Newbie Grower, Carmen Auto x Diva, Outdoors

[Azimuth]

How do I find their thread

Geoflora Discussion Thread

 

[CBDMed]

Geoflora Discussion Thread

 

[Emilya Green]

Keep in mind that any @GeoFlora Nutrients that is mixed in the soil is going to follow the same rules as that which is topdressed, in that it is going to break down a bit with each watering and within about 2 weeks it will practically be gone. This only makes the soil appear as a supersoil for a short time, and then it needs to be top dressed every 2 weeks from then on.

 

[StoneOtter]

Ahh, ok. Thanks, Otter!
Do they give a rate for it?
(Is there a URL?)
@GeoFlora Nutrients
Thanks.

They do. It's on the bag and their website. My outdoor ladies got 3 cups initially and every 2 weeks. It's a large area/hole, I think it's 3.66 cu ft. Don't have it right here. And like Emilya mentioned, in 2 weeks it's time to re charge so I mix new grows a day ahead only or I'm wasting it.

 

[CBDMed]

Keep in mind that any @GeoFlora Nutrients that is mixed in the soil is going to follow the same rules as that which is topdressed, in that it is going to break down a bit with each watering and within about 2 weeks it will practically be gone. This only makes the soil appear as a supersoil for a short time, and then it needs to be top dressed every 2 weeks from then on.

 

[CBDMed]

They do. It's on the bag and their website. My outdoor ladies got 3 cups initially and every 2 weeks. It's a large area/hole, I think it's 3.66 cu ft. Don't have it right here. And like Emilya mentioned, in 2 weeks it's time to re charge so I mix new grows a day ahead only or I'm wasting it.

Got it, thanks!

 

[Azimuth]

Keep in mind that any @GeoFlora Nutrients that is mixed in the soil is going to follow the same rules as that which is topdressed, in that it is going to break down a bit with each watering and within about 2 weeks it will practically be gone. This only makes the soil appear as a supersoil for a short time, and then it needs to be top dressed every 2 weeks from then on.

But I think his  is supersoil (Subcool's I think), which I guess begs the question why even bother with Geoflora. At least for one run with that soil.

 

[CBDMed]

But I think his  is supersoil (Subcool's I think), which I guess begs the question why even bother with Geoflora. At least for one run with that soil.

Azi, great question!
I guess the answer as best I can explain is that I think my supersoil suffers from a drastic lack of aeration.
I appreciated @ReservoirDog 's "60-40" input that opening up soil helps a lot.
Before I added the rice hulls, I did a tilth-crush, and ended up with a lump in my hand! (¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay!).
So the supersoil may not be breathing right.
And now this SIP thing makes me rethink aeration completely. I can see that I had the totally wrong idea (again!).

So... I am hoping to do a lot of testing, to see what makes what happen.
Once I can run a few SIPs, SWICKs, and Bill's Perlite Parfaits, then I believe I will have a much better grasp of aeration for soil.
This will also be important because I want to run a few "local soil" experiments, and for that I must also aerate.
Haha, "Stay tuned for more exciting developments!" (Haha, oy!!!!)
I am hoping to open the next discussion thread soon, and I hope to ask for advice building buckets! (But for right now, me gotta deadline, mon! Talk tomorrow!!)
And thanks for asking! The discussion helps me a lot (because I have to figure out what is going on).

 

[CBDMed]

But I think his  is supersoil (Subcool's I think), which I guess begs the question why even bother with Geoflora. At least for one run with that soil.

Hi Azi.
Thanks for thinking about my experiments.
Here is the new mix, with 50/50 rice hulls.
This is just a handfull scooped up.

Now this is after a basic crush test.
It allllmost opens back up (but you got to convince it).

Before I mixed in the rice hulls, when I crushed it, it did NOT open back up!
It just sat there like a wet soggy lump!
So that got me thinking, a lot!
I think my poor little girl's toes are suffocating!

After reading about @Bill284 's parfaits, I want to do some experiments on adding extra aeration, and also layers of aeration. (And, of course, SIPs.)
I am NOT knowledgeable about canna soils, but after looking at the results of the crush test, my inexperienced personal opinion right now today is that this new supersoil mix WITH the 50/50 rice hulls has the MINIMUM amount of aeration that I want in my soils, going forward.
(In fact, while I do not want to overdo anything, I am even thinking about trying an experiment with maybe 15-20% MORE Perlite, because it juuust baarely opens back up from the tilth test.)

I want to test out Bill's Perlite Parfaits.
I am also thinking about adding 20% Perlite to one set of pots, just to see.
We are looking at moving next week, and hopefully I can get started not too long after that.

 

[Azimuth]

Good luck with your move, Gring. Hope everything goes smoothly for you and you can get back to what's important, The Herb!

 

[CBDMed]

Thanks, Azi!
I will be VERY glad to get back to the herb!
I have very high hopes for these new aeration experiments.

We have another small deadline today and tomorrow, and then after that I want to start the next thread, so I can start planning the pots, and get review and feedback.
I am kind of hoping you and Bill and everyone can help me plan the pots, if I can get started early enough.

I have the 20 commercial SIPS, but I also want to experiment with SWICk and Bill's Perlite Parfaits.
We are having some gratings made up, to support either SWICK or big SIPS.
The goal (naturally) is to find what gives the most bud for the least effort (haha).
Based on what I am realizing about aeration, I am thinking about several different experiments:

1. SIP with newly aerated subcool
2. SWICK with new aerated subcool (if we can get all the parts in time)
3. Bill's Perlite Parfaits cloth bucket (layering aerated Subcool and Perlite, top-drenched daily)
4. Bill's Perlite Parfait SWICK (layering aerated Subcool and Perlite, top-drenched daily).

If I use 4 different bucket types I can run 5 sets.
Or if I run 5 different bucket types I can run 4 sets.

Then there are several other experiments I would like to try (at least 1 or 2 buckets of each).

5. Maybe a SIP with aerated Subcool PLUS 20% Perlite (just to check aeration).
6. Maybe a SWICK with aerated Subcool plus 20% Perlite (just to check aeration).
7. Maybe a GeoFlora bucket where I pre-load the soil, and then top-dress?

Short term I can use paid nutes, but long term I want to test your bio-teas.
This makes me think of Bill's Perlite Parfaits or SWICK, so I can top-water--except you said you are doing well with top watering nutes in SIP, and then using regular dechlorinated H2O from below.
I like your bio-nutes because we need to slash costs (because small organic farms usually run very tight margins).
Another reason is because I really (really) like the idea of sustainable, low-cost, planet-responsible organics.
So it is good news that you can apply them in SIP.

I am hoping for input from you and @Bill284 , and anyone else who has an idea about what tests to run.
I am not an expert gardner by any means, but I thought it could be helpful to do a bunch of side-by-sides.
It would be great having expert input about what experiments to run.

To do it right, of course, we would have to use clones.
I don't have clones, but I figure with 4 or 5 different main sample groups, we should be able to get a pretty good idea of the relative advantages and disadvantages of each system (i.e., the shot group will tell us a lot).
I don't have a lot of time, but I will try to label everything, and publish good notes, so others can tell what is going on.

It would be great to hear from you and anyone else who has ideas about how to build the buckets.
I am sure someone else will have better technique, but no matter how the experiment(s) turn out, if I can grow enough bud to get stoned, it will have been a success!

 

[Azimuth]

Imo, that's too many plants. Too many to take care of every day, and certainly too many to trim at the end.

And looks at Buds' plants. You really want 20+ plants even 1/2 to 3/4 that size? Unless you have lots of help I guess.

You could just run 1 bucket of each type to start, that would be 4-5 plants. Then when you decide which pot structure you like best you could do the next run with variations of that one.

 

[CBDMed]

Imo, that's too many plants. Too many to take care of every day, and certainly too many to trim at the end.

Hahaha, I like to stay stoned (why should Willie Nelson and Satchmo have all the fun?).

And looks at Buds' plants. You really want 20+ plants even 1/2 to 3/4 that size?

Well, actually, yes.
But I think Buds' plants are photoperiod, so he has to flip the lights or move the rooms?
Mine will be autos.

Unless you have lots of help I guess.

Hmmmm....
Well, you may have a point there.
People do tend to prefer day labor here!
If they want to work on that day, they show up for work, and you pay them at the end of the day.
(And if they don't want to work that day, they don't show up!)
So, yeah, there's probably only a few hundred people in the valley who would leap at the chance to trim bud for a day or two, for $35,000 COP ($9 USD) a day plus some trimmings.
Or you could start with 20 plants, and maybe they would prefer to take one home in lieu of the pay (leaving you with 19. And they would consider themselves very well paid).

I have been scrounging for six months, hoping for some score.
I thought I would just buy a kilo when I got here, but they frown on that.
(But "auto-cultivo" is fine. Just don't sell it.)

I hope to make (CBD) kief, hash, RSO, and Malawi fermented.
I would also like to check out other forms of concentrates.
Then once I have a bunch stored up, I want to transition to regulars (which brings me down to 10 plants).
So yeah, I kind of want to roll around in a bed of bud for a while, haha.

You could just run 1 bucket of each type to start, that would be 4-5 plants. Then when you decide which pot structure you like best you could do the next run with variations of that one.

Hahaha, Azi, I can go through a lot of bud! Lol! (Especially when it has CBD! Lol!)
I work from home, so I am pretty sure I can keep water in 20 SIPs or SWICKS or Parfaits.
Please forgive me, I have been struggling for 6 months to get enough, it would really be nice to live life on the other side again...

 

[CBDMed]

If that is really too many experiments, I can do most of them SIP. (That is why I bought them.)
But I want to check out SWICK, and Bill's Parfaits.
I would think 5G SIPs should be just about right for autos.
If SIP makes them get too big, autos should come to a good size.

But if I can figure out SWICK or Bill's Parfaits, then I can do much bigger plants (photoperiods).
If the extra aeration and layering works, then I could maybe use big trash cans for all-summer photoperiod grows.
Or I guess I could make huge SIPs.
But I think I want to run a bunch of different experiments, to get an idea of not only what runs well in 5G SIPs, but also what I can grow photoperiods in for an all-summer grow.

@cbdhemp808 said 15G was going good for him for full size indicas, and maybe 40g for sativas (depending on the plant).
But if SIP and aeration makes things take off so much, then maybe I will need 40g with supersoil for all-summer indica grows?
Or maybe 40g layered with Perlite?
I don't have a clue at this point.
I know that the homemade SIP plant looks bigger each time I look at it.
It gets a little scary to think how big that plant would be if she had taken off when first planted!
(I am looking forward to seeing how big I can make autos go in a 5g SIP!)

 

[cbdhemp808]

@cbdhemp808 said 15G was going good for him for full size indicas, and maybe 40g for sativas (depending on the plant).

At this point I'm using 6.5 gal black nursery pots for indicas and sativas, for flower production. I'll use 15 gal smart pot if I'm trying for a high yield. I'm currently not using 40 gal smart pots, but I have quite a few of those pots. I use 5 gal for clone moms that I don't plan on flowering.

 

[CBDMed]

At this point I'm using 6.5 gal black nursery pots for indicas and sativas, for flower production. I'll use 15 gal smart pot if I'm trying for a high yield. I'm currently not using 40 gal smart pots, but I have quite a few of those pots. I use 5 gal for clone moms that I don't plan on flowering.

Ok, thanks!
And how much difference do you find between a plastic pot, and an air pot?
And have you ever tried air pots?
Thanks.

 

[Bill284]

Hey @Bill284 !
Thanks for your answers!
I think I get what you are trying to say.

Ok, that is a VERY different approach from supersoil!

Ok, I will use Perlite for my Parfait tests.


Ok, thanks, amigo!
I think I understand what you are trying to say.
It sounds very good!

I should check out air pots.

It sounds like the idea is to get the soil good and wet, but with max aeration.
That way the plants have all the food they need right there, and also max air??
I am eager to try it!
Right now we are just waiting to see about the truck.
Thank you!

Exactly, your replicating dwc in a pot.
Tons of air and feed like crazy, incredible growth.
Healthy huge girls is what I grow.
Massive root systems to support as many huge buds as you want.
As long as the air is in there you can feed every day in soil.
It's an easy way to grow big girls.
Hope everything is going well Amigo.




Stay safe
Bill284

 

[CBDMed]

Exactly, your replicating dwc in a pot.

Ok, I never grew DWC, and don't know anything about it, but it sounds interesting.

Tons of air and feed like crazy, incredible growth.
Healthy huge girls is what I grow.
Massive root systems to support as many huge buds as you want.
As long as the air is in there you can feed every day in soil.
It's an easy way to grow big girls.

Bill, your forest looks great!
I hope I can replicate your forest!
Layering the pots and soaking them each day sounds easy!

Hope everything is going well Amigo.

Stay safe
Bill284

Yeah, thanks!
Everything is going great, halleluyah!
We have the truck lined up for Sunday and Monday.
Then I will have to build a greenhouse, and start buckets (among everything else), but I am very excited to try your aeration system! (Probably my first batch won't be anything close to yours, because you have yours all dialed in, and I am still a noob! But it will be great to get started!)

 

[CBDMed]

Azi, my main point of focus is SIP and SWICK and Bill's Aeration Parfaits.
I have a few other data points I want to run, but the main emphasis is to learn SIP and SWICK and Bill's Parfaits.
I am a little baffled as to why SIP works so well on even moisture, while Bill's Parfaits seem to run on drenching and aeration, except that both seem to massively boost aeration, as opposed to a normal grow.

I was very interested in @ReservoirDog 's comment about how boosting aeration to 60 soil / 40 Perlite would do the same thing, so I wanted to try that also.
I guess the main thing is I realize I don't know wc about aeration, or why Bill's system should yield similar results to SIP (and he says DWC).
You seem to be analyzing all of these things. Do you have any ideas as to why Bill's system yields similar results to SIP, except that both massively improve soil aeration? (Because one is constant moisture, and the other is a daily drench.)
Thanks!

 

[Bill284]

Ok, I never grew DWC, and don't know anything about it, but it sounds interesting.

Bill, your forest looks great!
I hope I can replicate your forest!
Layering the pots and soaking them each day sounds easy!

Yeah, thanks!
Everything is going great, halleluyah!
We have the truck lined up for Sunday and Monday.
Then I will have to build a greenhouse, and start buckets (among everything else), but I am very excited to try your aeration system! (Probably my first batch won't be anything close to yours, because you have yours all dialed in, and I am still a noob! But it will be great to get started!)

It's perfect for new growers.
Once the pot is full of roots is easy to maintain.
I still have to figure out how to make you a video.
Soon.




Stay safe
Bill284