Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

GreenSanta

Well-Known Member
Hey fellow organic growers... On my first no till cycle and I am experiencing some early yellowing in the last week of veg... I top dressed with an inch of Ewc amended with 1/2 cup each of neem/kelp/Crustacean and am hoping this will fix it because I want to flip any day now... I was wondering about an alfalfa foilar...
In the beginning of this thread it talks about an alfalfa seed tea would reduce internodule spacing during the stretch... I was wondering if an alfalfa meal foilar would do the same thing... Thanks in advance guys
What size pots?

I never ever foliar spray, I did try years ago when I was not so busy... not the secret to healthy plants, I like to mimic nature, does it ever rain fertilizer!?

Next thing is are ur plants in their final pots and still in veg? I always do my final transplant 1-14 days before I flip and there is no way my plants are yellow before flowering, and if they are, they have not had a taste of that fresh layer of soil all around them and it's only a matter of time before they green back up.

If they fade early in flowering, different story. Sometimes I'll ride it out if it's a 60 days or less variety and if not I like to use a bit of seaweed / insect frass (preferably from mealworms, high in chitins) mixed with water. And or a top dress of wormcastings/compost and or worms.
 

hillbill

Well-Known Member
I use a rich organic mix with high drainage and never foliar feed except in veg if a mg deficiency happens upon me. I do top dress with castings and fish bone meal 4 weeks in with my small containers. I alternate from compost tea to water to a weak Alfalfa tea when I water and keep that general schedule throughout.

The only thing that goes on foliage in flower is Neem/soap only for spider mites if present. I often rinse the plants at harvest and always do if I spray at all.

I use nasty smelling stuff on my plants to grow in and never had any taste carry through.

If living in the South, your local bait shop can be a great source for cricket crap and you might get earthworms that have gone bad and many are packed in castings. Volunteer to clean the crickets and I think you can make a deal.

Some people are saying no Kelp in flower but I have not seen any trouble and it goes great in my weak tea also
 

AllDayToker

Well-Known Member
Hey so I posted up a few days back with my recent run and it seemed like the problem was it was just a light soil.

I'm hoping to get some stuff ordered so by the time I'm finished chopping all my amendments are here and I can beef up my soil mix. What would you recommend adding? I have some things on hand, anything else I can order.

They also sell a re amending package on build a soil for the soil but if it was light before I'm guessing that wouldn't work well.
well i'd go with something like a greensand and calphos as mentioned before.... and then if you want to get the amendment pack from them... i'd just add those new ingredients at 1/2c per cuft and give it a go.... experimentation is the only way to really find out :)

i'm going through the same kinda thing as you, except i was seeing deficiencies at week 3 and 4 of flower... i think it was the down to earth amendments and have since switched every single product out for another brand. we'll see how this next run fairs....

Amendment pack plus green sand and CalPhos, got it! Thanks for the help I'll get that stuff ordered today.
 

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
I use a rich organic mix with high drainage and never foliar feed except in veg if a mg deficiency happens upon me. I do top dress with castings and fish bone meal 4 weeks in with my small containers. I alternate from compost tea to water to a weak Alfalfa tea when I water and keep that general schedule throughout.

The only thing that goes on foliage in flower is Neem/soap only for spider mites if present. I often rinse the plants at harvest and always do if I spray at all.

I use nasty smelling stuff on my plants to grow in and never had any taste carry through.

If living in the South, your local bait shop can be a great source for cricket crap and you might get earthworms that have gone bad and many are packed in castings. Volunteer to clean the crickets and I think you can make a deal.

Some people are saying no Kelp in flower but I have not seen any trouble and it goes great in my weak tea also
I wouldn't spray neem in flower. It leaves a residue that does not taste good. Maybe if you gave it a good wash it would be OK. I used spinosad on my last batch thanks to an especially nasty spider mite infestation. It's curing now. I burped the jars Friday and it smelled really nice. Hopefully the taste won't be affected, otherwise the whole batch will be turned into hash and cannabutter.
Never heard that kelp is bad during flower. In fact, there are products like GH Floralicious+ that contain kelp and work best if used during flower. Hell I just gave my giant sativa plant some tea last night that had kelp and it's a couple of weeks from being finished. She has mites too. I think these mites have developed an immunity to spinosad and SNS209, but it slows them down. I've had a lot of experience with mites, so I know when to chop. The indica plants had to be picked a few days early because a couple of tips had mite "blooms".
If you really want to see your buds swell, use some Indonesian seabird guano (0-12-0) in your tea, and don't forget the K2SO4.
 

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Do you find any strains especially resistant? Any strains like mite magnets?
With you on the kelp. I bet most meals like kelp, alfalfa and such are made at very few places and labeled for other or shipped to sellers who bag their own. Same with emulsions or even rock products.
 

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
Do you find any strains especially resistant? Any strains like mite magnets?
With you on the kelp. I bet most meals like kelp, alfalfa and such are made at very few places and labeled for other or shipped to sellers who bag their own. Same with emulsions or even rock products.
I haven't noticed that any strains are more immune to mites, but very healthy plants with high brix tend to repel bugs and are more resistant to PM. My big sativa was virtually untouched while the indica plants were being eaten alive, but it was only because the indicas were closer to being finished and plants get weaker the closer they are to the chop. Now the big sativa is a couple of weeks out and the mites are taking full advantage of her weakened state. :-(
This time I'm not even sure where the mites came from. Normally I take care of that shit in veg and won't flip em until I know they are all bug free. SOOOOO much easier in veg when they are small. Hell, you can dip the entire plant in diluted peroxide if you want! Not an option in flower...
 

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Have not had mites in years and so thankful. No clones here so one source gone but I live in heavily wooded area and they will be everywhere outside soon. I brought mine in with garden plants in the fall.

My nemesis is fungus gnats which I have brought in with composts, castings or mixes. My compost/bed mix has many and I have a bog garden. So I accept a certain number and they seem just a nuisance if controlled. Dunks ground up and mixed in soil works but grower must be tenacious.
 

Heil Tweetler

Well-Known Member
good try, look up the ppm of rain in a dense forest and look up the ppm of your teas...
How is that relevant? you said "i never, ever foliar spray" which sounds sort of hysterical, "not the secret to healthy plants" which sounds like you're knowledge of plant nutrition is limited, then you said "does it ever rain fertilizer!?" Ya it does, PPM response is an answer to a question that hasn't been raised. Since you like to imitate nature does it rain at all in your garden? Birds or other critters roaming? does your light spectrum range across the nm range like the sun? Your garden is an artificial environment. Arguing that you dont foliar spray because of your desire to imitate nature is idiotic.

Foliar spray is widely used by the gardeners of the highest skill level across ag and horticultural production, organic and otherwise.

Refrain from the phony expert pronouncements.
 

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
Have not had mites in years and so thankful. No clones here so one source gone but I live in heavily wooded area and they will be everywhere outside soon. I brought mine in with garden plants in the fall.

My nemesis is fungus gnats which I have brought in with composts, castings or mixes. My compost/bed mix has many and I have a bog garden. So I accept a certain number and they seem just a nuisance if controlled. Dunks ground up and mixed in soil works but grower must be tenacious.
Fungus gnats can also be controlled if you smother the soil on top with sand, perlite, or clay (non-clumping). The problem with all of them except perlite is that top-watering will blend the top-dressing with the soil, which is not as effective. Diatomaceous earth (DE) also works, but has the same problem with blending.
Bottom-watering can help, but isn't always a good option. Using microbelift is probably the most effective way to keep them away, but you've got to make it part of your schedule and not wait for the little fuckers to set up shop. I bought a big jug of mosquito bits (before I knew about microbelift) and it has lasted a long time. I think it will get rid of thrips too.
 

bizfactory

Well-Known Member
Fungus gnats can also be controlled if you smother the soil on top with sand, perlite, or clay (non-clumping). The problem with all of them except perlite is that top-watering will blend the top-dressing with the soil, which is not as effective. Diatomaceous earth (DE) also works, but has the same problem with blending.
Bottom-watering can help, but isn't always a good option. Using microbelift is probably the most effective way to keep them away, but you've got to make it part of your schedule and not wait for the little fuckers to set up shop. I bought a big jug of mosquito bits (before I knew about microbelift) and it has lasted a long time. I think it will get rid of thrips too.
I actually like the mosquito bits more than microbelift, both work but I feel like the bits are more effective.
 

NaturalFarmer

Well-Known Member
I actually like the mosquito bits more than microbelift, both work but I feel like the bits are more effective.
Both are about the same in terms of BTi (10%ish) and price but the microbelift treats five times the amount and mixes in minutes.


EDIT: Actually just looked at the bits and it contains only 2-3% BTi while the dunks are 10.5%.
http://cdn.arbico-organics.com/downloads/1211108-Mosquito-Bits-Label.pdf

Strange how much weaker the bits are, you would think it was the same product.
http://www.summitchemical.com/wp-content/themes/SUMCHM/images/Dunks_Front_NEW_out-12-7-08.pdf
 
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