Earth Juice Users

[Greensub]

I have a soil probe, I'll check it tonight, also I'll check the runoff next time I water with my drops too, but I really think the meter I have is accurate... I know that my water is 6.0, and it always reads 6.0 in the plain water... it does look like lockouts though, doesn't it? My last reading was between 6.0 and 6.4, I don't remember exactly... like I said, it doesn't seem to vary too much.
FK

Well... I'll preface this with a disclaimer... don't take my advice until someone else can corroborate it.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong... I've been watering with 5.5 - 6 PH. When I do this my run-off & soil probe is 6.5-6.8 or so. That's what I want right? I want the PH of my medium overall to be around 6.8 right?

If you're watering with 6-6.3 and getting a run-off of the same, I would expect your soil probe to show around 6-6.3 too.

I don't know... but to me it seems your mediums PH is too low over-all and you need to raise the PH of your water correspondingly a tiny bit.

Maybe it has to do with your water being naturally acidic... I've been pondering how rise of PH over the brewing period differs based on the PH of your water. Does PH just keep rising above the original ph of the water, or does it rise until it returns to the original PH?

I've wondered if PH of your actual medium rises after application as well. I mean if on day 2 of bubbling it's ph6 and on day 3 it's ph7... well if you water with the day 2 mixture does it continue to rise at the beginning while the soil is saturated? (I figure you've got a lot of that mixture that has a rising ph in there right)

Does your nutrient mix ever rise above that original PH level of water?

Maybe I put in 6-6.3 and get out 6.8 because my waters original ph is about 7.5 (I tend to have problems with high ph... even with no lime) I feel it's always trying to creep up... sounds like yours is always trying to creep down.

Sorry for the long kind of rambling post... hope it made sense, or someone can correct me.

 

[FinestKind]

Whatever way is easier to brew the teas should be fine, your EWC in the teas should be fine also.

My gut feeling at this point is, your ph seems to low, your feeding too much, pots aren't rooted enough, your light setup is causing feeding variations & your water quality is suspect.

Thats kinda bold assumptions but seems like there are several issues going on at the same time & maybe taking a look at that stuff might be of some help in the future ?

You going to reuse that soil or start with a fresh mix ?

Amen on all but the water quality... And maybe the pH being too low... 6.0-ish is good, no?

I am definitely feeding too much, and the pots are definitely not rooted enough- although they are pot bound by the time the cycle is over- I don't know, I think I'm going to stop asking for help on this cycle and ride it out at this point... not feed again until my EC's are WAY low...

I usually start fresh every cycle with new Pro-Mix- I know, crazy, right? It just seems awfully messy to try and reuse it... not really sure how to go about it actually. And I think it's one of the reasons I've been able to keep my pH in check, because I know each time that the addition of 2 TB of lime per gallon is going to have the desired effect. I've also heard (somewhere along the line) that reusing peat is frowned upon? Please feel free to enlighten me on this, as I would love to save the couple hundred bucks every 2 months.

Thanks Tac!

 

[FinestKind]

Well... I'll preface this with a disclaimer... don't take my advice until someone else can corroborate it.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong... I've been watering with 5.5 - 6 PH. When I do this my run-off & soil probe is 6.5-6.8 or so. That's what I want right? I want the PH of my medium overall to be around 6.8 right?

If you're watering with 6-6.3 and getting a run-off of the same, I would expect your soil probe to show around 6-6.3 too.

I don't know... but to me it seems your mediums PH is too low over-all and you need to raise the PH of your water correspondingly a tiny bit.

Maybe it has to do with your water being naturally acidic... I've been pondering how rise of PH over the brewing period differs based on the PH of your water. Does PH just keep rising above the original ph of the water, or does it rise until it returns to the original PH?

I've wondered if PH of your actual medium rises after application as well. I mean if on day 2 of bubbling it's ph6 and on day 3 it's ph7... well if you water with the day 2 mixture does it continue to rise at the beginning while the soil is saturated? (I figure you've got a lot of that mixture that has a rising ph in there right)

Does your nutrient mix ever rise above that original PH level of water?

Maybe I put in 6-6.3 and get out 6.8 because my waters original ph is about 7.5 (I tend to have problems with high ph... even with no lime) I feel it's always trying to creep up... sounds like yours is always trying to creep down.

Sorry for the long kind of rambling post... hope it made sense, or someone can correct me.

Hmm, these are all good questions, which I probably have no good answers for, but I'll give it a go.

First off, the natural pH of my water is 6.0... consistently, has been for 4 years, whatever the season. Maybe this does have something to do with the "final" pH, but I imagine that "potential Hydrogen" is "potential Hydrogen"... I don't know, though, it is interesting that most of you guys struggle with high pH, and I don't. Also, when I water with plain water, I have the advantage that it is right in the proper pH range...

I have heard that pH will increase in the soil even after you feed your plants (JMan suggested feeding at pH 5.0 for this very reason), but whenever check it's always around 6.0 to 6.3, so I don't know.

Yes, my nutrient mix rises above the pH of my water... it does seem to take more time than most people report, however.

All-in-all, you might be on to something there- anyone know any chemists?

FK

 

[Tactical Farmer]

You lucky SOB - wish I had some quality well water at the tap.

Ive found the best growth & fastest EC drop to be around 6.3 & ive heard respectable growers put out that number.

Its always good to work the entire range when feeding as each nute has its optimum number.

So some teas are 1 day bubble (acidic) & some teas are 3 day bubble (alkaline) but most get a 2 day bubble that will be in the 6's.

Once the soil is mixed & the plants are planted the medium is VERY hard to make any major PH changes with teas.

Thats why its SUPER important to test the mix before you plant.

I would def try to start reusing your soil, re-used peat is fine.

I dump the old soil on a big tarp, spread it out with a rake, amend with dry ferts & light microb molasses tea, rake around & roll tarp to get a GOOD MIX, then store in HD rubbermaid tubs or trash cans.

That my winter plan, in the summer it just goes into compost pile & tilled up.

* If you do reuse - you "shouldn't" need as much lime the 2nd time.

Amen on all but the water quality... And maybe the pH being too low... 6.0-ish is good, no?

I am definitely feeding too much, and the pots are definitely not rooted enough- although they are pot bound by the time the cycle is over- I don't know, I think I'm going to stop asking for help on this cycle and ride it out at this point... not feed again until my EC's are WAY low...

I usually start fresh every cycle with new Pro-Mix- I know, crazy, right? It just seems awfully messy to try and reuse it... not really sure how to go about it actually. And I think it's one of the reasons I've been able to keep my pH in check, because I know each time that the addition of 2 TB of lime per gallon is going to have the desired effect. I've also heard (somewhere along the line) that reusing peat is frowned upon? Please feel free to enlighten me on this, as I would love to save the couple hundred bucks every 2 months.

Thanks Tac!

 

[FinestKind]

Sadly, Tac, my quality well water doesn't help me out too much. But yes, it is nice to have one less thing to worry about.

 

[Truthbesaid]

Hey everyone after reading this entire thread I'll be switching from flora to earthjuice this next season. Thanks so much for all the info!

 

[OPT]

I've read most this thread and one thing I haven't seen much about is what your using the EJ products in...the medium?

Would something like Garden safe organic mixed with EWC, and perlite, along with some dolomite lime be a good enough mix from start to finish if you using the bottled EJ products?

Or, do you amend the organic medium with bone meal, blood meal, etc in smaller amounts AND use the EarthJuice products?

I ask this because I used to normally just put everything in my soil, let it sit for 2 weeks, then use on fully grown seedlings.

Is amending soil when using EJ products only needed when you re-use your soil, or both?

This is something I would like to know for the future, I'm already in process of still using organic nutrients mixed together like normal, but I'm interested in how much easier EJ can be over the way I do it now?

Thanks for any and all comments.

OPT

 

[Scrappy4]

OPT, I asked the same type of question on page 23 of this thread. The answers were varied. Some go full out with amendments, and feed lightly, some go with basic unamended soil and feed heavy. I have tried both and now think I prefer to heavy amend and feed lightly. I will feed lightly every third watering or so. If the soil is a new mix just transplanted into, I might wait a month before I feed. I use liquid karma on the off waterings, and try to get my water ph in the low to mid 6 range.

I can't speak for all EJ users, but I think most use EJ along with other things, based on their particular situation and comfort level. I use fish/seaweed, compost tea, compost tea with alfalfa, Tea with kelp, FPE, EWC tea, and most of my feedings with EJ are started with EWC tea with EJ catalyst/grow/bloom added. I'll dilute this to whatever EC range I want. With fairly heavy amendments I only use my teas in the <1 EC range, with lighter amendments I might go with teas up to 2EC.

One thing to keep in mind, when I mix up a soil, I wet it with fish/sea weed, and let it sit for amonth or so. If you were to test the run off on such a soil, my meter gets maxed out on ppm/tds/ec. So if your doing run off tests, my advice would be to use the tests as comparisons through your grow, than hard data to make any major moves based on.

If you decide you want to use EJ for a grow, watch for magnesium problems. I noticed on some strains I need some mag in late veg, then into flower. I use ej micro blast, but don't think the micro blast has enough mag for some strains. YMMV..........scrappy

 

[Tactical Farmer]

im just using screened reused homemade compost, with a little bit of espoma biotone, few handfuls of homemade ewc & a dash of sulfur pellets & DE silica powder.

im leaning more towards frequent very light liquid feedings, always bubbled with a small blob of molasses & grains.

 

[Truthbesaid]

What kind (brand) silica powder do you use tact?

 

[thatgreenstuff]

Hey guys im at 4 weeks of flower. I was wondering what you guys think of my tea and if there is anything I should add.

soil is ffof

I mix 1 tbsp EJ bloom, 1 tbsp EWC, 1 tbsp jamacan bat guano, and 1 tsp of humbolt nutes honey es to one gallon of water. Bubble for two days or so.

 

[Tactical Farmer]

That sounds like a nice semi strong hit of nutes for peak feeding time, not sure what npk guano that is but if its an 8 wk strain & there still nice n' green its getting about time to cut out the N & load the PK.

Im just using the DE silica power at Lowes (yellow bag). A top dress of the stuff has a major noticeable affect. Makes plant stalk tough & hard, did notice it raised my PH alot like poweded lime though.

 

[thatgreenstuff]

Do you think Im getting enough potassium with that mix? I think I may be missing some K.
The guano is 1-10-1 btw.

 

[Barahng]

As a note to some people growing their own fungi cultures. It might be a good idea to keep the containers you store the cultures in sealed to prevent mold spores from landing in your culture. It only takes one spore out of the millions that float around in the air to land in your culture and start colonizing and producing mycotoxins which will kill pretty much any other fungi.

This is mainly a problem when growing P. cubensis (magic mushrooms) so I'm not sure if it would matter for plants, just throwing the information out there, hopefully it will be useful to someone.

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Do you think Im getting enough potassium with that mix? I think I may be missing some K.
The guano is 1-10-1 btw.

hard to say bud, if you really want to test your soil quit feeding a few weeks out & see what difs start popping out.

After awhile you will start to know what your soil is running lean on, I see cal & mag demands more than the others.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Barahng - thats a good point but not such a big issue with plants, there are only a few molds that we should worry about, powdery mildew, botrius sp? (budrot).

Cultures will need some fresh air (which is dirty) at some point or it could get bad funky for our lungs (black mold maybe ?). There are some strange fuzz fungi that get the early lead but the good guys have the stamina to take control of the culture from what ive seen.

 

[Fraggle Rock]

Just thought I would share the last brew I made, I am about 2 weeks into flower: 3 Gallons filtered water - 6tbs EJ Grow - 3tbs EJ Bloom - 3tbs EJ Molasses - 1tbs EJ Catalyst - 1tbs Hygrozyme - 1 tbs EJ Meta K - 1tbs EJ Microblast - 1.5tsp Pro-Tekt - I brewed this for less than 24 hours in a 5 gallon bucket with 3" air stone and it was foaming over the top....Good thing I had the bucket in another container for overflow. It was too early to feed them, so I had to store it overnight for another 24 hours in the fridge. I put the airstone back in for less than 5 minutes and it was foaming over the top again instantly. Great stuff, my garden loves their EJ Teas!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Brewing up funky concoctions can be alot of fun, most people don't fully believe me that I got mushroom caps to form in an EJ tea.

Ive got alot of weird masses form using my cultures with grains added to the teas.

Added some buckwheat & shamrock fermented juice from some plants grown in the yard last summer with some bloom & oatmeal to the last one.

 

[Fraggle Rock]

I don't know how it happens, but last year in my FFOF 5 Gallon Containers outside I grew these mushrooms out the bottom holes of the container. It was weird, I wish I would of taken pictures. Nothing but EJ Teas...

 

[FinestKind]

Quick question about the use of Microblast... do you guys use it every tea? It says on the bottle "Every 2 to 4 weeks"... I am wondering if there is any chance I have been overfeeding with the micros...

FK

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Been AWHILE, thought you got busted, glad to see your still a freeman.

I never did get into the MB but knowing you, yes your over using it..

If needed it will be fine in a tea.