Hello GC, I thought it was about time I started one of these, considering I've been lurking and posting enough lately to warrant my own thread. I figure this way it'll keep my rants fairly consolidated, and not derail other's journals. Anywhoo, I'm from Michigan, fully compliant with state medical marihuana (lol spelling) laws. I recently converted from synthetic chemical based fertilizers to a true "living soil" mindset over this winter, and I'm loving it. Less worries, less work and less problems. Thanks goes to jerry, MGB, Chunk, noobwannB, Wolverine, LD (bless him and his freely shared library of knowledge) and many more for showing me the way. I won't forget the valuable knowledge you all here at GC contribute, hopefully I can help expand the knowledge base too. So, onto the set up. I'm using a combination of 3 gallon smarties, 5 gallon hardpots and 7 gallon smarties right now, though I'll be converting entirely to 7g smarties when the ones in hardpots finish. Lighting Veg room - Two 8 bulb, 4 foot T5's, One 4 bulb 4 foot T5 and a small flouro for the clones. Flower room - Three 1000 watt HIDs, all magnetic. Currently running 2 HPS and 1 MH, though I plan on adding up to 3 more 1000 watters over the course of this year. My Soil Mix Before I get on with this, let me say one thing. This was by far the most fun part, for me anyways. This will be my very first organic grow, so hopefully I do well enough to attract more people to this way of growing. Let me know if I'm missing something or if you could think of something to add. This was mixed on a tarp, then thrown into a 200 gallon smart pot to cycle over the course of two months. (hasn't quite been 2 months yet, but w/e) Base Mix 3.8 c.f. compressed bale of Pro Mix BX (7 c.f.) 2 c.f. brick of coco coir 3.8 c.f. of Pro Mix 360 (barebones peat/wetting agent) 2 c.f. of Gro Stones (porous recycled silica) 7 - 8 c.f. of EWC (4 sources: Roots Organic Big Worm EWC, Northern Lakes EWC, KIS EWC and homemade vermi) 8 c.f. of Coast of Maine compost - 3 c.f. of Penobscot, 3 c.f. of Schootic blend and 2 c.f. of the Quoddy blend. Roughly 6 c.f. of perlite, probably more as it feels a little loose if anything. Food Mix Alfalfa Meal - 2 parts Fish Meal - 1 part Fish Bone Meal - 1 part Indonesian Bat Guano - .5 part Jamaican Bat Guano - .5 part Comfrey Leaves - 1 part Nettle leaves - 1 part Dandelion leaves - 1 part Yarrow flowers and leaves - 1 part Yucca root powder - 2 parts Fix It Mix Kelp meal - 3 parts Neem seed meal - 1 part Karanja seed meal - 1 part Crab shell meal - 1 part Mineral Mix aZomite - 1 part Oyster shell powder - 1 part Greensand - 1 part Extras Rock dust - 20 lbs Glacial, 20 lbs Basalt (I'll be sourcing locally for the rest when I can make it out to the pit; still need about 50 lbs to hit the 4 cups per c.f. mark) Sul-Po-Mag (K-Mag) - 1/4 cup per c.f. Ful-Humix - Dumped the rest of a bag into the mix, ended up being roughly 2 cups This mix is my first attempt at creating a proper environment for soil microbes, hopefully I learned enough to do it justice. I have 4 recently transplanted clones going in this mix, and 3 older ones in a half assed mix. (lacks some amendments, but has the necessities.) I also have 4 more going in the same mix as my flowering girls, though they're much older. Sorry for the terrible quality pics, I'll be using my digital camera next time I take some, instead of a buddy's phone with sunglasses over the lens. Sour Hindu Deathstar Lol, the second deathstar....So I got a little medicated, went to my veg room and was like, why don't I do a bit of transplanting today? On the 4 new transplants, I'll be attempting to mainline them. The rest just get topped early, fimmed after and LST'd the rest of the way, though I was really late when I started to LST the older ones. As in, I didn't start training them down until they were roughly 1 month into their 5g pots. Onto the porn, eh?
Deathstar Sour Hindu These have been flowering since 3/8, but I pulled a novice mistake and forgot to turn down the AC for the first 2 weeks. Unfortunately, they suffered a bit of stalling from the cold and are a bit small for their maturity. The purple is pretty, but not what I'm looking for... These 11 are in regular FFOF soil mix, topdressed with CoM compost, all the EWC kinds I had, and a general amendment mix containing a variety of the ones listed in my mix, minus the herbs. Nothing was amended into the FFOF soil, so this has been a pleasant surprise so far. 2 ACTs, one from vermicompost (veg), the other from KIS fungal compost (2 weeks into flower), were applied, as well as various botanical teas, roughly once a week. The 2 up front were flowered 3 days ago.
First! Ok I went back and read after claiming my spot next to the AC under the HPS. Glad you started a journal. The girls look great and make mine look like crap! Looks like you are much farther ahead in this organics game than myself. I like your lighting set up also. Ohhhh and your concrete floors, although when I spill water I don't have to clean it up... It just makes its way through the floor and then outside. Looking good G I'm stoked for you and a little envious of your set up. You should be proud my man. Peace
Gimik Front row seats on the first page. Should be easy to follow this one. Nice pics to rope us in with
thanks for the supplier list! I can actually go to KIS - ok - a bit of a trip, but not out of the question - I am excited about mixing up a batch of organic soil. Oh, have you ever used, or do you know anyone that has used a cement mixer to mix their soil? I have one, and was thinking I could even cook it in there ....any thoughts? I am not that strong, and my husband is even weaker, so this would save my butt. Lovely, lovely pics!! Well done!
Yes, a concrete mixer is perfect for mixing smaller amounts quickly. I wouldn't cycle in it though, as they tend to be pretty small. I cycled mine in a 200 gallon smart pot, though you could just pile it on a tarp or the floor after mixing, wet it down and walk away if you don't feel like spending money on a container. Thank you on the pics, this next update I'll be using a "nice" digital camera with the settings adjusted. Hopefully I'll provide some papa - esque shots of the girls in the near future. I'm kind of disappointed though, they're small for their age but that's entirely on me for not being proactive enough about my environment. Ah well, I'm still learning and for being a FFOF mix with simple topdressings...they've done well enough I suppose.
That's the plan, man. I'm just hoping I can do well enough to attract others to organics. Or at least get a free year of growing out of this run. I hope so, I only have 22 plants to look at. As long as my soil mix is good to go, then this show is too. I'll try keeping everything organized and up to date, make sure it stays easy to follow. The set up is what I'm most proud of, as I put some time (and a good bit of money) into planning that one out. I still want a wider room, but shit. Beggars can't be choosers. I've seen your journal, there's nothing wrong with your girls, tbh they look healthier than mine. I believe the "frostiness" can be attributed to the fact I'm working with 2 spectrum's and higher intensity lighting. I bet you'd see a nice increase in trichs if you are able to get some supplemental T5's or something. As for the water, ha. I don't clean it up, I let it evaporate. The one downside of this area is that the humidity is always below 30%, except right after or during a heavy rain. Usually I'm sitting around 24% RH, and the girls don't really like that fact. Thanks for the kind words, though the cold stress doesn't do them justice. I'm hoping this upcoming bunch will show a true measurement of where I'm at, as they won't have to fight stress from the start. Since this is the first run in this flower room, I assumed I was going to run into a few snags along the way, but I think I got her down now.
"cycle it in" is the cooking part? so dump it, wet it, and leave it? I suppose I could do that in the garage on a tarp....FFOF - is that FoxFarmOcean?? I am not up on my accronyms... Thanks for the reply... Lucy
Hey you guys stop shoving...make a little room for a gal to sit down, I don't take up much room Been lurking since the start but looks like I need to reserve my place or get lost way in the back bleachers Looking great Gim...about time you started a journal. Just a few thoughts...I garbage can with a secure fitting lid works well for mixing (fill it up, turn it over and roll), and if you put a bit of perlite in those saucers it'd help with your RH and give the girls a little sump'n sump'n to 'sip' on later In any case, along for the ride
Hey GiMiK, great looking ladies you got there, quick question. You mention that your "frostiness" is due to the different spectrums and intensity. So I was wondering, how does different lightings affect the production of different cannabinoids/terpenes?
The only evidence I can offer is anecdotal and unrefined, as there isn't a true control group here. I just compare the ones under the HPS to the ones under the MH.... Basically, I have no clue. My rationale behind stating that was based on the sun being the most powerful and efficient source of energy for all (most?) of the photosynthesizing plants in the world. Considering an HPS bulb tends to deliver the majority of it's light in the red-orange spectrum (2000K in my case) I thought I would try to emulate a more 'natural' light with an overlap of the higher spectrum from a MH. (4200K, for me) Just looking at them though, it appears the girls getting the MH overlap are "frosting" up much faster than the ones under just HPS lighting. But really, I shouldn't have typed that, as I have no hard evidence to back up my claim. Just fables from forums and my own 2 (3?) eyes.
Ha. Well they look happy as can be and that is the bottom line. This is definitely something I want to experiment with in the future. Do you ever get your cannabis tested? It would be interesting to know how the numbers vary from the ones getting the overlap compared to those just receiving HPS.
OHHHHHHH...you don't want to turn my loose in the concession stand Happy to be here, and SO glad you finally took the plunge
I haven't had the time to the last few runs, I'm always out before I consider doing so. I won't likely test more than 1 sample of each strain from this run, depends on the cost. When this room is finished I'll be able to afford to test more thoroughly, but that won't be for a few months unfortunately. I can't wait to get 2 or 3 more lights to play with, another AC unit and those sip trays....that's when I will consider this room "done".
That sounds like your room is going to be intense! To think I am excited cause we finally got a veg and flower room running at the same time and we got the 1000 watt for flower. I am way behind!
It took a couple years to finish it, as it was a side project until a few months ago. Lots of sweat, callouses and money to get this far, I'm just happy to be using it. Used to grow in the veg room alone, which is roughly 8'w x 10' l x 8' h, doing one and dones, buying clones every time, etc. Before that, did it in a really "ghetto" garage with no form of forced air exchange.