"Crushed" oyster shell is pretty much useless for pH buffering due to mesh size, not the composition. CaCO3 not very soluble in water at all and the 'mesh size' (how finely ground it is), is the dominate factor in how well it works. It needs to be about the consistancy of all purpose flour to actually be effective. This goes for limestone as well, or whatever the source. More than a few here have tried the chicken grit, myself included, only to find chunks years later looking the same as when they were added. Doesn't hurt the mix, but neither does it benefit. I would really suggest locally sourcing your liming agent at Lowes, HD, or similar. Shipping ends up costing way more than the actual product. Just for future comparison, locally, a 40lb bag of dolomite lime costs ~$4.50 from several sources. 1cup/cf of total mix gets you in the ballpark. Wet
Yeah I think it is actually pretty finely ground I haven't opened it yet, thanks for the tips trying my best to keep it organic these days after an amazing season last year
If it is crushed oyster shells for feeding chickens, its to big. I just spotted some in a mix I made 16 cycles ago (4 or so years ago). They look the same size as they did before. cheers os
No this is an organic soil amendment from the same company that makes the kelp meal crab meal excetera just have not cracked into the box yet to look at it
Hard to believe this thread is what, 6 years old now? I’m guessing that many have used this as a guide to starting their own organic soil mixes with great success. Although I know ITG hasnt posted here in some years now, kudos to her for taking the time & starting this thread. J
I found a guy has a “kit” for a super soil organic grow. this is what’s in it. you have to mix it with 1-1.5 cu ft of soil and add 6bls of worm castings. I have 1 more pot to decide what to put in it… I may try it. what you think of it? .3125 lb. - 5 oz. Fish Bone Meal 3-16-0 .3125 lb. - 5 oz. Steamed Bone Meal 2-14-0 .625 lb. - 10 oz. Bat Guano 0-7-0 .3125 lb. - 5 oz. Blood Meal 13-0-0 .3125 lb. - 5 oz. Feather Meal 12-0-0 1/16 cup Soluble Kelp Powder 0-0-17 1/16 cup Mycorrhizal Fungi (300 spores per gram) 3/4 tsp. Powdered Humic Acid (90%Pure) .375 lb. Colloidal Rock Phosphate 0-3-0 3/32 cup Epsom Salt 1/16 cup Sweet Lime (Dolomite) 1/16 cup Azomite (67 Trace Elements) 1 tsp. Potassium Sulfate 0-0-53
Interesting recipe, this reminds me of very 'traditional amendment mixes' I used to use years ago. The variety of high N ingredients with vastly different availability speeds was something I used to think was real important (Blood meal fast, Feather meal extremely slow but long lasting). A lot of folks have questions about using Potassium sulfate or sul po mag (similar but different), I like that it recommends only using 1 tsp for 1- 1.5 cu ft of total mix. Its powerful stuff. cheers os
First - what is the cost for this “kit”? 2nd - while I’m sure it will grow you some fine plants - as there are a thousand “recipes” for various organic soil mixes, IMO there are better and simpler ways to go about this - after all, you’re already obligated to buy all of the “base” soil items. My $.02c. J
I would have to pass on that kit, too many ingredients I don't use, and a lot of ingredients missing that I do use.
Hey I'm really new to this forum and growing. I' in the process of "cooking" my soil and was unsure if I should have it covered or not. Right now I have it on the floor of my garage on a tarp w a big sheet of plastic over it. Wasn't sure if I should keep it covered like that the whole time or not..
Doesn't really matter as long as some air can get to it (not tightly sealed/air tight). But while it's still on the tarp, let me ask, what is the % of your aeration and what are you using for aeration? Not enough aeration/poor drainage will cause a host of problems down the line, many seeimingly unrelated. It's easy, while still on the tarp to add more if needed, before it goes into containers. It won't affect your 'cook' at all. Wet
Hey thanks for replying. I did 1/3 aeration in the base mix and I used lava rocks and rice hulls at about a 75/25 ratio...
You're going to need more and of something different IMO. I'll give you my reasons. First, that 1/3-1/3-1/3 ratio doesn't seem to work all that well with the organics we do, like using a lot of seed meals. I start at 40% aeration (perlite) and usually end up closer to 50% by adding other aeration like pine bark fines, over time. The rice hulls degrade fairly rapidly (a few months), and just become more OM. So, you've lost that 25% and added density to the mix at the same time. Not a problem if you've compensated for that happening. Carbonizing the hulls should prevent this by making them biochar. They also work well as mulch and in worm bins. @Organic sinse is the guy you want to talk to about rice hulls, I've little experience with them. Lava rock. Again, no experience there, but if they are small enough, like pea sized, they should be Ok. Big chunks of anything don't work well for aeration. That 'chunky' perlite is really just a bad joke, but consumers wanted it, so.... Graded pumice is the prefered choice if one is going to use rocks for aeration. It actually works well, but is stupid expensive in the eastern US. Very cheap out west. Of pumice, perlite, or pine bark fines/mulch, which is available locally to you and the cheapest? Wet
Shit I'm really not sure, I'll have to look into that today.. the lava rocks I have been breaking down ever time I turn the soil because I felt that alot of them were too big so I've been busting them down to about pea size... so I guess I should up my aeration. I just heard that the perlite ends up breaking down so to stay away from it, but again, Ive only been going on what I read or hear on youtube, etc. If you have practical knowledge here I'm all ears.. I really appreciate any advice you have... I'll look into the pumice today... I have about 21 cf or so with about 1/3 of that aeration like I said.. how much more aeration would you add to it? Then I'll have a good idea what's within my budget at this point in this project...
Perlite is great but yes it will break down over time but we are talking several years and ultimately nothing lasts forever pumice is my preferred choice but then again it is cheaper than perlite out here in California I don't use lava rock but people in the thread have shown me success with it so I would say read back a little and find the lava rock expert