Worm castings and nitrogen clawing

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Foutwenty71

Foutwenty71

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About a year ago I started my own worm bin..in the summer its in a shady spot in the backyard and in the winter time it's it's in my basement because everything up here freezes solid.seems like a good idea to me since I live on a river and I'm an avid fisherman and Gardner it's a no-brainer.. I mean you ever try to buy worms for four kids and three grandchildren? Needless to say the cost adds up.... A word of warning to those of you who try this, the castings are way stronger than the stuff you buy in the store I'm pretty sure. I have used no newts in my pot whatsoever outside of the organic stuff that I mix in there in the beginning. a little bit of bone meal, a little layer of worm castings in the very bottom of the pot so that the roots can grow into so it doesn't shock a plant, a small amount of vermiculite quite a bit of perlite and sphagnum Moss. maybe a a small clump or two of worm castings elsewhere higher in the pot. Anyway I ended up with some serious nitrogen clawing which I tried to flush the pot twice which created some yellow leaves and eventually fell off. Question number one: is the nitrogen clawing reversible without losing the leaves that start to claw? Question number two: the fresh worm castings that are still moist should be teeming with microbial life and since it doesn't stink I'm assuming they're not anaerobic, has anybody gone this route I really want to hear your story. Question number 3:I'm working with the most difficult strain I've ever worked with in the super silver Haze learning the hard way... She's a very moody plant, seems to be a light feeder compared 2 past grows.my question is what I did was all about getting a clone because I plan on growing outdoors in a short season with a difficult strain I've been told that clones go faster and I need speed because the strain does not like the cold is this true? Including a couple of pics so you guys could have a laugh at my mini mama... For her size at 10 and 1/2 in she's actually very stacked with Bud's considering this is the start of week 4 today and I'm planning on going a full 10 weeks or more. I actually started this out as a Solo cup grow until somebody told me that SSH does not do well in small pots, maybe that's my problem oofta... Feeling like a rookie.... Sorry about the long read guys
 
Foutwenty71

Foutwenty71

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Foutwenty71

Foutwenty71

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Most of the questions on here i was able to answer myself over two months since nobody was able to answer for me. The worm castings you buy at the garden center a guy can almost grow in ,,,,,almost without any amendments but perlite . I seen it done before, Not weed but veggies. This stuff you cannot. I don't know if it's the type of worm(crawlers) or the food i fed them which was mostly pumpkin but it's much higher in nitrogen then the store bought. Wish i woulda known. Clones do seem to go faster...i'm hooked there. Nitrogen clawing doesn't seem reversible.


Having said all that i just did the unthinkable .. I changed the soil in all my ladies back to my original recipe..50% sand 15-20 % black dirt 30-35 % perlite Including my lady that's blooming . that's a never fail recipe. If i use the worm castings it's going to be very lightly on top or just a weak aerated tea with some molasses. I seen healthy pot plants growing super fast in cracks in a city street sidewalk so that says they don't take much and a lotta people on here go through extraordinary measures to do a simple task(i know it's fun to experiment) I might have screwed the lady in bloom but the rest will perform if the bore worms don't find them this year. Maybe the addition of the 1/2 dozen chickens that roam my property eating any bug that move might help that. The hippie in me HATES any kinda poison except Mosquito repellent and i hate that to but it's kinda the unofficial state bird here no choice if you want to be outside during the warm months.


Anyone know if the perlite mix i added to the soil is going to interfere with the naturally occurring microbes in the soil? I got really attached to that stuff after trying to grow indoors over the winter
 
One drop

One drop

Bush Doctor
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Looking great I use my worm tea to flush with it finishes off a plant very well .good luck regards OD.
 
Foutwenty71

Foutwenty71

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Looking great I use my worm tea to flush with it finishes off a plant very well .good luck regards OD.
Thanks for that info I wasn't exactly sure what you meant until a few minutes ago and I was reading another thread about soil pH.. it was actually more of an argument LOL but Aqua man gave a pretty good detailed explanation in it... As for my ladies they seem to take the soil change I did yesterday quite well enjoying some natural sunlight
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