No till ratio question

[Swayzeinc]

Hey everyone. I'm starting a new grow and am doing no till this time around. I made my mix @ 1:1:1 peat,lava rock, compost or at least I thought.... When I did my calculations I used 3.8 cu ft bails for my peat moss but didnt realize that 3.8 fluffs out to about 6 cu ft. Is this going to be an issue or should I be fine?

 

[oldskol4evr]

Hey everyone. I'm starting a new grow and am doing no till this time around. I made my mix @ 1:1:1 peat,lava rock, compost or at least I thought.... When I did my calculations I used 3.8 cu ft bails for my peat moss but didnt realize that 3.8 fluffs out to about 6 cu ft. Is this going to be an issue or should I be fine?

best way to do it is by 5 gal buckets,just add a tad more compost and you be fine
this is easier for me when it comes to adding amends ,i use a 5 gal bucket for the base ,then i know how much of what i want to use cup wise

 

[cloudyhelads]

Like olkskol said, you should try to keep the proportions correct by volume. Too much peat will make the mix mucky and you risk going anaerobic or running into watering problems. You also run the risk of being nutrient poor which Is not great either. How large of a bed are you doing? There is a recent “shaping fire” podcast with a guy who runs a notill facility that had some great ideas that I wish I had heard when I was setting up. Worth a listen but basically he was saying that the beds should have a mineral rich layer in the bottom strata of the bed and that the material should be more organically rich in the top of the planter. This is both for drainage and also to replicate the strata found in nature which plants have evolved to thrive in. I guess instead of top dressing mineralization he thinks it best that the minerals are banked below so they the plants have access through natural soil cycling. An interesting theory and one that has apparently worked for their facility.
Look forward to seeing your work as you go forward.

 

[Swayzeinc]

Like olkskol said, you should try to keep the proportions correct by volume. Too much peat will make the mix mucky and you risk going anaerobic or running into watering problems. You also run the risk of being nutrient poor which Is not great either. How large of a bed are you doing? There is a recent “shaping fire” podcast with a guy who runs a notill facility that had some great ideas that I wish I had heard when I was setting up. Worth a listen but basically he was saying that the beds should have a mineral rich layer in the bottom strata of the bed and that the material should be more organically rich in the top of the planter. This is both for drainage and also to replicate the strata found in nature which plants have evolved to thrive in. I guess instead of top dressing mineralization he thinks it best that the minerals are banked below so they the plants have access through natural soil cycling. An interesting theory and one that has apparently worked for their facility.
Look forward to seeing your work as you go forward.

That school of thought makes perfect sense to me. I would imagine that the beds would need to be tilled at some point though and remade in order to reamend the mineral layer or maybe not. Maybe they just put enough for a lifetime up front. I'd be interested in hearing more. I'm just filling up 10 gal pots right now. I'm going to fix everything tomorrow and repot them. I cant afford any issues at this point lol. Thanks for the help.

 

[cloudyhelads]

It’s interesting stuff and there’s always something to read or listen to on the subject. I just finished my first year in a 150 gal smart pot “big bag”, indoor. I started like you with a basic “Coots mix” with mineralization stirred right in evenly. I added worms and have done 2 top dressings of amendments. But essentially I just feed the worms malted barley. About 3 pounds a month. They turn that into cannabis food. Check it out at “reset and restart living soil grow” here in organic soil if you care to. Anyway. Good luck to you.

 

[Swayzeinc]

It’s interesting stuff and there’s always something to read or listen to on the subject. I just finished my first year in a 150 gal smart pot “big bag”, indoor. I started like you with a basic “Coots mix” with mineralization stirred right in evenly. I added worms and have done 2 top dressings of amendments. But essentially I just feed the worms malted barley. About 3 pounds a month. They turn that into cannabis food. Check it out at “reset and restart living soil grow” here in organic soil if you care to. Anyway. Good luck to you.

That's why I love growing. Theres always something to new to learn and improve on. Do we grow the plant or does the plant grow us? Best of luck in 2020. I'm sure I'll be checking in as things come up.

 

[shaganja]

That's why I love growing. Theres always something to new to learn and improve on. Do we grow the plant or does the plant grow us? Best of luck in 2020. I'm sure I'll be checking in as things come up.

listening to the potcast, and forgot the guest, but he said the plant grows us. how much stuff have we had to do for this plant? some of us have spent time over this plant. he says the p!ant finds ways to achieve its goal with us as the delivery machine. he told a story of how he gave all his cuts to friend grower. a week later, he gets raided. lucky for him, he got his plants back from his buddy. now, was this all human work? or did the plant know its life was in danger? and in turn, found a safe place to hide. is this the tree of life? we contain cannabinoid receptors in our body. so we know this plant is made to fit us. maybe this plant is here for teaching. teaching us humans how to live a fulfilling complete life. notice many growers have dogs also? i believe dogs are also by our side to teach us how to love without condition. so much learning to do!