That's surprising. He's usually pretty positive in the videos.
Keffkas Coast Of Maine Line, TLO/LOS Style, Bagseed, Indoor Grow
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Gee64
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Oh yeah it gets eaten. My worm bin is 4 trays with laticed bottoms that sit one on top of each other. The worms move up so when I harvest the bottom tray after 8 weeks, I refill it with used soil and food scraps and put it back on top. 2 weeks later when I put the next tray on top the hyphae that has grown on the last top tray is already because of the microlife. It only survives for a few days.
Its the perfect environment to sprout the myco spores and there are hundreds of squash and pepper seeds in every tray that sprout in clumps like bean sprouts, so thats why I used it to send you that picture to demonstrate how myco will respawn but no it doesn't survive.
Gee64
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No hyphae on that tray as there were no seeds in it, it was my last tray fill with outdoor trim I had in the freezer. Plus the 1 coffee filter full of grounds that every tray gets.
Gee64
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lol always walk with swaggerYes, my plants are already too big ...for my space. I should have clarified my original statement as it does sound a bit bragidocious. But they're in 2G buckets so, you know, how big could they really be??
You might like look in on @Nunya Biz He grows with cover. Great organic grower! OG Kush & White Widow, Organic Living Soil, 614W LED
Gee64
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So here is why I use 10 gallon pots and not 2gals anymore for flower.... 10 gallon pots allow the myco room to fill the pot and get established well before the microbes can become dominant.
I can do it reliably in 6gal cubes too and from clones 6gals work well, but plants getting uppotted from seeds are more vigourous in my experience and 10's work better.
I like bigger rootballs too, they protect you better from harm and stress. Also my soil isn't as nutrient dense as pure Rev's Supersoil as I use used non-reammended soil in my mix with my ammended soil to perpetuate my myco and microbes from grow to grow.
Myco likes that space and once its established it gets sugars from the plant to distribute to the microbes and controls the microbe population by controlling the flow of carbon so it can stay ahead of the microbes.
If a plant gets sick it can easily harm the myco by not being able to supply sugars and the microbes will turn on the fungii. Thats why molasses is such a good rescue tool, it feeds carbon to the microbes while the plant recovers.
I also include some coco in each pot for some soil carbon as a backup. I vary a bit from grow to grow but a typical pot of mine is 3.5 gals ammended through the worm farm soil, 3.5 gals of used soil, 2 gals of coco, and 1 gal of perlite.
This causes your soil to grow in volume so my excess soil goes into my outdoor plot, moving my myco and microbes outdoors to my main bed, which is a 2200 gallon bed.
Any rootballs not from durban grows also go outdoors, as do any experiments that are different soil mixes from my regular mix
I can do it reliably in 6gal cubes too and from clones 6gals work well, but plants getting uppotted from seeds are more vigourous in my experience and 10's work better.
I like bigger rootballs too, they protect you better from harm and stress. Also my soil isn't as nutrient dense as pure Rev's Supersoil as I use used non-reammended soil in my mix with my ammended soil to perpetuate my myco and microbes from grow to grow.
Myco likes that space and once its established it gets sugars from the plant to distribute to the microbes and controls the microbe population by controlling the flow of carbon so it can stay ahead of the microbes.
If a plant gets sick it can easily harm the myco by not being able to supply sugars and the microbes will turn on the fungii. Thats why molasses is such a good rescue tool, it feeds carbon to the microbes while the plant recovers.
I also include some coco in each pot for some soil carbon as a backup. I vary a bit from grow to grow but a typical pot of mine is 3.5 gals ammended through the worm farm soil, 3.5 gals of used soil, 2 gals of coco, and 1 gal of perlite.
This causes your soil to grow in volume so my excess soil goes into my outdoor plot, moving my myco and microbes outdoors to my main bed, which is a 2200 gallon bed.
Any rootballs not from durban grows also go outdoors, as do any experiments that are different soil mixes from my regular mix
Nice looking worm farm. Better looking than my stacked storage containers. How big would you say each tray is?No hyphae on that tray as there were no seeds in it, it was my last tray fill with outdoor trim I had in the freezer. Plus the 1 coffee filter full of grounds that every tray gets.
And you cycle them every 2 weeks?!? Mine are 7 gallon containers and I fill each over the course of 8 weeks and then harvest the bottom one. If I cycle them sooner than that my vermicopost is nowhere near finished. I have three bins, but if I were to ever rebuild it I'd add another bin to really finish things off. Although I have started to add malted barley to each feeding and that is supposed to help break things down.
Ok, perfect. I'll set my next bucket up today and see how my leaf mold myco does.
I can do that.
Clones for the main plant, but I did some pollen chucking a few rounds ago and now have hundreds of seeds I'll never get through, so perfectly happy to use them as my sacrificial plants if they would be better than beans or peas.
And, come to think of it, I'll probably do both since they'll only be around a short time before they have completed their role.
So, for my new bucket, I'll just build the soil mix around an empty 9oz cup which will be the size of the clone I'll transplant into it when it's time. That way I won't have to break any of the strands when I do. I'll probably use a starter cup with lots of holes and see if I can get some root pruning done right in the middle of the container.
Gee64
Well-Known Member
Each tray holds 4 gals but after harvest it goes into finishing tubs where it sits for months. I am usually about 40 gallons ahead which is about 12 pots so thats 3 grows at 10 weeks each so I guess it sits in a finishing tub for about 30 weeks prior to being used.
As soon as the worms move out of the bottom tray to the next one I harvest it otherwise I have too much kitchen scraps. I'm not a meat eater so the Wife and I create a lot of worm food. I actually need a couple worm farms but space is limited.
I started with 105 litre totes but they got too heavy and then the wife gave me the Wormfarm 360 for Christmas a few years ago and I havent looked back since, plus it sits in the pantry room next to the kitchen and the tub system was out in the garage.
By the time I uppot a solo cup to a veg pot, which is usually about 14 days I already have baby worms hatched from the used dirt, wriggling in the solo cup.
Thanks, Stone! I'll have a look.
Gee64
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Drop the Chalupa!
Gee64
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Whenever I am topping or pruning or pluck a leaf I toss the trimmings into a finishing tub. If its got fresh ewc in it the scraps are covered in critters in hours, in a tub of finished soil not so much as the microbes have gone dormant.
That's why I'm thinking starting a pot early. I only run two plants I flower, each at 6 week intervals, so adding one more pot in veg is very doable. I can see where it wouldn't work for larger grows.
But wouldn't the molasses exacerbate that problem? If the fungus is compromised for a bit and you feed the bacteria, it would seem you'd be throwing things even more out of whack.
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Oof lol.. Taco Bell is something else man.. I’ve of course been thinking much more about what I’m putting in my body, to the point I started taking one a day
until I can readjust my life and diet to something healthier @Azimuth aren’t you running local worms? I suspect when you get the wrigglers you’ll see an explosion in consumption and reproduction
Gee64
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I find that once you need molasses your pretty much rescuing to the end but if you see the signs of a carbon deficiency early and hit it with a myco root drench and molasses sometimes they recover. I hate rescues, I don't even bother now, unless I expected it due to weird science experiments.That's why I'm thinking starting a pot early. I only run two plants I flower, each at 6 week intervals, so adding one more pot in veg is very doable. I can see where it wouldn't work for larger grows.
But wouldn't the molasses exacerbate that problem? If the fungus is compromised for a bit and you feed the bacteria, it would seem you'd be throwing things even more out of whack.
If they go south they go to the worm farm. Natures way, law of the jungle, only the strong survive.
If you need molasses you made a mistake much earlier and its hard to fully recover.
The carbon cycle is a lot trickier to perpetuate in a small pot, as is the nitrogen cycle. I find coco in the mix ( leaves would be even better) helps the carbon cycle and fish fertilizer, especially in veg when tons of proteins are needed, helps the nitrogen cycle.
Azi tell us about your leaf mold process. Do you sterilize it? Ever get bugs coming in?
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- #336
Yep lol. That’s why I amended the Stonington with EWC and threw 2 inches of compost on the bottom as well as used the finer mulch dust first on the top layer then the larger pieces. It’s not pretty when she’s hungry and you can’t feed her. Blood meal is essentially a requirement though with that much carbon, which I don’t mind. Blood is one of the best resources there is.
Gee64
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It can and does but once the carbon link is severed from the microbes they will go dormant and the whole grow crashes.But wouldn't the molasses exacerbate that problem? If the fungus is compromised for a bit and you feed the bacteria, it would seem you'd be throwing things even more out of whack.
You gotta keep 'em pooping so molasses or organic cane sugar provides carbon but now without myco you are really stuck with "feeding" like a synthetic grow and it works well but the quality of the finished product is compramised. You dictate the diet as the plants online food requesting system is offline.
Naturally, as a plant grows it slowly becomes more profitable in its sugar production so it ups its root exudates which can support more microbes and keeps things in check.
When myco crashes I found that 1 tablespoon of molasses in a 5gal bucket of water ( low dose) works better than 2 or 3 tbsp that most recipes call for, to get the plant healthy but again... law of the jungle... You are the weakest link... You have been voted off the Island.... Good Bye.
Gee64
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Be very careful with blood meal. Its pure protein and when added to carbs it ignites.
Carbs wont burn in the absence of protein. Thats how keto works, you are low on protein from eating too much carbs and you get fat. Then keto supplies only protein and lots of it and it ignites the fat and burns it really well.
Carbs power cells, its fuel. Proteins, actually amino acids, of which proteins are collections of, are the parts that go into the cell to make things out of.
Calcium is the electrical system that runs the cells electronics. Balance those 3 and all you need is water and nutrients. For plants or humans.
If your getting chubby and can't figure out why its likely your cacium is low, which tells magnesium to lock proteins up (nitrogen in plant talk) and now carbs can't be used so your body stores them.
If you have high cholesterol its likely your calcium is low so mag takes over as your primary electrolyte but its not as strong as calcium so it turns cholesterol production on full blast and leaves it that way to focus its limited electrolyte capabilities on running vital organs. With too much cholesterol you die in 40 years, with none you die right now.
The scientific name for Lipitor, a cholesterol reducing drug, is atorvastatin calcium. Imagine that.... Instead of fixing your diet to keep you alive they sell you a pill.... Not really cannabis info but you get the picture...
Fix the calcium problem and mag releases the proteins and cells fire back up and burn the carbs. Thats why 8-10 weeks in keto fails...
You balanced your carbs/proteins by flooding your body with protein but you never fixed the calcium problem, so you lose weight, then need carbs for energy, so you start eating them again, but the calcium is still low so the proteins stay locked and the carbs quickly make you chubby again.
Tail chasing.
We talk alot about myco, and its vital in organics, but calcium is equally important.
Low nutrients will give you a whispy plant that still gets you high, low carbs or proteins or calcium will give you a trip to the worm farm.
Dont overdo bloodmeal, its a keto fix.
The air is 78% nitrogen and its free, google nitrogen cycle and you will see how blood meal or any nitrogen additive is assimilated. The nitro cycle is a pretty easy read. Basically its how atmospheric nitro cycles and how added nitro gets assimilated, and where it all goes. Really easy to understand.
Myself I prefer fish ferts to bloodmeal but recipes are balanced so a straight out swap may throw synergy off.
Yes, wild caught.
When I started my "farm" I went and foraged for worms in the leaf litter under some trees on my property. Only got a small handful, but turns out that's all you need! I hear the red wigglers are what you find in composting piles of horse manure. Don't know if that's true, but also don't know any horse people.
Here's a video I posted in my thread that gives the basics of leaf mold.
And, Here's how I do mine .
After it's done, I screen it through a 1/2" mesh to get a nice consistent particle size to use in my mix, and I use it in place of CSPM as the base of my mix which is my own recipe but seems to work pretty well as the plants can go about 6 weeks with just water and an occasional top dressing of the dried castings.
After 6 weeks though it seems to run out of gas, so on my current round I'm using my Jadam nutes directly down the fill tube in my SIP and so far it looks great. I'm getting much more stretch in early flower than I ever had before, but I also don't run into deficiencies until about week 3 of flower and I'm just starting week 2. But I'll know better by the end of the month if this new combination has promise.
I don't sterilize it or treat it in any way. I was getting mites and thrips with each up-pot but think they were coming in with my fresh worm castings that I also use so I've started to dry those out before using and my bug issue has gone way down. But still too early and not enough cycles to tell, as it could entirely be a seasonal issue.
The issue I have with blood and bone meal is the drugs they give to most cattle on the hoof that I don't want in my grow. So far
I haven't needed it.
So I make a water soluble calcium as part of my ferts, but for people, instead of milk what's the GoTo?