Not satisfied with soil and bottled nutes I decided to go organic. My soil will have been cooking for 3 weeks on the first or so of may, and that's when this thread will take off, but in the meantime here's some statistics. Soil mix. 12 gallon approx. 50% Compost - Leaf and poultry manure 45% Compost - Forest compost and sheep manure 5% Sphagnum Peat moss Amendments - Kelp & Tomato tone 1&1/2 cup, 1/2 cup neem seed, 3 cups rock dust, 2 cups sifted lava rock and 1lb EWC (fresh/organic/local). Here is the ladies going into the organic soil. And below is my current harvest.
looking good mate.. be prepared for some quality tasting buds.. its worth the wait. are you going to transplant them soon(or have you)?
Have you checked out those tricomes to make sure that plant was ready to harvest? looks kind of early to me
Just transplanted yesterday after lights on! I knew they were slightly bound, but had to wait for the soil to finish cooking! As for the other buds, I had to harvest around 2 days early, but (and I can't get a good damn picture w/o an actual camera) they had around 5% amber heads and 90% sugar white, with 5% still clear (oh well). Mainly I pulled because the sugar leaf was starting to degrade (yellow color, loss of trichs).
This new soil.... is interesting. Well we are on day 9 without watering and it seems as if the soil is still moist (enough for the ladies that is). They were overwatered for around 5 days and lost the majority of their first leaf sets, but the other two remain untouched. Hopefully (and I am waiting for some droop) when I water again they are able to cope with the moisture change.
Once your small plants roots grow more and the plants really grab onto the soil they'll start drinking more. Think about getting some kelp meal. Plain ol kelp meal - not kelp extract (liquid). You can soak a 1/4 cup per gallon of water for 2-3 days and then water it in, you can strain and foliar apply and another great way to use it it to mix some in with worm castings and use it as a top dressing. The results from kelp are just fantastic - so many benefits. Good luck with your organic soil. It works well, is extremely low maintenance and can be reused virtually forever with minimal reamending. J
I can fathom how much people water their plants. Dont worry about not having to water as much. Its insane how many growers are defeated before they start. Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Grasscity Forum mobile app Cant Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Thanks for the reply Jerry, they have perked up well and are looking fine here on day 11. Soil is dry, but I know to keep waiting. I have a pound or so of kelp meal left so I'll use that on the second watering. For the first watering I have collected some rainwater and am going to use that. Agreed, over-watering sucks and is the one of the first mistakes you can make. Luckily this is grow 3 so I knew (and it was my first time with solo cups) the first signs of it.
What a ride it has been so far! Plants are having the worst of times adjusting to the soil. All three plants have lost their first sets of leaves (yellowing and drooping, falling off) and all the new growth is burnt! Yay! After a two week dry spell, I flushed the hell out of the soil and now the plants seem to be rebounding a little. Hopefully I didn't wash out all the helpful nutes I worked to put in there! Next time I am letting the soil sit for two to three months. One just didn't cut it.
In other good news, I started four autos in a greenhouse outside and two have popped today! . The temps outside have dropped to 38 recently, but the greenhouse kept it around 48, which kept at least two of the germies alive!!
Well, you live and you learn! Unfortunately the strain I had "Lucy" is a bust. She's maxed out at 10in tall at the end of month 1 of flowering. My sweet tooth auto at 2 months total has quarter sized nugs and is around 12in, somehow dominating the scene in the tent. Ughhh... Time to start over! This time I started one Sp.Kush#1 and have it germ'in out in the shed until the little girls are finished flowering. she'll go for 2-3 months and I will clone her before flowering her exclusively and starting the process over. My outdoor grow has just kicked off as well! I have a Land Race Afghani which sprouted and 2 autos which are doing just fine! I am picking up sativa seeds today and starting them as well! Pictures to come soon!
organic living soil shouldn't dry out like when growing with synthetics. It needs to be treated differently. Dry soil damages the micro organisms that we work at building and maintaining. Maintain a very slightly moist soil.
Updates! Well I went to buy seeds (Yay Colorado!) from a local 'horticultural specialist' and I think I have just met one hell of a mentor! Not only did he supply me with homebred seeds, but with knowledge! His strain is Dakini Kush and is killer looking! http://www.centennialseeds.com/2012/06/06/dakini-k... Can't wait to test out his strain! Here are some of my shots of my coming up Special Kush #1 at around a month and an auto at two weeks!