Score: 5/5

Quick Jump To: hide
1 Score: 5/5
2 Introduction
3 Ingredients
3.1 Base and Composts
3.2 Minerals
3.3 Soil Amendments
4 Quick Summary—Pros and Cons
4.1 Pros
4.2 Cons

Introduction

Keep It Simple Inc (KIS Inc) was founded in 2002 with a twin mission: to promote biological horticulture and soil re-mineralizing, and to help people grow their own food locally.

This ambitious agenda translates in a multitude of products, from living soils to soil amendments and from natural pest control substances to gardening equipment. The KIS Organics Nutrient Pack – Professional Formula for Vegetative and Flower Growth is an amendment to add to your soil. Use it to create water-only soils, where water would be the only addition needed to your soil for at least 6 months, regardless of whether your soil is new or recycled. It is also ideal as a top dressing for deficient soils. It is recommended for containers and raised bed plants and can be used indoors or outdoors.

KIS’s Organics Nutrient Pack is a blend registered for organic use with CDFA. It can be used from seedlings to harvest. It contains no manure, guano, synthetic chemicals, or fillers. Instead, it includes a large variety of organic and natural ingredients like meals, limes, cakes, minerals, soft rock dust, and basalt. All combined, these make for a rich 2.5 nitrogen – 3.5 phosphate – 1 potash blend.

KIS’s Organics Nutrient Pack is a strong amendment to add to your soil. To avoid burning your soil and plants, you need to use it according to the detailed instructions provided by KIS on their packaging or on their website. You also need to let your soil cook before you use it.

  • The product comes in two packages:
  • The regular Nutrient Pack (14 lbs), which is priced at $55 and is enough to make 4 cubic ft of Water Only Soil or re-amend 1 yard of soil.
  • The Large Nutrient Pack comes at $125 and is enough to make 12 cubic ft of Water-Only Soil or re-amend 3 yards of soil.

Ingredients

Base and Composts

KIS’s Organics Nutrient Pack is a soil amendment, therefore it has no base or compost. On the contrary, you need to mix the concentrate with an organic potting soil of your choice to use it. Include high-quality compost to enjoy the full benefits of the nutrients included in the blend.  You can also use it with recycled soil or you can follow KIS’s recipe for mixing water-only soil using the Organics Nutrient Pack.

Minerals

KIS’s Organics Nutrient Pack includes a complete blend of beneficial minerals: lime and dolomite lime, glacial rock dust, basalt, soft rock phosphate, gypsum, and natural calcite.

Dolomite lime has high levels of calcium and micronutrients that contribute to plant growth and general health. It also helps regulate pH levels, which is the main reason this mix contains lime and dolomite lime. The mix is also enhanced by a less common pH conditioner, oyster shell flour, consisting mainly of calcium carbonate and micronutrients. Oyster shell flour provides a steady release of calcium to help regulate pH levels and promote healthy cellular structure in the plants, while it can help create habitats for soil microorganisms.

The various finely grounded rocks contained in the mix act like storage for nutrients and ensure the long-term delivery of nutrients to the plants as they decompose by the soil’s microorganisms. In particular, the mix includes:

  • Glacial rock dust, which naturally occurs under the pressure of glaciers
  • Grounded basalt, which is a volcanic mineral
  • Soft phosphate rock dust
  • Natural calcite, a great source of calcium
  • Gypsum

Rich in trace elements, these dusts re-mineralize soils, which makes KIS’s Organics Nutrient Pack ideal for use with recycled or nutrient-depleted soils. Gypsum also enhances soil structure and increases water penetration and retention.

Soil Amendments

KIS’s Organics Nutrient Pack contains a large variety of meals and cakes to fertilize the soil, act as bio-pesticides, and enhance plant growth. This combination of organic meals and cake brings nutrients to the soil while also working like an organic microbe catalyst that helps beneficial microbes to thrive in the soil.

On the vegetable-origin side, the mix contains organic alfalfa meal, produced by fermented alfalfa seeds that boost plants to bloom earlier and for a longer period. It also contains organic kelp meal, which is made from dried seaweed and is a great source of potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. On the animal-origin side, KIS’s Organics Nutrient Pack includes organic fish meal, which is particularly rich in nitrogen; fish bone meal, an excellent source of calcium and phosphorus; and crustacean meal, which, on top of nutrients, is rich in chitin, a bio-pesticide.

Neem cake is another important ingredient of the mix, with multiple functions. Neem cakes are made from the residue of neem-tree kernels, after they are pressed to extract their oil. Besides being a rich source of nutrients, neem cake is a very effective bio-pesticide and pest repellent. Neem cake contains a variety of substances (nortriterpenoids, isoprenoids, fatty acids, ketones, aldehydes, amino acids, free sulfur, etc.) that kill nematodes as well as other soil-based pathogens without being toxic to useful insects. Finally, it enhances the structure and aeration of the soil and sustains the rhizosphere microflora, thus is essential for root growth. Similarly produced from the residue of seed kernels pressed for oil extraction is Karanja cake, which not only is rich in nutrients, but also helps the earthworm population to thrive in your soil.

Finally, one excellent addition to the mix is mycorrhizae, a nutritional fungus that grows symbiotically with the roots of plants. Mycorrhizae acts as an extension of a plant’s root system, increasing the plant’s capacity to reach water and nutrients. Although mycorrhizae occur naturally in the soil, it grows slowly and it is a good idea to speed the process by adding some to the soil. The result is usually a maximized yield—both in terms of quantity and quality.

Quick Summary—Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Made by a reputable company dedicated to organic growing.
  • Contains an impressive range of nutrients, minerals, micro-organisms, and meals.
  • You can reuse KIS Organic soils as many times as you wish with small amendments between cycles.
  • No compost included (nor earthworm castings, or guano, etc.), therefore you can use the mix with soil already rich in compost.

Cons

  • This is an amendment, which means you need to add it to organic potting soil. This requires you to follow the mixing instructions carefully or you risk burning your plants, especially seedlings. This is strong stuff, not the most suitable choice if you are a first-time grower.
  • This is an amendment for living soils, and as such it will contain/attract insects and other microorganisms. While this is proof of life, it can still be inconvenient indoors.
  • There is no compost (nor earthworm castings, or guano, etc.) in the mix, therefore you need to add good quality compost to your soil (if you haven’t already done so).