The Ranch

JMcG · Jan 14, 2018

Organikz said:
Couldn't have said it better

Sorry for double posting some info between your LOS thread and here. Not sure where RD is ..? I'm sure he's busy :)
I'll keep my info over here if that works...
Anyway, I think I'll start with a coot mix I came across on KIS Organics site:

1/3 CSPM
1/3 pumice or volcanic rock
1/3 compost and ewc

For each cf I'll add:
1/2 cup organic need meal
1/2 cup kelp meal
1/2 cup crab or crustacean meal
4 cups mineral mix

Mineral mix recipe:
1x glacial rock dust
1x gypsum
1x oyster shell flour or agricultural lime
1x basalt

These are all things I can source easily enough to get going.
As I understand it, after mixing it together I let it sit for a couple of months in a closed garbage can to cook it and get the microbial life going?

JMcG · Jan 14, 2018

KIS also has these...

RanchoDeluxe · Jan 14, 2018

Rcubed said:
Yeah that one in pic #2 jumped around a lot. So you think the others are Canadian Nightcrawlers in different stages of development? They seem to be thriving in the soil I mixed in my big soft pots. Should I make a compost bin with the worm type in pic #2?

If it works, you will be the first person to ever successfully breed Canadian Nightcrawlers in a bin. I'd stop growing weed and start selling Canadian Nightcrawlers!

Farmer P · Jan 14, 2018

Cool thread brother, lots of good info.

Organikz · Jan 14, 2018

JMcG said:
KIS also has these... View attachment 771038 View attachment 771039

Yep thats a route to go but i figured id buy a #50 kelp meal #44 Ahimsa neem cake and #50 mbp...be all good. I don't see rock dust as a must. It is optional. By the time any minerals become available from rock dust your kelp top dress feeds have already filled y9ur CEC with more than enough. Enough humus has been created as well.

RanchoDeluxe · Jan 14, 2018

JMcG said:
Sorry for double posting some info between your LOS thread and here. Not sure where RD is ..? I'm sure he's busy :)
I'll keep my info over here if that works...
Anyway, I think I'll start with a coot mix I came across on KIS Organics site:

1/3 CSPM
1/3 pumice or volcanic rock
1/3 compost and ewc

For each cf I'll add:
1/2 cup organic need meal
1/2 cup kelp meal
1/2 cup crab or crustacean meal
4 cups mineral mix

Mineral mix recipe:
1x glacial rock dust
1x gypsum
1x oyster shell flour or agricultural lime
1x basalt

These are all things I can source easily enough to get going.
As I understand it, after mixing it together I let it sit for a couple of months in a closed garbage can to cook it and get the microbial life going?

Yeah man, been busy babysitting trimmers.
I forgot to mention before that I mix the soil directly in the beds. I'll put 2/3 of the peat moss and 2/3 of the dry amendments into the bed, mix well, and then add 2/3 of the compost and lava rock and mix. Then I repeat the process in 1/3s to finish the bed. The last 1/3 only gets mixed into the top foot or so of the bed. I'll slowly water with aloe/alfalfa/kelp tea over the next few days occasionally breaking the soil surface with a shovel. Once the soil seems nice and hydrated... pushing the saturation point, I let it sit for awhile. I've built 300g beds and planted the same day. The 500g beds took 2 or 3 weeks to cool down. Dig down into the bed and see if it's hot for yourself.
I used Teufels Compost in my base mix. I DO NOT recommend using Teufels, Black Gold, Steer or Mushroom compost from Lowes, and most cheap bagged compost for someone just starting out.
This can lead to having to use every trick in the book to keep em green. Perhaps even pushing these techniques to the limit. Not much fun even when you know what you're doing. Trust me. I'm playing this game right now.
I have helped guys all over the country source quality compost. Shoot me a PM if you want.

WormPower NY
Coast of Maine
Malibu
Oly Mtn Fish

These are just a few. If a compost is certified organic but is lacking (like Teufels) they can be made much better given a lil "worm time". Add a couple banana peels, dry amendments, and a couple days of coffee grounds to 10-20 gallons of compost and add a lb of worms. Within a month or even less...you have a much better compost.
HTH
RD

Rcubed · Jan 14, 2018

RanchoDeluxe said:
If it works, you will be the first person to ever successfully breed Canadian Nightcrawlers in a bin. I'd stop growing weed and start selling Canadian Nightcrawlers!

I was asking about the one you thought was perionix excavatus, but there is a guy on YouTube that says he breeds Canadian nightcrawlers in a bin.

RanchoDeluxe · Jan 14, 2018

Rcubed said:
I was asking about the one you thought was perionix excavatus, but there is a guy on YouTube that says he breeds Canadian nightcrawlers in a bin.

Spend 30 bucks on some Red wigglers. If some of your local worms end up in your bin...so be it. Canadian Nightcrawlers need to be kept at 40-45F...
Just my 2 cents.

Farmer P · Jan 14, 2018

I got some wigglers last year cheap at walmart in the bait section.

RanchoDeluxe · Jan 14, 2018

Pic of my vertical flow through/chicken roost. Put a 125w lamp in there.

RanchoDeluxe · Jan 14, 2018

Organikz said:
Yep thats a route to go but i figured id buy a #50 kelp meal #44 Ahimsa neem cake and #50 mbp...be all good. I don't see rock dust as a must. It is optional. By the time any minerals become available from rock dust your kelp top dress feeds have already filled y9ur CEC with more than enough. Enough humus has been created as well.

I think it takes 2-3 years for enough humus to be created under the best circumstances.
Rock dust has an incredibly high CEC and provides tilth to the soil, not too mention grit for any worms. It is in no way optional for any of my no tills.

RanchoDeluxe · Jan 14, 2018

Farmer P said:
I got some wigglers last year cheap at walmart in the bait section.

It really doesn't take many to get started. I bet you have plenty of worms a year later.

Farmer P · Jan 14, 2018

RanchoDeluxe said:
It really doesn't take many to get started. I bet you have plenty of worms a year later.

I don't have a worm bin but I would like to start one. I just dug a couple shallow little holes and dumped them in to my 8 x 8 foot outdoor no till I started last year. I got rid of my chickens and am using the coop for an outdoor area. The soil was already pretty rich from the chickens living in there for years. Now I just add a layer of homemade compost now and then. I'm still a nube and learning. This spring I'll start getting some plants going in there. Right now I'm growing in a homemade cabinet 33in x 45in x 8 ft. tall in coco. The outdoor plants did pretty well last year without much added. Just a little fish emulsion a couple times and some Dr. earth golden bloom once in flower. Probably didn't even need that stuff.

Organikz · Jan 14, 2018

@RanchoDeluxe
I just want to explain how I see it so I don't sound like an idiot to u. Compost contains a good bit of dust. I use rice hull biochar that I let soak in ewc for a month which I toss all of the contents into the mix. I thought worms mostly rely on enzymes they secrete into food stock. I know they have a gizzard but isn't there enough in the compost? I also feel that its going to take 2 years to get decent available minerals from the rock dust anyhow. Quality humus source is important so this should contain enough humus as is.

JMcG · Jan 14, 2018

Organikz said:
Yep thats a route to go but i figured id buy a #50 kelp meal #44 Ahimsa neem cake and #50 mbp...be all good. I don't see rock dust as a must. It is optional. By the time any minerals become available from rock dust your kelp top dress feeds have already filled y9ur CEC with more than enough. Enough humus has been created as well.

MBP ....?
Malted barley powder?

Organikz · Jan 14, 2018

JMcG said:
MBP ....?
Malted barley powder?

Yessir

JMcG · Jan 14, 2018

@RanchoDeluxe No worries, glad your back!
I can get either of the Malibu or the Ole's. I like the Ole's mainly because of its 2-3 year cook time, it should be thriving at that point! Malibu is 1-2 years I think.
Any input on fish vs cow based composts?

Organikz · Jan 14, 2018

Farmer P said:
I don't have a worm bin but I would like to start one. I just dug a couple shallow little holes and dumped them in to my 8 x 8 foot outdoor no till I started last year. I got rid of my chickens and am using the coop for an outdoor area. The soil was already pretty rich from the chickens living in there for years. Now I just add a layer of homemade compost now and then. I'm still a nube and learning. This spring I'll start getting some plants going in there. Right now I'm growing in a homemade cabinet 33in x 45in x 8 ft. tall in coco. The outdoor plants did pretty well last year without much added. Just a little fish emulsion a couple times and some Dr. earth golden bloom once in flower. Probably didn't even need that stuff.

That's soil is already solid man. Worms would break it up and mix it well though.

Organikz · Jan 15, 2018

i never used planet natural...fuck me i just snagged a #44 from neem resource...I could have saved meself like $22...oh well it's good to know moving forward...thanks @RanchoDeluxe

RanchoDeluxe · Jan 15, 2018

Organikz said:
@RanchoDeluxe
I just want to explain how I see it so I don't sound like an idiot to u. Compost contains a good bit of dust. I use rice hull biochar that I let soak in ewc for a month which I toss all of the contents into the mix. I thought worms mostly rely on enzymes they secrete into food stock. I know they have a gizzard but isn't there enough in the compost? I also feel that its going to take 2 years to get decent available minerals from the rock dust anyhow. Quality humus source is important so this should contain enough humus as is.

Here's the deal. Skipping out on rock dust may work perfectly fine for you. You are using a good local compost and the added biochar will increase your CEC further.

Other guys may not be using a quality compost and no biochar at all...like me. Same deal with recommending compost. Yes, you can get the job done with an inferior compost....but it may not be easy.
I try to give advice based for mass consumption. Most of what CC actually recommended was based for a broad audience. Playing it "safe" so to speak in many regards. There are many things an experienced gardener can get away with that a novice simply can't.

Organikz said:
i never used planet natural...fuck me i just snagged a #44 from neem resource...I could have saved meself like $22...oh well it's good to know moving forward...thanks @RanchoDeluxe

I bought 12 bags from neemresource a week or two before PN started carrying it.

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