How Long to Compost Blood/Bone Meal and Other Nutes?

huklburryfin

Active Member
i want to mix my own soil for my outdoor grow. i have promix w/ extra perlite and some compost. i going to add some nutrients from local stores like home depot, lowes, walmart, etc. i can get miracle gro [bad i know] organic blood and bone meal, cow manure, mushroom compost [if they restock it], and a few other things that im too high to remember right now. i cant just add these to my soil mix the day of planting or it will attract animals. so how long should i let them sit outside and decompose for? until the no longer smell and attract insects? and should i mix all of my promix and nutes together and lit it sit for a few weeks, or just let the nutes compost by them selves and then add them to my mix? sorry if this was confusing

edit: i can also get dolomite lime or sulfur if needed
 

PeaceFarmer

Active Member
Ok, making compost is a rather simple, yet confusing endeavor. First, all of those things you listed are "ready to use" and shouldn't attract animals. However, Im gonna tell you how to make great compost. First, you should have a place that you can put a compost bin. The best thing ever is this plastic model that is suspended in the air, and you give it a turn every couple of days. Otherwise, you need an area that you can keep animals out of, and something to turn it with (pitchfork). You start with some dirt, and to that you add: leaves, grass clippings, weeds, vegetable and fruit scraps/peels, eggshells, coffee grounds, (starbucks saves there grounds for composters...they even put it in a nice little deco bag, some are sitting in the lobby in a basket, other times you have to ask for it), manure, etc. Anyways, just keep bad bacterias out..meats, seafood, stuff like that. You can find compost starter online really cheap, which is basically bacteria that will start to compost the foods, and make the process much faster. Then just keep your pile covered if you arent using a barrell. If you manage to make some really good compost you can stay away from chemical nutes, and you will be organic. You also can get away with not having to supplement with nutes with really good compost. Anyway...those things you've listed, are made to use right away...not for compost.
 

huklburryfin

Active Member
but wont the smell of blood attract animals? it will just give them more incentive to eat it. and the manure i want to add says it decomposed but i want to be sure it want attract bugs. anyways, how long will it take for kitchen scraps to decompose in a trash can? thanks for the info
 

CatEyes420

Active Member
Hey i been really interested in making compost too so i been studying up, check out post #5 on this link, https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/298483-compost-what-how.html

lost of helpful information to help understand the whole process of composting because technically you want to attract certain insects and pests and the others will die under the intense heat of the composting, or so i understand so far, and i plan on investing on a little composte maker from walmart, has great reviews and seems like the best value compared to others for the same price... heres the link to the composter to get an idea of what it is,

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Suncast-Tumbling-Composter/13727247
 

huklburryfin

Active Member
Hey i been really interested in making compost too so i been studying up, check out post #5 on this link, https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/298483-compost-what-how.html

lost of helpful information to help understand the whole process of composting because technically you want to attract certain insects and pests and the others will die under the intense heat of the composting, or so i understand so far, and i plan on investing on a little composte maker from walmart, has great reviews and seems like the best value compared to others for the same price... heres the link to the composter to get an idea of what it is,

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Suncast-Tumbling-Composter/13727247
word dude thanks for showing me that thread it had a lot of useful info, +rep
 

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
Get the dolomite lime, you'll need it. Also, snag some kelp meal for K (of the N-P-K), and minerals. I doubt that you'll need the sulfur.

It all gets mixed together to 'cook', that is, your mix and the amendments.

Wet
 

huklburryfin

Active Member
Get the dolomite lime, you'll need it. Also, snag some kelp meal for K (of the N-P-K), and minerals. I doubt that you'll need the sulfur.

It all gets mixed together to 'cook', that is, your mix and the amendments.

Wet
im not really able to get high quality organics like guano and kelp meal. im going to see what i can do with what i can get though.
 

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
I don't use guano's either. Too expensive to ship. But you are going to need a source of K. Kelp meal is the best, and even if you have to order it online, a 5 lb bag goes a long way. You only need 1/2 cup/cf (7.5 gallons).

There are other sources of K also, probably something you can find locally.

Wet
 

watchhowIdoit

New Member
Homedepot, Menards and Lowes being your only options. Forget Walmart, they are evil. And I would forget about the meals, shit made from critters will draw critters, just a general rule. But they have other options. Epsomas Garden and Plants-tones are solid all-in-one options. They still have a some critter drawing odors. But they are way easier to deal with than fermenting blood/bone. Osmocote and Osmocote Plus are good choices. Get a few bails of Lamberts peat and make a mix. Some extra perlite can only help..... You have to remember, you will be growing outdoors under the sun. The same yet very different from growing indoors under lights in a semi-controlled enviroment.
 

huklburryfin

Active Member
im pretty sure i can get plant-tone, but im pretty limited on what else i can get. im probly gona have to get blood and bone meal and mix my own compost.
 

shredder4

Well-Known Member
The espoma "tones" are an excellent choice. I have used plant tone and bio tones, plus a friends uses garden tone. I don't notice a difference between them. When you use these as directed at 1 cup per 25 cups soil it is a little hot. Check the ingredients out it has all the meals you will ever need. You will still need dolomite lime for ph plus the cal and mag it has in it. If you buy some peats like pro mix it has some lime in it, but not quite enough for cannabis, so I would add a cup to a cup and one half to a 3.8 cf bale of pro mix. F you can mix in a bag of ewc, earth worm castings, if not at least get a bag of compost, the better the quality the better it should be. Both the compost and ewc will add plenty of microbes, the tones will feed them. Just mix this all together, wet it, let it sit a month if possible, then use on started plants(it could burn small frys)
 
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