As a caveat, I generally do not fit in to cannabis "organics" groups... whether the cult-like groups of single mind or otherwise, but I'll try in this seemingly smaller setting. I do not like the word "organics". I feel too much confusion surrounds exactly what that entails.... I use a natural system. USDA standards are not strict enough for my liking, so I go by ISOFAR and Oregon Tilth rules, including the rule that after the initial soil nutrient cycling, no cal or mag may be added without a soil test that shows a specific deficiency. I decompose items to build soil, do not believe in using the bone or blood of McDonalds cows, nor any guanos, I employ predatory insects, beetles and mites and work to facilitate established populations to deter any pests that may find their way in... the real estate is already full... I do not believe "organics" should come from bottles out of a hydro store with garbage pail kid stickers on the front. I use fermented plant extracts, and I make sprouted seed or botanical aerated teas at times, but for the most part, it's water only with some whimsical topdressing. My system revolves around integrated pest management.
Hear UC Davis IPM scientist Pete Goodell talk about the scientific basis for IPM. (7 min)
Elaine Ingham... where do I begin... I dislike her bogus science...
some of her most prominent claims have been dis-proven.... and she's shown blatant refusal to accept that she's wrong in those claims. I think she should officially have her Ph.D. taken away for spreading misinformation. They did kick her out of Oregon State.... so she went and got her Ph.D. from the CO State School of Forestry.... Her writings prove conclusively that she has never worked in a commercial nursery operation although she may have wandered around Farmer Brown's 10 acres somewhere.
And then I heard her talking about using leftover munitions from World War Two and putting them into farmers’ fields to kill weeds.... (around 9:15 or so) I lol'd quite hard that day. You simply wont often catch Ingham cite peer-reviewed evidence.
You want real deal compost tea information, check out microbeorganics.com... Tim Wilson is a friend and one of the most educated men on the planet in this area... he also happens to hold the only registered patent on the vortex microbial extrapolator, or "vortex compost tea brewer"
And the fact is, if soil has low organic matter and is low in minerals, microbes aren't a magic bullet. There has to be something for them to mineralize or the soil solution would be insufficient for (optimal) plant growth because microbial predation and nitrogen fixation would be the only sources of minerals for the roots to take up, and with low organic matter the soil flora and fauna will likely be less active and diverse.... she's just wrong and wont accept it.
Some companion plants that double as cover crops... I use both browns and greens... mostly Clovers of all kinds as they fix nitrogen from the air into the soil, as well as Marigolds and Chia because its small purple flowers provide pollen for food for some of my predators in the absence of pest prey items. I've attached a pdf on cover crops and their properties.
View attachment 461252
View attachment 461253
Biochar... the char needs to be at the roots of the plant, and if the char is not fully nutrient charged, it is likely to beat the plant roots to nutrients and stall things a bit. otherwise, good stuff.
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