Do you have a Green Coast Hydroponics store near you? They are all over Cali. They sell both the fox farms and the vermifire there. This brand is far superior to the fox farms imho. The fox farms always tends to be too hot and burns the plants.
Grab a shovel, find a big shady tree and dig under it, place in bag transport home. Soil test. Add what you need/ desire go from there. You are 100 bringing home something in bagged soil.
Don’t forget boatloads of coco or perlite.
If you were going to dig native soils, I would instead use KNF tech to just harvest indigenous microbes and just multi them and add to a soil mix.
If you would like to go organic and make your own soil, this thread is recent. A few members help @BDGrows get going in organics. Really a good place to start with good discussion.
I give some help but there are a bunch really experienced organic growers helping. I have enjoyed it.
Edit: I have a good background in soil mixing. I have worked in agriculture and grown organic indoors for 5 years. If you need any help let me know.
I’ve been hearing a lot about packaged living soils. I’ll be trying SoHum Living Soil for my next run.
Nice I am going to read that now.
I have made my own mix before for my raised beds which I have been running for a couple of years now. But I wanted some good first hand experience with what would be best for this application.
Looks like some good insight. Thank you!
I’ve been mixing organic soil myself as well but mostly in the ground. All the container gardening Ive done used perlite. I really like the idea of something nature makes instead. I have been adding biochar to my mixes, because I burn wood. Each year I’ve added more, and I’m hoping at one point that will be enough. I haven’t seen much pumice or lava rock my way ( small bags)so I’ll have to look online. I really appreciate the offer of help.
I’m going to have to read up on the bio char.
I do a lot of cooking over wood and have lots that could be useful for me.
Check out “Terra Preta” as well, that’s the historical part.
Cheers
G
I’m sure there is plenty of good info out there. I got mine from ancient history. In the Amazon a soil was found that is manmade and growing. ( yes) it actually ( this soil) grows larger every year with no current human influence. Called " black earth" I think it is. In Portuguese it’s called Terra Preta. Two main ingredients are biochar and broken pottery. I’ve been experimenting with my soil to see how much I can add. I have not added the pottery. Lol ( maybe sometime) I like the idea of soil that continues to improve without my help.
Shit. Just saw that! Lol!
I was reading up on that last night and all I can say is wow. So fascinating!
I threw my seeds in paper towels and the Stardawg popped in like 12 hours! I gotta figure this out fairly soon haha. My LSD is barely starting to pop after about 24 hours but man, that Stardawg popped almost instantly haha.
Just remember that if you collect the char from the fire the grey ash will still raise you PH. You can however make a biokiln using a 2’ piece of ducting and two end caps. Just drill some small holes in it for the gas to escape and you’re set. That’s how I make biochar.
Right, but you need to charge biochar first or it’s fairly useless from what I’ve read. Either compost it or make a tea right?
Only issue being composition of terra preta is still a what the fuck in the ‘science’ community
Yup. You do have to be careful with ash. One pound raises the pH of 100 square feet of soil one point. Biochar/ash gets rained on in the spring so all is clean for use so no ashes, although I do add some separately sometimes. Rained on ashes…Nice tip for biochar. Do you use old iron pipe? Can you explain in more detail?In our area most people sell partially seasoned wood. It leaves lots of coals that keep getting buried under the next log until it goes out. Shitty heat. Great biochar lol! My soil is getting this crazy nice consistency to it. And biochar really holds on to nutrients in a rainy climate. Look how it’s held up in the Amazon under that incessant rain. Our top soil scientists should be making it a priority to uncover the secrets of this wonderful ancient soil technology.
Theres lots of compost in my soil. It must work naturally somehow… ?Mine does sit for months. Then it goes in the ground with compost and composted manure. How would one charge it? Would lightning do it?
With biochar??? I’ll have to look into that. And composting… you mean in with the compost pile? Or by itself?