GREEN'S PROBIOTIC METHOD

Greenthumbs256 said:

If you can I'd suggest covering it, i use contractor trash bags, it will increase the humidity and act kinda like a greenhouse. Which the mycelium loves and the growth will explode.

I've also noticed more growth with higher temps as well. Just fyi

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I only uncovered it for the picture, you can barely see it bunched up at the top. The cover is kind of a canvas material, thought it would have been more plastic, using City Pickers from Amazon. The temperature is a bit on the cool side in there.

When I took that picture a couple days ago I added a little more Biokashi and sprayed the top with some water, checked today and it looked pretty much the same. I started poking my finger all over and was surprised how dry it was. It was a bit moist still but nothing like I thought it would be after watching the video. It's about what the moisture would be opening a new bag of garden soil. I'm wondering if I started with medium that was a bit too dry? It's been in there for a week now. Here is a breakdown of my soil ratios if that in case that could be the issue.

CannaManMI said:

When I took that picture a couple days ago I added a little more Biokashi and sprayed the top with some water, checked today and it looked pretty much the same. I started poking my finger all over and was surprised how dry it was. It was a bit moist still but nothing like I thought it would be after watching the video. It's about what the moisture would be opening a new bag of garden soil. I'm wondering if I started with medium that was a bit too dry? It's been in there for a week now. Here is a breakdown of my soil ratios if that in case that could be the issue.

View attachment 4536463

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Hmm, it shouldn't be that dry, I hardly ever top water, or even spray it down. When I set up a new sip, I just fill the rez, and within 3 to 4 days, shes soaked under the top. And mycelium growth is taking off. One main thing I've learned is you have to leave things alone sometimes. Less is more! With this method, we are not growing these ladies. It's our job to set up "mother nature" up with a "buffet" and make sure she has everything she needs. Its then mother nature's job to do what she she does best. As long as everything is there, she can pick and choose what she needs and when. If we go poking around, and adding extra of this and that, she may not like that. So the hardest part about this method is learning to keep your hands off! Give her some time to do her thing. Stop being impatient and trying to do it for her, bc usually your just going to make things harder.

Something I always like to say is... to think that we as humans beings can do a better job then mother nature is just insane, anyone who thinks they can, needs to just stop smoking so much! Just bc we have been screwing around in the soil for a few thousand years all of a sudden, we can do her job better... yea sure. But mother nature has been doing this since the beginning of time, and invented everything we think we know. So back up a few steps.

That's why once you set it up, get the hell out of the way, and let her work her magic, dont go checking things, and poking around, and adding what you think she needs. Bc we may think we know, but 99.99% of everyone is wrong. And once you go working against her, then your defeating the entire purpose, and may as well run hydro, or a bottle nutes recipe. After the sip is set up, and running and you have picked a lady to plant in it, your only job is to fill up the rez when it goes dry. You should not be lifting up the top to check on your mycelium, or adding anything. With the exception of a top dress from time to time. Other than that, you should never remove that top cover. Your work is what you can see above ground. Dont worry about what's happening below. As long as you have provided everything she needs, and your soil is a bountiful and rich soil teaming with life, it will do what it has done for billions of years without our fat fingers poking around in things.

Do you job, and let her do hers. You water the sips, and you set them up. If your doing anything else day to day, your fucking up and making mother nature work harder to fix your fuck ups. Dont pretend you know more then what she knows!

But, I should also mention, temperatures also play a big role in mycelium growth, I've found in super hot and humid environments. The growth explodes, and in cold and dry environments the growth is way less, and alot slower. But again less is more, if your soaking the top too much, that could also be why your growth hasnt taken off. Unless your starting with fresh bagged soil, I would not recommend spraying down the top with water. Just fill the rez, it will soak itself. Also if starting with fresh bag soil, it cant hurt to add in some extra life to get things rolling, like recharge, or maybe adding a compost tea to the soil before setting up and filling the sip. This way, your soil already has life moving and being active. The microbes and things in bag soil are present, but if that bag sat there for God knows how long, they could be dormant, dead, maybe just low in numbers, so a small boost, of adding life before getting started cant hurt.

Remember you should be setting up your sips, and they should just sit there, for atleast a week or 2, I like to go longer, but it gives the life your creating time to anchor down and grab some footing. Once you have that entire soil food web, kicking ass and making magic. Toss in a decent size, established lady and let it be! Hands off and you will see.

Last thing I wanna say, diversity is a key factor, the more options mother nature has to work with the better. From time to time, I even swap up my compost materials. I've used mushroom, lobster, cow, chicken, pretty much what ever I come across I'll add atleast a small handfull from time to time, but just be careful there. hell if I thought it would help I'd shit in it myself lmfao. But give her everything she may need to work with, but without going crazy. I even like to toss in old leaves when I do a top dressing, they break down, and become food eventually.

I only mention this part, bc the pic you posted, seems kinda basic and bland to me, yes you have covered all the basics covered, but do you want basic harvest. Maybe think about adding in some things like neem and karanja, or bat guanos, recharge, maybe even some kelp or alfalfa, just some things for those microbes to munch and feed on. Different types of microbes may prefer different things. But if some things are not available, it's not like they can hop to another sip, grab what they want can go back.

BUT AGAIN LESS IS MORE, BUT DIVERSITY IS AN AMAZING THING.

Hope that helps some. If not then that's my bad, I've always been shit at explaining things. So in that case, Google Jeff lowenfells. Teaming with microbes, teaming with nutrients, and teaming with fungi, he breaks things down and explains exactly what's happening in the soil, that we cant see. It will help you get a better understanding of what were trying to accomplish here.

Thanks for the reply brotha. I also have BuildASoil's Complete Soil Building Kit mixed in there and will be using Recharge when I transplant so hopefully I'm covered. Plants go in Friday which will be 2 weeks after I set up the SIPs.

I was just a little worried I started off a bit dry and it wasn't wicking like it should. I'm not going to mess with it any more than I have to.

CannaManMI said:

Thanks for the reply brotha. I also have BuildASoil's Complete Soil Building Kit mixed in there and will be using Recharge when I transplant so hopefully I'm covered. Plants go in Friday which will be 2 weeks after I set up the SIPs.

I was just a little worried I started off a bit dry and it wasn't wicking like it should. I'm not going to mess with it any more than I have to.

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Mine was dry at first too. After 2-3 rez fill ups u should be good. These fill ups will take longer to absorb then with plant. Make sure it’s covered and u will notice the weight difference of the sip

I did spray my top grokashi down pretty good too and lowered my light about a week or so after I put it all together. Fungus wasn’t growing on top very well but soon did after a couple days.

just be careful with top watering or spraying, it can make a perfect breeding grounds for fungus gnats, granted outside this really isnt a big issue but if you have a wife and grow inside, well let's just say your going to be having some headaches.

The headaches you're referring to is the wife - correct?

NewGrower2011 said:

The headaches you're referring to is the wife - correct?

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I didnt say that.... lol

Quick update for you few of you still following along, sorry I been busy and have a hella lot going on right now.

But heres a few new pics of the mac1 I have going, shes looking great but for the life of me, I cant get her to pray and stop sagging. Dont know why but it is what it is. She is starting to fade, got some lower leaves beginning to yellow off, and the tops turning purple, so its getting close to that time!

looking delicious! I followed your gg4 grow a while back. Are you still using the same nute recipe?

Reefslinger said:

looking delicious! I followed your gg4 grow a while back. Are you still using the same nute recipe?

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Never used nutes since I've gotten gg4

Literally when I first got my gg4, I was just starting to get running with the sips, at the time I was running just living organics with living companion crops and compost teas. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever used nutes, I've gotten the sample bottles of roots organics, that I ran with a solo cup challenge a while back, but as far as I can remember I dont think I've ever had or used a nutes recipe other than that challenge

Sorry if you answered this already but I have a few questions

"if you add 3/4 cup of em1, with 3/4 cup of organic molasses, that 3/4 cup of em1 can become a gallon! this makes it super cheap, but this can only be done once. although I do not know why"

What exactly are you doing here? Are you saying to mix 3/4 cup of molasses and 3/4 of em1 into 1 gallon of water and apply that at a rate as if it was all EM1? Would agave nectar be a better sugar since its already fructose for the bacteria since the bacteria have to expend energy breaking down sucrose into fructose? Does EM1 have to be applied every time I add water to the rez? Can worms also be used in this environment?

IIReignManII said:

Sorry if you answered this already but I have a few questions

"if you add 3/4 cup of em1, with 3/4 cup of organic molasses, that 3/4 cup of em1 can become a gallon! this makes it super cheap, but this can only be done once. although I do not know why"

What exactly are you doing here? Are you saying to mix 3/4 cup of molasses and 3/4 of em1 into 1 gallon of water and apply that at a rate as if it was all EM1? Would agave nectar be a better sugar since its already fructose for the bacteria since the bacteria have to expend energy breaking down sucrose into fructose? Does EM1 have to be applied every time I add water to the rez? Can worms also be used in this environment?

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So first it's not the only way, I'm sure there is others ways. Basically what were doing is expanding the em1, en stands for effective microorganisms. What were doing is giving them food(molasses), and allowing them to breed and multiply.

I cant say if agave nectar would work, bc I dont know much about it and I've never used it before. I'd assume if it's just sugars as you said, I dont see why I cant work. I'd I'd suggest running a test.

Em1 does not have to added every time, in fact I stop using it completely through the last 2 weeks. But it does keep the reservoir clean, provide life to the sip, and lastly it has a npk value of it's own. So I do use it just about every watering. But yes you could skip some.

I'd say yes you can add worms, seeing as I make my own EWC, worms always end up in the sips one way or another. But the environment of the sip stays so wet, 99% of the time, worms dont live long or seem to like it in the sips. ive yet to find any when resetting the sips, although as I've said I know for a fact some end up in there.

Hope I covered everything, sorry about the some things I dont know, but I'll look into it and get back to you on that.

Greenthumbs256 said:

Never used nutes since I've gotten gg4

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My bad, I meant to ask if your current soil recipe is the same as when you did your GG4?

Reefslinger said:

My bad, I meant to ask if your current soil recipe is the same as when you did your GG4?

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Well that's hard to say, bc it changes depending on the soil test results. But over all yes its basically the same more or less. But I've been having some test come back and my nitrogen is through the roof. So I've been leaving out some things depending on the test.

I also have been using about 1/2 cup of oyster shell to counter the low ph of all the em1 I've been using.