Oh ya! got me some goodies

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Thanks for the heads up about the mushroom compost, I couldn't help but add it, it looked like good stuff :farm:

I do have full earth juice line-up if I need to supplement later on, if that's why you were suggesting the dry espoma ferts

 

[Droopy Dog]

No, I was thinking of the dry ferts for when you could only attend to the plants once/week. Can your wife bubble EJ and apply? Or, best suited to just watering? Your call.

Wet

 

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Oooops, guess I should pull my head outta the clouds.. Yes Yes, I forgot about that slight problem. I doubt she will be bubbling EJ.

 

[Droopy Dog]

Any luck in the _____ bark mulch search?

An aside, when is your worm bin due to be harvested?

Wet

 

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I was just thinking, I have some aspin shavings I use for my snakes

 

[Droopy Dog]

No, it's gotta be bark, no wood. Wood chips, shavings will pull N from the mix.

I just got some today. It comes in "nuggets", "Mini Nuggets" and "Mulch" for sizes. You want mulch size. They also had wood chips, which you don't want. All were $2.39 for a 2cf bag.

This was at HD, but any place with a garden center will have it.

and the worm bin?

Wet

 

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I was told we have to wait another 3 months, we've only had them for a few weeks. When we purchased the worms, I also purchased 4 gallons of ewc from them.

I've been busy, putting up a chicken coop the last few days..we now have 2 Muscovy ducks, and 5 chickens to take care of. But I will try harder to find some pine or sprucebark, I just have to drive further to the larger city.

Thanks for all your help Droopy, I have a feeling I will be thanking you for years to come.

 

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I was reading up on super soil, and I knew about the layering, they say to use the supersoil on the bottom of the pot and your base soil on the top. They also mention the importance of using a good quality base soil, like happy frog, or ffof or a mixture of them.

Is this going to be considered a base soil, or a supersoil?

I'm assuming it would be too hot to put seedlings, or freshly rooted clones into. But would it be so hot that it should only be used on the bottom portion when filling the pot?

 

[Droopy Dog]

All I can say about SS and the layering nonsense is, I hope Sub is better at breeding than he is at soil mixes. :holysheep: I'm not going to rant about it, other than to say to avoid any aspect of it. The term alone sorta makes me laugh.

What I make is generally called a LOS (Living Organic Soil). After the first grow it becomes a ROLS (Recycled Living Organic Soil). Easy to turn into a SS simply by adding larger amounts of N-P-K amendments and making the mix hotter (usually a bad idea).

Even mine is pretty much too hot for seedliings and clones. Used mix is best for this and I'll set aside a 5gal bucket after a grow just for seedlings and clones. It's also very easy to make from scratch.

I make everything from scratch, mainly because ProMix didn't exist in 1972. Neither did any of those other *base* soils mentioned. Thank God, because I can make better for $5 what would cost $25 to buy in a bag. To be honest, I'm just assuming, since I've never bought a bagged mix. Well, a small bag of seed starting mix 5+ years ago.

The terms base soil and SS are kinda meaningless. Lightly amended or heavily amended is much more accurate. What *I* consider a base mix is, peat moss, perlite, bark mulch, and lime, before any amendments are added. The basic building block.

Wet

 

[Droopy Dog]

Don't get overwhelmed, but reading the "Soil Mix" sticky at the top has a lot of good info.

My very first mix was the very first one, LC's mix. It has since evolved to very much like Vic's revised mix (post #3), but not exactly. Vic's revised mix is one of the most well balanced mixes there is. This is from more than a few years of running it.

For the most part, all are very similar with just minor variations and amounts. But any tweaks should come after using a particular recipe and amounts. You need a solid baseline to make any future adjustments from.

Wet

 

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So I grabbed a 4 cu ft bag of perlite for $30. Checked out a few places, all I could find was cedar mulch, will that work?

**edit**

"Fresh cedar mulch uses the soil’s nitrogen as it decomposes, making that nitrogen unavailable for the plants it is protecting. This nitrogen issue affects only the soil in direct contact with the mulch, and will not affect the plants as long as the mulch is not mixed into the soil."

Guess I found my answer on that one

 

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OK, so I got the alfalfa, neem cake, and greensand that I didn't have before. But never found the pine/spruce/fur bark mulch.

I "could" go into the bush and get some pine bark.. or even raid a firewood stash.. how much do I need?

View attachment 20150630_223624.jpg

View attachment 20150630_223635.jpg

I'm about to add 1.5tbl / gallon of the greensand / alfalfa / neem cake

 

[Droopy Dog]

Besides the fresh bit, cedar is about the worst for organic grows because of the oils it contains. It does repel insects (think Cedar chest, cedar lined closets, etc), but it also does a number on bacteria and fungus. Both good and bad.

In my recipe, which makes ~18 gallons, I use a light 3 gallons of mulch. But, if you found cedar, pine or fir should be around. Cedar is usually the hardest to find and the most expensive. I use the pine bark as aeration at first and it becomes a humus source as it breaks down.

Great if you can find it, but not a deal breaker if you can't. I'm sure a *work around* can be found, let me think on it some. It's certainly not a "must have".

You have the "must haves", Neem, alfalfa and EWC (I use a 'heavy' 2 gallons in my recipe). BTW, I use 5 gallon buckets to do the initial, rough, amounts and a 2 1/2 cup scoop for the amendments. Make a couple of batches and it becomes handfuls and eyeballing for measuring (especially with re-amends).

Almost there!! Wish I knew just what is available to you to sub for the pine bark mulch. But still, no worries.

Wet

 

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Thanks Droopy,

I moved the dirt into a 77liter plastic trash can, she was warm.. that neem cake and alfalfa sure warmed things up. Smelly too, a lil fishy maybe

 

[Droopy Dog]

That *warm* is where the term 'cooking' comes from. Alfalfa really gets things warm and if other high N things are added, temps of 143*+ is common. Alfalfa isn't very high in N, it's the other stuff in alfalfa that brings it on. It's one of my "must haves".

Fishy smell? IDK, the kelp meal perhaps? Alfalfa is also a bit rank, or I thought so anyway. Neem makes it smell like lavender. :holysheep::bolt: These 2 are also on my "must have" list. The 4th is my homemade VC.

Was this added to a mix, or did you make a totally fresh batch? Or?

Wet

 

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Didn't mix up a fresh batch, just added the alfalfa/neem cake/greensand to the existing soil I had prepared. I think I need to get ahold of a cement mixer or something.. hand mixing with a spatula is a workout, on a side note, an ice fishing scoop works pretty good..

I was monitoring the temp of the soil but it wasn't really all that active, I had an increase of maybe only 10degree's. It wasn't until I added the alfalfa/neem cake/greensand that it really started cooking. I'm guessing it was around 120-130'

I added the neem cake, then alfalfa ontop in the same measuring cup, and when I was mixing it in the soil it smelled.. very much alive anyways. I kept my nose away from the neem cake just because it looked fishy

3 parts promix
1 parts ewc
1 parts perlite
---------
1/2tbl/gal azomite
1/2tbl/gal glacial rock dust

1tbl/gal bloodmeal
1tbl/gal gypsum

1.5tbl/gal greensand
1.5tbl/gal alfalfa
1.5tbl/gal kelp meal
1.5tbl/gal neem cake

2tbl/gal dolomite lime
2tbl/gal bone meal

I'm going to make some more.. this still sound right?

 

[Droopy Dog]

Sounds good, but the Tbl measurements threw me off. LOL I mix up a wheelbarrow full at a pop (2CF+). If I'm going to do a number on my back and pain meds, going to make it worthwhile. So, 18 gallons +/- it is. A short handled, square point shovel might be a good investment here. :rofl: Save the spatula for burgers.

I can post up my mix, but it is all based on using a wheelbarrow and amounts of everything are based on that and arrived at through trial and error.

In a month or so you ought to consider a second worm bin. You should have enough worms when you harvest the first bin. Just a thought.

Wet

 

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Please do post your mix!!

Great idea on the 2nd worm bin, will be doing that for sure.

I have alot of shovels, one thing I don't have is a wheel barrow. Thought it was called a wheel barrel! learn something new every day..

 

[Droopy Dog]

Worms don't eat any of the food they are fed (no teeth). What they do is slurp down the bacterial slime from the decomposition of whatever food source.

Takes about a month for this decomposition to get going good, especially in a new bin, so getting it started well before the worms are introduced is a big boost. They don't have to wait around for something to eat. Once it gets going it's pretty much self sustaining.

My worms are pretty much fed just fresh comfrey and used coffee grounds. When I mix up some bedding, I'll also add coffee grounds to decompose. It's easy to make well in advance since nothing much is rushed with worms.

Comfrey is also something you should check into. The Bocking 14 cultivar is what you want. It is sterile and not invasive like regular comfrey. It is only grown from cuttings, but you can usually get all you need for under $10. Mine are in the fifth season and the stuff is amazing free fertilizer. REALLY worth researching.

Wet

 

[Rosebud]

DD, am I being silly to blend my egg shells?