Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

The mortar and pestle worked great! Especially after baking the shells first:


  • Eggshell:

    mortareggshell_zpscd3922f1.png



    Spinach and eggshell powder:

    spinandeggshell_zpsd4d7474e.png




 
I use my mortar and pestle all the time for gardening...

last night I ground up some mosquito dunks, neem/karanja cake, and crab meal (that shit is hard to grind!!!) for topdressing. been having a few gnats lately so I figure this will wipe em all out lol...a little Bt and neem to put em in their place...the crab meal's effects will kick in eventually once the chitinase enzymes are active


foreverfly - dig around in the pot and see if there are any worms/insects. what does it smell like? what was the soil that you used last year? i'd be inclined to topdress with like 4'' of EWC/compost, plant, and then topdress some neem/crab/kelp meal. got any pics of the soil?
 
Cann said:
I use my mortar and pestle all the time for gardening...

last night I ground up some mosquito dunks, neem/karanja cake, and crab meal (that shit is hard to grind!!!) for topdressing. been having a few gnats lately so I figure this will wipe em all out lol...a little Bt and neem to put em in their place...the crab meal's effects will kick in eventually once the chitinase enzymes are active

foreverfly - dig around in the pot and see if there are any worms/insects. what does it smell like? what was the soil that you used last year? i'd be inclined to topdress with like 4'' of EWC/compost, plant, and then topdress some neem/crab/kelp meal. got any pics of the soil?
Click to expand...

Yeah mon that should do the trick. I applied all those individually and it worked minus the crab! I had those fuckers bad. That BTI seems to be good to crumble in the soil. Thanks Rrog!!
 
Great thread guys, book I got a while ago and great for referencing to teaming with microbes .. ill have to check out the permaculture books mentioned as well
 
Man, what a great thread! Thank you to all that are contributing!

I have done the hydro thing, and have been growing in soil for several years now using synthetics. Organics seems like the logical progression, and I'm very much open to any knowledge and ideas. Here's the deal though, I work 50+ hours a week, and I have a wife and three kids. I enjoy the shit out of working in the garden, but I also value my free time. I should mention that I would like to try and keep this as plant based as possible. I'm down with EWC, on the fence over guano, and not cool at all with bone meal, blood meal, manures, etc. I'm drawn to the convenience of the bottled organic nutrients like General Organics and Bio Canna (yes, I know you guys hate the bottles, and yes I read Matt Rizes thread :-)), but I also see the *truly* organic thing you guys are doing.

So can a guy in my position make a soil, amend it, brew teas (which I have never done before), etc and not be completely overwhelmed by it?
 
st0wandgrow said:
Man, what a great thread! Thank you to all that are contributing!

I have done the hydro thing, and have been growing in soil for several years now using synthetics. Organics seems like the logical progression, and I'm very much open to any knowledge and ideas. Here's the deal though, I work 50+ hours a week, and I have a wife and three kids. I enjoy the shit out of working in the garden, but I also value my free time. I should mention that I would like to try and keep this as plant based as possible. I'm down with EWC, on the fence over guano, and not cool at all with bone meal, blood meal, manures, etc. I'm drawn to the convenience of the bottled organic nutrients like General Organics and Bio Canna (yes, I know you guys hate the bottles, and yes I read Matt Rizes thread :-)), but I also see the *truly* organic thing you guys are doing.

So can a guy in my position make a soil, amend it, brew teas (which I have never done before), etc and not be completely overwhelmed by it?
Click to expand...

st0wandgrow most of us are in the same boat hence why we went to soil. Soil imo is the easiest shit (literally) you can grow in. You mix all up front and it takes like 2 hours tops or even shorter with a cement mixer. Teas are easier to make than going to the dro store for nutes and 1/10 of the cost or even more savings depending. You don't need grow stores anymore for the most part. If you don't want to play with teas you can take your amendments and tops dress your plants. If you want automation get blumats and if you want to grow good dank while having a full time job, having more time for your family, and saving lots $$$. Pull up a chair and watch for updates......
 
Stoned Drifter said:
i pick these two up at market today. not to sure if they'll work.

http://www.amazon.com/Vita-Coco-Coconut-11-1-Ounce-Containers/dp/B000LL0R8I/ref=pd_sim_gro_4

http://www.amazon.com/ALOE-Natural-...UTF8&qid=1364361105&sr=8-1&keywords=aloe+gloe
Click to expand...

Im pretty sure the coconut water is fine,is what I picked up at sprouts and used and my soldiers look great!

The aloe though I have doubts on.Seems like to many other ingredients.I picked up the lilly of the desert inner fillet aloe but its was not the "preservative free" one so I stopped using it cuz it contains potassium sorbate which I understand may not be that great but also stay away from the others that contain sodium benzoate.One of these is an actual compound of the aloe gel but still a bit confused on the matter so im just gunna grow the shit and and use fresh,cant go wrong with that.My use for it is not that big so it wont matter to much but you should use mature leaves which will take a while so until then im saving up for the powder form which I believe is the best you can get if it aint fresh. s odium
 
That coconut water will work and that aloe seems to be ok. I used to use aloe gel but now i make my own with 200x powder while my fresh aloe plants grow out. Fresh is ideal!
 
Thanks guys. ima head down to mexican market and buy some aloe leaves. as for application rates i used them @ 1tbsp each in a quart, not sure if its too much or not. anyways i sprayed one seedlings yesterday and it exploded this morning! i did a side by side test. ill have some pics up later on today.
 
Stoned Drifter said:
Thanks guys. ima head down to mexican market and buy some aloe leaves. as for application rates i used them @ 1tbsp each in a quart, not sure if its too much or not. anyways i sprayed one seedlings yesterday and it exploded this morning! i did a side by side test. ill have some pics up later on today.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the party. Thanks for stopping to look and I hope to see this thread progress into a sticky at some point :)
 
2tbs per gal is a better rate to save you money...i believe that is the threshold at which applying more doesn't do much.

also potassium sorbate is bad if that's in there...definitely check it out


coconut water 1:15 dilution
 
Cann said:
2tbs per gal is a better rate to save you money...i believe that is the threshold at which applying more doesn't do much.

also potassium sorbate is bad if that's in there...definitely check it out


coconut water 1:15 dilution
Click to expand...

For the new people listen to this ^
 
Has anyone used microp soil builder before? I'm thinking about giving it a try. Its a micro-algae inoculant that you spray on the surface of your soil. The algae then absorbs nitrogen from the air and reruns it to the soil.
 
uromastyx said:
Has anyone used microp soil builder before? I'm thinking about giving it a try. Its a micro-algae inoculant that you spray on the surface of your soil. The algae then absorbs nitrogen from the air and reruns it to the soil.
Click to expand...

I have no idea about that, I'd keep it simple personally. The point is save money and stay away from gimmicks ;)
 
It's actually pretty cool stuff. I was going to buy some and give it a run. I've had it naturally on potted plants that were outside. The plants looked great, and I watered less as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top