Nice! Pretty exciting right!? Now listen, and it’s not a big deal, but have you read Page 34 of the GC Handbook for Dirty Organic Gardeners? On Paragraph 2, Subpart G there is a little known Rule 17 between “Love Your Worms”and “Cowpies: They arent Just for Throwing!” and this Rule states that “All new organic gardeners shall divide their first crop amongst his or her GrassCity Organic Gardening Peers until which time a different gardener shall take his/her place”. It’s good to have you on board. Please keep us posted as to your success on your first crop. Hey - I don’t make the rules... J
Hahaha I like that rule! I am on year 3 all organic and never looking back Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Tapatalk
With some super soil recipes they say that you have to layer them (e.g. one pound per gallon of growing medium). Do you have to do that with this, or do you just mix and plant directly in. Also is this mix too hot to plant seedlings in?
Too hot for seedlings. Refer to the first couple posts No layering, just mix and let it sit for a few weeks Sent from my LG-H933 using Tapatalk
Should I be re-mixing my soil as it sits? Or better to leave alone? Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Regarding amendments, I looked at the first few pages and I didnt see anything on compost tea (maybe I'm blind). If I do no-till, would amending with compost tea instead of a top layer of mulch be ok?
They call that act aerated compost tea search around in the other threads dot-dot-dot by the way I am blind LOL I just spread my new amendments on top and cover the winter cover crop with compost then give it a couple weeks to be moist and begin breaking down the organic ingredients usually plant outside around summer solstice or a week or two before Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Tapatalk
I used regular tap water to wet my soil for the cooking process, is that a problem? I haven’t tested it for chlorine or chloramine yet.... Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
no. for your own peace of mind go to the web site of the provider you pay your water bill to and navigate to the 'annual water report' section. review the document and find out what's in the water coming out of the tap. water quality is highly dependent on geographical location. in most cases, not all, tap water is fine with organic gardening. chlorine dissapates rapidly on contact with air. chloramines dissapate on contact with humus, ewc, and soil organic matter. for now you're good to go.
I got a hose and fluorine block filter screws right onto the hose and then you water like normal the chlorine block takes out all of the chlorine and chloramine $20 well spent Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Tapatalk
Another question - getting some whiteish growth on top of the soil...something to be worried about? Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Usually a good sign that the beneficial fungus is settling in nicely Sent from my LG-Q710AL using Tapatalk
I’ve not never ever didn’t none yet had me any kind of an issue with my own well tap water - YMMV. Can’t stress enough on the necessity of basing your mix on quality compost. J
Google “Mycelium”. You’re good. This is fungal activity in your soil and shows that you have life in your mix. ITS ALIVE.... j
Hi guys and gals, When it comes to re-amending soil is a person always going to end up with more soil than they started with? Say for example I only use and have need for 1 gallon of soil. After re-amending I would end up with about 1.4 gallons if my math is right. 1 gallon plus .25 humus plus .15 aeration = 1.4 gallons. Any ideas how to re-amend and keep it at 1 gallon? Space is limited for me and don't have need to extra soil. Thanks
maybe it's semantics that's throwing you off. instead of 'reamending' let's use remineralize instead. there should be no need to add additional peat/media, perlite, and humus, rather, if we remineralize we're only supplying additional elements/nutrients. with the exception of compaction and lechate/run off your original one gallon of growing medium will always remain around one gallon. for a one gallon sized remineralization exercise i can only envision adding tsp and tbsp quantities of additional minerals/elements. those are my thoughts. EDIT: adding ewc is the exception when discussing humus. it's always good (up to a point) to add additional ewc during the grow cycle and the remineralization process.
I'm finishing up my soil following the recipe of Coots I have some doubts about the quantity to use and the npk title of the neem cake the recipe says to use 1/2 Cup per cubic foot I found different types of neem cake: - Neem cake npk 3 - 1 - 1,5 - Neem cake npk 8 - 3 - 1,4 - Neem cake npk 5,2 - 1,4 - 1
Possum is the man. Thats why this digital community thrives. @Menrva the 3 1 1.5 sounds more balanced but check the labels too. If you believe youre good in N from whats already in the mix just add what it might need without any deviations. I cant make this paragraph meaningful at the moment. If its your first mix follow the notes, build a balanced soil and there starts the learning curve of organics. smoker