Bluesunshine's Northern Lights In Soil Jan 2020

[Bluesunshine]

Not too sure. What’s the environment like? What’s your temp and humidity day and night?

Temp is between 21 and 24 humidity 50 to 60ish but usually in the middle.
Only using a cool white 40w panel and a few inches from the leaves.
Been leaving the light on 24 hrs but I am going to start reducing it down to 18 on 6 off over the next few days.

 

[shottafire]

Temp is between 21 and 24 humidity 50 to 60ish but usually in the middle.
Only using a cool white 40w panel and a few inches from the leaves.
Been leaving the light on 24 hrs but I am going to start reducing it down to 18 on 6 off over the next few days.

Not sure what it is but I’m imagining transpiration through the leaves. What’s the mix your growing in

 

[Bluesunshine]

Not sure what it is but I’m imagining transpiration through the leaves. What’s the mix your growing in

Shottie,

It's a mix of peatmoss with about 10% worm castings in there I wasn't sure on adding the wormcast with seedlings but thought a we bit would do no harm.

 

[shottafire]

Shottie,

It's a mix of peatmoss with about 10% worm castings in there I wasn't sure on adding the wormcast with seedlings but thought a we bit would do no harm.

Yeah bro all’s good with the wormcastings. I wouldn’t worry any about the water droplets. Just be careful to not over water at this stage. Do you have any food to feed

 

[Bluesunshine]

Yeah bro all’s good with the wormcastings. I wouldn’t worry any about the water droplets. Just be careful to not over water at this stage. Do you have any food to feed

 

[Bluesunshine]

Shottie, should I be feeding them at this stage,, it's probably going to be a few days before they are needing a drink.
I transferred them from the tiny pot into a 6 1/2 inch pot so I could plant them deeper and keep them looking normal as they stretched due to me not giving them enough light in the first few days of life,, results being I am not having to water very often with the size of pot infact the next watering will be the first as the peat and wormcast was quite damp on opening the bags.
I can see however that the rate of growth is starting to quicken up this last two days, but I suspect that my transferring them to the bigger pot had slowed them down for the guts of a week.
The only things I have at present is the soil extract,, I posted the label in #26 post.
I also go some frass that arrived today,,,, cal-mag and mycorrhizi that should arrive tomorrow.
I am hopping to use as little in the way of chemical fertilizers as possible but have read that N,Lights is fond of nitrogen.

 

[shottafire]

Shottie, should I be feeding them at this stage,, it's probably going to be a few days before they are needing a drink.
I transferred them from the tiny pot into a 6 1/2 inch pot so I could plant them deeper and keep them looking normal as they stretched due to me not giving them enough light in the first few days of life,, results being I am not having to water very often with the size of pot infact the next watering will be the first as the peat and wormcast was quite damp on opening the bags.
I can see however that the rate of growth is starting to quicken up this last two days, but I suspect that my transferring them to the bigger pot had slowed them down for the guts of a week.
The only things I have at present is the soil extract,, I posted the label in #26 post.
I also go some frass that arrived today,,,, cal-mag and mycorrhizi that should arrive tomorrow.
I am hopping to use as little in the way of chemical fertilizers as possible but have read that N,Lights is fond of nitrogen.

It’s not really chemicals it’s either salt based or organic based. You can use both together or choose to stick with one. All nutrients will work fine. It’s how you use them and at what times you use them. Frass is great. Biobizz is a good organic nutrient line in Europe I believe.

 

[Bluesunshine]

It’s not really chemicals it’s either salt based or organic based. You can use both together or choose to stick with one. All nutrients will work fine. It’s how you use them and at what times you use them. Frass is great. Biobizz is a good organic nutrient line in Europe I believe.

Thanks Shottie, Do you think It's perhaps time to start adding a little nutrient at the next watering.
They are two weeks old in two days time and about 1 1/2 approaching 2 inchs high about the same in spread with the third pair of leaves coming along at present.

 

[shottafire]

They will need something soon. Post a pic when ya can!

 

[Bluesunshine]

So a few pictures.
They are now at day 14 if we take it from the day they sprouted and were transplanted.
I only lifted four of them out onto the table for babypics. The two largest and the two smallest.
The first is a group pic the two smaller plants are in the middle with the runt to the front.
The pic to the left is the plant that is getting the bit of beading on the leaves,, I have searched and found others that had this phenomena with a few plants but it seemed to come to nothing and they were unable to find a reason.

On a few of the plants I am getting a bit of a distortion on the leaves,, this is a picture of the most exaggerated one I had but a little fan in about 4 days ago and I think the distortion may have been to do with the airflow being to direct on the leaves and caused this. I am not however sure and all suggestions and thoughts are appreciated.
Average temps are 21 to 25 and usually in the middle Humidity usually hangs around 57 but I've seen it as high as 67 and as low as 49. Both these pics are the same plant with the leaf distortion.

The soil is still moist but I am thinking of perhaps adding a bit of moisture with a little bit of feed in it tomorrow. I know the label say's for flowers on it but it turns out that what they sell in the different bottles is all exectly the same stuff,, soil extract!
Thinking of just adding a bit of the eccoworm soil extract,, but not sure if I should perhaps go with a half strength dilution as this will be the first watering,, the soil was pretty moist out of the bags.



Again all thoughts and suggestions please throw them my way,, I will make up my own mind anyway as it is a learning experience and I realise that all the decisions are mine but the suggestions will at least assist me in addressing things that I probably wouldn't be aware of or think about.

In the last few days they have really started putting on weight! I can see them get bigger each day.
I had been keeping the light on 24hrs. The first night I reduced the light by 2 hrs and when I looked the next day I could see an immediate spurt of growth,, the second night I put the light off for 4 hrs,, so they are on 20 on and 4 off at present and seem to be liking the we break from the lights.
Not sure if that period of darkness stimulated the growth but I think it did.

 

[Bluesunshine]

So I gave them a little drink last night before the lights went out,,, room temp and charcoal filtered with a bit of the soil extract just went at the recommended strength.
They seem to have jumped in size and I will swear they are looking more green today.
I also had to raise the height of the light as I think they would have been touching the top by tomorrow if last night was anything to go by.
Other than that not much happening.
Hopefully get a few baby pics tomorrow to compare.

 

[shottafire]

So I gave them a little drink last night before the lights went out,,, room temp and charcoal filtered with a bit of the soil extract just went at the recommended strength.
They seem to have jumped in size and I will swear they are looking more green today.
I also had to raise the height of the light as I think they would have been touching the top by tomorrow if last night was anything to go by.
Other than that not much happening.
Hopefully get a few baby pics tomorrow to compare.

sounds good

 

[Bluesunshine]

The last pictures were 6 days ago so I took some today .
The babys are now toddlers,, we have three of them that are slightly shorter in stature and four which are taller,, all the same Sensi Northern Lights seeds,, all the same soil and conditions.
Looking at them in the top picture I think they could be a little greener but it may only be an exageration of colour in the pictures.
I am waiting on some Biobizz fish fertilizer coming and they should be dry enough to need a watering in a few days so well see if the extra bit of nitrogen changes things.

This a picture of the smallest and the tallest of the bunch. They will be three weeks old on Friday. I have now dropped the shorter plants down from the light a few inches to see if they will start climbing a little, I'm not to worried about it,, it's more about learning through trial as I go along at that is the best way I seem to absorb information.

 

[shottafire]

The last pictures were 6 days ago so I took some today .
The babys are now toddlers,, we have three of them that are slightly shorter in stature and four which are taller,, all the same Sensi Northern Lights seeds,, all the same soil and conditions.
Looking at them in the top picture I think they could be a little greener but it may only be an exageration of colour in the pictures.
I am waiting on some Biobizz fish fertilizer coming and they should be dry enough to need a watering in a few days so well see if the extra bit of nitrogen changes things.

This a picture of the smallest and the tallest of the bunch. They will be three weeks old on Friday. I have now dropped the shorter plants down from the light a few inches to see if they will start climbing a little, I'm not to worried about it,, it's more about learning through trial as I go along at that is the best way I seem to absorb information.

So far so good. what light are you using for these again?

 

[Bluesunshine]

Nothing special,,it's a 2ft X 2ft LED 40W panel with a colour temp of 4000K You know the type that goes into a suspended office ceiling.
I just set it on top of a recycling box and built the floor up with books so the top of the plants were inches away from the light.
They are now on an 18 on and 6 hrs off light cycle. After haveing had them under the light 24 hrs a day for the first two weeks I am now off the opinion that they need,,, or at least do better with a period of darkness.

 

[Bluesunshine]

So the Biobizz fishmix arrived to day! I now have more bottles than I know what to do with.
The girls were just about ready for a we drink,, not bone dry and no begging going on but the pots were feather light,, so I went ahead,, I look forward to see how they look in the morning.
Maybe get a few pictures for comparison .

 

[StoneOtter]

Hi Bluesunshine, nice growing! Saw you in the soil thread so I came to say hi. Looking good. They really liked the extract huh?

 

[Bluesunshine]

Hi Bluesunshine, nice growing! Saw you in the soil thread so I came to say hi. Looking good. They really liked the extract huh?

Thanks for dropping in Stoner!
They seem to have liked the fish,,or that's my general impression so far
One was a little droopy today so I lifted the pot off the soil and the bottom was a little dry,, that's where most of the roots are concentrated as I hadn't provided them with enough light after sprouting and they stretched,, so my remedy was larger pots and bury them deeper to take up some of the height. It worked but concentrated the roots deeper down,, I'll see how it pans out.
As I am using a mix of peat and worm compost in the pots at present,,I didn't have any perlite in there for drainage. I will add some perlite to the mix when I step up pot size . I don't like saturating the peat it as it holds onto a lot of water.
This is compounded by the two things one they are in a very small container at present and the second being my use of LED so my temp is not high,, usually between 21 -23c.
I ordered up a little tent 4ft X 2 ft acreage and I will transfer them into that with a 200W Metal Halide for a while and see how they go before stepping up to the CMH,, first in a 4200K before warming it up to 3100K.
I gave them all a little more water just before the lights when off so I'll see what they are like in the morning. I perhaps overdid the droopy one a little but see what the morning brings,,it's all a learning curve.
I really do want to cook up some of my own soil but just didn't do the preparation on time,,, the peat and the worm compost happened to be lying out in the garden on as the new year came in so I just used that,, I'm not one to bow much to marketing,,, having said that the box of bottles seem to be expanding.
Whatever comes out of the pots when the girls are finished with it can go into a raised bed out the back for growing salad greens in summer.
I only have a little garden out back so very limited as to what I can do there,,, I have put down some comfrey roots in a big container, when the come up will be getting planted all around the neighborhood,, it should work well as I live in a parkland with lots of wild pathways and the likes,, and it's a very pretty plant. I or anyone can go to harvest it then as required,, it's one way to save space out back.
I just want to get rid of as much fertilizers and pesticides from my life as possible.
I was a little hesitant to use the fish-mix as I do not consume meat,, but I reckoned that putting dead animal into the ground was in a way part of the natural cycle so justified it that way.
Biobizz seem like an ethical company but in today's world one can never be sure.
I better stop writing or I will have did a full autobiography when you only said Hello!

 

[StoneOtter]

As long as we have some fun and make some bud. The world is good. Good luck.

 

[Bluesunshine]

OK so It's now day 26.
The little tent arrived yesterday so I got it up,, one of the CMH lights in and a little fan for a bit of air through. It's only a little computer fan set into the port on the top of the tend no filtration as there no odor to deal with yet.
I just love the light of the 42K CMH everything sort of sparkles. It's sitting in a vented shade but there is no plumbing as I don't think it necessary at this stage.
The temps and humidity are around 25 - 28c so slightly higher than I was getting in the box and the humidity is now down a bit at early 30's to mid 40's.

I went ahead and re-potted into 8 inch pots which is about twice the volume of the last pots.
Again the mix was just peat worm-compost but I added much more worm compost this time probably about 35% and chucked in some perlite,,, not sure how much,,, it was just to I felt that somehow the mix looked pleasing to my perfectly untrained eye. Also chucked in some mycorrhiza for good measure thinking it might encourage new root growth in the fresh mix.

Now to the kids!

6 of them as pictured above seem happy enough except for a little bit of browning at the tips of the leaves on a few.
This it the worst one.

My thoughts are that it is a magnesium issue,, and I did add a little bit of cal-mag to the new soil mix,, I haven't watered yet as the mix seemed moist enough and though I would wait a few days,, I like to try and change one thing at a time.... all observations and thoughts appreciated.

Now the runt of the litter,,, she's been rather poorly from before I switched but actually seems to be perking up a little.
Not sure what's going on with her,,, she got pretty much the same treatment and conditions as the others. Her root structure is not as strong as the others but I'm just hoping the new soil and lights will cheer her along,, I set her slightly to the side furthest from the actual bulb.
I have the light hung about 80 cm from the top of the plants again it's just my guess but nobody seems to be complaining to loudly about the new conditions.
Again that is just my gut feeling so if any of you with more experiances notices anything that I have did or failed to do please say.

Finaly a picture of the runt,, in all her misery.