CrunchBerries

Well-Known Member
Last question for you. Have you noticed your earth boxes soil having dry spots? I was thinking that maybe there are some areas of my soil that aren’t compacted enough.
 
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CrunchBerries

Well-Known Member
I really don't know. However, I was replanting in my homemade SIPs and I found a LOT of worms. We were under the impression that worms didn't like SIPs, but I found a healthy population in mine. I think that it's just trial and error because this is not exactly a proven tech yet. Yeah, the health problem was a male UTI, which is in the testicles lol. Yes, I had infected balls lol...
I take cranberry pills every night in the hopes of never experiencing a ball infection.
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
@MustangStudFarm sorry to hear about the boys, that couldnt have been fun.

@CrunchBerries I was wondering the same thing. I thought in one thread he said he went all the way through and then the one you pointed out showed he stopped the EM1 at the end. I wonder if it makes a big difference either way by that point
Hyroot, the guy that GreenThumbs learned this method from, said that he uses JADAM/KNF ferments. However, Hyroot is inactive now. I got to speak with him a little before he took off. Also, Hyroot was using homemade LABS and Photosynthesis Plus instead of EM1. He even got me into using LABS/Photosynthesis+ in my homemade Grokashi.
 

CrunchBerries

Well-Known Member
Hyroot, the guy that GreenThumbs learned this method from, said that he uses JADAM/KNF ferments. However, Hyroot is inactive now. I got to speak with him a little before he took off. Also, Hyroot was using homemade LABS and Photosynthesis Plus instead of EM1. He even got me into using LABS/Photosynthesis+ in my homemade Grokashi.
So much to learn! Thank you as always and I hope your on the mends.
 

CrunchBerries

Well-Known Member
I really don't know. However, I was replanting in my homemade SIPs and I found a LOT of worms. We were under the impression that worms didn't like SIPs, but I found a healthy population in mine. I think that it's just trial and error because this is not exactly a proven tech yet. Yeah, the health problem was a male UTI, which is in the testicles lol. Yes, I had infected balls lol...
Living worm populations is exciting news.
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Living worm populations is exciting news.
I start with composted leaves, grass, and rabbit bedding.
DSC01325.JPG

Then, I add it to my worm bins. The worms are usually in the compost and they show up on their own, but you can see that I live in the woods. I don't know if you can do this in the city? Anyways, my soil is always FULL of worm cocoons. The worms that I am talking about in my SIPs have been there for an entire grow cycle and I brought the plants to 11 weeks and they are still in there thriving. Again, I had my soil tested and I don't know if that makes a difference??? I found out that my worm castings were low in Ca, N, Fe, Mn, and B while being super high in P & K. The Ph was normal, but that is probably because the excessive K kept the Ph high leading me to believe that Ca was normal. I finally figured out that this is a situation for gypsum, Ca w/o increasing your Ph. I'm rambling now, but I never thought that gypsum had a place in my garden. I was wrong...
DSC01321.JPG
 
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CrunchBerries

Well-Known Member
Hyroot, the guy that GreenThumbs learned this method from, said that he uses JADAM/KNF ferments. However, Hyroot is inactive now. I got to speak with him a little before he took off. Also, Hyroot was using homemade LABS and Photosynthesis Plus instead of EM1. He even got me into using LABS/Photosynthesis+ in my homemade Grokashi.
I’m starting to dig into this information, but am hoping you can expand on the Labs/photosynthesis+ instead of em-1 in your sips. Photosynthesis+ is just another brand of microbial inoculate? If so, can you activate it like EM-1? Experiences, ratios per gallon of labs/photosynthesis +, helpful information? I’m starting to read hyroots thread now. Thanks man! No rush as I still have em-1 and no labs.
 

CrunchBerries

Well-Known Member
I start with composted leaves, grass, and rabbit bedding.
View attachment 4850668

Then, I add it to my worm bins. The worms are usually in the compost and they show up on their own, but you can see that I live in the woods. I don't know if you can do this in the city? Anyways, my soil is always FULL of worm cocoons. The worms that I am talking about in my SIPs have been there for an entire grow cycle and I brought the plants to 11 weeks and they are still in there thriving. Again, I had my soil tested and I don't know if that makes a difference??? I found out that my worm castings were low in Ca, N, Fe, Mn, and B while being super high in P & K. The Ph was normal, but that is probably because the excessive K kept the Ph high leading me to believe that Ca was normal. I finally figured out that this is a situation for gypsum, Ca w/o increasing your Ph. I'm rambling now, but I never thought that gypsum had a place in my garden. I was wrong...
View attachment 4850667
Love those bins!
 
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MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
I’m starting to dig into this information, but am hoping you can expand on the Labs/photosynthesis+ instead of em-1 in your sips. Photosynthesis+ is just another brand of microbial inoculate? If so, can you activate it like EM-1? Experiences, ratios per gallon of labs/photosynthesis +, helpful information? I’m starting to read hyroots thread now. Thanks man! No rush as I still have em-1 and no labs.
I asked Hyroot the same questions and didn't get anywhere with it. I think that he was one foot out the door when I was talking to him and he just kinda faded out of the forum after that. I feel like I was the last person that he was really talking to. I don't know about expanding it, but I did add it to my grokashi. I hope you find some answers! DonTesla was another guy running SIPS, he always had some kind of fuzzy stuff he was making out of oatmeal, interesting enough that I should go back and read his thread.
 

CrunchBerries

Well-Known Member
I asked Hyroot the same questions and didn't get anywhere with it. I think that he was one foot out the door when I was talking to him and he just kinda faded out of the forum after that. I feel like I was the last person that he was really talking to. I don't know about expanding it, but I did add it to my grokashi. I hope you find some answers! DonTesla was another guy running SIPS, he always had some kind of fuzzy stuff he was making out of oatmeal, interesting enough that I should go back and read his thread.
Do you see differences in your plants vs. using em-1? How much labs/ Photo+ do you use per gallon?
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Do you see differences in your plants vs. using em-1? How much labs/ Photo+ do you use per gallon?
I just got around to using it again, so I really don't have input. I just invested some money into the grokashi recipe and grabbed some Photo+, Super Cera powder, Youngevity, and beets to juice. Sorry that I don't have more answers about Photo+ because I have searched also. There is just not much info out there yet.
 

CrunchBerries

Well-Known Member
I just got around to using it again, so I really don't have input. I just invested some money into the grokashi recipe and grabbed some Photo+, Super Cera powder, Youngevity, and beets to juice. Sorry that I don't have more answers about Photo+ because I have searched also. There is just not much info out there yet.
I appreciate your reply. I’ll pick some up one of these days and do a side by side. I’ll report back any findings or information. Thanks again. I think labs will be my next project.
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
I appreciate your reply. I’ll pick some up one of these days and do a side by side. I’ll report back any findings or information. Thanks again. I think labs will be my next project.
I was under the impression that you get more diversity with Photo+ & LABS compared to just using EM1, but this is just a guess. I was trying to find info on expanding it too and didn't have any luck. I know that they use sulfur to make the bacteria dormant and it smells like 1,000 farts in a bottle. It might actually turn your stomach if you are not expecting it, so heads up on that. I was just trying to pass on what little info that I had on Hyroot's method, he really knew his stuff. He grabbed my attention with the fact that red wheat bran has manganese and I was looking for sources of Mn at the time. I just felt like he was letting me in on his secrets, but didn't want to fully give them away. He stopped responding to my questions when I started digging deeper. I get it, people don't want to give away their hard earned methods. I'm reluctant to give out the name of my agronomist because I feel like it was a hard fought battle to get to this point.
 

Xsan

Well-Known Member
For conversation sake, could you run em1 and photo+ at the same time to get the extra diversity? Was looking at indegredints in em1 and noticed labs was number 2 or 3 on the list. Part of what attracted me to this method was the simplicity once it's running. Maybe someday I will have more free time to experiment with making my own labs, grokashi, ewc, etc.
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
For conversation sake, could you run em1 and photo+ at the same time to get the extra diversity? Was looking at indegredints in em1 and noticed labs was number 2 or 3 on the list. Part of what attracted me to this method was the simplicity once it's running. Maybe someday I will have more free time to experiment with making my own labs, grokashi, ewc, etc.
I just don't know ANYTHING about Photo+ other than a trusted member on here said to use it. I scoured the internet trying to find a list of bacteria/fungi that they use, but no luck. I know that they both have photosynthetic bacteria, but Photo+ doesn't offer a list.
 

CrunchBerries

Well-Known Member
I just don't know ANYTHING about Photo+ other than a trusted member on here said to use it. I scoured the internet trying to find a list of bacteria/fungi that they use, but no luck. I know that they both have photosynthetic bacteria, but Photo+ doesn't offer a list.
I did see that Photo+ has a longer shelf life after opening and you use less per gallon than em-1. So that’s cool.
 

CrunchBerries

Well-Known Member
For conversation sake, could you run em1 and photo+ at the same time to get the extra diversity? Was looking at indegredints in em1 and noticed labs was number 2 or 3 on the list. Part of what attracted me to this method was the simplicity once it's running. Maybe someday I will have more free time to experiment with making my own labs, grokashi, ewc, etc.
One of the things that attracted me to organics in general was that you can make higher quality inputs and soil than what you can buy. Saves on money and you know exactly what your adding. LABS seems pretty easy to make, just multiple steps. EWC is so easy and fun!!! Most of the amendments that you add to your soil can be feed to your worms. Feed them periodically and make sure they have the right moisture content and that’s it. Set it and forget it! Haven’t really dug into making Grokashi. Hope this helps
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Last question for you. Have you noticed your earth boxes soil having dry spots? I was thinking that maybe there are some areas of my soil that aren’t compacted enough.
I missed this the other day. My Earthboxes dry out QUICKLY and it's a pain to keep them watered. This is the reason that I made my own SIPS. My plants are loving the homemade SIPS compared to the store bought Earthboxes. Believe me, I tried to make it work because I spent over $400 on Earthboxes. Just another mistake that I made...
 

myke

Well-Known Member
I missed this the other day. My Earthboxes dry out QUICKLY and it's a pain to keep them watered. This is the reason that I made my own SIPS. My plants are loving the homemade SIPS compared to the store bought Earthboxes. Believe me, I tried to make it work because I spent over $400 on Earthboxes. Just another mistake that I made...
I just made some SIPs. I’m noticing how wet my soil is. I have the tote lids on and am keeping my res topped up every other day. When I stick my moisture meter in close to the stem it always in the upper 7,s. Plants are growing like mad. Is there any concern about the soil being too wet? Thanks.
 
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