Nahmlos's Journal

Nahmlos said:

So I just realised a major noob error. I assumed liquid Kelp fert would contain enough, if not some N, but now I know it doesn't. The only other liquid food I have is an Orchid food with a 45/60/60 NPK content. I fed the struggling one some of this after giving her some Kelp and epsom salts and topping a layer of peat moss. So that is two full soaks right after each other (the leaves had quite a bit of drooping after thr feeding) . This was the their first watering in 3 days. She definately looks a bit stunted, progressing surely but slowly, no where near what I have seen on other people's grows. Although it still looks kind of happy and firm. I have big hopes for the littler one. View attachment 4573107
View attachment 4573108
View attachment 4573109
View attachment 4573110

Click to expand...

That drooping is prolly jus from the watering...i bet she perks up within some hours...anyway to get any perlite into ur soil when u transplant?...i would advise it helps ur soil drain...n hopefully it was a really small dose of the nutes u mentioned u just fed.

Drooping just looks like an overwatered plant which my small plants will do after a good drink...perk up within the day usually

MY OWN DANK said:

That drooping is prolly jus from the watering...i bet she perks up within some hours...anyway to get any perlite into ur soil when u transplant?...i would advise it helps ur soil drain...n hopefully it was a really small dose of the nutes u mentioned u just fed.

Drooping just looks like an overwatered plant which my small plants will do after a good drink...perk up within the day usually

Click to expand...

The plants are looking fairly happy now, and as you said, the drooping went away soon after.

As far as the perlite, soil and transplanting goes... I am still considering my best options. My way forward will greatly depened on how many females I end up having, if any. If both are female, then I'll probably keep both in the closet space, but then I'll be limiting the pot sizes. If I only have one female, then I'll probably be able to upgrade to a 3-gallon pot. If I only have males then, I guess I'll keep growing them just for the training practice.

My growth medium options I have available for transplanting contain the following:

• Vermiculite (1kg)
• Coco Coir/Peat Brick (600g)
• Peat Moss (5L)
• Dolomite Lime (5kg)

Nutrients/Food options:

• Multisol 'N' 6:1:3 (44) (powder)
• Kelp organic seaweed concentrate plant growth stimulant (liquid)
• Orchid food 5:6:6 (17) (liquid)

Current medium in pots:
Old garden soil/compost/potting mix

Nahmlos said:

The plants are looking fairly happy now, and as you said, the drooping went away soon after.

As far as the perlite, soil and transplanting goes... I am still considering my best options. My way forward will greatly depened on how many females I end up having, if any. If both are female, then I'll probably keep both in the closet space, but then I'll be limiting the pot sizes. If I only have one female, then I'll probably be able to upgrade to a 3-gallon pot. If I only have males then, I guess I'll keep growing them just for the training practice.

My growth medium options I have available for transplanting contain the following:

• Vermiculite (1kg)
• Coco Coir/Peat Brick (600g)
• Peat Moss (5L)
• Dolomite Lime (5kg)

Nutrients/Food options:

• Multisol 'N' 6:1:3 (44) (powder)
• Kelp organic seaweed concentrate plant growth stimulant (liquid)
• Orchid food 5:6:6 (17) (liquid)

Current medium in pots:
Old garden soil/compost/potting mix

Click to expand...

I know nothing abt Coco so can't give advice...been growing abt 10yrs but soil only...i mentioned perlite bc of the way ur lil pots look...lookin kinda like a thick medium...they like to drain...in my experience its been best to water thoroughly allow to dry (which takes 3-4days depending on temps n what the plants doin) then water again...they don't care much for soggy soil...i hear coco is pretty forgiving and easy to grasp tho...used to watch this guy The Grateful Grower on YouTube...he likes coco...

Last time i popped 2 reg seeds figuring one may be a male i got 2fems...i wont speak too much of my blessings and luck with that sort of thing in fear of placing a jinx on myself but it can b compared to being undefeated...ha

Not familiar with the orchid nutes...Miracle Grow?...if ordering nutes isn't an option i have some suggestions but small bottles of real pot growing nutes aren't expensive and work well...ive heard ppl say kelp works well its organic...i use dolimite lime in every soil mix for Cal n Epsom salts for Mag...peat moss n verm is in my soil mix verm holds moisture i known that i use it in my shroom tubs for that reason

Hey, digging the homemade setup! I especially like the eggshell planters, I might have to try that!

Looks like you already figured out that the yellowing leaves was a N deficiency.

The main issue I see going forward is all those growing mediums you listed are inert which present 2 issues. One, they won't buffer pH for you so you will need to get some pH up or down (I've read there are common kitchen ingredients that will handle this but I've never tried, I just have the store bought stuff). The other is since they contain no nutrients of their own you would need to feed every watering, and probably something more geared towards cannabis than that orchid fertilizer.

I'll definitely be following along though. I'm excited to see how your cardboard box grow goes!

MY OWN DANK said:

I know nothing abt Coco so can't give advice...been growing abt 10yrs but soil only...i mentioned perlite bc of the way ur lil pots look...lookin kinda like a thick medium...they like to drain...in my experience its been best to water thoroughly allow to dry (which takes 3-4days depending on temps n what the plants doin) then water again...they don't care much for soggy soil...i hear coco is pretty forgiving and easy to grasp tho...used to watch this guy The Grateful Grower on YouTube...he likes coco...

Last time i popped 2 reg seeds figuring one may be a male i got 2fems...i wont speak too much of my blessings and luck with that sort of thing in fear of placing a jinx on myself but it can b compared to being undefeated...ha

Not familiar with the orchid nutes...Miracle Grow?...if ordering nutes isn't an option i have some suggestions but small bottles of real pot growing nutes aren't expensive and work well...ive heard ppl say kelp works well its organic...i use dolimite lime in every soil mix for Cal n Epsom salts for Mag...peat moss n verm is in my soil mix verm holds moisture i known that i use it in my shroom tubs for that reason

Click to expand...

Sounds like I might be on the right track for my ideas regarding the soil. The little sprout (just short of two weeks old) has exploded in growth over the last couple of days and actually over taking the older one (just short of 4 weeks old) in 'wing-span' already, which just makes me realise all the more that the older one has been stunted although also doing really well again after I started feeding it.

I'm considering a peat moss and coco coir half/half mix, which doesn't seem to be a common method, but what the heck, while I'm experimenting, I might as well test it out. I'll also add the vermiculite, dolomitr lime and epsom salts to this mix. I'll transplant the young plant within the next 3 days. Still a bit careful with the older one.

The orchid feed is just a kind of generic department store mix, but I'll stop using it now and swith to an 'N' supplement just before transplantation for both.

I'll def ask you about your shroom grows once I start messing around with that. I'll be having some 'Natal Super Strength' shrooms within the next week, a native species of southern africa.

Gentlemencorpse said:

Hey, digging the homemade setup! I especially like the eggshell planters, I might have to try that!

Looks like you already figured out that the yellowing leaves was a N deficiency.

The main issue I see going forward is all those growing mediums you listed are inert which present 2 issues. One, they won't buffer pH for you so you will need to get some pH up or down (I've read there are common kitchen ingredients that will handle this but I've never tried, I just have the store bought stuff). The other is since they contain no nutrients of their own you would need to feed every watering, and probably something more geared towards cannabis than that orchid fertilizer.

I'll definitely be following along though. I'm excited to see how your cardboard box grow goes!

Click to expand...

Thanks man! Welcome aboard
I'll definately be feeding the plants with every watering once I've transplanted into the inert growth medium.
The ph testing and adjustment is my biggest hurdle at this point. Not sure how to approach it without a commercial kit. Whay kind of kitchen ingredients did you heat about using and how would I know when to use what, perhaps just by reading the leaves?

last time i grew shrooms, they came with a container of growing medium, so i just had to infect it with the spores, put it in a big zip bag on the top of an old tube telly and spray with water to keep it moist. they exploded in no time, had two harvests.

Nahmlos said:

Thanks man! Welcome aboard
I'll definately be feeding the plants with every watering once I've transplanted into the inert growth medium.
The ph testing and adjustment is my biggest hurdle at this point. Not sure how to approach it without a commercial kit. Whay kind of kitchen ingredients did you heat about using and how would I know when to use what, perhaps just by reading the leaves?

Click to expand...

Unfortunately your going to want to catch pH issues before they happen. You can use lemon juice or vinegar to lower your waters pH or baking soda to raise it. You'll need to use Google for more info on that because as I said, I've always just used the store bought stuff.

The reality is in inert mediums you need at least some litmus strips/drops so you can test the pH of your water or nutrient mix. Here's a crazy one though ... you can make a homemade litmus solution using ... red cabbage. Google that shit too. Kind of fun, but seriously, litmus strips aren't actually much more expensive than a cabbage. And really, a decent pH pen like a Bluelabs is one of the more worthwhile investments if you plan to continue using inert mixes or hydro.

I'm also not sure how the lime in your mix will affect things so it's worth testing your runoff as well to avoid issues with root zone pH.

Mr. Cheetah said:

last time i grew shrooms, they came with a container of growing medium, so i just had to infect it with the spores, put it in a big zip bag on the top of an old tube telly and spray with water to keep it moist. they exploded in no time, had two harvests.

Click to expand...

Sounds great. That will be my next project.

Gentlemencorpse said:

Unfortunately your going to want to catch pH issues before they happen. You can use lemon juice or vinegar to lower your waters pH or baking soda to raise it. You'll need to use Google for more info on that because as I said, I've always just used the store bought stuff.

The reality is in inert mediums you need at least some litmus strips/drops so you can test the pH of your water or nutrient mix. Here's a crazy one though ... you can make a homemade litmus solution using ... red cabbage. Google that shit too. Kind of fun, but seriously, litmus strips aren't actually much more expensive than a cabbage. And really, a decent pH pen like a Bluelabs is one of the more worthwhile investments if you plan to continue using inert mixes or hydro.

I'm also not sure how the lime in your mix will affect things so it's worth testing your runoff as well to avoid issues with root zone pH.

Click to expand...

I've been researching the home diy ph testing and adjustment methods. I think its doable. Thanks for the advice!

The "small" one is exploding!

shoot the small one with some N mate, do it a favour

Mr. Cheetah said:

shoot the small one with some N mate, do it a favour

Click to expand...

I will do so in the next watering. But to illusurate more clearly the "small one" in that photo is actually the larger one, about two weeks younger. So it's the older one that I will pump with some Nitrogen within the next two days

Nahmlos said:

I will do so in the next watering. But to illusurate more clearly the "small one" in that photo is actually the larger one, about two weeks younger. So it's the older one that I will pump with some Nitrogen within the next two days

Click to expand...

yeah,you got my point, the yellow one

The last week's progress. Comparing my 3 then 4 week old and 1 then 2 week old cannabis plants. The younger one is due for a transplant. The older one's premature transplant recovery plan still in action.

I finally got around to transplanting the younger plant. My growth medium is a bit of an intuitive experimental hack, I hope my ph won't be too far off as I don't have a ph kit yet. I used a coco coir basket as a pot liner to encourage airflow around the medium in a 2L pot. We'll see how well the plant responds. I had quite a bit of additional growth medium mix left for other garden projects.

Here's the mix with ratios:
(in weight, rather than volume)

Coco Coir Brick (dry compressed): 2 parts
Peat Moss (dry): 2 parts
Vermiculite: 1.5 part
Coffee grounds: 3.5 parts
Dolomite Lime: 0.8 parts

First I buffered the coco coir in a nutrient rich water solution. 3L of this water solution was enough to fully hydrate 230g of dry compressed coco coir. I added another litre of water after adding the rest of the mix and mixing thoroughly.

The nutrient solution mix in the 3L of water was roughly:
Multisol 'N' powder (2.5g)
Liquid Kelp (approx. 50ml)
Orchid Food liquid (approx. 1 tsp.)
Epsom Salts (1/3rd cup)

The plant experienced a little bit of drooping after the transplantation and only a little bit of root damage occured. Hopefully less damage and shock than my previous plant's transplant. The egg shell was still fairly intact, offering some protection.

All going really well. The older one is really starting to stretch now. The younger one is a beautiful green. There's no sign yet of any male looking pre-flowers.

i wouldnt suggest foliar feeding with lights on buddy

Mr. Cheetah said:

i wouldnt suggest foliar feeding with lights on buddy

Click to expand...

I will try foliar feeding. What do you mean with lights on?

Mr. Cheetah said:

i wouldnt suggest foliar feeding with lights on buddy

Click to expand...

Do you just mean to do it while the lights are on?