Emeraldo's 2020 West-Facing Balcony Grow

[Emeraldo]

It's official. Not that size matters, you know. But the longer colas on Dream Berry are now, according to my measuring stick (36 inches, whew!), taller than Blackberry's thrusting side-branches, two which can be seen just to the right of DB. Blackberry was of course mainstem-topped at a point below the height of her side branches, and these then pushed up, were topped also, and then stretched. Except for AG and SLH, Blackberry has been the tallest of my trained plants for a long time now. No more. Dream Berry's tallest branches have passed Blackberry. Dream Berry has never been topped, just made to grow horizontally before pushing up her many branches. I don't know if DB has stopped stretching yet, will measure again later.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 4, 2020

Blackberry is that dark-leafed shape in the middle below, getting into some pistil pushing.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 3, 2020

Blackberry, August 3

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 3, 2020

Blackberry pistil growth, August 3

 

[DonkeyDick]

the longer colas on Dream Berry are now, according to my measuring stick (36 inches, whew!), taller than Blackberry

There’s your dreamy yard.
In your dreamy yard.

 

[Emeraldo]

Now that's true.

 

[Emeraldo]

Sheezma Shtick

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 7, 2020

Dream Berry, August 7

...or mebbe Sheezit?

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 7, 2020

Acapulco Gold, August 7

 

[Emeraldo]

Dream Berry continues to stretch, getting on 4 foot colas... The breeder says the hard nugs will be on the upper tips of the branches, otherwise fluffy (or "open structure") buds below that.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 10, 2020

Dream Berry, Aug 10

Acapulco Gold now in week 5

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 10, 2020

Acapulco Gold, Aug 10

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 10, 2020

Acapulco Gold, Aug 10

 

[Stunger]

Wow they're really taking off nicely! Good stuff Emeraldo!

 

[Emeraldo]

All plants in flower, some further along than others. Acapulco Gold of course farthest along, but even White Widow front right, is flowering. Gold Leaf is now over the raingutter, getting direct sun from early morning...

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 13, 2020

Dream Berry, front left, about finished stretching, White Widow, front right, now flowering...

Trichomes! A first sighting of trichomes!

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 13, 2020

Acapulco Gold, August 12

Acapulco Gold sunset

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 13, 2020

Acapulco Gold, August 12

 

[Stunger]

Hey Emeraldo. What conclusions did you reach about the amount of kelp meal that you amended your soil with. I know you said you used 2 x 2lb bags in the mixing. I must say that your plants are looking magnificent in their growth. Who knows how they could be looking now it you hadn't screwed up with the kelp! Am I right in thinking that you no longer feel there was an issue with the quantity of kelp you added?

I am about to reamend my container soil for the coming grow season, and amongst other ingredients I am planning on adding 1/2 cup kelp meal per 7.5 gallons/30 liters. Altho I also thought of increasing it to a 1 cup. Some people say 1 cup but more seem to favor 1/2 cup. Your plants appear to be grow really vigorously what do you now feel on kelp meal quantity?

Cheers

 

[Emeraldo]

Hey Emeraldo. What conclusions did you reach about the amount of kelp meal that you amended your soil with. I know you said you used 2 x 2lb bags in the mixing. I must say that your plants are looking magnificent in their growth. Who knows how they could be looking now it you hadn't screwed up with the kelp! Am I right in thinking that you no longer feel there was an issue with the quantity of kelp you added?

I am about to reamend my container soil for the coming grow season, and amongst other ingredients I am planning on adding 1/2 cup kelp meal per 7.5 gallons/30 liters. Altho I also thought of increasing it to a 1 cup. Some people say 1 cup but more seem to favor 1/2 cup. Your plants appear to be grow really vigorously what do you now feel on kelp meal quantity?

Cheers

Hey Stunger, great to hear from you. I would use lots of kelp again. I know I was racking my brain for why the Super Lemon Haze was suffering, but by process of elimination I concluded it was the heat in June (and not the kelp). GHS recommends a soil pH of 5.5 (which seems very low) for SLH while my soil was at 6.5, and so I was wondering if the kelp RAISED the soil pH excessively (as someone said it would -- in the thread on soil pH being too high). At this point I think that was all just bla bla speculation. Kelp is a great amendment, and I would include it again.

So your thought is correct, I've no issue with kelp.

Are going to go with smaller 7.5 gal pots this year?

I'd go with at least a cup or maybe two in a 7.5 gal pot. So many of my other amendments are rich in N and P, but kelp is maybe the best source of K I've found. Kelp is a great source of K. Langbeinite is 0-0-22, but is more of a mineral salt and kelp is an organic material that breaks down more readily, I think. I'll use a good amount of kelp again next year.

 

[Stunger]

I would use lots of kelp again.

Well that's really good to know.

Are you going to go with smaller 7.5 gal pots this year?

I will be doing the same as last season and using 7.5 gallon(30L) and 13 gallon(50L) containers. I mentioned 7.5 gallons because that is 1 cubic foot, and I have prepared my amendment list based on 1 c/f as that makes a nice yardstick unit to use and compare and reflect on. Altho having said that, the 13 gallon pot are pretty cumbersome to be lugging upstairs to the balcony, especially when they have some water in them they are quite heavy. It is making me consider whether 7.5 gallon pots might make things a bit easier. It has just gone back into Covid lockdown where I am, so I am very glad I bought all the amendments I needed prior to that. But I have since thought perhaps a couple more 7.5 gallon containers may be useful.

It is just me or is it because you managed to get that layer of trichome glue off your camera lens, that the pics of your plants this year look even more lush and vigorous from last year? Is it pretty much the same or do they look better again? Is that from the kelp, that seemed to be the big additional amendment you made this year?

 

[Emeraldo]

It is just me or is it because you managed to get that layer of trichome glue off your camera lens, that the pics of your plants this year look even more lush and vigorous from last year?

haha, the trichome glue must've worn off, hehe.

Maybe I've gotten better at growing, I don't know. If you're comparing this 2020 grow to my grow here in California, I think maybe the plants are doing better. Maybe it's the new amendments (below), which would make sense why they look so much better. Also, the growing arrangement allowed the three younger ones more light.

The Arjan's Haze #1 grow last year was in a different climate at 47N lattitude (here am at 38). So that is a very different climate with a shorter growing season. Here it's also much warmer.

I'd like to think I'm getting better at growing, better at knowing what the plants need.

Is it pretty much the same or do they look better again? Is that from the kelp, that seemed to be the big additional amendment you made this year?

New amendments to my soil mix this year were:
alfalfa meal 2.5-0.5-2.5
seabird guano 0-11-0
kelp meal 1-0.5-2
oyster shell
crab shell calcium booster 3-3-0

So apparently I did something right by trying out some new amendments I'd heard so much about from growers here on 420. Bob Green is really big on oyster shell, and I added a goodly amount. It doesn't add any NPK but is very good on calcium, as is the crab shell calcium booster, which I used a lot of, at least two cups per 15 gal pot. And kelp, of course, for K, and alfalfa meal for N and K.

What's your amendment list look like? From soup to nuts, what are you putting into the soil for your girls?

 

[DonkeyDick]

Trichomes! A first sighting of trichomes!

 

[Emeraldo]

more cop porn, no, pop corn

Acapulco Gold is by far the farthest into flower, her branches are already getting heavy and I'll need to tie them up to give support soon I think.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 15, 2020

Acapulco Gold, Aug 15

here a close up of AG and her TRICHOMES!

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 15, 2020

Acapulco Gold, Aug 15

Dream Berry is in flower, I'm just not sure how the buds will turn out, there will probably be some good hard nugs there at the tips of the branches.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 15, 2020

Dream Berry in early flower, Aug 15

 

[Stunger]

What's your amendment list look like? From soup to nuts, what are you putting into the soil for your girls?

Starting with the pots, I have a 1-2 inch layer of scoria on the bottom and for this coming grow I plan on adding a 2-3 inch layer of composted sawdust & chicken manure (at a 2:1 ratio) that will sit on the bottom on top of the scoria.

My amendments are some that I have bought over previous grows. If I was starting afresh now I'd probably be tempted to mix my soil to the approach of Jim Bennett's aka Clackamas Coot. My container medium is living organic soil, it even has earthworms living in it so I have no wish to throw it out, I'm quite happy to reamend it.

I'm adding a blood and bone component to it because I've already got a bag of it and it seemed to work quite fine on last year's grow, so I'm looking to put some in again since I still have it on hand. I am also adding dried shrimp for the Chitin and the Malted Barley for several enzymes including Chitinase. I'm adding in some worm castings and coarse pumice too for general humus and aeration, as well as a couple of cups of Biochar per container. By the time the plants are ready to be up potted from their germination pots that will allow at least 6 - 8 weeks of cooking/settling time which should be plenty as it's probably still a relatively cool mix.

My current list per cubic foot is;

1 cup Blood n Bone
1 cup Kelp Meal
½ cup Neem powder
½ cup Fish Meal
½ cup Seabird Guano Phosphate
¾ cup Dried Shrimp (rinsed first several times in water to remove any salt)
1 cup Malted Barley
1 Tbl Molasses (watered in)
1 Tbl Humic/Fulvic acids (watered in

1 cup Seafood Lush fert mix (equal parts of Dolomite lime, oyster shell, mussel shell, pine bark)
½ cup Gypsum
1 cup Rock dust (2/3 EF Natures Garden rock dust fertilizer + 1/3 Scoria dust)

I'm happy with the ingredients, they are mostly the same as what I used last year, for a few of them I have considered making mild adjustments with the quantities, but I think they're fairly close to OK.

 

[Emeraldo]

No dolomite lime this year? Oh, I see, it's in the Seafood Lush. That sounds like a nice ocean forest thing. But 1 cup of that mix might not be enough lime... remember "alkalinity" is key!

 

[Stunger]

No dolomite lime this year? Oh, I see, it's in the Seafood Lush. That sounds like a nice ocean forest thing. But 1 cup of that mix might not be enough lime... remember "alkalinity" is key!

That's a good question. It made me go off and research this amendment again which is good. The last 3 ingredients listed were my mineral mix, last year I did these in a 6-5-3 ratio, which was being touted by Doc Bud and folk doing the high Brix approach. Their quantity was quite small, I think 1/2 cup of the 6-5-3 which less than a 1/4cup is lime for 1 c/f. So my quantity this time is more, and as far as I could tell my grow last season was mostly fine other than needing a bit more Nitrogen towards the end, but I might increase the Seafood Lush fert to bring the CaCO3 content up to be closer to the 6:5 ratio to the rock dust.

How much Lime or Dolomite would you be looking to reamend for a cubic foot/7.5 gallons of container soil?

I happy for all comments regarding my ingredient choices and quantities, it's good to have other opinions.

 

[Emeraldo]

How much Lime or Dolomite would you be looking to reamend for a cubic foot/7.5 gallons of container soil?

My thoughts on that have evolved over the years. As has my approach.

This year I bought a pretty good soil pH tester. This year I also learned that if, given that the soil pH is within the right parameters (say between 6.0 and 7.0), it is not necessary to pH my irrigation water at all (it comes out of the tap at 7.1). So to answer your question, my use of lime would be geared to what the soil pH is.

For example, my big 4 plants (DB, BB, SLH and AG) are all in 15 gal pots of soil that tested at pH 6.5. They do not need any more lime right now. I will test that soil again when I go to re-use it.

However, my three younger plants (WW, G13xHz, Gold Leaf) are in soil that tested at pH 6.0. I have been top dressing dolomite lime for those plants even now so that the soil doesn't drop lower and result in cal or mag deficiencies. Just pro-actively trying to hold the soil pH stable at 6.0 or raise it slightly. I haven't seen the needle move up yet, but I trust it will occur slowly, I am not going to rush it.

So my approach to using lime is different now than in the past. I used to do it from the seat of my pants, just guessing if there was enough lime, mixing in maybe two cups into 30 liter of soil. Now I would try to measure where the soil pH is and add accordingly -- does the soil need a higher pH? if so add some lime and wait for it to take effect.

Lime is one of the necessary ingredients that control akalinity, which is the capacity of the soil to stay stable in the right pH range despite the fact that the soil over time will tend toward more acidity. Some lime is necessary. You have to figure out how much.

Do you have a soil pH meter?

 

[Emeraldo]

My current list per cubic foot is;

1 cup Blood n Bone
1 cup Kelp Meal
½ cup Neem powder
½ cup Fish Meal
½ cup Seabird Guano Phosphate
¾ cup Dried Shrimp (rinsed first several times in water to remove any salt)
1 cup Malted Barley
1 Tbl Molasses (watered in)
1 Tbl Humic/Fulvic acids (watered in

1 cup Seafood Lush fert mix (equal parts of Dolomite lime, oyster shell, mussel shell, pine bark)
½ cup Gypsum
1 cup Rock dust (2/3 EF Natures Garden rock dust fertilizer + 1/3 Scoria dust)

One other suggestion: Is your 1 cup of blood & bone 50% blood meal? Or is it more bone than blood? Does the package tell you how much of each?

If not, I'd get some pure 100% blood meal and give a good amount - a 1/2 cup - into the original mix. At the start of each season where you re-use the soil, a few additional teaspoons. 2019 I added 5 teaspoons, this year just 2 tsp per 15 gal pot.

But to re-plenish the soil over the grow, I've made a mix with blood meal, bone meal, dolomite lime, and crab shell calcium booster (3-3-0) that I've used to top dress over the summer to ensure enough N during veg. Lime also gives calcium and magnesium during the grow, in addition to keeping soil pH stable.

These plants need N! One cup of your 50/50 mix of bone meal with blood meal probably is going to be sufficient N, but I wouldn't skimp on the N!

What strains are you thinking of growing?

 

[Stunger]

This year I bought a pretty good soil pH tester. This year I also learned that if, given that the soil pH is within the right parameters (say between 6.0 and 7.0), it is not necessary to pH my irrigation water at all (it comes out of the tap at 7.1). So to answer your question, my use of lime would be geared to what the soil pH is.

That of course makes the best sense, having a pH tester that is accurate enough to give confidence in it's readings.

Do you have a soil pH meter?

Yes and no, I have a cheap prong meter but I don't have confidence in it. Last season I gave up on it and just went by the seat of my pants. I do have some fine grade pH testing strips that require making a slurry for testing but that seemed too much mucking around with multiple level samplings etc so they have not been used yet. Mostly though, I feel confidence that the soil's pH is in an ok range because a) there is worms happily living in it, b) last year's plants to my eye appeared happy and healthy at least up until flowering, c) and a common advice with organic living soil is that it balances itself. But mostly points a & b were what made me feel that things were largely ok. In NZ we have a local pH tester company, Bluelab, but they are quite expensive and I was somewhat put off when I further realized the units are very sensitive and don't last so well over time. It'd be different if I ran a 24/7 grow, but once a year on my balcony seemed a little scant for a Bluelab unit.

One other suggestion: Is your 1 cup of blood & bone 50% blood meal? Or is it more bone than blood? Does the package tell you how much of each?

Unfortunately no, it is annoying not to have that info on the label.

But to re-plenish the soil over the grow, I've made a mix with blood meal, bone meal, dolomite lime, and crab shell calcium booster (3-3-0) that I've used to top dress over the summer to ensure enough N during veg. Lime also gives calcium and magnesium during the grow, in addition to keeping soil pH stable.

These plants need N! One cup of your 50/50 mix of bone meal with blood meal probably is going to be sufficient N, but I wouldn't skimp on the N!

On my last grow I was grateful for having your experience on this, as I had got it in my head that Nitrogen in flowering was a definite no no. I top dressed with what I had (Blood n Bone) and was able to see a definite improvement after each application. So this year in my reamendment, I am putting in more than previously, and plus I am adding Kelp meal, fish meal,and Crustacean meal (dried shrimp). I would have like some feather meal but none to be found. Last year I felt my plants started to run out of Nitrogen in flowering and at the time I was still concerned about top dressing with it in flowering but your advice was spot on and I am glad you gave it.

What strains are you thinking of growing?

Well I'll be kicking off with Mexican Sativa , but haven't decided yet on the others, I still have 2 or 3 untried varieties from 420 that came too late last year due to the first 2 shipments being seized. I probably would have got different strains if ordering now. It is such a commitment growing outdoors when it is another 12 months before the next grow. I really envy those folk who can set off a new grow every month and over a year get a really nice range of strains harvested.

 

[Emeraldo]

Well I'll be kicking off with Mexican Sativa

That is a very good one!

Yee haw