I think the 42 inches he was saying was for seedlings... atm I have a few tops about 4 inches from a cxb3590 and I see no ill effects... I am not trying to make a habit of that BUT, it seems to be fine so far. And I am about 7 weeks into flower.
There’s an awful lot in this post that’s not entirely right. However I’ll focus on one point: soluble and insoluble calcium. I live in a hard water region, and when the water is exposed to heat (water heaters are wear items here) or air (again precipitating carbonate, drip stone style) there is carbonate scale.
Such as? Correct me. If I'm wrong about something, I want to know about what and why. My experience has been that the plants did not in fact correct my issues due to the excess Ca in my soil from my water. True, I could be attributing the correction on something purely coincidental, but I've seen noticeable results by removing calcium inputs from my soil due to the calcium content of my well water. Both in and outdoor.
4"??? At approx 80watts each ough (edit. Ah flower ok. But still.. )
Lol yeah I know for sure 4 inches away is NOT where I want to be but well... i was not as focused on this hobby when I was vegging these gals and they got too tall but I have no more ceiling space so what could I do hahahaha. There oddly seems to be no ill effects like bleaching or anything. Maybe it's because I am in a cold basement so my temps are never really an issue?
Really every soil recipe i have seen has it in there... please elaborate!
Pics or it didn't happen right?
It's true that it can switch both ways either through the addition of dissolved CO2 or the loss of CO2 from the solution (for the other direction), I can't seem to find anything that shows how soil flora regulates the conversions. For example, how would anything in the rhizosphere remove the CO2 in order to lower the number of Ca++ cations that would otherwise be taken up by the roots? Does it produce exudates which react with the dissolved CO2? You have me curious, and I'm still looking for the right keywords to search ScienceDirect and GS to find anything relevant.
Living soil generates acids; these dissolve calcium carbonate.
Meh, nvm....
Yeah I know how it happens in a cave, but it isn't regulated. It's that rainwater dissolved a lot of CO2 on its way down to earth, and as it passes through a calcific aquifer, some calcium carbonate is converted to bicarbonate that is much more soluble. Once it hits the cave and open to the air again, it loses some of the CO2 and the reaction goes the opposite direction, leading to the deposition of calcite precipitant. It's a completely different reaction than mixing any ol'acid with any carbonate that creates a salt of whatever anion the acid has. That actually releases CO2 as part of the reaction. Maybe my understanding isn't so great, but isn't calcium availability influenced mostly through the abundance of exchangeable Ca2+ cations?
I had a good friend on here that told me to compost everything like the amendments and everything. You start with grass clippings and leaves then add everything else to it. A good compost will turn into worm castings if you leave a way for the worms to get in(unlike a raised/enclosed bin). I have an old broken concrete slab that I use, it's about 8'x10' and it's fairly close to the wood line so I don't have to worry about worms showing up. One of the most important parts that took me forever to catch onto was composting plants like borage, comfrey, and nettle because they are high in iron and other trace minerals. The local weed around here is Lambsquarter and it's perfect for me because it's supposed to be high in manganese(I preach the importance of it all the time).
Yes I very much you recall talking about soil testing and definitely something I want to get into... i did end up getting a home soil test kit but I doubt that will give me the detail that you are mentioning or that would show those micro nute levels. I do compost a ton of things outside and use that compost as the base of my soil so that should be a good start. I need to get a qorm bin back up and running soon also and start using my own castings again and maybe start using some of the inputs you stated above and give them to the bin and get those micro nutes that way. Thanks for the input man!
Greensand is one of the very few things that contains Mn. Glacial rock dust varies a LOT. One bag of GRD would look tan, then the next would be black or olive. It's so across the board that you just don't know exactly what you are getting. The closer to Oregon that you are, the cheaper that Greensand will be. I just bought a 44lb bag and it's on my door step. For some reason, stores don't carry greensand in Okla and say that they can't order it, don't know why. If you are using egg shell, dump the lime. I'm using azomite, greensand, basalt, and egg shell. Glacial rock might be similar to one of these and it would be on my list if I didn't have to spend top dollar ordering it. Also, you might be using too much kelp. It has a lot of sodium with it and it can be very bad for plants, but I find it to be less of a problem if it's composted. My compost is always low in salt and aluminum and not sure why, but I'll take it. Using kelp in a 4 week mix might be too salty, it will make plants look droopy and thirsty(even if fully watered). I used a lot of kelp before a soil test and Na was through the roof, and as far as micronutrients, it only raised iron and copper when manganese and zinc were low. I never had trouble getting copper or iron, but it's very hard to get Mn and Zn. Here is that thread that I was talking about: https://www.rollitup.org/t/odd-soil-test-results-chasing-the-mix-again.1033266/
The most common soil test is the Mehlich 3 and Saturated Paste test and it was developed in 1984. They are expensive and hard to read($80+), plus you gotta have a degree to read the soil test. The soil test that I use is new science and they have a patent on their product, so they are the only company that has it. It's a solubility test and it replaced the saturated paste test. It will tell you how everything is interacting with eachother and it will show lockout. I find this to be the only information that I really need. I mean, do you really need to know how much Mn is in your soil, or that it is getting locked out. I think that the Mehlich 3 and saturated paste test are getting outdated, at least for indoor growers. This kit comes with everything including prepaid postage and lab fees, it's all included. https://www.amazon.com/Soil-Savvy-Understand-Fertilizer-Recommendation/dp/B01GIMOG8A/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-p13n1_0?cv_ct_cx=soil+savvy&dchild=1&keywords=soil+savvy&pd_rd_i=B01GIMOG8A&pd_rd_r=5cce14fc-523e-4b69-862e-2efe92ef53cb&pd_rd_w=fww9Z&pd_rd_wg=swnK8&pf_rd_p=aa27be45-7294-48a8-8c11-546cebd55a37&pf_rd_r=5V7V1SQSZP32X5X33P5V&psc=1&qid=1602189627&sr=1-1-a14f3e51-9e3d-4cb5-bc68-d89d95c82244
The one i ended up getting was called:
I got some greensand today from a local place and also got my gypsum i ordered (prior to this conversation lol). I waa planning on turning the two batches of the soil recipe i had already started above about 2 weeks ago, and I was going to add these few more inputs.
Don't worry about basalt, you have glacial rock dust. Gypsum is good for adding calcium w/o raising the Ph. Greensand should do it. I looked it up before and greensand is 11% soluble, so that means that 11% will break down immediately. Anyways, you should be good on rock dust. If you are willing to spend money, get that soil test and wait until it's finished before you test it. With that soil test, there will be no more guessing.
Thanks man! I'll grab up that other soil test soon here!