Living Soil

Proud Kraut said:
And a little bit later...stemrubs are insane...sex starts showing...im keeping heads to root of my fav fems.

Few days ago...
View attachment 91077View attachment 91076

Today...
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Topdressed some 7-7-7 organic, some Ca2SO4 and watered in a splash of LAB recently...they stand in a ridiculous small amount of soil but hold up pretty decent...

Today, as they started teasing me with smells i topdressed some middle earth made Terra Preta compost...
Click to expand...
Plants look very vibrant and healthy Proud Kraut and reflect their medium well!
That tub is certainly well packed and with not much soil, even more impressive.(y)
Good to see you back.
 
It is good you are keeping this thread alive @Proud Kraut
Its a wonderful side interest.
To me soil is no good until it has worms flourishing in it...
I still haven't managed to bring that indoors yet but I am about to buy a second hand bathtub.
This will be turned into a wormfarm.
I want to run my kitchen waste compost through it using shredded cardboard as the bedding.
Eventually a handful of this in each pot mixed with sand and aged compost etc.
And watering them with the diluted juice that flows out of the bottom of the drain in the bath.
Sounds like the beginning of an epic fungus gnat infestation but my weed should be tasty.
 
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Uncle Jack said:
It is good you are keeping this thread alive @Proud Kraut
Its a wonderful side interest.
To me soil is no good until it has worms flourishing in it...
I still haven't managed to bring that indoors yet but I am about to buy a second hand bathtub.
This will be turned into a wormfarm.
I want to run my kitchen waste compost through it using shredded cardboard as the bedding.
Eventually a handful of this in each pot mixed with sand and aged compost etc.
And watering them with the diluted juice that flows out of the bottom of the drain in the bath.
Sounds like the beginning of an epic fungus gnat infestation but my weed should be tasty.
Click to expand...

Right, soil, compost etc. pp. have come to be another layer of the universe to dive in.
I'm also ware that there are many differing opinions what living soil actually is in terms where it starts and ends.
I settled with myself for the definition that has all natural ingredients not processed more than 3 steps from what occurs in nature and has to be alive in some way, i count mycos, ferments with living microorganisms, too.

Adding worms and a wormfarm have been on my list way too long without the box checked, they are definitely the unsung heroes if resource management.

Fungus gnats are easily defeated and avoided by watering in SF-Nematodes.
 
Proud Kraut said:
Right, soil, compost etc. pp. have come to be another layer of the universe to dive in.
I'm also ware that there are many differing opinions what living soil actually is in terms where it starts and ends.
I settled with myself for the definition that has all natural ingredients not processed more than 3 steps from what occurs in nature and has to be alive in some way, i count mycos, ferments with living microorganisms, too.

Adding worms and a wormfarm have been on my list way too long without the box checked, they are definitely the unsung heroes if resource management.

Fungus gnats are easily defeated and avoided by watering in SF-Nematodes.
Click to expand...
True
 
Reading through this thread again and again I decided to try my luck with living soil on one of my next grows :)
My plan is to grow 4 cuttings of 'Black Zu' in a 55 liter (~14,5 gallons) fabric pot (y)
To get started I got myself the book 'True Living Organics".
full

Now I have to figure out where to get the needed ingredients over here in Germany :unsure:

Thanks for the inspiration
MB
 
Mr. Brown said:
Reading through this thread again and again I decided to try my luck with living soil on one of my next grows :)
My plan is to grow 4 cuttings of 'Black Zu' in a 55 liter (~14,5 gallons) fabric pot (y)
To get started I got myself the book 'True Living Organics".
full

Now I have to figure out where to get the needed ingredients over here in Germany :unsure:

Thanks for the inspiration
MB
Click to expand...

Living soil takes advantage of two things, one is..life...and...uhhm...soil - both available in Germany.
The only trick is to read the NPK values and find a local substitute.
Best choice to go that route!
Congrats and have fun!
 
As i see some interest raising in the topic might aswell feed the vibe a little...

Some small examples of Terra Preta Style LOS, this years batch, especially dedicated shots to the nice root development.
Water only.

LOS Terra Preta 1.pngLOS Terra Preta 4.png
LOS Terra Preta 2.pngLOS Terra Preta 3.pngLOS Terra Preta 5.png

The whole medium is literally one web of healthy root mesh.

This sight never gets old to me.
 
@Mr.Brown I grow basically by the concepts of this book, while not using all the recommended ingredients...
Most of them can be bought on amazon/your local Raifeisenmarkt 😁
Good quality compost and clean RO water are the most important things in my eyes...
 
pleased420 said:
@Mr.Brown I grow basically by the concepts of this book, while not using all the recommended ingredients...
Most of them can be bought on amazon/your local Raifeisenmarkt 😁
Good quality compost and clean RO water are the most important things in my eyes...
Click to expand...

Oh yeah RO water is a step up. I been using tap for years and while it works with good soil it works best with clean RO!

Check your local surroundings and you may find an institution recycling biowaste for energy and sell the conpost cheap and have it tested.

You got me at Raiffeisenmarkt 😂👍
 
pleased420 said:
@Mr.Brown I grow basically by the concepts of this book, while not using all the recommended ingredients...
Most of them can be bought on amazon/your local Raifeisenmarkt 😁
Good quality compost and clean RO water are the most important things in my eyes...
Click to expand...
Thank you @pleased420 (y)

I found a spanish living soil shop that sells a pre-mix with almost all recommended ingedrients and a worm farm right around the corner that sells fresh worm castings and worm juice (y) and I get more than enough RO water from my filter.
I think this is a pretty good way to start this adventure (y)

MB
 
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