Never had an N defic. in middle flower, but...

[Manitoid]

Von... I am mr locally sourced...

I think i am experiencing what mad lib was agreeing with...

I had liked my mix, and my teas had been satisfactory to me... until i went smart pot...

I guess having to use more water and nutes more often will lead to a larger plant.

I need to ramp the shit up. Smart Pots need water!

 

[jaykush]

EWC slurry to the rescue.

 

[Manitoid]

Nobody was offended, especially not me. You asked for the communities thoughts on your problem and we were giving them to you. It sounded like you wanted help identifying a problem. When having a problem with your plants most people just fill out the form from the infirmary. That is all. If you didn't want a diagnosis why did you ask for our thoughts? If you were seeing if anyone else had your problem, you should be a little more specific at best. Sorry for offering my help. I see you have it under control so you don't need anybodies help. Peace!

Maybe the search feature might help you in quest, if you don't want others to get involved.

thanks for not being offended.

I didnt ask, "Is this an N defic?"

I asked, "Have you experienced N defic half way in flower."

After reading original post i now know i didnt ask that well...

Sorry, and thanks...

 

[Manitoid]

EWC slurry to the rescue.

IS an EWC slurry like a save the rainforest milkshake?

would you pour the slurry on top of mulch or move mulch out of way for pouring on.

Jay may i please have a ratio EWC / H20 and also theory bechind slurries being the bee's knees!

thanks for input as always

 

[BongRipkenJR.]

No problem homey, were all good!

With all my organic stuff, I never found a deficiency. It was usually all chalked up to watering. My teas would sustain what was already in the soil it would seem like. I used 15-25 gallon smart pots last year with amended 707 formula soil. I didn't get yellowing until 3/4's of the way through flowering. I fed with a guano heavy tea and it sustained a little longer, then it was just water and molasses, then just water. That is a vague run down, but I have never had a deficiency or overdose with true organic growing.

 

[mad librettist]

IS an EWC slurry like a save the rainforest milkshake?

would you pour the slurry on top of mulch or move mulch out of way for pouring on.

Jay may i please have a ratio EWC / H20 and also theory bechind slurries being the bee's knees!

thanks for input as always

Listen to Jay. EWC slurry got me through many mistakes. MIx up a bunch of castings with water and a food source if you feel like it. Depending on your mulch you might want to pull it aside, add the slurry, and put it back. Dump all the dregs out on your soil.

If your soil is alive it will be cycling nutrients, so I'm not sure the whole fertilizing based on water consumption thing holds up in this case. If you have good mulch your soil is being fed.

 

[jaykush]

well just to start since mad jumped ahead of me. you cant do EWC slurry wrong.

the reason behind them is that EWC (preeferably homemade) is the bees knees plain and simple. the slurry/water is just a method of application. the way i think of it is EWC slurries are for those oops i thought i knew how to be a plant better than a plant knows how to be a plant, I fucked it up moments. It restores balance to the soil.

heres what i do and like i said there is no wrong way to do it, the main point being get that ewc in the soil where it needs to work. and moisture

-Take one bucket of whatever size you want.
-add a handful or two of castings per plant in pots, obviously bigger plants get more
-add water to make a slurry, not too wet and not too dry. (think pancake batter)
-i do not add feedstock, that's what the mulch layer in the soil is for.
-take a scoop out with whatever tool you want and apply to the topsoil
-i personally do not remove the mulch
-then when the bucket is empty rinse it but keep the castings water and water the plants and EWC slurry in.
-sit back, pack a bowl and let the plant be a plant and the soil biology do its thing.

 

[krunchbubble]

If your soil is shrinking noticeably you are underwatering.

A too dry soil explains any deficiency. With a very reduced level of productive soil, your plant may have some of the symptoms of bound roots.

may have hit the nail on the head with this one.....

 

[Manitoid]

i think i was learning about smart pots the hard way.

I am truely living organic, and had never experienced a deficiency just like you said BongRipkin.

My deficiency I think now is that my 7 gallon pot was really a 3 gallon pot... and when dryness goes to a certain point the driest parts have to recolonise with micro life and roots... it just seems so fucking fast!

MORE WATER!

Like i said I am not the guy to be accused of over watering... Smart Pots had my number.

Thanks everyone.

 

[vonforne]

Try mulching it help retain water and keeps the soil surface moist. There is a thread around here in the stickie area that deals with this problem.

V

 

[compost]

I always feel like I am under watering with blumats and smart pots. I lifted up one of my 3 gallons the other day and it felt like I just put pro mix in it bone dry lol. I looked down and watched the blumat dripping away. I can pick up all my flowering 20 gallon pots with ease, they feel lighter then my 5 gallon hand waters.

 

[mad librettist]

Never had an N defic. in middle flower, but...

I always feel like I am under watering with blumats and smart pots. I lifted up one of my 3 gallons the other day and it felt like I just put pro mix in it bone dry lol. I looked down and watched the blumat dripping away. I can pick up all my flowering 20 gallon pots with ease, they feel lighter then my 5 gallon hand waters.

how are you calibrating it? how close is the sensor to the drip?

in my #15 pots, I use three sensors. I put the sensor closer to the center of the pot, and I let the drip fall close to the edge.

 

[Manitoid]

So i know what the bluemats are, but how does the organic gardener use them.

I was under the impression that they cannot provide organic nutrition because it doesnt like chunk. So is this the water only side of things?

Water almost constantly dripping, then top dress with organics?

EVEN THOUGH I WAS OVER DOING IT... don't the roots want SOME sort of wet / dry cycle to keep oxygen high in soil?

 

[Manitoid]

Also you guys keep talkin g about the mulch and the fact that good mulch is feeding the soil...

Jay, "-i do not add feedstock, that's what the mulch layer in the soil is for."

MadL, "-If you have good mulch your soil is being fed. "

I do use mulch as I don't know what Id do without it... what do you guys mean about mulch as food?

 

[mad librettist]

mulch as food - this is how nature feeds soil. It is really that simple! Mulch is broken down by organisms and the tiny little bits of organic matter work their way down. This explains the mystery of loosening soil without ever using a shovel.

above ground - favors fungi
large pieces - favors fungi
shredded - favors bacteria
buried - favors bacteria
fleshy/grassy - favors bacteria
woody - favors fungi


blumats - the blumat sensor responds to soil moisture according to how tight you set the valve, at the level of each sensor. So if I have 3 sensors in a pot, I can actually create 3 distinct zones of higher and lower moisture. I can also change the distance between the sensor and the drip line, so that moisture reaches the sensor when I want it to. If I want to create a dry cycle I can do it much more efficiently so that it doesn't get too dry.

with the blumats, my total moisture is taken care of, so I only water by hand very rarely. My living mulch is doing great with the blumats as well, and wherever have clover the soil is always moist.

 

[Manitoid]

Thanks MadL

Yea i guess over time i do know mulch turns to soil... i didnt make the jump that it applies to pots as well... obviously When i repot my mulch is not turning to dirt every 2 months, But all the life process is there for the pots.

i have shredded, chunky, above/below ground woody mulch, so i have some bases covered.

You plant a cover crop in your indoor pots? I LOVE IT!


EDIT: I eclipsed 200 posts... MAD L... been here 1.5 times longer than me and 1188% (exactly... at 8:08am M. Time) more posts... While saving the growing community from themselves, do you have time to grow yourself???

 

[mad librettist]

lol manitoid, check madliberated's garden. He does the growing I do the talking.

I got a thread on his living mulch with pictures i took in his garden.

 

[Manitoid]

so friends that share almost names on icmag?

EDIT: and how do you always be posting and not be online? from your phone or something?

 

[mad librettist]

yeah I use my phone a lot. There are lots of wasted moments in a day. I like to waste them well.

 

[jaykush]

I do use mulch as I don't know what Id do without it... what do you guys mean about mulch as food?

think of it as a cycle. when you top dress with more mulch or material. like mad says the microbes break it down, when you water the soluble and chelated nutrients go down in to the soil where the rest of the biology or plant can use it.

this only works best if you have a diverse mulch, mulching with just straw will only get you so far because straw only has so much in it. but mulching with some leaf mold, dried weeds, compost, decomposing wood chips, etc... youll have a diversity of materials decomposing and releasing there goodness to feed your soil. as a continual process all that's needed is to simply keep adding mulch. over time you can stop feeding and just become a mulcher and a harvester.