Snafu's Organic Garden

Grow Journal Day 6
Stage: Seedlings/Sprouts (Six days since germination)
Strains: 3 Vanilla Kush, 4 Medicine Man, 1 Critical Sensi Star
100% Organic Soil


Hello all,

It feels good to be back and starting up again here on RIU. I have been on a long hiatus from the community, but that ends today.

Currently I have sprouted 3 Barney's Farm Vanilla Kush, 4 Mr. Nice Seeds Medicine, Man, and 1 freebie Delicious Seeds Critical Sensi Star.

Per my usual grows, I will only be using traditional organic methods, utilizing the Soil Food Web to do most of my work. It's all about the roots!


I am just using a small 1.5'x1.5' Growlab tent with a 90W 6 Band High Output Vegetative LED from Lighthouse Hydro.


Here is the light I am using.


Normally, I would use fluorescents for this stage. However, I have been dabbling with good quality LEDs lately and have come to respect them as well as their low energy pull. The plants love it, and as an added bonus temperatures stay somewhat cooler and more manageable with LEDs.

Some would argue that this light is overkill with such a small area. But, I disagree! Just adjust the light a little higher if temperatures are too high or if bleaching starts to occur. As the plants progress, they will adapt and require the higher light output.

Currently I am maintaining 77F as my high, and 68F as my low. I am running a 24 hour light cycle for vegetative growth.

Looks good. Lot's of perlite - that's a happy time for seedlings. OK - keep us up-to-date on the grow.

Grow Journal Day 32
Vegetative Growth Week 1
Stage: Veg Week 1
Strains: 3 Vanilla Kush, 4 Medicine Man, 1 Critical Sensi Star, 1 Pakistan Ryder
100% Organic Soil

Today I upgraded the plants into 1gallon Smart Pots with VermiFire Soil, as well as another Great White Mychorrizal innoculation. Typically I would use Roots Organic rather than VermiFire, but my local store will not carry it anymore due to gnats. I also removed the ladies from the smaller tent to a bigger, 4x4 tent. I also supplemented them with (1) 90watt UFO for Flowering, as well as (1) 240w Blackstar for Flowering. In the center resides the 90 watt veg UFO.


Some would say to have all veg lighting during this stage. I wouldn't disagree with them, but I am utilizing all the LED I can for this growth...my two
600 Hortiluxes are just sitting in a bin nearby Don't feel like wasting the money/electrical pull on the HPS.




When I select the best from this lot, I will be cloning them and honing in on their potential(s). In order to have an adequate organic grow, I like to make my soil well ahead of time using a mixture of various soil amendments. Here is a picture of my soil breaking down the vital nutrients, making it viable for plant uptake and transfer by the soil food web in the near future. Pictured here is the foundation for a mychorrizal hyphal network(myko rates will swell once the plant is introudced and its roots produce the exudates the myko thrives off of) , numerous microorganisms, effectively referred to as the 'Soil Food Web".



My main goal as an organic grower is to focus on root viability, growth and sustainability by utilizing the cycle of the Soil Food Web to my best potential.

Here are some post-transplant shots. Notice the clawing/drooping....this is an immediate effect due to the transplant, as I took these pictures literally 5 minutes after they were all transplanted. I expect them to return to their normal state (perky and 'praying') by tomorrow morning.



Notice the two new ladies in the back center...one is a Pakistan Ryder, the other a freebie but cannot remember the name at the moment.

Cheers!

good goin

Beautiful fungal network!!! But those hyphae are not from mycorrhizae....can't be...instead it's another fungus - not a bad thing - any fungal activity improves the structure of the soil, etc. But mycorrhizae need roots to survive, so unless there is anything growing in your soil mix the hyphae can't be myco....this doesnt mean that the mycos arent in there - they just need exudates to get them going. Hope this makes sense. Good work on everything else - subbed! I'll be around.

What was your soil mix btw? And how long has it been in the trash bin?

Keep up the good work

Hello Cann,

Thank you for your kind words. I never said it was the hyphal network shown, I said it was the foundation for it.

"Pictured here is the foundation for a mychorrizal hyphal network(myko rates will swell once the plant is introudced and its roots produce the exudates the myko thrives off of) , numerous microorganisms, effectively referred to as the 'Soil Food Web".

In other words, the foundation is the soil and the amendments and actively growing soil food web/microorganism community. Once the plants are introduced the roots will slough off exudates and the hyphal network will be primed to respond and create.

I am glad you are aboard!

To answer your questions:

1. Soil mix is an all organic, amendment-laden concentrate I have developed and will use in my finishing containers. It is Guano based.

2. It has been in there two weeks. I just re-mixed it back up(after I took todays pictures), watered it, and will now leave it alone for another month until ready for use.

I'm in. Lookin' good Snafu!

hey Snafu - I remember your blueberry thread. good stuff! welcome back i'll sub up

I'm with you man!! Thanks for all the pics. I will definitely learn something on this thread oh mighty RIU dudes...

I grew out critical sensi star this year they were a great plant lovely structure, the smells were so strong, rotton fruity/meaty skunk funk! I can't comment on the potency or taste but everyone that had it loved it!

That fungi is mycelium, shows your soil is very much alive great!

Grow Journal Day 38
Vegetative Growth Week 2
Strains: 3 Vanilla Kush, 3 Medicine Man, 1 Critical Sensi Star, 1 Pakistan Ryder, 8 Mr. Nice Black Widow
100% Organic Soil

Happy New Year!

I returned from a long weekend/vacation for the New Year to find the plants healthy and doing well. Before I left, I had planted 8 germinated Mr. Nice Black Widow seeds, which are now shown in the grow.

I am waiting the arrival of the Blackstar Chrome 270W Full Spectrum Flowering LED, which I bought this morning. As I am getting closer to flipping the switch to flowering, the increase in PAR is needed. I always have my 600W Hortiluxes to rely upon if needed as well, but am really trying to stay completely LED in this run.

Now, an update on the grow:

Weeded out one male from the Medicine, Man group. Looks like I may have 2 more males, leaving a 1/4 female/male ratio. But time will tell, I do not want to cull them yet.

Before I left I pruned the bottom branches of all the plants. Today, upon arrival, I topped all of the ladies. I forgot to take pictures prior to topping, so WYSIWYG.



Growth has been adequate and so far I am very happy with this grow...mind you, the pictures above have all been transplanted twice, undergrowth pruned and now been topped in a very short period of time(my method of growing allows this, as my focus is solely on root health and dominance...I dont believe in plant 'stress')...now only to find some females!

Note* This grow is intentionally not as well-documented as my previous grows...I am just having fun with this one (it is actually a small selection process for a buddy of mine), so I hope you enjoy it as well.

Oh yeah...the culled males soil was mixed in with my soil concentrate....I didnt take a picture of the root growth but lets just say it is incredible.....should make for an effective grow. Tip: Always check your roots on culled plants!

Best,

Snafu

Snafu1236 said:

I am waiting the arrival of the Blackstar Chrome 270W Full Spectrum Flowering LED, which I bought this morning.

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Nice grow bro, keep us updated on this light I've been thinking about trying this one out. Thanks for sharing!

looking sweet, keep us posted

I was looking at those lights last night would love one bit too pricey at the mo

Just a quick unofficial update....

Got my Blackstar Chrome 270W LED in today. Pricey at almost $500, but obviously a much higher quality design and materials used upon initial inspection.

Here are some pictures. Got a few of the ladies, or so I hope, in there as well...they were all a little droopy from a misting.

In the wider shot you will see the LEDs I am running. They are all Blackstar from Lighthouse Hydro.

The White UFO is a 90W High Output. The Black UFO is a 90W LED 6 Band. The Back Rectangle is the Blackstar 240W. and Of course, the new Chrome.

Looking good Snafu. Can't wait to see what your LEDs do for ya... there are so many people in each camp... some for, some against LED. I think there is some serious potential there, especially in the long term as technology progresses and lumen output does as well. I'm hedging my bets on dankage in here for sure.

Looking foward to this grow...i am also doing a "LED Only" grow...with the amount of LED light you have running im am def anxious to see to the results !!

Bobotrank said:

Looking good Snafu. Can't wait to see what your LEDs do for ya... there are so many people in each camp... some for, some against LED. I think there is some serious potential there, especially in the long term as technology progresses and lumen output does as well. I'm hedging my bets on dankage in here for sure.

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Hey Bobo,

Good to see youre still kiciking around here. RIU certainly does not seem as great as it once was....I left after the major data wipe/loss and recently returned....unfortunately not a lot of solid information being thrown around here anymore...some of the misinformation is scary! I mean, it has always been like this, but it seems much more apparent now than ever before.

I have dabbled with HPS and LEDs together, but never strictly straight LEDs only. This is my first try at LED only.

Since I have grown out all of the current strains, I feel as though I will have a good knack at the selection process and the LED outcome. Of course it is not nearly as controlled as a clone test, but I should be able to make some deductions and reasoning of the LED technology after this grow.

My hope is to see some serious dank with tight internodes and compact growth. So far, I love not having an heat concern or a loud exhaust fan and the minimal energy draw is great on the electrical bill.

However, the final result is really what matters to me. I am hoping that I like the flowering results...so far, LEDs are now THE ONLY WAY I will grow vegetatively from now on. Tight, compact internodal spacing, rapid vegetative growth, plus all of the LED perks---low energy, no heat, etc etc.

Now, just have to see what happens in flowering! I currently am pulling 690 Watts of LED (240w+270W=90W=90W),. I do not believe in HPS vs LED equivalency, so I am considering this a 690W LED Grow, and not a 600W++ HPS 'but really LED' comparison grow. My findings, knowledge and understanding will be based on what 690 watts of flowering stage specific/contemporary LED lighting can do for quality genetics.

My expectations, honestly? I do not know nowadays, that full spectrum Chrome I got throws out a ebautiful color of lighting like I havent seen before from LEDs. However, my gut is telling me that the LEDs are going to produce unsatisfactory bud compaction for my preference....but who knows! Well see.

-Snafu

NugHunter said:

Looking foward to this grow...i am also doing a "LED Only" grow...with the amount of LED light you have running im am def anxious to see to the results !!

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Thank you! Happy to have you aboard.

How many watts are you using in your garden?