Bay Area Organic Growers

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by IMO, Sep 15, 2010.

  1. just starting a new organic grow, hoping any other locals can help me out and point me in the right direction as far as where to get soil amendments.

    oh and feel free to post anything else bay area centric- reviews of clubs/clones etc etc.

    sorry to the folks not from the sf bay, not trying to be exclusive just hoping to find some others in a similar position as myself.
     
  2. If you want a one-stop shop with selection, consisting of most everything mentioned in this forum, the only place I know of anywhere near is Harmony Farm Supply & Nursery in Sebastopol. They have everything! It's a great little trip, too!
     
  3. awesome thanks for the quick reply, been looking at harmony, glad to hear they are a viable option.
     
  4. if you have a card i would recommend harborside health center for your clones (if u plan on using them) i havent been to many clubs but the side is on another level altogether compared to the other few ive been in. good luck man :D
     
  5. Bay Area growers I have a secret to divulge. There is a local ACT availiable with super high fungal levels. My plants were turning yellow hadn't gotten ACT yet and I gave them this. I had experience using this for tomatoes and other fruit bearing plants but this was my first time trying it on the bud. Over night every yellowing place on the leaves had been replaced with a healthy lush purple. I was in a horticulture class when the person who made this gave a small talk, basically he and his partner tracked Dr. Elaine Ingham on a series of talks up and down the california coast over 12 days they took something like 58 pages of notations. Upon returning he scoured Santa Cruz county and it's national parks to find the areas of excellent biodiversity. Culturing several of these areas he then added them into his compost made from organic refuse from local businesses. It's called LBT(liquid biotech), the guy even has a .org website for it, the website isn't great, but this tea is the real deal. I know California Hydroponic right at the Soquel exit in Santa Cruz has it, but I can't remember anywhere else.
     
  6. They make it there, fresh, at all times?

    What's the pricing scale at?

    Sorry, but I smell a scam there, at least without more info. Maybe he's doing good work, but there's no way to tell from the site.

    I suppose if it is good, then it would be grate for those with too much money on their hands. Doesn't get much cheaper than ACT gear, at least when it comes to grow store options.
     
  7. Is it these guys by any chance?
     
  8. For those in Northern California (in general) a company that you definitely want to avoid is Nature's Solution - what a scam operation!!!!!!

    The founder/owner is proud of her PhD - what she's not so proud of is the fact that her degree is in Sociology and nothing to do with biology, botany, horticulture or anything else related to growing plants.

    LD
     
  9. Yep, that's the website. The price is something like $12/gallon but not offered many places at all. : / I first used this stuff on a mandarin that had never born fruit, I didn't give any other plants it that season. By the end of the season the mandarin had not just outcompeted every other plant the fruit was superior as well.

    Maybe it's just because Santa Cruz is my hometown but I feel some of the magic of the landscape has found it's way into this compost tea. I'll be starting a journal soon using it so results in the future.
     
  10. You're a lot closer to the scientific truth than you realize.

    Gil Carandang's work is all about using 'Beneficial Indigenous Microbes' as part of his organic bio-dynamic agriculture processes.

    Well worth studying, IMHO

    LD
     
  11. #11 Sardoth, Sep 20, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 20, 2010
    Santa Cruz county is one of the last places in the worlds with remaining sandhill ecologies, not to mention the redwood forests. The mediterranian climate is definitely what the plants seem to strive for. I think that's what makes it such a good mix for bud I hope I'll get as good results next time.
     
  12. Aside from describing mycorrhyzae as a "fertilizer" what is so wrong with their product line? Seems a bit pricey but is it a quality issue?

    Just curious.... as usual.
     
  13. Possum

    You hit the nail on the head - 'a bit pricey' but that's not the real issue for me at least. It's the claims made by Dr. Carole Ann Rollins and her 'researchers' about the viability of an AACT once the aeration units have been removed.

    The simple fact of the matter is that their process is much like the Terracycle product that is sold at HomeDepot, Loews, et al. - the microbe colonies are dormant (at best) requiring that you re-aerate a dying 'tea' so the question becomes "If I have to re-aerate your product then what's the advantage over brewing your own AACT from the start?" to which they have no answer.

    Then there's the marketing scheme - they want you to 'lease' (not buy) one of their over-priced brewers. For about $15,000.00 initial franchisee fee you get to set-up one of their machines and begin to make and sell AACTs.

    Sounds pretty good, eh? An over-priced brewer that you don't own and now the real kicker comes in - they set up your 'area of operation' meaning that if I bought one and declared that I wanted Canby, Oregon (for example) then I couldn't sell the teas 20 miles away in Portland because another pigeon would have that area.

    Then there's Dr. Rollins' poster for $50.00 - laughable. In the original incarnation of this advertising piece, 2 fungi hyphae strains were misidentified which sent howls of laughter through the AACT industry.

    When I first met her a couple of years ago at a trade show I spent about 30 minutes looking at their brewer and I asked her a very simple question - "Why did you choose a rectangle-shaped cistern? Aren't you concerned about dead zones?"

    "No - we have developed a 'special aeration manifold' that prevents that from happening?"

    "Really? Looks like a standard air blower with a badly designed manifold. That's your special process?"

    That pretty much ended our conversation.

    One could build their brewer (stainless-steel) for about $3,000.00 which could/would be designed correctly and you would now own it and you could brew and sell the teas wherever in the f*ck you wanted to.

    LD
     
  14. I've come to understand the anaerobic/aerobic conundrum with packaged products and I never could get my mind around "off-the-shelf" biological activity in products, especially those with a so-called shelf-life of two years! It's always seemed a dubious claim at best. And I reckon there are plenty of those out there.

    Nice explanation! Thanks!
     
  15. you know i must admit, my knee-jerk reaction to a place like harborside is immediate disapproval. that being said, this place really does have great clones. ive used them 3 times - and have had 3 great sets of clones. the folks manning the clone station at harborside can be pretty hit or miss though. some have a wealth of knowledge and can actually provide you with good recommendations. others seem annoyed youve spoken to them, and would rather go back to staring at the wall. anyhow, harborside is the spot i like to get my clones, because when it comes down to it the herb has been superb.

    as for the rest yall, thanks for the tip about the aact. sounds like a valuable addition to my arsenal. im in the process of making my own aeration bucket so i can brew my own tea - anything specific i should look out for? its probably going to be made in a 5 gallon. danke.

    again- if anyone knows where to score some cheap bulk seed meals id be much obliged.
     
  16. The best advice that I could give to anyone considering making up their own AACT brews is that don't try and go cheap.

    A viable system is going to cost you around $70.00 or so. That's the ticket.

    "Buy the ticket - take the ride" - Hunter S. Thompson

    LD
     
  17. A friend of mine was given some of their products one being the "tea" in a bag. I doubted it from the second he showed it to me. If i get time i would like to take some to work and put it under the scope, actually i'd like to brew a batch of my own and take it work and put it under the scope too ......
     

  18. hey man i was checking out where fox farm was sold at stores and went to their site. FoxFarm Soil & Fertilizer Company pick your state your city, then it will list the stores and some of the have websites. just look on the site and most carry all of your other needs too
     
  19. On the off chance anyone who knows is on right now, I need to mix the LBGT (Liquid Biotech) compost tea into my transplant solution, but it says nowhere on the gallon jug what the dosage is.....what ml/per gal is recommended???? I see no info on the website either, what a shame....anyways, if anyone knows, I'd be in luck.
     

Share This Page