What's up Organic GC. I feel like a kid in a candy store. I just received most of my new equipment & wanted a few opinions. 1) 5x5 Gorilla tent 2) Solis Tek Max66 Hood 3) Solis Tek 1000 HPS bulb 4) Solis Tek 1000 6k MH bulb 5) Solis Tek Matrix 1000 watt Ballast (on back order should be here in a few weeks 6) 6" Vortex Fan 453 cfm 7) 6x24 Phresh Filter 550 cfm 8) 6" Phresh Duct Silencer 9) 4 - 15 gal. Geo Planters Also a couple osolating fans, Hygrometer. I'm in the process of getting my soil & amendments which are Spagnum Peat, organic compost, perlite, Espsoma Tomato Tone, Kelp meal, neem seed meal, Worm Power EWC, Alfalfa meal, Gaia Green Rock dust & Crab meal. Now do I need Dolomite Lime since I have the crab meal? Does everything look ok so far am I leaving anything out?
You shouldn't need lime since you have crab meal. Get that soil mixed and cycling now - longer=better. You will want/need to watch your temps with those big heaters/lights in that size tent. Just keep a close eye on it until you're comfortable with your temperatures - especially in the heat of summer. J Btw - good luck. J
Thanks Jerry for the reply. My ballast is dim able 1000 - 600 - 400 Will I be able to set my light at 400 for my seedlings. Or should I get a T5 light . Haven't started any seeds yet waiting for my soil to be ready. My plan is to let it cook for 6-8 weeks .
I use T5's for my vegging girls, though it's the equivalent of 432 watts....I would assume you can use your HID for starts, just make sure to keep it up a bit higher than usual.
Thanks GiMiK I will try that. Can't wait to get started still a few months away from my no till garden just trying to plan ahead
The best advice I've received while building soil is to source a QUALITY humus component for your mix. Everything else falls into place after that, assuming you follow the general ideas presented here in this forum.
I'm in ohio & theirs not to many choices around these parts for organic products . I did find a place online ( Premium Organic Compost ) Blended from horse and cow manure with culls from an organic vegetable operation providing a concentrated amount of organic matter and root available nutrients. Made in a controlled process to maintain a high temperature to insure that any weed seed in the manure is killed. Will this be sufficient ? Or should I keep looking
Sounds decent. If possible, without spending an arm and a leg, get the Coast of Maine compost blends (Quoddy being my favorite) and/or Bu's Biodynamic blend if you're stuck sourcing compost online. I'd go with the cheapest option regarding these 3 specific examples.
Yea I've been trying to find a place that will ship the COM Quoddy Lobster compost to me but not having very much luck. That was my first choice
At least you have the Worm Power castings - that alone is a very significant humus source. You'll do quite well with what you've posted! J
I only suggested that because of the pricing over here on that brand...they want $50 for 15 lbs here. Here's where I got CoM from, if you want/need. http://greatgardensupply.com/Gardening/Bagged-Mulches-Soil-c3103/
[quote name="GiMiK" post="18304551" timestamp="1372989320"] I only suggested that because of the pricing over here on that brand...they want $50 for 15 lbs here. Here's where I got CoM from, if you want/need. http://greatgardensupply.com/Gardening/Bagged-Mulches-Soil-c3103/[/quote Thank you very much. That's what I've been looking for. Shipping price wasn't to bad. I don't mind paying a little extra for a good product. You get what you pay for.
i love quoddy blend and bumper crop from coast of maine ive had great results since ive started using them