Yup definitely makes sense / I’ve come to understand that I’d be wanting to create a bacteria dominant soil, so does this mean I should avoid inputs that would encourage fungal growth? For example, I was considering adding decomposed/rotted wood material which I believe would likely contain fungus, in addition to other microorganisms - should I avoid this kind of input to avoid throwing off the bacterial dominance?
No sir.
A
source with some quotes before I go on, if I may.
"Even though a high proportion of both fungi and bacteria are decomposers in the soil, they degrade plant residues differently and have different roles in the recycling of nutrients. This is partly due to their different choice of habitats within the soil and the different types of organic matter they consume."
"The fungal population will increase at a greater rate than that of bacteria"
Consider aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.
For those that may not know, the two forms of bacteria one will encounter in organics will be aerobic or anaerobic as mentioned above. Aerobic bacteria can only exist in oxygenated conditions, and anaerobic only in conditions with zero oxygen.
Why is this important? Because all of our soil has anaerobic bacteria in it, in conjunction with the aerobic bacteria.
The aerobic bacteria is just the more dominant culture, the lesser dominant culture (anaerobic bacteria) still very much exists.. it just doesn't have enough dominance to have any influence on the soil/situation.
The same is true of fungi and bacteria within a living soil, it is just a matter of which one is more dominant. They both exist within the soil, but only one can be dominant. I guess the point I'm trying to make, is that do answer your question
don't "avoid" specific things/inputs to control the bacteria/fungi growth. You won't throw off the bacterial dominance, because it isn't just related to organic inputs solely. It is also related to soil conditions, soil texture and pH, the plant that is being grown in said soil, and so much more.
Effectively, the plant in conjunction with the soil is collaborating with one another in symbiosis that will ensure that they both not only survive but achieve optimal survival conditions.
Incidentally, pH plays a large factor as to whether or not your soil will be bacterial or fungal dominant. More sources here and here.
"In conclusion, this study showed that neutral or slightly alkaline conditions favored bacterial growth. Conversely, an acid pH favored fungal growth."
"Bacterial growth was highest at the highest pH values of the gradient and declined by a factor of 5 toward the lower pH values. In contrast, fungal growth was maximal at pH 4.5, and decreased by a factor of more than 5 toward the high pH end."
Acidic soil conditions = fungal dominant
Neutral and above = bacterial dominant
This is why I mentioned Blueberries and Azaleas earlier, because they literally will not grow in the living soil we use for cannabis and most other plants. Fungi is most natural in an acidic soil, bacteria in neutral or above.
tl;dr: Organic inputs will not be the determining factor of the bacteria:fungi ratio, pH will be.
Wow thank you for this, I don't mind the longer post at all, as a matter of fact I highly appreciate it, even read through it a few times to really grasp all the information.
In that case, I'll start using the 40/40/20 of peat/pumice/compost, to avoid soil compaction, I didn't consider that. My worm compost is pretty fluffy, it has a peat base. The Bu's Blend is from what I remember kinda fluffy? I can't recall exactly, but going to be buying more soon.
Regarding organics from the grocery store, makes sense - I do buy my food from a well respected organics store, but I imagine some (or all) of the stuff will be grown hydroponically. That being said, I have a large amount of crab and kelp meal on hand, so I'll begin feeding that to my worms, and about to order some stuff from buildasoil, so going to pick up some Oyster Shell Flour as well
Any specific amounts to feed the worms the kelp/crab/oyster flours? (I try to avoid using neem).
Glad to be of service. Of course, everyone's mileage will vary, but this mix has provided me with much better results than the 1:1:1 ratio and I contribute it mainly to soil compaction. I'm certainly no expert, however there's something that has stood out to me in terms of knowledge/education of soil.
I feel that too much information is centered towards the content of soil, but there isn't enough about soil texture and as a result, compaction.
Compaction will be the natural and inevitable result of any no-till.
By accounting for compaction, we increase the amount of time we can continue our no-till before they become the compost that will become part of your next no-till soil.
The best soil you'll ever have, is soil that consists of the compost that was the result of your last no-till. When your no-till becomes nothing but compost and perlite, and you mix it with new peat moss and more perlite? Incredible.
I used to make a mix of the crab/neem that I would sprinkle just enough to cover the veggie/food scraps/compost in the worm bin. Then, I would liberally sprinkle the coffee grounds+OSF for grit over the top of the scraps/crab/neem mix.
There a reason you avoid neem, if you don't mind me asking? Makes worms go apeshit, but it definitely isn't mandatory.
