Third Times A Charm

[Tearsofshiva]

Pics

 

[Tearsofshiva]

@logic i started this thread before the grow and now that it's underway could you possibly move it to the organic soil thread under indoor growing? Sorry I would do it myself but I'm not sure how lol

 

[Tearsofshiva]

Day 20 flower....

 

[Ecompost]

@Ecompost or am I better off planting new cover each cycle? On the first run when can I plant the cover crop? Should I let the Cannabis roots get established first? Or is it a non-competitive environment where it doesn't really matter they will just coexist and mutuaLily benefit each other regardless??

sorry been busy...no you plant either with a growing crop, this is called companion planting...if you use a crop to keep the microbes happy between grows this is a cover crop. Most cover crops are terminated before we plant a target. We do this usually by crimping or folding the crop, eg using a machine or a board, or we cut it and leave the matter in situ, so we dont remove any cut material, we just plant through it. No there is no issue using a soil with old roots, so long as the previous crop hasnt expressed signs of Root Nematodes or Pathogens.
I reuse soil all the time, even a single 20L root pouch will have many plants in it. So long as plants remain healthy across the grow, I just chop at the base, leave the old root ball, freshen with a top dress of good well composted material, some ewc and kelp meal usually if I feel the media needs a bit of a nutrient boost, then I replant a new seed or transplant a new cut etc. Simplez, cheap, clean, more secure, eg less trips to the store, less need to be seen with bags of soil, going in to a house which might be in an illegal country :-)

 

[Organikz]

sorry been busy...no you plant either with a growing crop, this is called companion planting...if you use a crop to keep the microbes happy between grows this is a cover crop. Most cover crops are terminated before we plant a target. We do this usually by crimping or folding the crop, eg using a machine or a board, or we cut it and leave the matter in situ, so we dont remove any cut material, we just plant through it. No there is no issue using a soil with old roots, so long as the previous crop hasnt expressed signs of Root Nematodes or Pathogens.
I reuse soil all the time, even a single 20L root pouch will have many plants in it. So long as plants remain healthy across the grow, I just chop at the base, leave the old root ball, freshen with a top dress of good well composted material, some ewc and kelp meal usually if I feel the media needs a bit of a nutrient boost, then I replant a new seed or transplant a new cut etc. Simplez, cheap, clean, more secure, eg less trips to the store, less need to be seen with bags of soil, going in to a house which might be in an illegal country :)

So you utilize the fukuoka method? Same methods I practice.

 

[Ecompost]

@Ecompost or am I better off planting new cover each cycle? On the first run when can I plant the cover crop? Should I let the Cannabis roots get established first? Or is it a non-competitive environment where it doesn't really matter they will just coexist and mutuaLily benefit each other regardless??

Yes, a cover crop is a crop used between grows, preventing us leaving soil exposed and also providing an ongoing source of C for microbes. So this means we traditionally use it between targets so its a new crop each time after a target harvest, or where we have lowered levels of NPK and we need to boost.

Companion plants are those we use alongside any target crop we are growing and so these remain as long as the target crop. This is to boost the yield, act as a bio control, act as a system partner to widen the numbers and diversity of microbes and or arthropods, so boosting soil fertility. These are not terminated, but grown together with targets.

To complicate matters, you can use cover crop types as companion plants in many instances, but where we use say Clover along side our plants, this is a companion plant and not a cover, it only becomes a cover when we use it where we dont currently have a target crop.
Cover crops can be used to boost the soils NPK in order that we can reduce the need for liquid inputs of say Nitrogen, on future target crops. Fro example, I grow in rotation in my farm setting. i often use a mixed cover where i have harvested a heavy feeding crop. I might leave these covered areas for up to 3 years, it just depends how much N for example, i need to replace.
Most of my target crops are prone to attack from pest insects, so i use companion plants to distract pests, or to attract the predators of pests. I also use companion plants to boost yield outcomes, for example, I use Borage alongside Strawberries and Chilli. I have found Borage to have a net positive impact on the yield outcomes of MJ also.:-)
Companion plants are the future of organics imo. its a matter of total and active enzyme counts 1g/DWS.
Only by understanding what microbes are missing, can we truly understand nutrient acquisition in organic systems, and respond with the granularity offered by synthetics, and its in this we will find the missing 20%+/- yield to feed the world. then there is no excuse.
Each plant has a unique set of microbial partners, just as this is true of humans. breakdowns in natural biomes, usually a consequence of ever changing environmental factors, but also diet and say tillage related, can have drastic downstream impacts on the sequencing of proteins cascades, themselves the jigsaw pieces and instruction manuals of development.
Where we truly understand plants, is in understanding the biomes that support them. By tweaking like minded plants, themselves with the potential to operate at environmental levels +/- to our targets, we have moire hope of maintaining high levels of nutrient efficiency across a wider spectrum of conditions, this is what I am currently researching. it is the essence of my theory :-)

Diversity is the key to security, this is the truth, not my truth, but a galactic truth :-)

is this Ok or still confusing?

 

[Ecompost]

So you utilize the fukuoka method? Same methods I practice.

yes to some extent. I just tweak some of his practice. I live not far from where he was based before he passed away. I follow lots of his theory for sure. I am trying to add to his work :-)

 

[Ecompost]

So you utilize the fukuoka method? Same methods I practice.

I do work with Jairo Rivera's methods too :) I am lucky to know Jairo and so have excellent access to him which is super cool. He is a lovely man, very gentle, extremely generous with knowledge and an excellent person with whom to discuss my own ideas. I have found this common among those working to drive organics among wider ag, that they are open to transfer and sharing, and in ways that bring to shame the proprietary nature of Ag business.

 

[Organikz]

yes to some extent. I just tweak some of his practice. I live not far from where he was based before he passed away. I follow lots of his theory for sure. I am trying to add to his work :)

Very awesome. I finished the one straw rev and I'm starting the natural way of farming. Good stuff. I realize we can only utilize his methods but so much due to hybridizing. It has made plants weaker. For instance our plants wouldn't last a minute with 0 IPM. It has given me a whole new outlook and I don't get stressed out because I understand now not to zero in in a defficiency but to just stay the course. It ends up working itself out.

Feed the soil!

 

[Ecompost]

Very awesome. I finished the one straw rev and I'm starting the natural way of farming. Good stuff. I realize we can only utilize his methods but so much due to hybridizing. It has made plants weaker. For instance our plants wouldn't last a minute with 0 IPM. It has given me a whole new outlook and I don't get stressed out because I understand now not to zero in in a defficiency but to just stay the course. It ends up working itself out.

Feed the soil!

word, just keep the plants in and in diversity we will find something will always be returning value. I am not a man who thinks we can afford to wait too much, so i just give systems a help by inoculating where its needed. test and know, then do.
We are beginning to understand again, after years being sidetracked by false science. Nature always had the answers, just some dudes decided to try to mask this simplicity in fancy wording, relying on opinion leader approach models to infect under educated farmers. Its a brave new world where any one of us can put us all back on a more natural path to human health

 

[Organikz]

word, just keep the plants in and in diversity we will find something will always be returning value. I am not a man who thinks we can afford to wait too much, so i just give systems a help by inoculating where its needed. test and know, then do.
We are beginning to understand again, after years being sidetracked by false science. Nature always had the answers, just some dudes decided to try to mask this simplicity in fancy wording, relying on opinion leader approach models to infect under educated farmers. Its a brave new world where any one of us can put us all back on a more natural path to human health

Oh yah. We have to introduce predators. Seems like only the plant suckers are the only ones at the door every Sunday like jahova witnesses. The hard part is we tend to focus in on one idea. For instance Josh steensland even realized he was so focused on bacterial cultures he was wiping fungal cultures out. As humans this natural work on one thing at a time mentality makes us overlook simple things. I was so focused on building soil life because I uses cheap compost and I realized it when I openes the bag and used it anyway like a dumbass. Now im battling between too many inputs and keeping soil life rolling. I set up two 150g worm reactors from 1 year composted doubled shredded oak leaves mixed with forest floor soil. I refuse to call it humus. That word is used way too freely. Humus is a pile of worm castings reworked over the course of a year IMO. I followed coots smart pot worm reactor instructions layering 1 foot layers of compost and topped with kelp/karanja/MBP/LAVA rock. I topped the whole pile with chicken manure for rock dust and microbes. Should make for some flawless runs in about a year or so.

 

[Ecompost]

Oh yah. We have to introduce predators. Seems like only the plant suckers are the only ones at the door every Sunday like jahova witnesses. The hard part is we tend to focus in on one idea. For instance Josh steensland even realized he was so focused on bacterial cultures he was wiping fungal cultures out. As humans this natural work on one thing at a time mentality makes us overlook simple things. I was so focused on building soil life because I uses cheap compost and I realized it when I openes the bag and used it anyway like a dumbass. Now im battling between too many inputs and keeping soil life rolling. I set up two 150g worm reactors from 1 year composted doubled shredded oak leaves mixed with forest floor soil. I refuse to call it humus. That word is used way too freely. Humus is a pile of worm castings reworked over the course of a year IMO. I followed coots smart pot worm reactor instructions layering 1 foot layers of compost and topped with kelp/karanja/MBP/LAVA rock. I topped the whole pile with chicken manure for rock dust and microbes. Should make for some flawless runs in about a year or so.

yes thats the trick with super soil, knowing when its good. I might suggest you look in to Soil CO2 testing. This might give you a better idea as to how things are progressing
These things take time, esp when left to there own devices, but some pretty simple soil tests and a half decent microscope will allow you to more easily tune or tweak before using any hand made soils.
Most all problems in peoples gardens i see are a deficiency of fungus. Active soil fungus can not be over rated imo. As our plants reach bloom, they at some stage switch off the release of exudates through the roots, these carbons based secretions which favor fungus esp. Plants do this to retain the sugars etc in the fruits. perfectly normal, but this cycle change has impacts on the biomes of our soils. As exudate release drops, so too do enzymes counts as microbes begin to go dormant, and or begin to perish. Fungus being first to suffer typically, as its typically the biology with the most invested in interspecies symbiosis and so the highest demander of Carbon As fungus gets left out in the cold, exudates both from the fungal mass and plant roots, that would otherwise lower soil pH, now play a further role in destabilizing conditions for fungus as pH climbs past base. Bacteria preferring higher pH ranges, start to over run the system, these releasing bio film which adds to Alk pH overall.
I think people over think bacteria. It is my expressed research and years of exposure, that points me to believe; fungus will organize ready groups of bacteria. Calling in selective beneficial biomes with whom they themselves also partner.
Depending on the type of soil and local conditions, we can be required to ensure we retain food groups that favor fungal mass, and we must work hard, esp initially when building soil fertitlity, and then as our plants transition to harvest, to prevent colonies of bacteria from becoming the masters. Maintenance of fungal mass is far harder where soil ph conditions are above pH 7.4 and even worse where we have high water pH too and so I recommend people investigate natural materials that reduce soil pH, eg Pine Needles, Wood Chips, Humic Acid, Chitin etc. i also think people should reduce the use of S based products to lower soil pH as this acts as an anti fungicide anyway.

There are very few James Lovelock's in the world, but we dont need many to have a good idea, only one of us :-)
Humans arent great at either thinking in macro, nor observing in micro, its little surprise. Plus some among us are deviants, like boisterous bacteria, they will of course always attempt to create conditions that favor themselves. We all do this anyway, just some of us see the benefit in the diversity model, where others think its better to be in a mono cultural state of being.

keep up the great work brother, and go check out James Lovelock on the tube etc. if you havent already

 

[Tearsofshiva]

Update: I got a fungus gnat problem, and I'm waiting for my ladybugs and predatory nematodes to get here. Unfortunately my ladies are starting to get wicked thirsty and I've been holding back as much as I can on the watering so the gnats stay manageable until the bugs get here. Kinda shitty, and with these gnats feeding on my fungus there is no doubt in my mind that my bacteria to fungus ratio has tipped in favor of the bacteria population. I also believe I had a slight mag deficiency so I watered with epsom salt this past week. Need to inoculate my soil with more mychroizzae to get things back to where they need to be.

It's day 26 of flower and I've only been hitting them with tea every two weeks. They've lightened up a bit so for the last two weeks I'll increase the frequency to one tea per week.

 

[Tearsofshiva]

Also you can see some purple stems in there too (another sign they are hungry)

 

[Ecompost]

Also you can see some purple stems in there too (another sign they are hungry)

i have gotten purple stems from too much light before, its funny how plants respond on occasion, the trick is not to over react and wait a few days before acting.
Fungus gnats are a pain indoors, outside they barely feature due to consumption by arthropods, you can whack the shit of them with many things, You can also use sticky traps to catch adults

 

[Tearsofshiva]

Got my nematodes done two days ago, put up sticky traps and released prob 200 ladybugs in my 11x10 room. But my infestation was pretty bad, can this affect the color of my leaves? Overall my buds look good but some of my plants are yellowing from the bottom up (to be expected) but a few others are getting burnt tops on the sugar leaves that are coming out of the colas. Could this be from the gnats? I watered with epsom but I felt like I might've had a magnesium lockout situation that has progressed? @Ecompost i took some pics that demonstrate, if you get a second let me know what your opinion is it is much appreciated.

 

[Tearsofshiva]

And here's some more pics plus a ladybug lol

 

[Tearsofshiva]

Also to keep in mind I know there's 33 different plants all grown from seed so that's 33 different sets of genetics expressing themselves in different ways obviously...

 

[Tearsofshiva]

Sooooo many different smells I love it... and I just got a job at a nonprofit dispensary in Rhode Island which means no more construction!!!!

 

[Tearsofshiva]

First time ingesting raw cannabis... honestly was a little worried about how it's taste but I can't even tell it's in there, the health benefits are numerous and I got plenty of thcA to use why let it go to waste??
Whey protein
12 oz chocolate almond milk
1 scoop pb powder....
And I shoulda added a banana!