Keffka's Recycling, KOS Blue Thai, Herbies Seeds Apple Betty, Runtz Punch

[Thirvnrob]

Picked up my castings today 30 lbs for 20$.. hopefully it’s the last bag I have to buy while I establish my own.. I’ve been saying that since the last grow though lol

To complete my recycling mix collection I still need to acquire:

- High N bird/bat guano (e.g. 9-3-1)
- Feather Meal
- soft rock phosphate
- Gypsum
- Kelp Meal
- Alfalfa meal
- Azomite
- granular Humic acid ore (recommended not required)
- steer/barnyard manure (recommended not required)

I can get everything except the feather meal, soft rock phosphate, and manure from my local store. The feather meal is simple enough but the soft rock phosphate is trickier for some reason. I also need to pickup some BTi. Gnats have been present in the last 2 grows so this time Im just gonna use BTi from the beginning when Im mixing up for cooking, then again when they hit their containers.

Here’s a shot of the entire soil recipe:

The Humic Acid Ore is the only thing I can't get where I live, The state agriculture departments in my state & neighboring states haven't approved it so we do without it. Do you know of any alternatives?

 

[Thirvnrob]

Whew.. definitely going to be looking into a way to automate this process.. The amendments like to stick a little requiring extremely thorough mixing which is difficult to do on a tarp with a shovel at 40

A couple shots of the progress

40? Bless your heart!

 

[2Water]

The Humic Acid Ore is the only thing I can't get where I live, The state agriculture departments in my state & neighboring states haven't approved it so we do without it. Do you know of any alternatives?

I use down to earth products, they have humic acid in all thier mixes or you can buy separately. Marked OMRI organic

 

[Keffka]

The Humic Acid Ore is the only thing I can't get where I live, The state agriculture departments in my state & neighboring states haven't approved it so we do without it. Do you know of any alternatives?

That’s interesting.. I had the same problem except with Soft Rock Phosphate.. I wound up having to purchase it on Amazon.. I could’ve bought it elsewhere online but I already spend the money for a prime membership every year so I try to get the most out of the prime shipping lol.

If you have problems finding specific amendments you can typically find them on Amazon, or some of the websites like Build A Soil, KIS Organics, etc.

 

[Gee64]

Looking Good Keff Hopefully we have a few births soon. Are you planning on any cloning this round?

 

[Thirvnrob]

That’s interesting.. I had the same problem except with Soft Rock Phosphate.. I wound up having to purchase it on Amazon.. I could’ve bought it elsewhere online but I already spend the money for a prime membership every year so I try to get the most out of the prime shipping lol.

If you have problems finding specific amendments you can typically find them on Amazon, or some of the websites like Build A Soil, KIS Organics, etc.

Amazon is where I tried to buy it. No one will ship it to my state.

 

[Keffka]

40? Bless your heart!

I’m a little more broken than most of my generation at 40 lol.. I’m a disabled veteran with an 80% service connected rating through the VA.. Partial paralysis, TBI, PTSD, etc. Getting blown up tends to do that to a person

I can still get around but I can already tell and feel places that I’m only gonna have use of for a few more years max.

Looking Good Keff Hopefully we have a few births soon. Are you planning on any cloning this round?

Yep.. gonna give cloning a go.. gonna work on rooting and keeping mothers alive

 

[Keffka]

Amazon is where I tried to buy it. No one will ship it to my state.

Jeez.. not to go political but what kind of freedom hating state are you in? SRP wasn’t cleared for sale here but I can still ship it in from Amazon.

The only other time I’ve heard of stuff like that is with the Canadian guys like @Gee64, and @bluter who funnily enough knows more American history than most Americans I know

 

[Keffka]

We got one up.. everyone else is still laying low.. I lightly misted the tops of the cups to keep the top layer moist while I wait for them to emerge. Once they’ve emerged I will give a myco watering.. I don’t think I’ll need it, I can see the hyphae from the myco on this sprout already, but they’ll appreciate it any way

They need to hurry up.. it’s already gonna take some extra time to water them thoroughly because they’ll have dried so much, and I don’t want to water them completely until they’ve sprouted but they’re gonna force my hand.

 

[Thirvnrob]

Jeez.. not to go political but what kind of freedom hating state are you in? SRP wasn’t cleared for sale here but I can still ship it in from Amazon.

The only other time I’ve heard of stuff like that is with the Canadian guys like @Gee64, and @bluter who funnily enough knows more American history than most Americans I know

I was told that our departments of agriculture here in the Bible Belt states haven’t yet approved it’s use. I don’t know whether they’re considering it or have rejected it, but everyone says no. I can get most anything else…

 

[Gee64]

I’m a little more broken than most of my generation at 40 lol.. I’m a disabled veteran with an 80% service connected rating through the VA.. Partial paralysis, TBI, PTSD, etc. Getting blown up tends to do that to a person

I can still get around but I can already tell and feel places that I’m only gonna have use of for a few more years max.



Yep.. gonna give cloning a go.. gonna work on rooting and keeping mothers alive

Nice! Once you have clones you can do side-by-sides and then the fun begins

 

[Azimuth]

They need to hurry up.. it’s already gonna take some extra time to water them thoroughly because they’ll have dried so much, and I don’t want to water them completely until they’ve sprouted but they’re gonna force my hand.

I like to mist mine in that scenario. Keeps the seed happy and saves the heavier watering for after roots form.

 

[Keffka]

I like to mist mine in that scenario. Keeps the seed happy and saves the heavier watering for after roots form.

Yeah that’s what I’m doing currently. Trying to keep the top moist at least so when it’s time to water it doesn’t repel it.. It’s already gonna be a little more difficult with the extra holes, I don’t need it to be hydrophobic too

 

[Keffka]

2 up can see a third and the soil looks disturbed on the other 3.. Misted everyone lightly.

 

[Keffka]

1 successfully shed and is opening, 1 still has membrane.. I dropped a few drops of water directly on it so it can push it off itself. If it doesn’t shed it by the morning I will remove it before lights out.

Confirmed sighting on the remaining 4 seedlings, each one is pulling itself out of the ground now. Everyone should be up by tomorrow night at the latest.

6/6 germinated

 

[Thirvnrob]

Ordered my 10 gallons.. decided to pay a few extra bucks so I can reuse them and make training easier.

This caught my eye while I was browsing:

I may order one of these in the future and establish a perpetual LOS in it.

The pots and my new refractometer (I broke my last one with a soldering iron which I completely forgot about until @Thirvnrob journal Thirvnrob's Power Plant - TLO Soil In SIP Containers ) should be here tomorrow, and by this time next week we should be on the cusp of seeing some baby cannabis

My refractometer should be here tomorrow too. Hope it doesn't make me hate you...

 

[Thirvnrob]

Day 1

This isn’t a day I count but it’s technically day 1. Currently the solos are sitting in the laundry room where it is 80F and 60 rh. It will creep up 5 degrees higher and a few more rh points as the day progresses. I am working on setting up the room. I will be placing the cups in the room two feet under the light tonight.

They will get put on a 12/12 schedule from the beginning and will get 12/12 until I transplant into one gallons. I will transplant into one gallons at 10-14 days old. Once transplanted they will go under 16/8 for 2-4 weeks, then 18/6 for 2-4 weeks then back to 12/12 for flower.

My light is a ROI E720 for anyone interested.. It’s a full spectrum LED fixture meant to flower a 5’x5’ area.. Here’s the general info (I’ve removed the manufacturer’s name from the images since they’re not a sponsor. The light is easily found on google):

The map above will be our average hanging height. When figuring PPFD it is in increments of 25% for the power draw as seen below:

I’ve left out the rest of the information since it’s not really applicable. I will keep the plants 2ish feet (22-26 inches) away from the light at all times including germination. This changes in flower once stretch is complete. At that point I like to come in closer, around 15 inches. Here’s the map for that height:

I will try to find a balance, like literally everything else. Too close and the edges will suffer.. too far and everyone will be performing slower than they could be.

Also on a personal note.. my biological dad is coming into town this weekend. My mother turned me against him as a child with all sorts of lies and crazy actions. I didn’t learn the truth until I was an adult. Since then I’ve been in contact with him and have seen him two or three times. I distinctly remember the last time him complaining about cannabis being legal and easy to access where he lives (Washington State) and just generally talking down about it, while hypocritically drinking a beer.

I can’t wait to show him the whole grow setup and make him rethink his outlook I’ve made numerous old men change their stance on cannabis by explaining that it’s the only thing that has helped my PTSD. Old men don’t argue with veterans about PTSD treatments Heck, I even got my FIL to start growing, and he used to turn his nose up at the sight of us smoking.

I've been waiting for the right time to say this:
When you were mixing your soil, you blamed the physical difficulty on being 40 & I talked some smack. It was after I talked said smack that you revealed you're a disabled veteran. I'm not taking back the smack, whippersnapper. It's my nature to talk shit. But I hate that you have those disabilities & I hope you weren't offended by my bless your heart comment. If you were offended, I offer my apologies. NOT! Suck it up buttercup!

I don't know how you & gee ended up reading my journal, but I'm glad you did & I'll expound on that when I'm caught up.

 

[Thirvnrob]

I love seedling-veg! I also think it is the most difficult of the stages!

But so satisfying when they pop...

 

[Thirvnrob]

The gang. 24ish hours since planting.

I decided to put them on this made for germination shelf. They get some nice soft light to orient to. I crack the window slightly and a constant breeze blows through the cups and the holes in the cups. There is a radiator below the shelf that is a part of the water heating system and is always warm. This keeps the shelf above it constantly warm as well. This room is also humid. Lots of water, it’s interior walls are cool and exterior walls hot, and it’s been very humid outdoors lately which comes through the window.

Once I see them come above ground I’ll move them under the light. I expect this will start occurring over the next few hours and tomorrow morning should have a few signs.

perfect nursery!

 

[Thirvnrob]

Looks like I'm caught up finally! I've put some thought into how to articulate this & I came up with this: You & @Gee64 are speaking the language I'm trying to learn. It seems like different growing methods all have their own language that suits each particular style, like ordering coffee at Waffle House vs. ordering coffee at a really hip coffee shop with baristas - it's a different language.
I've spent a few hours for a few days getting caught up on this thread. Great idea for a journal & a very good read so far, including the back & forth with @GainesvilleGreen . It reminds me of two guys who both have great pickup trucks. One's a Ford & one's a Chevy, but both think theirs is better. But I will proudly count myself among the soil nerds! As I stated earlier, I have more to learn than I have to knowledge to share, so I'll mostly lurk.
I do have one question - I'm anal about things & once I accept a concept about something, it's hard to sway me. I was told that TLO soil should cook for a minimum of 90 days. How long will your soil mix have cooked when you start using it?