Official Gaia Green Grow Method

(SAME POST TO THE SIP THREAD- would love some feedback from the Gaia Green fam...


My initial mix is detailed in the post linked above. Right now I have my first 3 earthboxes going, at 3 weeks each.
Moonshine Haze (Rare Dankness) - this is my keeper cut that I've run in Pro Mix with bottled nutes multiple times. Really excited to compare to the organic soil. So far the earthboxes seem to be growing just as fast as bottle nutes in a 5 gallon. Right now they are taking 10L every two days.

View attachment 5011437

I have a number of questions now that I am a few weeks into things;

1. A couple things related to top dressing. Here is what I did. I did a top dress at start of week 2 and start of week 4. I gave each box 0.5 Cup of Gaia Green Power Bloom, 0.5 cup of EWC and 0.5cup compost. This was mixed and lightly tilled into the top layer of soil (where I observed feeder roots coming to surface). I then TOP WATERED
   • The top water was 1.5L per box which had Aloe and Yucca mixed in.
   • When I see Jeremy on Build a Soil mix his water with aloe and yucca I don't see him PH the water, but I noted it drops mine. My water is 7.1 from the tap and drops to 5.9 once the yucca and aloe are added. Should i PH that back up to 7?
   • Is this method of adding top dress sensible? For an 11 week flowering strain when should last top dress be?
   • Is the amount of food I am adding seem right for every 2 weeks?
   • Some folks also keep adding the base food in addition to power bloom. Why?
2. Should I have bokashi or anything else on the top layer? Jeremy at Build a Soil puts bokashi on, and gets this great mycelium layer. Is it needed? I was trying to avoid compost teas, and other extras and keep it simple.
3. I have some products that I bought because I was trying to roughly follow build a soil, but I am not sure if/how I should use them. For example I have Activated EM . Build A Soil says with organic soil in an earthbox to let the box dry between watering (which I do) instead of keeping the rez topped up. But i Have heard other folks use EM1 in the rez with an air bubbler. Anyways, this product seems to have beneficials, so I am wondering the best way to incorporate into what I have set up, or to just ignore it?

basically, I am a bit of a mess, having decent success so far, looking for advice to avoid mistakes and achieve improved results

Ph is fine no need to adjust,compost ewc and ingredients in the Gaia will balance it.

Add 444 with the bloom,not enough N in bloom.50/50 works well.

I add 3-4 cups EWC with ea weekly top dress,dont be shy.

Once roots hit the res keep them moist.

Long running sativa ,just saw the pic looks great.

GreenHighlander said:

I have been using Gaia Green products for a number of years now and have been so happy with the results I will never consider anything else.
I have also compared between the organic and non organic https://www.pthorticulture.com/en/products/pro-mix-hp-mycorrhizae/ . I prefer the non organic .

I use just the pro mix hp for seedlings and sometimes add some EWC , but usually just the pro mix. I transplant into the pro mix HP with the added Gaia Green products just before , or just as the feeder leaves start to yellow.
I use the same mix for ALL new strains and tweek for individual strains once I get to know them and their needs better.

To each 7 gal of Pro mix HP I add the following.

2 cups of EWC
1/3 cup of Fishbone meal
1/3 cup of power bloom+
1/4 cup of Alfalfa meal
1/3 cup of crushed oyster shells

I water the 7gal with Blackstrap at 1tbs per gallon before planting in it. I also water with the same rate of blackstrap molasses at flipping to flower and again around week 4-5 .

The costs compared to running bottles , especially AN is ridiculously low and the finished product is not even comparable. The key to keeping the costs down is buying in the largest size bags available which are 20KG .

I cannot recommend Gaia Green products enough to people. Really great quality stuff that doesn't break the bank.

Cheers

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Quick question to help my brain what is EWC

Shaggybuds said:

Quick question to help my brain what is EWC

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Earth worm castings

hot_box_enthusiast said:

(SAME POST TO THE SIP THREAD- would love some feedback from the Gaia Green fam...

SIP thread -- (Sub-Irrigated Planter)

What are you guys using for your rez water(tap,RO) and what if anything are you adding to it(epsom, Calmag)? And are you PH'ing it at all? I believe just filtered water would be best.

www.rollitup.org

My initial mix is detailed in the post linked above. Right now I have my first 3 earthboxes going, at 3 weeks each.
Moonshine Haze (Rare Dankness) - this is my keeper cut that I've run in Pro Mix with bottled nutes multiple times. Really excited to compare to the organic soil. So far the earthboxes seem to be growing just as fast as bottle nutes in a 5 gallon. Right now they are taking 10L every two days.

View attachment 5011437

I have a number of questions now that I am a few weeks into things;

1. A couple things related to top dressing. Here is what I did. I did a top dress at start of week 2 and start of week 4. I gave each box 0.5 Cup of Gaia Green Power Bloom, 0.5 cup of EWC and 0.5cup compost. This was mixed and lightly tilled into the top layer of soil (where I observed feeder roots coming to surface). I then TOP WATERED
   • The top water was 1.5L per box which had Aloe and Yucca mixed in.
   • When I see Jeremy on Build a Soil mix his water with aloe and yucca I don't see him PH the water, but I noted it drops mine. My water is 7.1 from the tap and drops to 5.9 once the yucca and aloe are added. Should i PH that back up to 7?
   • Is this method of adding top dress sensible? For an 11 week flowering strain when should last top dress be?
   • Is the amount of food I am adding seem right for every 2 weeks?
   • Some folks also keep adding the base food in addition to power bloom. Why?
2. Should I have bokashi or anything else on the top layer? Jeremy at Build a Soil puts bokashi on, and gets this great mycelium layer. Is it needed? I was trying to avoid compost teas, and other extras and keep it simple.
3. I have some products that I bought because I was trying to roughly follow build a soil, but I am not sure if/how I should use them. For example I have Activated EM . Build A Soil says with organic soil in an earthbox to let the box dry between watering (which I do) instead of keeping the rez topped up. But i Have heard other folks use EM1 in the rez with an air bubbler. Anyways, this product seems to have beneficials, so I am wondering the best way to incorporate into what I have set up, or to just ignore it?

basically, I am a bit of a mess, having decent success so far, looking for advice to avoid mistakes and achieve improved results

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Sounds/looks like you’re off to a great start
I agree that there shouldn’t be any need to ph the water with a living soil grow, but I had ph issue in my first run with new soil (which had been cooked for a couple months first) - so I just like to know what I’m putting in, so I still ph for my own knowledge, I do occasionally add a sprinkle of citric acid to get it under 7 when I do a soil drench. Probably not needed… lol

I haven’t found the need to top dress dry amendments - I feed those to my worms along with their regular diet and then the pots just get castings - I imagine I’ll need to add straight dry amendments down the road but for now no need. I also supplement with microbes, myco, plant aminos, humic/fulvic, yucca, aloe, and various KNF ferments as well, so it’s not water-only that’s for sure.
Feed your soil and let your plants tell the story - if you are already noticing a deficiency with organics, it’s been going on for a while.
I’d cut the top dressing for sure by week 8 and let em fade

I make bokashi bran (you could as well with the Acitvated EM you picked up, super easy) - use it in my work bin and also top dress with it. Think of LAB or EM1 (Activated EM) as like a little clean up crew that helps to flush out crap and make room for the good guys. Don’t over do it, hit you can add a splash of LABs to soil drenches (unless you top dressed with bokashi). I also use it in a foliar in veg a couple of times as part of my IPM - helps to create a defence on the leaf surface, great at keeping away things like PM.

I just placed an order for some glacial rock dust through a website called wegrowbuds.com they offer free shipping on orders over 100( not sure if this only applies within the us )
I placed an order for glacial rock dust mineralized phosphate and another bag of power bloom 10kg each.
I wish I would’ve known about this place when i made my fist order for the bloom and all purpose

Billytheluther said:

I just placed an order for some glacial rock dust through a website called wegrowbuds.com they offer free shipping on orders over 100( not sure if this only applies within the us )
I placed an order for glacial rock dust mineralized phosphate and another bag of power bloom 10kg each.
I wish I would’ve known about this place when i made my fist order for the bloom and all purpose

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I got lucky & a local grow shop in town finally got a drop. They had the big bags too. So I stocked up. I luv this shitt man. When I was growing with bottles I had nute burn here & there. Ever since I switched to Gaia & all organics it's been all green. Puuuurdy healthy plants. I wish I would of just started out this way. Ha. Although stoked I'm where I'm at now. Cheers man.

update around week 8. This is my first Gaia grow using my own DIY soil. So easy just watering plain water every other day! They smell amazing and nothing about bud size/density/smell seems amiss compared to going bottles. This plant is hungry and at week 8/10 the fade is not yet too heavy. Stoked.

I just got a 10 kg bag of all purpose and a 10 kg bag of power bloom for 109 cad with free shipping at indoorfarmer, best price Ive seen it for

Edit:They provided quick shipping.. I ordered Tuesday night, package arrived today with no problems.. These guys were around 20.00 cheaper then any other place, they were even cheaper then my local feed store

Playk328 said:

Looks like 45 gallons is pretty spot on.. It seems that 3.8 cu/ft compressed expands to 6 cu/ft once its fluffed which would make it
44.883116 gallons.

So with that in mind this would be the recipe for a 3.8 cu/ft compressed bale

9 cups of all purpose
4 1/2 cups of ewc
2 1/2 cups dolomite lime

Amend soil, mix very well and let it sit for 3 weeks to a month

Top dress every 3 weeks in veg

4 1/2 cups of all purpose
2 1/4 cups of ewc

As soon as the plants start to flower top dress again.. on weeks 2 and 5 "with an 8 week strain"


2 1/4 cups of all purpose
2 1/4 cups of bloom power
2 1/4 cups ewc

Does this look right?

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It turns out a 3.8 cu/ft bale of pro mix hp is right at 55 gals.. :

So with that in mind this would be the recipe for a 3.8 cu/ft compressed bale

11 cups of all purpose
16-17 cups of ewc

Amend soil, mix very well and let it sit for 3 weeks to a month

Transplant clone or mature seedling..

Top dress every 3 weeks in veg

5 generous cups of all purpose
ewc when needed/teas

As soon as the plants start to flower top dress again.. on weeks 2 and 5 "with an 8 week strain"


2 1/2- 3 cups of all purpose
2 1/2- 3 cups of bloom power
ewc when needed/teas

This is a guide line im following, we shall see how it finishes out.. I will be trying to run a small grow journal for references later..

Playk328 said:

I just got a 10 kg bag of all purpose and a 10 kg bag of power bloom for 109 cad with free shipping at indoorfarmer, best price Ive seen it for

Edit:They provided quick shipping.. I ordered Tuesday night, package arrived today with no problems.. These guys were around 20.00 cheaper then any other place, they were even cheaper then my local feed store

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Holland Industry has the best prices I've seen for Gaia Green products, but I don't know their shipping policies because I just drive there. Perhaps with shipping, they might cost more, but for anyone that lives close to them, they're great.

GiovanniJones said:

Holland Industry has the best prices I've seen for Gaia Green products, but I don't know their shipping policies because I just drive there. Perhaps with shipping, they might cost more, but for anyone that lives close to them, they're great.

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Shipping is where it gets you.. Its a heavy package "46lbs" so most companies will make the price 85-90cad but by the time you add in shipping its 130+.. Ive searched many shops, Holland Industries included and indoorfarming with the free shipping makes it the best online bargain.

For my outdoor holes I will also be adding in oyster shells, rabbit droppings and wood chips that ive collected from taken care of 2 bunnies.. I will use these wood chips for mulch..

Looks good,Id add compost/ewc at 1/3-1/4 of the promix volume.So 11-14 or so gallons worth.Also theres a lot of Ca /lime etc in the gaia , added to promix ,so ph maybe high,just give it a slurry test once cooked.

myke said:

Looks good,Id add compost/ewc at 1/3-1/4 of the promix volume.So 11-14 or so gallons worth.Also theres a lot of Ca /lime etc in the gaia , added to promix ,so ph maybe high,just give it a slurry test once cooked.

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I was planning to topdress with more ewc and will be making teas

I also have about a years worth of bunny poop/hay from cleaning up after 2 rabbits thats been stored in a composting bin/pile.. I plan on using this as a top layer.. May as well use this up before getting more ewc..

This is what I'm trying out now. I do 15 gallon pots. So this recipe usually makes a little over 15 G's. **3.5 Gallons Pro Mix. ; 2.5 Gallons E.W.C. ; 4 Gallons leaf mold compost (from my backyard pile) ; 2 Gallons Fungal Compost ; 2 Gallons Rice Hulls ; 2 Quarts Pumice ; 2 Quarts Vermiculite; 2 Quarts Bio Char ; 20 Tablespoons Bio Live; 24 Tablespoons Gaia 4-4-4 ; 20 Tablespoons Gaia Super Fly Insect Frass. *Add Cup or 2 of Gypsum. It's optional for Gaia already has Gypsum & Oyster shell flower in the mix). We shall seeeeeeee

CaseyQuinn said:

This is what I'm trying out now. I do 15 gallon pots. So this recipe usually makes a little over 15 G's. **3.5 Gallons Pro Mix. ; 2.5 Gallons E.W.C. ; 4 Gallons leaf mold compost (from my backyard pile) ; 2 Gallons Fungal Compost ; 2 Gallons Rice Hulls ; 2 Quarts Pumice ; 2 Quarts Vermiculite; 2 Quarts Bio Char ; 20 Tablespoons Bio Live; 24 Tablespoons Gaia 4-4-4 ; 20 Tablespoons Gaia Super Fly Insect Frass. *Add Cup or 2 of Gypsum. It's optional for Gaia already has Gypsum & Oyster shell flower in the mix). We shall seeeeeeee

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*Then I top dress EWC weekly... & Gaia Monthly. Seaweed/Kelp added to water in Veg.. . & a banana tea here & there for flower. **Gaia Mineralized Phosphate top dress at week 4 of flower.

CaseyQuinn said:

This is what I'm trying out now. I do 15 gallon pots. So this recipe usually makes a little over 15 G's. **3.5 Gallons Pro Mix. ; 2.5 Gallons E.W.C. ; 4 Gallons leaf mold compost (from my backyard pile) ; 2 Gallons Fungal Compost ; 2 Gallons Rice Hulls ; 2 Quarts Pumice ; 2 Quarts Vermiculite; 2 Quarts Bio Char ; 20 Tablespoons Bio Live; 24 Tablespoons Gaia 4-4-4 ; 20 Tablespoons Gaia Super Fly Insect Frass. *Add Cup or 2 of Gypsum. It's optional for Gaia already has Gypsum & Oyster shell flower in the mix). We shall seeeeeeee

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Oops. I left out the 10 TBS. Glacial Rock Dust.