Okay, I'm convinced.

[Strapped]

I'm going to choose organic for my first grow. When I first started on this site, this forum seemed very daunting and worthy of respect. I've done quite a bit of research leading up to it, and I feel like it will work best for my needs/ situation. Thank you all for the time and effort you put in to posting here.

I plan to use LC's mix, recipe #1 to start. There isn't a hydro store within 200 miles of where I am located, and I'd prefer not to have a shit ton of nutes sent to me every 3 months. I can get pretty much everything around me except for a few items, and I am not opposed to having to order every once and a while. I also like that I can simply water from seed to harvest if I choose.

On that point, I have some issues that I'd like to address. By using in-earth fertilizer, am I limited by what I can add throughout the grow? I don't suspect that I would need to add much fertilizer per-se, but if I notice a deficiency, is there anything wrong with me whipping up one of the teas mentioned in the other recipes or even watering in a little commercial fertilizer?

Also, I would like to supplement my water with molasses, silica, citric acid, and something with cal/mag. Am I limiting how often I can use these products in any way by using Recipe #1? Am I missing any obvious conflicts/ redundancy?

I will have to make my own soil (I prefer not to be reliant on FF products, as they are hard to come by), should I add Mycorrhizae to my mix?

Final noob question, the PH of my RO is about 6.4. Assuming a soil rich in humates, what PH will it tolerate safely? The reason I ask is because I know the citric acid will lower my PH (I am unsure about the silica/ molasses), but I would prefer to use it to help keep P anions soluble.


S

 

[guest2012y]

Why not make ACT and let that work on what amendments are in the soil.
Doesn't hurt to topdress with compost or EWC if you run into problems.
I'd put the ph meter away..it'll only trip you out. Forget about ph if you have decent water,if not check Verdant Green's ph adjustment suggestions.
I wouldn't use RO water either...just plain water if it doesn't have any treatment chems in it. If so,bubble the water for at least 24 hours prior to watering.
Use oyster shell along with the dolomite for a fast acting calcium source and ph. Try to find sul-po-mag if you are that worried about mag. and incorporate that in the soil mix.
My 2 cents...

 

[Phillthy]

try to make your first grow simple. easier to troubleshoot what may or may nto be going wrong. start with a good base soil and work from there. dont get too fancy on your first grow... more stress then it is worth. best of luck to ya, organic bud rocks.

 

[guest2012y]

try to make your first grow simple. easier to troubleshoot what may or may nto be going wrong. start with a good base soil and work from there. dont get too fancy on your first grow... more stress then it is worth. best of luck to ya, organic bud rocks.

^^^ Sound advice Phil

 

[Microbeman]

Listen to Cheese and Phil

 

[dirrtyd]

Strap, I usually add the mycorrhizae to the roots when I transplant in the ground or if I up pot. good luck dirrtyd

 

[Strapped]

thanks for the replies guys I will do my best to keep it simple. How would u suggest I go about it? Obviously lots of delicious buds are my goal, but this is a personal grow and I really don't need to knock it out of the park my first time out.

Can I still use LC's mix? What do you mean by ACT cheese?

My water is very hard (330ppm) and has many nasty trace chemicals (chlorine, arsenic.) :/ I wouldn't drink the stuff so I'm very reluctant to give it to my girls. yet if you guys don't think it matters, it would make life much easier. I can save the RO for drinking

 

[Strapped]

NM cheese, aerated compost tea You learn something every day!

 

[TACOE]

just like they all said. K.I.S.M.
KEEP IT SIMPLE MOTHER FUCKER! (i think that should be a command, not a suggestion, around here) Use EXACTLY LC's mix to the T. Read all of organics for beginners (or at least 50 pages), and ull have a little understanding. It doesn't take long, you'll quickly realize that ppl ask the same questions over and over and over.. so it's not nearly as daunting as it looks
I refused to do it at first, which was a poor idea. Please do it, and i GUARANTEE you will have a much more successful (maybe even a successful) first grow

 

[Claude Hopper]

If your water isnt safe to drink because of arsenic then I sure wouldn't water my crops with it. Plants absorb arsenic.

 

[TACOE]

arsenic + chlorine? Sounds pretty nasty. Are you tapped into municipal? If so... shouldn't they be dealing with that? If your using well water... how did the chlorine get in there?
Just did a quick google search. Apparently arsenic in our well water is a problem in my state. Who knew. I use my well water, directly out of the tap.. no bubble or anything.

I will tell you that the water leaves a really nasty rusty residue in the electric teapot, and more slowly, in the sinks. No issues this round.

 

[Strapped]

my water's pretty hard, so that could be a good way to supplement cal/mag. I am wary of the arsenic though it is apparently safe to drink (apple cores have arsenic in them supposedly.) We get a yearly water report. If anyone's interested I'll give some more details when I get it... my wife burned the last one because she was disgusted. No one in my family drinks the water here, there is a noticeable difference in the people that do tbh... It's scary. The city should be giving away RO units.

 

[OrganicOzarks]

You can read these to learn about brewing teas.
http://www.earthfort.com/products/literature/books/compost-tea-brewing-manual.html

http://www.earthfort.com/products/literature/books/the-field-guide-1.html

http://www.earthfort.com/products/literature/books/the-field-guide-2.html

I will not lie to you. These books use advanced scientific terminology that you would use in a college Botany class, but they are a good read none the less. A good place to start is a book called Teaming with Microbes. ACT's are the way to go. Your plants will give you blow jobs because they will be so happy.

 

[Microbeman]

You can read these to learn about brewing teas.
http://www.earthfort.com/products/literature/books/compost-tea-brewing-manual.html

http://www.earthfort.com/products/literature/books/the-field-guide-1.html

http://www.earthfort.com/products/literature/books/the-field-guide-2.html

I will not lie to you. These books use advanced scientific terminology that you would use in a college Botany class, but they are a good read none the less. A good place to start is a book called Teaming with Microbes. ACT's are the way to go. Your plants will give you blow jobs because they will be so happy.

I would not spend money on these books, with the exception of Teaming With Microbes. I found the manual and field guide to be a little confusing and with some misinformation (I have the first editions I think) But anyway, as much and more information is available free on the internet.

 

[guest2012y]

I would never support them either..regardless of what info. may be correct. I've heard bad things about their business practices. Shoddy! These bastards most likely had a major influence messing up my favorite top notch compost.... turned their product into crap that I'll never buy again.

 

[OrganicOzarks]

I have to say that the AACT books by Dr. Ingram are adavanced at the least. They have upped my game so much. She is the Michael Jordan of AACT. That can not be refuted. I would like to here exactly what the "bad" experiences were. Other then being advanced what are the bad things about these books? I am open to all information, but I must say that I am biased a bit because of the results I have received from these books. I feel that I owe Dr Ingram a good "pussy Eating" because i have some happy ass plants.

And yes "everything" is available for free on the internet. It is just a matter of how much time you want to spend looking for it. I have purchased well over 50 growing related books in the past year, and these are my favorite. They have taken me from decent results to badass results. I use only basic ingredients that can all be purchased off of amazon if need be. No special potions or concotions needed. Maybe i am in the minority though. Who knows?

 

[guest2012y]

OO....Not downing you at all bro...you obviously know how to apply these practices well.

These guy's are basically in our backyard. There are a few people around here who have had negative business interactions with them. If they want to step up and tell you about it you would understand....not my place to tell the stories. I'm just saying that I would rather support the people who were used as stepping stones...again I'm not throwing them under the bus on a pot forum.

 

[OrganicOzarks]

I totally understand. I have never dealt with them directly. I have only read the books. Those are way different obviously. So I can see how what you are saying can be completly true. I will have to say again that the books have taught me alot. When I compare them to all of the damn marijuana grow books that are out, it is like comparing a kindergardener to a college student. I really wish these grow book writers would step their game up. I get tired of reading botany books that don't apply directly to marijuana. If you know of any great grow books that I may have missed out on let me know. I am always looking for new reading material. Even if they are botany books I would be interested in them.

 

[Microbeman]

I totally understand. I have never dealt with them directly. I have only read the books. Those are way different obviously. So I can see how what you are saying can be completly true. I will have to say again that the books have taught me alot. When I compare them to all of the damn marijuana grow books that are out, it is like comparing a kindergardener to a college student. I really wish these grow book writers would step their game up. I get tired of reading botany books that don't apply directly to marijuana. If you know of any great grow books that I may have missed out on let me know. I am always looking for new reading material. Even if they are botany books I would be interested in them.

Perhaps you could mention some of the science/botany from these manuals which was not clearly previously detailed by soil scientists? Are you able to source the foundational information for the bar set for bacterial:fungal ratios? (established for lab reports)

Honestly I'd love to see it if it exists and makes sense.

I'm glad you've had good results and great power to you but be really careful that credit and $$ does not get sent in the wrong direction.

PS. Check out some of the posts by Spurr (AKA 2nd try) I'd say that should fill your requirements for science based cannabis growing and certainly beyond the scope of anything explored by E. Ingham.

 

[Microbeman]

I tried a PS edit; looks like the edit worked but was delayed