Jimmy Verde

Well-Known Member
Howdy I use a tweeked version of sub cools super soil and have been researching for new amendments and minerals to make my soil more bio diverse for better growth. One new amendment I have been experimeting with is bokashi and have been seeing some great results with a couple of my strsins !

Anyone have any good amendment recommendations for me to try out or info to share
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
For aeration upgrades, I like to use mineral rich, highly porous, more robust options like pumice, lava rock, biochar, (also see bone char), and natural diatomite, which couples as my fav top dress with cooling and pest benefits.

Also like to have half my aeration be more fluffy or decompacting, as well as humus and plant based, (vs planet based, or pure rock mineral based)

It adds Co2 and worm food as it breaks down and keep the mix more resilient to over compacting, over watering, flooding with better breathing/ drainage.

A world of more things I'm sure we could talk about, but thought that was a great place to start.. and bokashi is great by the way, nice work!
 

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
all this fuss, for a soil that wont support through flower.....tisk tisk.
pro mix+ Organicare composted chicken shit+ water= winning for years and years and years.
amendments=water
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
all this fuss, for a soil that wont support through flower.....tisk tisk.
pro mix+ Organicare composted chicken shit+ water= winning for years and years and years.
amendments=water
pro mix is an inferior product far from professional grade, at least in my opinion.. considering its loaded with the cheapest, least robust aeration in the world.. just not something I would use, and nor is chicken shit, perhaps the worst waste by product in the world to me, almost representing the epitomy of sickness disease and cancer .. but to each their own. Im glad you're happy though, keep rocking it if happy.

For me, mineral (water? lol) for the win. Even if I have to reapply my minerals every run, at 50 cents a litre, my soil is producing pounds on the penny without any potentially health compromising lower grade ingredients.

Not knocking all poop just bad farming practices, dude. I do like my free range, hormone free, antibiotic free, cows and their organic cow manure, and my vegan bunny's organic bunny poop, worms vegan castings, and vegetarian fed insect frass.

But anyways, happy growing man. :)
 

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
pro mix is an inferior product far from professional grade, at least in my opinion.. considering its loaded with the cheapest, least robust aeration in the world.. just not something I would use, and nor is chicken shit, perhaps the worst waste by product in the world to me, almost representing the epitomy of sickness disease and cancer .. but to each their own. Im glad you're happy though, keep rocking it if happy.

For me, mineral (water? lol) for the win. Even if I have to reapply my minerals every run, at 50 cents a litre, my soil is producing pounds on the penny without any potentially health compromising lower grade ingredients.

Not knocking all poop just bad farming practices, dude. I do like my free range, hormone free, antibiotic free, cows and their organic cow manure, and my vegan bunny's organic bunny poop, worms vegan castings, and vegetarian fed insect frass.

But anyways, happy growing man. :)
I used my own rabbit shit and chicken shit(had to be composted first) on our organic style free range farm for a couple years but then bummed on the fresh poop handling here. I searched and searched till I found an OMRI cert product, chickens shit from chix raised organically supposedly. Hormones have not been legally used on poultry since the 50's. Botanicare has this product called Organicare. I have a well pump inside of my indoor grow room since 2005, pure spring water for the win.
I farmed a couple hundred thousand worms for a spell with great success but my body could not handle the work here. Daily lifting and emptying tray after tray of worm castings was killing me.
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
I used my own rabbit shit and chicken shit(had to be composted first) on our organic style free range farm for a couple years but then bummed on the fresh poop handling here. I searched and searched till I found an OMRI cert product, chickens shit from chix raised organically supposedly. Hormones have not been legally used on poultry since the 50's. Botanicare has this product called Organicare. I have a well pump inside of my indoor grow room since 2005, pure spring water for the win.
I farmed a couple hundred thousand worms for a spell with great success but my body could not handle the work here. Daily lifting and emptying tray after tray of worm castings was killing me.
Oh you were doing it up proper then, right on man..

I likely still wouldn't trust chicken poop without seeing the farm but I'm a bit crazy, I like to visit my sources/deposits in person, and get from nature if I can. Cool about the hormones, though, man, is that in the US only or worldwide? and do you know... what about antibiotics, were those also banned too on chickens.. I dont think so judging by A&W ads but I suppose those aren't organic.

So what did you do with your worm farm?? Im actually looking to buy like a million wigglers but not sure where to look, beyond these first few leads I found which lol. And I will not want to harvest manually, either, your poor back man, I will have to get my castings falling through screens somehow.

EDIT: Spring water on tap, thats awesome by the way.. Thats how its done mang.
 
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chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
I still wouldn't trust it without seeing the farm but I'm crazy, I like to visit my sources/deposits in person, and get from nature if I can. Cool about the hormones, though, man, is that in the US only or worldwide? and do you know... what about antibiotics, were those also banned too on chickens.. I dont think so judging by A&W ads lol.

So what did you do with your worm farm?? Im actually looking to buy like a million wigglers but not sure where to look, lol.
I released the worms in my outdoor gardens and stare at the stacks of pro worm bins by my barn.
not sure about other countries. yes antibiotics are used on chickens unless they state antibiotic free(supposedly)
the ones that do use them are tested, supposed to be 14 days clear before harvest. I hear you though about being crazy organic, right down to the safe hoses I use to water gardens. our bunnies eat only cut grass and marijuanas daily. chicks are free ranged for eggs, 50 a year for meat. baby bunnies are fed apples/carrots/celery/basil the day they leave the nipple, then harvested a week later.
my tilapia are cured in a 55 gallon drum of fresh water and fed chives, thyme, basil for 24 hours before the harvest.

i got my worms from amazon. red wigglers for the win. they lay eggs like crazy and populations grow exponentially.
 

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
Oh you were doing it up proper then, right on man..

I likely still wouldn't trust chicken poop without seeing the farm but I'm a bit crazy, I like to visit my sources/deposits in person, and get from nature if I can. Cool about the hormones, though, man, is that in the US only or worldwide? and do you know... what about antibiotics, were those also banned too on chickens.. I dont think so judging by A&W ads but I suppose those aren't organic.

So what did you do with your worm farm?? Im actually looking to buy like a million wigglers but not sure where to look, beyond these first few leads I found which lol. And I will not want to harvest manually, either, your poor back man, I will have to get my castings falling through screens somehow.

EDIT: Spring water on tap, thats awesome by the way.. Thats how its done mang.
even with screens I had to exchange trays every day, usually several. it was a big deal. pay off was superb.
I filled five gallon buckets with castings every day to be metered to my plants.
you feed only on the top tray and worms climb up from the bottom, when they leave a lower tray it must be exchanged quickly, that is the final screen, no falling through. time to change out. x 9 stacks, ouch... Indoor worming like I did is scary with the million new bugs I watched helping the worms. never an issue but intense.
 

Jimmy Verde

Well-Known Member
For aeration upgrades, I like to use mineral rich, highly porous, more robust options like pumice, lava rock, biochar, (also see bone char), and natural diatomite, which couples as my fav top dress with cooling and pest benefits.

Also like to have half my aeration be more fluffy or decompacting, as well as humus and plant based, (vs planet based, or pure rock mineral based)

It adds Co2 and worm food as it breaks down and keep the mix more resilient to over compacting, over watering, flooding with better breathing/ drainage.

A world of more things I'm sure we could talk about, but thought that was a great place to start.. and bokashi is great by the way, nice work!
Awesome advice thanks
 

Jimmy Verde

Well-Known Member
all this fuss, for a soil that wont support through flower.....tisk tisk.
pro mix+ Organicare composted chicken shit+ water= winning for years and years and years.
amendments=water
What do you mean amendments equal water? Am I doing it all wrong
 

Jimmy Verde

Well-Known Member
Neem seed meal aka neem cake. The first and last amendment. If I could I only use one amendment this would be it.
Great advice literally just wad talking about this with my buddy he said insect frass and the need seed meal said the neem is a must anyway I can top dress with it..? Would really like to get it into my super soil that my plants are already in is that possible?
 

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
What do you mean amendments equal water? Am I doing it all wrong

you are doing great, no worries. I'm ranting on a complicated soil build that wont take a plant through flower without adding more to it.
all the while I use simplicity for my success, my main amendment is water lol
 

Jimmy Verde

Well-Known Member
you are doing great, no worries. I'm ranting on a complicated soil build that wont take a plant through flower without adding more to it.
all the while I use simplicity for my success, my main amendment is water lol
OH lol okay okay that's what I'm taking about I like simplicity feel less is more some times and what soil build if you don't mind me asking
 

whitebb2727

Well-Known Member
I have a compost pile. I have a worm bin. I mix a 1/3 each of soil, compost and castings.

My compost contains vegetable scraps, leaves, stalks from the garden and various farm raised animal manures.

I use fresh bunny manure. I add kelp, oyster flour and diatamacous earth.

A pinch of garden tone.

Sometimes I carry a few amendments.
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Great advice literally just wad talking about this with my buddy he said insect frass and the need seed meal said the neem is a must anyway I can top dress with it..? Would really like to get it into my super soil that my plants are already in is that possible?
Neem, 1% of total volume, just work it in when you can, great stuff for up top and my all time tie for fav amendment along with kelp! Frass is the shit too though, very noticeable results..

you are doing great, no worries. I'm ranting on a complicated soil build that wont take a plant through flower without adding more to it.
all the while I use simplicity for my success, my main amendment is water lol
What complicated soil build, did you ever catch the recipe?
I prefer to build a soil so its water only from seed to harvest, actually.
Massive expression, expansion, and amount of terps..

With all the work you do on your farm I'm kind of shocked at how you garden, but hey, if it works for you great!! respect for the natural farming part!
 

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Alfalfa Meal
Crab Meal
Fish Bone Meal
Kelp Meal
Langbeinite
OysterShell
Neem meal
Hahaha just no that work
That's the gold standard right there. I make a good portion of my living selling a water only soil blend made with those amendments. We swap out the oyster shell flour for gypsum though! But our mix doesn't use any peat so the gypsum serves us better than the oyster shell flour, we don't need the ph raise in our mix.
 
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