Epsilon v2 Plan, 6g per watt goal

[JIMKSI64]

That’s a really interesting observation

Yes, what you saw ties into the soil ecosystem at work. When we talk about a microbial soil ecosystem, we’re describing the living network of fungi, bacteria, protozoa, and other organisms that form in and around the root zone (the rhizosphere).
That 7-inch “loaf” you found is very likely a mycelial mat, the root-like threads (hyphae) of beneficial fungi binding organic matter together. These fungal networks do several things at once:

Nutrient cycling, they break down organic matter into plant-available forms.
Root partnerships, many fungi form mycorrhizal associations, literally plugging into roots to exchange nutrients for plant sugars.
Soil structure, hyphae knit particles together, holding moisture and oxygen pockets where roots thrive.

Selective attraction, roots will often seek out these fungal masses, because the symbiosis gives them phosphorus, trace minerals, and water they wouldn’t access otherwise.
So yes, that mass was a visible sign of your soil biology in action, the hidden architecture that makes organics so resilient compared to sterile hydro. In fact, in my own Epsilon runs I deliberately build for this: the Ecothrive base, frass, fish/blood/bone, molasses, and microbe inoculants (Tribus, Mammoth P, Microbial Mass) are all about cultivating that exact fungal/bacterial web.

The way your White Widow rooted into that structure shows the plant recognized it as a “partner.” That’s the soil ecosystem doing its job.

DrDankHands

My recent smaller autos did not have such an organized mat of matter. Smaller auto best one went just over 80 grams in cure. There were spots or clumps but the tiny things were in a 5 gallon pot and I believe they actually worked against a good biome. The watering was 2/3 the photos in the same pot. 3 average day for the photo 4 for the auto.
Man loving me some data today. Running through your setup and focus on the pot has me thinking of ways to help my own grow. I do not graph soil temp but I have seen this popping up more and more. I know that gas transfer in the roots can be modified with temp but I really have not looked into that aspect. I read a lot of bro science about icing roots and stuff.
Hmmm.

 

[DrDankHands]

My recent smaller autos did not have such an organized mat of matter. Smaller auto best one went just over 80 grams in cure. There were spots or clumps but the tiny things were in a 5 gallon pot and I believe they actually worked against a good biome. The watering was 2/3 the photos in the same pot. 3 average day for the photo 4 for the auto.
Man loving me some data today. Running through your setup and focus on the pot has me thinking of ways to help my own grow. I do not graph soil temp but I have seen this popping up more and more. I know that gas transfer in the roots can be modified with temp but I really have not looked into that aspect. I read a lot of bro science about icing roots and stuff.
Hmmm.

Exactly, once the biology is dialed in, it’s really about letting natural systems do the heavy lifting. A lot of the “out-there” methods (icing roots, forced stress, random hacks) are basically trying to brute-force effects that a balanced soil web already provides. Fungi, microbes, and roots together optimize nutrient cycling, stress resistance, and gas exchange, and they do it more consistently than anything we can bolt on. I’m not trying to pioneer a brand-new method, more just to showcase what happens when you exploit nature at its finest.

The beauty of it is that once setup, the grow is nearly hands-off. It’s heavy work up front, building the system, mixing the soil, trimming, cleaning, but after that it runs itself:

Week 1: transplant from germ chamber to 1-gal pots.
Week 3: open once to trim base leaves + top fans.
Week 5: open again to lollipop, defoliate, and tie down.

After that, maybe 2–3 more opens just for canopy leveling and under-work.

Day to day, I just check through the tent window once, glance at equipment twice (more for peace of mind than need), and add nutrients or topdress a dozen times total in the whole run. That’s it.
So the philosophy and the workflow line up: maximum yield, minimum input. The only way it could get easier is by adding an AI camera for health monitoring and automated dosing, then all I’d need to do is train, arrange, and harvest. For me, with ADHD/OCD and the rest of the alphabet soup, it frees up a huge amount of bandwidth to focus elsewhere while still pushing plants to their limits.

DrDankHands

 

[Randyy]

Hey Randy, really glad my earlier post gave you something new to think about, I had the exact same “mind blown” moment when I first realized how quickly the CO₂ ceiling comes into play with light absorption too. It makes sense once you see it, but it’s not something most people ever factor in.
On the environment side, you nailed the challenge perfectly. If the tent was just equalizing with the room it sits in, then yeah, it would be like trying to stabilize the weather. That’s why I treat the tent as its own sealed micro-climate.

Here’s how I run it:

Exhaust vents straight outside, so I’m not constantly recirculating warm, humid air.
Intake pulls from low to the ground under a window, where the coolest and most stable air naturally sits. That way the “feed air” is consistent regardless of how the outside weather shifts.
Inside the tent, everything is AI-controlled, intake/outtake fans, circulation, humidity, CO₂, and even irrigation timing. Because it’s sealed and managed directly, the tent isn’t relying on the room to stabilize. It’s self-contained.
The cool thing is that this makes VPD, CO₂, and RH adjustments actually stick. Once you’ve got that loop dialled, outside conditions barely matter anymore, the system just auto-adjusts.
The other half of the equation for me is biology. Beneficial microbes and mycorrhizae in the soil act like a buffer they unlock nutrients, protect roots, and smooth over small swings. It gives the plants more resilience and gives me more freedom. Instead of constantly worrying if a temp blip or a missed adjustment will cause a crash, the microbes give a lot of forgiveness.
And honestly, the AC Infinity automation gear has been a game changer. It takes all that constant knob-turning and graph-watching and just does it for you. I just set the targets, and the system maintains them while logging everything. Saves a huge amount of time and effort, and it feels like having a mini grow-room manager built into the tent.

So yeah, between automation and biology, the tent becomes really stable without me having to babysit it. That’s what makes it possible to push performance this far without the usual headaches.

I should really look into the more modern methods of automation. It's something that used to be so expensive, but these days it seems to be at a much more reasonable pricing.

Also, you got me interested in looking more into the concept of living soil. I do grow in soil myself, but I don't amend it, I just add nutrients with the water and that's basically it. I guess I got some reading to do.

I really appreciate your comments and that you are sharing your experience and all.

 

[DrDankHands]

Closing in on germination day, I'm excited and nervous will do a post when placed seed In dirt.

 

[DrDankHands]

I should really look into the more modern methods of automation. It's something that used to be so expensive, but these days it seems to be at a much more reasonable pricing.

Also, you got me interested in looking more into the concept of living soil. I do grow in soil myself, but I don't amend it, I just add nutrients with the water and that's basically it. I guess I got some reading to do.

I really appreciate your comments and that you are sharing your experience and all.

Hey Randy,
That’s great to hear, automation used to feel like an overpriced luxury, but honestly these days the gear is affordable enough that it pays for itself really quickly. Pair it with a living soil base and you end up with a system that’s both stable and efficient.

To give you an idea, I put about £2,600 into my full setup (tent, light, fans, AC Infinity controller, dehu, irrigation, soil, amendments, seeds, the lot). On the very first run, the harvest was around 42 oz. At the rough UK market rate of £140/oz, that’s £5,880 worth of bud. Subtract the original £2,600 setup, and the first grow already cleared about £3,280 profit-equivalent while paying off the entire system.

From there, each cycle only costs me about £500 in consumables (electric, water, soil amendments, seeds). Even keeping yields the same, that’s about £5,380 net per run, and since I can run 4 cycles a year, it comes to ~171 oz annually. At the same valuation, that’s ~£24,000 worth, with only £4,100 spent, so about £20,000 net equivalent per year.

The part I love is that it’s not just about the numbers: automation + microbes mean I’m not chained to the tent. The system self-adjusts, the microbes buffer, and I can push performance without babysitting it all day. That’s what really makes it sustainable.

Since you’re already running soil, you’re halfway there, adding amendments and microbes turns it into a living system, and automation just locks the environment in place so everything works together. If you do decide you want to explore that route, I’d be happy to share more specific advice and give you a clear summary of what to use and why.

You could take out a £3k loan tomorrow, be set up by end of week and be fully paid off and in profit in 3 months if you wanted.

 

[Randyy]

Hey Randy,
That’s great to hear, automation used to feel like an overpriced luxury, but honestly these days the gear is affordable enough that it pays for itself really quickly. Pair it with a living soil base and you end up with a system that’s both stable and efficient.

To give you an idea, I put about £2,600 into my full setup (tent, light, fans, AC Infinity controller, dehu, irrigation, soil, amendments, seeds, the lot). On the very first run, the harvest was around 42 oz. At the rough UK market rate of £140/oz, that’s £5,880 worth of bud. Subtract the original £2,600 setup, and the first grow already cleared about £3,280 profit-equivalent while paying off the entire system.

From there, each cycle only costs me about £500 in consumables (electric, water, soil amendments, seeds). Even keeping yields the same, that’s about £5,380 net per run, and since I can run 4 cycles a year, it comes to ~171 oz annually. At the same valuation, that’s ~£24,000 worth, with only £4,100 spent, so about £20,000 net equivalent per year.

The part I love is that it’s not just about the numbers: automation + microbes mean I’m not chained to the tent. The system self-adjusts, the microbes buffer, and I can push performance without babysitting it all day. That’s what really makes it sustainable.

Since you’re already running soil, you’re halfway there, adding amendments and microbes turns it into a living system, and automation just locks the environment in place so everything works together. If you do decide you want to explore that route, I’d be happy to share more specific advice and give you a clear summary of what to use and why.

You could take out a £3k loan tomorrow, be set up by end of week and be fully paid off and in profit in 3 months if you wanted.

The man of will knows no boundaries!

One challenge for me though, is that I'm currently being a bit restricted in terms of my living conditions. It's not possible for me to ventilate directly outside, so I won't be able to really get into automation until I move to another place. Well, i suppose I could look into automatic watering, but automating anything that has to do with ventilation is unfortunately out of the question for the moment.

I am currently growing O.G. Kush and I intent to grow a few cycles of those. I am trying to establish some kind of baseline so that when I do make changes to my method I will better be able identify any significant changes and link them to the changes I made. It's hard to nail down any correlation if you keep changing the strain and/or the method applied. First a solid baseline must be established.

However, I can begin to learn about living soil! And since you are offering assistance I definitely would like to pick your brain on some things. So anything you feel like I should now about when learning about this topic, I'm all ears! Also if you can point to any solid literature on the subject I'd appreciate that too.

 

[DrDankHands]

The man of will knows no boundaries!

One challenge for me though, is that I'm currently being a bit restricted in terms of my living conditions. It's not possible for me to ventilate directly outside, so I won't be able to really get into automation until I move to another place. Well, i suppose I could look into automatic watering, but automating anything that has to do with ventilation is unfortunately out of the question for the moment.

I am currently growing O.G. Kush and I intent to grow a few cycles of those. I am trying to establish some kind of baseline so that when I do make changes to my method I will better be able identify any significant changes and link them to the changes I made. It's hard to nail down any correlation if you keep changing the strain and/or the method applied. First a solid baseline must be established.

However, I can begin to learn about living soil! And since you are offering assistance I definitely would like to pick your brain on some things. So anything you feel like I should now about when learning about this topic, I'm all ears! Also if you can point to any solid literature on the subject I'd appreciate that too.

Love where your head’s at, Randy. Baselines first, then change one variable at a time, that’s exactly how you keep signal > noise. Here’s how I’d tackle your two constraints (no outside vent + interest in living soil) without blowing up your methodical approach.

Running a stable tent without outside venting

You can still build a very steady micro-climate by treating the room as a “lung” and the tent as the grow chamber:

A. Recirculating lung-room setup

Tent exhaust ➜ back into the room through a carbon filter (in tent or on the exhaust line) to scrub odor.

Room control: a portable dehumidifier (drain hose to a bucket/sink) + a small space heater or portable AC if needed.

Tent intake pulls from the room; tent fans just move air and maintain slight negative pressure so smell stays on the filter.

Because the room is bigger thermal mass, RH and temp swings are slower. The dehu/AC in the room handles the bulk moisture/heat, the tent just mixes and circulates. You don’t have to vent outdoors for this to work.

B. Practical knobs (no duct automation required)

Run lights at night (cooler ambient saves you 2–4 °C easily).

Remote/dim drivers outside the tent; put oscillating fans under/over canopy for mixing.

Controller (even a simple inkbird/AC-Infinity) can still automate dehumidifier and circulation fans off a single sensor. You’re automating targets, not ducting.

If CO₂ is ambient only, keep canopy PPFD ~700–900 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. That avoids depleting CO₂ in a sealed tent and keeps VPD control sane.

C. Moisture math (sanity check) A full 3×3 canopy can transpire ~2–4 L/day. A 10–20 L/day dehu in the room easily keeps up while staying quiet and simple.

Living soil, the fast primer (what, why, how)

What it is: a biologically active medium where microbes + mycorrhizae cycle nutrients that you’ve mineralized up-front. You mostly water; you top-dress to replenish; you avoid sterilants so the microbiome stays intact.

Why it works: biology buffers mistakes. Microbes widen the “acceptable” watering and pH window, unlock P/K/trace elements, improve structure, and protect roots. That’s why living soil pairs so well with a baseline-driven grow, fewer hard crashes.

How to start (lowest friction):

1. Container: 5–7 gal fabric pots in a 3×3 are a sweet spot for OG Kush.

Buy or build:

Buy a reputable living soil (Ecothrive / Sohum / BuildASoil style) and amend lightly.

DIY (by volume): 1/3 aeration (pumice/perlite), 1/3 peat or coir, 1/3 high-quality compost/EWC. Add per cu ft: ½–1 cup each of kelp meal, neem/karanja, crustacean; 1–2 cups basalt rock dust; ½ cup gypsum; a touch of dolomite if you’re peat-heavy. Moisten, mix, let it cook 2–4 weeks warm and damp.

Inoculate: dust the transplant hole with mycorrhizae; optional Bacillus product at watering.

Mulch: leaves/straw or a mulch mat to keep the surface evenly moist.

Watering: keep media evenly moist, never soggy. If hand-watering, weigh pots or feel for consistent heft. If you want “set-and-forget,” Blumat Tropf or a low-pressure drip loop works great.

Top-dress cadence (light, repeatable):

Week 3–4 veg: small veg mix (kelp/neem/EWC).

Early flower: light bloom mix (kelp + crustacean + a bit more EWC).

Mid flower: repeat light bloom top-dress.
Water in with aloe/fulvic; keep teas simple (compost extract, not foamy brews) or skip entirely first run.

Avoid: peroxide, strong acids/alkalis, or sterilizing salts that nuke the biology.

A controlled A/B you’ll trust
Keep your OG Kush baseline exactly as is on most plants.

Pick one pot in living soil, same PPFD/irrigation cadence target.

Only compare: plant vigor, irrigation volume between waterings, final yield and nose. That single-variable trial will show you if it’s worth flipping the whole tent later.

Resources worth your time
Books:
Teaming With Microbes / Nutrients / Fungi, Jeff Lowenfels (super digestible).

The Intelligent Gardener, Steve Solomon (mineral balancing clarity).

People/primers: “Clackamas Coot” soil mix notes, Tim Wilson’s MicrobeOrganics essays (why not to overdo ACTs), and BuildASoil’s free soil guides.

Tools: Photone (phone PPFD/DLI app, calibrated), a cheap kitchen scale for pot-weight irrigation, and a simple data log (Google Sheet is fine).

Your constraints, staged upgrades (when you’re ready)

Now: recirculating lung room + dehu, dimmable LED, consistent night-cycle temps. Try one living-soil pot while you finish OG Kush baselining.
Later: if/when you can vent outside, add true exhaust or go sealed + CO₂. Swap to a fan controller that speaks to your dehu/AC for tighter VPD.

If you want, tell me:

Pot size, count, and your current watering rhythm.
Reasoning for restriction of outdoor venting.
Room size and whether a dehu fits out there.
Your target PPFD/DLI for OG Kush.
I’ll sketch you a one-pager “OG Kush living-soil starter” (exact materials, grams per pot, top-dress dates, watering targets) that keeps your baseline intact and lets you judge the change cleanly.

 

[Grownsince95]

You smoke 10lbs of weed a year?

Love the ideas and attention to detail though it's a bit of a schlog to get through it all!

I was going to add (until @FloridaMike beat me to it) that going with soil will be your most limiting factor for a variety of reasons so maybe four 90 day runs is one too many.

And may I ask what's automating your watering system? How do you plan on keeping the dry back cycle in sync for every plant when you have different cultivars running together?

 

[DrDankHands]

You smoke 10lbs of weed a year?

Love the ideas and attention to detail though it's a bit of a schlog to get through it all!

I was going to add (until @FloridaMike beat me to it) that going with soil will be your most limiting factor for a variety of reasons so maybe four 90 day runs is one too many.

And may I ask what's automating your watering system? How do you plan on keeping the dry back cycle in sync for every plant when you have different cultivars running together?

Hey Grownsince, appreciate you taking the time to go through it, it is a bit of a schlog, I’ll give you that .

Just to clear up the 10lbs thing, I definitely don’t smoke anywhere near that. I only do one run a year and grow my full supply in that one go. On my first grow I pulled about 1.2kg (~2.6lb), and that lasted me 11 months at about 3.5g/day. So I’m not constantly running tents, it’s more about hitting my yearly quota in one efficient cycle.

On the soil point, you’re right that it comes with some challenges compared to hydro. Hydro can push growth speed and consistency because it delivers nutrients directly in solution, but it’s also unforgiving, one small mistake with EC, pH, or oxygenation and things can crash quickly. Soil, especially a biologically active living soil, is slower to react but gives you a massive buffer zone. The microbial networks and mycorrhizae essentially act as interpreters between the plant and the nutrients. They unlock minerals on demand, regulate uptake, protect roots, and help plants ride out small environmental swings that would otherwise cause stress. That gives me more resilience and more room for error, especially when dialing in automation. So while hydro might edge out maximum speed, soil gives a lot of long-term stability and forgiveness, exactly what I want when I’m trying to grow a full year’s supply in one go without fail.

On the automation side, I didn’t go with off-the-shelf kits. I built mine from scratch: a diaphragm pump feeds through multiple filters into a 13mm mainline, with 36x 4mm offshoots each fitted with pressure-compensating drip emitters. That way every pot gets consistent flow without me having to micromanage pressure across the grid.

When it comes to late flower or if I want to push drybacks, I just shut off the emitter to that pot and either water it by hand or run a separate small reservoir with its own feed line. That gives me the flexibility to fine-tune individual plants without losing the efficiency of automation for the rest.

So in short: one big run per year to cover my needs, soil by design for its biological buffering, and irrigation that’s automated but adaptable. It’s not the “fastest” way, but it’s a robust way to reliably hit my target yields with a lot of built-in
insurance.

 

[PlumberSoCal2]

Taking all the fun out of the problems of growing I wouldn't know what to do with myself

 

[Grownsince95]

Hey Grownsince, appreciate you taking the time to go through it, it is a bit of a schlog, I’ll give you that .

Just to clear up the 10lbs thing, I definitely don’t smoke anywhere near that. I only do one run a year and grow my full supply in that one go. On my first grow I pulled about 1.2kg (~2.6lb), and that lasted me 11 months at about 3.5g/day. So I’m not constantly running tents, it’s more about hitting my yearly quota in one efficient cycle.

On the soil point, you’re right that it comes with some challenges compared to hydro. Hydro can push growth speed and consistency because it delivers nutrients directly in solution, but it’s also unforgiving, one small mistake with EC, pH, or oxygenation and things can crash quickly. Soil, especially a biologically active living soil, is slower to react but gives you a massive buffer zone. The microbial networks and mycorrhizae essentially act as interpreters between the plant and the nutrients. They unlock minerals on demand, regulate uptake, protect roots, and help plants ride out small environmental swings that would otherwise cause stress. That gives me more resilience and more room for error, especially when dialing in automation. So while hydro might edge out maximum speed, soil gives a lot of long-term stability and forgiveness, exactly what I want when I’m trying to grow a full year’s supply in one go without fail.

On the automation side, I didn’t go with off-the-shelf kits. I built mine from scratch: a diaphragm pump feeds through multiple filters into a 13mm mainline, with 36x 4mm offshoots each fitted with pressure-compensating drip emitters. That way every pot gets consistent flow without me having to micromanage pressure across the grid.

When it comes to late flower or if I want to push drybacks, I just shut off the emitter to that pot and either water it by hand or run a separate small reservoir with its own feed line. That gives me the flexibility to fine-tune individual plants without losing the efficiency of automation for the rest.

So in short: one big run per year to cover my needs, soil by design for its biological buffering, and irrigation that’s automated but adaptable. It’s not the “fastest” way, but it’s a robust way to reliably hit my target yields with a lot of built-in
insurance.

You're looking at it backwards. Hydro is not unforgiving at all, it's actually the opposite. The "one small mistake" you're trying to avoid can be fixed immediately with a flush and a rez change. Make a small mistake building your soil and you will be chasing your tail the whole grow.

You also didn't really answer my question so I'll try to be more clear; What is triggering your water automation? A timer? A soil probe? I think you mentioned running 4 strains so let's say A is dry, B and C are half way there and D is still too wet to water, are you adjusting flow rates for each plant every watering?

 

[JIMKSI64]

Taking all the fun out of the problems of growing I wouldn't know what to do with myself

You could always put weird shit in coco and ask how to water it.
Or nute it.

 

[Randyy]

Love where your head’s at, Randy. Baselines first, then change one variable at a time, that’s exactly how you keep signal > noise. Here’s how I’d tackle your two constraints (no outside vent + interest in living soil) without blowing up your methodical approach.

Running a stable tent without outside venting

You can still build a very steady micro-climate by treating the room as a “lung” and the tent as the grow chamber:

A. Recirculating lung-room setup

Tent exhaust ➜ back into the room through a carbon filter (in tent or on the exhaust line) to scrub odor.

Room control: a portable dehumidifier (drain hose to a bucket/sink) + a small space heater or portable AC if needed.

Tent intake pulls from the room; tent fans just move air and maintain slight negative pressure so smell stays on the filter.

Because the room is bigger thermal mass, RH and temp swings are slower. The dehu/AC in the room handles the bulk moisture/heat, the tent just mixes and circulates. You don’t have to vent outdoors for this to work.

B. Practical knobs (no duct automation required)

Run lights at night (cooler ambient saves you 2–4 °C easily).

Remote/dim drivers outside the tent; put oscillating fans under/over canopy for mixing.

Controller (even a simple inkbird/AC-Infinity) can still automate dehumidifier and circulation fans off a single sensor. You’re automating targets, not ducting.

If CO₂ is ambient only, keep canopy PPFD ~700–900 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. That avoids depleting CO₂ in a sealed tent and keeps VPD control sane.

C. Moisture math (sanity check) A full 3×3 canopy can transpire ~2–4 L/day. A 10–20 L/day dehu in the room easily keeps up while staying quiet and simple.

Living soil, the fast primer (what, why, how)

What it is: a biologically active medium where microbes + mycorrhizae cycle nutrients that you’ve mineralized up-front. You mostly water; you top-dress to replenish; you avoid sterilants so the microbiome stays intact.

Why it works: biology buffers mistakes. Microbes widen the “acceptable” watering and pH window, unlock P/K/trace elements, improve structure, and protect roots. That’s why living soil pairs so well with a baseline-driven grow, fewer hard crashes.

How to start (lowest friction):

1. Container: 5–7 gal fabric pots in a 3×3 are a sweet spot for OG Kush.

Buy or build:

Buy a reputable living soil (Ecothrive / Sohum / BuildASoil style) and amend lightly.

DIY (by volume): 1/3 aeration (pumice/perlite), 1/3 peat or coir, 1/3 high-quality compost/EWC. Add per cu ft: ½–1 cup each of kelp meal, neem/karanja, crustacean; 1–2 cups basalt rock dust; ½ cup gypsum; a touch of dolomite if you’re peat-heavy. Moisten, mix, let it cook 2–4 weeks warm and damp.

Inoculate: dust the transplant hole with mycorrhizae; optional Bacillus product at watering.

Mulch: leaves/straw or a mulch mat to keep the surface evenly moist.

Watering: keep media evenly moist, never soggy. If hand-watering, weigh pots or feel for consistent heft. If you want “set-and-forget,” Blumat Tropf or a low-pressure drip loop works great.

Top-dress cadence (light, repeatable):

Week 3–4 veg: small veg mix (kelp/neem/EWC).

Early flower: light bloom mix (kelp + crustacean + a bit more EWC).

Mid flower: repeat light bloom top-dress.
Water in with aloe/fulvic; keep teas simple (compost extract, not foamy brews) or skip entirely first run.

Avoid: peroxide, strong acids/alkalis, or sterilizing salts that nuke the biology.

A controlled A/B you’ll trust
Keep your OG Kush baseline exactly as is on most plants.

Pick one pot in living soil, same PPFD/irrigation cadence target.

Only compare: plant vigor, irrigation volume between waterings, final yield and nose. That single-variable trial will show you if it’s worth flipping the whole tent later.

Resources worth your time
Books:
Teaming With Microbes / Nutrients / Fungi, Jeff Lowenfels (super digestible).

The Intelligent Gardener, Steve Solomon (mineral balancing clarity).

People/primers: “Clackamas Coot” soil mix notes, Tim Wilson’s MicrobeOrganics essays (why not to overdo ACTs), and BuildASoil’s free soil guides.

Tools: Photone (phone PPFD/DLI app, calibrated), a cheap kitchen scale for pot-weight irrigation, and a simple data log (Google Sheet is fine).

Your constraints, staged upgrades (when you’re ready)

Now: recirculating lung room + dehu, dimmable LED, consistent night-cycle temps. Try one living-soil pot while you finish OG Kush baselining.
Later: if/when you can vent outside, add true exhaust or go sealed + CO₂. Swap to a fan controller that speaks to your dehu/AC for tighter VPD.

If you want, tell me:

Pot size, count, and your current watering rhythm.
Reasoning for restriction of outdoor venting.
Room size and whether a dehu fits out there.
Your target PPFD/DLI for OG Kush.
I’ll sketch you a one-pager “OG Kush living-soil starter” (exact materials, grams per pot, top-dress dates, watering targets) that keeps your baseline intact and lets you judge the change cleanly.

Hot damn this is awesome man!

A. I can make this work for sure. I do intend to get my hands on a dehumidifier and possibly a small heater, but it’s something I will need to acquire over time as funds are limited.

About air intake. What are your thoughts on passive vs. active air intake?

B. Funny you mention the lights on at night time. I was just thinking about this, since the season is changing I need to make some adjustments. Buying a dehumidifier is a solution, but keeping temperature up at night will also help.

What is the purpose of automating the circulation fans? I just keep mine running at all times.

I’m not currently measuring light levels. I am just finishing of my first run with a LED light – used to run HPS – and I did happen to fry the plants a bit. Got some foxtailing on one plant. I suppose in time I could get myself a measuring device to avoid and optimize this.

“Living soil, the fast primer (what, why, how)”

Any chance the word Trivium means anything to you? The “what, why, and how” is key when it comes to problem solving and correct thinking. Just a side note. I can throw some interesting knowledge your way if interested?!

“Now: recirculating lung room + dehu, dimmable LED, consistent night-cycle temps. Try one living-soil pot while you finish OG Kush baselining.
Later: if/when you can vent outside, add true exhaust or go sealed + CO₂. Swap to a fan controller that speaks to your dehu/AC for tighter VPD.”

Sounds like a solid plan and a very helpful and awesome write-up!

Gonna look into some of that material you suggested.

Here is a bonus tip in case you don’t know about this site:

https://annas-archive.org/

You can find almost any book on that site for free. And no, it’s not a pirate site, it’s open-source!

“If you want, tell me:

Pot size, count, and your current watering rhythm.”

I currently grow in 2L → 25L plastic pots. I grow 4 plants at a time in a small 70cmX70cm veg tent and a 120cmX120cm flower tent.

I am still getting used to grow in 25L pots, I used to go for 9 plants in 11L pots instead of 4 plants in 25L pots. So watering schedule is not yet locked down. I am not having any issues though. I just lift the pots and determine if they need water or not. I aim to water about every 3-4 days.

Feel free to lurk on my grow diary in the signature bellow if you want.

“Reasoning for restriction of outdoor venting.”

I live in a small one room apartment. It would not be impossible to vent outside, but I would have to make some changes to my living space that I don’t want to make. So the real answer is that I could, but I don’t really want to. It would be too much of a compromise.

“Room size and whether a dehu fits out there.”

It’s a small room, maybe 3 by 6 meters plus some hallway. A small to medium sized dehumidifier should be sufficient.

“Your target PPFD/DLI for OG Kush.”

I currently don’t measure light levels.

“I’ll sketch you a one-pager “OG Kush living-soil starter” (exact materials, grams per pot, top-dress dates, watering targets) that keeps your baseline intact and lets you judge the change cleanly.”

That would be a great help! I won’t be able to implement it until about three months from now, but that’s fine. It will give me some time to read up on all of this living soil magic.

 

[DrDankHands]

You're looking at it backwards. Hydro is not unforgiving at all, it's actually the opposite. The "one small mistake" you're trying to avoid can be fixed immediately with a flush and a rez change. Make a small mistake building your soil and you will be chasing your tail the whole grow.

You also didn't really answer my question so I'll try to be more clear; What is triggering your water automation? A timer? A soil probe? I think you mentioned running 4 strains so let's say A is dry, B and C are half way there and D is still too wet to water, are you adjusting flow rates for each plant every watering?

Appreciate you clarifying your question, makes total sense now .

On the hydro vs soil piece, I think we’re just looking at forgiveness from different angles. You’re right that in hydro a mistake can be corrected instantly with a rez change, no argument there. Where I lean the other way is that in soil, especially biologically active soil, you often don’t need to correct in the first place. The microbes and mycorrhizae buffer those little swings in pH, nutrient ratios, etc., so I don’t have to jump in with quick fixes as often. Both systems have their safety nets, hydro gives you speed of correction, soil gives you built-in stability.

As for the irrigation: it’s on a daily timer, 15 minutes per cycle. That gives around 0.5 L per plant in the first week, and then I gradually increase as needed based on pot feel and plant health. Because the fabric pots are packed tight, literally pot-to-pot, no gaps, they act almost like a sponge bed. Moisture moves laterally through the fabric, which evens out the dryback cycle across the whole grid. That’s why I don’t usually see plant A drying out while D is still wet, they’re all connected by capillary action in the soil/fabric interface.

That said, if one cultivar ever does need different treatment, I just shut off its emitter and either hand-water or hook it up to a small side reservoir with a separate line. So the system stays fully automated for the majority, but I’ve still got the flexibility to tweak individuals if needed.

 

[DrDankHands]

Hot damn this is awesome man!

A. I can make this work for sure. I do intend to get my hands on a dehumidifier and possibly a small heater, but it’s something I will need to acquire over time as funds are limited.

About air intake. What are your thoughts on passive vs. active air intake?

B. Funny you mention the lights on at night time. I was just thinking about this, since the season is changing I need to make some adjustments. Buying a dehumidifier is a solution, but keeping temperature up at night will also help.

What is the purpose of automating the circulation fans? I just keep mine running at all times.

I’m not currently measuring light levels. I am just finishing of my first run with a LED light – used to run HPS – and I did happen to fry the plants a bit. Got some foxtailing on one plant. I suppose in time I could get myself a measuring device to avoid and optimize this.

“Living soil, the fast primer (what, why, how)”

Any chance the word Trivium means anything to you? The “what, why, and how” is key when it comes to problem solving and correct thinking. Just a side note. I can throw some interesting knowledge your way if interested?!

“Now: recirculating lung room + dehu, dimmable LED, consistent night-cycle temps. Try one living-soil pot while you finish OG Kush baselining.
Later: if/when you can vent outside, add true exhaust or go sealed + CO₂. Swap to a fan controller that speaks to your dehu/AC for tighter VPD.”

Sounds like a solid plan and a very helpful and awesome write-up!

Gonna look into some of that material you suggested.

Here is a bonus tip in case you don’t know about this site:

https://annas-archive.org/

View attachment 2519572

View attachment 2519573

You can find almost any book on that site for free. And no, it’s not a pirate site, it’s open-source!

“If you want, tell me:

Pot size, count, and your current watering rhythm.”

I currently grow in 2L → 25L plastic pots. I grow 4 plants at a time in a small 70cmX70cm veg tent and a 120cmX120cm flower tent.

I am still getting used to grow in 25L pots, I used to go for 9 plants in 11L pots instead of 4 plants in 25L pots. So watering schedule is not yet locked down. I am not having any issues though. I just lift the pots and determine if they need water or not. I aim to water about every 3-4 days.

Feel free to lurk on my grow diary in the signature bellow if you want.

“Reasoning for restriction of outdoor venting.”

I live in a small one room apartment. It would not be impossible to vent outside, but I would have to make some changes to my living space that I don’t want to make. So the real answer is that I could, but I don’t really want to. It would be too much of a compromise.

“Room size and whether a dehu fits out there.”

It’s a small room, maybe 3 by 6 meters plus some hallway. A small to medium sized dehumidifier should be sufficient.

“Your target PPFD/DLI for OG Kush.”

I currently don’t measure light levels.

“I’ll sketch you a one-pager “OG Kush living-soil starter” (exact materials, grams per pot, top-dress dates, watering targets) that keeps your baseline intact and lets you judge the change cleanly.”

That would be a great help! I won’t be able to implement it until about three months from now, but that’s fine. It will give me some time to read up on all of this living soil magic.

Hey Randy

Glad this is clicking for you, it’s always fun bouncing ideas with someone who actually digs into the why, not just the what.

On intake: passive can work fine if your exhaust is strong enough to pull steady flow, but in a tighter apartment setup, a little active intake fan is like giving your tent lungs instead of nostrils, cleaner, more predictable breathing.

Circulation fans: you’re right, you can just leave them on all the time. Automation’s not essential here, it just lets me dial airflow to stage, gentler on seedlings, heavier turbulence in mid bloom, then easing back in late flower. It’s more about nuance than necessity.

Foxtailing & LEDs: yeah, LEDs can sneak up on you after running HPS. They drive photons harder per watt, so even the same “wattage” feels hotter to the plant. A cheap quantum sensor (Apogee if you want pro, or even the Photone app with a diffuser) will pay for itself in one run. For OG Kush you’ll want to live in that 800–900 PPFD (~50–60 DLI).

Living soil starter: here’s the barebones roadmap you asked for, simple enough to test while keeping your OG Kush baseline intact:

Base: 25L pot, good peat/coco blend + 15–20% worm castings.

Minerals: 1 g/L dolomite lime, 1 g/L gypsum, 2 g/L basalt rock dust.

Biology: mycorrhizae at transplant; optional weekly microbe tea/inoculant.

Topdress: light veg booster (~2 g/L) week 3–4, bloom (~2 g/L) week 5–6, optional light kicker week 7–8.

Watering: keep your lift-pot method, aim for 2–3 days steady rhythm. Living soil likes consistency more than drought/flood swings.

That’s enough to let the soil biome “talk” to the plant without overcomplicating your baseline runs. You’ll see the difference in resilience more than speed at first.

And the Trivium thing, nailed it. Grammar = what (the raw parts: soil, microbes, amendments). Logic = why (the relationships and balances). Rhetoric = how (the system design, the communication, the results). That’s basically how I think about grows, not just recipes, but frameworks. So yeah, I caught your reference .

Thanks for the Anna’s Archive tip too, it’s a treasure chest. Dangerous for someone like me though, I’ll disappear down a rabbit hole and resurface three days later with 40 PDFs and no sleep.

So here’s my suggestion for you: keep your OG Kush baselines rolling exactly as you’re doing, then dedicate just one pot next run to this living soil test. That way you’re not risking your supply, but you’ll get a side-by-side feel for what biology can do.

 

[Randyy]

Hey Randy

Glad this is clicking for you, it’s always fun bouncing ideas with someone who actually digs into the why, not just the what.

On intake: passive can work fine if your exhaust is strong enough to pull steady flow, but in a tighter apartment setup, a little active intake fan is like giving your tent lungs instead of nostrils, cleaner, more predictable breathing.

Circulation fans: you’re right, you can just leave them on all the time. Automation’s not essential here, it just lets me dial airflow to stage, gentler on seedlings, heavier turbulence in mid bloom, then easing back in late flower. It’s more about nuance than necessity.

Foxtailing & LEDs: yeah, LEDs can sneak up on you after running HPS. They drive photons harder per watt, so even the same “wattage” feels hotter to the plant. A cheap quantum sensor (Apogee if you want pro, or even the Photone app with a diffuser) will pay for itself in one run. For OG Kush you’ll want to live in that 800–900 PPFD (~50–60 DLI).

Living soil starter: here’s the barebones roadmap you asked for, simple enough to test while keeping your OG Kush baseline intact:

Base: 25L pot, good peat/coco blend + 15–20% worm castings.

Minerals: 1 g/L dolomite lime, 1 g/L gypsum, 2 g/L basalt rock dust.

Biology: mycorrhizae at transplant; optional weekly microbe tea/inoculant.

Topdress: light veg booster (~2 g/L) week 3–4, bloom (~2 g/L) week 5–6, optional light kicker week 7–8.

Watering: keep your lift-pot method, aim for 2–3 days steady rhythm. Living soil likes consistency more than drought/flood swings.

That’s enough to let the soil biome “talk” to the plant without overcomplicating your baseline runs. You’ll see the difference in resilience more than speed at first.

And the Trivium thing, nailed it. Grammar = what (the raw parts: soil, microbes, amendments). Logic = why (the relationships and balances). Rhetoric = how (the system design, the communication, the results). That’s basically how I think about grows, not just recipes, but frameworks. So yeah, I caught your reference .

Thanks for the Anna’s Archive tip too, it’s a treasure chest. Dangerous for someone like me though, I’ll disappear down a rabbit hole and resurface three days later with 40 PDFs and no sleep.

So here’s my suggestion for you: keep your OG Kush baselines rolling exactly as you’re doing, then dedicate just one pot next run to this living soil test. That way you’re not risking your supply, but you’ll get a side-by-side feel for what biology can do.

I'v been trimming bud all day. Super tired, so I'll keep it short this time.

Yes I agree, it is nice to bounce some ideas!

Awesome plan you sent me there. I will keep that in mind when I get closer to actually implementing these new ideas. I might hit you up when I get to that stage in case I got questions.

Very cool that you know about the Trivium. Unfortunately, it's quite rare these days to run into someone who actually know how to think, so I'm very exited about that. Just curious, but how did you come across that information?

Also, did you start your seeds yet?

 

[DrDankHands]

I'v been trimming bud all day. Super tired, so I'll keep it short this time.

Yes I agree, it is nice to bounce some ideas!

Awesome plan you sent me there. I will keep that in mind when I get closer to actually implementing these new ideas. I might hit you up when I get to that stage in case I got questions.

Very cool that you know about the Trivium. Unfortunately, it's quite rare these days to run into someone who actually know how to think, so I'm very exited about that. Just curious, but how did you come across that information?

Also, did you start your seeds yet?

Hey Randy
Glad the plan hit the mark for you, seriously, feel free to hit me up anytime down the line if you’ve got questions. I enjoy condensing and cross-referencing this stuff, and between AI and my own digging I’ve built a pretty broad base. I do double-check anything I pass on, though, learned the hard way that AI can be sharp but also confidently wrong if you don’t already know enough to catch it. Textbooks for depth, AI for clarity is how I approach it.
On the Trivium: I’ve been reading and researching on and off for over 15 years before I even put seed to soil. Tried hydro once a decade ago but my knowledge (and method) back then was terrible and it put me off. Since then I’ve focused more on soil and ecology, and the Trivium framework just naturally fit the way I process information, what, why, how. These days with AI, it’s never been easier to test frameworks and fact-check across systems.
I actually started my seeds today. Rolled them in a bit of sandpaper to lightly scarify, then gave them a 20-hour soak in dechlorinated water with a drop of Trivium and kelp. After that, into peat pellets, holes dusted with mycorrhizal root booster. Put down 40 and I’m hoping for 36 to pop. Here’s a picture from today

How did your trim go? I know the pain of that grind, trimming is easily my least favorite part of the whole process. Last run it took me close to 30 hours, and by the end I never wanted to look at another pair of scissors again . This time I’m investing in a bowl trimmer to save my sanity.

How much did you manage to pull in the end, and how’s the quality looking?

Anyway, stoked we’re bouncing ideas like this. It’s rare to meet someone who digs into the deeper layers of thinking rather than just swapping recipes.

 

[Randyy]

Hey Randy
Glad the plan hit the mark for you, seriously, feel free to hit me up anytime down the line if you’ve got questions. I enjoy condensing and cross-referencing this stuff, and between AI and my own digging I’ve built a pretty broad base. I do double-check anything I pass on, though, learned the hard way that AI can be sharp but also confidently wrong if you don’t already know enough to catch it. Textbooks for depth, AI for clarity is how I approach it.
On the Trivium: I’ve been reading and researching on and off for over 15 years before I even put seed to soil. Tried hydro once a decade ago but my knowledge (and method) back then was terrible and it put me off. Since then I’ve focused more on soil and ecology, and the Trivium framework just naturally fit the way I process information, what, why, how. These days with AI, it’s never been easier to test frameworks and fact-check across systems.
I actually started my seeds today. Rolled them in a bit of sandpaper to lightly scarify, then gave them a 20-hour soak in dechlorinated water with a drop of Trivium and kelp. After that, into peat pellets, holes dusted with mycorrhizal root booster. Put down 40 and I’m hoping for 36 to pop. Here’s a picture from today


How did your trim go? I know the pain of that grind, trimming is easily my least favorite part of the whole process. Last run it took me close to 30 hours, and by the end I never wanted to look at another pair of scissors again . This time I’m investing in a bowl trimmer to save my sanity.

How much did you manage to pull in the end, and how’s the quality looking?

Anyway, stoked we’re bouncing ideas like this. It’s rare to meet someone who digs into the deeper layers of thinking rather than just swapping recipes.

That's a nice dome you got there, filled to the brim heh.

I don't really know much about AI, so can't comment much on that. Gotta say though, I'm not a big fan of it or at least the way it is being implemented. I can see how it can be a very useful tool, but I remain doubtful that people will use it wisely.

I did a hydro setup a long time ago too and it kinda threw me off as well. Looking back though, what went wrong was that I was a bit clueless and was smoking way too much weed in those days, so not bashing on hydro, but it is not as easy to get into as it is growing in soil. Maybe I will try it again some day, who knows.

The trim went alright, it's still hanging, going on fifth day. Been worried about mold because it's been raining, but so far I haven't seen any. Fingers crossed! Gotta get that dehumidifier soon! I'm jealous on that bowl trimmer, how much did that cost you?

Not sure about how much weight I got, but i'd be surprised if I got over 200 grams. I only had three plants and it was a bit of a test run, so I'm ok with that. Quality seems alright, but will have to wait till after it's been cured for a month before I can say much about that. It's looking pretty good though.

Yeah man, I feel the same. I'm enjoying this conversation too!

Looking forward to see your grow unfold.

 

[JIMKSI64]

Bump update?

 

[pnwbluntman]

I am really loving all the information, it's hard to find someone who actually can display and keep record of what they are doing and it working out in their favor. When I hear people claiming they get over 3gs/w I have to see it for myself, usually because people make unreasonable claims for whatever reason they have. But you good sir absolutely got what it takes to make that a reality. And I seen a comment about smoking 10lbs a year being crazy, but that's not to terribly much if you use it for other things like extracts and things like that, also if you share with friends/family. Smoking it alone you would have to be smoking blunts back to back. My personal use is about an ounce every three to four days. So that's what I grow to cover plus extra for emergency or rainy day supply. Anyway I applaud you for your grow. I haven't used the brand you use for inoculating, I use dynomyco. Do you have any experience with dynomyco?