TheSmoker
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- Joined
- May 22, 2014
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@Patanjali Can I replace Azomite for the glacial/basalt rock dust? Buddy has a ton of it on hand.
:) Everyone's experience and preference is different, please remember that.
If I want to use dynamic accumulators, first they must be growing (this year they're not due to our severe drought, at least not what I usually use). Second, they must be physically accessible. I live on a HELL of a slope, and have taken a couple of scary falls, including one just this Monday that's got my knee seriously messed up. Do I risk another fall trying to make it up and down the hill to collect several buckets full of the locally growing plants I like to use (that aren't growing right now)? Or do I do what's safest for *me* and hit the local garden center, where a 12lb bag of Dr Earth is less than $30, and be able to walk on level, safe ground?
My choice? I'm going for safe because this knee shit fucking HURTS like hell.
This, of course, doesn't even begin to address the total time that can end up being spent sourcing and concocting, which is great if you're someone who's looking for more, and not less, to do.
I am using cover crops for the most part. Chop & drop 'em. I'll top dress over that if I think it's needed, but my own preference is to get what I think is going to be needed during the season into the soil from the start.
There's still plenty that can be done once you have things planted, a la teas and the like.
I simply like the ease of using alfalfa, and what I've done is every time I'm in need and we're at the local feed shop, I hit up one of the young men and ask for the sweepings, which they give me for free. I don't even have to bring a bag.
heres my new soil mix that ill be mixing up this week.
3.8 cf peat moss
1 cf EWC
1 cf compost
2 cf pumice/perlite
5 lbs azomite (usually i use gaia green glacial rock dust but only had access to azomite this time, hopefully it works the same for me)
8 cups dr earth all purpose feed 5-5-5
8 cups alfalfa meal
8 cups fish bone meal
8 cups oyster shells
5 cups kelp meal
5 cups blood meal
ive used many different mixes over the years and tried plenty of different things.. usually i add a lot of different goodies, as much stuff as i could but this time i was on a budget and wanted to keep it simple so i just got the necessities. only thing i might add is neem seed meal if i get around to ordering it on time. this is by far the simplest mix ive ever made.
Don't be shy post those lab results, let's see some before and after harvest readings and how you specifically ammend with this or that based on soil test.....I'm all ears and eyes.I only got through 7 pages before I couldn't read anymore......
Am I crazy, but not one soil report on any mix in this thread? All this is just speculation without soil results right? I am the only one that tests my soil 3 times a season?
Try this one.I only got through 7 pages before I couldn't read anymore......
Am I crazy, but not one soil report on any mix in this thread? All this is just speculation without soil results right? I am the only one that tests my soil 3 times a season?
Don't be shy post those lab results, let's see some before and after harvest readings and how you specifically ammend with this or that based on soil test.....I'm all ears and eyes.
Try this one.
I put some effort into it and got some results I think.
Still mixing formula #2.
https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/six-super-soil-variants-run-side-by-side.63549/
My problem with lab reports on garden soil is I can't trust that I can take a representative sample from a garden.
Even with pot soil, what exactly grew there will impact what is needed. Right?
Maybe 27 pages is too long for a thread.
We are really doing some damage to the environment by mining peat moss I'm sure there's a more concious decision, maybe like an existing by product of some sortTry to source your peat from the bog directly or The peatmoss bale is that they are straight from the bog with life still inside instead of chopped and dehydrated and blended and then re-wetted like the ProMix or bagged soil. Also another recommendation I would give is to not buy bagged worm castings if you can afford your own worm bin, home sourced castings BLOW AWAY any other form of castings in my experience theres no comparison. I use biochar as the bottom base of each of my potting sites now. Gonnna do one tent no-till buckets with companion plants that fix n-p-k into the soil and another tent with the basic peat bale recipe I have here.
Solid mix u got there bro. good to see u back on the farm. funny u mention neem seed meal, i was looking at that the other day. Down to Earth has a neem seed meal and ive been buggin to try it.
I noticed u didnt add any dolomite lime? ive heard oyster shells work as a buffer, but ive never tried it solely. just curious.
Very similar to my recipe, I dig it, aside from I think you're a little N-heavy with the blood meal... if you don't mind a slight bit of critique, I'd drop the super soluble blood meal in exchange for the neem cake, mix that shit in! Actually when I look at your recipe, it's almost identical to mine, and I've never had any -N indicators, despite recycling and re-amending very lightly.i actually ended up picking up some gardening lime cuz i was going out of town and wanted to get something in there to start cooking cuz i didnt have time to go get the oyster shells.. i put 1/2 cup per cf lime.
but when i got back i got some oyster shells and found a old bag of crab shells i had so i added a 50/50 mix of the crab and oyster shells at a cup per cf. it helps with calcium and ph buffering like the lime.
also i use to order EWC from a company out of encintias, ca whenever i didnt have a worm bin going cuz their castings are so much better then the usual bagged castings at the nursery.. so i went online to check em out and i noticed they started selling their products at a few select nurseries in socal.. one being the nursery half a block form my house lucky me.. so i went and got a bag and also a bag of their glacial rock dust that was AMAZING last time i used it.. i'd go as far as saying its my secret weapon.. dont know why, i just saw major results when i added it. so i got a bag of that and mixed it in with my azomite. and then when i was out of town in AZ i went to a hydro shop that was selling a new rock dust called elemite.. i guess similar to azomite and glacial rock dust.. i got a few lbs but prolly wont use till my next soil cuz i already have a lot of rock dust in this one.. sounds good though like the agrowin rock dust. also found some humic acid ore at a nursery and got a few lbs so my super simple soil mix turned into being super complex soil mix with a lot of goodies like i usually do.
peat 3.8 cf
compost 1 cf
EWC 1 cf
pumice 2 cf
4 lbs agrowin glacial rock dust
2 pounds azomite
dr earth all purpose fertilizer 1/2 cup per cf (i ran out or i woulda done a whole cup)
fish bone meal 1 cup per cf
alfalfa meal 1 cup per cf
kelp meal 1 cup per cf
blood meal 1/2 cup per cf
ag lime 1/2 cup per cf
oyster shell/ crab shell mix 1 cup per cf
humic acid ore 1/8 cup per cf (just sprinkled it in to spice it up some.. the guy told me to be careful)
insect frass 1/8 cup per cf (a hydro store gave me a sample of this few years back so i threw it in)
ill prolly add some DE for silica purposes and epsom salts for some mag maybe.. and the neem cake if i ever get around to ordering.. prolly just throw it on top later once the gnats start driving me mad.
im loving this one.. cant wait to put some plants in it and watch em smile at me.
my partner uses coco with heavy 16 nutes, i cant wait to stunt on him with just water and teas. pretty sure ill convert him after one grow.
That's a great thread! Is the side by side soil thread updated? I lost all my watched threads listBlood meal was one of the components I played with last summer in a 9 soil side by side.
I used 210 ml per cf, and half the dose for two soils.
In both cases, the half blood soils under performed the full dose.
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