The base soil mix is compose of:
1/3 Sphagnum Peat Moss
1/3 Compost or Vermicompost
1/3 Aeration
For each cubic foot (7.5 US gallons) of soil add:
1/2 Cup Kelp Meal
1/2 Cup Neem Meal
1/2 Cup Crustacean Meal
1 Cup Malted Barley Powder
4 Cups Mineral Mix
6 Cups Biochar
Once mixed and added to the container, sow a clover cover crop and add a straw mulch layer.
At the beginning of each cycle and right before flowering top dress with 1/4" of vermicompost.
Watering Schedule:
Watering is done every two-three days. Every other watering is one of the following teas:
Sul-po-mag - Once a month
1 Gallon Water
1 Teaspoon Sul-po-mag
Add an airstone with the water and sul-po-mag and let set for a couple of days until soluble.
Neem/Kelp tea - Once a month
5 gallons Water
1 cup Neem Meal
1/2 cup Kelp Meal
1/4 teaspoon Aloe Powder
5 ml Silica
Place neem and kelp in a tea bag (I use a bag my worms came in) and steep overnight. Add aloe and silica before drenching the soil.
Malted Barley Tea - Once a week
1 gallon Water
1 oz. (28 grams) Malted Barley Powder
15 ml Fulvic Acid
1/4 teaspoon Aloe Powder
5 ml Silica
Grind malted barley powder in an old coffee grinder and place in a tea bag. Steep for no longer than four hours. Add fulvic acid, aloe, and silica before drenching the soil.
Coconut Water Tea - Once a week
1 gallon Water
1 teaspoon Coconut Water Powder
15 ml Fulvic Acid
1/4 teaspoon Aloe Powder
5 ml Silica
Mix all ingredients and drench soil.
Foliar Spray (IPM) - Once a week
1 gallon Water
15 ml Neem Oil
1/4 teaspoon Aloe Powder
10 ml Silica
In a small shot glass add silica to the neem oil and stir until completely homogenous. Add to warm (at least 75F) and mix thoroughly. Add aloe and spray immediately before lights out.
List of amendments and their benefits -
Aloe Powder - Adds saponins, rooting hormones, and salicylic acids.
Aeration - Can be perlite, pumice, lava rock, rice hulls, etc. I use a mix of 60% lava rock and 40% rice hulls. Adds oxygen to the root system, gives surface area for microbes to live on, and prevents compaction.
Biochar - Adds a lot of surface area for microbes and I creases CEC.
Clover Cover Crop - Adds nitrogen fixation, reduces erosion, and loosens the soil.
Coconut Water Powder - Adds enzymes, auxins, and micronutrients,
Compost - Adds microbiology, water retention, humic acids, and pest and pathogen prevention.
Crustacean Meal - Can be shrimp, crab, krill, etc. Adds macro nutrients, calcium carbonate, and chitan.
Fulvic Acid - Fulvic acid (Ful-power) enhances nutrient uptake, cell division and elongation, and enzyme activity.
Kelp - Adds macro and micro nutrients, chelating substances, and plant growth hormones.
Malted Barley Powder - Adds enzymes such as phosphatase, chitinase, urease, and amylase.
Mineral Mix - Equal parts of oyster shell flour, gypsum, basalt rock dust, and glacial rock dust. The gypsum provides calcium and sulphur. The oyster shell flower provides calcium carbonate and helps balance pH. And the glacial and basalt provide an array of micro nutrients and minerals.
Neem - Adds macro nutrients as well as pest suppression.
Silica - Adds pest and disease control, strengthens stems, and can be used as an emulsifier (i.e. use with neem oil). Pro-TeKt and agsil 16h are good brands.
Sphagnum Peat Moss - Adds microbiology, water retention, and high CEC.
Straw Mulch - Adds water retention, reduces erosion, home for soil life, and adds carbon for decomposition.
Sul-po-mag - A mined mineral that adds sulfur, potassium, and magnesium
Vermicompost - brings everything in compost with even more beneficial microbes as well as calcium carbonate.
