I've done a ton of reading but I still don't feel like I have a good grasp on all this stuff so I was hoping you guys could help me out. Here's what I mixed. Batch 64. I used about 10 gallons for this particular mix.. and these amendments. Mixed in equal parts except for a bit of extra kelp. About 4-5 cups total. Not pictured is roughly 10 pounds of locally sourced worm castings and maybe about .5 cup of dolomite lime. Sorry all the measurements are in different units. Here's what it looks like. The way I understand it is I water it and let it sit around for a few weeks then I'll have an awesome soil that won't need any bottled nutes all the way through flower. Is this good? How concerned should I be about top-dressing or making teas? Am I missing any crucial ingredients?
mix it good and start planting in it. no need to wait. Its not like plants instantly pop up. Its way more fancy then I would grow in. my plants are harvested and dead in 3 months and the soil dumped in the compost.
That's a good point about the plants not popping up instantly. I'm probably worrying too much. You just recompost it? I was hoping I could just dump it in a big hole I dug in my backyard and get sweet crops for at least a few years from it.
Outdoor I use soil year after year. indoor all soil gets used once because of bugs and nutrient levels. I found its not worth keeping soil indoor for more than one run. it gets hot and spider mites and aphids call it home and hate to nuke the soil with neem every 3 days. hell I swap out light bulbs after 6 months and keep the old ones as back ups. New light bulbs are a good idea too. I do use big rootballs after harvest to stick in the bottom of huge pots to eat up space in my big pots outside.
Snoop's comments aside, yes, I would let that "cook" for at least a month. You want the micro herd to multiply and start breaking down your amendments into usable nutrients. As for ACT, it wouldn't hurt to use that to wet down your mix initially and/or later to help boost your microbes. With some sort of integrated pest management (IPM) insects and other posts shouldn't be a concern. So reusing soil isn't an issue. Most people either yank the roots of the previous plant and replant directly (no till) or dump the soil back into a bin to reuse later. You are making a living soil and giving it only water and ACT so there are no "nutes" to build up. Eventually they would run out, but if you recycle by using the old soils as part of your base mix the next round, you can effectively keep using it forever. I would suggest adding some sort of mulch on the top of your final pots to help with moisture retention and insect penetration. Rice hulls are popular and cheap. Sent from somewhere over there. No, not there...over THERE.
"I've done a ton of reading but I still don't feel like I have a good grasp on all this stuff" I'm thinking that you'd have a much better "grasp on all this stuff" if you were to read through at least the first few pages of this thread - http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html I'm also thinking that you'd have a better grasp on much better organic soil recipes. When you're done with what you need to read in that thread, move on to this thread - http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/650139-organic-higher-learning-resources.html That will get you where you need to be. 2 threads. Read and re-read. j
Thanks everyone. I've mixed in some rock dust and have some kelp/alfalfa tea bubbling now. The only neem the nursery had was in liquid form so I'm not sure if that matters too much. The guy working said he mixes the neem oil with peppermint shampoo from the health store and only needs to spray once. This came up on a google search: http://organicvegetablegardening.weebly.com/soaps-and-oils.html
As ChefZ' pointed out, you need to let that soil mix cycle for at least 4 weeks. That blood meal will burn the hell out of your plants if not cycled before hand. The only time I use an ACT is when I mix or amend a batch of soil for cycling. And when I say ACT, I'm talking a microbial tea, not one that has a bunch of plant material in it (botanical tea). EWC, molasses, and fish hydrolysate. That's it.
What is the fish hydrosylate for? I've been doing compost, EWC and kelp in a sock with rock dust in the water. I know I should know this... Sent from somewhere over there. No, not there...over THERE.
Just another form of microbe food. The way it's processed preserves many beneficial compounds that help the microbes do their thing. A few tips for you the next time you brew up a batch ACT... Ditch the kelp. While it does serve as a microbial food, it tends to delay microbial development for about 24 hours. Depending on you long you brew, this could be very detrimental to how many microbes are actually in your tea. If you get "Neptune's Harvest" fish hydrolysate, it contains kelp. I bought a bottle (quart sized?) about 3 years ago for $20 I think. I still have some. You don't use anywhere near as much of it compared to molasses. A little goes a long way. 2.5 teaspoons for a 5 gallon batch of tea. What kind of sock are you using to bag your EWC/compost?
They sold them at the grow store. Looks like cheesecloth almost. Made for this purpose. Like a quarter each and I cut them into thirds. You can see one in this post. http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-grow-journals/1281384-chefziggys-first-grow-nsafsiporganic.html/page-2#entry19529159
I read this about the kelp on Tim Wilson's microbeorganics.com. However, just fwiw, on his AACT recipe for hitting a batch of soil that's nutrient cycling, he recommends including the kelp (as well as the fish hydrolysate) and simply brewing longer (36-40 hours). Also for Neptune's Harvest, they have both a combo product, and a product that is simply fish hydrolysate (no kelp). I know because I have the one with no kelp. Blue label has kelp, Orange label has only the fish hydrolysate.
That's all good. I was just making sure you weren't using a nylon stocking. They tend to not let the fungi through.
No worries. I wasn't sure what else to call it. Sent from somewhere over there. No, not there...over THERE.