Hello grass city, I would like to say that the information givin here is inspiring and I was wondering if somone could clear up a few things for me. 1. Reading lumpdawgs mix he suggests using rice hulls does this replace perlite? 2. The local beer brewing store sells them for $1.25lb. Is there anything else needed to be done to them? 3. Do I need giagreen if I buy azomite from dte? 4. Should I use both giagree and azomite? 5. How long does the mix need to sit for greensand to become effective? 6. Can the mix sit to long? 7. Should I use the granual humic acid from dte? 8. Is sunshine pete 3.8cf 15.99$ the correct base 9. The local feed store carries kelloggs harvest garden & bloom 9.99 2cf and there goworm ewc 8.99 1.5cf any reviews on these? 10. I found red wigglers local but they are fed basicly rabbit poo from my understandings he told me 25$ for a 5g bucket is this better? I Have lots more questions and again thanks to lump/jerry/wee/chuck and many others for there inspireing posts.
Hello grass city, I'll try Yes. The price seems steep......We pay 14.00 bucks for a 50# sack. I use them at 25% by volume. No. Not really, diversity is good but.....minerals are minerals. +/- 8 months. No....to a point. If left for a long time, you may need to re-amend but up to a couple of months should be good. If you have good compost/EWC, you can skip the granular humic. That will work....you can search Lowe's or HD for their peat....it may be cheaper and works equally as well. I've used Gardener and Bloome soils which are a subsidiary of Kellogg's. I've been very satisfied with their soils right out of the bag. I would amend them more however to insure feeding throughout the grow. I'm unfamiliar with the worm castings. Those castings would be an excellent choice if they weren't priced so high. Our worm wrangler charges 8 bucks for a 5 gallon bucket of his castings and I would probably pay double if I had to. I cu/ft is about 7.5 gallons, so it makes the GoWorm castings look more attractive. Hope this has been of help, Chunk
Thank you very much. Sounds like I need to hunt a little more for better deals on ewc and rice hulls. A few more questions for you knowalagble people 1. Lumps mix says 4~5 cups rock dust per qf is it diff with azomite? 2. The base mix should be 50%pete 25%rice 25%ewc/compost/alaskan humus. 3. You then add ammendments (neem,kelp,alfalfa,crab,oyster,soybean,cottonseed,azomite) at 1/2 cup per cf. 4. Do you add mykos or any granular root growth enhancer to the mix or just during transplant? 5. per instructions 2,3,4 and add them together, then I just mix thouraly and wet to a dampened state? 6. when wetting should I use a ewc tea and aleo (there is a trader joes I can get aleo from) 7. do I still need yucca extract? 8. Chuck do you have a link or sugestions for ammending the kellogs soil for the price I know a few patients would like to try it, I have epsoma & dr earth avaliable at the feed store. I know I am forgetting lots, I'll have more questions I'm sure. Thank you Grass city.
1. Rock dust equals Azomite equals granite dust equals Gaia Green equals glacial rock dust - they are all "minerals" - use any of them at Lumpers recommended 4-5 cups per CF. 2. Yes, this mix is fine. I would put the Alaskan Humus in the Peat category, tho - not the compost/ewc category, as I do not believe that true humus still contains the same soil life as compost/ewc. 3. Add ammendments at the rate of 2-3 cups per CF TOTAL - not each. Azomite, again, belongs in the rock dust category 4-5 cups per CF. 4. Mycorrhizae only during transplant. It needs direct root contact to work. Moisten roots and dust with thesE products at transplant. By rights, only one application is neccessary. 5. Yes - mix all thoroughly. Wet thoroughly and let this mix sit for 3-4 weeks to "cook", or "nutrient cycle". 6. An ACT (Aerated Compost Tea is used to raise microbe levels. Do some reading on ACT. I do like to use an ACT to moisten my soil mix to ensure proper levels of microbial activity. Aloe is often used more for its Surfectant, or "sudsing" qualities in foliar applications. Aloe contains around 75 biologically active compounds and should be kept refrigerated. 7. Yucca is used as a wetting agent, so this depends on the peat that you are using. Some peat bases like Pro-Mix or Sunshine Mix already have wetting agents so therefore yucca would not neccessarily be required. 8. When ammending a store bought bagged soil remember that most already contain ammendments - just usually not at a desirable amount. Use your head and don't overdo it - go at a quarter or a half of what would normally be used. Wet thoroughly as usual and still allow to properly nutrient cycle for 3-4 weeks. 9. Please continue to read and re-read the Organic Stickys. Many or all of these quaetions can be answered by doing so. Good Luck. Jerry.