I'm working with activated carbon pellets that are similar in size to rabbit food and I'm looking to inoculate them before amending my soil. I have a couple of questions: First, would it be better to crush the charcoal into a fine powder before inoculating? I think it might be easier to hydrate that way. Also, should I stick with the pellets or go for the powder, especially since I'm using 7-gallon pots indoors? Second, how nutrient-rich should the water be for inoculating, and what ratio of water to charcoal do you recommend? Should the solution be as strong as what I'd typically give to my plants, or a lot stronger because of the larger surface area? Lastly, could I just drop the pellets into fish emulsion directly, or would that be worse than diluting it first?
2 Answers
Definitely crush the charcoal into a fine texture, ideally about the size of a grain of rice or smaller. This makes it easier to hydrate. For the inoculation mix, you need a good amount of liquid fertilizer, but the exact ratio will depend on what you have.
Yeah, you'll want to dilute the fish emulsion but still use a strong dose—I'd recommend going about double the normal strength. Soaking time may need to be longer if you're crushing the pellets to have varying sizes; that helps with aeration. Keeping some pellets intact is good too, as they should work fine as is.
Great thanks, appreciate ya! I plan on soaking for 15-30 days. If I want to inoculate with mycorrhizae as well, is that strength suitable? And should I pH the water?
Thanks! Just to get a rough idea, what ratio do you use, and which fertilizer (if branded)?