Rick Ratlin's World

[rick ratlin]

All fan leaves are trimmed off and hung. 4 inch can fan covered in dynamat with a shorty can filter. Fan stays on 24/7 to keep that negative pressure in the box, knocking out the smell. I use the long ones too, but I got this one cheap. it comes out at a 90 degree angle to a muffler. Air intake comes from the bottom through regular home central air filters. It usually takes about 15-20 days to fully dry. I dry trim for two reasons.
1. I could never trim wet and keep up with the perpetual schedule. I have attempted, and it was too much for just myself. And its just me, no one else, ever.
2. With a dry trim, you can trim at your leisure. I've left branches from previous grows to hang up to 4 months, finished the trim and jarred them up with no loss in flavor or smell. I do, however, live in a humid area, so I'm not sure how this would work in a place with less than 50% humidity.

@waayne, I was looking through your old threads where you mentioned a place to buy cut to fit hepa filters. Couldn't find it. Looking to use those instead of my current filters. Thanks. Anyways, the box is also hit with duct tape on all seams and it is really really quiet.

Gonna need a bigger box…..White HP BX (Top Dawg)

 

[waayne]

Here's a link to the filter company @rick ratlin
They will make them any size you want,I use the Dust lok sporax media with added fungicide.....

 

[rick ratlin]

Thank you very much @waayne!
Here's whats next. Full room run of my favorite Stardawg, also bred by @JJ-NYC of Top Dawg. She's what I call my "Angry" pheno. Should be done in about 9 to 10 weeks, not sure. Never run her in coco. Got put into pots October 19th, and has been patiently waiting an extra week to go in. Here's the first day in veg, 5.5 inch pots, 100% coco (mother earth brand) top dress bokashi. under led.

Last night getting them ready to plant and trim up. 9 total plants. 4 on one side, and 5 on the other

Here's a shot of what they look like before(right side) and after (left side)

Thats it for today. I'll try to take some pics of them planted and the trellis set up. I'm gonna try a new watering set up, maybe some micro sprinklers. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find top hats for them locally. I want to get an even coverage, but don't want to have water spraying out of the tray. I'm running a 1/3 hp sump pump. If anyone has any recs let me know. Happy Sunday Farmers!

 

[Seed Buyer]

What is the make up of Stardawg?

What do you mean my top hats? You mean grommets?

 

[sixstring]

I couldnt get a post to go through in here but wanted to say nice fuggin work on that run mr Ratlin, killed it again :)

 

[rick ratlin]

What is the make up of Stardawg?

What do you mean my top hats? You mean grommets?

Stardawg is a cross made by @JJ-NYC of Top Dawg seeds.
Stardawg is made up of

Chemdog #4 (Female) x Tres Dawg (Male)

Chemdog #4 is just one of the seeds found by Chemdog (or however you spell it)

Tres Dawg has a bit longer story:

1. First JJ crossed the Chemdog D with a selection from Sensi Seeds dubbed "Afghani #1" --This cross was simply Chemdog D/Afgani F1
2. The Female Chemdog D was then crossed with a Male Chemdog D/Afghani, creating Double Dawg
3. The Female Chemdog D was then crossed with a Male Double Dawg, creating Tres Dawg. The males from these seeds are the key to the Stardawg.

JJ has stated multiple times that for each seed run he uses a different Tres Dawg Male. His last run is apparently showing more purple darker colors than previous runs. My seed pack was purchased in 2012 from the last Top Dawg auction, run by a friend of JJ here at the farm. I've popped 5 seeds, and found 3 females, all outstanding.

Here's a great link for the Top Dawg family tree. entrails deserves the credit for this:


Top Hats are the little round plastic pieces that go on top of micro fan-jet emitters. They force the spray down so that it doesn't go all over the place. @JACKMAYOFFER uses these with his fan-jet emitters. Here's a link to just the top hats

 

[rick ratlin]

I couldnt get a post to go through in here but wanted to say nice fuggin work on that run mr Ratlin, killed it again :)

Thanks very much. I'm just getting started in your thread. You're an amazing grower. I love the Assclown cross you have! I see you use several grow methods from peat/coco to hydro in a freaking cooler. If you have any tips for this coco first timer, don't hesitate to chime in.

 

[rick ratlin]

I transplanted everything into the beds last night. I just cut around the root ball, and transplanted directly in, with a tablespoon of Caps OG Biowar Root pack. Then I added another layer of bokashi topped with cocoa shells as the microbe food source. I then hand spread a thin layer of Vitality Herbs Pyrophillic Clay. I watered in 1.5 EC of Heavy 16 (7.5 mL per Gallon) and Fire (1 mL per gallon) Each plant crown received first a straight keg cup of Tea. Then both beds were watered in at 6 gallons per bed, with 1 cup of tea per 5 gallons of nutrients. pH 5.8 (I always have done 5.8, so I'll continue unless someone advises against it with a reasonable explanation) I used to feed really low with hydroton,(.9 EC max)without ever seeing any signs of stress, but it seems that is not possible with coco. I'll Foliar before lights on tomorrow with a fermented plant extract I made from papaya, pineapple, molasses and activated em-1. I'll start with the Heavy 16 foliar next week when the plants start really rolling. I'll be rotating through the weekly Heavy 16 foliars with FPE and AEM-1. If I could do outdoor, I'd add a 3rd week addition of EM-5, and week 4 just a standard 24-36 hour compost tea. Em-5 is a really great fungicide/pesticide. On the delay of foliar feeding the Heavy 16 foliar, I've found adding Calcium products when the plant is stressed can be detrimental. Seems high Ca products really shine when things are pumping. My girls look good, but they'll probably need a few days to adjust to the 1Ks.

Microbe Tea:
4 gallons tap water run through a carbon and kdf filter to remove chloramines and chlorine.
1 Teaspoon of EM Ceramics clay (don't laugh I do the biodynamic stirring application)
1 Tablespoon per Gallon Unsulphured Black Strap Molasses ( I use farm supply 5 gallon buckets feed grade for $12 a bucket)
1 Tablespoon per Gallon Caps Foliar and Root Pack
1 handful of EWC
1 Handful of Kelp Meal
1 Handful Pyrophillic Clay
(you can also just put these dry goods in a stocking and hang it in the bucket)
5 mL a gallon liquid gold (the liquid from my bokashi buckets)
few drops of Sea Green (got a few samples, so why not?)

18 hour brew

The last 30 minutes of the brew I add in Activated EM-1 15 mL per gallon

This is my usual day 1 inoculation tea. I run it a little longer to have more diversity and give plenty of time for stubborn microbes to come out of stasis.

Furthur teas are brewed for random times (anywhere from 4 to 36 hours) without any rhyme or reason. Well, 1 reason is to keep up diversity. I do find that with Caps bennies, 12 to 18 hour brews give me the best results. I do not foliar with these teas.

 

[sixstring]

im more interested in your methods bro lol.the brokashi is something i been lookin at and @Garden of Dreams is using something like this.is there a dif between this and the grokashi or just a dif company?i switched from coco to a mix of coco and peat because i couldnt keep my girls as wet as they wanted lmao.and some of my picky patients knew i changed something.a few told me the taste was dif on my mk which has been around forever so i had to change it up.i mainly use the coco to help buffer my ph,because with my water and nutes my mix always comes in at around 5.8 to 6.0ph so i figured fuckit,instead of fighting with ph up or down i would blend my soil to work with my nutes.

 

[rick ratlin]

Here's my homemade bokashi. Bokashi is fermented wheat bran, basically fermented with water, molasses, and some form of effective microbes (EM). Any carbon source will do, but I chose wheat cause it's cheap. It is mixed, then sealed in an airtight environment(I use a black unscented trash bag). It is fermented at least 2 weeks, and if not used immediately, dried and then air sealed. If stored in a dark area, it should last from 1-2 years.

This batch, per 5 gallon bucket is 10 lbs wheat bran with added dry ingredients: 10 Lbs of wheat bran should fill up a 5 gallon bucket to about 1-2 inches below the lid. There's really no need to weigh it out.
1 cup Azomite
1TBSP of high mineral real sea salt
1 TBSP EM ceramic powder

The wet ingredients are
3 Liters or 10-12 cups h2o (no chloramine or chlorine)
1 Tsp EM Ceramics (to potenize water, stirred biodynamic way)
4 TBSP unsulphured Black Strap Molasses
4 TBSP activated EM-1

This fills up almost 4 gallons in a 5 gallon bucket.

This batch fermented for about a month at 68-70 degrees F indoors. It has a nice sweet vinegar smell to it. I did not dry it as I am using it immediately. At 76 degrees F, I usually only need 2-3 weeks. As long as the batch is anaerobic, it should not spoil if you go over, it will just have more of a vinegar smell. 2 week ferments are best if you want that sweet red wine smell.

Each 4x4 bed takes the entire 10 lb batch, so I made two 10 lb batches.

 

[Calixylon]

great in depth grow log, looks like your really killing it. Using some cool techniques i havent seen before. Wish i could have been out to see phish in vegas all my buddies went out but i couldnt make it happen for financial reasons:confused:

 

[rick ratlin]

Here's half of the bed topped with the new bokashi. It's about a half inch layer.

I also added about a half inch of new coco. It looks like a giant peanut butter cup.

Once that is spread evenly, I add the cocoa shells. These serve as a food source from the microbes and act as a nice mulch layer to keep the bokashi moist. It also makes the room smell like chocolate the first 3 weeks.

Spread that out and here's what we've got.

 

[Calixylon]

What exactly is bokashi? Did you say it gets fermented? Do you have a thread about how to make and use it, and does it go well on soil?

 

[rick ratlin]

Well about a half hour after doing this I was looking at my tester phenos of RoARgE, LAD, and Sour Sister, and said faq it, throw them in. So I did, I'll probably be chopping these down by the time the Angry Stardawg is done stretching.

They're all pinned up close to the sides and placed where I don't think I'll be able to stretch the other plants. I know its not too smart, but I am dying for some new flavors, gotta play to win! Plus I grow for my retirement in weed, not cash. Everything is cured in 1 gallon jars for about 8 months, and then bagged up with inert gas, put into 5 gallon food grade buckets, and buried. So far I've got 22 different types, with the goal being about 75 flavors. I love variety.

Well, my break is over. Lights are coming on now, so I've got to get back to work starting clones for the next run. I'll be back to talk about the probiotics and bokashi stuff later, maybe tomorrow. Got lots of stuff to do. Happy Monday!

 

[Garden of Dreams]

Schweet bro!

 

[rick ratlin]

im more interested in your methods bro lol.the brokashi is something i been lookin at and @Garden of Dreams is using something like this.is there a dif between this and the grokashi or just a dif company?i switched from coco to a mix of coco and peat because i couldnt keep my girls as wet as they wanted lmao.and some of my picky patients knew i changed something.a few told me the taste was dif on my mk which has been around forever so i had to change it up.i mainly use the coco to help buffer my ph,because with my water and nutes my mix always comes in at around 5.8 to 6.0ph so i figured fuckit,instead of fighting with ph up or down i would blend my soil to work with my nutes.

Gro-Kashi is just another brand of Bokashi. It seems to do everything traditional bokashi does, though I have not tried it before. I believe it is made to order, so super fresh. I can't speak for the ingredients, but I imagine there are ceramics, molasses , em-1, sea salt, and maybe some azomite. Probably organic bran too. I've heard that they put in some expensive ass vitamin supplement, and I can't think of the name right now. What I do know is that when I researched said vitamin, they turned out to be more hype than the price dictates, at least for human consumption. The PFA Facebook group seems to have a lot of success with gro-kashi. If you can't make your own, I think they are the best option; money doesn't seem to drive that group, and they're good people.

I haven't run peat except for some outdoor herbs like thyme or rosemary, but I'd think coco would hold more water than peat. Or if I'm wrong about that, you could maybe use a penetrator/saturator like aloe or yucca juice. Really you could use anything with sapponins. That would keep the media wetter. We do that for our outdoor garden in the summer, since our garden soil is mostly peat and a lot of bark. It works in summer due to the heat. It is a fast draining soil that is preferable in the winter so we don't get rot. This is for veggies and herbs, not cannabis though.
I ran the whole previous run at 5.8 pH, so I don't see why you couldn't do that with your mix. Does peat need a pH other than 5.8? As far as taste, do you think that has to do from switching from bottle nutes to your jacks recipe?

 

[rick ratlin]

Fresh Hot Pics taken tonight
Shows how the trellis is set. Each line is spaced a little over 2 inches apart.

left tray

spread em!

 

[rick ratlin]

Took clones off the Angry Stardawg before flower. Gonna run 1 tray of that again, and another tray of new strains.
They've been hanging out in keg cups for a day, just to get the turgor pressure high. Straight into an old diy bubble cloner. I've removed the cover to show the bubbles. PS this cloner works like a champ. 4.5 gallon capacity. Only tap water.(around 7 pH, 90 ppm)

Top view. 4 air tubes, running off 1 standard pet store 4 outlet air pump.

Filled up

Those are 5600K led lights above. They do the job just fine. I'm waiting on parts, but I'm going to follow @SupraSPL and build his diy led cloner light.

 

[rick ratlin]

Here's a left to right shot of the veg room, really just a 4x4 closet. Air from the flower room flows through a carbon scrubber into this room, and a carbon filter in the veg room scrubs the veg room air and sends it back into the flower room. The flower room has a touch of negative pressure to keep smells from escaping.

 

[rick ratlin]

Here's the air pump I use for my teas. It's not bad, produces lots of bubbles, but it gets real hot. I've never tried another high end pump like an alita.

Here's whats left of the batch of tea

Here's the ole water filter. Carbon on the left, kdf on the right. You can see a diy algae blocker sleeve made of reflectix on top of the filter. Easy to make, just cut the height you need and the circumference. Then cut a round piece and tape it to 1 end of the cylinder. cost about 10 cents if you already have the reflectix.