Hey GC, Genghis here just wanted to say hello and ask a question or two if someone would give me some two cents. Recently found a source of oyster shells and compost(mushroom, red mulch, organic, etc etc,) I bought about 5 lbs of them for a dollar and pulverized about a cup or so into a semi decent powder using mortar and thistle. My question being would this be a good source of calcium carbonate for ph buffer and cal once broken down a bit more? Second question thought about buying powdered aloe from these guys today and just wanted to know beforehand if anyone had experience with this company. http://www.bulkapothecary.com/product/raw-ingredients/other-ingredients-and-chemicals/aloe-vera/?gclid=COeF04KM7rcCFTByQgodmV4AfA Thanks for the input and happy growing GK
"My question being would this be a good source of calcium carbonate for ph buffer and cal once broken down a bit more?" Absolutely and without a doubt - oyster shells are what - 98% Calcium Carbonate? Pound the hell out of it though - and then pound it some more. This material takes forever to break down otherwise. J
Thanks for the quick reply Jerry and I pounded with a hammer then used a mortar and thistle, even with all of that I couldn't completely break it down though. My question is does it have to be completely pulverized to be effective I ended up with a nice powdery substance but I will admit there are a few big pieces of sediment in the mix that i couldn't break down no matter what i did. Unless cooking them a bit might help beforehand. Second question, have you heard of any good things about using mushroom compost, same place has fresh bulk compost thought about also buying the worm castings they had because I'm currently using wiggle worms and wanted to supplement with fresh compost instead no reason to go organic if i'm not all in from the beginning.. Last question If you have any experience with aloe would it be best to buy 200x concentrate? I only ask because this is generally speaking my first organic grow, and the aloe would probably be for future foliars and clone solution but just wondered if there would be any difference because I found 2 oz of the 100x concentrate for like 13 bucks no shipping. Thanks again Happy Growing GK
Concentrated aloe is the best bang for your buck. I'd imagine you'll be pretty good if you've got a mic of powdered and chunky shells. I've never used mushroom compost - more commonly referred to as SMC - "spent" mushroom compost. Still got some goodies in it but there's a reason the mushroom folks give it away. Good conditioner but I don't think I'd use it on its own - from what I've read - if that means anything. I've no experience with it. J
Thanks a lot Jerry and yeah i'm gonna pass on it too But question regarding aloe, I just recently bought some endo mycos and just wanted to know if you thought it would be more effective to put them in dipping container filled with soluble and active mycos spores and aloe I figured once the initial incision was made that the site for transplant and root development would be covered in beneficial fungi and Salicylic acid. Plus i have a willow tree growing somewhat near by and thought about steeping a stem tea and throwing that in the rooting solution as well.
Cloning cannabis is about as easy as it gets - seriously. It's damn near impossible to F this up with any product/item u use. Keep the medium moist and humidity reasonably high and trust me - they WILL root. Most wilting I've found comes from low humidity and/or heat in my experience. Aloe, willow, whatever you're going to use may help the process but for the last year or more I've been using clear tap water with nothing in it. My medium is ProMix with a tad of vermicompost. Simple and 99.9% effective. I guess my point is that after doing this for a long ass time I've found that by keeping it simple I get as much of a percentage rooted as when I used a mess of different products. Seriously. I'm not sure on using a mycorrhizae product before roots show - I've always used it at first transplant; maybe someone else can weigh in. I fill my beer cup that has a hole on the bottom with my medium and cover the top with tinfoil after wetting it thoroughly. Take your cuttings and drop them right into some water for a few minutes to soak the stem and then, using a sharp pencil make a hole into the tinfoil and into the medium and drop the clone in. Put these cuttings into a tall clear dome and walk away for 10-14 days. When you come back they will have roots and still be green and happy. The tinfoil keeps it perfectly moist in the cup so that you don't have to worry about keeping the medium moist. There are probably roots sooner than the 10-14 day mark but I just plan ahead so that I don't have to worry about it.' Sorry if I wasn't much help on the questions. J
No not at all man, you and a lot of others on here have been a whole lot of help, I think I'm still kind of coming at this from a synthetic perspective always wanting to do something for the babes when they have had millions of years to evolve and know exactly what they want, when they want it, and in what form they want it. But i'll get better as I progress my Hibiscuses look great just gave them a papaya slurry and they were praying to the sun it was so pretty to see. lol And I was actually reading about your cloning techniques thought about trying it for sure I like the idea of not having to worry about the girls and just let them do their thing. But do you mean preemptive drench or just a heavy foliar with water then use the aluminum foil top covering? Also the place I was telling you about that sells the oyster shells sells castings in bags not fresh or anything but from a pretty viable farm source; I'm assuming more than wiggle worms anyways, but do you think maybe giving that a go might not be a bad thing, because i thought about investing in the GO Alaskan humus but eh I dunno, and possibly the compost they have but I really am concerned that they are getting the substratum of the mix from chemical treated lands, and I definitely don't want all that in my grow. I'll ask but im a noob in all sense of the word and most don't even get what I'm talking about and the questions I'm asking at this point are simple. Thanks Jerry Happy growing GK
GK - stay away from the hydro store for your gardening needs. They do not have one single thing that will benefit you that you cannot source elsewhere. The Hydro Stores are perfect for the hydro bottle growers - not for actual organic gardeners. These folks are not in business for us the organic folk - but they try and take the money of the unsuspecting anyhow - it's what they do. Hey, it's America, right? The "Alaska Humus" product is bunk. If you take a look on Microbeman's microbe organics.com website you'll find that he has done the research; research that clearly showed that these products contained less microbe/soil life than simple sphagnum peat. Peat. Here's the link - http://www.microbeorganics.com/#Canadian_Sphagnum_Peat I'd try the castings from the farm over the Wiggle Worm all day long. Have they at least been kept moist? Would it be possible to ask to buy their newest/freshest batch? Don't take no for an answer... Clones - yes, fill the cup w/ your medium, soak it down thoroughly, cover tightly with a piece of foil, make the hole with a sharp pencil and stick the clone in. Keep it under a tall clear dome under fluorescents to maintain even humidity. Under the foil stays perfectly damp without having to touch them until they're rooted and ready to transplant. "Set it & forget it". J
Yeah i kind of figured on the GO humus, but business is business and I really just went there to get some clone cubes and fungi spores, I know i can grow those but I just didn't have the time and transplant transfer is coming soon ya know. But the place didn't have fresh castings they were still bagged but just from a local source, but she was telling me about a farm not too far away but that is still kind of a lot, I might just end up buying some worms and starting my own farm. But thanks Jerry Happy growing GK