Mephisto Genetics White Crack and Kis Organics Soil

[MMMi]

Are you using that same soil? Good luck bro

Same brand, but with added lobster compost, more perlite, a little EWC. My frankensoil.

I think it may be coming from the straw I bought in a pinch from a hobby store.

 

[slowandeasy]

Same brand, but with added lobster compost, more perlite, a little EWC. My frankensoil.

I think it may be coming from the straw I bought in a pinch from a hobby store.

I believe you had those Gnats from the Michigan Soil before you bought Straw and I advised to NOT use that soil because it is most likely the source and to toss it in the garbage.. But you said you were a slow learner and would just hit it with BTI. The source of gnats could be the Michigan soil or the Straw. Think back, when did you buy the Hobby Store straw? Either way I still think the soil is the source. Im from Michigan and would not even consider using a soil sourced here. Lots of shady people trying to make money and act like they know more than they actually do. Legalization is not as cool as people think. Do you have any of the soil left? One way to find out if it is the source is to put some Soil in a bucket and put it completely somewhere pest free for a week or so and see if Gnats emerge. Or the wisest thing to do would be to TOSS the remaining Soil and Straw and buy different stuff moving forward. Good luck, peace slow

 

[Tom Bombadil]

i started getting gnats in 2 different runs, and this annihilated them both times...
13.99 and i dont even worry about them anymore..i was skeptical..but now i believe!
Beneficial Nematodes (S.feltiae)

 

[MrOldBoy]

Same brand, but with added lobster compost, more perlite, a little EWC. My frankensoil.

I think it may be coming from the straw I bought in a pinch from a hobby store.

Plastic mulch covers eliminates pests!

 

[slowandeasy]

Alrighty then....So my phone is almost dead and cant add pics right now. But I wanted to share my thoughts on the City Picker. First off, it is 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches and that is awesome news. Sencondly for the price, $25 it is hard to beat this deal for what you get. It includes casters. The Mulch Cover is WAY more durable than Earthbox Shower cap. This cover is basically made from a garden fabric like material, not plastic like Earthbox....so I am not sure how the condensation will be? It has a Drawstring to tighten it up to your needs when mounding top dressings. I will use some Blue Painters tape to fully seal it, but it will not fall apart or rip like EB shower caps do. You have to cut holes for the plant and the feeding tube. The feeding tube is slightly smaller than Earthbox, maybe 1 inch dia. The wicking is done by the corners, you pack a few inches of soil in the section in each corner outside of the screen. I believe that I will plant my plant in the middle vs at the far end like EB. One thing that I am not a huge fan of is the overflows are on both ends vs only 1 end. This makes runoff collection more difficult.

When I make mine, I will solve that issue. But all in all for $25, this is a steal and should grow a nice sized plant. There are a few things better than EB, and still a few things I would improve on my own. I will be able to make my own SIPs and use them with my idea on how to almost triple my plant count in the same amount of space. The Totes are too tall for one area, but I can use them in another. Height is limited with my idea. I can make the 12 gal SIPs for $10-$12 each, but can only use them in certain spots and I am not sure on how to make my Airation screen to my satisfaction. Looking at the size of the CP, I can easily do 2 Sour Cracks in 1 City Picker. You could also do 2 Clones in 1 CP, and top dress much easier than EB due to the size. So I still need to figure out my final plan. But if I get a 7x7 I could do about 9 City Pickers or EB l, having 3 rows of 3. With my custom lighting idea I could do 16 City Pickers in the same space and up to 32 Juniors in the same 7x7 area!!! 32 Juniors would cost me a fortune and thst isnt going to happen. However, I have 16 Juniors and 1 CP, I could buy 8 more CP and do 25 plants in the 7x7 space vs 9 plants. Or build 8 for $100 or less vs $200+. The demand for my Organics is there. The lighting will cost me a little and I will need a few hundred dollars in supplies, plus more soil. But being able to do up to 25 plants vs 9 in a 7x7 will pay off quickly. Now before I go and spend a shit ton of money and buy a ton of stuff I will run an experiment on a few plants with my idea. I can impliment a mini version to get a basic idea of how it will work on a larger scale. So I will use The City Picker and 2 Juniors for my experiment. Creating the custom lighting will cost me a decent amount of money and I have to run an experiment to see if it is worth investing. I know it will work, but I want to do a mini run to work out the kinks.

 

[MMMi]

I believe you had those Gnats from the Michigan Soil before you bought Straw and I advised to NOT use that soil because it is most likely the source and to toss it in the garbage.. But you said you were a slow learner and would just hit it with BTI. The source of gnats could be the Michigan soil or the Straw. Think back, when did you buy the Hobby Store straw? Either way I still think the soil is the source. Im from Michigan and would not even consider using a soil sourced here. Lots of shady people trying to make money and act like they know more than they actually do. Legalization is not as cool as people think. Do you have any of the soil left? One way to find out if it is the source is to put some Soil in a bucket and put it completely somewhere pest free for a week or so and see if Gnats emerge. Or the wisest thing to do would be to TOSS the remaining Soil and Straw and buy different stuff moving forward. Good luck, peace slow

I have probably 2 cubic feet of the mix left. Like I said, I prefilled half my buckets real early and they sat, naked, uncovered, for well over a week. Nothing. It still could be the soil, it could be the straw. Who knows. I think when you are growing a rich soil, with high fungal activity, feeding malted barley and compost teas -- they love that shit. Hell they may smell that shit and come through the concrete for all I know. I've been looking at other people's pics of LOS grows and... more often than not there are traps, and they aint empty. To this day I've never seen a larvae.

There is no guarantee it won't be in whatever other bagged shit I bring into the house. I've read a lot of bug problems with Fox Farms too. Unless I cook my own soil, who knows what you get. I'm not quite ready to compost new soil in my basement right now.

I have quite a bit of dirt in the tent now with a variety of plants and a fair amount of naked dirt with, hopefully, some flowers soon. Going to order some dandelion seeds and some chamomile as well. Unless I get something god awful like a 2 spotted spider mite or something -- I'll deal with it. It's going to be perpetual with various species in various stages. If I knew 100% it was the dirt, I'd toss it. The remaining straw, however -- is already gone.

The nematodes suggested above is planned, probably order today.

The first time I saw bugs, I kinda freaked out. I caught them late, it was in bloom, and I knew almost nothing about IPM. I'm kinda glad I got them because I'm prepared now. I'm only in 1st gear with traps/bassiana/bti. I have many more tools in my toolbelt now. And honestly, with organics I have more time to manage my garden -vs- manage my nutrient regimen.

Saul Good Man.

 

[MMMi]

Plastic mulch covers eliminates pests!

I know that prophylactics work, covering with play sand worked last time. Just not my path. I like seeing the cover crop, being able to top dress and water without dealing with those rubbers.

 

[slowandeasy]

I have probably 2 cubic feet of the mix left. Like I said, I prefilled half my buckets real early and they sat, naked, uncovered, for well over a week. Nothing. It still could be the soil, it could be the straw. Who knows. I think when you are growing a rich soil, with high fungal activity, feeding malted barley and compost teas -- they love that shit. Hell they may smell that shit and come through the concrete for all I know. I've been looking at other people's pics of LOS grows and... more often than not there are traps, and they aint empty. To this day I've never seen a larvae.

There is no guarantee it won't be in whatever other bagged shit I bring into the house. I've read a lot of bug problems with Fox Farms too. Unless I cook my own soil, who knows what you get. I'm not quite ready to compost new soil in my basement right now.

I have quite a bit of dirt in the tent now with a variety of plants and a fair amount of naked dirt with, hopefully, some flowers soon. Going to order some dandelion seeds and some chamomile as well. Unless I get something god awful like a 2 spotted spider mite or something -- I'll deal with it. It's going to be perpetual with various species in various stages. If I knew 100% it was the dirt, I'd toss it. The remaining straw, however -- is already gone.

The nematodes suggested above is planned, probably order today.

The first time I saw bugs, I kinda freaked out. I caught them late, it was in bloom, and I knew almost nothing about IPM. I'm kinda glad I got them because I'm prepared now. I'm only in 1st gear with traps/bassiana/bti. I have many more tools in my toolbelt now. And honestly, with organics I have more time to manage my garden -vs- manage my nutrient regimen.

Saul Good Man.

I hear you btother. Glad you have a plan. Stay on top and you are fine. Like you said, now you are more well prepdred...which is better in the long run anyways. I think nematodes might help you out. You are correct, when doing organics the pest source can be greater than just the soil. I still woukd take a bucket of unused soil and put it somewhere pest free to see if they emerge. Peace, slow

 

[FishWizard]

I believe you had those Gnats from the Michigan Soil before you bought Straw and I advised to NOT use that soil because it is most likely the source and to toss it in the garbage.. But you said you were a slow learner and would just hit it with BTI. The source of gnats could be the Michigan soil or the Straw. Think back, when did you buy the Hobby Store straw? Either way I still think the soil is the source. Im from Michigan and would not even consider using a soil sourced here. Lots of shady people trying to make money and act like they know more than they actually do. Legalization is not as cool as people think. Do you have any of the soil left? One way to find out if it is the source is to put some Soil in a bucket and put it completely somewhere pest free for a week or so and see if Gnats emerge. Or the wisest thing to do would be to TOSS the remaining Soil and Straw and buy different stuff moving forward. Good luck, peace slow

Slow I think you are correct on the Michigan soil. I've been running it for some time now. I've never had any serious issues, but the last few grows have had a presence of gnats. I guess that would mean the last three bags used could be culprits. There are traps in the tent and no evidence this grow. Their population was minimal last grow. Going to switch to Coast of Maines platinum blend, Im from the Mitten but Live in New England, so COM is more environmentally conscious for me and about ten bucks cheaper. Peace Slow, Be Well

 

[MMMi]

I think nematodes might help you out.

Busy, busy weekend.

Everything that had roots showing got transplanted. Gotta pop 2 more seeds, and do it more better. Rice hulls added to mulch layer. Top dressed with some bokashi, MBP, and a little 2-2-2. Watered in with some recharge/coconut water. Added worms to every container larger than 4". Applied first round of nematodes, will re-apply in 7-10 days. Turned on autopots. Chopped all the mulch overgrowing my girls and dropped it. Worms should have plenty to eat for a bit.

Gnat pressure is still very very low. 2 days ago, caught 2. 1 day ago caught 2. Now the traps are all fouled up after watering/chopping mulch. Will put new ones out in a bit to count again.

Spun up the Juniors, no cover . Both of them have various medicinal herbs, 3-4 each. I'll either use them for green mulch, or more likely make a FPE, maybe even some tea for humans if they thrive.

I'm reconsidering topdress as primary feed. It's way easier than teas and now that I have worms, they should move that shit around for me. Maybe combine that with ferments added to bottom.

First three I transplanted are looking gorgeous.