lakesidegrower
Well-Known Member
This is incredible! The pic showing the branching is amazing - beautiful work
One Pink Lemonade - no-till cycle 7 in 4 foot diameter pot, 5x5 tent
- Thread starter Northwood
- Start date
That bottom pic looks so lush! Very nice. What exactly is that plant you're growing there? Looks like buckwheat.
The first virgin soil grow is always the hardest anyway, so it's probably a good thing if you didn't plant anything too important in there right now and have great expectations. Just keep on thinking ahead to your next cycle now, because then you'll be reaping the benefits of what you're doing now.
Edit: I'm guessing you still score some nice flower though in the meantime even if you are flowering them earlier than planned. That's why I've always questioned this "soil cooking" thing. To me it's better to have life throwing down its roots ASAP to facilitate the desirable life your soil. It doesn't even have to be weed. Whatever lives and thrives in there. But cannabis is best because bud and trichome harvesting is our objective. lol
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Brandon137
Well-Known Member
It's a 5 seed blend of buckwheat alfalfa clover lentil and fenugreek. The buckwheat has taken over lol
I've been thinking about just recharging my soil with a top dress of what I used in my base mix
Per cuft
Kelp meal 1 cup
Osf 1 cup
Crab meal 1/2 cup
Alfalfa meal 1/2 cup
Rock dust 1/2 cup
Dont have much left of these ingredients left and not really sure how much I should add I am afraid to over do it. I tried a few spikes from true living organics by rev and wound up throwing the soil out of balance a few grows ago so I'm trying a more simple approach with less ingredients. Any input is much appreciated I've learned a lot from your posts.
myke
Well-Known Member
Looking forward too the bubba grow! Mines a bit of a slow grower but worth the wait.Well now that growing a big indoor plant is off my bucket-list, I'll be going back to the regular old boring 4 plants at a time in there. Next up is "Bubba Kush 2.0" strain.
Edit: Oops, it's called Bubba Kush 2.5
Bubba Kush Seeds (Feminized) by 34 Street Seed Co.. Cannabis Flower, Seeds
Bubba Kush is an Indica heavy, and high THC producing genetic. This plant will produce dark green flowers ...www.eweedpro.ca
Bullet2112
Active Member
Just to be clear on the procedure here:
You grow your "Cover Crop" around your target plants. Then you basically kill the cover crop by crushing it down with a layer of mulch/hay......then repeat this process?
Is that correct?
Does the cover crop come back? Or do you just keep adding organic matter on top from that point on? Or both?
At the end of your first cycle, do you at that point start a new cover crop again or this not needed.
Amazing tech here guys!! So simple, yet elegant and complete!
You grow your "Cover Crop" around your target plants. Then you basically kill the cover crop by crushing it down with a layer of mulch/hay......then repeat this process?
Is that correct?
Does the cover crop come back? Or do you just keep adding organic matter on top from that point on? Or both?
At the end of your first cycle, do you at that point start a new cover crop again or this not needed.
Amazing tech here guys!! So simple, yet elegant and complete!
Usually I start my cover crop 1 or 2 weeks before harvest when some light is getting to the bottom of the tent after pre-harvest defoilation. Then after the plant comes down, I cut the stalk off at soil level. Then I pull enough of an area of cover crops out by the roots where I want to plant my seeds. Pulling out the cover plants out usually leaves a little depression, so I just smooth it out with my finger, drop a seed on top, and then sprinkle some fine seed starting peatmoss medium over it and keep it gently watered until sprouted. If the cover crop around it begins to interfere with my little seedlings once they spout, I just bend them away from them.
Once my plants are bigger and starting to shade my cover crop, it's served its usefulness so it gets knocked down with the stems and stuff from my last harvest. Then hay goes over that to keep everything moist and happy. Sometimes a few stubborn cover crop plants survive this treatment, and even produce seeds as you likely know after going through this thread. That's okay, as long as they don't shade my weed. Usually though the cannabis plants overtake and shade out any cover crop plants that might have survived the treatment.
From then on, any material from my last grow (like the stuff left over from making bubble hash) is put right over the hay, and any leaves from defoliation are just dropped on top of that too. The trick is to never see the bare surface of your soil, just like in a forest in nature.
M.O.
Well-Known Member
I’m back about cover crops and bugs at the risk of being annoying. I think you’ll appreciate the source of the information though. I’ve listened to a few interviews with Suzanne Wainwright-Evans who is known as the bug lady. She has the experience you’d respect. She apparently gets requests daily for bug ID on bugs that have invaded due to cover crops - even planted from seed. This maybe an issue at scale and not so much for little tents but the point is important. Some cover crops apparently just attract bugs. They may or may not be bugs that’ll move to cannabis but it happens.
She says one of the worst being soy beans (but also many other beans) as spider mites absolute love them. She raises spider mites on beans for research. Outdoors they just find them first.
Anyway again if you have the predators in place this would be way less an issue. I’d hate to have asked and then learned more only to keep it to myself.
I’ve changed my mind but that doesn’t mean I’m right either. If you Google her name and ‘bug lady’ it’ll bring up a few interviews that I’ve listened to.
She says one of the worst being soy beans (but also many other beans) as spider mites absolute love them. She raises spider mites on beans for research. Outdoors they just find them first.
Anyway again if you have the predators in place this would be way less an issue. I’d hate to have asked and then learned more only to keep it to myself.
I’ve changed my mind but that doesn’t mean I’m right either. If you Google her name and ‘bug lady’ it’ll bring up a few interviews that I’ve listened to.
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m4s73r
Well-Known Member
I wont speak for everyone but I will say this. In 10 years of growing indoors Ive had a spider mite problem once. My solution to bugs has always been Neem Oil Spray. I also throw some neem and K.Cake at my bed every now and then. I did have a issue with some gnats awhile back but apple cider vinegar and dish-soap handled that one.
So while companion planting does work and can be used in the indoor garden, I dont personally recommend it unless you have a VERY large pot. I even stopped growing clover in my 25 gallon no tills.
Here you can see how thick the clover is on the pot. I then chop this plant down, as well as all the clover. I put all the chopped plant, a scoop of amendments, and clover back on top of the bot and wet it down. Roll it back and cover it with a piece of plastic. It will be ready to plant in again in 2 weeks.
I used to just keep the clover growing. but i started to run into weird nutrient/micro-nutrient issues. Once that happened I killed the companion and it cleared up. Companion plants use nutrients in the soil. So if you do decide to run a companion crop makes sure you have enough soil to feed both. If you start seeing weird nutrient issues 9/10 times its the companion plant.
So while companion planting does work and can be used in the indoor garden, I dont personally recommend it unless you have a VERY large pot. I even stopped growing clover in my 25 gallon no tills.
Here you can see how thick the clover is on the pot. I then chop this plant down, as well as all the clover. I put all the chopped plant, a scoop of amendments, and clover back on top of the bot and wet it down. Roll it back and cover it with a piece of plastic. It will be ready to plant in again in 2 weeks.I used to just keep the clover growing. but i started to run into weird nutrient/micro-nutrient issues. Once that happened I killed the companion and it cleared up. Companion plants use nutrients in the soil. So if you do decide to run a companion crop makes sure you have enough soil to feed both. If you start seeing weird nutrient issues 9/10 times its the companion plant.
@M.O. The worst bugs to have in your tent are the ones that are attracted to cannabis: spider mites, thrips, flea beetles, root aphids, etc.
We can avoid attracting them by giving up growing cannabis, or alternatively ensure these pests are not introduced anywhere near the room where your grow tent is situated. I prefer the second option by employing regular sanitary and safety protocols.
We can avoid attracting them by giving up growing cannabis, or alternatively ensure these pests are not introduced anywhere near the room where your grow tent is situated. I prefer the second option by employing regular sanitary and safety protocols.
Well if this isn't a two pounder, it must be damn close:
I'm planning a dry trim. I'm keeping the door cracked with the fan in there because the humidity quickly spiked after a few hours closed up. The temperature is about 66 degrees F or 19 Celsius and about 50% humidity with the door open. I'll be keeping a close eye on them for you-know-what!
I'm planning a dry trim. I'm keeping the door cracked with the fan in there because the humidity quickly spiked after a few hours closed up. The temperature is about 66 degrees F or 19 Celsius and about 50% humidity with the door open. I'll be keeping a close eye on them for you-know-what!
M.O.
Well-Known Member
Cover crops solved all my outdoor issues. Ones I could not believe honestly. Anthracnose mold. Loved what they did for my indoor too but I’m not ready to fight that level of bug. That’s all. This was more for those like me reading along wanting to be where you are. Freaking awesome grow dude!
I almost forgot to post the obligatory skeleton photos:
It's kind of sad seeing her like this, especially since this is the longest time I've gotten to know an indoor cannabis plant. I've now lowered my lights and dimmed them so that they're using a total of 320 watts from the wall. My cover crop should really take off now that it has light. Next step is to clean my tent up, vacuum and wipe down everything. After that the seeds will be planted in there within the next couple days. I better remember to reset my timer to 18/6 too. One time... oh never mind, too embarrassing! Lol
It's kind of sad seeing her like this, especially since this is the longest time I've gotten to know an indoor cannabis plant. I've now lowered my lights and dimmed them so that they're using a total of 320 watts from the wall. My cover crop should really take off now that it has light. Next step is to clean my tent up, vacuum and wipe down everything. After that the seeds will be planted in there within the next couple days. I better remember to reset my timer to 18/6 too. One time... oh never mind, too embarrassing! Lol
mistergrafik
Well-Known Member
Looks cool though
Did you wet trim them while I was sleeping, because that would save me a lot of trouble not having to dry trim them after. Lol
As far as drying speed, it will take at least 8 to 10 days before I can trim. The sugar leaves aren't even wilted yet. Environmental conditions are more important than the length of stem that you leave on. Some people even buck their buds wet and lay on drying racks. My fear right now is that they won't dry fast enough in the critical period and get moldy because the temperature is hovering around 64 degrees in there right now. If I open the door wider I can get the humidity down to 40%-45% which I might do to make up for the low temps. With the door closed, humidity quickly jumps to just over 70% in a few hours (mold city!). It's my high-tech environmental control (the door). Meanwhile I'm checking them twice a day for signs, but they kinda look still alive.
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Yeah we even left the roots still on while hanging the whole plant upside down during the late 1970s so that the THC in the roots would run down into the bud. We learned that from the esteemed High Times Magazine. Lol
