Base soil

[Carbcon]

Lol, I did think of you when I was putting it together.
By small do you mean small ratio or small in size?

I was planning on using liquid kelp weekly, just didn't mention it in the mix info.

By Neem do you mean a neem oil soak?

We don't have any wandering cats in our yard except ours who are only outside when we are, and our small terrier dog won't be able to get up and in it.

Are we talking double, triple the biochar and wormcasings?

No problem adding Scoria, maybe 2L?, you said to beat it smaller, do you have to crush it? The size it comes does seem too big though.

You have the small stuff covered, nice to have the 7-13mm in there too in a small quantity.

I like Neem cake as I feel it helps with IPM a bit. Lots don't like it.

Neem oil as a foliar in veg maybe to knock off anything you don't like.

Use a good mulch, Lucerne is excellent.

 

[itchybro]

here is my soil mix which is along the same lines as @Carbcon

main body of the mix , 1 part + 1part + 1part

i tend to mix 1.5 cubic foot of soil at a time , no special reason , just fits on the tarp i use to mix

14 liters of peat moss ( use aloe juice to hydrated peat that i buy in bales of 200+ liters ) ( prefer peat over coco )

14 liters of compost / worm casting or 50/50 of both

14 liters scoria / rice hulls ( roughly 10lis scoria & 4lts rice hulls , scoria size 7 - 10mm )

Amendments

added to 42lts of the base mix above

3/4 cup neem meal / cake

3/4 cup kelp meal

3/4 cup gypsum

3/4 cup crab , shrimp / crustacean meal

1.5 cups malted barley powder

7.5 cups basalt rock dust

9.0 cups activated bio-char

if i have some i will add a small amount of mycorrhizal fungi
i've also been known to add a small amount of lucerne chaff

note no animal manures , well depends on what you call worm castings i guess , but no farmed animal manures or blood & bone

 

[Pikey]

here is my soil mix which is along the same lines as @Carbcon

main body of the mix , 1 part + 1part + 1part

i tend to mix 1.5 cubic foot of soil at a time , no special reason , just fits on the tarp i use to mix

14 liters of peat moss ( use aloe juice to hydrated peat that i buy in bales of 200+ liters ) ( prefer peat over coco )

14 liters of compost / worm casting or 50/50 of both

14 liters scoria / rice hulls ( roughly 10lis scoria & 4lts rice hulls , scoria size 7 - 10mm )

Amendments

added to 42lts of the base mix above

3/4 cup neem meal / cake

3/4 cup kelp meal

3/4 cup gypsum

3/4 cup crab , shrimp / crustacean meal

1.5 cups malted barley powder

7.5 cups basalt rock dust

9.0 cups activated bio-char

if i have some i will add a small amount of mycorrhizal fungi
i've also been known to add a small amount of lucerne chaff

note no animal manures , well depends on what you call worm castings i guess , but no farmed animal manures or blood & bone

You won't go wrong with that mix

Other than adding some oyster shell flour, I use pretty much the same mix. Just without the barley powder & bio-char ...but I will look into adding it from now on.

Cheers for sharing your recipe @itchybro

 

[Beil]

here is my soil mix which is along the same lines as @Carbcon

main body of the mix , 1 part + 1part + 1part

i tend to mix 1.5 cubic foot of soil at a time , no special reason , just fits on the tarp i use to mix

14 liters of peat moss ( use aloe juice to hydrated peat that i buy in bales of 200+ liters ) ( prefer peat over coco )

14 liters of compost / worm casting or 50/50 of both

14 liters scoria / rice hulls ( roughly 10lis scoria & 4lts rice hulls , scoria size 7 - 10mm )

Amendments

added to 42lts of the base mix above

3/4 cup neem meal / cake

3/4 cup kelp meal

3/4 cup gypsum

3/4 cup crab , shrimp / crustacean meal

1.5 cups malted barley powder

7.5 cups basalt rock dust

9.0 cups activated bio-char

if i have some i will add a small amount of mycorrhizal fungi
i've also been known to add a small amount of lucerne chaff

note no animal manures , well depends on what you call worm castings i guess , but no farmed animal manures or blood & bone

Cheers for sharing your recipe. Can I ask why you don't include animal manure/blood and bone?

Heaps more biochar than I thought would be used and is the basalt rock dust just another name for volcanic rock dust?

I see bunnings have richgro rock dust, but from looking at it, it's only 36% rock dust and the rest is urea and ammoniam/potassium sulphate :/.
So likely the big green shed won't be able to supply everything :/ (like usual for specialised stuff)

 

[Beil]

here is my soil mix which is along the same lines as @Carbcon

main body of the mix , 1 part + 1part + 1part

i tend to mix 1.5 cubic foot of soil at a time , no special reason , just fits on the tarp i use to mix

14 liters of peat moss ( use aloe juice to hydrated peat that i buy in bales of 200+ liters ) ( prefer peat over coco )

14 liters of compost / worm casting or 50/50 of both

14 liters scoria / rice hulls ( roughly 10lis scoria & 4lts rice hulls , scoria size 7 - 10mm )

Amendments

added to 42lts of the base mix above

3/4 cup neem meal / cake

3/4 cup kelp meal

3/4 cup gypsum

3/4 cup crab , shrimp / crustacean meal

1.5 cups malted barley powder

7.5 cups basalt rock dust

9.0 cups activated bio-char

if i have some i will add a small amount of mycorrhizal fungi
i've also been known to add a small amount of lucerne chaff

note no animal manures , well depends on what you call worm castings i guess , but no farmed animal manures or blood & bone

Also, are you supplementary feeding through grow, or does this have everything for a growing plant from start to finish?

 

[Aye Shroomer]

What part of the country you from again @Beil

 

[Porky]

Cheers for sharing your recipe. Can I ask why you don't include animal manure/blood and bone?

Heaps more biochar than I thought would be used and is the basalt rock dust just another name for volcanic rock dust?

I see bunnings have richgro rock dust, but from looking at it, it's only 36% rock dust and the rest is urea and ammoniam/potassium sulphate :/.
So likely the big green shed won't be able to supply everything :/ (like usual for specialised stuff)

Yeah I don't think itchy gets much stuff from Bunnings!!

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Here’s a few options for basalt rock. Just depends on where you live and if you’re happy with shipping.

Black Basalt Rock Dust (High Calcium & Magnesium) NEW!

Black Basalt Rock Dust was formed millions of years ago when hot lava came into contact with large bodies of water. The resulting product is mineral dense and perfect for amending potting soils, lawns, fairways & for fruiting/flowering plants. Packed full of Silica, Calcium & Magnesium for...

www.drgreenthumbs.com.au

Palagonite Soil Support (Organic) 20kg - ENFIELD PRODUCE

Palagonite (soil support) is a natural basalt rock dust soil re-mineraliser. Provides macronutrients calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and minor potassium to the soil, as well as iron and plant available silica. Provides micronutrients and trace elements such as cobalt, zinc, copper, nickel...

www.petandgarden.com.au

I have just added this to reamend my soil. It’s more than just basalt though.

INTRODUCING STONE-AGE mineral composite - 100% ORGANIC MINERAL PLANT SUPPLEMENT

STONE-AGE mineral composite is an organic plant supplement based on the same minerals we use in the production of our GRO-DIRT range of premium organic living soils. STONE-AGE is formulated to provide multiple, premium sources of Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorous, Iron, Silica, Sulphur...

www.highpoweredorganics.com

 

[itchybro]

You won't go wrong with that mix

Other than adding some oyster shell flour, I use pretty much the same mix. Just without the barley powder & bio-char ...but I will look into adding it from now on.

Cheers for sharing your recipe @itchybro

hey @Pikey
if i had oyster shell i would put it in the coffee bean grinder attachment to my blender & make some flour
then mix it 50/50 with the crustacean meal as the liming agent in the mix

malted barley is definitely worth the effort to add to the mix , it's also worth adding as a top dress through the grow at the same time
as far as bio char go's just activate it b4 adding to your mix , i used some sort fish hydrolysate or amino's to do that

Cheers for sharing your recipe. Can I ask why you don't include animal manure/blood and bone?
Heaps more biochar than I thought would be used and is the basalt rock dust just another name for volcanic rock dust?

I see bunnings have richgro rock dust, but from looking at it, it's only 36% rock dust and the rest is urea and ammoniam/potassium sulphate :/.
So likely the big green shed won't be able to supply everything :/ (like usual for specialised stuff)

i generally don't use commercially farmed animal wastes because they are commercially farmed & commercial operations are a making money exercise , i'm concerned not only what i might be eating but also what effect it has on the soil life

yes basalt & volcanic same thing , i would tend to keep away from that richgro product , i used to source basalt from a guy in WA who i can't find anymore , in the recent past i got it from Dr Greenthumb , both Black Basalt Rock Dust & Palagonite Basalt Rock Dust , might workout to be a little pricey if you were making allot

Also, are you supplementary feeding through grow, or does this have everything for a growing plant from start to finish?

i don't liquid feed but i do top dress through the grow & make sure my watering is on point , blumats are key to this
the water is important because of the soil life , organisms that feed & protect your plant would die or go dormant without it
in general 90% of what a plant consumes is directly related to the life in the soil , whether that's consuming each other or consuming organic matter , either way nutrients need to be in a plant available form

 

[Beil]

What part of the country you from again @Beil

South Australia

 

[Beil]

Here’s a few options for basalt rock. Just depends on where you live and if you’re happy with shipping.

Black Basalt Rock Dust (High Calcium & Magnesium) NEW!

Black Basalt Rock Dust was formed millions of years ago when hot lava came into contact with large bodies of water. The resulting product is mineral dense and perfect for amending potting soils, lawns, fairways & for fruiting/flowering plants. Packed full of Silica, Calcium & Magnesium for...

www.drgreenthumbs.com.au

Palagonite Soil Support (Organic) 20kg - ENFIELD PRODUCE

Palagonite (soil support) is a natural basalt rock dust soil re-mineraliser. Provides macronutrients calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and minor potassium to the soil, as well as iron and plant available silica. Provides micronutrients and trace elements such as cobalt, zinc, copper, nickel...

www.petandgarden.com.au

I have just added this to reamend my soil. It’s more than just basalt though.

INTRODUCING STONE-AGE mineral composite - 100% ORGANIC MINERAL PLANT SUPPLEMENT

STONE-AGE mineral composite is an organic plant supplement based on the same minerals we use in the production of our GRO-DIRT range of premium organic living soils. STONE-AGE is formulated to provide multiple, premium sources of Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorous, Iron, Silica, Sulphur...

www.highpoweredorganics.com

I really hate paying for shipping. So I'll have a look around local and see if they are around now that I know specific names etc

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Yeah right. So shipping will be pricey then. Just look around for similar products then locally

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Simultaneous post

 

[Gazza]

Our new house is pure clay (new for us, 30 year old dwelling) will be years before the soil is good here :/

Raised garden beds, or dig out and start adding gypsum will break down the clay over time.

 

[junglelover]

Raised garden beds, or dig out and start adding gypsum will break down the clay over time.

Gypsum and Lime around here but our soils tend to be acidic.

 

[Madmick]

Dig out as big a hole as you can , try get at least 500mm deep , layer the bottom with compost and add good quality soil with no amendments from nursery, 1 ton or a trailer load ,

Do this at the end of summer and add your amendments, by the time your ready to plant your soil should be ready to go

Make you you put in some worm pooh , it usually has thousands of baby worms in it , they will do they job over winter

They will stay there if there's enough food , the clay around your plot will help make this a very nice mix for weed

That's what I did over a period of time. Same in backyard veggie plots

 

[itchybro]

Gypsum and Lime around here but our soils tend to be acidic.

I've been given some stuff called Black Grit which is supposed to be good at increasing PH in acidic soil & making P more available some sort of calcium silicate i think it is , i have not used it myself because i haven't done any research into it as yet , apart from having a quick look round for a MSDS which i didn't find

might be worth trying in your situation , if you do any research into the product I'd love to hear your findings , in fact if anyone knows anything about this stuff I'd be interested in hearing about it

 

[Pikey]

I've been given some stuff called Black Grit which is supposed to be good at increasing PH in acidic soil & making P more available some sort of calcium silicate i think it is , i have not used it myself because i haven't done any research into it as yet , apart from having a quick look round for a MSDS which i didn't find

might be worth trying in your situation , if you do any research into the product I'd love to hear your findings , in fact if anyone knows anything about this stuff I'd be interested in hearing about it

Not sure if you've seen this? He gives a bit of a basic rundown on it. He is selling it though, so may be biased

 

[Sedge]

I’ve been meaning to get down there to Vasilis shop and try his mediums ,,and the black grit,and other products ..
he allways has specials on and you can save a lot .

 

[Pikey]

I’ve been meaning to get down there to Vasilis shop and try his mediums ,,and the black grit,and other products ..
he allways has specials on and you can save a lot .

Might have to do it soon. It looks like he may be shutting up shop . Maybe just online after