The smallest container we recommend you use is a 15 gallon fabric style container. The optimal container size is 25 to 30 gallons, but with proper care you can have good success in 15 gallon containers. Just remember the old adage, "the bigger the roots, the bigger the fruits."
With no-till living soil you want to use worms, cover crop, and a mulch layer to start with. We also advise you use nematodes, rove beetles, and hypoaspis miles to aid in pest management.
The benefits of no-till livng soil is that the water holding cpaacity will increase over time. The key thing to keep in mind is that you want zero water runoff when watering. If you are getting runoff then you are watering to much. Typical users will water 3 times per week, and the amount will vary with temp/humidity, age of soil, indoor vs. outdoor, etc... Again, if you get runoff you are watering to much. Using this as a basic guide you will figure out how much water your situation needs.
We recommend that you use a sedmiant, and carbon filter to remove any chlorine, or chloromine. We have found that straight city tap water will run into isuees over time, and this basic filtration helps to extend the longevtiy of your soil. If you are on well water it is still a good idea to use the same basic filtration to help get a more homogenous water source as wells tend to fluctaute in quality a bit especially in rainy seasons.
No. The way no-till living soil works, is that you can chop your plant at the soil surface (leaving the root ball in the soil), spread your top dress amendments on around the top of the container, and then plant a new plant right next to the old root ball. This can all be done at the same time, and there is no reason to wait.
Our no-till living soil is designed to be used over and over again. It was not designed to be a water only soil as it's not a single use soil. What we recommend to use in our soil is Liquid kelp, liquid fish, Aloe, and lactic acid bacteria serum. You may also wish to use some fermented fruit juice. These added with a top dress once per cycle will give you years of high quality high terpene yields.
As science has progressed we have come too learn that the entourage effect of cannabinoids coupled with terpenes is what gives a product its effects. Terpenes produce over the entire life of a plant. They are not artificially created with a bottle of "liquid terps" the last few weeks of flower like the hydro guys think. This is why no-till living soil terps can't be touched. The plant has everything it needs in the soil the entire life time of the plant. As it needs a nutrinet, it can tap into the reserves in the soil and take what it wants. This aids in the develop of a robust terpene profile that is unrivaled in any other growing method.
We do test our soil for many different things. That being said, we do not share test results as every lab shows different results. You would think that testing soil would be a standard thing, but that is not even close to correct. You can send a soil sample to 10 different labs, and all 10 labs will show different results.
The thing to keep in mind is that you are the keeper of this soil. What this soil tested like out of the bag doesn't really matter. The n-p-k profile straight from the bag will have changed 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, and 8 weeks from usage. Now imagine how much it can change after 1 year, 2 years, or 3 years of usage? Keep in mind most soils are mostly depleted of nutrients after 2 to 3 months of usage.
The true longevity of any no-till living soil is up to the end user. It is not up to us. This is why test results for freshly made no-till living soils are not as important as people want to think they are.
That being said, you as the maintainer of the soil may want to get your soil tested once or twice per year to make sure that you aren't missing any certain micro or macro nutrients. Anecdotically, we have soil on hand that has been in use since 2013 and has not had a soil test for 5 years.
We mix soil and sell it right away. Our soil does get hot once mixed, but chills out pretty quickly. We have ran extensive tests with our freshly mixed soil, and have had no issue with planting plants and seeds directly in the soil.
That being said, It is always a good idea to fill your container, add your worms, spread your cover crop, mulch, and water your container for a few days before you plant. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
Contrary to popular belief we have been making soil since 2010. Unfortunately people like to talk, and well they like to say that we jumped into this with a stolen recipe, or we just made this up out of thin air. That couldn't be further from the truth. We've been doing no-till since before it was cool. We started doing no-till outdoors many years ago, and finally brought it indoors a few years later. Our current soil was first tested in 2011. We have pictures of rows of containers with different blends in each row to test the quality of each different soil blend. There have been some changes since those first tests, but the basic blend has been the same for 2013-2014.
This is not "mold", it is fungal hyphae covering the soil. We have tried to make our soil fungally dominate, and this is the result of that. It is a very good thing to see this in your bags or totes of soil. It means we did our job right. Rest assured that there is nothing wrong with the soil, and that your plants will thank you for this choice.
New growers don't realize that fungus gnats will develop in most organic soils. It is up to you to maintain proper ipm protocols to combat this. Our bags are contam free, and gnats are not included with your purchase. :)
The number one thing we see when this happens is a non-filtered water source. Make sure that your water source is using a sediment and carbon filter. Once this has been changed most everyone's issues have resolved. If you are still having issues you can contact us for further help.
No. We have seen long term that reverse osmosis water can run into issues. We suggest you use just a sediment and carbon filter for maximum longevity of the soil.
Mulch helps to retain moisture, and also gives gives the worms something to munch on. Think of your conatiner as a living compost conatiner that you happen to plant a plant into.
Cover crops perform many different functions. The most important function is aeration. As your soil ages compaction can be an issue, and aerating the soil will be a vital part of you extending the longevity of your containers. Some cover crops also bring in nitrogen as they are nitrogen fixers. This is less important as nitrogen tends to build up in organic potting soils naturally. There is also sicence that shows that plants are happier when they are interplanted with other plants. Copanion planting is a vital pat of a diverse healthy ecosyste.
The worms play a vital role in digesting the soil amendments that you top dress, and turning them into bio-available nutrients. without the worms you won't be running a no-till. we also like to add other critters to the mix. Rove beetles, hypoaspsis miles, pill-bugs aka rolly polys, etc.. they all play a roll in a healthy diverse soil.
The standard container used in no-till livng soil is the fabric smart pot style container. That being said, you can use what you feel is correct for your situation. Wooden raised beds have proven to be very good with a no-till livng soil setup. We also have customers that use airpot style containers with success. Newer fabric containers made with a liner designed for no-till living soil have started to gain popularity as well.
We do suggest that when growing full season outdoors (not in a greenhouse) that you top dress soil amendments 6 to 8 weeks after your plants have gone outside. Unlike indoors, outside you have wind, and rain which will leach out nutrients. You will need to compensate for this leaching by top dressing once or twice during the season.
The base of our soil is peat. Peat is naturally hydrophobic. This means that until it gets saturated it will want to shed water, not soak it up. The best way to overcome this is to use a mulch layer, and do small watering multiple times per day. Usually doing this for a couple of days in a row will fix any issues. If you are still having problems the use of yucca extract as a surfactant will work instantly.
We try to ship all orders out within 2-3 business days. Sometimes issues do arise, and shipping may take a little longer. In these instances we will notify you of an approximate ship date, and will do our best to expedite the processing of your order.
We try to ship everything possible in plain boxes. that being said, if you specifially need only plain boxes please add a note to your order, or call or email with instructions.
We use USPS, Fedex, and UPS for shipping most everything that is able to be boxed. For pallets and larger truck loads, we work with a network of trucking Companies and use whichever will give us the best rate at the time.
This all depends on the service that you choose. A general rule of thumb is 3 to 7 business days, but can be faster or slower depending on which type of shipping you choose when purchasing.
We ship most things form our Oklahoma City warehouse. In the off chance we don't have the item in stock we may drop ship an item direct form the manufacturer.
Shipping costs on our website are all calculated via 3rd party shipping apps. They connect directly with the shipping Companies, and pass thorugh the shipping costs to you via our website.
The pricing via trucking company on our website is always higher than what we can get you if you call or email. Unfortunately the 3rd party app we use for bulk pallet orders is far from perfect in calculating the best price. For pallet sized orders, up to truck load sized orders, you can always call or email for the best possible pricing. 405-601-1300, or info@redbudsoilcompany.com
If you receive your order, and damage has occurred during the shipping process, please contact us immediately with pictures and a description of the damage. We will process your request ASAP, and replace or refund any damaged items as long as the damage was done in the shipping process.
Once your order has shipped we can't do anyting about a wrong address. It is always best to call or email an updated shipping address before your order ships. If you do give us a wrong address and a delivery attempt fails, the package gets returned, you will be repsonsible for any re-shipment costs.
Redbud Soil Company ships internationally to most countries. Free shipping items only apply to domestic (the 48 contiguous United States) shipments. Keep in mind each country has a different way of assigning duties to inbound packages from other countries. Redbud Soil Company does not pay for duties and fees from the country and/or shipping company (e.g., FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc..) for shipments sent to other countries, nor return shipping costs in the event of warranty issues and/or damage caused by shipper. If for any reason the items you ordered are not allowed in your country, Redbud Soil Company cannot be responsible for return shipping—Redbud Soil Company will refund all product costs, but not shipping costs. Also always be sure to make sure any electronic products will work in your country prior to purchasing and installing them. One often problem occurs when Voltage or KHz differences from other countries cause products to malfunction. Making sure products work properly outside of the United States is the buyers responsibility prior to purchase. ALL products sold by Redbud Soil Company have a United States warranty and are warrantied by the product's manufacturer and Redbud Soil Company when used in the United States.
We do accept cashiers checks or money orders. To use a cashiers check or money order you will need to contact us prior to placing an order for further instructions. info@redbudsoilcompany.com
We charge sales tax based off of location, and State laws. To see if your order will be charged sales tax you can add items to your cart, and go through the check out process to the shipping page. This will then show if tax will need to be collected for your order.
If your billing info doesn't match the ship to address, or your i.p. address is not close to the shipping address, then your order may be delayed while we research further.
Return Policy - All product returns require a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. To receive an RMA number, simply fill out our Returns Request form. Redbud Soil Company will contact you within 48 hours with an RMA number, Monday through Thursday. Returns are not processed Friday through Sunday.
If you have an unopened product, you can return it within 30 days of invoice date to get a full refund, assuming the item is in 'as new' condition. The original itemized shipping costs are not refunded when items are returned. If it has been more than 30 days no returns will be accepted. Return shipping is paid by you the "customer". Redbud Soil Company does not cover any return shipping.
In the event your product proves to be defective within the first 30 days after purchase, Redbud Soil Company will exchange your product for a new one, issue a credit towards an alternative product, or issue a refund if applicable. Just fill out the return authorization form on our web site or give us a call 405-601-1300 and send the merchandise back to us once you have obtained a return authorization number. The return authorization number must be in the box with the returned merchandise. Ship the item to us prepaid and Redbud Soil Company will cover the cost of shipping a new or replacement product back to you. It is your responsibility to insure all packages being sent to Redbud Soil Company. If you send back an item that fails to be defective, Redbud Soil Company will ship it back to you at your expense and charge labor for the diagnosis.
If your product fails in the remainder of the warranty period, the manufacturer's warranty policy will prevail. Just fill out the return authorization form on our web site and send the merchandise back to us once you have obtained a return authorization number. The return authorization number must be in the box with the returned merchandise. As per the manufacturer's policy, Redbud Soil Company will make every effort to replace the defective unit with an immediate replacement upon verification of defect. Warranty permitting, Redbud Soil Company will exchange your product for a new one. If you send back an item that fails to be defective, Redbud Soil Company will ship it back to you at your expense and charge labor for the diagnosis.
These are items that Redbud Soil Company does not stock in our warehouse, but instead Redbud Soil Company gets from a third party supplier. These items are not eligible for a refund or replacement unless they are damaged or defective. Redbud Soil Company often call customers after these orders are placed because of special shipping considerations.
