Ground soil test

[Humusapien]

Ok so I planted this plant about 2 months ago, it was my worste seedling but I didn't want to chuck it so I decided I'd use it to test the ground soil in my garden, as an experiment, I usually only grow in pots with soils I've made, I decided to go cheap and fertalised with 1 kg chicken manure pellets(4.1.3) 200g superphosphate (artificial calcium phosphate and gypsum, 0.5.0) and 50 g Epsom salt in a 100 litre/ 25 gallon hole of clay loam, then planted, mulched 5cm/ 2 inch wormified manure and leaf mold and over time covered with old premade soil, buried a couple dead moles and a small Bird (gifts from my cats) just under soil surface, threw down a pile of fresh alfalfa, covered with mushroom compost, then another layer leaf mold, and another layer 50/50 manure/ soil mix, I really didn't put any thought into it at all, kind of just fertalized mindlessly, growth was super slow at first( i think temperature was a big part of that because i planted it a month before start of spring to get it to show, its currently reveging) but It gradually got faster and now it's almost doubled in size over the past 2 weeks. Thought I'd share this just because. Anyone have an explanation for what I did right? Or is it just good soil? I know a lot of people out there don't trust growing in ground soil, I didn't either before this plant (even though i knew its how all the old timers in my area grow some of the best bud I've ever smoked) but now after seeing how well it grew I think ill put all my ladies in the ground this season, theres also no way ill be able to make enough soil to keep them all going, and then maybe change out the Epsom salts for gypsum and add more superphosphate and manure, thoughts? hope this helps/interests someone, any feedback would be appreciated, let me know if I should give an update sometime

 

[HydroKid239]

Ok so I planted this plant about 2 months ago, it was my worste seedling but I didn't want to chuck it so I decided I'd use it to test the ground soil in my garden, as an experiment, I usually only grow in pots with soils I've made, I decided to go cheap and fertalised with 1 kg chicken manure pellets(4.1.3) 200g superphosphate (artificial calcium phosphate and gypsum, 0.5.0) and 50 g Epsom salt in a 100 litre/ 25 gallon hole of clay loam, then planted, mulched 5cm/ 2 inch wormified manure and leaf mold and over time covered with old premade soil, buried a couple dead moles and a small Bird (gifts from my cats) just under soil surface, threw down a pile of fresh alfalfa, covered with mushroom compost, then another layer leaf mold, and another layer 50/50 manure/ soil mix, I really didn't put any thought into it at all, kind of just fertalized mindlessly, growth was super slow at first( i think temperature was a big part of that because i planted it a month before start of spring to get it to show, its currently reveging) but It gradually got faster and now it's almost doubled in size over the past 2 weeks. Thought I'd share this just because. Anyone have an explanation for what I did right? Or is it just good soil? I know a lot of people out there don't trust growing in ground soil, I didn't either before this plant (even though i knew its how all the old timers in my area grow some of the best bud I've ever smoked) but now after seeing how well it grew I think ill put all my ladies in the ground this season, theres also no way ill be able to make enough soil to keep them all going, and then maybe change out the Epsom salts for gypsum and add more superphosphate and manure, thoughts? hope this helps/interests someone, any feedback would be appreciated, let me know if I should give an update sometime View attachment 4710604View attachment 4710606View attachment 4710607

The plant seems to love what you have done with the living arrangement. I would keep it goin. Sounds like you got your organics down as well. Planting outside and using the sun is the best. Maybe save up enough of your own soil mix to excavate and refill an area for them. I would love to do that in my yard. maybe a 8x4 rectangle in-ground bed 2-3ft deep for roots with dividers for 4 plants. Filled with a premade mix for the grow like you mentioned. I'd be in my outdoor grow glory! lol


Edit: Sorry I drifted off in dreamland there.

 

[go go kid]

i love it when the runts or little ones catch up and show there beauty, thats why i grow

 

[Aussieaceae]

Ok so I planted this plant about 2 months ago, it was my worste seedling but I didn't want to chuck it so I decided I'd use it to test the ground soil in my garden, as an experiment, I usually only grow in pots with soils I've made, I decided to go cheap and fertalised with 1 kg chicken manure pellets(4.1.3) 200g superphosphate (artificial calcium phosphate and gypsum, 0.5.0) and 50 g Epsom salt in a 100 litre/ 25 gallon hole of clay loam, then planted, mulched 5cm/ 2 inch wormified manure and leaf mold and over time covered with old premade soil, buried a couple dead moles and a small Bird (gifts from my cats) just under soil surface, threw down a pile of fresh alfalfa, covered with mushroom compost, then another layer leaf mold, and another layer 50/50 manure/ soil mix, I really didn't put any thought into it at all, kind of just fertalized mindlessly, growth was super slow at first( i think temperature was a big part of that because i planted it a month before start of spring to get it to show, its currently reveging) but It gradually got faster and now it's almost doubled in size over the past 2 weeks. Thought I'd share this just because. Anyone have an explanation for what I did right? Or is it just good soil? I know a lot of people out there don't trust growing in ground soil, I didn't either before this plant (even though i knew its how all the old timers in my area grow some of the best bud I've ever smoked) but now after seeing how well it grew I think ill put all my ladies in the ground this season, theres also no way ill be able to make enough soil to keep them all going, and then maybe change out the Epsom salts for gypsum and add more superphosphate and manure, thoughts? hope this helps/interests someone, any feedback would be appreciated, let me know if I should give an update sometime View attachment 4710604View attachment 4710606View attachment 4710607

Wow that's a lot of stuff...That's probably what did it in the beginning. I get the dead fish / animal idea, though i believe it to be more risk than reward. I'd stay well clear of Superanything for outdoors tbh. Balance is what's most important.
I'd aim for a sandy loam, rather than a loamy clay. Clay is a bit heavy.
Not a lot more you need than a few manures and a good mulch. Honestly. Less is generally more.

Nah nonsense! No way, don't believe the lies. Good outdoor ground soil is amazing. Beats anything in pots as far as forgiveness goes. That's why i like it so much.
You can screw something right up and it won't take long at all for the native biology to bring it back again.
Same time it can be very unforgiving and is a good challenge.

Good stuff, looks good. Good luck.

 

[Humusapien]

The plant seems to love what you have done with the living arrangement. I would keep it goin. Sounds like you got your organics down as well. Planting outside and using the sun is the best. Maybe save up enough of your own soil mix to excavate and refill an area for them. I would love to do that in my yard. maybe a 8x4 rectangle in-ground bed 2-3ft deep for roots with dividers for 4 plants. Filled with a premade mix for the grow like you mentioned. I'd be in my outdoor grow glory! lol


Edit: Sorry I drifted off in dreamland there.

Yeah I think that's something like what I'll do with the rest of my plants, make the beds 2 feet deep, fertilize the bottom foot with amendments and a little well aged manure then half a foot Coots recipe and half a foot layered composts and then keep things no till from there

 

[HydroKid239]

Yeah I think that's something like what I'll do with the rest of my plants, make the beds 2 feet deep, fertilize the bottom foot with amendments and a little well aged manure then half a foot Coots recipe and half a foot layered composts and then keep things no till from there

See! That's what I'm talkin about. I'm coming to you once I move my grows outdoor lol

 

[HydroKid239]

Yeah I think that's something like what I'll do with the rest of my plants, make the beds 2 feet deep, fertilize the bottom foot with amendments and a little well aged manure then half a foot Coots recipe and half a foot layered composts and then keep things no till from there

When you harvest could you clean up the old root mass and rinse the soil for a recycled run? Not saying you're gonna do that, but could it be done. I'm soaking up these great outdoors... don't mind me

 

[Humusapien]

Wow that's a lot of stuff...That's probably what did it in the beginning. I get the dead fish / animal idea, though i believe it to be more risk than reward. I'd stay well clear of Superanything for outdoors tbh. Balance is what's most important.
I'd aim for a sandy loam, rather than a loamy clay. Clay is a bit heavy.
Not a lot more you need than a few manures and a good mulch. Honestly. Less is generally more.

Nah nonsense! No way, don't believe the lies. Good outdoor ground soil is amazing. Beats anything in pots as far as forgiveness goes. That's why i like it so much.
You can screw something right up and it won't take long at all for the native biology to bring it back again.
Same time it can be very unforgiving and is a good challenge.

Good stuff, looks good. Good luck.

Yeah I hear you on the dead animal thing, I feel it can definitely mess with the biology, but I figure that by the end of the season it'll be broken down and things will come right again, and as for superphosphate I definitely trust it more than bonemeal, it's not as bad as most people think, calcium phosphate is the same compound found in bonemeal and plants, and i feel the lower p concentration in sp would be better for biology, plus bonemeal has calcium in calcium carbonate form which can lock up p, where as sp has calcium as gypsum, also feel superphosphate is more biologically neutral while bonemeal promotes bacteria more than fungi

 

[Humusapien]

When you harvest could you clean up the old root mass and rinse the soil for a recycled run? Not saying you're gonna do that, but could it be done. I'm soaking up these great outdoors... don't mind me

You could, but I wouldn't, I don't see the benefit in that, rain will do most of the rinsing through out the season, that's why I'm keeping the bottom foot ground soil, to hold all those nutrients, and when I plant again I'll just do another application of compost layers

 

[HydroKid239]

You could, but I wouldn't, I don't see the benefit in that, rain will do most of the rinsing through out the season, that's why I'm keeping the bottom foot ground soil, to hold all those nutrients, and when I plant again I'll just do another application of compost layers

Oh ok. I was just playing make believe over here.

 

[Aussieaceae]

Yeah I hear you on the dead animal thing, I feel it can definitely mess with the biology, but I figure that by the end of the season it'll be broken down and things will come right again, and as for superphosphate I definitely trust it more than bonemeal, it's not as bad as most people think, calcium phosphate is the same compound found in bonemeal and plants, and i feel the lower p concentration in sp would be better for biology, plus bonemeal has calcium in calcium carbonate form which can lock up p, where as sp has calcium as gypsum, also feel superphosphate is more biologically neutral while bonemeal promotes bacteria more than fungi

That's just the the thing though. I'd wager outdoor soil, carbonate is exactly the calcium you generally want. Rich organic matter is already loaded with P. Also if lime isn't what you need, then gypsum is just fine too.
Superphosphate is just unnecessary on a small scale. It is not better for soil biology than organic material.
Really don't want to seem like i'm giving criticism, not my intention at all

Like your idea of going no till a lot. Haven't had to till my own for 4 seasons now. Keeps getting better.
If i can offer any advice, keep your mulching up. Few inches worth all the time and it'll keep your soil nice and spongy.

Good luck mate. Plant's looking good.

 

[Humusapien]

That's just the the thing though. I'd wager outdoor soil, carbonate is exactly the calcium you generally want. Rich organic matter is already loaded with P. Also if lime isn't what you need, then gypsum is just fine too.
Superphosphate is just unnecessary on a small scale. It is not better for soil biology than organic material.
Really don't want to seem like i'm giving criticism, not my intention at all

Like your idea of going no till a lot. Haven't had to till my own for 4 seasons now. Keeps getting better.
If i can offer any advice, keep your mulching up. Few inches worth all the time and it'll keep your soil nice and spongy.

Good luck mate. Plant's looking good.

Thanks, yeah I definitely agree with you on calcium carbonate, I just don't like the idea of it being in such close concentration to p, normal superphosphate isn't good for biology, but its not neccasarily bad, its actually quite nuetral, I've had better results with it than with bonemeal, which seams to ruin my soil every time no matter what brand i use, the superphosphate ive got has a carbon based filler so that should help make it more organically viable, also most clays are already loaded with calcium carbonate so I felt superphosphate was even more appropriate for this grow, ideally I wouldn't use any p fertilizers but then I think I'd need to get better at caring for mycorrhizae because even though most of my composts have enough p for veg I usually get mild deficiencies in bloom

 

[Humusapien]

Thanks, yeah I definitely agree with you on calcium carbonate, I just don't like the idea of it being in such close concentration to p, normal superphosphate isn't good for biology, but its not neccasarily bad, its actually quite nuetral, I've had better results with it than with bonemeal, which seams to ruin my soil every time no matter what brand i use, the superphosphate ive got has a carbon based filler so that should help make it more organically viable, also most clays are already loaded with calcium carbonate so I felt superphosphate was even more appropriate for this grow, ideally I wouldn't use any p fertilizers but then I think I'd need to get better at caring for mycorrhizae because even though most of my composts have enough p for veg I usually get mild deficiencies in bloom

When I don't use a p fertalizer

 

[Aussieaceae]

Thanks, yeah I definitely agree with you on calcium carbonate, I just don't like the idea of it being in such close concentration to p, normal superphosphate isn't good for biology, but its not neccasarily bad, its actually quite nuetral, I've had better results with it than with bonemeal, which seams to ruin my soil every time no matter what brand i use, the superphosphate ive got has a carbon based filler so that should help make it more organically viable, also most clays are already loaded with calcium carbonate so I felt superphosphate was even more appropriate for this grow, ideally I wouldn't use any p fertilizers but then I think I'd need to get better at caring for mycorrhizae because even though most of my composts have enough p for veg I usually get mild deficiencies in bloom

Gotcha mate. Makes sense when you say it like that.

Is the clay you're digging into dispersive? Gypsum mightn't be effective as a clay breaker if it isn't. Great amendment all the same.
Good call on lots of compost. Regular compost and mulch might be all you need to sort the clay out.
The mushroom compost will be great for that.

Funny each to their own, hey. I like blood and bone meal a lot.

 

[Humusapien]

Gotcha mate. Makes sense when you say it like that.

Is the clay you're digging into dispersive? Gypsum mightn't be effective as a clay breaker if it isn't. Great amendment all the same.
Good call on lots of compost. Regular compost and mulch might be all you need to sort the clay out.
The mushroom compost will be great for that.

Funny each to their own, hey. I like blood and bone meal a lot.

Not sure what dispersive means, just searched it but still not quite grasping the concept, I think I'd have to see it to know it, the clay I've got is more loam than clay, structure is very typical, it aggregates well and doesn't wash away easily once it has a bit of humus added, though it does slowly compact and forms a hard layer on soil surface, but it doesn't form cracks, the main reason I want to use qypsum is as replacement for Epsom salt (I usually don't use Epsom salt anyway for a lot of reasons) i figured that since the soil could handle the Epsom it would definitely handle gypsum, and because I read somewhere it promotes healthy fungal growth, and if it improves texture then thats just a bonus, I'm not really worried about ca/s levels, pretty sure the ground has more than enough

 

[Humusapien]

Gotcha mate. Makes sense when you say it like that.

Is the clay you're digging into dispersive? Gypsum mightn't be effective as a clay breaker if it isn't. Great amendment all the same.
Good call on lots of compost. Regular compost and mulch might be all you need to sort the clay out.
The mushroom compost will be great for that.

Funny each to their own, hey. I like blood and bone meal a lot.

For a soil conditioner I'm just going to add leaf mold and well aged wormified horse manure, the mushroom compost I get isnt the greatest, its pretty much just bark, I only use it for its low ph and high C to N ratio, also makes a good source of chitin

 

[Aussieaceae]

Not sure what dispersive means, just searched it but still not quite grasping the concept, I think I'd have to see it to know it, the clay I've got is more loam than clay, structure is very typical, it aggregates well and doesn't wash away easily once it has a bit of humus added, though it does slowly compact and forms a hard layer on soil surface, but it doesn't form cracks, the main reason I want to use qypsum is as replacement for Epsom salt (I usually don't use Epsom salt anyway for a lot of reasons) i figured that since the soil could handle the Epsom it would definitely handle gypsum, and because I read somewhere it promotes healthy fungal growth, and if it improves texture then thats just a bonus, I'm not really worried about ca/s levels, pretty sure the ground has more than enough

If you place a hard lump of your clay in a dish of distilled water, it will often start to break apart fast. Often within minutes.
Mucky brown water is a good indication to use gypsum as a clay breaker. It's sodium's presence in the clay that gypsum is so useful for.

If instead, the same lump was like a rock for a longer time before it broke down, and didn't disperse itself through the water the same way, organic material is the way to go.
Worth checking the ph of clays, sometimes they are indeed acidic.

For a soil conditioner I'm just going to add leaf mold and well aged wormified horse manure, the mushroom compost I get isnt the greatest, its pretty much just bark, I only use it for its low ph and high C to N ratio, also makes a good source of chitin

Sounds good.
Good compost, regular mulchings and the odd bit of manure would be swell i think.

All the best to the season. I'm off to bed.
Have a good 1, cheers.

 

[Humusapien]

If you place a hard lump of your clay in a dish of distilled water, it will often start to break apart fast. Often within minutes.
Mucky brown water is a good indication to use gypsum as a clay breaker. It's sodium's presence in the clay that gypsum is so useful for.

If instead, the same lump was like a rock for a longer time before it broke down, and didn't disperse itself through the water the same way, organic material is the way to go.
Worth checking the ph of clays, sometimes they are indeed acidic.



Sounds good.
Good compost, regular mulchings and the odd bit of manure would be swell i think.

All the best to the season. I'm off to bed.
Have a good 1, cheers.

Thanks for all the advice, yeah enjoy

 

[cherrybobeddie]

"I know a lot of people out there don't trust growing in ground soil"
I've picked up on that vibe in these forums. I only grow outdoors and in veganic compost. I use no animal products. My compost comes almost entirely from alfalfa and grass hay. I spray my plants with nothing. I have no pests. But, my ordinary soil is already very good. Certified Organic farm. We use to do things like plant a vetch cover and then rototill it in. But a soil scientist from university stopped us from doing that as we came to believe that rototill leads to soil compaction. Now we mow grass and let it lay. I have consultants come by all the time. I would like to show them the cannabis and see what they say, but I am too secretive.
We have an exceptional climate and ground and sun. Not everyone can do this because they lack optimum conditions. Everyone has to formulate their own scheme. We are perhaps ten days later than Fresno. I look at your results and say keep doing what you are doing.

 

[Humusapien]

"I know a lot of people out there don't trust growing in ground soil"
I've picked up on that vibe in these forums. I only grow outdoors and in veganic compost. I use no animal products. My compost comes almost entirely from alfalfa and grass hay. I spray my plants with nothing. I have no pests. But, my ordinary soil is already very good. Certified Organic farm. We use to do things like plant a vetch cover and then rototill it in. But a soil scientist from university stopped us from doing that as we came to believe that rototill leads to soil compaction. Now we mow grass and let it lay. I have consultants come by all the time. I would like to show them the cannabis and see what they say, but I am too secretive.
We have an exceptional climate and ground and sun. Not everyone can do this because they lack optimum conditions. Everyone has to formulate their own scheme. We are perhaps ten days later than Fresno. I look at your results and say keep doing what you are doing.

Thanks, yeah I'm also down with the whole veganics thing, it just takes longer to get compost that way, and manure is just so easily available and is mostly grass and alfalfa anyway. The compost pile I just started is exactly what yours is, I bought a bale of Lucerne and added an equal amount of dry kikuyu grass clippings, only difference is I've been adding purslane, cape chestnut leaves, comfrey, borage and some other unidentified weed growing round my farm to half of the mix, other half I'm keeping just Lucerne and kikuyu, also have a lot of millipedes on my farm so I throw those on when I find them, they love eating the dry material and any fungi that bloom, they leave behind tightly compacted Pelletized droppings that are great for promoting fungal growth, I actually recently started a farm with them hoping to produce some fungal dominant castings, then did some research on it and found out someone had the same idea and is selling their product as milipoo