Doc Bud's High Brix Q&A With Pictures

[Gazoo]

This is the first run on the HB soil. Its in the 1g and the 20g.

I don't disturb th he 20g from crop to crop. I don't even flex the pots. I don't want to disturb the soil structure that the mycelium network has built up. There is also the balance of life, or equilibrium in the soil you don't want to upset.
If one part of the food web in the soil is knocked out or down, it effects everything else up and down the food chain that is why you will see some unexpected deficiencies like I noticed a certain dew were having and crying about a while ago.

At least that's my working theory, and works for me.

I bought a second tent, and am building a lung room to feed both tents from.
Tho his way I can run two identical tents with shared environment. I'll be able to do side by side tests on any genetic/run with the ability of changing only one variable like light, or VPD, cat drench timing, you name it. See the effect on quality and yeild. Analytical, not anecdotal.

10 runs on the old soil and was still going strong. I anticipate as much with the HB too.

Interesting, Do you Water/Feed in the 20g , the 1g or Both

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Chocorilla. Found a single seed on a GG#4. There was a chocolope in the room with a few male flowers late in the cycle....back in the corner where they always are....that one seed turned out female.....and here you see Chocorilla.

Testing this harvest.

 

[dajerm119]

Re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Damn Doc... looks like you have a trichome invasion there... mam O man... Thats some really great work there! I dream of buds like that, one day grown with my own hands... thanks for always giving everyone something to strive for Doc!

 

[questor]

I'd like to know what the salt load is, after all those runs.

Have you done anything to mitigate that?

Where would the salt come from?
Before the kit, I would use well water or a/c condensate, aact , sst (popcorn and alfafa sproats, kelp and alfalfa tea.
Homemade compost and a worm bin. No salts.

Does the kit have salts?

 

[Doc Bud]

Where would the salt come from?
Before the kit, I would use well water or a/c condensate, aact , sst (popcorn and alfafa sproats, kelp and alfalfa tea.
Homemade compost and a worm bin. No salts.

Does the kit have salts?

Of course there are salts. Lots of them. And of course the kit has salts. They're listed on the label. Those rock powders we use? Salts. Everything but the fish juice has salts in it....and the fish juice breaks down in the soil to.....salts.

For those who aren't sure what a salt is, it's any chemical compound formed as a reaction of an acid with a base, where the Cation replaces the hydrogen on the acid. So, imagine all the humic acid at the roots, the humic acid we add....and then imagine all those acids reacting with BASE CATIONS and forming salts. This is organic, and what happens in soil.

A lot of people don't understand this and presume/assume that "organic" doesn't have any salt. Nothing could be further from the truth. A basic grasp of science is often quite helpful when trying to navigate the treacherous waters between folklore, assumption, ignorance and tradition.

So, you have a lot of salt buildup in an organic grow. The question is how much? The only way to find out is with a soil test.

The ones I do will not only tell you what's going on in the soil, it will also include steps to remediate salt buildup and recipes for mineral amendments to reflect the reality of the soil....not the folklore and assumptions.

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Damn Doc... looks like you have a trichome invasion there... mam O man... Thats some really great work there! I dream of buds like that, one day grown with my own hands... thanks for always giving everyone something to strive for Doc!

No gimmicks bro. Just my gear...same stuff you have. I'm showing all my "secrets" over on Scotia's thread.

7 gallon pots on saucers. Foliar sprays, root drenches, basic topping and/or pruning, and perfect indoor weather. It's really not that hard. You just have to steer clear of:

Gimmicks
Crazy notions and folklore
Fixing problems that aren't there
Acting on Bad assumptions based on lack of knowledge
Making a hybrid method out of everything


In other words, read up on what really happens in the soil, put most of your energy into the environment, keep things simple and don't make decisions like:

"I'm a gunna lower my rH to prevent PM!" It's much better to keep the rH in the optimal range for plant health than to fix a problem that doesn't exist and have substandard results because of it.

 

[questor]

Interesting, Do you Water/Feed in the 20g , the 1g or Both

I have the 20g on a a bed of perlite that I keep a couple inches water in it.
At the right level, the water wicks up keeping the soil moist but not wet.

I find this keeps all the life in the soil going.

There is a cover crop on the 20g surrounding the 1g., also on the 1g, but that usually Peter's out from being shaded. All trimmings go on top too as mulch.

Previously, I would top water whatever I was serving up at the time in the 1g. Usually about a gal at a time. It would go through and feed the big pot too

Now I am using the kit and in flower, it's the SIP from the bottom, and the drenches from the top of the 1g.

 

[questor]

So, yeah, salts are minerals, and we amend minerals to our soil. I get that without having to know all the science behind it.
I guess when I hear salts, I think of the synthetic nutes the grow stores sell. The kind that are readily plant available.

The minerals in my old 10 run Coots soil would for the most part just sit in the dirt, locked up unless some fungi and bacteria came Along and ate it. Then they either die or get eaten, and so forth.
The plant itself directs and influences what nutrient and minerals the soil life will deliver to it. Certainly we could do that, based on observation and experience, supply the plant with what we can see or expect it to be deficient in.
I think the plant can do a better job of it if I try to interfere less.

What I've read and studied over the past several years, fits in with my experience. That is, that the life in that soil reaches a state of balance with the plant growing in it.

A slow methodical method of feeding the soil by top dressing with minerals and organic matter and not disturbing the soil bed, well the soil just improves as time goes on.

I have read on forums how the soil will eventually deplete, I I would suspect it would eventually. I haven't hit that yet.

Soil test is in order. I'll post the results of the old soil I have.

 

[questor]

Oh yeah Gazoo, in veg, the plants are in 1g on a saucer, and i did the drench by fully dunking in a pail.
Then letting her get almost dry, before the next drench. Just as Doc says.
This DOES promote a good root structure. I think that's very important in that stage of growth.

One more thing, stick with Docs method for using his kit. I just like learning and testing the things I learn.

 

[Doc Bud]

So, yeah, salts are minerals, and we amend minerals to our soil. I get that without having to know all the science behind it.
I guess when I hear salts, I think of the synthetic nutes the grow stores sell. The kind that are readily plant available.

The minerals in my old 10 run Coots soil would for the most part just sit in the dirt, locked up unless some fungi and bacteria came Along and ate it. Then they either die or get eaten, and so forth.
The plant itself directs and influences what nutrient and minerals the soil life will deliver to it. Certainly we could do that, based on observation and experience, supply the plant with what we can see or expect it to be deficient in.
I think the plant can do a better job of it if I try to interfere less.

What I've read and studied over the past several years, fits in with my experience. That is, that the life in that soil reaches a state of balance with the plant growing in it.

A slow methodical method of feeding the soil by top dressing with minerals and organic matter and not disturbing the soil bed, well the soil just improves as time goes on.

I have read on forums how the soil will eventually deplete, I I would suspect it would eventually. I haven't hit that yet.

Soil test is in order. I'll post the results of the old soil I have.

Yep. The thing about "chemical" nutes is that they're merely salts....the "end game" of the soil-food web. Calcium Nitrate is a salt....it's also organic and found in chicken manure. Magnesium sulfate is a salt...is organic....and is called Epsom Salt. Calcium Sulfate is another naturally occuring salt....Gypsum. Then there's Calcium Phosphate....Soft Rock Phosphate.

But don't stop there! Ammonium sulfate is also found naturally in volcanic soil. Ammonium phosphate also occurs in natural deposits.

My gear contains all of those "salts." The Tea product comes from naturally occurring humate deposits....and as the humic acids react with the minerals....salts.

And organic fertilizer often contains high amounts of salts, especially compost and manures.

So yeah....they build up over time and must be dealt with.

 

[questor]

That real interesting.
I can't wait to have those soils tests done to see has built up and what has depleted.
Wish I went to college as a youngster.

 

[Doc Bud]

That real interesting.
I can't wait to have those soils tests done to see has built up and what has depleted.
Wish I went to college as a youngster.

I just got done smoking half a joint of unusually good Paki so I'm thinking big....but with a short attention span.

Your grow style is intriguing and interesting for a number of reasons, but the one gallon pot thing makes a ton of sense in a raised bed setting. A great big one.

A couple things concern me, but mostly, barring unknown factors, doing what you do on a large scale is very attractive. Mixing, cooking, potting and recycling soil is hard work. Carrying pots around is also quite physical, which I actually enjoy, but....it takes time and not everyone can do it. A raised bed that you can pop gallon cans on and off of is elegant and efficient.....barring unknown and other factors.

These unknown factors require soil tests! It sounds as if you like Logan. Obviously, I prefer the lab I work with. Why not get the soil tested both places and compare the results, follow both recommendations side by side with clones?

If you're interested, please PM me. This is just the sort of thing I want to see more of. I've been developing and improving my products for a few years but don't feel even close to being "done." New applications and creative growers are the way forward out of prohibition style growing. There's a lot we don't know....but we do know some things.
Thanks for sharing it.

 

[Gazoo]

Oh yeah Gazoo, in veg, the plants are in 1g on a saucer, and i did the drench by fully dunking in a pail.
Then letting her get almost dry, before the next drench. Just as Doc says.
This DOES promote a good root structure. I think that's very important in that stage of growth.

One more thing, stick with Docs method for using his kit. I just like learning and testing the things I learn.

No plans to change what I have going on at the moment, but always want to Listen, learn and question
when its something I have not seen.

Thanks for responding

 

[Cannatard]

Re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Chocorilla. Found a single seed on a GG#4. There was a chocolope in the room with a few male flowers late in the cycle....back in the corner where they always are....that one seed turned out female.....and here you see Chocorilla.

Testing this harvest.

God dang!!!! That's pretty amazing Doc

 

[JustMeds]

Questor do you have a journal?

 

[questor]

Questor do you have a journal?

No journal. I probably should instead of cluttering up Doc's thread here.

 

[Cannatard]

No journal. I probably should instead of cluttering up Doc's thread here.

So long as the clutter is about the kit, its all good. Different methods and theories are how the kit was tweaked years ago by the OG users

 

[JustMeds]

No journal. I probably should instead of cluttering up Doc's thread here.

If what you are doing is about the KIT I don't think DOC minds. They do give a place to look back on for a time line of things, makes it interesting. I got 2 of DOCS normal kits then went and order a bulk kit with some extra's. I like to play around and I will never blame DOC or his kit for any of my oops's and I am sure I will have some. I did not put HB in my title as I don't want anyone following what I do thinking it is the correct way. If you start a journal I will be there, just saying I like the out of box thinking.

 

[JustMeds]

Doc,

I seen you done a drive through on my journal. Your input is always welcome. It's a big box and I like it when the lid is left open a crack.

 

[Doc Bud]

Doc,

I seen you done a drive through on my journal. Your input is always welcome. It's a big box and I like it when the lid is left open a crack.

You're doing some fun stuff over there and the plants look good!