2019 outdoor season

[Rooke]

Hey there do you use cal mag when you feed?

 

[TerriR]

Hey there do you use cal mag when you feed?

I do...half strength once they get about 2 ft tall, but they seem to appreciate a little along the way. I generally cut the cal mag when they get into flower. I’d love to hear what the masters here do...I am still digesting the science and go by what my green thumb tells me until I learn the correct ways.

 

[TerriR]

After looking at all these pics one thing I’m going to try next year is setting up a raised garden bed. I’ll keep the bottom open so the roots can grow into the soil beneath.

I was thinking square garden beds with 4 ft sides maybe about 2 or 3 feet tall. I’ll make the walls from some galvanized 2”x4”mesh wire farm fencing and line the inside with landscape fabric.

Does anyone think I would notice a difference with a raised garden bed for a plant rather than just planting straight in the ground??

One thing I know is my dog wouldn’t be able to step on a plant this way

I got that notion too after sonoragold’s tree farm pics! What about digging out the foundation and building a big compost pile before you put in the raised bed? My soil here is soooooo poor (desert sand) that I would really need a big hole filled with decent soil just to entertain that method.

 

[Rooke]

I hear ya I just want to get it right, I used it last year and I stopped in about week 4 ish of flower then started using armor Si from gh in my feeding I was told that it may help reduce bud mold as my sept and October is typically quite humid and rainy. Thought’s ???

 

[TerriR]

I hear ya I just want to get it right, I used it last year and I stopped in about week 4 ish of flower then started using armor Si from gh in my feeding I was told that it may help reduce bud mold as my sept and October is typically quite humid and rainy. Thought’s ???

No thoughts on that. My humidity is never over 20%, and usually under 15%. If armor SI helped, then I would keep using it. My issue is caterpillars which have already arrived so I need to go spray some Spinosad stat.

 

[MooseFarts]

I got that notion too after sonoragold’s tree farm pics! What about digging out the foundation and building a big compost pile before you put in the raised bed? My soil here is soooooo poor (desert sand) that I would really need a big hole filled with decent soil just to entertain that method.

Yeah I would probably have to do the same thing. Dig out the clay I’ve got and put a big ol pile of compost in it. I recently read something on this site about hugulculture or however it’s spelled and looked it up, now I want to try it.

Essentially what it is is you make a compost pile over a bunch of dead logs/ branches or sticks. Over time the logs on the bottom break down and give nutrients back to the soil. My thought was to dig out the clay, fill the bottom with sticks and branches, pile some compost on top and let it sit over winter. Then come spring put up some raised garden fencing and fill it with more compost and amended soil.

My thought is that the nutrient rich soil with decaying matter at the bottom of the hole would act as a Supersoil. I know some people put super soil in the bottom of their pots and then normal amended soil on top. This way by the time the plants get to flower the roots are at the bottom where the nutrients are abundant.

Was thinking about maybe trying two beds like this

 

[MooseFarts]

I do use cal mag when I feed, same thing for me I use it at about half the recommended dose. Next year I’m going to try and amend the soil I have and go fully organic with no fed nutrients. I’d start doing compost teas if I was going that route as well.

 

[Rooke]

When do you stop using it?

 

[MooseFarts]

When do you stop using it?

I will probably stop once all plants are in full flower mode. So soon. Most of mine are showing pistils but two have buds / budlets forming

 

[Rooke]

Gotcha thanks man. Hey have you ever used Armor Si from gh? There was a grower on here last year that recommended using it to prevent mold and plant stress in the fall. I tried it not sure if it helped but my gals but they did pretty good. I haven’t seen her on here for awhile great lakes was her name awesome farmer!

 

[sonoragold]

I think you guys are on the right track, if you don't mind let me give you some pointers, First of all keep it simple, plan way ahead, and have fun. Don't buy into the big nutrient scam, Building raisesd beds will definitely increase your poundage for alot of different reasons. I use air pots, approx 1/2 yard each or about 100 gall, no need to ever go bigger. Prepping your soil is key. Personally I put logs on the bottom, no till, then old branches, then a layer of wood chips and a layer of old forest frass, this totals about 1/4 of my containers, I then put good topsoil full of organic amendment on top , mainly chicken , alpaca alfalfa meal, kelp, azolomite, and high nitrogen bat guano, the slow release kind, I never use calmag or any silica, or any chemical based fert, they will ruin your soil overtime, the only thing I sometimes use is Max Sea as only as a foliar spray, every year I add more amendments and the soil just keep getting better. Also and very important, use 1/4 inch soaker hose about a foot or more from your stock and water very slowly, it usually takes me about 12 hours to water my plants on a timer,, hope this info helps, if you all have any questions, just ask

 

[sonoragold]

I do...half strength once they get about 2 ft tall, but they seem to appreciate a little along the way. I generally cut the cal mag when they get into flower. I’d love to hear what the masters here do...I am still digesting the science and go by what my green thumb tells me until I learn the correct ways.

Don't use call mag unless they need it, once your soil is correct you will never need it, if you do, it's much more effective to use it as a foliar spray, and alot cheaper

 

[MooseFarts]

Gotcha thanks man. Hey have you ever used Armor Si from gh? There was a grower on here last year that recommended using it to prevent mold and plant stress in the fall. I tried it not sure if it helped but my gals but they did pretty good. I haven’t seen her on here for awhile great lakes was her name awesome farmer!

I haven’t used that stuff no. I have heard about using a silica amendment but I have no experience using any. I’ve heard that plants need silica to form cell walls but I haven’t done that research yet myself to be 100% sure. It’s always good to research everything to know you know, you know??

 

[MooseFarts]

I think you guys are on the right track, if you don't mind let me give you some pointers, First of all keep it simple, plan way ahead, and have fun. Don't buy into the big nutrient scam, Building raisesd beds will definitely increase your poundage for alot of different reasons. I use air pots, approx 1/2 yard each or about 100 gall, no need to ever go bigger. Prepping your soil is key. Personally I put logs on the bottom, no till, then old branches, then a layer of wood chips and a layer of old forest frass, this totals about 1/4 of my containers, I then put good topsoil full of organic amendment on top , mainly chicken , alpaca alfalfa meal, kelp, azolomite, and high nitrogen bat guano, the slow release kind, I never use calmag or any silica, or any chemical based fert, they will ruin your soil overtime, the only thing I sometimes use is Max Sea as only as a foliar spray, every year I add more amendments and the soil just keep getting better. Also and very important, use 1/4 inch soaker hose about a foot or more from your stock and water very slowly, it usually takes me about 12 hours to water my plants on a timer,, hope this info helps, if you all have any questions, just ask

Screen shot this and keeping it safe for when I need this info I am definitely planning on making a switch to something exactly as you describe. But yes I believe you that the chemical fertilizers ruin the soil. I truely think organic no till is the way to go and I have yet to even try to be fully organic.

As another question. If you are using a previous years soil how do you usually go about amending it for the next grow? Do you start adding amendments like fresh chicken manure in the fall or would you rather add everything in the spring ?

Also In regards to the cal mag post, it does make sense that if your soil has everything the plant needs then you should never need to add anything.

 

[sonoragold]

Screen shot this and keeping it safe for when I need this info I am definitely planning on making a switch to something exactly as you describe. But yes I believe you that the chemical fertilizers ruin the soil. I truely think organic no till is the way to go and I have yet to even try to be fully organic.

As another question. If you are using a previous years soil how do you usually go about amending it for the next grow? Do you start adding amendments like fresh chicken manure in the fall or would you rather add everything in the spring ?

Also In regards to the cal mag post, it does make sense that if your soil has everything the plant needs then you should never need to add anything.

I start adding my amendments in early March, gives them a chance to break down, I don't use fresh chicken manure as it's way too hot, it takes time too switch over to organic but its sooo worth it, trust me I've used chemicals in the past, when I first started growing in the early 80's I used a ton of Rapid Grow and it actually worked very well, wasn't much available then. Most of what these companies are selling you is really overpriced hype that just builds up salt in your very expensive soil, I know my product tastes and smells so much better and my plants get much bigger and a different lush green color, I'll post a pick of Coyote Goo tomorrow, the same one I posted earlier but now a month later. She is about 12ft tall now

 

[PlumberSoCal]

Screen shot this and keeping it safe for when I need this info I am definitely planning on making a switch to something exactly as you describe. But yes I believe you that the chemical fertilizers ruin the soil. I truely think organic no till is the way to go and I have yet to even try to be fully organic.

As another question. If you are using a previous years soil how do you usually go about amending it for the next grow? Do you start adding amendments like fresh chicken manure in the fall or would you rather add everything in the spring ?

Also In regards to the cal mag post, it does make sense that if your soil has everything the plant needs then you should never need to add anything.

Yup, used miracle grow for years. It destroys soil. When I moved here 6 years ago I used it for 2 years before reading what it does to soil so for the past 4 I've been amending where I plant.

Heavy clay soil (has more cal and mag then I'll ever need) that gets like cement in the walkways. I've been using composted chicken straw as a mulch and I dig it in after harvest and add hot fresh on top that I dig in in the spring. Nature is amazing.

I use teas, mainly horse this year as well as chicken and compost (I compost as much as possible) and it too has made a difference. I'm still giving a monthly dose of blood meal, except for flowering canna, and Espoma veggie garden-tone with the weekly tea feedings. The manure teas are watered down to 20-25% or they will burn plants. Table scraps compost I use at full strength with no problems.

I wouldn't recommend using any chemical fertilizers in your soil unless it's in a pot, but even then I wouldn't.

I made compost/hot boxes, 4' x 5' x 8" with old shower doors this past winter that turned out to be raised beds. I popped seeds in the boxes end of Jan of lettuce and snap peas then canna end of Feb.

I made a box for strawberries too. 21 cu ft of top soil mixed with 50lbs sand and put 2 cu ft of composted horse manure on the bottom. Today I have 2 sunflowers in there reaching towards 9'. I kick myself daily for not putting a few pot plants in it.

I grow a lot of veggies every year and I've found healthy soil equals healthy plants.

 

[sonoragold]

I haven’t used that stuff no. I have heard about using a silica amendment but I have no experience using any. I’ve heard that plants need silica to form cell walls but I haven’t done that research yet myself to be 100% sure. It’s always good to research everything to know you know, you know??

I've used silica in hydroponics but really never noticed any difference other then it really throws off your PH, soil naturally has silica in it, so really no need,,just more snake oil propaganda by the big fert companies

 

[MooseFarts]

I start adding my amendments in early March, gives them a chance to break down, I don't use fresh chicken manure as it's way too hot, it takes time too switch over to organic but its sooo worth it, trust me I've used chemicals in the past, when I first started growing in the early 80's I used a ton of Rapid Grow and it actually worked very well, wasn't much available then. Most of what these companies are selling you is really overpriced hype that just builds up salt in your very expensive soil, I know my product tastes and smells so much better and my plants get much bigger and a different lush green color, I'll post a pick of Coyote Goo tomorrow, the same one I posted earlier but now a month later. She is about 12ft tall now

Holy she’s HUGE! 12 feet from the base of the pot of the top of the soil?! Can’t wait to see

Yup, used miracle grow for years. It destroys soil. When I moved here 6 years ago I used it for 2 years before reading what it does to soil so for the past 4 I've been amending where I plant.

Heavy clay soil (has more cal and mag then I'll ever need) that gets like cement in the walkways. I've been using composted chicken straw as a mulch and I dig it in after harvest and add hot fresh on top that I dig in in the spring. Nature is amazing.

I use teas, mainly horse this year as well as chicken and compost (I compost as much as possible) and it too has made a difference. I'm still giving a monthly dose of blood meal, except for flowering canna, and Espoma veggie garden-tone with the weekly tea feedings. The manure teas are watered down to 20-25% or they will burn plants. Table scraps compost I use at full strength with no problems.

I wouldn't recommend using any chemical fertilizers in your soil unless it's in a pot, but even then I wouldn't.

I made compost/hot boxes, 4' x 5' x 8" with old shower doors this past winter that turned out to be raised beds. I popped seeds in the boxes end of Jan of lettuce and snap peas then canna end of Feb.

I made a box for strawberries too. 21 cu ft of top soil mixed with 50lbs sand and put 2 cu ft of composted horse manure on the bottom. Today I have 2 sunflowers in there reaching towards 9'. I kick myself daily for not putting a few pot plants in it.

I grow a lot of veggies every year and I've found healthy soil equals healthy plants.

I've used silica in hydroponics but really never noticed any difference other then it really throws off your PH, soil naturally has silica in it, so really no need,,just more snake oil propaganda by the big fert companies

So I think you two just definitely sold me on switching over. Sounds like it will only make my grows get better. @PlumberSoCal luckily we have chickens here and will be able to use that. How is having a compost bin rather than a simple pile? I’m out in a rural area so we do a pile here but was wondering about building either a compost bin or some kind of worm bin. Maybe I’ll post some pics of the veggies we grow as well. Lots of tomatoes, peppers, kale, onion, garlic, potatoes, cabbage, peas, etc etc

 

[TerriR]

I think you guys are on the right track, if you don't mind let me give you some pointers, First of all keep it simple, plan way ahead, and have fun. Don't buy into the big nutrient scam, Building raisesd beds will definitely increase your poundage for alot of different reasons. I use air pots, approx 1/2 yard each or about 100 gall, no need to ever go bigger. Prepping your soil is key. Personally I put logs on the bottom, no till, then old branches, then a layer of wood chips and a layer of old forest frass, this totals about 1/4 of my containers, I then put good topsoil full of organic amendment on top , mainly chicken , alpaca alfalfa meal, kelp, azolomite, and high nitrogen bat guano, the slow release kind, I never use calmag or any silica, or any chemical based fert, they will ruin your soil overtime, the only thing I sometimes use is Max Sea as only as a foliar spray, every year I add more amendments and the soil just keep getting better. Also and very important, use 1/4 inch soaker hose about a foot or more from your stock and water very slowly, it usually takes me about 12 hours to water my plants on a timer,, hope this info helps, if you all have any questions, just ask

Wait...so are you saying that your airpots are containers for an ecosystem that you are gradually building up by adding more manures, etc...and that each one starts out with logs, branches, etc IN the airpot? The Dark Star got me confused

 

[PlumberSoCal]

Holy she’s HUGE! 12 feet from the base of the pot of the top of the soil?! Can’t wait to see




So I think you two just definitely sold me on switching over. Sounds like it will only make my grows get better. @PlumberSoCal luckily we have chickens here and will be able to use that. How is having a compost bin rather than a simple pile? I’m out in a rural area so we do a pile here but was wondering about building either a compost bin or some kind of worm bin. Maybe I’ll post some pics of the veggies we grow as well. Lots of tomatoes, peppers, kale, onion, garlic, potatoes, cabbage, peas, etc etc

I built a pallet composter with two compartments 5 years ago and don't use it much. I filled a large city trash can (100 gal or so) with food scraps and several shovel fulls of soil. 8 months later got killer compost with mycribal fungus. All plots will get a cup or two after harvest. Compost in piles, dig holes in the ground, trashcans or whatever but compost.

This box

with the pumpkin which I didn't plant had a layer of scraps. I pulled weeds and packed both boxes and put shower doors over 'em (both were over flowing and I had to smash them down to get the doors on) and then a couple weeks later as the compost shrunk I filled 'em with horse manure and put the doors on. I went to add scraps, lifted the glass door and saw the pumpkin. It, along with 6-7 tomato plants that I also didn't plant have filled the box and are growing like crazy.

I'll be harvesting 4 pumpkins soon.

I've become a big believer in composting weeds. I use to toss 'em but no more. I bet a weed tea would also produce good results.