. Bye.

[ElDiablo]

Hey nice thread to dig up! I am getting materials to prep grow holes as I harvest, which to those who have noticed I have been harvesting since June Right now I have a nice mix of home composted horse and goat manure, coco coir (love the stuff), free cottonseed meal, homemade worm castings, Espoma Plantone, Kelp meal, alfalpha meal, and fox farm high p guano. Some of those were not free, but a lot where. I found a cocktail of kelp and alfalpha meals marketed as "compost maker" by Bonide -cheap. I mixed the compost maker with horse and goat manure when cleaning the barn, turn it periodically, and there you go