NTS , Managing the Microbe Workforce

[itchybromusic]

No need for sorry. You actually confirmed a few things I was thinking so thank you. I've only used a very small amount from my bags so the next one I do will be mainly the soil with other stuff top dress. I was gonna ask you about worms in pots. Do they show up in potted soil eventually by themselves or do they have to get in through the bottom when sitting on the lawn for example? I am using the cloth air pot so it has no holes. I might go kidnap some worms later today and put them in there.

I'll look at cover crops. Hopefully I can get it from Bunnings.

 

Posted from the OZ Stoners mobile app

hey mate 

worms do turn up especially if you use worm castings ,

there's always a worm egg or 7 in the castings 

if there keen enough they'll crawl up the side 

not gonna hurt any if you throw some in anyway 

 

you can buy them , don't have 2 , the ones you buy 

are a lill diff to earth worms , the brought ones tend to like hanging 

round the top of the pot or worm farm & don't dive much unless it's getting dry 

& there looking for moisture 

earthworms are happy low down or up high but tend to like it a bit 

deeper where temps & moisture is more consistent 

 

soil mixing , a good base to start with is 3 equal parts , inoculation & some food , air & structure/body 

compost or castings or a mix of both as your inoculation of microbes & food 

 

aeration , i use small scoria cos it's cheap & some rice hulls , more scoria than hulls 

cos the hulls will break down  

 

peat or coco for a few things but air to water ratio , would be one of the main ones 

 

the majority of the rest of the amendments are to even out ph & feed the life in the soil

which ultimately feed the plant  

 

just keep in mind larger quantities of soil are much easier to keep happy than smaller 

pots of soil , the fluctuations aren't quick or as great in larger quantities

 

this is what bogan posted the other day https://www.bunnings.com.au/mr-fothergill-s-green-manure-mix_p2960371

green harvest sell in larger amounts & have some good info https://www.greenharvest.com.au/SeedOrganic/CoverCrops/GreenManureIntroduction.html

 

btw next time you find an aloe vera plant , its worth more to you alive than dead 

not a bad thing to have it being broken down in the soil , but you'll get allot more 

out of aloe alive & well long term = have you seen the price of 200x dried aloe vera powder 

 

good luck mate 

happy to help if i can 

[AussieBogan]

Cover crop! There is plenty out there! I just had this pack from winter!

[Inthewoods]

I've still got the Alo plant. Only used a small amout. I only made 8litres of the soil mix. Mainly the potting mix with a very small amount of the manure and compost. The Alo plant I found struggling in a very shady sheltered spot so I'm suprised it's still alive. It's got long windy stems with dead leaves all the way up to almost the tip where it was still a bit green but struggling. Should I cut it off at the base and let it grow back or cut the end off and try to get it to root. Or both maybe? I just don't want to kill it since it's lasted over two years in this spot. I had heaps of it at my old house but the guy we rented the house to must have got rid of it so I'm so glad I found this one. We are moving back to our old house so I'm gathering cuttings and clones of all the plants I like here to take with us. We won't be moving again once we're back in our home so I really want to start getting my plants together from this property we're renting so I can grow it all at home. The lady who owns this house had all sorts of stuff. Its a big block.

 

Posted from the OZ Stoners mobile app

[itchybromusic]

i reckon don't hack into the aloe just try to get it back to growing & some sort of health 

then take cuts 

 

if your gonna use the gel from aloe in the garden , you need a few plants so your 

not taking from the one plant all the time 

 

check this backyard out in inner melb , companion plants https://youtu.be/iX9mQNswJrw , you could run a business 

off the amount he pulls out from a standard backyard 

 

good luck with the cuttings & move back to ya ol joint 

[Inthewoods]

Thanks. Looks like a great garden he's got going there. I'll have a better look at it tonight. Here's my poor Alo. It's in sun now and had a good water. Hopefully it comes good.

 

Posted from the OZ Stoners mobile app

[itchybromusic]

well shes had a tough one 

keep looking after her , she might be past her used by date 

but they are a dry climate plant so you never know 

 

if you have some kelp meal , you can make a steeped tea in 24hrs 

be like seasol but much more effective 

 

if you can get a aloe leaf from somewhere you could use that as well 

 

both aloe & kelp have all the rooting hormones found in rooting gels you buy off the shelf 

 

for the moment plain water is good enough to get her up & going again 

 

once she's kicking some new shoes be in order i reckon , with some new potting mix 

something for succulents i think is pretty good 

 

this almost dead aloe could easily become fifty new plants in the future 

[AussieBogan]

I pulled one similar to that a while ago and put it into a bucket of water, couple weeks later I could see big improvement before replanting couple months later...

 

Just saying...

[SOOTY]

well shes had a tough one

keep looking after her , she might be past her used by date

but they are a dry climate plant so you never know

 

if you have some kelp meal , you can make a steeped tea in 24hrs

be like seasol but much more effective

 

if you can get a aloe leaf from somewhere you could use that as well

 

both aloe & kelp have all the rooting hormones found in rooting gels you buy off the shelf

 

for the moment plain water is good enough to get her up & going again

 

once she's kicking some new shoes be in order i reckon , with some new potting mix

something for succulents i think is pretty good

 

this almost dead aloe could easily become fifty new plants in the future

howdy itchy, with the fresh aloe leaf, u just squeeze the liquid out and add to the tea? or throw whole leaf in? i remember u saying 15ml aloe to 1 litre,

[itchybromusic]

howdy itchy, with the fresh aloe leaf, u just squeeze the liquid out and add to the tea? or throw whole leaf in? i remember u saying 15ml aloe to 1 litre,

yeah mate the inner leaf gel is the go , you could use the whole leaf but then you'd have to strain i would think if spraying 

no probs the leaf can be chopped up into your mulch layer or compost bin or worm farm , no waste  

[SOOTY]

yeah mate the inner leaf gel is the go , you could use the whole leaf but then you'd have to strain i would think if spraying

no probs the leaf can be chopped up into your mulch layer or compost bin or worm farm , no waste

cool, thanks