Building a healthy organic soil

Faced1 · June 2, 2013

The task of building an organic soil is an art form. It can be a stick figure drawing, or you can go Monet with it.

Building soils for NPK values is one thing, but it is only part of what makes a plant healthy. A balance of proper hormones, fatty acids, slow/fast decaying materials, and fluffiness can really juice up your mix. I break the necessities (IMO) up into several categories. Food, minerals, microbe mix, aeration.

Food stuffs are things like-
bone meal
blood meal
all purpose organic ferts
rock phosphate
alfalfa

mineral sources are things like-
diatomaceous earth pool sand
gypsum
green sand
kelp
lime
azomite
rock dusts
shredded coconut
flax or other seed meals

microbe mixes are things like-
composted peat moss
compost (diy or store bought)
earthworm castings
animal manures
leaf mold
mushroom compost

aeration items can be-
coco coir
vermiculite
rice or other grain hulls
perlite
pumice
chunky diatomaceous earth

per 25 gallon tote-
5 bricks eco earth brand coco (12-13 gallons)
1.5 cu ft compost (bagged variety)
1/2 gallon fine vermiculite
3 cups kelp meal
3 cups bone meal
2 cups alfalfa meal
2 cups espoma bio tone starter plus
2 cups espoma garden tone
2 cups espoma plant tone
2 cups greensand
2 cups rock phosphate
2 cups composted peat moss
2 cups diatomaceous earth
2 cups diatomaceous earth pool sand
1/2 cup gypsum
1/2 cup espoma tomato tone
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup flax seed meal

the coir was hydrated with tap water (135 ppm, tested with hannah 9813-6) then allowed to sit in the rain and be flushed of all excess salts. after a week exposed to the elements the coir began to turn black and show some evidence of composting/bacterial breakdown. when bacterial decomposition had begun, additives were mixed in and allowed to sit for a week before transplanting.

this mixture is tailored around a high CEC (cation exchange capacity), air filled porosity, bacterial diversity, a large amount of ingredients with auxins/cytokinenins/gibberlins in addition to npk values, and a balance of short/long breakdown materials. I am going to dump the totes at the end of the season and add back more alfalfa, kelp, coconut meat, and flax before it composts over the winter.

i brew compost teas as well, my recipe is (per 13 gallons)-
1 cup compost
1 cup alfalfa
1 cup kelp
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
3 mL liquid humic additive

i use a long sock to hold the dry tea ingredients, and before i begin brewing, i submerge the sock and squeeze it several times to moisten the ingredients and get the microscopic particulate into the water to be colonized by bacteria. this tea is watered down 1:3, so a batch makes a little over 50 gallons. after brewing, the once dry tea ingredients are used as top dressing for the plants.

here you can see the mychorrhizal fungi colonizing the soil.
20130520_152701.jpg

a basil plant's root ball during transplant
20130426_145717.jpg

a couple tomatoes when they got transplanted from two gallon containers into 18 gallon totes (2 weeks ago)

20130528_194213.jpg
20130528_194033.jpg

same basil plant, 3 weeks later
20130528_193835.jpg

June 2, 2013	#1
Faced1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: WV Posts: 14	Building a healthy organic soil The task of building an organic soil is an art form. It can be a stick figure drawing, or you can go Monet with it. Building soils for NPK values is one thing, but it is only part of what makes a plant healthy. A balance of proper hormones, fatty acids, slow/fast decaying materials, and fluffiness can really juice up your mix. I break the necessities (IMO) up into several categories. Food, minerals, microbe mix, aeration. Food stuffs are things like- bone meal blood meal all purpose organic ferts rock phosphate alfalfa mineral sources are things like- diatomaceous earth pool sand gypsum green sand kelp lime azomite rock dusts shredded coconut flax or other seed meals microbe mixes are things like- composted peat moss compost (diy or store bought) earthworm castings animal manures leaf mold mushroom compost aeration items can be- coco coir vermiculite rice or other grain hulls perlite pumice chunky diatomaceous earth per 25 gallon tote- 5 bricks eco earth brand coco (12-13 gallons) 1.5 cu ft compost (bagged variety) 1/2 gallon fine vermiculite 3 cups kelp meal 3 cups bone meal 2 cups alfalfa meal 2 cups espoma bio tone starter plus 2 cups espoma garden tone 2 cups espoma plant tone 2 cups greensand 2 cups rock phosphate 2 cups composted peat moss 2 cups diatomaceous earth 2 cups diatomaceous earth pool sand 1/2 cup gypsum 1/2 cup espoma tomato tone 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut 1/2 cup flax seed meal the coir was hydrated with tap water (135 ppm, tested with hannah 9813-6) then allowed to sit in the rain and be flushed of all excess salts. after a week exposed to the elements the coir began to turn black and show some evidence of composting/bacterial breakdown. when bacterial decomposition had begun, additives were mixed in and allowed to sit for a week before transplanting. this mixture is tailored around a high CEC (cation exchange capacity), air filled porosity, bacterial diversity, a large amount of ingredients with auxins/cytokinenins/gibberlins in addition to npk values, and a balance of short/long breakdown materials. I am going to dump the totes at the end of the season and add back more alfalfa, kelp, coconut meat, and flax before it composts over the winter. i brew compost teas as well, my recipe is (per 13 gallons)- 1 cup compost 1 cup alfalfa 1 cup kelp 1/3 cup blackstrap molasses 3 mL liquid humic additive i use a long sock to hold the dry tea ingredients, and before i begin brewing, i submerge the sock and squeeze it several times to moisten the ingredients and get the microscopic particulate into the water to be colonized by bacteria. this tea is watered down 1:3, so a batch makes a little over 50 gallons. after brewing, the once dry tea ingredients are used as top dressing for the plants. here you can see the mychorrhizal fungi colonizing the soil. 20130520_152701.jpg a basil plant's root ball during transplant 20130426_145717.jpg a couple tomatoes when they got transplanted from two gallon containers into 18 gallon totes (2 weeks ago) 20130528_194213.jpg 20130528_194033.jpg same basil plant, 3 weeks later 20130528_193835.jpg