The Dons' Organic Garden

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
I'm accumulating the ingredients for a single ~12gal bin for an overwinter personal plant, I'll give it a shot and report back.
You mention hardwood charcoal often, but what about softwoods?
The harder softwoods can work well, but hardwood is the best.

A report back would make my day, brother. Respect and good luck, we'll be here if you have any Qs!
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Awesome thread mate.. I haven’t thought about going organic but after reading this thread definitely considering it... I’m in aus like gigs, fairly new to it all but am got some awesome genetics inside under quantum boards. I got Bruce banner, purple haze, pineapple chunk and gsc going atm but have just started some Texas butter from seeds

Bruce banner day 46
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Pineapple chunk day 39
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Purple haze day 39
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Seed collective?? let me see :) and also how can And when should go organic coz I can’t make compost yet... it’s on the horizon tho
Respect, brother, and welcome to terpy side!

If you can fit a 5 gal pail under your sink inside you can make compost and or castings.. I built a small wooden bin that salt screened and stayed tucked away in a micro 1br apartment. Just them castings is good enough to start, the compost can come in year two after you've borrowed some outdoor space somewhere or find good compost or make your own leaves.

Nice buds under QBs!
 

Bongsmoke420

Well-Known Member
Respect, brother, and welcome to terpy side!

If you can fit a 5 gal pail under your sink inside you can make compost and or castings.. I built a small wooden bin that salt screened and stayed tucked away in a micro 1br apartment. Just them castings is good enough to start, the compost can come in year two after you've borrowed some outdoor space somewhere or find good compost or make your own leaves.

Nice buds under QBs!
Nice bro we putting a big veggie garden in down the back so will have heaps of scraps soon... dig that pink gravy is that around at all?
 

Bongsmoke420

Well-Known Member
Thats always exciting times.. way to make the leap

& oh yea..Its around for sure... tis all over the globe now, which is super cool..and one can get some of the original bean stock still too my man.
That’s awesome mate... pm me if you don’t want to tell me how one can get them in his hands :) I’m looking for those great genetics the bubba meltdown looks like something I would want to grow
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
A mid cola shot of this Strawberry OPG who's in crazy stacking mode.. Tonne of terpy tops flopping around on this one with masssssive resin weight.. these dense mean colas could knock someone out, they're wayyyy heavier than they look.. can't believe it!

(For those joining late...this OPG = Biker OG x Our Pink Gravy)


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DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Last 10 days of August already, wow!

Here's a ultra medicinal, ultra smooth Pre98 BK pheno of the BMd (Bubba Meltdown) showing some sweeping hues and foxy swelling.. perhaps a bit much with the N, but this grower did great for her first round with bubbas, and she has some massive beasts on hand now, Remo style with the side lighting and garbage cans and all... 6 to nearly 7 feet each.. dense and toppy, and indoors no less, can't wait to hear her yields they looked fat AF for inside, especially this other one of the same strain, not shown here, but hopefully can get a shot of this cola that is the size of a fricken leg! Screen Shot 2018-08-21 at 12.52.05 AM.png
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Plant Chitinases and Their Roles in Resistance to Fungal Diseases

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2619419/
The only other person that I heard talk about this is Clackamas Cootz. He said that he went to a bakery college in San Francisco and he was researching grain for bread Anyways, he said that he uses crustacean meal(chitin) along with barley(chitinase) and it blew my mind! Along with neem/karanja meal, this raises the SAR value. He is an outdoor grower, so I imagine this stuff is important to him...

https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/podcast Jeff Lowenfel interview also!!!

Another thing that I picked up from one of his interviews was that he used 2yr old leaf compost. He said it was pure leaf compost and it takes the full 2yrs to break down. I wonder if this is because pure leaf mold would be more fungal than a worm bin? I understand that it is best to both fungal and bacterial compost, but I am not quite there yet.

Another point that they brought up was root exudes. I believe that they said high P and/or N can prevent the plant from producing root exudes and hindering mycorrhizal growth. Also, when the soil Ph drops below 6, it will affect soil biology. I was doing all kinds of things wrong!!!
 

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
The only other person that I heard talk about this is Clackamas Cootz. He said that he went to a bakery college in San Francisco and he was researching grain for bread. Anyways, he said that he uses crustacean meal(chitin) along with barley(chitinase) and it blew my mind! Along with neem/karanja meal, this raises the SAR value. He is an outdoor grower, so I imagine this stuff is important to him...

https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/podcast Jeff Lowenfel interview also!!!

Another thing that I picked up from one of his interviews was that he used 2yr old leaf compost. He said it was pure leaf compost and it takes the full 2yrs to break down. I wonder if this is because pure leaf mold would be more fungal than a worm bin? I understand that it is best to both fungal and bacterial compost, but I am not quite there yet.

Another point that they brought up was root exudes. I believe that they said high P and/or N can prevent the plant from producing root exudes and hindering mycorrhizal growth. Also, when the soil Ph drops below 6, it will affect soil biology. I was doing all kinds of things wrong!!!
Mind blowing is right, mate!

I've heard that talk, its a great one! I liked Clak as soon as I heard it... how he takes things from other fields is much like me, I love how he draws parallels and connects dots to and through his passions..

Anyway, thank you very much for sharing that here, I was meaning to post that link and I think I forgot!

He loves the barley for the amylase and because the proteins have chitinase like you said, which I didn't know at the time..another staple in my regime I think and a good replacement for some of the simpler fungal foods that don't have as many benefits.. for those keeping score at home or in the LP greenhouses.. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seeds contain at least five proteins with chitinase (CH) activity.

And yes, you're right, its high Phosphorus that inhibits beneficial myco infections.. this is why I like to keep my P a bit lower, and get those AMF's / mycos established as early as possible!!! And rock plenty of humus and a bit of pH buffers, that will help keep the ph stabilized!

Lastly, (but not least nor chronological lol) regarding the Leaf Mould.. you're right that it takes a long time to break down, 2 years even 3, if large / unshredded leaves, but probably could catalyze things so its a bit under 2.. I will for sure shred my leaves from now on, made a big mistake in not doing that last year, it shaves like 6 months off at least.. and yes, very fungal is the leaf compo.. white rot fungus is a prerequisite to leaf mould, and the main machine at work.. I see worm farms as naturally bacterial dominant (very bacterial, beneficially, unless you're adding fungal promoting inputs or steering it to be more balanced by adding leaves etc..)
And leaf compo to be almost purely fungal.. for me, I like to play with ratios of about 10% fresh DIY EWC (cured and sealed for 4 months is actually peak / ideal for Nitrate availability, but I use fresh lots too, since we don't have N def very often all, almost never..) if using vermicompost, which is unfinished EWC in my mind, that is more like other composts and or manures that have been worked for about 6 wks, vs a full year, I would use 15 to 20%...

then fungal compost, I would use about double that compared to castings to make a nice well rounded blend.. for flowering plants anyway.. for babies, you can literally grow them in pure aerated castings or base mix cut in half..

I will post a chart too for the visual types, it has percentages and is in pie chart form, I guess I had too much time on my hands or something, they could use a bit of an update but gives a good ratio and idea!

Soil.png
 

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DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Are you serious??? I'm thinking about dedicating the time to read all 200+ pages of your thread. I think that I stopped keeping up in 2016 lol... It was a lot of interesting fungi you had growing, but I couldn't get past the basics like micro def.
I'd be honoured if you took the time to do so and I would be happy to revisit anything you like.. I know its long but we love to speckle in great photos and great learning experiences along the way.. rewards for the dedicated! Like anyone, we do plateau at times, but every plateau is usually followed by a breakthrough, so if its gets boring for a minute, get excited!

I'm still wrestling with basics too, though, my friend, let's get there together.. When we make really balanced compost (great proactive approach), we don't seem to see any issues, just amazing healthy plants that pump out sheer expression in so many ways, so you stop learning about problems, but then when you rush or over react or cut corners, thats where you run into problems, and then its a reactionary thing.. and only with time and repetition (of mistakes) will one get good at memorizing all the nuances of leaf reading.. unless you're a genius and scan a chart once and have everything embedded, but thats not normal really..lol.
 
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