Yankeetoker's 2nd Grow Attempt - 2016 - All Advice Welcome!

one more observation. A lot is made of the benefits of removing the cholrine and cholamines from water you are going to add to the soil. The chloramines don't dissipate like chlorine does with just letting it sit out. You need to add a small amount of a reducing agent to the water to neutralize them.

Fish in aquariums are very sensitive to chlorine/chloramines. Brewers need to remove the componds from the water because it leads to off tastes in their beer. As far as watering plants in soil goes, a little chlorine/cholamines does not lead to the wholesale destruction of soil biota. Do they help things? Certainly not.

If you are working with raw chicken washing the cutting board and hands with tap water does not kill most of the bacteria. Tap water that has been treated with chlorine and or chorlamines is a very weak antiseptic.
 
PeeJay said:
Yes. Rado. Sometimes even lower. pH is complicated. Peat right out of the bag is acidic due to the presence of humic acid and tannins which are diprotic or triprotic phenols. They have little buffering capacity - they don't resist pH change. Wash peat in water once and the pH rockets skywards into the 6's. The same happens if mineralized amendments are added to it.

Say you wanted to plant a rhododendron (they like a pH around 5) and you had alkaline soil (pH 7.5 - 8.0.) "Ok," you think, "I'll dig a big hole and fill it with peat and plant the rhody in that."

A couple of weeks later you send a sample of the dirt off to get tested because the rhody looks like crap. The results come back and the pH is close to the pH of the soil that surrounds the hole...
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This lack of buffering in peat moss is eye opening and explains a few things. I would love to have you prescribe a seedling mix for me or point me to a link for a mix you like. It is 'off season' at the garden stores but I have several bags of stuff in the basement and a few acres of maple forest outside my back door. I go through about 1/2 gallon of seedling soil per month.

Much regards.
 
AH man YT, that sucks. Know the cause?
 
yankeetoker said:
Basement flooded....haven't been doing anything for the last 3 hours but trying to get rid of all of this damn water....will be feeling it in the a.m. Will water the girls tomorrow evening...
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That sucks, I didn't even know what a sump pump was until I moved to New England.

The basement flooded 1-2 years before we moved in. 3 houses near the river when the river went into flood, The other didnt have basements and had submerged floors. NOT disclosed on our home purchase agreement. 2 winters later, BOTH the furnace and the water heater failed. The wife and I look forward to leaving New England.
 
Toke on brother, sounds like you deserve it.

:passitleft:
 
Damn YankeeToker, what a pain to deal with. I hope ...you have a sump pump? The first time my basement got flooded mine failed. I had to replace it, that was yukkier than trying to clean up all the water.

You definitely deserved the break. :circle-of-love:
 
Cannafan said:
Peejay, or others. Shoot me down if this doesn't seem to be a good idea. :)
If it were me, I would carefully transplant the one in the cup. Putting the new soil on top isn't really helping the little one because the roots are still in the "hot" soil.
I'm learning a ton of information here as well, I tried to kill a brand new sprout by accidentally using my final pot soil. Way too hot for it, it has been transplanted and is recovering.

So, I'm interested in what you suggest too. :)
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Yeah, getting that little one into the gentler soil might help. Even the ones in the big pots are still surrounded by a gallon of the very hot soil.

yankeetoker said:
Basement flooded....haven't been doing anything for the last 3 hours but trying to get rid of all of this damn water....will be feeling it in the a.m. Will water the girls tomorrow evening...
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Bummer! The watering can wait. Hope the flooded basement didn't do any damage to your home.
 
I feel for ya. I live right next to a creek so am during times like this I get water in my grow. Not as bad in the winter time. The storm and resulting basement woe has me at 60% for a day or two. In the summer it can be a real issue. I need to epoxy coat my floors and walls.
 
Cannafan said:
"Sista".....I made that boo boo too when I called her a Daddy. LOL oops....
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Aw damn, I'm pretty sure I knew that as well. Sorry Yankeetoker...
 
ShiggityFlip said:
I feel for ya. I live right next to a creek so am during times like this I get water in my grow. Not as bad in the winter time. The storm and resulting basement woe has me at 60% for a day or two. In the summer it can be a real issue. I need to epoxy coat my floors and walls.
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My brook on the east side of the house stayed within it's banks but is filled about 2 feet deeper than usual. The stream on the east and north side of the house filled it's flood plain, going from 1 ft wide to 10 ft wide. The (spring fed) stream on the south side of the house was unaffected. My basement stayed dry :)
I 'test' the sump pum when I clean up after bud washing, so I know it works :)
 
Cannafan said:
Damn YankeeToker, what a pain to deal with. I hope ...you have a sump pump? The first time my basement got flooded mine failed. I had to replace it, that was yukkier than trying to clean up all the water.

You definitely deserved the break. :circle-of-love:
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Thanks, Canna! Unfortunately I do not have a sump pump! Typically the basement holds up, but this storm was bad...no damage though. Definitely looking into getting one this spring/summer.
 
PeeJay said:
Yeah, getting that little one into the gentler soil might help. Even the ones in the big pots are still surrounded by a gallon of the very hot soil.



Bummer! The watering can wait. Hope the flooded basement didn't do any damage to your home.
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PeeJay...

No damage to the house thank god! So I was able to water the two plants in the bigger pots (soaked them for about 20 minutes while top watering them) all with water adjusted to 6.26.

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Also, they may have some of the hot soil, but remember when I transplanted them, I put them into the new mix (not as hot?).

I also planted the seedling in the solo cup into its own 1 gallon pot (gave the soil a nice soaking with ph adjusted water before transplanting).

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Will see how they do moving forward.
 
Yes, I do see vertical growth there for sure. :thumb:
 
DeanB said:
All these people helping you and no one can help you upload a straight picture? On my Android phone, I have to make sure the Vol + - is at the bottom. Holding the phone horizontal when taking a picture to upload on this forum. Good luck and your plants are looking better. Geez people!
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Another trick with android phone photos

CROP the picture and save - upload the saved picture.
 
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