Karma Genetics no till grow journal

INF Flux

Well-Known Member
So I can't go wrong with it...
But that wood chips looks better so thinking now that I will try it...

:)
A combo approach is best, I use yarrow, horsetail, dandelion, straw, wood, and whatever gets pruned from anything. I'm admittedly pretty fast and loose with my approach but I figure that a diverse top dressing/mulching approach is best.
 

GentleCaveman

Well-Known Member
It won't matter much, because if you are growing in that pot right now your room climate is imitating the summertime. Fungi will do its job mostly in the fall and winter time, because it likes humidity and cold temperatures. So whatever you put on your pot, its mostly gonna be a cover more than being a fungi food. But when you finish your grow and leave your pot alone in dark/cold for few days you gonna see white stuff building under the first layer of wood chips. You still can see if its humid enough but you will overwater your plant if you try to keep it in that humidity. When I pick it from the forest there is 3 layers of stuff going on. First layer is big leaves/twigs thats freshly fallen from the trees, under that is mushy leaves and soft pieces of wood with white stuff around them, under that is mix of rich black compost and worm castings. So I layer them like that while putting on my pot. I got bunch of worms spiders bugs every kind of thing living in the tent doing their job because they have a familiar space to live.

Another important info: Wood chips are not wood shavings. Just to make sure. Wood chips means chipped pieces of little twigs sticks leaves needles. You don't want your wood chips to be coming from big stocks or barks, because there is not much nutrients in them. You can have some in there but you want it to be mostly leaves twigs and needles.
 
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BurtMaklin

Well-Known Member
Try foliar and root drench with coconut water @ 25 ml/gal. Then in a couple days, give them some malted barley powder and spray it in with fulvic (I prefer ful power), aloe and silica (protekt or agsil).

2 or 3 tbsp of malted barley powder sprinkled evenly on top of each pot, then watered in with:

20 ml/gal ful power
1tbsp/gal agsil16h mix
1/4 tsp/gal of aloe powder

It honestly looks like overwatering and a case of fungus gnat larvae picking on the roots of young seedlings. Diatomaceous earth is no good for no till, kills all your beneficial mites and such. Much better to control them with a combination of neem and karanja oils, beneficial mites and nematodes.
 

Bubba's girl

Well-Known Member
Try foliar and root drench with coconut water @ 25 ml/gal. Then in a couple days, give them some malted barley powder and spray it in with fulvic (I prefer ful power), aloe and silica (protekt or agsil).

2 or 3 tbsp of malted barley powder sprinkled evenly on top of each pot, then watered in with:

20 ml/gal ful power
1tbsp/gal agsil16h mix
1/4 tsp/gal of aloe powder

It honestly looks like overwatering and a case of fungus gnat larvae picking on the roots of young seedlings. Diatomaceous earth is no good for no till, kills all your beneficial mites and such. Much better to control them with a combination of neem and karanja oils, beneficial mites and nematodes.
I don't think anybody mentioned the DE, that's what I've been thinkin. Definitely not over watering, more like under watering. Ive had fungas gnal larvae do this to my seedlings before, but I don't think that was the case here. Anyhow I've given up on these and have started some new seeds. Will be back with picks soon.
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
I don't think anybody mentioned the DE, that's what I've been thinkin. Definitely not over watering, more like under watering. Ive had fungas gnal larvae do this to my seedlings before, but I don't think that was the case here. Anyhow I've given up on these and have started some new seeds. Will be back with picks soon.
yeah sometimes just easier to start over. the nice thing about running fem seeds is you really don't have to ever feel like you're missing out on a killer pheno :) the genetics are pretty stable! i'm not sure what issues the DE would have caused?? i mean its basically just silica... what do you hypothesize the DE could be doing?
 

Bubba's girl

Well-Known Member
yeah sometimes just easier to start over. the nice thing about running fem seeds is you really don't have to ever feel like you're missing out on a killer pheno :) the genetics are pretty stable! i'm not sure what issues the DE would have caused?? i mean its basically just silica... what do you hypothesize the DE could be doing?
I have no idea what exactly the DE was doing. Just that adding it was a new part of the equation so it's a possible culprit.
 

Bubba's girl

Well-Known Member
These sprouts in jiffys were transplanted into solo's 3 days ago. The mix is 1 part store bought soil mix, 1 part perlite, 2 parts promix hp, then a dash more perlite. I've used this recipe for seedling before but it was all equal parts and a tich on the hot side (for small seedlings). So far they are loving it, have had nice growth since the transplant. They're a bit darker green than the pics show, should have turned the light off.IMG_4694.JPG IMG_4695.JPG
 

Bubba's girl

Well-Known Member
^ other questions answered above^

1) My peat moss came in a brick so I had to hydrate to be able to measure it, so yeah.
2) 60 gals, it was 1 or 2 water cooler jugs of RO water, they are 18.9 litres each, think it was 2 but not 100%
3) In a kiddie pool, with a tarp over, not sealed but all edges tucked under the pool. To be honest I didn't turn it often and I didn't add a lot of water, it sat for several months. It seemed fairly damp imho.
Going back to my Coots mix...

Hey @ShLUbY I just realized this. I don't think I hydrated my peat moss. I did not come in a brick, I was thinking of coco I used in my previous soil grow. My peat moss came in a bale like promix does.
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
Going back to my Coots mix...

Hey @ShLUbY I just realized this. I don't think I hydrated my peat moss. I did not come in a brick, I was thinking of coco I used in my previous soil grow. My peat moss came in a bale like promix does.
with the perlite already in it? I learned something recently, that when buying peat moss, you want to buy the brick Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss. Anything that comes in a "looser" form combined with perlite has almost certainly been thermally sterilized :(

The stuff that comes in a solid block is literally cut out of the peat mine in that block form, and packaged right on site! microbial content still intact.

and about hydration... I think as long as you supplied your entire soil mix enough moisture during the composting/inoculation process I think it's fine and it did hydrate.

Did you ever try and take a pH reading with the method i posted?
 

Bubba's girl

Well-Known Member
with the perlite already in it? I learned something recently, that when buying peat moss, you want to buy the brick Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss. Anything that comes in a "looser" form combined with perlite has almost certainly been thermally sterilized :(

The stuff that comes in a solid block is literally cut out of the peat mine in that block form, and packaged right on site! microbial content still intact.

and about hydration... I think as long as you supplied your entire soil mix enough moisture during the composting/inoculation process I think it's fine and it did hydrate.

Did you ever try and take a pH reading with the method i posted?
Nope, this peat did not have perlite in it. Its def Canadian Sphagnum peat moss, and bought from a place that is catering to the Coots mix.

I never did test the soil ph. I have switched back to RO water I was using before.
 

BurtMaklin

Well-Known Member
Looking better this time, that's what we like to see.

If I can make a suggestion without sounding like a knowitall ... if you still can, mix some biochar in that mix (as per coot, 4-6 cups/cuf) It makes a huge difference in quality and yield. It also works well as a little more aeration as it doesn't break down and provides microbes a place to live and multiply. I've done both with and without, and my results were much better with.

Good luck!!
 

Bubba's girl

Well-Known Member
Looking better this time, that's what we like to see.

If I can make a suggestion without sounding like a knowitall ... if you still can, mix some biochar in that mix (as per coot, 4-6 cups/cuf) It makes a huge difference in quality and yield. It also works well as a little more aeration as it doesn't break down and provides microbes a place to live and multiply. I've done both with and without, and my results were much better with.

Good luck!!
Glad you mentioned the biochar, I've been wondering about that stuff, I'll grab some this week. Thanks!
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member

BurtMaklin

Well-Known Member
Yeah, some of them are awesome. I really liked the ones with Coot and Dr. Faust. Really good stuff.


Love Faust's Ful Power and his TM-7 (humic), they have really stepped up my game.
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
Yeah, some of them are awesome. I really liked the ones with Coot and Dr. Faust. Really good stuff.


Love Faust's Ful Power and his TM-7 (humic), they have really stepped up my game.
i've been putting ful-power in my blumat res occasionally. haven't used the TM-7 before. these are my first trials with adding the ful-power to the res. i want to do a side by side later this year and see if it makes a difference in yield or quality.
 

BurtMaklin

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure about the yield, but fragile little stems become thicker and can support much more weight before staking. The plant in my pic has been grown in canna, a bunch of different organic mixes and no till (with and without full power, I used mr fulvic before and no real results were noticed) so I can say the structure of the plant has improved greatly. I've had this cut for 10 yrs plus (and the seeds were from TGA's Jack Skellington from the early 2000's) my wife is absolutely in love with it, she couldn't care less about any of the other 100 strains I've run, so I know her pretty well. I've even had to stake her in veg, especially in hot summer grows I no long bother with. I never worry about yield, but I can say for sure that the biochar is key for that in organics IMHO.

The TM-7 is a humic product and helps condition your soil while you wait for the worms to do their thing. Once you have a nice thick layer of humus on top there is really no need for it, but I give it after choppy choppy day to boost the next round. It's super concentrated and super cheap. I still have well over 3/4 of a bag after 2 years. Just don't overdo it or use as foliar, it dramatically increases ph. I never ph, but the first time I used it I used more than suggested and my plants were not happy about it, all yellowy like a ph issue. Then I read somewhere that was the issue, so I cut back and no further issues.
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure about the yield, but fragile little stems become thicker and can support much more weight before staking. The plant in my pic has been grown in canna, a bunch of different organic mixes and no till (with and without full power, I used mr fulvic before and no real results were noticed) so I can say the structure of the plant has improved greatly. I've had this cut for 10 yrs plus (and the seeds were from TGA's Jack Skellington from the early 2000's) my wife is absolutely in love with it, she couldn't care less about any of the other 100 strains I've run, so I know her pretty well. I've even had to stake her in veg, especially in hot summer grows I no long bother with. I never worry about yield, but I can say for sure that the biochar is key for that in organics IMHO.

The TM-7 is a humic product and helps condition your soil while you wait for the worms to do their thing. Once you have a nice thick layer of humus on top there is really no need for it, but I give it after choppy choppy day to boost the next round. It's super concentrated and super cheap. I still have well over 3/4 of a bag after 2 years. Just don't overdo it or use as foliar, it dramatically increases ph. I never ph, but the first time I used it I used more than suggested and my plants were not happy about it, all yellowy like a ph issue. Then I read somewhere that was the issue, so I cut back and no further issues.
right on, i never worry about yield either, but i know yield and quality go hand in hand with a proper soil. When my yield suffers, i know something is up haha. I'm going to be getting some black owl from Tad's site here soon and start incorporating that into my mixes. I'd really love to just get back to no-till gardening instead of recycling; I had an episode last year where my 25 gals were going slightly alkaline and instead of trying to fix it, i just put the soil in my vegetable garden beds outside and started fresh (i'd been running the mixes about 2 years indoors at that point). Now i'm better prepared to care for these things long term. knowledge is power! I probably won't even bother with the TM-7. thanks for the info, Burt.
 

DankTankerous

Well-Known Member
right on, i never worry about yield either, but i know yield and quality go hand in hand with a proper soil. When my yield suffers, i know something is up haha. I'm going to be getting some black owl from Tad's site here soon and start incorporating that into my mixes. I'd really love to just get back to no-till gardening instead of recycling; I had an episode last year where my 25 gals were going slightly alkaline and instead of trying to fix it, i just put the soil in my vegetable garden beds outside and started fresh (i'd been running the mixes about 2 years indoors at that point). Now i'm better prepared to care for these things long term. knowledge is power! I probably won't even bother with the TM-7. thanks for the info, Burt.
I was using their Ful-Humex regularly in watering and foiliar, and yeah I experienced a high pH and the same yellowing. I have since dropped it
 
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