Off-Grid Spring-Fed Hillbilly CBD Greenhouse

[Van Stank]

I've thought about vermicomposting but I'm not sure if the effort to collect compostables would be worth it? My current system is to layer whatever is around in cylindrical stock wire bins four feet high. I just let them do their thing for a couple of years, then sift the compost into a wheelbarrow.

What are you feeding to get so much soil?

I feed them everything and anything I possibly can LOL. I don't produce the full amount. What I do is take some of used cannabis soil from indoor grows and use it to seed a new bin. And then from there is all food scraps minus dairy and meats, all my cannabis leaves that get pruned, coffee grounds, ground up egg shells, shredded paper scraps, some hard wood leaves during the fall season (though most that goes toward the outdoor compost). Oddly I find worms absolutely love cooked oatmeal LOL. They flock to that before any other food source I put in there. Over the course of a year, the soil I started with will essentially increase by about 25%-40% in volume. I feed each bin of vermi compost about once a week to 10 days.

 

[Van Stank]

Oh gosh Van - I just saw the first line of your signature...I'm that guy!!!!!

LOL....wait...which one are you? The one letting them think or the one proving them right?

 

[Simon Limon]

I feed them everything and anything I possibly can LOL. I don't produce the full amount. What I do is take some of used cannabis soil from indoor grows and use it to seed a new bin. And then from there is all food scraps minus dairy and meats, all my cannabis leaves that get pruned, coffee grounds, ground up egg shells, shredded paper scraps, some hard wood leaves during the fall season (though most that goes toward the outdoor compost). Oddly I find worms absolutely love cooked oatmeal LOL. They flock to that before any other food source I put in there. Over the course of a year, the soil I started with will essentially increase by about 25%-40% in volume. I feed each bin of vermi compost about once a week to 10 days.

So, are your worms in stacked bins? I've been watching YTube and it seems most people use some kind of multiple bin arrangement.

 

[Van Stank]

No, I am not doing the stacked bin. I use the cheap ones from Home Depot.....17 gallon bins I think. I start with like 10 gallons of used soil that is broken up and dampened. Then I add the seeded worms and just start feeding them. When I really get them going good, I can take a bin with 10 gallons of soil and over a 3-4 month period I can turn that into 14-15 gallons of primo soil that will need very little to nothing over the course of the outdoor grow season the following year.

I have seen those stackable bins/worm farms. Some day maybe, but for the time being what I have been doing has been working for me. I find calcium tends to be the main thing that most soil lacks for cannabis so I don't go shy on using ground egg shells .

 

[Simon Limon]

No, I am not doing the stacked bin. I use the cheap ones from Home Depot.....17 gallon bins I think. I start with like 10 gallons of used soil that is broken up and dampened. Then I add the seeded worms and just start feeding them. When I really get them going good, I can take a bin with 10 gallons of soil and over a 3-4 month period I can turn that into 14-15 gallons of primo soil that will need very little to nothing over the course of the outdoor grow season the following year.

I have seen those stackable bins/worm farms. Some day maybe, but for the time being what I have been doing has been working for me. I find calcium tends to be the main thing that most soil lacks for cannabis so I don't go shy on using ground egg shells .

I really like the idea of keeping things as simple as possible. I'll give your method a try -- thanks!

 

[Simon Limon]

Yesterday I plunged into the Critical Mass jungle and discovered a few spots on my favorite plant that looked a lot like mold. Having been told that CM buds are more susceptible to mold than other strains I decided to give the plants a good thinning. When closed up the greenhouse drips from condensation so the cool cloudy weather we're having isn't all that healthy.

It took me a couple of hours but in the end I'd filled a 20 gallon trash can with fan leaves and weak stems. The foliage is still thick but this is obviously going to improve air circulation and drying.

Today I gave everyone two gallons of water with bloom booster, including the cucumbers.

The buds continue to form nicely!

 

[andIhalped]

Yesterday I plunged into the Critical Mass jungle and discovered a few spots on my favorite plant that looked a lot like mold. Having been told that CM buds are more susceptible to mold than other strains I decided to give the plants a good thinning. When closed up the greenhouse drips from condensation so the cool cloudy weather we're having isn't all that healthy.

It took me a couple of hours but in the end I'd filled a 20 gallon trash can with fan leaves and weak stems. The foliage is still thick but this is obviously going to improve air circulation and drying.

Today I gave everyone two gallons of water with bloom booster, including the cucumbers.

The buds continue to form nicely!

I hope you also cut out the spots you thought were moldy. If not, you should do so ASAP. The stuff can spread fast.

To help ID rot, search for "cannabis bud rot" images...a bunch will come up. There's also probably a ton on this site too. If that's what you got, be sure to remove it when you see it.

The trimming you've done will help circulation & cut the risk of rot, but it will not stop rot that's already taken hold, and if so, from spreading.

Onwards & upwards!

 

[Simon Limon]

I did a second round of serious thinning today, concentrating on removing fan leaves below the level of the colas that are forming. I also opened one end of the greenhouse, even though the inside temperature was just 72ºF. I found more evidence of mold on the Dutch Hawaiian but only in the tiny leaf clusters very low on the main stems. I'm guessing that going without water for several days stressed those leaves too much. They withered and then became moldy.

Fortunately there's no evidence that the mold is spreading but as a precaution I got out the snippers again.

Here are the girls after their trims, both above and below.

Previously this was just a solid mass of leaves and weak stems.

Both the indoor and outdoor Dutch Hawaiian (sativa) are finally beginning to show signs of making colas, though they obviously have a long way to go.

The "best in show" Critical Mass:

I used a close-up lens for this shot but didn't actually see the color in the pistils until I viewed the image on my computer.

 

[greenjeans]

Lookin' good Si - let's hope the weather co operates!!!

 

[One Of These Days]

I see tricomes

 

[Van Stank]

Nice clean up down low on that one girl. They are looking really good Simon! Gonna be a nice show over the next month +

 

[Simon Limon]

Two days ago the friend who got me started with my clone warned that his outside Critical Mass had some mold problems. I dove into my greenhouse plants and yes, there was mold in a few places.

Looking back I realize that I made a big mistake by keeping the greenhouse closed during a long stretch of cool wet weather. This clearly brought up the humidity level and reduced air circulation.

I went into high trimming gear for several hours, removing all of the large and medium fan leaves. I also opened one end of the greenhouse -- and this made a very noticeable difference in overall dryness inside the room.

The big question I now have is about harvest. Could I get useful buds if I was to harvest some of these colas or must I wait longer? I don't think the risk of mold is extreme but perhaps I could begin an incremental harvest? Keep in mind that our needs are very small -- I'm obviously going to have far more than we can use.

thanks!!

After the first serious thinning:

The outside plants

A typical cola:

Buds

 

[greenjeans]

Hey Si - I am hoping someone gives a good answer - I've been going thru something similar but add in aphids on one - I have cut out some bad parts and finally took the branch, washed and is hung to dry. Same thing with the aphid infestation - it was bad one one branch so I took it, washed and hung.

 

[One Of These Days]

They dont look ready to me. Do you see any cloudy tricomes yet? I would try n wait till atleast some cloudy tricomes appear.

 

[Simon Limon]

They dont look ready to me. Do you see any cloudy tricomes yet? I would try n wait till atleast some cloudy tricomes appear.

I've never seen a cloudy tricome so I'll dig around here for an example. But... if you didn't detect anything like that in the last set of images I'm going to assume that as you suggest, they aren't yet ready.

 

[One Of These Days]

Ive learned(thanks 420)that when the buds and leaves have all that glistening sticky on them (tricomes) look with a jewelers loop magnifier glass at the tricomes you will see them probably now still be clear as clear can be. Then they start turning cloudy. You can tell the change. Then they start turning amber after that. It almost looks like specs of dirt at the starting to turn amber part. I chop around 20% to 50% amber, but thats me i like dank couch lock body highs. Less amber more cloudy is said to be more head high. all clear i think is just going to give you a headache.

 

[Simon Limon]

Ive learned(thanks 420)that when the buds and leaves have all that glistening sticky on them (tricomes) look with a jewelers loop magnifier glass at the tricomes you will see them probably now still be clear as clear can be. Then they start turning cloudy. You can tell the change. Then they start turning amber after that. It almost looks like specs of dirt at the starting to turn amber part. I chop around 20% to 50% amber, but thats me i like dank couch lock body highs. Less amber more cloudy is said to be more head high. all clear i think is just going to give you a headache.

Very helpful! I like the idea of "head high" so I will be monitoring the tricomes carefully.

 

[One Of These Days]

it has to do with the ripeness in a way that I could explain it. At its peak, from how I understand it is when the cloudy start turning amber. You will still have clear trics at this point too.

 

[Simon Limon]

I found several moldy buds again, all of them on the same plant that first showed mold. I carefully snip off the bad buds and then wipe the area with alcohol.

The good news (I think!) is that we're having a period of little-to-no rain and some sunbreaks. The two outside plants are doing really well and show no signs of mold.

I got out the loupe and the tricomes are clear and sparkly.

Gave all of the inside plants 2 gallons of nutrient water, including the cucumbers, which are obviously slowing down quite a bit.

I found a fresh beaver trail in the bushes near the outside girls but no evidence that they have visited the clones. I continue to feed the beavers a few gallons of apples every day, hoping to keep them busy and content with fruit!

 

[One Of These Days]

sorry to hear about your troubles buddy.

Maybe couple shop fans to get some air moving around. The things we do right. Ive got three fans and looking for a couple more, but im in a box.

Was thinking bout how my baby girl in my avatar was barking one night so I let her out to chase whatever off and I heard her yelp, thinking crap a skunk got her but when she came back to the light it was a porcupine her whole face covered.