Your Organic Methods

[Kind Sir]

Hey guys, obviously were all doing as much research as possible to improve our grow. When a new organic grower asks questions, alot of the time theyll be directed to the ROLS thread which has alot of good info but you must navigate through the chatter.

I wanted to make a thread where people can post their organic methods, such as @DonBrennon homemade biochar "furnace?" Improved soil mixes, favorite mulches, foliar spray methods etc..

Ill be posting items, and organic approaches Ive found.
@greasemonkeymann @Grandpa GreenJeans @anzohaze @DonTesla @Richard Drysift


Im low on cash this week, but I finally bought my 4ft 8bulb T5HO.
My near future plans.
1. Grow beneficial plants outside to use with my grow( Comfrey, legumes, stinging nettles possibly) Anything beneficial, that I can grow in my area.

2. Upgrade WormBin, make my own biochar, compost, grokashi

3. Learn how to transplant and "clone" Aloe efficiently. Want to have a spot specifically for growing Aloe.

4. Start a small aquarium to use the water from it.


I recently tranplanted a few plants. I now have 1 (15)gal, 3 (5)gal fabrics and about 7 smaller plants. Trying to maximize my space, and learn to clone.

Current methods:

Foliar: 200x Aloe, Protekt, Dr Bonners soap, occasional kelp/alfalfa

Soil Drench: 200x aloe, Coconut powder, protekt in veg, occasional kelp/alfalfa (Will be trying my Barley SST.)

Transplant: kelp/dash of alfalfa 2-3days before transplant, XtremeGardening Mykos

WormBin: 27gal tote, bedding about 4" high. Been feeding Strawberries/bananas W/ peel frozen then thawed. Seem to love it.

Current Soil Recipe (Will be adding a few items:

33% Sphagnum peat moss
25% Compost 8%EWC (33% total)
33% Aeration ( Id like to use Red Lava Rock, Rice Hulls, pumice, Rotted wood chunks*) *Thanks for the wood chunk idea Greasemonkey

Alfalfa meal
Kelp meal
Fish bone meal0
Crab shell meal
Few pellets of Peruvian seabird guano
Oyster shell flour
Glacial rock dust
Diameticous Earth

 

[DonBrennon]

Nice idea Kind Sir,

from what I've been advised lately, I'd drop that alfalfa meal from your mix and replace it with neem meal (or is the lack of neem an oversight?). The consensus seems to be that the alfalfa is best used in tea's for a specific boost, or the compost pile, it can cause problems when mixed into the soil and I'm almost sure I've witnessed this first hand, with one of my plants turning polypoidal.

Aloe is so easy to propagate, you basically just split the plants (pups) up at the roots and re-pot, I've got one now that's well outgrown it's pot, I might bust it up later a take some photos.

 

[Kind Sir]

Nice idea Kind Sir,

from what I've been advised lately, I'd drop that alfalfa meal from your mix and replace it with neem meal (or is the lack of neem an oversight?). The consensus seems to be that the alfalfa is best used in tea's for a specific boost, or the compost pile, it can cause problems when mixed into the soil and I'm almost sure I've witnessed this first hand, with one of my plants turning polypoidal.

Aloe is so easy to propagate, you basically just split the plants (pups) up at the roots and re-pot, I've got one now that's well outgrown it's pot, I might bust it up later a take some photos.

First off, nice to meet you. I started growing February 2015 and since hav3 gone organic.

I too have read conflicting stories regarding alfalfa meal, Ill be taking it out of my mix and adding a few items such as neem. Honestly the mix doesnt have everything I want due to financial problems, wipl be ordering items in two weeks.

I like your biochar thing, whered you read about it? Im trying to upgrade and hbe able to make my own biochar for example.

 

[DonBrennon]

Yeah, nice to meet you too Sir, I been 'growing' the last 18 years with a small break in the middle. I highlighted the word 'growing' because that wasn't what I was doing. It was like clockwork after the first couple of years learning(fucking up) fresh coco every run with the full canna range of nutes. After the 1st 2 years I kept everything pretty much the same year in year out with very little effort. I certainly didn't have the passion for it I have now that I've converted to organics(around 2 years ago).

I read about using the biochar on here in the ROLS thread I think, but I really learn't about it from these vids, the first one specifically. The vids can be a little slow, but this is the guy for biochar and you do only really need to watch the first one a couple of times.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

First off, nice to meet you. I started growing February 2015 and since hav3 gone organic.

I too have read conflicting stories regarding alfalfa meal, Ill be taking it out of my mix and adding a few items such as neem. Honestly the mix doesnt have everything I want due to financial problems, wipl be ordering items in two weeks.

I like your biochar thing, whered you read about it? Im trying to upgrade and hbe able to make my own biochar for example.

I am only one person, but I used the BEJESUS out of alfalfa meal in my compost the time before last, and those results were reaaaaally great, BUT it was in the compost, not in the soil mix directly, if used in the soil directly it can create a alil heat when it breaksdown, which is why it's so good for the compost.
But if it's the triacantrol that you are worried about, if I could have overdosed on that, I would have.
I added fresh whole feed-alfalfa (a whore, cuz the stems break down slow), and alfalfa meal, probably ten pounds of the stuff or more...
BUT it did compost for like 6 months. so not sure if that has a relation...
BUt he is right, you want neem meal if you can, the micros in that are awesome, especially the sulfur.
Sulfur has a big influence on exposing/developing terpines
I use alfalfa in my mixes though, every time.
But that doesn't mean it's crucial, I honestly I use it more for the thermo portion of the compost, this run I subbed out an asston of cannabis trim for the alfalfa, but I still used a couple pounds of it.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

Yeah, nice to meet you too Sir, I been 'growing' the last 18 years with a small break in the middle. I highlighted the word 'growing' because that wasn't what I was doing. It was like clockwork after the first couple of years learning(fucking up) fresh coco every run with the full canna range of nutes. After the 1st 2 years I kept everything pretty much the same year in year out with very little effort. I certainly didn't have the passion for it I have now that I've converted to organics(around 2 years ago).

I read about using the biochar on here in the ROLS thread I think, but I really learn't about it from these vids, the first one specifically. The vids can be a little slow, but this is the guy for biochar and you do only really need to watch the first one a couple of times.

Man, I'm too tired to go that far, all I did was buy a bag of cowboy charcoal from trader joes, took it home, beat the shit out of it between Olympic weight plates, and added it to my fermenting dandelion/comfrey tea, bubbled all day while at work, and added to soil the next day.
I think one thing that should be acknowledged is that biochar should be looked at like aeration, it really doesn't do anything substantial for the growth, at least in my experience, but it's used more so as a microbe-hotel, it's a preventative measure to keep you bio-activity all happy.
Not a miracle product, if you add it and expect it to make your nugs heavier or more yields or whatnot it'll disappoint you.
That's sorta the organic world though, you are building up every aspect of mothernature, and it's only as strong as it's weakest link, so you want to try and be comprehensive in not overlooking anything

 

[Wetdog]

Man, I'm too tired to go that far, all I did was buy a bag of cowboy charcoal from trader joes, took it home, beat the shit out of it between Olympic weight plates, and added it to my fermenting dandelion/comfrey tea, bubbled all day while at work, and added to soil the next day.
I think one thing that should be acknowledged is that biochar should be looked at like aeration, it really doesn't do anything substantial for the growth, at least in my experience, but it's used more so as a microbe-hotel, it's a preventative measure to keep you bio-activity all happy.
Not a miracle product, if you add it and expect it to make your nugs heavier or more yields or whatnot it'll disappoint you.
That's sorta the organic world though, you are building up every aspect of mothernature, and it's only as strong as it's weakest link, so you want to try and be comprehensive in not overlooking anything

Same here with the lump charcoal, but I also use it in my smokers and usually have a bag or three on hand. No weight plates, but a 26YO truck works well for crunching. Also have not noticed any difference in growth with or without and mainly use it for aeration. I'm sure the microbes are enjoying it too, but harder to see.

I also use pine bark fines for aeration and as time goes on they will turn white from being covered in mycellium. No doubt that the fungus is among us when that happens. Just be aware that BARK does not behave like WOOD and sequester N. Same tree, but two different animals. Bark is beneficial, wood, not so much.

If I don't have Bio Char handy to add to a mix, it's a 'meh', but bark fines are a must in every mix. Like GMM, my aeration is more like 40-45% than the touted 33%. A too dense, not well aerated mix will not work well, no matter what amendments you have.

About the only advice you should listen to should say VOE (Voice of experience). Anything else is pretty much a WAG (Wild assed guess). Might be an educated WAG, but it's still a WAG.

Wet

 

[DonBrennon]

Didn't get round to busting that aloe up but here's a few photos to illustrate how easy it is to propagate

This was a plant I'd used all the leaves off of before any pups had come up and I snapped the main stem. There were no leaves left at all and I've not done anything else, and I mean anything, its not been watered since, they really do love drying right out before flushing with water, no nutes!!!!




The middle one is the broken off stem, which was just abandoned on top of the soil, how easy is that?????

 

[greasemonkeymann]

Didn't get round to busting that aloe up but here's a few photos to illustrate how easy it is to propagate

This was a plant I'd used all the leaves off of before any pups had come up and I snapped the main stem. There were no leaves left at all and I've not done anything else, and I mean anything, its not been watered since, they really do love drying right out before flushing with water, no nutes!!!!
View attachment 3589252

View attachment 3589253

View attachment 3589256The middle one is the broken off stem, which was just abandoned on top of the soil, how easy is that?????

View attachment 3589258

View attachment 3589259

View attachment 3589260

mannn totally if cannabis rooted as easy as comfrey or aloe?
It's be the coolest shit.

 

[DonBrennon]

Same here with the lump charcoal, but I also use it in my smokers and usually have a bag or three on hand. No weight plates, but a 26YO truck works well for crunching. Also have not noticed any difference in growth with or without and mainly use it for aeration. I'm sure the microbes are enjoying it too, but harder to see.

I also use pine bark fines for aeration and as time goes on they will turn white from being covered in mycellium. No doubt that the fungus is among us when that happens. Just be aware that BARK does not behave like WOOD and sequester N. Same tree, but two different animals. Bark is beneficial, wood, not so much.

If I don't have Bio Char handy to add to a mix, it's a 'meh', but bark fines are a must in every mix. Like GMM, my aeration is more like 40-45% than the touted 33%. A too dense, not well aerated mix will not work well, no matter what amendments you have.

About the only advice you should listen to should say VOE (Voice of experience). Anything else is pretty much a WAG (Wild assed guess). Might be an educated WAG, but it's still a WAG.

Wet

Is your 'burning' charcoal not treated? The coal sold for bbqs over here is mainly briquettes(not real charcoal), the rest of it is charcoal, but treated with something, I defo wouldn't use our stuff.

 

[Wetdog]

Is your 'burning' charcoal not treated? The coal sold for bbqs over here is mainly briquettes(not real charcoal), the rest of it is charcoal, but treated with something, I defo wouldn't use our stuff.

No, the "Cowboy" or Lump charcoal is not treated. Def do NOT want briquettes, but it is easy to tell the diff. The same size bag of lump charcoal will weigh ~1/4 of what the briquettes will. They have a high % of sand in them. Plus, the lump still looks like what it was, chunks of chopped up trees.

Wet

 

[greasemonkeymann]

Same here with the lump charcoal, but I also use it in my smokers and usually have a bag or three on hand. No weight plates, but a 26YO truck works well for crunching. Also have not noticed any difference in growth with or without and mainly use it for aeration. I'm sure the microbes are enjoying it too, but harder to see.

I also use pine bark fines for aeration and as time goes on they will turn white from being covered in mycellium. No doubt that the fungus is among us when that happens. Just be aware that BARK does not behave like WOOD and sequester N. Same tree, but two different animals. Bark is beneficial, wood, not so much.

If I don't have Bio Char handy to add to a mix, it's a 'meh', but bark fines are a must in every mix. Like GMM, my aeration is more like 40-45% than the touted 33%. A too dense, not well aerated mix will not work well, no matter what amendments you have.

About the only advice you should listen to should say VOE (Voice of experience). Anything else is pretty much a WAG (Wild assed guess). Might be an educated WAG, but it's still a WAG.

Wet

Damn good advice!
I've been saying for a while that aeration is crucial!

 

[greasemonkeymann]

No, the "Cowboy" or Lump charcoal is not treated. Def do NOT want briquettes, but it is easy to tell the diff. The same size bag of lump charcoal will weigh ~1/4 of what the briquettes will. They have a high % of sand in them. Plus, the lump still looks like what it was, chunks of chopped up trees.

Wet

hah, yea, what he said.
it looks just like logs, only black, and it says untreated and 100% hardwood

 

[Richard Drysift]

I start with clones from an aerocloner bucket I diy-ed or when I want a new strain I'll pop another fem seed & clone it when it gets big enough. Once rooted they veg in 24 hrs for a few weeks in 3 gal pots; then into the 18/6 veg tent in 7-10g pots for another month or longer while I LST the shit out of them. Once trained & vegged out they go into the bloom room for 10 weeks. Buds are then hung to dry for 7-9 days & then jar cured to perfection.
The heart of my op is my worm bin which provides all the compost I need to recycle my root balls. After harvest I drop the spent root balls into a large tote bin. I have 2 of these: one for finishing recycled & amended soil & the other for raw root balls that need replenishment. I hydrate them both but I find it useful to keep unamended mix on hand for clones. When I amend my recycled mix that I have been reusing for over a year now I add in no particular order:

Fresh EWC
Alfalfa meal
Soft rock phosphate
Pure humic acid
Azomite
Feather meal
Blood meal
Fish bone meal
Greensand
Oyster flour
Soluble enzyme powder (kelp4less)
Garden gypsum
Dolomite lime (tiny bit)
Baby oatmeal Cereal
Chicken manure (Charlie's compost brand)
5-5-5 happy frog fertilizer

Much of my approach is from the revs book True Living Organics which suggests to recycle your soil for a minimum of 30 days after adding some of the above listed amendments. Once the mix reaches 6.5 on my soil ph pen & gets that earthy smell it's ready for use. For freshly rooted clones I like to dip the roots in aloe, then cover the roots with mycorrizea before transplanting to an unamended mix. I always sprinkle myco in the hole & on the root ball of any transplant which really works great. The only bottle I ever use is general organics cal/mag+ which provides a good source of soluble calmag; I add it about every other watering.
For a water source I use dehumidifier and RO water but in this cold/dry season I am forced to go into Walmart to get their RO water at .37 per gal as my hose is frozen solid & I collect about a gal a week in my dehumidifier. I collect rain when I remember to set out buckets but guess that won't happen again til the spring.
During bloom phase I typically hit my plants with a guano & EWC based tea at least once. For my veg plants that may need a boost I will add fish fertilizers to the same tea recipe & bubble it an extra day but they have not needed it since I've been adding composted chicken manure to my mix. I give all my plants at least one jobes organic spike in their containers about a week before moving them to the bloom room which really does seem to push bigger colas.

 

[MustangStudFarm]

Hey guys, obviously were all doing as much research as possible to improve our grow. When a new organic grower asks questions, alot of the time theyll be directed to the ROLS thread which has alot of good info but you must navigate through the chatter.

I wanted to make a thread where people can post their organic methods, such as @DonBrennon homemade biochar "furnace?" Improved soil mixes, favorite mulches, foliar spray methods etc..

Ill be posting items, and organic approaches Ive found.
@greasemonkeymann @Grandpa GreenJeans @anzohaze @DonTesla @Richard Drysift


Im low on cash this week, but I finally bought my 4ft 8bulb T5HO.
My near future plans.
1. Grow beneficial plants outside to use with my grow( Comfrey, legumes, stinging nettles possibly) Anything beneficial, that I can grow in my area.

2. Upgrade WormBin, make my own biochar, compost, grokashi

3. Learn how to transplant and "clone" Aloe efficiently. Want to have a spot specifically for growing Aloe.

4. Start a small aquarium to use the water from it.


I recently tranplanted a few plants. I now have 1 (15)gal, 3 (5)gal fabrics and about 7 smaller plants. Trying to maximize my space, and learn to clone.

Current methods:

Foliar: 200x Aloe, Protekt, Dr Bonners soap, occasional kelp/alfalfa

Soil Drench: 200x aloe, Coconut powder, protekt in veg, occasional kelp/alfalfa (Will be trying my Barley SST.)

Transplant: kelp/dash of alfalfa 2-3days before transplant, XtremeGardening Mykos

WormBin: 27gal tote, bedding about 4" high. Been feeding Strawberries/bananas W/ peel frozen then thawed. Seem to love it.

Current Soil Recipe (Will be adding a few items:

33% Sphagnum peat moss
25% Compost 8%EWC (33% total)
33% Aeration ( Id like to use Red Lava Rock, Rice Hulls, pumice, Rotted wood chunks*) *Thanks for the wood chunk idea Greasemonkey

Alfalfa meal
Kelp meal
Fish bone meal0
Crab shell meal
Few pellets of Peruvian seabird guano
Oyster shell flour
Glacial rock dust
Diameticous Earth

I have a friend that is into fish/aquariums, he told me that gold-fish produce the most N out of the common fish! If you are looking for a N producing fish tank? He also helped me build my tea brewer...

 

[4ftRoots]

I have a friend that is into fish/aquariums, he told me that gold-fish produce the most N out of the common fish! If you are looking for a N producing fish tank? He also helped me build my tea brewer...

View attachment 3590007 View attachment 3590008 View attachment 3590009

That is nice man! I've wanted to make one for the longest time. What air pump are you using?

 

[Kind Sir]

Couple questions.

How often do you use Aloe/Coconut in..
Foliar?
Soil Drench?


And lastly, I have a small 45 gph air pump and it didnt produce much foam when making a half gallon aact. I am looking at this air pump now, opinions?


http://www.amazon.com/EcoPlus-728450-Single-Outlet-Commercial/dp/B002JLJC0W

 

[MustangStudFarm]

That is nice man! I've wanted to make one for the longest time. What air pump are you using?

EcoPlus Commercial Air 7... It was the biggest investment as far as making the brewer goes!

 

[MustangStudFarm]

Here is a 5 gal brewer, very similar to my design... Air lift compost tea brewer. There is a DIY in the link

http://buildasoil.com/blogs/news/15654684-airlift-compost-tea-brewer-build-instructions-diy

 

[Be kind]

Home brew fermenting with air stone, using one of my favorite products "gro kashi" mushrooms, worm castings, volcanic ormus water, fish waste from a friends old fish hatchery,and 4tbs of pure sea weed, and of course cal mag. Ph'd to 5.5 with a natural rise and letting the ferment do the rest of the ph rising Ppm is around 1.6/700