Profound

How about a collective Organic thread shared amongst all of the organic growers and those with an interest !??
GREAT idea Outdoors

I'll start things off with a lot of what I've saved, printed and read thru...:::thinking I would return fast and re-read for more retention.. you know how it goes.
So I finally decided to take Outdoor's posted statement and attempt to create a sticky, a 5 star thread on organics we can all use and contribute to.


So recently in my new found spare time......I've been searching, reading and seeking again.

Here's to compiling it
It's not all of MY info; some of it is google searched, copy and pasted......but why not share what we research and use.

Now there are various leafreaders, hydro gardeners, soil gardeners, automated, Bio, gravity growers and so on and so on, plus just those with a general understanding of the entire Botany thing....

...but again I say without sharing this info.....lots of it goes by the wayside passed over or just not discussed with those who could carry it on by applying the knowledge.


First up my advice to you, is that if growing in soil, either in pots or the earth, make up a blend of the following.

Personally I prefer organic methods of growing myself, but not everyone does, so I have included some of my own thoughts and experiences for anyone who is interested in both organic and non organic forms of growing.

When preparing your soil

SOIL
If you are intending to grow in the ground, then it is in my opinion a very good idea to prepare your soil at least 2 months before you will be ready to plant out.

Do this bye simply digging your soil up with a good fork and add the suggested amendments to this soil, mix them together well then simply back fill the hole with your mix, water it a little to allow the soil to fill the holes then back fill again till its how you want it, from there mulch the area with approx 4 inches of mulch, I use pea straw or coco fibre but you can use a lot of things.

Some others appropriate mulches

news paper, organic carpet underlay, bean straw, hay, composted leaves, alfafa, ect ect

Try and use something that will add organic matter to the soil along with nutrients to feed the micro organisms in the soil, these are what are called nutrient cyclers giving your plants food and hormones ect to grow and to thrive, inturn the plant then gives back to these critters food and shelter it is a symbiotic relationship where one feeds of of the other and vice versa.


POTS
If you intend to grow in pots I would suggest that you mix the amendments together and have it prepared no less then 1 to 2 weeks before planting out, if you have the room to do so, keep it moist buy simply mulching the top 2 inches of the pot with mulch suggested above.

When using pots use a slightly bigger one then you intended also if that poss, this gives you enough space at the top to allow enough room to be left from the soil surface to the top of the pot to water and to mulch, I usually leave about 3 inches if I can for this.

Mediums to be used if mixed together

High quality compost @ 20% (preferably slightly fungal dominated)
High quality potting mix @25% or if in the ground soil 30%
Perlite 10% or 15% if in soil (ground)
Peat moss 10%
worm castings 20%

Different composted manures that can be used with the suggested % if used buy them selves and added to the above
pig>10% cow>15% chicken>5% horse>20% rabbit>10% Pigeon>5%

Be careful when using manures especially if they are fresh, the rule of thumb is the smaller the manure used the stronger it will be, so obviously pig and chicken or bird manure is going to be stronger then say cow or horse or elephant even lol

When using fresh manure be sure to use only 20% of the suggested amount above for composted manures.

Mix this together well then check your Ph and adjust it if you need to, if high or alkaline then use Guano, cottonseed meal or sulphate of ammonia in small amounts to adjust if it is low or acidic then use dolormite lime or gypsum.

This mix alone will give you a great start with a lot of the nutrients necessary for healthy strong growth.

Types of fertilizers

If organic is not a worry to you then u can use.

Good quality hydro solution at 3/4 strength after the plants are min 4 to 5 leaf stage from 2 leaf stage u can use 1/2 strength nutes up until the latter.

Mixing your own fertilizers is not that hard either in a liquid form or in a powdered form, personally some people prefer to make it up into a liquid form as it is easier to measure ect.

Use a good Chelated trace element pack for all of your micro nutrient sources

Common nutrient salts that are used when making your own ferts

Calcium Nitrate
Potassium nitrate
Potassium sulphate
mono potassium phosphate
Magnesium sulphate

There are many more but these will give you what you need for all your macro or major nutrients needs, they are all pretty well water soluble also so can be made into a liquid mix.


Organic ferts that can be used

Worm castings
Worm liquid
Blood and bone
Bone meal
Blood meal
Cotton seed meal
Bird Guano
Bat guano
Rock phosphate
Fish emulsion
Fish hydrolaside
Composted manures
Kelp
Seaweed(well washed and soaked)

There are many many more you can use, just take a few hrs and do some research on these items and you will see what each contributes to your soil and plants.

Soil microbe stimuli ammendments
Fulvic acid
Humic acid
Worm castings
Compost
Active aerobic compost teas
Mollases
Kelp
Fish emulsion
Fish hydroloside
yakka extract

once again this list goes on and on, each item stimulates different areas of microbial soil creatures, in the future I will post information as best I can on each one and others giving you info on what each does ect and why this should be a good thing.

Compared to synthetic fertilizer formulations, organic fertilizers contain relatively low concentrations of actual nutrients, but they perform important functions which the synthetic formulations do not. They increase the organic content and consequently the water-holding capacity of the soil. They improve the physical structure of the soil which allows more air to get to plant roots. Where organic sources are used for fertilizer, bacterial and fungal activity increases in the soil. Mycorrhizal fungi which make other nutrients more available to plants thrive in soil where the organic matter content is high. Organically derived plant nutrients are slow to leach from the soil making them less likely to contribute to water pollution than synthetic fertilizers.

I will try and add updates as often as I can on these issues along with trying to bring a Organic style thread which incorporates Soil Microbiology in the future for anyone who is interested.

__________________