Tutorial Organics for Beginners

[intotheunknown]

The smell was overwhelming - a very pronounced ammonia order. Almost as strong as opening a bottle of ammonia and taking a whiff. Not quite that strong but pretty close.

And off-color mold on top of the potting soil was another indicator. Based on my experience as an artisan baker and growing yeast cultures (sourdough), red and rose color molds are not good. Same with the blue colored molds.

Whether or not that translates into a potting soil I can't say - but I wasn't willing to take any chances. I eventually dumped the soil out in the front yard away from the trunks of the shrubs and trees.

HTH

CC

well looks like im good to go on that part of it. however maybe you can help me out with this?

 

[intotheunknown]

hello everybody, i seem to be having some trouble here with my medical garden and im looking for perhaps someone to guide/mentor me through these problems.

heres some background...

when i got these clones they had some major issues, and i cannot even begin to tell you that i even tried to sort them out one by one. from nute burn, overwatering, spider mites, and multiple deficiencies. and i at that point couldnt expect any of you to either. so well i was off to a really bad start. however everything else i think i have pretty dialed in for the most part. and i got major improvement out of them and most of them have almost tripled in size in two weeks, others are slowly growing and i think still working past their previous issues. but major improvement to say the least.

STRAINS- sour diesel, nyc diesel, and golden goat.

LIGHTING- 400w mh air cooled with a 435 cfm fan, with speed control. ventilation is correct as well.

SECRET JARDIN TENT- dr120

TEMPS/HUMIDITY- 75* @ 55-60% RH, night 63-66* 50% rh

MEDIUM- lc's mix (promix hp, EWC, perlite, dolomite lime(mixed exactly as i was told to) 3 qt parts= one cup dolomite lime.

NUTRIENTS- guano tea mix, with bubbled tap water with good amount of foam(made exactly as told to as well in BURNONE'S organics for beginners thread)

PH- well i took the advice AND RAN WITH IT, listed in the organics for beginners that PH was not an issue when it came to organics. so i cannot tell you what the ph is of anything besides the tap water, which is 7.5 PH (spent 75 bucks on a ph pen for water anyway) id rather know something than nothing.

when i got them i planted them and watered right away. and after their 3rd watering i gave them a seedling to one month old tea mix and that did wonders.

and as rec. i did another 2 waterings and on the 3rd i gave them a VEG mix, but at half strength. (last night a few hours before lights out) i did see some improvements in color and they started to get a little darker green like they should be, instead of the limey green you will see in the pics. however i think the half strength might have been a little too much, the newer growth seems to be curling in a little bit and the tips are slightly yellowing, with some twisting. as they were slightly before. so its hard to tell what is really going on.

and i apologize, things are really confusing to me and im sure to you, because of the condition they were acquired, so its been a big rat fuck mess. so PLEASE can someone help me out???

here are the pics. ill explain above each one. they look a little bright because of the light they really arent that lime green.


Sour Diesel
this one had some spider mite issues and was the healthiest one i got. which has made the very most improvement and has tripled in size

top close up

this is the sickest one i have its a NYC Diesel
had spider mites, multiple deficiencies and has slightly improved since last night. but is slightly curling.

here is the other sour d
the new tops are limey green and the fans are slightly curling up.

top(the light makes it brighter than it really is, but is still limey green

new growth on sides

this is a small nyc

these are the golden goats which were in HORRIBLE shape, also major improvements (i still have not trimmed all of the old leaves off)

all questions are welcome, and if i didnt cover something please let me know. i thank you for looking, hope to hear some answers soon. this is really stressing me out as i have worked so very hard for this all.
so should i get to flushing them?
if so i dont know what to do because all i have is chlorinated tap water. but i do have some de-chlor drops for reptile water which is called reptisafe water conditioner.??? or am i looking at a different problem?

 

[intotheunknown]

went to 4 stores today, happy to find pretty much everything to get started but am getting hung up on "dolomite lime" (I read all 2,000+ posts forward & back, can't remember if my answer is somwhere in these anymore, also read the "virtues of DL post"). I found Hydrated lime but have learned that could be bad (especially for a newb), right? Found "Agricultural Limestone" then found this info about it from oregon extension: "Ag. Limestone contains calcium, while dolomitic lime contains both calcium and magnesium". Could I go with this and supplement some mag.? OR maybe my local Ace has this: Encap® Fast Acting Lime http://www.acehardware.com/product/...3785&kw=lime&origkw=lime&searchId=47455360064 OR am I looking in the wrong place? I live in Colorado and could probably try farm & feed supply? TIA

had that problem too, i could not for the life of me find "powdered dolomite lime" anywhere. but what i did find everywhere is sunleaves soil sweetener= powdered dolomite lime. try that and i guarantee youll find it close by you.

 

[grapeman]

Try as I might looking at your photos, I don't see a problem of the sort that matches your concerns. Seems pretty normal to me.
If anything, it looks like they might be slightly thirsty for a tiny bit of N, but I'm sure the heavy weights will chime in shortly.
So tell us please, what is your question.

 

[vonforne]

the soil is in a rubbermaid 25 gal bin, which has 2 smaller holes in the handles, think thats enough? or should i drill some more holes?
much appreciated Clackamas.

You can leave the lid on but you MUST turn it every other day and not forget. I leave mine sit with out any top at all.

V

 

[vonforne]

I guess i should take the lid off my rubbermaid too. haha.

I didn't know you were an artisan baker CC, i just started getting into it heavily this year. Nothing beats a bread that takes days to make.

I just got my Sul-Po-Mag and Soft Rock Phosphate in the mail. They are both granulated, do they need to be ground to a dust? or is this fine to add to the soil mix as is?

thanks in advance!

if you are letting your soil sit for some time it makes no difference. It will decompose as time goes. But if you must you can use a 5 lb. mini sledge and grind it.

BTW, there is one great advantage to living in Germany.....some or the worlds best bread bake fresh every day. And the baker in my little Dorf is a great one!

V

Thanks for filling in CC. Much appreciated man! I was busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest this week.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Vonforne

You're more than welcome.

Still raining here - and snow up at Mt. Hood and it's May 1 tomorrow.

Hopefully this year the 'summer season' will be on a weekend so that we can go do a picnic or something. It doesn't always work out living in a temperate rain zone.

LOL

CC

 

[vonforne]

intotheunknown

They do look a little hungry and the soil looks a bit dry. Try and keep it moist all of the time. Make a EWC and molasses tea and water them every time with it. Folair feed with Seaweed extract and water twice a week.

They do not look so bad for what you say they went through. Try the above out and see how they react.

V

CC we had 27 Celsius this week but rain this week end. Spring!

 

[treefrog]

Hey Vonforne, two things.

1. Your comment about being busy made me think of an old saying I heard from my Grandmother when I was a kid. "Busier than a goat with five peckers!"

2. How far into flower do you use the seaweed as a foliar?

Thanks!

 

[vonforne]

2. How far into flower do you use the seaweed as a foliar?

not past flower set.

V

 

[NickMode]

hey guys instead of EWC could i use composted manure or just regular organic compost from home depot?

quick response please,


or what is i do half and half?

 

[treefrog]

Yes.

 

[treefrog]

not past flower set.

V

Thanks.
I suppose one could rinse with water the day after the last seaweed spray..

The reason I asked is because I'd never used the maxicrop as a foliar spray, or anything for that matter, until a few weeks ago. I started after seeing pics of your ridiculously healthy plants and noticed you did the foliar thing. The plants really like it in an obvious way. Not only pot, but I added some maxi to the ferns' spray bottle and noticed a new perkiness for sure. Thanks~

 

[vonforne]

hey guys instead of EWC could i use composted manure or just regular organic compost from home depot?

quick response please,


or what is i do half and half?

Manure is manure not EWC. Compost will replace the EWC. Check with your local University fr fresh compost and things like that. It is better than HD.

 

[FreshlyShaven]

Hey, I've been reading on the benefits of chitosan. While I'm going to add some shellfish to my worm bin, I'm wondering what I can do for a more immediate solution. I'm looking locally for some shrimp compost without success so far. I was considering making some shellfish stock in the meanwhile- basically putting shrimp, crab and lobster shells in a pot with water and boiling for several hours. I could then put the shells in my worm bin or crush them and use them as a soil additive. Does anyone have any idea if this would work?

 

[vonforne]

Thanks.
I suppose one could rinse with water the day after the last seaweed spray..

The reason I asked is because I'd never used the maxicrop as a foliar spray, or anything for that matter, until a few weeks ago. I started after seeing pics of your ridiculously healthy plants and noticed you did the foliar thing. The plants really like it in an obvious way. Not only pot, but I added some maxi to the ferns' spray bottle and noticed a new perkiness for sure. Thanks~

I spray right before lights off and the next night spray with clean water. Keeps the leaves nice and clean.

Kelp is even good for us. Just another one of those amazing plants most humans are destroying around the planet.

V

 

[ngen]

Hey i'm mixing two, five-gallon buckets of soil right now for some clones i'll have in around 30 days. Now it's 40% compost, 20% FF-happy frog, 20% SSM 1# (70% peat, 15 perlite). and i'm going to pick up some more worm castings to make make the other 20%.

I plan on adding 5 crushed egg shells for calcium, how much epsom salt should i add? In the threads i have read where people have mag. deficiencies the caretakers add it [epson] in water, at 1tsp/gallon, should i just do this? or will it not be available when the plants actually need it?

thanks for whomever helps.

 

[grapeman]

I spray right before lights off and the next night spray with clean water. Keeps the leaves nice and clean.

Kelp is even good for us. Just another one of those amazing plants most humans are destroying around the planet.

V

Ha - and I, over the years, have come to the conclusion that foliar is more effective in the morning (or just after lights on). Of course my conclusions were based on other crops then MJ.

So V, educate me please.

 

[NickMode]

Question: I bought alot of 3 cu. ft. bales of peat moss. brought them out to my spot. Then i realized i had no peat moss for my seeds to grow in.

So i went to Home Depot and for an 8 ct. bag of miracle grow peat moss. I didnt realize until i got home but it reads on the front "Contains Miracle-Gro plant food to promote plant growth." On the back the the npk levels read like .05-.03-.02 or something along those lines. Will this not be too harsh to put freshly germed seeds in?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: screw it. i didnt want to risk using shitty miracle grow stuff. just used pure peat moss.

 

[xmobotx]

Hey i'm mixing two, five-gallon buckets of soil right now for some clones i'll have in around 30 days. Now it's 40% compost, 20% FF-happy frog, 20% SSM 1# (70% peat, 15 perlite). and i'm going to pick up some more worm castings to make make the other 20%.

I plan on adding 5 crushed egg shells for calcium, how much epsom salt should i add? In the threads i have read where people have mag. deficiencies the caretakers add it [epson] in water, at 1tsp/gallon, should i just do this? or will it not be available when the plants actually need it?

thanks for whomever helps.

dolomite lime has cal and mag in the correct proportions

seems like eggshells have to be heated to get them started breaking down or something