My Redux Soil Mix....

[newgrowNY]

Ok organic pros.... any advice or input greatly appreciated

I'm getting my soil ready for my second grow and I'm actually reusing my soil from last round. The main reason I'm doing this is that its a major issue for me to get rid of the old stuff. The base soil I'm working with is used FFOF with about 25% perlite mixed in, was very happy with the soil in the first grow.

I'm loosely basing my mix on 3LB's version of their soil reuse mix (They don't add compost, which I did) Edit: Actually I think they do use compost, but not manure... its just not in this particular formula.
RECIPE #4
Three Little Birds Method
40 gallons used soil
4 cups alfalfa meal
4 cups bone meal
4 cups kelp meal
4 cups powdered dolomite lime
30 pound bag of earthworm castings . . .
That’s the basic recipe . . .
However we also like to use
4 cups of Greensand
4 cups of Rock Phosphate
4 cups of diatomaceous earth

So here is where I'm at with the mix, a few things I still need to pickup and add to the mix.

4 parts - Used FFOF soil w/perlite
1 part - Dehydraded manure w/ organic humus compost(51% manure and 49% organic humus). 1-1-1
1 part - Fafard Shrimp and Seaweed Compost (blend of peat humus and compost w/ shrimp and seaweed ingredients)
1 part - Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss

All thats been mixed up and totals about 80 gallons, or about 12 cubic feet), of soil mix

To that mix I've added:
5 cups Bone Meal 6-9-0
5 cups Blood Meal 12-0-0

I also have:
Pelletized dolomite lime
Epsom salts

Things that I still want/need to get are:

Worm Casting
Green Sand
Rock Phosphate
Glacial Rock Dust
Kelp Meal - may not need as I used the Shrimp/Seaweed compost

[chunkdaddyo]

Sounds like your off too a fine start......the mix sounds rich and nutritious. A little trick I do when I'm planting or re-potting my plants into the new medium, is to add a mychorrizae product to help the colonization of the beneficial fungai that help your plants thrive.

Here is a link to a product that is local to me, but there are lots of myco-products available.
MycoGrow O

This link has some good info on the benefits of mychorrizae. I sprinkle a TSP per gallon of pot size right in the hole where the clone's roots will settle into the new pot. I then water the clone in with an AACT (Actively Aerated Compost Tea), and use wormcastings as my compost. The tea feeds the emerging spores, they begin to colonize in the root zone, allowing for optimum nutrient uptake.

Good luck on your project, sounds like you've got a good plan.

[newgrowNY]

Chunkdaddyo... Thanks for the input.

I forgot I have a mychorrizae product... thanks for reminding me.
The one I have is actually used to make a Em2 compost tea, its from MothersEarthOrganics .

This round I'm trying to be much more prepared than my first grow, been doing research for a while and just putting the plan into action... I've got the growin itch...plus my stash is running low...

[newgrowNY]

Well my soil is "cooking" for sure.... I went to mix it up a bit and was pretty warm... so I threw my temp probe in it and got up to about 95... now down to about 85 w/ ambient room temp of 73

[Corto Malteze]

It sounds like a great soil mix. Good luck!

[newgrowNY]

Thanks Corto..... Do the ratios I've used so far look good, on the bone/blood?

[newgrowNY]

My wife would kill me if she saw me doing this in the living room....



I have two batches like this in 37g rubbermaids... added 1 cup of dolomite lime, ground my pellitized in coffee grinder so its a mix of fine and more course, and also added in 3/4 cup of epsom salt to each batch.

[newgrowNY]

I pretty much have all my amendments, still no castings, so I guess I'll be breaking out the tarp in the living room... sssshhhhhhh

Greensand
Rock Phosphate
Kelp Meal
Mexican Guano 10-2-1
Indonesian Guano .5-12-.2
GH Rare Earth
Biochar - inoculated (next week)
Also got some Mycho, but not using now as the SoilRenu and Biochar(wont have till next week) are both inoculated with mycho

I'm not planning on putting much guano in the mix, at least not at this point, I may add more later for a flowering mix.

I already mixed in the SoilRenu(humates w/mycho) at 5 cups per 37g container

[newgrowNY]

Well the first batch is mixed up, minus the Biochar.

This is whats in the mix
2.5 c Bone meal
2.5 c Blood meal
3 c Kelp Meal
3 c Greensand
3 c Rock Phosphate
2 c Rare Earth (Pyrophyllitic Clay from seabed deposits w/ Leonardite)
5 c Soil Renu (dry humates w/microbes)
1 c Dolomite Lime
3/4 c Epsom Salts
1 c Indonesian guano (0.3-12-0.2)
1 c Mexican guano (10-2-1)

This was all added to the base mix, about 30 gallons of......

4 parts - Used FFOF soil w/perlite
1 part - Dehydraded manure w/ organic humus compost(51% manure and 49% organic humus). 1-1-1
1 part - Fafard Shrimp and Seaweed Compost (blend of peat humus and compost w/ shrimp and seaweed ingredients)
1 part - Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss

[turtlehead]

The only thing I'd recommend you watch for is reusing the peat moss too much. As it breaks down, it really can throw off your ph and you could end up with some nutrient problems, if the lime doesn't keep it in check.

[chunkdaddyo]

Your mix sounds as rich and decadent as a hot fudge sundae.........can't wait to see a grow journal of your project..............

[newgrowNY]

Originally Posted by turtlehead

The only thing I'd recommend you watch for is reusing the peat moss too much. As it breaks down, it really can throw off your ph and you could end up with some nutrient problems, if the lime doesn't keep it in check.

Good point turtlehead.... two things I'm doing to help with the ph.... added the lime and the big thing is the Biochar.... One of the things that it does is balance the ph closer to 7

Originally Posted by chunkdaddyo

Your mix sounds as rich and decadent as a hot fudge sundae.........can't wait to see a grow journal of your project..............

Its crazy rich, but hopefully not too hot.... wont be starting seeds in it... just a transplant mix

I started a new journal but its all prep still... but my seeds started arriving

[newgrowNY]

Still waiting on my Biochar... I think I will have it the middle of the week.

Here's some info on benefits of Biochar in soil......


Biochar enhances soils. When added to soils, biochar's impressive capacity to retain nutrients can reduce fertilizer requirements while increasing crop yields. It can also be used for commercial potting soils. Research is now confirming benefits that include:

• Reduced leaching of nitrogen into ground water
• Possible reduced emissions of nitrous oxide
• Increased cation-exchange capacity
• Moderating of soil acidity
• Increased water retention
• Increased number of beneficial soil microbes

How does biochar affect soil biology?
Decades of research in Japan and recent studies in the U.S. have shown that biochar stimulates the activity of a variety of agriculturally important soil microorganisms, and can greatly affect the microbiological properties of soils. The pores in biochar provide a suitable habitat for many microorganisms by protecting them from predation and drying while providing many of their diverse carbon (C), energy and mineral nutrient needs. With the interest in using biochar for promoting soil fertility, many scientific studies are being conducted to better understand how this affects the physical and chemical properties of soil and its suitability as a microbial habitat. Since soil organisms provide a myriad of ecosystem services, understanding how adding biochar to soil may affect soil ecology is critical for assuring that soil quality and the integrity of the soil subsystem are maintained.
See Chapter 6: Characteristics of Biochar: Biological Properties, in Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology, edited by Johannes Lehmann and Stephen Joseph, Earthscan 2009.

How does biochar affect soil properties like pH and CEC?
In most agricultural situations worldwide, soil pH (a measure of acidity) is low (low pH means acid soil) and needs to be increased. Biochar retains nutrients in soil directly through the negative charge that develops on its surfaces, and this negative charge can buffer acidity in the soil (as does organic matter in general). Not only the pH of biochar but also the amount and nature of the ash it contains can have an effect on pH after soil application. In fact, ash added along with biochar can react in soil similarly to agricultural lime. Not all biochar materials have a high pH; it is also possible to control the pH of biochar by controlling the pyrolysis process. However, other desirable properties of the material such as surface area and CEC become greater as the temperature of the process (and the pH) increase.
CEC stands for Cation Exchange Capacity, and is one of many factors involved in soil fertility. “Cations” are positively charged ions, in this case we refer specifically to plant nutrients such as calcium (Ca2+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+) and others. These simple forms are those in which plants take the nutrients up through their roots. Organic matter and some clays in soil hold on to these positively charged nutrients because they have negatively charged sites on their surfaces, and opposite charges attract. The soil can then “exchange” these nutrients with plant roots. If a soil has a low cation exchange capacity, it is not able to retain such nutrients well, and the nutrients are often washed out with water. Biochar develops negative charges on the large surface area contained in its pores, and thus, when added to soil, provides more negatively charged sites for cations to be retained on and exchanged from.
See Chapter 14: Biochar effects on soil nutrient transformations; Chapter 15: Biochar effects on nutrient leaching; and Chapter 16: Biochar and Sorption of Organic Compounds, in Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology, edited by Johannes Lehmann and Stephen Joseph, Earthscan 2009.

All info above is from the International Biochar Initiative

Info on Biochar from Cornell Univesity
Cornell University | Soil Fertility Management and Soil Biogeochemistry

And a link to a biochar FAQ...
http://www.carbon-negative.us/docs/BiocharFAQ.pdf

Here's an interesting part on increased yields......


5. Does

biochar increase crop production?

Research consistently finds poor soils enriched by

biochar grow

bigger, stronger plants that yield higher quantity and quality.

Yields 300% greater are common, and some researchers got over

800% more yield from

biochar-enriched soils.

Even better, soils retain nutrients and sustain productivity

better than soils without

biochar. Plants grow well in soil with

9%

biochar, at less cost, increased yield, and sustain this greater

production longer with less fertilizer. Food from those soils has

higher nutritional balance, density and quality.

In soil,

biochar consistently increases fertilizer efficiency,

reduces need for chemicals, enhances crop yield. As examples:



A Mississippi farmer plowed 15 tons/acre biochar into sandy

river bottom, and saw corn yield over twice his neighbors.

After the first year, his fertilizer use declined.


Australian research in New South Wales added 4.5 tons/acre to

carbon-poor soil to double soybean biomass, triple wheat.


Tomato transplant trials in 2008 at Virginia Tech with a cup of

biochar
in a gallon of soil mix averaged 48% more yield.

Field observations reveal

biochar reduced need to irrigate.

Crop response is enhanced when

biochar is inoculated by

beneficial micro-organisms to increase nutrient use efficiency,

and trace elements to boost full spectrum health and vitality.
Northern gardeners find

biochar darkens soil, so in spring it

warms sooner, to allow earlier planting and grow stronger roots.

[newgrowNY]

Ok... now I finally have everything I need or want... as if thats possible

My Biochar came in the other day, I got 2 types.... PureBlack, which is larger pieces and just pure charcoal...
PURE BLACK™ Biochar is made from mixed hardwoods - oak, maple, alder, white alder, black hawthorne, birch, cherry, black walnut and lilac. Virtually all volatiles have been cooked off leaving a very pure biochar with high absorption qualities.



the other is CharcoalGreen, which is a charcoal based biological inoculant.
CHARCOAL GREEN™ BIOCHAR- a biochar (agrichar) product inoculated with beneficial soil microorganisms and enriched substrates for gardens, farms, and golf greens



My local grow shop also had Azomite, so I'm also gona throw some in the mix... and oh yea I finally got my castings... 40lbs worth.

[chunkdaddyo]

I've been absorbing as much info as I can on the BioChar........tell me though, how much do you use per container? I haven't yet come across the proper amount to add to the soil. I appreciate your posting the info on this...........thanks