Nomads Landing 2013 Season

bottlekap · Mar 25, 2013

this week we got the last of the beds dug built amended and covered...finished revamping the pathways...woo...

built a new cloner...the one we had required too much power...its a flood and drain system instead of an aeroponic system...it enables us to root our clones without the generator running...were soaking rockwool cubes and pearlite in ph adjusted water in preparation for cutting the light dep crop tomorrow...

started assembling the barrel stoves...

laid about 150 ft of pipe from the well head toward the greenhouse...ran out of pipe
about 50 ft from where we plan on running it inside...

got a bunch of work done in the veggie garden...beds dug and some planting done...

the full season crop is huge...the biggest (OG Kush, American Crippler, Sour
Diesel ect) are about 3 ft by 3 ft...everything else is looking great too...got a few strains spun up in my down time...
Qrazy Train 100ui

Qrazy Train 73ui

Sour Cream 100ui

hella stoaked about the progress...everyones been killin it...also were gonna be at the Yonder
Mountian String band show on 4/21...if anyones out there the whole Nomads Landing crew will be ragin it...so
untill next time..remember this time

Guyute54 · Mar 25, 2013

Cool to see twins from one seed. If you have more of those Sensi Star seeds I wouldn't be surprised if you found alot more twins popping up. I have got twins 3 times all from Mirre's (karma genetics). I actually have one mirre in flower (girl) and the runt I kept a clone of hoping it's a male. Want to see what would happin if I breed the two together. Probley alot of freeks but some times the freaky ones are the keepers. And I also love the greenhouse and the hard work you all are doing.

Seamaiden · Mar 25, 2013

You guys are doing permaculture/hugelkulture, aren't you?!? The barrel stove, is that for heating, or are you making a pyrolizing chamber for biochar? Did I already ask you about that...?

Sorry if I did, it was a long week last week and a longer weekend.

Big Hempin · Mar 26, 2013

Your 3rd garden has a great lookin base in a spiral shape for the water 2 run... 5 thumbs up:cigar:

Seamaiden · Mar 26, 2013

http://www.naturalnews.com/036314_permaculture_herb_spiral_sustainable_gardening.html

Nomads Landing · Mar 27, 2013

Guyute54 said:
Cool to see twins from one seed. If you have more of those Sensi Star seeds I wouldn't be surprised if you found alot more twins popping up. I have got twins 3 times all from Mirre's (karma genetics). I actually have one mirre in flower (girl) and the runt I kept a clone of hoping it's a male. Want to see what would happin if I breed the two together. Probley alot of freeks but some times the freaky ones are the keepers. And I also love the greenhouse and the hard work you all are doing.

Thanks f0r the props... yeah we have surely been bustin ass. The camera never captures the small things and/or to do's. With only 19 days till plant date... the pressure surely is squeezing tighter and tighter. lol... We couldn't agree with you more on the "sometimes the freaky ones are the keeper" statement... we are always on the search for the obscure and exotic. Interesting to note, of our Sensi twins, one is surely the runt.

Nomads Landing · Mar 27, 2013

Sea Maiden and Big Hempin: Whew where to start... Dia loves spirals and webs... permaculture is something we are working towards however unable to indulge fully at this time. Whenever we get the chance to maximize our needed potential from our resources we go for it. We are using many different types of systems to get us by... but yet always heading for the full self-sustainable way of life. One of our models is the Polyface Farms model by Joel Salatin. Currently we are heavy into Bio-Intensive Gardening. Which share many of the same principles. In fact I think the only thing missing from the list of 15 reasons for a permaculture spiral garden is our beds are generally 12 - 18" above the ground, the beds are designed to catch and absorb as much water as possible, even by consistantly scratching the top 1/2" to create more surface area for water, air, and sun; and with high emphasis on growing 60% of our crops for compost. We also make many of our own teas at the moment it is compost, marine, and alfalfa teas mainly. So... lol... The strawberry spiral was Dia's design and Linda and Stuart built it based on that. I suppose the naturalness of the idea led to percs we didn't even think about. Yes, good catch, based on Hugelculture, introduced to us by a feller named Paul Wheaton at Permies.com, we left the stump and a big part of the tree under the strawberry bed. Our concern with this particular bed is that the tree is a Western Juniper which contains a plant toxin as a self defense against other well... plants.... lol... We'll see, and OSU master gardeners extension doesn't seem to have very much useful information on the subject. The stoves are for heating, our water and natural soil is very alkaline about 7.8 (H2o) and 8.2 (soil). Our lady beds usually run between 6.5 and 7.5, so the use of Bio-char we try and keep to a minimum, only enough to populate more micro-beasties, and try to get a little K out of it. The use of stoves here is necessary because we generally have a 40 - 50' temprature swing from day and night. Not to mention, last season our final ladies didn't come down till Nov. 27th. Whew... hands cramping... puff, puff, check in later.

below frigid · Mar 28, 2013

How do you deal with your high ph h2o? My native soil is a little alkaline as well. I have to use it at 1/2 and 1/2 bag soil. I am fortunate my well water is about 6.5. I noticed m,y soil ph up a bit this spring. I think it was from using some chicken manure in my mis for a couple of seasons running. The only organic way I could find to knock it back down a notch was to add little sulpher but it's a slow fix.

Seamaiden · Mar 28, 2013

I'm using high pH irrigation water and simply using it unfiltered. I know this can cause problems in the future, but I'm being as judicious as I can and also am using no chemical salts, have never used chem salts in these cultivation areas. If I do see a problem, I will incorporate some peat, or perhaps even use it to naturally filter, soften and buffer the water.

November 27th..?!

I still haven't had my soil tested! <facepalm> I've had other priorities.

Below frigid, if you used anything like dolomite or oyster shell, I would look to those for the higher pH (carbonate molecules) rather than the chook poop.

below frigid · Mar 28, 2013

I don't use lime or oyster shell just because of that. I do use a little gypsum. I also get my calcium needs meet by foliar feeding them with calcium-25, 3-4 times through the season. I also foliar with PVC's Brix Mix. I stop all foliar as soon as flowers start forming.

Mogrow · Mar 28, 2013

below frigid said:
I don't use lime or oyster shell just because of that. I do use a little gypsum. I also get my calcium needs meet by foliar feeding them with calcium-25, 3-4 times through the season. I also foliar with PVC's Brix Mix. I stop all foliar as soon as flowers start forming.

senor tom hill does the cal 25 and hi brix folars also, it outta work.

Nomads Landing · Mar 29, 2013

Love the activity... Our water situation has changed a couple of times over the last few years.. We just got a well put in last year around the end of July, and prior to that we were hauling it, approx 300 gallons a day in the peak of Summer. Most of that water naturally contained ridiculous amounts of Total Disolved Solids, in the ranges of 200 - 450 ppm. We assumed the water had high Calcium, Mag, and Iron, however; our water from our well is only at 90 ppm and still the ph is high. We have tried running the H20 unadjusted for about 2 seasons or so... but we would always hit some type of strange deficiency. Usually a Potassium, Cal, and Iron, with tinges of Mag. We generally adjust our watering to 6.5 with PH Down, ugghh, or when we get our hands on it Mad Farmer's Down. Citric acid has been brought up but being a collective it can be tough to get everyone else on board sometimes. Otherwise with our liquid nutes the we add some EJ Bloom, and that brings the PH down quick... (brewed for 24-48 hours the PH does clime and stabalize quite a bit. Our soil composition started like this, we removed approx 6" of the native top soil classified by the local Ag dept as new or virgin. Then we removed the clay, and rock till we hit lava tubes. We then mixed the top soil with another 1/3 local horse, donkey, mule, and goat manures, and another 1/3 sand from our valley. Then about 2 years ago we got 27 yards of Shasta compost, from a place called Native Grounds Nursery in Mt. Shasta. We have amended the soil with organic ferts, every other year, and manures (animal and green) on the following years. To get the PH down we have used Tiger Sulpher 90 and gypsum, especially in the beginning stages of flower. Then populating the soil with as much of a diverse sources of composts as possible to help with a well rounded diet. As Sea Maiden suggested Peat will surely help as well. Always up for new ideas on dealin with the PH. We figure if our tea cup ever gets to full, we should find something else to do. ;^)

Curious about the spike in PH in your soil (Below Frigid) could your micro beasties have takin a hit from the chick manure being possibly to hot... it's what came to mind thinking about the cycles, micro life eats, dies, etc, creates different forms of acids, add calcium for micro beastie food and PH up, they eat it up, die, more acid...

Hey Mogrow, and Below Frigid, have you ever used a umm.. refractometer (I think) before and after, a Brix foliar? Just curious.

Nomads Landing · Mar 29, 2013

Seamaiden said:
November 27th..?!

I still haven't had my soil tested! <facepalm> I've had other priorities.

Lol... a couple more laughs behind me as well... yeah the 27th.... lol... the first thing we learned about green house growing add a couple of weeks to flower time, oh and if your nights are consistantly cold ie... 30 - 40' oh, add another couple of weeks... The OG Kush came down, Nov 22, Sour Diesel Nov 24, and some "pretenda" Purps on the 27th. The cuts came from Herban Legend in Fort Bragg. This was the only strain we got from them that wasn't what it was supposed to be, and did I mention bugs... it's the way it goes.

About 6 years ago we got a Le Motte soil test kit from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, and that is how we have been checking our ferts in the soil. Gotta get some new test fluids this year come to think about it... Suppose you could mail us some samples and we could check them for ya, an option anyway.

below frigid · Mar 29, 2013

Nomad, that's exactly what I used Tiger sulpher 90 and gypsum. I use all organic ferts, rainbow mix grow and bloom. I give them a little EJ micro blast a few times and mix in a little diatomic humus in anytime I hand water or foliar. I decided to expand the size of my smart pots this year. I think I over did it a little cause I am running out of dirt. LOL. I think some are over 5 ft in diameter now. Re doing my whole irrigation system as well. I am a one man show so I have been busy. No meters here. I don't even know what a refractometer does? My ph pen took a poop so I have been using the little kits.

Seamaiden · Mar 29, 2013

A refractometer measures dissolved solids--salts and sugars mostly. I was not able to get any juice/sap to get a reading last year, so this year I'm gonna try hitting it from another angle.

All these guys with big forearms are making getting a sap sample look easy, and it ain't! But I know I can get some from the petioles, will just need enough to make that schmear on the refractometer. Also going to start using plant sap pH, measuring and logging first, and then will see if I can manipulate for a sweet spot of 6.4. I still have a lot of learning in those areas to do.

Nomads Landing · Mar 30, 2013

Whew, just ordered the irrigation except for the res and pump... can't wait. We don't have a refractometer either, but was wondering if the percs outweighed the cost.
Below Frigid. We replaced our pH meter this year too. We use the black Hanna combo meter.

below frigid · Mar 30, 2013

I have the green Hanna PH-ORP combo. The shop sent it to hanna to see if they would do anything for me after I spent the money for a new probe and it did not fix it.

Seamaiden · Mar 30, 2013

Nomads Landing said:
Whew, just ordered the irrigation except for the res and pump... can't wait. We don't have a refractometer either, but was wondering if the percs outweighed the cost.
Below Frigid. We replaced our pH meter this year too. We use the black Hanna combo meter.

I paid something like $30-$40 for mine off eBay. The issue is getting enough sap to take a reading. I spent last year making leaf mush from everything I was trying to test. Now I know I can use the PETIOLES, and playing around taking sap pH readings I know I can get some sap from the petioles. Just have to get enough to make a drop-schmear on the refracto plate.

Nomads Landing · Mar 31, 2013

Seamaiden said:
I paid something like $30-$40 for mine off eBay. The issue is getting enough sap to take a reading. I spent last year making leaf mush from everything I was trying to test.

We can imagine... lol... but oh yeah, there should be no prob getting it from the petioles. BTW, what a screaming deal. We'll have to keep our eyes open, although at the moment most of the funds are already allocated. We'll see.

Below Frigid: Hopefully Hanna will take care of you. This is our 4th Hanna, but we love em, compared to what else is out there.

bottlekap · Mar 31, 2013

thanks spence for fielding those comments...hard to update with no computer...but here i sit for the easter sunday update...down to our last huge project...the heating...we got one stove assembled and burning quite well...cut holes and began assembley on the second stove...

the soil is cooking off in the beds...two weeks till we plant...
doing some greenhouse repairs...hole patching....vent fixing...door reimagining......shutter installation..