Homesteader’s homegrow diary for '21

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Homesteader

Homesteader

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Now I just need to vent the room at the bottom.
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Homesteader

Homesteader

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263
Decided to mix my soil indoors this year instead of the greenhouse now that I have a way to exhaust the dust and figured I would document it for this diary. It has been way too cold to work in the greenhouse lately here in Maine and I need to get my soil made for the next few months so why not start today?

I had my base all set from being mixed a few weeks and I filled up half the bags with the base. (Peat/coco/rice hull)
First I add about 2 cups per bag of pelletized gypsum. More than most I assume but I don't add any carbonates or calcium throughout the grow. If you haven't used gypsum for cannabis you truly are missing out.



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Goblinkiller

Goblinkiller

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Does the gypsum you use in your soil differentiates from regular gypsum? Is it better to use pellets instead of powder?
 
Homesteader

Homesteader

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Next is Soybean meal (7-2-3)
You want the best food for cannabis? Soybean is it. Complete nutrition.

2 cups per bag.
 
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Homesteader

Homesteader

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Does the gypsum you use in your soil differentiates from regular gypsum? Is it better to use pellets instead of powder?
Gypsum will release slowly every watering so the pellets are easier because you don't get so much caking or dust but it really doesn't matter all that much.
 
Homesteader

Homesteader

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Not really instead. I used crabmeal in the past and have no issues with it but I don't find it to be a necessity and I like to avoid carbonates. A bit of crab shell wouldn't hurt though.

The soybean is just about the only NPK I will give aside from a shot of fish a few weeks before flowering
 
Goblinkiller

Goblinkiller

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But for this soil mix in particular?:p dont wanna nag ya. I am learning about soil mixing
 
Homesteader

Homesteader

3,473
263
I actually lied, the bone char is loaded with phosphates but the majority of my NPK is from soybean.
 
Homesteader

Homesteader

3,473
263
The soybean is now mixed in. The meal had some moth infestation in it but they have spent a month outside in Maine so I think they are dead now. Either way they attack flour and not cannabis.
 
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Homesteader

Homesteader

3,473
263
The next addition is bone char (0-16-0). 1 and 1/2 cup per bag. I always wear a mask for mixing this one though, not exactly something I want to breathe in.
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Goblinkiller

Goblinkiller

658
143
The question was if you use soybean meal instead of crabmeal in this soil? You Said you used it in the past
 
Homesteader

Homesteader

3,473
263
Yeah I don't use crab meal. It is best used for chitin but I don't use it anymore. We eat lobster often and the shells go into my garden but not for my indoor grows.
 
Homesteader

Homesteader

3,473
263
Had a sick kid so I didn't get to finish this up with the soil the other day but finally got it all stirred up using the paddle mixer and drill this morning and can add some seedlings to them tonight or tomorrow along with the last few ingredients for the mix. These square bags don't stay square for long but I guess I expected that.

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Homesteader

Homesteader

3,473
263
So after inspecting this light it looks like several of the diodes fried. I don't recall overheating the light but it happened. I was running them at 700 mA so I didn't think the heat would be an issue but the boards were just packed too close together and were cranking light in Vegetative I think I got greedy on trying to build a light I could mount high but still get a ton on the canopy. Ill inspect it closer and see what can be salvaged at a later date.
You can see the diodes on several boards that the silicon just ejected and burned up more than one diode.
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This is the light I was building before flu took my all my time away. The aluminum is a larger 12" piece and the driver is larger as well. but going to get started on mounting the hanging bracket (a piece of holed steel, screw to the aluminum.) Ill figure out how to mount the driver after that. Ill use a HLG-320-1400B


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Goblinkiller

Goblinkiller

658
143
Hey man, sucks that it broke. The last one looks good. Have you tried / considered making light bar style?
 
Homesteader

Homesteader

3,473
263
I cut a few L shape aluminum bars to size so I could mount the driver and boxes above the heat sink. Ill use self tapping screws with a few washers to secure it.
The light should have grommets wherever the wires passes through metal holes but I wont worry about it.





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