AJs Land of Random Thoughts

[AJrexxx]

LBH's Blazing Amnesia. Soon as he releases some fems. I will be growing way more of his gear by far the best haze autos I have ever smoked.

 

[AJrexxx]

Okay so I have been bokashi composting my kitchen scraps for the outdoor garden for a few years and it works very well.

So that leads me to the random thought I had as I was trimming this morning. Why not try the bokashi composting (its more like fermenting) my leaves, stems, and popcorn buds along with some coffee, eggshells, and pumpkin. The coffee, eggshells, and pumpkin is what I feed my worms so why not put it in there.

For those that do not know bokashi does not completely compost it pickles it more or less. When done it is a sludgy mess and some of the food is still identifiable. After you get to that point you bury it in your garden and presto a month is later you have soil with a bunch of beneficial bacteria (mainly LAB) in your garden.

My plan is after it is pickled I am going to layer it with some Buds Malibu compost and some old soil that has not been amended in a bucket in the house. When it breaks down I will mix it with aeration, coco, some peat and we will see what we can grow with it.

Part of the reason I like the idea is that it does not get more local than my grow room or kitchen. Plus I have been able to keep a pest free organic garden indoors for a few years now. I used to bring in compost from my yard and a local nursery but I am getting a little weary with some troubles friends of mine have had locally. I wont even take clones at this point. I will give them away, but I am not taking any.

 

[AJrexxx]

The other day in live stoners I was bitching about seed backlog and @Mossy made a point that if you don't plant them its a waste. Well I am paraphrasing as I could not speak with the elegance she does.

That got me to thinking I always want to grow trees in ten gallon pots, but I am at the point that if I do not grow these they are going to dud out and be a colossal waste.

So I am going to fix that issue right now. I made a mix of Bud's Malibu compost, coco, pumice, and rice hulls and put that into five two gallon pots. Five pots fit perfectly on a 10 gallon grow bag tray.

I will be starting with my oldest autoflower seed stock which I won in the 2017 Christmas contest. The one where Briman would call out three random items and the first to post a picture in live stoners won a pack of three seeds. I also won a Deathstar Grinder that I use to this day in that one.

Enough nostalgia so I am going to start with two of those packs.

The first being Fast Buds LSD. I am a big fan of this strain and in the shuffle did not realize I had one this one or it would of been gone a long time ago. If I remember correctly in 2018 this is the strain I won the fastbuds grow off with.

The second being Mephisto's Heisenberg Special I am not familiar with this strain and never grew it because the Black Friday sale from Mephisto right before I won these was so insane. I stocked up on like eight or nine strains and they sent me more freebies than strains I ordered so again another girl that got lost in the shuffle.

With these being at least four years old I do not know how much luck we are going to have at germ. Either way I am going to keep going through till we get 5 popped and then reamend after harvest and go again.

@Suki813 blog post inspired me as much with her Bonsai grow approach in a small space as Mossy telling me to get off my ass. I will definitely be seeking some input from Suki as she is the expert to keep these girls in line.

With all that being said since we do not have any plants yet below is some dirt pictures.

Finally ready to go.

 

[Suki]

The other day in live stoners I was bitching about seed backlog and @Mossy made a point that if you don't plant them its a waste. Well I am paraphrasing as I could not speak with the elegance she does.

That got me to thinking I always want to grow trees in ten gallon pots, but I am at the point that if I do not grow these they are going to dud out and be a colossal waste.

So I am going to fix that issue right now. I made a mix of Bud's Malibu compost, coco, pumice, and rice hulls and put that into five two gallon pots. Five pots fit perfectly on a 10 gallon grow bag tray.

I will be starting with my oldest autoflower seed stock which I won in the 2017 Christmas contest. The one where Briman would call out three random items and the first to post a picture in live stoners won a pack of three seeds. I also won a Deathstar Grinder that I use to this day in that one.

Enough nostalgia so I am going to start with two of those packs.

The first being Fast Buds LSD. I am a big fan of this strain and in the shuffle did not realize I had one this one or it would of been gone a long time ago. If I remember correctly in 2018 this is the strain I won the fastbuds grow off with in 2018.

The second being Mephisto's Heisenberg Special I am not familiar with this strain and never grew it because the Black Friday sale from Mephisto right before I won these was so insane. I stocked up on like eight or nine strains and they sent me more freebies than strains I ordered so again another girl that got lost in the shuffle.

With these being at least four years old I do not know how much luck we are going to have at germ. Either way I am going to keep going through till we get 5 popped and then reamend after harvest and go again.

@Suki813 blog post inspired me as much with her Bonsai grow approach in a small space as Mossy telling me to get off my ass. I will definitely be seeking some input from Suki as she is the expert to keep these girls in line.

With all that being said since we do not have any plants yet below is some dirt pictures.

View attachment 1391651View attachment 1391652
Finally ready to go.

View attachment 1391653

We're going to have to trade notes, as I'm really wanting to get on the all organics train lol. My worms got here Wednesday and I gave them some leaves from a defol but I'm not super sure about what I'm doing riding out the nutes I've already got for now, since I figure I'm like 6 months out from having a bin full of castings to harvest. I definitely wouldn't call myself an expert but I'm definitely not afraid of experimenting

 

[AJrexxx]

We're going to have to trade notes, as I'm really wanting to get on the all organics train lol. My worms got here Wednesday and I gave them some leaves from a defol but I'm not super sure about what I'm doing riding out the nutes I've already got for now, since I figure I'm like 6 months out from having a bin full of castings to harvest. I definitely wouldn't call myself an expert but I'm definitely not afraid of experimenting

You are on the right path for all organics my worm bin was my start as well. Actually it is a worm hotel at this point with about five trays. When growing organic my first go to is always add a few handfuls of worm castings at the next water. I can only think of one or two times that does not remedy most deficiencies. Those times it does not work is because they are just heavy feeders so then I will use an organic bloom booster.

 

[Suki]

You are on the right path for all organics my worm bin was my start as well. Actually it is a worm hotel at this point with about five trays. When growing organic my first go to is always add a few handfuls of worm castings at the next water. I can only think of one or two times that does not remedy most deficiencies. Those times it does not work is because they are just heavy feeders so then I will use an organic bloom booster.

The sheer number of amendments needed and figuring out how to mix them to the right concentrations is kind of overwhelming when you're just getting started. I don't really know where to start and there's a lot of conflicting info. Plus it seems like the start out cost is rather steep, and I don't have the space to store a huge amount of different amendments or to store huge batches of soil lol. Tried browsing the organics section for info but tbh I'm struggling. I did buy two buckets to try the bokashi thing as well, but I haven't gotten around to setting that one up yet.

 

[AJrexxx]

The sheer number of amendments needed and figuring out how to mix them to the right concentrations is kind of overwhelming when you're just getting started. I don't really know where to start and there's a lot of conflicting info. Plus it seems like the start out cost is rather steep, and I don't have the space to store a huge amount of different amendments or to store huge batches of soil lol. Tried browsing the organics section for info but tbh I'm struggling. I did buy two buckets to try the bokashi thing as well, but I haven't gotten around to setting that one up yet.

I understand your concern I have more amendments than you can shake a stick at but have not used them in over a year. I sound like buildasoil pays me, but I assure you they do not. I used a simple mix of soil 1/3 compost 1/3 aeration and 1/3 peat or coco or a combo of both (the combo can get dicey sometimes not sure why I do it).

Peat has better cation exchange but is hydrophobic which causes you to have to use yucca or some other additive as it repels water.
Coco holds water much better but can leach some of your calcium and other trace minerals.

This is why I mix both. I also use Grassroots living soil pots. They have a BPA free liner that covers the inside top 2/3 of the pot which keeps the peat from pushing the water out of the sides and to the bottom of your tray. This helps make sure you do not have any dry spots. So I do not buy yucca anymore. They also have the added benefit slowing evaporation some so you can go longer between watering.

I use build a soils nutrient blend for my amending and it is fairly priced they free ship most sizes. I buy the 44lb bag and it is 132.00 with free shipping. That sounds pricey but you have to remember I am running 10-12 10 gallon pots at all times. I use 3-4 cups per pot per cycle I do not throw soil out i keep reamending I think my oldest pots are now 6-8 cycles old and everything is fine.

The nutrient blend has the below in it.

When I just checked for the ingredients I noticed they have it on sale for 12.60 for a three pound bag with free shipping. It would be a very cheap inexpensive way for you to give it a whirl without having to shell out a ton for five lb boxed of 10-15 amendments.

Most of my organic growing knowledge came from their site or a few people on here. Most mass marketed grow advice I see out there has some bias you just take it with a grain of salt. A lot of claims come from sellers of these products always have and always will. You know one of the richest men that walked away from the California gold rush was not a miner....he sold shovels.

It does not have to be expensive you can make it that way if you want though. There are plenty of items I do not use because i do not feel they are needed. I went a year without a bloom booster because it was not needed then I got some heavy feeders and use it occasionally now. Just remember cannabis is a agricultural crop there is not many items that are magical for it that will not work on other plants. So you can deduce that if it was magic why aren't commercial farms producing it and using it on their crops?

Of course everything I just said is based on my bias, I like this mix because I am not a fan of bio solids (bat/ seagul guano) or bloodmeal. Those items works and your plant will be fine with it. NPK is NPK to a plant I just prefer not to use them if I do not have to.

Also check out there blogs a ton of good info in there. I learned to clone using just Aloe Vera leaves so now i do not purchase cloning gel anymore I just swipe a leaf off my wife's plant. They also have all kinds of individual recipes for soil if you are interested in customizing your mixing down the line. I have yet to spend the time or energy in testing to see what each individual ingredient will do so I just don't bother with it anymore.

You always have me writing novels.

 

[AJrexxx]

Okay so a little more success than I expected. Dropped four Heisenberg Specials and Four LSD 25 seeds from 2017. Shockingly enough the four LSD all popped and one Heisenberg.

So here we go.

 

[AJrexxx]

@Waira I guess you warned me and I did not listen. Not a knock on all the strains at lindas but starting to see some lack in consistency as I grow more of their autos. Every photo has been spot on and true to form. No so much for the autos. I have a Fat Blueberry that could not get a monk high. I literally decided to smoke until I couldn't anymore well have an O later I called that quits. The first one I grew was excellent. Decided to run the third as it was not worth the risk.

Then there is the monstrosity below. This is a purple Kush she is at 100 days and no purple, no real smell. I checked the trichomes and you can literally count all three of them on each bud. I put her in the recycle bin.

Now I grew all three the first one pretty spot on purple tight buds great smell. Second one seemed more like straight Kush great taste and smoke. Bag appeal was real weak just looked gnarly. The third is below. (not very consistent)

I pulled a few buds off and vaped them to at least see if the wait was worth it. Nothing so she went to the compost bin. Not saying they are all bad just not real consistent in some of the lines. The Banana Smash, GG4, and the Afghan Skunk were all pretty consistent and fine these two not so much.

You would be more of an expert than me, but I am guessing they have some breeding issues with their autos. Well a few of them anyway.

I did order some more of their photos the Grapefruit and a few others. As far as autos it is not worth the risk to save a few dollars on some beans and end up with nothing after all the time invested. I am just glad I am not on limited space or I would of been not a happy camper.

 

[Waira]

That bites mate, seems the odds have caught up on you... I think that's their shell game BS, so typical of undercooked genetics
With auto's it's even worse I think, due to the lack of cloning options... Even the good houses get significant drift.
I'm a freak magnet myself- - I get low% pheno expressions all the damn time! ...For example: I'm 0/2 on bubblegum aroma with Meph's HBSS and HBHz, even struck out on a THSeeds BBgum a while back...

Yup, seeds are always a gamble! Certainly some more than others...
Another example: SSSC Lava Freeze testing was a joker run IMO, at only F3 what the green fek did those hosers think was going to happen?! Exactly what happened: most all got wide expressions, and worse, most of the pheno's were inferior. Leafy, slow, poor yielding, spotty potency results... It took 2 runs on some people to get nice results, those brave and kind enough to bother at least!

I'm finding that the smaller boutique breeders often show better, more consistently... some are less $$ too, but some truth still lies in you get what ya pay for!
LBH is one of the best buys out there-
Do you check out the small seed banks much AJ? Like Old Sage, or Green Grass Seeds (our home-girl Rebel owns that!). Some fine stuff found there, including a former repro' contractor for Meph', IamPepe, now with his own gig Twisted Tree... Night Owl's Daz/GBD, another former minion...