Need help identifying issue

[Gee64]

Heres some info for you. I use BlueSky Organics premixed supersoil which has its ingredients listed on its website at bluesky-organics.com its similar to fox farms or roots etc and in veg in 2.5 gal pots it works fantastic but in my 10 gal flower pots i use this mix

4 gallons Blue Sky Supersoil
4 gal coco
4 gal perlite
2 gal ewc (earth worm castings)
1.5 cup bloom pure
1 cup oyster flour
1.75 cup prilled dolomite lime
.25 cup blood meal
.25 cup guano
1 cup unsteamed bone meal
.5 cup gypsum
4 heaping cups composted steer manure
.5 cup azomite
3 teaspoon powdered humic
1 cup alphalpa meal
.5 cup bulb food
.5 cup feather meal
.5 cup powdered soft rock phosphate
.5 cup kelp meal
.5 cup granular rock phosphate
1 cup basmati or white rice
.5 cups diatomaceous earth
.25 cups Epson Salts

each mix makes 15 gallons of soil and i water the mix and let it sit in a tub for at least 30 days before use. I still need to add alot throughout flower but when the grow is done i add much smaller amounts of extras and reuse the soil again next flower so once its made its quite cheap to recycle and a fantastic high end 100% organic mix that the plants love. Using these mix ratios makes the soil come out at 7.0 for ph so after 2 good waterings and some good teas to add microbes it composts down to a perfect 6.5. Everything you add alters the balance of the soils ph so when someone says "a good balanced soil" this is what they mean. Knowing that will help you as you read up on growing. Every time you add a new ingredient it could sway the ph so keep that in mind. As long as your mix is close waterings will pull the soils ph to where you need it

 

[jpemberton1]

Do I need to purchase a vent exhaust hose as well???

 

[Gee64]

and heres a ph chart for soil showing the availability of nutrients at various ph levels. no level is perfect but 6.5 is balanced

 

[jpemberton1]

and heres a ph chart for soil showing the availability of nutrients at various ph levels. no level is perfect but 6.5 is balanced

Gee is there any assistance you could offer for making the teas? I know I read about them in eds book....but it was a very foreign concept to me at the time I was reading it!

 

[Gee64]

you will see a million different soil recipes. Any that are proven are good. They are all very different ways to end up at the same place...... a well balanced ph with all the required nutrients. Its when you start mixing diffetent recipes or someone says "Malt Barley is the bomb you gotta have it!" so you do add it that your soil can get unbalanced. Then your chasing your tail forever. So dont go crazy adding everything you hear about.

 

[Gee64]

Gee is there any assistance you could offer for making the teas? I know I read about them in eds book....but it was a very foreign concept to me at the time I was reading it!

Teas serve 2 main purposes. 1 is to introduce microbes and 2 is to introduce both microbes and nutes. Both are needed. Ph and microbes are by far the 2 most important things in organics so always keep them in mind.
Earth worm castings contain a nice broad spectrum of all the really good microbes you want as well as good base nutes. I add them to every single tea I make. Organic COMPOSTED (must be composted) steer manure also contains microbes and some are unique to steer manure so I use steer manure in my microbe only teas. (teas without nutes just to up the soil microbe population). All my teas are made with 3 gallons of water and after they are done brewing I cut them 50/50 with more water to make them go farther. EVERY TEA needs 1 teaspoon of organic blackstrap molasses in it at the start of brewing. As the brewing makes the microbe population explode they need to eat the molasses to not starve to death before brewing is complete. Dont add extra molasses or the microbes become sugar junkies and once in the soil wont feed properly on your soil to digest it. They will just want sugars.

In my microbe/nute teas I only add earthworm castings for microbes and then a tablespoon of kelp meal and in veg a tablespoon of alphalpha meal ( alphalpha meal contains a natural high end growth hormone so in veg it sends extra growth hormones to all branch tips) as well as a teaspoon of low number bulb food. I also add humic powder (leonardite) as per the suppliers mix ratio. It allows plants to absorb more nutrients by a country mile. You only use it every 3 or 4 weeks but you know when you use it cuz the plants really rev up. I also add 2 teaspoons of calmag and in veg always a tablespoon of bat guano. in flower too if you like but always in veg.
Brew all the ingredients and the molasses for 24 hours then add the earthworm castings and the manure and bubble for 24 more hours. In microbe only teas bubble the molasses and earthworms/manure for 24 hours only. Once the microbes are in you only have about 24 hours and they multiply so fast the molasses will run out.
use an air pump from an aquarium. one with at least 2 output lines is best. 10 bucks. buy 10 feet of tubing and cut it in half. 5 feet per line. add a cheapo airstone to the end of each line. toss both stones into the tea and turn the pump to high.
After its all brewed dump half into another bucket then add water to each.
Then on watering day water your plants fully as normal and an hour or 2 later when all runoff has dripped out add about half a gallon of tea slowly into each pot and be very particular about getting it to soak in evenly over the whole pot. I use a small soup ladle. stir the tea up alot every ladle full so you get chunkies in every scoop.
The next 48 hours you see a huge difference. The plants leaves stand straight up and you will get a good growth spurt. You cant ever use too much tea but really if you use a tea every 2nd or third watering and alternate between the 2 types of teas adding the leonardite every 3rd tea or so you will have extremely healthy soil.
The edges of the pail will get a sludge ring on them. Thats the microbes. using a rubber spatula very carefully scrape it off and stir it back into the tea before using.After your done scrub your airstones and tubing off in the sink or the stones will plug up. You dont need to ph compost teas.

 

[Gee64]

oh 1 more important thing. In the teas that you use leonardite use liquid kelp fertilizer too as per the mixing instructions if you have some. Studies have proven that mixing liquid kelp with leonardite is about the most effective fertilizer known to man. Problem is you cant use leonardite every feeding so try to get the kelp in on every humic use

 

[Gee64]

There are a million tea recipes too. The microbes and the humic/(leonardite) with kelp are the 2 main points here. If your soil is rich in nutes you dont really need the rest and again... if the tea doesnt match your soil the balance may be upset so dont use every recipe you read. If in doubt just use the molasses and microbes. kelp is pretty safe too

 

[Gee64]

leonardite is a type of coal. coal is plant matter that has composted for billions of years. Its natures best ingredient. It has small molecules that plants can easily absorb and its natural electrical charge is rigjt to magnetically attract your NPK molecules so the end result is something the plants can easily absorb thats 100% coated in nutrients.

 

[Gee64]

all this info works on any plant so if you garden other stuff use left over teas and runoff nute water on everything. And this info mainly pertains to growing in pots. Growing in the ground is different.

 

[Gee64]

Also when others lend advice remember if your doing it organically you want organic advice. Whats good in coco or hydro could easily destroy organic soil.

 

[jpemberton1]

oh 1 more important thing. In the teas that you use leonardite use liquid kelp fertilizer too as per the mixing instructions if you have some. Studies have proven that mixing liquid kelp with leonardite is about the most effective fertilizer known to man. Problem is you cant use leonardite every feeding so try to get the kelp in on every humic use

First off gee....youre AMAZING. Can't thank you enough for all the info! So since I'm using ff ocean floor. So I'm not sure what the ph is regularly. But I remember reading not to mess with the nutes too much or it could mess with the soil and therefore your plants. Will these teas still work with a soil like ff?

 

[Gee64]

Do I need to purchase a vent exhaust hose as well???

yeah otherwise you will be pissy all the time. The hose will made your life much easier. duct tape too

 

[Gee64]

First off gee....youre AMAZING. Can't thank you enough for all the info! So since I'm using ff ocean floor. So I'm not sure what the ph is regularly. But I remember reading not to mess with the nutes too much or it could mess with the soil and therefore your plants. Will these teas still work with a soil like ff?

If you use microbe only teas you will be fine. You wont be adding enough to mess up your ph. I would guess your soil is 6.5 to 7.0 out of the bag as most good mixes are so the kelp etc should be fine too. Mostly its when you add dry ingredients to the soil or on teas that are really heavy in one nute that you get out of balance. Less is more so just a teaspoon of this and that is plenty

 

[Gee64]

The true beauty of organic living soil is that once your into flower you really do very little other than water and teas with maybe a topdressing now and then so you dont really disturb your plants with anything and they live stress free. Also in organics its extremely important to let your soil get fairly dry. Not totally or the microbes die but in smart pots feel the outside of the pot and when only the bottom inch or so feels damp rewater. That makes the roots chase the water and thus the roots grow larger to take in more nutes.

 

[Gee64]

That was alot of typing I hope it made sense. Its really just alot of basics. Reread it a few times if needed because alot of grow books assume the reader already knows the basics such as microbes, why you dont overwater/need good drainage, and soil balance/ph. Once you do understand those basics the books make a ton of sense

 

[Gee64]

Also you may have heard of mammothP. All it is is microbes that specialize in eating and pooping phosphorus, which is vital in bloom. Now that you know a bit about basics you can see how products like that work. It will all make sense quickly now

 

[Gee64]

Heres where Im at today. Day 19 since hairs appeared. Im in a 5 x 5 tent with a PerfectSun Goliath light

 

[Gee64]

theres my light and ventilation

 

[jpemberton1]

How does that look for a start with the teas? Would it be okay to introduce them after I transplant next? I can't see it hurting the plants introducing them to tea this close to flower