organic

Here's a handy little reference for y'all...hope you enjoy it. If anyone has any comments, suggestions, or differences with the info contained here, feel free to speak up! Thanks.

Growing rganic Weed

The first and best reason to consider using organic fertilizers instead of chemicals is that there is a greatly reduced chance that you will burn (overfertilization causing injury or death) the plants with them. When fed organic substances, plants will, in general, take in the nutrients they need, leaving the rest in the soil. However, this doesn't mean you can't burn with organics - if you put too much in, especially high N sources like blood meal, you can burn your plants just as badly as with chems.
Additionally, organic fertilizers are broken down slowly in the soil by microorganisms, which ensures a steady supply of nutrients to your plants; also, lots of soil microorganisms are good for the soil and consequently, your plants as well.

Chemical fertilizers, on the other hand, are in a highly soluble form and are generally of a much higher concentration than organic fertilizers. Upon applying them to the soil, they are quickly taken up by the roots. Because they are so concentrated, this rapid action will cause the plant to take in toxic levels of nutrients if the fertilizer is overapplied, leading to injury and even death if the levels are high enough. Additionally, chemical fertilizers leave salts behind in the soil. If the plant is not flushed periodically (every 1-2 months), these salts will build up to levels that are dangerous to the plants. (As a related note, if the soil is not flushed just prior to harvest, the taste of the smoke will be adversely affected.) Finally, chemical fertilizers tend have an adverse effect on soil microorganisms, including earthworms.

Beyond the issues of soil chemistry and nutrient uptake, there is little question that using organic substances are better for the environment, even when growing indoors. Organic fertilizers - blood and bone meal, fish emulsion, manure, worm castings - are renewable. Petroleum, which the vast majority of chemical fertilizers are synthesized from, is not.
For the outdoor grower, choice of fertilizer has an even more profound effect. Successful outdoor growing is closely linked with the health of the soil. Chemical fertilizers, as mentioned, have an adverse effect on soil life, which decreases the biodiversity and overall health of the soil. Chemicals are also far more soluble than organics, and are often washed away with rain or a too-heavy watering. Not only does this not help your plant, it also causes a potential pollution problem - for instance, toxic algae blooms in lakes and ponds are often linked with fertilizer run-off from lawns.

Organics are not without their drawbacks, however, especially to the indoor grower. Some organic fertilizers, fish emulsion in particular, have an odor that may offend delicate noses. (However, any security measures involving air filtering or ionization should keep the smell to a minimum.) Also, because organics encourage soil life, there are sometimes more problems with insects, particularly fungus gnats. Finally, organics require a greater investment of time and effort: chemical fertilizers' main advantage is their ease of use.

In the event that you face insect problems, there are a number of organic controls at your disposal. The easiest homemade, all-purpose bug killer is about a teaspoon of soap (I prefer Dr. Bronners Eucalyptus or Peppermint, which are generally eco-friendly and may have additional insecticidal effects) in a spray bottle of water. Spray any bugs you see, the plants (including the undersides of the leaves!) and the soil surface thoroughly with this solution. The soap coats the outsides of the bugs' bodies, which suffocates them.
Another, stronger option is Tobacco tea. The nicotine in tobacco is one of the more potent poisons known, and will generally wipe out even mites, which are usually quite difficult to kill. It's worth remembering that nicotine is poisonous, so keep that in mind. (Unless you also smoke cigarettes, in which case, go crazy.) Here is a recipe:
Buy a package of Chewing Tobacco and put the whole package into 1 gallon of warm water. Let it stand in a warm place overnight 12 hours minimum. Filter the solution using a coffee filter and put it into a clean spray device. You can add 4 tablespoons of dish soap to this and spray the foliage down. Make sure you get the mites. Spray the tops and bottoms of the leaves. Once you have done this sparay the floor and walls in the grow area. Bear in mind that the spray may brown the leaf tips and visible pistils. This is a very powerful contact insecticide.
If you feel like going the store-bought route, a product called Safer Insecticidal Soap has been used with good results. As a final resort, you can use insecticides made from pyrethins, which are synthesized from certain varities of Chrysanthemums. Although they are reportedly non-toxic to humans and animals, they are a potent toxin and probably shouldn't be used anytime near harvest.
With any insecticide, multiple treatments over a 1- to 3-week period will probably be necessary to kill the bugs, plus any new ones that hatch after your first applications.
Finally, perhaps the best route is to go outside and catch some ladybugs (or order them from a nursery or garden supply). Ladybugs are vicious insect killers, but won't eat your plants.
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Notes on some commonly used organic ferts:

Blood Meal : 13 - 0 - 0
Blood meal has one of the highest concentrations of Nitrogen of any organic fertilizer, and is consequently a popular choice for the vegetative growth period. In its dry and slow-acting form, it can be mixed in with the soil at a rate of 1 to 2 tablespoons per gallon of soil mix. However, many growers prefer to use it as a soluble fertilizer as it acts very quickly without as much danger of burning - much like the action of a chemical fertilizer, but without as many risks.
To make blood meal tea, soak 1 tablespoon of blood meal in a gallon of water for 3 to 7 days, shaking up the mixture daily. An empty gallon milk jug (with lid!) works well for most people. The longer you wait, the higher concentration of N the tea will have. Shake well, then strain out the solids and water your plants with the tea.

Bone Meal : 1 - 11 - 0
Bone meal is high in Phosphorus, and is most suitable for the flowering period. However, as it is a slow-release fertilizer, it is best to add to the soil earlier in the grow period. (Perhaps the best course of action is to add it to the mix you perform your final transplant into.) One caution about bone meal, especially in Europe, is that many growers will not use it for fear of spreading Mad Cow Disease. Although this has not been proven, it is wise to bear this in mind.

Fish Emulsion : 5 - 1 - 1
Fish emulsion is a liquid solution made from decomposed fish and sometimes other ingredients. It is an exceedingly gentle fertilizer and is thought by many growers to be the best "first fert" to use on young plants. Its NPK ratio is also ideal for vegetative growth. It is usually mixed with water at a rate of 1 to 3 tablespoons per gallon.

Worm castings : 0.5 - 0.5- 0.3
Also known as worm compost or good ol' worm sh*t, this may be the single best all-purpose fertilizer. Although the nutrient levels are relatively low, worm castings somehow have amazing effects on plant vigor, and anyone who has used them can testify to their effectiveness. They are very gentle on plants, making them ideal for seedlings, and also contain micronutrients. Worm castings can be used as part of the soil mix (no more than 20% total volume is suggested) or can be made into tea (1 part WC to 5 parts water) and applied as watering solution or as a foliar fertilizer.

Kelp meal: 1 - 0.5 - 2.5
Kelp meal provides over 60 trace elements, plus growth promoting hormones and enzymes. As such, it is often used to ensure the plant is properly supplied with micronutrients. Can be used as part of the soil mix (1-2 tablespoons/gallon) or brewed into tea at the same rate.
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For more information on the NPK rates of commonly used organics, plus recipes for making your own balanced organic ferts, check out this page.

rganic

bgetting

Good one! Damn, well put. You can write too! I end up babbling like a schoolgirl, whereas you just put together a post better than any english paper I ever wrote. Anyway, enough sunshine up your ass.

Do you have any thoughts on what would make a good organic tea. The compost part anyway, I am pretty stoked on putting some algae in there for micronutes, and molasses or dextrose for a sugar source. I am curious about what you think would be a good thing to put in a brewer for an organic hydro tea. For both Veg. and Flowering, if you would.

Some details on what I am talking about may help, but I have recently built one of the brewers that we talked about. (http://www.growingsolutions.com -this is where they make them commercially, but they are big and expensive) Anyway, I was thinking about adding the above, plus I need some way to get a higher N and P for veg/flower. The brewer will go for about 18-24 hrs. at 25-30 deg. C.
Also, required in the brewer, and in soil as you mentioned above, are microorganisms. Any clue as to which ones are better than others (i.e. yeast and other fungus versus bacteria)? What would be a good type of compost to throw in the brewer that would contain good micros?

Thanks, great post, I had been meaning to ask you for a while. I am setting up shop for someone right now, and I would like to do it organic hydro.

Panama

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Toke it easy.

nouch420

Nice post organic!
Everything helped me out. I made a copy for myself to refer to from time to time.
-nouch

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nouch420

SmokyRobnsn

any suggestions for outdoor guerilla gardening (won't be visitng the plants much)???

organic

thanks everyone for the kind words. I guess that english major did pay off somehow.

B, don't underestimate the value of your posts. Your posts are consistently well-written, very informative, and supply a sorely needed measured scientific approach to the boards. OK, enough sunshine up *your* ass. let's get down to brass tacks.

Compost teas are a relative newcomer to controlled scientific studies, according to my sources at the county extension, so there isn't an overwhelming amount of evidence on what recipes provide the most benefit. The mix you are formulating sounds good to me based on what I know of the subject.

A nursery here has been experimenting with a similar mix. They have primarily been using it as a foliar spray to combat powdery mildew in flower propagation, with encouraging results. Since their studies have focused on the antifungal properties, I haven't heard much word on the fertilizer value, but based on the formulation I'm guessing it's pretty good stuff.

Anyhoo, they are using a commercial brewer (not sure on the brand but it's 50 gal. capacity) with a mixture of worm castings, molasses, kelp meal, and possibly one or two other ingredients. At one time they were also adding powdered rock but stopped, I believe because they decided to focus on the antifungal properties. If it were me, and I was using it to fert with, I'd put in that rock. By the way, the stuff smells really good, kind of like dark beer. Beats the hell out of working with chickensh*t.

About the microbes, I'm not really sure which are more beneficial than others, and I'm also not sure that anyone has done scientific trials on the subject. However, I don't think you have to really worry about it, because that's what compost and worm castings are uniquely suited for. That's one of the primary reasons they are recognized as a cornerstone of organic growing and soil health. Worm castings would be my first choice; after that I'd go with a manure-based compost, and/or mixed yard waste. If you could get something going combining all three, you'd really be rockin'.

A manure-based compost would boost your N, and I don't see any reason why you couldn't put in some blood meal. P might be harder, as bone meal isn't all that soluble, but if you got powdered rock phosphate in there, it would likely work. The P problem is one I haven't yet figured out, especially because the rapidly spreading emergence of Mad Cow disease is making me nervous about using bonemeal. Plus I'd like to find something soluble. There's got to be a good soluble form of P somewhere.

I'm just about to get a sh*tload (ain't I punny? ) of composted horse manure for my farm, and will be starting to experiment with it this coming season. The results will be posted.

Smoke 'em if ya gots 'em
rganic

organic

Smoky, organics are perfect for guerilla gardening because the focus is on building up the soil rather than applying fertilizers from the top down. It will take some work preparing the site - digging down a couple-3 feet and mixing your ferts in, but you shouldn't have to fert at all after that.

Check out this post at Overgrow for more info. I'll quote the meat of it here for ease of use, but there's more info contained in the thread:
Hey! That answers my question about soluble P! Chilean seabird guano! Yeehaw!

rganic
<the only guy you know gets excited about bird sh*t>

SmokyRobnsn

thanks so much for the help! Any simpler suggestions (i.e. some mix can buy at a nursery?) I can't really be making 100 lbs. of compost (mom would either think i was crazy or at least she would be suspiscious)---any organic mixes or anything i could just blend in w/ the existing soil (which is pretty good--it's next to a stream and there's lots of dead leaves,etc..) I posted a link in plant food and nute's to a product (by supersoil) that im considering:

http://www.supersoil.com/wonderbloom.html

u think i could just mix this in the soil? I want to be sure to have high N so they have a better chance of being Fem.---but also want high P for flowering!

organic

sure, sounds good to me.

I don't use premixed fertilizers, organic or otherwise, and can't give an endorsement to any product. Just do what I do: look at the ingredients, check them against the nute levels (listed on the link in the post above), and this will give you an idea of what it will do.

for instance, that stuff has bone meal in it, which is high in P. Therefore, the mix should be good for flowering. It ain't rocket science.

rganic

bgetting

Hey there,

I was talking to a gentleman at work yesterday, and he happened to be a farmer in the area (we were testing his products for pesticides... of which there were none ) Anyway, he was telling me that this place near my work has a killer recipe for fertilizer. I had noticed that they always have the best grass anywhere, which is tough up here in the high desert. Anyway, they said they use powdered meat, and just sprinkle it over the lawn. I am not positive, but I think this is all the stuff in the gutters and caught by the squweegy at meat plants, that they jsut cook, dry, and powder. I am going to ask more, but sounds pretty good. Not that killng cows for fertlizer is good, but this is just waste from the plant, so someone might as well me using it. Do you think it owuld be soluble. I will try and find out the NPK on it.