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- #41
Toes
New Member
I went to the, not-so-local, local hydroponics world and purchased 3, 8 quart backs of Perlite. They were $1 cheaper than the local nursery, and since I was in that neck of the WOODS. I also picked up a 3 way soil meter. The owners of the store are super friendly and knowledgeable, they have a sudo-head shop attached to the side of the building. Complete with a galleria of glass. I thought to myself "how convenient". 
When I got home that night I mixed my soil in a 5 cubic foot wheel barrow. 1 1/2 bags of perlite, one bag of compost, about the same amount of worm dirt. Then, I checked the pH. after a minute the needle was fluctuating between 4.5 and 5.5. I figured I would need an up, good thing I had just made a bon fire on the farm and had plenty of oak ashes. Threw them into the mix. (I started the fire specifically for the ashes, to supplement my K issue that PapaGreen had pointed out to me). Also, about two dozen finely ground egg shells. I mixed 3 different samples and each one acclimated to 6.5 to 6.8
I was real anxious to transplant these babies into a better soil. Originally I placed the bean sprouts in just solid compost way before I
knew that doing so was a bad idea. The youngsters were showing deficiency signs. Yellowing / browning / necro-tips on the first set of not-so-true, true leaves (you know, the ones w/o the fingers). Since I read somewhere this is a sign that the little ones were pulling the needed nutrients out of those leaves to supplement the new growth, which was green and healthy, I knew I needed a better, richer medium. Also, to combat the heat. The larger pots stay cooler in the center at the root, than the small 4" containers I previously had them in.
I did all this Sun 7/11 in the cool of the evening. I watered well and took off the next day. Had to visit some peeps. I just got back last night. I figured I would either come home to 6 dead plants or the yellowing and necrosis would just be worse. To my surprise this morning ALL of the yellowing has turned back to green, only the necro tips remain, as a reminder of my ignorance.
The young plants look very happy in their new homes. I will post some pictures when there is moar to look at.
When I got home that night I mixed my soil in a 5 cubic foot wheel barrow. 1 1/2 bags of perlite, one bag of compost, about the same amount of worm dirt. Then, I checked the pH. after a minute the needle was fluctuating between 4.5 and 5.5. I figured I would need an up, good thing I had just made a bon fire on the farm and had plenty of oak ashes. Threw them into the mix. (I started the fire specifically for the ashes, to supplement my K issue that PapaGreen had pointed out to me). Also, about two dozen finely ground egg shells. I mixed 3 different samples and each one acclimated to 6.5 to 6.8
I was real anxious to transplant these babies into a better soil. Originally I placed the bean sprouts in just solid compost way before I
knew that doing so was a bad idea. The youngsters were showing deficiency signs. Yellowing / browning / necro-tips on the first set of not-so-true, true leaves (you know, the ones w/o the fingers). Since I read somewhere this is a sign that the little ones were pulling the needed nutrients out of those leaves to supplement the new growth, which was green and healthy, I knew I needed a better, richer medium. Also, to combat the heat. The larger pots stay cooler in the center at the root, than the small 4" containers I previously had them in.I did all this Sun 7/11 in the cool of the evening. I watered well and took off the next day. Had to visit some peeps. I just got back last night. I figured I would either come home to 6 dead plants or the yellowing and necrosis would just be worse. To my surprise this morning ALL of the yellowing has turned back to green, only the necro tips remain, as a reminder of my ignorance.
The young plants look very happy in their new homes. I will post some pictures when there is moar to look at.
