ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
Couldn’t have said it better myself
All Natural Organics. The Dons' Summaries + FAQ Thread. <2017-'18>
- Thread starter DonTesla
- Start date
DonTesla
Well-Known Member
Glad you dig it, my friend!!
firstnamelast
Well-Known Member
Hey guys can't seem to get a definite answer on this one: if I were to make a mix and add 5-8% biochar, how many cups would that be per cu ft? Seeing a ton of conflicting amounts. Thanks!
firstnamelast
Well-Known Member
Awesome that's what I got too, thanks. My math was right it just sounded a little high for some reason haha.
How about this one, when re amending harvested soil for no till with a topdress, how much neem and kelp do you add? Any different than re amending by mixing it back in? Thanks
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Dryxi
Well-Known Member
This is something I would like to know as well. I am wanting to do some top dressing but don't know how much I can safely put down. I have neem, malted barely, and kelp meal. So far I have just been doing compost teas with homemade castings
firstnamelast
Well-Known Member
That malted barley is exactly what I'm missing haha I'd like to hear that too, thanks
I can't speak to any difference between top dressing vs. recycling. This question would be better answered by a no-tiller. I prefer variety, so space constraints dictate growing in smaller pots which I "recycle" (10 gallon). I re-amend based upon run of veg' time and how the plants look at finish, generally at about 1/2 initial mix amounts.
I would expect the amount to top dress in a no-till situation would depend greatly upon the size pot you grow in combined with the amount of time that you veg'. I also think that top dressed amendments would take a bit longer to become plant available (not as much exposure to soil biota compared to being mixed into the rhizosphere), so timing of application should also be considered...
firstnamelast
Well-Known Member
How about a month of veg, and I'm going by cu ft I guess. Going by my soil mix, I was told possibly full strength, so double checking as I'm having a hard time finding an answer by the cu ft lol. Thanks
Dryxi
Well-Known Member
Another question I have is since I use a planter bed, do you top dress the whole bed or just around the plants? I dont have enough castings to cover an entire 4x4
DonTesla
Well-Known Member
Sorry for not seeing this, guys!
Correct answer posted but this is how I look at it..
There are:
Exactly 119.69 cups in a cubic foot..
so every 1% equals 1.197 cups or ~1.2 cups, to be round.
Therefore..
To get 5%, simply multiply that 1.2 by 5, (6 cups)
and to get 8%, multiply the 1.2 factor by 8, (9.6 cups)
Examples of some other popular amounts:
10% would be 10x1.2 or 12 cups.
1% would be 1.2 cups.
2% would be 2.4 cups.
Hope that helps give another angle..
Cheers
DT
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DonTesla
Well-Known Member
Good questions regarding re-amending, guys.. its bit of an art and science I suppose.
I think this bears repeating, as it was well written and points out some important factors to not overlook:
"I would expect the amount to top dress in a no-till situation would depend greatly upon the size pot you grow in combined with the amount of time that you veg'. I also think that top dressed amendments would take a bit longer to become plant available (not as much exposure to soil biota compared to being mixed into the rhizosphere), so timing of application should also be considered..." -@waktoo
Other big things that I factor in include the strains' metabolisms and soils' engine power / life force, as well as the results I want to achieve..
Amount of time I have to or plan to cure is another.. the longer the cure the more you can push things a bit.
For example, on 200 day cures, I like to push my kelp to 2% sometimes, as it increases potency, but if I have 3 weeks only, then ~1% it is..
And whether growing for free medicine or recreational flower competition / concentrates may influence my tactics a bit too..
But overall, general rules of thumb I adhere to are:
if growing in small pots, I cut my recipe amounts in half in the rhizosphere or global mix, and maybe I add a spike instead, for the plant to tap into shall it see fit.
(Btw, to me, small equals 15 gals and under or so)
Sativas, I do a bit less P and a bit more N, and they veg longer, and flower longer, so I do a bit more slow release ingredients and go a bit chunkier if I can.
Indicas, and faster heavier eaters, I can be a bit more aggressive with.
Also, the biggest factor of all is probably the initial recipe followed or created.
Because if doing 2% kelp, just for example, you may not need to add any for 3 or 4 cycles, but other strains may like smaller doses more often and require a 1/2 cup each round or each month or two..
This is where working with the same strain for years can really help.. for those working with new strains, I suggest starting at the low end, going with bigger pots, and see if roots attack the bonus spike you put in..
Also, depending on the breathability and size of your bed, you may want to tea up your corners, and dry spots, and stretch that EWC in a tea a bit, especially if there is no mulch, which should be a must with any size plant, to avoid uneccesary light and wind erosion...
Another factor to consider is the performance of the bed, and the amount of castings in it already.. I like to use pure castings (one year refined) vs vermicompost (6 wks refined) which makes it more potent, and keep it around 10% of total volume.. vs 20% or 33% which to me, is a mistake when it comes to end product performance.. note: thats not including the aeration I add to the worm compost, biochar being my fav. I like to make my castings 50/50 aeration and pure potent EWC.
So whether employing the use of mulch, biochar, AMF and other fungals are big things to address in conjunction with this, as well as plant sizes and potency of the castings. Are they amendend? aerated? Can they fight off some drought? And lastly, potency, is it finished and refined..
-D
I think this bears repeating, as it was well written and points out some important factors to not overlook:
"I would expect the amount to top dress in a no-till situation would depend greatly upon the size pot you grow in combined with the amount of time that you veg'. I also think that top dressed amendments would take a bit longer to become plant available (not as much exposure to soil biota compared to being mixed into the rhizosphere), so timing of application should also be considered..." -@waktoo
Other big things that I factor in include the strains' metabolisms and soils' engine power / life force, as well as the results I want to achieve..
Amount of time I have to or plan to cure is another.. the longer the cure the more you can push things a bit.
For example, on 200 day cures, I like to push my kelp to 2% sometimes, as it increases potency, but if I have 3 weeks only, then ~1% it is..
And whether growing for free medicine or recreational flower competition / concentrates may influence my tactics a bit too..
But overall, general rules of thumb I adhere to are:
if growing in small pots, I cut my recipe amounts in half in the rhizosphere or global mix, and maybe I add a spike instead, for the plant to tap into shall it see fit.
(Btw, to me, small equals 15 gals and under or so)
Sativas, I do a bit less P and a bit more N, and they veg longer, and flower longer, so I do a bit more slow release ingredients and go a bit chunkier if I can.
Indicas, and faster heavier eaters, I can be a bit more aggressive with.
Also, the biggest factor of all is probably the initial recipe followed or created.
Because if doing 2% kelp, just for example, you may not need to add any for 3 or 4 cycles, but other strains may like smaller doses more often and require a 1/2 cup each round or each month or two..
This is where working with the same strain for years can really help.. for those working with new strains, I suggest starting at the low end, going with bigger pots, and see if roots attack the bonus spike you put in..
Well castings are highly bacterial, right, and aid young plants the most, as they won't get any botrytis or stem rot before they develop woody stems, so if young plants are going in the no til, I would go around the stems, but if older bigger plants were going in there, I would probably create little holes the size of toilet paper rolls and plug em up with castings, in and around the plant, just outside the rootball.. top with a fungal food and then mulch.
Also, depending on the breathability and size of your bed, you may want to tea up your corners, and dry spots, and stretch that EWC in a tea a bit, especially if there is no mulch, which should be a must with any size plant, to avoid uneccesary light and wind erosion...
Another factor to consider is the performance of the bed, and the amount of castings in it already.. I like to use pure castings (one year refined) vs vermicompost (6 wks refined) which makes it more potent, and keep it around 10% of total volume.. vs 20% or 33% which to me, is a mistake when it comes to end product performance.. note: thats not including the aeration I add to the worm compost, biochar being my fav. I like to make my castings 50/50 aeration and pure potent EWC.
So whether employing the use of mulch, biochar, AMF and other fungals are big things to address in conjunction with this, as well as plant sizes and potency of the castings. Are they amendend? aerated? Can they fight off some drought? And lastly, potency, is it finished and refined..
-D
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Dryxi
Well-Known Member
This is really helpful. So what % would you use for other amendments like neem/karanja, malted barley, etc?
DonTesla
Well-Known Member
just 0.4% or 1/2 cup per cu ft, which for most amendments is plenty (globally mixed)
firstnamelast
Well-Known Member
Awesome thank you for the great responses, very specific. The numbers are exactly what I've been looking for. I had not found any specific information on what safe amounts are for topdressing anywhere at all.
In other news finished that first fully organic, everything came out great. Hence why I'm asking about topdressing some spent soil haha. Still tweaking things but no problems and only progression from here on up! Thanks again
DonTesla
Well-Known Member
My pleasure friend.
Im very happy for you!
Organic gardening is very rewarding, especially as you learn those said tweaks.. keep up the great work!
Miyagismokes
Well-Known Member
Damn, that's a slow cure...
DonTesla
Well-Known Member
Lightest, smoothest, most potent bud ever though.. and not necessary to go that long. But what a treat when you do..
Miyagismokes
Well-Known Member
Do you have a special room/chamber for that? How do you avoid mold?