SoilGirl's Organic In & Out Journal 2015

[Robert Celt]

Hi SoilGirl

You have just partially answered something I have been wondering about concerning "no-till"...what do you do with the roots of the harvested plant

You mention removing the "immediate root ball". What do you consider immediate?

This is Big Mamma's stump (THC Bomb) about the size of a beer can. She is in a 20" diameter fabric pot of my organic super soil and set 18" in the ground. Things WILL freeze here over the winter, will this affect the mycorrhizals in the soil? And how much of the roots should I try to remove? Some of them are quite big roots.

Thanks

 

[veinz]

thanks for the cover crop guide
you rock

 

[SoilGirl]

Hi SoilGirl

You have just partially answered something I have been wondering about concerning "no-till"...what do you do with the roots of the harvested plant

You mention removing the "immediate root ball". What do you consider immediate?

This is Big Mamma's stump (THC Bomb) about the size of a beer can. She is in a 20" diameter fabric pot of my organic super soil and set 18" in the ground. Things WILL freeze here over the winter, will this affect the mycorrhizals in the soil? And how much of the roots should I try to remove? Some of them are quite big roots.


Thanks

Hi veinz, what a nice trunk you've grown! Well, for me, I usually leave a little stump sitting in there about 2 weeks, by then the old roots actually already are breaking down into the LOS, so I can just grab the stump, pull, and a few inches of the thicker roots will pop out in the center with a little dirt, perfect to put my next plant into. If I had to guess volume, usually just a few cubic inches.

If you can, I'd plant a cover crop in there and bring it inside for winter with a small light, keeping your first no till alive. Otherwise I'd bin it and then re cook the soil for about a month prior to planting with some nice leaves you could gather up this fall. Maybe add a few nice amendments, rock dusts... neem, crustacean and kelp meals... yum yum mix, whatever you can source locally or make yourself, guanos, composts, worm castings. Feel free to ask more anytime, hope that helps!

thanks for the cover crop guide
you rock

No problem hahaha, just the first thing that popped up when I searched "cover crops"

 

[SweetSue]

As an alternative, I cut the last plant right above the soil line and leave it there to rot naturally. I plant the next seed right into the pot as soon after harvest as possible, placing it off to the side of the last stump. I have yet to pull any stumps out, but then I don't transplant into mine. In fact, up until the other day when I went to plant some onion companions into the no-till, I hadn't dug into the soil more than a hole to drop the next seed into. The structure of my soil surprised me. Beautifully loamy and the perfect environment for good roots to develop.

I'm three cycles in and counting. It gets better every cycle. By better I mean the final product gets more potent. These no-tills are little powerhouses.

 

[veinz]

the first q was from thecelt but i hear ya

 

[SoilGirl]

Oops - sorry veinz + theCelt. I've been a bit jumbled up lately haha.

 

[Robert Celt]

No worries SoilGirl, I realized who you were meaning

 

[Radogast]

"Blue Blood - still looking pretty crappy, I'm kinda disappointed, probably just gonna make these buds into edibles or oils. Oh well. :\"

At 10% CBD with 15-20% THC, Blue Blood oil is the perfect prescription for my wife's Fibromyalgia and other people's Medical issues.

Blue Blood Oil is reportedly one of the best for arthritis and other high pain medical needs.

 

[SoilGirl]

That's why I originally got BB Rado, for my dad. just now that he's suddenly listening to total bs from his sisters (evangelical conservatives from out of state, not very open minded to anything 420 no matter how many studies get published touting medicinal properties; head-in-sand conservatives) and basically giving up on life, he doesn't want to use any. Blue Blood got worse so I cut it down and asked if he wanted to give it a shot yesterday, juicing, making oils, making edibles, anything. Nope, he won't have it, and he's not very effective at explaining why, but whatever. Can't shove medicine down his throat. I saved one branch for myself just as a safety stash for vapor in times of need, tossed the rest in compost. I just don't care about wasting it right now, it was low grade anyways. :\

I have some bad news about my dad.. about this time last week my dad and mom were fighting alot, and I wasn't around, something happened that really worsened his condition.
My mom is in a serious depression, understandably. If I had to guess, 90% or more of this month she's been in bed, and if you try and get her up and out of bed in her state, prepare for a ruthless verbal assault. (ahhh..my family.. isn't it charming how quick our emotions flare up?) She doesn't even talk to her friends anymore, its insane.
But back to the point, my dad got wasted on our porch after their fight, I was out late, and my mom hadn't budged from her comatose repose so when I got dropped off, I got to find my dad laying face down on our front steps with protracted tremors/seizures for god knows how long...hours at least.
well (kind of) lucky for me mr. fireman was there and went to work, had me call an ambulance, rushed to the hospital, got my mom up. Lovely way for him to meet my dad, who belligerently drunk, called him a beaner. Wow. Passed out on your midwestern porch next to a bottle of whiskey? Why not throw in a racial slur? Fuck my life.. -.- All he wanted was to turn him over and help, but my dad screamed and cried like some obnoxious baby when he did, and started to rant, and kept it up in front of everyone when they showed up..was an embarassment at the hospital, ugh. I am still floored just remembering it. Kinda wish mr. fireman was not there for that, although he helped.
Brain disease is fucking tough to be around guys let me tell you.. as much as you care about someone, they are basically lost to you no matter what. Now add serious drug + alcohol addiction to the equation, and all the prescriptions he's also taking, and you can begin to understand the mess he's in. Maybe I sound like I was unconcerned. I deal with things with black humor and an air of nonchalance. Rest assured that I've been doing everything I can for him, and I do love him. but part of me hates him so much for doing this to himself and us.
I want to control him and make him live right, but then he's not doing it for himself which begs the question.. why should he even be alive that way? I mean, with someone else doing all his living for him? He certainly seems to want it to end, maybe it just should.

Anyways. He's alive, not doing good though. We are concerned that he may well have Parkinson's. We met a good doctor, who gave us free treatment and thousands of dollars of medication for a major discount, since we're scraping by as is and as he so eloquently put it "I have a retirement plan and a big house. I don't need to take money from you." I hugged him. More doctors should value life above money.
Now, my dad's right hand never ceases to shake, and I mean really shake. When he walks with a cane, you can hear it rat-a-tat-tat on the floor. On the plus side for him, he now can keep a cocktail shaker in his hand while he's resting, and there it is, perfectly mixed when he opens his eyes! Too morose? Bite me. Like I said, this is how I deal. Maybe not the best way but I get by.
I honestly tried typing out this story a few times this week, didn't want to share it to keep drama minimal here, but drama and I seem to be constantly swimming around each other like those yin-yang moon fish spirits from the animated airbender show. Hard to keep something that permeates my whole existence out of a journal/forum I pour myself into.

Anyways, I'll do an update soon..ish. Sorry for the lapse. I've been pretty down and out. But I'll get back up, not gonna live in a coffin-bed like my mom. I neglected the plants a lot since the last updates though. I got a new window A/C unit but didn't care to get temps dialed in for the tent just wanted to sleep in a cool room - was down at a steady 60-65 deg F, which none of the plants are happy about. I added some worms to them today. Super Silver looks like absolute crap and all the other indoor plants are growing noticeably slower. They should be doing much better, but I didn't cook the soil, it's probably hot, and I put them under LED's very early despite my own experience telling me to start the first month under fluorescents, and I topped them at transplant. What a mess. Its pretty embarassing in there. Definitely not showing what I'm capable of indoors. But the outdoor plants are gorgeous and finally trichomes are everywhere. All the clones have rooted, I just need to transplant them still... Not sure exactly what days they rooted. Oh well..

Spent enough time on this monologue though. Gotta run. Hope my negative situation is counterbalancing some good energies your way. Only so much negative can go around right? Yeah, I hope. See ya.

P.S. I think its worth noting, my dad wasn't like that when I was little. Not a belligerent wasted racist.. Up until his work accident, he was actually becoming quite progressive. Since then, its like we're slowly watching him lose all the maturity we grew accustomed to in him, it's almost like hes aging backwards with the dementia; old racist views he used to share with his texan buddies but got over in my lifetime seem to be resurfacing. Its sad. Its not him. :\

 

[brightlight]

Been thinking about you SG...wondering where you've been. Thought maybe busy with Mr. Fireman & having lots of fun. But very sorry to hear about the family. Hope they get better soon. Your special spirit & good cheer always shines through...even when you're recounting not so great news. Hang in there. You have lots of 420 friends & supporters who miss you & your growing skills.

 

[CO Finest]

Sounds like you got your hands full. I love growing outdoors and mother nature takes care of the environment for me lol Indoors is where you learn what it takes to do mother natures job and then some. I hope all gets better for you and if you need anything please let me know I will do what I can to help. My little house in the springs should be done this week and we are going to be kicking back there for a week. Doors are open if you need a get away spot for a day or two to chill out. Take care and see ya around soon.

 

[Radogast]

hahaha Rado, for this batch I actually set a towel under one side of the tray (the side the clones are on) to raise it up so it would pool to the other side. I keep like a cm or 2 of water pooled on the other side. CO Finest has said its really important to keep the rockwool cubes/rooter plugs from sitting right in the water during rooting, they retain alot as is. For the first week of cloning I actually just let the cubes go through all that water they retain. Then I start swishing the water back and forth or using a little squirt bottle (like lots of restaurants use to make ketchup easier to squirt on hotdogs, etc) to wet the bottoms of one or 2 individuals without wetting the whole tray. Until first roots show its best not to flood the media. Once there are roots they're searching out moisture and in my experience aren't easy to overwater, I've had mine just sitting in it once rooted and they've gone crazy.

Thanks for asking Rado I'm glad you brought your curiosity with you, I probably should've shared all those little bits of info already to help newbie cloners. I try to get everything in but sometimes I skip a few things.

I'm doing it as you suggest

 

[Radogast]

SoilGirl, your gallows humor is just the ticket. It sucks to be part of your family. Your dad is no longer really your dad. Your mom is still your mom, but iving with someone with major depressing, may not be clinically depressing for you, but depressing your immune system and your joie de vivre, So that sucks too. - Then you are in that in between time where you are not on a career path and must stilll rely on parents - your parents.

Admitting life has truly sucky moments for you is the healthiest attitude you can take. I'm just waiting for the day you escape this larval stage and turn into a butterfly, or a badass Black Hawk helicopter gunship with heat seeking missles

 

[SweetSue]

Being part of a family can sometimes suck big time, and you got more than your share of frustration. I'm glad you shared it. I know you struggled with the decision, but like you said, we've been there with you before so why carry this alone Baby? The community is very healing. I think it's kind of like a secret weapon. We get to be honest about what's going on and that helps us find the solutions to deal with all the crap life throws at us.

The optimist in you is irrepressible. Your mom has had too much to deal with. She has to find her own way back. Yeah, depression sucks, but other than be there for her there's not a whole lot you can do for her.

It's got to be nice knowing you can dump it here and all we'll do is offer hugs.

 

[MysterySeeds]

Free Hugs!

It's got to be nice knowing you can dump it here and all we'll do is offer hugs.

 

[36Gr0w]

 

[bobrown14]

Hang in there SG - remember we cant pick our family.

YOU can change and make changes for you, it's very difficult to help others change specially if they do not want to change positively for themselves. You are not responsible for keeping or making them happy. You need to find your own happiness and be responsible for your happiness.

It is very hard to share your love, you seem to have plenty to go around so keep it up. Karma is all around you!

What the heck is a "beaner". My son's name is Ben and I call him beaner for a nick name - don't tell me I've been calling him a racial slur all his life?? Maybe I've been traumatizing him!

 

[Growlow]

I thought I was going through some ish! It's nothing compared to your plate SG! Sending love light and good vibes your way!

 

[Pigeons420]

Sending lots of love!

 

[Radogast]

Hang in there SG - remember we cant pick our family.

YOU can change and make changes for you, it's very difficult to help others change specially if they do not want to change positively for themselves. You are not responsible for keeping or making them happy. You need to find your own happiness and be responsible for your happiness.

It is very hard to share your love, you seem to have plenty to go around so keep it up. Karma is all around you!

What the heck is a "beaner". My son's name is Ben and I call him beaner for a nick name - don't tell me I've been calling him a racial slur all his life?? Maybe I've been traumatizing him!

Search "mexican americans beaners youtube "-- Cheech and Chong to the rescue. !