Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

What does everyone use to filter their water? Iv used ro forever my unit has to be replaced and im considering just running a carbon filter for sediment/chlorine/chloramines.
 
I use R/O for me I just buy the filters off of ebay or some site like it. The good thing about my 3 or 4 stage RO filter is it has a carbon filter, and I believe RO does not get out chloramines add something with high Potassium( vermicompost) to get out chloramines unless your going to drink it...
I would like to see some Ice hash pics too!
 
I used RO for hydro when I wanted 0ppm, but now that I do a living soil I don't see the point. Correct me if i'm wrong but wouldn't using lets say a Tall Boy with upgraded KDF85 filter get rid of the sediment and and the majority of chlorine/chloramine? I don't like how the RO wastes water. My main concern is the microbial health of my soil. Would a carbon filter allow ca mg and other beneficial minerals through thus reducing the the need to supplement? For now i'm using rain water but it won't last forever. Thanks for the help.
]
 
I am new to this, and am about 1/4 way through this thread. I could not wait, and have a few questions for any experts who have a chance to answer. I have read much of the this forum, but apologize in advance if this is already discussed:

- It seems the consensus is that Crab/shrimp meal is highly recommended. Does anybody know the advantages besides chitin (and any evidence / side by side comparisons)? I have noted that my compost pile from time to time contains enormous amounts of arthropods (ants, pill bugs, pincher bugs, mites, spiders, centipedes, etc) which I understand have exoskeletons containing copious amounts of chitin. I assume many die and break down in the compost. Plus, I already use kelp, rock dust, and egg shells/vermicompost with my plants. Is there any clear evidence that crab/shrimp meal would provide return on investment, other than the generic recommendation of having "diversity" in your soil?? I would like to avoid it if I can. Like everyone, I am striving for sources as local as possible and trying to be as "simple" as possible.

On the same token: Is anyone aware of any organic method to farm arthropods for their use as chitin? I am pretty sure every geography has its local arthropods, and I am pretty sure there is some organic (and simple) method to capture and farm arthropods for use in composting as chitin - may be yet to be discovered and tested. If I get positive feedback on this idea, I may come up with some ideas and test them in the future. Personally (and admittedly without evidence), based on the principles of this forum topic I believe nature provides enough chitin via arthropods to negate the necessity of adding crustaceans.

As i mentioned, I am new to this and owe much gratitude to those on this forum for sparking my interest - thank you!!
 
Sounds like you are on the right track. Universities have great websites for this kind of information. I like UC Davis. Find one close to you and start a relationship with one of the profs.
 
kindgarden said:
I am new to this, and am about 1/4 way through this thread. I could not wait, and have a few questions for any experts who have a chance to answer. I have read much of the this forum, but apologize in advance if this is already discussed:

- It seems the consensus is that Crab/shrimp meal is highly recommended. Does anybody know the advantages besides chitin (and any evidence / side by side comparisons)? I have noted that my compost pile from time to time contains enormous amounts of arthropods (ants, pill bugs, pincher bugs, mites, spiders, centipedes, etc) which I understand have exoskeletons containing copious amounts of chitin. I assume many die and break down in the compost. Plus, I already use kelp, rock dust, and egg shells/vermicompost with my plants. Is there any clear evidence that crab/shrimp meal would provide return on investment, other than the generic recommendation of having "diversity" in your soil?? I would like to avoid it if I can. Like everyone, I am striving for sources as local as possible and trying to be as "simple" as possible.

On the same token: Is anyone aware of any organic method to farm arthropods for their use as chitin? I am pretty sure every geography has its local arthropods, and I am pretty sure there is some organic (and simple) method to capture and farm arthropods for use in composting as chitin - may be yet to be discovered and tested. If I get positive feedback on this idea, I may come up with some ideas and test them in the future. Personally (and admittedly without evidence), based on the principles of this forum topic I believe nature provides enough chitin via arthropods to negate the necessity of adding crustaceans.

As i mentioned, I am new to this and owe much gratitude to those on this forum for sparking my interest - thank you!!
Click to expand...

I don't know what climate you live in but I collect all the cicada shells, there are literally millions of them in the summer, I crush them up and feed them to my worms. In the late fall I always get an infestation of lady bugs in my house trying to escape the cold I save the live ones but end up with piles of dead which I throw in the compost. I don't know how much chitin it adds and I still use crab meal but i imagine the amount of chitin depends on the weight of the exoskeletons you have collected. I have also been curious about the freeze dried plankton that is sold as fish food. It seems like it would have a lot more to offer than just chitin but I haven't found further info on that.
 
kindgarden said:
I am new to this, and am about 1/4 way through this thread. I could not wait, and have a few questions for any experts who have a chance to answer. I have read much of the this forum, but apologize in advance if this is already discussed:

- It seems the consensus is that Crab/shrimp meal is highly recommended. Does anybody know the advantages besides chitin (and any evidence / side by side comparisons)? I have noted that my compost pile from time to time contains enormous amounts of arthropods (ants, pill bugs, pincher bugs, mites, spiders, centipedes, etc) which I understand have exoskeletons containing copious amounts of chitin. I assume many die and break down in the compost. Plus, I already use kelp, rock dust, and egg shells/vermicompost with my plants. Is there any clear evidence that crab/shrimp meal would provide return on investment, other than the generic recommendation of having "diversity" in your soil?? I would like to avoid it if I can. Like everyone, I am striving for sources as local as possible and trying to be as "simple" as possible.

On the same token: Is anyone aware of any organic method to farm arthropods for their use as chitin? I am pretty sure every geography has its local arthropods, and I am pretty sure there is some organic (and simple) method to capture and farm arthropods for use in composting as chitin - may be yet to be discovered and tested. If I get positive feedback on this idea, I may come up with some ideas and test them in the future. Personally (and admittedly without evidence), based on the principles of this forum topic I believe nature provides enough chitin via arthropods to negate the necessity of adding crustaceans.

As i mentioned, I am new to this and owe much gratitude to those on this forum for sparking my interest - thank you!!
Click to expand...

Good question. I really don't know if arthropod exoskeletons would *replace* something like crab shell meal. Aside from the chitin it is a good source of Phosphorus so I decided to order some. I'm not a fan of using bone meal so I lean on the crab shell meal pretty heavily to round out my macro nutrient input.

I know that beetles molt a lot during their growth cycle, so you could be on to something here.
 
I use a tall boy with a kdf 85 filter it works good for getting rid of chloramine. If you want to go a bit cheaper look into ascorbic acid filters or chlorine filters for showers they get rid of chloramine but leave all the other minerals in place.
 
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