Green Cross
Well-Known Member
I finally picked up 100lbs of composted manure, checked the PH, added pearlite, and lime, and screened it.
Moo-nure brand - 25 lbs - $4
My $7 Soil PH test kit says it's already around 6.7 (PH neutral) which is fine, but I layered a few TBLS of dolomite lime in for good measure, because I like my soil PH between 6.7 and 7.2 -and fertilization tends to lower PH, and by adding a little lime it helps keep the PH stable, and also adds calcium.
I used some hardware cloth and a Rubbermaid to accomplish the screening process. It helps to use a plastic trowel, or something to scrape the soil though the screen. It was pretty clean - only found a few sticks and stones per 25 lbs.
When I transplant I'll just add this to my soilless mix (peat/coco/aged pine bark/vermiculite/pearlite/worm casings/lime) and a few scoops of this to the bottom half of the container. Then I'll top that with 1 or 2 TBLS of rainbow mix (grow or bloom depending...). Then I'll cover this with more soilless mix, so there's no root burn.![bongsmilie bongsmilie bongsmilie](/styles/smilies/bong7bp.gif)
Moo-nure brand - 25 lbs - $4
My $7 Soil PH test kit says it's already around 6.7 (PH neutral) which is fine, but I layered a few TBLS of dolomite lime in for good measure, because I like my soil PH between 6.7 and 7.2 -and fertilization tends to lower PH, and by adding a little lime it helps keep the PH stable, and also adds calcium.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.tinypic.com%2F35hpjc1.jpg&hash=eb1dbffa66052f7a7b20d026492fbbe3)
I used some hardware cloth and a Rubbermaid to accomplish the screening process. It helps to use a plastic trowel, or something to scrape the soil though the screen. It was pretty clean - only found a few sticks and stones per 25 lbs.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi38.tinypic.com%2Fqygw08.jpg&hash=6a0f7e3c7a5ba8a9311c2e3b4213c592)
When I transplant I'll just add this to my soilless mix (peat/coco/aged pine bark/vermiculite/pearlite/worm casings/lime) and a few scoops of this to the bottom half of the container. Then I'll top that with 1 or 2 TBLS of rainbow mix (grow or bloom depending...). Then I'll cover this with more soilless mix, so there's no root burn.
![bongsmilie bongsmilie bongsmilie](/styles/smilies/bong7bp.gif)