Real Organics

Hey, love the ice thing, like imitating natures way of telling the plant to fully finish. Do you get much run off? let em dry out before application I suppose? How do your worms/soil bugs react? I might try it in 1 or 2 of my 20G fabrics at the end, I've got visions of puddles of icy water filled with dead worms and mites if I did all 8 tho plus I'd prob be coming out of the supermarket with a trolley full of ice a day.

I'm making a fresh batch of fish hydrolysate tomorrow, re-stocking some essentials while I'm off work. I've got 3 possible options for the the fish source, either a 1.5 hour round trip to the coast to barter with a fisherman who'll no doubt hate my guts a soon as I open my mouth because of my accent, a half hour round trip to a trout farm, or a walk of 5 mins to the local supermarket to buy a full fish with head, but gutted.
How important do you think having the guts and all intact is to making good fish hydrolysate?
Do you think fresh water fish would have as good nutrient content as sea fish?

I used 2 small gutted whole fish (sea bream I think) from the market last time, they fermented well enough and the plants I used it on seemed to love it. I used most of it to active biochar and my compost pile though. So here I am again, making more, hopefully I wont burn the blender out this time.

Peace.......

Oh..the ice thing also made me think of this article I was reading earlier about plant hormones and growth regulators earlier - http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/nutrient-management/non-traditional-amendments/docs/NCREP-303-1.pdf. There's an interesting paragraph just below half way down about plant senescence, the whole things worth a read though

DonBrennon said:

Hey, love the ice thing, like imitating natures way of telling the plant to fully finish. Do you get much run off? let em dry out before application I suppose? How do your worms/soil bugs react? I might try it in 1 or 2 of my 20G fabrics at the end, I've got visions of puddles of icy water filled with dead worms and mites if I did all 8 tho plus I'd prob be coming out of the supermarket with a trolley full of ice a day.

I'm making a fresh batch of fish hydrolysate tomorrow, re-stocking some essentials while I'm off work. I've got 3 possible options for the the fish source, either a 1.5 hour round trip to the coast to barter with a fisherman who'll no doubt hate my guts a soon as I open my mouth because of my accent, a half hour round trip to a trout farm, or a walk of 5 mins to the local supermarket to buy a full fish with head, but gutted.
How important do you think having the guts and all intact is to making good fish hydrolysate?
Do you think fresh water fish would have as good nutrient content as sea fish?

I used 2 small gutted whole fish (sea bream I think) from the market last time, they fermented well enough and the plants I used it on seemed to love it. I used most of it to active biochar and my compost pile though. So here I am again, making more, hopefully I wont burn the blender out this time.

Peace.......

Click to expand...

Well I haven't done it yet on any large fabrics. I plan to this round on my alien female. You bring up a very valid question about the macros in the soil. I've thought of this a few times now. The traditional way is to add a constant amount of ice the form a layer across the top of the soil. And this has to be done for 2 days. But it's all done in smaller pots, and yes you get a decent amount of runoff but not to bad. And the whole idea behind it is to stall the microbes. With large fabrics I've come to realize this isn't truly feasible to have runoff.

Now the ideal root temp is 10-15 degrees below foliage temps. Just being able to futher cool the roots I would think would have a similar effect. So I think with large fabrics the foliage temps need to be reduced also for this "signal to finish" to work with less ice.

The preditory mites will die, but their enviroment sensitive anyways. And as far as the worms, they should survive the brief cool down. They prefer a temp of 50f-75f for optimal activities and reproduction, but can withstand cooler temps for short periods. Remember were not freezing the roots, just shocking them. Any worms in the fabrics I doubt will migrate to the surface where it's even colder, where the ice is. It's possible to lose worms however when the soil warms backup any dead worms will be rendered nutrient and encourage the repopulation of mites. I don't know about you, but I have worms comming out of my ears, so I could care less about a few dozen. Mother nature doesn't care either.


The fish slate I don't think is better if the guts are in, but I have always caught my own fresh water fish and chopped them up in cubes and blend.
Lol, I've gone through 2 blenders now, and i'm on the 3rd. Fish and lake weeds are a killer on the motor.
Also you could use a food processor but that's an expensive machine for making fish slate, and can never be used for anything related to human consumption.

The main thing I'd look for in a store bought fish is the fatty acids. Salmon is very good for its omega content. The main thing is whole fish for the bones. I doubt scales have anything extra to contribute since they are essentially bone and the whole fish has bones already.

Made the h-slate last night with two whole mackerel, cheap as chips, I made sure to cut em up small this time, I think it's long stringy bits of skin wrapping round the blades that burns the motor out. It didn't seem quite as an horrific experience 2nd time round making it, 1st time was a complete nightmare (un-prepared, messy & broken blenders), I guess you learn from experience.

Here's the method/recipe I used (credit to Gil & Pat @ theunconventionalfarmer.com) :

1 - My 2 mackerel weighed almost exactly 500g/18oz so I weighed out 170g/6oz raw dry molasses (1/3rd the weight of fish)

2 - Cut fish into small pieces and put into 2L measuring jug with 500ml/2.1cups water already in it, water level rose to roughly 1100ml/4.6cups therefore the volume of fish = 600ml/2.5cups. This told me I needed 1.8L/7.6cups of water in total (3 x volume of fish), but I'd already added 500ml/2.1cups, so I needed an extra 1300ml/5.5cups of water to finish the recipe.

3 - I then poured 70ml/0.3cups lacto-serum (30ml/L) , the fish mixture, sugar and as much of the remaining water as I could into the blender, blitzed it a few minutes, waited 10 mins for blender to cool down and then gave it another few minutes blitz.

4 - Poured mixture and remaining water into 5L/1G bottle, gave it a good shake up and placed top on loosely. Left in a warm dark place.

I've done it in a clear bottle this time so I can watch it and it looks gross

Oh, the fishmonger was throwing out some king prawns past their display date so I've done the exact same thing with them. Not sure whether to just mix em up together when they're done fermenting or maybe run a side by side to see how they perform against each other, not sure how I'd do this tho, It's mainly for using in compost tea, compost activation and charging biochar.

(haha, Hope all them numbers ain't too confusing I've tried converting units for the US readers, sorry if I've cocked up in any way, but your measuring system is totally fooked up, lol. it's our old system, so we understand it better than most others nationalities, but shit man it's time you's went metric, I can't imaging how the French or all other Europeans get on)

Alien is comming along nicely. I have a slight high N claw going on in a few older fans. I'm sure it will work itself out soon.

I decided to foliar some neem, aloe, LAB/Em1, photosynthesis plus and fulvic acid, today

Alien is going good. I foliar sprayed some neem, fulvic acid, LAB/EM1, photosynthesis plus today.

I tossed a few clones due to rooting times, so I just have 3 left. LSD, PURP AFGOOEY, GRAPE OG. Gonna hit them with some Gen purpose FPE on the next watering.

So here's all the "tops" that I'll be working with. Gonna have to be scrogging soon.

I thought I'd throw up a smoke report and harvest final weight.
Super cheese x Jet 47 AUTO

First the yeild. If my memory serves me correct, I was 240 ish grams wet or so. After the final manicure and a 11 day slow dry, I've brought the RH down to 64% stable. I have some CVAULTS and 62% Bovita packs I'll finish the cure in and for long term storage. But right now I have 56 grams and I'm happy.

The buds are a very resinous and the ratio of resin to organic matter is very high. 40% or so, I'd say.
The buds are very dense and hard where the resin has accumulated, but have good spring in them when you squeeze it. A sign that they are properly dried and shows a highly successful cure will follow.

The smoke report:

The first impression of the bud upon first smell is skunk and reeks of yeasty cheese. Deeper on the inhale the skunk and cheese turn slightly fruity, almost berry or grapey like.
I threw a small bud in the diamond grinder and it got gummed up, but now the smell changes and it has a mixture of cheesy pine with a berry/grape note.

There is a slight "green" taste when it's burned, but it's quickly overpowered by the terpenes. And finishes with a sweet, peppery pine on the exhale. Also very hashy taste and the smell of the smoke is just like bubble hash.

The smoke expands tremendously and makes me cough my ass off. The bowl holds a cherry nicely and burns evenly. Not sparks or flecks from phosphates, and no cracking or poping.

I'm absolutely happy with this auto, and i'm sure the next time I run them I'll I won't neglect them the way this one was.
I can't wait to taste them again in 3 months, it's totally worth the wait!!

She is almost ready to flip, I just have a little more shaping/pruning to do. I have decided against a scrog because I am confident the way I trained the main branches to lay horizontal, will provide more vertical strength for the buds.

I've mostly eliminated all the center growth and I'm now focusing on forming an even halo of main tops. I absolutely hate larf buds.
I'm still working on the automated irrigation, I have a few more things to get for the irrigation manifold and fertilizer injector/doser unit. She's only been going through a total of 3 gallons a week so I have some time yet before she needs to be automated daily. Still giving just water or non-nutritive AACT.

Yesterday after a little trim.

I predict a halo of Alien dicks. Lol

Still goin... not as fast as I have seen her in the past but I'm sure it's because of my watering methods. She really needs to be watered more frequently and in smaller amounts.


Male clones are already on 12/12.
The plan is to make some beans and I'll be using the following pollen donors:

"Original" White Russian male
Ak-47 x White widow

TGA Deep Purple male
Urkel BX
Purple urkel x Querkel

Grape OG male. ( my own creation using a grape ape male x OG Rascals fire cut female)

Purple Afgooey male. ( another of my crosses using a urkel male x Afgooey female)

I scraped the LSD male- he sucked and was too slow with rooting times and growth. I think just a shitty bean from a private trade. LSD is a very stable if gotten from Barneys or a bank.

Grandpa GreenJeans said:

Still goin... not as fast as I have seen her in the past but I'm sure it's because of my watering methods. She really needs to be watered more frequently and in smaller amounts.
View attachment 3580278

Male clones are already on 12/12.
The plan is to make some beans and I'll be using the following pollen donors:

"Original" White Russian male
Ak-47 x White widow

TGA Deep Purple male
Urkel BX
Purple urkel x Querkel

Grape OG male. ( my own creation using a grape ape male x OG Rascals fire cut female)

Purple Afgooey male. ( another of my crosses using a urkel male x Afgooey female)

I scraped the LSD male- he sucked and was too slow with rooting times and growth. I think just a shitty bean from a private trade. LSD is a very stable if gotten from Barneys or a bank.

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Gosh she's amazingly strong looking!
Do you put bags or something over the males so the pollen doesn't get mixed up?

Oh, and have you ever had a rootbound plant? I'm suspecting mine may be heading that way, would greatly appreciate if you could take a look : https://www.rollitup.org/t/how-to-scrog-up-bushy-nl-5xhaze-girls.891365/page-6#post-12211160

Cheers!

That's exactly what I do.
I pollinate target flowers using a qtip or artists paint brush. Bag them and then 24 hrs later I'll spray 0ppm water on the outside of the bag to wet it so the pollen sticks to the walls when I pull it off. And then again I'll spray the buds that have pollen still on them. You have to deactivate the pollen with water otherwise the whole crop will be mix seeded and breeding efforts lost.

Grandpa GreenJeans said:

That's exactly what I do.
I pollinate target flowers using a qtip or artists paint brush. Bag them and then 24 hrs later I'll spray 0ppm water on the outside of the bag to wet it so the pollen sticks to the walls when I pull it off. And then again I'll spray the buds that have pollen still on them. You have to deactivate the pollen with water otherwise the whole crop will be mix seeded and breeding efforts lost.

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That totally makes sense.
Gosh, I'd love to do an internship with you - all this is so fascinating!
Do you have a background in gardening?

Lol thanks. I do have some school under my belt. But cannabis was self taught through trial and error. A lot of people think it's this crazy mystical plant that needs too much care. In reality it's a weed, and it can grow anywhere with little to nothing.
Research and apply

Grandpa GreenJeans said:

Lol thanks. I do have some school under my belt. But cannabis was self taught through trial and error. A lot of people think it's this crazy mystical plant that needs too much care. In reality it's a weed, and it can grow anywhere with little to nothing.
Research and apply

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Yes sir, I'm on it
Thanks for sharing, it's a great help!
Actually I am just changing careers into something gardening related, and alot of what I am learning by growing indoor - especially about the soil - is applicable everywhere where plants grow and will thus be useful in many other contexts
Cheers!

That is how I pollinated the Purple Haze. Even the 3 year old frozen pollen worked!

Purple Haze x (Mulanje Bubblegum x Mozambique):




Cheers,
Mo

Mohican said:

That is how I pollinated the Purple Haze. Even the 3 year old frozen pollen worked!

Purple Haze x (Mulanje Bubblegum x Mozambique):




Cheers,
Mo

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Sounds delicious!
What's your prep method and container for freezing.

I like to use vacuum vials and suck out all the air/RH. But I really have no idea what my true RH is in the vial, so I tend to not freeze.

Today is her 2nd day of 12/12. I took a couple clones off her yesterday to make a mother before it was too late. I've been really busy latley and haven't had any time to play in the garden but 20-30 min a day. I'll get back on track soon. Got some more beans I want to pop.

I'll be adding new fems to the flower room perpetually.

Some of you may notice I don't immediately switch out to a HPS. I like to keep the MH going for the first week. It helps keep the stretch down and the blues help promote more internode durring the onset of flower. Once the platform is in place, then I'll switch to some flower power. I vegd under a 400W MH, now she is under 630w. Once the full onset of flower comes, she will go under 1000w HPS .

She's getting bigger..... almost 3.5 ft deep and 2.5 feet wide.

Plastic vials and a few grains of rice as a desiccant. A couple of the bags are full of male flowers and pollen. I simply placed the bag over the male and shook it vigorously.

Mohican said:

Plastic vials and a few grains of rice as a desiccant. A couple of the bags are full of male flowers and pollen. I simply placed the bag over the male and shook it vigorously.

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Encouraged by your post, I went and added 3 rice grains to each vial I have, beans and pollen.
Lol, simple... now why couldn't I have thought of that?!?!?!.. Even more of a reason to kiss. Nice bro-

Mohican said:

Plastic vials and a few grains of rice as a desiccant. A couple of the bags are full of male flowers and pollen. I simply placed the bag over the male and shook it vigorously.

Click to expand...

I like the bag- n - shake, I'll try that this time round. Makes sense, ... collect the pollen in a bag and pour into a vial. Pollinate fem with bag-

Grandpa GreenJeans said:

Lol thanks. I do have some school under my belt. But cannabis was self taught through trial and error. A lot of people think it's this crazy mystical plant that needs too much care. In reality it's a weed, and it can grow anywhere with little to nothing.
Research and apply

Click to expand...

If I can do it........ just say'n