So I have about 3cf of soil cooking right now and was wondering how many gals of ACT I should make up and add to my soil to start the process and not drown my soil. I made up 1 gal but that didn't seem like it did anything
Hello Lamont, If it were me I would make up 5 gals (now 4) add it a little at a time until you get the moisture content you are looking for. Due different types of soil it would be totally impossible for me/anyone to give you an exact amount sorry. HTH MGB
Just enough to moisten the soil....I normally do the first act and sprinkle the roots with mycorrhize at transplant. I roughly use 1 cup of act per gallon of container and drench right next to the stalk with just enough act not to get any runoff or, minimal at most....
I think you missed the OP's question Cola this is his first initial wetting of soil. There are no plants. He wants to begin the cycling process, not the actual growing of the plant. At least that is how I am reading it. Just letting you know so the OP does not get confused and water till runoff w/o a plant in his/her pot. MGB
I understand....I use plain water while cooking and always keep just moist during the process. I don't think an act is really needed for the cycling process and do my first act when the roots are present in the soil to populate with microbes and inoculate with mycorrhize. I see no problem doing an act when cycling if one wants to..Just the way I do it and my plants seem to like it...
Your correct there are no plants. So ACT is as important in the cooking process but is a fungal tea necessary because that's the next tea that's about to be made
None of it is necessary - if you've constructed a decent soil using good humus it'll take care of itself with plain water but sure, it all helps towards your final goal of having a well cycled, balanced soil. Neither a bacterial or a fungal tea will make or break the bank but it sure doesn't ever hurt going the extra mile. J
Ok. I transplanted one of my runt plants in my soil and it died in 6 days. I thought it was because I didn't add enough act or even a fungal tea. Now I think is because I added too much mycorrhiza in the hole. None of the leave burned it just kinda turned into a limp noodle and dried up
Lamont, think about mycorrhizae on a microscopic scale - it doesn't take much to dust the roots. More is not necessarily better. It only takes so much to colonize and start the ball rolling. J
The first couple of weeks in the life of a seedling and how you care for it is the most important time and will determine the growth rate and destiny of the seedling.... The seedling will not die from not getting an act or, from to much mycorrhizae...At the seedling stage your main concern is establishing the roots and nothing more before you transplant. Hard to say what happened their... To hot a mix from not cycling, over/under watering, stress, environment and a host of things that just happen... If it was a runt the roots never got established enough to uptake food to prosper and would have been a major task before seeing results if any....I would just chalk this one up to having a bad seed day and move on....