The IC Organic Growers Community Thread.

[VortexPower420]

Use them. I wouldn't worry about the scab or bleaching them. Just adding more diversity.

Great use of what would be waste. Getting a use before the compost pile is great.

Sound like the soil food web is starting to grow on the rest of your life. Enjoy the journey.

Useful things everywhere with little effort and great help to the environment.

Closing the loop in life is almost as fun as closing the soil loop.

 

[Big_Bear]

Hey guys,

New to the organic thing here. I was planning on doing the coots mix. I will be doing large indoor plants (5+ feet) under lots of hps power. Can anybody recommend what size pots I should use to not run out of nutes? It's pretty imperative to me that the quality be top notch. I'd rather err on the side of caution.


Also, for the coots mix, I'm doing 2:1:1 peaterlite:fresh ewc. I don't have access to fresh compost but I have good quality ewc. Is that okay?

Should I water this soil for 3 weeks before using? Is that enough time?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Robrites]

Hey guys,

New to the organic thing here. I was planning on doing the coots mix. I will be doing large indoor plants (5+ feet) under lots of hps power. Can anybody recommend what size pots I should use to not run out of nutes? It's pretty imperative to me that the quality be top notch. I'd rather err on the side of caution.


Also, for the coots mix, I'm doing 2:1:1 peaterlite:fresh ewc. I don't have access to fresh compost but I have good quality ewc. Is that okay?

Should I water this soil for 3 weeks before using? Is that enough time?

Sorry for all the questions.

I think the point of Coots Mix is not to have to add anything.

 

[Big_Bear]

Huh? Maybe we are talking about different things?

Equal parts of Sphagnum peat moss, some aeration deal (pumice, rice hulls, lava rock - whatever is sitting in the garage) and finally some mix of humus - my compost, worm castings some black leaf mold I bought from the local 'worm guy'

To each 1 c.f. of this mix I add the following:

1/2 cup organic Neem meal
1/2 cup organic Kelp meal
1/2 cup Crab meal (or Crustacean meal when available - it has Shrimp meal with the Crab meal. It's a local product from the fisheries on the Oregon & Washington Coasts)

4 cups of some minerals - rock dust

After the plant is in the final container I top-dress with my worm castings at 2" or so and then I hit it with Aloe vera juice and Comfrey extract. Or Borage. Or Stinging Nettle. Or Horsetail ferns. Whatever is ready.

That's it.

To recycle I've just been letting the root ball breakdown and I remove it. I dump the potting soil into an extra large SmartPot container (50 gallons) and add some new potting soil mix as above. I water it down with Kelp meal and Comfrey tea and let it sit until I need it.

Ain't rocket science......

CC

 

[Mikell]

Blot

 

[Big_Bear]

Thank you

 

[VortexPower420]

I would go for a big as you can.

My favorite runs were in a 4 x 9 x 16" bed.

My smallest pots are 7 gal smarties.

 

[Buddah Watcha]

Whats up fellas, big time organic enthusiast here! I've been using CC mix, just didnt have crab meal, so I replaced it with a multi purpose organic fertilizer. Things going smooth as ever! Everything is looking good. I've been watering with Aloe vera and some malted barley powder every 2 weeks or so.

I'm at around 8 weeks of flowering some Bodhi Strains (Apollo 11 and More Cowbell)! I'm very happy how things are working out. After this cycle I'll top dress a tbsp or kelp, neem mixed with worm castings and add mulch and transplant next plants into the pots. I've been mulching with fan leaves and the male plants that were killed.

Using 5 gallon fabric pots. They are 7 gallon but only up to 5 gallon of dirt. After each cycle I plan to add some soil to it! I started with 6 plants on each, short veg time, and after getting rid of males I ended up with 3 in each pot. I LST so I get tops evenly!

I'm using 2 LED COB's at around 37W each for around 75W total.

I think another 2 weeks and I'll be able to harvest. We'll see how things play out!

Here are some shots:

Apollo 11s

More Cowbells

More info on thread on signature!

Peace BW!

 

[xmobotx]

killing it! the multi purpose organic is a nice replacement for crab ~balanced amendments

 

[3rdEye]

Nice work Buddah watcha. Those buds are looking great.

 

[heady blunts]

rosin + gumby = yummy

i'm starting to feel like good solventless is a nice way for my carefully nutured resin glands to end up.

 

[Buddah Watcha]

Thanks fellas! I can't wait to taste some organic nuggs, its been a while

 

[Sluicebox]

Help with tea?

I've been brewing teas twice a week out of 2c ewc, 1/4c kelp meal, 2/3c alfalfa pellets. Also started brewing a pigeon poop tea.
The problem is the PH always comes in high, nearly 8. I've been adj with 1tsp GH PH Down.
That takes it to 6.5. These are 5 gal batches. I am diluting 5:1 then adjusting ph. I've read in here that there is no need to adj ph to feed. Yet when I don't adj plants show problems.

Do I need to add some dol lime top dress? There was none added as opted instead to top dress with oyster and gypsum. That however just turned into a clay goo on top of pot not allowing good drainage. I had to score the surface to get the water to sink into pot.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mikell]

What's your water quality to start with?

I'd figure it's the ratio of ingredients. I've never had a cup o' Tim Wilson Tay test outside of 6 - 6.5.

Both style of teas you're brewing come out in the 8's?

 

[VortexPower420]

Sluice. Typically you shouldn't need to top dress the Ca amendments it they are in you initial mix. I could see to much oyster becoming a problem on the surface, that is where either a living mulch or a dead mulch come into play. It will incourage the living things in your soil to help incorporate it better.

I don't know your mix so I have little to go on but do you think that is to much teas?

I can only speak from a living soil perspective so if it is not your style the I apologize.

From my understanding adding that many teas can lead to lazy microbes. Their job is to make soluable nutrients for the plants use, of they a washed it what amounts to waste for them, they will just shut down. Then your plant is relying on what you are giving it in soluable form. In a true living paradigm you want the plant to exude sugars into the rizhosphere to.feed specific microbial colonies that break free nutrients from rock, clay and/or humus.

On the topic of adjusting pH of the tea going.in, if you have a solid humic base and a proper Ca ratio you should have no problems.

Hope this helps.

 

[heady blunts]

no molasses in your tea brews sluice?

 

[Sluicebox]

Down to Earth Products
3 lb Azomite 0-0-0.2
3 lb Kelp Meal 1-0.1-2
3 lb Crab Meal 4-3-0
3 lb Neem Seed Meal 6-1-2
1 lb CalPhos 0-3-0 Soft rock sulfate? Clay?
1 lb KMS 0-0-21.5 Potassium Magnesium sulfate

4 ft/cu Coco (rinsed)
8 ft/cu Perlite regular, couldn't afford the coarse.
6 ft/cu FF Happy Frog Soil
6 ft/cu Sphagnum Peat Moss
3 ft/cu Composted Steer Manure

I mixed all the ingredients and planted in it next day. I top dressed later with ewc 3" per 7gal pot. Also added as a top dress 1/3c oyster flour and 1/3c gypsum. May have been a 1/2c of those last two can't remember.

So yes been feeding teas twice a week. Water is spring fed well current ph 6.5 and 200ppm. Always considered that to be pretty good water. Teas do get fed sulfur free molasses 1/2c per 5gal batch.

Established plants in that soil mix are doing pretty good, haven't fed any thing but teas. Should I start using plain water?

Also one room day 9 flower, has live worms in the pots. I feed them coffee grounds and what ever leaves that were removed from very bottom of plants. Worms seem happy, sure they could be happier, just got to find the right food. I have white fuzzy mold that forms under the coffee filters, that is where the worms hang out.

Other room did not get worms or castings in pots. They are doing fine as well, showing no deficiencies. Frosty buds showing at 30 days flower. I intend to get some fresh ewc top dressed in this room later this week when weather clears. Likely add worms at that time as well. I intend to reuse the soil, adding it to 15 gal containers at the end of these runs.

So there's my mix, had to guess on amendments. If you have any idea how to fix it please let me know. Plants in both rooms actually look pretty nice. Green stems, velvety leaves.

Edit: This is my first ever attempt at this, pretty sure I got it wrong. I will take absolutely no offence to any suggestions.

Thanks to any who take the time to read this.

 

[VortexPower420]

Converting the lbs to cups is hard and the same product can have different sized prices which lead to different volumes.

On preliminary thing I see is a lack of Ca. Cal phos has a bunch and crab has some more but Ca should be you larger component. Some of the rock dusts I uses are also have a high Ca value with many other goodies. If you added a 1/2 a cup per pot you should be OK for a recycle with out adding much.

Why is you water so high in ppm? That could be you problem depending on what is making the ppm high.

Lastly is the compost element. The humus quality is what makes this all work great. The better the quality the better everything will work. Having worms is a great way to build humus 24.7.

Give a few water only and see what happens? It seems like you have a rich mix and teas might not be needed.

I personally add 1/2 a cup gypsum, crab, hi Ca clay and hi cal lime ( not dolo) per cuft.

Just nip picking, sound like everything is going OK for you. Your on the right track.

 

[Sluicebox]

Hey thanks for the quick reply. I hadn't checked ppm on straight water since last Summer. It does change with the seasons. Right now just rechecked and is at 0 ppm/ ph 6.5-6.7.

I took the remainder of that mix the other day which was 30 gal and added 5 gal mix of ewc and 1/4" screened aged rabbit poo. This new mix I just transplanted 8" seedlings into 1 gal pots. Those were on 5-6th node.

 

[Sluicebox]

Just chopped all those, quality was some of my best ever. However yield was quite low. Now I'm fixing to move some 24" seedlings into that room. They are currently in 1 gal organic. I could mix new soil and run them in 5 gal pots, or reuse my old soil in 7 gal. Problem is during the last 2 weeks I had fungus gnats show up in the 7 gal pots. Right now they are dried out as I turned off the fans when harvested and left the lights on. Temps hit 100F.

I am cleaning that room out now and seeing some gnats even though the soil has dried out. I considered re using that soil and top dressing all my amendments then ordering some beneficial nematodes. Any one have any thoughts on this?