lowes composted manure - a very cheap organic?

[igrowone]

by the Lowes label, it's composted cow manure/composted wood waste with some sand mixed in
so can't call it straight manure, a very heavy mix, pot much heavier than MG Organic Garden soil
watering is once a week or so, they thrive with a little neglect

 

[igrowone]

just past the 4 week mark, looking good but not perfect
the lower fans are losing color, which is a bit early
being fed with alfalfa/molasses tea, shouldn't be hurting for nitrogen
some genetics seem to do this in smaller pots(2 gallons) with organic soil(imho)
but bud development looks solid(for cfls), if the final tally is good i won't complain

 

[igrowone]

5 weeks and change, there's some good, bad, and ugly
not a bad grow by my micro chamber's standards
but there is a problem, fungus gnats in force, sigh
i pasteurize my soils, 1 hour of 200 F in an oven
normally get's rid of bad bugs, soil's density bit me maybe
so if you use this soil, be prepared for them, but many soils have them
i know the remedies, they're in progress, but the buds haven't suffered too badly

 

[indianajones]

if you pasteurized the soil, i doubt they came from that. probably were just in your house anyway. if you eat vegetables or have any house plants they are practically impossible to get rid of.

 

[bigshrimp]

Check out the water bath method of pasteurization, 160-170 for an hour+ depending on substrate density. Should kill larve with less negative impacts on soil structure/ biology.

 

[indianajones]

If you do water bath, be sure to save the water and make a compost tea. The water will be full of bacteria and makes a good inoculant.

 

[igrowone]

thanks for condolences/suggestions, but i still suspect my pasteurization process didn't cut it
i have an isolated grow room, nothing in there living but the 1 plant
the 1 hour of 200 F maybe didn't make it into the soil center, 2 hours next time

 

[indianajones]

just get a meat thermometer and check the core temps before you pull it out. once it gets up to 160F you are good.

to kill insects 120F is sufficient, but why not activate the thermophiles again?

 

[igrowone]

i am confused why my process broke down this time, been using it for years with no problems
not sure what activating the thermophiles is referring to, other than giving some heat loving micro organisms the advantage?
appreciate thoughts/help, there seem to be no end of wrinkles

 

[igrowone]

6 weeks, well, it's interesting, big fan's color are about gone
not my usual experience, gnats? maybe, maybe a combination of things
bud is still growing a good rate
not sure how much packing i will see from this point on

 

[igrowone]

7 weeks and soil learning experiment nearly done
i see a modest yield with well formed buds
maturity is flying, looks like an 8 week plant to me
the PPP mother was a very fast finisher
fungus gnats have degraded the experiment quality
not sure how much(if any) damage they did
i think another test is in order with better soil pasteurization

 

[igrowone]

8 1/2 weeks, as you can see leaf color is just about gone
good bud, very resinous but was hoping for a stronger bulking
excellent smell though, i had seen some posts that pure cow manure compost can produce top notch results in the smell/taste department
which is a reason i'd thought i'd give it a try

 

[igrowone]

and the conclusion, cut at 9 1/2 weeks of flower
slightly better yield than feared, over 1/2 zip
nearly all buds were rock solid, indica type buds
odor/resin both excellent
the soil? well there were the fungus gnats
mostly controlled, maybe didn't have much impact
genetics were my own cross, ppp x cali-o
just a stingy pheno? i'm suspecting that might be true
another grow then, plenty of the soil left

 

[smog]

looks good thx for updateing

 

[igrowone]

bud's been well cured at this point, worth a mention since flavor/taste were my goal in this grow
the odor cured out to a sharp smelling skunk, with other perfumey odors tosed in
taste i would say is like incense, kind of sweet and spicey, probably the best flavor i've grown yet
another grow in process, have to update in the near future

 

[Bag]

dirt , composted poop, water , light = winning ! good to see some jedi's using the force !

 

[VonBudí]

Check out the water bath method of pasteurization, 160-170 for an hour+ depending on substrate density. Should kill larve with less negative impacts on soil structure/ biology.

how are commercial/bagged organic composts pasteurized?

 

[igrowone]

how are commercial/bagged organic composts pasteurized?

i believe dry heat or steam are the most common ways, very cost effective
which brings me to my neglected thread/grow, been growing in slow motion
partially heated grow room at the moment, temps have been down there
the 2nd half of my cheapo bag of lowes manure/compost, which turned out not to be as cheap as i thought
MG Organic garden is really just as cheap, the lowes stuff really made for a much heavier grow pot
in any event, a 6 weeks veg, just been tossed into flower, pics in process ...
there, weeks 4 and 6 of veg, got some sativa going on there i think

 

[igrowone]

well, this grow log has been neglected, but what can you do?
been a bitchy winter in the great northeast, which has made for low grow temps in a partially heated room
slow is the word, and the plant looks to be heavy on the sativa side
just about 7 weeks of flower, and just starting to take off
but the dirt? not so bad, probably the best part of the situation

 

[igrowone]

update time, haven't been keeping the thread posted properly, been a rough winter in the northeast
which is partly why things have been growing slow, cool temps in the grow chamber
on the other hand, i can't complain, all things considered
this is 9 weeks+ flower, a far more sativa dominant plant than i've dealt with before
it's healthy, but flowering so slowly, it's liking watching grass grow
hasn't been fed at all, other than bone meal that was mixed in to the soil, and the dolomite
which does give some rep to this cheapo soil, have to see how it finishes