what are you running now ?

professor KIND

professor KIND

Well-Known Member
neat

"soil springtails play a positive role in the establishment of plant-fungal symbioses and thus are beneficial to agriculture.[52] They also contribute to controlling plant fungal diseases through their active consumption of mycelia and spores of damping-off and pathogenic fungi.[53][54] It has been suggested that they could be reared to be used for the control of pathogenic fungi in greenhouses and other indoor cultures"
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
professor KIND said:
neat

"soil springtails play a positive role in the establishment of plant-fungal symbioses and thus are beneficial to agriculture.[52] They also contribute to controlling plant fungal diseases through their active consumption of mycelia and spores of damping-off and pathogenic fungi.[53][54] It has been suggested that they could be reared to be used for the control of pathogenic fungi in greenhouses and other indoor cultures"
Click to expand...
Yes to the lid off, or punch holes in it. Anaerobic bacteria thrive in a moist, oxygen deprived medium.

Funny you posted this. When I first started my worm bins springtails showed up right away. I did some research on them not knowing if I should be concerned. Turns out they're extremely beneficial like you posted above.

Bro, you should start a worm bin! It's the key to my grows. Especially with you working at restaurants! Endless supply of veggie scraps for the worms! Super easy to maintain, and it shits all over bagged castings from the hydro shop!
 
professor KIND

professor KIND

Well-Known Member
so u have worms lliving in your containers? TLO style?

i've never thought about keeping worms bro.
always something new to learn.

definitely have to research that.
 
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professor KIND

professor KIND

Well-Known Member
i'll let the mix breathe. for sure. & from now on.
makes perfect sense. i can stack the totes using 1x3" boards over the opening.

as far as not treating it on this round of seedlings, hell no.

i got 9 peak blueberry to transplant ===> & taking zero chances
tossed one seedling for complete runt-ish-ness.

so glad i waited & was reading up. & not to shy to ask ?s.

my goal is to not loose a single BB.

curiosity too , i cracked an s1 (paradise seeds) "all kush" i had stashed.
i try your idea on that. after the lid been off a week.

may rotate the medium too.

seems as though if im not gonna use it right away, no reason to hit the coco w/ tea.
just need to expand it.
 
Amos Otis

Amos Otis

Well-Known Member
@professor KIND

I'm no expert, but I've never had problems with failed seedlings. I've thought that your seedling starters....whatever you use.......always seem to be drenched. Whether I use peat pellets or root riots after tails appear, I keep the medium very moist, but never wet. And covered, until the roots grow thru the pellet. Then I put in the grow medium, and remove the cover - all is good. Just a thought because I always wondered why your babies were so wet.
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
professor KIND said:
so u have worms lliving in your containers? TLO style?

i've never thought about that bro.
always something new to learn.

definitely have to research that.
Click to expand...
I don't put worms in my containers on purpose. Some cocoons make it in there and hatch, so I always find some, but nothing intentional.

I keep my worms in bins to make castings. Just shredded cardboard and coco coir for bedding. Keep it moist, feed them veggie/fruit scraps once a week... voila, kick ass worm castings for free!

These are their homes:

image.jpg
 
professor KIND

professor KIND

Well-Known Member
how do u get the castings out?

they go to the bottom?

is there liquid that needs to be drained from those totes?

be fat to do a worm poop & coco medium.
some chunky perlite. or even coco chips.
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
professor KIND said:
how do u get the castings out?

they go to the bottom?

is there liquid that needs to be drained from those totes?

be fat to do a worm poop & coco medium.
some chunky perlite. or even coco chips.
Click to expand...
There is no liquid (leachate) if you keep it moist, and not sopping wet. I don't have any drain spout or anything, but some of the pre fab ones do. Useless IMO.

The castings need to be harvested. I do it by hand. Red wigglers are very scared of light. I use this to my advantage. The day I want to harvest a bin I take the lid off, and set the bin under the MH in the veg room. They burrow to avoid the light. I give it 20 minutes or so then I come scoop the top layer and set those castings aside. I then walk away and go back to trimming or whatever else for a while, then come back and scoop another layer. Rinse repeat until you have a writhing ball of worms at the bottom of the bin with barely any casting left. Then I dump those worms in to a freshly prepped bin with new bedding and some snacks for them. Done deal
 
professor KIND

professor KIND

Well-Known Member
perfect dude ! imma do that. holy shit from hydro to worm farming. now thats a twist.

are you leaving that worm culture on the floor? should i keep it off the basement floor?

*

have to plant these BB.... another day or two tops.
i washed all the containers w/ soap & water.
gonna treat the medium w/ h2o2 solution.

ill rearrange the lab so i can leave my coco bins open.
& add a worm farm. take me 10 minute to make the space.

i feel the issue is easy to defeat now. and, i knew there was something not right with the medium. i ordered, today, more coco but whats wrong with the shit i just made. makes sense now.

thanks dudes !
 
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professor KIND

professor KIND

Well-Known Member
Amos Otis said:
@professor KIND

I'm no expert, but I've never had problems with failed seedlings. I've thought that your seedling starters....whatever you use.......always seem to be drenched. Whether I use peat pellets or root riots after tails appear, I keep the medium very moist, but never wet. And covered, until the roots grow thru the pellet. Then I put in the grow medium, and remove the cover - all is good. Just a thought because I always wondered why your babies were so wet.
Click to expand...
ow no all advice is good.

ever since i switched to riots no problems. even cracking beans 90% of the time no problem. winter w/ rockwool , no problem. i find seed out of the freezer def has some dead beans. everything i ordered recently, from the fridge, all perfect germination sessions.

ive never had a seedling damp off on my dryer where i do all my "small work" with a clamp lamp.

only after transplant.
& now i see the critical links.
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
professor KIND said:
perfect dude ! imma do that. holy shit from hydro to worm farming. now thats a twist.

are you leaving that worm culture on the floor? should i keep it off the basement floor?

*

have to plant these BB.... another day or two tops.
i washed all the containers w/ soap & water.
gonna treat the medium w/ h2o2 solution.

ill rearrange the lab so i can leave my coco bins open.
& add a worm farm. take me 10 minute to make the space.

i feel the issue is easy to defeat now. and, i knew there was something not right with the medium. i order more coco but whats wrong with the shit i just made. makes sense now.

thanks dudes !
Click to expand...
You bet. Just leave it right on your basement floor. They will flourish in temps between 60-90. Just try to keep them in a dark area. Light will stress them out and they won't get to making lil baby worms! haha

Check out uncle Jim's to order some red wigglers. I'd start with a pound (roughly 1,000 worms) for a good sized bin. I've got 3 bins, and I harvest one every 6 weeks. It kicks out about 1.5 cubic feet of castings in about 4 months time. Plenty for what I'm doing.

http://unclejimswormfarm.com/
 
professor KIND

professor KIND

Well-Known Member
definitely doing the worm farm.
trying to find a tote for the job.

16 gallon be fine? you think a 1lb box o worm fine?
coco, shred paper, and veggie scraps mix in on top.

fill it 1/3 ish up? 1/2up?

*

i noticed mixing a new batch of coco that the container i keep lidded smelled nasty.

not like that earthy fresh ocean kelpy smell i get after mixing a batch.

thanks stOw , stoked about this revelation.
no medium bins inside being covered any more.

*

so far , my experiment with pre-rinsing the coco with h202 is a success.

started with 9 blueberry , standing tall 9 blueberry.
started with 2 stardawg , standing tall 2 stardawg.

stoked super extra. because, i know my starts gonna be way easier now.
the h202 prep is going into the seed starting ritual.
 
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