Jai maintains an excellent website and is a great resource for us vegetable gardeners.
In a nutshell, Jai teaches that the soil is depleted of minerals. For healthy plants, you have to feed your soil minerals and microorganisms. Not only will your plants be healthier, but the bugs and pests will stay away and you won't need any insecticides or pesticides.
http://www.organiclivingforall.com/
1. HAPPY FROG SOIL CONDITIONER
Finely screened, pH-balanced forest humus, earthworm castings, and bat guano, with beneficial microbes that stimulate root development and help plants access nutrients in the soil. Humic acid to help increase the uptake of important micronutrients.
Available for local pickup at:
Simply Hydroponics and Organics
Pinellas County
7949 Ulmerton Rd.(SR688), just West of Belcher Road, on the South side of Ulmerton Road
Largo, Florida. 33771
727-531-5355
2. Earthworm Castings: BLACK GOLD/100% Organic - Castings
Available from http://www.pollardworms.com/ FREE SHIPPING !
This is natures way of returning beauty to your plants, as it should be. Castings contain a highly active biological mixture of bacteria, enzymes and plant matter. They are rich in water-soluble plant nutrients and contain more then 50% more humas than what is normally found in top soil. They contain 5 times more nitrogen, 7 times the available potash and 1 1/2 times more calcium than found in 12'' topsoil. In addition, castings also have small amounts of phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, manganese, copper, zinc, cobalt, borox, iron and carbon.
Castings promote rapid growth due to the natural nutrients they contain. As earthworms digest their food, a coating is formed around the grain, which allows the nutrients to ''time-release'' into the soil so it is readily available when the plant needs it. These mineral clusters combine in such a way that they will withstand water erosion and compaction, and also increase water retention. Thus, when castings are incorporated into your soil, less water will be required to promote growth. When new plants are watered frequently, growth rate is substantially increased.
Many people use fresh manure as a fertilizer. Unlike worms, horses and cows do not digest 100% of their food. This allows undigested seeds to produce unwanted plants in gardens. Since worms completely digest everything they eat, there are never weeds or unexpected plants in amongst your plants. Fresh manure, used in large quantities, can "burn" delicate plants and new root systems. Worm castings will not burn - no matter how much you use. Fresh manure also tends to have a distinct odor. Castings are odorless (they smell like a forest after a hard rain - wet dirt). You can use castings indoors or outdoors on any plant.
Used as fertilizer, the earthworm casting have a much higher content of the necessary nutrients that plants need. More so even than most products that can be purchased in the store. Additionally, in most cases, if the store bought fertilizers touch the plants, they will burn them. Not so with the worm castings.
You would typically either mix the earthworm casting in with the soil as you are planting, and it can be added directly to existing plants as well when "feeding" your plants. You can pretty much count on covering anywhere from 150 to 200 square feet of garden area with approximately 10 pounds of worm castings. These will in turn fertilize your garden over time as the elements help to break down the worm castings.
Another way of using earthworm casting is to mix them with water and then spray the mixture directly on the leaves of your plants. This method of fertilization is known as foliar feeding. This process also works to fight off microorganisms that would otherwise make your plants sick or become diseased. It will also work to keep fungi and molds from growing on the plant which would stunt the growth or even perhaps kill the plant off.
PUTTING WORM CASTINGS TO USE: I side dress with worm castings every 30 days.
Where to buy worm castings? I found a very good dealer in Texas, http://www.pollardworms.com/ that offers free shipping, and the best deal is when ordering
21 Pound Box Organic Worm Castings
$29.95 Super Great Buy
Shipping Is Included
3. Neptune's Harvest Organic Crab Shell is an excellent dry organic source of NPK, Calcium (23%) and Magnesium (1.33%). It will also help with nematode and fungus problems. Here's why: Crab Shell is high in Chitin (Kite-en), which promotes the growth of Chitin eating bacteria in the soil. The exoskeletons of fungus and nematode eggs are high in
chitin. Crab Shell when added to the soil helps to create a hostile environment for the fungus and nematodes by feeding the biological life that eats chitin and chitin based organisms.
Here is the link of where to buy: Free shipping !
http://www.neptunesharvest.com/cs-612.html
4. Neptune's Harvest Organic Kelp Meal is Ascophyllum Nodosum, which is widely recognized as one of the finest marine plants available for agriculture today. Kelp Meal is a natural and cost effective enhancement to any soil fertilization and conditioning program. It is suitable for all crops and applications, and can be mixed with most soil conditioners and fertilizers. It can also be incorporated into potting soils, seed and transplant beds, as well as composting material. Kelp Meal contains minerals, carbohydrates and amino acids. It will add organic matter to your soil and help it retain moisture. It will enhance healthy root growth.
For gardens, till the Kelp Meal in as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring. Mix thoroughly with the soil.
Here is the link of where to buy: Free shipping !http://www.neptunesharvest.com/km-612.html
5. AZOMITE : Available locally at Simply Hydroponics & Organics, see address at top of page.
AZOMITE® is a mined natural mineral product. For over sixty years livestock and crop producers have utilized this unique material from central Utah to improve livestock and plant growth. Assays reveal that the material contains a broad spectrum of over 70 metabolically active minerals and trace elements.
AZOMITE® requires no mixing. It is odorless, will not burn plants and will not restrict aeration or water penetration. Unlike some products, AZOMITE® is not a manufactured, chemically prepared fertilizer. It is 100% natural with no additives, synthetics or filters.
Mineralogically, the material can be described as a rhyolitic tuff breccia, which is a hard rock formation formed from the dust of a volcano that exploded, much like when Mount St. Helens did in 1980. Its uniqueness does stem from the multitude of trace minerals found in the deposit. Thus the trade name, AZOMITE®, the "A to Z of Minerals Including Trace Elements". Chemically, AZOMITE® is a hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS) containing other minerals and trace elements which the National Research Council recognizes to be essential. HSCAS is listed in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR 582.2729) as an anti-caking agent, and is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA. After completing a series of manufacturing steps AZOMITE® is stored for bulk shipment or packaged in bags and palletized
6. Ancient Forest is a natural product consisting of 100% pure forest humus. It is derived from thousands of years of naturally decomposed forest litter that contains a wide spectrum of organic compounds. An incredibly high diversity of microorganisms, with more than 35,000 species of bacteria and over 5000 species of fungi, make Ancient Forest and ideal amendment for gardening and potting soils. Ancient Forest also aids in the retention of water and nutrients, creating stable, long lasting soil for your garden. The immense biological activity also makes Ancient Forest the ideal inoculum for actively aerated compost teas.
Available locally at Simply Hydroponics. One bag is enough for a 10' x 10' garden.
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