Sounds good I will look into the humic brands you mentioned. As far as pest rt now I'm periodically spraying the outside of my tent and walls and floor of my outer room with safe soap insecticide spray. But I will get the neem I thought about it anyway. I would also like a praying mantis. If things get bad predator mites. But that's why I spray a couple times a week for a preventative measure. The safe also is organic
LOL, I've never put it anywhere else. It really doesn't work as a preventative and you are just wasting it spraying it anywhere bugs aren't. It works by dissolving the waxy coating on the bugs and they dry up and die. It's also MUCH cheaper to buy the concentrate. The pre mixed, you are paying a lot of $$$$ for just water and ~ 1tsp of the soap. I used it on my orchids for many, many years. I still use it, just don't have the orchids anymore. Wet
One more 'essential' is lime. Dolomite, Calcitic (Garden), oyster shell flour, or something similar. Just NOT hydrated. See what you can source locally, I get mine at Lowes, ~$5 for a 40lb bag. Prevents a whole raft of pH and cal/mag issues for just pennies. Not essential, but good to have: Humic/Fulvic Fulvic acid is our speciality. We provide top-shelf humic products. HumiSolve or TM-7 ~$15 shipped. 1/4tsp/gallon every few weeks will do ya. AZOMITE or Glacial Rock Dust, or similar. Whatever you can source locally. Rocks are expensive to ship, but otherwise, cheap. IMO, as long as you have alfalfa meal, kelp meal and EWC, you are GTG, everything else is just icing on the cake. Wet
Thanks for the advice wet. Is there something I can put down as a preventative spray? I had mites with my first grow my new plants have been in the tent for a week and no sign of mites. I sprayed EVERYTHING after harvesting and disinfected the whole room inside and out. I take measures myself by never wearing outdoors clothes inside and I always shower as soon as I walk in the door. Thanks again...V
Wet, he did mention the soil had lime in it. I was kind of waiting for someone to chirp in to say wether more lime was needed or not, i just don't know. I have been using pro mix for years, and i have found things go much smoother without adding the recommended amounts of dolomite lime. And he has plants growing in the mix right now with no apparent problems, so on lime i would proceed with caution.....MIW
Thanks MIW I'm going to get the dolomite lime just so I have it for the future. I'm getting the espoma tone Wed and will top dress with ewc for my next watering. Hopefully I can get the kelp and alfalfa as well. I will definitely need your help with the application of the kelp and alfalfa if its a brew or something. Thanks again as always your replies are much appreciated.....V
No problem friend. Like i said by the years end you will be teaching your buddies. While they are fighting mysterious plant maladies, you can sit back and grin, like the organic guru you are becoming......MIW
Lol. That's cool man I'm looking forward to learning and teaching others. I already gave my brother a sensi star and a list of espoma,alfalfa,and kelp. It's his first grow and he really knows nothing, so I think its perfect for him as well.
Good point. I didn't see where his soil had any lime in it. It usually takes a time or 2 to see just how much lime your particular mix+amendments needs. Wet
The only thing *I've* noticed as a preventative was this last Spring. I did a spring harvest with clones I rooted over the winter. Had clones in 1 gallon pots and hid them between rows of garlic I had going in 5 gallon buckets. Noticed after the harvest, I had ZERO bug problems. Another grower showed me pics of his indoor plants in which he had planted a clove or 2 of garlic in and also no bugs. What a awesomely simple solution! That had never occurred to me. He didn't get any garlic, it has a 8 month grow cycle, but he didn't get any bugs. If/when I do get mites, I'm far from organic. I use FORBID for mite elimination and it eliminates them 100%. I will spray clones a day or 2 before the start of 12/12 and that's it. The dose is only a few DROPS/gallon, so yes, it is very toxic and has a 30 day residual effect. I will not apply it in flower at all, but I've never had to do a repeat application. The last indoor cycle, I didn't apply it and still had no problems. The next indoor, I'm going to use the garlic in the pots trick and try and avoid it completely. I've never seen anything work as well in over 30 years and I used to be a licensed applicator. That job probably is at the root of my health problems, but I'll still use what works and I've really never seen a 100% organic solution to spider mites. Wet
I'm going to pick up the espoma plant tone today and kelp meal. I know to top dress with the tone but what do I do with the kelp? I'm going to look for alfalfa and guano also any suggestions on what type of guano, I was thinking high phosphorus bat. Thanks for any replies...V
Kelp meal can be used as a top dressing, in the soil, in teas, and sprayed on. On guano it depends on when your using it. I top dress a mexican bat guano in veg and use indonesian bat guano the same way in flower. But I have mixed in the mexican guano as well. I personally don't mix in the indonesian guano since i already have bone meal in the mix, but i do use a little on top in flower, maybe when i run out of bone meal i'll try it in the mix. Alfalfa meal might be found in a farm/feed store, if you can't find the meal look for rabbit pellets, just be sure they don't have salt added......MIW
Maybe not all you need for nutrients but it sure as hell won't hurt. I love me some EWC soup for the girls.
Ok so I got the espoma plant tone,Dr Earths kelp meal and the alfalfa meal. I dressed the plants with all three a quarter of the recommended dose and added about 2 cups of ewc and raked them in. I haven't watered yet they won't need it for a day or two. I still need molasses, should I give it to them in the next watering I'm using the ro airated? My tap made the perlite Orange. I will also get lime and guano next week. Should I only use the plant tone only once a month? Do I use molasses every watering to keep the microbes fed? And can I brew a tea next week? I'm switching 12/12 monday if that means anything. Don't mean to bombard ya with questions but I'm very excited to see my plants reactions to these new methods. Thanks as always bro....V
I just wanted to chime in and say what a great thread this was. There is alot of simple, good information here. Its not overly technical or overpowering. Thanks. jerry.
Thanks bro I hope it helps you too. It's definitely more my pace and I'm all about organic and not polluting I'm not I big fan of chemicals in any form I never use Styrofoam I buy bio degradable trash bags I don't use light bulbs during the day and I'm an avid fisherman and after reading that hydro nutes are killing fish in cali I want no part of that. But I didn't really know I could grow without bottles at first. Everything I read when looking up how to grow lead me in that direction. I'm definitely glad I asked this question its changed my grow and my mind for the better I think.
All right cool! the top dress should last you 5-6 weeks. That may be enough to take you through your cycle. I would not add anything else past week 6 in flower, assuming your grow is for 8 weeks of flower. I think the most critcal time for plants is early flower, from just before the flip (12/12) to around week 3. If your going to have problems that is when they show up for the most part. The plants hormones are changing from veg to flower, and growth shoots up in preparation to flower. The plants evolve to breed and just like you need in your late teens to your 20's they need, good food, not chips and coke that you ate, he he. The most important food for this time is N, K, calcium, and magnesium + a small amount of P. OK now how do we get there? This question goes back to the beginning and how getting the soil mix right was so important when your are trying to make a living soil grow. The microbes will have eaten well and in fact are storing nutrients in them and their successors through tiny life cycling in the soil. These nutrients are available by the plants demands and excess is not burning root hairs in the meantime. Then when the plants want say cal, they signal the microbes by giving them what they want, the microbes supply the cal and life is good. Your ewc (assuming is is high quality and teaming with microbes) will take care of most of these needs. A good tea using ewc, molasses and alfalfa will get things rolling early on. Spraying that tea makes for strong healthy fast growing plants. A little kelp meal on top would not hurt, and makes for a great tea if you sub the alfalfa part in the above recipe. Both the alfalfa and the kelp meal has growth promoters in them along with untold other benefits. Guano's top dressed could help, just be careful to many good things are still too many. If you need a shot of mag, epsom salt works quick at a tsp per gallon sprayed on......MIW
Thanks for the comments! I try to explain things for ordinary people like me. All those technological explanations just make me wish i studied a little harder in chem class. I hope more peeps will chime in, as i 'm sure more information triggers more questions.....MIW