Questions about going organic.

[CrookedEye]

If I can find a camera that'll take worthy pictures, I may post a grow log or at least some bud pics when they begin showing some nuggets. I had one early pearl x c99 show male flowers already just in veg, without any change in light cycle.. First time I have had that happen, and my lemon g x deep chunk x bubba kush seeds are starting to pop, so I can't wait to see some of those phenos. My buddy nicknamed the strain snoop a loop for some reason. Must be a tribute to snoop dog or something..

 

[moonymonkey]

yes u will get alot of diff. answers...i have use desert guano,mixed with ditilled water,a food,to raise ph...no i wud not water with a higher ph of water..sounds to me soil was outa balance,wen you switched waters,ro,an netrul tap...with miracle grow prefert. soil,u can add 1/3 peat,usally use tap water ph 7.0-7.4...the question is which method works best for you...one thing def...makesure they get nice an dry before u water,with water ph problem...u can use lime too,its all its used an wats done after that,...peace

 

[CrookedEye]

The tap is only about 7-7.5 here but I think the PH is low because of the peat based medium and I didn't use dolomite lime. So I was gonna try watering with some EWC, some LK (if I can afford it) and the grow big and big bloom 1/4 strength from fox farm, and some dolomite lime for the next water.

They seem to be yellowing all over a bit now, but probably because they are around 5 weeks old and haven't been fed anything other than what was in the small cups of miracle grow, which is probably used up. The PH is above 5-5.5 (hard to tell exactly with the color chart and liquid solution, so I can't wait to get me a PH pen), so I imagine many of the nutrients would still be available if they were in there. The b'cuzz mix when watered with plain RO water and no additives, the runoff comes out at about 6. I'll keep an eye on the PH I water with but will keep it closer to 7 by adding crushed dolomite lime with my watering. That should get it to adjust over time, and I am gonna really saturate the soil well to get a good amount of runoff on this next watering, as soon as they dry out really well, right before they start wilting, like when the leaves begin to droop just a bit. I usually take note when they begin to droop, then water em right before that is expected to happen, to make sure I don't over water em..

I just have to scrape up some cash for some nutrients in the next day or two and I am sure everything will adjust nicely. As I said they are perking up since the transplant, I just think they're starving for some food.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Peat can make it a bit acidic..

How is your yellowing ? can I see?


Jack

 

[CrookedEye]

Sorry, no camera, yet. The yellowing is very minor mostly on older lower leaves, and the rest of the plant is just more of a lime green. They are perking up nicely, and I believe they just need a little food, especially nitrogen, to get to be a more rich green. They are sativa dominant from what I understand, so the lighter green, is probably fine, anyways. I'll work on getting a camera so I can post pics in the future..

 

[Bass Akwards]

With a Grain of Salt

With a Grain of Salt

For a beginner the amount of information that is available here is overwhelming.

Simply, there is the soil food web http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_food_web.

That's the basic idea of Organic growing. However for most indoor folks we are most likely limited to the raw materials and the microbiology.

In the most simple terms an Organic grow is one that supports the soil food web (IMO (tm))

Though the "Soil Food Web" website makes a believable pitch, a substantial portion of their beneficial claims for spray application of aerated compost tea have yet to be substantiated.

Has anyone, ever, on any grow site, claimed that compost tea can prevent, deter, or in any way impede spider mites or thrips? If not, what exactly does it prevent? What "pathogens" does it deter? Powdery Mildew perhaps?

Think again. Your home-grown bacteria and fungi aren't any different, or any better, than the flora & fauna that are Everywhere around you Now. "More" is not necessarily "better".

Oxygenated water to the roots will always show a growth benefit, no matter what nutrients are, or are not, suspended in it, or the contents of the soil or medium. ( Compost teas and guano soups can add a boost whether they're bubbled or not. )

A more realistic assessment of aerated compost tea, or at least an alternate one, can be found at these urls:

http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda Chalker-Scott/Horticultural Myths_files/index.html

http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda ...tural Myths_files/Myths/Compost tea again.pdf

http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda ...yths_files/Myths/magazine pdfs/CompostTea.pdf

 

[JackTheGrower]

It pays to share.. I didn't see that web site.. I'm off Wikipedia for the quote.
Now I have some reading to do.

 

[JackTheGrower]

You could be correct. I'll be reading a while but:
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C. 10. Grower's Experience with Compost Tea
This page under development
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QUOTE=Bass Akwards;2409510]Though the "Soil Food Web" website makes a believable pitch, a substantial portion of their beneficial claims for spray application of aerated compost tea have yet to be substantiated.

Has anyone, ever, on any grow site, claimed that compost tea can prevent, deter, or in any way impede spider mites or thrips? If not, what exactly does it prevent? What "pathogens" does it deter? Powdery Mildew perhaps?

Think again. Your home-grown bacteria and fungi aren't any different, or any better, than the flora & fauna that are Everywhere around you Now. "More" is not necessarily "better".

Oxygenated water to the roots will always show a growth benefit, no matter what nutrients are, or are not, suspended in it, or the contents of the soil or medium. ( Compost teas and guano soups can add a boost whether they're bubbled or not. )

A more realistic assessment of aerated compost tea, or at least an alternate one, can be found at these urls:

http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda Chalker-Scott/Horticultural Myths_files/index.html

http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda ...tural Myths_files/Myths/Compost tea again.pdf

http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda ...yths_files/Myths/magazine pdfs/CompostTea.pdf[/QUOTE]

 

[JackTheGrower]

I have to thank Bass Akwards for pointing out the website. One thing led to another and i have a clearer understanding of my message.

While i feel i have a good organic garden sense I have a lot to learn about the science of it and especially the terms used.

I talk about soil food web but it's the rhizosphere that I think most about.

Letting the biology work on introduced materials.

A little about the rhizosphere.

-----------------------------
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1129604

The rhizosphere is the site of organic deposition and the generator of habitat and resource heterogeneity for soil organisms. Plants can modify their rhizosphere through nutrient, moisture and O2 uptake from the rhizosphere, rhizo-deposition and production of root exudates. As a result, rhizosphere chemical (pH, nutrient solubility, O2, CO2 and other chemicals), physical (moisture and aeration), and biological (soil pathogens, beneficial microorganisms and allelopathy) characteristics will be changed or modified. Rhizosphere microorganisms have positive or negative effects on plant growth and morphology by affecting the plant hormone balance, plant enzymatic activity, nutrient availability and toxicity, and competition with other plants. Plants modify the rhizosphere and as a result will modify the community.

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I truly believe this.. That it's a interactive system. That's why i don't worry about PH so much CrookedEye.

 

[Bass Akwards]

Quite Right ...

Quite Right ...

You're quite right about PH, Jack.

PH is much harder to screw up in soil-based gardening.

It's almost an effort to get soil so far out of whack that the plants suffer.

Overpriced organic mixes like "Fart Farm", "Ocean Dregs", and "Light Barrier", and the semi-organic products from big-boxes like "MiracleBlo", shouldn't need a PH check at all. Even in urban areas, where the water supply is kept at a higher PH to prevent Lead from leaching from old pipes, the acidic nature of peat-based mediums balances out just fine.

"Living Soil" is the simplest way to describe what most folks are going for with organics. The population of the rhizosphere has been "on the job" for millennia, and know their jobs better than we do.