Can you help me build a simple orgainc soil grow?

[Vas Deferens]

I so envy you guys who have access to bagged products. Here, we had only sand, with about 1" or less of "topsoil" in the forest.
First project = compost bin! Now we have 5 raised beds 18" deep on stilts full of wonderful soil. Lucky me, neighbors' cows & horses visit often & leave their deposits free for the carrying. Plenty of sea lettuce on one of the beaches. Charcoal from our firepit. Egg shells & mussel shells, esp. baby ones, for grinding up with a couple bricks. Well composted pine sawdust. Pine needles for mulch. You can imagine how delighted I was to find powdered gypsum in 1kg bags.

Would be so nice to be able to use leaves in my compost, but they're from eucalyptus & acacia & resiny... The bark can be used for tanning leather, but I think not in my soil mix...

Hey Nan, whats the diff between horse poo'd ouside or in a barn lol ?

Hi Curlygirl ... good luck with your grow !
for you

 

[Dazed]

+1 on the Azomite (rock dust) that stuff is awesome. Might I suggest a worm farm too

https://www.autoflower.org/threads/tip-diy-worm-farm-for-under-20.36038/

 

[Hal 8999]

You have everything you need. Espoma and Jobe's make the best complete organic fertilizers. Tomato tone will handle all the calcium and everything you need. Tomatoes use more than any other plant around. Mix about a 1/4 cup of earth worm castings for every one gallon of soil into the potting soil. This will feed the plants until bloom begins. You will need to start upping the phosphorous and potassium. I top dress with Espoma and Jobe's at a rate of 2-3 T fertilizer sprinkled around the top of the plant every four weeks. Look it up on Amazon for customer reviews and tips. No one beats Jobe's, Espoma, or Dr Earth when using organics.

 

[curlygirl420]

You have everything you need. Espoma and Jobe's make the best complete organic fertilizers. Tomato tone will handle all the calcium and everything you need. Tomatoes use more than any other plant around. Mix about a 1/4 cup of earth worm castings for every one gallon of soil into the potting soil. This will feed the plants until bloom begins. You will need to start upping the phosphorous and potassium. I top dress with Espoma and Jobe's at a rate of 2-3 T fertilizer sprinkled around the top of the plant every four weeks. Look it up on Amazon for customer reviews and tips. No one beats Jobe's, Espoma, or Dr Earth when using organics.

This is kind of what I was hoping! Thanks, Hal!

I put another seed down in a 2 gallon pot with about 1 cup of vermicompost/biochar and 2 tablespoons of insect frass (2-2-2). I also put a little pinch of mycorrhizae. I'm waiting for her to sprout.

I have one plant that's about 4 weeks old. She's due for another feeding in a few days I think. Details are in my grow log. There's a link in my signature. I'd really love to get some grow advice on that from the organics folks. I'm seeing some red in her stems so I know she's trying to tell me something, but I don't know what. Please help me keep her healthy!

Peace.

 

[curlygirl420]

Another route would be using dolomite lime. IT NEEDS TO BE PULVERIZED! Sorry, that part is important. This needs to be able to break down in to the soil, and is not water soluble like the epsom. If you get it in any size larger than pulverized, it will not break down fast enough. Even at this size, it will not all break down for a while, well after a single grow. There are a few ways you will find this listed, and may be confusing. There is agricultural lime, and dolomite lime. I think garden lime is just a marketing term, and is either one or the other. This quote is in regards to the differences.

"The primary difference between the two materials is that, in addition to containing calcium carbonate, dolomitic lime also contains a mixture of magnesium carbonate. Typically, the mineral is comprised of approximately 50% calcium carbonate and 40% magnesium carbonate with the remainder being other materials."

The main reason most growers use lime is as a ph buffer, as it has a PH of 7. The best thing if you use this is to let the soil "cook". Mainly with the idea of letting the DL break down and feed the soil. This is cheap also. I paid $6 for 50lbs, but it is from a local source. Will last me longer than my garden will.

I've never used frass myself. From what I understand the best uses are... Feed it to your worms, mix it in the soil, or top dress. In that order. I've never read about making a tea out of it. Does it mix in water, and suspend in it? Does it just go with the flow of the water? (rise with bubbles, but fall right back to the bottom like rocks) If it is able to mix and suspend I would try using it as a foliage spray. Maybe after you learn a bit about FPJ making, add some to it at feeding time.

I also agree with NAN about the gypsum, It is a great thing to condition the soil. Another cheap item that goes a long way.

Thanks for the lesson on lime. I kept reading about people using it, but didn't completely understand the benefits so thank you. Now I wanna put the lime in the coconut! LOL! Sorry, I'm a little silly right now. Teehee!

I've never used frass either. I got it as a sample from the grow store. It's not water soluble, but there are directions for making tea. I just brew everything loose and top dress with the un-dissolved solids. I gave some to one of my house plants and saw a bunch of micro flora grow on the surface of the soil afterwards. I don't fully understand what happened, but I think it was something good.

I'm really limited on space and funds so buying jumbo bags of anything isn't really feasible right now. Besides I really need to prove to myself I can actually grow a few plants before I even consider investing any more cash. I wish I could try FPJ now, but it's late fall and everything is dying or getting ready to go dormant. I think I'll have to wait until spring to experiment, but that's okay. Just gives me more time to read up first! Peace.

 

[curlygirl420]

My seedling sprouted today and she looks healthy.

 

[Vas Deferens]

My seedling sprouted today and she looks healthy.

 

[Vas Deferens]

+1 on the Azomite (rock dust) that stuff is awesome. Might I suggest a worm farm too

https://www.autoflower.org/threads/tip-diy-worm-farm-for-under-20.36038/

+2 on Azomite .. +70 minerals & trace elements

 

[lilm00re14]

+2 on Azomite .. +70 minerals & trace elements
[emoji106]

Look into EM1. Beneficial microorganisms. I like to inoculate my soil with it about once a week so there is an abundance of healthy bacteria in the soil.

 

[Fuggzy]

Look into EM1. Beneficial microorganisms. I like to inoculate my soil with it about once a week so there is an abundance of healthy bacteria in the soil.

This is something that you can also make yourself. It is time consuming but well worth it.

https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&q=how+to+make+em1&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8