Soil Food Web Gardening with Compost Teas

[SpliffAndMyLady]

Aloe=illegal wtf?

Yeah, it's illegal to have it growing on your property, compainies can still sell Aloe at mass production though. Aloe grows wild in some states over here in the mainland.

 

[Cann]

Barley Tea:
2 tablespoons of seeds (1 oz.) Soak for 12 hours. Drain that water and throw away. It’s full of growth inhibitors. Add 1/2 gallon of water to the sprouts for the 48 hour soak. Strain and use 1 cup of this to 1 gallon of water. Use as a drench and as a foliar

Okay this is awesome. I make my own sprouts all the time, and that sprout water usually just ends up in my raised beds...are there any other seeds this is good with? I have red clover seeds, alfalfa, broccoli, radish, etc. Rrog, can't thank you enough for your presence on this forum. +rep if it lets me this time...

EDIT: still cant +rep you...god damn haha

Also, aloe is illegal wtf?? I just got some yesterday from a friend that I was going to plant in my front yard...is this law only in hawaii or is it national?

 

[SpliffAndMyLady]

EDIT: still cant +rep you...god damn haha

Also, aloe is illegal wtf?? I just got some yesterday from a friend that I was going to plant in my front yard...is this law only in hawaii or is it national?

You gotta spread rep to 30 different members before you can give it to Rrog again. I'm researching it now..not sure.

 

[SpliffAndMyLady]

Yep, it's illegal. Also it has cancer healing properties. I could go on for years about this, but lets keep the thread on topic. Funny how cannabis and aloe are plants with cancer healing properties and they're illegal though; long story short.

 

[Rrog]

Any seed will work. All are embryos and have great enzymes and secondary metabolites. Use it quick! Barley has a lot of cytokinin, a growth hormone. Alfalfa is also great, as there's Tricontanol, another hormone. Just make sure and toss the first soak, as it has microbicides.

 

[Tweetybird999]

I have a lot of scarlet runner beans from my garden...can I use these? I see you said any seed, but just want to check... can this be used any time or is is best during veg?

Any seed will work. All are embryos and have great enzymes and secondary metabolites. Use it quick! Barley has a lot of cytokinin, a growth hormone. Alfalfa is also great, as there's Tricontanol, another hormone. Just make sure and toss the first soak, as it has microbicides.

 

[Cann]

Spliff - it's funny how cancer-fighting plants are often illegal to the public, yet at the same time by the government they are deeply studied, chemically isolated, and sold under a brand name as "medicine". I would rant forever along side you if we had a thread on that topic lol...but agreed we should keep it focused here on the soil food web.

I guess I'll post some relevant pics from recently to keep it on track.

First, the seeds I received from Horizon Herbs - Yarrow, Nettle, and Chamomile. I also picked up some alfalfa and dandelion seeds locally, and planted a bunch of areas outside with all of the above. Also, some are in pots in my greenhouse/sunroom.



Also got 5 Russian Comfrey roots from Horizon...these are in pots - some inside, some out.
Here is one of the Aloes I got from my friend. Notice what look like aerial roots growing out of it already...are these roots?
This is a nice picture of some food scraps I had left in a bin to decay for my worms. After a few days everything got coated with this awesome white mold. After a few days I threw some bokashi grain on top, it's still getting moldier and moldier - but still white (this is good right?) I will be setting up my bokashi bucket tomorrow - Just got an old bucket with a spigot on it from a friend
This is a sweet picture of the top inch of my soil that I noticed during a transplant. The soil was dry and this piece flaked off...check out the fungal hyphae holding it together! This piece was like a dirt chip - !00% glued together by mycelia.

My homemade EM-1 in the process of culturing. This is 4 days after adding 10 parts milk to rice wash. Can't wait for it to be done!!!

Next up is harvesting BIM, another (3rd) worm bin, collecting leaves/leaf mold from local sources, and I'm sure theres more I cant think of. Always one project after another otherwise I get bored.

 

[SpliffAndMyLady]

Any seed will work. All are embryos and have great enzymes and secondary metabolites. Use it quick! Barley has a lot of cytokinin, a growth hormone. Alfalfa is also great, as there's Tricontanol, another hormone. Just make sure and toss the first soak, as it has microbicides.

Could I use waiawi seeds? These tree's grow wild everywhere over here. Also was thinking about using the leaves of this plant to make leaf mold. What do you guys think?


http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/trees/CommonTreesHI/CFT_Psidium_cattleianum.pdf

 

[Rrog]

Such great stuff!! Regarding the seed questions, I guess I'll change my comment to any seed SHOULD be OK. It's possible that some sprout from some plant species might have a toxin. I'm not aware of any but sure never did a study either. I'd think they're all fine.

Spliff, I bet that leaf mold would be great. Great amendment, leaf mold. Great water holding capacity, microbes.

Cann- What the hell can I say? Look at you go! White molds on the Bokashi are fine. Once you add some to the worm pile bury in a corner so they can come to it. That acid needs to leach out a bit. Sure stinks. Bury it!

Is that Comfrey Bocking 14 by chance?

Cann- Planting those beneficial plants and having them on standby will make your plants superhuman - or something like that. Those are all excellent sources of real plant treasure. Top dressing into the soil, adding to a worm bin (!!), or just a 2-3 day bubbled tea and used as a foliar and root drench. You can't bet it.

You can make the worlds best vermicompost now. No exaggeration.

 

[Rrog]

Tweety, sure wish you'd reconsider a worm bin. It's the perfect plant food, made much more so by making sure key ingredients are in there. Most commercial worm castings are more limited in what they contain, and could be sterilized for packaging. And bagged castings cost $$.

Making your own, once set up, is close to free, and the super microbially active fresh castings, are a the fundamental amendment

 

[Cann]

Planting those beneficial plants and having them on standby will make your plants superhuman - or something like that. Those are all excellent sources of real plant treasure. Top dressing into the soil, adding to a worm bin (!!), or just a 2-3 day bubbled tea and used as a foliar and root drench. You can't bet it.

You can make the worlds best vermicompost now. No exaggeration.

Thats what I like to hear!!!!!

The comfrey is Bocking 14 of course did my research on that one

I'm aiming for the worlds best vermicompost - although I'm sure yours is far superior kiss-ass After I realized the unbelievably poor quality of the shit that is sold at nurseries (looks like sandy woody dirt...), I feel compelled to create true quality castings.

Random question, how long do you think the soil web community can stay somewhat alive in a plastic bag? I'm thinking about the potential of a massive vermicomposting farm which produces amazing quality castings for distribution...that way your average joe could actually get his hands on some decent castings at the nursery, hydro store, etc. I would work hard at this if I knew the soil web could arrive to the customer somewhat intact...what are your thoughts?

 

[SpliffAndMyLady]

Yes can that white is good, your on the right track. As long as its not green or yellow your fine. When I get home I'm going to make some vermicompost hawaiian style. Using waiawi leaf mold,fresh aloe,fresh coconut water and meat/husk, freshwater seaweed, saltwater seaweed,greensand from the beach,oyter shells(literally),fresh fish head,guts,scales, apple banna peels, homemade bokashi and em-1, bamboo shoots,ect the list goes on forever. This thread has really opened my eyes to how much resources I have on this island. Big thank you to everyone.

 

[Rrog]

Regarding Coconut water is diluted 1:15. 1 Cup and then enough water to make a gallon. Very good bottled brand you may find locally is- COCONUT-WATER

Plant hormones

http://scidiv.bellevuecollege.edu/rkr/biology213/lectures/pdfs/Hormones213.pdf Good Summary of what they do and how.

Coconut is full of hormones. High levels of Indole-acetic-acid (IAA) Cytokinins, Gibberellic acids, Auxins, et al. - everything that a seed needs to create a new plant.

Barley Sprout- Cytokinins


Avoid Alfalfa during flower, because Tricontanol may prolong flowering. It’s a growth hormone

 

[Cann]

God damn spliff...making me wish I was in hawaii. You have so many sources for organic material around you...its insane. Forests teeming with life, the ocean, etc. I am stuck in a damn city in the desert in so-cal...feels fucking lifeless. Might take a trip to hawaii next fall when I get out of here...I need a change of pace. Sometimes it feels like I'm stuck living on island time and everyone else is rushing around like a mofo...trips me out. Would be nice to go somewhere that is chilled out a bit haha

Would love to see some pics of what you got goin on, that list sounds like an amazing start. Your worms should be thankful lmao they are getting a buffet!

im very jealous sir, you are quite blessed with your location. make the most of it

EDIT: ha I can barely get a post in before there is another one! love how active this thread is. lets make sure it stays that way

 

[SpliffAndMyLady]

Right now, I'm in the mainland going through medical problems. I really hope I will be physically up to doing all this when I get back, just throwing the idea out their because I am so excited. Also, I got some buddies from Hawaii that are reading this thread so I'm throwing the idea out at them, that it can be done. So far my organic ride has been nothing but rewarding bliss, for everything in my life.

 

[Rrog]

Spliff- So happy to hear you describe the amazing bounty in our backyards and how world class it really is for plants. Sounds like you have everything you could ever need right there. That's something else!

Cann- I think the microbes could hold on. Like a fruit, you'd maybe bag it while still green. The problem would likely be the FDA or EPA or DOA. I can imagine live worms or recently dead ones may require something in some states. I'm not aware of the laws at all, but I've read online about sterilized castings. Might be urban legend.

And as far as worms, I just started with worms. Bokashi was three months ago. I have been researching this and listening to the likes of Clackamas Coot (acknowledged in my sig). I'm just his messenger. He's the real deal. Soil scientist, plant biologist, with decades of breeding experience. Plant breeding, I mean. Anyway, I'm taking my super-duper vermicompost lead from that cat.

 

[Cann]

Thanks RRog. If I'm not mistaken, Clackamas Coot is a.k.a. Lumperdawgz, Lumperdawgz2, ComfreyQuery on grasscity, yes? I have been reading his stuff for months, and he is a genius. He is the one who sparked this all for me. Subcool got me interested in organics years ago when I was just an ignorant kid...then came Bill Mollison and permaculture...now it's Lumper aka Clackamas Coot who is driving my exploration into organics. I made an ICMag account the other day just to view his account lol, but I swear that my email got hacked that night and it's cause I used the same password on ICmag...maybe not. Anyway, thank you for acting as his messenger since he is no longer accessible on the threads (or so it appears). It's much easier to ask you than to sort through pages and pages and pages of old threads (although I'm always doing that anyway...). And yes, if I'm not mistaken CC runs an organic farm/nursery in oregon and has decades of experience as you said. If only we had a "Lumperdawgz Living Oranics" subsection of Organics. That would be the spot.

 

[SpliffAndMyLady]

This is how pretty much how've been growing for quite awhile. No books, no research, just me listening to my plants and observing results.

 

[SpliffAndMyLady]

I swear people who never tried this before would be amazed with the results of just using collected BIM EM-1 and molasses through out their entire grow.

 

[Rrog]

Cann, that's the fellow. My friend.