The stench of death

Biggobelly said:

Floor space is a commodity for me. Besides my 6x10 flower room, I have a 4x4 tent for veg and a work bench for my seedlings and clones. They start in Solo cups, then transplanted to 1 or 2 gallon pots, then to 3 gallon then to 5 or 7 gallon pots for flower. I'd like to start and finish in a room, but changing out bulbs is a two person job for me and I am an army of one. Makin' due with what I can...adapt things to fit my circumstances.

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ShLUbY said:

FWIW i think you can skip the 3 gal step and just go from 1-2 gal to 5/7/10 gal. that's what I do. one less transplant = one less stress to the root zone. when i go from 1gal => 5/7/10 I let them veg for about 3 weeks before flipping.

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greasemonkeymann said:

and DON'T walk through it with your boots on...
did a compost mix using crab and shrimp meals in the rain once...


regretted it for the next month or so

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Biggobelly said:

I was hoping that aerating it would eventually kill off the anaerobic brats...but dang, I don't know if I can stand the smell of it when I'm turning it. Probably doesn't help the fact that this mix is a little on the fishy side (fish meal, fish bone meal and lobster compost).

Thanks for all the great advise!!

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ShLUbY said:

well still that amount of soil can get compacted and lock out oxygen to the lower portions of the bin. alway good to mix it around several times if its in any kind of plastic container during the activation period.

next time consider some large fabric containers and you'll be less likely to have that happen again.

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RonBurgundysMustache said:

Sorry to butt in here on a older post but I am going through the same issue. I had my SS cooking in a large tote as well as a 32 gal trash can about half full. It went anaerobic and stinks like a mofo. Dumped it into a kiddy pool where I am now letting it dry again. My question is: do you turn it over 1-3 times a week (or just continually) throughout the entire cooking process?

turning is most important in the first three weeks IMO because that's when biology is using the most oxygen to multiply and build populations because the most resources are available and up for the taking. 2 times per week is definitely sufficient to get some air into the soil and keep it from going anaerobic. (remember anaerobes gas off N, P, and S which you don't want because you're losing nutrients from the soil!) I also think its important to note that aerobic bacteria/fungi and other benes don't cause problems or disease with your plants. only the anaerobic ones do!

I thought you had to let it set for "X" amount of time until that nice webbing came in then a final mix prior to transplanting the soil to mix in the life on the soil?

The "x" amount of time is the time required for biology to build populations in your soil and make available plant food that's ready to go when you transplant into the mix. There is only so much they can do without the plant. The Plant is actually what keeps them active in the end by the exchange of sugars and other compounds for them to make particular nutrients available for the plant. It's a pretty cool relationship

Also, is turning it in cans/totes enough aeration or should I drill holes in the lids? Much appreciated! Again, sorry for butting in but I'm trying to make sure I don't contribute to having too many threads with the same info.

It would definitely not hurt for you to have holes drilled in the cans (they don't have to be large or anything) and also in the lids if you're keeping them covered like that. turning in those is definitely enough as long as you're making sure fresh air is being turned into them as well.

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ShLUbY said:

answers above in blue

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ShLUbY said:

answers above in blue

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RonBurgundysMustache said:

I know you guys talked about re-amending and I see most anywhere that it is not the best idea..guessing because you don't know for sure how much gassed off or didn't gas off resulting in over amending. Sure that depends on how long your soil has been anaerobic but would you recommend hitting it lightly with N,P,S,etc? Or would you continue as is after its back on course then use teas as needed if you see signs of the soil being a little cooler in terms of nutrients once you have planted? I'm debating chucking this whole batch just because of the unknown factors. I've got a good 8-12 weeks left until the other ladies are finished so I do have time.

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