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Minions of the Dark
- Thread starter SG1
- Start date
Pepe le skunk
Member
I think living soil is more reselient as life always finds a way. If not many salt based nutrients are added on a regular bases I think there is still a good amount of life in soil regardless. To much salt is not good I agree with you there. Just an interesting fact about life is all life requires some salt to live. That's why humans and animals search for natural salt licks in nature. Look it up. Interesting fact.
Part per million as Sea answered already. Just an example in veg I try not to spike the ppm above 900ppm with 3 part nut mix. With flower, 1200ppm is the limit for me. And thats 2 maybe 3 times each month.
Don't believe they all die. Unless you do nutes all the time and burn the heck out of them. Life is more reselant then most think. It might not be the perfect environment, however a balanced amount with limited salt based nutrients out weights the growth and production of flowers using only organic methods imvho.
The problem most see with a water only actual living soil, is that some of the inputs can take some time to decompose... compounded with the fact that it takes a bit to establish strong fungal networks and breeding populations of beneficial microbes and predatory insects.... the later runs are often better in the exact same soil as the plant before... but the beginning stages often just don't happen fast enough for some people.... they believe the result is negligible and they move on before achieving high humic levels... provided the catchion exchange capacity in your soil is high enough to adsorb the elements... by using bottles at all some of the catchion exchange sites are bound with useless (to the plant) leftovers.... also any ingredients that read ________ SULFATE are what I consider non-selective poisons for soil fungi....
The reason bottled nutrients work is that that elements the plants need is readily available in a form the plant roots can take up. No need for micro life or anything else. That's why hydroponics works because you're giving them the nutrients they need to grow. It's also why you can kill off your whole crop by making a simple mistake. Using organic methods you can make mistakes and still be okay.
This is Mildred when I transplanted her the bottom half of the root ball broke off during the process.
I thought I would maybe lose her and for sure she would be slowed down and drop some leaves from the lose of half her roots. Here she is 10 days later. Growing like nothing ever happened. That's how forgiving making mistakes with organic grow. If this was a bottled nutrient grow where all the roots seem to end up on the bottom of the pot I'm sure it would have been a lot worse.
This is Mildred when I transplanted her the bottom half of the root ball broke off during the process.
I thought I would maybe lose her and for sure she would be slowed down and drop some leaves from the lose of half her roots. Here she is 10 days later. Growing like nothing ever happened. That's how forgiving making mistakes with organic grow. If this was a bottled nutrient grow where all the roots seem to end up on the bottom of the pot I'm sure it would have been a lot worse.
Pepe le skunk
Member
Like Mildred. She is very nice. Have you heard of trimming roots when transplanting? Supposed to help root system spread out when transplanting. Soil in general is more forgiving than hydro.
Had a reveg that dropped the bottom half of the 7 gallon root ball when transplanted into a larger 15 gallon pot. She is a jack herer and she has bounced back as well. Giving the roots more room to spread out with a fresh layer of super soil and seperating the layer of super soil with coco and light warrior so the roots don't burn from direct contact with the hotter super soil helps prevent trans plant shock I have found.
Do like organics and the idea of microbes, fungie and bacteria to help the soil live. Have been trying a combination of organics and light nutrients to help speed the ladies along. Moderation and only light salt nutrients as a balanced approach seems to be working for me.
Honestly the biggest problem I have seen with soil is if the pots are not allowed to dry out anarobic conditions can cause foul smelling areas deep within the rootball from lack of oxygen. Thus my interesting in airpots like geo pots and lifting the container off the ground and allowing air to surround the bottoms. Really makes a big difference.
A friend who is in coco and lifts his geo pots off the ground using milk cartons has buds the size of my legs. Tremendous results with huge buds have been the results just by getting them in the air and using a fan to move the air around and under the bottoms.
Cheers
Had a reveg that dropped the bottom half of the 7 gallon root ball when transplanted into a larger 15 gallon pot. She is a jack herer and she has bounced back as well. Giving the roots more room to spread out with a fresh layer of super soil and seperating the layer of super soil with coco and light warrior so the roots don't burn from direct contact with the hotter super soil helps prevent trans plant shock I have found.
Do like organics and the idea of microbes, fungie and bacteria to help the soil live. Have been trying a combination of organics and light nutrients to help speed the ladies along. Moderation and only light salt nutrients as a balanced approach seems to be working for me.
Honestly the biggest problem I have seen with soil is if the pots are not allowed to dry out anarobic conditions can cause foul smelling areas deep within the rootball from lack of oxygen. Thus my interesting in airpots like geo pots and lifting the container off the ground and allowing air to surround the bottoms. Really makes a big difference.
A friend who is in coco and lifts his geo pots off the ground using milk cartons has buds the size of my legs. Tremendous results with huge buds have been the results just by getting them in the air and using a fan to move the air around and under the bottoms.
Cheers
I've read about trimming the roots but I'm more along the lines of SG's suggestion to keep transplanting into bigger pots until you get them into they final pots. I reason that by adding more room for the roots you will provide the space they need to expand.
I'm definitely not saying that you can't get results unless you follow some laid down organic grow rules. There are lots of ways to grow that will get you to harvest. If what you're doing works and you're happy with the results then I'd advise you not to change.
If you are using bottled nutrients then over time the salts will build up and you will have to toss your soil. That was something I hated to do was finding somewhere to toss all the ProMix after one use. With organics I can recycle my soil and use it again and again. There are even organic growers who take the no-till path and just keep stuffing new plants into the same soil.
I'm not an organic zealot and I acknowledge that there are many ways to get to harvest. It's just that organic growing made sense to me and I'm pursuing it full bore now.
I'm definitely not saying that you can't get results unless you follow some laid down organic grow rules. There are lots of ways to grow that will get you to harvest. If what you're doing works and you're happy with the results then I'd advise you not to change.
If you are using bottled nutrients then over time the salts will build up and you will have to toss your soil. That was something I hated to do was finding somewhere to toss all the ProMix after one use. With organics I can recycle my soil and use it again and again. There are even organic growers who take the no-till path and just keep stuffing new plants into the same soil.
I'm not an organic zealot and I acknowledge that there are many ways to get to harvest. It's just that organic growing made sense to me and I'm pursuing it full bore now.
Pot roots are some of the most vibrant and forgiving of any plant species.
TP too early, bottom of rootball falls off, no biggie.
A healthy plant won't even know it.
Trimming roots was designed by indoor plant doctors of long lived house plants.
Case in point:
My wife has a particular plant(large leaved Philodendrum) that she had when we met, 27 yrs ago.
If we TP'd her everytime into a larger pot, we'd be running 50-60 gal pots or bigger.
The technique of root trimming is used in this case.
Saw off the outer 3" of old root and TP, good for about 5 yrs before the next TP.
I never purposely disrupt a rootball of a pot plant.
A series of scheduled TP's into bigger pots up to the final pot is best for me.
This helps the plants assimulate the current size pot, keeps the air cycling(wet to semi-dry).
One of the biggest problems I've seen around the noob scene is small plant getting swamped in a big pot, unable to drink the excess water, soil goes anaerobic, plant stalls and yellows.
All plants, both organic and synthetically grown, benefit from proper watering.
True organics truly rely on this air cycling of fresh O2.
O2 depleted soil kills everything in the anaerobic zone.
Lift those pots, feel the weight, tune in, never overwater.
TP too early, bottom of rootball falls off, no biggie.
A healthy plant won't even know it.
Trimming roots was designed by indoor plant doctors of long lived house plants.
Case in point:
My wife has a particular plant(large leaved Philodendrum) that she had when we met, 27 yrs ago.
If we TP'd her everytime into a larger pot, we'd be running 50-60 gal pots or bigger.
The technique of root trimming is used in this case.
Saw off the outer 3" of old root and TP, good for about 5 yrs before the next TP.
I never purposely disrupt a rootball of a pot plant.
A series of scheduled TP's into bigger pots up to the final pot is best for me.
This helps the plants assimulate the current size pot, keeps the air cycling(wet to semi-dry).
One of the biggest problems I've seen around the noob scene is small plant getting swamped in a big pot, unable to drink the excess water, soil goes anaerobic, plant stalls and yellows.
All plants, both organic and synthetically grown, benefit from proper watering.
True organics truly rely on this air cycling of fresh O2.
O2 depleted soil kills everything in the anaerobic zone.
Lift those pots, feel the weight, tune in, never overwater.
sundance6758
Member
Oh ok, what's "LOL"???
Sorry, couldn't help it.....LMAO
~Sundance~
LOL, it's the old way of saying XD.
In all honesty, the plastic grow bags could have a bit to do with the anaerobic conditions.... Id stab some extra holes in em if its a common problem.... just an immediate thought reading this over....
my 2 halo right now are in soil that has brought 6 other plants through flower. yeah, mine are smaller, but there's no signs of slowing, and I intend on putting 2 more in before a reamend...
well, I decided on doing 4 NOCs... picked lefty over there to be a boy.... I'm now officially in the NOC pheno hunt....
majorbotany
Member
Nice Noc HillBilly.
majorbotany
Member
Hey Sg, Just found some Pimp Daddy Purps and a few others yesterday.
beautiful thing to find layin around.... show us some pics major, I know you got somethin growin on....
Well she will be the 3rd sample of dark gear DQ and DCD were really good but the BLUEBERRY LIME coming off this girl is outrageous
majorbotany
Member
As soon as I get some room, I'll be cracking some Pimp Daddy Purps (reg) and some Ghost God. 
As soon as I get some room, I'll be cracking some Pimp Daddy Purps (reg) and some Ghost God.
the ghost god sounds like a good one, wouldnt that be like.....half a goblin girl backcross? I mean going back to the afgooey.....? how would you classify that SG?
majorbotany
Member
I don't have any recent pic's, but will get some this week end.
Just put a Dark Goblin #1 in flower 7 days ago.
I didn't end up putting her in the 60gal sip, but she is in a 13 gal sip.
If she smells like she looks it has to smell great.
Pepe le skunk
Member
It was from DE on top of soil. Only an issue if the soil remained to wet or compact. Just something I had noticed.
That noc looks good Hillbilly. What is the lineage? same Blueberry as goblin girl?
Is the Pimp Daddy Purps just grand daddy purps?
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