New grower in small town
- Thread starter Gypsy58
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Emilya Green
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could you please explain how this could be... it might help if you define organic first.
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- #243
Gypsy58
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At this very moment it's 38 degrees tonight is going to be 29. But at this time of the year it's running in the load mid-40s
having them in the shed at night makes a big difference. they'll continue to develop as long as the root zone remains warm.
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
Organic means, from the earth, natural, not synthetic. Soil as a general rule, except for soils that have been loaded up with synthetic nutrients, such as Miracle Grow, is organic. Happy Frog, being mostly sphagnum moss, a light starter soil, is organic. Ocean Forest with its chunky bits of organic material, meant to finish plants out in, is organic. Neither of these soils are mineralized, and by that I mean no additional minerals have been composted into the soil so as to make it so minerally rich that it can support a blooming / fruiting plant from start to finish, with just adding water. For this magic to happen, you must be in a minerally enriched super soil in at least 1/3 of the container.
Organic doesn't mean that the soil will automatically feed the plants. Many organic soils have lots of potential food in them, but it is in a form that is unavailable to the plants directly. It requires microbes to feed on the minerals locked in that soil and then carry their byproducts to the roots. Many people are confused when they hear that Fox Farm Ocean Forest is a good organic soil, and they think that this soil can feed the plants for an extended period of time. This popular myth has resulted in producing lots of small and sickly plants.
The opposite is also true. Many people have tried using microbes on a non mineralized soil, thinking that just because there are microbes, the plants will be fed by the organic soil. Microbes are not magical and you can't feed what is not there... the plants will not do well with this strategy either.
there is so much like in that post.
i wish i had the ability to explain stuff like @Emilya does so well.
i wish i had the ability to explain stuff like @Emilya does so well.
Costanza
Well-Known Member
I was referring to what is omni certified. The happy frog is and the ocean forest is not according to the foxfarm people
Uhm, that's OMRI...it stands for Organic Materials Review Institute and I use them both in my organic vegetable garden outside with great results
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
OMRI doesnt mean it is or isn't organic, it means that the company has paid money to be on that list. The rules are very strict, and a while ago Ocean Forest added Granite Dust to their formulation which contains silica... so according to their rules it no longer qualified to be on the OMRI list... however it is still natural and organic according to all the other rules. There are even companies that fail to get on the OMRI list just because they refuse to disclose the materials used in their formulations, even though their product is completely natural.
Costanza
Well-Known Member
Yeah sorry 6am tired reply. You know what I meant lolUhm, that's OMRI...it stands for Organic Materials Review Institute and I use them both in my organic vegetable garden outside with great results
Costanza
Well-Known Member
Yeah that confused the hell out of me when I was planning an all organic grow. I didnt realize why certain products looked organic but didnt have that cert and that makes a lot of sense about them paying to be on that list
So you are planning to blanch off the chlorophyll, stop watering to help dry out plants prior to this. Are you looking at the trichomes for changes? Do you have a loop? A photo from a week ago the trichomes looked wonderfully milky, ready to harvest.
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- #253
Gypsy58
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Yes I do have a loop 60x, I just can't hold it still enough to get the money shot.
Costanza
Well-Known Member
I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I can never get a clear shot
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- #256
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
I let them hang with a slight breeze for 3 or 4 days, checking each day to make sure they are not getting too dry. You can take a branch in your hands, one hand at each end, and try to bend it into a circle. If you can bend it into a circle it is still too wet, but when the branch suddenly snaps but doesn't break as you move your hands together, it is probably dry enough to remove the buds from the branch and put it all into a paper grocery bag. Fold the bag top over 3 times and monitor the humidity in there, shaking it around real good a couple of times a day. When you get it down to about 65% RH after a couple of days, try putting it into a jar and sealing it with the hygrometer in there overnight. If it raises up above 66 or 67, put it back in the bag for another 12 hours and try again. When you can get it to 65% RH overnight, you are in the cure zone.
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- #258
Gypsy58
Well-Known Member
That will be a little hard at this point. Outside our rh is in the low 40's and inside its like 34%. But I will check on them tomorrow and see where they are. Thank you for all your help. So much appreciated.
I think you misunderstood what she told you. Assuming you are drying somewhere near room temp, tents work well. Inside the tent it is easier to control your temp and RH. The guy from build a soil says 60 degrees at 60% RH for 16 days. This works if you can control the numbers. He has a real nice video on Youtube. I tried it this way but these buds seemed to lose flavors after about a month compared to the 5 day to jars method.
Another way 5 days to jars: Hang your stems or even whole small plants in the tent for about 5 days. When the small stems snap off without pulling string with it then you are ready to place your buds into mason jars. They are still wet on the inside. Lower temps will dry slower so you need to look at both temp and RH to get close to the sweet spot for drying/curing the way you like.
Now your jars are 3/4 full. No more buds, they need to breathe as the continue to cure. Every day you need to "burp" the jars to let some moisture out. I think this is where she mentioned putting your RH meter right into the mason jar with the bud so you know what's up.
Dry the stems about 5 days then snap the flowers off of the stems. Put these into mason jars. Burp daily for 2-4 weeks. Now, check the RH inside the jars. 62-65% RH at room temp is your target inside the jars. 66% bud is hard to smoke/keep lite. 60% burns to hot.
There is some debate about how to store buds long term. If you cold store these make sure they warm up before you open the jar as condensation can damage your work.
OK OPEN FOR DEBATE. Here we GO!
Lots of ways to crack eggs.
