Caramel Sutra

Not impressed with the Fox Farm Happy Frog soil I used. Plants aren't nearly as strong as last year. I'm thinking of adding a little Biochar next week to see if they perk up a bit. They may also be a little tired from the repotting. I'm debating what to do about nutes this year. I bought a gallon of the Big Bloom and am currently using that. However I don't think I'm going to use the other Fox farm products I used last year. I'm thinking of going a more natural route. I've been taking a permaculture course and learning about soil health, so I'd rather not use mineral salts so I have healthier soil. Soil salinization can cause serious issues unless you're periodically flushing the root systems to wash out the salt build up. So why are we even using this stuff in the first place? Excess salinization can compromise the soils ability to hold moisture, prevent plants from uptaking nutrients (lockout) and even change the soil PH. Just because something is labeled for organic use doesn't mean it's perfect. This is something I've been learning lately. For instance: Someone can be certified organic while they still till the soil, releasing carbon and nitrogen into the atmosphere as well as destroying the beneficial microbial activity in the soil itself. Instead, we could use: Blood Meal/Feather Meal for Nitrogen- Maybe a mix of both. Blood meal releases quickly while feather meal takes longer so you have a balance. Bone Char for Phosphorus. Kelp Meal for Potassium and micronutrients. Blackstrap Molasses for general health especially flowering. Molasses contains vitamin B6, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Manganese, Copper, Iron, Potassium and Selenium. Biochar will give a great source of Carbon for water retention, and provide beneficial bacteria + Fungi. Just some things to think about.