The growing large plants, outdoors, thread...

[YosemiteSam]

Tom...do you start them like that in a commercial mix or make a soil?

Also I am curious what kind of ergs numbers your plants tend to run at?

 

[Tom Hill]

commercial, those were rooted in rockwool and went into happy frog potting soil on 4/1.

egrs outdoor around 600-800, depending on weather/forecast/growth stage. Good to see you Sam.

 

[Aeroguerilla]

speaking of weather forecast you guys read the farmers almanac for California this year? this is for Pacific North West

Summer will be rainier and slightly warmer than normal, with the hottest periods in mid-June, late June, mid- to late July, and early August.

September and October will be cooler and rainier than normal.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Thanks Tom. I am guessing your formula is based on obtaining the ergs based on your conditions (sun, etc) and the size of plants you grow.

Bet it took a while to get dialed in. My dumb ass attempted full strength for smaller plants in less than ideal son conditions. But I learned and that is worth a lot actually.

Getting me a new toy this summer...a sap EC meter. I will be capable of brix, sap pH and sap EC Chances are I will get totally screwed up chasing some number or another.

 

[Tom Hill]

I am guessing your formula is based on obtaining the ergs based on your conditions (sun, etc) and the size of plants you grow.

Yeah availability will rise with temperature increases. So if your looking at a week of snotty weather ahead, you should feel free to crank up the ergs some, likewise if hot weather is forecasted, lay off because the ergs will be on the rise anyways. Other times to crank it up would be during that last july/august stretch, and about midway through flower etc, times we know there is opportunity for massive growth etc. The meters coupled with weather forecast are just tools to help influence decisions with some feeling that we're giving it our all.

 

[YosemiteSam]

When you say jack it up...added food? compost tea?

 

[Tom Hill]

I mean anything that gives rise to ergs, yes, if it's sunny today and warm, I'll feel comfy cranking it up to 1000 knowing that throughout the next week of snotty/cold weather, it will settle down in the 600 range etc. Likewise, if it's cold and snotty now at 600, but a warm spell is forecasted, you may want to lay off doing things that crank it up because that 600 will quickly become 800 as the temps rise throughout the week.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Got it. Stay on the low end of the scale with the formula itself and then manipulate it as needed. Thanks Tom

 

[plastochron]

tom & sam,

are you guys measuring brix in addition to soil conductivity? if so how often and how many samples per plant? how much does the location and maturity of the leaf impact brix content?

does anyone have a good formula for converting pH to relative percentage of protons occupying cation exchange sites; just for shits and giggles i'm trying to relate the pH of 6.4 and albrecht's suggestion of 12% protons and i must be too stoned, tired, or stupid to figure it out.


http://chicogardens.blogspot.com/2013/02/measuring-brix-with-refractometer.html

 

[ClearBarbedFunk]

damn CBF, that's an early start

learned from one of the best growers out there

 

[YosemiteSam]

tom & sam,

are you guys measuring brix in addition to soil conductivity? if so how often and how many samples per plant? how much does the location and maturity of the leaf impact brix content?

does anyone have a good formula for converting pH to relative percentage of protons occupying cation exchange sites; just for shits and giggles i'm trying to relate the pH of 6.4 and albrecht's suggestion of 12% protons and i must be too stoned, tired, or stupid to figure it out.


http://chicogardens.blogspot.com/2013/02/measuring-brix-with-refractometer.html

There is an explanation about the relationship of pH to H base cation saturation in this article but the short version is if your soil measures 6.4 you have a 12% H sat.

http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/Feb07_CationAnionConnection.pdf

I measure brix every couple of weeks or so or if I see something that does not look right. In a healthy plant brix will be within 10% of itself all over the plant.

Here is a good video on how to use the refractometer and what it can tell you

http://www.nutri-tech.com.au/blog/2009/09/the-refractometer-an-indispensable-monitoring-tool/

 

[Veg N Out]

Spring is making its presence known!

Spring is making its presence known!

Hey there every one, I recently had 160 yards of a custom blend from the Earth Worm Soil Factory down in Chico dropped off at the Camp...Couldn't be happier with it. Here are the gardens...

This will be home to the Old Betsy

The DOG will be in the individual Mounds as well as my test plants in the 10x40 mound, OG Kush in the trenches on the right...

You could say that The Bus has some new upholstery that's for sure! We're almost ready to fire up the Engine and take a ride through another Summer along the river!

Hope every one is as stoked on Spring as I am and on schedule with what every it is they may be doing! Blessings & Love!​

 

[ClearBarbedFunk]

wow veg damn nice garden, right next to a pond, best of luck on the season

 

[boobs]

can't let Veg have all the fun...

lol...

I believe these mounds are appx. 5(+/-)4 gallons bigger (on average) than Veg's...
Blue Dream going in these...

 

[Durdy]

I friggin love dirt porn!

hehe....

 

[Yes4Prop215]

haha nice pics yall...i really like the idea of big trenches. you could make them look like hedges from the air, and just trellis in one single layer instead of individually wrapped plants. would be like doing a big indoor SOG but outdoors.

 

[OrganicBuds]

edit

 

[Veg N Out]

haha nice pics yall...i really like the idea of big trenches. you could make them look like hedges from the air, and just trellis in one single layer instead of individually wrapped plants. would be like doing a big indoor SOG but outdoors.

I like the big trenches too, however one big wall of netting is counter productive to tending them. I had really great luck with remesh cage last year and plan to use them again..for the ones that will need more like trainwreck and OG im going to put in some 10 ft t posts if im unable to hook the hortonova to the remesh. I broke .75in bamboo last year and had some stuff toppling over, id like to see everything standing upright till I want to bring them in.

 

[Aeroguerilla]

try the 12' bamboo they are thick as fuck. at least 2in thick, i got a 2 ft length in the car as my beating stick

 

[theJointedOne]

yeah concrete remesh works so well. And its reusable, unlike the hortinet after a few years that stuff seems to just get tangled up into a mess. The remesh is so easy to work with (well its heavy but simple hehe).

I think butte posted a few years ago that he uses hog ring crimpers to build the remesh cages. Well ive made hundreds of those cages and the man is right, those hog ring crimps work really well.

I also like to cut off the bottom ring of the remesh so it has the prongs sticking out at the bottom, which work great as anchors into the dirt, finish tying the cage down with some rebar candycanes or some other sort of candy cane....

cant beat those cage, dont worry about the rust either, no worries