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wtfn's 4000w legal medical soil food web organic grow show
- Thread starter whythefnot
- Start date
whythefnot
Member
I got this 1/2 cu yd of worm castings. It came as 20 25lb bags. They are very, very fresh (bagged yesterday!), unscreened, and loaded with red wigglers!! Double score! I picked up 2lb of worms there just in case, but it looks like I'll be able to use them all in my bins and still have plenty for the beds.
Honestly, you guys, I was thinking I'd just make a very simple soil (peat & coco, compost/soil planters mix, vermicompost, floor dry) and infuse it with nutritional teas throughout the next few months, with light top dressing as it's needed. I may mix a small amount of amendments in the top few inches like you suggest. I amended these smart pots very, very heavily last round so they should still have quite a bit of life left in them. They are making roughly 1/3 of the beds, and the amendments are certainly cooked already, so I'm thinking my bases are covered there. These plants are ready to flower right now and I don't want to make them wait too much longer. I should have made my soil weeks ago but I wasn't exactly sitting on my ass.
Honestly, you guys, I was thinking I'd just make a very simple soil (peat & coco, compost/soil planters mix, vermicompost, floor dry) and infuse it with nutritional teas throughout the next few months, with light top dressing as it's needed. I may mix a small amount of amendments in the top few inches like you suggest. I amended these smart pots very, very heavily last round so they should still have quite a bit of life left in them. They are making roughly 1/3 of the beds, and the amendments are certainly cooked already, so I'm thinking my bases are covered there. These plants are ready to flower right now and I don't want to make them wait too much longer. I should have made my soil weeks ago but I wasn't exactly sitting on my ass.
whythefnot
Member
OOOO am I seeing two big Geopots? 
whythefnot
Member
OOOO am I seeing two big Geopots?
That's what I said! Somebody mentioned them mid-December on bobble's thread. I was already planning to build some beds, but this seemed like a much easier option. Geopots does not send you enough parts to put it together well, I should mention. There is no lower frame included, but I guess they're just self-supporting. I went ahead and put in a frame at the bottom. Their trellis 'kit' was a true ripoff, tho. It was just some side outlet pvc fittings and some overpriced trellis. I thought I'd be saving myself some time buying and cutting pvc, but in the end I still had to go get a contractor's pack+ of 3/4" pvc and a whole bunch of fittings. All in all I spent $150 for each set of bed, trellis and frame, or $300 for the both. I spent about $400 on the soil :\
Excellent call on the Geopots - I saw the same post (I think it was InjectTruth?) and was damned near gonna order one that night (drinking, duh). (I decided to go with a few large containers, opting instead for portability/shuffle-around-ability).
Bummer to hear the experience so far, but I'll be staying tuned [anyway] and will be interested to see your thoughts as things move on..
No worries about the soil - I spent close to that when I built my soil back in, umm, 2011 i think. I'm still riding with that same dirt, with maybe an additional $60-$100.. ?
Seems like a steal to me.
Bummer to hear the experience so far, but I'll be staying tuned [anyway] and will be interested to see your thoughts as things move on..
No worries about the soil - I spent close to that when I built my soil back in, umm, 2011 i think. I'm still riding with that same dirt, with maybe an additional $60-$100.. ?
Seems like a steal to me.
whythefnot
Member
Excellent call on the Geopots - I saw the same post (I think it was InjectTruth?) and was damned near gonna order one that night (drinking, duh). (I decided to go with a few large containers, opting instead for portability/shuffle-around-ability).
Bummer to hear the experience so far, but I'll be staying tuned [anyway] and will be interested to see your thoughts as things move on..
No worries about the soil - I spent close to that when I built my soil back in, umm, 2011 i think. I'm still riding with that same dirt, with maybe an additional $60-$100.. ?
Seems like a steal to me.
Yeah, so far I'm pretty pleased with them. I did all my soil mixing in them and the fabric held up well to my shovel, with a little common sense caution. I never felt like I was close to tearing it, even when I'd hit the bottom pretty hard. I was just surprised at how little hardware came with them. All in all, if I hadn't bought their trellis kits, I'd be very pleased.
They were closed for Christmas/New Years when I ordered them, and I didn't realize until after I ordered. I sent them an email and someone personally went down to the factory to get my order out on the 31st. By the time I drove back home 3 days later it was waiting for me at the door. That's about 3 or 4 days sooner than I told them I'd need it. Great service. But don't buy their trellis kits
whythefnot
Member
Des plantes sans trellis. I'll probably be putting that in today if I can find the time. I'm hoping my 5-disc fogger comes in today so I can get my humidifier up and running. I found a line voltage humidistat with a built-in plug (so a humidity controller) made by dayton for $70 shipped from ZORO tools; that was the best deal I could find. It's digital with an analog knob, and has a range of 30% - 90%, enough for pretty much anyone. So far I like it, but I haven't used it yet.
Mixing all this soil was a LOT of work to do on heavy antibiotics. There were quite a few times I ran out of the room thinking I was going to throw up. Whatever was on the end of that bailing wire that went in my hand was super-aggressive. I've never had an infection spread anywhere close to that fast, or be that hard to knock back, and I've had 2 different kinds of MRSA from working on oil rigs. I was sort of scared I might lose my left arm for a few, the whole thing is still sore as hell and it's been 6 days since I got a shot and started oral antibiotics. Lesson learned -- sharp rusty metal things that have been in living soil, they need to stay on the outside of the body.
Mixing all this soil was a LOT of work to do on heavy antibiotics. There were quite a few times I ran out of the room thinking I was going to throw up. Whatever was on the end of that bailing wire that went in my hand was super-aggressive. I've never had an infection spread anywhere close to that fast, or be that hard to knock back, and I've had 2 different kinds of MRSA from working on oil rigs. I was sort of scared I might lose my left arm for a few, the whole thing is still sore as hell and it's been 6 days since I got a shot and started oral antibiotics. Lesson learned -- sharp rusty metal things that have been in living soil, they need to stay on the outside of the body.
whythefnot
Member
I woke up at 2:30 am feeling sick from the antibiotics. I figured I'd make use of the time.
whythefnot
Member
I figure I've got about a week or so from this last photo 'til I flip 'em. They're growing pretty quickly now.
That whole getup just makes my pants tight.
whythefnot
Member
Thanks, you guys.
Here's what I'll be finishing up today, as soon as my 5-disc fogger unit gets here:
That should take the anxiety down a few notches.
Almost forgot... here's the controller:
30 - 90% I can live with that
Here's what I'll be finishing up today, as soon as my 5-disc fogger unit gets here:
That should take the anxiety down a few notches.
Almost forgot... here's the controller:
30 - 90% I can live with that
Also
We do not (and will not) own cats, but I can never have too many Tidy Cats bins.
We do not (and will not) own cats, but I can never have too many Tidy Cats bins.
whythefnot
Member
Yep, I tell my girlfriend that she has to buy the ones in the bucket. Yes, Every. Damn. Time.
whythefnot
Member
My humidistat tops out (95%+) and shuts off while my hygrometer on the wall reads at best 80% and the one hanging under the lights reads 60 - 70%. I'd like to keep the humidity 70%+ for the next few weeks but my controller isn't letting me do that. I've placed it as though it were a remote sensor -- that is, it's hanging right under the lights next to the lowest-reading hygrometer. I put it in the path of the a/c air as well, so that it remains as dry as possible. Anybody dealt with this kind of thing before? For some reason I want to blame the fog...
I use that same humidistat and the Dayton dehumidistat. Both are great pieces of equipment.
Your fogger bucket looks like its missing some holes. The fan should blow into the bucket, and the fog should come out a large exhaust hole or several small ones. This way the fog doesn't accumulate on the fan and cause a premature death.
I would leave your humidity how it is. You don't want humidity above 80%. 60-75% is just fine. The hot air directly under the lamps can hold more moisture than the cooler air surrounding it. If you want to even out humidity, your best bet is to even out the temps with more circulatory air flow.
Your fogger bucket looks like its missing some holes. The fan should blow into the bucket, and the fog should come out a large exhaust hole or several small ones. This way the fog doesn't accumulate on the fan and cause a premature death.
I would leave your humidity how it is. You don't want humidity above 80%. 60-75% is just fine. The hot air directly under the lamps can hold more moisture than the cooler air surrounding it. If you want to even out humidity, your best bet is to even out the temps with more circulatory air flow.
I was going to reply to wtfn's initial question this morning, as I had a similar experience in re: the readings not reconciling 100%.
Then I figured bobble would find it eventually and articulate it much better'n I.
whythefnot
Member
Ok, that's what I wanted to hear. I'm just really freaked out because I've had some close calls already, with humidity getting in the 50's, temps in upper 70's and my plants hating it. I've never grown in the desert before so I don't know if this is normal but even today, with the hygrometer reading 60%, and the temps about 82 under the lights the tops were getting noticably leathery.
I'll crank up the rest of my fans. Thanks!
I'll crank up the rest of my fans. Thanks!
