Making your own High Grade Organic soil thread.

I'm trying different colors for my fonts.


I like this Blue.


Anyway.. Good news.. There are more sprouts and more growth.


I think the seeds are sensitive to soil conditions... Adding more nitrogen in the form of alfalfa meal and alfalfa meal tea plus left over morning brewed coffee seem to be making a difference.


Still it's been a long wait..


So allow the drift into soil...


I believe that the process of composting and rejuvenation deplete nitrogen so it is necessary to feed nitrogenous material. Remember this is a living system so instant results are not going to happen with basic materials.


I exclude blood meal tea for obvious reasons...


With the Catnip I can see the effects of the materials added and the conditions.


Catnip (Nepenta cataria) Doesn't like shady wet places.


It will deal with less than full sun if the soil is on the moist but drying side IMO.


Catnip does like a living organic soil.


----


I'm learning as I go...


They are still tiny plants but they are magnitudes larger than the seedlings they start out as.


I'm waiting a few more days for an after picture then I will have three to post.


I feel that the catnip will take off after that...


I see coffee is agreeable with catnip... So too should be some liquid kelp and maybe some fish.


-------------------------


The Rejuvenation has sat idle all this time until today.


I have watered and spread a can of coffee..


Why ... Because I like it that's why


So I now intend to keep feeding layers of materials and ready the soil for it's next crop...


NExt Crop? That's a secret... Y'all will have to stay tuened...


I guarantee it's in the realm of organic soil building...


OOPS some of you may know what I'm talking about already.. Cool just keep it on the down low.


Till next post when I have some pictures.


Randy.


More on Catnip for those interested ...


http://fl.essortment.com/growingcatnip_rdgh.htm

 

The news on the catnip is two photos taken a month apart.


I can see I need to state that once I made the soil the available nitrogen was low.


The other thing was partial sun.


After adding some alfalfa tea and top dressing with the alfalfa meal, then, watering with left over morning coffee a few times I see some progress.








I'm thinking I may limit these to two or three plants.


I could use some input on catnip if anyone has some.


The next step is to mix up a proper Randy High organic feeding.


That may show off my fert mix.. Maybe..


Such nice days here..


Happy Summer y'all!

 

Catnip @ 2 months


Wow.. Where does the time go?


This is a shot of the catnip as of today 8/14/07





Other than the alfalfa tea I wrote about and it's dreg plus some leftover brewed coffee I have not added any more nitrogen.


Yes I thought I might but I did not


So I believe I can let this thread rest now.


If you make a soil like I have here I suggest adding nitrogen such as alfalfa meal and let it stand for a while say 10 days or so..


Let the microbes get going so that there isn't a conflict between small plants and the microbes for nitrogen.


I have seen stunted growth with seedlings after I have rejuvenated my soil so with MJ it would be smart to add say alfalfa and water then let it stand say a week or more to get things going.


Then maybe more nitrogen will be available when seedlings or clones get going..


Remember that we feed the soil and in turn the living system provides for our plants.


The best to you all and if I can answer questions feel free to drop me a line.


I go by several names out on the Web..


I'm Randy High here and over at ICmag I'm JackTheGrower.


Now to leave ya with some other Organic goodness..





As the Allman Bro's might say "Eat a Peach."


Just be sure to eat an Organic one IMO.


Best Wishes on your Organic Harvest!


Randy

 

Ah peaches peaches peaches. I eat more peaches then anyone I know! My parents have a 20 year old tree that according to them, should be reaching the end of it's life, age wise. That thing produces HUNDREDS of perfect peaches every year. I have around 50 in my fridge as we speak. I'm making a cobbler today . Yours probly taste better than mine......organicly speaking Ours are pretty darn good though, I think i'll have one now.

 

nice peaches, randy!

 

AAAAH....That's the catnip I know and love.....shit can get out of control if not contained....ended up with a bed of it from one plant after a few summers....until me` pops got rid of it when I left.....


Thanks for all the info Randy, and you know I will be hitting you up soon!

 

RandyHigh is an Organic Guru!!!


I've enjoyed this thread EXTREMELY Randy....and I've learned a lot!!!


Peace!

 

A must read ....


I had to "bump" this...(learning forum lingo,:qbluewacko: lol..) Anyone that likes organics and wants to try leaving all the chemicals in the dust, read this! Randy,wherever you are retired, kicking up your heels, ..... you ARE an organic god.:love4: Screw turning my piles, I'm getting a tumbler! THANKS!

 

An Organic god? LOL!


Thanks that had ne almost blowing my coffee out my mouth... LOL!


I have to say the catnip is still doing well.


No feedings or much care and it's doing the winter well.


I can update the photos of it soon.


So I'm suggesting that the mix I made has a long term ability. It would seem safe to say that.


For small gardens like most of ours a tumbler or such should be a wonder.


Ther are always things to learn about organic gardening and I do learn all the time.

 

I've added that soil back into the compost tumbler.


To that I added oak leaves and peaches, grass and mulberry leaves and what not.


I'll be adding some alfalfa , kelp, and whatnot.


I'll cook it all one more time then screen and use a as a top dressing.


I have nothing bad to say about compost tumblers.


I have good things to say about compost tumblers.

 

Love composting. In the new house my wife and I bought it had a massive lawn and tons of trees which drop leaves all the time.


Got a tumbler I built with some pvc and a 55gal drum as well as a huge ass pile in the yard covered with a black garbage bag to deal with the yard waste. Also got another 55 gal drum, cut in half and made a 2 tray vericompost for all my kitchen waste.


Also cool cause you just take all your MJ clipings, stems, shake, etc, and just toss that shit back into the compost pile to use again.


If you don't have a worm compost, man, they can eat like football players. They'll eat their own body weight in a day and all ur left with its pure plant grow food that won't ever burn your babies. So much less garbage to throw out. All your rotten veges, coffee grounds, tea bags, hell, they will also eat your newspaper if it doesn't have poisonous ink.


Green is mean!!

 

I've been asked several times, and have posted this several times, so I thought I would post it here in organics for any of you who are interested in organics to have a good starting point for going organic.


This rececipe is simple and it works very well.


I start with potting soil from wally world. I believe it is called hydronex, you'll know if it's the right one by the price, it is super cheap! Only $1.66 for a 20lb bag, to this add atleast a 40% mix of perlite, and two handfuls of the Steamed Bone Meal, and that is all you need to start with for the vegging cycle.


EDIT, I've made a change top the mix, I find I am getting much better results by mixing the hydronex potting soil with "Miracle Grow's organic choice" at a two to one ratio, meaning two cups of the hydronex and one cup of the miracle grow.


If at any point you feel your plants need more nutrients, (doubtful) you can always toss some more bone meal onto the soil prior to watering them. (top feeding)


I also use sparingly some maxicrop liquid seaweed during vegging.


This helps avoid stress and promotes healthy root growth, you can read about this here.


This will take you, all the way through vegging, when you are ready to flower, perform your last transplant into a larger pot, this time go very easy on the bone meal, maybe half a handful at most, but also add a couple handfuls of Super Swell Bat Guano. This will take you all the way through flowering, once or twice I have top fed em some more bat guano during the 8 week flowering cycle.


The only other "secret" ingredients that I've used on this grow was superthrive, early on during vegging, and maxicrop liquid seaweed.


These are both root enhancers, and the maxicrop helps reduce stress also. I have also fed them molasses, usually twice during flowering.


The potting soil I started with, is just basic potting soil, and by definition potting soil has NO nutrients in it at all. Use what ever you can get your hands on easily. I like this brand, as its easy to get, cheap, and clean too.


The bone meal and bat guano provide all the macro nutrients need for the plants, and some micro nutrients too, the molasses will supply the rest of the micro nutrients.


The only tip(s) I have for you, is do not be cheap with the perlite!


Potting soil, left on its own, will clump. Perlite fixes that problem for you.


When you go to flower, use the largest pots you can get. Mine were 6 or 7 gallon pots. This recipe is for about 10 plants, adjust as necessary. The one thing I've noticed is, because it is organic, there is virtually no problem with nute burn, the plants simply take in what ever they need, and leave the rest. Always PH your water too! I promise you that you'll be simply amazed at the buds that you start to produce.


Peace

 

I'm thinking I might do fish meal or emulsion when I fire it up.


Anyone want a report and pictures?

 

Don't forget to throw some un-used meat in that compost, even a little fat off the edges. It adds a little protein and iron. I throw table scraps into mine all the time, got the idea out of a home and garden magizine.

 

Not a good idea for a cold pile..


I have tossed in dead rodents before .. into a really hot pile.


I'm nudging myself towards just screening it and let it be.

 

just read this from start to finish, awesome. I am in the process of starting a decent sized outdoor veggie garden. This composting information I'm sure will prove to be invaluable.


A couple questions, If you will:


Could you elaborate on the difference btw cold and hot? Is it just the level of involvment you take or A difference in what you put in there?


Would one benifit from having both a cold and hot compost heap going?


Can vermiculture be used in conjunction with a hot compost heap (Having worms break down kitchen scraps then moving the remains into a hot pile) or is this a waste of time/ not feesable?


I have been composting (well, my mother and I) for a while, but all we really did was take yard trimmings and table/ kitchen refuse and put them in a pile in the corner of the yard, turning only to get to the stuff at the bottom. Obviously I am no expert (you, on the other hand are a freakin genius) but how much does this differ from your average cold compost heap? What can i do better?

 

It works and Organic soil is never out of style. There are a lot of variations but composted soil mixes are my speciality.

As to what we put in. Have a look at the Macro-nutrients, Micro-Nutrients, trace elements and minerals. Minerals are important to the micro-organisms as well as to plants.


http://www.landscape-and-garden.com/garden-soil/basic-nutrients.aspx


If I am batching for a soil mix then I am like a cook adding the materials for a great stew.. If I am just processing odds and end materials then it's usually cold style.


Cold composting is actually going on all the time in an organic soil. It's just a slower way of decomposition of materials. Example web page of Hot and Cold composting


Hot composting is the result of large populations of micro-organisms in a mix of materials high in Green and Brown materials ( see green and brown in composting ) Example web page

Worms like the cool with just one variety that I understand do better at warmer temps but generally no.. Hot and earthworms are a bad mix. Now there is the Black Soldier fly and doing some anaerobic composting ( without air ) and they even eat meat but I suggest staying vegetarian.

Well that sounds like cold composting.. Nothing wrong with that. I fill the Tumbler with coffee grounds and kitchen scraps all the time and it slowly decays. Then when ready I hot compost the lot.


Thank your for the kind remarks. I am no longer maintaining that user name but will not let that stand in the way of offering my experience.


It's just coincidence that I came to reread a thread as a friend is using those heavy duty tubs for his soil boxes.


Well I have maintained my soil box going on 9 years now so it look like a reasonable thing.


Have a look in your email...


Again thank you for those kind remarks..


Ernst