here’s the shizzle. You wonder how ph adjusting works eh? Well, acid leaches the calcium from the soil, creating acidic conditions! So the addition of sulfur creates sulfuric acid which reacts with the calcium. When you have hunks of limestone in the soil, you need something to eliminate it. It’s some basic chemistry that works when people still think pine tree needles and bark will change the ph. Never happen. In the real world, pathogens leach the calcium when there are anaerobic conditions in the soil.
If you don’t believe me, feel free to look it up. I didn’t believe me, either at first. Until it was proven by testing. I use it as a litmus test nowadays. AKA someone is so full of shit, if they don’t know how to alter the ph in soil.
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couple nibbles on the plant from some stupid bug, but it’s doing good. Really overshadowed by the tomato plants though. Got some ripe jalapenos, I gotta stuff with cream cheese and wrap in bacon, hell yah!
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you can see, I sprayed some sulfur on the plants that get mildew. Now here’s the thing, my mom promised not to bring in more mildew plants, so this year I am going to finally pummel it to death so there is no mildew going forward. The greenhouse was mildew free for years before the “problem” plants were introduced and infested it. After that, the problems were brought back into the greenhouse every year. each year I’d kill it off only to have more infested plants brought in from the store. fuck me.
You just have to make sure not to get the sulfur on your vegetables
That’s why I never recommend a burner.
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Using the mystical portability of the hydroponic system in the greenhouse, I think I’ll move my cannabis plant into the sun. The 6 foot tomato plants have been shading it for weeks now. My bad.
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Long ago when we were just starting the organic farm, my parents thought plants grew using nothing. That’s not stupidity, just ignorance. Not sure where that idea came from? As a test project there was a small greenhouse with a handful of plants. They weren’t doing so good. Tomatoes were rotting on the vine, plants were stunted. Dwarfed. etc. So like any good turd I went in there and helped them out. Told them plants need input to grow, they don’t magically grow on sunlight alone. Organics meant symbiosis between plants, bugs and fungus. Really back then I just called it “micro organisms” not specifically bugs, fungus and plants. Ingham really helped with that, cemented the research. At first I was using organically derived liquids and an injector system I still have it. I had the problems mentioned above, where you don’t know how much it got if it needs more or less. Then I was at the store and saw these gia green bins. Looked at it… hmm solid materials make your plant grow just as well? So I bought a container and poured in out on the strawberries. It was fucking amazing and the rest is history.
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My nutty auto plant in the green house is complete. It was a tiny thing! Either that was it’s thing, or it got stunted. It was just a random secret bagseed so who knows. I’ll cut it down trim it and dry it I suppose? Photo it! yay!
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I washed the buds, and I’ll get a sample for the microscope. I wannna seeeeeee! I got it all trimmed up and ready for drying.
There’s the pelargonium I took from the DWC and planted in the greenhouse hydro, it’s doing great!
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Haha very nice jeez your a busy man eh looking good
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yah been harvesting the pumpkins as well and making jelly from the currants! ooo Lookit my two gram bud. IT’s the shizzle!
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looks a little trashed. I did expect to find more garbage left behind, but I guess the wash worked alright.
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Looks good to me!
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here’s the results for now, from that pepper plant! Gonna be making some poppers… oohh so good. There are a few more peppers left, but they are green. I love em when they are all red, so sweet. And spicy!
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oh I forgot! So my dad went to the neighbors farm to deliver some kohlrabi. So then he got a tour of the farm and came home, and tells me “Hey your knowledge of the powdery mildew really helped out, the neighbors farm is infested!” Yah, that’s right. I nuked that shit early in the season, and never looked back. Also, the mildew isn’t going to magically float over to our farm from his infested one.
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I know it has been a while, and it might not be outdoor season for you right now(I am looking forward to next season), but I was just working while thinking about how nice it was for you to post this up for us, and I wanted to come back here and thank you again. This was insightful, inspiring, and beautiful. I am still curious about your work though, particularly the cleanup of your tanks and pumps and roots and stuff at the end of harvest. I wonder how thorough you feel things must be done. Do you scrub all the tanks and pumps and outlets and the insides of hoses? Do you just soak in some kind of acid or disinfectant? Do you just rake away the roots with a broom and not care about microbial stuff? I’m trying to figure out how I can save time and energy, and I wonder how neurotic I really am.
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I don’t do any cleanup except take the roots and toss 'em. Toss all the plants in the compost! Some of them are still molding away out there covered in various fungus. I’ll scrub up the black mold if there was some aphid shit that made it grow. Sweep up fallen debris and toss em in the compost. The thyme and clematis are immune to parasites like spider mites, and aphids. I think those are the only overwintering plants in the green house. I have already started some seedlings for the next round, I am growing lots of basil and tomatoes, but no pumpkins. Butternut squash instead. We produced so many pumpkins last year… the powdery mildew was toast, and they pumped huge. I took the pumpkins and rendered them in the instant pot for 50min then stacked the meat in the freezer. I think I’ll grow another auto flower, but I’ll do a grapey one this year. I’m allowed to grow 4 outside as personal.
As for winterizing it, you have to drain all the water ahead of time and let it drain out of the drip system. If you don’t the pipes will burst and cost you more loot on the next season. I will have to do simple maintenance on the system this year like flush the pipes and emitters with pressurized water. Sediment does get in the system.
The overall year for growing at the farm… cold weather plants took a hit. The record breaking heat wave, disrupted some plants life cycles. Our farm did fairly well considering the crop losses others experienced. I think the irrigation systems helped with productivity. This winter… It was like a glacier formed outside, destroying so many things. Full damage assessment in 1 more month when the snow melts.
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Getting excited about this year!
all drip systems are pulled apart for winter, so the ice doesn’t destroy them. Sometimes, outside the ice is an unstoppable force, I admit. This year, I’ll be growing some autos, and basil. I’ll grow a 5 year supply of basil in one year. Each plant probably 90 cm tall. BTK will keep the ear wigs off of the basil. If I don’t spray it for ear wigs, they’ll eat it all and turn it into ear wig shit, those buggers.
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Things are getting underway! The snow is down to 20cm, so spring is here. In march. Go Figure, it’s a month ahead. Sprout them seeds in a warm location. Those are tomatoes! Also I got the basil in the incubation chamber. It’s the box with a plastic flap on the front, and floros on the roof. This is stage one of three stages before they hit the outdoors. I will be sprouting auto flower plants grapey walter. I’ll do 2 of them this year, I’m feeling adventurous! I could do 4 and still be legal along with the licensed grow. They just tack on the “recreational” quantities to your existing license if the cops come sniffing around. Literally, sniffing.
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