40% HAPPY FROG/40%OCEAN FOREST/15%PERLITE/REMAINING 5%WORM CASTINGS,BLOODMEAL,BONEMEAL,DOLOMITE LIME

dwight smokum said:

any of you fellers grow in smart pots?..i'd like to know whether you put them straight into their final size container (from party cups) or gradually re-pot up..any difference?

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greasemonkeymann said:

it depends, and many disagree on this, but what I did is this (when I didn't do no-till), I gradually liked to re-pot at least three times before going into the final smartpot, however I do NOT transplant from a smartpot (it's a bitch), it's always smaller square plastic containers, but after harvesting and inspecting the rootball (I urge everyone learning to do this) I noticed a much more firm and formed, dense, rootball when I transplanted multiple times before it hit the final pot, my theory is this, when transplanted the plant shoots the roots out as far as it can and then from there it fills in, but slowly, and not as dense, kinda making the middle of the container "hollow" so to speak, there are roots there, just not as dense.
I go from a polo cup (clone) to a half gallon square, to a 2 gallon, and then to my smartpot, depending on the strain either a 8, 10, or 12 gallon, I prefer the 12 gallon, especially if you are a no till.
Once you have established 12 gallon smartpots for your no-till, all you need to do is plop your clone right in, and it grows into the established soil web quite quickly.
Don't forget to spray the rootball with plain water and sprinkle mychorrizhae on the roots, sprinkle a lot.
Keep in mind, this was my old technique, it worked perfectly, but now I do a no-till, and I transplant from the polo cup to the first half-gallon square, and from there into the no-till smartpots.
I've not only noticed a better end product using no-till, but it's a helluva lot easier, one of the rare times that less work is actually more effective.
so in that regard I urge you to maybe try a no-till if it appeals to you at all

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st0wandgrow said:

Polo cup=athletic support/protection for horse jockeys?

What an ingenious container idea, Grease!

edit: Maybe if you used your polo cup for it's intended purpose you wouldn't have 25 lil micro testicles floating around in your sack?

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greasemonkeymann said:

I have all sorts of bacteria and fungi in my athletic supporter too, it'd be perfect for a tea...

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greasemonkeymann said:

it depends, and many disagree on this, but what I did is this (when I didn't do no-till), I gradually liked to re-pot at least three times before going into the final smartpot, however I do NOT transplant from a smartpot (it's a bitch), it's always smaller square plastic containers, but after harvesting and inspecting the rootball (I urge everyone learning to do this) I noticed a much more firm and formed, dense, rootball when I transplanted multiple times before it hit the final pot, my theory is this, when transplanted the plant shoots the roots out as far as it can and then from there it fills in, but slowly, and not as dense, kinda making the middle of the container "hollow" so to speak, there are roots there, just not as dense.
I go from a polo cup (clone) to a half gallon square, to a 2 gallon, and then to my smartpot, depending on the strain either a 8, 10, or 12 gallon, I prefer the 12 gallon, especially if you are a no till.
Once you have established 12 gallon smartpots for your no-till, all you need to do is plop your clone right in, and it grows into the established soil web quite quickly.
Don't forget to spray the rootball with plain water and sprinkle mychorrizhae on the roots, sprinkle a lot.
Keep in mind, this was my old technique, it worked perfectly, but now I do a no-till, and I transplant from the polo cup to the first half-gallon square, and from there into the no-till smartpots.
I've not only noticed a better end product using no-till, but it's a helluva lot easier, one of the rare times that less work is actually more effective.
so in that regard I urge you to maybe try a no-till if it appeals to you at all

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dwight smokum said:

seems to me you'd be better off with the smart pots in veg rather than flower..in their last smart pot how long did they veg and what were the results or did you go directly to flowering phase after last re-pot?

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greenlikemoney said:

jiffy pellets ( seed or clone ) into 1 qt pot then into final smart pot

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greenlikemoney said:

Nope mix up what I need dry. Nothing but water for the first 30 days, then a tea feed, then 5 water feeds, then repeat with a tea, then 5 water feeds, etc etc etc. I love the simplicity and have never had a deficiency with that schedule. It works for me and everyone has their own preferences.

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greasemonkeymann said:

took the words from my mouth, stow.
I've done soil mixes similar to the one he's using, sure they work well, if you age the soil right, it's sorta hard to screw up unless you over amend the soil.
I personally started to use crab meal, neem meal, and alfalfa meal in lieu of bat guanos ( IPM), from there I cut the alfalfa meal out and chose to use it for just teas, I've found insect frass, neem meal, kelp meal, and crab meal to cover everything I need, and if I need anything more, I use rabbit manure. I am also trying out my homemade insect meal too, but it's still aging in my soil.
I changed my recipe for my fight with spider mites (fuckers), crab meal, insect meal, and neem meal help tremendously in that regard. we'll see how the insect meal will help.
Mad cow disease freaks me out, and bovine bone meal very well could contain that,(crunched spinal parts and skulls) there are no tests for prion-disease, and it takes decades to show itself. I could be being paranoid, but I equate it to the thousands of people that have died from exposure to asbestos, they thought that was safe too, and that took yrs to show up also.

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marquezmurder said:

Thanks for the input vs. Bastard spider mites man.

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greasemonkeymann said:

no problems my friend, it's an eternal fight, if I may also make another suggestion.
Get a fogger. PERIOD. Wish I would have done that years ago.
Spend the 150 bucks or so, and do it right, you will thank me after about three or four usages (maybe even the first)
It's more effective, waaaaaay easier, and your forearms won't cramp for a week straight afterwards.

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marquezmurder said:

Oh yea im defenently investing in one. Ive been using all natural sprays and your right, its a hassle working around every branch. Also i made a ladybug farm in my grow room out of a clone tray with a lid, sponge for water and rasins for alt food. However they will only be there for the next 4 weeks alongside my flowering crop. After that its DDay and im droping bombs.

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greasemonkeymann said:

meh, as much as predatory bugs are awesome, they are almost completely useless for keeping pests down, especially mites, aphids? sure, but who gets aphids indoors?

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marquezmurder said:

It was mearly an experiment, plus i thought it would be cool to breed some lady bugs and possibly sell some to local grow stores. I had a friend growing indoors who managed to get aphids, my only question was how? Turns out he thought it would be easier to transplant outside because less cleanup, unfortunately not so much.

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WestDenverPioneer said:

Blood meal is good when you need to keep animals out of your garden.
It stinks to high heaven and it isn't something I would use indoors.

I agree with @st0wandgrow on the alfalfa, and marine/fish substitutions to the recipe as well.

However, there's nothing wrong with what works for @greenlikemoney because it works for him. What works for me might not work for you. And so on.

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