MotherLode Gardens 2016

[Shcrews]

Soil test results from bad-performing "coots mix with chicken compost"

Soil test results from bad-performing "coots mix with chicken compost"

This is the same soil as the post directly above this one^^ but from a different container, which had a plant with stunted growth.

I wanted to see if there was a difference and it looks like there is. I wonder why.

 

[Shcrews]

Were these all the same pheno? Is it possible different strains/phenos deplete different amendments at different ratios?

not that it matters but all my plants are from seed.

 

[Lester Beans]

I am guessing just a mixing variable. You buy the whole mix pre mixed? Or mix yourself? It is easy to have a pocket of hot amendments or cool pockets.

If I recall though, this is your second year with this soil mix not amended in between, correct? That's kind of strange then. The plants the first year did not present any issues, the soil was not altered in the off season, hmmmmm..

Same amount of sunlight for both holes?

 

[BAKED_BEANZ]

think lester is onto it , whatever plant you had in that smarty the year before may have sucked the amendments harder than the others . i,m guessing you,ll remember what plant you had in it , before the stunted one ? it may not have even looked any bigger than the others , just could have used more resources .

or was also maybe that particular pot had less amendments mixed through that particular one initially and was enough to get the original plant through , but not the second run in it .

though i,m sure they mix there soil , correctly . i,d imagine your using the right guys for the job by the looks ,lol the plants show that

 

[Shcrews]

Same amount of sunlight for both holes?

yep. i dont think it was a mixing issue either. I dont really care honestly, just curious why there might be a difference.

I'm mainly trying to figure out how to amend each individual mix to balance them. The recomendations given by Fruit Growers Lab were for field corn, which i believe has similar needs to cannabis especially in the early stages. I would like to know what amendments to use and how much

it appears that some issues are:

low N
low soluble K
high P
low Ca
low Mg
various micronutrient deficiencies.


What products would be best for correcting each issue, and in what amounts?

I am thinking about using AEA MicroPak as a way to correct micronutrient deficiencies via foliar feeding instead of amending the soil. Is this a good plan?

 

[Top_shelf_farms]

I just saw that you can email your soil test to build-a-soil and they will let you know what's up with with re- amending it

 

[Top_shelf_farms]

50$a sample

 

[Shcrews]

I just saw that you can email your soil test to build-a-soil and they will let you know what's up with with re- amending it

thats not a bad idea. Also i hope some of the soil science enthusiasts on here can help me get everything balanced

 

[TriSierra]

Will the the airpots get root bound?

The Airpots due the root pruning, so they don't really get root bound. Its impressive how big and healthy the plants can get in the 12.5 liter size. And its actually interesting seeing the root pruning when you open up the Airpots - significantly different from the root pruning of the fabric pots, not sure if the fabric pots truely root prune.

View image in gallery​

 

[maxmurder]

your report says corn soil, are they recommending amendments for corn?
i got mine back today too but they look way different than yours- it on the aea thread if you wanna check it out, it's coots mix too.

 

[xmobotx]

interesting how P is so high ~plants must not have used very much for flower growth? I bet bringing S into alignment would solve the solubility issue w/ K, Ca & Mg. Astera says that boron is always low after a cycle ~plants apparently use it. Not sure what might be a good way to bring chloride up? i doubt you want very much though

 

[Bradley_Danks]

Not sure about recommendations for corn, the lab I use said they cant give recommendations on marijuana because they dont have enough data on marijuana yet so tomatoes or hops is the next best option.

Definitely get some good recommendations on amending.

 

[Shcrews]

your report says corn soil, are they recommending amendments for corn?

The recomendations given by Fruit Growers Lab were for field corn, which i believe has similar needs to cannabis especially in the early stages.

^^

interesting how P is so high ~plants must not have used very much for flower growth? I bet bringing S into alignment would solve the solubility issue w/ K, Ca & Mg. Astera says that boron is always low after a cycle ~plants apparently use it. Not sure what might be a good way to bring chloride up? i doubt you want very much though

I also was surprised at the high P. What is a good way to bring S into alignment?

 

[cannascholar]

Micropak, sea crop,sea shield, photomag, pht k, PZ1000 and calcium nitrate would be the route I'd take. Sulfur can be applied in dust form at around 30 g per yard, and several grams of boron would be helpful as well. A mini excavator would be handy for mixing the pots, they can maneuver hills quite well.

 

[xmobotx]

if you went the AEA route, they have the PHT Ca & you could use either boron {someone more familiar w/ AEA's theories might suggest one over the other ~there's 'rebound' & 'salute'} the chloride thing kinda befuddles me ~never thought about chloride too much. i read somewhere on here where a forumite suggested that a little bleach helped the cloning process inferring the chloride helped & was a necessary trace but, i certainly wouldn't start adding bleach
from google;

Chlorine is soluble in water forming aqueous chlorine. It is soluble in alkalis as in sodium hypochlorite solution, which is household bleach. Chloride (Cl-): The negative charged ionic form of chlorine. A common anion found abundantly in nature.

perhaps calcium chloride would kill 2 birds w/ 1 stone but i know nothing of applying this {it's used in cheesemaking?}

for all this, i would err to the low side. you're getting great results & you don't want to make any major adjustments

 

[reppin2c]

The PHT Ca has boron in it. Smells kinda like Bengay. Can't have Ca without some B to make it work

 

[TriSierra]

I'd just mix gypsum and lime to lower the pH and correct the low Ca and S. Solubor for the B. Feather Meal for long N. And you've amended for $15 per pot.

 

[plantingplants]

Schrews, two questions:

1) You're popping seeds sometime this month, then putting them in a greenhouse which I assume has supplemental lighting (how many watts and hours?). What date do you put them in your mounds without supplemental light?

2) I have 300 gal pots of low quality soil-- $50/yd soil. Nutrified redwood, pumice, not sure what else but not really amended, mostly for chemical ferts. What do you think is my best option on a budget for getting better results this year? Should I dump this soil completely and opt for a cheaper version of coots like you did, but only use 150 gal of cootz soil? Or should I reserve 100 gal of the low quality soil and mix it with 100-150 gal of the cheaper cootz soil? Or should I just order a mix of amendments and amend my soil?

It's going to be annoying as hell this year with the bobcat since I have no room to get in between pots. Gonna have to either dump the the whole pot, every pot, and refill, or wheelbarrow loads of new soil or amendments to each pot.

 

[Lochinvar]

interesting how P is so high ~plants must not have used very much for flower growth?

high P results are prolly the most common result in my tests and other growers around me. like...way high. giant pumkin-farmers understand.

starting with Toms recipe 5 years ago and reamending full strength, more or less since then, has left me with prolly more bonemeal than actual soil in my pots this year im working on balancing my soil and my days of blind reamending are hopefully in the past.

hope i dont blow it

 

[GutInstinct209]

yep. i dont think it was a mixing issue either. I dont really care honestly, just curious why there might be a difference.

I'm mainly trying to figure out how to amend each individual mix to balance them. The recomendations given by Fruit Growers Lab were for field corn, which i believe has similar needs to cannabis especially in the early stages. I would like to know what amendments to use and how much

it appears that some issues are:

low N
low soluble K
high P
low Ca
low Mg
various micronutrient deficiencies.


What products would be best for correcting each issue, and in what amounts?

I am thinking about using AEA MicroPak as a way to correct micronutrient deficiencies via foliar feeding instead of amending the soil. Is this a good plan?

I had high ph soil and and had good success using half a bag of peat moss per 500 gallon pot. I also gave em cottonseed meal and my ph was around 7.5 before i added these things. feed the microbes with AACT and they will correct the ph also.

for added N I used feather meal 12-0-0
good luck this season