Northern Grow Lights Photon 180 Citizen 1825 90 CRI

Evil-Mobo said:

See how they respond to this feed they might just be a little hungry is all........

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Okay, thanks. Will maybe do an AACT by end of the week as well.

ColaKoala13 said:

Okay, thanks. Will maybe do an AACT by end of the week as well.

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It's just something to watch right now not like the plants look terrible, etc....they will be fine keep at it we all have our struggles go look at my elev8 thread 2 fems of 12 beans to start off lol.......and it didn't get much better from there.......

Or maybe they have been a bit overwatered?

wietefras said:

Or maybe they have been a bit overwatered?

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I don't think its overwatering...

I was out of town over the weekend implementing an agroforestry project so the missus watered once Saturday. Today I watered and they seemed pretty much dry when I lifted the pots. I guess at this point just keep an eye on things over the next few days...

I'm still getting a hang of diagnosing issues and what I am looking at. I have been referring to Marijuana Garden Saver

I've never checked the pH of the soil. It could possibly be that it is off, maybe due to the biochar I added initially. I may drench on Wednesday and get runoff and test it for the pH to see. I just ordered a BlueLab soil pH tester and TDS meter so I can be more certain on these things going forward...

It seems to me from reading your posts that you have stuck yourself in an odd position maybe as far as growing, organic but not organic, nutes but no nutes, meters but no meters. I think either jump in full go and let go of the meters and nutes or dial it back and get a schedule down for the nute feeds/watering. The good thing is with a medium like yours "if" there are issues it buy you some time. You're fine and so are your plants. Stop stressing them, smoke a phatty, and keep an eye out like every good Gardner does.

Cheers!

Evil-Mobo said:

It seems to me from reading your posts that you have stuck yourself in an odd position maybe as far as growing, organic but not organic, nutes but no nutes, meters but no meters. I think either jump in full go and let go of the meters and nutes or dial it back and get a schedule down for the nute feeds/watering. The good thing is with a medium like yours "if" there are issues it buy you some time. You're fine and so are your plants. Stop stressing them, smoke a phatty, and keep an eye out like every good Gardner does.

Cheers!

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Thanks. Yeah, I would like to go full organic but I will probably have to re-ammend the soil with some things and then ditch the nutes (except maybe liquid kelp when making AACT). I did lay out a feeding/watering schedule a few posts back though. Basically just feed them once a week and the rest is a mix between watering with at least some silica or with aloe/coconut water/SST and LABs. Then every other feeding should be replaced with AACT.

I am reading up now on fungus gnats. I have seen a few here or there in the past few weeks but didn't really pay them much heed. I haven't seen any today however, but I guess that doesn't mean they aren't there. It seems my soil does get dry on the surface before I water again (every other day, as they are pretty dry by that time). I just go by look as the surface is covered with expanded clay mostly. This may be my issue though...

ColaKoala13 said:

Thanks. Yeah, I would like to go full organic but I will probably have to re-ammend the soil with some things and then ditch the nutes (except maybe liquid kelp when making AACT). I did lay out a feeding/watering schedule a few posts back though. Basically just feed them once a week and the rest is a mix between watering with at least some silica or with aloe/coconut water/SST and LABs. Then every other feeding should be replaced with AACT.

I am reading up now on fungus gnats. I have seen a few here or there in the past few weeks but didn't really pay them much heed. I haven't seen any today however, but I guess that doesn't mean they aren't there. It seems my soil does get dry on the surface before I water again (every other day, as they are pretty dry by that time). I just go by look as the surface is covered with expanded clay mostly. This may be my issue though...

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Yeah man get rid of the clay pebbles get some good dirt and throw some worms down and hit the cruise control that's all you're missing with the other stuff you're doing.

Just my $0.02. And my top soil gets dry quick too that's why I threw down the cover crop seeds and as it grows you mulch it down, this brings the worms up top to eat the old stuff and keeps the top moist for them to survive and do so. You will find it reading the magic is the worms and mulching once the cover crop comes in you throw mulch over that and game over. At least this is how I have read and seen it to be my first go at it but I have never had such healthy plants. The plant will grow itself your job is maintaining the soil. You're the grounds keeper.

Cheers!

Evil-Mobo said:

Yeah man get rid of the clay pebbles get some good dirt and throw some worms down and hit the cruise control that's all you're missing with the other stuff you're doing.

Just my $0.02. And my top soil gets dry quick too that's why I threw down the cover crop seeds and as it grows you mulch it down, this brings the worms up top to eat the old stuff and keeps the top moist for them to survive and do so. You will find it reading the magic is the worms and mulching once the cover crop comes in you throw mulch over that and game over. At least this is how I have read and seen it to be my first go at it but I have never had such healthy plants. The plant will grow itself your job is maintaining the soil. You're the grounds keeper.

Cheers!

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What kind of cover crops are you using? Also what type of worms?

I mixed the red wigglers from build a soil with the worms from uncles Jims after. From Jims I got more regular worms and some of the night crawlers too the euro dudes just to be fancy. The uncle Jims is cheaper and comes faster lol. I started a worm farm/composting bin also.

Cover Crop:
https://buildasoil.com/collections/supplements/products/clover-cover-crop-blend-13-seed-buildasoil-mix-40-clover

Red Wigglers from BAS:
https://buildasoil.com/collections/worm-stuff/products/worms-red-wigglers

Worm Inn from BAS:
https://buildasoil.com/collections/worm-stuff/products/worm-inn-make-your-own-vermicompost

Uncle Jims composting worms (check the sale price)
https://unclejimswormfarm.com/product/composting-worms/2000-red-composting-worm-mix-fall-sale/

Uncle Jims Night Crawlers:
https://unclejimswormfarm.com/product/composting-worms/250-super-reds-european-night-crawlers/

Let me know if you have any other questions buddy!

Evil-Mobo said:

I mixed the red wigglers from build a soil with the worms from uncles Jims after. From Jims I got more regular worms and some of the night crawlers too the euro dudes just to be fancy. The uncle Jims is cheaper and comes faster lol. I started a worm farm/composting bin also.


Let me know if you have any other questions buddy!

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I have red wigglers, but from my understanding they aren't worms that stick around in gardens without a food source. They thrive on decaying matter hence them being excellent for a bin set up. Not so sure they actually do well in a potted plant... Possibly with the constant addition of a top dressing and maybe as you say, with a cover crop. The nightcrawlers and earthworms would perhaps do much better.

Have you been able to investigate and confirm their continued presence and health in your potted plant's soil?

ColaKoala13 said:

I have red wigglers, but from my understanding they aren't worms that stick around in gardens without a food source. They thrive on decaying matter hence them being excellent for a bin set up. Not so sure they actually do well in a potted plant... Possibly with the constant addition of a top dressing and maybe as you say, with a cover crop. The nightcrawlers and earthworms would perhaps do much better.

Have you been able to investigate and confirm their continued presence and health in your potted plant's soil?

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Yes I confirmed worm health right under the layer of EWC I top dressed the other day, and the dying leaves from when I defoliate and the cover crop etc. Yes you have to feed them that's what the dying plant matter is for

I have a prefab bin as well by the way. I wish I had some compost ready cause I'm needing some more at the moment for AACT...

Good thing I know a guy...lol.

ColaKoala13 said:

I have a prefab bin as well by the way. I wish I had some compost ready cause I'm needing some more at the moment for AACT...

Good thing I know a guy...lol.

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I'll ship some if you're in the states don't bother me none let me know gonna be a little bit until I fill the first bucket thought just got it up and going over the weekend but I had started some worms in a bin a week prior. And I have more worms coming this week need to start prepping my 15 gallon pots for flower and want to give the worms and cover crop time to acclimate before transplanting from veg

@Evil-Mobo You got any pics of the cover crops growing on your potted plants?

ColaKoala13 said:

@Evil-Mobo You got any pics of the cover crops growing on your potted plants?

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I'll send you a couple in a bit but right now it looks like shit because the thick layer of EWC I top dressed so there's literally a top layer of worm shit lol.............and decaying leaves and mulched plants that have been chopped etc.......and a malted barley top dress under the EWC lol.... the worms have plenty to feed on trust me.

Flowering Day 9:

Well I had a power outage last night, lights/exhaust/fans/AC shut off 2 1/2 hours before scheduled lights off. When I opened the tent today the RH was 80%, all the plants had leaves in a 'praying' position, hopefully not praying for their lives lol.

All seemed well though, maybe a bit shocked?

Everything is back on now and RH dropped back down to 50%. Right as lights were scheduled to come on I had a preparation of 2L water, 2tbsp (approx.) fresh aloe gel, 280mL horsetail tea and 3 cap-fulls of a neem solution. They all received a thorough foliar application and the rest went to the soil. Since I had seen some fungus gnats in the tent, I can hopefully at least eliminate that factor for what I may be observing with the leaves. They were scheduled to have a foliar application this week with this mixture anyway...


Gunna leave the other male in the tent until right before I see some of the male flowers opening up and hopefully catch it in time to remove and extract some pollen before pollinating all my females to selectively pollinate (thanks @The Dawg, I may have to spread the love another time). As of now they all just have single sets of pistils anyway.

Just some pics:

I'm not sure what I am looking at with these new young tops with broken leaves or seemingly eaten up leaves. I see no evidence of any type of pest other than a few fungus gnats still. I've let my plants dry out a bit between waterings. I will probably give another neem treatment soon. Considering using cinnamon oil or tea next. Kinda not wanting to disrupt my micro-herds too much with antibacterial treatments in the soil however. I've also removed a few young tops that have been showing poor growth with twisted leaves, grey and necrotic tips, etc.

@Evil-Mobo Your advice on cover cropping is duly noted but I will most likely get started on that in another cycle and not start now, thank you though. I could double down on the clay pellets as the amount I have now still has many gaps where I can clearly see soil. I was thinking of adding a layer of vermiculite on top. Anyone with something to offer in terms of ideas or advice, much welcomed. Thanks.

Hey Cola how long do you plan to veg them?

hotshotisdashit said:

Hey Cola how long do you plan to veg them?

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They're on day 11 of flower right now. They were vegged for 5 weeks (started count from first day of germination).

They look great...