JohnFonda
Tegrity Greenthumb
I only use it when cloning for this reason. If I did organics this I think it would plague A huge part in my grows. A great way to cut n off during and after the transition.
The Official Heisenbeans Forum Competition
- Thread starter Heisen
- Start date
F series
Insanely Active Member
T'was a Thanos joke lmao
growing organically in soil doesn’t have to be that hard. I buy pre-mixed fertilizer that I top dress with and I feed a tea one with a week. Buying fertilizer mix is comparable in price to buying bottles of salt based nutrients. I’m actually spending less money and time growing organically than I did when I grew in ProMox HP and fed salt based nutrients.
H.A.F.
a.k.a. Rusty Nails
The only thing different for me (other than healthier plants with less problems) was changing the fertilizer. The dry top dressings make it a snap. You can add teas and other junk but it isn't necessary. Same soil, still using the FF line of non-nutes which are basically low NPK teas. You can ease into it and add more stuff and it just gets better, re-using the soil is a plus without worrying about levtover salt. Watering requires a lot less volume since you don't have to worry about run-off, and no flushing.
Kushash
Insanely Active Member
Until this grow I was re amending the same soil for over 6 years. I lost confidence in the soil and chose FFOF for this grow. I ran into issues others have spoke of when running a soil that long, it became very heavy. I tried increasing the peat but decided to throw it all in the lawn.
I had a savvy soil test done before giving up. The sulfur is off the charts, so was the Ca and Mg. I can't explain the Ca Mg. The sulfur I am guessing is the result of adding peat each time it was mixed. I probably re amended it about 18 times over the six years. For 2 years I went perpetual and found it to be to much work. I used it in the last comp in 2019 and while I didn't finish in the top 3 I did get a # of votes along with a 2nd place vote from homebrewer who said "Basically perfectly grown all the way to the end".
Here is the soil test.
I had a savvy soil test done before giving up. The sulfur is off the charts, so was the Ca and Mg. I can't explain the Ca Mg. The sulfur I am guessing is the result of adding peat each time it was mixed. I probably re amended it about 18 times over the six years. For 2 years I went perpetual and found it to be to much work. I used it in the last comp in 2019 and while I didn't finish in the top 3 I did get a # of votes along with a 2nd place vote from homebrewer who said "Basically perfectly grown all the way to the end".
Here is the soil test.
H.A.F.
a.k.a. Rusty Nails
I am adding perlite as it ages. Neutral stuff. Got that nugget from @Heisenbeans. I use new soil for seedlings, up to the 1gallon repot, then recycled soil after. So there is an infusion of new soil in each pot, then it all gets mixed together after.
Tha CaMg would make sense to me. I add it to all water. Haven't seen the plants need it, but I have no clue if they are using it all.
Zaphod420
42
Salute Kushash, is the target area on that graph/chart soil ph? And if it is is it the same range to keep shit from locking out on you as hydro or is it a wider sweet spot than say 5.8 -6.5?
Nobighurry
PICK YOUR OWN
The biggest issue I had when growing organic (besides bugs) was getting me to leave it alone, hmmm is that a possible issue I see starting? I better add X, once I cooked my soil mix for 30-60days I never added anything until flower, it took me awhile to get there though...
H.A.F.
a.k.a. Rusty Nails
6.5 would be the sweet spot for soil, and for your input when watering. a little lower (6.3-6.4) is fine but higher is where I start ot see issues. The pH doesn't have to be as precise with soil, because the soil will act as a buffer. So I only have a single decimal, single calibration solution pH rig. I realized that if I was seeing 6.5 it could be as high as 6.599999 so I starrted dialing it down to 6.4 and stuff has been happier.
Zaphod420
42
Cheers H.A.F. Hmmmm... so when you guys build these shit kicker soils do you what, just foliar spray them with the natural equiv of the minerals they can't go get because of the soil/buffer. Or do you put the unreachable in a tea or an amendment and feed the soil and then just see if they respond how you think they should?
Foliar spray isn’t needed. They can still get those minerals because the microorganisms break things down to make them accessible to the plants. When you grow organically you are basically feeding the microorganisms in the soil and then they feed the plant.
Zaphod420
42
Salute TFC, Ahhhh... So once they(the soil) gets mature enough it will be so full of micro that they can pretty much deal with anything out of range and just go get them if they want. How long does that take?
I haven’t taken the time to build my own soil from scratch. I buy two different brand soils, mix them together and amend them with some fertilizer, and then just keep reusing it. If I start to see any issues, after a lot of uses, I toss the soil I have into my garden and start over. I’ve only had to do that once over the last year or so, though, and could probably go much longer if I had more room in the house to mix it all together and get it cooking.
H.A.F.
a.k.a. Rusty Nails
Just like with hydro - pH matters. You control the input just like you would with hydro - just to a different pH. Because the soil acts as a buffer for what you feed it (roots not sucking in exactly what you added to the water immediately) there is some leeway/room for error/fudge factor - whatever. You don't put the wrong stuff in just to see if it can take it.
Step one - bag of soil - FFOF or whatever - it's a medium.
Grow plants in new soil - add organic feeding instead of salts.
Keep the soil - sift the roots out and use it again.
Kushash
Insanely Active Member
I'm not sure what range is good for me yet. I bought a Blue Lab soil PH pen for this grow. I'm still getting familiar with the pen after using it twice. Prior to the pen I used the slurry test and drops to check soil PH.
With a low PH I would get what appeared to be a calcium deficiency in the middle fan leaves, unlike a deficiency I find that a low PH in soil does damage quickly. There are other types of issues that I think will show up but I find that to be the most common issue with a low soil ph.
I last tested the PH of the soil 10 days ago with the ph pen, I'm doing some testing now and will share the results.