Organics on the sneak, 400w cabinet, Cindys Blue Cheese

Greeting GC! Im Aggrowman and just so you know, i lied. Its true that i have a 400w hps, but i probably will only be running it at 75% which is 300 watts. I dont have an air cooled reflector yet but i will get a cool tube or something soon. Im just gonna use this gull wing reflector i got coming in the mail for now. Heat might be an issue. We'll see how she goes. Im glad i got that off my chest. Didnt wanna cause any confusion.

Anyways, its damn nice of you to stop by to check out my humble little operation. Like the title says, this shit is hush hush so i would appreciate you not mentioning this to my neighbors or landlord as i live in an itty bitty piece of crap apartment in a tiny little town in a no no state in the west. Im a big city Pacific Northwest transplant still adjusting to small town life so please bear with me.

I have a little grow exp. in coco/perlite with bottled nutes which went relatively well considering my noobness. This is my first go at anything organic. Ive been reading the crap out of all the stickies, topics, and journals trying to wrap my head around all this microbe business. This stuff is amazing. So simple. Almost too simple. Water ever five or six days? Wtf? Count me in. Oops, im already in. Weeee!

So, i got me a soil built thats been cooking for five weeks as of today. Ill describe it in a minute. Also, i gots me a small 65w cfl veg box built housing 4 sweet little cindy's blue cheeses at 20 days old inside it. They seem to love their little home. The regular seeds came from Oregon Green Seed and i couldnt be happier with their progress so far. 4/4 germ rates. Hoping for two girls. Awesome company to deal with, by the way. Highly recommended if you dont want to deal with overseas shipping costs, customs, or exorbitant seed prices. 55 bucks got me shipped seeds stealth style. Check em out!

Im in the process of building my 30"x20"x72" flower cab and should be done with it in a few days. My light and 4in. fan and filter should be here in few days as well. Ill get pics up as soon as its done. I cant wait!

Here are some particulars;

Soil:
6gal. Canadian Sphagnum peat moss
4gal. Worm power EWC
2gal. Ecoscraps organic moisture retaining garden compost
6gal. course perlite
per cubic ft. of this base i added
1 cup kelp meal
1/2 cup Espoma garden tone
1/2 cup alfalfa meal
1/2 crustacean meal
1/2 cup neem cake
1/2 cup karanja cake
4 cups mineral mix consisting of
2parts glacial rock dust
1 part gypsum
1 part oyter shell flour
and 1 cup of high brix basalt just cause i had some.
So that makes 18 gallons of soil with 7 cups of food ( roughly 2.5 per cu. ft.) and 9 cups mineral mix. I inoculated this with an ACT 1 week into cooking to kickstart the microbe action
The mix was a touch hot for my seedlings when i trasplanted from 18oz. Solos into .7gal nursery pots at 2 weeks old. It had been cooking for 4 weeks at the time of TP. I have few burnt tips but they have since shaken that crap off and are trucking right along. My seedling mix is just my base mix with some mineral mix for liming and a dash of kelp meal for good measure. They did great in it. I probably could of left them in it for longer if i needed to, but i didnt.
Temps in the veg box are usually around 78-85F with lights on and stay a consistent 65F with lights out. Sounds hot but they seem to like it. Humidity hovers around the 30-50 percintile range on the regular. Got a little circulation fan in the box keeping things comfy for the kids and an 4in axial pc fan pulling cool fresh air in. All in all its a nice little box that needs a little tweaking but is functioning for now. Improvements will come after the flower cab is built and the kids moved. The sweet thing is if someone comes over, it just looks like a rubbermaid container with another rubbermaid stacked on top. Nothing weird going on here. Just some storage containers, so piss off (not you, them. you can look all you want).
For watering i use aloe vera juice, freeze dried coconut water, and silica. I give a kelp/alfalfa tea foliar spray occasionally as well. I dont have a regular regimen set with all these things quite yet. Its all so new to me still. Give me time and ill have a set regime set to share with you soon enough.
I use hard ass nitrate laden tap water for watering that i declorinate for 24 hrs prior to use. It sucks but i havent noticed any ill effects. I might try a ro unit sometime soon. Or i might not. We'll see. Ive gone and mulched witha bit of perlite and it does well to keep the top layer of soil moist.

I will try my damnedest to keep this journal regularly updated with pics and particulars. The last time i tried this, my house got broke into and I lost my laptop and camera putting an abrupt end to the diary. At least they left my plants alone. It was during my first grow so i didnt have an dry smoke for those shit stained burglars to swipe. I pulled 15 ozs. off a 600w hps in 4x4 tent on that grow. Too bad i couldnt get any pics. I was so happy with all those jars of my own buds to smoke. Helluva thing it was for me.

I think that covers most things. I probably missed something. Ill get to it eventually. Heres some pics of everthing. Seedlings at various stages. Some of this, some of that. Nothing you guys havent seen before. The most recent pics are at 20 days post sprout. They just suffered a topping between the 5th and 6th nodes this morning and look no worse for the wear from it. If you want specific ages of the seedlings in the pics just ask, ill try to remember.

Lastly, id like to personally thank everybody here at GC, especially the GC organics crew, for sharing their vast wealth of knowledge and experiences with us all. This wouldnt of happened without it. Be well my fellow humans. Today is a good day to be alive!

Agg

 

Oh yeah, feel free to post stuff. Words and pics and general mutterings are all welcome. Please tho, no douchebaggery. Thanks!

Agg

 

Here we are on day 23, freshly watered after five days with a 1/2 tsp+ freeze dried coconut powder mixed in. They are looking super healthy despite the slight tip burn from the initial transplant into my soil. Topping didnt seem to phase them at all and the side branching is really starting to take off. I have never had such healthy pretty plants. Go organics!

I have to make a trip west to make a batch of RSO for my uncle who has rectal and lung cancer. I will be gone for three and a half days and to tell you the truth im nervous as fuck. I dont like leaving my plants for so long. At least i know they wont be thirsty as i probably wont need to water until monday or tuesday. So, barring any mechanical malfunction with the veg box, i think they will be fine, i hope.

I caulked and painted the inside of the flower box yesterday. My fan and filter are scheduled for delivery on Tuesday and my light will be here tomorrow while im gone. Luckily, I rented a mailbox at a local postal service business or whatever its called. Gives me peace of mind knowing my shit will be safe until i get back.

Heres a pics of the kids. 23 days. Turning into a jungle in there. Be well, people

Agg

 

Whats up GC! Today is day 28 and the kids have a new home! Finally got the flower box up and running. Initial tests showed promising results. Not too hot, not too loud, and should be odor free. My light, fan, and filter all arrived early which is always nice. I picked up a fan speed controller from a hydro shop in portland, while i was there, along with a few other items. I slapped it all together and came up with a pretty stealthy little flower cab. All told it cost me about 500 bucks including shipping costs and various hardwares (screws, extra plywood, clasps, etc.) It was fun to build. Now we'll see if it can make medicine.

When i got back from my portland trip, the plants looke like they preferred to be left alone. Proof that LITFA is the way to go. Side branches looked like they had tripled in size. Its nice to know i can leave for a few days and not worry about anything. When i was growing in coco, it was daily watering unless you had an automated system. Even then id worry if the thing was working properly. What a hassle. Mixing up different nute profiles for different stages sucks ass. Organics is way the fuck better. Oh, and i havent used a ph or ppm meter yet. Yup, thats right. Recognize.

My only concerns are the color of the plants. They're a little on the green side for my liking. I think its my tap water. I think it tastes decent. Definately not the worst water ive tasted. Word is, however, that its loaded with nitrates from all the heavy agriculture going on at all times. I think i will start buying some bottled water to see if i notice any difference. Other than that, these are still the most healthy looking plants I've ever had. So simple, too.

A few pics to see. My grow room. Flower cab on the left, veg box on the far right. In the middle is my soil tub with 15 gallons of organic goodness on its seventh week of cycling.

A few shots of the inside. The ballast, power supply, and fan controller are all contained at the top of the box.
Ventilation comes in through 1/2" holes drilled in the bottom and out through the 4" fan filter unit at the top.



Heres the kids in their new home, all tucked in. After a bit in here, getting used to things, ill flip to flowering and find the girls. A quick transplant and cloning and we'll be off and running. Hoping for two girls.

Be well, everbody,

Agg

 

Thanks chaunceyman, it sure is fun to do. I cant wait to smoke some of my own stuff again.

 

Just to be totally clear, i love taking pics. I wish i had the funds to afford some ultra fancy 14627MP super camera capable of imaging the very essence of life. But i dont, so my tablet camera will have to do. Im grateful to have even that.

So, just for records sake, ive snapped a pic of each plant. They are numbered by when they broke the soil surface. Here are some observations i have made:

#1- Faster growing but more nutrient sensitive. Had one more node than the others at time of topping. Fast growth slowed after I transplanted to main soil due to what i think is a nitrogen toxicity caused by hot soil and hard water. Along with #4, this one is showing squatter, slower veg than #2 and #3. Has a few burned tips on older leaf sets and older branch leaves. New growth looks good.


#2- Fast growing and more stretchy. Already outpacing #1 and #4, #2 has really started to grow fast. Noticible odor since early stages, a definate keeper if it turns out to be female, yeilds decently, and tastes good. Less signs of nutrient sensitivity than #1 or #4. Minor tip burn on a leaf or two. Very promising plant.


#3- Very similar to #2, this plant also has promising traits. Strong growing, early odor, and little nutrient sensitivity make this one worth keeping an eye on.


#4- There is always a runt in a group and this one is it. Slower growing for sure. Squat structure and very little smell has me wondering if this one is going to make the cut. Ive only got room for two. Id be almost be more willing to start more seeds as opposed to flowering this one out. Dont know why i still have it, to be honest. Kinda like it. We'll see.


I have some tiny little bugs cruising around the edge of my pots. I think their coming from the soil, but im not totally sure. I have a good amount ofneem and karanja cake in my soil as well as crustacean meal and silicon. I havent seen any leaf damage and the plants dont seem to be in shock. They've been around for a little bit, but never in great numbers. Just a few trucking around here and there. They dont look like spider mites and they're not attacking the leaves. I saw afew crawling around in my cooking soil once, but another recent inspection turned up nothing. Are they dying off after they cant find anything to eat or something? Any ideas? I can try to get a pic up if it persists. For now i will see what happens. Be well,

Agg

 

Day 35 of veg. I was hoping for two girls and got three. 1, 2, and 4 are all lovley ladies and the one boy has been culled. In the future i will be flowering out a male here and there for pollen to make seeds, but for now im just gonna grow females. The sad thing is that i only have room for two. I think i will flower 1 & 2. They have the most favoable traits out of all. 1 has pistils shooting out of several spots while 2 and 4 have pistils that are just starting to peek out of the seed bracts. Its all good though. 1 and 2 were the ones i was hoping for. One short indica type and one stretchy sativa type. Im not sure if this is how they will finish out, but its nice to have a little variance going into flowering, imo. The cabinets seems to be running well. It maintains steady 78-80 degree highs during lights on and 65 degrees during lights out. I just keep a small space heater in the room on the very lowest setting and open the window for fresh air each day. Its all working together fairly well for what it is. We'll see how well things go when its gets ass cold during the dead of winter. Im in the planning stages of a worm bin. I cant wait to get that going. Im really looking forward to using my own vermicompost. Theres something about making your own stuff to do things with. It fills me with joy and satisfaction. Be well, all. Talk to you when i got the girls transplanted and off to the races.

-Agg

 

Whats up GC!? I hope everybody is doing well. Things are going great here. I got the ladies transplanted into their final 7 gallon containers the other day and today, my friends, today i flip to 12/12. Ive been planning all this for a long time and im grateful to have progressed this far without any problems.......yet (knock on wood). It feels to good to be flowering out some cannabis again.

I gave them both a nice juicy ACT to water them into their nice roomy new homes. Barring any mishaps, that will be their last compost tea. From now on, only botanicals and coconut water with agsil will be used. Maybe a bit of aloe water as well. Break all that up with the occasional plain water soak and i think i will be good to go until they finish. I love the fact that i havent spent one single penny on any bottled nutes. No ph or ppm meters, either.

The containers i used for flowering are milk crates that i lined with felt and secured with hot glue. I got the felt at the fabric store for 5 bucks a yard. Two yards and i have enough felt for five or six 7 gallon pots. I seems really close to same material smart pots are made from so i think it should work. I like having a breathable pot that is also rigid so the roots are not disturbed when moved. Soon i will attatch modular scrog screens to both of them for optimum conopy distribution. Fun fun fun.

I need a better fan for my flower cab. Any ideas? Thats it for now. I will update again when there is some nice to see. Be well, everbody.

-Agg

 

Hi GC! A little update. Things are going well. #2 is a slow bloomer. Either she gonna take longer than expected or she gonna bloom out later on in flowering. Whatever. #1 has some weird issue with the second to the botton set of branches. Looked like mag def. for a sec but now im not sure. Might be some soil pests or a toxicity which would explain the burned leaf tips. We'll see. I'll research a bit later. Other than that, everything is awesome. They are 42 days old, 4 days into flower. Just watered with some aloe, coconut, and agsil. Be well,

-Agg

 

Thanks TJ, you are a big part of this. Your discussions you've had with jerry and coots, among other people, in various forums is what sparked my interest in all this. Im grateful for your desire to grow the best cannabis you can and your willingness to share your experiences with us all. Be well, sir, superb job on your veranda,

-Agg

 

Alas, my friends, i have reached a milestone on my organic journey. This milestone manifested itself in the form of what i think may be root aphids on #1 (the girl on the right of the pics) which will be my first organic pest problem. Not that im stoked about it at all. I just know things happen. This was a concern of mine the day i bought the ecoscraps compost. I wont say i know for sure that this is the cause, but everything else i used is solid. Ecoscraps compost was the weak link in my mix so im assuming its the culprit. I have what started as a slight mag. def. and slowly turning a bit worse along with the gray spots and leaf curl. Ive seen what i thought were fungus gnats but could be adult flying root aphids. Not many, maybe five or six since i started, but they're there.

I added extra neem and karanja cake during the second week of my soil cooking for a total of 1 cup of neem/karanja mix per cu. ft. Maybe that will help. From what ive read though, these little fuckers are resilient and can take quite a beating unless you use a systemic pesticide. I also read that those kinds of pesticides are no bueno for consumable plants as far as humans go. So, what to do? #2 does not seem affected. If i lose one, i still have her. She is in the same mix though. I guess i will wait and see what happens. If it gets really bad i will just have to start over. Wouldnt be a total loss. Anytime you learn something, its a gain. I still have 8 seeds left of the cindys blue cheese and Oregon Green Seed is due to restock in a few weeks.

One thing is for sure, i will be making new soil as soon as mother fucking possible. Just need some more EWC and compost. I get all my stuff from Build A Soil for now until i can start making my own. This time, though, i think i will buy the Oly Mountain Fish compost they use in their premixed soil. If they use it then its probably be good enough for me. I just have to wait a week until i get paid which sucks. Oh well, patience and all.... Be well, good people, everthing always works out eventually,

-Agg

 

A quick search on root aphids led me a different cannabis forum where they have tutorial with pics on how to annihilate them using a fungal mix called OG BioWar Foliar. Has anybody used this? The pics they showed were very promising. I think i will give it a shot. Wish me luck!

-Agg

Www.ogbiowar.com

 

Thank you for the kind words and advice, Al. Its nice to get input from an experienced organic grower. Last night i gave them both a healthy dose of good ol' plain water. They didnt really need it but i figured i could maybe dilute the abundance a bit. I dont really want to flush out any microbes so i only watered until i saw some run off. They both look very lively this morning. Very perky. As per your advice, i will stick to water and agsil from now on. Also, my next mix will contain less amendments. Maybe 2 cups or so per cu. ft.
Thanks again for the tips, they're sooo appreciated.

So you don think i have aphids or something? To tell you the truth, i havent seen any adult flyers with the upright parallel wings in a long minute. That would be awesome if its not a pest problem. I can easily handle holding back on the plant foods. Pests, on the other hand, are a whole different story.

Straight peat for your seedlings, eh? No ewc? No aeration? My seedlings did pretty good in my base mix consisting of peat, perlite, ewc, a pinch of mineral mix and kelp meal (not much at all). No problems at all until i transplanted to my hot soil. I will try your peat only technique.

Salvaging #1 would be really nice at this point considering the fact that i commited another rookie mistake and misidentified my other plant. Shes a boy. Grape-like clusters abound all around the tops. I should have known better, ive done this a few times before. I could have sworn i saw a pisil starting to pop out. Oh well, live and learn. I think its good to have these kinds of experiences under ones belt. It builds character and knowledge, right?.......or something? Its all good. I gots more beans and plenty of willingness and free time. Take care,

-Agg

Ballsies

 

Thanks for chiming in, TJ. I think you and Al nailed down the problem. To much coconut water and such. I wasnt diluting it. That and the aloe juice i was using was old. I read last night that stuff needs to be freshly made. BT = botanical teas? What are your thoughts on the kelp alfalfa botanicals? How frequently are you using these? I used a recipe that coots posted a while back consisting of kelp, alfalfa, and aloe a while back. They seemed to have liked it but i havent used any since. Thanks for any more input you might offer. Be well,

-Agg