Update on Strawberry Fields Soil: Roots Organic Dry

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thcoso

thcoso

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Recently, I had some questions on Fox Farms Strawberry Fields Soil and nutrients. Basically, I was 7 weeks into veg and the ladies were showing signs of being hungry. After a few days of research, I decided to go all organic for the rest of the grow. I picked up a bag of Roots Organic Uprising and a bag of Bloom. To each of my 8 ladies, I added 2.5 teaspoons of the Uprising as top dressing; I applied it directly to the top soil in each of the pots. I worked it into the top layer of soil then applied a watering of 3 gallons with 3 tea spoons of Roots Organic Uprising in each gallon. This was a light feeding, according to the instructions provided by Roots Organic. I went light on purpose.

Early this morning (4.5 days later) and the ladies looked happier so I assume the Uprising was working. So, I made a hot soil to apply as a thick top dressing. I combined 4 gallons of Strawberry Fields with 3 tea spoons of the Uprising per gallon and applied a 1/2 gal of the mixture to each plant. Then I applied a heavy watering and zipped the tent up. I wont be able to check on them again until Thursday night or Friday morning. I will post another pic in the reply for to compare and contrast to effects of the Roots Organic. On Thursday it will be 7 days since the 1st feeding, plenty of time for the organic nutes to do their thing

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thcoso

thcoso

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UPDATE on the UPDATE!
After 7 days my assessment of the Roots Organic Uprising Grow Dry Organic added to FF Strawberry Fields Soil in week 7 solved the N, Ca and K problems my ladies were having. See above to know my ratios of the Uprising I added. Despite explosive growth over the past 5 days I spent away from the tent, they are now showing signs of a Mg problem: yellowing leave with green veins and some yellowing on some older growth, but not too bad--most of the yellow of old growth I can attribute to not enough access to the lights.

The 3 gorilla glue are showing a deep purpling in the stems and within the veins of some of the leaves, but I think this is genetic due to it only being on the GG's and not on the Blue Caddy's. Tonight, I mixed up a gallon of water with 1/2 strength 1-1-1 ration fertilizer with 1/2 TBS of epsom salt mixed in and applied it to the 8 plants evenly. I also mixed up 0.5 gal of water with 1.5 TBS of epsom salt in a spray bottle and applied a heavy layer to the leaves.

Here are pics of the ladies the moment I opened the tent along with some close ups of various nute issues I'm having now. I hope next week's entry (which will be the end of week 8 in veg and the beginning of the last week of veg) they will be free of the current Mg and N issues w/o showing something else I have to figure out.

The whole group end of week 7 veg: end of week 1 of adding nutes

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My new Mg problem
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Purple stems and leaf veins
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Next week its 50/50 Roots Organic Uprising Grow and Uprising Bloom as I get ready to flip them in mid March.
 
thcoso

thcoso

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Week 8 of veg complete and they are exploding. They are steady drinking over a 1/2 gal (a couple of them. 3/4 of a g) each every 2 days, and they want more. I was planning at least 1 more week of veg, but they are growing so much that I'm scared they will over grow the space. So, I took 24 cuttings for clones, gave them a super-heavy top dressing of 3 tablespoons of uprising bloom and 2 tablespoons of uprising grow along with a 1-1-1 additive to the water. and hooked them up. Tomorrow is their last day of full sun. Sunday, the begin their 12/12........Here are pics from tonight. I havre a few nute problems, but I believe it's all old issues--maybe a small Ca issue, but the bloom is 6% Ca, so it should work itself out over the next couple of weeks.

I have pics of the small nute issues I still have for smarter minded people than I to look at.
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HarryHood

HarryHood

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right on! curious to see if the bloom fixes your issue
 
thcoso

thcoso

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right on! curious to see if the bloom fixes your issue
I think it's a Ca problem. The Roots Bloom has 8% Ca, but its gonna be a good 2 weeks before it breaks down enough for the plants to access. So I bought an instant, liquid Ca water additive. I spread 4 table spoons across 2 gallons of water with a teaspoon of Epson Salt per gal and applied a 1/4 gal to each plant. I'm thinking that they should be Uber-happy this time 3-4 weeks from now. I'm thinking about doing another trimming session and remove all damaged, discolored and overall unwell looking foliage so when I get back to the tent on Friday after 4 days away, it will be obvious if any problems still exists.

I need to flip them, but they need another week to recover from the cuttings I took. So far, 45 cuttings. It's one of those situations, damed if I do, damed if I dont.
 
thcoso

thcoso

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The day is finally here! After 9 weeks of veg (and totally solving my neut problems) my 8 plants officially are flipped as of 8:01 am 3/13/21. If you look back in this thread, you will see a step-by-step, week-by-week feed schedule of how to handle Strawberry Fields Soil when it looses its initial nute supply. As you can see, they have reached the bottom of my window, so flipping is the only option now. But, I think I've got them totally ready.

Last night, before I changed the light setting, I added 3 gal of water containing 1 tablespoon of Ca 9%, 1 tablespoon of Epson Salt per gal. I'm currently prepping 4 gallons of compost tea using the same recipe as last time. This will be applied on Sunday night.
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thcoso

thcoso

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Looks good. Gonna be tight in that tent in about 4 to 5 weeks.

I know. I was supposed to flip them 2 weeks ago, but I had a serious neut problem that I had to solve before flipping. I'll probably top the tallest ones and I reinstalled the net last night to help a little more. But, I'm not scared to order another tent and move 2 of them. I'm running 2 lights in this 5x5, both mars a TS3000 and a SP150. That sp150 could easily cover 2 of them in a 2x4. Plus, the the have not beed sexed yet. I refer to them as "girls" but that is for good luck. Assuming 4 will be pulled, that will open up a lot of room. Either way, I'm using this thread to document how to deal with a 100% Strawberry Fields Soil grow from seed to harvest; because, I could not find any good data on it.
 
Huntingterps

Huntingterps

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I completely agree and it is kinda frustrating finding good info on roots organics soils and dry ferts. My next grow is either gonna be lush or the strawberry fields as I really like there products. Even their liquid cal mag is different then others. As most are calcium carbonate and magnesium nitrate, not roots. There cal mag is actually organic from kieserite and gypsum..
 
thcoso

thcoso

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As soon as I solve my nute problem, I discover a pH problem that is consistent across all 8 plants. My runoff is 5.5-6.0. All of them as showing Ca and Mg problems and I know they have a strong supply. Since my runoff is low on all 8 plants and the problem is showing itself on all 8 plants, the problem is obvious. Today, I plan to flush each plant with 2-3 gallons of water with a tablespoon of Baking Soda per gallon; apply top dressing of Roots Organic Bloom (probably 3-4 tablespoons per plant; apply 1/8 gal of tea per plant; then water with a CaMg water pH at 6.8-7. This weekend, I will apply a stronger tea for a heavy feeding to replace there nutes lost in the flush.
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thcoso

thcoso

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On Monday morning, discovered the tea I was making had lowered the pH to 5.5 on average. It was obvious. I had just solved a CalMg issue just to have it return. After a CalMag feeding, the problem became worse and spread to all eight plants. A quick test of the run off confirmed the obvious. Since I had just done a 50/50 Roots Organic Grow/Bloom top dressing along with a compost tea feeding, I decided to wait a couple of days, allowing the soil to dry and me to make a plan.

Each plant was "flushed" for lack of a better word with 1 gal of water containing 1.5 tablespoons of sodium-bicarbonate creating a solution with a pH of 7.9-8.2, then allowed to drain.

Each plant received a top dressing of 2 tablespoons of bloom, 1/4 tablespoon of sodium-bicarbonate and 1 cup of strawberry fields

Each plant was then fed 1/3 gallon of compost tea containing bloom, Epson salt, Ca additive and 1/8 tablespoon of Nitrogen from Miir Grow with a pH of 6.8-7,1

Since I have not sexed them yet for obvious reasons. I may call them "girls" but that is for good luck. I'm assuming that 3-5 of them will be male, thus being pulled from the tent, exposing lots of floor space for the remaining girls to finish flower. I think I will transplant one more time out of their current 5 gallon pot into 7 gal pots that will contain the 2 tablespoons of Bloom, 2 tablespoons of grow, extra vermiculite, and 1/8 teaspoon of Nitrogen from Mir Grow plant food.
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thcoso

thcoso

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Update: End Week 2 Flower

So far, all 8 ladies are doing very well. When I planted these seeds, I didnt know they were fem seeds. I planned to loose at least 3 of them as males. Well, after 15 days of flower, there is no doubt, I have 8 ladies. Last week, I transplanted 4 of them from 5 gal pots to 8 gallon pots. To each plant, I added 2 more gallons Strawberry Fields Soil, 2 cups of earth worms castings, 2. tbs of seabird quano, and 3 tbs Roots Organic Bloom. Below are pics of the group and a single pic of each plant's flower. Only water this week. I update again in 7-14 days.
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thcoso

thcoso

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I know. I was supposed to flip them 2 weeks ago, but I had a serious neut problem that I had to solve before flipping. I'll probably top the tallest ones and I reinstalled the net last night to help a little more. But, I'm not scared to order another tent and move 2 of them. I'm running 2 lights in this 5x5, both mars a TS3000 and a SP150. That sp150 could easily cover 2 of them in a 2x4. Plus, the the have not beed sexed yet. I refer to them as "girls" but that is for good luck. Assuming 4 will be pulled, that will open up a lot of room. Either way, I'm using this thread to document how to deal with a 100% Strawberry Fields Soil grow from seed to harvest; because, I could not find any good data on it.

Correction: all 8 are female
 
thcoso

thcoso

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Day 28 of Flower, and these 8 Ladies are HAPPY!!!!!

Over the past 4 days (flower days 26-30) I've provided them the following feedings.

This feeding was mostly a watering coming 5 days after a heavy feeding of compost tea amended with CalMg. (see previous post)

This is the transition week where the stretch is coming to and end and bud size exploding, so the 4-day water/feed schedule was:

Day 1: The Blue Haze showed slight singes of a Mg deficiency and the Gorilla Glue a slight Ca. The four plants I had transplanted into the 8 gallon pots still had moist soil. Due to this, I decided to not do a full watering. I decided to provide a feeding to address the issues and save a heavy watering for later. The 8 plants are potted in a total off 52 gallons of Strawberry Fields soil. I have detailed everything I've added to this soil since day one of this grow within this thread.

3 gallons off RO water, 3 tablespoons of MagSulfate, 4 Tablespoons .09% Ca, 15 ml General Bloom 0-10-10. This was evenly split between all plants with some extra plain RO water to the 5 gallon pots so they matched the H2O level of the 8 gallon pots. The 0-10-10 instructions said 15 ml per gallon. The solution I created was at 1/3 suggested concentration. I plan to continue this strength of 0-10-10 in all watering between the heavy feedings due to their increasing need for phosphorus the plant uses for flower. Obviously, I will adjust the saturation as needed.

Day 2: All eight plants showed signs of varying degrees of both Mg and Ca along with some "tacoing" leaves that look just they were suffering from light and/or heat burn, but not isolated to the top of the plant nor was it isolated to new/old growth. Since I had just provided a CalMg feeding and light burn tacoing occurs closest to the light--normally on new growth--the problem is obvious--my pH is WAY off. I grow old-skool organic, hence the name of this thread, and I completely forgot to pH up the 0-10-10 (which is pH 3.47 at full strength).

I provided each plant enough plain water to raise the pH to 6.5 in the run off. Just like last night, this is not the scheduled watering. It is an attempt to correct a problem.

Day 3: Today was supposed to be the scheduled watering/feeding day. But, all the plants look happy. Most leaves are the correct color, shape and texture. The soil is still moist in both the 5 and 8 gal pots, so, no water given tonight.

The 5 gallons pots did not receive new soil/organic additives since they were not transplanted up to 8 gallon pots≥. Therefore they received a Roots Organic Uprising Bloom top dressing--about 3 tablespoons

I also removed and disposed of the POS elastic net I decided to try. NEVER use them. When the net slips from a stretched state, limbs and buds are destroyed. My wife and I built our own

Day 4: Water slowly over the day till all the soil is fully saturated, then add another 1/2 gal to force a light run off for testing. All issues from the past 3 days are resolved; the ladies are super-happy. Including the extra for run off testing, the 8 plants were fed almost 8 gallons of RO water containing 5 ml of 0-10-10 and 7 ml of pH up to make an overall solution pH of 6.5.

Pic Day 29 of Flower

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Pic of Gorilla Glue Flower Day 29
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