KGB Grower
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yes sir I can see from the gorgeous pics bro.
This end in Canna, I find 3 apps of bio veg tea at a low rate is keeping my microbes pumped up, without it I was getting an Fe issue on the second run. I don't think the bio terra was great to begin with. it took 2 brews to even have the right life to bother testing. I had to get rid of the fungus gnats that came with the bag, then establish the media before first pot up. I don't blame Canna, may be it was stored bad post bagging?
Anyway, its not a patch on what we produce in house that's for sure, even our own coco peat mix has more to it and is better protected by the inclusion of functional microbes without fungus gnats anyway :) That's the problem tho, shipping bag fresh soil, with active young microbes back to back is a ball ache or I might try to fix the chaff on the shelves myself LOL.
Still if I cant grow it in the stuff everyone can access, then we cant grow enough for the demands period.
It rots down well, but just lacks a certain fractal or other out of the bag. Save praying to it, you will need to add microbes, but once you do, it is a good shout anyway but perhaps not the best base for this style. May be you have thoughts?
I tried the cover crop, but got an N issue. I switched the system to bottom feed and this problem seemed to improve, but I think the CEC was too low to stomach the extra demand while the tares sprouted, may be you have some idea?
The no till with mulched feed top fed is winning on output, but I would like to get the cover sorted. I used what we had to hand as well. But the pic gives me an idea to swap out thanks.
Peace and keep teaching mate, you know I got to catch you :)
Ok, so lets talk gnats first. You and I both know that those little annoying bastards are going to show up no matter what. This is organics and I have learned that maintaining a small population is about the best we can do. I have learned the hard way that not sticking to an IPM routine will allow the gnats to get out of control pretty quickly. So, to manage the gnats I use a Neem/Kelp tea once a month and a weekly foliar spray consisting of neem oil, silica, aloe vera and an essential oil blend that I get from BAS too. I am switching to karanja though instead of the neem as it emulsifies better for an even coating of the plants. The gnats I believe mostly come in when I top dress between plantings with vermicompost.
As for developing a healthy microbial population in store bought bag soil, I feel you are going to have do that with them all. Well, that is changing these days as I know there are a few people out there now building and selling their own living organic soil. I am very untrusting by nature these days though and prefer mixing my own when I need fresh soil for expanding. BAS does sell a living soil I purchase but I have all the amendments on hand it it is a cost issue for me. From experience now, I always recommend adding AACTs to new soil to really get the beneficial populations up from the beginning along with adding a healthy population of worms from the start too. I'm talking a simple Tea too, worm castings and molasses aerated for 48 hours. If you find that this isn't quite enough, I have another super tea that I use when plants start to fade to early with the basic AACT.
As for the Cation exchange, I am still studying on how the positive and negative ions and that whole process works. I know of the importance and the basics but I am still learning as well and I learn new stuff after every cycle.
I feel as if I am answering this post of yours for others and not necessarily for you. I know you have way more knowledge of organics and soil biology than me. Thanks for contributing though because it helps me to focus.