Colorado Growers Thread

[SELFHEMPLOYED]

self. whats up with soil?
Whats got you down?
Can I say, compost teas have made me happy with soil again. I have recycled all of my soil for over a year with compost teas and an ass load of myco. But I'm a fan of if it aint broke don't fix it. and bro, your shit aint broke.by a long shot.

Nothing is wrong with growing in soil at all. I still have yet to personally smoke anything better than herb grown in organic (no bottle) soil. I know that there are many on this thread that would love to prove me wrong, and I'm sure some of you could.

Anyways what I don't like about soil is

Buying dirt is fine if you have like 4, 5 gallon plants, but if you use a lot of soil, it's a pain in the ass to buy,transport, and especially DISPOSE of. I know people are going to say reuse the soil.. It just gets better.. Most people I know that do that are running into soil borne problems that they can never seem to get rid of.

And... Soil is fu*king dirty! I see some of these under current grows that are lab clean and the pros using the doubledD, MPB, Undercurrent, style of grows are straight killing it. And all of them say "My plants have never looked better". Some of you say that hydro grown herb can be just as good, and although I haven't personally experienced it (yet) I truly believe that someone like Grat3fulh3ad or some of the pros here in Colorado could change my mind.

So I figure if it can be done, I can do it too.

Have you guys seen this thread: THIS is what has me inpsired. Those undercurrent systems are expensive, but I love the professional build and CUSTOMER SUPPORT they offer. Absolutely sick grow right there.

http://www.*********.com/forums/f29/60-x-1000-watts-under-current-hydro-20-tons-ac-some-co2-19366/


(I'm not sure if this will get deleted. I'm sorry ahead of time if it does)


I donno it was a passing thought after being pissed about the fungus gnats in my soil. It's already gone, I'm now back to being obsessed with my vertical stadium soil grow I'm putting the finishing touches on

 

[Tripsick]

cant wait for the show... i love watching some of these grows.
That link you posted is an impressive setup. i wish i had the space

 

[SELFHEMPLOYED]

Nice work! I like your style very much. -Joe

Hey thanks man I could the same back

looking good self, looks kike those tents are gonna crush it!

Yeah man I hope so, the thickest, most even, badass canopy that tent has ever seen

Looks real good man! Kinda hard to tell from the pics, but did you weave the branches into the screen, or just let them each occupy a different hole? Also hemp funk or anyone else, is it best to weave the branches once into the screen when they stop stretch, or weave them earlier and more often?

Got those sonja's crackin off?

Cob what I did is let them grow up about 5 or so inches above the screen then supercropped them into the next hole. i kep t doing that to achieve the shape I wanted. All but the S.A.G.E. and sour d are about done stretching, but those two are pushing the net up and growing like crazy still.

I got the cheese phenos and one blockhead flowering with one of my patients that I can't legally have plants for anymore in this god damned town. I'm now more of a caregiver then I was when I was her caregiver lol I'm over there 4 times a week!

I can get 1.4 g/W out of dirt, you just have to use a large volume of it. It's also cheap (cheap as dirt anyway), never needs to be replaced, and organic. There's nothing to break or go wrong besides the gardener. I'm not sure, but I'd guess 99.9% of hydro systems won't outyield dirt. Quality is a personal preference, hydro can look more frosty with some strains, but I think organics produces better potency and high.... Now I'll shutup before mopho, rednick and mule kick my a$$.

SCROG Looks great.

Thanks! i agree with everything except reusing the soil, I just haven't had good luck with it.

I wanted to try a few buckets one of these days under current looks cool.. But i doubt i would switch from soil..
i should recycle it instead of filling the landfills with it. It does get heavy even in my micro setup.

Is it a myth or have all the cup winners been grown in soil?

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Dorje113]

Thanks! i agree with everything except reusing the soil, I just haven't had good luck with it.

I don't mind going over it with you sometime if you want.

I've set up this soil system many times and people have reused their soil for years with no problems (at least with the soil).

 

[Okiedope]

I don't mind going over it with you sometime if you want.

I've set up this soil system many times and people have reused their soil for years with no problems (at least with the soil).

i would love to hear this as well. i have never had success rerunning soil and would enjoy hearing some tips and tricks.

for now, here are some pics of my tent.


SFV Chem D #6 - Showing some OG influence.

SFV Chem D #3 - Also looking dank.

Chem DD


I will try to get them out for some individual shots w/in the next few days.

 

[Okiedope]

Get some Dale's up in you...

Get some Dale's up in you...

Up next...

 

[Greenmopho]

Soil is fu*king dirty! I see some of these under current grows that are lab clean and the pros using the doubledD, MPB, Undercurrent, style of grows are straight killing it. And all of them say "My plants have never looked better". Some of you say that hydro grown herb can be just as good, and although I haven't personally experienced it (yet) I truly believe that someone like Grat3fulh3ad or some of the pros here in Colorado could change my mind.

So I figure if it can be done, I can do it too. I donno it was a passing thought after being pissed about the fungus gnats in my soil. It's already gone, I'm now back to being obsessed with my vertical stadium soil grow I'm putting the finishing touches on

Thats funny! I'm a straight RDWC guy, but I hate that I need X amount of plants of one strain per system. If I have just one or 2 cuts of something that I want to see bloom, I don't have an efficient hydro setup for that (yet). So I'm playing around with soil and organics...and guess what....fungus gnats! LOL! Just covered my soil with 1" of perlite and treated with goGnats at 1/2 strength, should kill those fuckers! How do you soil guys deal with that shit? I put one mosquito dunk in each hydro rez, and I never see a fungus gnat, ever!

I don't want to get into a whole soil vs. hydro thing. I believe both have certain advantages and disadvantages. The good thing for me about hydro is I know what and how much my plants are uptaking. I can look right at my roots. I can keep the room super clean! Soil to me is somewhat mysterious as to what exactly is going on in the root zone! I mean I understand the science of organic growing, but coming from hydro, all I need is to look at my ppms, pH, and see if the leaves are showing any deficiencies! Soil pH can fluctuate, and can be a good thing or a bad thing. Reusing soil just seems like a powdery mildew nightmare. Drain to waste soil, I never know exactly how much or how often to feed, or to just water....

Seems to me that hydro is more of a science where soil is more of an art! I think environment, genetics, love and care, and ideal conditions make up 99% of quality. Its in that 1% that soil growers may have the advantage in flavor over hydro. I find most hydro growers are going about it wrong. Sterile nutrients will create sterile flavors. The best tasting hydro buds come when you don't do res changes and you let your nutrient solution become a living primordial soup! I get nice flavors out of my hydro setup with supplementing some organics, compost teas, beneficial fungi and bacteria, and that extra dose of sulphur that most modern hydro nutes lack!

I will honestly say that the ECSD that I grew in soil was superb, even pollenated with seeds! It had a lemon-honey kind of taste to it! Grown with organic soil with molasses, it sure as hell tasted good! I can attribute that to soil, or maybe because I let her run 85 days because I wanted the seeds ripe, and as a side effect the flavors really developed. The ECSD from my hydro setup is much more "Sour", especially taken at 72-73 days. Although with the same veg time, in soil I got around 3 oz per plant (but seeded), in hydro I've gotten close to 8 oz per plant....so in that respect, soil doesn't compare!

 

[Dorje113]

Fungus gnats are easy, one application of nematodes will take them out. WTG sells them for $10, enough for a couple thousand square ft. Put out a few yellow sticky traps to catch the adults, the nematodes will eat the eggs and larvae.

Reusing soil depends on keeping the soil in balance, which is easier to do the more soil you use. I usually use beds with 50 gal soil per plant, but have been having good results with 20 gal smart pots.

The soil pH stays in balance by using a peat based soil, which forms humic acid. Adding lime, for what we do fine dolomite lime works best, brings the pH up to the high 6's. I use 50% organic potting mix, usually a couple dif. brands, 25% peat, 25% perlite, lime, earthworm castings, and a balanced mix of guanos, bone and blood meal... not too much in new soil for the 1st use, more in later runs.

For nutes I use Earth Juice, guano teas, misc stuff... but the complete EJ line is all you need. Keep it simple until you really understand what's going on. EJ mix brings the pH down from 8 to about 4.5 with current city water. Don't freak out, it's not too low, it temporarily brings the pH of the soil down but it will stabilize back where it was very quickly. The fluctuation in pH is a good thing. Also make sure to use water that has been through a carbon filter, lukewarm.

To keep the soil balanced nutrient wise, buy a NPK and pH soil tester from McGuckins, they have a good brand, Sentry I think... Using the results of the soil test you can see how much nutes the plants are using and add more or less Earth Juice as needed. After a while you will get the hang of what the plants are using and give it to them before they deplete the soil.

Toward the end of the cycle you will want to taper off the nutes and until you just use water the last couple weeks. They will turn colors and the fans will start dropping, no need to ever flush the soil if you do things right.

I's emphasize the requirement for large containers again. It's almost impossible to use my system in 5 gal buckets. You will be watering every day, they will rootbound, and it's hard to figure out how much to feed....

Anyway... my 1st run since '03 and I got 900g from a 1kW in my closet in 58 days flowering. One plant yielded 350g and theres room for 4 that size under a 1 kW....

Pic below is 1st attempt of a student using my system... she did ok but theres always a learning curve...

I'll also say this about quality. It's not the system, it's the grower, as long as the system is capable of keeping the plant healthy. Yield is def. dependent on the system.

 

[cobcoop]

Looking really nice okie!

 

[Okiedope]

To keep the soil balanced nutrient wise, buy a NPK and pH soil tester from McGuckins, they have a good brand, Sentry I think... Using the results of the soil test you can see how much nutes the plants are using and add more or less Earth Juice as needed. After a while you will get the hang of what the plants are using and give it to them before they deplete the soil.

Anyway... my 1st run since '03 and I got 900g from a 1kW in my closet in 58 days flowering. One plant yielded 350g and theres room for 4 that size under a 1 kW....

i've been meaning to get a soil tester for a while. thought they were pretty pricey tho? i've always just had to measure runoff.

 

[Dorje113]

i've been meaning to get a soil tester for a while. thought they were pretty pricey tho? i've always just had to measure runoff.

They can be, but the one at McG's is only $20. I wouldn't call it accurate, but it'll keep you in line...

With regular soil testing and a large volume of soil it's not too hard to eliminate salt buildup and rootbound issues. If you can't grow in huge raised beds, smart pots seem like the next best thing, they eliminate root circling. Plus the large volume of soil = large root system = increased yields. Feeding amounts depends on what's in the soil already, so I think feeding programs are ultimately a poor idea in organics, it's better to learn what they need and not have a set schedule. It's also very forgiving, there's a pretty wide range of acceptable conditions in this system, but it's better to underfeed and correct deficiencies than overfeed by far.

With 4 plants per 1kW light in 20 gal sp's (I only have 3 because I need a spot to get into my 5.5x5.5' closet), I need to water every 3-4 days with air conditioning, about 3-4 gallons of water per plant. With smaller pots you'll have to water more ofter, they will wilt fast if you don't water on time, and they will use nutes at a faster rate, which can be hard to keep up with so more chance of deficiencies or overfeeding problems.

After the run is over you just pull the rootball and turn the soil, I top dress the bed mix (more lime and ferts), and mix it by hand into the top couple inches of soil then water, plant, and water again.

On another topic has anyone grown Blowfish? It's (funk x g13)x(blue dot x g13) and looks sativa dominant. It is taking over my closet entirely, I could probably just throw out the other 2 plants and be just fine. It grows FAST during stretch, every day there's massive growth. Beautiful grey-green foliage, I'll get a pic soon.

 

[aceofspades]

I just recently decided to re-use my soil after spending the cash on mixing up the Moonshine Mix, which worked well, but nothing out of the ordinary. I keep all my old soil in a large plastic bin. I add 60% recycled soil to 20% new soil, then the rest is made up of perlite, EWC, peace of mind, and guano. I feed with guano teas and molasses. I am still experimenting with these, I like them, but they stink.

I figure every spring when I rotatill my garden I will take all the old soil at that time and till it into the garden, makes sense to me!

Ace

 

[mule420]

Nothing is wrong with growing in soil at all. I still have yet to personally smoke anything better than herb grown in organic (no bottle) soil. I know that there are many on this thread that would love to prove me wrong, and I'm sure some of you could.

Anyways what I don't like about soil is

Buying dirt is fine if you have like 4, 5 gallon plants, but if you use a lot of soil, it's a pain in the ass to buy,transport, and especially DISPOSE of. I know people are going to say reuse the soil.. It just gets better.. Most people I know that do that are running into soil borne problems that they can never seem to get rid of.

And... Soil is fu*king dirty! I see some of these under current grows that are lab clean and the pros using the doubledD, MPB, Undercurrent, style of grows are straight killing it. And all of them say "My plants have never looked better". Some of you say that hydro grown herb can be just as good, and although I haven't personally experienced it (yet) I truly believe that someone like Grat3fulh3ad or some of the pros here in Colorado could change my mind.

So I figure if it can be done, I can do it too.

Have you guys seen this thread: THIS is what has me inpsired. Those undercurrent systems are expensive, but I love the professional build and CUSTOMER SUPPORT they offer. Absolutely sick grow right there.

http://www.*********.com/forums/f29/60-x-1000-watts-under-current-hydro-20-tons-ac-some-co2-19366/


(I'm not sure if this will get deleted. I'm sorry ahead of time if it does)


I donno it was a passing thought after being pissed about the fungus gnats in my soil. It's already gone, I'm now back to being obsessed with my vertical stadium soil grow I'm putting the finishing touches on

Not to break my own arm here... My bro who owns more then one dispensary in Co bought all my hydro overstock and sold it out in hours,,, not talking a couple zips dig... It's too fucking bad with 1284 we don't have a chance now to say "hey I just dropped this weed at this store check me out"...

I care more about that we all CAN grow! Soil or hydro makes 2 shits to me... I do both the with big NO NO in the same room OMG... I dig it when people have fun growing! You got it going on man!

Hydro...

 

[cannagirl]

Can a MOD OR ADMIN please tell me why Greenmopho was banned? its says for trading clones, which has not happened?????

 

[aceofspades]

Wait...actually trading clones? Or just speaking of the act? And why would a mod give a crap, we are, for the most part, all legit!
Interesting.
Ace

 

[cannagirl]

Wait...actually trading clones? Or just speaking of the act? And why would a mod give a crap, we are, for the most part, all legit!
Interesting.
Ace

well it says TOU#7, which is trading clones. Not only that but many in this very thread on this very page have ben talking about the clones going around CO, either thru trades or shops

 

[FreezerBoy]

Open swapping of ANYTHING in the forums is a strict no-no.

If someone asks for personal info, just say no and report them to admin. If someone offers personal info, refuse politely, delete the info and report them to admin. We like to think of ourselves as family but, the fact is we're strangers. Please do not put your life, your freedom, your security in the hands of data mining strangers.

 

[StrictlyGateway]

i would love to hear this as well. i have never had success rerunning soil and would enjoy hearing some tips and tricks.

ii've often re-used soil and coco. i always make sure to flush for at least two weeks the previous harvest. then i dump all the soil/coco into a pile, re-mix, add new soil and/or amendments to the soil (no ratios to report, just whatever is around, or whatever i feel like). then i re-pot. never had any issues to speak of. another thing i do is make sure i use enzymes if i am re-using soil...it supposed to help break down the old root material. anyway, it's work, but that's alright with me.

 

[mule420]

Hey guys thanks for the rep! I try to grow my peeps the best stuff! I have spent more on my grow rooms then I will ever make back... The funny thing is all my peeps have the same medical problem as me so I relate to them, and end up just saying here take it, give me what you can. Some are on disability through no fault of their own...

A patient of mine on disability has had 17 surgeries on his back, Nam vet been through hell on many levels... He was in a bad place yesterday, came over I could tell something was wrong, known him since I was 16 I'm a little older now LOL... He asked you my caregiver? I said yep you know that... He ended up pouring out his soul just built up crap... Ya know? Broke fucking down both of us... Ended up drinking a 12 pack of fat tire, smoked the hell out out, made some killer burger's beans and coleslaw talked long into the night, made up the extra bed for him...

Yes I am my brother's keeper, and I hope he is mine... Peace and puffs

 

[Tripsick]

54 days Chiesel