Tutorial Organics for Beginners

[vonforne]

Well, clones have been cut, soil is cooking. Time will tell. Thanks for insight. I'll let you know how it goes, after transplant.

Keep us posted and if you have any problems just drop in. We are here to help.

V

 

[vonforne]

Kelp meal is not soluble right?

Kelp meal is not. But can be made so in a tea.

Kelp Extract is a liquid out of the bottle.

Soluble Kelp is ....well soluble. About 1 TSP per gallon.

5% of most guanos are also.

Alfalfa can be made into a liquid with the steep method or in a tea.

V

 

[vonforne]

Way too much lime in the LC mixes...

And...........

 

[delerious]

Peaceful Vally was just off the top of my head. Where are you located? Some one might know of a closer location for you.

For watering K-Mag.....1 TSP per gallon is enough.....every other watering. If it is also present in the soil I would not water in until you see what happens.

If you use to water in grind it with an old coffee grinder first.

Remember....Less is Better.

I have not ordered seeds from them. Sorry.

Good job on the supplies.

V

The K-Mag in the soil is currently cooking. The water was used on soil without it. I'll have to check closer next time I water, but last time it seemed like everything was dissolved and there wasn't anything on the bottom (sat for about a half hour). My bag says Solution Grade.

From East Coast. I like a lot of the products Peaceful Valley carries and their prices are excellent on bulk (50lbs+) products. I asked about the seeds because they were giving out 2 free packs with any order (more on higher $ orders) - didn't know if that was something they always did or a recent addition.

Thanks

 

[hashit]

Should more dolomite lime be added to a mix if we know that the plant is a cal-mag hog?

 

[vonforne]

I want to join. I have a cab full of light sabers. stabbing my organic canopy

Sure man you are welcome to join. Let me get it up and running this weekend.

I will let every one know then.

V

 

[SecretGardener]

Scratching the soil

Take an old fork or spoon from your wife\girlfriend and bend it at a 90 degree angle. And scratch the surface of the soil. About 2 inches deep. I spray it a little first with water. Doing this will prevent the water from running through the container so fast. And keeping the surface of the soil wet helps keep the micro biology active.

How much water.......I use about 250 ml....a coffee can works good for me.

And I never let the soil dry out.

HTH

V

I have read to let the soil dry out before watering and I have also read to just keep the soil evenly moist at all times and water in small amounts. To me the latter makes more sense because if you can't gauge how dry is too dry you're risking damage to your precious roots! Also more frequent light watering is good because it helps introduce oxygen to the roots right? Or does the soil have to dry out to introduce air?

Anyway, the point is, I did steal a fork from my wife and I wanted to try this method. It's been 4 solid days since I last watered and its still moist 2" down. That is what inspired this post and the above question.



EDIT: Added some pictures, I didn't really have a plan for these girls...but now I've decided to start flowering as soon as my carbon scrubber comes in the mail. I will make a grow diary I suppose if anyone wants to continue helping/following. Pictured plants are strawberry cough, ak-47 (same two on the brink of death two weeks ago, revived thanks to Vonforne!) @ 5.9 weeks veg. Last picture is my spread sheet that I keep track of stuff, all those fields are formula's that auto calculate cause I'm too lazy to count their age manually

 

[the gnome]

can you use calmag+ for organic growing?
I reda theres a chelating chem, EDTA that kills all the bene's in the soil.
looked on my bottle of calmag+ and there it is.

would I be better off using the sul-po-mag listed above?

 

[treefrog]

can you use calmag+ for organic growing?
I reda theres a chelating chem, EDTA that kills all the bene's in the soil.
looked on my bottle of calmag+ and there it is.

would I be better off using the sul-po-mag listed above?

I've been trying a 'cal-mag' mix I made myself. It's been working excellently. To make it I used 2 cups of ag-lime. That's the lime that is mostly calcium. Not hydrated though! Oyster shell would work too. Anyways, 2 cups of the high calcium lime and 1 cup of epsom salts. I grind the epsom salts up in a coffee grinder before mixing. This gives a good 2 to 1 ratio of calcium to magnesium (or thereabouts) that is ideal for Cannabis. I add 1 tsp of this mixture to 1 gallon of rain water, or R.O.

Personally, I only use the k-mag with flowering ladies. Every other watering, I'll change it up and use my cal-mag mixture.

 

[fredcdobbs]

Some of my tea recipes.....

Seedlings

4 gallons of tepid water
2 or 3 handfuls of EWC or fresh compost or both
1 TBS Fulvic acid per gallon
1 TSP per gallon of Molasses

Brew for 24 hours @ 70 degrees
water in.

Remember to scratch the soil and make it moist before watering with the compost tea.

Vegetative Stage ( 3 to 5 weeks

Compost Tea (Using a amended soil) used once per week

4 gallons Tepid water
2 handfuls EWC or fresh compost
1 TBS Fulvic or Humic acid per gallon
1 TBS Fish emulsions of Hydroslate per gallon
1 TSP per gallon of water

Nutrient Tea for veg rotate with the above tea

2 TBS N guano or Alfalfa ( I rotate these one on and one off)
1 TBS P guano
1 handful EWC
1 TBS Fulvic acid or Humic acid per gallon
1 TSP Molasses per gallon of water.

Brew for 24 hours @ 70 degrees and water in.

Remember to scratch the soil and make it moist before watering with the Compost tea or Nutrient tea.

Take the third watering off and water with just Molasses and water.

Early flower stage

Here I will top dress for an extra boost of N. I top dress with 1 or 2 TBS N guano.

I use the seedling tea for the first watering. I want to increase the bio activity at this time. The plants expend a great amount of energy during the stretch.

Then I use a reverse version of the Veg tea

1 TBS N guano or Alfalfa ( I rotate these one on and one off)
2 TBS P guano
1 handful EWC
1 TBS Fulvic acid or Humic acid per gallon
1 TSP Molasses per gallon of water.
1 TSP K.Mag or Sul-Po-Mag per 2 gallons of water.

Remember to scratch the soil and make it moist before watering with the Compost tea or Nutrient tea.

Then in the last four weeks I start backing off on the teas both Nutrient and Compost.

The final 2 to 3 weeks I use just Molasses and water for watering. With the last 2 waterings with plain water. At this time you are most likely watering twice a week.


This is just how I do it by standard........it does vary depending on plants and nutrient needs.

HTH

V

is this what to follow when usin lc's mix and recipe #1?...if not,what can i use in flower?......i mixed compost and manure, bone,blood,and kelp meal with peat,and dolomite lime..let it cook for 60 days...question is,how should i use kelp and or alfalfa meal in teas?..so far i've only used molasses and compost &manure tea at each watering.....thanks for yer time...

 

[Carl Carlson]

anyone have an idea where to get powdered cal/mag??

Dolomite lime. CaMg(CO3)2

 

[vonforne]

is this what to follow when usin lc's mix and recipe #1?...if not,what can i use in flower?......i mixed compost and manure, bone,blood,and kelp meal with peat,and dolomite lime..let it cook for 60 days...question is,how should i use kelp and or alfalfa meal in teas?..so far i've only used molasses and compost &manure tea at each watering.....thanks for yer time...

This is what I use with a modified Lc´s mix.

Kelp and Alfalfa can be top dressed or used as a folair spray. Mix Alfalfa and molasses or Kelp and molasses and make a tea.

V

 

[the gnome]

I followed the LCs mix on the 1st page, one of the things Ive got Qs about is the lime, I'm using FF OF and it recommended 2 tsp dolomite per gallon.
I did that, my soild is right under 7.0.... 6.8-6.9ph.
is this to high or will it cause probs??

I figure the ph usually lowers with time with the addition of fertz.
they are in 1 gal. pots and this week they go into 5gal pots.
should I pull back on the dolo?

nother Q, I dont think I shouldn't be having any calmag probs with this much dolo in the mix. but the new growth at the tops on some are very, very lime green
and only a couple, the new sprouts/leaves at the top of the plant thers a light tan-pinkish red discoloration on the leaves, its only on the very tiny new growth stuff

looks like this:

 

[DevilWeed]

I've seen it said over and over that you do need the lime so I wouldn't change that. pH isn't an issue if the soil and food is right.

Does your new growth darken up within a day or two? I've got a couple strains that grow so fast their new growth always looks deficient. Couple days later it's green as can be. Those plants (Diesel) can grow 5-6" in a day!

 

[grapeman]

Some strains will never be fully happy with Mg ratios within the plant as it relates to soil Mg availability only. I make a habit of adding a small amount of epsom salts to my bi or tri weekly foliar sprays of kelp, alfalfa or EWC for the first 3 weeks or so of flower. I have found that Mg deficiency (for me anyway) usually manifests itself during early flower. With the added bit of epsom salts in this leaf feed, it is a non issue anymore.

 

[RipVanWeed]

Grapeman, I've read many of your posts...



...much respect.

I've been through those deficiency issues. I kinda like havin a quick hitting Mg foliar, if needed.

How much would you add to a gal?

I add about 1 tsp. of Epsom Salt per gal. to my soil mix at the get go.

Thanks,

 

[grapeman]

Grapeman, I've read many of your posts...



...much respect.

I've been through those deficiency issues. I kinda like havin a quick hitting Mg foliar, if needed.

How much would you add to a gal?

I add about 1 tsp. of Epsom Salt per gal. to my soil mix at the get go.

Thanks,

I seldom need to address a Mg problem anymore with a soil drench since V suggested I use sul=po=mag (K-mag) in my soil mix as I prepare my soil. And I really don't like adding pure salts to my soil (epsom salts) so this is what i do.

When I make my Alfalfa tea I do this. In a 5 gl bucket, I add about 2 cups of Alfalfa meal and 1 tablespoon of epsom salts. I mix and let sit for about 4 or 5 days then use as a soil feed mix in my water and also as a foliar spray, though in different rates. I really don't measure much anymore so I would guess I use about 2 qts. of this mix in a 5 gal soil irrigation bucket and about 1 cup in a liter of foliar spray about once a week during veg and through the first 3 weeks of flower. I will also add a pinch of epsom salts to my ewc & kelp foliar spray once a week during this time also.

I don't see Mg deficiencies much anymore. V or someone more experienced then me will comment about this procedure if they think this is too aggressive. But it seems to be working for me.

I guess what I am saying is that I have taken a proactive approach to Mg problems and apply light doses during veg and early flower, and never wait to see a problem.

The hardest part is trying to explain this to my gf who is the current caretaker while I am out of town, since I like to fuck around and change things up to always see how different things work, and never take notes. She can't stand this flying by the seat of your pants thing I like to do.

 

[RipVanWeed]

Thanks Grape

 

[the gnome]

Does your new growth darken up within a day or two? I've got a couple strains that grow so fast their new growth always looks deficient. Couple days later it's green as can be. Those plants (Diesel) can grow 5-6" in a day!

no it doesn't darken up, like new growth usually does.
new growth comes in lighter in color and darkens up.
last week there were 5-6 that were staying very bright lime green between the veins on the new growth, it sometimes borders on white. i hit em with epsom and foilar on staurday.
burned a few sensitive plants and most look better but theres still a couple that refuse to green up? I also transplanted 10-12 days ago and put per gallon, dolo-2tsp
bloodmeal-1tsp
bonemeal-2tsp and 3 tsp kelp meal
I think those nutes are starting to become availble as the general overal condition of the garden looks to be healthier.

I am ready now to put into 5gal pots and flower and want to make sure I'mnot adding too much dolo to the mix
so, having the ph @ 6.8-6.9 isn't too high and will cause any probs? yes...no??
I read a lot have their ph around 6.4-6.5

 

[treefrog]

Your PH is fine.

What you're describing is CCMD, or Classic Cannabis Magnesium Deficiency, lol.
I bet at least one third of this whole thread has been discussion about Cannabis' insatiable appetite for magnesium!