What up GC?! This is my first thread. I've been browsing this site for a few years trying to learn as much as possible about cultivating this beautiful plant we all love. I've attempted a couple of small grows in the past with bag seeds but for varying reasons was never able to complete. So for this setup I'm going to be running a nice mix that a friend gifted to me. Currently in rooting plugs I have 1- Dinafem Blue Kush 1- Dinafem Critical + 1- Dinafem Deep Cheese 1- Green House Seeds Super Lemon Haze 1- Female Seeds Red Purps Right now I have them in rooting plugs in a 2x4 tent under a Black Dog PM-2 200. From there they'll go into either solo cups or 1g pots to veg for around 4-6 weeks then to their final homes in 10g smart pots in a 4x4 under a Black Dog PM-2 600. Soil mix is: 1/3 SPM 1/3 Bu's Biodynamic Compost 1/3 Rice Hulls To each cu. ft. I added 1 1/2 cups of the Build A Soil Craft Blend Nutrient mix and 4 cups of the BAS mineral mix. Seeds went into plugs on 6/18 and 3 (Deep Cheese, Critical + and SLH) sprouted on 6/21. The Blue Kush came up on 6/24 and nothing so far from the Red Purps. I'm excited to continue my education in learning from some of the best in this community. Any feedback and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated as I start this new chapter.
You really, REALLY need to rethink that 1/3 rice hulls part. They will just turn to mush in a few short months and turn the entire mix to mud. Trust me, you don't want to learn from experience on this one.
Unfortunately that was all I had on hand at the moment but I do plan on mixing up a larger batch and including either pumice or growstones as the main source of aeration then mixing what's left from this batch (approx 3-4 cu ft) into the new mix. Thanks for the heads up, I'll certainly remember for future reference! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A couple of things to help prevent nooby blues till you get some actual 'hands on' experience rather than just reading about it. First, is find a local source for the 4cf bags of perlite. Not the little bags that are measured in quarts, but the 30 gallon, 4cf size. Cost should be ~$20 +/-. Mine cost me $16 for 4cf. You'll need to ask around. Two places I get it from don't have it out on the floor because the bags just take up too much room and until I asked, didn't even know they had it. Second, is bump the aeration up to 40% as a starting point. Some of my mixes end up closer to 50% aeration. Give the grow stones a pass, period and the pumice just a maybe. Making 4cf of mix @40% aeration means you're going to need close to 2cf of aeration and you can do the math on both the cost and weight. For comparison, perlite costs $4/cf and weighs ~4.5lbs. I have no idea with the pumice or grow stones. Aren't the grow stones a hydroponic medium? Anyway, this is something you should seriously consider.
@wetdog according to the product info it's ok to use in soil but I'm completely new at this so I feel I'm easily swayed with fancy words and empty promises at this point lol. Honestly I'm just trying to grow some flavorful, semi-coma inducing cheeba for my wife and I
The best thing you can do to get off on the right foot is google LC's Mix #1 or #2. Both are the same, just one with plain peat moss and the other with ProMix (peat moss & some perlite). They are very basic and solid organic mixes (Blood, Bone, Kelp), with a definite lack of "Designer amendments", that aren't bad, but usually not needed, redundant and expensive. Cue the really well written ad copy anywhere here. I've been growing stuff for over 40 years and my basic mix is pretty much identical to LC's #1. I was taught the mix in 1972, but used Jack's Classic for nutes. It's a old tried and true basic mix that works equally well with organic or chemical inputs. Pretty much just homemade ProMix, but better. My first organic grow 8 years ago was the blood, bone and kelp from LC's#1. Had excellent results with 4 or 5 amendments (blood, bone, kelp, greensand and a little alfalfa). Then I started reading, a lot. The amendment list grew to something like 13 separate items. Long story short, the grow improved somewhat, but the difficulties juggling all those items and the problems shot through the roof. A couple were keepers, but most were discarded and I now just keep 5 or so on hand. Pretty much just back to the basics and what has worked well over the years. Still read a good bit, but mainly just pay attention to VOE (voice of experience) and those with a good tee shirt collection (been there, done that, got the tee shirt). Opinions and WAGs (Wild assed guesses), are just glanced at and mostly ignored. Telling them apart is the tricky part.
@wetdog thanks for your input! I checked out the LC mixes as suggested and they couldn't be more simple. When I first started learning some organic methods I was so tempted to run out and grab everything I could but after a little due diligence I narrowed my list down from around 12-15 items to kelp, neem, crab and alfalfa meals. The new mix will consist of approximately 30% SPM 30% bu's biodynamic and 40% aeration with equal parts of the amendment mix at 2-3 cups/ cu ft. Watering will alternate between filtered water, teas and an AV/coco water blend and will be administered on an as needed basis to help reduce the possibility of overwatering. In your experience would it be better to let the mix cook for a few weeks or just mix and go?
Add bone meal and dolomite lime to your 'get' list, I won't grow without either. Both are used at 1cup/cf of mix. Yes, with the neem and especially the alfalfa, the mix will need to cook for several weeks at least.
@wetdog thanks for the input! Would oyster shell flour be an acceptable substitute for the dolomite? Reason I ask is because I have some OSF on hand but would need to source the dolomite.
Yes, OSF will work, but supplies no Mg and you usually end up with deficiencys then reaching for the epsom salts. For myself, I got tired of the Mg go round. HD or Lowes has dolo for $4.50/40lb bag. It's easy to source, but if you have OSF on hand .........
I'll most likely stick with the osf for now since I already have it. Any advice for a watering schedule? Right now I'm watering as needed which i figure will be about every week to 10 days, but I've seen other growers watering as often as every 2-3 days (I'm assuming at a lower volume).
about 1/2 inch to 1/4 inch I guess. Maybe smnaller GS-2 Mix This! Soil Aerator the first pic of the potted plant on this page gives a good idea of the size.
Looks like on the sell sheet they have posted @ that link has them listed at 1/16 to 7/16 they also claim to leach silica into the soil due to them being made from recycled glass. From my understanding, and please correct me if I'm wrong, silica is good for plants immune system and developing strong stalks and stems.
Thats correct. And I can say for sure my plants are very strong and very flexible. Like in previous grows when I'd top plants I'd just bend over the new growth until it snapped cleanly. Doesnt work any more, they just keep on bending but never snap.This is my first time in soil so I cant say its the growstones for sure. Id love if some of the more experience guys on here would try them so they could compare them to perlite etc and report back.
That would be great! @bp1977 what made you switch to soil from your previous setup? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk