Solo Usually I just 'fetch' the seeds out of the soaking solution using a small spoon. No big deal. If you did not want to soak until you see the emerging tap root you could take a cue from the brewing and distillation malting processes, i.e. weigh your seeds dry before you begin. Soak for 12 hours, strain & drain and weigh the seeds and compare the starting weight with the semi-soaked weight. You now add these seeds to a fresh batch of water and check the weight again in 12 hours - strain, drain, weight and continue to soak as necessary. When you hit about 150% of the starting rate you can assume that your seeds are fully hydrated. If you feel more comfortable to plant them at this point vs. waiting until they crack open that is fine - whatever works best for you. The big thing though is the fulvic acid - that's the most important factor in this. This is true for all seeds - cannabis, vegetables, legumes, cover crop plants, herbs, etc. Have you cloned cuttings using aloe vera extract and/or kelp meal tea by any chance? CC
Coot, I've been following you for over 2 years now...of course I have lol. I use the aloe powder from ingredientstodiefor.com that you recommend. And I use a kelp meal tea for damn near everything lol. I usually soak my cutting in it for a bit then into my peat/ewc/rice hull mix. Fuck paying for rapid rooters. I only go to the hydro store for emergencies now...like lighting issues. I told you how that went last week lol. You are THE man. Solo
Interesting read to say the least. Love the collective input here. There are many tips I can use to fine tune my no-till. Much better than another venue I am a member at. Interesting read to say the least. Love the collective input here. There are many tips I can use to fine tune my no-till. Much better than another venue I am a member at. Dbl post......wth?
Welcome to GCO! using a mobile device? I think there are a few bugs being worked out here recently. pics sizing too. It'll be resolved soon, I bet.
Hey Coot, glad to see you back! Hope all has been well with you and yours! I had a quick question regarding Blumats, I know you can't stress enough to make sure there is enough air moving through the reservoir. So my question is do you think the 951gph air pump that BAS offers would supply enough air for a 40gal reservoir? Here is a link: http://buildasoil.com/products/commercial-air-pump-for-compost-tea I was also trying to find the air stone you recommended for reservoirs just can't find the link. Do you (or anyone else) happen to have a link handy? I noticed a while back you recommended using 6 Maxi cones per 20+gal container placing one each at 12:00, 4:00, & 8:00 about 3" from the containers edge. Then set another 3 at 2:00, 6:00, & 10:00 about 3" from the stalk of the plant. Is this still something you would recommend? I plan on using 25gal fabric pots.
pHarmer I couldn't find the specific air stone either but I did find this one at Amazon.com - Uxcell Aquarium Semicircle Air Stone, 6" for only $21.67 delivered! That's less than half of what I paid before shipping 6 years ago. I just ordered 2 of these myself for making brews to apply in our vegetable garden. You've got more than enough air with a pump that size for a 40 gallon reservoir as far as this application is concerned - you won't have any problems whatsoever! The positioning that you quoted is still what I would do with containers that size and larger. HTH CC
Welcome back BlueJay! Must have been one hell of a harvest and trim session! Great to see you back! Great to see you as well Coot. Here is the stone you recommended before, but with a built in back flow valve. I saved it in my Amazon wish list lol. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008UQO7DC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=11SNJWCKTU6MX&coliid=I32SE81HTOO699 Scoobie mentioned this earlier, but i have one of these and I love it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LLOUKY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 If you use Blumats or SIPs you may not need it, but if you're watering from the top and struggling with it, this may be your answer. I was under watering my 15s but this cured me. I'm moving up to 20s and I think these will be in every one eventually.
mainah Thank you for keeping the link to the original air stone that I mentioned long ago. It's definitely a work horse. I lent it to a friend a few months ago and he runs a 200 LPI air pump - LOL! Talk about massive levels of air bubbles! CC
pHarmer those pumps are loud. I have an older model 110 watt I think, They pump the air for sure. I found if I hang it from a joist it runs fairly quiet. If your gonna run air a lot you might want to spend the money and get an Alita. They are pricey, but you can get parts for them and keep them running, and they're quiet as hell. These Eco pumps, once they fry, your done.
Not to bash on BAS but if your gonna get the eco style pump check this out. http://www.amazon.com/Elemental-Commercial-Pump-1744-gph/dp/B00C8FJIIU/ref=pd_sim_sbs_petsupplies_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=1ZNFQ7CJ7G4XTQHQCG8V Just sayin man, save a buck if you can.
http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1299862-no-till-gardening.html/page-64#entry20670727 That post is the suggested air stone that I saved from this thread. Any reason why I should order this one over the Uxcell for 1/3 of the price? also, would the 951 gph air pump be sufficient for declorinating and bubbling the teas used here ? I have a 35 gallon can that I use, on BAS it is recommended for 5 to 15 gallons of aact but I wont be using it for that. \t
CD For this purpose I can't imagine how the expensive air stone could or would perform better. The only difference that I can think of would be build quality which is always a factor of consideration. When it comes to the capacity of an air pump, for the most part I buy the largest size possible in that class. The ECO and Elemental type (design) are found across a plethora of brand names and I defy anyone to explain the differences. I have one sold to the aquarium sector rated at 84 LPM so I round-down that to 22 GPM. That's the size I use in 5 and 10 gallon reservoirs for botanical teas to insure that there is zero chance of anything fermenting. Been there, done that. My uneducated advice on pumps is to buy the largest that one's budget allows.... CC
Here's one for ya Coot. Does bubble size matter? For my teas, I'm using it for bouncing the material around so I know it doesn't matter for that application, but what about for aerating or to dechlorinate? I ask because in still use the old homemade style you showed Chunk a long time ago. Cost about $4 to make from home depot Solo
BJ / anyone else using fresh young coconuts from the tree. How much is a case of coconuts from your supplier? Are you getting them at an ethnic store? I want to switch to the real deal nut. The wealthy living (health food) store here quoted me $51 for a case (12 I assume).
I wanna say the last time I bought one from the Asian market it was around $2.59. I use Harmless Harvest now. $51 sounds crazy for 12. Solo