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Prepping 100 gallons of soil

StrictlyClassified

StrictlyClassified

Well-Known Member
I have 60 gallons of depleted soil i used last year and this year im looking to move up to a 100 gallon pot. Im going 100% organic. Im going to fill the rest of the pot up with compost and im going to lay cover crop and ammend the soil. Im also going to add worms directly to the soil. My question is how much amendments shoukd i add to it and what. And when shoukd i start the cover crops. Btw i live in central california
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
StrictlyClassified said:
I have 60 gallons of depleted soil i used last year and this year im looking to move up to a 100 gallon pot. Im going 100% organic. Im going to fill the rest of the pot up with compost and im going to lay cover crop and ammend the soil. Im also going to add worms directly to the soil. My question is how much amendments shoukd i add to it and what. And when shoukd i start the cover crops. Btw i live in central california
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cover crops don't do much unless they are nitro-binding legumes, and even those need to be grown, tilled, and composted for you to get that nitrogen.
If you are doing it to establish a soil web, then you'll need to mix all your soil up, age it, then fill your containers, THEN plant the cover crop.
But they'll use your available nutrients...
I gather you are using one 100 gallon pot?
I'd gather as much leaves as you can, layer in alfalfa meal, kelp meal, and crab meal, and compost it directly in the container.
I don't use cover crops on prepped soil.
Also what is the old soil?
 
StrictlyClassified

StrictlyClassified

Well-Known Member
Im trying to experiment in pkts because iv always grown inthe ground with the native soil. So im trying to comoare the results with fully ammended rich organic soil
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
StrictlyClassified said:
Old ocean forrest and humboldt soil im goinf to add perlite also. Just curious on how much of what amendments i should add to it.
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go light on the amendments..
I'd add 10 cups of kelp meal, 5 cups of alfalfa meal, 5 cups of crab meal. 5 cups of minerals
And try and find the best compost you can.
Remember you can always add, but NEVER subtract.
if you can source rabbit manure, that would be better than alfalfa, in my opinion.
central ca, you should be able to find it..
 
StrictlyClassified

StrictlyClassified

Well-Known Member
Humus, worm castings and great compost. Willi still need to ammend with guanos and stuff or will the compost and compost teas take care of that for me
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
StrictlyClassified said:
Humus, worm castings and great compost. Willi still need to ammend with guanos and stuff or will the compost and compost teas take care of that for me
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no guanos, too soluble.
the compost will take care of much of your issues, personally in a 100 gal I wouldn't mess with teas either, as you have plenty of time to amend the soil.
I'd add the ingredients I said earlier, and call it a day
 
StrictlyClassified

StrictlyClassified

Well-Known Member
Awesome thank you, how longshoukd i let the soil "cook" with those ingredients before i plant in it. And is 40 gallons of compost to 100 gallon pot the right amount or should igo 50 50
 
A

anzohaze

Well-Known Member
StrictlyClassified said:
Awesome thank you, how longshoukd i let the soil "cook" with those ingredients before i plant in it. And is 40 gallons of compost to 100 gallon pot the right amount or should igo 50 50
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The longer it can cool the better the min is 30 days but longer will def help out if you can wait.

Has the compost been fully cooked broken down heated cooled etc?
33% compost/casting is what the normal is.
 
StrictlyClassified

StrictlyClassified

Well-Known Member
So im right above that so it should be fine. And im gonna buy general organics humus and compost from a local farm. And im just gonna top feed with that also and cover with leaves then put a layer of straw on top
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
StrictlyClassified said:
So im right above that so it should be fine. And im gonna buy general organics humus and compost from a local farm. And im just gonna top feed with that also and cover with leaves then put a layer of straw on top
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depending on the compost, you may want to match it with equal amounts of aeration, worm castings in particular.
Leaf compost is usually ok as is, but others degrade to more of a thicker consistency, which can create anaerobic conditions.
I really like volcanic rock, bio char, pumice, and rotted tree log chunks as my aeration.
Perlite works but in a larger container you'll have issues with it "floating" over time... actually it's simply the sinking of the heavier material as you water (think goldpanning), but it still appears to float.
vermiculite is also good, but maybe not for longterm use
 
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