The Girl Who Drank The Moon

[RETRIX]

Amazing find on that power strip and great walk-through of the setup and features. Turning off the LEDs? Must have been a grower on the dev team .

I think the moon has been around longer than 1918, but then if the earth is 5000 years old maybe not. Oh, and could you find a smaller beaker?

LOL Shed. The 1918 is actually from the Bonnie plants nursery cup sitting behind it. Uh Oh....
And yes, after thinking about it, I was surprised to find a feature to turn off the LED's. The only other thing I can think of is the thing would be really bright in a home theater. The Kasa Smart is pretty cool. It took me just a few minutes to set the lighting schedule. All from the app. And the beaker is 5 ml. I'm looking for a 1 ml.

 

[RETRIX]

October 5, 2018

I have often had problems with calcium deficiency throughout my years growing cannabis as I’m sure many of you have also, and the solution is pretty simple if growing with synthetic nutrients.

Use Cal/Mag.

But what if you are growing organic? Well, now it gets complicated. And I found out just how complicated when I suggested using Cal/Mag during my last grow in soil. Turns out that the acids used to break down the calcium in regular Cal/Mag will kill the bacterial population in soil. Now you might be saying, “Just use organic Cal/Mag” And although you can, it won’t do a bit of good if you are already experiencing a deficiency. The reason is the type of calcium used in organic Cal/Mag isn’t readily available in soluble form at the moment you add it.

Thinking there has to be another way; I searched for soluble calcium and came across a few sites selling it. The prices were kind of shocking. 50 bucks a quart. Thinking this has to be a fluke, I went to quite a few different sites and the prices all remained from 40 to 50 bucks a quart. “Why does soluble calcium cost so damn much?” I thought. So I began searching and reading and probably a little too much at that. I learned the basics, at least, and I thought I would document it and share.

The merchants that sell soluble calcium command I premium price, and they charge that price because they know a secret. Calcium is a hard mineral and it takes a long time to break it down to a soluble level. If we add egg shells or crushed coral to soil right before planting, it will do almost no good because it takes from 2 to 3 months for the bacteria in organics to break it down. By then, the cannabis plant is well into flowering, and If you are growing an Auto, more than likely it is finished by this time. You can add oyster shell flour to vinegar to make soluble calcium, but that will also take about 4 to 6 weeks before it breaks down enough to use in any meaningful capacity.

Reading all of this, and trying to find a solution while my plant was busy burning up was frustrating to say the least. It seemed that there was no way for me to correct a calcium deficiency in organic soil in a quick manner.

And if that isn’t enough, there is another problem. In one article, that I was reading, it stated that cannabis plants don’t like a lot of calcium during the flowering period. And the reason is that elevated levels of calcium during flowering can interfere with phosphorus uptake creating a whole new set of problems. And to make matters worse, calcium is also an immobile nutrient in plants, so in other words, once a deficiency is realized, dumping calcium on the plant will do little to repair the damage already done.

So that is when I started looking at calcium as an investment instead of a cure.

About 4 months ago I made a solution for soluble calcium using crushed oyster shell flour, and organic apple cider vinegar. It has been sitting on the top of my fridge since then in preparation for this grow. (You can find the recipe in my last grow journal: Kharma Reborn. I also added Azomite rock dust and crushed flour to my super soil mix. That has been cooking outside since July.
I am hoping that this will end my deficiencies and problems with calcium once and for all.

Stay tuned…

​

 

[InTheShed]

Planning ahead with eggshells (or oyster bits) and vinegar is the best way to go organic. It's not like no one thinks they'll be growing anything in 4 weeks!

In case anyone is looking for the How-To thread on that, here it is:
Emmie's DIY CalMagPhos+ From Eggshells

 

[RETRIX]

Planning ahead with eggshells (or oyster bits) and vinegar is the best way to go organic. It's not like no one thinks they'll be growing anything in 4 weeks!

In case anyone is looking for the How-To thread on that, here it is:
Emmie's DIY CalMagPhos+ From Eggshells

Thank you Shed.

 

[Amy Gardner]

Cool RETRIX... calcium is super important! and definitely an investment. Once you’ve made the solution with the ACV it is readily available to the plant yes? It wont reverse existing deficiency damage but it will halt it, so i can be applied remedialyl with a little success at least.

Can you link to the article about cannabis not liking much calcium during flower? This is in conflict with what I have understood which is that calcium is totally important during flower for many things, including the development of terpene profile. But sure everything has to be in balance. I am currently making up a 6/5/3 ratio blend of rock powders that gets added as a soil amendment (6 parts CaC02; 5 parts Soft Rock Phospahte; 3 parts gypsum). Cooked for a month in a living soil mix this will start to become available 2-3 weeks after the cook finishes. This year it’s for my veggie garden, but last year I used it in my cannabis soil and didnt have any cal issues at all. But yeah - not a quick fix! But easy to do in advance of a grow - and a little bit goes a long way, like 1/4-1/2 cup per sq. ft. I found this info when I was researching how to introduce high brix methods to my organic soil. The 6/5/3 mix is for a basic mineralised soil. I was so amazed and impressed at the difference in the quality of what I grew that I went ahead and started using Doc’s kit!

Sorry to ramble on! Just had my Saturday mornign wake and bake and I’ve been obsessive about calcium as well - so you got me all fired up!

 

[RETRIX]

Cool RETRIX... calcium is super important! and definitely an investment. Once you’ve made the solution with the ACV it is readily available to the plant yes? It wont reverse existing deficiency damage but it will halt it, so i can be applied remedialyl with a little success at least.

Can you link to the article about cannabis not liking much calcium during flower? This is in conflict with what I have understood which is that calcium is totally important during flower for many things, including the development of terpene profile. But sure everything has to be in balance. I am currently making up a 6/5/3 ratio blend of rock powders that gets added as a soil amendment (6 parts CaC02; 5 parts Soft Rock Phospahte; 3 parts gypsum). Cooked for a month in a living soil mix this will start to become available 2-3 weeks after the cook finishes. This year it’s for my veggie garden, but last year I used it in my cannabis soil and didnt have any cal issues at all. But yeah - not a quick fix! But easy to do in advance of a grow - and a little bit goes a long way, like 1/4-1/2 cup per sq. ft. I found this info when I was researching how to introduce high brix methods to my organic soil. The 6/5/3 mix is for a basic mineralised soil. I was so amazed and impressed at the difference in the quality of what I grew that I went ahead and started using Doc’s kit!

Sorry to ramble on! Just had my Saturday mornign wake and bake and I’ve been obsessive about calcium as well - so you got me all fired up!

Hello Amy,

Unfortunately I read so many damn articles and pages and pages of stuff that I can't even remember what site I was on. I do remember it only being one article that made that argument though. I think what they were alluding to was excess calcium being added to try and compensate for the deficiency.

The way I understand it is that you have to allow the plant to grow up using calcium in its construction as a preparation of sorts for the flowering stage more than adding the calcium during flower which makes sense with calcium being an immobile nutrient.

My soluble calcium solution is readily available and can be diluted with water to use as a foliar spray and an emergency treatment. I wrote a piece about calcium and magnesium foliar sprays in my last journal where you apply magnesium to the leaves at 2 weeks and then once right before flower, in combination with calcium supplementation in the soil.

I'm hoping that I don't have to use the soluble calcium but it is there for me just in case. I hope this helps!

 

[Amy Gardner]

can't even remember what site I was on.

I do this all the time too! So I understand.

 

[RETRIX]

I managed to finish setting the tent up today, which included, washing the inside with a mild bleach solution, Installing the exhaust fan, and of course, The Moon

I also added another small upgrade. I purchased a Therm-Pro to monitor my temps.

I attached Velcro to one of the tent poles, at plant level, on the exhaust side of the tent.

I then installed the remote sensor.

Currently, it is trending about 5 degrees higher than the ambient temp with the A/C turned off.

This is great because once it gets colder, and with my heat turned on to 70F, The tent will be a perfect 75F

Also, The Kasa Smart continues to make my life easier. I went ahead and ordered a
Flora-Flex Gravity Dripper with Quicker Drippers.

This will allow me to connect to a reservoir with a water pump. I will plug the water pump into one of the outlets on the Kasa Smart and then I will be able to water my plants, manually, or automatically, from any where in the world. That sounds crazy. LOL

Also, I had a look at the energy statistics for The MoonShot. It looks like the Meanwell ratings are in fact conservative, as my wattage is an impressive 534 watts instead of 500.

New updates coming soon....​

 

[InTheShed]

Getting as high tech as Rider in there! Nicely done .

 

[RETRIX]

Getting as high tech as Rider in there! Nicely done .

Thank you Shed.

 

[RETRIX]

"For ever she drifts from the oceans rim."
October 6, 2018

​

 

[Smeegol]

I'm loving your journal mr.Retrix, very in depth and a lovely way of story telling I feel.....

 

[InTheShed]

Definitely should not be reading your journal on my phone.

 

[RETRIX]

I'm loving your journal mr.Retrix, very in depth and a lovely way of story telling I feel.....

Thank you Smeegol. I always try to have some kind of theme. LOL

 

[RETRIX]

Definitely should not be reading your journal on my phone.

Shed this one is best enjoyed at your desk with a beer. or coffee. coffee works too. lol

 

[Kismet]

Great stuff Retrix .

Emmie's DIY CalMagPhos+ From Eggshells

When i was lurking trying to make los happen last winter was reading Emilyas threads.Some good info in there.Wish she was still sharing.

 

[InTheShed]

Shed this one is best enjoyed at your desk with a beer. or coffee. coffee works too. lol

But sometimes you update and I'm not at my desk! I always have to backtrack to see what I missed .

 

[CraZysWeeD]

That power strip looks great! Tried those RF controlled ones one time on a grow... it did not end well. Some else in the building also had them and was turning on and off my lights... haha

Love your updates RETRIX! So much time and effort put in to it.

 

[InTheShed]

Some else in the building also had them and was turning on and off my lights

LOL!

 

[RETRIX]

That power strip looks great! Tried those RF controlled ones one time on a grow... it did not end well. Some else in the building also had them and was turning on and off my lights... haha

Love your updates RETRIX! So much time and effort put in to it.

lmao. There are plenty of them for 19.99 on Amazon. I knew better than to make that mistake. lol

Thank you for the compliment Crazy.