OD I water my plants every other day. 1st watering I use malted barley tea to which I add 10ml fulhumix and 5ml agsil (mixed per bas suggestion) per gal of tea. 2nd watering I use 1tbs coconut powder per 5 gal h2o, 1 tsp aloe powder per 5 gal h2o, along with agsil and 1/4 tsp tm-7 per gal. To this I have recently started using soap nut and am still trying to figure out the amount that is good for my grow style. 3rd watering is just plain h20 with agsil. On occasion I will use a kelp tea instead of plain h2o. I only do soil drench. One day I may change this but I'm busy as hell now as it is. I'm not CC but I hth.
Do you mean sprinkling the powder on the surface and then spraying water on the spot vs. mixing 1 gram to 1 gallon of water? If that's what you're asking then the answer is you must mix the powder with water first to get the full benefit. It's pretty damn concentrated obviously given the application rate. Beyond that I sense from your question in general that you view humic acid as a fertilizer which it absolutely is not so reviewing this information will be helpful - Properties of Humic Substances from Dr. Jerzy Weber considered one of the world's leading experts in this area of research & study. His body of work is something to behold.
The tea that I mix is 1 cup alfalfa meal, 1/4 cup kelp meal and I bubble that for 24 - 36 hours. Whatever works for you - nothing is cast in stone. What I look for is 'that smell' I remember as a young kid growing up in Southern California when we would go surfing. Kelp meal when reconstituted smells like it does in at dawn when the beach is quiet and all you can hear are the waves crashing - smells like the ocean. Then I know it's ready - pretty scientific stuff we're talking about! Always, always follow the application information on BioAg's labels. I'm certainly not going to second guess a mentor of mine, Dr. Robert Faust. He's the one that inspired me to focus on using neem meal as a soil amendment in every garden situation. That sage advice has helped me grow the strongest plants possible. And for the NPK Kidz the neem tree is one of the world's premier bionutrient accumulator on par with kelp, alfalfa, comfrey, et al. CC
What application rate would you suggest for a top dress of neem and karanja cake on 7 gallon containers? Just got my package in.
1/2 cup then a thin skin of your preferred humus source and you're good to go! I can promise you that you won't be dealing with gnats or any herbivore insects. I probably could but probably won't make the argument that top-dressing with this specific material could be preferable to mixing it in the soil. Regardless it's well worth your time & money sourcing it. CC
Hey Coot.....How much Malted Barley powder would you apply to say a 4x8 bed that is 2 ft deep,and how often? As always thanks for your help.
Appreciate it! I've gotten 10lbs of neem cake but I ran out a few months ago. One of those expenses that regrettably got pushed to the back burner since I've had a lot going on. I used it in my greenhouse last year and had zero bug or fungus problems. Unfortunately the record breaking snowfall destroyed the greenhouse so I'm growing vegetable starts on the deck this year LMFAO.
Subbing in late, lots of catching up to do (unless, as you say about two pages in, that's all there is to it).
No not at an NPK at all. More of a "did I just fuck up" question. Today I made a 5 gal tea consisting of 1/2 cup EWC 1/2 compost. And added protekt at 1/2, and BioAg humic and fulvic at 1/2 strength. The plants did there praying dance all day but I wasn't sure how its going to effect them after you mentioned there products being so strong. Especially watered in together.
Excuse me?? A heart attack?? I'm glad to see you made it!! Stick around brother,, many folks need you to pass on your skills, knowledge and especially your attitudes and oneryness,, lol
6 - 8 cups every 2 or 3 weeks for outdoor soil (a true soil vs. our artificial potting soils) would be a good place to start. Something close to that would give you some great garden plants. HTH CC
Shmalphy did you get the 5lbs of each or all neem this time? I just got an order of the half n half from ahimsa and I got one of their soap bars. I have been looking for such a product for a while. A neem and natural oil bar that doesn't have perfumes etc to cover up the smell of the neem and karanja. They use powdered rosemary and (to me) it smells delicious. I'm thinking of building a greenhouse out of natural wood as there are branch piles everywhere here... Last night I had to fill up my kitchen table and bench with all my starts from the deck… 33 degrees.
Coot I have another potential myth I need busted. Do microbes need a carbohydrate or "sugar" source as "food". I would think the amendments in the soil would be enough "food" for them but I may be wrong and thats the reason I'm here asking you.
Percy I find that entire 'carb in the soil' discussion a farce. All one has to do is to go back to the original, original text in Teaming With Microbes and check the chapter about ACT (as they were called then, now it's AACT - LMAO) and guess what was espoused as the bestest of the testest to use to increase microbe colonies? Agave nectar and aloe vera... Go figure, eh? The other deal is this - go to Wiki and look-up any carb you wish, i.e. glucose, maltose, etc. and you need to look at the molecular formula and focus on the Carbon and Oxygen ion count and now compare that with THC for example or let's say another terpenoid like Linalool. This is also part of the game played by the advocates of dumping sugars onto the soil...if I sound dismissive of the entire concept that's only because I couldn't choose the words required to really shoot it down... LOL! HTH CC
My plants are a little bit pale although pretty healthy looking. What do you recommend I do to increase their health? I have kelp meal, neem cake, alfalfa meal, comfrey and some of my soil mix that I mixed last season. Should I make a top dress? What amounts would you suggest? The plants are in 17 gallon containers.
Mike I would do this with the materials that you have to work with... 1. top dress your plants with chopped raw comfrey leaves followed by kelp meal, neem cake and alfalfa meal. Cover with the turkey compost you sourced at the end of last season. Within 3 days you will be stunned, shocked and amazed in the changes. HTH CC
@CC Don't the plants give sugars to the soil life as the soil life gives nutrients back in some way? I was told it is a symbiotic relationship to some extent but have not read enough to date to confirm. I am reading a little at a time though so my questions will eventually dwindle to near nothing. lol Thanks KGB