Have you ever smoked Weed before???

[Fresh8686]

1 hour ago, Simmsy said:

The very tops of my plants are starting to turn yellow, after doing some research it looks like the PH in my soil is too high (it was fine before, why would it suddenly go up?). I've ordered some PH up/Down, but does anyone any experience with that?

What is the ph of your water and are you de-chlorinating your water before feeding? The below table will give you an idea of what nutrients and minerals get locked out at different ph’s.

 

In organic grows, oyster shell and gypsum are used for both the minerals they provide but also because they are natural ph buffers. Fluctuations will naturally occur as things breakdown within the soil, but you want to make sure your initial waterings have the correct ph and nothing in it that swings the soil too far in any direction.

 

You can naturally ph up/down your water with baking soda and apple cider vinegar respectively. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Simmsy said:

My roommate and I are doing this, I've quit my job and started working for myself (temporarily), so he's kinda the financier and I'm the researcher/grower. He keeps watering them too much, I've told him several times to leave it alone, but he keeps doing it. There have been plenty of times where I've checked the soil to see if they need water and the soil is mushy, we've got the PH stuff coming tomorrow, but do yo think letting the plants dry out a bit would help? The PH in the soil is still 2 too high, but I guess I can add that for the next watering.

Let it dry out a bit. The worse thing about over watering is when it happens repeatedly and the plant starts to get over stressed and stunted. 
 

Are you all weighing your pots by hand to determine when to water? Get a feel for them dry and then when watered and finally when halfway dried. Or you can look into blumats and auto watering. 

[mistertim]

@Fresh8686is there any noticeable difference between plants that are grown "organically" and ones that use chemical fertilizers, etc?

[Fresh8686]

15 minutes ago, mistertim said:

@Fresh8686is there any noticeable difference between plants that are grown "organically" and ones that use chemical fertilizers, etc?

From what I’ve seen well grown is well grown, regardless of the method. However, once you get an understanding of the dynamics in play and build your soil right, imo organic is easier, cheaper, and much better for the environment.  
 

The soil actually gets better overtime and when you polycrop and companion plant it auto-buffers ph, is drought and overwatering resistant, and pest resistant. I’m more comfortable with my organic foliar sprays, plain waterings, and top dressings rather than mixing a bunch of chemicals and navigating all the different brands. 
 

Plus, at the end of the day it’s about what you’re putting in your lungs and I’d much rather have plants grown with organic certified amendments and neem oil type pest control rather than synthetic salts and pesticides.  

[Simmsy]

1 hour ago, Fresh8686 said:

What is the ph of your water and are you de-chlorinating your water before feeding? The below table will give you an idea of what nutrients and minerals get locked out at different ph’s.

 

In organic grows, oyster shell and gypsum are used for both the minerals they provide but also because they are natural ph buffers. Fluctuations will naturally occur as things breakdown within the soil, but you want to make sure your initial waterings have the correct ph and nothing in it that swings the soil too far in any direction.

 

You can naturally ph up/down your water with baking soda and apple cider vinegar respectively. 

 

 

Let it dry out a bit. The worse thing about over watering is when it happens repeatedly and the plant starts to get over stressed and stunted. 
 

Are you all weighing your pots by hand to determine when to water? Get a feel for them dry and then when watered and finally when halfway dried. Or you can look into blumats and auto watering. 

I don't know what the pH of the water is, we have a water tester coming tomorrow, but the soil is at about pH 8 right now. I took four years of horticulture in highschool, but this is my first time growing MJ plants and growing something indoors. As for watering, I've been only sticking my finger (up to the first knuckle) into the soil, if it's dry, it gets water. I believer my partner is just looking at the soil and seeing if it looks dry. The plant having problems was soaking wet the other day, I assume that is why its dying. I've told him not to water them so much, but it looks like I'm going to have to forbid him from watering the plants anymore.

[Fresh8686]

1 hour ago, Simmsy said:

I don't know what the pH of the water is, we have a water tester coming tomorrow, but the soil is at about pH 8 right now. I took four years of horticulture in highschool, but this is my first time growing MJ plants and growing something indoors. As for watering, I've been only sticking my finger (up to the first knuckle) into the soil, if it's dry, it gets water. I believer my partner is just looking at the soil and seeing if it looks dry. The plant having problems was soaking wet the other day, I assume that is why its dying. I've told him not to water them so much, but it looks like I'm going to have to forbid him from watering the plants anymore.

Sounds like a plan. I hope things turn out well for you all. If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of soil are you using and what level and kind of aeration?

 

Ive found that the smaller the pot the greater the need for more aeration which makes me have to amend some of the ratios I see in soil recipes on the internet. 

[Simmsy]

8 hours ago, Fresh8686 said:

Sounds like a plan. I hope things turn out well for you all. If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of soil are you using and what level and kind of aeration?

 

Ive found that the smaller the pot the greater the need for more aeration which makes me have to amend some of the ratios I see in soil recipes on the internet. 

I can't tell you the exact brand off the top of my head, but it was soil that would be comparable to growing for tomatoes. I was told that Fox Farm or something of the like was the way to go, but its too expensive for our first time out. I was also told that with that soil, you don't have to worry about pH or nutrients. Not sure how true that is, but I didn't want to spend that much money on something I'm not sure about yet.

 

The top soil was working great and i was very fine with good drainage, but that might be garbage now. We transplanted half of the plants (the ones big enough), but the new soil is a bit different. It looks more like a mulch and doesn't have any perlite in the soil. I was also told that this would be ok, I guess we'll find out.

[tshile]

15 hours ago, EmirOfShmo said:

 

This is 1 block from my old house...no, I didn't go today.

 

If you can get one of these licenses when they’re announced…. It’s going to be a huge industry. 

[tshile]

12 hours ago, Simmsy said:

As for watering, I've been only sticking my finger (up to the first knuckle) into the soil, if it's dry, it gets water. I believer my partner is just looking at the soil and seeing if it looks dry. The plant having problems was soaking wet the other day, I assume that is why its dying. I've told him not to water them so much, but it looks like I'm going to have to forbid him from watering the plants anymore.

Yeah you’re over watering. Or he is. 
 

the roots get majority of the nutrients. But they also take in a ton of oxygen. If you over water they can’t take in oxygen. If you over water over a period of time you can cause root rot. 
 

Since overwatering is a number one problem for first time people, here’s a better rule of thumb than determining if the soil is too dry (since that’s not working for you): if the soil starts to ‘separate’ from the sides of the container give it some water. 
 

It actually means you’re probably just under watering it. But slightly under watering is better than overwatering. And if you start that way at least you’ll let it dry out, and over time you’ll figure out how to water it just enough it isn’t quite separating but you’re not overwatering

 

Your pots have holes in the bottom? Or are you using one of the fabric pots or something? Gotta let it drain 

[mcsluggo]

15 hours ago, The Sisko said:

If Biden and the Dems want to keep Congress, they should announce rescheduling and legalization legislation a little before the midterms. They’d have young people and POC coming out of the woodwork to vote.

 

that always sounds good.... but NOTHING gets young people to come out of the woodwork to vote. 

 

its nothing specific to <insert whatever generation>, in spite of what <insert previous two generations> say... it appears to just be part of growing up.     Young whippersnappers don't vote, and old farts forget everything about their younger selves, and **** moan and complain a lot.      

[Fresh8686]

8 hours ago, Simmsy said:

I can't tell you the exact brand off the top of my head, but it was soil that would be comparable to growing for tomatoes. I was told that Fox Farm or something of the like was the way to go, but its too expensive for our first time out. I was also told that with that soil, you don't have to worry about pH or nutrients. Not sure how true that is, but I didn't want to spend that much money on something I'm not sure about yet.

 

The top soil was working great and i was very fine with good drainage, but that might be garbage now. We transplanted half of the plants (the ones big enough), but the new soil is a bit different. It looks more like a mulch and doesn't have any perlite in the soil. I was also told that this would be ok, I guess we'll find out.

Ah okay, well I highly doubt the soil they sold you will carry you all the way through harvest without amending with nutrients. Even the highest quality soil mixes require amending at some point unless we’re talking about 20-30 gallon pots of soil that have been enriched over multiple growing cycles. 
 

I build my own soil mix and use the following recipe. Maybe this will help in the future as a template. Many soil mixes call for a 33/33/33 ratio but I’m growing in 5 gallon fabric pots so I increased my aeration and lowered my worm poop. I also have custom made foliar sprays to use weekly and I’ll throw in some sprouted seed teas made from alfalfa as needed. 
 

Soil 

Total Grow (20 Gallons)

40% Spagnum Peat Moss (8 Gallons)

42% Pumice/Rice Hulls/Perlite (8-1/2 Gallons)

18% Worm Castings (3-1/2 Gallons)

 

1-1/2 cups of kelp meal

1-1/2 cups of neem meal

1-1/2 cups of crab meal

11 cups of basalt rock dust

1-1/2 cups of gypsum 

1-1/2 cups of oyster shell powder

16-1/2 cups of biochar

2-3/4 cup of malted barley powder

1/4 Cup of mycorrhizae 

1 Lb of Comfrey Mulch

Top Dressing 2 (or maybe 3) times during life cycle. Target last week of veg and Week 4 of flower with 1/2 cup each of neem meal, kelp meal, 1/4 cup alfalfa, and 1-3/4 cup of worm castings, with a 1/4 cup of barley.

[Simmsy]

Sorry, guys, been a bit too busy to respond. The water tester came yesterday, but no pH up/down yet. I'll let you know how it goes when I get home tonight. Also, by fixing the pH, will that fix any nutrient problems that I may have as well or do I need to buy nutrients specifically?

[Fresh8686]

5 hours ago, Simmsy said:

Sorry, guys, been a bit too busy to respond. The water tester came yesterday, but no pH up/down yet. I'll let you know how it goes when I get home tonight. Also, by fixing the pH, will that fix any nutrient problems that I may have as well or do I need to buy nutrients specifically?

It depends on what’s in the soil you’re using. I would make sure your ph is on point and let your plants recover a bit from the overwatering and then reassess. You don’t want to make too many changes too quickly until you have a better idea of what’s going on and what’s needed to fix things. One of the biggest challenges when growing is fighting the need to do too much, especially when there are problems. Sometimes chasing a solution to a problem makes solving it that much harder. 
 

If you need to adjust your ph you can use baking soda and apple cider vinegar. 
 

Later on you can top dress your plants and feed them dry amendments that way. Which you can do according to my recipe above but also include gardening gypsum which will help with calcium, sulfur, and ph buffering as it’s broken down in the soil. 

[Springfield]

Heading to the Nats game tonight. If I buy some bud in DC before that, can I carry it into Nats park or is that a no-no?

[CobraCommander]

2 hours ago, Springfield said:

Heading to the Nats game tonight. If I buy some bud in DC before that, can I carry it into Nats park or is that a no-no?

Will it fit in your pockets? If it won't make the metal detector go off i don't see why not. I forgot i had a pocket knife on me the other day, I just put it in between my billfold and placed in the basket, they didn't notice.

[Captain Wiggles]

Suddenly everyone in here's a regular Gertrude Jekyll.  🤓

 

This is how ya gardens folks.

 

[skinsmarydu]

IKR?  I can't keep a cactus alive!  I just can't justify the water that it takes to get the elephant ear by the mailbox to the size it once was.  I am keeping it clean around, tho. 

[Simmsy]

On 7/3/2021 at 12:06 PM, Fresh8686 said:

It depends on what’s in the soil you’re using. I would make sure your ph is on point and let your plants recover a bit from the overwatering and then reassess. You don’t want to make too many changes too quickly until you have a better idea of what’s going on and what’s needed to fix things. One of the biggest challenges when growing is fighting the need to do too much, especially when there are problems. Sometimes chasing a solution to a problem makes solving it that much harder. 
 

If you need to adjust your ph you can use baking soda and apple cider vinegar. 
 

Later on you can top dress your plants and feed them dry amendments that way. Which you can do according to my recipe above but also include gardening gypsum which will help with calcium, sulfur, and ph buffering as it’s broken down in the soil. 

Ok, so I tested the water and the soil. The soil is at a pH of about 8 and the water is at 6.2, so after letting the plants dry out a bit, I just went back to watering them as usual. They seem to be doing ok and the plant that was turning yellow seems to be doing a lot better, even started to turn green a little bit. Since my soil is a bit off, but not too much, should I even bother messing with it?

[Fresh8686]

6 hours ago, Simmsy said:

Ok, so I tested the water and the soil. The soil is at a pH of about 8 and the water is at 6.2, so after letting the plants dry out a bit, I just went back to watering them as usual. They seem to be doing ok and the plant that was turning yellow seems to be doing a lot better, even started to turn green a little bit. Since my soil is a bit off, but not too much, should I even bother messing with it?

I wouldn’t mess with it. Give it more time to stabilize and then reassess. Depending on pot size, plants will run through the nutrients in their soil in like 4-6 weeks. So just keep an eye on things and look for your plants to get that really healthy dark green/black color where just the tips of the leafs are curled slightly down/inwards. 
 

If after a week or two it doesn’t reach that point you might want to think about topdressing your soil and giving it some nutrients. Keep in mind that organics are slow release amendments so you want to be ahead of the curve to get the timing right. If you miss it there are always teas one can make for quicker hits of nutrition. 

[Simmsy]

On 7/5/2021 at 1:16 PM, Fresh8686 said:

I wouldn’t mess with it. Give it more time to stabilize and then reassess. Depending on pot size, plants will run through the nutrients in their soil in like 4-6 weeks. So just keep an eye on things and look for your plants to get that really healthy dark green/black color where just the tips of the leafs are curled slightly down/inwards. 
 

If after a week or two it doesn’t reach that point you might want to think about topdressing your soil and giving it some nutrients. Keep in mind that organics are slow release amendments so you want to be ahead of the curve to get the timing right. If you miss it there are always teas one can make for quicker hits of nutrition. 

Ooookkkk...

So, when I bought the water pH tester I had different levels of pH, distilled water to calibrate it in red solo cups. My roommate (after I told him not to) topped two of the smaller plants and then used one of the waters left in the solo cup to water the plants. So, he could've given the plants distilled water with a pH of either 4 pH, 6 pH, 9 pH or straight distilled water. They now look like this:

 

Not the best pic, but the leaves started to droop and crumple in on themselves, one of the tops of the smaller plants actually fell over. I'm guessing these are going to die? He also used the same water in one of the bigger plants, those leaves are slightly curled up. I finally convinced him to leave the watering to me and stop topping plants, but its probably too late for these. If you had to guess, what was the main cause of death: premature topping or dumping mystery water into the plant?

[dfitzo53]

Wtf is this dude's problem?

[mistertim]

Yeah no kidding. Can you please just put a barbed wire fence around the plants to keep him out or something? 

[Fresh8686]

@Simmsy

 

Damn, I’m sorry to hear that. It’s the accumulation of multiple stressors in quick succession and not being able to have the time and space to recover. The biggest challenge new growers have is leaving the plants the **** alone. They want things to go well so badly and they don’t realize the plant does the work and we just facilitate their needs and stay out of their way. 
 

Why the hell did this guy top the plants? Topping is high stress training and is often done after the plants have shown a 5th or 6th node and are in bigger size pots. Even in healthy conditions topping will slow growth as it has to recover and redirect hormones to the ancillary branches. These plants were in no position for topping and should have been left alone. They also needed to be up-potted as well. Most people keep them in those nursery pots for no more than 2 weeks. 
 

Its hard to tell from the picture if they can or can’t be saved though. It’s up to you if you want to give them a chance to recover or start over with new seeds or whatever. 

[mistertim]

Question for those more experienced than I. Is it better to just start with one strain or is it ok to try a few at a time? I'm thinking of doing 3 plants in a 4x2 tent. My initial idea is 3 strains but not sure if that would be overly complicated for a noob.

[Fresh8686]

8 hours ago, mistertim said:

Question for those more experienced than I. Is it better to just start with one strain or is it ok to try a few at a time? I'm thinking of doing 3 plants in a 4x2 tent. My initial idea is 3 strains but not sure if that would be overly complicated for a noob.

It’s easier to start with one strain at a time because they will tend to have similar feeding needs and should flower around the same amount of time versus juggling different plants with different feeding and flowering schedules. 
 

It takes a couple runs with most strains to really get them dialed in and learn how heavy or light a feeder they are, how much they stretch during flower, how stress and pest/mold resistant they are, etc.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Fresh8686

[Simmsy]

I don't want to give the impression that he's actively trying to sabotage the plants or anything, it just seems that he's trying to be too hands on and impatient. He topped a total of 3 of the smaller ones to see what it would do, looks like those two will die. I told him as much before hand, I hope he gets the message now that he's probably killed at least two plants and possibly one of the bigger ones.

 

What really irritates me is that since I had quit my job and was doing my own thing, I had the time to do the research, figure out what to do, how to do it, what we would need, what the next step is, etc. It takes a long time to figure all of this out and wade through the bull**** at the same time, several hours of reading and notes to compare. Since I was delegated to finding out the information, it would be nice if he would listen to me when I give him said information. I don't make any decisions without him, I always talk to him about what I want to do or what I think we should do next. Now that I'm going back to my old skill set of construction, my time is limited and its hot outside. I really don't want to have to come home after a long, hot days and diagnose problems that someone keeps causing from wasting my time. Its exhausting.

 

I haven't checked the plants since this morning, one of them is definitely going to die, don't know about the other yet, but it still can't be transplanted and will have to wait...again.