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Fireknot farm 2016

Hello and welcome to Fireknot farm 2016!

This thread will act as my workspace throughout the year as I transition away from 8 years of hydroponics into organic practices finally! I am greatly looking forward to bumping heads with the growers of IC so we can further our knowledge and experience together!

Here you will find lovely ganja photography, many questions, an open minded attitude, a desire to grow the best, greenhouse construction for veg but no deps, other misc fun like getting water from the well to the top of the hill, maybe some grow poetry, experiments with teas and analysis, soil tests, guerillaing the property, mulching, political commentary in regards to the changes in California, and god knows what else...

Here in the Cali hills @ 2,500ft elevation they haven't banned growing yet but much is still up in the air to see if they will work with the state and allow licensing. The board of equalization spoke in favor of taxing it last year so we'll see. I'm of the naive and faithful disposition I'll be participating in the legal market so as things develop I'll be adapting accordingly.

Right now I'm just starting to plan the season. I'll be taking down some headband and god's gift soon that got ravaged by broad mites. I'll be heat treating my rooms before flipping the candyland. I'm doing mostly Bodhi gear outdoors this season:

Space monkey (gg#4 x wookie#15)
Dragons fruit (oldsog ssh x snow lotus)
More cowbell (gsc forum cut x 88g13hp)
Sky lotus (skywalker og x snow lotus)
Sorcerers apprentice (cheech wizard x appalachia)
Blueberry mountain (dj short bb x appalachia)
Heaven mountain (goji og x appalachia)
Deep line alchemy #3 (a35 x 88g13hp)



I am going to pick the 20 best and chop/juice the rest.

40 yards coot's mix (at half the ammendments of Shcrews' mix) Site #1 (Site#2 taken from old hole)

4EF7xkS.png




I have these 20 6'x6' holes in one spot I'm wondering what to do with. I might test the soil this week. The guy who was here before me used them 5 years. I'm going to assume there are no gophers here...but assumptions suck. I'm thinking mounds are a good idea for this spot but haven't decided how I'll do them yet. Ideally I would do all coots mix but my budget may not permit me to do so. I might do one yard of rare earths cheaper stuff with one yard coots mix on top for each mound, but im not sure if thats good enough, what do you think?

Any questions or ideas feel free I'm all ears so grateful to be here and able to collaborate with you all!


And a big shout out to Schrews for all the inspiration!


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gorilla ganja

Well-known member
Subbed.
This looks like a great one to watch. Coming from a hydro past as well, It will be interesting to see you transition over to organics. There is a wealth of information on IC.
Check out this thread for a class act as far as setting up a organic greenhouse. Even tho you mentioned no Dep. EssentialGround has the organics figured out.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=316308

Best of luck and may all your buds be Huge.
Peace GG
 

I wood

Well-known member
Beautiful.
I'm not the jealous type, but you got me feeling it a little.
The hydro phase for me ended in the early nineties. I even invented the constant flow technique (timer broke, plants grew better with pump running 24/7,while trying to find another timer) way before anything but ebb and flow was popular. It was fun while it lasted.
I've never had any regrets about moving to organic dirt.
I wish you well in your endeavor.
 
Thanks everyone! I just set up an instagram @ fireknotfarm (I don't know how to use it yet) and will be posting more pics there as well as here throughout the year. I look forward to following the other outdoor farmers as well.

I like your idea Waxy. I think depending on my budget I'll put a yard of cheaper compost coots mix underneath a yard of the primo coots mix from rare earth, which would give each mound approx 400 gallons of rootspace plus the 6'x6' holes underneath... I'm going to test it for fun pretty soon here (I'm not sure what I'm looking for, mostly curious about it) and will be ordering soil in about a month.
 
I definitely plan on using mycos at transplant. I havent yet fully figured out / decided anything further from there in terms of the biology. I know I'll be getting a big tea brewer at some point, and I know the soil should be sprayed down with compost tea a couple weeks/times before setting the mounds and transplanting. My book Teaming with microbes has a guide on this I'll be referencing and need to read again soon here because I already forgot any further details other than that!
 

Swamp Thang

Well-known member
Veteran
That brooding forest shot, with beams of sunlight playing lazily through the canopy onto a country road, just makes my spirit soar. I am heading off to the woods this morning, to commune with nature and fire up a hooter, after seeing this inspirational picture.

The opening shots of your 2016 crop are also just beautiful as well. I'm pulling up a chair for this journey, fer sure.
 
You dont think that thing is overkill? I was under the impression you wanted a little low pressure pump. What advantages do you see with something like that? Cervantes is a badass... I love the huge garden he toured with the 99 x 20lb plants... is that wonderland? Just wow.

Hey swamp, I thought hooters were breasts? Or owls? Enjoy the woods! I know exactly how you feel. It's the only place I feel at home. It took me a long time to find a spot like this. I get lost out here all the time. Every day. I'm happy it's inspiring though. I saw the beams coming thru the woodsmoke and had to stop. Welcome home! I've moved over 30 times in 10 years so I'm really enjoying it.

I'm getting a hang of the instagram thing although all the pictures of the ganjagirls are kinda dangerous. Being on the hill is lonesome enough as it is... there's something about a hot chick getting stoned.

All my seeds will be here within a couple days! Here's a shot of my bx crosses. All bd, purple kush, gdp, bubba kush, sour d, and tange strains crossed and backcrossed. I'm getting so pumped for the season! I think I'll try my first hand at a soil test tomorrow and will post results when I get them. In the meantime feel free to bounce around any ideas.

Sun is shining for the first time in days!
 
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Noonin NorCal

Active member
Veteran
Beautiful property and great start. Ill be watching this one for sure. I was wondering about all you guys living/growing in the woods like this, know anything about wild edible mushrooms? It sure looks prime in that first and second photo
 
I'm an avid fungus hunter actually. I lived in Santa Cruz for almost 7 years and the mountains were a great place to learn about the edibles and medicinals. Im no expert but I can ID some and anything I'm not 100% on the identification subforum moderated by Alan Rochefeller on the Shroomery mycology forum has never let me down. I picked gallerina marginatus once because it looked interesting. Oops. Always be 110% sure!!! I thought angels wings were oysters once too. I used to sell excess black chanterelles to restaurants.

There are turkey tails on fallen oaks sparingly but none that look super healthy that I've found yet (natures strongest antibiotic) Lbm's. Unidentified beige ones in the oak leaves that fell. Thats all I've seen so far---I should go for a walk and see if I see any more---with the pines I imagine there should be some good ones but maybe I got here too late in the season. I'm always on the lookout its a habit that never goes away. I'll keep ya posted. Food and medicine are interchangeable.

Anyone that lives near a burn area should take advantage of the destruction and go morel hunting! I think its in the spring but never done it myself.

I would like to be as self sustainable as possible here but I don't even know where to start between all the monoculture and innovative liesure that abounds.
 

Noonin NorCal

Active member
Veteran
I'm an avid fungus hunter actually. I lived in Santa Cruz for almost 7 years and the mountains were a great place to learn about the edibles and medicinals. Im no expert but I can ID some and anything I'm not 100% on the identification subforum moderated by Alan Rochefeller on the Shroomery mycology forum has never let me down. I picked gallerina marginatus once because it looked interesting. Oops. Always be 110% sure!!! I thought angels wings were oysters once too. I used to sell excess black chanterelles to restaurants.

There are turkey tails on fallen oaks sparingly but none that look super healthy that I've found yet (natures strongest antibiotic) Lbm's. Unidentified beige ones in the oak leaves that fell. Thats all I've seen so far---I should go for a walk and see if I see any more---with the pines I imagine there should be some good ones but maybe I got here too late in the season. I'm always on the lookout its a habit that never goes away. I'll keep ya posted. Food and medicine are interchangeable.

Anyone that lives near a burn area should take advantage of the destruction and go morel hunting! I think its in the spring but never done it myself.

I would like to be as self sustainable as possible here but I don't even know where to start between all the monoculture and innovative liesure that abounds.

Black Chantrelles, we call em blacks and you will find plenty of yellow feet in the same areas along with Hedgehogs. I have a good buddy that buys sells picks for a living along the Sonoma County Coast. We killed the CandyCaps this year, they were everywhere. Haven't made it up to Jackson in Mendocino Forrest but that place is freaking littered with wilds. Also you don't have any restrictions there on how much weight u can pick...
 

Noonin NorCal

Active member
Veteran
The Morel season i believe is in the spring/summer time when snow melts and in the Sierra's. I'm wondering about Lake County and that huge fire last year...?
 

Noonin NorCal

Active member
Veteran
We found a fair share of Matsutakes as well. If i were to pick a mush to forage for it would be a golden chantrelle
 
ic
I just submitted a request for a soil sample and a water test.
Does anyone find a water test crucial or advantageous in any way?
I know it's high in hydrogen sulfide and iron (bloody rotten egg water yum!) I've been told it's usable for outdoor without filtration. I RO for everything inside. Opinions?
 
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