You did we'll switching the Azomite for GRD. It takes awhile to switch mentalities - but you've got an excellent attitude. Welcome to our space. There is much for us all to learn here. J
Thanx J These organics threads are waaaaay more friendly and helpful compared to the pissing contest that is hydroponics LOL One question though, I know it says to turn the soil once a week but I've been mixing it when the topsoil is dried up (which happens almost every morning). So my question is... Do I let the soil dry up a little more before I turn it or is it supposed to stay damp the entire cook? I know u should let it dry a little while the plant is growing inside for oxygen purposes but do I need to do the same w/ no plant in the mix???
Hey maus. Don't stress about the exact moisture level, just don't let it dry out completely. Many of us, myself included, dampen the soil then just let it sit, maybe turning it every so often when we think about it, maybe not. It's ok that the top dries out a bit, that's just the way soil works. The point being that the microbes are going to do their job regardless, they don't need us to maintain our idea of "perfect" conditions. Also, glad you made it to the organics section. It is a friendly place full of very knowledgeable growers who very kindly share what they know with the rest of us!
Yep - yet another thing God screwed up, and needs fixing by Man - WATER. Real Plant Water (tm) contains negatively ionized water that enhances the absorption through the cell walls. Typically you can expect up to 50% faster plant growth and up to 30% larger fruit yield. DETAILS: 1 gallon container - $54.99 "There's a sucker born every minute" - PT Barnum. J
^Or as my mama would say, "Fools are born every day". If I wasn't so morally superior (lol) I'd launch a business selling products to ganja growers. Because seriously, they will buy just about anything. Devote my budget to having a tattoo artist draw up fancy labels and come up with exciting names and sell a blend of molasses laced with vanilla extract, or orange, or whatever as a "flavor enhancer". Or, just spout of pseudo-scientific sounding product info and pretend like it's a special proprietary secret. Negatively ionized water ooooo fancy. All water has a negatively ionized end (S- polar end)- because that's just the way water is! My favorite line in that product description though was something about water molecules being attracted to one another and competing for electrons or something else. Water molecules being attracted to one another is an integral property of liquid water that makes it....liquid! When water molecules aren't attracted to one another you get.....water vapor (steam)! I don't know why I'm ranting to y'all, you guys already know all about it, but it really is so shady.
Listen to ITG - yer in good hands. It's soil - not a controlled scientific experiment. Don't over think it. Like ITG, the few times that I have made soil I've not touched it, turned it, or done much of anything besides just making sure it stayed moist. Yes - I've only made soil a few times. I've been reusing the same soil for what, a few years now? Cool, huh? I'm gonna make some more soon though I think. I think I'd like to try a real simple batch - maybe just some kelp, alfalfa and neem for amendments. Sometime I'm gonna try just kelp too. Kelp & rock dust. J
Don't forget the Bloom Boosters. We wouldn't even have to be morally wrong. We could make kelp/alfalfa teas, call them whatever we want ("Organic Surf n Turf" anyone?) and they would blow away any product on the hydro store shelves - actually working. J
^ I know, that's what I was just thinking- "Organic Ocean Blast" with a picture of a girl in a bikini and a "seaweed blob person" on a surfboard=kelp fpe "Farmer Jill's Magic Plant Elixir" with a picture of a "farm girl" in pigtails and daisy dukes and plaid shirt on the bottle=alfalfa fpe I guess it really wouldn't be wrong to charge exorbitantly high prices for a simple product as long as it works. But then you'd have to deal with a hydro store and all that mess=not worth it.
If you had to buy a bottled fertilizer, you really couldn't do much better than the fertilizers being handcrafted by Blue Mountain Organics . They're really putting some thought into what they're doing......check out their ingredients. Chunk
I'm sure they're using lacto / EM. Back when I was running a co2 enrichment system I would use it to augment the water only soil. It comes with instructions to burp the bottles to prevent build up of gasses/air. I would guess that they were ahead of the game with the FPE's and we're just catching up to them. The thing I like most is that by using them you're supporting a small family owned business. AFAIK, they only market through Ebay. Chunk
I have checked out their products and if I had to buy bottled, it would absolutely be from them. It's funny that you should mention them, I was just going through my ebay messages trying to find a couple old messages between myself and the BMO people. I had asked how they maintain the aerobic bacteria in the product (since the stuff they sell has been aerated and bottled at peak microbial activity (iirc)). eBay deleted the message since this was a long time ago. I don't remember exactly what his answer was, but I do remember that he told me a couple things about pH, aeration, etc. and then told me that they also had some sort of proprietary process. I do know that they make batches of their product often, so you aren't receiving a product that is more than a month or two old. edit: from their product description: "You are buying one 16 ounce bottle of "Flower Power", from Blue Mountain Organics. Each bottle makes 32 gallons of fertilizer with an NPK value of 1-8-7. The ingredients are Artesian Spring Water, Fossilized High Phosphorus Bat Guano, Fossilized High Phosphorus Seabird Guano, Worm Castings, Azomite, Unsulphured Molasses, Humic Acid, Beet Root Extract, Comfrey Hay Extract, Alfalfa Meal Extract, Endo and Ecto Bacteria.. What is the batch date on the bottles offered here ? Sept 20th 2012" for their Grow it Green: The ingredients are Artesian Spring Water, High Nitrogen Bat Guano, Worm Castings, Azomite, Unsulphured Molasses, Humic Acid, Beet Root Extract, Comfrey Hay Extract, Alfalfa Meal Extract, Endo and Ecto Bacteria.. In this new, more concentrated form it makes 16-32 gallons per bottle for Soil and if using it in a Hydroponics setup it makes 32-64 gallons. They've also got a "Super plant tonic" with ingredients like leaf mold. I like. Not too shabby, eh? $7.02 for a 16 oz bottle plus $5.50 in shipping. You can get 4 16oz bottles- the whole "nute lineup" for $24.00 plus $10 shipping.
WOW!!! all this great info from one crappy product (real plant water LOL) That blue mountain organics sounds pretty cool. That's only if ur not using a "JAW" soil mix though right?
How much neem cake would be added using the 1/8th mix? i'd rather add it to the soil than have to spray it on the leaves as foliar. I'm actually going to try the foliar addative, CalCarb (Xtreme Gardening: Co2 (CalCarb in CA)) i got it as a free sample.
maus, how many cubic feet (or gallons) of soil does the 1/8 recipe make? I would add maybe 1/4-1/2 cup of neem cake per cubic foot (7.5 gallons) of soil, depending on the amounts of other amendments you have in there.