actually just called again...and I have to do some driving but Im going to get some compost for the mix! So, with that being said...hold off on the Black Gold EWC? Or go ahead and add them if I get compost? Probably just going with compost only in the mix tbh, it'll save me a few bucks. Especially since the Black Gold doesn't sound too enticing. I was thinking those red wigglers....but those european nightcrawler look like better fish food! I really might consider getting it going once I'm comfortable in my growing.
As 'Coot pointed out, it truly is an inferior product. Biologically and nutritionally... Compost/vermicompost is THE most important part of your living soil mix. Without a healthy and diverse microbial population and the humic/fulvic acids that are produced by microbial degradation, the whole organic system falls apart. Not to mention that quality compost/vermicompost also brings a lot to the table in how they improve soil texture and moisture retention. As an example, I used Wiggle Worm castings as my humic component for the first "super soil" () that I built several years ago. The results from my water only soil were less than spectacular, to say the least. After I joined this forum and began to learn more about soil chemistry and the importance of quality compost/vermicompost to the efficient function of living soil systems, I decided to contact Wiggle Worm to see what they fed their worms. In my particular neck of the woods, wood shavings and "corn waste" (most likely GMO) are the only items on the menu. No diversity there, and therefore the makings for an inferior product... You can add some of the Black Gold if you want, but I think you'll gain more benefit from the using the compost alone.
It's unfortunate that the grand majority of bagged EWC is produced this way... Even a local dude that makes EWC and sells worms does the same thing. Recycled waste wood from building sites and spent coffee grounds from the local java shops is what he uses. I certainly applaud the brother for keeping material out of the waste dumps, but as far as product quality goes...
"Feeding" might not be an entirely accurate word to use. They are more like "tools" to be used for specific purposes... "SST" means Sprouted Seed Tea. Its main purpose is to add enzymes to the soil. If you don't know, enzymes are molecules that "catalyze" (accelerate) chemical reactions, which ultimately results in increased rates of nutrient cycling and availability. Most enzymes in living soils are produced my microbial action, so obviously take time to produce. Without going into a lot of detail, most sprouted seeds (grains are the best) produce an insane amount of enzymes during the germination process. We soak and then grind sprouted grain seeds (or malted grains, which is even easier) to utilize these abundant enzymes to increase availability of soluble nutrients. ACT's or AACT's are compost teas ("aerated" or "actively aerated"), are brews used to multiply microbial populations and apply to the soil. I couldn't really explain what/why any more concisely than this. If you're interested in utilizing ACT's, the whole site contains the answers to anything and everything you might want to know about the subject, even brewer design... \tWhat is Compost Tea? Very simply stated Compost Tea is a water-based environment wherein beneficial microorganisms are extracted from compost or vermicompost (worm compost) and multiplied by the millions and billions. Some form of agitation breaks the microbes free from the compost and they multiply because food, like black strap molasses, fish hydrolysate, kelp meal, etc. has been added to the water, which at least one type of microbe digests. When one or more type of microbe begins to multiply in response to the food, other microbes respond to this growth and begin to consume these initial microbes and multiply in turn and so on and so on. For example the initial microbes are usually bacteria which are food for protozoa so the protozoa multiply in response to the bacteria. The end result is a functional feeding cycle or microbial nutrient cycle. I refer to this as a functional microbial consortia. This develops over a period of 12 to 72 hours or more and is then applied to the soil and plants. In the soil there are a number of organisms which function in basically the same nutrient cycle and zone. Once again, simply stated, there are substances released from the roots of plants which feed bacteria (& archaea), again the bacteria/archaea become prey to the protozoa and the protozoa excrete substances which are available to the roots as nutrients (e.g. nitrogen) thus creating a feeding cycle. Other compost/soil microorganisms of great importance are fungi. Fungal hyphae, are long branching strands which grow through the soil and serve to; bind soil aggregates together, help retain moisture, store certain nutrients, provide a source of food to certain other microbes, provide pathways for nutrient and moisture delivery, decompose organic material and displace disease causing fungi. There are also other types of fungi which do not grow (to my knowledge) in compost or Compost Tea which form a direct symbiotic nutrient exchange relationship with roots. This sort of fungi is called mycorrhizal fungi and there are many different species. The major microorganisms at work in Compost Tea are bacteria, protozoa (flagellates, ciliates and amoebae) and fungal hyphae if present in your compost. It is best to have a wide diversity of each of these microbes present. There are higher order organisms like nematodes found in compost and soil and occasionally these are extracted into Compost Tea but they do not grow nor multiply in the tea. Of course in the soil there are many other contributors to the nutrient cycle, like insects, earthworms and other animals. In its totality this is often referred to as the soil food web. http://microbeorganics.com/
Hello GC! Novice grower here looking to share some experiences with all my noob sisters and brothers. I apologize for any redundant info. If you, like me, live in a town of less than 50000 people, you may find it difficult to source materials locally. That is why Home Depot and Build-a-soil.com have become my best friends. My small town Homie D's carries big bales of straight peat moss for 13 bucks. It has bags of ecoscraps compost for 6 bucks. Also it carries big bags of perlite for 16 bucks, 8 lb bags of Garden Tone for 12 bucks, and some things not in stock you can find on thier website and have shipped to the store for free. Build-a-soil.com has a nutrient/mineral kit inspired by Clackamas Coot for 40 bucks that will make 6 cubic feet ( around 40 gallons) of soil. And lastly and most importantly, they have a 3 gallon box of worm power for 28 bucks that will be enough for two cubic feet of soil with half a gallon of vermicompost left over for some ACT to initially wet down your new soil and get it cycling and top dressings, should you need it. All this shipped to your front door for free. I freaking Love BAS. They also carry a large amount of other useful items for your organic growing needs. Did i mention free shipping? So, realistically, for 103 dollars (garden tone not necessary so i left it out) and one trip to the local HD, you can get everything you need to get a couple of cubic feet of kickass soil going and enough stuff left over to keep you going for a good long while. The only thing you would have to replenish would be the worm castings and compost, but those you can make yourself if your into that sort of thing. Now, im not saying this is the cheapest way of going as i know a lot of you have fun trying hard not to spend too much money, but it is crazy easy. One last thing, the original recommendation ITG gives for amendments at 2 or 3 cups per cubic foot has turned out to be too rich for the strains i have going. Al Swearengen claims to have had sativas bomb completely out in this rich of a mix. Clackmas Coots nutrient mix from BAS is comprised of 1.5 cups per cubic foot of an equal parts kelp meal, crustacean meal and a 50/50 mix of neem/karanja meal. Super simple and complete. This seems perfect. If you have a strain that needs more then just top dress or root drench with something appropriate. Enough rambling. This is all, as usual, just my humble opinions. Like i said, im still pretty new to this. It sure is fun. Take care!
Yeah no exactly what you mean...lol Think I'm going to just have to leave in original pot while I gather rest of the amendments and let settle/cook. Thanks!
So I finally got around to buying my compost. Bought it semi-locally....had to do some driving to get there and its not the same city I live in but close enough. Well, I also ended up stopping at another "Organic Nursery" I googled just before I headed out too. I started talking to the owner lady, and she was real cool and we spent time talking about some of her products for a few minutes. She seemed very passionate about Organics...she mentioned not reordering happy frog, and some bone meal because she found out that the blood and bone meal is extras from slaughterhouses and likely has hormones, steroids and all that other not cool stuff. She also mentioned that she didn't like happy frog anymore because the label says it has carcinogens, and she also mentioned something about GMO. I don't know nuthing about GMO so that went way over my head! LOL Well long story short....She didn't have any of the individual amendments and stuff like that I was looking for....but she had "Soil Mender Earthworm Castings" and praised its purity. I let her know that bagged EWC may not be the best since the worms aren't fed the best/most diverse diet to produce the castings and that maybe she could look into that since she's been researching some of her products lately. I BOUGHT it.....mostly because I drove far and had only spent $5 on the compost and felt like if I didn't spend more money it would be a waste! LOL Anyone have any experience with these? I liked that the only ingredient listied was Earthworm Castings. http://www.amazon.com/Soil-Mender-Worm-Casting-Fertilizer/dp/B004747G3O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430345727&sr=8-1&keywords=soil+mender+worm What do you all think of the Soil Mender brand? I know it seems like I did the opposite of what you said....but I wanted to support that ladies business! She had a lot of workers and plants of all sorts for days? Im still cool with leaving these EWC out if thats what you would do/recommend! I figured if you all don't approve of this brand I would just use the EWC to top dress a few house plants I got. So it won't be a total loss!......and I won't factor the cost into my "$40 budget" lol LATE EDIT: So far, I haven't been able to find straight rock dust. Ive called all the nurseries around town and no luck. Is rock dust an important part of the overall mix? Seems so from reading the OP.... LATER EDIT: I haven't called landscaping companies yet. stone cutting company guy i just talk to said they should have that for sure! So Im calling on that tomorrow, also will buy the rest of the mix ingredients. EVEN LATER EDIT: Can I sweep up the shavings/dust from a granite stone saw that a company that creates countertops has. The guy told me he doesn't sell it, but if I go and pick some up I can have it free. So I'm guessing its basically the trash/byproduct from them cutting the huge granite slab into smaller slabs for counter tops. No luck so far, but Ill call other landscapers tomorrow and hope they got it.
I'd probably use the SM EWC if I were in a bind/pinch. If there's any truth in the advertising here, the food stock definitely sounds more appealing than "corn waste and wood scraps"! LOL! ...these are from worms that feast on a banquet of five manures, peanut hulls, oak leaves, humate, and more. http://soilmender.com/customproduct/soil-mender-wormcastings/ As a side note, I personally would not use any of their products that contain cotton burrs. The cotton industry uses the most pesticides of any food or textile crop produced in the US... Rock dust is pretty important, especially if you plan on going no-till or want to reuse your soil for future grows. But your soil will work without it. Try sourcing "crusher fines" from the companies that produce gravel in your area. You may have to collect it yourself, but it's generally plentiful and usually very cheap.
I know you mentioned the VAST MAJORITY of EWC being less than ideal....I was hoping SM EWC were that minority! HAHA So, skip out on using it? Not really in a bind since I have 10 gallons of compost I got locally and thats more than enough for my 3 gallon smartpots will need. I just picked it up cuz it was $10 and figured it may be a nice bonus to the overall mix if you all vouched for it....didnt get my hopes high because all the "anti" bagged EWC/compost/soil talk makes 100% sense to me. The bottom line, and their profits are whats most important to all those "bagged" companies. It won't be a loss if it doesn't go into a mix....I can top dress some house and garden plants with it. As far as the rock dust....did you check out my "EVEN LATER EDIT"? Im hoping that i can do that since it'll be granite byproduct. My local rock quarry did offer crusher fines when i mentioned rock dust. Do I just go grab any of it, or do i look/ask for something specific with the crusher fines? At the moment...especially since i expect a good amount of leftovers from the amendments I'm buying now...Im not planning to reuse the soil, and was just gonna cook up another mix for the next grow. Mostly doing this to use all the amendments I'm buying now since ill likely only be using a couple/few cups of each amendment. Thanks for the help! also....for the small scale grower, or budget minded like myself....Im pretty sure Im getting all I need for an organic mix for under $100. Ill have a final tally Ill post up when everything is purchased. As it is now...the basic mix in the OP will definitely be under $100, and probably just over 50 or 60 bucks (USDollar).
Actually, some consider the European nightcrawlers just a larger version of the red wigglers, they are both in the same family. Even with experts, the different species get a bit blurred. Wet
So I have everything except perlite and rock dust. Didn't wanna buy the miracle gro perlite cuz it had stuff added to it the label said. Here has been my cost, rounded up. Locally Sourced Compost (~10 gallons)-------$5 Premier Sphagnum Peat Moss-----------------$12 Espoma Tomato Tone-----------------------------$9 Espoma Lime---------------------------------------$5 Dr. Earth Kelp Meal (2lb)------------------------$12 Down to Earth Neem Meal (5lb)----------------$16 Soil Mender EarthwormCastings (5lb)---------$10<-----[optional, but leaning toward throwing it in the mix after all] ========================================== Total (no perlite or rock dust)*=========== $69 *Expecting to spend another $15-$20 for perlite and rock dust....but i may go w/out if I can't find it locally. Crusher fines are another possible option So that's well under $100 with the extra neem and the EWC, that may or may not go into the mix. So without the EWC even cheaper. If you're budget minded....looks like organic is an extremely efficient option all the way around! Edit: I spent over $60 for bottled nutes last year for my 2 plant outdoor attempt. wish I had gone organic then too! THANK YOU THIS THREAD, and everyone for the input so far!
Rock dust is extremely important you can get 14lbs of glacial rock dust on ebay for around $25. I made 60 gallons with the 14 lbs and if you have the ewc already I dint see why adding it would hurt, even if its not the best its still has some benefits. I think home depot has vermiculite, or I bought 3cf of garden lava rock for $22 it kinda blows your budget but aeration and rock dust are necessary without them you will have rock hard dirt(especially with just compost as humus)not soil.