Kush&Cookies Organic Living Soil, Mars Fce 6500

[Stunger]

Barley
This was recommended to me by several organic growing as a must for any living soil mix. It's said it will add a healthy balance phosphatase, chitinse, ur ease, protease, amylese. It's said that these enzymes will help microbs break down matter into nutrients. ( how fascinating is the soil web web)

Hey Gaz, nice start. I'm not an indoor grower but I do favour LOS. I presume you're using a Diastatic (malted) Barley as that will have a lot of those enzymes.

I placed 2 seeds into cup of water 15 days ago. The Kush&cookies split very quickly, and the other GSC didn't split at all.. Should of done few to be sure ( first mistake lol)
I put another GSC into cup of water and it split few days later. Much to my annonice though this has now caused a growth gap in the 2 plants. And considering the Kush&cookies has about 10days longer flowering time than GSC, argghh!! I absolutely hate the idea of staggered harvests.

Having 2 plants does offer you a choice to smoke when the time comes, as well as a fall back if a disaster strikes the other one. Wouldn't you be able to 'flip' both plants at the same time and harvest together, unless they have wildly different flowering times, altho not being an indoor grower it could be a silly question.

On mulch; I am a big fan of it as it allows the roots to reach to the top and make full use. Without mulch (as I grow outdoors), I find the top 2 inches will be bare and rather lifeless. But with mulch I have loads of worms chilling out underneath it while they contribute goodness to the soil and hundreds of fine roots going right to the top. I had been using Pea straw, altho I got Pea and Barley Straw this time as that was what was available. I guess even ripped brown paper or corrugated cardboard would work too, as that is what I use as a 'worm blanket' in my worm farm, which they eventually consume as they produce worm castings.

Anyway, you've got them safely underway and they're looking good, so just keep doing what you're doing!

 

[StoneOtter]

Nice to see you're back at it Gaz! Love the LOS! I agree with Nuna but I'm using True Living Organics by The Rev as a guide. Kind of the same but smaller maybe? If it's LOS it's fine by me! Glad to see you! And grow them both, It's only a week of your life. This is important!

 

[cbdhemp808]

so who is going to spot the little easter egg I put in one of my photos

Is it the levitating pot?

 

[cbdhemp808]

@gazmufc I also use organic, custom-made soil mixture. Thanks for sharing yours... some interesting ideas there. I add high-quality coir to my mix, and also perlite. I also add biochar if I have some.

 

[Stunger]

Is it the levitating pot?

Perhaps it is indicating a tipping point on George Orwell's words?

 

[cbdhemp808]

Perhaps it is indicating a tipping point on George Orwell's words?

I think you're onto something there! The cow is somehow important, too.

 

[gazmufc]

@gazmufc I also use organic, custom-made soil mixture. Thanks for sharing yours... some interesting ideas there. I add high-quality coir to my mix, and also perlite. I also add biochar if I have some.

Hey, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Yeah I'm fascinated by living soil, this my first time so just wanted to keep it simple and use amendments. The company I found are relatively new, and come well recommended. I'm going to post the feeding schedule they recommend when I get home later and see what you think.
In the coming months I'm gonna get a compost barrel that you can turn. Il start making my own soil then.

I've white clover seeds ordered. Also order some buckwheat and phesicla. The later 2 are great for adding bulk cover when cut. They also have deep roots which will add to keeping the soil airated. Need to collect some worms as well.

 

[gazmufc]

Perhaps it is indicating a tipping point on George Orwell's words?

We have a winner
yes the 1984 book was the Easter egg lol my favourite book!
A thought a was going to get a little stick for the Easter egg, good to see yous come see the funny side of
it...

 

[gazmufc]

Nice to see you're back at it Gaz! Love the LOS! I agree with Nuna but I'm using True Living Organics by The Rev as a guide. Kind of the same but smaller maybe? If it's LOS it's fine by me! Glad to see you! And grow them both, It's only a week of your life. This is important!

Hey Otter
Thanks for popping in. Yeah I'm very happy to be back at it, took me a little longer to get the light. Still havnt got everything I want just yet. But no way was I going to leave the light in the box for another 8 weeks while I save for the rest of the equipment. Wasted time that.
Yeah I'm defo doing both plants now, I've even organised a spare tent from my friend if come harevt time it's a week early. No big deal, il be glad of the extra strain. My god I'm already starting to think of what I want to grow next grow
Super excited to see this come along. And very grateful for all the experienced grower like yourself who have stopped by to help along the way, I up potted both plants last nte, will be posting a wee update later, have u anything going on at the moment?

 

[gazmufc]

Good morning @gazmufc hope your having a good day my friend.
As @Nunyabiz mentioned a Lux meter will help with your light.
Just turn it up 10% every few days and watch for issues.
If they react poorly turn it back a bit.
60 rh is perfect don't worry about that.
Have you got grow bags for when it's time to up pot?

Stay safe
Bill

Hey Bill, I got rid of all the flammable materials, I'm now jacking up the GSC with a glass bowl. Yikes man, I just noticed all your awards. Very well done indeed. They don't come easy I know that for a fact. Im gonna have to check out your award winning grows when I have more spare time at work tomorrow

 

[StoneOtter]

Hey Otter
Thanks for popping in. Yeah I'm very happy to be back at it, took me a little longer to get the light. Still havnt got everything I want just yet. But no way was I going to leave the light in the box for another 8 weeks while I save for the rest of the equipment. Wasted time that.
Yeah I'm defo doing both plants now, I've even organised a spare tent from my friend if come harevt time it's a week early. No big deal, il be glad of the extra strain. My god I'm already starting to think of what I want to grow next grow
Super excited to see this come along. And very grateful for all the experienced grower like yourself who have stopped by to help along the way, I up potted both plants last nte, will be posting a wee update later, have u anything going on at the moment?

Why just yesterday I cut the last of the grow. The journal link is below with the beating heart if you want to check it out. Anytime you need anything just @StoneOtter me and I'll see it(most likely) and visit.

 

[gazmufc]

Why just yesterday I cut the last of the grow. The journal link is below with the beating heart if you want to check it out. Anytime you need anything just @StoneOtter me and I'll see it(most likely) and visit.

Nice one mate. Wedding cake that's the nicest smoke I've ever had. Only had it once, we don't get any choice where i live. I had ordered wedding cake but they didn't come in time. Next grow for sure. Gonna check out your journal, Thansk for the link ...

 

[gazmufc]

Hey guys. Transplanted both plants into 1.5g pots yesterday. Wasn't that impressed with root structure. Was a bit there, but I know it's down to incorrect climate conditions.

Humidity is much more stable now. I inoculated both root systems with mycorrhizal fungi. I used product called great white. Which contain Iver 100 different fungi species.
Have also ordered some white clover will be sowing them tomorrow to act as crop cover and to fixate N.
Will have to pick up some worms.

I've got the 3g pots cooking at the moment for the next transition. Hopefully in about 2 weeks. Be nice if a could get a good cover of clover and some worms in it few weeks before. The first 3g pot mix will be cooking for 4 weeks by then.

Should be time enough according to the manufacturer for the soil food web to be functioning properly. Really looking forward to getting them in the final veg pots to start pushing them on.
Will probably start cooking the soil for the flowering stage this wknd. I intend finishing them in 8g pots. Two 8g pots should be a nice fit for the 4x4. I'm aiming to fill the tent out with a scrog. Been watching a lot of videos in that part of the process. Rellay looking forward to trying it for the Fort time.
Just a few wee pics, they not much to look at at the moment. Will check back in few weeks when they've come on a bit.

 

[gazmufc]

Kush&cookies genetics

 

[Nunyabiz]

I am going to give my take on transplanting while using a LOS.

IMO, in a 4x4 the ideal pot size would be a 3x3 fabric bed.
2nd choice two 30 gallon fabric pots.
3rd choice two 20 gallon
The smallest I would use is four 15 gallon fabric pots.

And whatever size pot you use you're much better off if you get the plant into it asap so the mycorrhazae have time to meld with the root system.

There needs to be roots in the soil for the mycorrhazae to germinate.
Everytime you dig into that soil you destroy the microscopic filaments.
It can take a month for the mycorrhazae to colonize a root system even longer if the soil temp is below 70⁰F.
The mycorrhazae can actually feed the plant more than the plants roots themselves.
The roots of the plant only feed from the root tips and those root hairs and tips are not even 1"
The mycorrhazal filaments can be 2 feet long and take in nutrients and water the entire length.
Plus they can access both soluble and insoluble nutrients whereas the plants root tips can only use soluble nutrients.

So its pretty critical to get full colonization of the roots as quick as possible.
The best way to do that is to really just plant the germinated seed that was germinated in an 80⁰ water bath with mycorrhazae inoculate in the water so the mycorrhazae has attached itself to the tap root at germination.
Then plant that germinated seed directly into your final pot be it 3x3, 30 gal or whatever.

The only glitch can sometimes be that when you have a very active soil, lots of worms and rove beetles etc then the worms undermine the tap root making the seedling fall over and oddly rove beetles will eat the cotyledons on a seedling, never touch anything else just the cotyledons.
So in my soil I start my seedlings in a solo cup separated from the main pot for 7 to 10 days.
As soon as the roots reach the bottom of the solo cup I transplant, thats usually when the first two leaves just start to hang over the edge of the solo cup.
That way there's plenty of roots to hold the plant up as the worms tunnel under and the cotyledons have already done their job.
I soak the seed in the mycorrhazae inoculate and water with mycorrhazae, then dust the transplant hole with mycorrhazae inoculate and also with Optiveg which helps speed up inoculation.
Watering is no problem in a proper soil and your roots grow like crazy, but more importantly your mycorrhazae colonize your root system quicker and they supply more water and nutrients to the plant than the roots do.

So if you really want to take the most advantage of LOS then use the largest pots you can manage, min of 15 gal.
Get cover crop roots into soil 2 weeks prior to starting cannabis seeds, and either directly plant germinated and inoculated seed into final pot or if super active soil just start seedling in solo cup for up to 10 days max then transplant into final pot.

Keep soil temp above 70⁰
Keep moist, basically at field capacity at all times.
Add as much dissolved oxygen as you can to the root zone.
Use the largest pot you can manage.

Do NOT add any soluble plant available nutrients especially if high in phosphorus to the soil this will slow down mycorrhazae colonization.

 

[StoneOtter]

Nice one mate. Wedding cake that's the nicest smoke I've ever had. Only had it once, we don't get any choice where i live. I had ordered wedding cake but they didn't come in time. Next grow for sure. Gonna check out your journal, Thansk for the link ...

Good to hear! I haven't tried them yet.

 

[gazmufc]

I am going to give my take on transplanting while using a LOS.

IMO, in a 4x4 the ideal pot size would be a 3x3 fabric bed.
2nd choice two 30 gallon fabric pots.
3rd choice two 20 gallon
The smallest I would use is four 15 gallon fabric pots.

And whatever size pot you use you're much better off if you get the plant into it asap so the mycorrhazae have time to meld with the root system.

There needs to be roots in the soil for the mycorrhazae to germinate.
Everytime you dig into that soil you destroy the microscopic filaments.
It can take a month for the mycorrhazae to colonize a root system even longer if the soil temp is below 70⁰F.
The mycorrhazae can actually feed the plant more than the plants roots themselves.
The roots of the plant only feed from the root tips and those root hairs and tips are not even 1"
The mycorrhazal filaments can be 2 feet long and take in nutrients and water the entire length.
Plus they can access both soluble and insoluble nutrients whereas the plants root tips can only use soluble nutrients.

So its pretty critical to get full colonization of the roots as quick as possible.
The best way to do that is to really just plant the germinated seed that was germinated in an 80⁰ water bath with mycorrhazae inoculate in the water so the mycorrhazae has attached itself to the tap root at germination.
Then plant that germinated seed directly into your final pot be it 3x3, 30 gal or whatever.

The only glitch can sometimes be that when you have a very active soil, lots of worms and rove beetles etc then the worms undermine the tap root making the seedling fall over and oddly rove beetles will eat the cotyledons on a seedling, never touch anything else just the cotyledons.
So in my soil I start my seedlings in a solo cup separated from the main pot for 7 to 10 days.
As soon as the roots reach the bottom of the solo cup I transplant, thats usually when the first two leaves just start to hang over the edge of the solo cup.
That way there's plenty of roots to hold the plant up as the worms tunnel under and the cotyledons have already done their job.
I soak the seed in the mycorrhazae inoculate and water with mycorrhazae, then dust the transplant hole with mycorrhazae inoculate and also with Optiveg which helps speed up inoculation.
Watering is no problem in a proper soil and your roots grow like crazy, but more importantly your mycorrhazae colonize your root system quicker and they supply more water and nutrients to the plant than the roots do.

So if you really want to take the most advantage of LOS then use the largest pots you can manage, min of 15 gal.
Get cover crop roots into soil 2 weeks prior to starting cannabis seeds, and either directly plant germinated and inoculated seed into final pot or if super active soil just start seedling in solo cup for up to 10 days max then transplant into final pot.

Keep soil temp above 70⁰
Keep moist, basically at field capacity at all times.
Add as much dissolved oxygen as you can to the root zone.
Use the largest pot you can manage.

Do NOT add any soluble plant available nutrients especially if high in phosphorus to the soil this will slow down mycorrhazae colonization.

I am going to give my take on transplanting while using a LOS.

IMO, in a 4x4 the ideal pot size would be a 3x3 fabric bed.
2nd choice two 30 gallon fabric pots.
3rd choice two 20 gallon
The smallest I would use is four 15 gallon fabric pots.

And whatever size pot you use you're much better off if you get the plant into it asap so the mycorrhazae have time to meld with the root system.

There needs to be roots in the soil for the mycorrhazae to germinate.
Everytime you dig into that soil you destroy the microscopic filaments.
It can take a month for the mycorrhazae to colonize a root system even longer if the soil temp is below 70⁰F.
The mycorrhazae can actually feed the plant more than the plants roots themselves.
The roots of the plant only feed from the root tips and those root hairs and tips are not even 1"
The mycorrhazal filaments can be 2 feet long and take in nutrients and water the entire length.
Plus they can access both soluble and insoluble nutrients whereas the plants root tips can only use soluble nutrients.

So its pretty critical to get full colonization of the roots as quick as possible.
The best way to do that is to really just plant the germinated seed that was germinated in an 80⁰ water bath with mycorrhazae inoculate in the water so the mycorrhazae has attached itself to the tap root at germination.
Then plant that germinated seed directly into your final pot be it 3x3, 30 gal or whatever.

The only glitch can sometimes be that when you have a very active soil, lots of worms and rove beetles etc then the worms undermine the tap root making the seedling fall over and oddly rove beetles will eat the cotyledons on a seedling, never touch anything else just the cotyledons.
So in my soil I start my seedlings in a solo cup separated from the main pot for 7 to 10 days.
As soon as the roots reach the bottom of the solo cup I transplant, thats usually when the first two leaves just start to hang over the edge of the solo cup.
That way there's plenty of roots to hold the plant up as the worms tunnel under and the cotyledons have already done their job.
I soak the seed in the mycorrhazae inoculate and water with mycorrhazae, then dust the transplant hole with mycorrhazae inoculate and also with Optiveg which helps speed up inoculation.
Watering is no problem in a proper soil and your roots grow like crazy, but more importantly your mycorrhazae colonize your root system quicker and they supply more water and nutrients to the plant than the roots do.

So if you really want to take the most advantage of LOS then use the largest pots you can manage, min of 15 gal.
Get cover crop roots into soil 2 weeks prior to starting cannabis seeds, and either directly plant germinated and inoculated seed into final pot or if super active soil just start seedling in solo cup for up to 10 days max then transplant into final pot.

Keep soil temp above 70⁰
Keep moist, basically at field capacity at all times.
Add as much dissolved oxygen as you can to the root zone.
Use the largest pot you can manage.

Do NOT add any soluble plant available nutrients especially if high in phosphorus to the soil this will slow down mycorrhazae colonization.

Hey Nun thank you very much for the detailed explanation. Certainly a lot for me to consider. You're understanding of living soils is on another level. This is why I'm here.

At the moment havnt got much spare cash after spending almost 1k so far. Am hoping the amendments I have now will get me through.
I've clover seed orderd, and getting worms tomorrow.
Defo next grow gonna get a 3x3 fabric bed and be building my soil months in advance.
Gonna get one of those barrel compost bins that u can turn and make my own soil. How many worms should I add into 3g pots?
Wud it be best to add 3-5 small ones, or 1 - 2 bigger ones?

I can't understand how some growers get such good results and they don't use worms or cover crops. Can't understand how their root systems and plants are so healthy and their results are so good. Do u know that Canadian dude " Mr canuks"? He has YT channel.

He uses gia organic amendments, ( I cudnt get them in eu) puts the mycrorrizal on the root systems, and then feeds organic amendments every 2 weeks until 4 weeks before harvest. That's literally it,
. he just bubbles his water and lowers pH to between 6.5 -. 6.8.. Dude gets sick results. Like nearly every grow 600+ grams from a 650w light. Check out the roots when he transplants from veg pot to flower pot. So dense and healthy looking. Can the quality of the organic amendments substitute for lack of oxygen?

What about PH the water, ive seen a lot of people say u don't need to when using living soil, then some say u its still best to bring it down to 6.5, Which way to run

Here is a link to the feeding schedules the company provides, this the company I got the living organic amendments from. Just curious to hear what u think. This is all I have for now for feeding. My wages are gone for the next few months. No more spare money for dad's hobby

Not sure if allowed to share links. It's just to the feeding schedule of the amendments. If not allowed I can remove it...
Thanks in advance..

Dry Amendments - Living Soils Feed Charts

The nutrients in living soils dry amendments are released over time as they are mineralised by the microbes in your substrate. The feeding regime for both photoperiod and autoflower plants should be really easy to follow and understand. We provide charts for soil and coco based on a 20l pot size

livingsoilsfertiliser.com

 

[Nunyabiz]

Hey Nun thank you very much for the detailed explanation. Certainly a lot for me to consider. You're understanding of living soils is on another level. This is why I'm here.

At the moment havnt got much spare cash after spending almost 1k so far. Am hoping the amendments I have now will get me through.
I've clover seed orderd, and getting worms tomorrow.
Defo next grow gonna get a 3x3 fabric bed and be building my soil months in advance.
Gonna get one of those barrel compost bins that u can turn and make my own soil. How many worms should I add into 3g pots?
Wud it be best to add 3-5 small ones, or 1 - 2 bigger ones?

I can't understand how some growers get such good results and they don't use worms or cover crops. Can't understand how their root systems and plants are so healthy and their results are so good. Do u know that Canadian dude " Mr canuks"? He has YT channel.

He uses gia organic amendments, ( I cudnt get them in eu) puts the mycrorrizal on the root systems, and then feeds organic amendments every 2 weeks until 4 weeks before harvest. That's literally it,
. he just bubbles his water and lowers pH to between 6.5 -. 6.8.. Dude gets sick results. Like nearly every grow 600+ grams from a 650w light. Check out the roots when he transplants from veg pot to flower pot. So dense and healthy looking. Can the quality of the organic amendments substitute for lack of oxygen?

What about PH the water, ive seen a lot of people say u don't need to when using living soil, then some say u its still best to bring it down to 6.5, Which way to run

Here is a link to the feeding schedules the company provides, this the company I got the living organic amendments from. Just curious to hear what u think. This is all I have for now for feeding. My wages are gone for the next few months. No more spare money for dad's hobby

Not sure if allowed to share links. It's just to the feeding schedule of the amendments. If not allowed I can remove it...
Thanks in advance..

Dry Amendments - Living Soils Feed Charts

The nutrients in living soils dry amendments are released over time as they are mineralised by the microbes in your substrate. The feeding regime for both photoperiod and autoflower plants should be really easy to follow and understand. We provide charts for soil and coco based on a 20l pot size

livingsoilsfertiliser.com

Yeah I've seen Mr Canucks.
If you're in 20+ gallon pots of good LOS then pH should be stabilized by the soil.
I assume he is getting some dissolved oxygen in his water from bubbling.
I just check my water once in awhile just to make sure its not consistently really high or low.
As long as its between 5.8 to 7.4 the soil should take care of it.

You can get good results just about anyway.
I had a friend of mine that during the year would collect seeds from everyone, this was back when weed had seeds, he would have a huge bag and in the spring he would dump them all into the water from a bridge out in middle of nowhere.
The stream carries the seeds for a long distance and as summer approaches there's less and less water then in fall he would grab a backpack and hike downstream for the day hunting plants.
Would always fill the backpack with bud, he obviously did nothing whatsoever but dump and harvest.

As far as worms in tiny pots, they might stay in there if conditions are perfect but they have a tendency to crawl out of small pots.
Just toss two in there any size see what happens.

Those amendments sound pretty decent overall.

 

[StoneOtter]

Yeah I've seen Mr Canucks.
If you're in 20+ gallon pots of good LOS then pH should be stabilized by the soil.
I assume he is getting some dissolved oxygen in his water from bubbling.
I just check my water once in awhile just to make sure its not consistently really high or low.
As long as its between 5.8 to 7.4 the soil should take care of it.

You can get good results just about anyway.
I had a friend of mine that during the year would collect seeds from everyone, this was back when weed had seeds, he would have a huge bag and in the spring he would dump them all into the water from a bridge out in middle of nowhere.
The stream carries the seeds for a long distance and as summer approaches there's less and less water then in fall he would grab a backpack and hike downstream for the day hunting plants.
Would always fill the backpack with bud, he obviously did nothing whatsoever but dump and harvest.

As far as worms in tiny pots, they might stay in there if conditions are perfect but they have a tendency to crawl out of small pots.
Just toss two in there any size see what happens.

Those amendments sound pretty decent overall.

That's one of the best gorilla stories!

 

[gazmufc]

Yeah I've seen Mr Canucks.
If you're in 20+ gallon pots of good LOS then pH should be stabilized by the soil.
I assume he is getting some dissolved oxygen in his water from bubbling.
I just check my water once in awhile just to make sure its not consistently really high or low.
As long as its between 5.8 to 7.4 the soil should take care of it.

You can get good results just about anyway.
I had a friend of mine that during the year would collect seeds from everyone, this was back when weed had seeds, he would have a huge bag and in the spring he would dump them all into the water from a bridge out in middle of nowhere.
The stream carries the seeds for a long distance and as summer approaches there's less and less water then in fall he would grab a backpack and hike downstream for the day hunting plants.
Would always fill the backpack with bud, he obviously did nothing whatsoever but dump and harvest.

As far as worms in tiny pots, they might stay in there if conditions are perfect but they have a tendency to crawl out of small pots.
Just toss two in there any size see what happens.

Those amendments sound pretty decent overall.

Thanks, and yeah very interesting way that of growing outdoors. I have a few wee rivers around me that would be perfect. Would have to get a strain that does well in cooler climates though. Would be nice walking along the river bank harvesting wild weed. I wonder if u planted males as well, once the cross bred. Would the resulting stain be then more suited to that local climate? Ud probably need to plant a shit load of the first generation seeds, and then pick the best phenos from that. But after time would the stain get better for growting in my local climate? Is that they way plant breading works.