BL Soil Conditioner Substitute

[Bucky]

I applied shampoo on seed drop day, then put down BLSC at about 4 weeks. It is REALLY soft out there right now between that and the regular watering. Very, very soft.

I was wondering if it was safe to put down at or near seeding - sounds like it was certainly beneficial.

[HoosierLawnGnome]

Yeah, it's safe to put down near seeding.

[tcrow1988]

Anyone ever use this product from Kelp4Less:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Organic-Gallon- ... Swcu5USp8l

Seems to be a good packaged solution to KelpHelp formula, but I wonder what the ratio of ingredients and dilution rate should be. Also, how would the price compare to buying ingredients separately.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[STL]

Anyone ever use this product from Kelp4Less:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Organic-Gallon- ... Swcu5USp8l

Seems to be a good packaged solution to KelpHelp formula, but I wonder what the ratio of ingredients and dilution rate should be. Also, how would the price compare to buying ingredients separately.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Much cheaper to make your own, assuming around the same application rates. For reference, I paid around $80 with shipping for the ingredients to make 2 gallons of soil conditioner and 2 gallons of kelp help. Around $0.95/oz vs around $0.15/oz.

[tcrow1988]

Anyone ever use this product from Kelp4Less:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Organic-Gallon- ... Swcu5USp8l

Seems to be a good packaged solution to KelpHelp formula, but I wonder what the ratio of ingredients and dilution rate should be. Also, how would the price compare to buying ingredients separately.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Much cheaper to make your own, assuming around the same application rates. For reference, I paid around $80 with shipping for the ingredients to make 2 gallons of soil conditioner and 2 gallons of kelp help. Around $0.95/oz vs around $0.15/oz.

Any recommendations as to where to buy materials?

[cnbart]

I went with Kelp4Less but did the dry individual ingredients so I knew the ratios.
https://www.kelp4less.com/shop/kelp/ & /humic-acid/

And for soil conditioner:
http://tandjenterprises.com/CCPRO/Categ ... t-Products
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sodium-Lauryl-S ... Sw0JpV3S9u

Note: some don't like the fine powder of that SLS. https://www.brambleberry.com/sodium-lau ... p3562.aspx is coarser. Nasty stuff to breathe in.

[TimmyG]

Anyone ever use this product from Kelp4Less:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Organic-Gallon- ... Swcu5USp8l

Seems to be a good packaged solution to KelpHelp formula, but I wonder what the ratio of ingredients and dilution rate should be. Also, how would the price compare to buying ingredients separately.

Anyone have any thoughts?

tcrow,
I addressed the price comparison to one of Kelp4Less's other liquid products this post from last year:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=18846&p=276242#p276242

While I'm at it, let me share this other post of mine from two years ago in response to someone considering buying an off-the-shelf equivalent rather than making their own BLSC & Kelp Help:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=18341&p=251695#p251695

Tim.

[MorpheusPA]

I tend to use the solid kelp concentrate (and humic acid concentrate, but I'm not applying much of that any longer).

For the soil conditioner, the newer Bramble Berry coarser SLS. It still wafts, so definitely do this upwind or wearing a mask, but it's better than the old stuff!

My most recent habit is to add a small amount of the kelp extract to every load of food I put into the garden feeder. The plants have never been bigger, healthier, or bloomed harder.

[Bucky]

Yeah, it's safe to put down near seeding.

Would it be beneficial to mix it in the sprayer the night before to limit suds with the shampoo? I did the screwdriver test and my soil is fine, but it can't hurt to do it anyway, right?

[STL]

Can BLSC and kelp help be stored in the same container?

[TimmyG]

Can BLSC and kelp help be stored in the same container?

From Re: BL Soil Conditioner Formula and Making Your Own Mix, Morpheus recommends:

Can I combine both Kelp Help and Soil Conditioner into one combo concentrate and spray at the same time every 2 weeks? Or do they not like to mix? So my mixes would look like:

They get a bit gloopy if pre-mixed, so I keep them in separate containers (three in my case; I like my kelp and humic acid separate so I can douse the gardens with the one I want to use at that time). Mixing at the time of application isn't a problem.

I keep premixed BLSC and KH stored in separate containers for very long periods of time. If including molasses, do not premix and store with the Kelp Help. Add it directly to the sprayer at time of application.

[LoneRanger]

^ Are you saying not to premix molasses with KH?

[TimmyG]

^ Are you saying not to premix molasses with KH?

You can premix, if you plan to use right away. Just don't store mixed. In that same post I linked above, Morpheus offered the following:

I've found that undiluted molasses stays good practically forever. Diluted, it goes bad fast. However, you'll find that the molasses mixes fairly well right in the sprayer with some shaking, so it's not much of an issue.

[STL]

Can BLSC and kelp help be stored in the same container?

From Re: BL Soil Conditioner Formula and Making Your Own Mix, Morpheus recommends:

Can I combine both Kelp Help and Soil Conditioner into one combo concentrate and spray at the same time every 2 weeks? Or do they not like to mix? So my mixes would look like:

They get a bit gloopy if pre-mixed, so I keep them in separate containers (three in my case; I like my kelp and humic acid separate so I can douse the gardens with the one I want to use at that time). Mixing at the time of application isn't a problem.

I keep premixed BLSC and KH stored in separate containers for very long periods of time. If including molasses, do not premix and store with the Kelp Help. Add it directly to the sprayer at time of application.

Great. I love gloopy. I already combined them and right after I was like, not sure I should have done that. Maybe I can dilute more before spraying and adjust the hose-end setting.

I somehow missed that reference when I was reading up on it. Thanks for the quote.