Trying no-till living soil grow

[7munkee]

They look like springtails. Relatively harmless. They feed o decaying organic matter.

 

[BearWater]

@BearWater

Here's a little video clip of the bugs I was talking about. Tried to get them best I could. Sorry if it's shaky.

No worries, can see it just fine. yeah im with 7Monkee on them being springtails. now whether you want them there or not is up to you hahahah! as long as it didnt create a bigger issue or become an infestation i wouldn’t care if they were in my soil. just another helper : )

 

[DismalDude]

I tossed the soil and fert away. I follow the BuildASoil recipe but I source everything locally (PA) from the Mennonites. I imagine it's fine to use though I cant see balanced fertilizer would grow the best cannabis.

I am thinking of going with their recipe. Might be expensive at first but it's an investment.

 

[Halloweed]

No worries, can see it just fine. yeah im with 7Monkee on them being springtails. now whether you want them there or not is up to you hahahah! as long as it didnt create a bigger issue or become an infestation i wouldn’t care if they were in my soil. just another helper : )

I'm gonna be watching out keeping them in check :)

 

[Halloweed]

I am thinking of going with their recipe. Might be expensive at first but it's an investment.

Yeah, you don't have to keep buying soil and they say that reusing it grow after grow makes it better. Just need to reamend.

 

[7munkee]

I am thinking of going with their recipe. Might be expensive at first but it's an investment.

If you enjoy cannabis, you cant afford not to. For about $120 you get everything you need for years. 5lb boxes of Down to Earth nutrients are $20 on the big A. Five 5lb boxes will make your initial mix. Kelp meal, crabmeal, Seabird Guano, Neemseed meal, and Azomite. A 3 lb of gypsum is like $5. And a bag of castings is like $20. Peat you can get for about $10.

For the K you can make banana peal tea or make a ferment out of a squash.

This is exactly what I did almost 4 years ago and I still have enough for the foreseeable future. The only difference is I bought the BuildASoil mineral mix instead of Azomite.

 

[HighDesertScott]

Just took advantage of Black Friday sales - I ordered the Earthboxes and BAS 3.0, BAS came out 20% off for the soil, EB's only saved a couple bucks each but it all adds up.

 

[shaganja]

If you are frugal, and want a simple start, buy a bag of living soil. So many brands on the market now. And some are banging! One of my best grows was bodhi seeds, and diary doo, a michigan brand. And then amend as you desire. So many options now.

 

[Halloweed]

Happy late Danksgiving.

I managed to transplant into the Earthboxes a few days ago. Had a hard time getting them out of the small container. Loose soil was falling apart. I hope I didn't stunt them too bad.

Lowered my ppfd to 225 the first day and gradually increased it. Today I have it around 400. I believe they say to be around 600 for veg so I'm working my way up to that. Temp is 72°f with 70% rh.

Been feeding the worms banana peels, coffee grounds and bread. I also added some Mychorrizhal to the root zone and watered with Rootwise.

They seem to be doing fine for the most part except for ASTRO Fog. It's leaves are getting droopy. I think I may be overwatering. I tend to top water a little everyday to keep soil moist for the worms however I could be overdoing it.

Does anyone have suggestions or a possible different issue arising?

I plan on starting to bottom water within a week but may hold off a bit if I'm overwatering.

 

[GasPlease]

Happy late Danksgiving.

I managed to transplant into the Earthboxes a few days ago. Had a hard time getting them out of the small container. Loose soil was falling apart. I hope I didn't stunt them too bad.

Lowered my ppfd to 225 the first day and gradually increased it. Today I have it around 400. I believe they say to be around 600 for veg so I'm working my way up to that. Temp is 72°f with 70% rh.

Been feeding the worms banana peels, coffee grounds and bread. I also added some Mychorrizhal to the root zone and watered with Rootwise.

They seem to be doing fine for the most part except for ASTRO Fog. It's leaves are getting droopy. I think I may be overwatering. I tend to top water a little everyday to keep soil moist for the worms however I could be overdoing it.

Does anyone have suggestions or a possible different issue arising?

I plan on starting to bottom water within a week but may hold off a bit if I'm overwatering.

Im not real familiar with bas but I grow organic living soil autos.

If you are growing autos you should not be transplanting. Straight to final pot. When growing in a good soil you cant over water. You can only water too often.

You could run 20 gals of water through your pot and if you didnt water again until dry back then you would be fine. Obviously with organic living soil you dont want to water until runoff.

Slowly water your container until moderate saturation from top to bottom but without runoff. Dont water again until container is mostly dry top few inches depending on container size. Continue keeping this balance until harvest.

I think its like 20-30% of container size is whats recommended to water at one time. I currently use 5 gal pots and Im watering 1-1.5 gals at a time in flower. As with everything in growing this is just a good guideline to get you going in the right path.

The important thing isnt the water its the dry back!

 

[GasPlease]

Also your plants are in early flower not veg. Less humidity and more lights. You should google vpd and dli. You are already tracking your enviro and lights so you would just need to manage those numbers for optimal vpd and dli.

Edit: temps are kinda low too but in range.

 

[Halloweed]

Im not real familiar with bas but I grow organic living soil autos.

If you are growing autos you should not be transplanting. Straight to final pot. When growing in a good soil you cant over water. You can only water too often.

You could run 20 gals of water through your pot and if you didnt water again until dry back then you would be fine. Obviously with organic living soil you dont want to water until runoff.

Slowly water your container until moderate saturation from top to bottom but without runoff. Dont water again until container is mostly dry top few inches depending on container size. Continue keeping this balance until harvest.

I think its like 20-30% of container size is whats recommended to water at one time. I currently use 5 gal pots and Im watering 1-1.5 gals at a time in flower. As with everything in growing this is just a good guideline to get you going in the right path.

The important thing isnt the water its the dry back!

Thank you. I know it's better to plant in final container for autos. For some reason on my last grow I stopped doing that.

I thought they were in preflower. I have everything set like theyre in early veg. I should really get my par increased and adjust for flower.

They are in 15 gallon earthboxes. I water with a chapen and try to spray evenly, but only water about half a gallon. I'll try to water more and less often.

 

[Halloweed]

They seem to be looking better. The one is not too droopy. My temp is around 74° f. Dropped the humidity down to 63%. I'll figure out my vpd. I was in range last time I checked.

I could get the humidity lower but I'm doing it slow. It's kinda hard because I'm trying to save electricity. That shits so expensive now. I doubt having the fan run longer will increase it too much.

My lights are between 425 to 450 ppfd hanging 10 to 12" above canopy. Since they're flowering I want to increase it. I'm noticing some light tips turning a little yellow. I thought maybe that was from the light.

I started training, or at least am trying to. I couldn't find a way to attach the coated wire to anything on the earthbox. I have them taped to the sides but as it gets bigger it will pull right out.

Also started bottom watering ph around 7 down from 8.7. Added 1 1/2 cups buildaflower to each, and watered in a small dose of buildabloom. I'm also periodically watering in some silica.

I want to say they are around 32 days old. I gotta check my calendar.

 

[7munkee]

They seem to be looking better. The one is not too droopy. My temp is around 74° f. Dropped the humidity down to 63%. I'll figure out my vpd. I was in range last time I checked.

I could get the humidity lower but I'm doing it slow. It's kinda hard because I'm trying to save electricity. That shits so expensive now. I doubt having the fan run longer will increase it too much.

My lights are between 425 to 450 ppfd hanging 10 to 12" above canopy. Since they're flowering I want to increase it. I'm noticing some light tips turning a little yellow. I thought maybe that was from the light.

I started training, or at least am trying to. I couldn't find a way to attach the coated wire to anything on the earthbox. I have them taped to the sides but as it gets bigger it will pull right out.

Also started bottom watering ph around 7 down from 8.7. Added 1 1/2 cups buildaflower to each, and watered in a small dose of buildabloom. I'm also periodically watering in some silica.

I want to say they are around 32 days old. I gotta check my calendar.

Looking great! Plants grow insanely fast once the roots reach the reservoir. If you dont flip early enough the plant will easily get 5 ft tall and go through the 3 gallon reservoir every day. It also happens during the stretch regardless of the size anyway. I see you prefer the living mulch over the plastic cover. I have done it both ways but I prefer the cap to preserve water and keep a barrier between the bugs and my tent.

 

[Halloweed]

Looking great! Plants grow insanely fast once the roots reach the reservoir. If you dont flip early enough the plant will easily get 5 ft tall and go through the 3 gallon reservoir every day. It also happens during the stretch regardless of the size anyway. I see you prefer the living mulch over the plastic cover. I have done it both ways but I prefer the cap to preserve water and keep a barrier between the bugs and my tent.

As soon as I have some extra money I'm gonna get a zipper cover. I checked buildasoil a few days ago and they were out. So eventually I'll be a cover man lol.

 

[7munkee]

As soon as I have some extra money I'm gonna get a zipper cover. I checked buildasoil a few days ago and they were out. So eventually I'll be a cover man lol.

I bought mine from the EarthBox website. I got 4 for $10. They last a grow or two. More if you are careful. I remove mine each Saturday to top water in some Recharge and a pinch of fulvic acid. Fulvic acid is a powerhouse chelator when it comes to cycling nutrients from organic matter.

You can even foliar feed fulvic acid. It helps nutrients penetrate cell membranes so the plant absorbs more. I paid like $12 for a pound and I typically use 1/4 tsp each week per Earthbox. 1/2 tsp per gallon of water.

 

[Halloweed]

Happy New Year.

Have not been on in a while. Sickness is everywhere and I've been sick.

61 days old. The Astrofog looks like it will be finished soon. She's the one I started having issues with in early flower. I believe she didn't get enough p and k.

I've been giving her buildabloom. I still think she may be deficient but she looks better than she did. From what I can tell, the trichomes are getting cloudy. No amber that I can see. I'm gonna need to find a place to dry her because she's gonna finish before the FSxSC. I usually dry in the same tent because I can control the environment.

For the FSXSC, she's is looking great. Stretch is done, the buds are starting to bulk up. I've been trying to defoliate here and there so the lower buds get more light. I could take alot more, which I will as she gets close to finish. She is almost 3 times the size of the Astrofog.

Ppfd for FSxSC is around 700 at the brightest. The light is maybe 2 or 3 inches above. I'd like to raise the light but...

Ppfd for astrofog is 400 to 500. Problem is she gets less light because the other is so tall.

 

[Halloweed]

I chopped down the Astrofog Sunday evening. Day 86 I believe. Saw a few amber so I went ahead and cut. Right now I have her in a tiny tent drying. I have a fan blowing against the tent and a humidifier.

Her temp is around 66° f with 60% rh. I cant get the temp any lower but 66 should be fine.

FSxSC I want to say has 2 more weeks. Could be more. She was about 2 weeks behind. Trichs are starting to get cloudy and her fade has started.

I'm kind of bummed. I have some leftover from the past year in Grove Bags to cure. And they were working great. But within the past few months when winter came it's like 35% rh in my house.

Since I last checked the humidity in the bags dropped to 50% rh. It's pretty dry now. Should still be good. From now on I'm gonna put them in the bags to cure and then put them in jars.

 

[Halloweed]

Not much of an update really. So I was using my ACI humidifier in the drying tent. I decided to put it outside the tent and used the hose for the first time. Word to the wise, make sure the hose is positioned in a good spot.

Went to check on her one morning and there was water all over. Apparently it can drip from the hose. I thought ok, no problem. I raised the hose. When I checked on it the next morning, the RH was 30%. The plant dry as hell.

Apparently the hose needs to be positioned a certain way or It won't blow anything. I'm hoping It'll be fine. I cut off a bud and smoked some of it. The rest I tested in a jar and it's around 59%. I said fuck the hose and put it inside the tent.

It's only been a week but I think I'm gonna trim her up. The humidifier is working now so it's getting some moisture back in it, I'm just not sure if it will stay that way in the jar.

From what I sampled it's not too bad. Doesn't smell like hay at all.

 

[Phil.D.]

I chopped down the Astrofog Sunday evening. Day 86 I believe. Saw a few amber so I went ahead and cut. Right now I have her in a tiny tent drying. I have a fan blowing against the tent and a humidifier.

Her temp is around 66° f with 60% rh. I cant get the temp any lower but 66 should be fine.

FSxSC I want to say has 2 more weeks. Could be more. She was about 2 weeks behind. Trichs are starting to get cloudy and her fade has started.

I'm kind of bummed. I have some leftover from the past year in Grove Bags to cure. And they were working great. But within the past few months when winter came it's like 35% rh in my house.

Since I last checked the humidity in the bags dropped to 50% rh. It's pretty dry now. Should still be good. From now on I'm gonna put them in the bags to cure and then put them in jars.

When my rh drops in the jars or Grove bags, I take a very small piece of a flower tortilla and put it inside. Rh comes up in no time.