Plant Alchemy With KNF: Korean Natural Farming And Jadam

[Gee64]

It's time for another experiment, this one inspired by Gee, and this time I'm combining a couple of different things, 1.) a new soil mix, and 2.) a slight design twist on my SIPs.

On the soil mix, I'm going to take the advice from @Gee64 and @Keffka and go with a more traditional blend. Out are the leaves and leaf mold (although I may still use them as a top dress) and in is coco for the carbon piece.

So the new mix is:

2P Organics split between worm castings and compost
2P Carbon from coco coir
2P Old Soil from a prior round of same strain
2P Perlite
1P Biochar

This should give me a good baseline with a mostly recommended, and successful, combination of inputs to which I've added biochar.

The second change is I'm going to add additional aeration to my 1L SIPs. In a normal SIP design there is an air gap between the water reservoir and the soil which allows for a much wetter mixture in the bottom of the container without producing the usual root rot typical in very wet soils.

The containers are watered through a fill tube, bypassing the soil and maintaining a moisture gradient in the pot, wetter at the bottom and less so further up.

The challenge with this setup is that in organic grows it is generally recommended to water from the top at least when adding nutrients to help activate the organics and microbes, and that can mess with the moisture gradient. In addition, in my small containers I seem to have excess moisture issues as I seem to have better results by letting my containers dry out a bit between waterings.

Letting them dry out a bit actually helps my plants grow better but that defeats one of the real benefits of the SIP design, that being the constant access to water and nutrients.

Soooo, I'm going to try adding extra aeration further up in the soil column and see if that extra air can help the upper roots benefit in a similar way to the bottom ones near the air gap. Initially I thought of adding another smaller dome on top of the one that defines the reservoir to accomplish the goal, but then had a classic Homer Simpson "Doh!" moment and realized I could accomplish the same outcome with no loss of soil volume by simply making holes all along the fill tubes already present in my pots.

I have two older clones that are almost identical in size and health that I've had sitting in the Limbo Land area of my veg space that I repotted into the new mix, one in the original SIP version and the other in what I'll call the vented SIP.

The normal one got watered from below and the vented one from above, and both will continue to be watered that way to see if the extra aeration up top can overcome my small pot moisture issue and the organic top watering messing with the moisture gradient issue.

I'll compare the two plants over time and each will get the same treatment, one from below and the other from above, and I'll see what I can learn in the process.

This should be a fun run. I like the perforated fill tube idea. Free air.What ammendments are you going to add to your mix? Any spikes or layers?

 

[Azimuth]

What ammendments are you going to add to your mix? Any spikes or layers?

No spikes or layers, at least to start as I want to see if I get materially different results from my extracts delivering them in the two different ways (top and bottom). Primarily I want to see if the growth improves even with wet mix at the top.

 

[Azimuth]

It's time for another experiment, this one inspired by Gee, and this time I'm combining a couple of different things, 1.) a new soil mix, and 2.) a slight design twist on my SIPs.

On the soil mix, I'm going to take the advice from @Gee64 and @Keffka and go with a more traditional blend. Out are the leaves and leaf mold (although I may still use them as a top dress) and in is coco for the carbon piece.

So the new mix is:

2P Organics split between worm castings and compost
2P Carbon from coco coir
2P Old Soil from a prior round of same strain
2P Perlite
1P Biochar

This should give me a good baseline with a mostly recommended, and successful, combination of inputs to which I've added biochar.

The second change is I'm going to add additional aeration to my 1L SIPs. In a normal SIP design there is an air gap between the water reservoir and the soil which allows for a much wetter mixture in the bottom of the container without producing the usual root rot typical in very wet soils.

The containers are watered through a fill tube, bypassing the soil and maintaining a moisture gradient in the pot, wetter at the bottom and less so further up.

The challenge with this setup is that in organic grows it is generally recommended to water from the top at least when adding nutrients to help activate the organics and microbes, and that can mess with the moisture gradient. In addition, in my small containers I seem to have excess moisture issues as I seem to have better results by letting my containers dry out a bit between waterings.

Letting them dry out a bit actually helps my plants grow better but that defeats one of the real benefits of the SIP design, that being the constant access to water and nutrients.

Soooo, I'm going to try adding extra aeration further up in the soil column and see if that extra air can help the upper roots benefit in a similar way to the bottom ones near the air gap. Initially I thought of adding another smaller dome on top of the one that defines the reservoir to accomplish the goal, but then had a classic Homer Simpson "Doh!" moment and realized I could accomplish the same outcome with no loss of soil volume by simply making holes all along the fill tubes already present in my pots.

I have two older clones that are almost identical in size and health that I've had sitting in the Limbo Land area of my veg space that I repotted into the new mix, one in the original SIP version and the other in what I'll call the vented SIP.

The normal one got watered from below and the vented one from above, and both will continue to be watered that way to see if the extra aeration up top can overcome my small pot moisture issue and the organic top watering messing with the moisture gradient issue.

I'll compare the two plants over time and each will get the same treatment, one from below and the other from above, and I'll see what I can learn in the process.

FAIL.

The vented SIP never really got going and the plant has dried up and is mostly expired. I think a few reasons are behind the failure so I'll try again with a different set of variables.

First off, the normal SIP is doing its thing and looking fine.

The vented SIP struggled from day 1. I potted it up in a 1L container and used 5/8" tubing for the vent which took up too much of the pot space and I had to cram the plant down in around it. That meant the roots were immediately exposed directly to the air and the leaves became crispy in the days following. It did start to develop replacement leaves but they never really got established.

I did top water it after repotting so the roots didn't dry up due to lack of moisture. I'll probably pull it today and examine the roots and see if there is anything to be learned.

I have some smaller diameter tubing and I'll use a smaller diameter probe to make the holes for the next round of tests since I think this is an idea that has merit if I can get the right combinations.

I'm thinking that having the extra venting out beyond the current root structure might be better which will allow the roots to grow and explore the extra air as they develop, much like nutrient spikes are added out beyond the root ball in a TLO grow.

I'm trying to clone some plants now so the next round of testing will have to wait for that, but I will give it another try at that point.

 

[Danishoes21]

FAIL.

The vented SIP never really got going and has dried up and is mostly expired. I think a few reasons are behind the failure so I'll try again with a different set of variables.

First off, the normal SIP is doing its thing and looking fine.

The vented SIP struggled from day 1. I potted it up in a 1L container and used 5/8" tubing for the vent which took up too much of the pot space and I had to cram the plant down in around it. That meant the roots were immediately exposed directly to the air and the leaves became crispy in the days following. It did start to develop replacement leaves but they never really got established.

I did top water it after repotting so the roots didn't dry up due to lack of moisture. I'll probably pull it today and examine the roots and see if there is anything to be learned.

I have some smaller diameter tubing and I'll use a smaller diameter probe to make the holes for the next round of tests since I think this is an idea that has merit if I can get the right combinations.

I'm thinking that having the extra venting out beyond the current root structure might be better which will allow the roots to grow and explore the extra air as they develop, much like nutrient spikes are added out beyond the root ball in a TLO grow.

I'm trying to clone some plants now so the next round of testing will have to wait for that, but I will give it another try at that point.

Thank you for that detail description, I might learn something there from my current experiment. Seems like the ratio air/water is so fine it’s having that ratio dialed that makes a difference

 

[Azimuth]

My take is that the roots develop in the environment they're in and will adapt to it, forming different types of roots depending on location (different roots for soil, air and water) and you can't just drastically change things and expect them not to notice.

Especially going from water roots to the much drier air environment.

But that's all just theory since all I have now is one big, fat ZERO. But, nothing ventured nothing gained, so I'll give it another try.

I'm also thinking that the vented tubing might be great buried in a static compost pile, like maybe one done in a large garbage can. No turning of the pile required to add oxygen to the middle.

I have something like that going on for a garbage can composter that I use for stuff I don't put in my worm bin like onion peels, etc. That one is just a piece of 1.5" pvc pipe with holes drilled in the sides and stuck down the middle of the pile. The can has holes in the bottom for worms and other things to access the pile.

I've had it going for years and have never emptied it once. The stuff just disappears. Probably some really great compost down there at the bottom.

So, I do think the idea has merit.

 

[Gee64]

My take is that the roots develop in the environment they're in and will adapt to it, forming different types of roots depending on location (different roots for soil, air and water) and you can't just drastically change things and expect them not to notice.

Especially going from water roots to the much drier air environment.

But that's all just theory since all I have now is one big, fat ZERO. But, nothing ventured nothing gained, so I'll give it another try.

I'm also thinking that the vented tubing might be great buried in a static compost pile, like maybe one done in a large garbage can. No turning of the pile required to add oxygen to the middle.

I have something like that going on for a garbage can composter that I use for stuff I don't put in my worm bin like onion peels, etc. That one is just a piece of 1.5" pvc pipe with holes drilled in the sides and stuck down the middle of the pile. The can has holes in the bottom for worms and other things to access the pile.

I've had it going for years and have never emptied it once. The stuff just disappears. Probably some really great compost down there at the bottom.

So, I do think the idea has merit.

This may sound stupid at 1st but...... Instead of venting air to the roots internally, why not try drilling a pile of vent holes through the outside of the pot above the overflow hole. Hundreds. Get air that way with a full sized soil wick for water pumping.

 

[Gee64]

Kinda like this but a SIPPY not a SWICKY and bigger with more holes. You could put a mini dome inside this actually and then set it in a tray of water.

 

[Azimuth]

This may sound stupid at 1st but...... Instead of venting air to the roots internally, why not try drilling a pile of vent holes through the outside of the pot above the overflow hole. Hundreds. Get air that way with a full sized soil wick for water pumping.

I already do that now with my 1L pots, though haven't with the 2G buckets for flower, at least not yet, though I've thought about it.

I'm going to try the vented tubing once I get some clones to root and see if the issue I had this round replicates. Seems like it should work given the right combinations. Just have to find it.

Or prove that it's a dumb idea. Either way I'm going to find out.

 

[Azimuth]

Up-potted my new CBD plant into its 2G SIP flowering residence yesterday since I now have a rooted clone to become the new mother and I want to get started on the flowering cycle so I can get me some CBD benefits.

This soil mix is likely what I'll use going forward (hat tip @Gee64 ) and is:

2P Organics (half worm castings, half compost)
2P Carbon (coco)
2P Soil (old soil from prior round)
2P Perlite
1P Biochar

To that I added some stone dust, but forgot the myco so I'll add that to the fertigation water later today along with my bug mix (made from malted barley and the meals of neem, karanja and crustacean), and I'll start some JMS to give it a weekly boost.

Then I managed to dump a good chunk of it in the water barrel I was using as a work station so I'm guessing I lost a lot of the fines in the process but I strained out what I could and dried it out in the sun for a bit. I also topped it with a healthy layer of castings and then covered that with compost.

Training has started with fishing weights to flatten the canopy and BBQ skewers to rearrange and spread out the limbs around the bucket. I'll let it get settled and flip as soon as I see it "take" since the branch tips have already mostly reached the bucket rim.

I'm really looking forward to growing this plant, a Strawberry CBD from WSE. It is a hemp plant (15% CBD and only 0.2% THC according to WSE) and replaces my previous CBD strain, an ACDC plant with very similar numbers. This Strawberry CBD is indica dominant vs the Sativa dominant ACDC, and it's supposed to smell like ripened berry fruit rather than the classic cannabis smell as it flowers. It will likely be my main strain if all goes well with the initial grow.

It'll be flowering during the heat of summer in my small cabinet so temperature control is likely going to be an issue but we'll deal with that as best we can at the time.

Game on!

 

[Danishoes21]

Off to a good start of the summer grow

 

[Azimuth]

Off to a good start of the summer grow

Thanks, but more like indoor, in a small cabinet, perpetual. I'd love to grow outdoors like you do, but alas, that's not in the cards.

 

[Danishoes21]

Thanks, but more like indoor, in a small cabinet, perpetual. I'd love to grow outdoors like you do, but alas, that's not in the cards.

I really wanna go indoors for a while, I just can’t seem to commit. I might try putting a tent inside the greenhouse this winter, try some phenos out.

 

[scottreid1966]

This may sound stupid at 1st but...... Instead of venting air to the roots internally, why not try drilling a pile of vent holes through the outside of the pot above the overflow hole. Hundreds. Get air that way with a full sized soil wick for water pumping.

Kind if the air-pots Bill uses, but SIP.

 

[Azimuth]

I am interested in exploring the use of Jadam extracts as a cloning aid and just created a spin-off thread called Cloning with Jadam, an Experiments Thread if anyone wants to follow along.

Normally I'd just include the experiments here but there will be quite a few related tests and I thought it deserved its own thread.

I started 3 different willow extracts today and will probably start the cloning experiments in a few days.

 

[ReservoirDog]

Why Cannabis Grown with Lactobacillus Serum Could Lead to Greater Potency

Hypothesis: Mode of Actions for the increased trichome / calyx ratio, increased terpene content, and how this might affect our perception of the potency of probiotic cannabis.

themodern.farm

I thought you might be interested in this deep dive into secondary metabolites and the potential for LABS to impact. Extremely interesting, if not quite layman-friendly - but I got through it though so I reckon everyone interested can too.

edit: tagging @Danishoes21 Hey brother, long time! I'll pop over for a visit ''forthwith''.

 

[Azimuth]

Thanks @ReservoirDog, I'll have a gander.

And I'll re-tag @Danishoes21 for you since tags don't work after editing a post.

 

[Azimuth]

Why Cannabis Grown with Lactobacillus Serum Could Lead to Greater Potency

Hypothesis: Mode of Actions for the increased trichome / calyx ratio, increased terpene content, and how this might affect our perception of the potency of probiotic cannabis.

themodern.farm

I thought you might be interested in this deep dive into secondary metabolites and the potential for LABS to impact. Extremely interesting, if not quite layman-friendly - but I got through it though so I reckon everyone interested can too.

edit: tagging @Danishoes21 Hey brother, long time! I'll pop over for a visit ''forthwith''.

Interesting, at least what I was able to comprehend. Gives some 'science' to the effect @Bode has noticed as he applies JMS to his plants. He says it enhances the potency along with the terpines at harvest.

 

[StoneOtter]

I try to get some in every stage of growth in all my grows! 2 or 3 times anyway drenched.

 

[Azimuth]

I try to get some in every stage of growth in all my grows! 2 or 3 times anyway drenched.

And do you find similar results to Bode?

 

[Danishoes21]

Why Cannabis Grown with Lactobacillus Serum Could Lead to Greater Potency

Hypothesis: Mode of Actions for the increased trichome / calyx ratio, increased terpene content, and how this might affect our perception of the potency of probiotic cannabis.

themodern.farm

I thought you might be interested in this deep dive into secondary metabolites and the potential for LABS to impact. Extremely interesting, if not quite layman-friendly - but I got through it though so I reckon everyone interested can too.

edit: tagging @Danishoes21 Hey brother, long time! I'll pop over for a visit ''forthwith''.

Ahh lovely music to my ears. I’m happy to read this article, the science and evidence. We are heading in the right path, a couple years from now PM, mold and bud rot will be a thing of the past.

I might tag @cbdhemp808 article is pretty good read!