PH & Organics

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Do you ever apply teas to your compost to keep it damp and kickstart the microbial process? I used some Earth Juice Rooter's Mycorrhizae in my mix to kickstart the fungal breakdown, but I'm not sure if there's any benefit to adding teas to compost (that doesn't yet have plants in it!) to add bacteria as well.
No I don't think there's any benefit. Now adding lacto bactillius (spelling??) to the pile I think would be more beneficial as it would speed up the break down process.
 

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
They are not the same.
It won't be like a carrot or other plant with one tap that the other roots branch from. It does have a main root that I call a tap root.

A Google search for "cannabis tap or fibrous root" shows many sites that claim the same as I have.
http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/03/27/seeds-vs-clones/

http://www.spliffseeds.nl/difference-between-marijuana-seeds-and-clones.html

http://www.cannabis.info/us/abc/30006821-the-cannabis-root-system

View attachment 3702026
Clones have a fibrous root system. So does a plant from seed but it also has a tao root. It is an extension of the stalk. It is stronger and goes deeper than the other roots.

It is also what tells ruderalis to flower.
I see what you are saying, but I've harvested hundreds and hundreds of both seeded and cloned plants, and they are virtually undistinguishable between them.
in other words, i'd bet my wallet and my reproductive organs that you couldn't tell between the two by a rootball inspection.
I inspect the roots on EVERY plant I harvest, and I've never ever seen a taproot.
so I respect your literature and links provided, but in my considerable experience I simply disagree.
after about three inches the roots branch out, regardless of the origin of the plant.
at least from what I've seen
 

whitebb2727

Well-Known Member
I see what you are saying, but I've harvested hundreds and hundreds of both seeded and cloned plants, and they are virtually undistinguishable between them.
in other words, i'd bet my wallet and my reproductive organs that you couldn't tell between the two by a rootball inspection.
I inspect the roots on EVERY plant I harvest, and I've never ever seen a taproot.
so I respect your literature and links provided, but in my considerable experience I simply disagree.
after about three inches the roots branch out, regardless of the origin of the plant.
at least from what I've seen
For the most part it doesn't make a difference.

It does make a difference if guerilla growing or wild cannabis. In those situations that main root makes a difference. It allows the plant access to deeper water tables.

For an indoor or outdoor grow where a person can water when needed it makes no difference.

Its not required to grow good pot, it is however beneficial for certain types of grows.
 

darkzero

Well-Known Member
Like they said don't worry about it while it's cooking. I use promix ultimate organic, compost, worms castings, kelp meal, crab shell,gypsum, azomite, alfalfa meal in my mix of I need extra nitrogen maybe blood meal, but I only use soil in pot to flower. That's just me though. After 30 days or more your soil Will be ready just make sure it's moist when u first make it. I cover mine with plastic wrap over top of the pots if I don't have a 40 gallon tote to cook I. Keep bugs out.
 

gogogogogogo

Well-Known Member
So I PH'd my tea after about 36 hours and found its PH at 3.6...? My soil is 7.0 so how in the world can that work! Also, the PPM of the tea was a measly 350! Are my girls starving?
 

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
So I PH'd my tea after about 36 hours and found its PH at 3.6...? My soil is 7.0 so how in the world can that work! Also, the PPM of the tea was a measly 350! Are my girls starving?
Compost tea provides microbes, not nutrients, your nutrients should be in your soil.

Also ppm reads salt content... So I don't know how well it measures the true nutritional benefits of a tea anyway unless it's a manure one.

And the pH thing is fine...stop checking.

Put your pH and ppm meter up for sale on eBay.
 

cannakis

Well-Known Member
I love ya man, and I agree with the first part, but strongly disagree with the second.
cannabis isn't a "taproot" rooting system, it's a fibrous one.
a clone will have the same roots as a seeded one, they don't work like that at all.
pull a plant from "seed" and one from clone, and the roots are identical, there is no "taproot"
think about it.
which does your rootball look like?
View attachment 3701982
comparatively
View attachment 3701977
fibrous
View attachment 3701978
and this is a taproot.
carrots, dandelions, etc.
This is Completely wrong. Cannabis is Definitely a Taproot plant, that's why it's so good in Actual soil because it digs so deep compared to rye or wheat which are Fiborous. Hemp digs like 16" deep within like two months minimum or something and wheat and rye Only get like 6" total... It's in "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer.

And that's the difference with Clones and Seedlings, clones do Not have the tap root while Seeds Most assuredly do. Tomatoes do to. Actually some argue Not to transplant hemp and tomatoes because you can break off the deep taproot.

If hemp was Fiborous why does root bound swirling happen so easily so quickly!?!!?
They are not the same.
It won't be like a carrot or other plant with one tap that the other roots branch from. It does have a main root that I call a tap root.

A Google search for "cannabis tap or fibrous root" shows many sites that claim the same as I have.
http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/03/27/seeds-vs-clones/

http://www.spliffseeds.nl/difference-between-marijuana-seeds-and-clones.html

http://www.cannabis.info/us/abc/30006821-the-cannabis-root-system

View attachment 3702026
Clones have a fibrous root system. So does a plant from seed but it also has a tao root. It is an extension of the stalk. It is stronger and goes deeper than the other roots.

It is also what tells ruderalis to flower.
exactly! Don't provide Facts though no one will listen to those... Interesting that's what makes Ruderalis flower.! How so?
 

cannakis

Well-Known Member
I see what you are saying, but I've harvested hundreds and hundreds of both seeded and cloned plants, and they are virtually undistinguishable between them.
in other words, i'd bet my wallet and my reproductive organs that you couldn't tell between the two by a rootball inspection.
I inspect the roots on EVERY plant I harvest, and I've never ever seen a taproot.
so I respect your literature and links provided, but in my considerable experience I simply disagree.
after about three inches the roots branch out, regardless of the origin of the plant.
at least from what I've seen
For the most part it doesn't make a difference.

It does make a difference if guerilla growing or wild cannabis. In those situations that main root makes a difference. It allows the plant access to deeper water tables.

For an indoor or outdoor grow where a person can water when needed it makes no difference.

Its not required to grow good pot, it is however beneficial for certain types of grows.
That's why there's usually not a "distinguishable" tap root at harvest because it's been watered nicely it's whole life instead of having to dig Deep to find water for survival. And I would Bet after Flowering the root system becomes more Fiborous trying to gather all the micros instead of Macros for huge veg growth.
 

gogogogogogo

Well-Known Member
Compost tea provides microbes, not nutrients, your nutrients should be in your soil.

Also ppm reads salt content... So I don't know how well it measures the true nutritional benefits of a tea anyway unless it's a manure one.

And the pH thing is fine...stop checking.

Put your pH and ppm meter up for sale on eBay.
I'm using Earth Juice's organic line (Grow, Micro, Meta-K, HI BRIX Molasses, Catalyst) I do believe this type of tea is a nutritional one.

Also what do your girls look like? What's in your soil?
My soil is not a fully amended soil, it merely has some humic acid, azomite, dolomite lime, epsom salt in it. It's about a 50-50 pro mix to roots organic mix.

This is my soil I'm using while waiting for my super soil to cook, I didn't have any wish to wait a full 6-10 weeks and the weather was too cold for it to cook well anyway.

Below are my girls, and if you'd like to see more pictures just click the link in my signature. There are tons. All are pretty HD so you should be able to get a good idea of their health.

It's been about 2 1/2 years since I've grown last, so I admittedly have forgotten a lot. They look healthy to me for the most part but seem to be missing that vigor I was accustom to in my last grow. Branching seems a lot slower, and their leaves seem to be less perky than I recall. Sure, I'm growing from seed and dealing with different phenotypes than my last grow, but they still don't seem to have that umph my last plant I grew did.DSC03787.JPG
 

gogogogogogo

Well-Known Member
Tell me what you think man, I really appreciate your continued replies and effort to help. I have a couple other girls upstairs in my micro cab I might try fooling around with, try to get my PPM to ~800 and PH to 6.0 and see if there is any noticeable benefit. I hear what you guys are saying about PH, but if my teas are at 3.6 that can't be an acceptable number.
 

cannakis

Well-Known Member
Tell me what you think man, I really appreciate your continued replies and effort to help. I have a couple other girls upstairs in my micro cab I might try fooling around with, try to get my PPM to ~800 and PH to 6.0 and see if there is any noticeable benefit. I hear what you guys are saying about PH, but if my teas are at 3.6 that can't be an acceptable number.
I Do think that tea is too acidic. Even if you run like a Compost Tea for real it is usually around 7pH and 3-700ppm... If you take good compost, soil, or manure, it will read roughly the same with the run off.
 

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Your girls don't look bad but it does look like they would benefit from a nitrogen boost. You should pick up some all purpose seabird guano 12-12-2 and top dress each pot with half a cup. And then I would just water with plain water. I would drop all the the stuff youre adding for right now. The seabird guano will do good for you![/QUOTE]
 

gogogogogogo

Well-Known Member
Your girls don't look bad but it does look like they would benefit from a nitrogen boost. You should pick up some all purpose seabird guano 12-12-2 and top dress each pot with half a cup. And then I would just water with plain water. I would drop all the the stuff youre adding for right now. The seabird guano will do good for you!
I was thinking the same thing. I've got some bat guano which I believe is essentially the same. As I understand it, the conflict between the two is the sourcing, correct? The values are similar or the same?

*Edit* Upon double checking, isn't guano a source of phosphorous? 0-7-0 is what mine is listed as. Seabird is 0-11-0.

I Do think that tea is too acidic. Even if you run like a Compost Tea for real it is usually around 7pH and 3-700ppm... If you take good compost, soil, or manure, it will read roughly the same with the run off.
Yeah I agree, it's much too acidic. It's odd, though, in my previous grow I used pretty much the same stuff and had better results. I'll try to PH it and see what happens. If all else fails, I may quit using the Earth Juice line.
 
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cannakis

Well-Known Member
I was thinking the same thing. I've got some bat guano which I believe is essentially the same. As I understand it, the conflict between the two is the sourcing, correct? The values are similar or the same?

*Edit* Upon double checking, isn't guano a source of phosphorous? 0-7-0 is what mine is listed as. Seabird is 0-11-0.



Yeah I agree, it's much too acidic. It's odd, though, in my previous grow I used pretty much the same stuff and had better results. I'll try to PH it and see what happens. If all else fails, I may quit using the Earth Juice line.
Local shop said they couldnt get earth juice (this was months ago, and somebody was in there asking about it... i dont sadly shop there Too Fucking expensive, sorry boys...) but maybe its old or production has gone down..?!
 

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
I was thinking the same thing. I've got some bat guano which I believe is essentially the same. As I understand it, the conflict between the two is the sourcing, correct? The values are similar or the same?

*Edit* Upon double checking, isn't guano a source of phosphorous? 0-7-0 is what mine is listed as. Seabird is 0-11-0.



Yeah I agree, it's much too acidic. It's odd, though, in my previous grow I used pretty much the same stuff and had better results. I'll try to PH it and see what happens. If all else fails, I may quit using the Earth Juice line.
High phosphorus seabird guano is that but all purpose seabird guano is typically (12-12-2). Bat Guano and seabird Guano are similar but not quite the same. Bat Guano leeches pretty heavily in the caves it sits in before it gets harvested, while seabird guano doesn't. So it holds more trace minerals, Humates, etc. Bat Guano will wash away quicker as well while seabird guano will last longer in your soil. It's still pretty readily available though and will need to be reapplied every two to three weeks. Once you get past week 5 of flower you can switch to the high phosphorus Guano.
 

gogogogogogo

Well-Known Member
Local shop said they couldnt get earth juice (this was months ago, and somebody was in there asking about it... i dont sadly shop there Too Fucking expensive, sorry boys...) but maybe its old or production has gone down..?!
My local shop actually had some new EJ products. I found Amazon has great prices on EJ. I think they're experimenting with synthetics trying to expand their brand.

High phosphorus seabird guano is that but all purpose seabird guano is typically (12-12-2). Bat Guano and seabird Guano are similar but not quite the same. Bat Guano leeches pretty heavily in the caves it sits in before it gets harvested, while seabird guano doesn't. So it holds more trace minerals, Humates, etc. Bat Guano will wash away quicker as well while seabird guano will last longer in your soil. It's still pretty readily available though and will need to be reapplied every two to three weeks. Once you get past week 5 of flower you can switch to the high phosphorus Guano.
Could you shoot me a link to some? All I'm finding is like 8-4-4 7-7-2.

I'm also quite drunk right now :) and probably not the best searcher.
 

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
My local shop actually had some new EJ products. I found Amazon has great prices on EJ. I think they're experimenting with synthetics trying to expand their brand.

Could you shoot me a link to some? All I'm finding is like 8-4-4 7-7-2.

I'm also quite drunk right now :) and probably not the best searcher.
http://www.planetnatural.com/product/peruvian-seabird-guano/

http://www.greenerhydroponics.com/Peruvian-Seabird-Guano-12-10-3-22-lb_p_81475.html?gclid=CP37-anqms0CFdgIgQodw74KLQ
 
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