Hello GC Organics, I need a little help here. I am going to use an AACT on the soil mix I have cooking. The mix will be setting at least 4 more weeks. I want to use the best possible tea. Should I Just use a kelp, EWC and molasses tea or should I add any other ingredients as well to get the "mix" alive and kicking good? (crab, alfalfa) I know this was sort of answered once but I always like a few opinions. Also, can you use foilar sprays of different concoctions (teas, neem, fish hydro) on back to back days? Or should one wait at least one day before applying another spray? There is so much to learn and retain in the Organics section of GC. You all are great for putting forth so much knowledge and informatiom so freely! Thanks to all of the "crew" at GC Organics. Oh yea, when you keep your mix damp while cooking, which damp do you refer to? The "damp" that when you stir the mix, "little clumps" of the soil sort to form. Or the damp that the top dries out but when you stir it no soil clumps together but it is still moist? I hope I described that right. I am thinking I want it to be more wet than moist.. Yea, it is time I quick lurking and reading so much and make another thread. Excuse my memory also as it has been a long 54 years, lol Peace to all, Mi2 Why do we not use Hi-Yield products? I saw one that said, "all natural. organic sorce of...." Maybe I shoulf of put this in the Tea section?
I don't always do it, but I like to add a tea to soil mixes prior to using them. Keep in mind an ACT is all about microbes, and they don't eat much, so go easy on the kelp and alfalfa. More is not better here. On sprays I think it depends on where you ate in your plant cycle the humidity, and so on. But in general plants don't need a lot of foliar feedings, and if it's dry in your grow room water is a good spray. And don't worry about your youth and inexperience, by the time your my age it will be old hat.......MIW
MIW, Thanks for the reply. At times I tend to be a perfectionist plus my last 2 grows were shit. That is why I am trying to get everything just perfect. That is also why I am so cautious right now or asking such simple question. I want to make sure I get it right. My humidity fluctuates between 35 - 45% so I am good there. BTW, I am no Green Thumb if you can not tell. I guess I will go light on my AACT and then dampen my soil mix a little more. It is moist but no where near Wet. I wonder if the youth reference was a funny about my age of 54 years old? LOL. Anyways, thanks again MIW. Peace to you, Mi2
I run the cooking soil about the dampness of a sponge that's been squeezed - not a power twist to get every drop out - LOL Something like this - take a handful of soil that you're working at and squeeze it as tight as possible. You want it to feel wet but you don't want water dripping out. Something like that.......
LD, That explains it in simple enough terms for me. I guess my soil mix is not damp. I figured I was not wetting it enough. As always, thanks for taking the time to explain "Damp" to me. LOL Have a Good Day. Peace and Smiles, Mi2
So sayeth the organic Elders... Aren't you guys supposed to be living in a gated community in Florida with golf carts by now? Bingo! Hehehe... Jerry.
Jerry Me? Florida? Gated community? Man do you have me wrong. You're more likely to find me living up at Mt. Hood in one of the 30-year lease cabins overlooking the Sandy River not far from Zig Zag, Oregon. Great place to collect plants, fungi, pure water, etc. And no neighbors who basically are here on this earth to pester the sh*t out of people like me from what I can tell. LD
I have no doubt. A man after my own heart. Give me my family, a patch of woods and my compost pile and I could retire happily. Jerry.
Don't let him fool you, he is the guy with the white belt and suspenders, waist hitched up to his chest, clutching the coupons for the early bird special at eats restaurant,and bitching because his toast was not done enough.....
I think all the rest of your Q was already addressed. How about this for the other part. In addition to wetting with your AACT, forage locally (as in right outside your house) and gather some "compost" or litter from under any shrubbery, bird feeders, stream edges, flower beds, et al, and adding that both to your AACT and to your resting soil. What you are after is bacteria and fungi and other critters in that food chain. How you get them is secondary. Many of the microbially active critters we seek are right under our feet in urban areas as well as rural areas. Just saying, in lieu of having any quality, finished compost at our disposal we should use what we have available. Dig up some plugs of grass if we need to and mix them in with our soil. The top few inches of the soil is where the vast majority of activity we seek resides. Mix these ingredients up, wet the soil, apply a food source such as baby oatmeal or regular uncooked oatmeal, cover but allow for ventilation, keep warm, volia! The oatmeal is strictly for a visible indication of any active fungal activity. Cheers!
Possuum, Thanks for the advice here. I got the perfect place to go foraging. Looks as if I got me another chore tomorrow. Damn, it never ends. lol I read about and saw the pictures of an active compost or soil mix. That is what I am shooting for. I know I have a lot more reading to do but I wanted to get the soil cooking as quick as possible. I got the oatmeal ready. I am wondering if temperture make a difference in the soil/litter I forage. The High was 40 degrees today. Hum, another question. I imagine I gather at the warmest part of the day and let warm before I add to my mixes. Sounds right. Anyways, appreciate the advice. Have a good night. Mi2