- syzygy's journal - the clown show

Mean gene? Or his cousin?

Re: organics and salts

I think what some old heads say is true, just learn the tools you are using. There isnt one ultimate answer. Organics has benefits but is harder in small containers and not everybody can get quality inputs as pointed out. So everybody figures out what works for them.

I started out with plenty of organics but i kinda didnt really know what i was doing. Farmer joe sent me some cal nitrate 15 0 0, masterblend bloom 0 12 24, agsil16h, and taught me how to properly feed my plants. He always put up with my dumbass questions and explains it to me. So ive been re using my media. Thing is its promix, promix equivalent, but with tons of castings/composts based on lc’s soilless mix from “organics for beginners” thread, i think icmag, and full of leftover organic amendments like gaia green power bloom, blood meal, bone meal, bokashi, salts that werent properly flushed out because i didnt know how to feed, etc. But organic systems and amendments like compost or castings are supposed to be longterm.

So while im feeding salts and flushing any soluble nutrients out, is this synagics? How long does that last? I know when I got to ask karma a question on a podcast, he said theyd grow sour with organics but give a boost of salts / synthetics during bulk/peak. Like notsodog mentioned recently on his new joint with crybaby, a lot of this stuff was already done by professional farmers decades ago. So we are just gilding that lily in some ways with all the new info and tech we have. Gist was he referred to rockwool blocks on flood tables as stuff that was already being done by the dutch in, what, the 80s? Now athena / whatever boys try to act like theyre innovative and amazing for packing that up in an easy2go form right? Heres your crop steering pdf, because you didnt go to agricultiure uni

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I also remember Karma and a few other heads mentioned the mix of organics and synthetics… i personally never really done it indoors, ive worked as a gardener before, and it was common practice to add some synthetic nutes to tulips as they were starting to come out in early spring… that usually boosted them quite a bit… i guess the only way to really know, is to run side by side, same cut, and only change an input or two that is being tested. i have some plans this year to do a bunch of experiments i have in head, this being one of them…

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I have a lot of experience growing organically in controlled environments, greenhouses, and outdoors. Also with cannabis, I’ve been growing organically for over 2 decades. The pros and cons of both approaches are not lost on me. I agree with the comment “there is no one universal answer” for a variety of reasons. My grow area at home is really limited on height and so small containers are necessary. I don’t want to open another can of worms but the fungus gnats here can be very resilient, and so topdressing is not something I’m a big fan of in my tent usually.

I am not experienced with hybrid styles of gardening. I have heard from older (non-cannabis) friends that I respect echo similar thoughts, but with comments that peak productivity will begin to fall within a couple years.

Side by side experiments of any kind in gardening are always really interesting to watch. Looking forward to seeing how that plays out if you go through with it!

TK x TS - I’m not fishing for compliments but I really wish I could do a better job capturing how this looks in person. I just feel like it doesn’t look the same in the pictures - or that the effect of looking at it isn’t the same. It’s probably because the flower size isn’t really conveyed.


TK

TS - hands down the frostiest plant in the tent still. I love this plant.


Also I checked on the seedlings this morning and I saw things are getting a bit overgrown… Too bad I’m out of space and can’t move them anywhere else. I’ll probably cut them in half to buy some time.

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There is nothing sustainable about harvesting peat… check out any of these links.

And the salts solidify, making them much harder to flush out. I only feed/water once a day in 2 gallon pots all the way through. The coco is still a little moist, but I am pushing it.

Lowe’s gives away paint stirring sticks for 5 gallon buckets. I’ve been using the same one for 10 years, lol!

I think so too. I am just finishing a bag of 1 part Megacrop that’s lasted almost 2 years. Ordered a new one for $66 including shipping.

Ms H has been growing cotton in the garden for a few years. Her bolls are sort of beige, and the flowers are purple or white on the same plant. Very pretty, and pollinators like 'em. In the mallow family, like okra :face_vomiting: Our vet’s in a town named Eli Whitney about 5 miles from us, too :rofl:

It is a pain, but for me, not nearly as much as mixing up a bunch of soil. I even used to borrow my kid’s 1 yard tow behind cement mixer when I had an indoor bed. It’s so much easier on me physically to stir some powder in a 5 gallon bucket :rofl:

My hat is off to y’all who can pull off nice grows in mud, it just confounded me :crazy_face:

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Ideally, you don’t ever want the coco to go dry. Maybe on the top of the pot but that’s it. If the coco is dry, the roots are bone dry too. Going to have issues.

The nice thing with coco is, it doesn’t matter if it’s wet as long as it’s aerated. Top feeding coco to ~20% run-off draws oxygen into the pot as it drains down and out of it which is super beneficial to the plant. So you can feed multiple times a day and get the results from doing so. Or you can take it easy, its whatever. I only bottom feed my coco fabric bags as i’m lazy af. 24/7 in a puddle of water. They will get salt buildup after a few months doing that though.

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it will give up any sodium to the media, not good for the plants.

Good point. Need good air circulation to keep away some of the bad stuff tho.

I like bottom feeding.

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Yeah air circulation for sure. I also run no less than 30% perlite, preferably ~50%, with the bottom feeding.

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In my mind, the second you start adding synthetic nutrients to your soil, it ceases to be organic, so you may as well just grow using salts and stuff. I’ve also read that adding salt-based shit to an organic grow essentially “paralyzes” the life in the soil, thus creating a need to continue using salts. I’ve never tried it myself, never needed to, so I dunno.

Yeah, I used to topdress with compost or EWC when I’d transplant, never had a problem with fungus gnats. Until I did haha. Now I don’t do that, although I do still topdress with neem and kelp. Sometimes I’ll topdress with gypsum and MBP, too, when I remember to haha. Those things don’t really seem to attract gnats, though, haven’t had to bust out the Gnatrol in a while.

Do they look too small in the pics or too large?

Y’all’re acting like I’m constantly mixing up a bunch of soil or something haha! The last time I did was like three years ago, when I got aphids and tossed the soil from the pots that those plants were growing in, think I mixed up maybe sixty gallons or so to replace it. And I still had like 100 gallons in my bins already. Honestly, I don’t even know how old my soil is haha, but it’s still workin’!

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When I go in the tent the flowers just look blown up in size compared to everything else. The trichomes pop a bit more and it appears to have a really decent calyx to leaf ratio. It catches my eye in the tent but not as much when I review the pictures I took of it. TS is kind of similar but I feel the pictures at least communicate the semi-unique shape and frost levels at least. TK seems to come across accurately in pictures to me too. Dunno, just not happy with how the pictures come out on the TK x TS still - I’ll keep trying.

Quickly looked at the outdoor stuff for the first time in a week. After the rain it looks like a few branches on the TK snapped and a few on the TS are bending towards the ground. TK buds are the size of 2L bottles. Lav Jack smells incredible. I don’t want to go near any of them because it would mean I need to shower and change. Irene has a minor whitefly presence as well.

Irene

VN

TS



TK


LJ

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You can give salts while doing organics, they won’t cancel each other unless your very heavy on the salts.
Everything is salt derived, fluoride, chlorine, mg, ca,
If your using RO water with your grow, the micro life in your soil will thrive much more
If you are just giving tap water with organics… Well, you have salts in your tap water, but you still see a reaction from organic inputs
In my grows I mix compost and ewc, 10% of each, and mix that with my mostly peat coco soil mix
And later on when flower is in motion I just supplement slowly until I see a slight burn and I back off a bit to a solid value the plants can take and be happy.
I have so very fine results with this method outdoors, this winter I’ll apply it indoors I think it will be crazy.

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That one pic of the older girl with her head tilted and her ears perked up and her tongue hanging out is SO CUTE haha. Goooood dawgs… Good, good dawgs.

Weed looks okay, too haha. That Vanilluna… I dunno. I hope you end up trying that one out, even though she’s looking real spindly right now. At least once or twice, right? You gotta try it! haha.

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It’s not always all about you, haha!

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I think tried and true recipes are great but it’s also nice to see people doing things differently. Hope it works out for you this winter!

Thanks, ya she’s a character. Very independently minded so it can be challenging getting her to cooperate.

Too late!

Looked at the weather forecast and it’s only going to get worse with the rain on my days off. I impulsively cut it down along with the TK and a few other things outside. I noticed that the TK & VN and LJ all had a serious infestation of Bandedwing Whiteflies building up. Cut off half the TS branches (all that were bending over). First I filled up a 5 GAL bucket of pure buds and then after about 2 minutes I grabbed a small 30 GAL garbage can and filled that up to the top as well… Felt like my arms and hands were covered in Tanglefoot. Not sure how I’m going to dispose of all this yet.

Afterwords I had to go to a few stores and gear up for yet another dog walk and a few people let me know how strongly I smelled like cannabis… Tried washing my arms and hands like 15x prior to going out but clearly that wasn’t enough.

I still have a handful of plants outside (including another TK) but I am not optimistic with the Whiteflies I’m seeing. TS buds looked mostly clean on the Septoria* front and surprisingly minimal Whiteflies were seen on that plant as well. Stems were substantially stronger than everything else too (they were all bending whereas everything else with issues broke). If I get the free time I may start pulling those too. I’d rather not risk my dogs (or myself) bringing in Whiteflies that I have to fight with inside.

Anyways, going to shower now that I’m home so I can take my week 9 pictures… Can’t believe we’re already coming up on day 63. Time seems to fly in grows once you hit day 40-45~

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Week 9 - Day 63

Triple Sunshine (TK x SSDD)

Triangle Kush

Triangle Kush X Triple Sunshine (TK x SSDD)

Triangle Kush S1

5150 TK x TK #1

5150 TK x TK #3

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yeah, nothing really good is coming from over harvesting peat… i do think coco coir processing has some negative environmental impacts, but it sounds like less so than harvesting peat.

what?! You live in the south and don’t like fried Okra? How?

that would be really nice when it comes to mixing up dirt again for the SIPs or large pots… you could dump the entire SIP/pot in there and pull out the roots and stalk after it’s tumbled a bit, then throw in some organic amendments, dump it and you’re ready to go.

lol, sounds like you were correct on your assumptions. At least you’re legal-ish now!

sucks you had to chop some stuff early… your Irene looks about as developed as mine is, she’s going very slow. The strawberry Ethiopian i have outside looks like it may actually finish though, stoked about that.

looks like you nailed this one… in coco correct? I’ve been smoking some of the Triple Sunshine F recently and she did end up smelling a lot like some of my Baba Kush phenos, i just couldn’t smell it at first, and her smell developed more in the jar. I think it’s a more SSDD feeling plant, but I still prefer the Trip Sun A. Keep going back to that one, something about the taste and the way it makes me feel, it keeps bringing me back.

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Yeah, the only plant in soil left is the 5150 #1 (not pictured). I’m growing that one in coco as well. Oddly enough the TS is one of the best performing plants I’ve found in small soil containers. Performs well in coco too though haha…

Yeah, I think (not sure) I said that I felt like it was an SSDD pheno real early in my F grow as well. It did have more of an aroma resembling the SSDD crosses from what I remember. Very cool that we’re able to compare smells like this haha. I agree - SSDD leaning odor.

Greasy’s review of it sounded very ssdd in effects to me too. I honestly don’t even remember the effects anymore - I just remember not feeling the need to keep it. I would have given it a positive review though and it would have impressed me more had I not sampled A or C. A was my favorite obviously as it’s the only one that I kept. C was the most potent of the pack but it was not my cup of tea… Left me way too dysfunctional. Cool to hear you find A to be an interesting plant as well! I react the same way - I often find myself reaching for the TK / TS bags.

Ya that cross sounded interesting, it was by zephyr right? Doesn’t he grow outdoors a lot? Not surprised to hear it’s performing well if that’s the case!

I don’t even care about my plants here - I’ll have more than I need from the coco stuff alone haha. Was always just an ornamental project in my eyes. Only reason I’m chopping stuff now is I’m becoming more scared about contaminating my inside plants.

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Aaarrrggghhhh!!!

Oh well… haha.

Like, people you know? Or strangers? If it was strangers who mentioned that, I hope you told them to fuck off haha.

Plants really do look very good, especially the straight TK and that 5150 etc #1. I love how calyx-y they are.

What’s the deal with these things? I’d never even heard of them until Holy started having issues a few months back. Now it seems like everybody’s having whitefly problems…

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Both, wasn’t a big deal thankfully. Even though it’s legal now I’m just glad I didn’t get pulled over.

Whiteflies (there at least a handful of types) have always been a common floriculture and nursery pest. I’ve never dealt with them on Cannabis because I’ve never grown outside before. Having all the seedlings around and the mothers I’d just rather not have to address them inside if I can avoid it.

On non Cannabis we’ve had good luck with a combination of E. eremicus (predatory wasps), pruning, and planting a lot of various types of flowers in the general area. I don’t care enough about the outdoor stuff to do anything at home though.

Some no flash pictures still on the SD card

TK x TS

5150 1

something about the flower makes me think of “everlasting gobstoppers” from the OG Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie

image

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