Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

[greasemonkeymann]

Greasemonkeyman had similar results too, but DP and DT rock it and seem to do great with it.

My grows were by no means anything controlled or scientific. Just my observation. Could have been a case of me not being familiar with it so I could very well have been under/over watering or something.

I also may have been not doing it perfectly, but I was watering the same wa I would a peat based mix, not to mention I've grown a TON of different plants, from orchids, to violets, bougainvillea, begonias, jasmin, lavender, bamboo, etc, etc, etc.
I can't fathom it being a totally different concept, to be honest I attributed it to possibly the coco having too much salt in it or something (course I soaked and rinsed it).
the plants didn't look bad, no visible problems, just about 7/8 ths of what I normally get. Some may not even notice, but I had been running the same three strains for years at the time and I knew exactly what they where capable of. Not to mention as soon as I went back to a peat base, it was back to normal.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

Could it have been the coir you used? I've heard that poorly/unpflushed coir can have excess salts?
View attachment 3371116
I've been told this brand is supposed to be an excellent one because they flush it well before packaging. It's what I use and have had good success with. Though I've never used peat in a base mix that I've made, just in a Fox Farm bagged soil.

no, it was I think triple washed or something, then I rinsed and soaked it at least twice.

 

[foreverflyhi]

I started with coir, then moved to peat, never looked back. Dont mind mixing the two, but at this point it doesnt really matter.

 

[Midwest Weedist]

no, it was I think triple washed or something, then I rinsed and soaked it at least twice.

Interesting. I'm probably going to pick up some peat this weekend now.

Any suggestions on brands / specific types?

 

[st0wandgrow]

Interesting. I'm probably going to pick up some peat this weekend now.

Any suggestions on brands / specific types?

You can pick up a 4cf bale at Home Depot (Premier) for about $12.00. This will be untreated, so you will have to lime it yourself. If you prefer something that has already been PH neutralized, then Pro Mix is another option. I bieleve Pro Mix is from Premier too.

 

[Midwest Weedist]

You can pick up a 4cf bale at Home Depot (Premier) for about $12.00. This will be untreated, so you will have to lime it yourself. If you prefer something that has already been PH neutralized, then Pro Mix is another option. I bieleve Pro Mix is from Premier too.

If I mix my own super soil with amendments like dolomite and powered egg shells, would this cover my liming needs or would I have to add more to compensate for the pH?

 

[st0wandgrow]

If I mix my own super soil with amendments like dolomite and powered egg shells, would this cover my liming needs or would I have to add more to compensate for the pH?

I prefer oyster shell flour as my main liming agent, but you certainly could use dolomite lime and/or egg shells. Through trial and error..... 1 cup per cf of oyster shell flour (along with the rest of the inputs/home made EWC) seems to do the trick. Unfortunately I can't give you a conversion for how much that would equate to for the dolo lime/eggshells as a I haven't messed with either (except for my worm bin) in a while.

I think if you're using ewc that have been supplemented with stuff like egg shells it goes a long way in stabalizing ph. Those microbes work best in the same ph range that your plant thrives in, so they will do a fine job buffering all on their own. I credit oyster shell flour for regulating my ph, but it could very well be that my worm bins are just dialed in at this point.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

If I mix my own super soil with amendments like dolomite and powered egg shells, would this cover my liming needs or would I have to add more to compensate for the pH?

I use oyster flour, oyster shells (probably doesn't do much), crab meal, and biochar to help the ph stay where it needs to.
I also have a well amended ewc with eggshells, and a compost that has a good amount of roasted egg shells (pulverized), my compost also has oyster flour in it too

 

[Midwest Weedist]

I prefer oyster shell flour as my main liming agent, but you certainly could use dolomite lime and/or egg shells. Through trial and error..... 1 cup per cf of oyster shell flour (along with the rest of the inputs/home made EWC) seems to do the trick. Unfortunately I can't give you a conversion for how much that would equate to for the dolo lime/eggshells as a I haven't messed with either (except for my worm bin) in a while.

I think if you're using ewc that have been supplemented with stuff like egg shells it goes a long way in stabalizing ph. Those microbes work best in the same ph range that your plant thrives in, so they will do a fine job buffering all on their own. I credit oyster shell flour for regulating my ph, but it could very well be that my worm bins are just dialed in at this point.

I would prefer to use oyster shell flour but it didn't fit into the budget for my last batch of soil. It's on my next list though! I feed my worms A LOT of egg shells lol. Probably more than necessary. I get farm fresh organic eggs from a friend so I try to use them up rather than pitch them.

I use oyster flour, oyster shells (probably doesn't do much), crab meal, and biochar to help the ph stay where it needs to.
I also have a well amended ewc with eggshells, and a compost that has a good amount of roasted egg shells (pulverized), my compost also has oyster flour in it too

I started using biochar lately and it seems to really help my mix reach its potential.
How do you go about roasting yours? I typically roast mine that I've crushed by hand at like 450°f then take my mortar and pestle. But I don't feed that to my worms, they get fresh ones. The roasted and powdered shells go into my mix.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

I would prefer to use oyster shell flour but it didn't fit into the budget for my last batch of soil. It's on my next list though! I feed my worms A LOT of egg shells lol. Probably more than necessary. I get farm fresh organic eggs from a friend so I try to use them up rather than pitch them.


I started using biochar lately and it seems to really help my mix reach its potential.
How do you go about roasting yours? I typically roast mine that I've crushed by hand at like 450°f then take my mortar and pestle. But I don't feed that to my worms, they get fresh ones. The roasted and powdered shells go into my mix.

I do it the lazy way, buy a bag of the natural hippy-charcoal, and bust it up between two Olympic weight plates.
I agree with you though, I'll never go without the biochar again, which is easy for me to say considering it's in my soil already and I re-use.
if you like biochar, you may wana check out using rooten wood chunks too, it's sorta like a mini hugelkultur thing.
Works fabulous though

 

[st0wandgrow]

I do it the lazy way, buy a bag of the natural hippy-charcoal, and bust it up between two Olympic weight plates.

That's a good idea! Can't beileve I didn't think to use the 45lb weights.

I was backing over the damn bag of charcoal in my driveway with my car. Back and forth like a moron. Pretty sure my neighbours think I'm insane.

 

[Midwest Weedist]

I'm reading up on hugelkultur now. I like the concept a lot. I wonder if I could take rotten wood chunks and add them near the bottom of say a 10 gallon or larger air planter with success.

I do it the lazy way, buy a bag of the natural hippy-charcoal, and bust it up between two Olympic weight plates.
I agree with you though, I'll never go without the biochar again, which is easy for me to say considering it's in my soil already and I re-use.
if you like biochar, you may wana check out using rooten wood chunks too, it's sorta like a mini hugelkultur thing.
Works fabulous though

 

[Midwest Weedist]

That's a good idea! Can't beileve I didn't think to use the 45lb weights.

I was backing over the damn bag of charcoal in my driveway with my car. Back and forth like a moron. Pretty sure my neighbours think I'm insane.

Lmao that would be a site to see

 

[greasemonkeymann]

I'm reading up on hugelkultur now. I like the concept a lot. I wonder if I could take rotten wood chunks and add them near the bottom of say a 10 gallon or larger air planter with success.

yes!
only don't worry about putting them at the bottom, just mix them in like any other aeration.
I just get them from the forest, the more rotten the wood the better!

 

[Midwest Weedist]

yes!
only don't worry about putting them at the bottom, just mix them in like any other aeration.
I just get them from the forest, the more rotten the wood the better!

I'll go source some from this protected wooded area that this Hindu temple has taken care of for like the last 100 years. They don't do anything to the woods except take care of any garbage . Nice people, they let anyone walk the trails and stuff.

 

[Mohican]

Ask them - they may have a sacred compost pile that is 100 years old! They may also like to sample some sacred green

 

[Midwest Weedist]

Ask them - they may have a sacred compost pile that is 100 years old! They may also like to sample some sacred green

If I see any of the members I will, they're pretty scarce though. They have the craziest weddings! Bright neon lights, music, dancing! I'll take some pictures of the temple if it isn't too muddy out.

 

[Mohican]

Sounds like a rave! haha

Real Hindu Kush is the best smoke in the world!

 

[Forte]

I need help guys. I want to grow in 10 gallon smart pots; how much sphagnum peat moss do i need to put in the smart pots, before adding perlite, earth worm castings, compost, and other amendments? 1 CF, perhaps?

 

[4ftRoots]

I need help guys. I want to grow in 10 gallon smart pots; how much sphagnum peat moss do i need to put in the smart pots, before adding perlite, earth worm castings, compost, and other amendments? 1 CF, perhaps?

I'd say about .5 cubic feet. You can approximately calculate it based on this. I say approximately because my soil always compacts and add a couple more inches later.

(Gallons on pot)*(231)= Number of cubic inches in pot.

(Number of cubic inches)/12/12/12 = cubic feet of pot which is almost 1.5 cubic feet.