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The Lounge : Growers Round Table Discussion Thread

Arnold.

Active member
But first do you honestly need Mg. Soil and/or compost usually provides plenty

I was wondering the same.
Need the soil results from the lab first. I'm not mixing anything atm, just mixing idea's, trying to put the puzzle together.

Good info on the nitrate.
 

growingcrazy

Well-known member
You most likely don't need any Mg in your feeds.

You could feed every couple weeks with Mg in the mix and be fine. Foliar in veg to build Mg reserves. Most soils already have enough Mg that you don't need more for a couple of runs and then it is still strain dependent.

Arnold, Jidoka probably runs something like 30 ppm S and 110 P, or similar but still carrying that ratio. Anions compete with other Anions. Really the limit on your S is only relevant if you see a deficiency in P. Remember, numbers are just numbers.
Picked up a new laptop, Shoot me a PM Arnold.

I wanted to make a note concerning the Sample that Jidoka mentioned High Ec and lookouts ETC on...

Those EC numbers from Spectrum are pure bullshit. 3 meters later, a new Hannah from Avenger and I confirmed my thoughts. I thought I had a bunch of junk meters from sitting...nope just junk numbers from Spectrum on EC.

I had quite a few PM's about mixes and asking to post here...

I can't say this enough...If anybody wants to learn, do it here. You have a simple question that's just eating at you or a tough question that just isn't in your grasp, post it!
Doesn't matter what it's about, teas, mixes, irrigation, coco, peat...don't care. This is a thread for learning.


I have had starts going from seed since February...looking forward to outdoor this year! How are your big girls doing Jidoka? ( I am assuming they are already)
 

reppin2c

Active member
Veteran
Wow you guys are crazy with your feburary seed starts. Last year I had starts in March and it was a real shit show. Ran out of space packed them in and out for months.

This year I took cuts mid April and early May. Plugged a few already with sup. Life has been easier this year.

So on these vinegar soaks...I see people using oyster shell. Can someone refer me to a thread for a rundown?
 

jidoka

Active member
We are running 12 plants is all. Personal use and friends. Probably 2 ft tall. A little bigger than I wanted

Interesting thing is I stuck them in nftg #4 which quickly ran out of food. So I started feeding them salts. Currently running an EC of 3.7 and feeding 3-4 x per day

Plants are happy but it is a major pain in the ass

6ED10F25-1FDF-427E-915C-2475B01445F1.jpg

These, on the other hand, are in 5 gal pots of royal gold tupur getting fed mid 2s 24x per day. CO sun brings the energy
 
M

moose eater

Below is the current mix I've PMed a couple folks about.

I'm not a 'hard-sciences' guy, but have been growing successfully for a long time; sometimes magnificently, and much of the time pretty darned good. But I wish to return to 'magnificent,' if at all possible.

As I've written elsewhere, without testing each amendment from each time there's a new bag or box, they can change some. I don't get the sense there's any quality control folks losing sleep over changes in guano content in the amendments market.. I wish there were.

I'm using untreated well water for hydration, w/ 95 ppm calcium carbonate (as of testing ~17-18 years ago) though on occasion (more so lately) using R/O for foliar spray, whether straight H2O or with nutes/enzymes/etc. added.

Please, if you have significant insight and experience into balancing these numbers/amendments, respond however you'd wish; PM, post, what ever.

I've been in the process of putting this adjusted mix into play, but have held off until today.

As written below, I'm now using Mycostop and/or Prestop in place of Actinovate as a prophylactic in initial hydration of mixes, due to dealing with varying presence of Fusarium Wilt in my mothers.

I calculate the approximate finished DRY volume as being about 16.4 gallons, +/-.

Recent ph on a very similar mix was around 6.2 to 6.4. A bit lower than I once routinely grew with.

Thanks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Revised & Corrected Bloom Mix, as of May 17 2018
(Divide cups by 16 to reach equivalent in gallons)

10 Cups Fishy Peat (*Local Alaska product with fish waste and kelp present)
15 Cups Coco Coir
30 Cups Fox Farms Ocean Forest (*Can be 50:50 with Amazon Bloom)
26 Cups Earth Worm Castings
30 Cups Perlite
10 Cups Vermiculite
20 Cups Pumice
20 Cups Rice Hulls
7.5 Cups Zeolite
90 Cups Pro-Mix or Sunshine mix #4
-------------------------------------------
8.5 TBSP Steamed Bone Meal
4.66 TBSP 0-11-0 Seabird Guano
4.66 TBSP 3-10-1 DTE High P Bat Guano
4.66 TBSP .5-13-.2 High P Indonesian Bat Guano
2 TBSP Alaska White Fish Bone Meal @ 6-10-0 w/ 20% calcium
4 TBSP Blood Meal (Usually DTE, but varies)
2 TBSP DTE Alfalfa Meal
8 tbsp High N 9-3-1 DTE Bat Guano
11 TBSP Kelp Meal (Usually DTE, but source varies)
2 TBSP DTE or (??) Jersey Green Sand
1 TBSP Langbeinite
19 TBSP Dolomite Lime
6 TBSP Gypsum (Granular, as that was all that I could get here)
12 TBSP DTE Oyster Shell Flour
1 TBSP Azomite
8 TBSP Dry Molasses
1.5 Cups Dry Triple-Fermented Bokashi Bran
2 Cups Alaska Humus
1 TBSP DTE Soluble Mycorrhizae
2 TBSP Lilly Miller Super Sweet ag lime.
--------------------------------------------
Hydrated with 2.5+ gallons of untreated well water, that has, among other lesser minerals, 95 ppm calcium carbonate.

Of the 2.5 gal. H2O, 2 gallons are treated with (per gallon):

2 drops Vitamin B Super Thrive
2 ml Pro-Tekt
2 ml Liquid Karma
6 ml BioAg Ful-Power
¼ tsp Actinovate.. (Changed to .5 to 1 gram of Mycostop or 20 grams of Prestop bio-fungicide)as prophylactic
15-20 ml of EM-1
1/4 teaspoon amino acids (soluble powder)

*Have used 1/64th tsp of sodium borate in ONE of the 2 treated gallons a couple times, but not sure this is helpful.
-----------------------------------------------------
When transplanting either rooted clones to 3” cubes, or larger plants, use 1/8 to ¼ tsp Great White in the depression the plant’s roots are going into. The 1" tray inserts going into 3" cubes gets diluted with additional peat and perlite, or comparable, to cut down on the strength of fert.

Initial watering may include minor fertilizing if the mix wasn’t permitted to ‘cook’ for any notable time. Just as a kick-off for more developed plants. (i.e. not so much for freshly rooted cuttings).

**My Swedish Smorgasbord of soilless ganja mix, as it currently stands. Convoluted, but well varied.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited on 5/21/18 at some early hour of the morning;

I mixed the above soilless mix together, and came up with a ph way below typical results, so increased the dolomite from 10 TBSP to 19 TBSP, as well as adding Lilly Miller's Super Sweet X's 2 TBSP. I also added 1/4 teaspoon of powdered amino acids to the H2O, and increased the volume of H2O to 2.75 gallons+. Will test ph again (and maybe NPK) in the morning, and get a small sample bag or two set aside to send to a testing lab in the near future..
 
M

moose eater

I previously used classic 600 pots (x 16 per cabinet) in several 4'x4' areas, then went to classic 1200's x 9 in 4'x4', then classic 2000's x 9. The smaller pots, in my opinion, had the plants putting more energy into top-side effort, than in to the roots, and kept them from getting water-logged for a shorter drying time between waterings, unless uptake slowed due to over-feeding..

The larger pots I had used years ago, but with the newer mix(es), and partly due to not gradually stair-stepping up the pot size, rather going from 3" to the final bloom pots, ran into issues with staying wet too long, and .... Fusarium Wilt, etc. Karma from laziness, to be honest.

I typically only give a boost of fertilizer when into bloom soil, then let it get water, or water and enzymes for a number of waterings. After that, 1-2 times weekly with medium strength feed, of what ever I'm using at that time; sometimes in the past, religiously using guano and kelp teas, and other times FF bits at half-strength.

Very seldom do I use foliar feeding anymore, unless cuttings, or I see a Mag deficiency or similar that can't be reached via root feeding (i.e. lock-out).

I don't even use foliar sprays as much as I once did for rinsing waste from the leaf tissue, though I should.

My HRV, even with the current bug screen at intake, and MERV 8 filters to keep debris away from the core, seems to be working quite well, and spring is more slow to arrive here this year than several past, thus my humidity in the shop is running about 28+ % (on the low side compared to normal, but it's been even lower through winter).

My temps, however, are right in there where I like them, at about 71 to 74 f. A bit higher than that in the 4'x4'x~6.5' cabinets. (4 cabinets total in the shop, plus 3 mother cupboards).

Reflective semi-gloss and flat 'pure bright white' latex enamel on the walls in the larger cabinets and mother cupboards, maximizing any light that goes to the sides.

Recently converted to 315 cmh's (last year), though one cabinet (3.5'x3.5'x6.5') still has the 400 digital and accompanying MH and HPS bulbs.

No soil test right now.

Part of the reason for the fairly serious variance in amendments is based in distrust for amendments matching what they claim on the labels, and anthropomorphizing/personification of plants. (i.e., if I ate the same meal all day, every day, for months on end, I'd be upset. I know that's not realistic where plants are concerned, but.....)

Thanks.
 

Badfishy1

Active member
Below is the current mix I've PMed a couple folks about.

I'm not a 'hard-sciences' guy, but have been growing successfully for a long time; sometimes magnificently, and much of the time pretty darned good. But I wish to return to 'magnificent,' if at all possible.

As I've written elsewhere, without testing each amendment from each time there's a new bag or box, they can change some. I don't get the sense there's any quality control folks losing sleep over changes in guano content in the amendments market.. I wish there were.

I'm using untreated well water for hydration, w/ 95 ppm calcium carbonate (as of testing ~17-18 years ago) though on occasion (more so lately) using R/O for foliar spray, whether straight H2O or with nutes/enzymes/etc. added.

Please, if you have significant insight and experience into balancing these numbers/amendments, respond however you'd wish; PM, post, what ever.

I've been in the process of putting this adjusted mix into play, but have held off until today.

As written below, I'm now using Mycostop and/or Prestop in place of Actinovate as a prophylactic in initial hydration of mixes, due to dealing with varying presence of Fusarium Wilt in my mothers.

I calculate the approximate finished DRY volume as being about 16.4 gallons, +/-.

Recent ph on a very similar mix was around 6.2 to 6.4. A bit lower than I once routinely grew with.

Thanks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Revised & Corrected Bloom Mix, as of May 17 2018
(Divide cups by 16 to reach equivalent in gallons)

10 Cups Fishy Peat (*Local Alaska product with fish waste and kelp present)
15 Cups Coco Coir
30 Cups Fox Farms Ocean Forest (*Can be 50:50 with Amazon Bloom)
26 Cups Earth Worm Castings
30 Cups Perlite
10 Cups Vermiculite
20 Cups Pumice
20 Cups Rice Hulls
7.5 Cups Zeolite
90 Cups Pro-Mix or Sunshine mix #4
-------------------------------------------
8.5 TBSP Steamed Bone Meal
4.66 TBSP 0-11-0 Seabird Guano
4.66 TBSP 3-10-1 DTE High P Bat Guano
4.66 TBSP .5-13-.2 High P Indonesian Bat Guano
2 TBSP Alaska White Fish Bone Meal @ 6-10-0 w/ 20% calcium
4 TBSP Blood Meal (Usually DTE, but varies)
2 TBSP DTE Alfalfa Meal
8 tbsp High N 9-3-1 DTE Bat Guano
11 TBSP Kelp Meal (Usually DTE, but source varies)
2 TBSP DTE or (??) Jersey Green Sand
1 TBSP Langbeinite
10 TBSP Dolomite Lime
6 TBSP Gypsum (Granular, as that was all that I could get here)
12 TBSP DTE Oyster Shell Flour
1 TBSP Azomite
8 TBSP Dry Molasses
1.5 Cups Dry Triple-Fermented Bokashi Bran
2 Cups Alaska Humus
1 TBSP DTE Soluble Mycorrhizae
--------------------------------------------
Hydrated with 2.5+ gallons of untreated well water, that has, among other lesser minerals, 95 ppm calcium carbonate.

Of the 2.5 gal. H2O, 2 gallons are treated with (per gallon):

2 drops Vitamin B Super Thrive
2 ml Pro-Tekt
2 ml Liquid Karma
6 ml BioAg Ful-Power
¼ tsp Actinovate.. (Changed to .5 to 1 gram of Mycostop or 20 grams of Prestop bio-fungicide)as prophylactic
15-20 ml of EM-1

*Have used 1/64th tsp of sodium borate in ONE of the 2 treated gallons a couple times, but not sure this is helpful.
-----------------------------------------------------
When transplanting either rooted clones to 3” cubes, or larger plants, use 1/8 to ¼ tsp Great White in the depression the plant’s roots are going into. The 1" tray inserts going into 3" cubes gets diluted with additional peat and perlite, or comparable, to cut down on the strength of fert.

Initial watering may include minor fertilizing if the mix wasn’t permitted to ‘cook’ for any notable time. Just as a kick-off for more developed plants. (i.e. not so much for freshly rooted cuttings).

**My Swedish Smorgasbord of soilless ganja mix, as it currently stands. Convoluted, but well varied

About how much soil does that make? Yes I could add it up, but what is an estimate? Thanks for sharing!
 
M

moose eater

Sorry, it probably got lost in the volume of writing; aproximately 16.4 gallons total, counting everything. Maybe 16.5.

Thanks.
 
M

moose eater

If there's any curiosity as to why I backed off from the desired 1.2-2-1 or 1.2-3-2 ratios of TBSP/gallon of amendment. etc., common to my & others past soil mixes, re. n-p-k, it was to compensate for the Fox Farms Ocean Forest, and the Fishy Peat being part of the total aggregate, and especially the FF OF being touted as having a fairly stout nutrient content, straight out of the bag. Thus, I backed off a bit.
 

Arnold.

Active member
Happy day! Test results are in.

What'ya think?
This is 5 parts blonde Latvian peat + 1 part 2 year old leaf mold + 5g 34% Ca Maerl/l of moist soil

yVjBBrm.png


Excel sheet: https://bit.ly/2GuREtD


- First calculation is based on the Mg value of the sample:
Ca = 8* Mg
K = 0.5 * Mg = P = S

- Second calculation is based on the wanted base saturation's and uses the TCEC calculation.
I've used this formula for TCEC:

TCEC = Ca/200+K/390+Mg/120+Na/230 + 12(7-buffer pH)



If you have suggestions for changing my calculation methods I would love to hear it :)

What I see is a big difference in needed Ca input between the two calculations. I think I'd opt for the first one.

My interpretation: If I look at the soil test I see manageable numbers.
- I definitely need more P and S.
- More Mn aswell to get that Fe/Mn balance better.
- I also will need more K: a little from the start and build up during veg.

I will add 1 part pumice instead of perlite.

The CEC on my analysis says 32, my calculations says 67. This is something I don't get since I'm using the formula of their website.
A CEC of 67 would be way too big, I'm clueless on how to think about that part.
Edit: spectrum works with lbs, I did with meq. 1ppm=2lbs so 67/2=+-32?
 
Last edited:

Badfishy1

Active member
You most likely don't need any Mg in your feeds.

You could feed every couple weeks with Mg in the mix and be fine. Foliar in veg to build Mg reserves. Most soils already have enough Mg that you don't need more for a couple of runs and then it is still strain dependent.

Arnold, Jidoka probably runs something like 30 ppm S and 110 P, or similar but still carrying that ratio. Anions compete with other Anions. Really the limit on your S is only relevant if you see a deficiency in P. Remember, numbers are just numbers.
Picked up a new laptop, Shoot me a PM Arnold.

I wanted to make a note concerning the Sample that Jidoka mentioned High Ec and lookouts ETC on...

Those EC numbers from Spectrum are pure bullshit. 3 meters later, a new Hannah from Avenger and I confirmed my thoughts. I thought I had a bunch of junk meters from sitting...nope just junk numbers from Spectrum on EC.

I had quite a few PM's about mixes and asking to post here...

I can't say this enough...If anybody wants to learn, do it here. You have a simple question that's just eating at you or a tough question that just isn't in your grasp, post it!
Doesn't matter what it's about, teas, mixes, irrigation, coco, peat...don't care. This is a thread for learning.


I have had starts going from seed since February...looking forward to outdoor this year! How are your big girls doing Jidoka? ( I am assuming they are already)

Continued from our PM conversation... can somebody tell me where one can get npk analysis done on locally sourced seaweed and a homemade fish emulsion please. Also does anybody know the process of getting said testing done? I’m sure the lab will tell me how to go about it, but am curious if anybody has done this
 

growingcrazy

Well-known member
Spectrum runs dry and liquid fert analysis.


Arnold, I think you already know where you are heading. Those Ca numbers are pretty nice for being a pile of old leaves..yea?


Moose eater, A mix with that many inputs is hard to really give any insight on. My guess is that it has quite a bit of K in it from the start. How much? no idea without a test. Most of those amendments aren't being brought to full benefit in a single run...recycling would cut your costs and make much more of what your adding available. Where you are located at, I would be recycling and only adding minimum inputs. A plant can use one source for each element, it doesn't have taste buds like Humans. Using multiple sources of each element is more about having them available at all times, due to different breakdown periods. You don't have to sacrifice quality with less amendment sources but $/oz will drop...
 
M

moose eater

Thanks, GC.

I consciously tried to cut back on the amount of immediately available K. (Kelp meal being a moderate release, and Green Sand being a very slow release). The langbeinite was the exception, but I went back and forth on the amount of it, deciding on 1 TBSP, after having had it at 2 tsp; in one stressed round with a similar mix, I had attributed a good bit of that round's trouble to excess langbeinite, and not just due to the K.).

It was I think Slow who had mentioned that top-dressed or even tilled Sup-Po-Mag/Langbeinite didn't further contribute to the mag or N lock-outs the way that other sources of K did, and acknowledged it was a mystery as to why.

Any recycling avoidance was, in part, an effort at fresh start each time, as well as concerns re. salts.

In my own calculations, I took similarly rated sources, and added them up in total aggregate/volume/etc., and tried to make them fit into the ratios presented, but the EWC, etc., are all wild cards until tested.

Really, even those things with supposedly 'known' values, as stated, in my opinion, is a matter of trust that the quality control and analysis at any given source of an amendment is accurate and consistent.

That was the additional cause for such diversity in sources of specific nutes; while it's likely there's some inaccuracy in at least one amendment from a commercial source, the likelihood that ALL are equally inaccurate is less.. was my hypothesis. Just thinking my process out loud to demonstrate how I got there.

Will Spectrum be able to discern proper values on a mix with such an elevated presence of peat-based products in it? I'd read some place (maybe in this thread) re. concerns for peat-based soilless mixes and the [presence of peat skewing results.

Thanks again.
 

led05

Chasing The Present
My computer ended it's life, took all of my files and whatnot with it. Not in the mood to start over again, may not pick up another until fall. Spring is busy season too... You few that can, keep in touch. :tiphat:[/quote]


I have two different ones showing signs about to go..... I'm currently at a point where I'm actually able to let them and not worry too much..... fkin amazing.... My growing notes and spreadsheets are literally the only things on them two I care about, all backedup

enjoy the growing seasons - later
 

led05

Chasing The Present
No the sulfate to sulfide reaction is not favorable in aerobic soils. The potential needs to be super negative to create the sulfide, which than turns into hydrogen sulfide. Think rotten egg smells around bogs.

Also I guess I should add that the reaction happens inside bacteria

S + microbes -> H2SO4

Just as mammals don't eat their own shit (except dogs, be suspect) bacteria don't either. So it won't go back to sulfide

I haven't read ahead but you do know why dogs eat their own shit, most animals in fact, nutrient deficiencies - good post
 

led05

Chasing The Present
Sulfate competes with phosphate uptake. You can measure P going down as so4 rises. Don’t go too crazy


if people would create a simple excel spreadsheet breaking out Anions, Cations and perhaps color it say yellow and blue (maybe purple for the swingers, N for example), and make it columnar, maybe add each of their favorite fertilizers and their contents for the top 15-16 minerals (columns) and fertilizers (rows) they use.....

I imagine it would be an hour or two of work for days of if not weeks of problems solved
 

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