First Grow - Norcal - Outdoors - 3 plants

Ranstedt · May 16, 2018

Hey everyone.

This will be my first ever cannabis grow. Hopefully it works out well.

The location is Norcal. Somewhere in Santa Clara County.

Strains:
Platinum OG
Superglue
Blackberry Fire

45 Gallon Fabric Pots
2/3 Ocean Forrest 1/3 Happy Frog with added worm castings

Plan to start topping / LST soon. I want shorter / wider plants.

Plan to use kelp powder throughout.
Bat guano (0-7-0) for flowering.
Once transplanted in the 45 gallon pots i'll wait about 3 weeks and I'll use organic liquid fertilizers, not sure which ones yet.

So far, the plants have been outside during the day and under a household light indoors at night. I plan to move the plants outdoors permanently in about a week.

Next post, i'll show pictures of a problem I've had with one of the plants and how I intend to fix it.

Happy growing everyone!

greenpip32- · May 16, 2018

Cool. Good Luck!

Ibechillin · May 16, 2018

I highly recommend getting some dolomite lime if you dont have some already and adding it to the 45 gallon pots 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil and mix in well to balance your soil PH (3 cups per 45 gallon pot). After adding the dolomite lime i would transplant them (best to do when soil is dry) then water with 1.5 gallons water slowly around the base of the plants (slower you pour deeper it goes), sooner you do this the better (like tomorrow morning would be best).

Dont wait 3 weeks to start adding organic liquid fertilizer, a week after transplanting at most would be fine. i have had great results using Alaska Fish Fertilizer 5-1-1 found in most stores with a garden section for about $20 for 1 gallon. Start off adding 1 tablespoon per gallon of water the first feeding you give to your plants (a week after transplanting). Kelp is great i use it all through Veg and early Flowering, bat guano you can top dress the 45 gallon pots with when flowering starts, i recommend getting a liguid bloom nutrient to compliment as well. General Organics brand Biothrive Grow 4-3-3 and Bloom 2-4-4 liquid nutrients work well. (if you cant find the Alaska Fish Fertilizer use the Biothrive Grow instead).

Ill be following this thread, if you have any questions ask here and i will answer as best i can when i get a chance. I suggest you read the links in bold at the bottom of my post, lots of information on growing.

Mr. Burgundy · May 16, 2018

I'm sub'd

I'm sub'd

Howdy- I am in San Mateo county,and I was going to wait until June 21st.
Last year's heat wave damaged my whole crop,so I am trying to harden up the girls before I put then out. Wishing you the best of luck!
The chair is in place,gonna watch your show,thanks!
:tiphat:

Stay Classy!

green404 · May 16, 2018

Nice strains. I am looking forward to seeing them grow.

Ranstedt · May 16, 2018

green404
Mr. Burgundy
Ibechillin
greenpip32-

Thank you all for stopping by. And Ibechillin, thank you for all the tips!

Ranstedt · May 16, 2018

So here's a problem I noticed a few days ago. The leaves of one of my plants (blackberry fire) had rusty / dried out leaves. At first, it seemed like I had a calmag issue.

But, i've had little fungus gnats on my plants that I'd been removing with duct tape. One plant (probably the Blackberry Fire?) had about 10 of these little gnats on it at one point.

Also, the day before the plant started looking bad, I watered the plants heavily.

I'm thinking I made a bad noob mistake with watering too much giving the fungus gnats an invitation to infest my plant.

So I've been trying to dry out the soil a bit by not watering and keeping the plants in a warmer spot in the house. Seems to be working.

Also, for this problem, I'm going to buy (hopefully today) Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade. And yellow sticky traps for each plant. Also, at some point I might put a top layer of sand or small rocks on the soil.

Here's a few photos of the issue.

Does this look like a fungus gnat issue?

Ranstedt · May 16, 2018

Here's a better photo (from today).

Ibechillin · May 16, 2018

Ranstedt said:
At first, it seemed like I had a calmag issue.

But, i've had little fungus gnats on my plants that I'd been removing with duct tape. One plant (probably the Blackberry Fire?) had about 10 of these little gnats on it at one point.

Also, the day before the plant started looking bad, I watered the plants heavily.

I'm thinking I made a bad noob mistake with watering too much giving the fungus gnats an invitation to infest my plant.

Also, for this problem, I'm going to buy (hopefully today) Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade. And yellow sticky traps for each plant. Also, at some point I might put a top layer of sand or small rocks on the soil.

Does this look like a fungus gnat issue?

You have been doing your research! Great process of elimination! Fungus Gnats only come around when there is decaying matter in the soil to eat, and they lay eggs in the wet top layer of soil which hatch into tiny larvae that feed (slowly) on your plants roots causing what seems like calmag or rootbound issues.

If you can get Perlite (small white pebbles HIGHLY ADVISE) and mix that into your 45 gallon pots (20-30% of the pot so ~2cu ft per 45 gallon) before you transplant it will help to prevent this from happening again by allowing the soil to hold more oxygen and drain/breathe better.

Your on the right track with the Diatomaceous Earth, stuff is awesome i use it alot, as well as covering the top layer, i just use a layer of perlite on the top with Diatomaceous Earth powdered overtop.

Ibechillin said:
Ive been using diatomaceous earth (powder silicon) as a foliar spray on my plants 2 tablespoon per gallon water intermittently though veg to deter/kill insets, but i learned recently it also helps prevent infection/mildew and a few other benefits, check out the link on silicon in my signature.

A thin layer of sand/perlite/gravel etc something inert over the top of your soil prevents gnats/larvae/eggs from getting into your soil. Dust a layer of Diotamaceous earth over the top of the soil/inert layer as well.

The diatomaceous earth is smooth powder like baby powder/flour, but on a microscopic level its like broken glass to most insects and they will avoid your plants like the plague. Can work into your cats/dogs fur and it will deter fleas/ticks, good to eat for them as well as it kills intestinal worms. Also good for people, silicon is good for bones! I can get a 40lb bag of diatomaceous earth for $20 at the feedstore by my house, otherwise Garden Safe Brand Crawling Insect Killer is the same thing but more expensive.

Garden Safe brand Neem oil extract is cheap and works well, i used Down To Earth brand neem seed meal (crushed neem tree seeds) and diatomaceous earth powder mixed into my soil this year as well to kill larvae or eggs that may have been in soil/gotten in soil. using neem seed meal in soil makes bugs not like the way your weed tastes and will avoid also.

Neem seed meal is also a good veg food npk 6-1-2, can also use to make foliar sprays (just like neem extract/oils, its probably better making your own from the neem seed meal because your getting more than only azadirachtin in premade extract liquids)

Place bird feeders/bird baths around your plants, they eat caterpillars and other crawling insects. if possible plant lettuce or some other leafy green as a lure/sacrifice because caterpillars etc will go after those first.

Hornets EAT SLUGS AND CATERPILLARS, got lucky last season some nested near my plant.

Copper wire DOES NOT stop slugs in my experince, supposedly they love beer though and you can make beer can traps to catch slugs.

Human urine works well at keeping deer etc away, i read somewhere someone recommended ordering predatory animal urine to spread around your plants. If deep in the swamp or woods id advise against using predatory animal urine in case something curious comes to investigate.

.

theJointedOne · May 16, 2018

Ranstedt said:
Hey everyone.

This will be my first ever cannabis grow. Hopefully it works out well.

The location is Norcal. Somewhere in Santa Clara County.

Strains:
Platinum OG
Superglue
Blackberry Fire

45 Gallon Fabric Pots
2/3 Ocean Forrest 1/3 Happy Frog with added worm castings

Plan to start topping / LST soon. I want shorter / wider plants.

Plan to use kelp powder throughout.
Bat guano (0-7-0) for flowering.
Once transplanted in the 45 gallon pots i'll wait about 3 weeks and I'll use organic liquid fertilizers, not sure which ones yet.

So far, the plants have been outside during the day and under a household light indoors at night. I plan to move the plants outdoors permanently in about a week.

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=77020&pictureid=1850283&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=77020&pictureid=1850284&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=77020&pictureid=1850285&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=77020&pictureid=1850286&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=77020&pictureid=1850287&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

Next post, i'll show pictures of a problem I've had with one of the plants and how I intend to fix it.

Happy growing everyone!

sweet, thanks for sharing

ill pull up a chair

Teddybrae · May 16, 2018

greetings ... just be careful with application of Kelp. a little at a time. kelp can cause wierd things to happen too yr plant's growth.

And there are three varieties of Kelp. the high potash variety is not good in the soil needs to be applied foliar. it would be good if you researched this before use ...

Kindness all round!

Ranstedt · May 17, 2018

So I just finished adding Diatomaceous Earth to the top soil and worked it in little. I didn't water because the soil is still moist from my over watering. Hopefully I didn't add too much?

Ranstedt · May 17, 2018

Teddybrae said:
greetings ... just be careful with application of Kelp. a little at a time. kelp can cause wierd things to happen too yr plant's growth.

And there are three varieties of Kelp. the high potash variety is not good in the soil needs to be applied foliar. it would be good if you researched this before use ...

Kindness all round!

Hi Teddy.

I already purchased a small box of Down To Earth Kelp Meal. Is that okay? I planned to add it to the top soil every so often.

Thanks.

Ibechillin · May 17, 2018

That looks fine, i dont think you can add to much in my experience lol.
Down To Earth kelp meal is good, same stuff im using. I mixed 1lb into a yard of soil (200 gallons) at half directed strength (1/4lb kelp meal per 45 gal pot for you). I also plan to top dress and foliar spray with it.

Ranstedt · May 17, 2018

Ibechillin

A person at the grow shop where I purchased all my Fox Farm soil advised me that I didn't need to buy perlite since in his opinion the Ocean Forrest / Happy Frog already had a good amount. I was originally planning to buy perlite and I'm still open to the idea of adding it.

My original soil plan was a soil blend of ocean forrest, happy frog, perlite and coco. I decided to try coco on grow 2 or 3.

Regarding Diatomaceous Earth, how much would you mix in the soil for a 45 gallon pot?

Thank you for stopping by and sharing your knowledge. It's greatly appreciated!

Tomorrow I can pick up some Garden Safe Neem oil from Lowes.

Happy growing

Ibechillin · May 17, 2018

Its a matter of opinion/situation really, I use a 70% soil 30% perlite ratio in all the soil i use for mj, only time i wouldn't use it is growing in coco. I used 1lb of the Diatomaceous Earth so same as the kelp, (1/4lb per 45 gal pot for you).

Ranstedt · May 17, 2018

Ibechillin

I'll plan on mixing both the Diatomaceous earth and kelp to the soil at 1/4 lb per 45 gallons as you suggested.

I'm trying to find dolomite lime locally at a grow shop but I might need to find it at a nursery or hardware store instead. Anything at lowes or home depot I could use?

Thanks,
Randolph

ColoSpringBudZ · May 17, 2018

I have heard the DE powder is only effective if dry.

Ibechillin · May 17, 2018

Home depot should have dolomite lime pellets in their garden section its Espoma brand Garden Lime 6.75lb green bag dolomite lime pellets. You need 3 cups (about half a bag) per 45 gallon pot. If they dont have Espoma brand, you can use garden lime with a 2:1 calcium to magnesium ratio.

ColoSpringBudZ said:
I have heard the DE powder is only effective if dry.

Yes effective when dry, applied as a foliar though wet. it dissolves into water well and when sprayed onto plants it leaves a fine layer of D earth behind (you will see when you use). When you mix the D earth in with the soil its stays there going back and forth with the wet and dry cycles of your soil also serving as a source of silicon.

Ranstedt · May 18, 2018

Went to home depot and lowes and picked up a few things ...

I'll spray some neem oil on the plants tonight.

First Grow - Norcal - Outdoors - 3 plants

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