1 Pound Plant, Living Soil.

King Avitas

Well-Known Member
So I just finished my second grow in my living soil. I grew 4 plants, each in a 20 gallon grow bag. This is an indoor grow and the living soil is the only source of nutrients the plants got. Straight water was the only thing added. I finally broke 1 pound on a sinhle plant. Pretty happy right now. I never managed that indoors before. Zombie kush was the strain.


Final numbers:
Plant # 1 - 396 grams
Plant #2 - 330 grams
Plant #3 - 439 grams
Plant #4 - 517 grams (my first 1lb indoor plant)

1,682 grams/3.70lbs.

grams/sq.ft:
3.3'x8' grow area = 26.64sq.ft.
1,682÷26.64= 63.14grams/sq.ft.

grams/watt:
3x460w lights @ 75% power
(3x460)×0.75= 1,035 watts
1,682÷1,035= 1.63gr/watt

***live plant pics were taken about 30 days prior to harvest. ***
20230704_150824.jpg20230704_150747.jpg20230704_150649.jpg20230810_101534.jpg
 

King Avitas

Well-Known Member
Peat:
-7.5cu.ft. Sphagnum Peat Moss

Compost:
-1cu.ft. Sheep Manure Compost
-1cu.ft. Mushroom Manure Compost
-1cu.ft Sea Soil Fish Compost
-3cu.ft. Worm Castings

Aeration:
-4cu.ft. Coarse Perlite
-2cu.ft. Rice Hulls
1cu.ft Charged Bio-Char (not traditional airation but...)

Fertilizer Amendments:
10 Cup Kelp Meal
10 Cup Neem Cake

Mineral Amendments:
20 Cups Basalt Rock Dust
10 Cups Oyster Shell Flour
10 Cup Gypsum

also added 4 cups of alfalfa after the first grow.
 

King Avitas

Well-Known Member
What was the veg time on those?
I started them March 1st and flipped them April 20th. So about 50 days. I also am in a sealed room with CO². In that 50 days they got massive. I filled the entire scrog net and then when I flipped them, let all the streatch go verticsl allowing for long colas and it worked out beautifully.

March 20th - 20 Days Old
PXL_20230320_144038418.jpg

April 20th - 30 Days Later at Flip
IMG_20230429_184413.jpg
 

King Avitas

Well-Known Member
Looks great. I’m about to join you in the living soil. I’m ditching the 5 gallons bags and I have two 3x3 beds waiting to be set up.

Definitely worth the investment. I used to spend $250-300 for chem nutes every grow and then 30 minutes everytime I fed the plants getting EC and Ph dialed in.

Now I spend about an hour per grow ammending my soil at the start and only give them straight water. So simple, especially if you have an auto watering system.

I will never go back to chems.
 

Tolerance Break

Well-Known Member
Definitely worth the investment. I used to spend $250-300 for chem nutes every grow and then 30 minutes everytime I fed the plants getting EC and Ph dialed in.

Now I spend about an hour per grow ammending my soil at the start and only give them straight water. So simple, especially if you have an auto watering system.

I will never go back to chems.
What nutes were you buying, and what scale were you growing?

I run 2 flood trays about 8 months of the year, 1 never stops, and I got enough dry amendments for the next 3 or 4 years for about $200 with shipping.
 

King Avitas

Well-Known Member
What nutes were you buying, and what scale were you growing?

I run 2 flood trays about 8 months of the year, 1 never stops, and I got enough dry amendments for the next 3 or 4 years for about $200 with shipping.

Small scale, ususlly only 8 plants. Tried both liquid and dry nutes. Obviously it was the liquid nutes that had the high price tag. The dry nutes I tried was Mega Crop and yes they were cheap and very good. I had good luck with pretty much anything I tried but 4 plants in living soil getting nothing but water just can't be beat as far as simplicity and overall cost goes.

I still need to buy ammendments though but only add them after each crop finishes up but they are super cheap and last a very long time. Things like crab meal, bokashi, humic acid, alfalfa, kelp, neem cake, worm castings and a little Gaia Green veg and grow. If I had to guess, I would say it cost me about $30 in total ammendments added after each crop and that number will go down once I start making my own worm castings and bokashi.
20230811_130125.jpg

Just finished cleaning my room and ammendmending the soil.
 

Tolerance Break

Well-Known Member
Small scale, ususlly only 8 plants. Tried both liquid and dry nutes. Obviously it was the liquid nutes that had the high price tag. The dry nutes I tried was Mega Crop and yes they were cheap and very good. I had good luck with pretty much anything I tried but 4 plants in living soil getting nothing but water just can't be beat as far as simplicity and overall cost goes.

I still need to buy ammendments though but only add them after each crop finishes up but they are super cheap and last a very long time. Things like crab meal, bokashi, humic acid, alfalfa, kelp, neem cake, worm castings and a little Gaia Green veg and grow. If I had to guess, I would say it cost me about $30 in total ammendments added after each crop and that number will go down once I start making my own worm castings and bokashi.
View attachment 5317164

Just finished cleaning my room and ammendmending the soil.
Nice. Any tips for amendments? Im looking for products, brands, or compost materials for a set up similar to yours (from the looks of things). I'm going to be doing some projects with soil, with the end goal being a living soil ecosystem I can use as needed.
 

King Avitas

Well-Known Member
Nice. Any tips for amendments? Im looking for products, brands, or compost materials for a set up similar to yours (from the looks of things). I'm going to be doing some projects with soil, with the end goal being a living soil ecosystem I can use as needed.
Honestly for the most part, I took the coots and build a soil recipes and tried to figure out what each product was being used for then built my own recipe mimicking theirs with products I could find in Canada.

Then for the ammendments, I have just been guessing with some of the stuff I add. But I always add, worm castings and lots of them for the rapid availability of nutrients they provide the plants with. I added 15 cups to each pot this time and I swear by them. I have always been a fan of Kelp, so I threw a cup of that in each pot.Then comes the Gaia Green 4-4-4 & 2-8-4. I always throw about a cup of each in so hopefully it maintains some of the micro-nutrients and minerals I might be missing. I also add 1/2 cup Neem cake to diversify my nute sources & 1 cup of bokashi for microbial health. And alfalfa, 1 cup into each pot.

Then there are other things I add but might add them one time but then skip the next time I ammend my soil. Things that I usually read about or hear in a pod cast like soldier fly frass. I hear it makes the plant think there is a big infestation of bugs and triggers a defense mechanism resulting in the plant producing higher amounts of resin to protect the flowers. Could be total bullshit but its a hobby so I try things just to see what happens. Threw a 1/2 cup of that in.

I never did throw any crustacean meal in when I built my soil, so I threw in 1/3 cup of crab meal this time around. As you can see I am just winging it. Lol

I think the biggest thing is starting right the first time and then just try to balance out the amendments you think your plant and soil are using.

And I am no expert, just some dude in his garage trying different stuff to see what happens So take whatever i say with a grain of salt.
 

Cpappa27

Well-Known Member
Spiderfarmer SF 4000. Not a bad light. Going to be adding uv lights on my next grow. I bought them a year ago but have been too scared to try them. :D
Nice grow. Over 3lbs out of an 8x3 space is really awesome. Nice job, I love soil cause there is an infinite amount of recipes one can use. No one recipe is right and each one will give a different result is whats great about it.
 

King Avitas

Well-Known Member
Nice grow. Over 3lbs out of an 8x3 space is really awesome. Nice job, I love soil cause there is an infinite amount of recipes one can use. No one recipe is right and each one will give a different result is whats great about it.
It would be nice to get my soil tested after this next grow but it's not really an option where I live.

So reading and guessing is about all I can do.
 

weedstoner420

Well-Known Member
Definitely worth the investment. I used to spend $250-300 for chem nutes every grow and then 30 minutes everytime I fed the plants getting EC and Ph dialed in.

Now I spend about an hour per grow ammending my soil at the start and only give them straight water. So simple, especially if you have an auto watering system.

I will never go back to chems.
Agree 100%. It's definitely possible to make organic growing complicated, but it can also be the lowest-effort method by far.
 
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