Chunky Stool
Well-Known Member
How much did it cost?
Fastslappy
Well-Known Member
How much sand do they add ? , sand is not a item I'd prefer but some for drainage ?
Nugs1
Well-Known Member
$18 a cubic yard That is 10 cubic yards in the pic.= $180 with delivery
Its not a lot of sand, you can't tell in the finished product I think it is a small % for drainage.
Fastslappy
Well-Known Member
Now is the best time to do your next summer'S soil
I just paid $20 a yd for dairy , horse ,Greenwaste compost certified organic ,10 yds $100 delivery
But it's just compost I still gotta recompost with leaf mold, , comfrey , amendments , rock flours & then vermicompost it after it cools off
I just paid $20 a yd for dairy , horse ,Greenwaste compost certified organic ,10 yds $100 delivery
But it's just compost I still gotta recompost with leaf mold, , comfrey , amendments , rock flours & then vermicompost it after it cools off
Chunky Stool
Well-Known Member
Those are good deals! I get a big scoop of compost from a local farm for $30. I'm thinkin' it's almost two yards because it totally overflows the bed of my tacoma. It's a very good blend and they sell a LOT of it.
Fastslappy
Well-Known Member
It's good shit then
I still compost again no matter ,wanna add beni life food , then let the worms work it all winter
Nugs1
Well-Known Member
Yeah I thought it was a great deal so I jumped on it. I'm going to grab a couple buckets of screened top soil to mix in my raised beds. I’ve got a farm that has all my extra amendments for about another $150. And I’ll be going soon to a large worm farm near me to get 20 pounds of earth worms to mix into this compost. I’m going to make a lasagna no till raised beds. I should have th beds built and filled by February at the latest then I’ll throw a few cover crops on them and get them started.
No one know how to read those lab results?
No one know how to read those lab results?
Fastslappy
Well-Known Member
I gotta find a local worm farm ,
How much do they charge for that many worms ?
Nugs1
Well-Known Member
Sorry I misspoke I'm getting 20lbs of earth worm castings from the farm but I'm getting 2lbs of red worms which should be about 1000-1500 worms. 2lbs of worms will be about $64.
Heres the other amendments I am planning on getting
Crab shell 50lb bag
Kelp Meal 10lb bag x2
Sunflower Hull Ash 10lb bag
Rice hulls 50lb
Hairy Vetch 5lb
Winter Rye 5lb
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
I got you friend! Sorry I'm not always the quickest thread responder!
So information wise this test is pretty poor, for compost I would want a test that shows ammonia and carbon dioxide levels (this is how you tell if the compost was properly produced and cured), along with calcium, magnesium, and iron levels.
For the information we do have...your nitrogen, phosphorus, and phosphate, potassium, and potash levels are all about what you'd expect from compost made from produce scraps and woody materials. Moisture content is average as well, this is something you'd look at with worm castings if you were buying by the pound, overmoistured vermicasts cheat you out of the proper quantity when buying by the pound.
The ph should be higher for properly produced thermo compost but if they are mixing the compost with screened top soil the ph makes sense.
If it looks good and smells good I think it'll do the job just fine for you. Your other amendments will make up for anything your compost is missing.
Nugs1
Well-Known Member
Love your knowledge Rasta thanks for the info. Yeah its not a very extensive lab result but I guess its something. I just don't really know how to read what it was. Anyways, it smells great and looks great. I'll mix in a lot of rice hulls in place of the vermiculite/ perlite. And the other amendments are to pick up where the compost might be falling down.
Question for ya Rasta! I was planning on doing like 1/3 compost with amendments, 1/3 topsoil and 1/3 of the rice hulls. Do you think that should not use screened topsoil since it may bring the ph down low? I'm doing a big grow and buying peat moss will prob get on the expensive side but still doable. Just not too sure which would be better to go with.
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
Are you growing in containers or beds?
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
@Nugs1
I wouldn't be worried about the ph, you'd still be in the sweet spot for plant growth and the crab shell meal will provide you with calcium carbonate and keep your ph stable throughout your grow. What I would be worried about is soil compaction if you're growing in containers. Topsoil can be a little too heavy. My experiments with it on containers did not go well. However if you are growing in beds...I think it would be great. Especially with the rice hulls and crab shell meal. Each year adding more rice hulls, compost, and crab shell meal...over time your soil will develop amazing tilth and fertility.
I wouldn't be worried about the ph, you'd still be in the sweet spot for plant growth and the crab shell meal will provide you with calcium carbonate and keep your ph stable throughout your grow. What I would be worried about is soil compaction if you're growing in containers. Topsoil can be a little too heavy. My experiments with it on containers did not go well. However if you are growing in beds...I think it would be great. Especially with the rice hulls and crab shell meal. Each year adding more rice hulls, compost, and crab shell meal...over time your soil will develop amazing tilth and fertility.
Nugs1
Well-Known Member
Im actually planning on using two raised beds about 4 ft wide and about 20 ft long. Those sizes will be nailed down as I get my frame up on my greenhouse which will be about 18' wide and 35' ft long.
Thanks for the info I'll follow your advice any day thanks! I'm also looking to find some neem meal to help with pests. I'll have a plethora of beneficial bugs flying around lacewings/ lady bugs and praying mantises etc.
I'm hoping to have my greenhouse and beds up by Jan. or Feb at the latest so the soil will be made up and in place for a few months before anything get placed in them.
Fastslappy
Well-Known Member
Look at feed stores for kelp they feed to horses , cheapest 50 lb bag around, get sum DryStall it's a mined 100 % pumice comes in a 40 lb bag I pay $13 a bag beats rice hulls as it don't breakdown , adds drainage ,homes for beni herd life .,get yer barley there as well , I get whole corn feed use that for sprouts sst, feed stores charge way less than garden centers for similar products
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Nugs1
Well-Known Member
The farm I'm buying my ammendments from has the kelp 50lb bag for $64, I think thats about the best I can find it around here. I'll have to take a look a Drystall but part of the attraction of rice hulls is that it breaks down as this will be a not till garden everything thats there will stay there.
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
Rice hulls are the better way to go. They do break down, but when they break down they are increasing the soil tilth, they contribute to a nice fluffy feel to the soil, and they add silicate. And you can always add more...you would have to add more of whatever drainage eventually anyway. Perlite and pumice won't stop your mix from getting more compact over time, they don't contribute to long term soil tilth the same way.
Also I've ordered pumice and perlite wholesale direct from the mines they come from and rice hulls direct wholesale as well. Unless you live in Idaho and can do directly to the pumice mine yourself, rice hulls are cheaper.
Now if a store decides to inflate the price of one over the other, that's their business.
Fastslappy
Well-Known Member
I'm not 100% no till , some r here as organic who don't no till so pumice is an excellent drainage for those who recycle ,reamend their soils each run ,I partly don't no till as I like to move bags around the gh at different times of year ,45-60 gallon bags I can move ,
Nugs1
Well-Known Member
Yeah that makes since about moving the bags around. I'll have a permanent raise bed that will stay put for a long while so I'll just do a no till.
I appreciate the input Fastslappy and Rasta Roy!
Fastslappy
Well-Known Member
I run different strains so to be able to move a finicky plant away from a draft ,or a plant that gets to crowding another