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FWIW I do. Actually, I use a combo of Azomite and greensand each @1cup/cf for my mineral needs. Works well for me. Wet

I've used bone meal for years and was always under the same impression and just never used it as a top dress, only when making a fresh mix or a reamend. Then, last summer I gave it a shot in one plant to see just how long it really took. This was a true SxS with 2 pepper plants each in 15gal...

Myself, I've found zero reason to wash the peat. You take an article on how to remedy an overly saline soil and try to make it apply to peat moss, or a peat based mix? It simply does not compute or compare. I do have some little experience with salt in soils from being a landscape supervisor...

I toss the banana peels in the jugs the grounds are collected in. Gives the grounds a bump start. My main feed is fresh/frozen comfrey leaves and the coffee grounds. I also keep jugs of alfalfa, neem, kelp meal, soy meal, and chicken laying crumbles around for the occasional top dress. The...

Stang Just what was this article that calls for 48" of water? In 45 years of making this same basic mix (peat, perlite, pine bark fines, lime), I have never heard of such a thing, or even suggested. I'd certainly like to see that. I mean, besides saponins or other wetting agents used to get...

That's my BASE mix, I didn't include the nutritional/mineral amendments, but still there are only 11 ingredients to my mix. !2 if I have biochar handy. Wet

Your intended mix leaves me less than impressed mainly because over the years I've tried similar with less than stellar results. I've only been doing organics for ~10 years, but have been growing "stuff" and using the same basic mix for over 45 years. Haven't made every mistake there is to...

What did you use to test the pH? I really see nothing to cause such a high pH and I'm wondering about the accuracy of the test. Coir in a LOS soil can cause problems with leaching due to microbial activity, but IDK about it affecting pH. The one person I know dealing with alkalinity issues...

He is and I did. I'll be using Logan Labs and getting the "Standard Soil Test" and the "Saturated Paste" test, both. They also seem to do something different if you inform them that it's vermicompost rather than a soil or a soil mix. We'll see how it goes. Wet

DT Totally agree with the 40% 20% ratios, but I take a slightly different route with the kelp. I only use Thorvin kelp meal, no liquids, extracts, or concentrates of any sort. I start off with 1/2 to 1cup of kelp meal in the mix and have found I get better results with more frequent light...

Well, I had to google the whole issue since I was not aware of it. The upshot is, I'm not going to do anything different or discontinue the occasional use. From my reading of both sides of the issue it seems to be a non issue AFA toxicity due to the form of the arsenic and lead, both being in...

Not really, it's usually only applied once, if needed, till the greensand and azomite begin to release. With those 2 they are never applied more than every 3 years or so, if then. Wet

I think a lack of aeration is the real root of many, MANY problems experienced by growers and frequently misdiagnosed as other causes, mainly a deficiency of one thing or another. The 1/3 - 1/3 - 1/3 soil mix ratio is just flat bad and usually way too dense. My own mix is more like 40% - 40% -...

No, my mix tends to acidic in the first place being peat based so elemental sulfur is never really considered. The sulfur in the gypsum is more than enough, or at least all that's going to get added. LOL My native soil is acidic also and acid loving plants grow well here with no help. Wet

Pretty much, yes and a good example of why many soil studies have so little relevance to the container mixes we construct. But many still try and jam that round peg into that still square hole. That study had a great deal of relevance to farmers who's native soil is rich in Mg (mainly the...

And you have experience of this occuring in container mixes? IDK, after more than a decade of using dolo in my mix I've yet to have that happen. Or, are you going off that soil study done in the UP in Mg rich soils that started all this brouhaha? Two different scenarios that don't relate. Wet

Not really, especially not after doing a little digging on my own and ignoring what "people said". I mean, aluminum is a concern, but not so much what's in azomite (all rock dusts contain Aluminum), compared to what we add all on our own. Do you use deodorant? The active ingredient in Mitchum...

No harm at all in using both as long as the total is 1cup/cf. I have and use both, using the powdered dolomite in fresh mixes (it coats everything much better), and the pelletized Ag lime in reamends and in my soil gardens and lawn. Our soil has plenty of native Mg, so more isn't really...

What I'm working towards is using my own VC/EWC as a stand alone fertilizer down the road. A couple of bins are over a year old and nearly pure castings, but all the bins (6 total), use the same bedding and the same feed regimen. The problem is, I really have no clue as to the NPK values...

That kinda depends on why you're moving away from OSF. Is it due to cost considerations? Namely the steep shipping charges involved getting OSF ? OR, is it due to the lack of Mg in OSF and the resulting frequent Mg deficiencys? That appears to be Ag lime (calcitic), a functional equivalent...