Organic Growing: An Introductory Guide

bassman999 said:

Can too many amendments ruin taste of finished buds?

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Too many of one amendment can. Overdoing guanos can leave an overly earthy tasty plant in my experience. And pushing a plant too hard with fertilizer can inhibit certain aspects of flavor production. I like having a diverse table of Organic inputs but applied in lighter amounts...Although my new goal is to sustain myself just off my worm castings, my compost, free rabbit manure I get, and the crops I grow to feed my compost. But I'm working through my stock pile of crab shell meal along the way lol.

I think you would have to go pretty hard to over do anything. If you're being mindful of your plant, noticing healthy, steady growth. Keeping an eye out for any stunted growth, lockout, or burn. You'll be alright.

bassman999 said:

I make my mixes strong so I can water only to the end, but hope not to lase taste as a result

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I wouldn't worry about that fucking with your taste as much as how you harvest. Cut the plants and hang them, dont start trimming til they're dry, don't do anything to rush them dry. And let them spend sometime in jars, burping them and checking to make sure they're staying dry along the way.

Rasta Roy said:

Too many of one amendment can. Overdoing guanos can leave an overly earthy tasty plant in my experience. And pushing a plant too hard with fertilizer can inhibit certain aspects of flavor production. I like having a diverse table of Organic inputs but applied in lighter amounts...Although my new goal is to sustain myself just off my worm castings, my compost, free rabbit manure I get, and the crops I grow to feed my compost. But I'm working through my stock pile of crab shell meal along the way lol.

I think you would have to go pretty hard to over do anything. If you're being mindful of your plant, noticing healthy, steady growth. Keeping an eye out for any stunted growth, lockout, or burn. You'll be alright.

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Until this run I never had any issues with discolored plants so as to show any lock outs or deficiencies. This time I forgot to mix my amendments and coffee grounds, but have since repotted and fixed it. One girl still looks bad, but new growth is better just not great.
I would love t get to that level with my soil, and I will eventually wen I figure out how to do it discreetly, or move.

Rasta Roy said:

I wouldn't worry about that fucking with your taste as much as how you harvest. Cut the plants and hang them, dont start trimming til they're dry, don't do anything to rush them dry. And let them spend sometime in jars, burping them and checking to make sure they're staying dry along the way.

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I just noticed my plants have a mild taste compared to the strong smells.
Only one plant had a bad taste Sannies Jack. The worst tasting weed I ever grew, but yielded great and super frosty...smelled fruity till week 7 flowering then smell faded to almost zero, pulled week 10.
Just a strain thing I think?!?
I hang whole plants and dry slow usually 12+ days.
My last run with fertilizer (Jacks Professional) where I over fertilized still had a strong taste.

bassman999 said:

Until this run I never had any issues with discolored plants so as to show any lock outs or deficiencies. This time I forgot to mix my amendments and coffee grounds, but have since repotted and fixed it. One girl still looks bad, but new growth is better just not great.
I would love t get to that level with my soil, and I will eventually wen I figure out how to do it discreetly, or move.

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I have found that making custom organic soil is more difficult than I thought. I've had bugs from store bought worm castings and ph problems from not letting it cook long enough. At least I think that's why. Could have also been the biochar.
I've done much better with the recycle pile. It's outdoors in the rain but it is for outdoor plants of all types so bugs aren't a concern.
I throw my old dirt on the pile plus an occasional amendment like bone meal, kelp, alfalfa, etc.
Everything I've grown in recycled dirt has done great with only water. There are TONS of mites and gnats outdoors, but there are also natural predators to maintain balance. When mites arrive, tiny spiders show up to graze on them. Pretty cool.

Chunky Stool said:

I have found that making custom organic soil is more difficult than I thought. I've had bugs from store bought worm castings and ph problems from not letting it cook long enough. At least I think that's why. Could have also been the biochar.
I've done much better with the recycle pile. It's outdoors in the rain but it is for outdoor plants of all types so bugs aren't a concern.
I throw my old dirt on the pile plus an occasional amendment like bone meal, kelp, alfalfa, etc.
Everything I've grown in recycled dirt has done great with only water. There are TONS of mites and gnats outdoors, but there are also natural predators to maintain balance. When mites arrive, tiny spiders show up to graze on them. Pretty cool.

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I got spider mites outdoors in summer of 2015 that ruined whole crop, but never had a rea problem ever outdoors before.
Im gonna find a way to start my own compost and

Great thread Rasta, i used this as one of the base points for my first organic soil mix. just wondering if i could get your opinion on it.
My Base Mix:

Equal parts peat/aeration/compost
Peat-equal parts coir and peat.
Aeration-1 part perlite, 1 part vermiculite, 2 parts pumice.
Compost-equal parts EWC(almost all homemade, didn't have enough), mushroom compost and local farm compost(have my compost started but wont be usable till all the snow is gone)

Amendments/cubic foot:

Alfalfa meal-1/2 cup
Crab meal-3/4 cup
Fish bone meal-1/2 cup
Glacier rock dust-4 cups
Gypsum-1/2 cup
Kelp meal-3/4 cup
Neem seed meal-1 cup
Oyster shell flour-3/4 cup
Green sand- 1 cup

i plan on using aact periodically throughout the grow.

cadkushfan said:

Great thread Rasta, i used this as one of the base points for my first organic soil mix. just wondering if i could get your opinion on it.
My Base Mix:

Equal parts peat/aeration/compost
Peat-equal parts coir and peat.
Aeration-1 part perlite, 1 part vermiculite, 2 parts pumice.
Compost-equal parts EWC(almost all homemade, didn't have enough), mushroom compost and local farm compost(have my compost started but wont be usable till all the snow is gone)

Amendments/cubic foot:

Alfalfa meal-1/2 cup
Crab meal-3/4 cup
Fish bone meal-1/2 cup
Glacier rock dust-4 cups
Gypsum-1/2 cup
Kelp meal-3/4 cup
Neem seed meal-1 cup
Oyster shell flour-3/4 cup
Green sand- 1 cup

i plan on using aact periodically throughout the grow.

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Seems pretty solid to me! I certainly wouldn't change anything. Lately I've been using and reccomending growers add Langbeinite to virgin mixes just cause I've seen small signs of potassium and magnesium deficiencies in the past and this seems to prevent that issue. Though depending on your compost, you could be totally fine...It's just a nice safeguard.

Thanks man, cant wait to grow some tasty organic buds

Rasta Roy said:

Seems pretty solid to me! I certainly wouldn't change anything. Lately I've been using and reccomending growers add Langbeinite to virgin mixes just cause I've seen small signs of potassium and magnesium deficiencies in the past and this seems to prevent that issue. Though depending on your compost, you could be totally fine...It's just a nice safeguard.

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I was initially weary with the langbeinite with the high super high for an organic 22-K (Potash).
It didnt seem to cause issues with my last grow though

bassman999 said:

I was initially weary with the langbeinite with the high super high for an organic 22-K (Potash).
It didnt seem to cause issues with my last grow though

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I go fairly light with application(like a quarter of the recommended rate) for that exact reason and that seems to be enough.

Rasta Roy said:

I go fairly light with application(like a quarter of the recommended rate) for that exact reason and that seems to be enough.

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Not sure what is recommended, but I went light as well not knowing how soluble that pink granule stuff really is.

bassman999 said:

Not sure what is recommended, but I went light as well not knowing how soluble that pink granule stuff really is.

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Yeah i can't recall the application rate off the top of my head. I imagine like some ground minerals, it gradually releases as it weathers (whenever you water), but every mineral releases it's content differently based off it's properties. But I've seen results from it pretty instantly in a couple grows these last few months and from what I've seen so far it's not something that has to be reapplied later in the grow either.

cadkushfan said:

Thanks man, cant wait to grow some tasty organic buds

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No problem! You'll find it's a process that gets easier and needs less and less work over time!

Rasta Roy said:

Yeah i can't recall the application rate off the top of my head. I imagine like some ground minerals, it gradually releases as it weathers (whenever you water), but every mineral releases it's content differently based off it's properties. But I've seen results from it pretty instantly in a couple grows these last few months and from what I've seen so far it's not something that has to be reapplied later in the grow either.

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My problem is deciding what amounts to re-ammend with regards to all amendments.

Rasta Roy said:

No problem! You'll find it's a process that gets easier and needs less and less work over time!

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i will be growing some plants this season for top dressing/compost/cover crops/companion planting. right now i have borage, chamomile, yarrow and buckwheat. i've got a couple worm bins going now and hope to eliminate the need for buying amendments eventually too. just have more learning to do before i can get there.

most AACT i see get really foamy, Mine has very little foam at 30hrs of bubbling . Is this a concern? also the first time i have made a tea...

A note on pest management and companion planting!

When we grow organic and try to take advantage of the best parts of nature...It's important to remember we are also courting the more troublesome parts of mother nature.

Pests.

Most organic growers know to keep a bottle of neem oil on hand, strong fans, introduce nemotodes, use compost teas, and a thick layer of mulch to prevent things like spider mites, fungus gnats, thrips, mildew, and the like.

These are all great things.

But you can do more...Without trying hard at all.

A few small containers with a simple aeration/compost/peat or coir mix is all you need to sow in some seeds for basil, rosemary, and dill (all in their own containers respectively). These are all easily grown in the margins of your grow room, and all have their own unique natural defenses for pest control.

Think of companion planting for pest control like medieval warfare.

A phalanx is a great military unit. But if all you got is a phalanx. And I've got archers and dudes on horse...You're phalanx is fucked. Think of basil, rosemary, and dill as different types of military units. If you only have one you can only fight one way, but with all of them together... Victory!!! There's probably other plants that might make great companion plants, and others that might make terrible ones! These are just the three I'm most familiar with. There's plenty of reading you can do about the kinds of pests and beneficial insects that different crops can draw.

cadkushfan said:

most AACT i see get really foamy, Mine has very little foam at 30hrs of bubbling . Is this a concern? also the first time i have made a tea...

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Not necessarily, foam is not an indicator of microbial activity. How strong is your air pump tho?

i do have neem oil i have been readin on this extensively, a couple of the plants i chose are know to increase oil production in neighboring plants(chamomile, Yarrow), some have good pest control properties, and some are good for living cover crops. I didnt know about dill but what i just read on it has convinced me to throw some of that in with them too

i wish i would have found more info on pump before i bought it, i would have gone with the element air pump. i unfortunately went with this one:
https://www.amazon.ca/Hydrofarm-AAPA45L-Active-Commercial-Air/dp/B002JPRNOU/ref=sr_1_6?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1482535510&sr=1-6