I did! haha,, but JUST USE EARTH JUICE GUYS!!! IT IS KILLER!
So, did anyone save the text of this article before it was deleted? I have a 3 lots of Jem seeds on the way and was hoping to use ICC's organic teas and method but didn't save the info before it was deleted.
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Peace of Mind® Fruit & Flower Organic Fertilizer (5-8-4)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Master Gardener Approved[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Fruit & Flower delivers multiple blooms and great bud set for all your flowering plants. You’ll get brighter colors, spellbinding scents, and delicious flavors, all thanks to the extra boost that comes from the micronutrients and living organisms in our fertilizers. You might not see the healthy root system below ground, but the multiple branching and heavy bud set above ground will tell you that your plants are well-fed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Fruit & Flower is pH-balanced with premium organic ingredients like bat guano, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, feather meal and humic acid, a naturally occurring organic material that is formed when organic matter decomposes. Humic acid helps with seed germination and may increase the uptake of important micronutrients.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Best of all, FoxFarm adds 20 species of beneficial microbes to help convert fertilizers into vital plant food and fight off disease. Fruit & Flower is granulated and easy to use, and it provides gentle, slow-release feedings all season long. All of our Peace of Mind® organic fertilizers are specially formulated to replenish the soil, lift the human spirit, and beautify the Earth, naturally. Bring your plants to life![/FONT]
yes. brewing the tea releases the nutrients in the water making it available for quick uptake. It also activates the micro organisms making your soil/less mix a living bio culture, providing the best conditions for maximum root health.
Look for an update later today,, and be sure to look at the first post as i will be adding things to it aswell.
ICC.
Organic TEA: Using Fox Farm Peace Of Mind Fruit and Flower ( 5-8-4 ).
This is one of the easiest ways to make an organic based TEA, that is like giving your AF plants steriods. You will see incresed growth after the first 24 hours. I make this TEA again using the Fox Farm Peace Of Mind Fruit and Flower ( 5-8-4 ). This form of grow is considered in my eyes slightly HOT and is strain dependent, so adjust where needed. After one run you can dial it in to each specific strain you use. Feedings with this TEA are very easy and and go in 2 week intervals,, The First Feeding starts on day 7-10, 17-21(sexing), 28 (pre-mid flowering), 42 (flowering), 56 (Ripening), Flush, Harvest.
NOTE: You can use anothing dry mix Organic feritilzer called Black Gold® Rose & Flower
4-6-2 for a bit lighter food,, Use this the same way as you do the Fox Farm Fruit and Flower. I am currently doing a test of the 2 differernt ferts and will show you the differece. They are both still using the Fox Farm Ocean Forest Potting Mix, so far the only variation between the 2 are the FoxFarm Fruit and Flower is just slightly bigger, I will continue the comparison and update.
Yes, it would appear to be the case, but remember BLACK GOLD brand ROSE and FLOWER! I have had better results for some reason using the Black Gold then the HAPPY FROG, even tho FoxFarm says that Happy Frog is the same as Peace of Mind.
My theory about why i had problems with the Happy Frog, and not the Peace of Mind,, if you read that email from FoxFarm it says that they powdered the mix now,, which is true the mix in HF is much more fine then the POM. So when I made the TEA with HF it released more nutrients into the water then I wanted as there is much more surface area for the water to make contact and disolve, compare to the chunky mix of the POM. Simply put ,, you must use less of the HF to get the desired results.
But once again , Black Gold brand Rose and Flower is the only true substitute for the POM. Just use it like you would the POM and you will have happy huge dank plants!
http://blackgold.bz/BG_past_articles/Featured_Fertilizers_Feb09.html
I hope that clears it up, this method of growing is the most simple, set it and forget process I know of that yeilds such good results. So please if you have any questions please continue to ask. I want everyone to enjoy pure Organic buds!
ICC
With most AFs I run them in SOG style, putting 4 FEMALES per sq ft. If you are running Regular male/female seeds you will need to start at least double to get the female numbers to fill in the space. You do this by starting them in 16 oz beer cups until they show sex, then you transplant FEMALES to the 5.5 x 5.5 square pots, remember you must transplant when the majority of the plants show sex, dont wait to long or they can get stunted.
Yes there is a bit of crowding, you might need to tuck a leaf or 2 under so it doesn't block a main top bud or something, but AFs pull most of thier wieght in the top bud formation, I cut off the first lower branches that will never amount to anything in the first place. If you can find AF strains that dont branch at all (working on some now) then you will have no problems with the spacing. The other reason that I pack them in so tightly, it is to ensure high yield with more smaller plants yeilding more highest quality top buds then trying to make the AF plants bigger and trying to yield a lot from branches and lower popcorn buds.
Under one 400 watt HPS you can put 64 Flowering Females in 8 10x20 inch trays = 40" x 40" area. Even if you only pull 7 grams each plant which is easy. You will pull a pound under the 400 Watt HPS. So, 64 x 7g dry = 448g dry. Now using the ICC Organic TEA method, you should pull more then 7g each plant, so you could lower your plant numbers to 48 and still pull a pound when you get at least 9.3g per plant, again easy.
To get 64 flowering Females, each 10x20 inch tray holds 15, 16oz beer cups, (make sure you poke holes for drainage), x 8 trays in the space = 120 Reg. seeds to start. You should get more females then you will be able to put in the space, so you will be able to pick and choose the best ones to finish out.
NOW this all changes when you have FEM AF SEEDS! Feminized AF seeds are the closest thing to having AF clones and you just plant them in the 5.5 x 5.5 inch pots, follow the feeding/water schedule and harvest your buds 60-70 days later. I know FEM seeds are expensive, but there are ways to make your own and I know some people that are working on making FEM AF seeds for this type of growing more affordable for everyone to be able to enjoy.
Hope that helps ICC.
Simple, Blue Streak and other 100% AFs are stable for the AF trait , so all you have to do is inbreed and you will get 100% AF seeds. So buy your 10 seeds and do a seed run, each female can produce 200+ seeds when pollenated at the correct time. So, you will have more then enough seed to play with for your 2nd run and so on.
Making Feminized AF seed is the key to get easy big yeild success with AFs. Yes, I make my own, and before you ask, NO I CANT' share that info with anyone.
ICC
Mild TEA- For Weeks 1 - 3
First you must test your pH of the water use,, bring it down to around 6.5-7. Then add 1 table spoon of Fox Farm Peace Of Mind Fruit and Flower, per gallon of water. You will need an air stone to bubble this solution for at least 4 hours. Water your plants very well with this TEA until you gets some run off,, if your soil is very dry before applying the TEA please water it first with plain pHed water, then apply.. you want some run off. Only use this TEA at days 7-10, and again around day 17-21.
Medium TEA - For Weeks 4-6
Again pH your water to 6.5-7. Then Add 2 table Spoons of FF Peace of Mind Fruit and Flower per gallon of water. Bubble it for at least 4 hours. *Optional* Add 1/2 teaspoon of Mild unsulfered molasses per gallon. This TEA is very strong and should NOT be used when your soil is dry. Water first then feed the TEA to get run off. Feed this on Day 28 and again on Day 42.
Hot TEA- *Optional* For Week 7-8*Warning* very hot tea can burn!! Be careful!!
You can use this during the last few weeks of your AF strains grow cycle to boost end yield and qualtiy. If you use this TEA only use it 1 time before flushing for harvest. Use at day 56 ONLY! Most Strains will be fine with the Medium Tea used on days, 28, 42, 56. If you think your plants can handle this HOT TEA then go for it but I am not responsible for burnt buds.
Again pH your water to 6.5-7, then add 3 table spoons of FF Peace of Mind Fruit and Flower per gallon of water. Add 1 teaspoon of mild unsulfered molasses per gallon of water. Bubble for at least 4 hours. Again make sure your soil isn't too dry before applying this TEA.
Well seems to me that you have a lot of room there. 10 ft tall, well i would try to figure out a way to make a grow tent in side that space,, any plant grown indoor should never get that tall as the light will only penetrate about 3.5-4ft through the canopy. Also, you would have to put a wall up or use black and white plastic to cut the space inhalf and reap all the benefits of having the light stay in one local area, instead of bouncing into the unused area.
Now a 400 Watt HPS will cover a 3.5 x 3.5 area well with a good hood, other wise stick with 3 x 3. Now a 600 watt will cover a 4 x 4 easy, so it will be fine in your 3 x 3.5 but a bit over kill and not really worth the extra wattage used for the amount of return if you dont use all the space that a 600 watt can cover. The other thing that would concern me is the heat from the 600 having to keep it higher away from the tops so it doesnt burn the plants,, but you are growing AFs and have a tall ceiling so no problems. If it was me I would use a 400 watt HPS with a digital ballast for the 3 x 3.5 area and then add another for a very nice 800watt spread over the 6 x 3.5, that would be rockin!
As for plant numbers 3-6 AFs under a 400 watt ,,, that is where your efficientcy would suffer. Even if you grow them using the best soil and large containers they would never cover that amount of area. Wasting energy, and no yeild return from wasted space. Even if you could make them pull an OZ each plant which is very unlikely due to your newbie status for indoor, they would still yeild very little when compared to an AFSOG.
AFSOG uses the standard 5.5in x 5.5in sqare pots you can fit 48 flowering female plants under that light in the 3 x 3.5ft space. And if they only yeild 7 grams each plant you will pull 12 ozs. The yeild doesnt lie, AFSOG is really the only way to grow AFs for yeild. In this setup I average 10-12 grams per plant putting my 48 plants at 1 lbs or more.
Now I know you seem to be concerned on plant numbers, well that is the down side to the AFSOG, you need to plant large numbers to get the yeild, but the yeild is almost a sure thing as long as other factors prevent the plants from growing correctly. Where planting a few plants and hoping for the largest yeild can be disapointing with AFs, and it takes skill and knowlegde of the strain before you can pull the most out of it.
So, if you have the ability to do the AFSOG I would recommend you do so, and when you start it you need to start the seeds in 16oz cups until they show sex, after they show sex is when you plant them into the 5.5 x 5.5in pots.... You know what ,, i will start a new thread as i was going to do anyway about this, I will have it up for you to look at in the AM.
Good luck and get your 400watt HPS, digital are the best. I will find out which ones my buddy just got and let you know the brand, as they were very nice.
But if you still only want to do 3-6 plants at a time,, get a 150-250 watt HPS and make a small grow tent 2 x 2 ft or so, for your personal smoke.
P.S. sorry i didnt see that it was for seed production, in that case get the smaller light and grow some seeds, Or get the bigger light grow some seeds and then have enough to pull off a few AFSOGs during the winter months when you cant grow outdoor.
ICC.
anyone know what happened to ICC? i dont see him around