Who's Growing Tlo Style (the Rev)?

[Perception]

Sweet! Sounds and looks real good, although I think you might wanna lay off the Biowar. I don’t know that watering that in is necessary every two weeks. A couple applications is enough. But that’s just me. I always subscribe to the “once we’re flowering, let the plants do their thing” idea. During veg, I might go a little overboard, but once 12/12is initiated, I tend to go water only. I don’t wanna fuck with the dirt at all during flower.

What’s that plant in the back-right hand corner in the last pic you posted? I love how branchy and thin-leaved it is. Looks delicious. Matter of fact, all of your plants are looking good, but I love that one in the corner.

I totally felt the same way, so i emailed The Rev and asked him! He said that while they shouldn’t be necessary, that it is totally fine to use them - especially on the first grow with this soil.

Honestly, I’m emotionally scarred from all the bug and pathogen problem i had on my first few grows, haha (all my own fault). I’m primarily using Biowar as an IPM.

I dunno if I’d do a top-dress at week four, either. Whatever you dress with is gonna take about two weeks to get assimilated by your soil biology and might throw shit off. If you wanna top-dress, do it now, I think. Or just keep giving them straight water. Plants look real good. Why add anything if they don’t need it? That Rev mix is loaded with everything a plant might need, I really don’t think a top-dress is necessary.

Good call - I also agree with this at a gut level - “why bother with the top dressing when there is so much food already?”. The Rev kind of dances around the necessity of top dressings in flower in his book, but it sounds like he usually does 2 or 3! (Maybe those are longer flowering Sativa?) He claims you can do them every 14 days. I feel like this is excessive though, and will definitely make a judgment call at 4 weeks to see if I’m going to do it or not.

The Rev contradicts himself on a couple topics in the book, so I’ve had to re-read several chapters many times, and make educated guesses on a few things.

That plant In the back is just an older version of the Sativa strain I’m growing! I had several seed failures, but that one survived and is the oldest. I’ve been trimming it a bit aggressively to keep space for the other plants. So it’s also a bit of an experiment to see how well these genetics handle multiple toppings and more aggressive trimming. I don’t like putting plants under the knife too much, but it had to happen here! She was growing so fast!

 

[Perception]

@goingtoguano you are probably about ready to flip to flower, or have, correct? How’s it going!?

On your last TLO grow, did you use any top dressings or teas in flower? (See my convo with Minitiger above)

 

[goingtoguano]

Hey @Perception. Yes I flipped Jan.2. There are in stretch-mode now although that should be ending soon.
I’m at work (lunchtime) but I’ll put up a picture tonight at lights-on.

Yes, I think I used the flower top-dress a couple weeks into flower and I used the finishing-tea a couple/3 weeks before harvest.

This time, I just used the flower tea yesterday (very mild solution at 80ppm) and I’ll probably put a little top-dress in a week or so. My strains are supposed to go 10 weeks.

 

[Minitiger]

I totally felt the same way, so i emailed The Rev and asked him! He said that while they shouldn’t be necessary, that it is totally fine to use them - especially on the first grow with this soil.

Honestly, I’m emotionally scarred from all the bug and pathogen problem i had on my first few grows, haha (all my own fault). I’m primarily using Biowar as an IPM.



Good call - I also agree with this at a gut level - “why bother with the top dressing when there is so much food already?”. The Rev kind of dances around the necessity of top dressings in flower in his book, but it sounds like he usually does 2 or 3! (Maybe those are longer flowering Sativa?) He claims you can do them every 14 days. I feel like this is excessive though, and will definitely make a judgment call at 4 weeks to see if I’m going to do it or not.

The Rev contradicts himself on a couple topics in the book, so I’ve had to re-read several chapters many times, and make educated guesses on a few things.

That plant In the back is just an older version of the Sativa strain I’m growing! I had several seed failures, but that one survived and is the oldest. I’ve been trimming it a bit aggressively to keep space for the other plants. So it’s also a bit of an experiment to see how well these genetics handle multiple toppings and more aggressive trimming. I don’t like putting plants under the knife too much, but it had to happen here! She was growing so fast!

Haha.... “Emotionally scarred....” Classic.

Yeah, the Rev’s real good about getting back to us, isn’t he? I’ll give him that. Good guy all around.

Re: the “gut level” thing: always go with your gut. If it feels right, do it. Or don’t do it. I listen to my plants more than anything else. If shit looks good, why fuck with it? And I don’t know why a top-dress would be nessecary, considering the mix your using. You did the spikes, too, right? With all those layers and spikes and everything else, a top-dress seems like overkill. Again, I’ve never used this soil mix from start to finish, so I’ll happily say that I don’t know what I’m talking about, but the Rev’s soil mix is just SO filled with everything a plant might need. Top-dressing seems like overkill. But fuck it, this is an experiment, right? I wanna see what happens if you follow the Rev’s method to a tee. Shit, man, I’ve seen his pics, his buds look real fucking good. I’m not hating at all, I love the Rev, he’s the reason why I looked into organic gardening in the first place. And if you have the resources, why not do everything he says? I’m stoked for you and can’t wait to see how this grow finishes.

Just as an aside and because I haven’t read the Rev’s latest book, does he actually address OG Biowar? That was something that was noticeably absent from the first version of his book that I own. I really feel like one application during veg and then another application when I transplant into the flower containers is enough, but I don’t really know shit, so... Yeah, just curious.

 

[Minitiger]

Forgot to mention, too, that I always do a top-dress when I transplant to my plant’s final container. Gypsum or oyster, kelp, fish bone and neem, then let them get settled in and initiate flower two weeks after topdress/transplanting. Growing weed is really fucking easy, though. I feel like the more a grower stresses, the more the plants stress. If you’re just like,”Psssshhhhhhh, I got this,” then everything’s fine. My last grow, I had to move the plants from my old house to my new house, I had to delay flowering for like thirty days and I got all stressed about it. Once I got into the new house, I had a fungus gnat problem (took care of it quick and easy with a little diatomaceous earth and nematodes) and then had a Mg deficiency issue. Never, ever had a problem with any of my grows before that one. I have to believe that my own stress affected the plants. Sure, probably moving them from house to house was the issue, but I really do believe that it was my stress, more than anything else, that caused those issues. Confidence, @Perception ,confidence... haha. Btw, those plants from my last harvest yielded some of the strongest weed I’ve ever smoked. Too strong, really. One-hit quitter shit for sure. So maybe a little stress isn’t a bad thing..... I dunno.

 

[goingtoguano]

Haha.... “Emotionally scarred....” Classic.

Yeah, the Rev’s real good about getting back to us, isn’t he? I’ll give him that. Good guy all around.

Re: the “gut level” thing: always go with your gut. If it feels right, do it. Or don’t do it. I listen to my plants more than anything else. If shit looks good, why fuck with it? And I don’t know why a top-dress would be nessecary, considering the mix your using. You did the spikes, too, right? With all those layers and spikes and everything else, a top-dress seems like overkill. Again, I’ve never used this soil mix from start to finish, so I’ll happily say that I don’t know what I’m talking about, but the Rev’s soil mix is just SO filled with everything a plant might need. Top-dressing seems like overkill. But fuck it, this is an experiment, right? I wanna see what happens if you follow the Rev’s method to a tee. Shit, man, I’ve seen his pics, his buds look real fucking good. I’m not hating at all, I love the Rev, he’s the reason why I looked into organic gardening in the first place. And if you have the resources, why not do everything he says? I’m stoked for you and can’t wait to see how this grow finishes.

Just as an aside and because I haven’t read the Rev’s latest book, does he actually address OG Biowar? That was something that was noticeably absent from the first version of his book that I own. I really feel like one application during veg and then another application when I transplant into the flower containers is enough, but I don’t really know shit, so... Yeah, just curious.

Yeah, teas and top-dressing might be over-kill but, I feel like if I don’t do them I could be missing out. Idk probably not.
I just make sure I don’t overdo it, I make them small and/or diluted so hopefully no big deal. When I brew a tea, I start with 1 gallon brew and end up having to add 3 more RO-water just to get the ppm low. I end up throwing 75% away. Any top-dress I do is like 1tbs. max -probably less.

 

[goingtoguano]

I was reading this article by The Rev a while back about Chitin so I gave my girls a spoonful of crab-meal top-dress about 10 days ago. He says it increases yield. I figured why not- hopefully doesn't hurt.
http://skunkmagazine.com/stunning-cannabis-flowers-chitin-sulfur-silicone/

 

[goingtoguano]

Week 2 of 12/12
2 x Black Poison Skunk (left)
1 x Dark Dragon (middle)
2 x Hemmy Black (right)

I ended up with 5/12 females. I was hoping to have 6 (2 of each) but that's the way it goes. I didn't top any of these plants due to indecision. I probably will next time.

I have a little male isolation chamber I am trying out with a Dark Dragon male. I think I would like to try a little pollen chucking for fun and "proof of concept". I hope I don't end up with 2500 seeds! lol. I haven't finished it yet. I still need a soil-shield and I haven't completely sealed it up but, I will soon enough. I have had to trim him back quite a bit, trying to keep him off the plastic but -It's just a male. It is hard to get good photos with those blurple leds but, I already have them so might as well use em.

 

[Perception]

I was reading this article by The Rev a while back about Chitin so I gave my girls a spoonful of crab-meal top-dress about 10 days ago. He says it increases yield. I figured why not- hopefully doesn't hurt.
http://skunkmagazine.com/stunning-cannabis-flowers-chitin-sulfur-silicone/

This is SO relevant! Thank you. It's funny because I have a box of DownToEarth Crab meal, and I kept thinking, "I bet this would be good to add". I also have DE and was thinking the same thing. Might have to give a little application of these two!

Your plants are looking AWESOME btw. The leaves are so healthy looking, and the plant in the middle is so robust!

 

[Perception]

Just as an aside and because I haven’t read the Rev’s latest book, does he actually address OG Biowar? That was something that was noticeably absent from the first version of his book that I own. I really feel like one application during veg and then another application when I transplant into the flower containers is enough, but I don’t really know shit, so... Yeah, just curious.

nah, he never references adding probiotics in his 2.2 book. In his email, he said that he will add Gro-Kashi ( http://gro-kashi.com/ ) when he is cooking his recycled soil, but that's all. And of course, the endo myco fungi for every transplant.

 

[brazel]

Gro-Kashi ( http://gro-kashi.com/ ) when he is cooking his recycled soil,

Why wouldn't he add it the first time then? Cook recycled soil!? Why does he do that?
My comments are for things to think about not to insult.

 

[goingtoguano]

Why wouldn't he add it the first time then? Cook recycled soil!? Why does he do that?
My comments are for things to think about not to insult.

He re-cooks the soil because it is re-amended with stuff to replenish any depleted nutrients and it would be too hot to use immediately. That’s the way I understand it anyway.
My re-cycle bin is just sitting around waiting so it’s no big deal for me to let it do it’s thing.

 

[Perception]

Yeah, by “cooking”, the Rev Means “composting”. After the soil is used, he puts back in a bin, re-amends with a few things (not nearly as much stuff as first time), and let’s it sit for a few weeks before use again.

I’m not really sure why he uses the microbes then only. Maybe to jump start the composting since he doesn’t use as many amendments when re-amending?

This isn’t in his book, so maybe it’s just something he’s experimenting with. I’ve found that the only way to really know what’s going on is to do microscope analysis of the soil. I wonder if he is...

 

[brazel]

@Perception Using a microscope, notice he contradicts himself in the book, not sure if he does analysis, not sure why he only uses grokashi then... I like all these things you say and do, shows you pay attention and wanna go further!
Happy growing and I look forward to your journey in to no till! ;)

 

[brazel]

When was the humidity dome invented?
Was that before seeds became a thing? Did cannabis come from only humid regions?
If your seeds don't germinate, how could you say it's cause you need a dome!?
Does humidity provide something water doesn't to a seed?
How do seeds germinate in nature?
Just curious
I got more questions but I think this is enough for now

 

[MirrorZen]

 

[Minitiger]

When was the humidity dome invented?
Was that before seeds became a thing? Did cannabis come from only humid regions?
If your seeds don't germinate, how could you say it's cause you need a dome!?
Does humidity provide something water doesn't to a seed?
How do seeds germinate in nature?
Just curious
I got more questions but I think this is enough for now

I’m assuming you’re talking about the humidity dome thing re: sprouting seeds? I think he used it because the soil (or was it pucks?) were drying out too quickly.

 

[Minitiger]

Yeah, by “cooking”, the Rev Means “composting”. After the soil is used, he puts back in a bin, re-amends with a few things (not nearly as much stuff as first time), and let’s it sit for a few weeks before use again.

I’m not really sure why he uses the microbes then only. Maybe to jump start the composting since he doesn’t use as many amendments when re-amending?

This isn’t in his book, so maybe it’s just something he’s experimenting with. I’ve found that the only way to really know what’s going on is to do microscope analysis of the soil. I wonder if he is...

I always water with a compost tea after I re-amend my soil, which is every other grow. I don’t know much about bokashi. I’ve read about it some, but it seems like a pain in the ass haha, so I haven’t read too too much about it, but I do always water with a compost tea once I’ve mixed in all the amendments.

 

[Perception]

I hear ya on the bokashi - fermentation’s are a whole new ball game that i haven’t delved in to yet. Although I’ve met a couple organic farmers (vegetables) who use all the OMx’s (om1, om5, om7, etc) methods of fermentation’s and do really well. I’m not familiar with that methodology though.

 

[brazel]

I’m assuming you’re talking about the humidity dome thing re: sprouting seeds? I think he used it because the soil (or was it pucks?) were drying out too quickly.

Yes, just trying to let people think..
So the soil was drying out to quickly or the pucks were... sounds like the growers problem and not lack of humidity dome