@BlackShirt as far as NTG is concerned, is there a requirement to keep soil moist while in storage/dormant to keep benificial bacteria alive?
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Yes, @Covertgrower … that is my understanding. If it dries out too far, you lose the useful creepy crawlies and the worms.
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In the interest of getting started with NTG - I went on amazon and purchased a worm farm. This will let me create my own Earthworm Castings as well as compost tea (not to mention the benefits of the worms consuming my vegetable scraps).
I found a local urban farmer who was willing to sell me about 1000 red wigglers for $35 and away we go! He was very generous with his time and helped me get set up and rolling.
Here is the worm home that I purchased:
If anyone is interested in what I have gleaned so far regarding this, please let me know and I can provide a more detailed explanation.
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FWIW, I have found from practice here in my gardens, that if I use cardboard as a cover for the soil, as a weed block, there are fat juicy wiggly earthworms in great abundance under it in the spring when I peek. Sometimes, in places where there were no such creatures before the cardboard.
I will usually clean out my beds around now, and place large flattened boxes down, and secure them with garden staples. rocks work too.
I leave the cardboard down, and cut holes in it where I am planting next year.
It remains there until it disintegrates, or it is so cut up and beat up from over seasoning,then I replace it.
It has really changed my dirt.
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Thanks for that tip 
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Awesome 
. I’m bookmarking to come back later to read. Thanks
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I’ve been considering a worm farm for some time now, and also agree it’s highly beneficial. @BlackShirt there’s worm farm containers on amazon, there’s one I highly recommend that I plan on buying. I’ll to find it again.
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Hi, I am curious to know how your grow went? I am interested in going this direction with my next grow.
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Thank you.
Is there a reason I don’t see much no-till info here?
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I think mostly because everyone uses the soil once, and refreshes it with new. Lots of organic growers on here though @Candygrowja
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I have been mia for quite a while @Candygrowja, but I can tell you that no-till gardening is phenomenal. I will get some pics posted here soon.
If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to try to point you in the right direction. I have learned a LOT during these last few cycles.
I have just now got my 3’ x 6’ x 14" deep indoor container filled with most excellent soil… what a ride.
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Here are the pics I promised. These are my mothers in 2 gal smart pots filled with soil made using the recipe at the beginning of this thread. The soil life was fed using the schedule above as well (with a few notable exceptions - one being I went to a 14 day schedule for my own sanity - adding in a Sprouted Seed Tea (SST), botanical tea (thyme, alfalfa, fenugreek, rosemary (cautiously)), or a compost tea to round out the schedule.)
Healthiest plants I have grown, without question. It has not been without its struggles - note the little yellow sticky trap on the right hand side.
But I digress. I have studied and learned much these past few months. Learned just enough to know how very very little I know.
Also applying these principles to my outdoor gardening efforts this spring as well!
@Covertgrower @Mrcrabs @Candygrowja @MAXHeadRoom @SmoknGranny @Jmesser80 @Sirsmokes @FreakyDeekie @Tr33 @Mamajo
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They do look great. @BlackShirt glad to see ya around again. Update us when you can on the outdoor grow. Keep up the awesome growing.
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