Calcium Lockout - Potassium Overdose

PadawanWarrior said:

I like your mix, but I'd use a lower percentage of rice hulls since they break down pretty fast in active soil. I prefer pumice too, but it's heavier and can be more expensive.

Careful with the bloodmeal since it's probably the hottest amendment you listed.

And those red mites are probably hypoaspis miles. They're great decomposers and love fungus gnats.
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Reap911 said:

What else can I use other than Pumice and Rice Hulls?

I have heard of Lava Rocks but is there another secret ingredient somewhere?

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Reap911 said:

Looks amaze balls.

I know that you can get extremely good results using only dry amendments. Maybe I missed represented my point a bit but I have taken in some good points around using ferments and other organic materials to enhance the biomass of the soil. My ability to recall the exact sciences behind all of this is a bit tough as I am pretty new to a lot of the molecular jargon, I dropped Biology at school for a reason but I have grasped the idea that you can make nutrients even more readily available through a combination of both raw materials and their corresponding ferments/extracts.

So I use the simple Korean Natural Farming approaches to create liquid extracts of the raw materials I add to the soil and that is about as much as I add other than one or two recommended materials which have now landed me with this issue but yeah I feel like I blended approach will give me really good results.

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Reap911 said:

Firstly, thank you so much for your advice, I hear exactly what you are you are saying and I guess that I was under a bit of pressure when I got the original response. I came here for hope of a solution and just as much as I appreciate feedback, it felt a bit unconstructive.

You are right, I found the right people that told me what I believe to be a much better way than anything I have heard of or come across before. I have been cultivating for years but using synthetics. I only moved over to living soils about 4 or so months ago.

I am just mirroring an approach to cultivation that I learnt through listening to podcasts. The recommendation was 1-2l per day for a 10gall pot. So I worked with watering 5% of the volume of the pot each day. After some note taking I realized that, depending on plants size and stage of life, that a fixed approach is not ideal. In flower I aim for 2.5% each day or 5% each other day. I have not dived into the watering sciences as yet as I am still getting through the soil food web. The watering approach is just based on recommendations from guys who strike me as very insightful in this field of work.

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Reap911 said:

Firstly, thank you so much for your advice, I hear exactly what you are you are saying and I guess that I was under a bit of pressure when I got the original response. I came here for hope of a solution and just as much as I appreciate feedback, it felt a bit unconstructive.

You are right, I found the right people that told me what I believe to be a much better way than anything I have heard of or come across before. I have been cultivating for years but using synthetics. I only moved over to living soils about 4 or so months ago.

I am just mirroring an approach to cultivation that I learnt through listening to podcasts. The recommendation was 1-2l per day for a 10gall pot. So I worked with watering 5% of the volume of the pot each day. After some note taking I realized that, depending on plants size and stage of life, that a fixed approach is not ideal. In flower I aim for 2.5% each day or 5% each other day. I have not dived into the watering sciences as yet as I am still getting through the soil food web. The watering approach is just based on recommendations from guys who strike me as very insightful in this field of work.

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Hollatchaboy said:

Yea I get it. I took a knf class to learn how to make some ferments. I'm not against using ferments or anything. It's just that I do alright without them, so I figure if it's not broken, I'm not gonna mess with it.

Look into sips. It keeps the soil at a perfect moisture level at all times as long as there's water in the res.

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ComfortCreator said:

I believe this is the issue. As mentioned by Padawan technically you can water daily, or use a SIP system to automate it.

To my ears it sounds like you have not experienced the amazing response of plants to the wet dry cycle. It is in fact the last day or 2 before watering, and the day or 2 after where you will find explosive growth.

After I transplanted from 1 to 3gal, the first followup watering was 8 days - yes 8 days - before watering again. They are thriving.

When I eventually transplant to 10gal, it will be likely 8 to 10 days for the next watering. Not long after, it will reduce to 2 or 3 for most.

But every single time, I check to see if they need water. Schedules dont exist (unless you are time constrained) and plants don't want a schedule. Exact same conditions even the very same strain may vary in their water needs greatly.

So listen you have been growing for a while, you know what you are doing. But as far as watering like you are simulating a SIP, try wet/dry.

My other 2c is, if you want to water daily, go with coco so you also get the benefits of coco and faster growth.

If you want an organic, easier grow, organic and or living soil!

So, so many problems arise from watering too often. All those adds you made...should be easier imo.. Top-dress with the right organic fert (outside USA they sure love gaia green 4 4 4), in USA Down to Earth is very nice.

Simple. Think simple. Feed me, water me, give me lots of sun and keep the bugs out. Don't drown me, don't make me work through a swamp. Simple. That's the mantra I follow.

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