Stunger Tries Trough Growing And Attempts Fluxing On His Organic Living Soil Balcony

[Carcass]

They couldn't be much happier
Looking great, Stunger!

I think so Otter, actually I am quite rapt this grow with the early Flux training and reburying them deeper

It's pretty cool when you try new things, and they work like a charm.!.

Hey, about that male plant- I had a male outside a few years ago, and I timed how long it took from seeing the first balls till they start dropping pollen- 14 days...they're quick!
So you probably won't need to keep that male around for very long...

not as long as I kept this one around, anyhow...

 

[Stunger]

They couldn't be much happier
Looking great, Stunger!

It's pretty cool when you try new things, and they work like a charm.!.

Hey, about that male plant- I had a male outside a few years ago, and I timed how long it took from seeing the first balls till they start dropping pollen- 14 days...they're quick!
So you probably won't need to keep that male around for very long...

not as long as I kept this one around, anyhow...

Cheers Carcass! The lower leaves of my male plant got a bit of a beating last week in some high winds, but I won't be keeping it past the point of harvesting some pollen and it should be fine until then.

 

[InTheShed]

Since stretch is on and they're off, when so you start sorting out the height restrictions? Looks like they're headed up beyond the railing!

 

[Stunger]

Since stretch is on and they're off, when so you start sorting out the height restrictions? Looks like they're headed up beyond the railing!

I don't mind them being just an inch or so above the railing, as anyone looking from a distance would find it hard to spot I'd think. But currently the leading branches are stretching towards breach of height restrictions, but these ones will/should be easy to apply some LST to because they're all long which makes them easy to restrain down a little if needed.

I've really been on easy street with this grow! All because I got them quite low in the beginning while pruning off all future lower branches when just small which are already out of the way now. Usually, I would have had to perform several rounds of super cropping and constant LST but so far I have done none of that.

I am guessing about 1 more week of stretch, or so...

 

[seaofgreen18]

Update - Pictorial progress report

Greetings 420 enthusiasts! The fine weather continues. The trough plants are entering into early stage flowering.

Mulanje Sherbert

MS

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

MS

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

Frozen Black Cherry

FBC

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

FBC

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

FBC

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

Super Lemon Haze

SLH

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

SLH

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

Mulanje Sherbert male

MS - male

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

It is now possible to see the early stage of developing balls after the telltale sign of 'crab claws' seen a few weeks ago.

MS - male

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

The 'trough' from above and a profile for future height reference

Trough - above

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

Trough - profile

• Stunger
• Feb 6, 2024

Thanks for dropping by, all the best!

Looking REALLY NICE!

 

[Stunger]

Looking REALLY NICE!

Thanks SOG! I only do this once a year and it's so nice have plants entering the flowering stage.

 

[Stunger]

Update - pictorial after some height reducing LST

Greetings 420 enthusiasts! Yesterday I carried out some LST to the taller branches of the plants to reduce their height profile a tad. So a few pics today to show the latest.

1

• Stunger
• Feb 9, 2024

2

• Stunger
• Feb 9, 2024

3

• Stunger
• Feb 9, 2024

4

• Stunger
• Feb 9, 2024

Thanks for dropping in, I hope your own gardens are going great!

 

[Trala]

Every time I read “greetings 420 enthusiasts” I big smile like a simpleton with a sock puppet!

 

[Stunger]

Every time I read “greetings 420 enthusiasts” I big smile like a simpleton with a sock puppet!

Glad you like it Tra but I'm not telling porkies, we are all 420 enthusiasts to be here I think

 

[Trala]

Glad you like it Tra but I'm not telling porkies, we are all 420 enthusiasts to be here I think

Yeah I know

It’s just when you say it, it gives me LIFE!

 

[seaofgreen18]

Update - pictorial after some height reducing LST

Greetings 420 enthusiasts! Yesterday I carried out some LST to the taller branches of the plants to reduce their height profile a tad. So a few pics today to show the latest.

1

• Stunger
• Feb 9, 2024

2

• Stunger
• Feb 9, 2024

3

• Stunger
• Feb 9, 2024

4

• Stunger
• Feb 9, 2024

Thanks for dropping in, I hope your own gardens are going great!

Looking REALLY GOOD Im sure you hooked on the trough growing now ? I got hooked on bed growing except i do it inside

 

[seaofgreen18]

How do you measure your moisture?? Those are kinda heavy to lift aren't they ?

I use one of these well, actually I have 2 digital meters dedicated to the bed i just ordered this one to be able to check around different areas in the bed and outside in my vegetable bed . They work REALLY WELL and Here's what it does


(SR) Model, 6"
Irrometer Standard (SR) Model, 6"
$131.60

OPERATING PRINCIPLE: The IRROMETER operates on the tensiometer principle, which measures soil water tension. Soil water tension is the energy (vacuum)...

Details
OPERATING PRINCIPLE: The IRROMETER operates on the tensiometer principle, which measures soil water tension. Soil water tension is the energy (vacuum) applied to soil by the plant as it draws in water for nutrition. This force is measured in centibars (cb) or kilopascals (kPa) of tension with a high reading indicating the dry end of the scale and a low reading indicating the wet end of the scale. The IRROMETER instrument consists of a sealed, fluid filled tube that is equipped with a porous ceramic tip and a special vacuum gauge.

They are installed in the ground with the tips placed at desired root zone depths. As the soil dries (increasing tension), fluid is drawn out of the instrument. This reduces the fluid volume in the IRROMETER, thus creating a partial vacuum which is registered on the gauge. The drier the soil, the higher the gauge reading. An irrigation application or rainfall event reverses this action. As water flows back into the soil (and the IRROMETER), tension is relieved in the soil and the instrument, resulting in a lower gauge reading (lower tension). In effect, the instrument is indicating how hard the roots are working.

Due to the IRROMETER’s unique principle of operation, no calibrations are necessary under normal operating conditions for different soil types. A gauge reading of 50 cb (kPa) indicates that the roots are extracting the same amount of moisture whether the crop is planted in sandy soil or clay soil.

 

[seaofgreen18]

Ive noticed when Nuit deficiency comes around especially early on and the gauge reads low tension (lower than 80) they aren't up taking (feeding) and there is higher chances of root issues (pythium and so on) as the tension rises (over 80 up to 120) those deficiencies seem to go away and the plants become pea green anything above 130/140 I start to get wilt but with All the real estate they can still find some moisture 150 they REALLY start to wilt its a helpful tool!
I just wanted to share that with you it makes my life and the plants life alot easier if and when I have to troubleshoot issues its a good starting point along with soil ph, 2 good places to start when facing issues but you probably already know that

 

[seaofgreen18]

Just 1 other thing id like to say ,with a consistent soil tension (moisture) no wet/dry cycles it keeps a healthy environment for your microbes they can do their thing without adding compost and castings all the time to repopulate your microbiology population because without those microbes youll end up fertilizing the food might be there in an the soil but there is no microbes to break it down to be a usable source for the Plants so i avoid those wet/dry cycles i try keep a consistent tension between 80/120 that's the last thing I'll tie up your thread with dont mean to hijack it!

 

[Stunger]

Looking REALLY GOOD Im sure you hooked on the trough growing now ? I got hooked on bed growing except i do it inside

Thanks SOG!

How do you measure your moisture?? Those are kinda heavy to lift aren't they ?

So far I am really rapt with the 'trough'. Altho I don't dare try to lift or move it, as doing so would surely cause it to fall apart!

For moisture it is really impressive as I believe I have only watered the trough 7 times since the plants went in back in December, and that's with a standard plastic watering can that I think holds just 10 or 12 litres, about 3 gal for the whole trough. And as the trough sits outside it gets moisture when it rains, altho we haven't had a lot of that so far.

But how do I measure the moisture? Well, with my previous 2 grows I experienced the problems of overwatering, I should have been lifting the pots to check but with big plant canopies and a blown hernia I was reluctant to do that and I erroneously thought wilting was enough, but it wasn't, not for large horizontally trained out canopies in high heat as even with moist soil having heat of 50C or 120F coming off the stone tiles is enough to cause wilting to such canopies under those conditions even if the soil is moist. So for this grow I have gone back to basics, which is viewing what the plant & leaves are telling me, and so far they've been constantly 'praying' and looking fairly happy and I've been watering to that. I think when the leaves are praying then that is all you need. I am no expert but that's what I am going by this time and so far it seems to be going ok.

BTW your moisture device looks pretty whizz bang and sounds like it does a great job. But with 3 plants in the trough compared to 3 in separate pots, they now have 3 times the soil volume of the combined pots so I think soil moisture stays fairly ok for them. It's funny I don't even take pH readings, but there is so many worms and life in the soil that I feel if they are loving it then it must be in a good range, and besides I just want an easy life growing. That's why the different approach I took with training them this time has made it so stress free for me because I got them very low in the beginning that I didn't have to do all the many rounds of super cropping and LST that I'd previously had to do, that's when if I missed a week it could all turn into a mess quickly. Cheers.

 

[seaofgreen18]

Thanks SOG!

So far I am really rapt with the 'trough'. Altho I don't dare try to lift or move it, as doing so would surely cause it to fall apart!

For moisture it is really impressive as I believe I have only watered the trough 7 times since the plants went in back in December, and that's with a standard plastic watering can that I think holds just 10 or 12 litres, about 3 gal for the whole trough. And as the trough sits outside it gets moisture when it rains, altho we haven't had a lot of that so far.

But how do I measure the moisture? Well, with my previous 2 grows I experienced the problems of overwatering, I should have been lifting the pots to check but with big plant canopies and a blown hernia I was reluctant to do that and I erroneously thought wilting was enough, but it wasn't, not for large horizontally trained out canopies in high heat as even with moist soil having heat of 50C or 120F coming off the stone tiles is enough to cause wilting to such canopies under those conditions even if the soil is moist. So for this grow I have gone back to basics, which is viewing what the plant & leaves are telling me, and so far they've been constantly 'praying' and looking fairly happy and I've been watering to that. I think when the leaves are praying then that is all you need. I am no expert but that's what I am going by this time and so far it seems to be going ok.

BTW your moisture device looks pretty whizz bang and sounds like it does a great job. But with 3 plants in the trough compared to 3 in separate pots, they now have 3 times the soil volume of the combined pots so I think soil moisture stays fairly ok for them. It's funny I don't even take pH readings, but there is so many worms and life in the soil that I feel if they are loving it then it must be in a good range, and besides I just want an easy life growing. That's why the different approach I took with training them this time has made it so stress free for me because I got them very low in the beginning that I didn't have to do all the many rounds of super cropping and LST that I'd previously had to do, that's when if I missed a week it could all turn into a mess quickly. Cheers.

Yeah i love my bed its really efficient on water and no up potting ,no root bound plants and they have all the food they need usually from seed to harvest then @ the end of the run I get it tested and amend as necessary i run bio char so that helps with cec and water retention
I have worms in mine to but they have a hard time getting enough water for their liking tgey congragate around the drippers so as i find them i take them out and put them in the worm bin its not necessary to have them in there when everything is clicking !

 

[Stunger]

i run bio char so that helps with cec and water retention

I also have bio char in my soil mix. I added that fairly early in the piece when I read about the benefits going back to the Amazon terra preta soil, good stuff.

I have worms in mine to but they have a hard time getting enough water for their liking tgey congragate around the drippers so as i find them i take them out and put them in the worm bin its not necessary to have them in there when everything is clicking !

That's fair enough, it's one of many little cogs in the big wheel of soil life that it's probably not likely to be a massive difference either way on its own.

But I am happy to have worms leaving their by product of castings behind them to add to the positive properties of my soil as I haven't seen any negatives that I am aware of so far. I take the view that a species population will self regulate to balance with available food and moisture etc. So I feel that them being there enhances the whole living soil dynamic that I want, after all if I was growing in the ground outside then the worms and bugs present in the soil would ebb and flow as their populations self regulate. My worm farm has so many worms that nowadays I don't bother to pick them out when I am using castings in the garden.

 

[seaofgreen18]

I also have bio char in my soil mix. I added that fairly early in the piece when I read about the benefits going back to the Amazon terra preta soil, good stuff.

That's fair enough, it's one of many little cogs in the big wheel of soil life that it's probably not likely to be a massive difference either way on its own.

But I am happy to have worms leaving their by product of castings behind them to add to the positive properties of my soil as I haven't seen any negatives that I am aware of so far. I take the view that a species population will self regulate to balance with available food and moisture etc. So I feel that them being there enhances the whole living soil dynamic that I want, after all if I was growing in the ground outside then the worms and bugs present in the soil would ebb and flow as their populations self regulate. My worm farm has so many worms that nowadays I don't bother to pick them out when I am using castings in the garden.

Fair enough no right or wrong way to do any of this its all in how you want to do it
I pick the worms out when I see them crawling around on top of the soil is all or ill find them laying on the floor if I don't

 

[InTheShed]

Greetings 420 enthusiasts! Yesterday I carried out some LST to the taller branches of the plants to reduce their height profile a tad.

Phewf!

 

[StoneOtter]