Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

RedCarpetMatches

Well-Known Member
Red- Is there any "topsoil" that you can shake loose from the grass? You don't want clay
That's what I figured and no it's a big ol grey chunk. Here's whats in HFSC that I still have an abundance of. I also have red wiggler castings and an all organic mix that's been charging for about three months.
image.jpg
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Wow... the soil there really sucks, eh? Well, no matter. You could always collect BIMs from that grassy area with rice water. I'd still see if there was some traces of brown dirt somewhere in your area LOL.

Castings are great.
 

RedCarpetMatches

Well-Known Member
Wow... the soil there really sucks, eh? Well, no matter. You could always collect BIMs from that grassy area with rice water. I'd still see if there was some traces of brown dirt somewhere in your area LOL.

Castings are great.
My neighbor does have a nice lawn lol. There's a bunch of leaves and big oaks in the woods nearby so hopefully I can go BIM hunting tomorrow. In the meantime I cooked up some brown rice and added it to some of that HFSC. Thanks again for advice! Came across the rice water a couple of times...sounds interesting and NEW!!!
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
I (me) personally prefer peat. More microbially active right out of the bag (verified by MM), and other valid reasons that I can't recall in my current haze
 
From all I have read so far I know building your own soil from scratch is best when doing ROLS. If I have modified SS after a harvest would that be an acceptable base to start doing a ROLS? After a few more runs I would like to build from scratch, but the spent SS will be all I have access to for a while. Thanks for any help guys.

Also, do you guys use mycorrhizal products with ROLS or is it not needed?
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
No myco additives needed. It's already in there. Sure use the SS and run it for a while. Amend as you go.

What are your thoughts on a nice tidy worm bin?
 

Mohican

Well-Known Member
When I am done building the greenhouse I want to build a bigger and better worm bin! I love throwing garbage in one end and pulling gold out of the other :)
 

whodatnation

Well-Known Member
No grubs in my compost pile but they are in the old decomposing hay I add to the pile. They either end up leaving or cooking in there.

Im really slacking on getting my worm system going, been wanting to do it for over a year now! Just imagine I could have millions by now :-( I really like the idea of stackable trays that allow you to easily access finished castings with minimal disturbance to the lil wigglers.
 

DANKSWAG

Well-Known Member
I (me) personally prefer peat. More microbially active right out of the bag (verified by MM), and other valid reasons that I can't recall in my current haze
Correct me if I am wrong Rrog, I thought I read too much coco fiber can break down and throw PH of balance? Anywise I understand rice hulls are a great neutral medium and give harbor to microbes and help in aeration and draining much better and as a replacement for perlite? Is this correct too?

I understand some "green" growers are going with less peat moss in respect to any gardening in that it supposedly is not a renewable resource in that the amount being consumed can not be replaced by nature at the current rate and if we continue there could be detrimental environmental impact. Again this I have been told have not verified but heard it a few times now and am somewhat sensitive to being a good steward and if I can use rice hulls or some other combination of organic neutral soil base I am all for that. But then again don't want to be inconvenienced for someone screaming the sky is falling.
 

DANKSWAG

Well-Known Member
I (me) personally prefer peat. More microbially active right out of the bag (verified by MM), and other valid reasons that I can't recall in my current haze
Correct me if I am wrong Rrog, I thought I read too much coco fiber can break down and throw PH of balance? Anywise I understand rice hulls are a great neutral medium and give harbor to microbes and help in aeration and draining much better and as a replacement for perlite? Is this correct too?

I understand some "green" growers are going with less peat moss in respect to any gardening in that it supposedly is not a renewable resource in that the amount being consumed can not be replaced by nature at the current rate and if we continue there could be detrimental environmental impact. Again this I have been told have not verified but heard it a few times now and am somewhat sensitive to being a good steward and if I can use rice hulls or some other combination of organic neutral soil base I am all for that. But then again don't want to be inconvenienced for someone screaming the sky is falling.
 

DANKSWAG

Well-Known Member
I think the concept of the BIM is powerful, yet due to our (manly) need to tweak everything, we always want to get a jar of some secret stuff.

Also- the older the soil gets, the more dialed in the microbial universe will be within the soil. We leave it in place and preserved = ROLS. In a few weeks the BIM will start to dominate. They are after all, by definition, the top of their respective pyramids. They are the top performers for your area. They beat out all comers. And they're free, looking for a good home in a field near you.

So what's stopping you?
Sorry for the interruption int the thread, perhaps someone can give me a post number to look at but I have a vague idea what ROLS is just popping in an out now I see BIMs? looks like something to do with introducing ROIL into natural environment to acquire more natural beneficial microbes? Perhaps I am reaching in my cursory reading on this.

Thing is just finished using some SS and just need a cliff notes version on what I can do now to reinvigorate this soil so it is consider ROLS and ready to roll through new transplants ready for their next flowering cycling
 

DANKSWAG

Well-Known Member
How about grassy fields. Ya got any nearby? That has the microbial profile you're looking for. Beneficial Indigenous Microbes. Better than in a jar
Isn;t this part of the Korean Japaneses IMO collection process or related technique? Why not just use the microbes I collected of my half cooked rice you told me not to use, I put that rice into grassy fields to collect it and you told me I may be putting bad microbes in there or someone did I will have to look back but now I am confused?
 

whodatnation

Well-Known Member
Iv changed it just a tad. Basically just add more organic matter and allow it to digest.

Three Little Birds
RECIPE #4
Three Little Birds Method
40 gallons used soil
4 cups alfalfa meal
4 cups fish bone meal
4 cups kelp meal
2 cups oyster shell flour
30 pound bag of earthworm castings . . .
That’s the basic recipe . . .
However we also like to use
4 cups of Greensand
4 cups of Azomite
4 cups of crab meal

Also other various meals and guanos....







I think sometimes we can make this more complicated than it needs to be. I mean the best part about growing like this is because its simple,,,, dont overcomplicate it.
 
No myco additives needed. It's already in there. Sure use the SS and run it for a while. Amend as you go.

What are your thoughts on a nice tidy worm bin?
Thanks for your reply Rrog. I thought the modified SS looked great, and will probably do well for me for a run or two. I have done quite a bit of reading on how all the different natural elements work together. Love it. Can`t stop trying to find new shit to read lol! Then I found this ROLS thread and just seems to pull all I have read together. The no till part is genius. The mix sounds easier to make, less time to cook. Seems like less chance for nute burn. Cheaper.

I have not done a lot of research on the worm bin thing, but does sound interesting. One question though, how do you collect the poop? lol Sorry for the "worm bin noob" questions. Do you just use the compost they live in or does it fall through a screen or something?
 

Mohican

Well-Known Member
Basic way is bin with screens or flaps on the bottom. Add your cardboard and scraps and as they get broken down you collect the fine particles from the screen or opening on the bottom. Sides and top are screen also to let it breath and not cook. Size is 2 foot square. Just keep adding goodies in the top and collection plant food at the bottom. Need to have some tight screen so you don't get fruit flies and such.


I want to build one with an old fashioned hand massage vibrator mounted to the bottom. Collect goodness by turning on the vibrator and the good stuff shakes out of the bottom. I want to make mine ten feet long and two feet deep. Maybe add a couple rabbits above.
 

Mohican

Well-Known Member
If you have a bug zapper light you can collect the cooked bugs and add them to your tea or directly to your soil. I was talking to a HI grower about this and he said every night he goes outside and there is a frog under his light eating all of the bug fries. I wonder if frog poop is good? Malawi mania :P
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Isn;t this part of the Korean Japaneses IMO collection process or related technique? Why not just use the microbes I collected of my half cooked rice you told me not to use, I put that rice into grassy fields to collect it and you told me I may be putting bad microbes in there or someone did I will have to look back but now I am confused?
That wasn't me you're quoting. Collecting microbes with rice is something I've always advocated.
 
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