714steadyeddie
Well-Known Member
Thanks bro you have helped me tremendously learn about organic soil and how to keep the ladies healthy in it.
Thanks bro you have helped me tremendously learn about organic soil and how to keep the ladies healthy in it.
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
Always glad to help!
Chunky Stool
Well-Known Member
This is very true. Too much nitrogen is not a good thing, even if you aren't seeing burned tips. When I need to increase brix, I always back off the N and increase K. Microbial tea can also help increase brix.
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
Fair warning, this post is sort of an advertisement...Mostly just me showing off though...and it's my thread so please take note moderators that this is not spam lol.
This is some of the finished compost my company is selling. Screened but you still might find the occasional worm in it!! These aren't technically worm castings but worms definitely work through the piles after they cool down while they are curing. This stuff is pretty rich! Nice and fluffy, it holds water but doesn't muck up when it gets wet. In a raised bed you can plant directly in it (aeration does help root growth move faster though!). In pots it needs some aeration added, or just mix it with your old soil or promix.
We're currently selling in bulk for pick up in Lansing, MI but will be bagging and selling the product online and in stores as soon as all of our ducks are in a row. Along with some potting soils and fertilizer blends.
We just mixed some of it up with some Perlite and old soil to fill some pots and a bed in a room we consult on.
Check out the worm in the bottom right corner of the plant photo!
This is some of the finished compost my company is selling. Screened but you still might find the occasional worm in it!! These aren't technically worm castings but worms definitely work through the piles after they cool down while they are curing. This stuff is pretty rich! Nice and fluffy, it holds water but doesn't muck up when it gets wet. In a raised bed you can plant directly in it (aeration does help root growth move faster though!). In pots it needs some aeration added, or just mix it with your old soil or promix.
We're currently selling in bulk for pick up in Lansing, MI but will be bagging and selling the product online and in stores as soon as all of our ducks are in a row. Along with some potting soils and fertilizer blends.
We just mixed some of it up with some Perlite and old soil to fill some pots and a bed in a room we consult on.
Check out the worm in the bottom right corner of the plant photo!
714steadyeddie
Well-Known Member
I like that man I would be interested in some
Side note is this your video ?
I swear he says Rasta Roy in the beginning.
I've been watching this video lol
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
Yep that's me! Lol, I posted it on the wrong channel though, and it's gotten more views than the one on the right channel...That has all the follow up videos with the rest of the grow...But whatever lol.
There's part two on the proper channel.
This was my personal grow before I started doing my 100 gallon beds. I've changed a few things and the quality sucks but my stoned rambling maybe helps somebody hopefully lol.
I'm still filming videos except using actual cameras and voice overdubs. My buddy is helping me put them all together, I'm doing a whole how to/see some local Michigan grows/grower interviews series but we ain't launching em til they're all done and ready to go at once.
714steadyeddie
Well-Known Member
Haha I like the "fuck super soil" statement lol.
That's badass man sounds very informative I can fuck with that. Nice man now I'm going to peep your channel. Good stuff
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
Haha yea subcool didn't like that shit very much. I was trying to get him to explain the why behind his method on his thread and he ignored me, then engaged with me, then kinda threw up his hands and said "you got me, idk wtf I'm talking about" then babbled some bullshit about he's mostly into investments and stocks now. I asked if he was investing in the real estate flip investment business or something with commodities...And he said he was mostly investing in blue chip stocks like McDonalds, visa, etc. So it seems to me no matter what the fuck he does he doesn't know what he's talking about lol. To each his own tho! My shit is not that not that different than super soil when you get to the finished product (component wise), I just believe in building your soil by knowing how to use readily available organic ferts with slow release ones for demanding plant growth. And being economical about how you source and put together those components.
Instead of creating a giant ammonia pile that's stinking up your basement or putting gases into the air...And then turns your plants into a nutrient deficient mess if you water too much or too frequently...But that's just me.
I can give my plants the figure four deathlock while my tag team partner hits em with the big leg drop and they still look gorgeous cause they don't get their nutrients from Guanos or highly water soluble meals that wash out of the soil when I drown them in metaphorical tag team moves.
714steadyeddie
Well-Known Member
lol that's serious! Crazy you're like an organics guru.
Im definitely learning a lot and I'm getting a better understanding when you talk about slow release nutes vs fast acting ones. I'm getting really excited to start, once I'm set up in going full in.
How do you have your worm farm setup?
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
Pretty awful to be honest lol, but I have a few. I've got the sunleaves worm tower, which works well but not really a necessary expense. My other ones are just plastic storage totes. Drill holes in the bottom for drainage, and on the top side for oxygen. Put that tote inside another tote (to catch the drainage), or have it on blocks with a tray underneath.
Line the bottom of the bin with cardboard, add your bedding, then worms. Give the worms a day to adjust to the bedding before you throw in a bunch of scraps.
You can use cheese cloth or something similar to stretch over the tub to keep bugs out...I just make sure to bury scraps when I add them and I pile a couple layers of cardboard over top of the worms before I put the lid back on.
714steadyeddie
Well-Known Member
Hell ya I plan on using those 30 gal totes. What scraps do you toss? Just fruit scraps and dead leaves ?
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
I actually have tumbling composters outside that I put shredded leaves, rabbit manure and bedding, and coffee grounds I pick up from a local coffee shop. The tumblers aren't great for making quality finished compost, but they do break all that stuff down decently, I use that for my bedding though. Then I just use the pulp from my juicer, carrot and apple peels, tops of strawberries, old bread, just no meat and no citrus peels.
I've got another tub that I just use old recycled soil for bedding and then I just mix in a shitload of rabbit manure.
abe supercro
Well-Known Member
Wonder if onions and garlic would somewhat affect the mycosphere
my compost is loaded with egg shells and banana peels
my compost is loaded with egg shells and banana peels
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
Onion roots are what they use to harvest mycorrhizal fungi for commercial purposes...Although I'm unsure of how...So I'm not sure what they would add.
But I can tell you that if you're making your own castings, and use shredded leaves for bedding. Or if you make leaf mold compost by shredding leaves and letting them break down over time (vs adding green inputs and breaking the pile down faster), or if you do a hot pile, and then let it cure for a six months after it cools. You will have tons of great fungal networks and mycorrhiza fungi in your soil. I haven't bought or used mycos from a bag in well over a year.
abe supercro
Well-Known Member
Ive heard good reviews of compost at a local nursery supply. Hammond Farms is supposed to have bagged organic compost. Been meaning to check out their product. I'm also based near LAN.
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
They're awesome! I actually outsource all my labor to them now. They do great work.
calliandra
Well-Known Member
hey Rasta,
why not? I mean yes, word of mouth says, don't. But really, why not?
But I've been adding orange peels over the winter, one feeding contained almost 50%
My worms loved them
And wowee on your soil business!
Not sure whether bagging is a good thing if you want to make sure your buyers get quality though?
I've been scoping around in that area and yes, Europe may be a bit behind in this, but sooo much will go wrong with how the places you're selling to are going to stock your product it's ridiculous.
Just as a heads up, that chain of distribution may need some educating -- but you're good at that!
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
They say too much citrus can make the bin uninhabitable for the worms if it gets too acidic but it seems they definitely can handle more than I would have thought it sounds like from your results! Citrus pulp from my juicer ends up in my worm bin, but the peels go to my composters outside.hey Rasta,
why not? I mean yes, word of mouth says, don't. But really, why not?
But I've been adding orange peels over the winter, one feeding contained almost 50%
My worms loved them
And wowee on your soil business!
Not sure whether bagging is a good thing if you want to make sure your buyers get quality though?
I've been scoping around in that area and yes, Europe may be a bit behind in this, but sooo much will go wrong with how the places you're selling to are going to stock your product it's ridiculous.
Just as a heads up, that chain of distribution may need some educating -- but you're good at that!
I'm definitely trying to do what I can to ensure quality of bagged product. The bags we are using are breathable to make sure nothing goes anaerobic. My only concern is it losing moisture on store shelves and losing microbe life. We keep everything moist and healthy while it's in our possession so if you can get it fresh from us in person it's definitely gonna be the best quality. The product will only be bagged right before it's shipped out to retailers so hopefully it retains it's quality for as long as possible on a store shelf (and hopefully doesn't sit on shelves for long!).
calliandra
Well-Known Member
Hm, I went for pix, because else it didn't happen and all that, right?
Turns out the 50% orange peel was the feeding I did when I started the second tier - there was also banana, coffee grounds, eggshell in the mix
two days later
and the tier established after 4:
What I do get lots of in waves, with the feedings, are the white worms, but those seem to prechew pretty much everything in my bin.
Aaand there still is the possibility that my bin is a tad acidic too...
I've been missing the soil mites in there, maybe it has to do with that.
Though when I go to check on he microorganisms, I'm seeing a very diverse microfauna...hm!
Yeah that sounds really good! especially being in good contact with those retailers.. maybe you could even deliver on pre-order only? Like at our supermarket, if you want organic chicken you have to pre-order, and delivery is once a week, and that's going really well
Wishing you a great start!!!
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
Worm bins are probably a lot like growing, lots of room for error lol. We can mess up and they keep on thriving in spite of us.Hm, I went for pix, because else it didn't happen and all that, right?
Turns out the 50% orange peel was the feeding I did when I started the second tier - there was also banana, coffee grounds, eggshell in the mix
View attachment 3919290
two days later
View attachment 3919283
and the tier established after 4:
View attachment 3919286
What I do get lots of in waves, with the feedings, are the white worms, but those seem to prechew pretty much everything in my bin.
Aaand there still is the possibility that my bin is a tad acidic too...
I've been missing the soil mites in there, maybe it has to do with that.
Though when I go to check on he microorganisms, I'm seeing a very diverse microfauna...hm!
Yeah that sounds really good! especially being in good contact with those retailers.. maybe you could even deliver on pre-order only? Like at our supermarket, if you want organic chicken you have to pre-order, and delivery is once a week, and that's going really well
Wishing you a great start!!!
Thank you!
That's what we do with our soil blends and our customers that come see us in person (we can even do custom blends!)...but yea retail could be tricky! At the very least were only bagging small batches to start.