Here is my plan for organic soil mix. I plan on using this for my tomatoes in the Spring as well. My basic soil will be 5 Gallons of Pro-Mix 2 Gallons of a local EWC 1 Gallon of Cotton-Burr Compost (http://www.backtonaturecompost.com/cbc.html) 2 Gallons of Expanded Clay That should give me around 1.4 cf of base soil To that I will add: 1.5 cups (total) of equal parts of Kelp Meal, Alfalfa Pellets (cant source meal easily), Crab Meal, and Neam Meal 6 Cups of Glacial Rock Dust 1 Cup of Azomite Should I add any lime at all since the Pro-Mix has lime already added? Is there anything else I should throw in?
Yes I would add lime. Also would add a touch of Great White... but that's just me. Great White is some awesome shit. *( Google it )
I would not add lime because you are in promix....you also are adding crab meal which will also drive the ph up as it breaks down. I would not spend money on great white....not worth the cash imo. You are using promix which is already inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi. I think you should add 2 more gallons of ewc and aeration. Do your self a favor and add 1.5 cup of malted barley fresh powered. Trust me on the results....they are astonishing!!
Thanks. I think I will add some more EWC and expanded clay. I'll have to research the barley. I'm already thinking about spraying kelp/silica/aloe foliar spray. I'm hoping for my tomato plants in the spring it can help resist blight and pests.
For reference I was following LD's soil mix from this thread. http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/951816-...
Research the barley as that will come in handy. You should also research liming materials in general so you can make good decisions based on soil chemistry instead of 'the way grandiddy didit', or because someone on the internet said it's 'ok'. IOW, there are different liming materials because there are different reasons to use one liming material over another. It's an interesting and fairly deep subject that goes a bit beyond 'just because' or 'pH considerations'. . Just a thought to consider. Good luck and bountiful harvests. .
Is there something in particular about the mix that you would change? Or are you just basically saying 'research as much as possible to learn more about taking care of a good living soil'?
Ok, after researching the barley on all sorts of sites - some type of SST is in order. I can get Barley seeds (it says semi-awned) a 48# bag for like $18 from my CO-OP. I don't know what semi-awned is though..
You want malted barley in particular...unless you are getting viable seed because you want to sprout your own...I would not do this as its hard to get the same amount of enzymes that the malt house gets.
What we are talking about here is a trip to the local home beer brewing store.. I have one a few minutes from the house.. Buy a pound or two of 6 row Malted Barley.. 2 row will do fine if they don't have 6 row.. Don't let them mill it as you'll grind it at need with a cheap coffee bean grinder.. This product is far better then any home done SST as the barley is sprouted then stopped at the peak of enzyme production using laboratory grade controls you just can't duplicate at home.. Two way to use it 1. grind an ounce per gallon and bubble or just steep for no more then 4 hours.. Use ASAP as it will turn acid if let go to long 2. Grind a 1/4 cup per plant and toss under the plant.. scratch into the soil a bit and water in.. Applied once per week in flower it will take a week off the time and enhance flavors and smells.. BNW
Thanks! The only brew store close to me has 2 row and no 6 row. Although it appears they order from Brewer Supply Group and they have a Rahr standard 6 row I'm inquiring about. I also stumble on buildasoil.com and read some posts but Coot / LD that mentioned corn was a good SST during flower. "...The other big one is corn and this seed produces a wide range of Cytokinins on par with coconut water. With the international market demand for coconut water is pushing the price higher and higher and it"s only going to get worse. By using sprouted corn teas you will get the benefits from the Cytokinins without the expense. You don"t need to order organic corn seeds online or jump through hoops – just head over to your favorite supermarket and go to the popcorn section and buy an organic popcorn. Even Wallmart carries 3 or 4 brands of organic popcorn.One thing about using corn is that I found it easier to puree these seeds once the tap roots grew out to 1" or so which softened the original corn seed.I switch between alfalfa and corn seeds during the vegetative for the compounds I mentioned. Cytokinins will increase the girth and tinsel strength of the side branches and stronger branches will produce larger and heavier flowers."- Clackamas Coots http://buildasoil.com/products/corn-seed-organic-b...
I put the soil together today. This was the final composition. 3 gallons of ProMix BX 2 gallons of local worm castings 1 gallon of local mushroom compost 3 gallons of expanded clay (aeration) The last three items I got from a local fertilizer / garden shop. The guy is a wealth of knowledge and steered me to the expanded clay over vermiculite or perlite because it will never break down and he claims it does wonders for his container based garden. To that I added: 5 Cups of Glacial Rock Dust 1 Cup of Azomite 2 Cups of Diatomaceous Earth Then a little less than a cup and a half of a mixture of equal parts Kelp Meal, Alfalfa Pellets, Neptunes Harvest Crab Shell, and Espoma Tomato-Tone
I like your mix....nice and basic....should last pretty well....you can add another part kelp meal if you want....and also you can add in some neem meal, if you can it will be worth it....don't forget mulch and cover crop
you can also use red lava rock as aeration. Its alot cheaper to buy and is found at any home and garden center. I try to stay away from the hydro shop they are only trying to sale you over priced garbage most of the time! As for mulch I prefer apple wood chips and stinging nettles as a cover crop. Happy growing my friend!
Thanks I must have left neem out in my post but it most definitely in the mix. I love the stuff. That in combination with some top dressing of DE - I usually avoid any pests. It has made me wonder about using DE in a no till environment. Would DE be harmful to worms and other beneficials? Thanks! I've never been in a hydro shop. Where I have gotten most of my stuff is from a local mulch/fertilizer garden place. The old timer in there is super knowledgeable and always learning. I love going in there just to talk to the guy. Anyway he sold me the expanded clay / shale at huge discount just to get me to try it. I think I spent $5 for 2 40# bags..
Found this. http://www.wormfarmingrevealed.com/diatomaceous-ea... Looks like DE is good all around and doesn't kill worms.
I have always used DE and have only noticed that if I use night crawler instead of the red wiggler that I normally use that they don't seem to com to the surface after watering.