Dolomite Lime

Alexander Supertramp

Alexander Supertramp

Well-Known Member
Joe parker said:
I'm growing 8 autoflowers in 2 gallon smart pots with FFOF soil. About 4 weeks in I noticed yellowing of the leaves so I tested the soil ph and it was ~5.8 in all the plants. I always ph my water to 6.5 before adding it to the soil. I flushed and flushed the plants with 6.5-6.8 water and could only get them to a ph of 5.9-6. I looked for ways to raise ph safety and people suggested top dressing powdered dolomite lime into the soil to buffer ph. They all said 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of soil. I only added 2 tablespoons per pot of soil, scratched it into the top of the soil, and did regular waterings. The plants seemed to do better for 2 weeks but now they're all yellowing and all the soil ph is around 8. My question is why do people recommend that much lime per gallon of soil when it's clearly to much?
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You are using runoff pH as you indicator I am guessing.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
Joe parker said:
Fox farm grow big and tiger bloom aren't organic. Only big bloom is.
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I'm not sure it matters much. When I used purely synthetic nutrients I had no salt buildup problems. When I switched to nutes that are for soil (organic sources), I had massive salt build up.

With synthetic nutes, I knew when I fed too much by the burnt tips. With the addition of organic ingredients, it was salt build up that told me I'd been overfeeding the prior 4 weeks. :) It was watching the runoff ph/ppm that helped me find the max amount of I can feed, the amount of runoff I need, etc.

Otherwise it seemed like some mysterious trauma that happened out of nowhere. Watching the trend I could get on it sooner, correlate it to specific strengths and (reduced) runoff levels.
 
Joe parker

Joe parker

Active Member
I have a few questions about the best way to dry it when they're ready so I don't fuck it up since I've never done it before. I'll be drying it in my grow tent that's in the basement. The temperature will be about 60 degrees and humidity is only 30%. I know the humidity is low but I heard you can dry in lower humidity if the temperature is low. My question is should I hang dry them or use a drying net? Should I leave most of the leaves on the buds as they dry or trim everything off right when there cut down?

Any advice is welcomed.

Thanks
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
Joe parker said:
The temperature will be about 60 degrees and humidity is only 30%
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I live in a dry climate, often 22%. I hang in a closet for a couple days. I open the door to the closet a 2-3 times a day to "burp" it. I'll gently cup a bud or two in my hand and squeeze to see if it feels wet, if it's getting crispy. It usually takes a couple days. In higher humidity 4 days. (Also depends on the size or number of plants in the dry space.). I'm looking for the bud to feel not wet, but not crispy either. If the fan leaves are dry and the bud isn't, that's perfect. But, be careful not to overshoot it too far.

At that point, I cut the buds off into a Sterlite plastic bin (like a shoebox size for a small plant, larger 1x2x1' tall for a larger plant). If I feel like I overshot the drying in the closet, I'll leave the larger stems on to help rehumidify.

If it's on the wet side, I'll trim the buds off close to the stems, leaving the only thing remaining to do is the manicure.

Being better at judging the closet "doneness" I'm usually somewhere in between those two extremes. I don't trim the buds off the stems, but I don't leave a lot of stem either (especially not the heavier stem. I've got it down to the thin stems leaving buds attached to them.).

I use a Caliber IV hygrometer in the plastic bin. It should be about 78-82% now. I'll pour the buds out on a cookie sheet if they're still too wet, let them air for 30 minutes. If it's 78-82, I'll leave the lid on loosely, cracked. I'll remove the lid and fan the buds. I'll hand turn the buds. I want to see it go down to 65% in 5-10 days.

At 65% the drying's done and I put them in a jar for curing and burbing down to 62%.

In low humidity climate, what you're struggling with is even drying. It's *way* too easy to get the outer bud material crispy while the core is wet. It takes more effort to control it. That's why I go to the Sterlite bin. The smaller space is easier to control the humidity. You can't get to 62% in a closet (large air space). The inner material would get down to 40% and the inside would still be 70%. So, it takes staging like this. Initial drying, then slow dry, then cure.

I also use a Boveda 65 pack in the Sterlite bin. I felt like it would add some "gravity" to the space. A "mass" to help from overshooting 65%, make it more temperate. But, leaving some large stems in the container would have a similar effect.

I dried a plant a few weeks ago in a 18x18x16 Home Depot moving box with coat hanger rods pushed through it. I put it in the box immediately, no closet time. That worked really well in my dry climate. The plant dried pretty evenly and at a slow rate compared to the closet. It was maintenance free. The cardboard is permeable enough to exhange moisture better than the closet. In my dry climate the exchange was perfect. It got where it needed to be in a good way. I've only done it once. But, I'm going to do it again.

That's everything I know. Just be careful that it doesn't dry too quickly in the outer layer. That's the problem with a dry climate.
 
unwine99

unwine99

Well-Known Member
During winter harvests, when the humidity is low(below 40%), I chop at the base and hang the entire plant upside down. I keep a humidifier in the room, on a timer if need be, to ensure my humidity stays between 45-60%. I don't remove any of the large fan leaves initially -- only when they start becoming crispy. I continue that process with the smaller fan leaves as well -- once they become crispy, I remove them. The fan leaves sort of encase the buds as they dry.

Once the fan leaves are gone, I cut the the buds off the stems and put them into jars with boveda 62's once they are slightly crisp on the outside but also still in their gooey sticky stage. You should be able to squeeze them at this point and tell that there is still plenty of moisture on the inside -- if the bud is really crispy and airy, you've dried too much.

I really try to stretch out the dry as long as I can -- 7-10 days ideally. Drying is the most important step IMO for grade A top shelf smoke. After that, I cure for 60 - 90 days before I sample but that's purely my preference. There is no cure without a proper dry though.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
Joe parker said:
Anyone?
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There's pages and pages of threads where people can't agree on this. All you can do is choose, see how it is, and try doing the other way next time to see if it's different.

I've been reducing nutes the last 2-3 feedings, maybe water only the last feeding. When I fed water only I felt like I had smoother smoke, but the flavors were muted. Feeding until the end I feel like it is slightly harsher but the flavors are more defined.

But, what works for me could be due to the nutrients I use (organic and synthetic, not purely synthetic) and that I don't overfeed, don't get salt buildup, etc. If you're one of those people who overfeeds, flushes going into flower as a matter of routine (because a salt lockout is expected), feeding less nutrients for a longer time might be advisable.

You have to try different ways and discern the differences for yourself. (You could harvest the maturer top buds early, the remainder later after more of the "cleanse" has operated on them. That might give you more info about what to do next time.
 
Oddjob

Oddjob

Well-Known Member
Hey nice job on the flowers joe parker. So since we're on the subject of growing with soil and ca/mg....

I'm using FFOF, R/O water, Cutting edge solutions 3 part nutes and of course Calimagic for cal/mag. My plants are photoperiod and I always use 5ml/gallon of calmag for water and feed, and since i've converted to LED, I always have what looks to be a ca deficiency. Never was an issue when I was rocking HPS. Any feedback is appreciated.

I usually start bloom nutes about 2 weeks into 12/12
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
Oddjob said:
Never was an issue when I was rocking HPS. Any feedback is appreciated.
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Maybe your LEDs are too close. Add 1tbsp/gal fine/powdered dolomite to your soil next time. Use 1/2 tsp/gal gypsum in your water to treat ca def. You can pre-dissolve some in a quart and use it (to some extent) as a stock solution. It takes awhile to dissolve (and some agitation). However you do it, don't pour the sediment that won't dissolve. It's probably better for that not to sit on the soil and continue to release ca over time.

Is there a reason you're using calmag? It's possible you're overdoing it, causing an imbalance in the ca:mg ratio, leading to a lockout. I stopped using calmag and things are going well for me. My nutes are a full ph point higher not using it. (I use a mixture of tap and RO water to get a starting ppm of 150'ish.).
 
Oddjob

Oddjob

Well-Known Member
az2000 said:
Maybe your LEDs are too close. Add 1tbsp/gal fine/powdered dolomite to your soil next time. Use 1/2 tsp/gal gypsum in your water to treat ca def. You can pre-dissolve some in a quart and use it (to some extent) as a stock solution. It takes awhile to dissolve (and some agitation). However you do it, don't pour the sediment that won't dissolve. It's probably better for that not to sit on the soil and continue to release ca over time.

Is there a reason you're using calmag? It's possible you're overdoing it, causing an imbalance in the ca:mg ratio, leading to a lockout. I stopped using calmag and things are going well for me. My nutes are a full ph point higher not using it. (I use a mixture of tap and RO water to get a starting ppm of 150'ish.).
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My tap comes out at a gnarly 440ppm, hence why I use RO and the need for calmag. My tap also has chlorine and not chloramine. Maybe I should let my tap sit for 24 hours and mix it like you do with RO? Maybe 3/4 RO to 1/4 tap?

My apache at600 is usually about 24 inches from canopy
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
Oddjob said:
My tap comes out at a gnarly 440ppm, hence why I use RO and the need for calmag. My tap also has chlorine and not chloramine.
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The amount of sanitizer in tap water is small. Water delivery systems are closed and not expected to encounter large amounts of organic material. It will be exhausted very quickly by the first inch of soil. Put a pinch of sugar in your water (or spit in it) to encourage a little bacterial activity and it will be spent. (A small amount of sugar is good for the soil biology. I try to put 1/8 tsp/gal molasses in each feeding. I skip it when I'm supplementing with other things like fish emulsion. But, I think it's always good to give the soil life a little boost to compensate for an imperfect environment.

If you use synthetic (non-organic) nutrients they affect your soil biology more than the miniscule amount of sanitizer in tap water. (I.e., the calmag you use is more harmful to the soil biology than the tiny amount of chlorine in tap water -- which can be exhausted with the introduction of a little organic material like sugar.).

Give it a try sometime. Mix tap and RO to get ~150ppm. It doesn't have to be perfect. I eyeball it and get 120-220. Don't use calmag and see how it goes. (I would amend 1tbsp/gal dolomite in the soil as an additional source of ca/mg). You should find your final ph is higher and less reason to adjust the ph.

For now I would track your runoff ph and ppm to make sure you're not getting salt buildup and acidic soil locking out ca. Supplement with gypsum as described above.
 
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