Sweetsue's First Grow - Stealthy Trio of Autos Under CFLs

[SweetSue]

great informative update, thank you Sue!

as it just so happens, I became an accidental fabric pot worm gardener today ... I was cooking a seedling mix of soil in a 10 gallon fabric pot, about 5 gallons in all of SS#4, FFOF, perlite, Yum Yum mix and Azomite all mixed together... and I started hearing plopping, and I looked down, and a chunk of red wigglers were in the pot... lol I left them. they were escaping from my open worm can >.< Actually I watered them in and covered them with a plastic pot with air holes hahaha. When I came back, they were all dug in. So. I guess my seedling soil batch is going to be the beginning of my first LOS No-Till batch instead. - and I was all worried about not being able to use PeeJay's 3 stage system... hahaha, it's like the world is pushing me towards truer organics. I'm going to add a bunch of leaves now. I'm so excited. First No-Till LOS soil batch coming up!!

Good for you SoilGirl. I agonized about not following PeeJay's three-stage soil too. LOL He gets such incredible harvests that I wanted to follow his footsteps. After CO steered me in the direction of LOS no-till I knew there was no turning back, but I am eternally grateful to PeeJay for pulling me away from the TLO madness before I got financially invested in it. He opened my eyes enough to see my true calling with LOS. It makes more sense to me to develop living soil that only improves with use.

And now CO is going to have us all worm farming in fabric pots and developing our own leaf mold. Such an adventure.

 

[SoilGirl]

hahaha I 100% agree with everything you said Sue PeeJay really helped me get started in the right direction. REALLY. if it weren't for him, I'd probably still be using General Organics >.< - nothing against the people that use that stuff... but I don't want to again, unless its only to do a side-by-side with Real organic soil. I think that would be a big eye opener. I technically could do that right away I just... would feel so bad for that plant lol..

 

[SweetSue]

I agree SoilGirl. Why make plants suffer? I would have a hard time doing that to the planet. Even my first two adopted plants saw nothing more than rainwater and teas or drenches with things like comfrey, dandelion, burdock and thistle. Then I learned to build a vibrant soil community. It pleases me to have found a way to grow superior plants in a sustainable way that uses materials I can usually forage locally or produce on my own. I knew from the beginning that you should be able to grow quality plants organically without going into bankruptcy or having to make continuous outlandish monetary investments. That organic thing was important to me from the start. It was a strong influence in my upbringing.

Living Organic Soil meets my needs beautifully. It's ease of maintenance fits nicely into my busy life. The promise of the soil's ability to become healthier with each successive grow intrigues me. I'm looking forward to that time when I realize I'm going into my fourth year in the same unmolested pot.

Tonight I've been looking into DIY designs for a SIP watering system with a fabric pot. I'm thinking of putting together a system using a couple kitty litter trays and some organic perlite or lava rock. I could do one and see if there was a difference. I'm pretty sure my soil would be a good mix for this type of system. I also believe I have developed a pretty decent watering system. Then again, the beauty of a SIP system is that you don't have to spend so much time and attention on watering. That's a good argument for doing both plants. Decisions, decisions.

I have a week or so to think about it before I spend the money somewhere else. There's always somewhere else isn't there?

 

[SoilGirl]

ugh somewhere else for me is lights >.< lights lights lights. Yeah I've always kinda been a dive-right-in person. I didn't stop and think and prepare first like you lol, one day it was just, I want to grow, and I'm going to teach myself! Well I taught myself, that I needed to learn from others after a couple not-so-good attempts.

then the first person that had any knowledge I learned from suggested SS#4, and Jack's Classic Nutrients. Did that for about a while. Then it was FF nutes and adding compost, a step up. But I ph'ed. Did that for a while, and I'd still use Jack's Classic sometimes. I didn't know anything about the SFW or ... anything lol. I grew decent buds though still at that point. Then I joined here after a year or so long break from growing and its been a Huge step up lol, it's probably good I had to relearn things, I just wish I didn't make investments in General Organics or any of the old chemical/liquid nutes. that was hundreds of dollars. I could use that $ now haha.

living for free has its perks though. All the money I get pretty much goes straight to growing, all the time. I'm honestly hoping to accumulate so much growing stuff that I can start maybe providing for some people, after getting the licensing and everything, and then hopefully saving up enough to move out and hopefully join a collective or something. just a life away from here.
a lot of hope lol. I mean my dad isn't devoted to using CBD as medicine, he likes alcohol better so... might as well help someone else.

haha, sorry if I'm kinda hijacking your thread, I've been very talkative lately >.< I'm 100% with you on your organic views haha, and that SIP system sounds like a good idea, but yes, like you said I'm sure there's elsewhere to spend the money if you choose not to do that.

 

[SweetSue]

SoilGirl, you can stop and chat anytime. I see a lot of my younger self in you. My husband has devoted years to trying to get me to think first. When it needs done I want to get on with it. lol He's influenced me enough after 33 years to stop and breathe first, to great benefit, I must admit.

I think if you can find employment doing something you have passion for you are doing it right.

 

[SweetSue]

I actually stopped in to share this link. Amazing stuff on the role of soil fungus from Ohio State.

Enjoy.

 

[SoilGirl]

SoilGirl, you can stop and chat anytime. I see a lot of my younger self in you. My husband has devoted years to trying to get me to think first. When it needs done I want to get on with it. lol He's influenced me enough after 33 years to stop and breathe first, to great benefit, I must admit.

I think if you can find employment doing something you have passion for you are doing it right.

I actually stopped in to share this link. Amazing stuff on the role of soil fungus from Ohio State.

Enjoy.

Aw thank you Sue. Yeah... I probably need someone to slow me down a little too. Sometimes. haha.

and cool link thank you, I'm just getting through page one.

 

[COorganics]

Great link there sue. I just finished reading and found it quite informative. Thanks.

 

[SweetSue]

The girls are a week old now and I thought it would be nice to see how far they've come in that short time. First the oldest, the THC Bomb.

The Buddha Magnum

Some side shots of each. I'm impressed at how tightly noded they are becoming. The THC Bomb .....

..... with a close up of internal growth (exciting!) .....

..... and the Buddha Magnum

Last night I took some quick shots to compare with ones taken this morning. I was just interested in seeing how much they grow overnight. It's fairly obvious which shots were taken when, but for clarification, the morning shot of the THC Bomb is on top.....

..... and the morning shot of the Buddha Magnum is on the bottom.

Pretty impressive how these Autos grow at such a rapid rate. We'll be flowering sometime sooner than expected. I had to lift the lights over the THC Bomb a little last night and it won't be long now before I begin to add more lights to the space. I'm working out something to sit below and light from the sides, between the plants, as well as more cords hanging off to the outsides when they get a bit taller.

And I'm definitely going to do a SIP system ASAP.

 

[SweetSue]

Great link there sue. I just finished reading and found it quite informative. Thanks.

I'm still working on reading it myself CO. You read about how beneficial the fungi are, but to actually see it illustrated is an awe-inspiring thing. I especially liked the idea of the fungi being natural recycling bins of the soil. One of the other sites I was on recently spurred an interest in the recycling and reclamation properties of mushrooms. That's yet another area for future exploration.

 

[COorganics]

I read once last night and learned some things, but now can't remember a single specific thing to comment on. That article is worth combing over thoroughly several times.

 

[SweetSue]

Yeah, I'm a bit lost in space these days. Those babies are TWO weeks old. Looking good though. I watered today before running off for Dale's cardiac rehab. Watering first from the bottom is working out beautifully. Today was rain water only. With an extra day in between they took more water today. There's a good argument for every other day. I'm getting excited about a SIP system.

 

[SweetSue]

It's time to do something with these leaves. After thinking about it for a few days I'm going to wing it. The idea is to add things that the worms will benefit from without adding kitchen scraps. My basic intention here is to let them process these leaves into something my soil will appreciate, but keep it mostly leaves. I'm trying a couple different ways to make good leaf mold. I started by tossing in about 1/2 cup of some random minerals.

Toss in about 2 cups of rice hulls. I read that worms love these in the mix. I have them on hand, so why not?

Two nice handfuls of Yum Yum mix. Again, why not? It will add some interesting activity to the biological landscape if nothing else.

I realize that adding the minerals and Yum Yum means I need to let this all cook for two weeks or longer before I add worms. They're still acclimating to our home. I figure they'll be fine in the smaller bin for a few more weeks while I make a nice home for some of them in these leaves.

Finish off with a good drenching. I "rained" on the leaves for a while, mixed them up and repeated that process until it smelled reminiscent of the aftermath of a fall rain.

I closed it up and will leave it alone, stirring once a day and watering when I think it's necessary until I'm ready to build the worm pot. I'm figuring the middle of January.

 

[akisunni]

A living lifecycle naturally indoors... love it.

 

[SweetSue]

I'm quite enjoying the experience myself, akisunni. I would have never considered all of this, had it not been for meeting CO on these threads. Some things were meant to be. The smells of fertile soil and forest floor permeate our small apartment now, and we couldn't be happier. We hadn't planned on being locked into poverty by illness at this stage of our lives. This new journey into indoor organic gardening had lightened the atmosphere and made both of us feel more comfortable with circumstances. And that doesn't even take into account the quality I expect from the harvest or the money it will save us in the long run by growing our own. All good things.

This entire process appeals to the Mother Earth part of my personality.

 

[SweetSue]

Keeping to the schedule, I watered today with 1/4 cup of coconut water added to 1/2 gal. rain water for the top drench. I started with a slower bottom watering, giving both plants ample time to wick up. I've been thinking about how the SIP system will allow the plants to take up the water they need. Since they're sitting above the water level there's no danger of over saturation. It's that standing water that creates the problem with gnats. Standing water is only possible if the soil is too wet and is trying to let the excess go.

My main goal today was to watch carefully and make sure there was no water left in the tray before I walked away. I bought a turkey baster for this very purpose and keep a sponge there for that last bit. I saved all the drain off (it turned out to be about 2 cups) and tossed it into the cooking leaves. Smells like childhood in that tote. Memories of jumping into piles of autumn leaves.

Worms are looking good. I keep a bag of selective garbage in the refrigerator, and today I chopped some of it up fine with kitchen shears and buried it in. Everyone looks happy and the kitchen scraps keep disappearing. Busy making soil food.

I must say these plants are some of the healthiest I have ever seen. The stalks are strong and the leaves almost throb with vitality. Some quick pictures.

THC Bomb......

..... and Buddha Magnum

Enjoy the lead in to the big day everyone. I need to get those cookies baked!!!

 

[SweetSue]

I stumbled onto Greytail's grow journal, using an Intelligent-Gro LED and I've decided that my plants deserve better lighting. I'm looking into using my final income tax return, small though it may be, and investing in one. The smallest one may suit my compact space. I like the idea of the light being controllable to mimic the rising and setting of the sun. I can see how this would benefit the plants, the soil, and the worms. Having all that glare coming on in a split second has to be disconcerting to all living things.

After all, in the final,equation, it's the lights that make the most difference, don't you think?

Time for bed.

 

[COorganics]

ahh, sue, you've nailed it. I would have suggested that a while ago, but I knew you were on a budget and thought it would be impossible for you. a wise man said, "the lamps are the engine of your grow", or something similar. While you can flower with CFL's, it wont be the same as with HID or LED. You have everything else in perfect order. Kudos on the decision there, its a good one.

do your homework on LED's, what little I have seen leads me to believe that they certainly are NOT all created equally. a 400 watt HID complete system can be had for a little over a hundred bucks nowdays as well, same brand I use. HID may not be best for you though. Homework time...

 

[SweetSue]

I've been researching them for quite a while now and I really like the looks of the Intelligent-Gro II series. The 180W will cover a 2x2 ft area, which just happens to be the footprint my pots take. I know the plants will become larger than the pots though. I'm still pretty new to all this, so let's think it through. My grow space is pretty confined to that 2 ft x 14 inch restriction, with a wee bit of extra space on the sides. If I get one small panel and hang it in the middle I can supplement it with hanging CFLs to illuminate the sides, (we have five cords at our disposal) which would be the most vulnerable to the fact that the LEDs light straight down.

This panel is meant to replace a 250W-400W HID panel. I can't see why that wouldn't be enough for my closet grow. Anything larger seems to be a waste in this environment. The lovely thing about these lights is the way you can daisy chain them together, should I someday upgrade to a decent sized box or tent. With a controller I'm looking at $295 plus my shipping choice. I'm expecting the refund to be in the neighborhood of $400 (had to quit the job last April to be here for Dale) and I've already warned him it's all going into lighting and additives like malted barley grain and aloe vera powder, if I haven't acquired them already. I should have the scrubber installed by then so this should be my final major expense.

We were thinking we might be able to put the door back on its hinges and make it super stealthy again, but I'm not sure there's enough clearance at the floor to get adequate air flow into the space once the scrubber is running. It's nice that the LEDs don't give off lots of heat, which gives us the option of venting into the lowered ceiling, but you still need a decent intake for the cold air return. I may stick with my original plan of a couple large project boards held in place with magnets. Right now it's wide open to the room and the CFLs just act like additional lighting. That definitely won't be an option with the LEDs. We'd be blinded by the light.

I think I've found my light.

 

[SweetSue]

Reading through other grow journals using bottles of chemicals, I find myself so thankful that I chose a road that requires nothing more than water-only and top dressing with decent worm castings. Raising worms, making compost and leaf mulch, keeping the soil alive with regular watering and top dressing, I never look at my plants and wonder if they are deficient in some nutrient. I know everything they need is in the soil already or being applied through watering or dressing. How easy and natural.

It's so much easier to let the soil raise the plant. I consider myself blessed to have found this approach right at the beginning. No old habits to break.