First post, fought I would share my experience

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Scoobydo

Member
I am entering my 16th year of organic farming. I farm everything from asparagus to Zuchini ( and yes marijuana). I use the same soil mix for everything. I have been lurking and reading here for some time now and what I have noticed is alot of people try and make organics more difficult than it needs to be. I grow in 3 gallon pots and only use rain water and compost tea. My soil mix has been the same for 10 years and have never had to alter or modify due to deficiencies. Never due I flush because there is no need, I am not adding any salt based fert.

I will try and post my latest grow pics in this thread later.

If anyone is interested in my soil mix I will post also. My recipe was my grandfathers with some slight variations added by me. The original recipe I found in my grandfathers garden journal dated 1963.
If it ain't broke don't fix it.
 
S

Scoobydo

Member
Oh I also have my 21 page thesis on micro nutrients I wrote for my MS in plant science , if anyone needs a good read to put them to sleep lol.
 
B

blueJ

Active Member
Nice! This is the best advice right here.... "what I have noticed is alot of people try and make organics more difficult than it needs to be..."

Hydro shops got everyone thinking it's all exact measurements and ppm's and NPK and check this check that need this need that

Refreshing to hear that from a long time grower, would love to see some pics and the soil mix you've had success with! So many different ways and different recipes that give excellent results, certainly there's no one "right" way to grow organic! But Teas is definitely where it's at!
 
S

Scoobydo

Member
Many years ago an old friend told me growing in a pot is no different than growing in the earth as long as you can provide everything your plant will need in that pot. I have never been an advocate of salt based ferts.

My soil mix
40 pounds spent mushroom soil ( I grow oyster and wine caps )
5 gallons compost ( 5 dairy goats supplies me all I need )
3 q perlite
1 q vermiculite
1 q coffee grounds ( after you brew )
2 c ground oatmeal
2 c pulverized egg shells
1 c Epsom salt
1/2 c cotton seed meal
1/2 c bone meal
1/2 c green sand
1/2 c ground corn cobs

My tea

I have a 60 q tube with a fish tank water fall filter for airation.
1 gallon of goat compost
2 T biotone
2 T molasses

That and rain water is all I use.
 
S

Scoobydo

Member
MISSPHOEBE said:
wow sounds wonderful

Keeping It Super Simple!

Would love to see Pixxxxxxxxx
:)
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I will post pics this evening when lights come on. I don't keep track of days in flower either, there done when there done lol. What I have in my cabinet is Jack Herer , skunk #1, and strawberry cough. Old scoop strains for an old timer. The skunk and jack I started sometime in the late 90s and the strawberry sometime in 2001 I think. I have one sensi star mom I did not clone this go around, she is the first addition in 12 years.

Oh and to be different I prefer MH over HPS.
 
InfidelUniversity

InfidelUniversity

Active Member
Nice......I was about to grab some spent mushroom medium from some asian guy down the street here , his stuff just looks like new chunky pine chips from a mill tho. Whats in ur mushroom soil? How do you compost ur goat shit?
 
S

Scoobydo

Member
InfidelUniversity said:
Nice......I was about to grab some spent mushroom medium from some asian guy down the street here , his stuff just looks like new chunky pine chips from a mill tho. Whats in ur mushroom soil? How do you compost ur goat shit?
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My mushroom medium is straw. After fruiting the straw is half the mass is broken down. Edible shrooms are primary composters so they have already started the compost of the straw at an accelerated rate. From there I pile it and let the worms do the rest of the work along with all the other good microbes that move in to feed. The goat manure almost the same. I use straw bedding. The goats urine starts the rapid decomp of the straw. I use dolomitic lime in my goat stalls to keep the flys down. The lime changes the ph where the flys lay there eggs and makes it inhospitable to the larve. This is also why there is nonlime in my soil mix it's already there before composting. So the urine saturated straw which is high in amonia( an instant source of nitrogen ) and the poo and lime go to a compost heap. By the lime being in the compost for a year makes it's nutes more palatable to plants. Dolomitic lime in a pot only being watered every 3 rd day is not is not the same as adding into a garden. It's slow to give it's bounty. That's mother nature at her best, taking poo and pee and turning it into some of the best amendment you can add to your garden.
 
InfidelUniversity

InfidelUniversity

Active Member
Scoobydo said:
My mushroom medium is straw. After fruiting the straw is half the mass is broken down. Edible shrooms are primary composters so they have already started the compost of the straw at an accelerated rate. From there I pile it and let the worms do the rest of the work along with all the other good microbes that move in to feed. The goat manure almost the same. I use straw bedding. The goats urine starts the rapid decomp of the straw. I use dolomitic lime in my goat stalls to keep the flys down. The lime changes the ph where the flys lay there eggs and makes it inhospitable to the larve. This is also why there is nonlime in my soil mix it's already there before composting. So the urine saturated straw which is high in amonia( an instant source of nitrogen ) and the poo and lime go to a compost heap. By the lime being in the compost for a year makes it's nutes more palatable to plants. Dolomitic lime in a pot only being watered every 3 rd day is not is not the same as adding into a garden. It's slow to give it's bounty. That's mother nature at her best, taking poo and pee and turning it into some of the best amendment you can add to your garden.
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Ahhh thats briliant man. Tuned like a fine running eco machine......you should do a mushroom grow jurnal in the veggie gardening section.

Do you run the same soil more than one grow?..... So only 3quarts perlite? How long do you go between waterings?
 
S

Scoobydo

Member
InfidelUniversity said:
Ahhh thats briliant man. Tuned like a fine running eco machine......you should do a mushroom grow jurnal in the veggie gardening section.

Do you run the same soil more than one grow?..... So only 3quarts perlite? How long do you go between waterings?
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My measurements are not exact but I'm pretty sure it's about 3 quarts. I use an old chicken feed pan to measure lol! Watering times vary. I try and create a more real scenario for the plants so depending on the ambient temp and the finger test in the bottom of the pot. Using less perlite than others my soil retains moisture longer meaning less water frequency and less water at feeding time. Lights on my area is 80 degrees max and lights out 62 is the coldest. They think it's late fall so water requirements are less. This week ambient temps have been lower and I have only watered once. I don't keep records anymore, my plants tell me when they need something.
 
S

Scoobydo

Member
As far as using the soil for more than one grow, no. The root mas and spent soil do go into another compost pile which inturn gets used in the veggie feild.
 
S

Scoobydo

Member
Here is what I got. Several different stages here. One experimental Lilly pop ready in a day or so and a couple just went in and a few in the middle of flower.

This is one of my Jacks swelling up nicely.
 
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