First grow, supersoil, big variety & all I can think of

[freebird919]

Supposed to include all info & for my “diary.” 4/30/2026 started 3/20 & 3/23 from seed.

Durban Poison, White Widow, Blue Dream, Hash Burger, Gorilla Glue #4 , Northern Lights,(these for outdoor), Zkittlez, Honey Haze, Strawberry Jack
California Lightworks Solar 550 LED w/controller
Heater & fan
My “supersoil” (will attempt info)
Before planting in January did as always before knowing better 10-10-10 slow release
No nutrients except super light Photosynthesis Plus very early. Have FF Bloom and Tiger Bloom for later and flower
Light gnat hurdle when brought inside cure with tags, fly traps and by hand, a couple left but really nothing
All being grown in cold, dry basement (tent coming in day 1/2)
Problem w/light too close as they grew. Could have been real bad! Leaf canoe but stopped almost immediately after raising

 

[JIMKSI64]

Ok excellent start.
Here is what I see.
You have a very broad range of plants from sativa leaner to indica leaning .
And it looks to me like you are treating them all the same with the lights.
Stretch in seedling and veg as long as nutes and environment are spot on is mostly light driven. With so many plants you will need to find the stretcher plants and move them up to get more power from the light and the ones that are squatty and all secondary node spouting need slightly weaker light to CAUSE a stretch response.
A monocrop of all one seed type may not have stopped this either. Seeds are a genetic lottery and you can see way different presentations in even the same seed run.
Here a kicker. Sometimes you may want/need to kick some creepy stretchy girl out of the tent as you can not get enough light on it to stop it.
Sometimes you just have to cull a plant that is light averse. I am sure you have seen them they look like a lettuce plant they are so stacked. If you need to run plants more than 15% different lights settings you will be one frazzled dude moving plants around and raising/lowering plants.
Now I know a lot of these are for outdoor so you are not culling any so baseline your lights. ( Test tool ppdf/write down power and hight) and then start moving plants up and down until you get a bunch of plants that are not curling up and not stretching for the roof
Living soil is great. Living soil should have a nice growing biome and should be done based on a recipe that has proven success.
I grow all organic and after 4 harvested but ugly weed grows I am following a strict add schedule that is doing soooo much better.

The one thing for nutrition I can recommend is use a product that understands the difference between plant, potted, indoor and indoor cannabis grow.
If the nutrition choice has a historical show me the weed fan base and recipe or a cannabis grow schedule like mine.
https://drearth.com/wp-content/uploads/Feeding-Schedule.pdf

It took me 4 grows to find that file and for 1 of the runs I actually was doing Dr earth wrong and it was ugly.

 

[freebird919]

Ok excellent start.
Here is what I see.
You have a very broad range of plants from sativa leaner to indica leaning .
And it looks to me like you are treating them all the same with the lights.
Stretch in seedling and veg as long as nutes and environment are spot on is mostly light driven. With so many plants you will need to find the stretcher plants and move them up to get more power from the light and the ones that are squatty and all secondary node spouting need slightly weaker light to CAUSE a stretch response.
A monocrop of all one seed type may not have stopped this either. Seeds are a genetic lottery and you can see way different presentations in even the same seed run.
Here a kicker. Sometimes you may want/need to kick some creepy stretchy girl out of the tent as you can not get enough light on it to stop it.
Sometimes you just have to cull a plant that is light averse. I am sure you have seen them they look like a lettuce plant they are so stacked. If you need to run plants more than 15% different lights settings you will be one frazzled dude moving plants around and raising/lowering plants.
Now I know a lot of these are for outdoor so you are not culling any so baseline your lights. ( Test tool ppdf/write down power and hight) and then start moving plants up and down until you get a bunch of plants that are not curling up and not stretching for the roof
Living soil is great. Living soil should have a nice growing biome and should be done based on a recipe that has proven success.
I grow all organic and after 4 harvested but ugly weed grows I am following a strict add schedule that is doing soooo much better.

The one thing for nutrition I can recommend is use a product that understands the difference between plant, potted, indoor and indoor cannabis grow.
If the nutrition choice has a historical show me the weed fan base and recipe or a cannabis grow schedule like mine.
https://drearth.com/wp-content/uploads/Feeding-Schedule.pdf

It took me 4 grows to find that file and for 1 of the runs I actually was doing Dr earth wrong and it was ugly.

Ok, I never do this but y’all have been more than kind. Of coarse you can find most of this anywhere on the net but I think I have a few secrets to add.

Ingredients: soil from undisturbed woodlands (get as much as you can). Soil with thick rotted leaves and bark. If you sink into it while walking, you found it. You can also find businesses to deliver but carefully inspect and ask questions about where obtained and investigate and verify. Huge amounts of coffee grounds (your own, friends & family then truckloads (in time) from Starbucks, and others). Seek out farmer granting you aged manure (just about any, rabbit, hoarse, cow and pig). Yours, family & friends appropriate kitchen clean veg waste (any others from yard and garden) adding always! Huge amounts of maple leaves chopped, weed whipped or otherwise (or other leaves but NOT oak). Old wood chips (just enough to add brown). Some branches (to add oxygen in). Turn it all regularly for a month or two then add gallons of worms (red and nightcrawlers). Water when extremely dry (worms need it to breathe). Keep turning without too much disturbance to worms (they’re eating, pooping and breading). Add any ingredients of plant life rotten or otherwise, bone meal, blood meal, black cow (these found “on sale”) tea bags, pig bread (obtained from bakery discard) & etc. The more differing ingredient type (diversification) the better. Time, heat, rain.
My piles are so large they’d take a large backhoe to turn but that’s the worms job, for the most part now. When done this way, or better, you have SUPER SOIL (my way) and in any amount you choose. And I could tell you but you’d think I’m exaggerating how big my plants get and how they produce. It’s real. This is one case where bigger is better, if you can, or find a friend or family member where you can pile and experiment. Edit: Biochar, my woods usually need cleaning and hardwood branches and some trees are burnt leaving some small burnt chips. Add them in with small amounts to the turning and you’ve just added biochar.

Man, what great advice, care and knowledge you just supplied! Thank you, I’ll never forget the kindness and time taken. I’ll reread many times over!

 

[JIMKSI64]

And on more thing.
Please swap out your sticky traps. Makes me itch looking at your pictures.

 

[freebird919]

And on more thing.
Please swap out your sticky traps. Makes me itch looking at your pictures.

I’ve obtained so much useful advice here and am ever learning from all sources. Over the decades of growing (all forms except cannabis) have never had a problem with microscopic organisms. Large bugs, for sure! Learning from y’all about danger to the plant and remedies have been a true education. The nematode thing is truly interesting and am about to go to war, just in case. Buying good ones to eat the bad (close to the science of compost mixture decomposition and additions) light chemical, at appropriate times, and mosquito bite tea is going to be fun. But wirh care!

 

[freebird919]

And on more thing.
Please swap out your sticky traps. Makes me itch looking at your pictures.

My new thing! Have to ask to get solved soon (and on we go). New 5X10 Vivosun tent. Plants & I happy except humidity unchanging 79% (when soil & plants dry and same after watering) per cheap hydrometer. Not healthy now nor for flower. House @ 59%. Opened all vents. No change. Deep dive into dehumidifiers. They creat heat big time. Must be outside tent. Tent sellers dehumidifiers made for 5X5.
Begging for advice on this issue.

 

[JIMKSI64]

First verify humidity with another sensor. It should have moved when you opened the tent and there is such a lower number for the room.
Edit
I freaking stock both the ACi and the Vivosun sensors cause they fail and they cheap.

 

[JIMKSI64]

5x10 I have seen always had huge amounts of fans and 2 extraction points. Mini splits and such. If you are going to flower more than 1/2 that at a time that is going to be a huge thermal load.
There are formulas to find out how many cubic feet a minute and how much of a temp drop your cool air need to be. I bet if you asked the Google and had enough info it would spit out something close.
It's even worse if you are extracting the tent into the lung room. That's an endless loop of doom.

 

[freebird919]

5x10 I have seen always had huge amounts of fans and 2 extraction points. Mini splits and such. If you are going to flower more than 1/2 that at a time that is going to be a huge thermal load.
There are formulas to find out how many cubic feet a minute and how much of a temp drop your cool air need to be. I bet if you asked the Google and had enough info it would spit out something close.
It's even worse if you are extracting the tent into the lung room. That's an endless loop of doom.

Update: had enough so opened door to inside while house doors open. Outside humidity 34%, temp 66. Dropped immediately.
I have no idea what lung room is. Planning to flower in same tent. Drying flower in cool, dry basement. No extraction fans or carbon filters. At flower, will be about ten plants, autos. Probably going to winging it. Not good.

 

[JIMKSI64]

Not good. If you are planing a tent that size in flower just 1000 watts of lights produces a 3400 btu thermal load constantly every hour they are on. 50 feet times 40 watts per square foot is twice that.

Suggest a winter grow

 

[freebird919]

Not good. If you are planing a tent that size in flower just 1000 watts of lights produces a 3400 btu thermal load constantly every hour they are on. 50 feet times 40 watts per square foot is twice that.

Suggest a winter grow

Light is one LED from California Lightworks solar 550. No problem with heat, it’s damn humidity.

 

[JIMKSI64]

How many watts and how big a footprint?
Also the 2 items are linked and controlling one will move the other in most cases.

 

[freebird919]

How many watts and how big a footprint?
Also the 2 items are linked and controlling one will move the other in most cases.

400 watts, 1280 BTU, 18.5” X 8.5”X4” could be chained w/another from same controller. Wanted big grows, yes. But mainly room for things, movement and wife’s vegetable starting.

 

[JIMKSI64]

400 watts, 1280 BTU, 18.5” X 8.5”X4” could be chained w/another from same controller. Wanted big grows, yes. But mainly room for things, movement and wife’s vegetable starting.

Have you found a par map for that light? I have a 400 watt unit and with 18-6 for autos I did 7 in tent just fine.
Well the lights were fine. The nutrition profile not so much

 

[freebird919]

Have you found a par map for that light? I have a 400 watt unit and with 18-6 for autos I did 7 in tent just fine.
Well the lights were fine. The nutrition profile not so much

Co. says I’ll be fine for now and full tent needing to chain another to same controller. What’s more important though is, on another site, growers say an 8” exhaust will solve humidity and other breathing solutions. So, ordering 8” Vivosun exhaust. With HVAC in summer, should be ok.
I thank you much, as alaways,
Just ordered 8” Vivosun exhaust & filter. Tried to do without all stuff I could but some things are a must. Oh well.

 

[JIMKSI64]

Hardest pill to swallow for me was total of 80 pints of dehumidifiers that get used for 6 weeks of the grow....

 

[freebird919]

5x10 I have seen always had huge amounts of fans and 2 extraction points. Mini splits and such. If you are going to flower more than 1/2 that at a time that is going to be a huge thermal load.
There are formulas to find out how many cubic feet a minute and how much of a temp drop your cool air need to be. I bet if you asked the Google and had enough info it would spit out something close.
It's even worse if you are extracting the tent into the lung room. That's an endless loop of doom.

Just learning about lung rooms. The room the tent is in is at least 6 X 12 larger than 5X10 tent, is heated in winter and cooled by HVAC & vented into room. With the door to room open there’s good air flow. The exhaust will be vented into room/house then, obviously back through HVAC filter. Cooled air in summer comes from vent in floor nicely situated near vent openings in tent. The obvious attitude is to use the 5X10 as a complete grow through the seasons. In spring/fall temps the window in room can bring in cool (65 - 75 deg) fresh air. The cool, dry basement is always averaging 55 deg., humidity avg. 40% and used for dark, cool, low humidity hanging/drying/trimming flower. Then dried bud in mason jars for burping in said basement. That’s way more info I intended sharing but need your insight if at all doable. I like using K.I.S.S. method.

 

[JIMKSI64]

Just learning about lung rooms. The room the tent is in is at least 6 X 12 larger than 5X10 tent, is heated in winter and cooled by HVAC & vented into room. With the door to room open there’s good air flow. The exhaust will be vented into room/house then, obviously back through HVAC filter. Cooled air in summer comes from vent in floor nicely situated near vent openings in tent. The obvious attitude is to use the 5X10 as a complete grow through the seasons. In spring/fall temps the window in room can bring in cool (65 - 75 deg) fresh air. The cool, dry basement is always averaging 55 deg., humidity avg. 40% and used for dark, cool, low humidity hanging/drying/trimming flower. Then dried bud in mason jars for burping in said basement. That’s way more info I intended sharing but need your insight if at all doable. I like using K.I.S.S. method.

It sounds like you have a perfect HVAC answer with one question. Can you set it up on its own register with thermostat? I have to manually close registers in the basement but it's 4 levers so not big.
Like last night. I have the room blocked and all the registers for day and then open the room up or it will drop to 64 degrees without the heater. By opening just the room vent I get 3 degrees from the house and only need sporadic heat from the thermoforge.
It was a heavy frost last night. Scrambling at 7pm to lay tarps over strawberries and new plantings.

 

[orggrwr]

Hey freebird, one thing i noticed you might want to consider is a mulch to keep the top layer of your supersoil moist. Living soil requires a more even moisture level without the drastic dry back of regular soil grows. This is especially important when you use flowering top dresses later, those microbes need moisture to do their thing. I use rice hulls but some people use a living mulch of clover. ( believe @Gmix has a thread on it) The hulls also help with fungus gnats as they can't burrow through it to get to the soil. Rice hulls are also an excellent soil amendment. They help with drainage and aeration much like perlite and when they break down after a couple of grows they are a good source of silica. I use a lot of hulls so I buy the big bags that I can fit in. This bag cost around 80 bucks but will last me a year or more. And any hulls that were used as mulch and don't get mixed into the soil at reamend go into the compost pile.

 

[freebird919]

It sounds like you have a perfect HVAC answer with one question. Can you set it up on its own register with thermostat? I have to manually close registers in the basement but it's 4 levers so not big.
Like last night. I have the room blocked and all the registers for day and then open the room up or it will drop to 64 degrees without the heater. By opening just the room vent I get 3 degrees from the house and only need sporadic heat from the thermoforge.
It was a heavy frost last night. Scrambling at 7pm to lay tarps over strawberries and new plantings.

Not really needed & I’ll explain. Vents in tent open all around and on bottom. Come summer, with my new 8” exhaust working, necessary venting closed, shouldn’t be a problem. Also, we never cool house that much at all. Had close to 90 recently, doors open and happy. But for plants will determine. One register in room anyway. Right now, like we discussed, my humidity, all closed up at 80+%, opened right hand door slightly, fan pushing out, I’m 61% humidity. That’s before exhaust arrives, very soon. Our frost is long over but darn vortex gets us closer than I’d like. So, no planting outdoors yet. Hoping for dry fall!
But thank you so much! You’ve been a true friend!