Ideas for for living soil!!

Rickypsimer

Rickypsimer

Well-Known Member
With my 3 gallon fabric pots Im using Oly mountain living soil from build a soil and ffof that sat outside with other organic soil mixis all summer cooking with worms in those 3 pot.. my questions are related to mulching living soil a layer of grass clippings and actuall mulch I added as a top layer.. to help with the worms.. does this seem to be like a good idea?
 
Dabbie McDoob

Dabbie McDoob

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't mulch. you should be just fine with what you have. Grass clipping aren't inherently good compost despite that being green.
Grass can mat down and prevent oxygen exchange.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Rickypsimer said:
With my 3 gallon fabric pots Im using Oly mountain living soil from build a soil and ffof that sat outside with other organic soil mixis all summer cooking with worms in those 3 pot.. my questions are related to mulching living soil a layer of grass clippings and actuall mulch I added as a top layer.. to help with the worms.. does this seem to be like a good idea?
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Yes you definitely want a mulch layer in living soil. I use rice hulls from BAS. If you go through this link you'll get $5 off.
i.refs.cc

BuildASoil: Organic Living Soil, Fertilizers, and Soil Amendments

Everything you need to grow no-till with organic living soil. Our mission is to support organic gardeners and to provide the best products and information on how to use them. We carry pre mixed super soil, living soil, organic soil fertilizers, organic water soluble nutrients, soil minerals...
i.refs.cc i.refs.cc

These are some pics when I first started no-till. They look pretty sad, but it's the best pic I have of the rice hulls.
8-17Closet.jpg
 
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R

rkmcdon

Well-Known Member
PadawanWarrior said:
Yes you definitely want a mulch layer in living soil. I use rice hulls from BAS. If you go through this link you'll get $5 off.
i.refs.cc

BuildASoil: Organic Living Soil, Fertilizers, and Soil Amendments

Everything you need to grow no-till with organic living soil. Our mission is to support organic gardeners and to provide the best products and information on how to use them. We carry pre mixed super soil, living soil, organic soil fertilizers, organic water soluble nutrients, soil minerals...
i.refs.cc i.refs.cc

These are some pics when I first started no-till. They look pretty sad, but it's the best pic I have of the rice hulls.
View attachment 4645558
Click to expand...
When you top dress, are you raking that mulch layer back and then replacing it or top dressing over it? If you top dress over the rice hulls, do you then add a new layer of rice hulls over your top dress? And finally, in a ROLS, with all of this top dressing and mulch, don't you eventually run out of room? For instance, those pots are pretty close to the top, and it doesnt look like there's much room left for future top dressings. How do you keep this from being a problem with ROLS?
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
rkmcdon said:
When you top dress, are you raking that mulch layer back and then replacing it or top dressing over it? If you top dress over the rice hulls, do you then add a new layer of rice hulls over your top dress? And finally, in a ROLS, with all of this top dressing and mulch, don't you eventually run out of room? For instance, those pots are pretty close to the top, and it doesnt look like there's much room left for future top dressings. How do you keep this from being a problem with ROLS?
Click to expand...
Ya, I push the rice hulls to one side, top dress, then do the other side. And ya the pots are pretty full. When they get that full, I add dry amendments that don't take up much space, so no more EWC or compost on top. I do no-till, so if the pots get too full, you can just remove the top layer of soil and start again.
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
I use straw mulch but it’s scarce this time of year. Farmer stands usually carry it in the or in early spring home/garden stores stock it for planting. Pine bark nuggets are also very cheap and effective as mulch & can be found at any home store. You don’t want to use grass clippings or any green materials; those into recycling soil or compost it.
 
Rickypsimer

Rickypsimer

Well-Known Member
I just started 6 gelato og in 3 gallon fabric pots. With Oly mountain living soil and 3 with last year's organic soils mixed and sat all winter also amended with Dr earth organic dry mix with a layer or muclch on top and worms in the soil!! with some automatic watering system as a back up does 10 seconds every 12 hours.. so hopefully all goes I have innuculated when I plannted with great white and I'm brewing a tea right now that mainly just humic acid ,phosphoric from fish goo, Ewc,and great white.
 
R

rkmcdon

Well-Known Member
Richard Drysift said:
I use straw mulch but it’s scarce this time of year. Farmer stands usually carry it in the or in early spring home/garden stores stock it for planting. Pine bark nuggets are also very cheap and effective as mulch & can be found at any home store. You don’t want to use grass clippings or any green materials; those into recycling soil or compost it.
Click to expand...
How about hay mulch? It’s grass but has been aged (no longer green) so I would think would be ok?
www.redbudsoilcompany.com

Bermuda Hay Mulch 1 Cubic Foot

1 Cubic Foot Bag Bermuda Hay Seedless Mulch Can be used indoors or outdoors. It is Great to add organic matter to the soil & Can be mixed into compost piles
www.redbudsoilcompany.com www.redbudsoilcompany.com
 
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