I have a few questions about soil mixing, how to make a safe fertilizer, and if top mulching is safe. I have sand and silt that I gathered from in from of a glacier in Alaska, if I was to make a soil; would it benfit from this silt? I know its loaded with damn near everything. Would a small spoon full in a few gallons of water provide anything good? How long to the benefits of chicken shit, mixed into soil last for? Or any other compost? Do nutrients leach out quickly or is it pretty well sustainable on its own? Im poor but have access to everything from crab shells to kelp, well composted chicken shit, to composted garden mass. Any of these be good to create a liquid solution? I read some on teas. Is top mulching safe? I keep imaging mold problems. Should I imagine mulch acting like an extra inch or two of dirt? I would be mulching with ocean debris. Any one have experience?
I see glacier dust for sale on ebay as rock dust wondering if I can add this to my soil to improve drainage. Idk where to buy local
Rock dust is an excellent soil amendment, but is not used as a drainage tool. Read here to find out what it is used for - Rock Dust/Glacial Rock Dust/Stone Flours j
By glacier silt, I mean super fine powdered rock that I gathered from the BOTTOM of a glacier. It lacks organic matter im am sure, but contains any rock like mineral. By ocean debris, there is always mixed leaves, shells, kelp, pop weed, wood chunks, ect. It collects by the mouth of the river during storms. It gets ground up by the rocks and kinda bundles up into a mass. Thanks for your advice jerry. So, if your soil is composted well, is there any worry of burning plants or do they just use what they need, since they grew in a nutrient rich enviroment and know their limits?
Sounds like you live in an awesome "neighborhood", being able to source killer amendments "in the back 40" is gonna save you tons o' $. Your glacier silt is most likely the same stuff sold at the bottle store, I'd use it if I had it.... same thing with the debris you're talkin' about, just treat it like you would any other fresh material for a compost heap. Best of luck to ya.
I have glacial rock flour that I scooped up from the mudflats around Matanuska glacier this summer. It is an extremely fine flour-like consistency. Definitely a good thing to use in your soil. Being in AK you really do have a lot of stuff you can get for free. Plantains and yarrow are both dynamic accumulators and are everywhere. Yarrow makes a good addition as steeped material for an IPM. Forest duff, topsoil, homemade fish fertilizers, seashells, crabshells... so many possibilities!! my first grow
You know the plants that pretty awsome. My lawn is full of both plus dandelions, been picking them for years cant get rid off em. Wheel barrels upon wheel barrel. But yeah, I feel confident in resources. I read all about rock minerals and learned all kinds of shit. I think I can manage to get a bomb mixture going...when things thaw. If it ever happens, i will write it down, if I get good results I will share.
Right on! If you're really into the whole diy fertilizer deal, it would be worthwhile to look into items like Beneficial Indigenous Microbes (BIM-- www.gilcarandang.com), indigenous microbes (IMO-- www.prokashi.com), Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB-- prokashi), Fermented Plant Juice/extract..... lots of cool stuff for organic gardening can be made at home for free. The best items are homemade. my first grow