SubCool Supersoil In SIPs With EWC, CBD Autos For Aspergers

[CBDMed]

That soil looks pretty wet to me and that's a more common source of crinkled leaves. Is that your Subcool soil?

Ahhhh...... good to know, thanks!!

The supersoil is a little more than an inch down.
Edit: On top of that is about 1" of calcium-rich EWC.
On top of that is a thin layer of that Avisana trichoderma.
So... the dark color is that when I had the problems with the russet mites, I used the Bioxinis trichoderma, which is a green liquid. It leaves the soil looking much darker (and wetter) than it is. (After you use it, the soil can be dry, but it will still look wet.)
However, yes, I was trying to keep the feeder-root soil damp. I was giving it a light top-watering (a light drizzle rain) each day, to keep it moist. But it sounds like that is too much, and it is making the leaves curl? So I should back off the top-watering to twice a week??

Interesting. A few years ago there was a TV series with Jim Beluchi (John's little brother and also in movies) and I think those are the two strains he grew that season.

Interesting. They are (or used to be) the two best-known Colombian strains.

I am doing some more reading. The Punto Rojo is great because it is adapted to the mountains, but there are issues. They say the quality varies a lot from plant to plant, and that it goes hermie real easy (and they said that all tropical sativas go hermie easy).
It sounds like Punto Rojo would be great for the mountains because it is already adapted to here. However, sometimes it is stunning, and sometimes not so much.

They say that Santa Marta de Oro (Colombian Gold) is 3:1 THC:CBD, and it is very popular, and is still sought after today. You have to put it in a greenhouse at this elevation, but the contractor was talking greenhouse, and maybe he will already know someone with adapted cultivars or seeds?

The way things go here, probably it will take many months before the contractor's greenhouse comes online, so I will continue with the indoor cultivation in the meantime. And then when he crops out successfully, then we can switch.

They hammed it up with a visit to Columbia to source the seeds, but it was interesting to see the countryside.

Yes, it reminds me of the Sierra Nevadas a lot, just with more rain, and different flora and fauna. (And different pests!)

 

[Azimuth]

However, yes, I was trying to keep the feeder-root soil damp. I was giving it a light top-watering (a light drizzle rain) each day, to keep it moist. But it sounds like that is too much, and it is making the leaves curl? So I should back off the top-watering to twice a week??

Well, you've got a unique combination of substrates going there so you're going to just have to feel your way through it I think.

 

[CBDMed]

Well, you've got a unique combination of substrates going there so you're going to just have to feel your way through it I think.

Well, yes and no. It is original subcool super soil with a 1 inch layer of earthworm castings on top (as per your recommendation, and also Shed). Then we had that russet might situation, so it's probably got like a 1/16th of an inch cap layer of Avisana trichoderma (plus some in the bucket mix, as per Dude's Colombian rep's recommendation). Then I put that Bioxinis liquid trichoderma over the top, and it kind of stained everything dark, and the Avisana formed kind of a thin crust. But I don't think it's a huge deal. And I'm used to having to learn how to roll with the punches. (Is there another way?)

Yes, this super cool subsoil is great! But it is not perfect. I used it before from about 2015 through about 2016, and then I moved to a place where I could not grow, and then I moved overseas to Chile where I could not grow, and so then now I am here in Colombia, so I can grow again. But it took me some time to get restarted. And you have been helping me since the start. In fact you even helped me fake base soil at one point, so I guess I'm a little confused as to why small deviations from the original super cool subsoil recipe would be considered a problem.

I really had zero sophistication back in 2015 through 2016, so the whole thing about coming back to super cool subsoil is relieve, well, actually it sort of feels like a new experiment to me. So I appreciate your patience with me while I reacquaint myself with super soil. Everything is an adventure here!

I have noticed that after the second set of real leaves appears, you need to give the plant just a little bit of supplemental nitrogen, because it starts in plain soil, and it takes a while before the root system develops enough to access the nitrogen in the super soil. So it needs a little more supplemental nitrogen upfront for about two weeks (and then most of the plants seem to have enough).

If you were to ask me, my big concern is that I have autos asking for K!! ( !!)
If I can say it this way (and show my ignorance), I would not think that autos would have possibly consumed all of the K in that bucket!! So now I am asking myself if the rest of the plants are also going to show deficiencies (because I have one Cookies and Cream 1:1 that is also starting to ask for K, and she is not even in flower yet!

What is weirder is that her sister is not asking for K!

El Grinuito is scratching his head, wondering what to do. My new big overall plan was just a pop beans, and take clones of any phenos that I like. And original super cool subsoil is my cheapest LOS option. But the plan was that everything was supposed to be mostly self-contained! I'm just basing this on the fact that I used to grow 5 foot tall bushes in 5 or 7 gallon buckets that were only HALF filled with super soil!
So I figured if I have 3.75 or whatever gallons of super soil in these buckets then I should have plenty of food to grow and bloom a full-size 5 foot tall bush Photo without having to resort to supplementation.
Or so the theory goes. But it is just kind of freaking me out to have stubby little autos less than 1 m tall asking for K!!

As stated above, life is an experiment. I don't think you can avoid it. So I am willing to supplement, and I have plenty of stuff to supplement, I'm just surprised!

So based on what @BudsBuddy said, my plan was to let everything get about crotch height, and then flip, with the idea of just barely exhausting all of the nutrients in the soil, so that the plant basically uses up everything in the bucket, so that we do not end up with lockouts long-term with reconditioning of the soil due to unused nutes.
I guess it does not freak me out too much to see the autos asking for K, since they are fully in bloom, and I have not given them any supplementation at all up to this point. But I was not expecting that from an auto!

Over on another forum where subcool lives, they say that you can remix the soil much much hotter if you cook it at least three months. So I guess what I'm trying to do on this first run is to use the standard subcool super soil original formula as a baseline, and see how big of a plant it will push on its own. And then I will have to supplement. And then based on that, we will see if I remix the soil at the same strength, or slightly stronger, or what I do.

anyway if you're helping me make up a whole base soil, I guess I do not understand why you're so seemingly concerned when I'm just trying to roll with a punches, braugh. I appreciate that you might want to help me stay on track, so that I get the full benefit out of the Moller chart effect, or whatever. I just happened to know that when I cook, yes I use the recipe book, but it's far more important to learn what you're doing in cooking, that it is to follow the recipe exactly. Because yes you can paint by numbers, but ultimately when you learn to "paint", that is a different thing altogether, and I'm hopeful to develop this kind of knowledge with our favorite plant.

Is there anything I'm doing that categorically that you're trying to help me with? I guess I don't understand why you're trying to save me from learning curves, when I'm trying to Learn the curves. Do you know what I'm saying? Appreciate you,, and thank you for all of your help.

 

[Azimuth]

Learning curves is what this game is about. Everything in life is really, so I'm not trying to save you from anything.

I've never grown with Subcool's soil but I thought with his soil the idea was to use it as the bottom third of the pot or something with more neutral soil above it. But you've used it before so hands-on beats reading knowledge.

You expressed issues with your seedlings (crinkly leaves) and stated you thought it was a reaction to bugs and you hit them with a treatment. I simply gave you my observation that it looked like your soil was pretty wet and in my experience wet soil was far more commonly a source for that problem and therefore something you might consider as an alternate source of the problem which would suggest a different solution. I'm not saying you were wrong and my thought was what the actual issue was, just giving you my observation from my experience.

You said the stuff you put on top of the soil just makes it look wet. Ok, fair enough. But how it impacts a standard Subcool soil, I have no idea.

You've often stated you have issues sourcing various materials where you are and have substituted materials (eg rice hulls for perlite) and you have used non-standard things like the banana tea JLF. All of which deviate from Subcool's recipe. Recipes are to be followed exactly if one is trying to duplicate the OP's results. Ingredients have typically been chosen for very specific reasons and very specific properties to work together so when you start changing things, whatever you substituted, or didn't include, or gave a little more of, or added to the mix, changes how everything else works together.

Doesn't mean the change was wrong, just that you've introduced a variable that will likely change the outcome.

For example, your building potassium issue could be a deficiency that could be helped with banana tea JLF, but it also could be that something else is too little/too much and is locking out the K. So when you throw out to the group that you have a particular issues we respond with observations and suggestions based on our own experiences, but none of us are growing in your soil in your environment so we offer suggestions but it's your grow to manage.

It seems like you sometimes take my suggestions as criticisms of what you're doing and I assure you that is not how it's intended. You say you're growing with Subcool's soil but then tell us all the various tweaks you've made and my point is  any change you make can affect something else giving you unique challenges to overcome.

And that could be environmental. Maybe his soil works great in general, but in the mountains in cooler, more humid conditions some tweak is needed. Or maybe Columbian landraces need a generally milder soil. Or maybe...

My point is, you're starting from a good proven base, and adding your tweaks which for me is half the fun of growing. But when I do them I understand I've deviated from everyone else and need to take into account what the changes I made might have on other things.

So, again, I'm not criticizing you or your approach, I'm just offering my observations and possible solutions that might help for you to consider for challenges you yourself have expressed.

I'm happy to just observe from a distance and not comment if that gives you less stress. But you openly asked the community for advice and not a lot of others are chiming in so I didn't want to leave you hanging.

But it's your grow. Take or leave our advice and comments how you will.

 

[CBDMed]

Learning curves is what this game is about. Everything in life is really, so I'm not trying to save you from anything.

OK gro! I appreciate that a lot. You have been trying to help me for several years now, and you have helped me a lot! So I appreciate it a lot! I just think maybe there's some lack of communication going on, so I'm going to try harder to communicate? (Welcome to the autistic world. You never really sure what's going on interpersonally, so you just have to focus on facts a lot And try to analyze patterns, because that's all you've got available to you. So you try to stay on good terms with other people as best you can, because that's your only good alternative.)

I've never grown with Subcool's soil but I thought with his soil the idea was to use it as the bottom third of the pot or something with more neutral soil above it. But you've used it before so hands-on beats reading knowledge.

Yes, well, I'm also following former advice from master growers I have learned from. For example, yes I did use subs super soil almost a decade ago, and yes I only filled the bottom half of the pot. And then I tried to mix in a lot of worm castings in the soil in the upper half of the pot, but that is about it.
Emilya told me that I should fill the bucket with super soil, and I guess I was mistaken but I "thought" that buds buddy was filling his bucket with super soil (but he is not! He was top feeding synthetic nutrients over the top of soil, which is a choice he can make).
So when Emilya tells me to fill the buckets with super soil, I assume it is OK, because she knows way more about growing than I ever will. (I'm sorry if that is wrong!)

You expressed issues with your seedlings (crinkly leaves) and stated you thought it was a reaction to bugs and you hit them with a treatment.

Yes, @bluter mentioned Russett mites, and the need to take a "scorched earth policy" toward the possibility, because all of the Seeds came up with problems except for Peyote wi-Fi CBD Photo, deep mandarin Photo, Delicious Cheese auto, and Afghan mass XXL auto.
AMXXL Auto got taken out because I used the snippers indiscriminately without cleaning them first on a infected plant that I did not know was infected, and then I used it on Delicious cheese, so she got taken out. My bad
DC auto went Hermie on me, so she had to go. (Her bad, haha.)
And with the liquid Bioxinis trichoderma treatment and some good Dr. Bronner's soap with some garlic and pepper spray, I was able to help PWF CBD and Deep Mandarin recover from the bugs and now they look strong!
If I understood him correctly (which with autism is always a question), Bluter recommended that I watch everything, and just kind of see how it goes--and he is a breeder, so I just assume he knows a zillion times more than me--so anything that was infected went out, and everything else got treated with Bioxinis liquid, and a thin 1/16 of an inch (maybe even 1/32 of an inch) layer of Avisana trichoderma.
I will see if I can send you a picture but I'm sure that the Trichoderma has a huge effect on the equation! I did not know that before I started to grow, and I did not ask anything about Trichoderma before I started to grow! I had no clue, I got hit with bugs, and this is what the people who know way better than me recommended, so I'm really not sure what else I should do!
I have clear plastic buckets also, which is yet another deviation from the mythical hypothetical "North American ideal", but if you look through the side of the plastic you can kind of see what the trichoderma does in the bucket. I'm sure that causes a 100% different situation for the girls and their little roots as well!

Edit: and if you look through the side of the bucket, it looks like the beneficial mushrooms have already worked their way all through the soil, which will mobilize nutrients differently.

I simply gave you my observation that it looked like your soil was pretty wet and in my experience wet soil was far more commonly a source for that problem and therefore something you might consider as an alternate source of the problem which would suggest a different solution. I'm not saying you were wrong and my thought was what the actual issue was, just giving you my observation from my experience.

OK, sorry gro! Here is where autistic life gets exhausting!!!!!
In my own mind I thought I thanked you for

Ahhhh...... good to know, thanks!!

The supersoil is a little more than an inch down.
Edit: On top of that is about 1" of calcium-rich EWC.
On top of that is a thin layer of that Avisana trichoderma.
So... the dark color is that when I had the problems with the russet mites, I used the Bioxinis trichoderma, which is a green liquid. It leaves the soil looking much darker (and wetter) than it is. (After you use it, the soil can be dry, but it will still look wet.)
However, yes, I was trying to keep the feeder-root soil damp. I was giving it a light top-watering (a light drizzle rain) each day, to keep it moist. But it sounds like that is too much, and it is making the leaves curl? So I should back off the top-watering to twice a week??


I'm sorry if I was not clear! In my own mind at least I thought I was thanking you for your analysis, and trying to communicate to you that I would try your "less moisture" suggestion by not top watering the feeder roots every day, but only top watering them twice a week.
But you are autistic, interpersonal communication I think it's maybe 10 or 12 times harder than for normal people. And normally I can do pretty good, but still, I have one or two people in my life that I have to take extra special care to communicate extra specially clear with, or else they will not understand what it is that I'm trying to say. So maybe I can just try to communicate extra specially clearly with you? Would that help?

Thank you very much for your suggestion that I look at excess moisture as a possible cause of the problem!
I was giving the feeder roots a light top watering each day but it sounds like that is perhaps too much moisture for the feeder roots, and perhaps that is what is making the leaves curl?? As a scientific hypothesis I am going on the assumption that your analysis is probably correct, since you are a much more experienced grower than me, and since you have been helping me consistently For several years now, and your advice is typically good (or at least a very good place to start!).
I have not top watered since you mentioned that. Right now I'm waiting another day to give them another light watering over the spreader roots, so hopefully that will cure the problem.
I have been trying to follow your suggestion since you gave it. (I do not know if that little tidbit of information is helpful.)
(So, maybe I just need to signal my turns better? Mr. Autism is still not sure really.)

You said the stuff you put on top of the soil just makes it look wet. Ok, fair enough. But how it impacts a standard Subcool soil, I have no idea.

Yeah, probably even subcool has no idea what happens when you hit original subcool super soil with two different kinds of Trichoderma in the humid Andean highland tropics with russet mites with 3.75 gallons of super soil in a 5 gallon SIP bucket, with a 1 inch layer of earthworm castings, as both Azimuth and Shed recommended?
what do you want me to do, gro? I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I keep just trying to follow expert and master grower advice, and I keep trying to adapt adopt and improve, and I keep trying to roll with the punches, but it's like it bugs you or something that I have no choice but to deviate From whatever subcool does in the USA, or something like that. And I'm just not sure what else I can do. Please forgive me but what it sounds like is I have to do a lot better job of thanking you whenever I take your advice, so that I do not leave things ambiguous. Because it seems like if I am leaving things ambiguous, then you do not feel thanked for your advice, and then maybe it feels like, " Why is this guy always asking me for advice, when he does not take it??? "
I honestly do not know. Autism has a joke, which is that "everyone in the room got the Wi-Fi password but you". So it's like everyone else knows how to get along, but you do not. So you just have to follow a checklist and try to do the best you can. But right now I'm a little baffled as to why you always seem to be upset with me for trying to roll with the punches as I can. It feels like I'm always having to justify myself, and explain myself Before you. And I know you're trying to help, so I know how to do is to talk about it, and see if there's something that I am doing (or not doing) that mess the situation up, so that I can communicate better.

(Sorry about Apple voice dictation, I'm just kind of thrashed from work so I'm letting it do its thing. It does stupid stuff like change spelling after you stop dictating, so please forgive any spelling errors. My eyes hurt me, and I'm using my eyes too much and too much screen time, so it seemed like Apple voice dictation would be the thing.)

You've often stated you have issues sourcing various materials where you are and have substituted materials (eg rice hulls for perlite) and you have used non-standard things like the banana tea JLF. All of which deviate from Subcool's recipe. Recipes are to be followed exactly if one is trying to duplicate the OP's results. Ingredients have typically been chosen for very specific reasons and very specific properties to work together so when you start changing things, whatever you substituted, or didn't include, or gave a little more of, or added to the mix, changes how everything else works together.

Well, I agree with that. But I have also stated that one of my long-term goals is to switch to inground growing (and it looks like this contractor appearing maybe when that starts). And my understanding is that when you grow in ground, you pretty much have no option but to recondition the soil. so that would seem to apply that you need to know what the deficiencies look like, and how to treat them, so that you could add the right amount, and not too much. So in the back of my mind that is what I am really going for, is to know what goes good with this or that, etc. But supply chain issues are also huge here. When you see something you like, you better buy it, because you're not sure it will be there the next time you come back!
I think I also told you that the original goal was to learn how to grow with things I can source from my own farm, or at least locally in country, because in the era of Covid the supply chain can go down (and they're talking about an even bigger virus or biological warfare agent or whatever coming up soon, which can crash the supply chain even more). So self sustainability to the maximum extent possible is definitely a goal, and then I only have to store sacks of chemical nutrients like dolomite lime, rock phosphorus, and stuff like that that does not go bad, and then my medicine cannot be interrupted.
I sincerely doubt subcool considers any of those things.
For me, the 5 gallon buckets are pretty much what I have to do for right now, until someday I can get to growing in ground, like I want. And I am very happy! The SIP buckets have been a massive step forward for me for indoor growing. I was having all kinds of trouble with watering issues, and the SIP buckets just took that out of the equation, and the plants look so much healthier!
But you yourself said that the rice holes do not really interact, they are just cheap aeration that the locals use here. So if I need to open up my soil on my farm (which is a given because there is a lot of clay), I'm going to want organic matter. And the locals use rice hulls here for aeration because it both stores water in summer and also aerates. And when it is gone it leaves silica. And there are other sources for silica but I'm failing to grasp the problem.
I'm one of those guys with 1 billion irons in the fire, and if I use try and true local customs and techniques, then I can have good locals help me with the farming. But these boys do not want to hear about indoor LEDs, or 5 gallon SIP buckets, or Mulder charts, or anything like that. They want to stick a seed or a clone in the ground and grow it that way with animal manure and cheap aeration, and whatever's inexpensive, free, or easily locally available. (They talk biochar and worm casting but if you start talking Mulder charts, they don't want to talk with you anymore.)
So what I have is a need to adapt into the local Andean indigenous Highland culture in such a way that I can have a quality worker take growing off my plate, because I absolutely love growing! It is a big stress relief for me! But I'm out of time. So if I have to offload stuff, I have to offload stuff in a manner that the people here can help me with.
And in the meantime I need to keep growing myself in the 5 gallon SIP buckets, but for me it's much more important to learn what's going on with the plants, then it is to stick to whatever subcool or whoever would do in the USA with North American weather patterns, and easy access to whatever he needs off of the river or whatever. I hope I'm making sense because I find myself having to repeat this again and again and again.

Doesn't mean the change was wrong, just that you've introduced a variable that will likely change the outcome.

Well, yeah. Experts and master growers recommend stuff to me, based upon the signs and symptoms that present themselves here in the humid Highlands, with tropical pests and diseases, and I don't see any choice but add the components that they recommend.
You can point to the rice hulls as something I came up with myself, but the stuff is pretty much inert (you said it yourself). So I really don't see what the problem is. And anyway, Emilya later recommended that I try volcanic rock pumice instead of perlite, and I am using the rice hulls to replace perlite. So now I will replace the perlite with volcanic rock pumice stones. I'm sure you will not like that either, because it is yet one more deviation from what subcool said period but I guess I have to admit I just don't see the problem.
I could totally get it if I added an extra 5 cups of bloodmeal to the mix or something like that, because that's going to cause a huge shift in the NPK. But I guess I just really don't understand why it is such a big deal that I have to use Trichoderma, or that I substituted something for perlite.

It was a HUGE help that you let me know that it looked like the plant was asking for K!

I also appreciated your suggestion that I try the banana EWC tea!
My choices were banana EWC, or Bionova PK 13–14. You suggested the tea and the dosage rate that you normally use, so I thought to try it. Thank you!

For example, your building potassium issue could be a deficiency that could be helped with banana tea JLF, but it also could be that something else is too little/too much and is locking out the K.

Yes, that is true! But what am I going to do? If I added Trichoderma and now we have beneficial mushrooms all through the mix so I do not get mold or plagues or russet mites or whatever kind of problem is floating around here waiting to pounce on my poor little girls, what am I going to do? The plant shows a deficiency! I have to correct the deficiency, don't I?
With the exception of the rice hulls (and there are not even any in this batch!) I have not made any changes to the formula except that which has been thrust on me out of necessity. So what do you want me to do? please

Azi, are you really suggesting that my plants are showing deficiencies with K because of rice hulls, when there are not even any in this batch??
I feel like I end up saying stuff over and over and over again, and it's like I don't know how to make myself heard, so please let me try again. THIS IS ORIGINAL SUBCOOL SUPERSOIL, PLUS DYNOMYCO, PLUS TRICHODERMA! THERE ARE NO OTHER CHANGES TO THIS SOIL! THERE ARE NO RICE HULLS IN THIS BATCH OF SOIL!
So this particular batch is the original recipe, original formula, no changes whatsoever except to add DynoMyco and Trichoderma, and the 1" layer of EWC that you and Shed recommended! But forgive me, it really feels like you're still going to dog me over this thing, and I don't know why you are dogging me, and I truly do not understand it!
so I am thankful for your kindness in trying to help me, I just don't know what I can do to help you understand that this first batch is 100% original original original original recipe, with no changes whatsoever, so that I could have exactly something standard to start with. But it's like you're just on me. And as much as I appreciate the help, it's really exasperating for you to be on me over stuff that I have no control over.

(Did I say something to you? Did I do something to you? It's like I'm asking myself, "what have I done to offend Azimuth, that he is just on me?)

So when you throw out to the group that you have a particular issues we respond with observations and suggestions based on our own experiences, but none of us are growing in your soil in your environment so we offer suggestions but it's your grow to manage.

THANK YOU!!!!

It seems like you sometimes take my suggestions as criticisms of what you're doing and I assure you that is not how it's intended.

Well, thank you very much Azimuth! I hear you saying that I am taking your suggestions as criticisms and that you assure me that that is not how you intend it. But then you were on me for all kind of stuff that I either have no control over, or I am doing it on the recommendation of a breeder, a master grower, or someone who knows way more than me!! The only change I have any control over is that I was using rice hulls in some batches (but not in this batch). Everything that is going on in this batch is a reaction to the russet mites (or whatever problem I had going on in the room less than two months ago).

So I hear your protestations that you were just giving helpful suggestions, and that I should not take them as criticisms but it's like what choice do I have??? Do you want me to tell subcool to move to the Highland Andes of South America and to modify his formula to suit my needs? And then rewrite the formula just for me? or what am I supposed to do here? Because it's like all the time you're hitting me because I'm not doing things the same way I might be able to do them if I was still living in North America. Please can you try to see it from my point of view? Because from my point of view it feels like you want me to conform to North American standards and the original recipe, when the North American standards and the original recipe do not address my needs in this specific situation! So it feels like you're frustrated with me because I have no choice but to adapt, and it's really uncomfortable!

You say you're growing with Subcool's soil but then tell us all the various tweaks you've made and my point is  any change you make can affect something else giving you unique challenges to overcome.

Again, there are no rice hulls in this mix. Subcool does not even tell you to add Myco, or Tricho. But I am told that I have to use these things here to protect against tropical pests! So it really feels like I'm caught in one of these "damned if I do and damned if I don't" situations. And it's really uncomfortable!

And that could be environmental. Maybe his soil works great in general, but in the mountains in cooler, more humid conditions some tweak is needed. Or maybe Columbian landraces need a generally milder soil. Or maybe...

That is what I'm saying!
I tried to mix the batch really well so that everything would be evenly mixed. (I'm thinking about a cement mixture but I did not go there yet, because of budget.) So it kind of blows me away two seeds of Cream and Cheese CBD 1:1 planted in the same batch of soil, and one of them is asking for K before it even has gone into flower!
So probably I need to go talk to some people where I can roll it up. I hesitate to do that because this forum in general is way nicer than any other forum I have met out there. And subcool does not recondition soil (although there are a couple dozen people on his forum who do recondition soil). But this is not even a reconditioning issue, because this is a first batch with all new components! So why I should hypothetically get one bucket with plenty of K, and another bucket that does not have enough K, I do not quite understand.
Maybe it might be kind of like why some people need insulin, or why some people need to add extra cannabinoids (like autistic people), whereas others do not need that stuff. I don't know. I'm just trying to get my medicine.

My point is, you're starting from a good proven base, and adding your tweaks which for me is half the fun of growing. But when I do them I understand I've deviated from everyone else and need to take into account what the changes I made might have on other things.

Again, this batch is 100% original super soil original recipe original components new components. I plan to recondition this soil in the future, but this is not reconditioned soil! And there are no rice hulls in this soil batch! Everything is 100% standard standard standard except for the myco and tricho!!! And I did that precisely so that I would have a reference standard to start with. (Please can you hear that?)

So, again, I'm not criticizing you or your approach, I'm just offering my observations and possible solutions that might help for you to consider for challenges you yourself have expressed.

Azimuth, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your help and advice! It really helps!



Please can you understand that I am starting this experiment with reference standard unaltered original original original recipe subcool super soil with all 100% standard components? And that I did this precisely so that I could have a reference standard to start with? And then I'm freaking out a little bit because my reference standard does not have enough K for one photo that is still in veg??

And can you please understand that while yes, I do want a successful crop indoors under LED lights in 5 gallon SIP buckets, that my long-term strategy is different than this? And that my long-term strategy calls for me learning to use locally available components that can be sourced on my farm, or sourced on the locally economy, to protect from supply chain shortages in the future? (Because the news people are talking about bigger plagues and bigger supply chain shortages in the future, and I have no reason to disbelieve them, they believe such plagues are coming sometime in the future)?

Probably what I need to do is I need to go roll it up and ask them over there, I just hesitate to do that because the other forums are much sharper than here, and it's hard for autistic people to navigate. But I guess I just need to put on my big boy overalls and my big boy boots, And my flack jacket and helmet, And get my pugil stick out, and go over and do battle with a super cool subsoil boys on forums where they roll things up. Because they recondition super cool subsoil over there, and they will know what to yell at me about, and what not to yell at me about, from experience.

I'm happy to just observe from a distance and not comment if that gives you less stress. But you openly asked the community for advice and not a lot of others are chiming in so I didn't want to leave you hanging.

Well, again, I very much appreciate your positive and helpful good intent! Green hearts times 10, thank you flags times 10, thumbs up times 10! But I keep trying to explain that I am in an environment where I have to take the North American standard and add a whole bunch of beneficial microbes and beneficial mushrooms to the soil, and yes it is going to alter what is immediately available, and that there are tweaks and things. And if that is not OK here, then I'm going to have to shift forums, to go where I can roll it up or something. But I do not want to do that. I like this forum, and I like the people (including you)) Who are helping me. I just need you to understand please that I can't control what I cannot control! And it is like you keep dogging me because I can't control my environment the way you want me to.

In my original fabric pots in the USA I just filled the bottom half of the pot with hot soil, and then filled the top half of the pot with hot soil and a ton of earthworm castings, and that is all I knew! I had no clue about anything else, and I'm sure I can do better now, but it worked! It grew my medicine. So I was happy.
Now for some reason or combination of tropical and Colombian reasons I have to deal with tropical pests and diseases and things, so I have to use beneficial fungi, and it's throwing things off for one Photo still in veg, and I have questions about the autos. So I guess I have to go off to roll it up land, to talk with the people who recondition super soil. I was hoping I could do that here, but if I cannot do it, then I just need to go. hopefully they will have some good answers and then I can come back here. But right now I am on another sprint, I'm taking like an hour or something out to write to you yet again, to ask you again please to be patient and understanding with me if I have no choice but to modify the USA standard recipe, because I have no choice but the beneficial fungus to the soil, which subcool does not mention!

But it's your grow. Take or leave our advice and comments how you will.

 

[KingJohnC]

clement

 

[CBDMed]

clement

Thanks, King John!
Sorry, I am autistic, meaning sometimes I can be a little clueless. I do not always pick up on implied or inferred meanings right away. (I am hoping that the Peyote Wi-Fi CBD can help me with my Wi-Fi reception, haha but seriously, it is always a hope .)

What means Clement? Is that an expert I should look up on a forum where they roll things up?
Or did you mean the Clement in the renewed covenant?
Philippians 4:3
And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
?

Thanks.

 

[InTheShed]

I have a somewhat random question, though not as random as JohnC's random posts all over the website today:

Is the cost of everything you need to build and amend the SubCool soil (along with the cost of the EWC and other amendments that you have found a need for) higher than the cost to have GeoFlora shipped in? That would so simplify your growing and allow you to use regular local potting soil in the future or reuse the SubCool stuff without having to cook/re-amend/decide how much to use in the pot.

 

[CBDMed]

I have a somewhat random question, though not as random as JohnC's random posts all over the website today:

Hahaha, did he put ayahuasca and psilocybe cubensis into the cob?

Is the cost of everything you need to build and amend the SubCool soil (along with the cost of the EWC and other amendments that you have found a need for) higher than the cost to have GeoFlora shipped in?

Great question.
GeoFlora is like $50 USD for a 4 pound bag. So for calculations, to keep it simple, if we were to grow one auto just rounding to 4 gallons of soil, the Geo Flora calculator says that it would take 1 pound of veg and 1 pound of bloom, which seems about right. So 2 pounds is about half of a 4 pound bag, so half of $50 is $25 USD. Only, since they do not ship overseas, I have to send it through my re-shipping service, which takes two months to get here, and by the time it gets here it is like another $20 USD, for total of about $45 USD to feed one auto some super premium top dressings, including shipping and everything.

In contrast, and I would have to run the numbers again, but when I calculated things out, it seemed like Roots Organics and Aurora provide Terp Tea for about $7 to feedall told (probably because they ship via container, which is lots, lots, lots cheaper then shipping by air).

And also by way of contrast, I would have to run the numbers again to be sure, but I calculated about $2.60 USD for the hard bagged nutrients (Cal Dolomita, Rock Phosphate, Bloodmeal, Rock dust, etc.) needed for 4 gallons of supersoil, plus about $3.30 USD for EWC if you go heavy on the EWC (which I always do), so that's about $5.90 USD for Supersoil ($4.75 if you use the minimum EWC). But just to say it, just for me personally, I'm much happier with super soil, because there are hardly any bugs, in comparison. And bugs and their diseases are kicking me hard. (I just lost all but two plants, two months ago). From the sanitation point of view, super soil wins it in this particular tropical application with no seals on on the doors or windows, hands-down.

I am sure that I will have to end up spreading top dressing before we are all done, but I can get the Aurora Terp Tea for maybe about 30% of what it costs me to fly GeoFlora in (and then we just have to deal with the bugs at that point).
Once the plants need supplementation I will start spreading top dressing, and just deal with the critters. Bit if I can forestall that, it would be vastly preferable!

That would so simplify your growing and allow you to use regular local potting soil in the future or reuse the SubCool stuff without having to cook/re-amend/decide how much to use in the pot.

Thanks, Shed! That seems very thoughtful. Only, even if the cost was equal, I think I really am much happier with super soil, because there are so many less bugs.
The bugs inside the house really get on my nerves! This has been a great blessing because there's a few little tiny bugs but not many. I see maybe about 1/40 of the air traffic from the GeoFlora grow.
The doors and windows are not sealed here! So if anything smells good to them (like rotting top dressing), they just come right on in!

 

[InTheShed]

So, no.

 

[CBDMed]

I love the Geoflora quality, but I do not love the cost, or the bugs!
If I were hypothetically in the USA, and had a normally-sealed inside grow space, and could ship UPS, that might be very different. I just killed a 3 inch grasshopper this morning that I imagine could've eaten a couple of plants before I came back back to check!

The Doctor Seedsman 30:1 looks pretty good. It had one long sucker shoot, so I thought I should test my cloning skills.

I drilled a hole about 1 inch up in a cup, and put perlite to just a wee bit higher than the top of the hole. The line on the left is the bottom of the hole and then the bracket on the right shows the height of the hole.

Then I put in the sucker cutting to touch the top of the perlite, and then backfilled.

So then I just give it enough BTi water to keep the fill line covered, and keep her roots covered?

Or how should I do it better on the next one? Thank you

 

[InTheShed]

Then I put in the sucker cutting to touch the top of the perlite, and then backfilled.

You meant the top of the water, yes?

 

[CBDMed]

You meant the top of the water, yes?

Nope! Top of the perlite (maybe 1/8-3/16" over the top of the waterline.
Is that wrong? Do I want the top of the waterline, instead?

 

[InTheShed]

Yes. The bottom of the stem needs to be at the waterline.

 

[CBDMed]

Yes. The bottom of the stem needs to be at the waterline.

 

[KingJohnC]

rest in peace david bowman

 

[CBDMed]

rest in peace david bowman

Amein.

 

[CBDMed]

Ok, our budget fell in. It is bad. We need to slash costs. Now even my grow room lights are coming under scrutiny.
Two questions:

1. NIGHT INTERRUPTION LIGHTING ("Gas Lantern Technique")
I cannot really move this grow to the roof, because they are photos (and they will not flower because of the night security lights). Would Night Interruption Lighting ("Gas Lantern Technique") work for this existing grow?
And would I just turn the lights down to 12/12, but also have them come on for 15 minutes in the middle of the night?
if I can do that, then I can finish out this grow inside, because in about a month I will turn the lights to flower anyway (as soon as the other photos catch up with the big girls in the corner [whose reservoirs are currently dry to slow them down, thanks to a suggestion by Azi]).

2. SWICK on ROOFTOP
Also, about the rooftop, I tried to grow some auto indicas on the roof before but they molded.
I wrote the breeder and he suggested that maybe it molded because it needed Trichoderma, and maybe also because that strain was an Indica.
He suggested that I try again with Trichoderma, and with a sativa strain (I have some).
If I want to try a SWICK sativa auto on the roof, can I just take one of my old cloth grow-bags and punch a bunch of holes in the sides with an ice-pick (for aeration), and then fill them with 50% SCSS (Subcool Supersoil) and 50% Perlite, and put them in a big bucket of water with about a gallon of water?
Or how do I do it?

I am allowed 20 plants. I think I have 17 right now. I could very safely grow a couple of test sativa CBD autos on the roof, to see if I can make it work here.

Alternately, I could try these AC Infinity SWICK trays. I was going to use them for the roof but then forgot about them after the indica autos molded. They are pretty fancy (and I just took them out of the box).
I think you drop wicks down into the tray and then add or remove wicks depending on if you want the bag wetter or drier.
I have 4. I could start with those I guess.

If the test run works, then maybe I just have to get CBD sativa auto seeds to grow on the roof? That would be cheaper than lights.
And then when I close out this LED grow, I can just shift to SWICK or 5G-in-bucket the rooftop?
It would be great if the 5G-in-bucket style works, because there would be less to buy.
Thank you.

 

[InTheShed]

Can't speak to the SIP on the roof, but in terms of this:

Would Night Interruption Lighting ("Gas Lantern Technique") work for this existing grow?

...the answer is yes. But from everything I've read on it, it's not 15 minutes of light in the middle. This is the common description:
"The routine starts in the vegetative period, with five and a half hours of darkness followed by one hour of light. After that, the plants are kept in the dark again for five and a half hours."

 

[CBDMed]

Can't speak to the SIP on the roof, but in terms of this:

...the answer is yes. But from everything I've read on it, it's not 15 minutes of light in the middle. This is the common description:
"The routine starts in the vegetative period, with five and a half hours of darkness followed by one hour of light. After that, the plants are kept in the dark again for five and a half hours."

So, 12 on, 5-1/2 off, 1 on, 5-1/2 off.
Total of 13 on, 11 off.