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organic Am I doing organic fertilizer right for my pepper plants?

ShowMeDaSauce said:
EM-1 is pretty much just lacto bacillus and molasses
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nope.  there should be at least 4 groups of bacteria.  many kind of bacteria in each group, not just lacto bacillus.
 
IMO you don't need the gypsum with the Alaska pellets. The bag says it has 7% calcium which is plenty. That is higher than many of the expensive calcium hydro solutions such as CalMag Plus.
 
 
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
IMO you don't need the gypsum with the Alaska pellets. The bag says it has 7% calcium which is plenty. That is higher than many of the expensive calcium hydro solutions such as CalMag Plus.
 
 
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Ah thank you the mixture i just posted a few minutes ago seems good i think. i think i am going to get rid of the new compost i put in there. Would i still need a mulch on top of that mixture to keep it from drying out too much? Would i need more nutrients than that mix? Like am i missing any essentials or trace minerals? I have read that sulfur will make your peppers hotter so i am not sure if i even should pursue any sulfur.
 
lek said:
 
almost anything from your garden / kitchen.  e.g. egg, shrimp, vegetable oil waste, water from washing rice, garlic, fish, fish bone, banana peel, pineapple, apple cider vinegar, egg shell, onion, pork, shrimp, crab, grass cipping, beer, molasses, milk, yoghurt, ... and so on
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Yeah i have some of those but they take time to decompose for the plant to eat it. i would just add that into a compost bin.
 
lek said:
nope.  there should be at least 4 groups of bacteria.  many kind of bacteria in each group, not just lacto bacillus.
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1 million colony forming units/cc (units/ml), 1%: Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhodopseudomonas palustris
 
INACTIVE INGREDIENTS: 96% Water and 3% Molasses
 
Pretty much everything in there is from a typical ferment and/or a rice wine ferment, sourdough bread starter, yogurt ect ect.
Rhodopseudomonas palustris can be found in worm castings
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is just a brewers yeast.
 
I cant imagine paying what they are asking for it. Thats just crazy You could make many gallons of the stuff for the cost of the smallest bottle they sell..
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
 
1 million colony forming units/cc (units/ml), 1%: Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhodopseudomonas palustris
 
Pretty much everything in there is from a typical ferment and/or a rice wine ferment, sourdough bread starter, yogurt ect ect.
Rhodopseudomonas palustris can be found in worm castings
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is just a brewers yeast.
 
I cant imagine paying what they are asking for it. Thats just crazy You could make many gallons of the stuff for the cost of the smallest bottle they sell..
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So how do you go about making it? What do you put this stuff into? a bin? or a bottle?
 
There is a large thread here about compost "teas". Simply adding things in that list to your compost will create levels of those bacteria over time. My compost pile gets any leftover wine lees, bread starters ect. I just add my compost to my soil but i could easily make one of the "teas" out of it too.
 
My point is if you are already into home brewing, wine making and veggie ferments, you already have 99% of the stuff in that $15/12oz bottle of EM-1. All it needs is a home in a compost pile.
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
 
I cant imagine paying what they are asking for it. Thats just crazy You could make many gallons of the stuff for the cost of the smallest bottle they sell..
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simple.  if you make it by yourself, how do you ensure that there will be only good bacteria.  Just buy 1 gallon and then you can make hundred of gallon by using only water and molasses. it's not expensive at all.
 
 
Codeman said:
 
So Solid this what I'm going to do and I'm going to take your advice. I am probably going to remove the organic matter i just added and put it in the bag. I am going to get a bag of Alaska vegetable & Tomato fertilizer and black cow manure along with gypsum and mix that and put a inch of that on top. Black cow manure would be compost right? or would that be the soil from my bag i bought? Let me know if this sounds good to you. I will continue the epsom salt mixture down the road. I am sure i won't need any fish emulsion of kelp since it has that in pellet form for that mixture.
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I wouldn't use Black Kow.  It's very high in salts, and unknown agricultural by-products. (who knows what those cows ate or had pumped into them)  If anything, use mushroom compost.  And start a compost pile for next year...
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I won't tell you that the Alaska Pellets are bad, because they're actually very good.  But you'll get more bang for your buck from the Dr Earth.  (Alaska fish is expensive, when you cost it out by dose)  You don't need any gypsum with that fertilizer, as it's got all the calcium you could ever use.  Epsom salt?  No need.  A complete fertilizer negates the need for that.  Dr. Earth or Alaska fish are both as complete as it gets.  It wouldn't hurt to inoculate your fertilzier with some fish emulsion and/or seaweed with about a tsp of molasses per gallon of water.  But that's optional. 
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Keep it simple...
 
For use as a "tea" starter i would agree. Its not hard to reproduce those bacteria with table scraps, some molasses and yard waste.
 
Used directly as a soil conditioner it is over priced. The quality of your compost will be greatly effected by the quality of your diet and eating habits.
 
I moved away from the Black Kow too. Mainly because it didn't go on sale this year by the time i needed it. I do love Just Natural brand mushroom compost. Its fairly cheap and still drains well even if used in heavy amounts.
 
solid7 said:
 
I wouldn't use Black Kow.  It's very high in salts, and unknown agricultural by-products. (who knows what those cows ate or had pumped into them)  If anything, use mushroom compost.  And start a compost pile for next year...
.
I won't tell you that the Alaska Pellets are bad, because they're actually very good.  But you'll get more bang for your buck from the Dr Earth.  (Alaska fish is expensive, when you cost it out by dose)  You don't need any gypsum with that fertilizer, as it's got all the calcium you could ever use.  Epsom salt?  No need.  A complete fertilizer negates the need for that.  Dr. Earth or Alaska fish are both as complete as it gets.  It wouldn't hurt to inoculate your fertilzier with some fish emulsion and/or seaweed with about a tsp of molasses per gallon of water.  But that's optional. 
.
Keep it simple...
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Which dr earth do i need? So if i use those alaska pellets i still need to use fish emulsion? also what do i need for mulch? and for the fish emulsion just use alaska right?
 
If I was you I would just buy a gallon of Neptune's Harvest Tomato and Veg formula. Other then some liquid bone meal mid season it's all I feed my plants.
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
My favorite mulch is Pine Bark FINES. Timberline offers one called Soil Conditioner which is pretty much just pine bark fines. IIRC Jolly Gardener offers pretty much the same thing.
 
Check and see if you have any local composting companies. The one near me sells fines for $42 for a cubic yard but wont sell less than a half yard which is still a LOT of mulch.
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What about rubber mulch? I don't want to do any mulch thats wood. I don't want termites.
 
If you don't want wood use Solids suggestion of alfalfa hay. Its cheap and when it breaks down it has a good nutrient content.
 
Check the local craigs list. Its usually loaded with people selling hay.
 
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