Dude, my entire area is lush with worms of all varieties. I have thrown a selection in my indoor worm bins and only a few types survive. The big earthworms seem to disappear. But I sifted the vermi and the bottom collector area on both bins had a golfball size wad of worms writhing and procreating. I started with Uncle Jims but pretty sure these are all mine now
. Outside I can just throw lawn clippings under a tree and I have a worm bin/compost pile.
Buying stuff is what I want to limit, but I am not short on cash - just hate paying for something my retired ass can do for free or that really isn't worth it for what they want to charge. I will try the bokashi I make and might give it one more go if that sucks. But that is the kind of thing I'll spend my weed-dollar on if needed. I have the "Bokashi Brothers" brand and it says "double-fermented with trace minerals" - but it has a toasted smell to it, almost like coffee. I wonder if they dry it at a higher temp or for longer after it's done? Anyway, a sack of that lasts a while and if mine doesn't produce results at least I tried.
Some kind of microbe boost like recharge and a mycorrhizal root innoculant like the VAM Endo and some of the stuff at buildasoil like the coconut water powder I'll keep buying mainly because they last a long time and you use very little. Both of those I think I would do fine without if necessary.
I am growing some barley and other grains small patches in the garden to see what thrives.I have a small sack of homemade assorted cover crop seeds, now I am working on stuff for homegrown sprout teas.
You are becoming an expert on the living soil food web. Your work reflects that.
You got that "retirement" drive going for you. lol
Plus the funds(if need be) to make your garden "top shelf" with all the bells and whistles.
#1
Microbial environment,
After a lot of years doing this, there's been few products that actually made a difference in my garden.
The one that stands out from the rest that made a noticeable difference was "Mammoth P".
The price was like 50 bucks a liter back then and I thought that price was high, but damn, go and try to buy a liter and see what it costs today.
But it did work as claimed. There was an increase in quality and yield.
I used to use "Recharge" (25-$30.00)until I opened a bag one day and it smelled like fucking coffee grounds, so I looked up coffee grounds, come to find out, it adds Nitrogen to the soil. So the plants do perk up within 48 hrs as they claim on the bag. lol
Grokashi
feeds the anaerobic/O2 free bacteria (20 bucks/bag) Can take it or leave it or no longer need it.
Mammoth P. (150.00/liter) Liter goes a long way.
Recharge (30.00) Expensive cup of coffee (joking)
You get what you pay for.
There's a ton of BS products that do nothing, and some can make a good garden even better.
But, no matter how much you soak into it,
if your a shitty grower, you're sure to have a shitty garden. lol
I like "Build A Soil" guy's videos. Is he sponsored by "Coots"?
Never used any of his products, but he seems reasonable on his prices.
I wouldn't mind trying a few samples from him to see how well they work. (Because I'm poor as hell.)
Living soil is definitely the way to go, but often times, lazy and/or shitty growers will fuck that up too. lol