# outdoor soil for indoor growing?



## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 12, 2007)

About 4 years ago when I moved to where I am now (don't really want to say) I had the intention to grow outdoors in my backyard because of the awesome weather. Pretty hot, but also very humid. So I dug this hole out back and never got around to growing until recently when I started my first indoor plant. I went out there today to dig up some earthworms and I found the spot covered with decaying leaves and decaying tree branches. I cleared that away and noticed right away how much richer this spot looked compared to the areas around it. As I dug into it it was absolutely loaded with earthworms and the soil was pretty light and fluffy looking. If you've ever had dippin dots ice cream, that's exactly what it looks like. Tons of little soil pellets. I dug in some other locations just to see and everything else was a compact clay. 

Anyway, I was wondering if it would be alright to take some of this dirt from outside and mix it with some fertilizer to use for my indoor pots. I'm worried about bringing in outside insects and weeds though.


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## Elephant Man (Mar 12, 2007)

You can turn that hole into your very own worm farm if you like.  Earthworm casings are probably the single most important thing you can add to your soil.  They will not burn...not even seedlings...in fact, some grow in e casings and perlite alone.  The 'fluffyness' you saw was probably pure casings.  My soilmix is about 25% casings.

I have a worm farm, in my garage actually...but anyone can easily have their own outside.  Being in the ground in a hole will help them if your temps get really high.

Tons of info on the net...look for 'vermicomposting'.  As far as using the casings there, I think you would be fine...if you want to get them really pumping though, add more leaves, used coffee grounds and filters, cow manure, banana peels, nearly any vegetative scrap.  Stay away from 'cat, human, dog poo' of course though.

More info if you like...just ask:ccc:


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 12, 2007)

would I want to bury all the scraps a little bit or leave it right on the top of the hole? I mean, it's been completely filled in with dirt over the past 4 years, but when I dig in with a shovel it sinks straight down. So if I need to I can dig it out a little bit and throw all the stuff in and then recover it.

Also...before using it for growing should I let it sit a couple days? Or is it ready to go right out of the ground?

This makes me happy though. I was going to go out and buy the earthworm castings, but I have about a 3 foot diameter hole full of them .


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## longtimegrower (Mar 12, 2007)

Hey lazer i never buy soil i always do a lot of scouting and make use of the best soil i can find. I usually always average half a pound or more per plant. I always look for where last years polk salid grew head high and plant there as a rule of thumb. If you not sure what that is its the purple plant that makes the really purgle berries and has a really soft stock.  Good luck with your grow and all the dirt you buy at the store comes from some sort of compost pile. Slim


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## Elephant Man (Mar 12, 2007)

LaserKittensGoPewPew said:
			
		

> would I want to bury all the scraps a little bit or leave it right on the top of the hole? I mean, it's been completely filled in with dirt over the past 4 years, but when I dig in with a shovel it sinks straight down. So if I need to I can dig it out a little bit and throw all the stuff in and then recover it.
> 
> Also...before using it for growing should I let it sit a couple days? Or is it ready to go right out of the ground?
> 
> This makes me happy though. I was going to go out and buy the earthworm castings, but I have about a 3 foot diameter hole full of them .


 
I hear you there, earthworm casings are very expensive...yet the easiest fertilizer there is to make.  Nearly everything that goes in our trash could go in the hole.  Junk mail, newspaper, cardboard...just no waxy or color printed.  Fruit peels, oatmeal, male plants, nearly anything organic.  I like to add some lime, and eggshells too...you get back what you put in. 

I would say you could use it now, and if you are not afraid, many keep small worm farms in tubs and stuff right next to their kitchen trash.


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 12, 2007)

I actually went out today for about 2 hours and dug up somewhere around 150 red worms. I put them in a plastic yogurt container with some dirt. I wouldn't at all mind having a tub of worms to break down food waste and stuff. I would like to go as organic as I possibly can with my growing. I'll start throwing in more stuff though for sure. All I've added so far was some banana meat and the peel and some leaves.


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## Elephant Man (Mar 12, 2007)

LaserKittensGoPewPew said:
			
		

> I actually went out today for about 2 hours and dug up somewhere around 150 red worms. I put them in a plastic yogurt container with some dirt. I wouldn't at all mind having a tub of worms to break down food waste and stuff. I would like to go as organic as I possibly can with my growing. I'll start throwing in more stuff though for sure. All I've added so far was some banana meat and the peel and some leaves.


 
Have you read my grow journal? There are pics of my worm bin in it, and tons of info on organics.

To start your bin strong, keep it warm, 75-85, closer to 85 will get them going faster. The bin can even be open. Unless something goes wrong (too much or too little food) they will not try to escape. They are afraid of light too.

In the beginning when populations are small, moisten a bunch of newspaper and dry leaves, a little dirt, and spread it 4-8 inces in your bin. They will like some dry leaves like shade over the top. Keep it moist but not muddy...I actually like clear containers cause I can paint or tape up all but the bottom. Shouldn't be standing water down there.

In the beginning, it is better to build this 'bedding of paper' than to actually add food yet. Put as many worms as you can find in your container...add them along the sides. Cover it if you want, just a few airholes if it seems to dry too fast. Some species may not dig this container and may try to leave. Some may even die, dead worms are actually plant food too. Redworms are actually the ones you want. Small 50 worm containers at fishing shops will contain eggs too.

Pretty much forget about it for a month or 2. They are going to hide and hopefully multiply. After that, push your 'bedding' and worms to one side, and fill the other side with steer manure and leaves and dried scraps. You really want to hold off on any 'moist' food till your worms are in the tens of thousands...in 6 months to a year, they will be.

Eman:ccc:


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 14, 2007)

well... I collected a ton of worms and put them in a plastic yogurt container which was pretty big. Anyway, I left them by my heater which was at 70-75 degrees for a few days. I checked today real quick by opening the lid and I saw early signs of mold spores growing on the top of the dirt. So I just dumped the whole container outside. I still want to give this a try, but how do you prevent the mold from growing?


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## Elephant Man (Mar 14, 2007)

It will get moldy until populations are really high, the mold is the decompostion of foods, and they eat the mold too...you can carefully mix it back in. That's part of the reason why I mentioned starting with newspaper, and cardboard...you need alot of worms to keep up with the kind of vegetable scraps we throw away...I mean tens of thousands. Short of having a pound of worms shipped to you (which is easy, 20-30 dollars) it will take a few months to get a worthwhile population going...that you can harvest from.

Take a little time to read a few sites on 'vermicomposting'. It is very easy, but just like growing, it takes patience.

Good luck


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## Wes (Mar 16, 2007)

Is it earthworm casings or castings? Which is correct? Since Elephant Man has a worm farm, one presumes he would know. But many product labels give it as &#8220;castings.&#8221;

Yes, you&#8217;re on the right track in composting and letting the worms do the work. I used to grow outdoors (before I moved inside and went hydroponic). I have the greatest respect for outdoor gardeners, no matter what they grow. Those who get down on their hands and knees and are up to their elbows in dirt.

The rich, black humus that your grandma used to grow her vegetables in is the most fertile, best grow medium for outdoor growing. You can achieve it using earthworms, and mixing composted kitchen parings, as well as composted manure.

We used to take our daughter horseback riding, so I made a deal with the stables to have access to their horse manure. We carted van loads of the stuff and put it on our own compost pile until the next growing season came around. 

I&#8217;ve recently read that many of the nutrients leach into the soil under the compost pile, so it makes better sense to spread the manure directly on the garden, along with your own composted material (coffee grounds, egg shells, banana skins, apple cores, onion peelings, etc.) This way the nutrients go into the soil underneath your plants, where you need them most!

Another way to create this rich, black, fertile topsoil is to mix in two Advanced Nutrients Medical products&#8212;Grandma Enggy&#8217;s Humic Acid and her Fulvic Acid. The company obtains an organic material called &#8220;leonardite&#8221; (it&#8217;s usually found on top of coal beds deep within the earth) and then derives these two acids from this rich material.

Humic acid comes from the word &#8220;humus,&#8221; which is what this organic layer is called. But recent studies in India prove that manure and compost, no matter how rich the humus that they produce, do not supply enough NPK for your precious cannabis plants.

One tonne of cattle dung (1000 kg) contains .295% of Nitrogen, .159% of Phosphorus, and .295% of Potassium, not quite enough of a percentage to meet your plants&#8217; nutritional needs. One needs to use an NPK balanced fertilizer, such as Heavy Harvest from Advanced Nutrients, in order to bring the percentage of the three macronutrients up to the desired levels.

Heavy Harvest needs to be applied only three times per year. It is packaged as Heavy Harvest, Spring, Summer, and Fall. It is a granular, time-release product that is pH buffered and contains all the macro and micro nutrients that your cannabis plants need.

The NPK of Heavy Harvest is tailor-made to your plants&#8217; needs, according to the seasons. The Spring blend is NPK 25-9-7, while for Summer, the product gives your plants 13% Nitrogen, 15% Phosphorus, and 11% Potassium. Then for the Fall harvest season, it provides an NPK of 11-4-17. Your buds will welcome the 17% Potassium in order to maximize their potency.

Agricultural use of Humic Acid has been researched thoroughly and proven to benefit plant growth by complexing of plant nutrients, alteration of plant carbohydrate metabolism, accumulation of reducible sugars in plants, increased oxygen uptake, increased nutrients uptake, increased growth rate, promotion of iron translocation in leaves, increased root respiration, and increased crop yield.

More research is planned into the use of humates in agriculture, but many farmers are now accepting Humic Acid as an integral part of their fertilizer program. The United States government and 21 universities have worked with or are still conducting experiments with Humic Acid.

What your grandmother knew instinctively, the academics are only now beginning to find out.


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## BlueMoon (Mar 21, 2007)

Believe it's 'castings' because it's worm **** pure and simple lol.


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