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First foray into organics

Ph-patrol

Active member
Veteran
Plumbing supply store is worth a call.But an odd ball place is a Pool or irrigation supply store too.1-1/4 down to 1/2 is generally high pressure used on pools.1-1/2 to 4" is DWV and use more frequently.
 

Bmac1

Well-known member
Veteran
Welcome aboard DF, glad to have you along for the ride. From looking at my mix, do you think it is enough for water only with say a weekly EWC tea with molasses or compost tea with molasses?
 

Bmac1

Well-known member
Veteran
I got all the parts for the brewer and airlift so I will slap her together tomorrow when I borrow a hack saw. I didnt get the exact setup as the mini microbulator but its damn close and I think will work just fine.
 

Bmac1

Well-known member
Veteran
Here is a pic of the little lovelies from 3 days ago just prior to putting the tomato cages in.

picture.php


Here they are this morning. Really adjusting nicely and starting to explode in new growth so I flipped the switch this morning.

picture.php


They are looking pretty happy so far and so am I. I got the brewer assembled and it looks good. Going to start brewing my first tea later today. WIll be 4 gallons in a 5 gallon bucket with 1.5 cups EWC and 1/3 cup of black strap molasses and let it go for 36 hours.

picture.php
 

Bmac1

Well-known member
Veteran
So the first tea is underway. I sure am glad I went with the "quieter" pump, lol. It still is a bit loud. I also need to get a lid and cut a hole in it so the top of the airlift fits through it. The water kind of chugs out of the airlift and makes it a bit splashy, making a mess. Is it supposed to chug out like that or be more of a steady stream?

Bottom line is, I need a lid and maybe some sort of better shock absorber to set the pump on to stop some of the vibration noise.
 

Former Guest

Active member
You can screw it down to wood by the feet. The water chugs out because air bubbles lift the water up the pipe so it's like air in the pipes.

Looking forward to this grow! One of the few actually.
 

heady blunts

prescription blunts
Veteran
great looking brewer bmac! you should throw up a pic on the airlift brewer thread in the organic forum!

i've found that if i suspend my air pump it quiets some of the vibrational noise. those things are loud as fuck tho.

the splashing is what gets that oxygen level up! in my latest brewer i have my airlift exactly the height of my 5 gal bucket. i use a quick snap lid with a hole cut out so i can see what's going on in there. i used a cable tie to connect the top of the airlift to the lid, and it all stays very secure.

flow can be negatively affected if the lift is not perfectly vertical. also you'll find there's a sweet spot for the water level. if you get it right the flow is maximized. for my brewer it's about 2" under the airlift's outlet. your air pump kicks mine's ass tho.

i've never used that manifold design so i can't give you any tips on that end of the brewer.
 

heady blunts

prescription blunts
Veteran
also i'd agree with others' suggestions to get a mulch on those pots ASAP. i feel that it's especially important w/ vertical lighting as the soil is much more exposed to direct light then in a horizontal set up.

i'm all about a diverse and nutritious mulch. when you get to certain point that's really all you have to add to your pots to keep them happy.

in the mean time, anything will help keep the top strata evenly moist. a paper plate, a circle of plastic, hydroton, coco chips, buckwheat hulls, etc.

a nice seed-free alfalfa hay is awesome. i've used sphagnum peat moss like for hanging baskets that i mixed up with EWC, canna trimmings, and bio-accumulating herbs like nettle and comfrey.

sometimes fungus gnats like that environment but a little top dress of neem meal under the mulch will take care of them.
 

Bmac1

Well-known member
Veteran
You can screw it down to wood by the feet. The water chugs out because air bubbles lift the water up the pipe so it's like air in the pipes.

Looking forward to this grow! One of the few actually.

Thanks for that. I hope I dont disappoint. As for screwing the pump down, I dont have a "permanent" spot for it so I cant really attach it to anything. I am thinking some sort of rubber or foam pad for it to sit on may help.

great looking brewer bmac! you should throw up a pic on the airlift brewer thread in the organic forum!

i've found that if i suspend my air pump it quiets some of the vibrational noise. those things are loud as fuck tho.

the splashing is what gets that oxygen level up! in my latest brewer i have my airlift exactly the height of my 5 gal bucket. i use a quick snap lid with a hole cut out so i can see what's going on in there. i used a cable tie to connect the top of the airlift to the lid, and it all stays very secure.

flow can be negatively affected if the lift is not perfectly vertical. also you'll find there's a sweet spot for the water level. if you get it right the flow is maximized. for my brewer it's about 2" under the airlift's outlet. your air pump kicks mine's ass tho.

i've never used that manifold design so i can't give you any tips on that end of the brewer.

I did shorten the lift a bit to make sure it was spouting out below the brim of the bucket. I have 4 gallons in the 5 gallon bucket and I think that is the upper limit for this setup. I use a rubber bungee to hold the air lift in place right now but I think the lid will make it cleaner and cut down on the splashing noise a bit. I also put a pic of it in the organic section.

also i'd agree with others' suggestions to get a mulch on those pots ASAP. i feel that it's especially important w/ vertical lighting as the soil is much more exposed to direct light then in a horizontal set up.

i'm all about a diverse and nutritious mulch. when you get to certain point that's really all you have to add to your pots to keep them happy.

in the mean time, anything will help keep the top strata evenly moist. a paper plate, a circle of plastic, hydroton, coco chips, buckwheat hulls, etc.

a nice seed-free alfalfa hay is awesome. i've used sphagnum peat moss like for hanging baskets that i mixed up with EWC, canna trimmings, and bio-accumulating herbs like nettle and comfrey.

sometimes fungus gnats like that environment but a little top dress of neem meal under the mulch will take care of them.

I got to get the hydraton on there tonight. Its just trying to break the habit of wet and dry cycles that I have become used to growing in straight promix. I have it down for the most part that every other day they get water so I should be able to keep that up.

This morning I noticed a bit of that chem variegation on one of the chemsour crosses. Looks a bit like Mag deficiency. SHould I give some epsom salt or am I understanding correctly that the tea will provide calcium and magnesium from the molasses?

Cheers!
 

Bmac1

Well-known member
Veteran
I gave them the first tea this morning and they look like they like it. Like it a lot.
post-36044-I-like-it-a-lot-gif-Jim-Carrey-Va6P.gif


They are praying to the light and seems like quite a boost of vigor for only being a few days into flower. One of the chemsour #1 crosses is definitely showing signs of ca/mg deficiency but I think this could be from the previous cups. Its on older growth and the new growth looks very nice. I think the first tea will do them quite well being as there should be both ca and mg in the molasses if I read it right.

Going to be interesting training into these tomato cages. I have not used this method before but am hoping I can get a good amount of nice tops. I cant wait to see these chem crosses do their thing.
 

Bmac1

Well-known member
Veteran
They are really pushing out the growth. A bit of leaf crinkle in the chemsour#1 crosses that Ill keep an eye on. I think it will grow out of it. The hydraton mulch layer is still something to get used to. Im used to looking for dry pots and then watering but that is no more, lol. Just trying not to mess it up and dry one out too much nor water-log it. If they were smaller pots a lift test would be great but I can only do that to maybe 2-3 of them, cant get the ones in the back.

The tomato cages are a bit of a challenge. I want as many nice tops as possible and I have topped and tortured for many tops, maybe too many. I find myself in this situation most times and my pruning needs some work still. I really want to try and optimize the yeild this time. I will take some cuts from the ladies in the next week or so and start cleaning up their under carriage and trying to train the tops out in the best way possible.

Im also going to look around for an answer but if anyone has one, feel free to post. What is the difference/benefit of using compost in teas vs EWC? I have both and used EWC in the last one and am contemplating using the compost (SeaSoil) in the next one. Im off to look for answers.
 

Weird

3rd-Eye Jedi
Veteran
Im also going to look around for an answer but if anyone has one, feel free to post. What is the difference/benefit of using compost in teas vs EWC? I have both and used EWC in the last one and am contemplating using the compost (SeaSoil) in the next one. Im off to look for answers.

Biological and organic diversity

In planting scenarios there is evidence that vermicompost (ewc) out performs compost (although compost has a wider rage of properties fwiu)

MM has done studies on the populations in brewing conditions and may have that information listed in the tea article sticky.

I personally prefer to topdress compost and make teas with ewc.
 

Bmac1

Well-known member
Veteran
Thanks Weird, im combing through the tea thread and checking out MM's site as we speak. I may try adding a bit of both for more diversity down the road but will stick with one thing for now, that being the EWC. I need to get the outside garden dealt with and I will save the compost for that for now.
 

Former Guest

Active member
You sound like me when I first applied tea. I swear it was like magic!

I use one of those moisture meters for pots I can't get to, I used a cheapo moisture meter from Rapid Test which works pretty good.
mulch and you won't have issues.
 

Bmac1

Well-known member
Veteran
I do have a moisture meter actually. It is old but maybe I should pick up one or two small ones to leave in the back pots. Thats why we pay you the big bucks LLB.

I am definitely excited to see what this new organic venture brings. The plants look quite happy and I hope I can keep them that way. I cant wait to see how it affects flavors/yeild etc. I have grown 3 of these plants prior to this with chem nutes and should be able to do a nice side by side with dry product.
 

Former Guest

Active member
Pay? Wha? Just a broke bitch over here. Dollars make me hollar! Lol

You are actually quite fortunate to have the interest of several experienced growers for your first grow. Im pretty jealous. Half the people who helped me used synthetic nutes but tried to help anyways. Had to learn a lot on my own. I'm pretty stoked to watch this and learn.
 
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