Roots Organic Grow

Wetdog said:

You flat need more perlite. Get some and add to the mix you haven't used yet and double what's already in the mix. "When it looks like there's too much, it's just right" Me.

For the cups, besides no water, some more holes in the bottom will not only provide more drainage but will also help get more oxygen to the soil/roots. *I* like a 3/16" sized hole for cups like that.

HTH

Wet

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i agree, i should have added perlite, i had some but i used it for one of my other plants. Im going to be picking some up in the next few days and ill be using it in my future transplants.

Day 20 despite the wet soil the clones are looking great.

finding out fast that this soil holds a crap ton of water for an amazingly long time in my setup. So i picked up some perlite and ill be using a bunch of it in my mix when i transplant. Also got some mushroom compost to use mainly for compost tea.

Day 21 and the soil has FINALLY dried to the point where i can water it. 7 days after transplant! sheesh .ok lesson learned. MORE PERLITE! sprayed a light watering of diamond black and seaplex. they perked up ready to stretch toward the light.

kushdaddy1980 said:

Day 21 and the soil has FINALLY dried to the point where i can water it. 7 days after transplant! sheesh .ok lesson learned. MORE PERLITE! sprayed a light watering of diamond black and seaplex. they perked up ready to stretch toward the light.View attachment 4256720

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nice recovery kush. they're looking like they should now

ShLUbY said:

nice recovery kush. they're looking like they should now

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thanks man its a learning process, but im getting my method down so i can pull off a good harvest this time.

kushdaddy1980 said:

finding out fast that this soil holds a crap ton of water for an amazingly long time in my setup. So i picked up some perlite and ill be using a bunch of it in my mix when i transplant. Also got some mushroom compost to use mainly for compost tea. View attachment 4256700

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That mushroom compost is Ok for compost tea, but *I* did NOT have good results the one time I add it to my soil mix. Just sayin.

Start scouting out a source for the 4cf or 2cf bags of perlite. Those little bags will eat you up $$$ wise. Here, a 4cf bag (30 gal), is $19 OTD. Take that little bag cost & amount and run it out to 30 gal and compare that to $19 for a real eye opener.

Seems like a lot, but it gets used pretty quick.

Plants are looking perky. Good going!

Wet

Wetdog said:

That mushroom compost is Ok for compost tea, but *I* did NOT have good results the one time I add it to my soil mix.
Wet

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Yeah, the ingredients are not all mushrooms, its probably mostly forest material which is already in my soil in a good amount. So yea ill just use it for tea, figured it was worth 4 bucks.

The perlite should be enough for this batch of plants though but when i go to get more ill probably go to my local grow shop they always give me a good deal.

kushdaddy1980 said:

Yeah, the ingredients are not all mushrooms...

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Mushroom compost is the left overs from a mushroom grow. They don't reuse their substrate because the mushrooms leach out everything they need on the first go round. They usually use "composted forest products" (which could be pretty much anything...) When they are done with the grow, they harvest the mushrooms and sell the used growing medium as "Mushroom Compost". It's not going have as many nutritional benefits as regular compost, but it's a decent source of cheap organic matter and it usually helps make the soil more loamy. Do a Google search for mushroom farms in your area and start contacting them. If you buy direct from the farmer, you can save big time. There's a farm about an hour from me where I can get a whole truck load for $40. Same goes for compost. Some local municipalities collect yard waste and compost it for residents. There are also facilties that make commercial compost. I can get awesome organic compost direct from the source for $30 a yard. You just have to do a little extra leg work.

SlownLow86 said:

You just have to do a little extra leg work.

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so i dont know if youve seen this guy jon kohler, growing your greens.com, hes kind of a wierd dude but he knows a lot about organic growing.he did a review on some composts and soils. He showed this compost called eco-scraps.he recommended that over the others in the bunch. Have you guys heard of it or used it? Looked like it was a decent product from the review.

Day 14 after transplant and the girls are looking beautiful.Growing like crazy! i put on a bucket of compost tea to brew tonight and im planning on transplanting these beauties into bigger pots.

so i had soil mixed up and put into the pots for transplant. I used emerald mountain soil, perlite, vermiculite, worm castings and a little happy frog.just waiting for the plants a couple days.i had watered the soil with diamond black and seaplex.



i noticed that the soil smells really strong of the happy frog nutrients and today i noticed something moldy looking on top of the soil.you cant really see it very well in the pic but thats the best shot i could get. Could it be one of fungus thats in the happy frog? Its loaded with mycorizae and bacteria.

Im wondering if this soil is still good to use.Should i throw it out and make a new batch? Id hate to go through all this trouble getting my clones in order and mess em up.

kushdaddy1980 said:

Day 14 after transplant and the girls are looking beautiful.Growing like crazy! i put on a bucket of compost tea to brew tonight and im planning on transplanting these beauties into bigger pots.View attachment 4258892 View attachment 4258893 View attachment 4258895

so i had soil mixed up and put into the pots for transplant. I used emerald mountain soil, perlite, vermiculite, worm castings and a little happy frog.just waiting for the plants a couple days.i had watered the soil with diamond black and seaplex.

View attachment 4258896

i noticed that the soil smells really strong of the happy frog nutrients and today i noticed something moldy looking on top of the soil.you cant really see it very well in the pic but thats the best shot i could get. Could it be one of fungus thats in the happy frog? Its loaded with mycorizae and bacteria.

Im wondering if this soil is still good to use.Should i throw it out and make a new batch? Id hate to go through all this trouble getting my clones in order and mess em up.

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lol it's always good to see living things in your soil. don't panic! and don't even think about throwing it away....

so i pulled the cups out and that "mold" was all inside the soil too, took your advice and just used it like that.

used some great white around the rootballs and sprinkled it in the holes.watered with the compost tea i made last night.

day after the transplant and all seems well. theyre perked up and praying.

Day 17 after transplant and the girls are getting bushy.ill be topping them soon then transplanting into the fabric pots.

bought this awesome little gadget today, monitors ph, moisture, fertility, and its got a cool little sunlight meter measures in footcandles. I used it today, and confirmed all my suspicions about my soil conditions. My small cups i watered today ; it said too wet, my clones in 1 gal were just a tad on the wet side but i knew that because i watered them a couple days ago. Everything was great in the big pots. But the cups that i been having problems with and couldnt figure out what was wrong said "no nutrients". Duh! Lol so ill be adding just a sprinkle of happy frog to those ones and we'll see how it goes. I guess i underestimated the amount of actual nutrients were in the soil. The ingredients do have N,P, and K, but im sure its in very small amounts just to get it on the label.

kushdaddy1980 said:

bought this awesome little gadget today, monitors ph, moisture, fertility, and its got a cool little sunlight meter measures in footcandles. I used it today, and confirmed all my suspicions about my soil conditions. My small cups i watered today ; it said too wet, my clones in 1 gal were just a tad on the wet side but i knew that because i watered them a couple days ago. Everything was great in the big pots. But the cups that i been having problems with and couldnt figure out what was wrong said "no nutrients". Duh! Lol so ill be adding just a sprinkle of happy frog to those ones and we'll see how it goes. I guess i underestimated the amount of actual nutrients were in the soil. The ingredients do have N,P, and K, but im sure its in very small amounts just to get it on the label.View attachment 4260983

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that thing measures your soluble nutrition just fyi. so you likely have stuff that is stored in your microbial populations and/or amendments that are not in soluble form.

ShLUbY said:

that thing measures your soluble nutrition just fyi. so you likely have stuff that is stored in your microbial populations and/or amendments that are not in soluble form.

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Right, i know that this is measuring the available nutrients and not stuff that hasnt been broken down by microbes yet.like the soybean meal that will break down and release nitrogen slowly. At first i was worried about there being too much nitrogen to begin with, but i realize that the nitrogen isnt even available to the plant until the microrganisms process it. So ill be making just a little bit available until the mycorizea network is established, using happy frog jump start 3-4-3.

i love to see the plants 'praying' and stretching towards the light that tells me theyre happy and everything is going good in my soil.today some of the leaves are almost vertical.

i watered today with a mix of seaweed extract and molasses. I decided to do an experiment with my runoff and i took a drop and put it on a slide under my microscope. I was amazed to see all the hundreds of and perimecium, and nematodes and stuff swimming and squirming around. I even saw a nematode latch onto a strand of fungus and start feeding. I wish i could have taken pictures or videos to share, just describing what i saw doesnt do it justice. I had never seen these things with my own eye but today i got a closer look and a better conection to my soil biology. Its truly alive!