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  • From: John Wages <jwages AT earthlink.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Re: Organic sowing medium
  • Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 14:22:32 -0700

Without knowing what part of KY you're in or what scale you are working
on, I will still pass along some info. that may or may not be useful.
BWI (office in Memphis, 901-367-2941, 800-489-8873,
www.bwicompanies.com) is a distributor mainly to the retail nursery
industry, and they sell greensand, rock phosphate, and blood meal, along
with a number of other fertilizers such as fish emulsion. Prices for
40# bags of rock phosphate are much lower (about $9) than what we found
from local retail sources (almost $20!). According to their catalog,
their service area extends into SW KY. Delivery to our farm, 90 miles
from their warehouse, is free if the order is at least $200.

There have been some comments on soil blocks on this list in the past.
Our experience has been that they work extremely well. Plants
experience almost no transplant shock and continue to grow without
interruption. Making the soil blocks is laborious, however, if you're
making very many of them. We work on a very small scale, so others can
comments on this.

John Wages
Calceterra Farm
Tupelo, MS


Nicole wrote:
>
> Andrea wrote: >>I was wondering if anybody out there is certified
> organic.And if you are,what kind of growing medium do you use.Do you mix
> it up yourself ,and what proportions of all the different ingredients
> does it contain.<<
>
> I'm not certified (yet) and not a market farmer (yet) but I intend to be
> both within a couple of years (certified when/if someone in KY becomes
> accredited, until then I'll operate under the $5,000 rule).
>
> I currently use sifted compost - sifted through expanded steel mesh -
> which I sterilize by baking or setting atop the woodstove for a day.
> Eliot Coleman and others advise against sterilizing growing medium, but
> I find that I'm forever picking weed seedlings out of my flats/pots if I
> don't. I tried using bagged "organic humus" when I ran out of ready
> compost this year, and it was less than satisfactory.
>
> Eliot Coleman has a recipe for soilblock medium in his "The New Organic
> Grower" which involves compost, greensand, and 2 or 3 other ingredients
> - if I can locate those ingredients locally (not likely, honestly) I'll
> be trying soilblocks next year.
>
> Nicole in KY
>
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