Growth Shots and Super Soil ... I'm new and need friends with knowledge!

[ProGuyMJ]

Hey Team,
I am using Cali Super Soil for my first grow and having stellar success so far. I am 5 weeks into the flowering of my clones. I've built a screen and looking to stretch these into a ScrOG. I am growing Godfather OG and these babies are nice and spidery on their horizontal planes.

It looks like I'll be able to get up to a dozen flowers off of each plant. They are about 12" tall as of today and are now just touching the screen. I am planning on flipping to flower at the end of May.

Question 1: I am looking for advice on using the growth shot that came with the Super Soil pots. There is a notable lack of instructions on how to use these products and I'm hoping to find someone who has used it and can guide me. How much, how to apply, what to look for?
Question 2: With the potential of so many buds, on so many stalks, growing from one main stalk: Even with the screen, what is the best way to mitigate the risks from so much weight? I have thought of building support where the stalks turn upwards. Similar to what a tree person might do to support the weight of limbs on older oak trees. Any thoughts?

I'm anxious to engage with others to figure out the best means and methods to turn out a stellar harvest each time. Being new ... I bit the bullet and hit the start switch with an anticipation my efforts would be restrained. Mother nature has taken a shine to my efforts and my concerns are focused now, on making a good effort, a great one.

 

[2Bad]

First don't jump the gun wait until someone here instructs you. Second I've never heard of growth shots sounds like something crazy

 

[RootsRuler]

I assume you're in a tent? If so then I also assume that you have your environmentals under control? Photoperiod or auto seed?

I gave the site a glance. You have amended soil with a bloom tea. Same soil recipe I used to mix up years ago when I worked on outdoor farms. Same concept. Super soil on the bottom third of the hole, in your case a pot, and regular soil for the other 2/3's. Super soil is too hot for your new roots hence why they only use it on the bottom of the pot. Roots need to be well established to be able to handle a nutrient mix that hot.

The one thing I'm not seeing in your soil mix that I think is crucial is silica. The potting mix may have some but straight mix never seems to have enough. This is especially crucial during veg as it helps in establishing strong branches to hold up those heavy flowers along with improving pest and disease control.

Q1 - https://calisupersoil.com/nutrient-shot/

1. Add 8oz per feed directly to your plant’s topsoil: 8oz per 5 Gallons of Potting mix.
2. Add Cali Super Soil SHOT to the top of the soil before watering.
3. Add an extra 20oz of water after feeding to water plants.
4. Repeat every 45-days.

Q2 - Have you topped the plant? Do you know what Low Stress Training is?

Tutorial on how to top and fim by one of the best on Scrogging, our own CannaGranny.

LST Tutorial

The method I use to ScroG is I top the plant(s) early to promote early branching and establish the network that will be delivering food to the flowers. Once I get enough branching I train the branches to grow horizontally rather than vertically so that I get as much canopy coverage as possible. Once I have around 60% - 70% of the screen covered I flip the light schedule to 12/12 to induce flowering. In the time it takes for flower pistils to appear the plant will enter the stretching phase and will almost double in size depending on the cultivar. I use this time to fill the remainder of the screen along with allowing them to grow upwards once the screen is filled. By the time I have around 9" of vertical growth, the plants should have flipped into flower and stopped stretching. From there on out it's about maintaining optimal environmental conditions and feeding them properly.

The current grow I have has gotten to a point that I will need to support the verticals as they are now getting top heavy and laying down from the weight. I just received the other stretch screen I'll need to do that.

I have a diary of this grow detailing how I do it if you are interested.

Triple Cut SCROG Log/Grow #2

1/7/2023 Got some really nice genetics from some of my Cali Bros today. They're currently in the tent waiting for lights on while I finish fabricating my new exhaust port. I moved my tent from the living room where I was exhausting through the chimney to my office and will now exhaust out one...

www.thcfarmer.com

 

[ProGuyMJ]

OK ... thank you for hearing my pleas.
Let me fill in some gaps.

Grow tent is 4'6" x 4'6"".

I am using a FlexStar 645W LED light.

I have a 4" Exhaust fan and have a backup 6" exhaust fan should the heat get to intense.

I am monitoring temperature and humidity with 3 monitors in the tent and 1 in the room.

I have a humidifier in tent and a dehumidifier in the room. I keep the humidity at around 55%.

I run the lights for 18 hours and keep the temperatures around 83 degrees by leaving the lights at 80%

The lights sit around 15" from the top of the canopy.

Screen of Green is the goal. started with 8 clones of the Godfather OG strain.

I also have 3 that were started from seed. (Ethos Apex R1). These were started in cococoir and had a rough start. I adopted them and they too, are now thriving. These 3 are in 5 gallon, Food Grade buckets that I used a super soil concentrate, with HappyFrog soil.

The Godfather clones were put to soil on April 2nd.

The Ethos were seeded on March 17th.

I have done low stress training on all of these plants and they have all spread out nicely.

The Godfathers are not as bushy, but they have also grown more vertically, than horizontal. They are each between 12 to 14"
high and about 17" wide. They all have multiple stems and I only topped once. Multiple meaning up to 12 stems per plant.

The Ethos have 4 to 6 potential flower sites and sit in the tent, higher than the Godfathers because the buckets are taller and the plants are bushier.

I am concerned about so much weight on each of these stems as if all of these sites flower, these will be incredibly heavy. Thus my questions about support from under the stems from a potential bamboo bridge or a good recommendation.

I have built a ScrOG screen from PVC and it now sits in the tent with the stems approaching and encroaching it today. I have only tucked a couple into the openings and expect the others to push quickly when I give them their growth shots.

I can add a second screen if advisable.

I have had no pest, no mold, and no issues to speak of.

I'm just ignorant as my experience with growing was helping the harvest and trimming. 40 years ago.

Let me know what kind of photos will help you help me and I'll look over these videos to see if I topped and stressed well, etc.

Thank you a million times over.

 

[RootsRuler]

OK ... thank you for hearing my pleas.
Let me fill in some gaps.

Grow tent is 4'6" x 4'6"".

I am using a FlexStar 645W LED light.

I have a 4" Exhaust fan and have a backup 6" exhaust fan should the heat get to intense.

I am monitoring temperature and humidity with 3 monitors in the tent and 1 in the room.

I have a humidifier in tent and a dehumidifier in the room. I keep the humidity at around 55%.

I run the lights for 18 hours and keep the temperatures around 83 degrees by leaving the lights at 80%

The lights sit around 15" from the top of the canopy.

Screen of Green is the goal. started with 8 clones of the Godfather OG strain.

I also have 3 that were started from seed. (Ethos Apex R1). These were started in cococoir and had a rough start. I adopted them and they too, are now thriving. These 3 are in 5 gallon, Food Grade buckets that I used a super soil concentrate, with HappyFrog soil.

The Godfather clones were put to soil on April 2nd.

The Ethos were seeded on March 17th.

I have done low stress training on all of these plants and they have all spread out nicely.

The Godfathers are not as bushy, but they have also grown more vertically, than horizontal. They are each between 12 to 14"
high and about 17" wide. They all have multiple stems and I only topped once. Multiple meaning up to 12 stems per plant.

The Ethos have 4 to 6 potential flower sites and sit in the tent, higher than the Godfathers because the buckets are taller and the plants are bushier.

I am concerned about so much weight on each of these stems as if all of these sites flower, these will be incredibly heavy. Thus my questions about support from under the stems from a potential bamboo bridge or a good recommendation.

I have built a ScrOG screen from PVC and it now sits in the tent with the stems approaching and encroaching it today. I have only tucked a couple into the openings and expect the others to push quickly when I give them their growth shots.

I can add a second screen if advisable.

I have had no pest, no mold, and no issues to speak of.

I'm just ignorant as my experience with growing was helping the harvest and trimming. 40 years ago.

Let me know what kind of photos will help you help me and I'll look over these videos to see if I topped and stressed well, etc.

Thank you a million times over.

Much better. Info is always good. Yes, pictures would greatly help. I see you have practical experience so you aren't some floundering newb.

My suggestion would be to reconfigure your screen to be able to handle 2 levels. Like this....

Depending on the genetics, I like to run my tent a little cooler. I have an AC Infinity T6 6" fan with controller in the tent in a lung room and try and keep the girls chilling at around 77* -78* lights on. I try not to go above 80*.

In veg I like to run a high humidity environment so I keep them at between 70% - 80% humidity in veg, 60% - 70% in late veg to early flower and 45% - 55% in late flower. I also taper down temps to around 72* the last couple weeks before harvest.

 

[ProGuyMJ]

Sorry for the delay RootsRuler (RR). I lost my card reader and needed to get another to post photos. Let me just put some random shots in there and you let me know what I should focus on to give you more insight into my madness.

These shots are over sporadic and just give you a sense of what's going on. I think I am ready for the GrowthShots and am only waiting for two watering cans with wands. One for the nutrient, and the other for pure H2O.

I like the idea of different heights as I did not follow original advice and now have two strains in one tent. I maybe could get another smaller tent to keep it straight and play games with the light. I may be also be overthinking it.

Anyhow ... let me know what you think!

 

[RootsRuler]

Everything looks good. You have enough screen coverage to flip. Get the R1's as flat as you can and put anything that doesn't reach that height on plant stands so that they are even with the screen.

Feed as instructed.

You know you can make your own supersoil right? The recipe they use is a recipe that has been around for decades.

How to Make Your Own Super Soil Like a True Master Grower | Wikileaf

Whether you’re a seasoned grower or just dipping your toes into the cultivation scene, you’ll want to make sure your cannabis plants grow up to be robust and healthy.

www.wikileaf.com

How to Make Super Soil​

If you’re growing your cannabis outdoors, you may plan to use the existing soil in your garden as your base soil. If this is the case, pick up a soil testing kit at your local garden center. These are relatively inexpensive and can tell you what ratio of plant macronutrients is already present in your soil. Make sure that your garden soil has not previously been treated with chemical pesticides or fertilizers. If it has, consider buying organic substrate from the store instead. This recipe is based on Subcool’s original super soil recipe. Growers have made a number of tweaks and substitutions to this formula, so feel free to use it as a guide and make it your own.

Super Soil Recipe​

Equipment:

• Garden shovel or pitchfork
• Tarp, large plastic tub, or wading pool (a.k.a. kiddie pool)
• 3-5 large garbage bins with lids

Ingredients:

• Base Soil: 6-8 large bags of organic soil containing coco fiber and mycorrhizae (Subcool recommended Roots Organic)—or equivalent amount of garden soil.
• 25-50 lbs organic worm castings
• 5 lbs steamed bone meal*
• 5 lbs Bloom Bat Guano**
• 5 lbs blood meal*
• 3 lbs rock phosphate
• ¾ cup Epsom salt
• ½ cup dolomite(sweet lime)
• ½ cup azomite
• 2 T powdered humic acid
• Water

*Many organic growers take issue with the use of animal byproducts, either for ethical reasons or because the animals in question may not have been raised using organic methods, which effectively renders the soil non-organic. **There are also a few concerns with the use of bat guano. It may not be sustainably harvested, and bats are often the prime suspects regarding the transfer of zoonotic diseases. You may choose not to use these ingredients and opt for additional worm castings, supplemented with alfalfa meal.

​

Super Soil Preparation Instructions​

1. Pour half of the base soil onto the tarp. If you’re using a kiddie pool or smaller container, you may have to do this in multiple batches.
2. Add the other ingredients(also known as amendments) to the pile except for the water. If you’re mixing in two batches, add only half the quantity of the amendments at this time and save the other half for your next batch)
3. Top with the remaining soil.
4. Use your shovel or pitchfork to thoroughly mix the base soil with the amendments. Take care to break up any large clumps in the soil throughout this process as well.
5. Transfer your mixed super soil to the garbage cans and add about 3 gallons of water per bin(enough to moisten, but not completely saturate). This helps distribute the nutrients.
6. Mix up the soil inside the bins to spread the water throughout.
7. Store the soil in a warm location for a minimum of 30 days or up to six months (some growers recommend 6-12 weeks). This allows the microorganisms time to establish and enrich the super soil.

How to Use Super Soil​

After your super soil has been allowed to sit for several weeks, it’s ready to use. Do not plant your cannabis plants directly in super soil. It is highly nutrient-rich and could cause fertilizer burns if applied directly. If you’re growing potted plants, fill the bottom ¼ or ⅓ of your pots with super soil. On top of this, create a “buffer zone” by adding a 2-inch layer containing a 50/50 mix of plain, organic base soil and your prepared super soil. Fill the rest of the pot with base soil only and add your plant to this zone. The cannabis plant’s roots will eventually reach down to the super soil layer and extract the nutrients. We’d like to thank the late, great cannabis breeder Subcool for his super soil recipe and his many contributions to the cannabis industry as a whole.

The bloom recipe they use is good but you should really learn the basics of nutrition so that you can come up with a better recipe. Supersoil ain't cheap and making it takes some time. Most just buy bags of soil made for cannabis which is also fortified. One soil that comes to mind that would be comparable to Supersoil is Roots Organic Lush formula.

 

[TLOnewbie]

Everything looks good. You have enough screen coverage to flip. Get the R1's as flat as you can and put anything that doesn't reach that height on plant stands so that they are even with the screen.

Feed as instructed.

You know you can make your own supersoil right? The recipe they use is a recipe that has been around for decades.

How to Make Your Own Super Soil Like a True Master Grower | Wikileaf

Whether you’re a seasoned grower or just dipping your toes into the cultivation scene, you’ll want to make sure your cannabis plants grow up to be robust and healthy.

www.wikileaf.com

How to Make Super Soil​

If you’re growing your cannabis outdoors, you may plan to use the existing soil in your garden as your base soil. If this is the case, pick up a soil testing kit at your local garden center. These are relatively inexpensive and can tell you what ratio of plant macronutrients is already present in your soil. Make sure that your garden soil has not previously been treated with chemical pesticides or fertilizers. If it has, consider buying organic substrate from the store instead. This recipe is based on Subcool’s original super soil recipe. Growers have made a number of tweaks and substitutions to this formula, so feel free to use it as a guide and make it your own.

Super Soil Recipe​

Equipment:

• Garden shovel or pitchfork
• Tarp, large plastic tub, or wading pool (a.k.a. kiddie pool)
• 3-5 large garbage bins with lids

Ingredients:

• Base Soil: 6-8 large bags of organic soil containing coco fiber and mycorrhizae (Subcool recommended Roots Organic)—or equivalent amount of garden soil.
• 25-50 lbs organic worm castings
• 5 lbs steamed bone meal*
• 5 lbs Bloom Bat Guano**
• 5 lbs blood meal*
• 3 lbs rock phosphate
• ¾ cup Epsom salt
• ½ cup dolomite(sweet lime)
• ½ cup azomite
• 2 T powdered humic acid
• Water

*Many organic growers take issue with the use of animal byproducts, either for ethical reasons or because the animals in question may not have been raised using organic methods, which effectively renders the soil non-organic. **There are also a few concerns with the use of bat guano. It may not be sustainably harvested, and bats are often the prime suspects regarding the transfer of zoonotic diseases. You may choose not to use these ingredients and opt for additional worm castings, supplemented with alfalfa meal.

​

Super Soil Preparation Instructions​

1. Pour half of the base soil onto the tarp. If you’re using a kiddie pool or smaller container, you may have to do this in multiple batches.
2. Add the other ingredients(also known as amendments) to the pile except for the water. If you’re mixing in two batches, add only half the quantity of the amendments at this time and save the other half for your next batch)
3. Top with the remaining soil.
4. Use your shovel or pitchfork to thoroughly mix the base soil with the amendments. Take care to break up any large clumps in the soil throughout this process as well.
5. Transfer your mixed super soil to the garbage cans and add about 3 gallons of water per bin(enough to moisten, but not completely saturate). This helps distribute the nutrients.
6. Mix up the soil inside the bins to spread the water throughout.
7. Store the soil in a warm location for a minimum of 30 days or up to six months (some growers recommend 6-12 weeks). This allows the microorganisms time to establish and enrich the super soil.

How to Use Super Soil​

After your super soil has been allowed to sit for several weeks, it’s ready to use. Do not plant your cannabis plants directly in super soil. It is highly nutrient-rich and could cause fertilizer burns if applied directly. If you’re growing potted plants, fill the bottom ¼ or ⅓ of your pots with super soil. On top of this, create a “buffer zone” by adding a 2-inch layer containing a 50/50 mix of plain, organic base soil and your prepared super soil. Fill the rest of the pot with base soil only and add your plant to this zone. The cannabis plant’s roots will eventually reach down to the super soil layer and extract the nutrients. We’d like to thank the late, great cannabis breeder Subcool for his super soil recipe and his many contributions to the cannabis industry as a whole.

The bloom recipe they use is good but you should really learn the basics of nutrition so that you can come up with a better recipe. Supersoil ain't cheap and making it takes some time. Most just buy bags of soil made for cannabis which is also fortified. One soil that comes to mind that would be comparable to Supersoil is Roots Organic Lush formula.

Way to much guano and blood meal
I would cut those both down to 2 lbs
Probably leave the humic acid out all together