Dummy's Organic Run

Whats up Everybody! Well here I go...this is gonna be my first run at an organic grow. Ive been prepping for this for a few months now. Ive been soaking up as much information as I can from the pros here in the organic forums. I still dont understand a whole bunch about how things work but Im hoping to get a better understanding of organics once I get some hands on experience.

Since I don’t know much about growing (let alone organics), I was a bit reluctant to get a journal going. I'd told some of the growers here that I would do one when I started the grow though...so here goes.

Also, before I begin, I did another journal a while back on another grow. The problem with that journal was that I spent so much time trying to update it that I ended up focusing more on my journal than I did on my grow....so this time I will update as regularly as need be.

Okay, lets kick it!! This will be an ongoing journal (if things go right). We wont necessarily go right into focusing on veg/flower cycle. My plan is to get some clone mothers established first. Currently I have 8 babies that sprouted from seeds on Feb 16th so they are now two weeks old. My plan is to veg these 8 babies for a while then I'll take some cuts from each plant and sex them. I plan to pick the best two girls and put the other 6 outside. If I get some boys in the mix, they will also go outside with the unchosen girls and make me some seeds that I can use later. Right now all 8 plants are in party cups filled with a mix of light warrior and EWC that’s it...nothing else.

Special thanks to all the growers who shared their knowledge with me. I won’t go into names because I don’t want to piss anyone off if I forget a few folks. Whether your support was technical or moral...I appreciate it just the same!

My soil mix is also my very first. With advice from the experts here, I was able to put a good starter mix together. It took me a while to find the amendments that I have and I still want to find a few more but I guess what I have now will be considered a good foundation and I will build upon this later on down the road.

Here is my mix:
50% Alaska Peat
25% EWC
25% Perlite
Kelp meal
Alfalfa meal
Azomite
Oystershell Lime
Greensand
Happy Frog 5-5-5
Composted chicken manure (1.5-2.0-1.5)

I also will be using an ACT which will consist of:
high P Indonesian Bat Guano
Humic acid
EWC
Alfalfa meal
Molasses

My soil has been cooking for 5 weeks now (approx). It’s been kept damp and I have wet it down with my ACT mix twice that I made for my other garden veggies and flowers. I had some mold growing on the soil at one point but I have not seen any more since I turned it at week 3. Ive allowed the soil to dry out a little because I will be transplanting my babies here pretty soon.

My grow area is a very small DR60 tent which is 2x2x5 and I am using 316 true watts of CFLs. Im thinking about upgrading one day...but until then...

Okay few pics….here's the babies at two weeks old.

Edited by Dumdumdummy, 31 March 2012 - 06:07 AM.

One of the babies sprouted with a bit of a deformity...it started out with just one leaf on the side instead of two like all the others.

Thought I would post a few pics of my youngest son's cabbage. He was assigned a school project of growing this cabbage which was a tiny sprout when he brought it home from school. We planted it in my soil mix when I first made the mix approx 5 weeks ago...so I guess the soil has some merit to it:D. I also have been giving it the tea mix that I metioned in the first post. I grew it in a pot instead the ground because the weather was still very cold when we started and we wanted to be able to bring it inside if the temps dropped to freezing. Its been a fun little project and its gotten my son outside and away from the Xbox!!

Hey there DDD! Looks like you are off to a nice start.
Only the best to you!

Nice cabbage!

Sam

Welcome to the party 3-D. Sounds like you've been acing your homework! Good luck on your grow.

chunk

Thanks fellas!! I appreciate the welcome!

Exciting! Id love to learn more about organic gardening, This seems like a great place to start. Awesome looking cabbage! Best of luck.

Exciting! Id love to learn more about organic gardening, This seems like a great place to start. Awesome looking cabbage! Best of luck.

You are more than welcome to follow along;)! This will be just as much a learning experience for me as anyone else.

oh yeah... im subbed... need more pics though, hahahahaha

oh yeah... im subbed... need more pics though, hahahahaha

Yep. There will be alot of pics coming for both my babies as well as the other veggies and flowers!

Subbed for sure.. WILLIS! HILLIS!!!

funky hippie cabbage!!!!!!!





-OSUB

funky hippie cabbage!!!!!!!





-OSUB

Hahahaha!! Dont I wish I had that kind of skill!!

Im subbed

Whats up everybody! Today is a good day indeed. Its my birthday and I am on vacation!! Spring break to coincide with my kids' spring break!! Might do one my absolute favorite things today and grill some meat!!

OKay...today also marks a very important day in the journal. I transplanted all the babies last night. They were moved from the cups in the light warrior and EWC to small pots with my soil mix....so now its time to see if my mix is going to be hospitable:hide:. Fingers are crossed!!

Some were starting to get a little bright green and cotolydens are yellow, so Im guessing that they might have wanted some soil with a little more nutrition.

Edited by Dumdumdummy, 02 April 2012 - 07:05 PM.

Only a few days into the grow and I ALREADY NEED HELP:o...

Growers please help me out. I just transplanted a day ago and this morning when I checked, the plants are showing signs of burning (I think)!! I let m soil cook for approx 5 weeks so I figured it would have been ready by now?!?! Or could this be a sign of some sort of transplant shock?

Either way, please advise!! Thanks in advance. BTW, this is happening to 5 out of the 8 plants that I have.

have u ph'd ur soil? I looks like a burn to me but im not sure

are you using sub par castings?

have u ph'd ur soil? I looks like a burn to me but im not sure

This is something that I thought about and it has me more confused. One the reasons I wanted to get into organics is the fact the most of the growers say that there is no need for ph'ing. SeanDawg told me that he checks his on occasion but its hardly ever necessary...so I ph'ed mine this morning. I got one plant reading at 7.4. The others are all reading 7.2-7.3. I added 1/4 tsp sulfer to each one to get the ph back down....but still I was hoping that ph would have been something that I didnt have to do:confused:.

are you using sub par castings?

This could be the case...Im not sure what would be considered sub par though? I have my own worm bin but the castings are not ready...so in the mean time, Im using these...

Hey DDD,

The root cause of your problem can be traced back to the beginning when the sprouted seeds were first placed in the cups with your seedling mix. What you see now is just a further progression of that same problem.

Your seedling mix was Light Warrior (Sphagnum moss and perlite) and EWC. You didn't say in your first post what ratio you mixed those at, but I'm going to guess from your first pic that it was at least 1/3 EWC, maybe more. EWC's are a great addition to a starter mix, but you have to be very careful about how much you use and how often you water, because they retain a lot of moisture and don't dry out quickly.

Your first post pic shows the beginnings of over-watering (for your particular mix). The leaves are flat but curling downward in a circle. Your roots weren't getting enough oxygen, and the plants were beginning to stress. The yellowing you saw was a sign they weren't getting enough nutrition, but not for the reason you assumed. Oxygen deprived roots simply aren't capable of drawing nutrients into the plant.

You compounded your problem by transplanting them when they were stressed. In essence, you added a stressful procedure on top of an already stressful situation. Now, with the main root structure still in the too wet starter soil, and the roots not expanding into your new mix, what you are seeing (yellow/brown necrosis on the lower leaves) is the result of roots that are rotting in the soil.

You need to be careful at this point or you're going to lose them. You have to let the soil dry out. That's an imperative. Until those roots get some oxygen, they are going to continue rotting. Wait until the plants look like they are about to wilt from lack of water, then give them a light watering, just enough to rehydrate them and encourage them to grow.

Whatever you do, don't add any fertilizers or nutrient solutions to that first watering. Let the plant find it's own nutrients in your mix.

In the meantime, it may be helpful to foliar spray with a light alfalfa/kelp steeped tea:

1 gal water
1 Tbsp alfalfa meal
1 Tbsp kelp meal
1/4 tsp Pro-Tekt

Steep it for 2 days, shaking as often as you get the chance, then dilute it 1/4 strength and apply as a foliar every other day or every third day.

Hope that helps.

See ya...