Can Aeration Amendment Be Added After Soil Set Aside For Cycling?

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by DamMastCalendar, Sep 16, 2014.

  1. As the topic says. Im mixing up my soil tonight but rice hulls (aeration) won't be here till a week from now. 


     
     
  2. You will be fine, as you are using the hulls for aeration and not looking for their broken down minerals/effects then your aeration can be added the day you plant basically. Like I mixed up a 25gal tote and had to wait 2 weeks on perlite..... the perlite adds no nutritional value really, no need to wait for its breakdown to reap its benefits, so basically the same. Only thing different is that rice hulls will breakdown and more will have to be added to keep aeration ( like 3 to 4 years ).
     
  3. Rice hulls are also a high carbon source, I would advise you to cycle them in some soil/compost or EWC for a week or so before planting in it.
     
    You can get the soil maturation process started but I would be wary of compaction during the time you spend waiting on an aeration amendment to arrive.
     
    I would likely turn (fluff up) the pile every day to ensure even degradation as well as exposing the inner material to more oxygen.
     
  4. Aha, sorry if I was misleading, I was under the understanding that the rice hulls take a while to break down and start providing for the soil ( much like the slow actions of dolomite lime or non chelated materials ) thanks gimik.
     
  5. Thanks guys... i've mixed everything together but left it dry for when i get the hulls end of this week. It's 1/3rd of the base mix, so figured i won't activate the microbes till i get it (though the compost and EWCs were ever so slightly damp).
     
  6. keep the materials moist while you wait. easier to maintain than to reestablish.
     
  7.  
     
     
    I usually don't moisten my mix till the end of mixing when I add the aeration. This is simply because of the weight of the mix and my old damaged spine. GiMiK is more than correct, but if it's only one week till the hulls arrive ...........
     
    I have and still do, make large amounts of mix and store them dry for ease of handling. Like in the Fall and cooler temps, and I'm energetic and relatively pain free and the mix isn't going to be used till the following Spring.
     
     
    Nothing is really set in stone here, and after you mix up a few batches you'll see what works best for you and your situation.
     
    Wet
     
  8. I'll be travelling for 3 weeks starting the end of this month so the mix will end up curing for more than a month so i think I'm good here.  
     

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