Heat/Nutrient Concerns / First Soil Grow

[Squeezer]

I'm a new grower (this is my first) and i'm running in to some concerns i hope i can get help with. One is a heat issue, and the other whether its a mistake to mix organic nutes w/ my soil-based medium. First here are some details......

The soil i mixed is :
- Soil mix base is Peat , vericompost, and rice hulls/pumice for aeration;
- Nutrient mix: neem cake, kelp meal, Crustacean meal;
- Minerals: rock dust, gypsum, oyster shell, basalt;

Environment:
- Chose a sealed grow b/c stealth is number one priority; minimal noise can be made from this outdoor shed (8'x8'x9');
- C02 enriched, on avg ~ 1000ppm;
- summer indoor temps 95-105F w/ 85-90% RH;
- plenty of air movement from the osc fans;
- 2 advanced LED XTE covering 4 plants, 10 gal geo pots, ~ 6 weeks in veg;
- since week 2 the only supplement i've given the girls is 'Recharge' (beneficials) with every watering;

It's mid-August now, and i'd like to go 12/12 before the ladies get too tall. I'm in week 6 of veg. Was just in the shed and its 105F/89%RH. First question: Is it realistic for me to assume i can have a successful bloom/harvest with these high temps/RH% ? The girls look surprisingly good, but with some wear and tear.

As a 2nd concern, I've recently bought some Grow More nutrients that I've used in my last two watering, they are Jumpstart, Mendocino Honey, Seaweed Extract, and Protekt (silica). Prior to adding these nutes the girls looked good, and i think i gave them some nute burn.

- Am i creating more problems for the girls by adding these Grow More nutes. since the soil may be giving enough nutes already?
- Am i destabilizing the natural PH balance of the soil by adding these nutes?
- I've heard that if your environment is off, the nutes are less effective;

Any advice is most appreciated.

 

[Shaheed]

I'm a new grower (this is my first) and i'm running in to some concerns i hope i can get help with. One is a heat issue, and the other whether its a mistake to mix organic nutes w/ my soil-based medium. First here are some details......

The soil i mixed is :
- Soil mix base is Peat , vericompost, and rice hulls/pumice for aeration;
- Nutrient mix: neem cake, kelp meal, Crustacean meal;
- Minerals: rock dust, gypsum, oyster shell, basalt;

Environment:
- Chose a sealed grow b/c stealth is number one priority; minimal noise can be made from this outdoor shed (8'x8'x9');
- C02 enriched, on avg ~ 1000ppm;
- summer indoor temps 95-105F w/ 85-90% RH;
- plenty of air movement from the osc fans;
- 2 advanced LED XTE covering 4 plants, 10 gal geo pots, ~ 6 weeks in veg;
- since week 2 the only supplement i've given the girls is 'Recharge' (beneficials) with every watering;

It's mid-August now, and i'd like to go 12/12 before the ladies get too tall. I'm in week 6 of veg. Was just in the shed and its 105F/89%RH. First question: Is it realistic for me to assume i can have a successful bloom/harvest with these high temps/RH% ? The girls look surprisingly good, but with some wear and tear.

As a 2nd concern, I've recently bought some Grow More nutrients that I've used in my last two watering, they are Jumpstart, Mendocino Honey, Seaweed Extract, and Protekt (silica). Prior to adding these nutes the girls looked good, and i think i gave them some nute burn.

- Am i creating more problems for the girls by adding these Grow More nutes. since the soil may be giving enough nutes already?
- Am i destabilizing the natural PH balance of the soil by adding these nutes?
- I've heard that if your environment is off, the nutes are less effective;

Any advice is most appreciated.

Why build such a lovely sounding soil mix to then turn around and destroy the microbial life with grow more? Some bacteria may be able to process the inorganic stuff, but others will be crushed under its weight

 

[Shaheed]

I suggest, most humbly, bubbling compost teas with molasses most likely once a week, try out seed sprout teas as well...corn and alfalfa seed....o try a fluid ounce of coconut water per gallon of water...these things can be administered almost everyday, they can't burn the plant.

 

[Donkeybrains]

Ideal temps around 78 degrees is best. At 88 degrees you would notice a lower yield. And the humidity is too high watch out for moldy buds! Probably not a Lot you can do about that being in a shed. But if You could get some kind of exhaust hooked up that will help with heat and humidity. You should still get some good buds! You will get more if the conditions are close to optimum. You can run it 10 degrees hotter like 88 if you got co2. I can't emphasize enough how good of a product Blumats are! Do yourself a favor and grab some Blumat Maxi's wish I would have known about them sooner! Set a reservoir above your soil line and hook tubing to the Blumat and the plant will water itself. I read about them years ago and didn't want to hook up tubes and all that so I put it off. Its not much work it's very simple. Gravity fed drip irrigation easy! Please look into it! Have a great day my friend!

 

[Granger2]

No argument with Bluemats, but by far the biggest concern is to get those temps/RH WAY down. Check options. Can you install an AC and dehumidifier? Good luck. -granger

 

[Squeezer]

Why build such a lovely sounding soil mix to then turn around and destroy the microbial life with grow more? Some bacteria may be able to process the inorganic stuff, but others will be crushed under its weight

i think i was trying to strengthen the girls given the heat/RH issue, and as i fed them more nutes i had a feelin i might be doing more harm than good. Thank you for the compost tea suggestions, as i've been meaning to look more closely in to these. I do have some coconut powder on hand at the moment. Thank you!

 

[Squeezer]

Ideal temps around 78 degrees is best. At 88 degrees you would notice a lower yield. And the humidity is too high watch out for moldy buds! Probably not a Lot you can do about that being in a shed. But if You could get some kind of exhaust hooked up that will help with heat and humidity. You should still get some good buds! You will get more if the conditions are close to optimum. You can run it 10 degrees hotter like 88 if you got co2. I can't emphasize enough how good of a product Blumats are! Do yourself a favor and grab some Blumat Maxi's wish I would have known about them sooner! Set a reservoir above your soil line and hook tubing to the Blumat and the plant will water itself. I read about them years ago and didn't want to hook up tubes and all that so I put it off. Its not much work it's very simple. Gravity fed drip irrigation easy! Please look into it! Have a great day my friend!

Hey DB, speaking of blumats, yes, i'm in process of upgrading to the Maxi's. I'm away from home often so, after much lurking around found the blumats and they've helped immensely! Started w/ the smaller ones, and will do the maxi's this weekend for the larger pots.

In your opinion, unless i extend my veg time through Sept, to flower in a cooler Oct, do you think it unlikely i will have have a decent harvest w/o catching mold or something nasty? Are there ways i can strengthen the girls to withstand a 12/12 in Sept?

 

[Squeezer]

No argument with Bluemats, but by far the biggest concern is to get those temps/RH WAY down. Check options. Can you install an AC and dehumidifier? Good luck. -granger

Hey Granger, yes, i think my options simply are 1/ mini split + dehuey or 2/ portable AC + dehuey. Don't think an external/internal air exchange alone will do the trick.

Have you every heard of someone able to pull off a decent harvest w/ temps/RH at my levels? Thank you

 

[Levitationofme]

Wow if you could install a mini split it should be fairly easy to hide. That alone may solve your issue. I do not know how reliable the portable units are.

 

[Squeezer]

Wow if you could install a mini split it should be fairly easy to hide. That alone may solve your issue. I do not know how reliable the portable units are.

I too have heard mostly bad things re: portables. I have a feeling it would be only a temporary fix.

 

[Granger2]

Yeah portables are really inefficient [expensive to run]. No, I haven't heard of anyone indoors pulling a good harvest yield and quality goes down at those temps/RH. Good luck. -granger

 

[Slipnot]

For every 10 degree rise in temps plants metobolic rate / growth rate doubles
@ those temps i wouldn't worry to much bout teas , nutes your concern is water there is plenty in your soil .
Plants are using more water then nutes due to transpiration rates
Your biggest concern is getting temps down and with that your RH will naturally start to drop
your running C02 ?? then get temps down 82 - 88 consistent .
your goal once you flip
Try having RH in the 60 - 65 max and temps 82 - 84 after couple weeks lower temps 78 - 80 and RH 55 - 60
going into end of 4th week lower temps 68 lights off and 76 - 78 on RH 50 - 60 max

5th week same temps RH 50 - 60

good luck

 

[Squeezer]

Hey Slip, Tks for taking the time, and your advice is duly noted !!

 

[Donkeybrains]

I had mold issues when my rh was around 60%. You should get some good buds to smoke, but the temp and humidity being less than ideal might be the difference between 1 oz per plant or 10 per plant. Potassium silicate will strengthen your girls and would help with its heat resistance.