What up Y'all. In a Large pot that comfortably holds 1.5 cf of peat I added: Kelp Meal- 16 slightly heaping tablespoons (bag came with scoop) Alfalfa Meal- 4 cups Organic Cottonseed meal- 1 cup (Espoma) Jamaican Bat Guano- 2 cups EWC- 16 cups (Wiggle Worm) Mixed by me and my two year old assistant (hope the labor boards aren't reading this) Its outside in current temps of 50-80 degrees. Didn't water it as Spring has arrived early here and its a rainy day. Its wet now. I did fill a 5 gallon bucket about 3 gallons full from the hose and left it sit to allow the chlorine to evaporate. Plan on soaking it with an aloe, honey, dandelion, and kelpmeal tea (18 hour) mid cook time(2 weeks). This is intended for use with native soil. Mixing equal parts. Voo
It gets very hot here in the summer months with very little rain the last few years to boot. Nor would I like to haul more "crick wata" up hill than necessary. But under normal circumstances your right it wouldn't hurt but you could always add it before planting because perlite, pumice etc doesn't need to cook. VOO
For me, it would all depend if you're going in the ground or in containers. The 1/2 native soil makes me suspect you're going in the ground and if so, the need for perlite/pumice would be minimal. Containers are another story. Wet
Wet- DEF Going in the ground im just using a container to mix. I wouldnt pass up on all that free rootspace for anything. That would be short sighted. Voo
Thanks for the Green light wet. I have been anxious to implement some new(to me) ideas and methods that I read about this past winter. There is an abundance of soil/plant knowledge to be found here in the organics forum and I am happy to be here with you all. VOO
If you could find something say Oak Leafs on the site, I would dig em it. 3 pro's come to mind, airy,easy,black leaf mold (hopefully), a year or so later. I did this with my vegetable garden, and it works like a charm.
I can get all the oak leaves I want. I know two different people that have them in their yards for certain. Most all the leaves in my compost are silver leaf maple though. VOO
[quote name='"VooDoom"']I can get all the oak leaves I want. I know two different people that have them in their yards for certain. Most all the leaves in my compost are silver leaf maple though. VOO[/quote] Not sure man. When in doubt, Google that shit.
Right on, I know that. Maples have crazy fiberous root systems. Im sure they accumulate all kinds of goodies. Any reason why oak is the best leaf? I know they grow super deep taproots. On another note Im making a drench for my vegetable garden tomorrow. By that time it would be 36 hours of dechlorination. Gonna use ewc, kelp meal, honey only as I amended heavily. First tea of the year mmm mmm. Voo
I read on a compost tea site that honey/ blackstrap are interchangable. I dont have any molasses in the cupboard but I will grab some if it is better. You ever used honey hope? Im not worried about them black bears I hike with an eagle. Lol. Voo
I did some more reading on honey and found it contained some fungicidal properties and perhaps that is why some or most of you dont use it. I used it anyway because I feel the pros outweigh the cons. The tea i just prepped: one cup ewc(microbes) 2 tbls kelp meal 3 tbls alfalfa meal 1 tbls guano (microbe source) 3 good size dandelion root and all. ( local microbes) 1 oz pure raw honey This was added to about 3 gallons thats been sitting 4days. Stirred with stick 3 minutes. Gonna stir it a few more times tonight Before applying to the super soil. Voo
No my icon does not endorse a seedbank. Applied my compost tea to the super soil yesterday. About 3 gallons. Side dressed a rose bush with the remaining sediments. Filled another bucket about full with water last night. My second tea of the year is going to be a 100% dynamic accumulator tea from the yard. Dandelion, white clover, thistles etc. Gonna brew this one for 36 hours. Did a bunch of weeding yesterday and already have a lot of product ready to go! Voo
Sounds great man, I'll be picking up tips from here for sure. I plan on using a similar soil mix plus local ingredients for teas. Do you use anything to aerate them or do you just mix and let them sit?
Hey glad its been helpful for you. I use the old bucket and stick method. I stir for a few minutes several times a day. You could go automatic if you like. Voo
Today my 2 year old assistant and I went for a walk and collected various early spring wildflowers/ weeds. Most were dandelion and these little purple bell flowers. Not exactly sure what they are yet but will find out. When we came back home we added those to a bucket of water and then did some more weeding in the garden. I put wild carrot, wild rhubarb, clover, and more dandelion root and all in the mix. My assistant felt like added a few small rocks as well This mix was stirred and sloshed around profusely for 10 minutes and is now "cooking" in 70F full sun. Gonna stir up a few more times real well over the next 24-36 hours before applying carefully to a seeded raised bed. Voo