Nutrient blends like DTE Bio Live (good stuff btw) may have mycorrhizae, but it isn't pure and won't be enough to attach itself to the roots. Dusting mycorrhizae on a transplant is practically mandatory IMO. Sure, you can technically go without it. But having the mykos bond to your roots immediately will ensure the survival of your plant. Think of the symbiosis going on, the mykos will do everything in their power to ensure the survival of the plant as they are dependent on the plant's survival. They all take care of each other because they need each other to thrive.
Great White is a good product, but its way overpriced. Same sized jar of Endo Mycorrhizae goes for $8-$12 on Amazon.
Blumats are designed for perfect watering, if you're using Blumats you shouldn't have to worry about watering in the slightest. I don't trust water probes, unreliable IMO. Lift test and knuckle has always worked for me.
The leaves praying this is actually a bit of a myth, by the way. When they're praying it isn't praying for more light, they're praying for more Magnesium. This is because Mg is a crucial component in photosynthesis, and Mg is typically the first to show signs of deficiency and/or be locked out.
What's the wattage of your SE bulb? 18 inches is pretty close. Even with the hand test under the light, just because there isn't heat stress doesn't mean there won't be light stress. Be cautious.
I'm not running anything fancy at the moment. I'm mostly an outdoor grower, so I grow strains that can handle the extreme cold and heat of my climate. I've got some Green Crack plants outdoors now, experimenting to see how well they do in the winter. I've got 2 Strawberry Cough plants in a 4x8 Scrog under a 1000w DE MH bulb, and 3 Monkey OG and 1 Critical Blue next to the screen.
Been wanting to run Bodhi gear for the longest time, but I've never been fond of sexing plants. Potential waste of time if I get males. Someday when I'm in my own place and have the ability to get a separate veg room going.
I hate trimming now lol. Was fun when I started, but after doing it for 10+ years it got old fast. My last year's summer outdoor was ~13lbs between 5 plants, I didn't even trim 3lbs of it. Just turned it all into bubble hash. I'll be doing nothing but trimming top buds, and turning the rest into bubble from now on.
Half oz of bubble lasts me longer than a QP of flower. And the taste is too good, I'm spoiled now lol. Which works just fine, because running hash means little to no trimming. Just trim the fan leaves off before harvest, cut the buds and throw into my work bag, make hash. Done. No trimming, no worrying about a perfect dry/cure for flowers, a tenth of the jars compared to flower, and incredible flavor from running fresh.
It is entirely possible to have a successful grow with nothing but EWC top dress. It sounds like you are well on your way to making EWC that are capable of achieving this. Worms love OSF and neem! Just make sure your Crab Meal and Basalt are as finely ground as possible, less time to decompose and the sooner the worms can munch on it. Worm castings that have been made from high quality compost, kelp/crab/neem meals, and OSF will be of the highest quality. Add a little langbeinite to the bin too (little goes a LONG way) so your EWC has some K, Mg, and Sulfur in it too. This way, your EWC will have absolutely everything it needs and will be of the highest quality.
You having access to EWC like those will put you leaps and bounds ahead of most of us, myself included. At that point, you'd pretty much only need something like TM7 for micro-nutrients (Cu, Zn, Mn, etc).
Sounds like you're well on your way. Only thing you need now is to stick with it and get personal experience with the living soil method and the plants themselves.
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! Hope this stride continues into flower.
