Team Microbe's Living Soil Laboratory

[MJtheIndicator]

and even the pics are not bad..

BTW.. which is the concept ? .. germination and cloning with umic and fulvic acid is a way to agevolate some processes ?

I am in south Italy so could be to much expensive use Bio ag products.. that's why I am asking about

Yes like a transport for the micro nutrients. After I compare a control of foliar and mid layer humic soak with Bio ag I will compare it to a mid layer mix of leonardite. You might be able to source leonardite as an affordable source of humic.

 

[CimeTempestose]

Yes like a transport for the micro nutrients. After I compare a control of foliar and mid layer humic soak with Bio ag I will compare it to a mid layer mix of leonardite. You might be able to source leonardite as an affordable source of humic.

hi MJ, I already use leonardite in my soil as source of humic normally in combo with litothamnium as far as I use sphagnum peat and Irisch blond peat with cocco fibers and perlite..

for germination and rooting of clones only sphagnum peat + perlite… reading these last posts I'm wondering to try a sort of mild top dressing with leonardite than.. I should work too.. isn't it?

 

[MJtheIndicator]

hi MJ, I already use leonardite in my soil as source of humic normally in combo with litothamnium as far as I use sphagnum peat and Irisch blond peat with cocco fibers and perlite..

for germination and rooting of clones only sphagnum peat + perlite… reading these last posts I'm wondering to try a sort of mild top dressing with leonardite than.. I should work too.. isn't it?

I suppose the leonardite is functioning best in the rhizosphere, top dressing should depend maybe on the overall soil architecture and plant variety.

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

Hey team microbe, does neem cake help prevent powdery mildew and pests? Also loving the thread, got a few more pages too read. Hope your thanksgiving was a danksgiving.

 

[CimeTempestose]

I suppose the leonardite is functioning best in the rhizosphere, top dressing should depend maybe on the overall soil architecture and plant variety.

got it, thank you MJ

 

[Team Microbe]

Hey team microbe, does neem cake help prevent powdery mildew and pests? Also loving the thread, got a few more pages too read. Hope your thanksgiving was a danksgiving.

Whatup Zeppelin!

Neem cake is great for soil mixes, especially when used in conjunction with crab meal because it creates a reaction (I forget the scientific name) that really repels gnats and other unwanted pests in your pots. Neem cake can help with PM if you toss it in your brewer for 12 hours to extract Neem's constituents, then strain and apply that as a foliar spray. Neem Oil itself would be a better route to go for foliars though, and since neem in your soil won't do much to prevent PM it's a wise choice to add both of them to your integrated pest management routine. It's really important to get the right type of Neem oil too. A lot of these products on the market don't have nearly half the benefits that pure Neem oil from India contains.

A company called Ahimsa makes the best Neem oil I've been able to find, this stuff is liquid gold man.

My danksgiving was pretty decent, consisted of some Trailer Park Boys and good friends. Happy Holidays man

 

[Vakten1995]

Man you are the best! Im just about to order the full Clackamas Kit With Minerals Is it something else I should buy for the best result? Is it just to mix the kit I get with organic soil and let it cook for about 1 month and then just water from seed to harvest..? Is it really that easy?!

Good luck!

 

[Kozmo]

I have a quick question for you TM(Not to get in Vakten1995's way). How do you keep that top layer moist? Is it steady mist visits, the straw, or maybe the cover crop? Maybe everything combined...

 

[Adrosmokin]

I also have a few quick questions if you don't mind.

1. About your soil mix you posted on page 1. Do you just add a layer of that at the bottom of the pot and then fill with base soil, or do you fill the whole pot with that mix?

2. When do you transplant to your final pot and how long is it in there before you flip to 12/12?

3. How long before transplanting in do you start your barley?

Thanks!

 

[DAVES NOT HERE]

best of luck TEAM MICROBE, love your approach. i am going to pick up the book you recommended at the beginning of thread

 

[Granger2]

Go to the buildasoil site. They have a watering schedule that tells you what to water with and when. You'll need coconut water and Aloe at least. Good luck. -granger

 

[Team Microbe]

Man you are the best! Im just about to order the full Clackamas Kit With Minerals Is it something else I should buy for the best result? Is it just to mix the kit I get with organic soil and let it cook for about 1 month and then just water from seed to harvest..? Is it really that easy?!

Good luck!

Dude, it really is that easy. I started out 9 years ago thinking the more you do the better the results, but it's quite the opposite I've learned. The less man does, the more nature is allowed to perform in perfect harmony...

If you want to mimic these results do the following:

1. Buy the CC nutrient kit (with minerals)
2. Source peat moss bales locally
3. Source rice hulls, lava rock, or pumice locally if possible. Some materials may need to be ordered online, like I had to order 7 cubic ft bales of rice hulls because I just couldn't find it locally. Maybe I should've looked harder.

4. Source quality compost/earth worm castings. The richer the humus, the better the results because we're relying on the organic matter to cycle nutrients to our plants pretty much. I don't have any compost sources locally and just got into organic growing last year so I haven't made any compost myself, but this would be the most sustainable practice for sure. Instead, I just ordered BAS's 2 yr old aged compost. I think it was $20 for 4 gallons worth... not bad at all for the quality.

5. Mix 1 part peat, 1 part aeration (pumice, rice hull, lava), and 1 part compost together.
*note that if using rice hulls, it's best to combine this in a 1:1 ratio with another ingredient because it actually breaks down after a few runs, and will slowly decrease the oxygen capacity of your soil

6. Once mixed well, divide into two different piles and use one pile for seedlings/cuttings/early veg and the other pile you'll add the nutrient kit to for your "flowering soil". Although I label this "flowering mix", I use it for late veg to prep the girls for flowering. They can usually handle it pretty early on in the cycle though so if you flip early it won't be a problem

7. Moisten (think-clothes-coming-out-of-the-washer wet) both piles and let sit for 3-4 weeks before transplanting

8. Once transplanted, follow the watering regimen in the beginning of this thread. Sprinkle some barley seed on top of your soil, then mulch with a quality earth worm casting (2" deep) and follow that with straw on the very top. This helps maintain moisture throughout the top layer very well. The barley will germinate on it's own like nature intends for, and show it's face around week 1-2. This cover crop transforms atmospheric nitrogen into plant available nitrogen for the plant, so I usually chop and drop it to the soil half way through flowering to encourage senescence and flower production. The microorganisms on the top layer of the mulch will break this stuff down within a few weeks time, it's amazing how fast they work!

9. Brew a compost tea every 30 days (bacterial in veg, fungal in flower) to keep things alive and cycling properly, and water in smaller amounts but more frequently (I water every other day just enough to moisten the soil). The goal is to keep a constantly moist media since microorganisms die off when it becomes too dry/wet.

10. Enjoy the fruits of your labor

I have a quick question for you TM(Not to get in Vakten1995's way). How do you keep that top layer moist? Is it steady mist visits, the straw, or maybe the cover crop? Maybe everything combined...

See #8 & #9 above ^ but yes, everything combined pretty much. I call it the triple threat

I also have a few quick questions if you don't mind.

1. About your soil mix you posted on page 1. Do you just add a layer of that at the bottom of the pot and then fill with base soil, or do you fill the whole pot with that mix?

2. When do you transplant to your final pot and how long is it in there before you flip to 12/12?

3. How long before transplanting in do you start your barley?

Thanks!

1. I fill the whole pot with that mix. My 2 gal pot before the transplant is that same soil mix minus the nutrient kit that BAS sells. This is my base mix for seedlings and cuttings. I didn't see any burn on any of the plants post-transplant, and they very in strain and indica/sativa ratios so that tells me this isn't a very hot mix. Less is more in soil I've found.

2. I transplant to final pot between weeks 6-8 of veg. Usually around week 6 though, unless I've topped and trained a lot. I always transplant 2 weeks before flipping the lights to give plants time to get past the transplant shock to ensure a smooth transition. So if a plant looks like it'll be ready by week 6, I'll transplant at week 4, and then flip by week 6.

3. I start my barley the same time I transplant into 2 gallons (now I use 5 gallons in veg actually). I'll just sprinkle the seeds under my mulch, cover, and water as usual. They'll sprout naturally in under a week and begin to show face soon there after. You can prep pots before hand though, by using one of your soon to be transplanted pots as a template. This gives the mycorrhizae a head start, and your clone/seedling's rhizosphere will be immediately inoculated by the barley's rhizosphere and it will TAKE OFF. I recommend doing this if you have the time:



All I did was leave the 2 gal pot in there before I filled it with soil (after adding the 4'' base on the bottom). This allows the roots to act like the powdered mycorrhizae that we buy in the hydro store, but a much more effective form of it and for pennies on the dollar. It's funny because the most effective practices are often the cheapest lol

best of luck TEAM MICROBE, love your approach. i am going to pick up the book you recommended at the beginning of thread

Thanks man, and hell yeah! You're gonna enjoy that, I've had to buy more than 3 copies of it myself because I keep giving them away to people... it's such a game changer

 

[Team Microbe]

Day 38

Day 38

Sicilian Revenge starting to frost up

same Sicilian

Another Sicilian Revenge, dif looking pheno

This is a little side project I have going, I crossed a Purple Rhodi stud (Redeye Genetics) with a Church female (Greenhouse seeds)

Let's talk about flushing for a minute. This is one of the biggest misconceptions in the canna community, and I deem it nothing more than stoner science. Everyone does it at one point or another... because that's what everyone does, right? Wrong! Of course if we're using synthetic nutrients we'd want to flush as much of that crap out of the "medicine" we're growing before ingesting it, but if we're using chemicals to grow this very medicine... can we even call it medicine at that point? Let alone, safe medicine? This is what led me down the long path into organics...

Flushing seems so irrelevant in an organic setting. Irrelevant! In my early day as a grower I've flushed copious amounts of water through soil, and indeed I washed away soil life and soil showed stress. But that's all it was... stress. I really eliminated the plant's known form of absorption. Yes, this resulted in yellowed leaves, and the results indeed did mimic senescence (the process of aging in plants) but what was I really accomplishing here? I was forcing the plant to look to itself for food before her time, and really starving her to maturity rather than allowing her to naturally mature under normal conditions.

The eventual results hypothetically should be the same; I starve the plant through excessive watering, or the plant starves itself through senescence. With that theory in mind, and under strict organic conditions, in my opinion it is always wise to let the plant follow it's natural cycle when ever possible. Bio mimicking is the key to success. When we switch our lights to 12/12 indoors, senescence is essentially triggered to begin. It is a soil food web that feeds our plants; a symbiotic environment that naturally harmonizes. Destroying the harmony and disrupting the balance can indeed induce stress and typical deficiencies, but regardless of what we add or take away, under organic conditions, the plant and it's relationship with microbial life dictate when maturity has arrived and when she is ready to be harvested - not a massive flood of water.

 

[Team Microbe]

continued...

continued...

Easy Street by TG genetics (high in CBD)

Central Valley Kush by TG genetics

Silver Lotus #1 stacking well. I'll keep this pheno for future runs

Another shot of the Silver Lotus keeper... this was the healthiest plant in the tent this round. Great structure, stacks well, meets my expectations with resin production, and responds very well to this soil mix. The true test is in the smoke test though, so I'll keep the cuttings I took from each of these plants until after the 30 day cure to decide which to toss and which to keep

 

[fonzee]

Amazing flowers you got there!

 

[Adrosmokin]

Thanks for the quick reply! You do some absolutely amazing work, seriously.

 

[Kozmo]

Oh man, Silver Lotus #1! Baby!

 

[Team Microbe]

Amazing flowers you got there!

Thanks for the quick reply! You do some absolutely amazing work, seriously.

Oh man, Silver Lotus #1! Baby!

Thank you guys, much appreciated!

 

[Adrosmokin]

Do you sterilize your straw in any way? I got a large bale from a garden shop, wasn't wrapped or anything and appeared to have been kept outdoors. It looks dry and clean, but I've been putting it in the oven at 225 for 45-60 min. just in case.

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

Whatup Zeppelin!

Neem cake is great for soil mixes, especially when used in conjunction with crab meal because it creates a reaction (I forget the scientific name) that really repels gnats and other unwanted pests in your pots. Neem cake can help with PM if you toss it in your brewer for 12 hours to extract Neem's constituents, then strain and apply that as a foliar spray. Neem Oil itself would be a better route to go for foliars though, and since neem in your soil won't do much to prevent PM it's a wise choice to add both of them to your integrated pest management routine. It's really important to get the right type of Neem oil too. A lot of these products on the market don't have nearly half the benefits that pure Neem oil from India contains.

A company called Ahimsa makes the best Neem oil I've been able to find, this stuff is liquid gold man.

My danksgiving was pretty decent, consisted of some Trailer Park Boys and good friends. Happy Holidays man

Thanks so much. That's awesome. I'm gonna try both these things. Beautiful plants man!