Must have tools and equipment for growing

[jedi5891]

I've recently bought a mini microscope with led light and 60x zoom. I bought it from Amazon at an Amazing price of £3. Upon arriving and seeing the cheap packaging and obviously of Chinese origin, I didnt have much hopes of it working very well. I sure was pleasantly surprised when I took a bud sample and could clearly see the stalked glands in all there beauty. I'll have no problem checking for my trichome ripeness. As u can see in the pic my old Jewelers loop is what I used before.
Check them out folks they are a must have in my opinion.

Peace
Namaste

 

[_tessarecting]

Cheap and cool...you can see broad mite eggs easily with them...I like looking at the trichs

 

[Weezard]

And a postal scale in a zip lock bag.

I weigh my plants to not only see if they need water, but to know how much water they require.
I slip the scale into a plastic bag to protect it from the inevitable drippage.

Also never want to try outdoor flowering without an adequate supply of dryer sheets on hand.
As a soil cover to thwart "scent" hunters like fungus gnats, and root aphids they can't be beat.
They actually the repel scent hunters, and as a physical barrier they interrupt the life cycle of soil instars like thrips.

Give me good soil. good water, plenty sunlight, and those 2 tools, and I'll never need to purchase overpriced meds again, yah?

Alo Ha,
Wee 'zard

 

[jedi5891]

And a postal scale in a zip lock bag.

I weigh my plants to not only see if they need water, but to know how much water they require.
I slip the scale into a plastic bag to protect it from the inevitable drippage.

Also never want to try outdoor flowering without an adequate supply of dryer sheets on hand.
As a soil cover to thwart "scent" hunters like fungus gnats, and root aphids they can't be beat.
They actually the repel scent hunters, and as a physical barrier they interrupt the life cycle of soil instars like thrips.

Give me good soil. good water, plenty sunlight, and those 2 tools, and I'll never need to purchase overpriced meds again, yah?

Alo Ha,
Wee 'zard

Can you elaborate on what your covering top of soil with to prevent critters etc. I keep getting thrips back in the garden after killing them. I've heard a small layer of sand helps prevent bugs crawling up on to the stems.
Thanks for your replies people.
Peace
Namaste

 

[jedi5891]

I know alot of soil growers who don't use EC meters or PH meters and they grow some decent herb. I however would never not use either of these. Even when following instructions you don't actually know strength of feed. Also if you know what your EC is you can better cater for each type of plant as they all have different feeding preferences.
I've followed instructions on bottle before for doses and the strength of the feed was over 3.
Also with the ph, if your methodical and have ph between 6.5- 6.7 in soil they'll love you for it. I find the root stimulators are very alkaline and the organic feeds need adjusting. Without a proper digital meter it's all guess work, so I think a digital ph and EC meter are imperative.
The more you put in the more you get out I think.

Namaste

 

[Weezard]

"Can you elaborate on what your covering top of soil with to prevent critters etc. I keep getting thrips back in the garden after killing them. I've heard a small layer of sand helps prevent bugs crawling up on to the stems. "

Sure, I use Kirkland brand, unscented dryer sheets to cover the soils surface.

I tried Bounce, and it also works, but the perfume would gag a maggot.
Fortunately, it's not the perfume that repels flyers, it's the waxy surfactants that control "static cling".
Scent hunters, like mosquitoes, Fungus gnats, and yellow jackets won't even approach the sheets.

They also repel German cockroaches, so toss a couple sheets under the kitchen sink, change them out once a month and you'll stay cockroach free, indefinitely.
They are non-toxic as well. There are nutcases that eat them, Lots of them, with no ill effect.

The sand trick is not to stop climbers, (use "tanglefoot" for that), It's to prevent flyers from laying eggs in the soil. No eggs, no larvae, no worries.

The thrips thwart works by denying thrips larva an incubation medium.
Thrips flyers lay egg on the leaf. The larva hatch and have a sap snack. Then they drop to the ground and burrow in where they go through several, root-damaging stages before they pupate and hatch as flyers for another go round.

The sand, or diatomaceous earth slows them down only when it's dry and is a pain in the neck to work with.
The dryer sheets trap and immobilize them with micro-hairs where they shrivel and die.
So wet does not matter, you can water right through the sheets.
But, I lift them to water, they don't weigh that much, yah?
And, they let the soil breath freely.

Since I have no need to sling poisons, I have a healthy predator population on my outdoors girls that controls the pests that are unimpressed with dryer sheets, like spider mites, etc
I see occasional mite signs, but when I investigate, I find that they have already been eaten.
Oh, and I should mention that a half inch of worm castings under the sheets will repel the large kine white fly from the plants crown. The teeny white fly are not affected.

Now my remaining problem is Powdery Mildew. Still hunting for a solution to that.

Aloha,
Weezard