slausongardens
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hey whats up organic farmers.. just wanted to start up a little chat about what you guys think are some of the most important parts of making a good soil?
or if you have any secret ingredients?? like something a lot of people dont add but should..
what do you guys think are some must haves in a soil??
most important amendments??
i'd say besides the peat, compost, perlite basics the most important amendments are bone meal, blood meal and kelp meal. and personally i think rock dust is in there as well. i see a lot of recipes where people dont have rock dust or go light on it and i think its a must have for a soil mix. and also one of my secret weapons. although ive seen a lot of people praising it a lot lately compared with before.
this goes for any type of rock dust that gives you minerals.. azomite, glacial rock dust, etc.. i do a 50/50 mix of glacial rock dust and azomite at 1/2 pound to a pound per cubic foot which sounds like a lot but it doesnt burn them so its ok and its worked very well for me at that amount. also if i have soft rock phosphate and greensand and gypsum i would do a mix of that and throw it in at a cup per cf. TRACE MINERALS!!! i love em. the more the merrier.
also good quality EWC makes a big difference in my experience.. like homeade castings or castings from a reputable company that specializes in them or castings from somebody local.. compared to the big company castings like eb stone and the other big names.. they definitely work and are better then no castings.. i myself use them if i dont have access to anything else but you will see improvement with good quality castings thats for sure. i'd say the same for compost as well. also a soil mix with no EWC and just compost will work but the castings are what makes it go crazy so i do a 50/50 mix of compost and EWC. always use castings!!!
what are your guys' opinions on oak leaf mold??? ive thrown some into my compost/EWC mix with good success. if i made my own i would use it every time but buying it from the nursery at 15-20 bucks a bag isnt worth it to me. i might get a bag on my next mix though if i have extra money. maybe try 40/40/20 mix of compost, ewc and oak leaf mold. ive even done crazy ass recipes with 30% compost 30% ewc 20% oak leaf mold and 20% humus like denali gold or ancient forest haha thats really excessive but was awesome.
so if blood meal, bone meal and kelp meal are necessities and must haves in a soil mix how important are other amendments like alfalfa meal??? i always use alfalfa meal in my mix but ive seen simple mixes that people post without it.
also do you think a mix without a ph buffer and calcium amendment would be ok?? like no lime or oyster shells?? i also see a lot of recipes without these components and i would never go without at least one of them.
and i subscribe to the thought that more is better as long as its in the correct ratios like 70/30 peat/coco mix. 50/50 compost/ewc, 70/30 pumice/perlite, 50/50 rock dust/azomite, oyster shell/crab shell/lime mix.. alfalfa/flaxseed/cottonseed mix, etc etc but ive never been sure if its better, not worth it or even maybe counter productive.
then theres extra goodies which i call luxuries, like feather meal, gypsum, humic acid ore, guano, manure, insect frass, crab shells, fish meal, DE, all purpose fertilizer, bulb food, etc. ive never thought them to be necessities but they do help.. does anyone think any of these are a necessity?
i always put a all purpose fertilizer at a cup per cf just to add more goodies even though its really just a concentrated mix of everything else i already put in.
also does the consistency of the amendment make a difference?? like oyster shells being ground, granular, flour??
these are just a lot of questions that go through my head and ive done a lot of experimenting.. so i just wanted to get everyones opionions on some of these topics.
i know most of our recipes are very similar with small differences and maybe different preferences because there is so many options. as simple as it seems there is a lot to a good soil.
so lets start a discussion and see what different answers we get and why.. i think we could answer a lot of peoples questions in one thread.
thanks for any help anyone offers.. i love talking about soil!
or if you have any secret ingredients?? like something a lot of people dont add but should..
what do you guys think are some must haves in a soil??
most important amendments??
i'd say besides the peat, compost, perlite basics the most important amendments are bone meal, blood meal and kelp meal. and personally i think rock dust is in there as well. i see a lot of recipes where people dont have rock dust or go light on it and i think its a must have for a soil mix. and also one of my secret weapons. although ive seen a lot of people praising it a lot lately compared with before.
this goes for any type of rock dust that gives you minerals.. azomite, glacial rock dust, etc.. i do a 50/50 mix of glacial rock dust and azomite at 1/2 pound to a pound per cubic foot which sounds like a lot but it doesnt burn them so its ok and its worked very well for me at that amount. also if i have soft rock phosphate and greensand and gypsum i would do a mix of that and throw it in at a cup per cf. TRACE MINERALS!!! i love em. the more the merrier.
also good quality EWC makes a big difference in my experience.. like homeade castings or castings from a reputable company that specializes in them or castings from somebody local.. compared to the big company castings like eb stone and the other big names.. they definitely work and are better then no castings.. i myself use them if i dont have access to anything else but you will see improvement with good quality castings thats for sure. i'd say the same for compost as well. also a soil mix with no EWC and just compost will work but the castings are what makes it go crazy so i do a 50/50 mix of compost and EWC. always use castings!!!
what are your guys' opinions on oak leaf mold??? ive thrown some into my compost/EWC mix with good success. if i made my own i would use it every time but buying it from the nursery at 15-20 bucks a bag isnt worth it to me. i might get a bag on my next mix though if i have extra money. maybe try 40/40/20 mix of compost, ewc and oak leaf mold. ive even done crazy ass recipes with 30% compost 30% ewc 20% oak leaf mold and 20% humus like denali gold or ancient forest haha thats really excessive but was awesome.
so if blood meal, bone meal and kelp meal are necessities and must haves in a soil mix how important are other amendments like alfalfa meal??? i always use alfalfa meal in my mix but ive seen simple mixes that people post without it.
also do you think a mix without a ph buffer and calcium amendment would be ok?? like no lime or oyster shells?? i also see a lot of recipes without these components and i would never go without at least one of them.
and i subscribe to the thought that more is better as long as its in the correct ratios like 70/30 peat/coco mix. 50/50 compost/ewc, 70/30 pumice/perlite, 50/50 rock dust/azomite, oyster shell/crab shell/lime mix.. alfalfa/flaxseed/cottonseed mix, etc etc but ive never been sure if its better, not worth it or even maybe counter productive.
then theres extra goodies which i call luxuries, like feather meal, gypsum, humic acid ore, guano, manure, insect frass, crab shells, fish meal, DE, all purpose fertilizer, bulb food, etc. ive never thought them to be necessities but they do help.. does anyone think any of these are a necessity?
i always put a all purpose fertilizer at a cup per cf just to add more goodies even though its really just a concentrated mix of everything else i already put in.
also does the consistency of the amendment make a difference?? like oyster shells being ground, granular, flour??
these are just a lot of questions that go through my head and ive done a lot of experimenting.. so i just wanted to get everyones opionions on some of these topics.
i know most of our recipes are very similar with small differences and maybe different preferences because there is so many options. as simple as it seems there is a lot to a good soil.
so lets start a discussion and see what different answers we get and why.. i think we could answer a lot of peoples questions in one thread.
thanks for any help anyone offers.. i love talking about soil!