Organic Feeding 101.

SpaaaceCowboy

Well-Known Member
if the flower tent is busy, what a Don like to do is take a wolf pack of babies (already germinated and vegging) and put them under the light at 14 and 10 until they show sex. that way well before the actual flip they've been sexed. then we just get her in her final pot at least 10 days before the big Flip. the beauty of 14 and 10 is it sexes them but u can also go back to 18 and 6 or whatever you like (17/7?) without shocking em. Big up n good luck mang
Awesome ! thanks a lot for that info !!! Never caught that one on any of the weed forums...This is a great skill to know when it comes to gardening !!!

I'm going to journal that post of yours ! One of the best pieces if info I have acquired !

Gracias Amigo !!!!
 

DonPetro

Well-Known Member
if the flower tent is busy, what a Don like to do is take a wolf pack of babies (already germinated and vegging) and put them under the light at 14 and 10 until they show sex. that way well before the actual flip they've been sexed. then we just get her in her final pot at least 10 days before the big Flip. the beauty of 14 and 10 is it sexes them but u can also go back to 18 and 6 or whatever you like (17/7?) without shocking em. Big up n good luck mang
Where ya @DonTesla? How is the ChernobylX doing?
 

cannakis

Well-Known Member
Organic feeding provides great results. A good organic grow starts with the soil. (look at subcool's section on that. he knows soil.) Im going to go over strictly what t
o do once the plant is in the dirt, and you still need to feed them something. Feeding the plants the right stuff is key to successful grows, and knowing what to feed and when, is needed for every grower.

If your plant has some sort of issue, theres threads on that https://www.rollitup.org/marijuana-plant-problems/488004-guide-nutrient-deficiency-toxicity.html . this thread is gonna cover what do to AFTER you notice a deficiency, or just to keep a healthy garden. this will be using only organic nutrients. Ive purchased bottles of guano, and molasses and wondered... what now? well this is what now.

**note: most of these teas/mixtures involve some mixing, but a lot of wait time. this is to fully let the properties of the substance combine with the water, and for microbial activity to start. Do not skip the waiting**

Vegetative Teas:

Worm humus:
Origin:this mix is produced from the excrement of worms. they ingest organic material and you end up with this. The best quality of worm humus is going to be from the Californian worms.
Provides: water soluble, and boosts microbes in the soil
Preparation: In 5 liters of water, add in 400gr (about 2 cups) and let it sit for 2 days. stirring every so often to keep it well mixed and the water somewhat oxygenated.
Application:During the watering, mixing 1 part of poo-juice with 3 parts water. you can add this in weekly.

Blood Meal:
Origin: After removing and drying blood from animals(usually in a slaughterhouse), it is ground up into a fine powder.
Provides about 12-15%N, 1.2%P, and 1%k
Preparation: in a container, add 1 part blood meal to 9 parts water. cover. over 1 week, open to burp the mix, and stir. after, filter with coffee strainer.
Application: Applying usually only when N deficiency is noted, add to water to create a 10%-25% strength solution.

Gypsum
Origin: CaSO4. Its a rock basically, you can find it naturally outdoors, or (probably easier) at a local plant shop.
Provides: Activates healthy microbial activity. Corrects salinity (toxic salt levels). Provides sulfur, calcium and potassium. Regulates pH, and most importantly, helps in the absorption of N.
Preparation: add 1 pound of gypsum powder (use a mortar and pistil if its too coarse) to the inside of a nylon stocking, or other fine screen material. place this inside a container with 5L of water. Cover. leave for 1-2 weeks, opening the container to stir briskly every few days.
Application: Add it in with the water when pH is unstable, max 10% strength (so dilute it!). dilute it to 5% if mixing it with a N tea, and can be used weekly.

Fishmeal
Origin: obtained from dried, ground fish.
Provides: 8%N, 7%P, trace elements.
Preparation: mix 10% of this powder with 90% water in a container. leave it a week covered, and opening it to burp out the gas (dont breathe it in, smells). Filter at the end of the week.
Application: Dilute the mix, 1part fishgoop with 10 parts water. add in weekly with the feedings, or when a N/P deficiency is noted.

Bat Guano
Origin: decomposed bat poo. preferably pasteurized (since bats can and do carry disease, like rabies!)
Provides: High in N, but also contains P and trace elements. Fresher guano has higher N rating
Preparation: 2 tablespoons of bat poo in 4 -5 liters of water. let sit for 1 week
Application: mix the finished poo water, 1 part to 3 parts water. use every 2 weeks.

Mixed Teas: This is ok for veg + flowering.

Compost Tea (one of my favorites, as i use ground up male plants, or the sticks/stems/fan leaves of the harvested females for this)
Origin: The easiest to come across commercially, or to make at home. this is used worldwide with a variety of ingredients.
Provides: A big boost of microorganisms, helps feed the plants, and boosts a plant's immune system. NPK ratios vary depending the type of compost made.
Preparation: Place a bunch of dead plants in a nylon stocking or screen, put that inside a bucket with about 15L of water, adding water as it evaporates (which means leave it uncovered). after 2 weeks, dump the inside of the bag/screen/stocking back with the rest of your compost pile outside or throw it away or whatever.
Application: If you want to foliar feed this, filter it well, then 1:8 ratio of tea to water. otherwise, just add it in when watering, at a 1:5 ratio. use it every 2 weeks.

Alfalfa Tea. (can also be used during flowering)
Origin: your rabbit's food. this is ground up alfalfa, leaves, stems.
Provides: 2.5%n, 5%p, and 2%k.
Preparation: grabbing a nylon sock and filling with 1 part of the alfalfa, setting it into a bucket with 10 parts water. leave it for a week to create a strong tea.
Application: use every 2 weeks, diluted 1part tea with 10 parts water.

Manures
Origin: the business end of various animals.
Provides: This really depends on what the animal ate, and what the animal is. Rough estimates are:
Cows: .6%N-.3%P-.3%K
horse: .6%N-.6%P-.4%k
Rabbit: .5%N-1.2%P-.5%K
Sheep: .8%N-.5%P-.4%K
Pigs: .6%N-.6%P-.4%K
Preparation: 1 part crap to 10 parts water, in a bucket. 2 weeks, stirring periodically. (again, this is better for the nylon stockings, otherwise your gonna have to filter it - yuck)
Application: 1 part poop water to 1 part water. can be used every 2 weeks.

Fruit tea, with or without Molasses.
Origin: made with fermenting fruits. its recommended to add molasses for flowering.
Provides: Rich in NPK, but also contains calcium and some other trace elements. Very rich in microbial activity. Using molasses adds a large amounts of carbs and can contribute to fungus (in high heat grows)
Preparation: Cut fruits into small pieces. place in a container and cover them with molasses( OR cut up fruits, place into a ziploc bag with NO molasses or air) Let it sit for 2 weeks, opening it periodically to let out gases. filter.
Application: 1 tablespoon of fruit rot juice (ew) to 1 liter of water. use it every 10 days.

Flowering Teas:

Banana Peel Tea.
Origin: Bananas. Cheap to make. eat the banana, use the peels.
Provides: Strong Potassium Boost. ideal for flowering.
Preparation: after selecting 4 bananas, and eating the insides, place the 4 peels into a pot, with 4 cups of water (1L). You can also add in 2 tablespoons of molasses. Bring to a boil. let boil for 5 minutes. remove the peels. let cool. place in jars for storage.
Application: mix this 1 part banana goop to 2 parts water. use every 2 weeks.

Sea Weed
Origin: algae or kelp, dried, ground into a powder.
Provides: Lots of K, and trace elements, aminoacids, vitamins, hormones.
Preparation: 100grams of algae powder + 2Liters of water, let sit overnight.
Application: mix 1 part of sea weed juice to 3 parts water, and apply during waterings. can be used every watering.

Paper Ash tea.
Origin: This powder is obtained from burned paper. make sure the paper has no pigments (inks), glues, adhesives, or plastic covering. just plain paper. the cheaper the stuff, the better.
Provides: 5% P and 2% K
Preparation: Burn the paper fully. Ground up the ash. 100g of ash mixed with 2 L of water. let sit 10 days, then filter.
Application: use every 15 days, mixed 1 part ash juice to 2 parts water.

Bonemeal
Origin: Bones, crushed, ground up.
Provides: some N (3%?) and around 7% of P. high in calcium
Preparation: cook in a pot for 10 minutes, 200grams of bonemeal with 6 liters of water, and 1/2 cup of baking soda. let cool, then remove any grease that may have formed at the top. filter the rest of the mix.
Application: Use 1 part bone water to 3 parts water. use it at the start of the 12/12 cycle, or the start of flowering. will last the entire grow.



if you guys have other recipes, post them on here!
Mr. Nick, have you ever made a tea with orange and lemon peels? Would the fruit tea be tha essentially? Would a lemon orange peel tea give it a fresh clean taste if used in flowering?
 

SouthernSoil*

Well-Known Member
Greetings everybody : ) hope everybody is doing good ! Im aching to mix up my soil but just want to confirm how much alfalfa/lucerne (dried grass form ) do you guys add to your mixes ? Im also struggling to decide where to let my mix sit & cook, i was thinking of keeping them in the pot & vegging the babies on top of them, is it nescessary to turn the mix every now and then or do you guys no till & let it cook up ? Will appreciate any help ! Thank you : )
 

Pattahabi

Well-Known Member
Greetings everybody : ) hope everybody is doing good ! Im aching to mix up my soil but just want to confirm how much alfalfa/lucerne (dried grass form ) do you guys add to your mixes ? Im also struggling to decide where to let my mix sit & cook, i was thinking of keeping them in the pot & vegging the babies on top of them, is it nescessary to turn the mix every now and then or do you guys no till & let it cook up ? Will appreciate any help ! Thank you : )
I'm going to first say you can add like 1/2c alfalfa per cu ft. Some people may add more.

With that said, if you do not add the alfalfa to your mix, hydrate your peat before you add the other ingredients, you can mix and plant same day. No 'cooking' is required. Coot had said cooking wasn't necessary, and we tested it out. Three weeks ago a friend and I mixed up a cu yrd of soil, and we put it into a 200 gallon smart pot and added three plants that day. They vegged for a week, and are now 2 weeks into flower and look absolutely stunning.

Then use your alfalfa and kelp and make a couple teas during flowering.

my 2¢,
P-
 

SouthernSoil*

Well-Known Member
I'm going to first say you can add like 1/2c alfalfa per cu ft. Some people may add more.

With that said, if you do not add the alfalfa to your mix, hydrate your peat before you add the other ingredients, you can mix and plant same day. No 'cooking' is required. Coot had said cooking wasn't necessary, and we tested it out. Three weeks ago a friend and I mixed up a cu yrd of soil, and we put it into a 200 gallon smart pot and added three plants that day. They vegged for a week, and are now 2 weeks into flower and look absolutely stunning.

Then use your alfalfa and kelp and make a couple teas during flowering.

my 2¢,
P-
Thanks P, would you say half a cup to each pot then ?

I have the alfalfa or lucerne which they call it here which is more higher in nitrogen, i will have to cut it up into smaller pieces though.

Did you mean i should hydrate the base mix or only the peat at first ? Cause im going to be vegging in smaller pots so the roots dont get too lazy so the main pots will stay unused for a bit while i encourage some breakdown of nutrients, i was just wondering when i let them sit in their pots would i have to turn it at all ?
 

Pattahabi

Well-Known Member
Thanks P, would you say half a cup to each pot then ?

I have the alfalfa or lucerne which they call it here which is more higher in nitrogen, i will have to cut it up into smaller pieces though.

Did you mean i should hydrate the base mix or only the peat at first ? Cause im going to be vegging in smaller pots so the roots dont get too lazy so the main pots will stay unused for a bit while i encourage some breakdown of nutrients, i was just wondering when i let them sit in their pots would i have to turn it at all ?
Make sure the peat is fully hydrated by itself before you add anything to it. This process can often take over night, or at least a few hours.

On the mixing, I either try to have a cover crop planted in the pots, or I keep it in rubbermaid containers. You don't want the soil to dry out. If it dries, your micro life will die. You also don't want to keep it too wet. Keeping this balance, is exactly like keeping the balance of moisture in your pots while your plants grow. Find the sweet spot, keep it there.

Peace!
P-
 

SouthernSoil*

Well-Known Member
Make sure the peat is fully hydrated by itself before you add anything to it. This process can often take over night, or at least a few hours.

On the mixing, I either try to have a cover crop planted in the pots, or I keep it in rubbermaid containers. You don't want the soil to dry out. If it dries, your micro life will die. You also don't want to keep it too wet. Keeping this balance, is exactly like keeping the balance of moisture in your pots while your plants grow. Find the sweet spot, keep it there.

Peace!
P-
Thank you again man, ill wet the peat before adding it to the mix then.

I have a garden shed which i can leave the container in, i could also keep it behind my lounge although my main plan was to mix it up and leave it in the 20 gal pots cooking in the grow room, you dont recommend that right ?

Im a little worried i over water, how often would you normally water yours or add a compost tea ?

Appreciate the help.
 

Pattahabi

Well-Known Member
Thank you again man, ill wet the peat before adding it to the mix then.

I have a garden shed which i can leave the container in, i could also keep it behind my lounge although my main plan was to mix it up and leave it in the 20 gal pots cooking in the grow room, you dont recommend that right ?

Im a little worried i over water, how often would you normally water yours or add a compost tea ?

Appreciate the help.
Anytime! Imo you can keep it wherever you want as long as it stays properly moist and in a decent environment (don't leave it in 110 degree sun, etc). In a perfect world, my choice is to mix the soil, immediately plant a cover crop (I use clover), keep the clover alive until you are ready to plant.

Watering is a tricky deal, and is very dependant on several factors like how big are your pots? How big are your plants? How much aeration do you have? Ventilation? Heat/rh, etc, etc. What I do is make sure I keep the topsoil moist by misting it with water either everyday, or every other. Then once or twice a week I do 'deep waterings' where I might add double or triple the mist amount. My plants are in 10-20 gallon containers and a ball park would be 1/4 gallon daily and then maybe 3/4 of a gallon once or twice a week depending. Stick you fingers in the top soil, stick your fingers in the drainage holes. Try and get an idea how much moisture they are retaining.

Make sure you use mulch! Not negotiable. ;)
P-
 

SouthernSoil*

Well-Known Member
Anytime! Imo you can keep it wherever you want as long as it stays properly moist and in a decent environment (don't leave it in 110 degree sun, etc). In a perfect world, my choice is to mix the soil, immediately plant a cover crop (I use clover), keep the clover alive until you are ready to plant.

Watering is a tricky deal, and is very dependant on several factors like how big are your pots? How big are your plants? How much aeration do you have? Ventilation? Heat/rh, etc, etc. What I do is make sure I keep the topsoil moist by misting it with water either everyday, or every other. Then once or twice a week I do 'deep waterings' where I might add double or triple the mist amount. My plants are in 10-20 gallon containers and a ball park would be 1/4 gallon daily and then maybe 3/4 of a gallon once or twice a week depending. Stick you fingers in the top soil, stick your fingers in the drainage holes. Try and get an idea how much moisture they are retaining.

Make sure you use mulch! Not negotiable. ;)
P-
The clover option sounds good ! i have vetch seeds although but they more a winter crop i rate. i might just stick to the pots in the tent, they will be with the babies vegging, so it will be pretty warm and not alot of heat as i have a decent inline installed, i would like to get a tub but im pretty much drained from buying and buying.

im using 4 x 5 gallon pots in a 3x3x6 foot tent, ill check out the moisture from the bottom and top man : ) im sure ill be okay, could the alfalfa act as a good mulch man ?

Respect !
 

Pattahabi

Well-Known Member
My experience with alfalfa is it can be pretty damn potent. Therefore, I do something like 1c in 5 gallons water and bubble. As a general rule of thumb, I use all recipes at half strength the first time just to make sure everything jives in my system. So I might even do 1/2c the first time.

Personally, I'm a bigger fan of alfalfa SST's. I've used them for a few cycles now at the beginning of flower, and I'm really liking the results.

Put the pots in your veg area especially if they get a little light. Then sow in a cover crop till you need it. It will make the soil even better by the time you use it.

P-
 

SouthernSoil*

Well-Known Member
My experience with alfalfa is it can be pretty damn potent. Therefore, I do something like 1c in 5 gallons water and bubble. As a general rule of thumb, I use all recipes at half strength the first time just to make sure everything jives in my system. So I might even do 1/2c the first time.

Personally, I'm a bigger fan of alfalfa SST's. I've used them for a few cycles now at the beginning of flower, and I'm really liking the results.

Put the pots in your veg area especially if they get a little light. Then sow in a cover crop till you need it. It will make the soil even better by the time you use it.

P-
You right bro and i have lucerne which is apparently even more potent, cause my base mix is 1/3 peat, 1/3 perlite, 1/3 EWC but i was thinking of mixing some cut up lucerne in place for some of the ewc, ill definitely check out the stores near by if they stock any clover seeds but otherwise will have to order online, im also using a mix of about 40% peat, 40 % perlite & 20% ewc to raise my seeds until i can transplant them into the 5 gallons, i was wondering if its better to use rigid plastic pots or the thin bag like pots ?

Would you say the clovers would do okay with about 14-16 hours of light on a 250w hps ? It is aircooled though, ran my 600w hps & was sitting on 82 F that was on the lowest fan setting, thanks for the awesome advice man :peace: :leaf: : )
 

SouthernSoil*

Well-Known Member
just started to do the veg pots, put the peat in & the wetting has commenced, once they done ill start with the big pots, pretty annoying because i kind of have to hide everything and be discrete or i get questioned.

I was thinking instead of chopping up the alfalfa/lucerne, couldnt i just use it as mulch ? Surely the organisms will start breaking down the bottom of the mulch and ill add a little more if it gets done, sure sounds like a good way to stop the soil from getting uneven on top & retaining moisture
 

SouthernSoil*

Well-Known Member
Tent is finally properly setup, wow what a mission to stealth a 3x3 ..... running the 250w MH for veg & temps are on 25 C / 77 F , Fan setting on 1 , 600w gets a bit heated but hopefully for flowering that should be okay with the help of a oscillating fan aswell.

I have planted all 4 seeds in 1.5 litre pots , wett down my peat in my 5 gallon / 20 litre pots , cut up some alfalfa / lucerne into finer pieces, i have 250 grams of chopped up now, should i just split that in 4 and add 62.5 g to each pot then ? My mix is going to be consisting of 30 % Peat, 30 % Perlite , 30 % Castings & 10 % of chopped alfalfa / lucerne hay. How much is advisable ?

I think its taking some time for me to take in that the room is finally complete, been a really crazy mission, finally...

If i may ask though, do you people turn your soils ? If so would it be advisable to cook my soil in their pots & then when turning is needed just dump them into a wheel barrow to turn ?

Other than that think im all set and done ! Wow
 

SouthernSoil*

Well-Known Member
Thank you man, i dont thermo compost at the moment, live in a small place but will be moving to a suitable place, so you wouldnt recommend putting this in ? its not green or dried, id say its about 70% dry used for hamster bedding,i was thinking of putting it in the blender though really a hassle to find the meal here at the moment, thank you again. Respect
 
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Pattahabi

Well-Known Member
SS, I don't have enough experience adding it in this way to really give you a good answer. My experience with adding the meal is, if you don't let it break down a while before planting into it, your plants can burn. If I need N a quick botanical tea or EWC top dressing usually does the trick. I tend to err on it's easier to add in later then take out later.

Does that mean you shouldn't use it? I have no idea. Someone could be doing it with great results, but it ain't me lol!

Peace!
P-
 
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