Olderfart's Dive Down the Living Soil Rabbit Hole

[Olderfart]

I'm a sativa guy and an early cutter but I'd say not ready. I find that if I dial my exposure down a bit on bud shots I can see trich colors better.

Thanks for the feedback. I will check again in a couple more days to see how things are progressing, but it won't be long. My two potter 24C is not far behind.

 

[Olderfart]

Greetings Gro Peeps. This is a day late, but here the girls are after another week.

First up, the entire 'drobe, or at least most of it:

The four main pots are SSSC Auto Ellephant front left, 2 Mephisto 24 Carats front right, last of 3 Dinamed Auto CBD Kush rear left, and Mephisto Fugue State rear right. The solos were reported separately.

Next up, the SSSC Auto Ellephant at Day 79:

She is still stacking on the bud, likely a week or two left to go. No sign of mold yet, fingers still crossed. Those colas are big.

Next up, the two Mephisto 24 Carat girls at Day 72 sharing one pot:

They are getting closer, likely a week or less. The two still look like slightly different phenos. The rear one is earlier, slightly larger, and maybe a bit more indica to my eye, the front smaller, slower, and maybe a touch more sativa. It will be interesting to see how the stone compares. It seems to me that the aroma from these girls is a bit different and stronger than the ones I grew in coco, but remembering that grow two winters ago is a pretty weak way to compare. The pot as a whole is going to produce a nice pile of bud.

Next up, the last of the Dinamed Auto CBD Kush - I lost track of her age, but likely ~60 days or so:

Not pretty, but she will add to the CBD bud jar. She has another week or two to go. Most of the CBD bud will be pressed to rosin for making salve and tincture.

Next up, the Mephisto Fugue State at Day 72:

She is close, but not there quite yet, another few days or maybe a week for the clears to cloud up more. She looks pretty shaggy, but the bud is solid and still fattening up. Of the main plants in autopots, she seems to have been the most annoyed about the soil mix, but she will produce a decent crop of bud in spite of it.

And, finally, the two Dinamed Auto CBD Kush originally planted to replace the one left in the big pot. They are on shelves on the front door of the 'drobe, so they don't show in the first pic. Age is uncertain, but maybe something in the 50 day range:

They will add to the CBD pile, likely a couple weeks out.

That's it peeps, thanks for checking in.

 

[Olderfart]

A day early, but who's counting? First up the 'drobe assembled:

The four solos are covered in my solo thread. The main pots clockwise from front left are SSSC Auto Ellephant at Day 83, 2 Mephisto 24 carats at Day 78, Mephisto Fugue State at Day 78, and Dinamed Auto CBD Kush at Day who knows (likely in the 60's now).

Detailed next up, SSSC Auto Ellephant:

This girl developed now foxtail budding lately, perhaps in response to increasing the proportion of blue light. I will keep an eye on the older trichs to decide when to chop, likely a week or two, maybe more. So far so good with mold - none detected, and I am watching carefully. Miss Ellephant should be my biggest producer yet if I can keep her clean.

Next up, 2 Mephisto 24 Carats:

These girls are getting really close, roughly 10% amber and less than that clear yesterday. On a per pot basis rather than per plant, they might beat the Auto Ellephant. Two phenos, but it does not show well in the photos. One is a bit more Sativa to my eye, the other a bit bigger and more Indica.

Next up, Mephisto Fugue State:

Miss Fugue is also quite close, but will likely come in later than the 24 Carats. Of the main plants, she has been the most disappointed in the soil mix, but seems to be packing on the bud anyway.

Next up, the remaining Dinamed Auto CBD Kush from the pot of three:

Pretty? Not. But she will add to the CBD bud jar.

Finally, the two Dinamed Auto CBD Kush in their transplant pots, originally intended to replace the remaining plant in the main pot:

Again, not particularly pretty, but they will add to the cbd pile.

That's all she wrote for now peeps, thanks for checking in.

 

[Ryno_nuggs]

If you get a chance, listen to the kis organics podcasts. I've been experimenting with soil and am rather happy. I can't stop listening to the podcasts, there is so much great info in them.

 

[Olderfart]

If you get a chance, listen to the kis organics podcasts. I've been experimenting with soil and am rather happy. I can't stop listening to the podcasts, there is so much great info in them.

I had a look at the KIS stuff before launching my current soil grow, and might have tried their soil if it had been easier to get in Canada. However, given the issues with availability, I elected to try mixing my own, with inspiration and help from @pop22. At this point, it seems that I will get some nice bud in spite of my mix being a bit hot and/or wrong pH, but the jury will be out until I see how harvest and testing goes. I like the easier irrigation setup with less fuss mixing and pH'ing, and I think the autopots system is better with water only. What I don't like is the difficulty in fixing issues that come up. With soil, at least with water only, you are pretty much in it for the ride, and if the mix is wrong, there are limited options for sorting them out. With soilless, and especially coco, problems can often be sorted before they become settled in for the rest of the grow.

I am honestly not sure what I will do next grow, but I confess coco with Jack's or MegaCrop two part in coco or peat soilless is beckoning... If I go that route, I will use automatic top watering, not autopots. I have pretty much decided that sub-irrigation with salt nutes is not my cuppa, whether done with autovalves or another technique. Lack of runoff is harder to manage without nute imbalance/lockout later in the grow. I expect that I will still use the autovalve system for other gardening outdoors, but not for indoor cannabis with salt nutes.

 

[Ryno_nuggs]

I had a look at the KIS stuff before launching my current soil grow, and might have tried their soil if it had been easier to get in Canada. However, given the issues with availability, I elected to try mixing my own, with inspiration and help from @pop22. At this point, it seems that I will get some nice bud in spite of my mix being a bit hot and/or wrong pH, but the jury will be out until I see how harvest and testing goes. I like the easier irrigation setup with less fuss mixing and pH'ing, and I think the autopots system is better with water only. What I don't like is the difficulty in fixing issues that come up. With soil, at least with water only, you are pretty much in it for the ride, and if the mix is wrong, there are limited options for sorting them out. With soilless, and especially coco, problems can often be sorted before they become settled in for the rest of the grow.

I am honestly not sure what I will do next grow, but I confess coco with Jack's or MegaCrop two part in coco or peat soilless is beckoning... If I go that route, I will use automatic top watering, not autopots. I have pretty much decided that sub-irrigation with salt nutes is not my cuppa, whether done with autovalves or another technique. Lack of runoff is harder to manage without nute imbalance/lockout later in the grow. I expect that I will still use the autovalve system for other gardening outdoors, but not for indoor cannabis with salt nutes.

I've been playing with mixing my own soil as well. I didn't try their soil. I just loved the info I have gotten out of the podcast about soil life, how it works, and some good ingredients to also incorporate in my mix.
All I ever done was soil with organics outdoors. Then moved inside and wanted to try synthetic nutes. Now drifting back to living soil and organics inside.

I would like to find a way to run my autopots with organic living soil. It is hard to incorporate adding stuff when you can't top dress because you are sub irrigating though.

 

[Olderfart]

I've been playing with mixing my own soil as well. I didn't try their soil. I just loved the info I have gotten out of the podcast about soil life, how it works, and some good ingredients to also incorporate in my mix.
All I ever done was soil with organics outdoors. Then moved inside and wanted to try synthetic nutes. Now drifting back to living soil and organics inside.

I would like to find a way to run my autopots with organic living soil. It is hard to incorporate adding stuff when you can't top dress because you are sub irrigating though.

I think LOS will work fine with autopots, you just need to get the mix sorted and use big pots. Unfortunately, big pots means making your own tray arrangements as even the xl tray is, IMO, too small for a good water only grow.

I agree that the information provided by KIS is excellent, the staff there have done lots of great homework on the issue of soil function.

Happy growing mate, and good luck with getting your soil mix perfect.

 

[Olderfart]

Hello again peeps, here they are, nearing the finish line.

The 'drobe as a whole:

The solos were reported in the solo thread. The large pots counterclockwise from front left are SSSC Auto Ellephant at 90 days, 2 Mephisto 24 Carats at 85 days, Mephisto Fugue State at 85 days, and the last Dinamed Auto CBD Kush at uncertain age, but likely on toward 70 or so days.

Detailed first up, SSSC Auto Ellephant:

She still has a few days to go. I finally cracked and snipped the foxtails yesterday after these photos were taken. They were doing nothing useful, and using up plant resources, so off to the worm bin with them. There was no way they were going to finish by the time the rest of the plant is ready, so choppity chop.

Next up, the two Mephisto 24 Carats:

These girls are close, likely within a couple days. The chunkier girl on the far left has hermied. I tweezered a bunch of nanners off her yesterday rather than chop her before the trichs are done. Bit of a disappointment given that now I have a nice batch of seeds that are suspect.

Next up, Mephisto Fugue State:

This girl is also getting very close. She looks pretty sad, but she is packing on the frost:

She is starting to look a bit dangerous...

Next up, the lone remaining Dinamed Auto CBD Kush:

Another sad looking lady, but she will add to the CBD bud pile, mostly headed for tincture and salve.

And finally, the two Dinamed Auto DBD Kush girls originally intended to replace the one in the big pot:

These girls live on a shelf on the door, and do not show in the whole 'drobe shot. Again, not pretty, but will add to the pile.

Happy growing peeps, and thanks for checking in.

 

[Olderfart]

Thanks for the rep @hecno. It will be interesting if I can get the soil mix a bit more friendly next time, but for a first completed soil grow, the bud supply has done well.

I am suspicious that most of the problem with plant health this grow might be soil pH. I will be doing a bunch of slurry tests on soil samples from various locations in the pots to see if that clarifies anything. The starting mix was based on Bugbee's peat mix rather than commercial soil mix, and I suspect that his lime quantity may have been low to accommodate the irrigation water he was using. Since I am using low - very low EC water, I may need a bit more lime in the main mix. The other wrinkle is that my worm compost has a lot of coffee grounds in it, and I understand that coffee tends to push toward lower pH. If I don't find issues with pH, the mix is likely just a bit on the hot side. Good thing these plants are tough!

 

[elcoloan]

She is starting to look a bit dangerous...

Outstanding shot!