Hello. I recently mixed some soil following In The Gardens recipe. 3cf peat 2cf of perlite 2 cf good vermicompost Kelp meal Tomato tone Lime Rockdust I wanna make another batch. Using her extra amendments recipe. Mainly just want to add more alfalfa meal cause I have it on hand. So if I make my second batch with kelp , alfalfa , and tomato tone per her instruction can I mix the two batches together? I know to some this might seem like a simple question. I just want to get it right. In my mind it seems the diversity would be a big plus. Just don't want to mess anything up by mixing the two. Any help would be greatly appreciated. SS
Yo sticky! @Gandalf_The_Green is super knowledgable on soil. He can certainly point you in the right direction. I hope you don't mind the referral GTG 😜 Grow With Me: @ http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1320174-first-organic-indoorgrow.html Share Colorado: @ http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1335406-OFFICIAL-Colorado-Proud%21 ...“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail†-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Coot Any caveat there in terms of cycling the soil with the alfalfa? If he plans to plant soon, would it possibly behoove him to keep some of the well-cycled first soil batch aside to plant in, while the rest cycles?
GtG Definitely a good idea. I've come full-circle about alfalfa, i.e. I use alfalfa only as a tea which precludes the problems associated with using it in a soil. Unprocessed plant material is at the core of 'nutrient burn' but not for the reasons usually ascribed, i.e. the soil is too rich. No, that's not it all. It has to do with a couple of other dynamics that require quite a bit of explanation. So if you have the time then 'cook' the soil mix with the alfalfa meal - better yet is to not add it to the soil mix and make a tea every couple of weeks in the veg cycle. Something like that anyway......
This will definitely sit and cook for at least 3 - 4 weeks. I don't have a problem making alfalfa teas as well. If you guys think thats the better route. I will just go with the original recipe and make teas. Is 1 1/2 cups per cf of tomato tone enough? I know thats what it calls for but I seen jerry recommend a higher ratio in another thread. Just wanna make sure it is potent enough to get me through. Again thanks for the help. Really appreciate all advice and tips. While im not a new grower. This is a newish area and only the second time I have attempted to build a living soil.
Jerry is a stellar organic grower - you can't go wrong following his advice. I personally have no experience with any of the dry fertilizer mixes so he's the guy to ask. Don't overthink this - you'll do fine. CC
Great! Whether you mix it in the soil or use teas is up to you..... If it were me..... I would use (per cubic foot) 1 cup lime 3-5 cups rockdust 1.5 cups kelp meal 1-1.5 cups tomato tone One caveat.... ITG called Azomite a rockdust, which it really is not. If Azomite were my "rockdust", I would only use 1 cup per cubic foot... and be on the lookout for other rockdusts....
ChefZiggy Are you familiar with the term 'glycemic index' relative to foods? Particularly with diabetics... CC
I am! ... Because I just looked it up haha. Wasn't able to find much info in how it pertains to diabetics specifically but I can draw my own conclusions there.
beerbrewer The ultra-simple definition is that the 'glycemic index' of a food means how fast that material breaks down in your digestive tract. White table sugar is 100 Legumes are below 20 So we can use that dynamic and apply it to organic materials (OM) in a soil as it applies to nutrient sequestration. When OM is deconstructed the 'nutes' are sequestered in a form that is available to microorganisms and root acids. Not every element is either absorbed or adsorbed exactly the same methodology. Certain plant materials such as comfrey and alfalfa are like 'candy' and the microbes divert their activity from making elements available to deconstructing the OM which releases the ions for further processing by other microbe colonies - fungi, nematodes, protozoa, etc. This means that while the plant is releasing exudes into the soil which should trigger specific microbial responses things have gone awry if you overload your soil with unprocessed OM. Kelp and neem meal have a 'lower glycemic index' than alfalfa meal in one really twisted definition of that term but it'll work well enough for this very limited discussion. HTH CC
Oh it helped. You're like Organic Jesus or something. Thanks! So if I understand it correctly the microbes are too busy stuffing their collective faces with OM to pay attention to the needs of the plant?
beerbrewer Any interest in being a co-author with me on a couple of articles I have coming up? That was beautiful! Thank you!
I just kinda pictured my kids at the dinner table loading up on meat and mac and cheese and not paying any attention to the green things on their plate.
That's probably because Mrs. Coot is probably the real brains in the household lol. I am willing to bet you have shorts on and she is wearing the pants