Pine Bark IN the mix?

Me. And quite frankly i am surprised at how rapidly they will decompose. I add them at every recycle just prior to using the medium. Wunnnerful stuff IME.

 

@wetdog Have you noticed that the finer particles mix better than the bigger size particles? Definitely adding this into my mix...do you add it at the same time you add other amendments or right before you plant as @Possuum suggested?

 

Also, as a random side question, could you potentially use neem leaf or neem bark as part of the mulch layer? Or would that just be too much neem with the neem meal that I normally add in my soil?

 

I too would go easy on the neem. For all of its known positive influences neem stands out as a great thing for a soil mix but one thing to keep in mind with its use for a container plant is its pesticidal qualities. Deadly to most fungal species and to many bacteria species but also beneficial to some bacteria. It's a great soil conditioner and a GREAT pesticide for fungus gnats but neem is best used in smaller amounts for container gardening. Stunting of plant growth for young plants and potentially deadly to seedlings is my experience with it. Yes i still use it but no more than 2-3 tbsp in a 7.5.

Pine bark i get is composted for the most part. I try to amend my recycle soil for use 2-3 weeks out. Let it start cycling a bit. There's no change in my process for adding pine bark be it first starting out or recycling. I add what i feel comfortable with and its on to the next thing. I'm examining soil tilth all the time and especially on recycle so i add what i think is right. "Kentucky windage" some might say. Others might suggest it's a WAG. Same same.

HTH's

 

I used it as part of the peat portion of a mix.
10% pine bark
40% peat
25%compost/VC
20% lava rock
5% pea gravel
With neem, kelp, crab, oyster, glacial rock dust, and some Camelina meal. Eventually I added some biochar under the mulch layer. Bed is almost 4 now and pretty much takes care of itself.

I used to run a mix that was:
40% Roots Organic potting soil
20% pine bark mulch
20% compost
20% perlite
With a bunch of amendments that were premixed. Happy Frog or something like that and 2tbs. Dolomite lime per gallon.

I was a real genius back then and would add the 2tbs of dolomite back after every run. Eventually turning my soil to cement. I was a one and done grower for awhile, until I learned how to re-amend my soil from Coot.
Like you guys, I try to not overuse neem either. It comes from so far away is my thinking. Alfalfa and Camelina are grown locally and both work well. Camelina has some pest suppression properties as well.
RD

 

Whoops

 

Would newly planted seeds be able to push threw pine bark mulch? Or should you wait until they emerge then add layers?

 

@wetdog Ahh I see I see, I am definitely planning on adding it into my next mix which will be the mix that starts my first notill! And then I will reapply with my topdressing containing ewc, kelp, oyster shell flour, neem, malted barley powder, and rock dust. Can you think of anything else that would be beneficial to add into my topdress? I add ewc and malted barley powder regularly during growth and usually do a kelp topress at the beginning of flower but am always open to other peoples suggestions.

Yeah the neem bark I had just recently seen on neemresource.com (where I source my cold pressed neem) and figured it was worth a mention. Ill stick to the KISS principle and stick with the pine bark mulch as to not overcomplicate things and potentially risk hurting my plants with too much neem.

 

In the 4 years I've had my no till running I have never, ever topdressed oyster shell. I do have fairly hard water though.
RD

 

@Possuum Ahh I see, is there a specific brand you go with to get the pine bark mostly composted? Also, if I am doing notill, would the best way to precook be to put all of the ewc and amendments into a bin by themselves 2-3 weeks prior to the topdress in order to allow them to break down a bit beforehand? And if so, is there any special way to do it? For example, would you just water them the way you would a new soil mix or would you add in anything else?

@wetdog Yeah, I plan on basically mixing the neem meal into my initial mix and then maybe once during flower and once when I plant the new plant and re-amend. Does this sound like it would be do-able and not too much?

@ElRanchoDeluxe I, like you, used to use a much more complicated soil mix consisting of lime, fertilizer, etc and have been working with the mix from the no-till revisited thread now for about 6 months and love it! So much easier and each part truly makes sense. I feel as though I had been thinking of organics in the classic NPK way too much up until I found this new recipe.

Ahh Camelina! First time I've heard of that one...what is that supposed to do in the soil? Is it more of a nutritional amendment or something different?

Also, I may have meant to say crab shell meal if that sounds more like it would make sense? This will be my first no-till, however, I've done countless soil mixes so I suppose I am just wondering what would be most beneficial in a topdress application, thanks again guys!

 

I use a 1/2 cup oyster and 1/2 cup crab per c.f. during the initial mix. Calcium deposits are visible on the landscape fabric. Doesn't seem to be a problem, but I certainly don't feel the need to add more.

OP, my water is around 7.8-8.1 with 262ppm. Ca is around 160ppm of that 262.

 

Crab shell makes a lil more sense. I have topdressed with it, but only during an epic fungus gnat battle. It really depends on your water source. If your using RO an occasional crab topdress may be a good thing.
Camelina is a seed meal from the Brassica family with an NPK of 6-1-1. It has some pest suppression qualities. It was supposed to be the shining star of the biodiesel industry, but is grown mostly for human and animal consumption. Chickens love it.
Alfalfa and kelp are my go-to amendments for teas and topdressing. All the biodynamic accumulators work well being added to the mulch layer.
RD

 

@ElRanchoDeluxe That makes sense...I guess I'll probably just stick to the other amendments I mentioned in that case. As I previously stated, this will be my first no till so I'm just gauging what would be most beneficial, thank you so much again! Camelina sounds like a great additional amendment which is why its strange that I feel I've never heard of it...could be stoner brain too .

I used to add Alfalfa in my actual mix but have since stopped using it except for in teas. How much kelp/alfalfa do you topdress with? I at the moment use 3 gallon pots but will be moving to 10 gallons for the no till.

 

idk my ph but i know for a fact we have very hard water here, whole country does. whats interesting is that AFAIK no form of lime is used here, at least none is sold anywhere, not for agricultural use anyway. its interesting because the base material used by pretty much all nurseries here is sphagnum peat (ours comes from Finland tho but im pretty sure its the same stuff). so perhaps the hard water provide all the liming needed.

 

I added about 1 inch thick layer of pinebark mulch to my beds because i decided to try something new as the straws make a mess and heavy winds recently send them everywhere. I am a bit worried though that my seeds wont be able to push through i just planted them before the mulch any ideas?

I planted mostly veggies and few cannabis seeds and some herbs on the corners mainly for pests and oil production/aromas ect..