Hi all. I've just joined, and been a grower for 15-20 years. For the past decade or so of those i've never bought any compost or bought any plant feed. I re-use all my soil, and leave it for a few months after preparing it (Below). I get cracking, healthy plants year on year. Decent yields, but I concentrate on Terpene profiles and quality, rather than quantity. I'm very, very happy with my weed. So are my mates Every winter: I collect all my used pots (About 16 in a 4x4 perpetual grow cycle, is enough for my annual personal use) and empty them into a 1 ton rubble bag. I have a compost bin that I empty every year, with that years composted veg scraps and egg shells (Calcium and Magnesium) mixed through. I throw that in with the used soil. I make sure that a few buckets of grass clippings gets composted as well throughout the year (composted grass is good for Nitrogen) I collect all my weeds from the garden, and steep them in water for a month. The brew that then gets strained off then gets watered to my plants every month. That's the only 'additional' feed I give. Soaked weeds get thrown on the compost. To help with fungus gnats and mites, I add a top layer of Perlite and Diatomaceous Earth to my pots every year. That gets subsequently mixed through in the rubble bag. Over the years I have only included a small bag of charcoal, some vermiculite and coco coir (Haven't used Coir for years). I also throw dead birds and mice I find into my compost as well. Completely organic. Even the compost bags I started with 20 years ago were Organic (I am a bit of a hippy at heart) And that's it, my home made living soil/compost that I use every year. Environmentally friendly as I don't throw away my used soil. Just do the above, leave it for a few months over winter to ripen/mature/condition, (When it's too cold anyway) and use in the pots when you start your grow again in the spring. Anyone else use a living soil, and do you have any tips for me I could use to keep improving it? I'm big into promoting a strong bio culture in my soil. I'm a huge believer that with that, no chemicals or feed is needed. The plants seem to appreciate it as well. I save a bit of money as well. P.S: I am going to do a companion grow of peas this year (Legumes return Nitrogen back into the soil as part of growing). Anyone else tried that already? Happy tokin!!!
I've been growing in organic living soil, I'm not a soil expert though. Lots of informed people in the organic growing section. Here was my last harvest of Liberty Haze in a 4x4 under 1000w HPS. Now I switched to HLG LED recently and plan on trying UVA out as well. I wasn't doing a perpetual grow, but am heavily considering starting a veg tent soon.
@Lawlerskates Thats a brilliant picture of how LST and topping works. You're an LST artist. I wish I took a picture of my stems last year (After harvesting). They all looked like those Jewish Menorha Candlestick holders when stripped clean. Absolutely fantastic plants. @GroBuddy thanks. Will look at that later
Peas or nitrogen fixing plants need to be tilled in to reap the benefits. I frequent some gardening forums and the general mistake is to think that simply growing them will fix nitrogen. The whole plant needs to be tilled in.