xmobotx' "true organic" method & discussion

[xmobotx]

so i find i litter a lot of threads w/ discussion of my methods

and i thought i should get the recipe for what's tried and true for me up and public in case it might help someone

to clarify, i am an organic gardener since about '95 both inside and outside. cannabis is probably the most interesting plant to me but i wont grow it if i cant do so legal. (which isn't to say that i dont know how) i have built a few gardens from tilling and such but in the last few years i have gone no-till. much of this is outside and involves season extenders like floating row covers and cold frames

let's establish some tenets of "true organic" -basically, if you dont agree i dont want to argue but i may appreciate some input

i dont care if your grow is under the sky or halides or flouros or LED's i will still consider it organic if the state/USDA would consider it organic (because that's essentially what i consider the "minimum")

lets say that "truest organic" is local sourced, sungrown, and has the least purchased at the store possible

AND, anything within that range is welcome here

i will prob show some pix from my conventional garden and composting process
but, i will have to get a med card or hope for the legalization to happen to post an canna pix

 

[xmobotx]

soil mixing for containers

peat method:

2 parts peat
1 part EWC
1 part perlite
1 TBS/gal dolo lime {i no longer use dolo lime}

once mixed, i will always age a min of 2 weeks
- a lot of time i mix stuff in the fall and use in the spring

variations:

dig the peat yourself
use your own EWC
pumice or ? instead of perlite
charcoal
wood ashes instead of lime

feeding regimen: {i actually never even used this "feeding regimen"}

water for early stages (read the plant)
compost tea at about 2 nodes (or early - whatever)
manure tea for veg
guano compost tea w/ hi P quano or flower parts infusion for P

the last 2 weeks will always be straight water {the entire grow was straight water}

super soil variation:

most recently, i made 2 peat-based mixes 1 as above the other as above but w/ the following:

1/4 pt compost
2 TBS/gal charcoal (from "fine" to "crushed" to 1/2" - 1" chunks
1/2 TBS/gal kelp meal

notice it's not much "hotter" but i use the "hotter" mix in the bottom 3rd of the container

i've done this in the past then (when the plant did poorly) found the roots didn't go into the "super soil" - this time w/ this mix the roots are flourishing through the super soil and the plant is thriving

 

[xmobotx]

i want to do a straight coco experiment

here's my tentative coco plan:

all straight rinsed coco (pre-rinsed or brick but rinsed)

seedling stage is EWC tea
veg stage is compost tea ammended w/ manure
flower set i was thinking guano but now im thinking flower infusions from flower parts
maybe in phopho-compost?

i figure there's cal and mag in EWC so i would ammend w/ very little dolo lime (to the EWC tea)
but, there would have to be 1/2 tsp/gal of dolo-lime mixed w/ the teas

so a EWC or compost tea for every stage and some ammending of the teas w/ ferts for growth/flower maybe top-dressing w/ the ammendments and still watering w/ tea

All hand watered BTW

 

[habeeb]

sounds like you know a little to much about herb.. to not be growing it...

alot of work for some veggies... is that what were calling them these days...


just kidding.. you can grow herb if you want. it's your free will to if you so choose.. don't if you don't want to, but I'm sure on here your gonna get alot of peer pressure

 

[xmobotx]

alot of work for some veggies... is that what were calling them these days...

thats one of the things i like about it a kind of synergistic approach to exercise ,diet, and life in general

just kidding.. you can grow herb if you want. it's your free will to if you so choose.. don't if you don't want to, but I'm sure on here your gonna get alot of peer pressure

lol and i sure want to but "if u cant do the time dont do the crime" -i still believe in the cause

 

[redneck shogun]

thats one of the things i like about it a kind of synergistic approach to exercise ,diet, and life in general

I am with you there, I just finished getting everything planted in my garden and I did it all without machines. Everyone thinks I am crazy and work to hard, but I believe it was of benefit to me mentally and physically. I like having my hands in the soil and feel good after a hard days work. It is the opposite of the life I what once lived of a 9 to 5 cubicle job and the stress of office politics.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Here's mine..................

Base Mix

4x coconut coir
3x peat moss
1x vermiculite
1x perlite
1x pumice

Mineral Mix

1x Azomite
1x glacial rock dust
1x soft rock phosphate
1x NJ green sand
1x limestone

Compost Mix
1x local organic compost
1x Alaska humus
1x EWC

Amendment Mix

Several seed meals, fish meal, fish bone meal, kelp meal, neem meal, crab/shrimp meal, bokashi bran.

Lime Mix (as per Steve Solomon's COF formula)

1x dolomite lime
1x oyster shell powder
1x gypsum

Soil Mix - 5 gallons

3x base mix
1x compost mix
1 cup amendment mix
1.5 cups mineral mix
.25 cup lime mix

CC

 

[xmobotx]

I am with you there, I just finished getting everything planted in my garden and I did it all without machines. Everyone thinks I am crazy and work to hard, but I believe it was of benefit to me mentally and physically. I like having my hands in the soil and feel good after a hard days work. It is the opposite of the life I what once lived of a 9 to 5 cubicle job and the stress of office politics.

that's about the size of it there

and, i figure as time goes on and the systems get established the garden requires less care

of course hand seeding seems like it's always something of a PITA

 

[xmobotx]

hey CC

i like mixes along those lines. sometimes it's hard for me to tell whether one particular ammendment makes so much difference

often we have an abundance of wood ash. i like to use it w/ lime like 1/2 TBS/gal lime and 1 TBS/gal woodash. or, instead of lime (but that's 2 TBS/gal woodash ;-)

but, like you, i'm a firm believer in diversity

early on though, i wanted every ammendment i could get my hands on. so, of course my soil was too hot (i dont think that was even the super soil experiment) my lesson was to ease back a little-
-but, that mix became great later once it "cooked" for a little while (i think i might have cut it w/ some fresh peat or something too.)

 

[ScrubNinja]

Looking forward to the coco grow. Best of luck, xm.

 

[xmobotx]

hey man! thanks for stopping by!

have you ever rooted cuttings in coco scrub?

i m kind of an old guy so i always used jiffy mix for my cuttings and seedlings back in the day.

i know coco isn't inert but it should be fairly close like the jiffy - i just wonder whether it's characteristics w/ moisture might cause probz

 

[VerdantGreen]

hey xmobotx i use coco coir jiffy pucks for cuttings - coco works just fine

VG.

 

[ScrubNinja]

My pleasure, X! Yeah I had a lot of luck when I started with good coco. Poor success with other cocos though (too fine/water retentive) and then I got onto jiffies recently. I used to water the coco once in small cups and that would almost last until they rooted! The coco pucks sound like a great idea.

 

[xmobotx]

yeah i was in too much of a rush to try coco. i saw a brick at the pet store and thought "blah blah blah coco blah blah"

well i picked it up and broke the brick down and did that corn experiment. needless to say, i didn't rinse it and it was shitty coco.

BUT, the first little bit that corn grew insane (the "explosive' growth of coco) i ended up having problems related to the K cal mag issue. while i was able to balance that out and get the corn green again, it never resumed vigor.

so, corn experiment over, my "fix" was to flush (3-4x) let that mix sit (BTW i used coco like peat w/ EWC and perlite) then mix in another coco brick (of the same) NOW, this mix is sitting in a bucket waiting for some peppers to sprout.

that was an OBBT experiment and continues - same bucket, lava rock and stones. 1 of the things i learned about OBBT is that you have to have a dry cycle you can't just keep the res at level and let it self maintain. this using an aquarium air pump so maybe a better (morre volume) pump?

i bought a bag of royal gold -for a pre-rinsed coco.

& used this seed starting method:

pour a seed flat w/ coco and wet
set seeds in ea unit pressing to insure soil contact
top w/ EWC
keep @ least 70* up to 80*

we'll see how the tomatos and peppers sprout w/ this routine any day (but not yet)

funny, i use my gecko's cage to put them in a warm environment (like up on top of the fridge?) but, i have to time it so they sprout into light -since the geckos just get some ambient (i m about due to fix something up for them - then it probably wont be as good for seed starting even though the light will be there -lol) see, i have 2 males so i have a tote in the cage for 1 of them. the tote gives me something to put the seed flat on so the geckos dont bother it. soon they will have their own space and no handy tote to set the flat on.

 

[xmobotx]

hey xmobotx i use coco coir jiffy pucks for cuttings - coco works just fine

VG.

thanks verdant! i haven't put together a clone bubbler yet - still kind of stuck in the old school. but i looked at that royal gold and thought it looked like it would work - lol

i actually have some of those popsicle molds like one forumite used to fab a cloner using vermiculite and a tray - but i like cloning right into the medium i use -another plus for straight coco grows!

thanks for stopping by man!

 

[ScrubNinja]

I remember that popsicle mould thing. There's also one where a guy makes mini coco pucks using an ice cube tray.

Oh man, you keep geckos? Cool! They hang around my house. I noticed when I had that huge fungus gnat problem, their numbers rocketed.



Cute lil things I look forward to trying an obbt some day too.

 

[santasapimp]

what does charcoal do? and what kind of charcoal

 

[C21H30O2]

I remember that popsicle mould thing. There's also one where a guy makes mini coco pucks using an ice cube tray.

Oh man, you keep geckos? Cool! They hang around my house. I noticed when I had that huge fungus gnat problem, their numbers rocketed.



Cute lil things I look forward to trying an obbt some day too.

hmm geckos as grow room predators. interesting. always looking for new troops to add to the army.

 

[beejium]

looking for something like this?

looking for something like this?

Organics

Soil Mix #1
5 part peat/coco fiber
3 part per lite
2 part worm castings
2 tbs dolomite lime (powdered) per gallon of soil

Soil Mix #2
1 part coco fiber
1 part peat moss
1 part per lite
1 part worm castings
2 tbs dolomite lime (powdered) per gallon of soil

Soil Mix #3
2 part peat
1 part per lite
1 part worm castings
2 tbs dolomite lime (powdered) per gallon of soil

Soil Mix #4
4x coco fiber
3x peat moss
1x vermiculite
1x per lite
1 x pumice
2 tbs dolomite lime (powdered) per gallon of soil

Soiless Mix #5
6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix / Fox Farm Ocean Forest or Light Warrior
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
2 tbs dolomite lime (powdered) per gallon of soil

Mineral Mix
1x Azomite
1x glacial rock dust
1x soft rock phosphate
1x Jersey green sand
1x limestone
1 ½ cups to 5 gal of soil

Compost Tea
8 tbs of worm castings
1 tsp of black strap molasses (sulfur free)
1 tsp vegetable oil (anti-foaming agent) {optional}
1 gallon of water (chlorine free)
bubble 24hrs

Compost Tea #2
Seedlings and clones less than 1 month old
1 cup earth worm castings
5 tsp Black Strap Molasses
5 gallons of water (chlorine free)
ever 3rd watering
bubble 24hrs

Veg
1/3 cup Peruvian Sea Bird Guano
1/3 cup Mexican Bat Guano
1/3 cup Earth Worm Castings
5 gallons of water
5 tsp Black Strap Molasses
every 3rd watering
bubble 24hrs

Flower
2/3 cup Peruvian Sea Bird Guano
2/3 cup earth worm castings
2/3 cup Indonesian or Jamaican Guano
5 tsp Black Strap Molasses
every watering
bubble 24hrs

Fertilizer Recipes

Recipe #1
1 gallon of soil
1 tbs blood meal
2 tbs bone meal
1 tbs kelp meal
1 tbs Jersey Green-Sand (optional)
mix 2 weeks before using

Recipe #2
1 gallon of soil
1/3 cup Mexican bat Guano
1/2 cup Jamaican or Indonesian Bat Guano
1 tbs kelp meal
1 tbs Jersey Green-Sand (optional)
mix 2 weeks before using

Recipe #3
40 gallons used soil
4 cups alfalfa meal
4 cups bone meal
4 cups kelp meal
4 cups dolomite lime (powdered)
30 pound bag of earth worm castings
4 cups of Green-Sand (optional)
4 cups Rock Phosphate (optional)
4 cups Diatomaceous Earth (optional)
mix 2 weeks before using

Recipe #4

Veg
1 tbs (5-1-1) fish emulsion
1 capful Neptune's Harvest 0-0-1 Seaweed or Maxicrop liquid
1 gallon of water

Flower
1 tbs (2-3-1) fish/seaweed (early flower)
1 tbs (2-4-1) fish/seaweed (late flower)
1 gallon of water

**Recipe #5 (currently in use with Soil Mix #2)

Veg
1 gallon soil
1/2 cup Plant Tone 5-3-3

Flower
1 gallon of soil
3/4 cup Flower Tone 3-4-5

** = currently testing

Looking for more to add!!!

******Thanks to: BurnOne, LC, Clackamas Coot, xmobotx, VerdantGreen, 3lb, CT, and and more, who unknowingly put this together.******
Hopefully I have not offended anyone by condensing what i have picked up from IC.

 

[beejium]

i want to do a straight coco experiment

here's my tentative coco plan:

all straight rinsed coco (pre-rinsed or brick but rinsed)

seedling stage is EWC tea
veg stage is compost tea ammended w/ manure
flower set i was thinking guano but now im thinking flower infusions from flower parts
maybe in phopho-compost?

i figure there's cal and mag in EWC so i would ammend w/ very little dolo lime (to the EWC tea)
but, there would have to be 1/2 tsp/gal of dolo-lime mixed w/ the teas

so a EWC or compost tea for every stage and some ammending of the teas w/ ferts for growth/flower maybe top-dressing w/ the ammendments and still watering w/ tea

All hand watered BTW

I don't know if this will work, but maybe...
Peletized dolomite lime might help if amended into the coco. I'm thinking the clay may hold the d.lime with in the coco. If it holds it would be a slow release of cal mag. Then you may or may not need to add d.lime to the tea. If you do this your coco won't be straight, it will have a very small percentage of clay. You might also be able to top dress powdered d.lime, but i have never tried with coco. Again I don't know if any of this will work. Something to think about though.