Home made organic fertilizer

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Matt S
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by Matt S »

Mike,

You've inspired me to give this a bash. I managed to get some cottonseed meal as well as the soy, so I'm trying each of them. The NPK of both types of meal is similar so I'm not expecting a huge difference. The cottonseed is easier to mix as the soy I got was a little course - I'll chuck it through the food processor next time when the wife isn't looking.

The fodder store has 2 types of soy - standard and "full fat" i.e. the oils haven't been extracted beforehand. I'm still looking into this so I don't know what effect this would have on horticulture but its another consideration.

The smell isn't too bad, although I wouldn't do it in the living room. The weather is unusually humid at the moment so the drying is taking longer than I expected but that's OK, I'm saving a lot of money.

Matt.
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by treeman »

Matt S wrote:Mike,

You've inspired me to give this a bash. I managed to get some cottonseed meal as well as the soy, so I'm trying each of them. The NPK of both types of meal is similar so I'm not expecting a huge difference. The cottonseed is easier to mix as the soy I got was a little course - I'll chuck it through the food processor next time when the wife isn't looking.

The fodder store has 2 types of soy - standard and "full fat" i.e. the oils haven't been extracted beforehand. I'm still looking into this so I don't know what effect this would have on horticulture but its another consideration.

The smell isn't too bad, although I wouldn't do it in the living room. The weather is unusually humid at the moment so the drying is taking longer than I expected but that's OK, I'm saving a lot of money.

Matt.
Good stuff. Did you use blood and bone too? I use the full fat soy bean meal as well. (You can get finer and coarser grades but I wouldn't be too concerned). Seems fine. It's probably more nutritious any way. All the oils and fats get broken down pretty quickly.
I ended up with 2 X 20lt containers of cakes. I'm going through them quickly but they are so cheap to make....

BTW you can use the cotton and the soy together along with whatever else you want to throw in like seaweed meal (check for salt content) fish meal, sesame meal, wheat germ etc.
Last edited by treeman on March 12th, 2016, 6:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by Matt S »

Treeman wrote:Good stuff. Did you use blood and bone too? I use the full fat soy bean meal as well. (You can get finer and coarser grades but I wouldn't be too concerned). Seems fine. It's probably more nutritious any way. All the oils and fats get broken down pretty quickly.
I ended up with 2 X 20lt containers of cakes. I'm going through them quickly but they are so cheap to make....

BTW you can use the cotton and the soy together along with whatever else you want to throw in like seaweed meal (check for salt content) fish meal, sesame meal, wheat germ etc.
I found a source of "Grow Better" Blood and Bone and the fodder store sold molasses by the litre. For the moment I'll stick with the basic mix but the next batch I might add a few extras, but I like the fact the smell isn't out of control with this recipe.
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by fredman »

I've been intrigued by the organic cakes for some time now. I want to give it a go next spring. My concern all along is, with using an open soil of pumice and bark of 1/4 inch size, it might be flushed out before it could be broken down for uptake....?
Last edited by fredman on March 13th, 2016, 9:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by treeman »

fredman wrote:I've been intrigued by the organic cakes for some time now. I want to give it a go next spring. My concern all along is, with using an open soil of pumice and bark of 1/4 inch size, it might be flushed out before it could be broken down for uptake....?
No. Whatever is dissolved from the cake each time you water is already completely broken down by bacteria and available for uptake but because there is so much air space and little to hold nutrients, you might need to put on extra. As far as I'm concerned there should always be a percentage of humus in the mix. It is much less stressful for the plant unless you have high control at all times.
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by bouquet »

treeman wrote:I have been asked many times how to make this and seeing as though I needed some I took some pics.
It is very simple and quick and results in high quality and cheap plant food.

I'm using roughly 3 to 1 Soya bean meal and blood and bone. You need to use the best quality materials you can.

Mix the two ingredients dry. Here I've used about 10kg of soya and about 5 of b&b.
I added about 300g of molasses. It's not a vital ingredient but it supplies the carbon needed for fast fermentation. It also has substantial quantities of minerals such as magnesium and many others. You need to disolve it well in warm water before adding.
Hi Treeman

I'm also about the give this mix a crack. Slight question though, as you can see I have highlighted some info from your original message. In the beginning you say 3 parts Soya bean 1 part B&B. However the next line it seems you have used a 2:1 ratio.

Does it really matter ?

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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by bouquet »

wow that font came out really LARGE :crikey:
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by treeman »

bouquet wrote:
treeman wrote:I have been asked many times how to make this and seeing as though I needed some I took some pics.
It is very simple and quick and results in high quality and cheap plant food.

I'm using roughly 3 to 1 Soya bean meal and blood and bone. You need to use the best quality materials you can.

Mix the two ingredients dry. Here I've used about 10kg of soya and about 5 of b&b.
I added about 300g of molasses. It's not a vital ingredient but it supplies the carbon needed for fast fermentation. It also has substantial quantities of minerals such as magnesium and many others. You need to disolve it well in warm water before adding.
Hi Treeman

I'm also about the give this mix a crack. Slight question though, as you can see I have highlighted some info from your original message. In the beginning you say 3 parts Soya bean 1 part B&B. However the next line it seems you have used a 2:1 ratio.

Does it really matter ?

Cheers
Mark
Hi Mark, yes I did notice that. It was probably closer to 12 and 4 kg. I usually shoot for about 70/30 but no big deal. Interesting you call yourself bouquet and you're making cakes! :D
Last edited by treeman on March 31st, 2016, 3:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by bouquet »

bouquet wrote:Interesting you call yourself bouquet and you're making cakes!
Yes treeman your I do see the ironic side, but choosing screen names can be quite a task sometimes.

Treeman just a quick question. I was able t get some seaweed meal the other day when I picked up soya bean meal. this is the product I purchased:

http://www.multicrop.com.au/animal-heal ... d-meal.php

At what kind of ratio would you add this using the 3:1 ratio of soya bean meal : B&B

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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by treeman »

As long as the salt (NaCl) content is low you can put in what you want. To be safe, try 10% at first and see how the plants react. It is probably ok. The salt (from ocean water) would be mainly on the surface if it's there so you could pre-soak it in fresh water for a half an hour and then add it to your mix.
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by bouquet »

Mike

The analysis on the label says Max 30g/kg Sodium Chloride. I'm not a horticulturist by any means but 30g/kg doesn't seem like an excesses amount.
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by Lane »

I'm keen to try this soon, does the fermentation still take place effectively over the cooler months?

Am I right in assuming horse supplies shops can supply soy bean meal in these quantities?
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by treeman »

bouquet wrote:Mike

The analysis on the label says Max 30g/kg Sodium Chloride. I'm not a horticulturist by any means but 30g/kg doesn't seem like an excesses amount.
30g/Kg is 30.000 ppm. Very high! If you add 10% to your final mix it will then be 3000 ppm or 3gms of NaCl per kg of fertilizer mix.
The average sodium content of blood meal is 4.5 %. So we can say that your seaweed has roughly ten times the amount of blood and bone (very roughly of course). Actually the chloride is more of the problem. So, I would use 10% in your mix and soak it before as well. After that it should be an excellent mix. If you are ever concerned with any ingredient of p/mix or organic fert., you can do the radish seed test.
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by treeman »

MacGuyver wrote:I'm keen to try this soon, does the fermentation still take place effectively over the cooler months?

Am I right in assuming horse supplies shops can supply soy bean meal in these quantities?
yes to both. it is just slower in winter.
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Re: Home made organic fertilizer

Post by Ben Thomas »

Very interesting thread. Im keen as to try this. Thinking of try Enfield produce to find ingredients?
Stupid question, are the cakes simply sat on the surface of the pots???
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