Taking the plunge into No-till - Amendment Questions

Deckchair · Apr 24, 2021

Hi All,

I have been growing on - off in coco DTW for about 15 years, now looking to take the plunge into No-till. I have many organic no dig beds in the yard for veg, so It makes sense to bring this to the inside garden.

Being in AUS some ingredients are hard to find / expensive so have a few questions, any input would be appreciated.

Looking at making a coots style mix for a 3x3 bed.

So far I have sourced locally

Worm Castings
Peat Moss 107litre bale
Irish 100% organic seaweed meal - ( stock feed Supplier )
Basalt - Local garden centre
Gypsum - Local Garden Centre

I need to order online
Neem Meal
Oyster shell flour ( Can this be swapped out for garden lime, Calcium Carbonate? )
Alfalfa Meal ( Can I grind down Lucerne Chaff from the stock feed supplier? )
Crab Meal - ( I Can source Crustacean Meal with added ground seashell - will this suffice? - Is there an alternative? )

reemotley · Jan 8, 2024

any luck with this mate. im taking the plunge myslef and seems like im going dow he same route as you ?

Natep · Jan 9, 2024

Try build a soil. There craft blend has everything you need.

shaganja · Jan 9, 2024

Natep said:
Try build a soil. There craft blend has everything you need.

Was just thinking about this post. Was gonna give same reply. You can find podcasts with Jeremy, and he explains things very well!

Deadstill · Jan 9, 2024

Deckchair said:
Hi All,

I have been growing on - off in coco DTW for about 15 years, now looking to take the plunge into No-till. I have many organic no dig beds in the yard for veg, so It makes sense to bring this to the inside garden.

Being in AUS some ingredients are hard to find / expensive so have a few questions, any input would be appreciated.

Looking at making a coots style mix for a 3x3 bed.

So far I have sourced locally

Worm Castings
Peat Moss 107litre bale
Irish 100% organic seaweed meal - ( stock feed Supplier )
Basalt - Local garden centre
Gypsum - Local Garden Centre

I need to order online
Neem Meal
Oyster shell flour ( Can this be swapped out for garden lime, Calcium Carbonate? )
Alfalfa Meal ( Can I grind down Lucerne Chaff from the stock feed supplier? )
Crab Meal - ( I Can source Crustacean Meal with added ground seashell - will this suffice? - Is there an alternative? )

Howdy, and welcome to the Farm!

First of all, I would highly recommend checking out Dr. Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web videos on her YouTube channel. She runs an online course called the "Soil Food Web School" but it is very expensive and out of reach unless you intend on making a career out of this.

At any rate, she has a TON of good information available for free if you take the time to divulge, on her YouTube channel alone - https://www.youtube.com/@soilfoodwebschool

^^^ This is a good first step. There is a lot to learn. Scientists are still learning new things about it every day, and this would definitely qualify as a "rabbit hole"

I will tell you this - the most important thing above all is your microbes, bacteria and fungi. These are the things that plants require for proper nutrient uptake and soil health.

Without a doubt, find some good mycorrhizae and bacteria to amend your soil with. Xtreme Gardening makes a very good product for this - https://www.amazon.com/Xtreme-Garde...7&psc=1&mcid=8f2f7a9fe3c43a93b66f527763e7e507

shaganja · Jan 9, 2024

Also check this book out. This guy is easy to read. It's not all sciencey. It's a basics to how all this soil lives, down to the basic levels, so can understand it as whole. Will admit, am not finished with it yet.

reemotley · Jan 10, 2024

Natep said:
Try build a soil. There craft blend has everything you need.

Hi Kate I’m in the Uk, in the Uk we can’t get anything no gia Green no down to earth nothing…

I’m going to use the coots mix and buy all the amendments separately I’m thinking but would appreciate any advise

Taking the plunge into No-till - Amendment Questions

Taking the plunge into No-till - Amendment Questions

Deckchair

reemotley

Natep

shaganja

Deadstill

Have Dick, Will Travel

shaganja

reemotley

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