Sunday 3.18.18 Welcome back to the Dirt Hole in the same place in a different place! I'm PoiBoy - a laid-back organic gardener watching the plants grow in the SoCal sunshine....good to meet ya I started out gardening in raised beds after reading Square Foot Gardening about 10 years ago. I'm a rookie when it comes to cannabis - so come enjoy my struggle. I grow in 20# fabric pots No -Till style outdoors in a backyard known as the "Dirt Hole". This season I am attempting to strip down my grow tech to the most bang for my buck. I'm narrowing down my inputs and time caring for the plants. I use what works (organically) and is cheaper for me in the long run. So I'll put practices in place to prevent: disease, pests, extra work, low quality/yields. I'll also keep a lower profile on the plants by doing some training. I have only done one botched FIM before and light LST on plants a few times but I'm going to top and maybe try some other techniques this time. Thanks to all the great people here on the GC organics forums - I've had the best herbs I ever smoked because of your generosity and I will continue sharing the knowledge...big ups! ... This round I'm planning on running (5) plants. Growing from feminized seed. I'm hoping for four Sativas and one Indica, but whatever seedling look best, I'll go with those. Today I mixed up my seedling mix and reammended my pots. My neighbor is a worm farmer so I got some fresh today. Little worm in castings My fert mix - 1 part ea ( kelp,alfalfa,neem/karanja,crab,Fish bone meal). Decided to add ag lime flour to my pots since I didn't before and had some slight issues last run. 1 cup ea lime and fert mix. Had a few clones last run so I pulled out the rockwool first - look at the mycelium Pulled off mulch, scratched in lime and ferts. Covered with thick layer EWC, and watered it in. Added mulch back and I'll let it sit for about a week. All done! Now for the seedling mix - wet the cspm with yucca powder, and a little lime and mix up really good. Add perlite and EWC and a sprinkle of fert mix. About 35%cspm /25%ewc /40% perlite. Next I'll be popping the seeds! See ya then farmers! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Friday 3.23 Sat down last night with my wife and after a lot of hard questions we decided the strains we're growing this season. Err I'm growing this season. Ace Seeds : Kali China (Indica)Kali China Feminized seeds. Stabilized China YuNnan hybrid. Panama x Bangi Haze Panama x Bangi Haze feminized Panama Congo sativa hybird Ace Seeds Guawi Guawi Feminized pure Malawi Guatemala sativa limited edition Original Delicatessen : Queen Mother Queen Mother Feminized Delicatessen sativa seed Female Seeds : C99 C99 Took two seeds of each of the (5) strains and placed in a paper towel wetted with kelp water. Covered loosely with plastic wrap and placed on a heating pad set to low. Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Saturday 3.24 Uhh I got really high last night and forgot the heating pad on overnight and it was set at medium not low! Auwe! The seeds were very warm... All the seeds had popped except the Guawi seeds and one of the Queen Mothers. So I decided plant them all with a pinch of Vam-Endo in my Jiffy strips set up as SIPs in saucers (wet perlite). Hope I haven't cooked all my seeds. Oh well, live and learn - at least I have backup seeds. Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
I like the Jiffy strips - I poke holes in the sides for extra O2 then when the seedlings get big enough so the earwigs can't eat them, I plant the whole thing in the final pots in the garden. The Jiffs break down and become part of the soil. Waste not want not Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Thursday 3.29 Ended up starting one more seed of each strain. Good news....guess I didn't fry all the seeds! Kali China #1 & 2 have surfaced. Saw the #1 poking up last night and now it's as you see here. Fingers remain crossed for the rest of the gang. Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
My man, good to be back. I am starting your little gifted seeds as we speak. Nice to see things are going well. Look forward to another outdoor growing reason to share with you.
MM! I was hoping you'd be around. Great to see you brother. Is that right? So cool..I'll be checking in wherever you're sharing. Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Monday 4.2 More sprouts have come up - I have at least one of every strain except C-99. One Kali China sprout couldn't shake it's helmet and died today. Welcome to the jungle! During downtime at work today I figured out the NPK value of my fert mix. Thought I'd share in case anyone wanted to do that and customize their mix. NPK values are based on mass. So I took my unit of measurement (1Cup), which is a measure of volume, and weighed 1Cup of each meal to get the mass (weight). Approx. weights of 1Cup of meal/NPK values: Alfalfa - (5oz) 2.5 - 0.5 - 2.5 Kelp - (7.5oz) 1 - 0.1 - 2 Crab - (7oz) 4 - 3 - 0 Neem/Karanja - (6.5oz) 6 - 1 - 2 Fish Bone - (8oz) 3 - 16 - 0 Now multiply each value in a given NPK by the number of ounces. Ex. - Alfalfa weighs 5oz in a cup. N 2.5 x 5 = (12.5 ) P 0.5 x 5 = (2.5) K 2.5 x 5 = (12.5) Do that for each meal. Now add all the N values together. Then P and K. The above values totaled: 111 - 158.75 - 40.5 Now add up the total amount of ounces: 5 + 7.5 + 7+ 6.5 + 8 = 34oz Divide each NPK value by 34: = 3.26 - 4.67 - 1.2 N P K I'll use that for VEG. For BLOOM I'll soften the nitrogen and even up the P and K numbers while adding sulfur and magnesium. I chose to use Langbeinite 0 - 0 - 22 aka sul-po-mag. I'll take 1 Cup of the above fert mix and add 1/3 Cup of Langbeinite. So as before I'll weigh the 1/3 Cup of Langbeinite = 5.3oz Follow all the steps before and multiply the NPK values by oz then add all the values together and we arrive at: 111 - 158.75 - 157.1 ÷ total oz (39.3) = 2.8 - 4.03 - 3.99 N P K So there you have it. Just more information for the tool box. Blessings farmers! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Wednesday 4.4 Got the A-team lined up after some selection. I picked the best sprouts. All of them had roots just starting to grow into the perlite. Kali China #1&2 were both healthy and it was a tough selection to make but I chose #1 because it had a stockier build with wider leaves that showed purple (breeder mentioned these were traits to look for) and had fuzzy roots popping out of the jiffy. PB#3 was a beast from the beginning. Sprouted fasted than anyone. Guawi #3 is healthy, popped quick, and has seemed to go about making roots rather than growing much up top. Queen Mother #3 was the only QM seed to get above ground. Looked a bit weak yellow and purple coming out of the soil but quickly recovered retaining a little purple and has grown the longest most beefed taproot of them all. C-99#3 has just surfaced. Yellow cotyledons. Dunno if I'm keeping it yet. I have more C-99 seeds I might pop. Didn't want the roots to get hurt so I transplanted all the winners to clear dixies. I cut holes in the bottoms of the dixies, filled halfway with soil, applied Vam-endo, and put the jiffy's in - crowded the soil around them and placed soil on top to bury the sprouts' necks just a little. Shakas friends Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Saturday 4.7 The weather continues to be cooler and overcast. The little ones don't mind and seem to enjoy their new larger homes in the dixies. Kept a couple back up sprouts in case things go south later. The C-99 ended up just fine and the initial yellowing disappeared within a day. Guawi Panama x Bangi Haze Queen Mother (Reina Madre) Kali China Group Shot Hope all is well in your gardens neighbors. Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Saturday 4.14 Howzit neighbors! We are officially in the Dirt Hole...!! This fine morning was transplant day. Took the girls from my apartment balcony to their new dirty digs All the ladies are on 2nd or 3rd leaf sets. Prepared the final pots by pushing aside the mulch and digging a hole beside the previous stalks. Dusted holes with Bioag Vam-endo. Turned the plants upside-down to get them out of the cups. Placed seedlings in holes and lightly crowded the soil around them. Watered them in. Cut the tops off the cups and placed them around the plants for protection and to insulate them a bit. Wet a bunch of orchid (fir) bark fines and mulched around the plants. It will keep the moisture in...I might not visit for a couple days. Panama x Bangi Haze Guawi Kali China Queen Mother C-99 To protect them from the insects I set up little mosquito net tents - yes they are babied by me haha I started my seedlings on my balcony, which receives direct sun a few hours a day around 1-4pm. I am leaving them in the shade line of the tree which gets broken sunlight most of the day. I'll leave them there for awhile and slowly inch them out into full sun. Feeling good about the start and I'm ready to grow some larger plants this time. Irie vibes to you bruddahs and sistahs! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Wednesday 4.18 Quick update - Went to the garden on Monday 4.16 to water and check up on the plants. It's been windy and I'm glad I left the plastic rings around the seedlings. I took off the netting. Today (Wed) I visited again but didn't water. The fir bark mulch has kept the soil moist for a couple days. I might water tomorrow or the day after. On Monday I only watered over the mulch and not within the plastic cup rings. I want to encourage the roots to grow outward/downward. The weeds aka frontier plants are beautiful this year. One of them looks and smells like chamomile...maybe better. My brother looked it up online....it might be a plant called pineapple weed. Oh shit The Colonel making his first appearance after the harvest hiatus.....he thinks his fingers are gonna need a lickin' later Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
A shot of those Chamomile plants - I think it IS chamomile.... I think Queen Mother will be a colorful girl...temps aren't cold... Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Monday 4.23 Trying my hand at vermicomposting. The other day I ordered some African Nightcrawlers. They're known for being voracious eaters that handle warmer temperatures....perfect for me, who wants badass castings as fast as possible without paying for climate control...chee! Here's what I used: 4 G.Malibu compost 2 G. fir bark fines (uni-gro orchid bark fine grade) 1.5 G. fall elm leaves (high silica) roughed up 2 C. CSPM 1 C. used Coffee grounds 3 C. Fert mix (equal parts: alfalfa,kelp,crab,FBM,karanja/neem mix) 1C. Basalt rock dust 1/2 C. Garden lime 1/4 C. Gypsum 1/2C. M barley/MCorn powder - all mixed together with water until field capacity. Split between (2) 5 Gallon buckets. Cut a hole in the lid and then I'll put a t shirt over the whole thing. Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Wednesday 4.25 Watered the girls yesterday. Everyone looks healthy. PxBH Guawi C-99 The new leaves seem a little deformed. Queen Mother Kali China Da gang Peace in your gardens friends! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Monday 4.30 Today blood was spilt in the Dirt Hole! I stepped into the garden and the plants looked strong. I topped all the plants down to the second nodes, for (4) main colas. Guawi - this is the first time I've ever topped a plant and Guawi was up first. I was surprised by the amount of sap coming out - and I admit to taking a taste. After that I tasted the sap and leaves of all the plants. They were all a bit different, and I thought they would make a great salad...which is exciting. PxBH C99 Queen Mother Kali China This is also my first time trying cloning. I cut some fresh aloe and dipped the topped ends in the gel. Then stuck them straight into a jiffy strip filled with seedling mix and watered them. I don't really want any more plants...so I get to do it just for a fun experiment. Irie vibes! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Thursday 5.3 Haven't watered the girls since last Tuesday so I watered them today. It's been cooler weather with some overcast days. They weren't showing any signs of thirst. Starting earlier in the year and having the bark fines mulch has really cut down water. The real test will be with large plants in the heat of summer. It's been 2 days since I topped the ladies - Kali China hasn't skipped a beat The others are looking fine also. The Kali China is the oldest and the growth tips from the 2nd set are beefed. All is well in the Dirt Hole. Shakas my neighbors! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Thanks my man - I got a feeling the garden will have its best year yet! Swing by anytime! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Wednesday 5.9 Back in the Dirt Hole again! It's been great LITFA has been followed to a T. I haven't even sprayed once for pests. There's been a little thrip and aphid damage but nothing to worry about. Only plain water so far. I will be topdressing with my fert mix once a month starting next week. The topping has done what was expected and has made the girls grow outward. The C-99 seems to put all its energy into the top node and has hardly grown the growth tips on the 1st. The others are spreading energy more evenly. Kali China Queen Mother C-99 PxBH Guawi Great weather for growing plants farmers - I hope your gardens are blessed with sunshine and praying leaves - shakas friends! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk