Morning everyone! Harvest time is here- yay!, first variety to come down on this rotation is KushWreck (cut only out of SD, OG kush x Trainwreck) and she's well done at 8 weeks. Everything else in there will be between 60-65 days. Here's what I like to do after harvest to the no-tills so they are ready to go when the next round of rooted cuts are (soon) available. After I chop the pretty lady: You can see in the middle the recent stump, off to the right is the last stump and immediately to the left is the stump from two cycles ago, from before that they've fallen over and decomposed. I gently move all the mulch that may be there to one side, never disturbing the soil - no cultivating, no finger poking, no tilling - no pun intended This is a #20 smartie so two handfuls of my own vermicompost is sufficient, spread out on the one side its about 1/8-1/4 inch thick - not much at all. Two pinches each of organic neem meal and kelp meal are sprinkled on top and also the crimson clover seed I'm working through. For the whole thing its about 1TBSP of each, neem and kelp. Move the mulch to the completed side, repeat, then spread out existing mulch across the whole top and add more leaves and chopped stems from the plant just harvested. Water. Voila - done! Ready for next planting anytime. Besides continual mulching with cannabis prunings, that's the only physical addition to these containers of soil, every 3 months after each cycle.
Few more days maybe and the same process will be repeated after harvesting these, both are in their own #45. Photos @ about 8 weeks. "Gonzo" Blue Orca x NLH F1
Where did you get your chapin at? damn hardware stores trying to tax an extra 70. Amazon? And is this the fogger tip you have? http://www.truevalue.com/product/Sprayer-Cone-Nozzle-Adjustable-Brass/57719.uts?keyword=chapin&sortByColumnName=SortByPriceDescending
Lookin' good B'! What would you say your average lay over time between harvest, redress/mulch, and transplant is? Basically wondering how long they can sit before a plant needs to be put in to really keep the microherd active? I know you have the clover in there, I'm talking about the transplant. Do YOU think no-tills in 7 gallon pots is plausible, possibly with a slightly heavier redress between cycles? I tried 10's my last grow around (with the idea to start no-tills with them), but they were just too bulky for my grow style. And too heavy when wet! I like to move my stuff around. Have you grown the BO x NLH before? How about the TO x BMR? How do you like them?
I picked that same adjustable nozzle up at the same time from amazon for $6 but much much prefer the Chapin 'fogger.' Model 3-2077 available only from Chapin - https://www.chapinmfg.com/products/product:3-2077-brass-fog-nozzle/ When I picked it up last year it was $27 now it is $46 :/ - it comes with three separate tips and the one with the smallest hole is the one to use, pulling only .13gpm really helps your foliar solution go a long way! Straining any teas and cleaning the several parts that comprise the nozzle is pertinent.
Hey Waktoo! I always replant immediately, the only layover with no cannabis growing is as noted above when a room with multiple strains is done and harvest is stretched over a couple weeks. No biggie at all, get some clover or whatever growing in there and keep the soil alive (worms!) by keeping it watered and it becomes irrelevant whether you replant the day of harvest or a month after. Any containers not being used continues to get watered - much less is required - with the same rotation of sprouts/coconut/water etc. I do no-till moms/dads in 2gal containers, even 1gal. Have flowered no-tills of 3, 5 and 7 gallon buckets/smart pots without issue for up to 3 and 4 cycles - no problem! Keep it alive, don't let it dry out, mulch mulch mulch. This is my 3rd cycle with that BO x NLH I have pictured above - great smoke, great yield, vigorous growth - can be done @ 55 days with amber trichs but I like closer to 65 days for a stronger effect and that last week brings out colors in the calyxes. The 18day room has TO x BMR F1, 3 of the same cut, even though I've had it for a year its my first time flowering this particular one. She too is a yielder with large, frosty, dense flowers smelling of lemons and berries (?). My concern with the BMR crosses is botrytis as the BMR seems to pass on that unfortunate susceptibility - hope not with this one because BO / TO do NOT have that susceptibility. Fingers crossed!
Awesome, thanks. I'll end up picking it up eventually if you're telling me it's worth the upgrade, I've got lots of ground to cover ... but that is a heck of a price jump in a short amount of time. Yea I've only ever gone up to 7 gallon normal plastic containers and am thinking of switching to 10-20 gallon smartpots, also weary of it because of that wet weight. But I guess when you got your stuff dialed in like blue, and have the training figured out, you really don't have to move much around except some rotation. Speaking of training, that is quite a style you got there blue, mind speaking on it? seems like you try and aim for your main stem to come out at an angle while developing endless main stems on that one fucker. It looked unorthodox at first glance but it seems to be working wonderfully for you and I would love any tips. Seems you got few stakes and no strings while those big mommas are looking real sturdy.
I looked up botrytis. Is that what is commonly referred to in our circles as "powdery mildew"? If that's the case, I'll go ahead and order some (TO x BMR). PM has never been an issue in my indoor grow. May the less susceptible genetics prevail!!! Are your plants LST'd? They look it. Sorry if I missed it earlier... So you really dig the Chapin fogger attachment? I'm working a greenhouse grow this season for the first time. Food and med's. I AM going to have issue with bugs, considering what I saw when I cleaned it out after last seasons grow. I'm first considering the use of predatory insects, but I'm leery as to whether or not they will be up to the task. IPM will obviously be my back up, but there's going to be a lot of plants to spray in a 25' geodesic greenhouse! So I like the fact that the fogger will help spread coverage of the IPM love, but does it really produce anything like a "fog"? Time necessary to apply to leaf top and bottom being most relevant... BTW, I really like what you've brought to the forum. Thank you.
Fenugreek also is bacteriacidal and a fungicide. The TED Talk below talks about a young Indian student that created a patented paper that extended the shelf life of vegetable and fruits from 2-4x. The main ingredient is fenugreek. http://www.fenugreen.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrqRudIUPWs
Hehe, I like the way you put that. Maybe this additional picture will show that it's not always the same for every plant. For one, I never top these plants, never. Second, I look at and work with how each individual plant "wants" to grow and fit their natural growth pattern into their training. Third, I look for where the holes are going to be in the canopy and train main stalks towards these areas. Lastly, but done first, always get the initial dominant top pulled down so lower side branching can 'catch up' and with any luck dominance is spread out over several or more main tops.....cytokinins - coconut water, helps tremendously with this...both at the root tip and growth tips.... Usually the initial tying down of the main stalk is done with the Velcro that so handily sticks to the inside of the smart pots and further training is done with both Velcro and bamboo stakes. I will only add additional bamboo stakes towards the end of flowering if large flowers start falling over, as needed. It happens of course but with so much soil and "peak growth" happening all the time stems get nice and thick and many large flowers hold themselves up or they hold each other up when such a dense canopy forms. I think that sums it up? Training is done from day one, I consider it one of the most important things done in the indoor garden to maximize yield potential and light usage - after a quality soil etc is already in place - and with so little else to do during the life of these plants in no-till containers it easily becomes the most time consuming! No better way to de-stress from a long day or to start the day than spending time in the garden to refocus and get back to your zen.
@[member="Chunk"] - thank you for reminding me about the other properties of fenugreek and also for posting that here! I remember reading about fenugreen a year or so ago, amazing stuff! Mrs bluejay used fenugreek to stimulate breast milk production with our 3rd and we feel it was successful, after a week or so it was no longer an issue....over abundance on the other hand..... @[member="waktoo"] - thank you! I grew for ten years, and some horrible plants in that time, and never had PM or botrytis, eventually it happens especially if you let your guard down and especially if coupled with a genetic susceptibility. Keep your eye out, don't stop IPM!
Does the worm population ever grow beyond what the pot can sustain? What about in smaller pots like 5-7 gals?
Worms will regulate their population in these living soil containers of any size - I'll see "bloomings" of many babies in and on the topsoil from time to time. I like to keep both red and euro worms as the euros are known for burrowing and coming to the surface at night while the reds staying closer to the surface. Seeing a big fat euro cruising through the mulch at night always puts a smile on my face.