True Living Organics: The Ultimate Guide to Growing All-Natural Marijuana Indoors

I just listened to The Rev, Kyle Kushman and Clackamas Coot on The Adam Dunn Show and thought I'd come back and edit my review. Great episode! I highly recommend it! I still agree with most of the things I said in my original review. I'll just make a few revisions and correct my misspellings.The Rev seems like a friendly fellow, and I don't mean to attack the dude personally. I just think his book is in need of revision.I gave this book two stars because it has turned a lot of people onto organic gardening, including myself. In the 'suggested reading' section, one will find Teaming with Microbes by Wayne Lewis and Jeff Lowenfels. This is an excellent place to start re-learning how to garden. As is the sequel, Teaming with Nutrients. Ok, enough book pimping....Back to this book..... The Rev does a very good job of making organic gardening a hell of a lot more complicated than it needs to be. As I said in the title, I think he needs to reread Teaming with Microbes a few times and revise his book. There are several problems with TLO:1] His soil mix is over-the-top, amendment-focused and relies on either (a) bagged soil or (b) recycled soil. You can build a way better soil way easier folks. (Kind of hard to use recycled soil when you have none! Lol) Bagged soils that you find at the garden or hydroponic store are basically low grade peat moss, some aeration, (maybe?) some worm castings/"humus", and some amendments. Why pay a premium for something made with low-quality ingredients? Who knows how long that bag of soil has been sitting on the shelf collecting dust? Chances are that the only living thing in bagged soil is a family of fungus gnats. If you already have bagged organic soil on hand, you can certainly use it.If you want to make a water-only, living organic soil, try out this mix:This is (basically) Clackamas Coot's soil mix... It's very similar to a Cornell mix or "LC's" Mix.Base mix1/3 sphagnum peat moss1/3 aeration (perlite, pumice, lava rock, rice hulls, etc.)1/3 HIGH QUALITY compost and/or worm castingsTo every 1 cubic foot (~7.5 gallons) of the base mix add..1/2 cup kelp meal1/2 cup crab shell meal1/2 cup neem or karanja cake[Coot would disagree with me here:] A source of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) should be used to stabilize the acid pH of peat moss. This is often called a 'liming agent'. It's not going to hurt anything to add some extra Ca, so I suggest using one. I do not recommend Dolomite Lime, but you can use it. Avoid "fast acting" or "hydrated" lime.1 cup CaCO3 (oyster shell flour, calcitic lime, etc.)Minerals..4-5 cups rock dust per cf (basalt, granite, glacial rock dust)Rock dust should be super fine: the consistency of flour.Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly, moisten the pile to about the consistency of a well wrung-out sponge and allow it to compost for 2-4 weeks (for best results... longer is better).That's it! The key here is quality compost/worm castings. That is the LIVING part that makes this whole soil mix work. So it must be HIGH QUALITY. How do you know it is high quality? Ask for a microbial test showing that there are sufficient numbers and diversity of fungi, bacteria/archaea, nematodes, protozoa, etc. Water with dechlorinated water and you are set!! I'M SERIOUS THIS IS SO EASY. No pHing, no checking the TDS of run off, no cal/mag, no flushing, no BS!2] His Aerated Compost Tea recipes are pretty silly. Unless you are checking the dissolved oxygen levels in your brewer and looking at it under the microscope, how can you possibly have any clue what microorganisms are lurking in there?? Save all of the amendments for topdressing or better yet, put them in your soil. ACT's are meant to multiply and feed beneficial microbes. Overloading your brew with amendments will pull dissolved oxygen levels down and yeasts will exhaust the oxygen fast. If you want to learn more about ACT, check out Tim Wilson's website (microbe organics). It is recommended at the back of Teaming with Microbes.3] The spikes and layers recommended in this book are totally unnecessary and really don't make sense from a living soil perspective. In a living soil paradigm, the soil amendments serve as "food" for the microbes in your compost and vermicompost. They are not directly available for plants and they are not immediately water soluble like those in bottled synthetics. They must first be digested by the microbes and the microbes then mineralize and feed the nutrients to the plant. (That is overly simplified, but it is the general idea). Feed the soil, and the soil feeds the plant. This makes it so that plants get the exact amount of nutrients that they need, when they need them. (No more "nute burn"!)To make these nutrients available as quickly as possible, you should mix everything thoroughly. This makes it so that more surface area of the "food" is open for decomposition.Layering is totally unnecessary too. With living soil, the plant is in control of what nutrients it takes up when. There is no need to have a "veg" layer and a "bloom" layer. Instead, just mix it all thoroughly and let the plant and the microorganisms in the soil do the work.4] He recommends bottled Cal/Mag products! Hello! This should be a red flag! He does not recommend what he calls "soup-style" organics and yet it seems to me that this is what he is practicing here.... believe me, Crab Shell and Kelp Meal will provide plenty of Ca and Mg.I hope that this review has been helpful, and I hope that The Rev reads this and feels encouraged to read more and up his game! This book has reached many people and that is great. Organic gardening is easy. Just keep it simple and your plants will be healthier and more vibrant than you've ever seen before.If you are really stuck in the whole myth based-NPK-feed the plant-bottled "nute" method of growing, then this book might serve as an ok transition to living soil, but I don't suggest following his recommendations. Read the Teaming books and browse the internet. Some internet cannabis forums have great organic gardening sections to check out.Get your hands in the dirt and grow some beautiful, fragrant flowers the way mother nature has for thousands of years!PS: I don't really pay attention to the comments on this 2+ year old review. If you have questions or want to discuss the book, bring it to the organic growing forum on Grasscity. There is a good community of knowledgeable growers on there.

Well, what all can I say? I thought that people like me did not have any say, but here I go. I read through the book, and found it most useful. He clued me in some on magnesium, and how excesses of it can drive turpenes south. {Big, big help.} I am still wrestling with it, since I decided to go a Vegan route, and there is no available magnesium in what I have. I reckon I can just use very conservative amounts of Unsulfured Molasses, say like the amount of the volume of that of a dime into a gallon of water, and to halt it the moment I see any amber hairs. I believe that dolomite lime has magnesium in it as well, but Build A Soil claims that dolomite lime is not good for soil, so I will have to investigate this further. It is obvious that I still have a long way to go, but I believe I have a start here. I will just need to continue my study as I move through time. My goal is to simply come to a fundamental grasp of the subject so that I can develop my own style as far as how I do this, and with me it would be all about ease and convenience, while approaching the threshold of excellence that The Rev here speaks of. In defence of The Rev here, I believe he is doing all that he can to simulate nature, and I can understand where he is coming from, though once again, Build A Soil believes The Rev makes it harder than it has to be. I noticed that The Rev did not include Epsom Salts like SC includes, and I too highly question using Epsom Salts, where as salts are what we are trying to avoid here. Bottom line is, The Rev's book here has helped me out a lot, and given me an insight into something exciting and new, and I hope he does very well in his venture as a writer. Healthier habits, healthier ways; preach it brother, preach it, and friends, we can all learn together to improve the standard of life for all of us...one day at a time. Be kind to one another, and I really mean that.

The Rev from Skunk Magazine has gifted the growing world with ancient Revski secrets. Sure to transform your average “home-grown” grower into a master, high-grade, gardening wiz!True Living Organics lays down the system for you! Each chapter is a building block based on fundamental elements and practices. As you read through each of the 13 chapters, you will find copious amounts of information that will, for-sure, leave your brain cells excreting TLO! This is a READ, a must read, if you want the true, TLO Experience! Once you get into the book, you will see that the Rev has carefully constructed this compact grimoire, for you to create a perfect soil environment for your plants to do their thing...”Grow like trees”!Ha ha ha...LESS is really more! The TLO Experience = High-grade and higher yields with less cost and a beneficial environmental impact. Nomads Landing Farm-nCollective experienced a 25% yield increase and spent 75% less on fertilizers our 1st season using the True Living Organics System, and we are Greenhouse farmers, not indoor, yep worked for us in a greenhouse.So the deal is, if your “into” growing phat, icky-sticky, yum-yums, in potters or beds, you will want to read True Living Organics; IMMEDIATELY! As even stated by the Rev in the beginning, this is not a beginners book to learn to grow, this is more... the next level, or for those who may be a little more daring, it's worth it.The truth is, you will find no other cannabis resource like True Living Organics that teaches you this low impact, renewable, organic, style of growing. Read the WHOLE book, cover to cover, let those key points get beat in; don't forget the reference material, is worth it's weight in gold as well.It can do for you, what it has done for us!Dia and SpencerNomads Landing Farm-nCollective

Awesome stuff

Having insight into living soil growing especially with Cannabis is very helpful The Rev has interesting information that can be helpful to a grower using soil. The information is often repeated and secrets n insights are promised through out this short text. ( Not sure if they were ever revealed).It was worth a read but the Rev might be a bit outdated at this point because of all the "new" info out there with living soil. There is an amusing attitude that is prevalent in this little book that is common with old growers. A little bit in a time warp, the lingo is down to earth (pardon that pun). Im not sure it is as helpful as The Rev believes it to be. respect to his life long growing and at some point he may have been ahead of his time.

I did not like this book. There is some good information but his technique is way too complicated and too specific in terms of nutrients. Still interesting but would be more suited for someone wanting to experiment with a specific medium recipe.

Great book, easy to understand and informative.Highly recomend if you want to get into organic growing , and not just for cannabis. Book is laid out like a textbook and is excellent to have as a reference for many challenges you might face. Many soil and tea recipes as well.

Great book. It's a look into a seriously experienced and talented grower's mind and method. He gives you some really interesting formulas to work off of, and a lot of information to take and work with on your own. It's a great reference for making tea and mixing soil for really high quality plants. Fun read too. Props to The Rev.