Need some basic organic advice

C

Chronos54

Active Member
So this is my first go round with soil amendments and top dressing. I have 5 plants that are almost on week 2 of flower. They where vegged under cfls for 2 weeks, then switched to 400 watt hps for 4 more, i didnt have money for a MH at the time. The babies are about 2 feet tall, im trying to go for a even spread of colas in my closet.

So my questions are about my soil. The 5 babies are in three gallon pots. Through veg i topped dressed with down to earth bio live and foilar fed with espom salts. Im wondering in flower how often i should add the soil amendments or top dressing? Also i was wondering, what would be a good mix? Should i top dress with a mix of the DTE bio live (veg fertz) with my flowering mixiture? For flower i have Dragon Fly DEM fat flowers which is a tea mixture, Vermi bloom for top dressing, fish bone meal, Azomite and a mixture of bokashi.

The week before i went into flower I top dressed with a mix of bokashi, Azomite and fish bone meal. So what im wondering with all the stuff i have i have for flowering, what kind of mix you would use early on with what i have? Is my soil well fed or should i add more? I am just a little confused and need some guidance lol What would people with experience do?

Here are links to each

http://downtoearthfertilizer.com/products/blended_fertilizer/bio-live-5-4-2/

http://www.vermicrop.com/bloom-fertilizer

http://foreverflowering.net/fat-flowers/
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Top dress only once; it takes awhile for whatever you put on top to break down and work it's way into the root zone and become consumed by soil microbes that make it available to your plants. I would ride it out until after your first harvest and then simply recycle the root balls in a tote bin or something. Re-amend and allow 30 days to cook down at room temp. Maybe by then you could try and aquire more soil amendments for your organic arsenal....diversity is never a bad thing & what you have on hand is somewhat limited.
In my experience your first organic harvest won't be spectacular; it takes a few recycles before your mix becomes supernaturally active. The idea is to build up your mix before you put plants in it so you can just give water for most of the grow. You can always give teas to keep microbial activity at a high level; I suggest sourcing some EWC, (the fresher the better!) for making AACT and to put into your mix globally. Your mix should never change with phases of growth; just add all your fertilizer and minerals in there and let the plants find what they need. There are different tea recipes you can brew up for different stages though and you should be giving it to them as often as every couple weeks or more to keep microbial activity at a high level. I'm not sure 3 gal containers will feed them the entire bloom phase unless you transplanted just before flipping. If you keep potting up to a fresh mix plants stay happy for longer durations. What kind of a base soil are you using?
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
Chronos54 said:
So this is my first go round with soil amendments and top dressing. I have 5 plants that are almost on week 2 of flower. They where vegged under cfls for 2 weeks, then switched to 400 watt hps for 4 more, i didnt have money for a MH at the time. The babies are about 2 feet tall, im trying to go for a even spread of colas in my closet.

So my questions are about my soil. The 5 babies are in three gallon pots. Through veg i topped dressed with down to earth bio live and foilar fed with espom salts. Im wondering in flower how often i should add the soil amendments or top dressing? Also i was wondering, what would be a good mix? Should i top dress with a mix of the DTE bio live (veg fertz) with my flowering mixiture? For flower i have Dragon Fly DEM fat flowers which is a tea mixture, Vermi bloom for top dressing, fish bone meal, Azomite and a mixture of bokashi.

The week before i went into flower I top dressed with a mix of bokashi, Azomite and fish bone meal. So what im wondering with all the stuff i have i have for flowering, what kind of mix you would use early on with what i have? Is my soil well fed or should i add more? I am just a little confused and need some guidance lol What would people with experience do?

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Click to expand...
couple things i'd change..
first, if you want to use the Epsom salt, those are much more effective as a soil drench, foliar feeds aren't really that effective
I prefer to use either langbeinite or a mix of natural amendments to cover the sulfur, and magnesium that Epsom provides.
the azomite and fish bone meal aren't the best options for topdresses, they both take a LONG time to be of any use.
the best things for topdresses are typically either manures, guanos or vegetative nutrients (comfrey, nettles, alfalfa)
my favorite is steer manure, and shredded comfrey mixed in with either fresh compost or fresh castings.
castings and compost are CRUCIAL for topdresses as they contain the microbial population to break it all down.
Richard is totally right on that a five gallon grow typically isn't one that does the best, unless flipped early and transplanted two weeks prior to flipping.
even still, organics need room
 
C

Chronos54

Active Member
Richard Drysift said:
Top dress only once; it takes awhile for whatever you put on top to break down and work it's way into the root zone and become consumed by soil microbes that make it available to your plants. I would ride it out until after your first harvest and then simply recycle the root balls in a tote bin or something. Re-amend and allow 30 days to cook down at room temp. Maybe by then you could try and aquire more soil amendments for your organic arsenal....diversity is never a bad thing & what you have on hand is somewhat limited.
In my experience your first organic harvest won't be spectacular; it takes a few recycles before your mix becomes supernaturally active. The idea is to build up your mix before you put plants in it so you can just give water for most of the grow. You can always give teas to keep microbial activity at a high level; I suggest sourcing some EWC, (the fresher the better!) for making AACT and to put into your mix globally. Your mix should never change with phases of growth; just add all your fertilizer and minerals in there and let the plants find what they need. There are different tea recipes you can brew up for different stages though and you should be giving it to them as often as every couple weeks or more to keep microbial activity at a high level. I'm not sure 3 gal containers will feed them the entire bloom phase unless you transplanted just before flipping. If you keep potting up to a fresh mix plants stay happy for longer durations. What kind of a base soil are you using?
Click to expand...
Richard Drysift said:
Top dress only once; it takes awhile for whatever you put on top to break down and work it's way into the root zone and become consumed by soil microbes that make it available to your plants. I would ride it out until after your first harvest and then simply recycle the root balls in a tote bin or something. Re-amend and allow 30 days to cook down at room temp. Maybe by then you could try and aquire more soil amendments for your organic arsenal....diversity is never a bad thing & what you have on hand is somewhat limited.
In my experience your first organic harvest won't be spectacular; it takes a few recycles before your mix becomes supernaturally active. The idea is to build up your mix before you put plants in it so you can just give water for most of the grow. You can always give teas to keep microbial activity at a high level; I suggest sourcing some EWC, (the fresher the better!) for making AACT and to put into your mix globally. Your mix should never change with phases of growth; just add all your fertilizer and minerals in there and let the plants find what they need. There are different tea recipes you can brew up for different stages though and you should be giving it to them as often as every couple weeks or more to keep microbial activity at a high level. I'm not sure 3 gal containers will feed them the entire bloom phase unless you transplanted just before flipping. If you keep potting up to a fresh mix plants stay happy for longer durations. What kind of a base soil are you using?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply, i ve been working like a mad man. They are in roots organic. Im scepticle about the re use of soil because of bugs and such. Whats your take on getting bugs and bad stuff out of the soil? Thanks for the reply.
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
I do very little to combat bugs and bad stuff because there are no bugs that I can see in my soil. Bad stuff never goes in but if there ever was it would be consumed by the very tiny bugs I can't see in my soil. Fresh compost from my worm bin is loaded with microbes...tiny little bugs...but they are beneficial; good stuff only here.
Recycled soil gets better with age; most of the stuff you have added as a top dressing will not do much good until the next cycle. Roots organic is a decent base soil though it needs a bit more to get it to supernatural status.
If you overwater you run the risk of getting fungus gnats which are easily controlled by an application of diatomaceous earth sprinkled in top layer of soil and allowing the soil to dry out. Sticky traps can catch any flying fuckers. Mulching the tops of your pots can also help keep gnats from laying eggs plus helps retain moisture; DE does the rest.
Thrips can be an issue so a quick spray of Monterrey garden spray at the first evidence of thrips (tell tale white splotches on the lower fans) will easily quell them. Healthy soil food webs always attract bugs but they are very easy to get rid of if you catch them early. I use neem seed meal directly in my soil as an amendment which seems to help keep most creepy crawlers at bay. Since I've been adding it I haven't seen a single bug knock knock
 
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