Tutorial Organics for Beginners

[vonforne]

pinecone.....I would like to officially announce your assignment to this thread as Mentor to be.

Good Job. Keep up the good work.

V

 

[CC_2U]

DB

Which Blumat devices are you using?

CC

 

[DANK_BOTANIST]

awesome pine thank you big time for that.. ill be using the regular tropf blumats that cum with the patio kits i got 2 but will be getting the 50 count too as well to keep everything happy and cut my labor times down..

how much ewc do you think i should throw in to start ? they will go into flower soon as im all hooked up they are 2ft chemdog double-d bushes and i know they get hungry about 2-3 weeks after transplant so hopeing i can get this diald in so i can see sum daylight this summer..

 

[bounty high]

im using recipe 1 with dry ferts, i followed it exactly. when i transplant from 1 gallon pots the bottom inch or 2 gets stuck to the bottom and the roots get ripped off. what can i do to fix this? add more perlite? thanks for help

 

[pinecone]

Put on at least 1".

Pine

 

[DANK_BOTANIST]

hey pine was that 1" for me or Bounty high..?? hehe..

 

[pinecone]

hey pine was that 1" for me or Bounty high..?? hehe..

For you.

@ Bounty High - maybe try letting the pots get really dry so the substrate shrinks up.

Pine

 

[vonforne]

im using recipe 1 with dry ferts, i followed it exactly. when i transplant from 1 gallon pots the bottom inch or 2 gets stuck to the bottom and the roots get ripped off. what can i do to fix this? add more perlite? thanks for help

I generally water my plants prior to transplant and have never had a problem with the roots sticking to the containers.

You could also place 1 or 2 inches of just perlite in the bottom of each container to prevent that also.

V

 

[jaykush]

your not just pulling the plant out by the stem are you? tip that pot sideways and give the bottom a good tap before yanking anything. your roots and soil should not stick to your pots.

 

[Stankie]

I've found a wetter soil is much more prone to falling apart during re-potting. I let it get fairly dry.

 

[MrFista]

Wet it, let water soak up for an hour or two, then work the pot a bit, squeeze it from the sides a bit to loosen up the sides, push down on the centre of the base hard so it indents, then, when the whole plant is upside down so gravity assists you, ease it out with thumb indenting the bottom.

 

[mad librettist]

ya I would water before transplant, but if you don't, make sure you do it just before before lights off.

 

[grapeman]

I've found a wetter soil is much more prone to falling apart during re-potting. I let it get fairly dry.

funny. I share this experience also.

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

I transplant while it's dry. The root system is developed enough when I transplant that I've never had a rootball fall apart so I can and have done it wet. I do however transplant while dry so I can slough off the top layer of soil that sits on top, perlite etc.

Then I water it in like I'm watering the original container size +25% and they take off much better than watering in the whole container.

GS

Also would like to share my transplanting method

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=193356

 

[mad librettist]

GS that's the classic way to transplant. We need to get that out there more, because it's a simple thing that makes a big difference.


Come to think of it, this is how I roll: indoors - transplant with dry soil but not wilting. outdoors - water well before and after transplant

 

[Stankie]

The soil also shrinks a little when it is more towards the dry end than wet end, thus releasing the 'grip' of the container. I always let anything I'm planning on transplanting dry out fairly well, especially vegetable starts from outside my closet..... Don't know what conditions things are in, so I assume the worse.

I don't know if I need to clarify this, so that means I probably do . . . . When I say 'dry out' I don't mean bone dry, plant dying stage. Lets say your start some seeds, watering on average every 3 days. So once transplanting has entered my mind, I would water and then wait to the 3rd day, transplant, then water amply.

The only time I've had a soil/root tear/break apart is with wet soil and usually with poorly developed root systems, a la nursery stock veggies.

 

[GoneRooty]

. . . . When I say 'dry out' I don't mean bone dry, plant dying stage. Lets say your start some seeds, watering on average every 3 days. So once transplanting has entered my mind, I would water and then wait to the 3rd day, transplant, then water amply.

Good description there Stankie, I'm sure that clears it up for some people. That's always the way I've kind of done it, for the same reason as George Smiley. When I repot, I brush off some of the top layer of dirt into the pot and plant on top of it. That way I get a good layer of fresh soil on top, and bring some of the microbes from the old soil to the bottom of my new soil.

 

[vecker]

quick question organic heads: Cooking some LC mix with the dry ferts in a rubbermaid. I put some wet newspaper on top so it wouldn't dry out. When I went to stir it up I picked up the paper and there was mold (or something fuzzy) growing on the top of the mix. Is this a good thing?

 

[Corpsey]

quick question organic heads: Cooking some LC mix with the dry ferts in a rubbermaid. I put some wet newspaper on top so it wouldn't dry out. When I went to stir it up I picked up the paper and there was mold (or something fuzzy) growing on the top of the mix. Is this a good thing?

yea thats fine. just stir it in.

I never have put newspaper on it before, dont know if you need to.
i just spray it down a bit and mix it up a few times a week. I also have airholes on the side and on the cover.

 

[vecker]

thanks man. that's what I figured. I use the paper because i don't have a lid and I figured any soil life would appreciate the moist top layer. Happy growing all!