Carpsy's Dear Diary

[blackcarp]

Dear Diary, i made a thing.

The Setup

Tent/Box:
Secret Jardin DS90 90x90/3x3

-smart construction, IKEA take note, just 3 parts or so,
-comes with neat tools to customize the vent holes,
-sadly the velcro to keep the door open is in a useless spot

Lights:
1x 150W Grow the Jungle Jackson LT (samsung/osram board) (has a dimmer)

Pots:
7 and 10l garden pots

Soil: different mixtures
good: organic herbs and seedling soil, seems like it contains loads of worm castings.
rather shite: “mediterranean organic soil” whatever that is, huge chunks of all kinds of bull

Soil Additives:
-all got mixed with small red clay pebbles, kinda like perlite but red, and lighter
-some get chicken manure mixed in, not much, half a handfull, still testing wether to just sprinkle it ontop or maybe even grind the dried pellets down.

Soil Construction:
-a few cm/inch+ of pebbles on the bottom as drainage. Never had brown, rotting roots ever again after doing that.
-soil mixed with air pebble stuff. Makes it all a bit looser, airy, moist and soaky.
-sand ontop… the good fine bird stuff… thickly… up to 3inches if i can. The vile fungus gnats are just everywhere once i open a window for just a brief moment and i have to find a way to defeat that meance! The sand should add a ton of cal too, at least for birds… maybe weed too, maybe too much, we shall see… smells like a beach now, like nasty sand.

Watering:
-from top around seedling
-starting to try watering from bottom now, seems to works surprisingly well even without any kind of lint or whatever, clay pebbles and soil just soak up water from the pot’s flat plates. can watch it dissappear lol. magic and poof \o/ dry.

Germination:
cup of filtered water, a lid ontop, bottom of tent
-good seeds develope like half an inch/1cm of root over two days in there, worst i had was 9 days and water got a bit algae like.
-straight into the pots afterwards, seedshell barely visible.
-usually i make a little mound in a crater kinda thing. The thinking is that i can better control soil moisture and increase surrounding humidity. Water should also run away to the sides more and promote root growth in that direction. It also kinda looks cool and i like to play with dirt. might be a european thing.

Fertilization:
just the soil mix with water atm, water here is so amazing its basicially fertilizer, and has the same color.
but i got a set of different organic ferts sitting around once the plants get a bit larger.

Strains:

Sweet Seeds Tropicanna Poison Xl Auto
#1 popped but never managed to fully crack open before it got eaten by the soil, shell to thick
#2 looks healthy like it should currently

Sweet Seeds Red Mimosa Xl Auto
#1 got fungus gnatted and stunted, red stalk, yellowing leafes, not wanting to die but a goner
#2 looks good, has the good soil and even the chicken’s divine manure

Philosopher Seeds Critical XXL Auto (freebie)
#1 got fungus gnatted and stunted, red stalk appearing and its a goner too im afraid

im running this since 3 weeks now and yeah, still trying to figure out the right set up for the LEDs, venting, watering and humidity and all that…

only good plant so far is the tropicanna posion #2, hopefully the red mimosa #2 will pull through.

before i got fed up by the fungus gnats and just covered it all in a death valley like sand, they had friends! basil, coriander, and even a wild mushroom! but well, we cant have good things as long as the fungus gnat lives!

tropicanna poison #1 just didnt make it, whatever tf that is… nitrate or fungus or whatever.

the critical seems to be too far behind to be safed by now

[Gpaw]

I have an older DS120, a great tent.
Give it 6 years and that velcro patch attached to the tent will get ‘tired’… …I haven’t replaced mine yet… but soon.

Think about adding some H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) to the germination process. That will help clean the exterior of the seeds from pathogens.

Fungus Gnats…
I was using ProMix (free gnats in every bag…) but switched to KIS Mix from a local source (no bugs! )

What I found was:

• DE (diatomaceous earth) on the surface of the soil, only works while dry… bottom water if possible
• Yellow sticky traps
• Mosquito Dunks, multiple versions of this, you want the active ingredient to be Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis). Ground up a Tsp. and water it in.
  With those three I could beat them down and out by flower. I started to ‘overwinter’ my soil ingredients in the unheated garage, The few that survived were ‘feak and weeble’ .

Cheers
G

[blackcarp]

thanks for the tipps,

gonna check for H2O2, got a few rather old seeds i might wanna pop some day anyway.

But ye… im fighting those fungus gnats since many winters, sometimes spider mites too… those are much worse thou.
Even baked my soil and thoroughly cleaned everything, threw all plants out and started over. i developed a zealous hate for them. Had hoped my plants would be safer inside the tent than on my windowboard… nope… they find ways…
Its prolly not hard to fly in from some treetop nearby.

Yellow Stickies just work to scare myself a little when looking at that wriggling mass of evil i think. Using em nevertheless just to murder a few more! every single kill counts towards eternal victory!

Diatomaceous earth sound def interesing, not sure it might harm friendlies or myself in case i inhale it thou, need to do more research.

Theres some bug that hunts them, atheta or so, five are enough for 1sq meter appearantly, looks menacing too, would def try if i had a greenhouse not a closet
Hunter mites or nematodes are supposed to work too but not sure i want a zoo ontop of a garden.

For now i am excited to see if the Death Valley remake with quartz/bird sand as a toplayer will prevent them from getting in…

No Mercy for Fungus Gnats! No Surrender! Hold the folding tent door!

[blackcarp]

Dear Diary,

today i got fed up by the critical’s stuntedness and dug it out, the soil beneath the gruelling desert sands was warm and damp.
Wether by fungus gnat attacks or deprivation of oxygen, the roots had suffered much. The plant was declared a lost cause. It might have been recoverable but since its an auto and i already lost 2 weeks or so its kinda out of luck.

conclusion:
Plants need to reach a critical stage of healthy roots and bushy greenery to be able to dry out the substrate fast enough before it becomes deadly.
The top cover seems to work against fungus gnats well but also creates a rather airtight barrier that, paired with the LED heat, turns the soil into a tropical hellhole.
The topcover needs to get applied later or watering be much more accurate, replanting from a small to a larger pot is a possibility.

[blackcarp]

Dear Diary,

little Red Mimosa #2 and her big sister Tropicanna Poison #2 are doing well. They were a bit sad to see their sisters leave for the eternal ganja farm in heaven, but the basil seeds felt their grief and made the long journey through Death Valley and emerged close by, to bring new joy to their fellow pot plants.

no new fungus gnats emerged so far, i hope the mushroom colony that seems to be down there ate their suffocating remnants. \o/

tropicannas fan leaf stalks seem to purple, and new growth is somewhat dark, some tips are curling too. Seems that my soil doesnt fill her mag needs and offers too much nitrogen. She didnt even get chicken poop, just plain soil. i assume it might be because of my nearly airtight top cover that reduces available oxygen and prevents mag extraction, aswell as promoting nitrogen production? gotta reasarch dat.
looks ok so far and i hope she just pushes through to a stronger stage where she eats fast enough to get fresh water with a few more nutes.
i should get me some humidity strips since my soil is pretty heavy and i dont really feel a difference between wet and dry.

also, i toyed around with dirt again, mmmh dirt, but this “Composana Mediterranean Organic Soil” i bought is really utter crap. Found plastic, glassshards and textiles in it and barely any actual soil. Made me think of those mafia waste disposal shemes lol.
Composana so far seemed pretty dope to me during my last growth, but this one specific soil is terrible.

[webeblzr]

The way I beat gnats, is a bit like you did with sand, I used these.
Coco Husks.

It worked so damn well, I made a dedicated bucket, many holes and a screen wrapper.

As I remove them after flowering, I put them in the bucket, then I’ll run some water over them or dunk them into a bigger bucket with some pool shock solution.
Then back into the fight the go, from seedlings to harvest, 2-3 inch layer is magic.

I use them when I mix up my blend of growing medium. They are great for soaking in a nice tea solution, or with some rock dust as the chunks are so airy.
In my area most places that carry it, as pet bedding, so it’s pretty cheap.
Since it must be hydrated, I use that time to also rinse it pretty good, before I use it.
After a whole bunch of cycles, it finds it’s way into my worm bins, and veg gardens.
It just never stops giving once I started using it 10-12 years ago.
All the best blackcarp!!
webe

[blackcarp]

thank You @webeblzr
i completely forgot coco exists hehe… used it a few times when i discovered it and my plants never really liked it they were always weak and flimsy in it. But i didnt mix it either and had even less of an idea about nutes than now
i shall get me a block of that stuff and mix it in, would at least add some air and lightness to my mixture.
if the sand prooves to be too airtight i will try coco as topping too, but i kinda like my desert look atm.

[blackcarp]

Dear Diary,

Today nothing eventful happened, but the two sisters grow steadily. Soon little Tropicanna will enter womanhood and has to learn manners befitting of such a fine yound lady. Whereas Red Mimosa still has a few days of juvenile lightness and joy to experience. Her basil pets sure bring a smile to our faces whenever they throw another red clay pebble through Death Valley.

A second Ventilator also arrived, Garden High Pro 12W… cheapest of the cheap it seems… hopefully it wont burn down the house. i added a firealarm above the tent just in case…

But with that necessary delivery a few really pleasant and juicy looking thingies also dropped.

oh which to do first?
Maybe the haze in hopes for a male i guess… appeared to be the only decent regular auto i could find in europe.
Or maybe that inbred chemdog extreme…
Or the shmexy free blueberries…
Or whatever gnome is…
awwww… its like checking baseballcards or pokeballs hehe…

really happy with the amount of free seeds and service of Alchimia, of spain, out of Barcelona too. Didnt try out many other growsuppliers but totally happy so far. no paid ad, just my customer opinion cus they gave me 3 free seeds even tho i just asked for two instead of one… cus im humble and all… \o/

[Gpaw]

Boy, that Creme de la Chem is all dog! and nothing but dog…

I’d lean towards the Haze first as well, probably the super dog 2nd.

Sometimes I think a “Wheel of Fortune” style selection process would help me choose…

cheers
G

[blackcarp]

Basil is stronk like Hulk. Youre supposed to put em ontop the soil to sprout. These were an inch or more below ground.

Tried the new Seramis humidity measuring strips. Theyre supposed to turn from red to blue 2h after watering. So i put em half way down and waited, after 2h they were still red, i added water, they are still red 6h or so later. shrug useless i guess

@Gpaw
Haze it is then, excited to get some auto pollen and mix myself some seeds.
Still have Black DOG powder but its pheno and id prefer to skip some runs. Thou im tempted to drizzle some of that on the full on Dawg and make it a black one. i really love Black DOGs and can only imagine how it would merge into one since i never really had a proper chem i think, or unknowingly only XD.

But for now im hoping the Neville is one of those old school Haze strains that had this totally different spicy taste. Didnt taste that since a long time.
Do you think that like 0.5l of soil would be enough to make breeder hazies?

[blackcarp]

Dear Diary,

Tropi and Mimo are doing fine.

Tropi is even sporting her first Blossoms.

In Mimos pot the coriander suddenly emerged from the desert sands aswell!
I never intentionally had companion plants in the same pot but it definately feels wholesome.

i also made plasticbottle pots for the haze. Bottles seems great. You can use the top as a little greenhouse dome for seedlings or for watering. the bottom as pot. simply cut it up with scissors. just gotta make holes somehow. i stuck a wood piece inside so id have a counter to me hammering a thick nail through, then just enlarged the hole with a screwdriver. Other types of bottles might have bottoms that are easier to cut with scissors to make holes. You could also burn them in but im already a bit waivering because its plastic bottles and those aint exactly environment friendly, burning them def aint… but i guess indoor growing aint super eco anyway lol.

i also tested bottom watering by only filling the bottom plate/pot. half an hour later the orange pebbles became darker ontop, indicating that they are moist.
I did not use any lint or whatever to soak up the water, just the spongy claypebbles (Perlite alternative) mixed into soil.
edit: There seems to be some residue left behind in the bottom plate when using liquid fertilizer.

[saxo]

@blackcarp

fungus gnats

https://www.amazon.de/nemabest®-Nematoden-Pflanzen-gegen-Trauermücken/dp/B08SJF8Y7X/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2V2WFB1HGJSM5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.u5u5Yfj5-fw9ZjllEUr8chqPcqwE1g2-suWH7IE_nU3evtUwwo8xDNNgBiCwpgeuqT8aZUAyO8S7vYaYcfRvY5ZlqTMuLHzlfnFj5jQWTtobJPFvdHnXp7Z4AKwCOk0pipL6pf_QvYEEiLMZziOrthws3kc_ss5YJzb8YTkGjHkdfTtK_FqCuHb-uN_ZnnsNcS2y_0WZOQ6zEBWA4oHUsMLGiPGHQkxvMosF7RvKfIefNnc2OGq3VujmxAlHVvu3SOs0mD5TJ-4pIB-vVR3rZ7nV_Y1iNVO6XKcbF485SJg.Z1sKFJOFrLFCOgxzQryKvRet9jEXkmY0cwY02aJB4o0&dib_tag=se&keywords=nematoden%2Bgegen%2Btrauermücken&qid=1718358678&sprefix=nema%2Caps%2C319&sr=8-5&th=1

[blackcarp]

hehe, i heard good things about those as war worms. Might get those if it gets out of hand again.

And i cant deny that i also considered to introduce other worms, red wigglers at least, but maybe one of these armlong mofos that come out at night to strangle careless sleepwalkers…
But… but im not really sure if im ready to turn my pots into Arrakis One and Arrakis Two.

btw, Dunepots, does anyone know a truly blue flowering phenotype?

[blackcarp]

Dear Diary,

i finally turned on the venting system. And im very glad the tent is in its own room with a door. The noise makes me want to buy a dimmer adapter thingie or even build a pc fan system sometime. I doubt it already needs full power. And the sound doesnt feel like it would be pleasant to plants either. Id like to treat them like Kobe beef… stem rubs, classical music and beer… im pretty sure theyd be more happy.

Im also slightly concerned that the exhaust vents might pull fumes and smoke from my actual chimney. The chimney sweeper warned me against installing similiar items in my bathroom.
ahhhh, will be fine ehm ehm…
anyone with experience how chimney extraction reacts to 3x3 tent ventilation?

The plants keep growing happily i think. They look happy at least, maybe a bit lazy and like they just chill in the sun… lazy beachbums.

The Mimosa has a much brighter green color even thou her pot contains additional chicken manure and the additional nitrogen should rather create darker green in my head. She feels like her equatorial, lowland, tropical, ancestry is more dominant than the northern highland side. But after looking at the geneaology tree and having to scroll around to see the extent, i lost orientation what kinda plant it is supposed to be huhu. i clumsily touched her head and it smelled like spicy cinnamon chewing gum tastes, awesome.

Tropicanna Poison looks like she should i guess, its some cookies kush dog cross so yeah… no smell yet thou at all.

i have absolutely no clue about these strains, last i checked what even exists was 2000ish sensi seeds and greenhouse stuff, and i just rode bagseeds since then. When you then check a seedbank and see 800 diff frigging breeds… well, i just bought the first two sexy looking ones

meanwhile the windowboard photo bush is doing its thing.
Black dog that came from seed heavy bags. Not sure how they came to be. Got em to fuck around with and they really grew on me. nice plants, aroma is fantastic, the colors that play out too, growth aint madly stretchy but rather efficent and very LSTable, buds are dense and grow into proper daily rations, their texture is like dried up resin from forest trees.

about 3 month old.
only natural sunlight.

not sure what to do with it, hate that it aint in a tent and fetches dust and microfiber bs. Maybe ill just make some seeds with the left over pollen to refresh the regulars.

[blackcarp]

Dear Diary,
the two girls are doing well and were rewarded with 500ml, fresh, 4°C cold tab water (highest density hence highest oxygen i believe, might shock em but the tropi is indica kush i think and used to that from the himalayan glaciers id hope)
fed from the bottom, with some spanish made ferti, Top Auto… looks red… only a few drops… never tried, who knows, instructions are literally in spanish.
They raised their arms to praise me and cheer my benevolence shortly after watering and i got afraid they might get cramps, but they settled in quickly and seem to enjoy themselves.

Tropicanna still has no smell whatsever, whereas Mimosa sprays you with a spicy cinammon scent if you even just look at her, shes like a cat of sorts.
The basil in the same pot is already very oily and reeks like basil should once you rub it… gently…

Its really a bit lonely in that tent still thou. my buddy had a 2x2ft and it was obviously too cramped for two flowers, but this 3x3 seems like alot more space… not sure how large these autos even get, they seem so adorably tiny, like mini ganja. Close up they look so huge but if you put it in relation its really just down there by your ankle and looking up in hope of love.

[blackcarp]

Dear Diary,
The plants got slightly overwatered and Tropi grew too close to the light. Her leaf tips became much brighter and she had her arms raised to pray to the sun god not to scorch her.

i raised the lights and gave Tropi a slight LST with simple wires shaped like hooks that attach to the pots rim. She quickly adapted after just half an hour or so and seems happy. She was growing really tight around the mainstem and i hope this will improve airflow and light distribution a bit.
It made me feel somewhat silly because i used string attached with tape in the past and it was quite annoying. i need thicker wire thou, if that tropi becomes even just a tenth as strong as my Black Dogs were, then she will simple rip those wires out. Black Dogs are beasts for real. Very orderly and disciplined, but only until they want something really bad.

[saxo]

sieht gut aus!

got some TropiPoison FastVersion as Freebees,gonna sprout em soon

[blackcarp]

Thanks @saxo geb mir Mühe

Oh, fast Tropis, close to auto so to speak.
Not sure if its any good, was one of those hectic panic buys when Lauterbach suddenly saved the nation. But the name sounds promising

Dear Diary,

i gave The girls a little bit more light bondage because they seem to enjoy getting flexed a bit. The stretching of Tropicanna’s main stem was a bit annoying in regards to the lights height and the idea is to create a Baobab tree style canopy. i might have started a little bit late with Tropi, but it shall be fine.

Mimosa is showing strange signs of social interaction or behavior. Im not sure what is going on but the basil and coriander have shifted into nearly perfect circle around the plant, who sits in the middle like a mother hen, protecting her flock with her green wings.
Maybe its like a cuckoo pretending to be one of the basils, trying to stay as low as them, or maybe the basil worship her like the queen of basil. However it may be, she looks healthy, and thats all that matters. She will soon enough become a real lady of her potworld and reign her realm with thick bloody darn buds i hope…

[blackcarp]

Dear Diary,

Upon my daily morning inspection i found the initial post germination leaves of Tropicanna slightly wilted and removed them so as not to take chances.
Im not overly concerned since it seems to happen to alot of plants eventually, but if anyone knows what exactly causes this id like to know please.

the white grains aint eggs, thats sand
but whats that crack that looks like a wound?

these spots are what im curious about.

Thanks for any pointers!

[blackcarp]

Dear Diary,

The garden progresses steadily.

Tropicanna still shows signs of eating too much nitro (bright tips, dark green color) and not enough mag (red stems), if my assumptions are right.
I only ever added a few drops of that appearantly strong spanish liquid ferti for autos and mostly just gave her plain water, the pot doesnt even contain chicken poop, wild.
She seems to enjoy the wire shibari thou and maybe i can get her to level out her top a bit more still. Just gotta be careful the mainbud stays the mainbud, i dont like it when some upstart just becomes the boss. There might be reasons for it in certain cases, but i guess it simply takes time to adapt management to the new dude before growth would continue at top efficency.

also removed three of her lower leaves to inspect them closer. i guess its maybe really bit much food shes munching. Guess ill keep feeding her plain water and see if she stabilizes.

i removed those single calynxes that form around the mainstem at branch and fan leaf nodes. they reminded me of the new sprouts on tomato plants that my great grandpa used to remove to improve fruit production. I dont know if that works for weed, gotta experiment for a bit with it i guess, but it makes some sense in my head.

Mimosa on the other hand is starting to worry me a bit. Generally getting darker, lower leaves thou become brighter and drier. And shes just growing like a cabbage. Took some of her basil buddies away, maybe that will teach her, or at least improve airflow and space a bit. Some basils were starting to overtake her in height. Shes starting her fourth week now and i guess thats the time where they show their prowess so theres still hope i wont just get free pesto.
that intense basil smell everywhere mmmh…