Well, there's been a flurry of activity in my garden:
harvest, drying, curing, new soil, clean-up, etc. I've used up the last of the old soil and have had a batch of High Brix soil cooking now for about a month.
As some may know, I had ProMix HP tested and it was the first and only soil to date that "passed" the test and is fit for true High Brix gardening. This is not to say that other soils won't pass the test...only that this was the first soil that I had tested that made it.
FFOF-fail
Vermisoil-fail
SubCool Super Soio-fail
Vermifire-fail
Roots-fail
ProMix HP-passed, borderline high on Potassium.
So, I ordered everything recommended in the soil report, which really is much more than a soil report! Not only does it tell you what's in your soil, but they make recomendations on what to add to bring it up to spec, and more importantly what NOT to add if you want High Brix.
I got 83 pounds of amendment, and one pound works for a whole bale of Promix....so I've got lot's of this stuff! A bale of Promix requires a pound of amendment and 20 pounds of worm castings and then it's ready to go.
Here's one piece of really good news: I was worried that the amendment would be too chunky and take too long to break down....being rocks and all. Well, it turns out that the stuff is all powderized but then pelletized with some sort of binding agent like molasses, because when I put some of this stuff in water and stirred it up, it all dissolved into mud in ten minutes.
Get this: I put about 2 tblspn of amendment into 16oz of really bad tap water and it brought the pH down from 8.6 to 6.4. I then added a capfull of pH down.....and after about 30 seconds after stirring the pH was back to 6.4. So I added another capfull of Phosphoric acid (pH down) and after stirring for about 30 seconds the pH was still 6.4. So I added a third capfull of pH down...still 6.4.....and finally a 4th capful.....yep, 6.4.
Why did I do this?
1.)Wanted to see what the properties of the amendment are
2.)Wanted to demonstrate how utterly stupid pHing water and fertilizer is and make sure that people who do such things realize that they're imbeciles, sheep, idiots or morons. (maybe all of the above?) (applies to soil grows only! Hydro guys have a different set of rules)
Don't pH in a soil grow! You're just adding phosphorus, which will screw up everything. Don't be a stupid sheep.
In addition, I have a new root innoculant, and new source of microbes, a new fertilizer and 3 new foliar sprays which are used in addition to Amaze, PGR and Bloomit.
I put 9 vegged clones in the new soil yesterday: 6 Cherry Pie and 3 Great White.
The new High Brix soil received the clones and then I watered with a pint of "transplant water," which was comprised of Organic Nutrient Drench (OND) and Z-Hume which is a stupidly strong microbial product.
1 oz per gallon of the OND, and 2 oz per 32 oz. of water on the Z-Hume, but the Z-hume water is seperate, and we take 1 oz per gallon of Z-hume water and add it to the gallon of water with the OND in it...quite diluted.
After this, they got a general watering.
I sprayed them with "Enthuse" which is a foliar spray designed to combat plant stress. It is used on transplants, stressed plants and now I use it on cuttings. Loaded with micro's and amino acids.
Spraying regimen:
The following products get a different day of the week and are sprayed once per week:
BrixBlaster
Amaze/PGR
Enthuse
Bloomit will be sprayed twice: once a week prior to bloom, and then a week later.
There is enough nutrition in the sprays alone to grow the plants, but the real purpose for the sprays is to grow the microbial population in the soil via root exudates.
When soil energy is down I'll feed with one oz of "Perk Up," which is a fish based product also loaded with Calcium Nitrate, and an ounce of Z-Hume water.
No guano's, manure, compost, etc. Each thing the plants will be getting is individualized for my soil. It is pointless to try to fit these sprays and ferts into another grow with different soil, as they are designed to work with ProMix HP. Please don't go out and buy these products unless you either get a soil report and recommendations or exactly copy me and what I'm doing.....after I've proven this works.
Oh....I also have a refractometer and a pair of vice grips with little duck bills on them that can squeeze enough juice out of one leaf for a reading. My first brix readings were 12 on some plants in the old soil mix, taken in the dark cycle. Brix readings should not be taken until the plant has had 2 hours of sunlight. My buddy's hydro grow---which is stupendously awesome---showed brix of 10 after 8 hours of light.
Pics coming!
Should this grow be wildly successful, I'll be putting together "kits" so anyone can get a bale of ProMix and grow true High Brix.
harvest, drying, curing, new soil, clean-up, etc. I've used up the last of the old soil and have had a batch of High Brix soil cooking now for about a month.
As some may know, I had ProMix HP tested and it was the first and only soil to date that "passed" the test and is fit for true High Brix gardening. This is not to say that other soils won't pass the test...only that this was the first soil that I had tested that made it.
FFOF-fail
Vermisoil-fail
SubCool Super Soio-fail
Vermifire-fail
Roots-fail
ProMix HP-passed, borderline high on Potassium.
So, I ordered everything recommended in the soil report, which really is much more than a soil report! Not only does it tell you what's in your soil, but they make recomendations on what to add to bring it up to spec, and more importantly what NOT to add if you want High Brix.
I got 83 pounds of amendment, and one pound works for a whole bale of Promix....so I've got lot's of this stuff! A bale of Promix requires a pound of amendment and 20 pounds of worm castings and then it's ready to go.
Here's one piece of really good news: I was worried that the amendment would be too chunky and take too long to break down....being rocks and all. Well, it turns out that the stuff is all powderized but then pelletized with some sort of binding agent like molasses, because when I put some of this stuff in water and stirred it up, it all dissolved into mud in ten minutes.
Get this: I put about 2 tblspn of amendment into 16oz of really bad tap water and it brought the pH down from 8.6 to 6.4. I then added a capfull of pH down.....and after about 30 seconds after stirring the pH was back to 6.4. So I added another capfull of Phosphoric acid (pH down) and after stirring for about 30 seconds the pH was still 6.4. So I added a third capfull of pH down...still 6.4.....and finally a 4th capful.....yep, 6.4.
Why did I do this?
1.)Wanted to see what the properties of the amendment are
2.)Wanted to demonstrate how utterly stupid pHing water and fertilizer is and make sure that people who do such things realize that they're imbeciles, sheep, idiots or morons. (maybe all of the above?) (applies to soil grows only! Hydro guys have a different set of rules)
Don't pH in a soil grow! You're just adding phosphorus, which will screw up everything. Don't be a stupid sheep.
In addition, I have a new root innoculant, and new source of microbes, a new fertilizer and 3 new foliar sprays which are used in addition to Amaze, PGR and Bloomit.
I put 9 vegged clones in the new soil yesterday: 6 Cherry Pie and 3 Great White.
The new High Brix soil received the clones and then I watered with a pint of "transplant water," which was comprised of Organic Nutrient Drench (OND) and Z-Hume which is a stupidly strong microbial product.
1 oz per gallon of the OND, and 2 oz per 32 oz. of water on the Z-Hume, but the Z-hume water is seperate, and we take 1 oz per gallon of Z-hume water and add it to the gallon of water with the OND in it...quite diluted.
After this, they got a general watering.
I sprayed them with "Enthuse" which is a foliar spray designed to combat plant stress. It is used on transplants, stressed plants and now I use it on cuttings. Loaded with micro's and amino acids.
Spraying regimen:
The following products get a different day of the week and are sprayed once per week:
BrixBlaster
Amaze/PGR
Enthuse
Bloomit will be sprayed twice: once a week prior to bloom, and then a week later.
There is enough nutrition in the sprays alone to grow the plants, but the real purpose for the sprays is to grow the microbial population in the soil via root exudates.
When soil energy is down I'll feed with one oz of "Perk Up," which is a fish based product also loaded with Calcium Nitrate, and an ounce of Z-Hume water.
No guano's, manure, compost, etc. Each thing the plants will be getting is individualized for my soil. It is pointless to try to fit these sprays and ferts into another grow with different soil, as they are designed to work with ProMix HP. Please don't go out and buy these products unless you either get a soil report and recommendations or exactly copy me and what I'm doing.....after I've proven this works.
Oh....I also have a refractometer and a pair of vice grips with little duck bills on them that can squeeze enough juice out of one leaf for a reading. My first brix readings were 12 on some plants in the old soil mix, taken in the dark cycle. Brix readings should not be taken until the plant has had 2 hours of sunlight. My buddy's hydro grow---which is stupendously awesome---showed brix of 10 after 8 hours of light.
Pics coming!
Should this grow be wildly successful, I'll be putting together "kits" so anyone can get a bale of ProMix and grow true High Brix.