Basic fertilizers needed before start? 50 year old garden - Never fertilized

testiclees

testiclees

Well-Known Member
Bro look around for info on soil tests. There are many different types and there are labs that will give you recommendations for cannabis. Adding chicken manure or even adding compost before knowing where you stand is def not best practice.

There are a few good threads on IC about soil testing. There is one lab that is well respected and inexpensive that a lot of high brix growers use. search around or pm me for name.
 
W

Wizzzzard

Member
testiclees said:
Bro look around for info on soil tests. There are many different types and there are labs that will give you recommendations for cannabis. Adding chicken manure or even adding compost before knowing where you stand is def not best practice.

There are a few good threads on IC about soil testing. There is one lab that is well respected and inexpensive that a lot of high brix growers use. search around or pm me for name.
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Understand what you are saying, makes sense and will do.

What is "IC"? Very interested in using one of these.....
 
Dan Drews

Dan Drews

Well-Known Member
All of the above is great advice. I think what people are telling you is to keep it simple. If your parents were growing good veggies for 50 years without fertilizer or pesticides, then you have good healthy soil. Adding compost, worm casings and manure should all be good additions. Just remember to NOT use a lot when a little will do.
 
sunny747

sunny747

Well-Known Member
Or an alternative would be to keep them in pots outside in the garden. This way you can move them around a little..
 
Wavels

Wavels

Well-Known Member
I would have your soil tested by your local agricultural extension office...
http://www.pickyourown.org/countyextensionagentoffices.htm

County Extension Offices
Are you looking for help with a question about your garden, lawn, finding a farm or anything agricultural? The solution is your local county extension agent from the Cooperative Extension office; and they're free! To find your local county extension agent's office, just click on your state on the map below! The Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land-grant university and a network of local or regional offices. These offices are staffed by one or more experts who provide useful, practical, and research-based information to agricultural produce


Read more at http://www.pickyourown.org/countyextensionagentoffices.htm#CA6RqKivfkRs5LBX.99


Wizzzzard said:
Intend to have soil analysed by local college extention, I have been told that TOMATOES is the closest legal plant whose nutrient requirements match those of cannabis. When asked what I am planting (cannabis illegal here) should I say tomatoes? (Are they the closest match to cannabis?).....
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Yes!, Good Luck!
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
racerboy71 said:
i do know a lot of people like to get away from the blood and bone meal, as well as the bat guano parts of the above recipe...
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I'm one of these people, only because of the health issues related to bovine spinal parts.
also I prefer different amendments to guano because of it's water soluble-ness.
For soil, i'd go with as many dry "meal" nutrients, as they take the longest to break down.
Annnnd add as much leaf compost as you can, humus is something many overlook, and it's damn-right magical....
neem meal, crab meal, comfrey compost, leaf compost, fishbone meal, fish meal, shrimpmeal, kelp meal (a must for depleted soil)
etc, etc,
 
M

Mountain Bud

Well-Known Member
You have a unique opportunity to use a garden soil that hasn't been altered with chemicals. What does the soil look like now? Can you easily turn it with a spade or is it hard to dig? What do the weeds look like? Big and healthy, or just getting by? Did your parents use the garden consistently to grow things? What type of things and how well did it grow? And...do you plan on working all of the garden, or do you plan on digging big holes to grow your plants? (That is what works best for me)
Right now that soil can be teeming with beneficial microbes, etc., that haven't been killed off by chemicals or destroyed by tilling.
 
W

Wizzzzard

Member
Mountain Bud said:
You have a unique opportunity to use a garden soil that hasn't been altered with chemicals. What does the soil look like now? Can you easily turn it with a spade or is it hard to dig? What do the weeds look like? Big and healthy, or just getting by? Did your parents use the garden consistently to grow things? What type of things and how well did it grow? And...do you plan on working all of the garden, or do you plan on digging big holes to grow your plants? (That is what works best for me)
Right now that soil can be teeming with beneficial microbes, etc., that haven't been killed off by chemicals or destroyed by tilling.
Click to expand...
Weeds healthy, soil fairly easy to turn, full assortment of veg grown for 40 yrs lying dormant for 10 yrs, will be using all garden (50 x 150 ft), grown veg turned out well.no fert ever used.

Plan on getting soil tested and then consider adding compost and chicken manure. Garden is part of Missouri River bottomland (thousands of years ago under water, should be Very fertile land).
 
Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler

Well-Known Member
Start with the basics. Take a soil test to your county extension office. Usually they provide a Macro- nutrient and pH test fairly cheaply. Other, independent labs can get as fancy (pricey) as you like.
Wear exam gloves to prevent acids on your skin from throwing off the pH results if possible. Take at least 10 samples from random locations to about 6" deep in the soil profile for a about 1 cup of soil in a plastic bag. Take to your local CEO and tell them you want to grow vegetables, tomatoes, peppers etc. The results should come back in a few weeks . The lab will suggest any amendments based upon the available nutrients, pH, organic matter present in the soil etc.
If the garden spot has grown fifty years of vegetables and, at least occasionally the crop-waste has been incorporated/tilled in to the soil, chances are good that plenty of organic matter is present. Possible macro/micro nutrient deficiencie(s) but again, this all determined by the TEST. Not some bullshit speculation by random "experts"".
 
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