Sorry for double posting some info between your LOS thread and here. Not sure where RD is ..? I'm sure he's busy :)
I'll keep my info over here if that works...
Anyway, I think I'll start with a coot mix I came across on KIS Organics site:
1/3 CSPM
1/3 pumice or volcanic rock
1/3 compost and ewc
For each cf I'll add:
1/2 cup organic need meal
1/2 cup kelp meal
1/2 cup crab or crustacean meal
4 cups mineral mix
Mineral mix recipe:
1x glacial rock dust
1x gypsum
1x oyster shell flour or agricultural lime
1x basalt
These are all things I can source easily enough to get going.
As I understand it, after mixing it together I let it sit for a couple of months in a closed garbage can to cook it and get the microbial life going?
Yeah man, been busy babysitting trimmers.
I forgot to mention before that I mix the soil directly in the beds. I'll put 2/3 of the peat moss and 2/3 of the dry amendments into the bed, mix well, and then add 2/3 of the compost and lava rock and mix. Then I repeat the process in 1/3s to finish the bed. The last 1/3 only gets mixed into the top foot or so of the bed. I'll slowly water with aloe/alfalfa/kelp tea over the next few days occasionally breaking the soil surface with a shovel. Once the soil seems nice and hydrated... pushing the saturation point, I let it sit for awhile. I've built 300g beds and planted the same day. The 500g beds took 2 or 3 weeks to cool down. Dig down into the bed and see if it's hot for yourself.
I used Teufels Compost in my base mix. I DO NOT recommend using Teufels, Black Gold, Steer or Mushroom compost from Lowes, and most cheap bagged compost for someone just starting out.
This can lead to having to use every trick in the book to keep em green. Perhaps even pushing these techniques to the limit. Not much fun even when you know what you're doing. Trust me. I'm playing this game right now.
I have helped guys all over the country source quality compost. Shoot me a PM if you want.
WormPower NY
Coast of Maine
Malibu
Oly Mtn Fish
These are just a few. If a compost is certified organic but is lacking (like Teufels) they can be made much better given a lil "worm time". Add a couple banana peels, dry amendments, and a couple days of coffee grounds to 10-20 gallons of compost and add a lb of worms. Within a month or even less...you have a much better compost.
HTH
RD
