Thanks for the sulfur tip! Potassium bicarb took care of the PM for now, but it's a band-aid. I also grow outdoors, so mold & mildew don't really freak me out -- unless they're taking over. (I lost at least 4 zips to brown mold last fall & had to chop early.)was the biochar charged before you put it in the soil? I made my own biochar and charged it myself... and the test run i did with the mix was awesome. the plants were definitely superior. i ended up having to just mix that particular mix with the rest of my soils, but i'm going to be making more char soon for a second test batch and i'm looking forward to it. the plants that had the char had bigger nugs and grew wider/taller than the ones i tested against it. the only diff in the mixes was the char. I need to make some more soon and get it in all my mixes. i've just had too much other shit going on.
do yourself a favor if you have PM indoors, and get yourself a sulfur burner (it vaporizes not burns) and some sulfur prills off amazon and vaporize that shit in your grow. it will sterilize the environment and sulfur in large doses is highly antifungal and the plants will absorb the sulfur from the air and it will get rid of PM even in the stem tissues. It takes more than one application but let me tell you from experience... it's the only thing that actually works (other than eagle 20 but fuck that shit). i blasted my flower room when it was empty, and i blasted my veg room full of plants. then i blasted the flower room about 2 weeks into flower with the plants in there. i blasted the veg room again after that. I have been mildew freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. it's been so nice, i fought that shit for a year... IT SUCKS, the sulfur burner was the only thing that finally did the trick.
Does it say if it's been charged or not anywhere on the bag? I can't believe a company manufacturing biochar for gardening purposes would sell you un-charged biochar without telling you to charge it before use.........very irrisponsible and I'd imagine would lose them a lot of custom. Lack of information on soil amendments really pisses me off and I believe it's worse here than in the States'.Thanks for the sulfur tip! Potassium bicarb took care of the PM for now, but it's a band-aid. I also grow outdoors, so mold & mildew don't really freak me out -- unless they're taking over. (I lost at least 4 zips to brown mold last fall & had to chop early.)
Regarding the biochar, I just mixed it straight from the bag @ 5%.
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That probably explains the problems I had after repotting. The plants were root bound in half gallon pots, so the soil was spent (FFOF). I had been giving them tea when they started looking pale, and it worked great. After repotting into the custom soil with biochar, it took about a week for all of them to fade, then the PM hit. Then the bugs showed up. It was a nasty fight but they look MUCH better now. These plants have been baptized by fire! Gonna do a final trim & flip em in a few days.Does it say if it's been charged or not anywhere on the bag? I can't believe a company manufacturing biochar for gardening purposes would sell you un-charged biochar without telling you to charge it before use.........very irrisponsible and I'd imagine would lose them a lot of custom. Lack of information on soil amendments really pisses me off and I believe it's worse here than in the States'.
Formerly certified master gardener, all organic etc Same tricks, new plant.as long as you understand what's going on with the biology you'll be fine. careful with the rotting wood, you should soak it in a pre charge like you would biochar, i know someone else who uses it and he said it can rob your soil of nutrients the same way the char does.
no tills are where i'm headed next. it just makes sense. think of a real pedon of soil and the horizons within it. top layer is the organic matter, next sublayer is slightly organic from having materials leaching into the soil. over the time lowest horizons will become depleted of organics from the original mix, and leave behind the rock dusts and other minerals as well as the peat and drainage. so this would be your parent material horizon. over the course of the grow you add more organic material to the top layer of soil (as would naturally happen in nature when things die and foliage is shed). water is taken up from parent material layers for most of the transpiration that the plant does. the plant feeds from the upper horizons where the organic materials are and microbes are breaking stuff down. replica of nature
MAKE SURE you have something for mulch (rice hulls, sticks and stems from cannabis, thick layer of canna leaves, ect ect). I have found that to be one of the most crucial parts of organics. mulch not only slows evaporation from the soil, but it makes the soil wick its moisture throughout the pot. Also, things that don't appreciate light (roots, worms, mycelia) can now grow and roam to the very edge of the upper horizon of organic material and consume EVERYTHING. Have fun and share your results
looks like maybe it needs a charge. doesn't really say anything about it on the bag....Thanks for the sulfur tip! Potassium bicarb took care of the PM for now, but it's a band-aid. I also grow outdoors, so mold & mildew don't really freak me out -- unless they're taking over. (I lost at least 4 zips to brown mold last fall & had to chop early.)
Regarding the biochar, I just mixed it straight from the bag @ 5%.
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yeah i already been down the potassium bicarb route. like you said.... band-aid. it will come back about 5 - 6 weeks into flower because the plant is systemically infected.Thanks for the sulfur tip! Potassium bicarb took care of the PM for now, but it's a band-aid. I also grow outdoors, so mold & mildew don't really freak me out -- unless they're taking over. (I lost at least 4 zips to brown mold last fall & had to chop early.)
Regarding the biochar, I just mixed it straight from the bag @ 5%.
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Agreed.looks like maybe it needs a charge. doesn't really say anything about it on the bag....
psh. hard to tell with them. the guys at my hydro stores KNOW ZERO SHIT about real organics. Hell, they dont even know shit about chemistry, or botany and actual plant processes at all. Say "Kreb cycle" to them and they'd be like "what???". they just sell what they can sell and make money. which is fine, it's a business and that's what they should do.Agreed.
This was a learning experience. They guys at the hydro store didn't say anything about charging it either. Hmm...
Maybe they knew it would cause problems & hoped I would spend more money on remedies???
Nope. This ain't my first rodeo.
It wasn't pretty, but I got through it just fine.
Whatz a 'grow store'...??!!!psh. hard to tell with them. the guys at my hydro stores KNOW ZERO SHIT about real organics. Hell, they dont even know shit about chemistry, or botany and actual plant processes at all. Say "Kreb cycle" to them and they'd be like "what???". they just sell what they can sell and make money. which is fine, it's a business and that's what they should do.
i'm not saying that all grow store guys are like this... but the ones i deal with.... yeah, it's a little rough. I hear bad advice from people getting advice from the grow stores all the time. hydroponics, they can do. i'll give them that
Hydro is where they make big money. Hell I was surprised they even had biochar. I even bought a box of langbeinite there last year! (Never saw it on the shelves again.)psh. hard to tell with them. the guys at my hydro stores KNOW ZERO SHIT about real organics. Hell, they dont even know shit about chemistry, or botany and actual plant processes at all. Say "Kreb cycle" to them and they'd be like "what???". they just sell what they can sell and make money. which is fine, it's a business and that's what they should do.
i'm not saying that all grow store guys are like this... but the ones i deal with.... yeah, it's a little rough. I hear bad advice from people getting advice from the grow stores all the time. hydroponics, they can do. i'll give them that
My store has a bunch of organic DTE amendments and another MI based company called Organically Done. I can get most things i need there, butHydro is where they make big money. Hell I was surprised they even had biochar. I even bought a box of langbeinite there last year! (Never saw it on the shelves again.)
Both....part of my bi- weeklyAnyone using SST or malted grains ?
I've tried both & like them
25%@Chunky Stool What percentage of calcined clay is in your mix? I've found it can hold too much water depending on the percentage used in the root substrate.
My store has a bunch of organic DTE amendments and another MI based company called Organically Done. I can get most things i need there, but
I have to order in once in a while. Probably been to the grow store 4 times in the last year though,the guy is always like "man havent seen you in a while!". Im thinking... yup sure is nice