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First try at a no dig soil mix


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 I'm still waiting for most of my ingredients to arrive but I've made a spreadsheet with my current thoughts on what I should put in. 

 

Too many ingredients is my first thought but what the hell. I'll be making a 160 litre batch as that is my container size.

 

I have deliberately gone heavy on the drainage (Scoria/Rice Hulls) because the rice hulls will be mostly gone in 12 months.

 

I haven't listed Aloe powder even though I will be adding some.

 

Please feel free to comment/ suggest variations to either ingredients or proportions.

 

 

Input name                            % of blend    total litres

Worm castings                         17.00         27.20

Compost                                    8.00         12.80

Clay                                           1.00           1.60

Sphagnum peat moss                26.00         41.60

Scoria 5mm                              23.00         36.80

Rice Hulls                                 12.50         20.00

Kelp Meal                                  0.60             0.96

Fulvic Acid Powder                     0.60           0.96

Oyster Shell Flour                       0.80           1.28

Malted Barley Grains                  1.20           1.92

Bat Guano                                 1.20           1.92

Neem Meal                               0.60           0.96

Biochar                                     2.00           3.20

Volcanic Rock Dust                     1.00          1.60

Fin & Feather Meal                     0.30          0.48

Palagonite                                 0.60          0.96

Gypsum                                    1.00          1.60

Crustacean Meal                        0.60          0.96

Coffee Grounds                         1.00           1.60

Bokashi one                              1.00           1.60                  

 

Total                                     100.00         160.00

+1 to what carb & pug have said 

 

just on the coffee grounds , don't buy them , if your a coffee drinker then make your own 

if your like me & not a coffee drinker , go to your nearest cafe & ask for what they throw away daily

otherwise leave it out completely ( be sustainable ) , i understand what they promote in the soil but i'd have to say 

i've seen allot more mushrooms turn up at the top of my pots when i use barley straw &/or diff hays

than i've seen in pots that have used coffee grounds , just an opinion 

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There's nothing wrong with your proposed mix.

I'm only looking at it and what I would change for me, in my location I guess, that I know to work with my compost etc

 

The fin and feather if from ogs is very slow release.

 

I have used up to 3-6 cups of azomite\basalt\vrd per 60l.

Some people use more.

 

6 cups would equal 4 litres in my mix. I can do that but the fin & feather and the bat guano would have to go unless I reduce the three majors a little.

 

I used the the oyster shell at whatever the ogs label said for soil mixing. There was only a lil bit left, I threw that in too.

 

They recommend 0.75%, I upped it to 0.8%

 

You have some leeway with the quantities, it doesn't have to be dead exact.

The 1\3 ratio is good, tad Hussey goes up in the peat and down in the castings, 17% iirc.

 

It's going to be all about your compost, how you look after and introduce new beneficials to the soil, amazing how little a good soil needs, but a little of a lot is good.

 

Mix of hulls and Scoria the go I reckon, I wonder how long they will last and if indeed an aeration problem occurs due to their breakdown.

 

The breakdown was the reason for me having a 3:3:4 mix rather than the 1:1:1 that is recommended.

 

Good work!

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It's already gonna be killer mate.

 

This pic base soil in this pot is pretty crap. Can have compost pots on the go and still grow nice plants and have lots of soil life.

 

This pot is probably Searles, or something.

 

Sieved, amended and has a good few Mexicans through it.

Buckwheat seeds have been added, from plants beside.

Lots of mushrooms.

 

Good green growth on new Mexican too

 

Have to stop myself from adding more

post-59840-0-92381800-1552034901_thumb.jpg

post-59840-0-20270400-1552034929_thumb.jpg

post-59840-0-55606200-1552034964_thumb.jpg

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6 cups would equal 4 litres in my mix. 

one cup is round 240ml x 6 = 1.44lt

 

you've paid for the grounds so def use them somewheres

use the coffee ground in ya worm farm or compost bin 

 

just a note

there is a difference between hay & straw 

hay has nutrients left in the material & is used to feed animals 

straw however has no nutrients left in the material & is used for animal bedding 

although straw has no nutrients it is full of lignin which soil fungi love to consume 

 

this rule is not always spot on , take pea straw for instance 

it should be called pea hay as it has nutrients left in the plant matter 

Edited by itchybromusic
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6 cups would equal 4 litres in my mix. 

one cup is round 240ml x 6 = 1.44lt X160/60= 3.84

 

you've paid for the grounds so def use them somewheres

use the coffee ground in ya worm farm or compost bin 

 

just a note

there is a difference between hay & straw 

hay has nutrients left in the material & is used to feed animals 

straw however has no nutrients left in the material & is used for animal bedding 

although straw has no nutrients it is full of lignin which soil fungi love to consume 

 

this rule is not always spot on , take pea straw for instance 

it should be called pea hay as it has nutrients left in the plant matter 

I read a post from you (I think) elsewhere explaining this.

 

That's why I'll be visiting my local feed merchant tomorrow to get a small bale of horse food.

http://www.windmillproduce.com.au/files/S0WXJID1WP/img_horse_01.jpg

 

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