The true 'earth juice' tutorial 2011!!!!

Does organic grows taste worst than others?


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stinkbudd1

Well-Known Member
So to get this tutorial off and running, let me start by saying my main objective for this is to get as much knowledge out of you all as i hope you will out of this ..I dont know nor proclaim to know all there is about organics or for that matter the Earth Juice Nutrients collection but i have done a lot of research and studying on the matter and feel i can share some of my findings with those of you that are interested..
By the way i am also a client and i will be holding my own court with my latest grow that im doing as well so i will not be sending anyone to the slaughter alone so to speak..

So to get it started let go to where i began this journey many months ago!! This is great info on the nutes we have chose to grow our buds with...Enjoy:peace:


Re: Nute Useage: Earth Juice-Grow
(1) I use it. It is a very nice organic choice. The way I like to do it (until the plants say to do different) is a Feed, Water, Water, Feed program with it. Use medium dosage for soil on the bottle. They seem to love this. EJ is very acidic, and works best if bubbled in a bucket with an air pump and airstone for 24-48 hours, and works well with the catylist. The microbes in the EJ grow feed on the catylist during bubbling creating a whole microherd for your soil. I recommend the whole line up of products, minus the essential spray, and the microblast (that is for hydro). That means Grow/Bloom/Catylist/Meta-K.

I like Alaska Morbloom for budding because it has no nitrogen and is also OMRI listed.

(2) Either way you go, bubbling will help stabilize the PH so minimal PH up needs to be added (if not bubbled first, excessive ph up will be needed to get it in range, then as it stabilizes in the soil causes a mad ph swing that the plants will not like., if any, and the tea works better than straight out of the bottle mixed with water.
Always use the Catylist with the EJ grow or bloom, the meta-k is for early veg growth and mid to late flowering.

(3)It is hard to burn with organics.
What bubbling (put water in a 5gal bucket with an air pump and airstones) does is stabilizes your nute solution. It is extremely acidic when first mixed and will take a while for the soil to buffer that solution. If you bubble it, it brings it closer to neutral and the soil will buffer it quicker and you will have less of a ph swing. Yeah there are benificials in FFOF, but you need to feed them with a good tea to keep them going. When using organics, we are feeding the soil, not the plants.
You are not F'd without the catylist, but you will notice a difference when you do decide to use it. Either way, grow alone or with the rest of the line of nutes, it needs to be bubbled for 24-48 hours before use for best results. Also, make the mix in RO water, and feed them with plain tap water during a Feed, water, water, feed cycle, plants do need a small amount of chlorine from the tap water.

(4) EJ is a great product and as HIllbilly said it is near impossible to burn with, just watch your ph and brew it for 24-48 hours to bring the ph up a bit. EJ also makes a great organic ph up that is very stable so you may want to look into ading that to your line up as well

This is just 4 of the many i found online talking about brew teas with Ej and the bottom portion of this page is a tutorial on just how to and along with the rest i believe it is from the makers of EJ..
Here is the feeding chart that I spoke of! this helped me ALOT when I first started using EJ products.

It was originally posted on "3lb". I coppied it from another EJ post.

"The three_little_birds are well know for our love of growing using organic fertilizers . . . And while we are always looking for ways to utilize inexpensive and effective materials like manure, alfalfa meal, kelp meal, and a variety of rock powders . . . we also know that some folks will only use organic growing methods if the option is fairly simple and mess free . . . while organic fertilizers from a bottle will never likely be as cost effective as using rock powders and teas made from alfalfa or guano . . . they do offer great convenience . . .

And the good news for growers who demand their organic fertilizers in a bottle . . . is that herbs grown exclusively with today’s liquid organic fertilizers will rival those grown with any method of organic growing we’ve ever used or experienced . . . there’s no need to sacrifice quality for convenience if your pocketbook can withstand the additional cost . . .

Our favorite among premixed liquid fertilizers is the complete line of Earth Juice products . . . we’ve sampled other fertilizers but always come back to Earth Juice . . . In our opinion they are the “premium standard” against which all other organic ferts must measure themselves . . .

The basic line of Earth Juice fertilizers is 5 different products that can all be used in any combination with each other . . . the ability to “mix and match” any of the 5 products gives us the versatility to deal with any nutrient need (or problem) that might arise . . . here’s a listing of Earth Juice array . . .

Earth Juice Grow
Earth Juice Bloom
Earth Juice Catalyst (called Xatalyst in Canada)
Earth Juice Meta-K
Earth Juice Microblast

The Grow and Bloom formulas can be used alone or in combination with each other . . . no big explanation necessary with those names . . . their intended uses are pretty obvious . . . Catalyst is basically a jazzed up Molasses / carbohydrate product to feed beneficial bacteria and act as a chelate . . . Meta-K is an awesome Potassium supplement . . . and Microblast is one of the most useful and effective micronutrient products we’ve had the pleasure of using . . . in our next post we’ll give a more formal introduction to the various components of the EJ line of ferts . . .

The EJ lineup
here’s the “scoop” . . . the “tech intell” . . . the “lowdown” . . . the “skinny” . . . on what exactly is in those Earth Juice ferts that the 3LB’s talk about so much . . .

EARTH JUICE GROW 2-1-1
bat guano
kelp
sulfate of potash
feather meal
oat bran
blood meal
steamed bone meal
this is the “jack of all trades” among the Earth Juice products . . . useful throughout all of vegging and the first couple weeks of vegging . . . Depending on a plant’s growth stage and we use the EJ Grow at concentrations of anywhere from 1 TBSP to 2 TBSP per gallon (and we have pushed it to 3 to 4 TBSP without harm for very heavy feeders)

EARTH JUICE BLOOM 0-3-1
bat guano
seabird guano
kelp
sulfate of potash
steamed bone meal
oat bran
rock phosphate
we love our Earth Juice Bloom as a flowering fertilizer and. . . because this product has no Nitrogen it’s especially useful for late stage flowering when it’s desirable to let a plant use up the soil’s nitrogen reserves . . . and for an added boost of Phosphorous at those times when plant’s need an extra boost of P . . . we normally use EJ Bloom at rates between ½ and 2 TBSP per gallon . . .

EARTH JUICE CATALYST
oat bran
kelp
wheat malt
molasses
yeast
For some odd reason, the Canadian Government requires this product to be labeled as “Xatalyst” . . . but whatever it’s called where you live . . . if you’ve looked over the “Molasses Manual” by the 3LB you may already know the biggest “secret” to this product . . . the sweet sticky goodness of molasses . . . as we’ve said elsewhere molasses feeds microbes and acts as a chelating agent to make micronutrients more available to plants . . . those extra organic goodies in Catalyst like wheat malt and oat bran are just “icing on the cake” . . .

Earth Juice ****-K 0-0-10
sulfate of potash
Pretty simple product with apparently only a single active ingredient . . . it does have a good measure of Sulfur . . . and it’s very useful to give an extra boost of Potassium when necessary . . . Many organic fertilizers run a little “lean” on K - especially guano based products . . . and EJ ****-K gives us a way to add that needed Potassium in controlled amounts as needed . . .

Earth Juice Microblast
kelp meal
magnesium sulfate
borax
cobalt sulfate
ferrous sulfate
manganese sulfate
sodium molybdate
zinc sulfate
The Microblast tests out to the following percentages . . . Magnesium (Mg) .05%, Boron (B) .02%, Cobalt (Co) .0005%, Iron (Fe) .10%, Manganese (Mn) .05%, Molybdenum (Mo) .0005%, Zinc (Zn) .05% . . . in our experience it’s a great all around micronutrient supplement that resolves almost every potential micronutrient issue likely to arise . . .

There's your "Earth Juice All Stars" lineup . . .

It's not "soup" yet . . . but in our next post we'll give the recipes to feed your plant's a gourmet diet . . .

Earth Juice Recipes Growth Recipes

We get many PM’s and email requests for our Earth Juice recipes . . . many folks - it seems - would love for us to just spell out the specific nutrient mixes and quantities we use with every feeding . . . . if only life were so simple!

What and how much we use vary's some from strain to strain . . . Perhaps even from plant to plant . . . so it’s just not possible to set a schedule and ignore the plants . . . The best gardeners become “at one” with their plants and feed them according to the plant’s needs . . . even anticipating their needs . . .

Our standard mix for vegging plants is usually

1 to 2 TBSP Grow
1 tsp Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst (called Xatalyst in Canada for some odd reason)
(all ingredients are added to a gallon of water . . . )

There are times where we might increase the Bloom portion up to as much as a tablespoon . . . Especially for plants in the early stages of flowering . . . and we can go as high as 3 or even 4 TBSP of Grow for really N hungry plants - but if we increase the Grow fert above 2 TBSP per gallon we usually leave out Bloom & Catalyst )

We also use what we call our "microblast mix" once or twice during the normal life-cycle of vegging plants . . . no big difference between this and the prior mix except this one has an extra boost of **** K and Microblast . . .

1-2 TBSP Grow
1 tsp Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst
1 tsp ****-K
1 tsp Microblast

As folks may have observed in our “Growing LUI with the 3LB” thread . . . we also commonly use some kinds of fish fertilizers and kelp concentrates during a plant’s early growth stages . . . we like the combination of enzymes and proteins and hormones the fish and kelp provide together . . . but it’s common for some fish products to be high in heavy metal contaminants like Mercury . . . so the “seafood platter” is a treat we feed our babes and the Earth Juice is their regular diet . . .

Flowering Recipes

Early stage flowering plants can often use a fair measure of nitrogen as they stretch . . . so a normal Earth Juice mix in early flowering will look pretty similar to a Grow mix . . . we like to use something along the lines of the following for the first couple weeks of flowering . . .

1 TBSP EJ Grow
1 TBSP EJ Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst (yeah we know - it’s Xatalyst north of a line from Seattle - Duluth - Niagra!)

As flowering progresses we forego the Nitrogen to let our plants use N reserves from the soil as they finish flowering . . . so mixing an Earth Juice Bloom formula can be as easy as . . .

1 TBSP EJ Bloom
1 tsp EJ Catalyst

For really hungry darlings we’ll go as high as 2 TBSP per gallon with the EJ Bloom . . . but pouring it on that heavy can burn light feeders . . . and even with heavy feeders it’s better to build up to stronger concentrations of EJ Bloom over time than to just start in at 2 TBSP per gallon right away as plants begin to flower. . .

....and we also have a bloom "micro-mix" that includes Meta-K and Microblast . . . it's used once in a blooming plant's life (or maybe twice in plant’s with a long flowering) . . . Like the growth “microblast mix” it gives an extra boost of Potassium and assorted micronutrients to make sure the plants will want for nothing!
The flowering micro-mix usually goes like this . . .

1 TBSP Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst
1 tsp ****-K
1 tsp Microblast

That's about all there is to making an awsome plant-enriching organic brew with Earth Juice . . . it's really that simple . . .

Earth Juice Notes

In theory there’s no need to “flush” organic soil grown herbs before harvest . . . and because organic fertilizers are not salt based like chemical fertilizers . . . traditional techniques for “flushing” wouldn’t carry away nutrient salts in the traditional meaning of the word “flush” anyway . . .

That creates a danger with organic fertilizers that doesn’t exist with salt based chemical fertilizers . . . with salt fertilizers over-fertilizing can be pretty severe . .. But it will show up fairly quickly . . . and the solution (a good flushing) can be enacted pretty quickly too . . .

It’s probably harder for a grower to over-fertilize using organic fertilizers . . . but if they do there’s no quick solution . . . organic fertilizers usually can’t be flushed away like salt fertilizer’s can . . . so if a grower over-fertilizes they will likely have to live with the consequences for a longer term . . .

And when it comes to harvest time . . . we do go ahead and put our organic herbs on a “crash” diet . . . in the past it’s just been pure water for the last two weeks . . . But lately we’ve been experimenting with using Fulvic Acid with the watering during the second week before harvest . . . and then plain water the final week . . . this technique really seems to bring out the fullest potential of our babes . . . but the wonders of Humic Acid and Fulvic Acid are deserving of their own thread . . .
. .
************************************************** ************************************************** ************
Before we finish our initial discussion of Earth Juice Fertilizers . . . we need to touch on the practice of premixing and bubbling Earth Juice fertilizers . . . we get a lot of questions on this topic in private so may as well discuss it here and avoid having to type the same information time and time again . . .

This is the most common question we hear . . .
“Is it absolutely necessary to pre-mix and bubble / aerate Earth Juice fertilizers before use ? ? ?“
Our simple answer is no it’s not necessary at all . . . but Earth Juice will be more efficiently and effectively used if “brewed” for 24-48 hours before use . . . in organic farming the old adage is “feed the soil not the plant” . . . and making your Earth Juice fert mix into an aerated tea maximizes the benefits it can provide for your plants . . . but they will work fine if used without any premixing or bubbling . . .
we would also like to add that if you do not care to go to the bother of premixing and aerating your Earth Juice . . . that you use the fertilizers in smaller / lighter proportions . . .

We also hear this question a lot . . .
“What about the low pH of those Earth Juice fertilizers? - Will that low pH harm my plants?”
And our simple answer is that there’s likely little concern about that issue unless your growing medium is already abnormally acidic . . . but we can also say that the pre-mixing and bubbling/aerating we talked about in the prior question will moderate the pH to an extent . . . and that can allow heavier feedings overall . . .

Our experience with Earth Juice in everything from 3 gallon pots to 30 gallon beds indoors is that a good soil mix with a healthy microbe population will moderate it’s own pH to an extent . . . and the calcite and dolomite lime use commonly in soil mixes will do some of the work as well . . . so we’ve never had any actual problems with pH in our Earth Juice experience . . .
************************************************** ************************************************** *********
And finally we also get asked . . .
“Can I get by with just Bloom and Grow and not have to go to the expense of the other products?”
And the simple answer is yes of course you can. Catalyst is a molasses based product so the substitution of cheap and easily available Blackstrap molasses will be almost as good as the real thing. . . And although we prefer to use Microblast and ****-K a few times during a plant’s life . . . we’ve certainly had great grows without them . . .
Not having those extra ingredients available will make your life much more difficult if something does go wrong . . . having a sufficient source of Potassium is a major factor in a plant’s ability to withstand the heat stresses inherent in many grow rooms . . . and micronutrient deficiencies can be hard to diagnose and treat without a “full range” micronutrient fertilizer like Microblast . . . Maxicrop kelp concentrate is the only other substitute we know of that’s as effective at treating a shortage of potassium and trace minerals . . . and many growers prefer to avoid using kelp products during the later stages of flowering . . .


Why no MaxiCrop during the end of bloom ?

Not everyone agrees on this topic . . . but kelp and kelp concentrates contain growth hormones that might interfere with or prolong a plant's natural flowering cycle . . .

Someone even polled that question here recently . . . and there really was no general agreement . . . our opinion is that the plant growth hormones in kelp and kelp concentrates might encourage a bit extra stretch . . . and perhaps prolong flowering slightly . . .

We can't point to any specific studies that back up our observation . . . it's simply something where we prefer to err on the side of caution . . . so we try to avoid giving any "mixed messages" to our plants in the advanced stages of flowering . . .

Many thanks to all who have chirped in . . . our flock of friends is glad to hear this "guide" has helped some folks already . . . we hope that other Earth Juice users will "chirp in" with their own recipes and uses for this versitile line of organic products . . .
 

stinkbudd1

Well-Known Member
So here is my set-up i'll be going with, the grow is already into it 4th week and its 2nd week of veg! I have just done the following to them, topped 7/15/11 transplanted into 2 gallon buckets and LST'ed them 7/18/11 The strains are Pineapple Xpress, Midnight Kush,and Sour Kush (headband)

I began this grow with a basic potting soil that consisted of Peat moss, Perlite,lime, forest compost,sand, and a couple of other things.. I did not add anything to the soil as an additive but i used a tea instead in the tea i used the following..

Blood Meal
Bone Meal
Alaska Fish Ferts
Bat gano (Grow)
Black Worm Castings
Mollasses

I then added the complete line of Earth Juice nutes to the mixure, and let it brew for 48 hours once done i used this to soak my soil and then let the soil cure for 7 days after the 7 days i repotted my plants into the final pots and this is where we are at now..:weed:
 

stinkbudd1

Well-Known Member
So i completed my check of the girls today and to my delight i found nothing at all going wrong with them all i seen was more growth so i must have got the mixure just right for them with the tea...
 
I am currently using the Earth Juice system. The problem I am having is with my pH (it keeps going way too high). Are there any organic pH lowering products that work well with the Earth Juice system? Thanks.
 

stinkbudd1

Well-Known Member
I am currently using the Earth Juice system. The problem I am having is with my pH (it keeps going way too high). Are there any organic pH lowering products that work well with the Earth Juice system? Thanks.
First of all let me say thanks for stopping by and welcome to you! At the beginning of this thread there is a whole tutorial for the best way to use these Nutrients and how to get the best results possible it starts at post #1 and it will give you all the info you need..And if i must say the main focus is not on using PH up but in brewing your Nute mix before using it this manner has nipped the high PH right in the BUD! Raed ovr the post and if you still have any questions shoot..Peace
 

stinkbudd1

Well-Known Member
Ok so i put the rumor to test and ill be dambed it was correct i fed my blue diesel that i had just started to flower about 7 days ago with its first feeding of Earth Juice at 1/2 strenth
and the PH was out of wack for a while i fed her yesterday about 5 pm and about an hour later did a lil run off test and it was at 4.6 well today i did another test of run off and it read 5.8 so to answer the question yes it does lower your PH a lot when aplied without brewing but over a short amount of time it does correct itself..But remember i was only at half strenth as well you may very well need to Balance your PH if you are not using as a tea or brew..
 

sharpshoota

Active Member
I use the catalyst and hi-brix molasses, its acutally cheaper then buying the blackstrap molasses at the grocery store...
I was just doing a little research on EJ. The grow and bloom are great organic formulas, and the fact that they include guano,kelp,bonemeal, rock phospahte in liquid form, make it that much easier when brewing and applying to soil. however what's the shelf life on it, it cant be very long... Are the microbes alive or dormant in this liquid form??
Also does EJ have an enzyme product??
 

stinkbudd1

Well-Known Member
I use the catalyst and hi-brix molasses, its acutally cheaper then buying the blackstrap molasses at the grocery store...
I was just doing a little research on EJ. The grow and bloom are great organic formulas, and the fact that they include guano,kelp,bonemeal, rock phospahte in liquid form, make it that much easier when brewing and applying to soil. however what's the shelf life on it, it cant be very long... Are the microbes alive or dormant in this liquid form??
Also does EJ have an enzyme product??
Are you speaking on the shelf life of the Nutes themselves or after brewing?
 

stinkbudd1

Well-Known Member
So here are the girls now at 36 days from sprout and looking real good i see a lot more growth this grow compared to last..Im thinking i may start to flower them in maybe 7 or 8 days..:blsmoke:

The one pic is of the PE i decided to use the screen to train her instead of lst..:mrgreen:
 

Attachments

First off, hello. Second, thanks for the EJ info, finding a post with some detail by someone who has actually used EJ is nice. I have already read that schedule you pasted over at grasscity and another forum, great stuff there to. I do have a total of 5 successful grows under my belt, pretty pathetic I know. I had a great supplier of non-organic nutes I always used and that person is now gone so it's time to try something new. I have chosen to go organic and to go EJ. Not sure why, but the little research I have done on nutes has lead me to it and for the last few weeks I've been trying to figure out all that I can about it. Oh, third off, great looking girls. And I see you got some sort of scrog, maybe a cog(cage) setup going. Scrog is now my only preferred method although I'm wondering if allowing a full grow with some LST would be better.

I do have a few questions if I may.

Never used a bubbler. With the homemade mixtures I just added tap water, mixed and feed, usually a water-feed-water schedule. Always soil mediums. You expalined what a bubbler is, a bucket, a pump and air stones. Is this absolutely necessary to use to mix the water and nutes to keep the PH around 5.5-6.5? I was planning just to use a 5 gallon bucket(will need anywhere from 4-8 quarts of water/nutes per feeding/watering----usually water each 3 1/2 or 5 gal pot with a quart each time), fill with tap water, let sit 24, add EJ, let sit 24, then feed. My tap water is a steady 8.0 ph, wouldn't the EJ without a bubbler bring it down to the desired ph of around 6? Or does using a bubbler just help the mix overall and should always be used?

I always used solo cups in humidity dome with t5s to start, then as soon as it's ready to veg it goes into a 3 1/2 or 5 gal pot until harvest, only transplanted once. Should I be using non-fertilized(organic) soil if there is such a thing, and just be using EJ from seed or clone to harvest? I know I shouldn't use time-released soil but should I avoid fertilized soil altogether with EJ? I'll be using 40-50% potting soil, 20-30% perlite and whatever % organic seafood fertilizer and I always use some larger gravel at the very bottom for drainage. This sound OK? I just wanna know the cheapest yet cleanest organic soil to use with EJ.

Is something like Alaska Morbloom necessary or is just the EJ lineup good enough?

What are the pros and cons between scrog and LST by itself, or do you practice both? In scrog I have only bent and pulled my plants through the 2x2 squares, never tied, never pinched, and did a heavy cleaning under the screen pre-flower. My area is 54" wide x 24" deep x 8' high with a switchable ballast that powers 600watt MH and HPS digilux bulbs in a econowing reflector with yoyo hangers. Almost 50% more CFMs needed to exchange room air per minute. Mother room is right next door on separate sytem. Is just plain LSTing plants in this size of area maybe better or is scrog the better method? I have done just regular grows without LSTing, only minor pruning, but the lower part of the plant no matter how bright of light just doesn't get the light it needs with such a tight space. Smaller strains are easier to work with but I have some larger ones I want to start up. Do you find you can train a plant and get more yield without scrog, or like my experience, do you yield more from scrog?

Last one. lol When I'm tired I can go on and on. About that shelf life question the other person never followed up on. What is the shelf life of EJ nutes in the bottles, can a guy just buy the gallons instead of the quarts and store for a good amount of time? As for the tea I imagine it needs to be used within 72 hours or so.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just at a point where I have almost everything down but now this switch to a new nute system is concerning me. I searched EJ and found your post. Lucky you. Thanks.
 

Nullis

Moderator
Ok so i put the rumor to test and ill be dambed it was correct i fed my blue diesel that i had just started to flower about 7 days ago with its first feeding of Earth Juice at 1/2 strenth
and the PH was out of wack for a while i fed her yesterday about 5 pm and about an hour later did a lil run off test and it was at 4.6 well today i did another test of run off and it read 5.8 so to answer the question yes it does lower your PH a lot when aplied without brewing but over a short amount of time it does correct itself..But remember i was only at half strenth as well you may very well need to Balance your PH if you are not using as a tea or brew..
Even without aerating you still don't need any pH adjustment of the fertigation solution. Just make sure there is dolomite in the soil, or oyster shell flour and maybe something chunkier like pulverized oyster or egg shell or pelleted dolomite.
 

stinkbudd1

Well-Known Member
Even without aerating you still don't need any pH adjustment of the fertigation solution. Just make sure there is dolomite in the soil, or oyster shell flour and maybe something chunkier like pulverized oyster or egg shell or pelleted dolomite.
True a proper soil will help in dealing with this issue if it is well balanced with LIme or oyster shells.

But as i stated i was only going witht what i was looking for PH run of right after run off and then later rechecking and the first was very low and the second time i checked it had corrected itself do to my soil being a very good mix and blend..and hot to be over looked my plants were well old enough to handle the very low enitial PH..I would not want to have that low of Ph going into my girls pots if they could not handle it..
 

stinkbudd1

Well-Known Member
First off, hello. Second, thanks for the EJ info, finding a post with some detail by someone who has actually used EJ is nice. I have already read that schedule you pasted over at grasscity and another forum, great stuff there to. I do have a total of 5 successful grows under my belt, pretty pathetic I know. I had a great supplier of non-organic nutes I always used and that person is now gone so it's time to try something new. I have chosen to go organic and to go EJ. Not sure why, but the little research I have done on nutes has lead me to it and for the last few weeks I've been trying to figure out all that I can about it. Oh, third off, great looking girls. And I see you got some sort of scrog, maybe a cog(cage) setup going. Scrog is now my only preferred method although I'm wondering if allowing a full grow with some LST would be better.

I do have a few questions if I may.

Never used a bubbler. With the homemade mixtures I just added tap water, mixed and feed, usually a water-feed-water schedule. Always soil mediums. You expalined what a bubbler is, a bucket, a pump and air stones. Is this absolutely necessary to use to mix the water and nutes to keep the PH around 5.5-6.5? I was planning just to use a 5 gallon bucket(will need anywhere from 4-8 quarts of water/nutes per feeding/watering----usually water each 3 1/2 or 5 gal pot with a quart each time), fill with tap water, let sit 24, add EJ, let sit 24, then feed. My tap water is a steady 8.0 ph, wouldn't the EJ without a bubbler bring it down to the desired ph of around 6? Or does using a bubbler just help the mix overall and should always be used?

I always used solo cups in humidity dome with t5s to start, then as soon as it's ready to veg it goes into a 3 1/2 or 5 gal pot until harvest, only transplanted once. Should I be using non-fertilized(organic) soil if there is such a thing, and just be using EJ from seed or clone to harvest? I know I shouldn't use time-released soil but should I avoid fertilized soil altogether with EJ? I'll be using 40-50% potting soil, 20-30% perlite and whatever % organic seafood fertilizer and I always use some larger gravel at the very bottom for drainage. This sound OK? I just wanna know the cheapest yet cleanest organic soil to use with EJ.

Is something like Alaska Morbloom necessary or is just the EJ lineup good enough?

What are the pros and cons between scrog and LST by itself, or do you practice both? In scrog I have only bent and pulled my plants through the 2x2 squares, never tied, never pinched, and did a heavy cleaning under the screen pre-flower. My area is 54" wide x 24" deep x 8' high with a switchable ballast that powers 600watt MH and HPS digilux bulbs in a econowing reflector with yoyo hangers. Almost 50% more CFMs needed to exchange room air per minute. Mother room is right next door on separate sytem. Is just plain LSTing plants in this size of area maybe better or is scrog the better method? I have done just regular grows without LSTing, only minor pruning, but the lower part of the plant no matter how bright of light just doesn't get the light it needs with such a tight space. Smaller strains are easier to work with but I have some larger ones I want to start up. Do you find you can train a plant and get more yield without scrog, or like my experience, do you yield more from scrog?

Last one. lol When I'm tired I can go on and on. About that shelf life question the other person never followed up on. What is the shelf life of EJ nutes in the bottles, can a guy just buy the gallons instead of the quarts and store for a good amount of time? As for the tea I imagine it needs to be used within 72 hours or so.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just at a point where I have almost everything down but now this switch to a new nute system is concerning me. I searched EJ and found your post. Lucky you. Thanks.

First of all welcome to the thread and feel free to jump right in and share whatever you have with us..Sorry to here about your friend so maybe you can dedicate a few great grows to him or her using the organics now..

Now for the bubbler It is not totally neccessary to do so you can just Ph balance your feed before doing sso but if you are going to let your tap water sit out for 24 hours anyway why not get all the goodies going in that soil to feed the soil as sson as it hits it spot Thats the main thing for me im actually doing 48 hour brews on this grow dont have tyo worry about the PH issues at all.
My tap water is right around 7.2 and the EJ drops mine to a low 4

As for the soil for transplant what i do is i get a decent potting soil and create my own kind of mater soil as you can see from the recipe on the first few post. but a quick one i use is this..

Blood meal
Bone Meal
Worm casting
Bat guanno
dolomite Lime
Perlite

I then take some Alaska fish ferts grow 5-1-1 and to a bucket of water add it and some mollases as well as some worm casting and brew this for 48 hours i then water the soil mix with this solution and let it sit for 7 to 10 days before transplanting my plants..But remember you need to have plants that are able to handle the soil..
I do not use the more bloom with this way of feeding, and i would not recamend it to you.

As for training your plants LST Scrog Super ropping lollippoing they all have there perks but my main concern when i do apply any of these is to get a very nice open and even canopy for the ladies to get maximum air flow and lighti hate popcron buds with a passion so if i can top and train with or without a screen then i think this is what i would do i would take 12 to 16 very nice bud sights over 1 main cola and a bunch of fluffy popcorn any day.

And as for the shelf life question yes feel free to get them in the gallon form if you please just keep them in a darker cool area of the house and they will be fine as for the brews i dont let mine sit to long at the most i belive 36 hours..

I hope i did alright answering your questions and dont forget this is a thread for the people not my thread we are here to learn get feed back hopefully help each other out to get the best results possible.So in sharing this dont hesitate to share pic's stories and any info you may find as long as it is about EJ or organic matters..Peace and thanks for stopping by.
 
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