How to get started growing indoors organically - No bottles

[SweetSue]

BB, you had me laughing all over that post. That felt good. I have never bothered to inoculate the soil with local forest floor fungi. I should do that at some point. I also have about a cu yd of LOS in reserve until I get another light and I'm thinking an order of worms dumped into there might be a good thing.

What do you think?

 

[Radogast]

I imagine it is better to take your forest soil from a clearing than from under trees. The mycorrhizal relationship with trees is based on fungal hyphae that enter the root cells(endomycorrhizal) where as most plants an herbs are fed by fungal hyphae that encapsulate the roots (ectomycorrhizal hyphae.) There is a lot of fungal activity in the earth (think mushrooms), and the Glomus intracides that cannabis loves will eventually outcompete all the other fungus, enter the roots, and encapsulate the cells, but it will take longer where it has to compete with other species. Where the less desired (or in the case of trees wrong) fungus is dominant, it will take a couple more weeks to firmly establish. In this case, innoculation with a single fungus, glomus intracides, provides the best results.

Any living soil, anywhere on the planet, will make a good tea innoculant.
Soil with less trees and less "weeds" (they don't establish a mycorrhizae relationship) will be better.
Glomus intracides, the world's most successful mycorrhizal fungus, is best.

They are ALL good

 

[SweetSue]

Thank you for the clarification Rad. I will find a suitable clearing when I get to this point.

I appreciate the careful diplomatic wording of that post. All are good, some more so for our purposes. Reps.

 

[TheRoach]

This is a great post, it will take me a few day to read all of this information. Thank you so much guys for sharing this wealth of knowledge!

 

[GhostGrows]

Thanks for the great info, looking forward to reading through the entire thread!

 

[uhewekguilw]

Have to sub to this thread so I can bookmark it for when I have the chance to read it all. Great thread CoOrg. Thanks!

 

[LungButter420]

sub'd and bookmarked, another great read.

is there a recommended endo myco product or will it naturally grow in the SFW?

 

[SweetSue]

I use this one.

I chose it because it's only Glomus, which work best with cannabis.

Info from the site where I purchased mine:

Granular
4 oz = 27 Teaspoons = 9 Tablespoons
Packaged in easy scoop white jar
4 Species Endo-Mycorrhizae (Glomus intraradices, G. mosseae, G. aggregatum, G. etunicatum)
60,000 Propagules/lb

If I can find it in a powder form that's how I'll order it from now on. I add to the root area when transplanting or to the soil where the seed is being dropped.

 

[LungButter420]

I use this one. I chose it because it's only Glomus, which work best with cannabis. Info from the site where I purchased mine: Granular 4 oz = 27 Teaspoons = 9 Tablespoons Packaged in easy scoop white jar 4 Species Endo-Mycorrhizae (Glomus intraradices, G. mosseae, G. aggregatum, G. etunicatum) 60,000 Propagules/lb If I can find it in a powder form that's how I'll order it from now on. I add to the root area when transplanting or to the soil where the seed is being dropped.

Thanks sue! I noticed rootnaturally.com also has a soluble endo myco with the same 4 glomus varieties which I linked below. I noticed this had a little more than twice the propagules per pound when compared to the granular version you pictured. Would this be beneficial to the plant or is there any reason you chose rootnaturly's granular version over their soluble version?

 

[bobrown14]

I imagine it is better to take your forest soil from a clearing than from under trees.

Any living soil, anywhere on the planet, will make a good tea innoculant.
Soil with less trees and less "weeds" (they don't establish a mycorrhizae relationship) will be better.
Glomus intracides, the world's most successful mycorrhizal fungus, is best.

They are ALL good

The main reason for mentioning going to the woods is 2 fold.

1) its going to be WAY better than anything you can buy in a bag. (not everyone has a worm bin)

2) Variety - locally found will be the most sustainable AND you get a good variety of microbes/fungi.

I make compost and compost teas for more than just canna plants and feel the canna plants do not need anything special or different from our other plants in our garden.

I look at it like cloning... you have all the same exact strain via clones and something bad happens, its going to happen to ALL of the clones. So variety is a very good thing for long term health of soil and plants.

 

[TinkerFarms]

Just wanted to chime in as I am also trying to grow organically no bottles

 

[Radogast]

Just wanted to chime in as I am also trying to grow organically no bottles

Welcome. That's a nice chime. Highs and lows in tune.

 

[SweetSue]

Thanks sue! I noticed rootnaturally.com also has a soluble endo myco with the same 4 glomus varieties which I linked below. I noticed this had a little more than twice the propagules per pound when compared to the granular version you pictured. Would this be beneficial to the plant or is there any reason you chose rootnaturly's granular version over their soluble version?

6oz/$16 Soluble Endo Mycorrhizae

I chose it by mistake, in a rush and without paying close attention. . I'm using it and it's doing what I intended, but if I'd taken more time I'd have gotten something along the lines of what you're linking to. When it runs out I'll be purchasing something else.

I was a brand new gardener then.

 

[LungButter420]

was curious as to what you all thought of Organic coconut palm nectar/syrup? I've heard good things about using coconut for foliar sprays, IIRC, and the syrup is high in sugar like molasses, so it's kind of like a combo of each? I was thinking it may be good in a tea. What do you guys think? Do microbes love this stuff as much as they love molasses?

LB 420

Coconut palm nectar/syrup: Organic Coconut Palm Syrup | Wholesome!

 

[Conradino23]

Ok, now I know that not everybody gets it but neither cannabis nor any other plant uptake sugars! That's why they have sun, water and soil to produce them! Molasses in soil will be eaten by bacteria but they'll just eat it mostly, that's it! They won't contribute much to the plant that way cause root exudates (look it up!) will stop being secreted. Don't add molasses it's waste of time! They won't make your buds sweeter, and I'm speaking from experience. The only way to do it is to manipulate the cation channels, which is working on the chemistry of your medium.

 

[LungButter420]

Ok, now I know that not everybody gets it but neither cannabis nor any other plant uptake sugars! That's why they have sun, water and soil to produce them! Molasses in soil will be eaten by bacteria but they'll just eat it mostly, that's it! They won't contribute much to the plant that way cause root exudates (look it up!) will stop being secreted. Don't add molasses it's waste of time! They won't make your buds sweeter, and I'm speaking from experience. The only way to do it is to manipulate the cation channels, which is working on the chemistry of your medium.

I wouldn't use molasses or the coconut syrup directly in the soil, I was more considering brewing it in a tea to help the bacteria/fungi multiply. Wouldn't any source of food be good if we're trying to multiply numbers in an AACT? and I know the plants need the soil, sun, and water, and I've heard nothing but good things about tea's for soil enhancement.

I just recently saw Dr. Ingham;s website doesn't have molasses in her tea recipes, although microbeman has it in his and says
"black strap molasses works for the simple process of multiplying bacteria/archaea & fungi." Are you saying molasses stops root exudates from being secreted? I've seen it in so many different tea recipes I figured it was probably a solid ingredient..

still curious if anyone has tried coconut syrup in a AACT though and what their results were like..

Dr. Inghams : Compost Tea Recipe
MicrobeMan's : Microbe Organics

LB420

 

[uhewekguilw]

I'm going to try organic raw agave nectar. Good source of calcium and shouldn't hurt the microbes.
Also molasses is a source of magnesium for your plants.
GB80

 

[Conradino23]

Dr. Ingham is as good as it gets, I'd follow this recipe

 

[ClosedCircuit]

I use this one.

I chose it because it's only Glomus, which work best with cannabis.

Info from the site where I purchased mine:

Granular
4 oz = 27 Teaspoons = 9 Tablespoons
Packaged in easy scoop white jar
4 Species Endo-Mycorrhizae (Glomus intraradices, G. mosseae, G. aggregatum, G. etunicatum)
60,000 Propagules/lb

If I can find it in a powder form that's how I'll order it from now on. I add to the root area when transplanting or to the soil where the seed is being dropped.

Awesome!!! I'm glad someone else around here is using root naturally products. I have recommended there mycho to a few people on here...cant remember if you were one of them Sue.

 

[ClosedCircuit]

I wouldn't use molasses or the coconut syrup directly in the soil, I was more considering brewing it in a tea to help the bacteria/fungi multiply. Wouldn't any source of food be good if we're trying to multiply numbers in an AACT? and I know the plants need the soil, sun, and water, and I've heard nothing but good things about tea's for soil enhancement.

I just recently saw Dr. Ingham;s website doesn't have molasses in her tea recipes, although microbeman has it in his and says
"black strap molasses works for the simple process of multiplying bacteria/archaea & fungi." Are you saying molasses stops root exudates from being secreted? I've seen it in so many different tea recipes I figured it was probably a solid ingredient..

still curious if anyone has tried coconut syrup in a AACT though and what their results were like..

Dr. Inghams : Compost Tea Recipe
MicrobeMan's : Microbe Organics

LB420

Alot of people on the internet seem to think sugar is a nutrient for plants that can be absorbed through the roots. I have had borderline arguments with people trying to tell them otherwise. Its purely just a additive which helps to multiply microbial life. It does nothing for the plants. That's what conradino is getting at.