you could do once every watering, you could do once every 2 waterings....would you see much benefit? (moreso than once every 4 waterings or so...) I don't think so. It really doesn't take much to keep the microherd happy. keep in mind this ^^ was for just adding the extracts to the water. For an AACT, you'll want to add a good amount for the brew...2tbs per gallon or so. but AACTs realistically don't need to be applied more than once, maybe twice throughout a grow, especially with the typical 3-4 month grow cycles we go through. Any more than that really is just overkill
thanks for all the goof info; I'm relatively new to doing my own organics(aka not earth juice) so this info and all the other info in here is f*cking superb, thanks to everyone for all the help. I'm going to have to make a grow log once i get my camera back. We'll see how things turn out. Thanks peace ProteuS
i'll stand behind earth juice and say its a good product. its what i'v been using, and i have zero complaints. actually i bought a bottle of 'bloom' that was fermented that exploded everywhere upon opening, but that was easily swapped out at the shop i got it at. which pretty much only stocks EJ on their shelves, and has been in business for a long time.
Has anyone ever used Advanced Nutrients - Piranha = It is supposed to be different srains of beneficial bacteria/fungai, has both endo and ecto mycorriaze . Its able to work in hydro or dirt, but i plan on using it to increase my microHerd. It doesn't specify how often to use the mix for deep root feeding, and it says to use weekly as a foliar spray? Any suggestions? Thanks Peace Proteus
Much cheaper stuff around. ONE application is all you need. This is all soil based (fungi and BB), so WHY would they suggest that you use it as a foliar spray? Wet
that confused me too, I read on some website(cant remeber which) that you can use it weekly at 1/2 TBSP per gallon and it also said to double the amount for the first 3 weeks of flowerin.
Chunk, I just reviewed your Fall 2009 Grow. My God, Man, you should be proud of yourself. I got a question for you. I read that you put a lid on your rubbermaid container after mixing and hydrating your used soil mix. I take it that it is cool to do that. I did the same thing with a batch of soil I have and worried with the lack of sufficient air the soil could go anaerobic. Or did you ventilate the lid. I have one Rubbermaid with ventilation and a 5 gallon bucket with very little ventilation. they have been in storage waiting on my next grow. Your doing what you did gave me confidence that you had no problems. Correct, chunk?? I can't imagine you could have considering the crop. JEEEZ!! I wanna be like Chunk!!lol!! JaK
JaK, First off, thanks for the kind words. I do put a lid on my Rubbermaid container and I plug up the vent holes. I use EM-1 and spray the rootballs, so I actually promote an anaerobic environment for my re-used soils. The beauty of this method is that it expedites the breaking down of the residual root mass, and at the same time, continues breaking down the dry fertilizers that are in the soil. When its time to use the soil, I'll add 4 parts used soil and 1 part fresh compost or EWC and I apply a fresh aerobic AACT. This puts the good guys to work eating up the bad guys. The AACT re-balances the micro-herd and the soil will have a fresh, sweet smell. On the second time around, I use a minimal dosage of my dry fertilizer mix (1/2 cup), and don't add any of my mineral mix. I use rice hulls now in my soil mix, which take quite a while to break down, but they are also used as a marker to know when the soil needs to be fully fertilized again. When the hulls are fully broken down, the rest of the seed/marine meals will be broken down also. If you haven't already, study up on Bokashi composting........I'm using a Bokashi method to re-vamp my soils (thanks BTW LD). Anaerobic microbes have a place in our hobby, but there is a process to follow to make sure they don't cause problems. As long as you have the ability to brew a diverse AACT, you can knock the anaerobic microbes down. You want to add the ingredients that will promote the bacteria, fungi, protozoa, flagellates etc. in a balanced manner. I add EWC, alfalfa meal, kelp meal, Glacial Rock Dust, liquid fish hydrolysate, molasses and/or Organic Agave Nectar, and a minute amount of humic acid to my tea. These ingredients get the balance re-stored and IMO, make the soil actually better the second and third time around. Thanks again for the props, and keep studying......you'll have amazing results yourself! HTH chunk
Chunk, thanks for the additional info. Very helpful. What kind of a store would I look at for getting the rice hulls? I haven't tried the Bokashi yet, since I am still trying to get an outfit to do my teas. I was going to try out the bacterial thing with the rice wash/milk, etc. pretty soon, though. You guys had spoken about that on another thread and I liked the idea of "getting" localized bacteria for an inoculant. I believe LD had referenced that process. As far as a balanced microherd, I think I have the ingredients. After reading Teaming with Microbes, I learned about the balancing of ALL the herd. Made it seem all the more daunting, but I just gotta blast ahead and give it a try. Hey, BTW, what size/make pump are you using to do your brews? You are making up 5 gal. batches, I believe. I was looking at an Active Air and a Luft. Both commercial types. I think they were rated at like 38 to 45 L/min. Thanks, again, Chunk. JaK
JaK, I use the Eco Plus Commercial 5, as here in a thread I made a while back. Hind sight is 20/20, and next time around, I'll probably get the Eco Plus 7, but the 5 has served me well. Take care bro, chunk
blue mountain organics. yes. mix the folar feed with the bloom during flower. makes a high pk with enough n to keep it green until flush.
I agree with all the Dr. Earth comments. I went out on a whim and used Dr. Earth potting soil as a base, then used their tomato/veg fert for the veg cycle and changed to their bud and bloom booster as soon as the flowering cycle began. My plants look bomb and its been easy to maintain the proper pH. Check out this soil/fert as they've got the best ingredients an out of the package soil/fert can have. Perhaps most notably is the fact that they have microbes in their soil (nitrogen fixers, organic matter metabolizers, and endo/ecto micorrhizae to help increase roots reach for nutes), unlike many synthetic counterparts. Plus, their soil has great aeration, yet retains water well. The fertilizer seems top of the line too with fish bone meal, feather meal, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, soft rock phosphate, fish meal, mined potassium sulfate, humic acid, seaweed extract- a great source of all macro and micro nutes released in a controlled manner so that much less fert gets leached. You can check out their website and they have a collection of articles written on each ingredient and what function it performs. Best of Luck
yeah i was looking at their soils at the grow/garden center, But right now i still have enough soil- about half of a 25 gallon tub, but im thinking of buying some and mixing with my current mix, because my standard mix only has worm castings in it and all the other little microbes have been added after the fact. My girls are perking up / Growing quicker and dealing with the LST very well since i used the DR Earth Bat Guano - Tea , and some Neptunes Fish/Seaweed Hydrolysate, SPelling? My girl from outdoors was blasted back from reveg, check out my grow log to see how much she changed in just 10 days. It looks like she might become my MoM after all - That is after this first round of bagseed. http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-grow-journals/684779-revegd-med-garden-lsts.html Peace Proteus
JaK, Sorry I missed the first part of your question......You can usually source rice hulls at home brewing /beer brewing type stores. Try to make sure they are organic rice hulls. HTH chunk