Mastrmasn's 1st Cycle No Till Gorilla Glue

[Mastrmasn]

Going No Till after having done a succesful SS grow. Love to smells and flavors I got from the super soil.

Soil recipe
11
CSM
Forest Marine compost. Local to where i am i believe.
2/3 pumice and 1/3 rice hulls.
1 cup per CF
Neem cake
Kelp meal
Gypsum
Crab Shell Meal
Oyster shell.
Malted Barley Flour
4 cups basalt
1 cup azomite
1 cup glacial rock dust.

Will be growing in 25 gallon storage bin with drainage holes.
Lights are a DIY bridgelux strip build in a 3x3 tent. Lights pushing 250w. Will be upgrading to a 4x4 tent in the coming weeks and will be flowering with a 600w hps if all goes well.

I've planted Dutch White Clover to be used as a living mulch. I plan on adding some compost worms but not set on that yet. I've been looking for a definitive answer on whether they are absolutely necessary.

The strain will be @DrSeeds Gorilla Glue. Going with one plant in the bed for my first run. I'll also be running some WW x GDP in smaller pots using just the base mix with Botanicare Grow nutrients. These are a cross I did my last run and plan on feminizing them using STS.

Temps are 21c to 24c lights on and averaging 18c lights of. With the dry winter air and the tent being in a semi heated garage, my RH is steady in the mid 30s. I have a 4 inch exhaust with a speed controller but it isn't being used. Temps go way too low with it on.

Think I covered all the bases.
Seed was planted the 21st and the clover was done the 20th. Clover is starting to poke its green little heads out.

Hope everyone jumps in, the knowledge here is outstanding.

 

[Silverfox125]

I’ll pull up a seat in front. Love LOS. You’ve got a good mix going.

 

[Mastrmasn]

I’ll pull up a seat in front. Love LOS. You’ve got a good mix going.

Thanks! I hope it's good.

 

[Mastrmasn]

Hoping for some input. I followed the soil recipe on another site. Supposed to be Coots. The following is a cut and paste of the feed schedule.
Wondering if there's anything that can be added or taken out.

Day 1 Plain water
Day 2 No watering
Day 3 MBP top-dress watered in with Aloe/Fulvic/Silica (agsil or your silica source of choice)
Day 4 No watering
Day 5 Plain water
Day 6 Neem/Kelp tea
Day 7 No watering
Day 8 Plain water
Day 9 No watering
Day 10 Coconut Water
Day 11 No watering

One question I have is my source of silica is bottled pottasium silicate from the hydro store. Wondering if it's acceptable in LOS?

 

[Mastrmasn]

Here's a look at where I am. Seedling popped yesterday afternoon. And the clover has been out for 4 or so days now.

 

[Mastrmasn]

Another question for all the LOS veterans. How important are worms to the system? I can get them but for some reason up in canada they're not cheap and harder to find in my particular region.

 

[Silverfox125]

I use LOS but I’m no expert. I learn every day. I mainly water and use compost teas.

@Slammy Pajama will be a good resource on the LOS subject

 

[Mastrmasn]

I use LOS but I’m no expert. I learn every day. I mainly water and use compost teas.

@Slammy Pajama will be a good resource on the LOS subject

My last run I did a super soil with compost teas. Didnt have a huge yield I was using 8 inch pots. But damn the quality was there. Smells and tastes are amazing.
Reading through where I got the recipe he says no teas at all. Just the feeding regiment I posted above.

 

[Silverfox125]

Then I would stick to it as close as you can.

yield is most directly related to the light. Yes everything matters but it’s usually the limiting factor. The 600 hps will be a great addition if you go that route.

I recently switched my tents from hid to @Budget LED and wouldn’t look back. If you haven’t bought a light yet I’d recommend giving them a look.

 

[Mastrmasn]

I was under the impression that is was pot size when it came to dirt. Yes obviously light is a major factor. But I was averaging 2 oz per plant in the same pots using coco.

 

[Slammy Pajama]

Another question for all the LOS veterans. How important are worms to the system? I can get them but for some reason up in canada they're not cheap and harder to find in my particular region.

Hey buddy! Welcome to the living organic team! @Silverfox125 is a great and helpful resource on the subject as well! You've got a great start going on here!

When it comes to the worms, I don't think they're a necessity. They certainly help to break down large amounts of amendments or things like leaf litter if you decide to just toss any old leaves or pruned plant bits right on top of your soil, but I think a good microbial population is more key to breaking down amendments than anything else

Most composting species of worms don't really dig down that far to aerate your soil, they'll mainly sit near the top and eat the organic matter that is there, and they also don't like light so they're probably not going to be that happy or effective in a grow room, IMO

I've definitely seen plenty of people who do throw some worms in, and you've certainly got enough space in that bin for them to escape the light and snack on other stuff in the soil, but I prefer to have my worm bin set up separate to my plants so I can keep the conditions right for the worms (they also like a more moist soil than your cannabis should), and then I'll just use the vermicompost from the bin in subsequent soil mixes or as a top-dress

That watering schedule also looks mighty wet... I don't know if I would be watering that often, even when she's a little baby. Obviously don't let those roots dry out or anything, but I would try to continue to use a similarly textured soil medium for a while, and you'll get a good eye for when your soil mix needs water

Especially once your plants are a little established and past the seedling stage, you want that soil to really dry out and have her shooting out roots aggressively in search of water (in veg, anyway).

As for teas; I tend to apply them tailored to a deficiency if I see one (ran into a little phos and then more recently K def in my current ladies, fixed right up with a correctly amended tea), or if I haven't added one in a while, I'll throw a Nitrogen-based tea on them in veg, or a mildly Phos based tea in flower (my main quick phos source is guano, and that can cause issues if used in excess)

But it's a much less exact science and more forgiving than nutrient growing! If you have plenty of amendments lying around, you can brew a tea for just about every watering and you won't do harm. I like to do that for a fresher soil mix anyway, just to make sure everything is breaking down nicely after the cooking process. Have at my friend!

Digging the clover, that's exactly what I've got going on as my cover crop!

 

[Mastrmasn]

Thanks @Slammy Pyjamas. Yeah the watering schedule isn't supposed to start until it's got a few nodes. I did think it seemed like alot of water. I cant see my bin drying out that fast anyway.

 

[Slammy Pajama]

I would be more inclined to let the soil dry pretty well until the plants are asking for water before giving it to them; that will really encourage more robust root growth and avoid any issues of root rot or soil going kind of anaerobic. It may seem unbelievably long between waterings sometimes, especially if you've got a good amount of water retention built into your soil (my first batch was peat, coir, and a lot of perlite, so it was almost hard to get it to actually dry out). But you're better off just watching and only giving them water/tea when they ask for it, rather than sticking to a set schedule

Once you're in flower, it's good to get into a regular watering schedule and they will be drinking enough by then to do it. But I always try to water irregularly and only when they ask for it in veg

@Emilya has a great post about properly watering a potted plant. Definitely worth a look into, she is another great and innovative resource for this style of growing!

 

[Mastrmasn]

Day 3 since the GG popped up. Looking great so far. Doubled in size overnight. I threw caution to the wind and did the MBP top dress watered with the Aloe/fulvic/silica. Probably not the reason for the spurt.
Also soil looks nice and alive. Some of the MBP that was left on the top seems to be food for some fungi. My RH is steady at 30 so I've got a dome over the little guy for now.

 

[Slammy Pajama]

Looking great, my friend!! Can't wait to see how this soil treats you!

 

[Mastrmasn]

Thanks. So far so good. The sprout is coming along nicely. And so is the clover lol.

 

[Slammy Pajama]

Haha it's always a good sign when the clover is so well established like that! That's what convinced me to go ahead and use my mix without further cooking. Trust your legumes!

 

[Silverfox125]

Love the clover !

 

[Mastrmasn]

Same here. It's the first time I use. Its pleasing to look at. While I wait for her to grow up.

 

[Mastrmasn]

Day 10.

I'm really pleased with how well she's doing. My last three seed grows, the seedlings seemed to be lacking at this point.
Clover came in nicely.
The lonely little one is my side project. WW x GDP I'll be using STS on if she is a she.