Hey guys, I'm going a vegan stealth grow; at the moment its a mix of organic compost and vermiculite only (mycorrhizal fungi too when I have a chance to transplant), but as the leaves are growing bigger I'm worried I'll be leaving the plant with insufficient nutrients. Not only is my problem that I'm doing a small grow in an apartment which means I don't have the space to buy large amounts of vegan fertiliser alternatives (manure for example) but I can't fathom which additives are vegan or not. Does anyone know of a vegan alternative I can use or is the only route I can go synthetic fertilisers? Any help greatly appreciated. (I'm UK based BTW if that helps)
cow manure. most cows are vegan so use that. not sure what you are asking here. I thought vegan meant to eat only plant based foods ie:no animal products. Kelp meal is excellent. Twas Ever Thus!
kelp meal and neem seed meal make for wonderful fertilizers with additional benefits beyond simply adding nutrition. Homemade vermicompost is the gold standard for soil amendments; contains sequestered nutrition based on what was processed on top of enzymes, microorganisms, humic acid and disease suppression. Alfalfa's realatively cheap and efficient as a source of nutrition and triacontanol ( a growth regulator) and crab shell meal and/or oyster shell flour works well if the whole vegan thing isn't an absolute requirement, as they come from animals. The below is not a personal attack, simply a question of the motives behind "vegan" practices. How does vermicompost get past the "vegan" label when worms are animals? How is nature "vegan" in any regard, when creatures live and die in it all the time? Who perpetuated the idea that animal products are inferior or that vegan practices are superior to a solid education of the soil biology and processes? Just another cheap gimmick, imo. You don't have to amend exclusively vegan to achieve stellar results, in fact you lose access to a few quality materials because of an inane stipulation someone selling his name says is the "smart" or "right" thing to do.
http://www.veganpeace.com/organic/vegan_organic_gardening.htm That link will be extremely helpful. They don't flesh out #10 enough, IMO. Dynamic accumulators like comfrey, nettle, yarrow, dandelions, etc, are tremendous fertilizers. Comfrey is extremely common over in the UK, if I'm not mistaken. Check out the threads on here for Botanical Teas and Fermented Plant Extracts (FPEs).
Kelp Meal, Neem Cake, Nettles, Yarrow, Alfalfa, Dandelions, Watercress, Comfrey and on and on - I know you have comfrey in the UK... Mix any of the Dynamic Accumulators (Google this) right into your soil (Compost) mix and let it sit for a month, moistened thoroughly, before use. Add a mess of Buckwheat Hulls for aeration and youre good to go - for the long haul...
If I could add anything to this (which is weird, since I've never done this before.... but I have plans!).... I think shredding the plants before adding them to your soil mix would be a good idea to speed up the breakdown, especially if it's only going to sit for 1 month. I dunno, might not be necessary, but I think it's a good idea
It is - I do this often just as a mulch mixed 50/50 with vermicompost but do chop it all up first. good call. j
Thanks for the advice guys; I think I need to go foraging to get enough for my next grow. Done a bit of research and it seems a lot of veganics are recommending the BioBizz range which is made from 100% beet juice. Think my local hydro store stocks it so will give that a go in the current crop and then look to the foraged stuff for my next plant.
The only BioBizz product made from 100% beet anything is BioBizz Bio-Grow.... here is their description from their website: Bio-Grow is a liquid fertilizer that can be applied to most types of soil and substrate mixtures. Bio·Grow® is made from 100% Dutch organic sugar beet extract, commonly known as beet vinasse. Beet vinasse is a by-product of turning sugar beets or sugar cane into sugar. OK.... so it's beet vinasse... sounds fancy.... here's Wiki's definition of vinasse: Vinasse is a byproduct of the sugar industry.Sugarcane or Sugar beet is processed to produce crystalline sugar, pulp and molasses. The latter are further processed by fermentation to ethanol, ascorbic acid or other products. After the removal of the desired product (alcohol, ascorbic acid, etc.) the remaining material is called vinasse. OK.... so vinasse is a wasteproduct of molasses, alcohol, and sugar production..... Not sounding as appealing anymore..... Here's an LD post on the beet/molasses/sugar industry.... he doesn't call it 'vinasse', he calls it 'beet pulp': Most of the sugar around the world comes from sugar beets (a tuber) from which the 'sugar' is removed from the beet pulpand the 'sugar' that is not usable (taste, color, smell, etc.) becomes 'livestock molasses' that you will find at a farm or feed store. It's used to make crappy straw taste better for livestock. This form has little value for the myriad of reasons that growers feel the need to add molasses to their gardens/farms. This form of molasses cannot be 'sulphured' or 'unsulphured' - that designation comes from sugar processed from sugar cane - a grass and not a tuber. The molasses goes through 3 different boils and each one results in a different form of molasseswith blackstrap being the final boil and the most concentrated as it relates to minerals, amino acids, enzymes, et al. Back to the beet pulp - this product is what remains after everything with a commercial value has been removed - if you call livestock molasses @ $.75 per gallon at the wholesale level a viable enterprise. Besides the fact that there is absolutely nothing of value in this feed item is the fact that it's a plant material which will be broken down in the soil. Adding 'green manures' in a large amount is counter-productive because the activity in the soil switches from breaking down minerals and nutrients to breaking down the plant material. This requires a large amount of nitrogen - nitrogen which is now locked-out from the plant. This is the phenomenon generally described as 'burning' - it's not burning anything. The nitrogen is locked out. See the term/science of nitrification for a better understanding. Even in the world of livestock, the feeding of beet pulp is not without conversation and a wide range of positions. HTH LD Hopefully this helps inform your decisions..... ie.... it's not too late to use the tips we gave you on this grow.....
your local farm/feed store should carry at least alfalfa and a form of lime, maybe even kelp (used in horse feed). check local nurseries for amendments/compost as well. Home depot or Lowe's should have Premier Sphagnum Peat Moss for ~12$
Thanks guys; just bought some rock potash, lime and sphagnum moss. Should betting some alfalfa and flax seeds later.
Neem oil is great for preventing pests, a critical part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The best places to get it are neemresource.com neemtreefarms.com and buildasoil.com They have the organic cold-pressed neem that is 3x potency of other places You'll need something to emulsify the neem oil, so that it mixes with water and can be sprayed. Liquid silica is the best thing to use, and it has tons of other benefits (http://www.nutri-tech.com.au/blog/2010/06/silica-the-hidden-cost-of-chemicals/). Aloe vera juice/gel/powder is also recommended. It acts as a surfactant to maximize leaf coverage (so water doesn't just bead up and roll off).... makes sure everywhere get covered. Also boosts the plants' Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR... worth googling), and provides salicylic acid, amino acids, etc. But it's not necessary. An emulsifier like Silica is necessary Here's an LD post: Just do this - mix 1 tsp. neem (or karanja) oil with 1 tsp. of Pro-TeKt and mix until it turns about the color of the border on this web page. You'll definitely see a dramatic change in the color of the oil once it's emulsified. Add this to 1 quart of warm water - not hot water - warm water. Heat degrades the fungicide and pesticide compounds. You want to hit about 165 - 175F (maximum). Shake and now add your Aloe Vera juice/extract/whatever the term. Shake to activate the Saponins in Aloe Vera which will help to get the mix to stick to the leaves and branches (a surfactant). Only apply immediately before the lights are scheduled to go out. Light degrades these compounds. HTH LD
Also... LD says don't spray at lights on because light degrades the compounds.... this is true, but it will also burn the shit out of your leaves. So for 2 very good reasons..... don't spray until your lights are just about to go off.
FWIW this is my go to resource for neem products. http://neemresource.com/ Excellent quality and service.
Vegi, if you do decide to buy yourself ANY Neem or Karanja products then take GiMiK's advice and use the products sold by the people he linked you to. They are the very best, and in a world of mediocrity, "best" can mean alot. j