My worms love rice hulls. I put them in my worm bin mix sometimes for aeration.
Has to be a flow through worm bed because the worms break it down so quick, you can end up with a brick with no aeration.
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The best way to condition charcoal is to layer it in your compost for a season, really charges it with all sort of microbes.
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So when you mean layer it in, literally put it in layers right? So soil - charcoal - soil - charcoal, etc?
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Green material, grass clippings, weeds etc…; charcoal ground or chopped preferably; carbon rich layer, brown matter, cornstalks, rye, wheat, oat straw, fall leaves. Repeat.
I never use soil, I hear a thin layer keeps the temps down and gets you more compost long run but i’m always in a hurry. I used to turn it every 3 days now I’m lucky to have time to turn it twice over a summer.
I’ve also read to never use sand as a layer.
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Mixing day was yesterday, I was just too damn tired to post pics after it was all said n done; but here we go!
All of the goodies, behind the rock dust is a bag of gypsum (which has a pink hue to it interestingly) as well as the FRESH malted barley powder (turned into powder by yours truly). That bag of rice hulls was stupid cheap… I got that entire 5# bag for 2$ and added 1/2 cup per cu ft to enrich the soil with aeration and have the worms break it down into some good silica… Not pictured is the biochar, which was a bag of Royal Oak charcoal that was beaten to death with a baseball bat then inoculated with microbial life via cultures (powdered) and given a fish&kelp emulsion blend and allowed to steep for a day or two.
The start of the mix! 1/3rd of the dirt is on the tarp with the remaining 2/3 in barrels still. The idea is to do a mixing method where you cycle 3 barrels along with 1 mixing drum and mix everything about 15 times. At that point, everything should be thoroughly mixed! They sat overnight with some worms in em and this morning with the light ill take a picture of the soil and what she looks like after I finish another cup of coffee! Again, thank you to everyone who helped me build this soil and answered my questions and took the time to explain why to add some stuff and not add others! For example, thank you for having me change the azomite to glacial rock dust/basalt due to the aluminum issues along with reducing the amount of it; I could totally see how it would turn an amazing mix into concrete!
- BD
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Heres the final product, worms n all!
A close up of the mix. Its nice n light and not compacted at all! I figure when I use it ill mix it right before to loosen the soil from sitting for so long. So all in all, if my calculations are correct, I should have almost 15 cu ft or a little over half a cu yard of good soil!
- BD
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What’s your aeration in the mix?
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I was going to add the aeration right before I use it, I was going to add some pumice, lava rock, and left over hydroton I have. I dont think the worms need it do they?
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They should be fine for 3 months. Just wondering.
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The soil is surprisingly pretty “light and fluffy” is that normal?
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Did you add any water? You want it a little moist.
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Yes, I made sure to moisten the soil and all the goodies while it was mixing. The soil is damp but not soaked. So I can pick up a fistful, feel that its moist, but when I squeeze it no water comes out. I guess I would say its the moisture of when you pull fresh soil out of a bag, maybe a little more damp?
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Sound good! It should be good.
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That is great, nice job!
You’ll have to watch moisture levels of course but you have made a nearly ideal soil.
The only prob you might have is if you’re outdoor growing a high wind might topple the pot when it dries it out.
Hot dry winds can cause Mary to drink a pot dry due to her size, quick.
That’s where a self irrigating planter comes to the rescue, esp if you refill the res automatically.
stoned
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ya that 50% ewc was quick draw from me and a little misleading.
i mix the ewc 50/50 with perlite, then mix that 50/50 with ss#4 small pots indoors, not for giant outdoor pots, that would not work for me.
ewc all day long yo
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More about adding coal to soil as an amendment.
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Are you talking about coal…or bio char?
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Certain charcoal briquette makers add coal fines to their product.
Briquettes break down easily when wet, avoiding the laborious crushing of whole or lump charcoal.
I have wondered before if coal was getting a bad rap from organic purists as being toxic in soil. After all it is just a condensation of organic matter.
But there may be other undesirable ingredients.
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I found this:
Briquettes today are cheap, reliably standard and uniform in size, can be found almost everywhere, but are often made of questionable (environmental-wise) ingredients. In 2000 Kingsford, the largest manufacturer of briquettes in the US, release the ingredients of their briquettes: wood charcoal, mineral char (brown coal), mineral carbon (graphite), limestone (to produce the white ash), starch (as a binder), borax (to release them from their forming molds), sawdust (to ease lighting) and sodium nitrate, which releases oxygen that help them light quickly and burn consistently.
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The brand I bought has 100% hardwood in it. I know some of the others have fillers.
Little known fact but charcoal sold as we know it today in the US,owes a lot to the Ford Motor Company. One of the first companies to commercially market charcoal to consumers. It was a waste product of auto manufacturing I believe.
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