Reporting for Beginners Organic Grow Class

[Smelly Joe]

Ahoya

So after thinking that the best way to start is to Intoduce myself. I know that there is a section for that but I am drawn to the organic side and I'm gonna be spending a lot of time here. Mostly reading up and I will post soon.


But I will do an proper introduction later on the correct thread. So back to bussiness.

1st Question:

My soil mix that I'm planning to use is :

Canadian Spaghnum Peat Moss
Perlite
HUMUS
Volcanic Rock Dust
Organic Dry Fertlizer ( gonna use Talborne. Its a local product and works GREAT)
Lime

According to the site that I found this on, this grow mix will last the plant from start to finish. All I have to do is water them with dechlorinated water. They give recipes where other and more extra's are added for a better soil. But this time I'm gonna do things right from the start.

Now the question part. Humus is new to me and I'm not quite sure what it is. On one site they said its a 50/50 mix of compost and elsewhere they say aged compost. So can someone please explain to me what this is.

My current grow is suffering a bit with something but it seems as if they are winning the fight. I am almost certain I have PH pockets in my soil, due to me being hasty and mixing properly.

Love and Light

 

[closetorganic]

Hey Smelly Joe welcome to
I had to look up humus myself after reading your question.All I thought was compost was humus.
wikipedia says

In soil science, humus (coined 1790–1800; < Latin: earth, ground[1]) refers to any organic matter that has reached a point of stability, where it will break down no further and might, if conditions do not change, remain as it is for centuries, if not millennia.[2] Humus significantly influences the bulk density of soil and contributes to moisture and nutrient retention


Transformation of organic matter into humus[edit]

The process of "humification" can occur naturally in soil, or in the production of compost. The importance of chemically stable humus is thought by some to be the fertility it provides to soils in both a physical and chemical sense,[7][8][9] though some agricultural experts put a greater focus on other features of it, such as its ability to suppress disease.[10] It helps the soil retain moisture[11] by increasing microporosity,[12] and encourages the formation of good soil structure.[13][14] The incorporation of oxygen into large organic molecular assemblages generates many active, negatively charged sites that bind to positively charged ions (cations) of plant nutrients, making them more available to the plant by way of ion exchange.[15] Humus allows soil organisms to feed and reproduce, and is often described as the "life-force" of the soil.[16][17] Yet, it is difficult to define humus precisely; it is a highly complex substance, which is still not fully understood. Humus should be differentiated from decomposing organic matter in that the latter is rough-looking material,[8][9] with the original plant remains still visible, whereas fully humified organic matter is uniform in appearance (a dark, spongy, jelly-like substance) and amorphous in structure, and may remain as such for millennia or more.[18] It has no determinate shape, structure or character. However, humified organic matter, when examined under the microscope may reveal tiny plant, animal or microbial remains that have been mechanically, but not chemically, degraded.[19] This suggests a fuzzy boundary between humus and organic matter. In most literature, humus is considered an integral part of soil organic matter.[20]

Plant remains (including those that passed through an animal gut and were excreted as feces) contain organic compounds: sugars, starches, proteins, carbohydrates, lignins, waxes, resins, and organic acids. The process of organic matter decay in the soil begins with the decomposition of sugars and starches from carbohydrates, which break down easily as detritivores initially invade the dead plant organs, while the remaining cellulose and lignin break down more slowly.[21] Simple proteins, organic acids, starches and sugars break down rapidly, while crude proteins, fats, waxes and resins remain relatively unchanged for longer periods of time. Lignin, which is quickly transformed by white-rot fungi,[22] is one of the main precursors of humus,[23] together with by-products of microbial[24] and animal[25] activity. The end-product of this process, the humus, is thus a mixture of compounds and complex life chemicals of plant, animal, or microbial origin that has many functions and benefits in the soil. Earthworm humus (vermicompost) is considered by some to be the best organic manure there is.[26]

Stability of humus[edit]

Compost that is readily capable of further decomposition is sometimes referred to as effective or active humus, though scientists would say that, if it is not stable, it is not humus at all. This kind of compost, rich in plant remains and fulvic acids, is an excellent source of plant nutrients, but of little value with respect to long-term soil structure and tilth. Stable (or passive) humus consists of humic acids and humins, which are so highly insoluble, or so tightly bound to clay particles and hydroxides, that they cannot be penetrated by microbes and are greatly resistant to further decomposition.[8][9] Thus stable humus adds few readily available nutrients to the soil, but plays an essential part in providing its physical structure. Some very stable humus complexes have survived for thousands of years.[18] The most stable humus is that formed from the slow oxidation of black carbon, after the incorporation of finely powdered charcoal into the topsoil. This process is at the origin of the formation of the fertile Amazonian dark earths or Terra preta do Indio.[8][9][27]

Benefits of soil organic matter and humus[edit]
The process that converts raw organic matter into humus feeds the soil population of microorganisms and other creatures, thus maintains high and healthy levels of soil life.[17][28]
The rate at which raw organic matter is converted into humus promotes (when fast) or limits (when slow) the coexistence of plants, animals, and microbes in soil.
Effective humus and stable humus are further sources of nutrients to microbes, the former provides a readily available supply, and the latter acts as a longer-term storage reservoir.
Decomposition of dead plant material causes complex organic compounds to be slowly oxidized (lignin-like humus) or to break down into simpler forms (sugars and amino sugars, aliphatic, and phenolic organic acids), which are further transformed into microbial biomass (microbial humus) or are reorganized, and further oxidized, into humic assemblages (fulvic and humic acids), which bind to clay minerals and metal hydroxides. There has been a long debate about the ability of plants to uptake humic substances from their root systems and to metabolize them. There is now a consensus about how humus plays a hormonal role rather than simply a nutritional role in plant physiology.[29]
Humus is a colloidal substance, and increases the soil's cation exchange capacity, hence its ability to store nutrients by chelation. While these nutrient cations are accessible to plants, they are held in the soil safe from being leached by rain or irrigation.[15]
Humus can hold the equivalent of 80–90% of its weight in moisture, and therefore increases the soil's capacity to withstand drought conditions.[30][31]
The biochemical structure of humus enables it to moderate – or buffer – excessive acid or alkaline soil conditions.[32]
During the humification process, microbes secrete sticky gum-like mucilages; these contribute to the crumb structure (tilth) of the soil by holding particles together, and allowing greater aeration of the soil.[33] Toxic substances such as heavy metals, as well as excess nutrients, can be chelated (that is, bound to the complex organic molecules of humus) and so prevented from entering the wider ecosystem.[34]
The dark color of humus (usually black or dark brown) helps to warm up cold soils in the spring.

https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0L...iki/Humus/RS=^ADAy5BqiUcm1XoG_2Jycqy6gShlDq4-

I believe that and think my mix must be humus mostly now after re useing it in my grow so much and only ammending with organic fertilizers and homemade compost Bro for helping me seek some learning

 

[TanR]

Hi Smelly Joe.

Welcome to 420 Magazine!

I'm excited for you to start your second grow and hope you'll share it with us if comfortable.

Humus by definition is a mix of decayed or decaying vegetable or animal matter. I think producers take some liberties with labeling but the "50/50 mix" may refer to half animal matter and half vegetable. As long as it has been composted it is a great additive, but some producers rush the composting process and it can sometimes run hot (meaning too much nitrogen). Don't know what the percentages of ingredients are for each in the above recipe, but I might be tempted to go easy on the humus unless I was comfortable judging the amount of composting done.

The recipe you've got is a great base soil, and although I'm not familiar with Talborne you may find the need later in your grow to add some nutrients in a slightly different ratio than the above soil would provide before you finish. Just evaluate the talborne products with an eye toward providing higher ratios of Phosphorous (P on labeling) and potassium (K). I looked up Talborne and it appears the Vita-Veg might be good to mix in with the soil and the Vita-Fruit and Flower to be top dressed into your soil when you begin flowering.

I normally caution against mixing nutrients into the soil as it makes it very difficult to flush if necessary, and the Talborne products appear to be slow release, so please at least consider going easy on their use in your mix. You can always top dress your soil with them later if necessary.

Be well, happy growing, and welcome again to 420 Magazine.

 

[Smelly Joe]

Ahoya

ClosetOrganic and TanR, thank you for the hearty and informatical welcome brothers. That was quite a nice read and I actually feel a bit smarter.

TanR, the proportions will be posted shortly as it is currently on the hard drive and I'm on the phone. But its not a big amount, if memory serves. LoL

I will start my current grow from a flowering stage outdoors, seeing that our flowering season started. So hopefully soon I'll get my permission to start uploading pics

Love and Light

 

[Smelly Joe]

Future Soil Mix

Ahoya

I just had to go and get it to share:

To make 1 cubic foot (7.5 gallons) of base soil:

1/2 part peat moss
1/2 part humus (compost and/or ewc- can do all compost or all ewc or some mixture of the two)
1/2 part aeration amendment
1 cup lime (per cubic foot)

Nutritional amendments: you want to add about 2-3 cups total of all your nutritional amendments per cubic foot (7.5 gallons) of soil. Note that this means 2-3 cups total, a combination of all your nutritional amendments, not 2-3 cups of each amendment.
1 cup kelp meal
1.5 cups dry organic fertilizer

Mineral amendment: now add 4 cups of your rock dust per cubic foot (7.5 gallons) of soil

Mix all the above ingredients well. Now moisten the soil by adding water and mixing until the soil is about as damp as a well-wrung out sponge. Now let the soil sit for 3-4 weeks to allow the microbes to begin to break down the amendments and convert the nutrients into a form that the plant can use. This process of nutrient cycling is also referred to as "cooking". Neither heat nor the sun are required, the soil can "cook" inside just fine. You can go ahead and fill up the pots you plan to use and let the soil "cook" in the pots. You can moisten the soil with an ACT if desired to help jump-start the nutrient cycling process.

I still have to get my ass in gear to start my tea brewer


Love and Light

 

[TanR]

Re: Future Soil Mix

Awesome that the recipe calls for cooking the soil. I was going to mention that but didn't want to complicate things.

Ahoya

I just had to go and get it to share:

To make 1 cubic foot (7.5 gallons) of base soil:

1/2 part peat moss
1/2 part humus (compost and/or ewc- can do all compost or all ewc or some mixture of the two)
1/2 part aeration amendment
1 cup lime (per cubic foot)

Nutritional amendments: you want to add about 2-3 cups total of all your nutritional amendments per cubic foot (7.5 gallons) of soil. Note that this means 2-3 cups total, a combination of all your nutritional amendments, not 2-3 cups of each amendment.
1 cup kelp meal
1.5 cups dry organic fertilizer

Mineral amendment: now add 4 cups of your rock dust per cubic foot (7.5 gallons) of soil

Mix all the above ingredients well. Now moisten the soil by adding water and mixing until the soil is about as damp as a well-wrung out sponge. Now let the soil sit for 3-4 weeks to allow the microbes to begin to break down the amendments and convert the nutrients into a form that the plant can use. This process of nutrient cycling is also referred to as "cooking". Neither heat nor the sun are required, the soil can "cook" inside just fine. You can go ahead and fill up the pots you plan to use and let the soil "cook" in the pots. You can moisten the soil with an ACT if desired to help jump-start the nutrient cycling process.

I still have to get my ass in gear to start my tea brewer


Love and Light

 

[Smelly Joe]

Tanr, I've never let my soil mixes cook. I just mixed and planted and I can see now what a stupid fool I was. But at least I learned something hey.

Wind has been crazy here by us and 2 of my plants is showing signs of wind damage. Not cool to see the plants suffer like this. My Querkell is growing so nice and strong now. I will upload as soon as I can.

Love and Light

 

[Conradino23]

Words compost and humus are often used interchangeably. I have a big patch of humus in my garden, that comes mostly from grass clippings, dry leaves, shit, dry leaves, wood ash, rotting vegetables and is around 3 feet deep. Plants just love it (not only weed). They grow tall and fat that way and survive usually till December. Humus gives you a real edge (especially in outdoor growing), cause it contains nitrogen, microelements, humic acid and it retains water.

 

[closetorganic]

Tanr, I've never let my soil mixes cook. I just mixed and planted and I can see now what a stupid fool I was. But at least I learned something hey.

Wind has been crazy here by us and 2 of my plants is showing signs of wind damage. Not cool to see the plants suffer like this. My Querkell is growing so nice and strong now. I will upload as soon as I can.

Love and Light

Yesterdays talk on cooking by TanR and you makes me want to change up a little. I have been just ammending stuff right in mix at transplant.I just sprouted some new seeds now at 6 days from starting dry.I should mix up a batch now and let it cook so when they are transplanted everything is already available.

 

[TanR]

Great idea Closetorganic.

I confess I took the idea from reading some of Doc Buds journals on his high brix efforts. Because of where I live, I don't have a local resource for any of the "named" soils that a lot of members seem to use. Shipping on soil is stupidly expensive so I have to make do with run of the mill big box retailer stuff and it isn't always ideally suited for cannabis.

In reading Doc Buds (and others) journals I learned that many of the amendments I wanted/needed to add to my mix (i.e. Lime, Soft rock phosphate, gypsum, azomite, etc..) take quite a while to break down and become available in the soil and ultimately to the plant. It's perfectly obvious now, but I hadn't really considered it previously. Like you I just added the stuff to the soil as I was preparing to use it!

Once I became aware of this though, I purchased two large (40 or 50 gallon) plastic tubs with lids from wally world and mix and cook my soil in them. I've got the rotation refined to the point where I have one tub that has been cooking for 90 days or longer without introducing any new stuff and the other I use a bit like a compost digester for certain kitchen scraps (fruits, vegies, pulverized egg shells, etc..) and other compostable matter. Doing this allows me to have one tub of soil mix ready to go pretty much all the time while the other is cooking/composting.

After harvest I reclaim the soil from the root balls and it put it back in the tub that I just took the "cooked" soil from and begin using it as the compost digester and quit adding anything new to the other bin. By the time I need fresh soil again in 90 days or so, it's pretty well renewed/refreshed and is ready for use.

Be well and happy growing.

Yesterdays talk on cooking by TanR and you makes me want to change up a little. I have been just ammending stuff right in mix at transplant.I just sprouted some new seeds now at 6 days from starting dry.I should mix up a batch now and let it cook so when they are transplanted everything is already available.

 

[Smelly Joe]

A lot of people talked about cooking the soil but as budget allows ( or rather does not allow) I have to buy all my stuff as money comes in which makes it hard for me to mix and cook. But not this time. Oh Hell no.

I budgetted for the next grow already and everything will be bought and mixed, chucked into bags and then it'll be left for at least 2 - 3 months. So by the time I'm using it, then it'll be perfect.

I acvtually read my soil mix recipe wrong. It said that I can use either Compost OR Humus. So compost it'll be , but I'll add some ewc from my worm farm and also start up the tea brewer for that xtra touch of love. I read a great recipe over on another thread by ProperGreen. I will be using. Cause I have seen his grows before and he knows his stuff.

TanR, I'm really looking forward to the soil recycling part. Heard so many good things about it.

Love and Light

 

[closetorganic]

Great idea Closetorganic.

I confess I took the idea from reading some of Doc Buds journals on his high brix efforts. Because of where I live, I don't have a local resource for any of the "named" soils that a lot of members seem to use. Shipping on soil is stupidly expensive so I have to make do with run of the mill big box retailer stuff and it isn't always ideally suited for cannabis.

In reading Doc Buds (and others) journals I learned that many of the amendments I wanted/needed to add to my mix (i.e. Lime, Soft rock phosphate, gypsum, azomite, etc..) take quite a while to break down and become available in the soil and ultimately to the plant. It's perfectly obvious now, but I hadn't really considered it previously. Like you I just added the stuff to the soil as I was preparing to use it!

Once I became aware of this though, I purchased two large (40 or 50 gallon) plastic tubs with lids from wally world and mix and cook my soil in them. I've got the rotation refined to the point where I have one tub that has been cooking for 90 days or longer without introducing any new stuff and the other I use a bit like a compost digester for certain kitchen scraps (fruits, vegies, pulverized egg shells, etc..) and other compostable matter. Doing this allows me to have one tub of soil mix ready to go pretty much all the time while the other is cooking/composting.

After harvest I reclaim the soil from the root balls and it put it back in the tub that I just took the "cooked" soil from and begin using it as the compost digester and quit adding anything new to the other bin. By the time I need fresh soil again in 90 days or so, it's pretty well renewed/refreshed and is ready for use.

Be well and happy growing.

A good idea is best when attempted TanR,I need to get on it! Doc Bud was my first hero joining 420.I like your style on recycling and my daughter and I started a indoor composter worm bin with her preschool teachers small donation of wigglers,They have done well so far and are breeding ,but I dont have the numbers to actually get a useable amount of castings,we also compost outdoors when its not frozen,Bags of frozen peelings,pumpkins even fish guts are waiting for the thaw.
I think starting a cook with enough mix to handle the first tp and hopefully second just before flower on my new seedlings will be my best approach and maybe just topdress extra needed when in flower.They're in solos now so maybe first transplant is half cooked but the final should be ready in the schedule I run

 

[Smelly Joe]

Ahoya.

I'm currently growing Arjan Haze #1 and I was wondering if any of you have grown her before ??? She isn't as dark leafed as I would like and I'm thinking that she is a heavy feeder. I changed her feeding to Seabird Guano and accidentally might have added to much guano. But hopefully she takes it being a sativa and all.

I have a feeling that the compost I used has slow release fertilizer in. But that's just my guess and also I mixed my soil like a fuck-tard.

Love and Light

 

[TanR]

Sorry, no experience with that strain.

 

[Smelly Joe]

No problem brother.

I have been reading and reading AND reading , but thats about it. i am really liking this strain and i have to say that i think its gonna be a nice yielder. I started a cutting last week in fine (5dm) perlite and things were looking good until I noticed that the leafs were looking brown with a moist feel to it. 1st I thought that the leafs were burned ( for some weird reason ) and i moved the cutting out of the cab to the windowsill and almost forgot about it for few hours. After staring and looking and thinking , decided to pull it and focus on the other cutting, but to my surprise as i pulled i saw saw this mass amount of thick roots i was pretty surprised and repotted to a nice loose compost perlite mix. The cutting is back in the cab under a 12-1 light cycle. if the cutting survives, then she will go into the Scrog Draw but i'll start a silly thread for that one to help me choose what strain to grow

The idea behind Scrog Draw :

Choose X amount of strains and give as much information about the plant and start a poll as to which strain should be grown. thats about all im telling now but its gonna be fun

all my plants sexed exept for the Haze Cant wait to see her in flower !!!

love and Light

 

[ProperGreen]

What's up brother?! IDK How I Missed This Thread!

But the humus content in your soil mix will either be your compost, vermicompost(stuff from you're worm bin), or store bought earth worm castings, or forest humus!
As you can see by my soil mix, I'm using a combination of equal parts earth worm castings and Ancient Forest Humus, as my humus content of my soil mix! I mix the two to add a diverse group of microbes to my soil ecosystem! The Ancient forest will be a fungal dominant source as it come from old forest litter, while the worm castings will be a more bacterially dominant source, as it comes from the gut of the worms!

Your humus source is gonna be the part of the soil that adds the brunt of the microbes initially.
The mineral and nutrition amendments that you add can be looked at as the food for those microbes.
Hope that kinda clears things up for you brother!

Also, don't think that you always need to add lime to your soil!
Lime is something that you add to the soil to raise your pH, or to stabilize it when you use peat as a base, which acidifies as it degrades.
It's also a source of Cal/Mg, but so is your vermicompost. Likewise in regards to egg shells, oyster shells, and crab shell, and epsom salts amongst other things.
So when in doubt and when not using a peat based soil without a high humus content, I forgo the lime.
You can also add it after the fact.
I didn't use any this run or the last run!

Also, in regards to you mentioning that you're "feeding" the seabird guano!
You may think that you are "feeding" it because you apply it, but techically it's doing nothing until it's processed by those microbes in your soil like everything else, which could be 3-4 weeks!
Remember we can't feed the plants! We can only feed the soil, unless we use soluble chemical fertilizers, which we don't do in organics!
Seabird guano is generally high in N & P yeah, but it's one of those things that you want add to your mix and then let it cook! It's ok to top dress for sure, but again, it won't be readily available for at least another 3-4 weeks approximately!

And it's a good idea to always know where your compost is coming from so that you have an idea of what exactly it is! If your compost isn't cured, or finished, then you're not getting the full range of microbes that you would in good compost, and you might be getting some pathogens as well!

As far as "slow release fertilizer", there shouldn't be any of that..But you can however look at finished compost as a fertilizer, since it's full of microbes that hold nutrients within their bodies, and other microbes that eat those microbes, and release the nutrients they were holding to you plants.
The nutrients in compost aren't water soluble tho, so it's pretty much impossible to measure what's in it.
You just have to go on the look and smell of the compost, to determine whether or not if it's good.

If it is dark, rich, and earthy, it's good compost.
If it's not very dark and smells still like manure or ammonia, it's not good compost!
As far as your vermicompost, or worm castings, you can ensure that it's got a little bit of everything in it, by feeding the worms a diverse group of things like egg shells, banana peels, alfalfa meal, kelp meal, green sand, etc.

And your soil mix can cook in about a months time! No need to cook it any longer!
It's good if you can cook it longer tho, because the soil will actually increase in concentration in regards to the nutrients that will be available in it!

Hope all is going well for you brother!

& Blessings

 

[Smelly Joe]

Re: What's up brother?! IDK How I Missed This Thread!

Your humus source is gonna be the part of the soil that adds the brunt of the microbes initially.
The mineral and nutrition amendments that you add can be looked at as the food for those microbes.
Hope that kinda clears things up for you brother!

That surely does PG. I always over complicate shit and once my head starts thinking all is lost. LoL

Also, don't think that you always need to add lime to your soil!
Lime is something that you add to the soil to raise your pH, or to stabilize it when you use peat as a base, which acidifies as it degrades.

The only reason I add Lime is because its what I was "taught" to add it and it kinda stuck. I have been brainwashed by the "system" and I have to re-learn from the start.

Also, in regards to you mentioning that you're "feeding" the seabird guano!
You may think that you are "feeding" it because you apply it, but techically it's doing nothing until it's processed by those microbes in your soil like everything else, which could be 3-4 weeks!
Remember we can't feed the plants! We can only feed the soil, unless we use soluble chemical fertilizers, which we don't do in organics!
Seabird guano is generally high in N & P yeah, but it's one of those things that you want add to your mix and then let it cook! It's ok to top dress for sure, but again, it won't be readily available for at least another 3-4 weeks approximately!

LoL. I always make that mistake and I do appoligize. I am feeding my soil, but what I did notice is that the compost did/does have rich nutrients in the soil already and when I added the Guano I just "overfed" the soil. Which brings me to the following question. How should one go about watering in containers ??? I always water until water comes out the bottom. I've read many articles and all of them say the same thing and it comes down to a 20% run-off. Is this correct ??? Cause I sometimes overwater and it looks like a water pipe burst. LoL

If it is dark, rich, and earthy, it's good compost.
If it's not very dark and smells still like manure or ammonia, it's not good compost!
As far as your vermicompost, or worm castings, you can ensure that it's got a little bit of everything in it, by feeding the worms a diverse group of things like egg shells, banana peels, alfalfa meal, kelp meal, green sand, etc.

And your soil mix can cook in about a months time! No need to cook it any longer!
It's good if you can cook it longer tho, because the soil will actually increase in concentration in regards to the nutrients that will be available in it!

The compost I am using currently is called Double Grow and its Organic and its really a good looking Compost. Nice and dark and it smells like earth. I really enjoy using it and mixing that with ewc will make the soil mix great.

4 weeks cooking will be my minimum and if I need to cook longer then that will be ok. I have soil ready for the newer season which I'll use for veging till the new soil is ready to be used.

PG, thanx again for your input. Always appreciated

Love and Light

 

[ProperGreen]

Being Able To Unlearn Things Is A Good Thing Brother! Things Change And We Must Too!

That surely does PG. I always over complicate shit and once my head starts thinking all is lost. LoL

The only reason I add Lime is because its what I was "taught" to add it and it kinda stuck. I have been brainwashed by the "system" and I have to re-learn from the start.

LoL. I always make that mistake and I do appoligize. I am feeding my soil, but what I did notice is that the compost did/does have rich nutrients in the soil already and when I added the Guano I just "overfed" the soil. Which brings me to the following question. How should one go about watering in containers ??? I always water until water comes out the bottom. I've read many articles and all of them say the same thing and it comes down to a 20% run-off. Is this correct ??? Cause I sometimes overwater and it looks like a water pipe burst. LoL

The compost I am using currently is called Double Grow and its Organic and its really a good looking Compost. Nice and dark and it smells like earth. I really enjoy using it and mixing that with ewc will make the soil mix great.

4 weeks cooking will be my minimum and if I need to cook longer then that will be ok. I have soil ready for the newer season which I'll use for veging till the new soil is ready to be used.

PG, thanx again for your input. Always appreciated

Love and Light

Hey brother,

Glad the little humus and amendment dig made it a little easier for your to understand!
These aren't always my words exactly lol, rather things that I read and seemed simple for me to understand, so I've kinda memorize them and recited them to help others like you lol.
So as simple as that little dig may have sounded, I can't take credit for it lol! Only for sharing the knowledge haha! But nice that it helps!

And in regards to liming the soil, that's one thing that I've had to unlearn too.
There are much better, more balanced sources of Ca & Mg that we can use, and a lot of times you won't need to add lime. Most recently I learned that I should get my soil tested always before I lime it. Lime is a soil "sweetener" so they call it, which literally means it's used to bring your pH up, but we don't need pH up in a good soil. The microbes within control this.
I learned initially that lime helps stabilize your pH, but most bagged soil that you buy nowadays will already have a stabilized pH. I've learned that your humus source/content is what's gonna help stabilize your pH in soil mixes like ours. When you don't have a nice humus source in your soil tho, like if your just uzing a bag od Promix of something, it's a good idea to lime, because the peat of pH products is known to decrease with time, as peat acidifies with decomposition.

In regards to watering, I personally always water until I get some runoff, and I use 25% of the containers volume each time I water! So since I'm in 2gal pots this run, I use 1/2gal of water per container to ensure that I've wet the entire medium! I've gone 20% too last run, and have had success with that, but this time I'm going 25%. I read somewhere too, to use 20-25% and it worked, so it stuck! Not sure where I read it lol, but I'm sure I did!
But likewise, I'm sure if you ask 10 different ppl this question, you'll get 7 or 8 different answers you know?! So I just go with 20-25% because I know that it works.

And I've never heard of the Double Grow, but given our locations I'm not surprised by that lol.
But as long as it passes the smell test and it's reputable, it'll be fine I'm sure!
And right on about the "cooking" or cycling your soil for lack of better words!
Never skip this step as it's super important!

Take all the things that you plan on "feeding" your plant over the grow season and add it to your soil up front, then let it "cook"! This way you know everything that you'd feed is already in there, and you won't be tempted to feed anything other than more microbes via compost teas, and the occasional topdressing a week or two after flowering begins, because as you see stem and leaf growing above the ground, those amendments that you have in the soil are being used up, slowly but surely!

And it's my pleasure to help you brother! As always.
Sooner than later you'll be the one doing the helping I know!

& Blessings

 

[Smelly Joe]

Re: Being Able To Unlearn Things Is A Good Thing Brother! Things Change And We Must T

I am super stoked for the new season already and I can feel that the outdoor has taken hold. LoL.

Indoor is coming along splendidly


The cuttings is coming on slowly, but surely so soon I'll start that thread. That will also be my 1st ever MH and HPS grow.

Love and Light

 

[Smelly Joe]

AT LAST !!!

I finally managed to get pics up. Took me while to figure it out. Maybe its time to slow down in life and take things slower.

I would like to introduce my biggest lady, Querkell. She is now at her 4th week of flowering.

Will get more pics up soon

Love and Light