The Gee Spot - You Finally Found It

[Gee64]

Hey Gee, water stick question. I put mine in a glass of water and it reads 7 thinking it should read 10. Does yours do that?

I have never tried. You should soap and steel wool or plastic scrubby it to get the grease off it. Now I have to try lol. BRB.

 

[Azimuth]

10 Brix today so a bit of a step back. I watered well yesterday with FAA so the mix is still a bit overwet. A few more days and it should have dried back down to get things moving again.

 

[Gee64]

Hey Gee, water stick question. I put mine in a glass of water and it reads 7 thinking it should read 10. Does yours do that?

Mine all read exactly 7

 

[Gee64]

10 Brix today so a bit of a step back. I watered well yesterday with FAA so the mix is still a bit overwet. A few more days and it should have dried back down to get things moving again.

Are you having inclement weather right now? storms or low pressure?

 

[Gee64]

Garden pic. Happy Sunday!

Nice G! The ladies look really healthy. Did you build all that soil or is it mostly garden dirt? Thats a lot of soil I can't wait to see some trees! Awesome!

 

[Azimuth]

Are you having inclement weather right now? storms or low pressure?

Nope. Beautiful weather and more expected the next few days.

That means it's me, doesn't it?

 

[Gee64]

Day 15 of Flower.

Time to water. Stretch is almost done. Mulch and as close to a 5 as I can hold it now.

Day 2 of Flower.

Still vegging. 1 or 2 more days. Life is too busy to finish Mutey off today.

I need to uppot these too. Tomorrow or more likely Wednesday.

Half trimmed. I also have Ikky's lowers about 75% trimmed and sitting outside in the rain. I need more hours in a day.

I can't wait to get these clones flowered and out of the tent. I need to do some 10gal Gals and stop experimenting. I really want to grow some Wild Lady and LC-18.

July--December is when indoors grow best in my region.

 

[Gee64]

Nope. Beautiful weather and more expected the next few days.

That means it's me, doesn't it?

Ok, how was the calcium line?

 

[Azimuth]

Ok, how was the calcium line?

Fuzzy, just not as fuzzy as a few days ago.

 

[Gidorah]

Mine all read exactly 7

Well that's good to know. I figured a baseline test for accuracy would show a 10 in water bit sounds like it doesn't

 

[Gidorah]

Nice G! The ladies look really healthy. Did you build all that soil or is it mostly garden dirt? Thats a lot of soil I can't wait to see some trees! Awesome!

It's about 80% Fox Farms soil with some used soil mixed in

 

[Gee64]

I'm not sure how a moisture meter works but without batteries it must read the electricity in the soil to move the needle.

Water conducts electricity so the wetter the soil, the better the conductivity, but I'm guessing that without soil to add electricity, 100% water has a charge that reads 7.

The circuitry in the probe must figure this value in and somehow compensate to value the charge the soil emits depending on the soil moisture connecting the soil charge to the probe.

But that's just a guess.

 

[Gee64]

Fuzzy, just not as fuzzy as a few days ago.

Ok so lets move down the list. Oxygen and calcium are good. You could add minerals or an ewc tea, or carbon, so I would suggest an ewc tea with some guano in it, or bone meal, and molasses.

But 1st, how wet is your soil and has it spent most of it's time since drying from the original drench under a 6 or over?

Also, was the most recent brix reading from a different plant or from very low on the plant.

Are all your readings coming from the same plant, and if so, how deep into flower is it?

 

[Gee64]

Also, it could be stress from not being bottom watered, but I would guess your too wet or you need more microbes. EWC microbes. A tea.

 

[Gee64]

So if your going to brew a tea, add phosphorus and blackstrap molasses.

In 1 gallon of water add 2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses and a 4 tbsp guano or bone meal with a half cup ewc.

Bubble the minerals and molasses for 24 hours and then add the ewc and bubble another 18-24 hours, then cut it 50/50 with water and give a full watering.

You may see some tip burn so try it on 1 plant 1st if you like. It's a bit of a feed and when all those microbes hit the soil it will become a major feed when they all start eating and pooping.

The carbon in the molasses is a 1 time carbon health fix for the microbes and you cover P at the same time. If it works your soil isn't nescessarily low on P, it's possible it's low on dump trucks and flower is demanding more than you have.

Brix works best when it's started from day 1 or else you can never get ahead of the curve so you need to keep boosting it.

With proper watering, the seed that you haven't started yet may brix just fine.

Flower demands more sugar to power it.

Also, have you defoliated in the last week?

Defoliation crashes brix.

 

[Azimuth]

Ok so lets move down the list. Oxygen and calcium are good.

Not so sure on that one. I think it is an oxygen issue. I get a decent reading of about 4 2" down, but it quickly goes up from there. I'm going to let it drink what's there before I add more moisture, tea or no.

Also, was the most recent brix reading from a different plant or from very low on the plant.

Same plant, same area.

Are all your readings coming from the same plant, and if so, how deep into flower is it?

4 weeks from flip, starting what I consider 2nd week of flower.

Also, have you defoliated in the last week?

Defoliation crashes brix.

No, I try to leave as many leaves as possible. I have taken flower tips off down low, but left most of the associated leaves.

 

[Gee64]

Not so sure on that one. I think it is an oxygen issue. I get a decent reading of about 4 2" down, but it quickly goes up from there. I'm going to let it drink what's there before I add more moisture, tea or no.

Ok hold off on the tea. If you have some dry mineral mix like glacial rock dust or bat guano, a top dressing of that won't hurt, but if you choked off O2, thats your issue. Let it dry down and follow the brix.

At 4 weeks from flip, stretch should be over. Nitrogen is slowing bigtime in uptake, too much water becomes dangerous.

You need harmony in the pot now so shoot for a perfect 4-6 in the bottom 2/3 of the pot. If the top gets too dry use a sprayer to give it a bit.

In a perfect world you want a 5 from top to bottom but gravity won't let that happen.

If you did a bottom watering, how much, and what did the water stick say 8 hours later?

If you decide to add a mineral dust, it works best with EWC over it and lightly watered in with a sprayer.

Every time you use EWC you need to let the soil surface dry down so 2-4 days later you can till the top inch with your fingers or air will choke off. I run perlite thru my farm to offset this a bit.

Did you just do a bottom watering or a top one?

Sorry, life is crazy right now so I can't keep track.

Same plant, same area.

Good

4 weeks from flip, starting what I consider 2nd week of flower.


No, I try to leave as many leaves as possible. I have taken flower tips off down low, but left most of the associated leaves.

If you dry her down and brix returns, you have your answer. Survey says most deaths occur by drowning. It can cause pretty much any and every deficiency, depending on your mix.

If you are using 12.5% as a water volume and the soil stays wet for too long you either need more aeration or less carbon to find balance, and less water with this mix.

Next top watering pay attention to how much ends up in the reservoir and let me know if you can. A good guess will do if you don't want to drain it from the hole to measure.

 

[Azimuth]

Ok hold off on the tea. If you have some dry mineral mix like glacial rock dust or bat guano, a top dressing of that won't hurt, but if you choked off O2, thats your issue. Let it dry down and follow the brix.

Yeah, and I put a nice layer of compost mulch on the surface before I watered it in so that may be adding to the issue.

If you did a bottom watering, how much, and what did the water stick say 8 hours later?

It was a top watering but I could hear water dripping into the reservoir.

Did you just do a bottom watering or a top one?

Just top this round.

Sorry, life is crazy right now so I can't keep track.

Understandable.

If you are using 12.5% as a water volume and the soil stays wet for too long you either need more aeration or less carbon to find balance, and less water with this mix.

Yes, 12.5%. I'm wanting to decrease my biochar since my old soil brings some of that with it, but someone objected so the vote didn't pass and the new batch I made this weekend is the same as the old batch. That one will go into my new net pot SIP when the next plant is ready.

Next top watering pay attention to how much ends up in the reservoir and let me know if you can. A good guess will do if you don't want to drain it from the hole to measure.

It was maybe a 1/4" but I didn't measure since I don't track that anymore. It should be zero tonight and then it can start using up the excess in the soil.

Based on my limited experience with the meter I'd say this is my issue so I may start giving it a half watering more frequently, or after it dries down I may bottom water next time to let the upper soil levels dry a bit.

Have you a preference of the two?

 

[Gee64]

Yeah, and I put a nice layer of compost mulch on the surface before I watered it in so that may be adding to the issue.

It is likely the entire issue. Compost should be used like EWC. Mulch needs to be chunky and carbon, like bark mulch. I would take it off.

Ot was a top watering but I could hear water dripping into the reservoir.

Thats ok, thats how sips were originally intended to work. They used to be called plant saucers when I was a kid.

Just top this round.


Understandable.


Yes, 12.5%. I'm wanting to decrease my biochar since my old soil brings some of that with it, but someone objected so the vote didn't pass

Who? More to the point, was it me? If so we likely got our wires crossed. I can't see any advantage to biochar unless it's used like it was in the amazon, to carbonize SHITTY soil. Good soil already has carbon.

5% or less, sure if it makes you happy, and thats very important, but it holds water, thats it's job.

and the new batch I made this weekend is the same as the old batch. That one will go into my new net pot SIP when the next plant is ready.

Or cut it into a huge batch to water it down.

It was maybe a 1/4" but I didn't measure since I don't track that anymore. It should be zero tonight and then it can start using up the excess in the soil.

8 hours max and the res needs to be dry, less is better. 15 minutes is best.

Based on my limited experience with the meter I'd say this is my issue so I may start giving it a half watering more frequently, or after it dries down I may bottom water next time to let the upper soil levels dry a bit.

Thats how I evolved to drippers. I'm lazy like that

Have you a preference of the two?

The 2 being top and bottom watering?

I never bottom water unless I'm pot drenching to fix calcium or dry spots.

Good soil carbon IS a reservoir, you don't need 2 of them. You saw how the roots grew into wood in my rootball dissection, SIPS can't compete with that.

Those roots are drilled right into the CEC, exactly where they need to be in organics.

Bark mulch will promote that too, and very well.

Don't use cedar or walnut or dyed bark. All 3 are toxic to vegetables.

I use a product called Seasoil. Google it and see if you can find or make something similar.

 

[Gee64]

Gotta run, needy people need their shit fixed. 1 or 2 more days and things should slow down. Good thing I retired