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Recently on "How They Make It" on the science channel they showed how the worm castings that you can buy bagged are made.

It seems that the worms are fed cow manure, and then they just wait for the worms to finish and collect the rich black castings.

 

I read somewhere that you could plant in pure worm castings and have a perfect balanced soil.

I haven't tried it yet, but a good 1/3 of my soil mix is worm castings.

 

I feed the worms, the worms feed the soil, the soil feeds the plants, and the plants feed me!

:D

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hey guys, thanks for all the info. i checked my soil ph again, looks about 5 which is obviously too low, so i grabbed some lime to bring it up a bit. so sounds like it could be nute lockout, will see a couple of days. the nutes i've been using i've been mixing like it says on the bottle, 5ml/L.
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The lime will take a little while to work into the soil and seriously affect pH, dolomite is superior to normal garden lime as it will contain magnesium....

 

In the meantime you may want to water the plants with a pH a little higher than usual, perhaps 7 or so, just to offset the media, and foliar spraying every now and again (perhaps 2 times a week in the evenings) will help to alleviate the immediate symptoms.

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hey guys, thanks for all the info. i checked my soil ph again, looks about 5 which is obviously too low, so i grabbed some lime to bring it up a bit. so sounds like it could be nute lockout, will see a couple of days. the nutes i've been using i've been mixing like it says on the bottle, 5ml/L.

Monkeyboy, think about what you're doing. You're growing in soil, yet you're feeding as if you were growing in hydro.

Good soil and clean water is all the plant will need. When we grow in water we have to add all the nutrients that the plant would normally take from the soil. To add more can and often will cause an over abundance of some nutes and the plant will overdose, causing lockout.

 

While an extreme shift in Ph will affect soil, the Ph of the water is more important. Cannabis in soil prefers a slightly acidic mix.

But it is not something you need to check all the time. If you start out with a good soil mix, you should not have to worry.

 

When growing in soil, foliar feeding is better, since excess nutes won't build up in the soil. and you will have an easier time flushing in the end.

If you want I will give you my soil recipes. As for feeding plants in veg, the only thing I will pour into the soil is a weak mixture of fish emulsion. That's if they're potted. In the ground is even easier.

:D

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If you start out with a good soil mix...

 

This is the key isn't it... It really depends on what brand and quality of soil or "potting mixture" they've used. Some of this "potting mixtures" are little more than composted bark and sand with little to no nutritive value. Higher quality, (in Australia we have something called the quality ticks, which denote the standards soil and millions of other things should aspire to to have good results for the intended purpose, various countries have various standard systems....) potting mixes will contain fertiliser and other organic goodies to ensure good plant development. Ever tried growing a plant in soil with a "Black and Gold" brand in oz will quickly show why getting a quality mixture is important.

 

Most of the cheaper brands should really be considered more of a soilless media than a true soil, as they contain little nutritive value. Better ones will either contain some kind of organic fertiliser/amendments like chicken poo pellets or worm castings and other manures or they'll be mixed with a dose of pelletised time release fertilisers. (which I abhor because they're almost impossible to have control over)

 

Orchid mixtures are an extreme example of this, with most gardeners potting (the popular species/hybrids that is) in just pine bark chunks which actually do more to remove nutrition from the media than assist its retention. Bacterial nitrogen fixation draws on the N quantities in the soil and strong CEC figures also hold tightly to the nutrients that are added. Thus someone who grows in pine bark chunks has to feed not only the plant, but the media itself to offset the nitrogen draw down.

 

If you are using a crappy soil with little nutrition, then fertilising with soluble liquid ferts like hydroponics nutrients is fine, so long as you don't overdo it. 1/4-1/2 strength at the most.

 

Excessive levels of moisture could also be an issue too, with heavy soils breaking down anaerobically to produce a very acid media. This can also encourage pests and diseases, particularly root rots... (which I unfortunately just had some experience with....) If the soil is kept too wet and doesn't have enough air space it could be breaking down in this way and locking out nutrients that may (or may not, depending on the soil quality) be present.

 

I suppose the ultimate question is (as bufo asked too), what kind of soil does monkeyboy use?

 

Foliar feeding is great, particularly if you have a good quality soil that is already providing a base nutrient load to the plant. I'm yet to see a plant that's solely fed on foliar fertilisers and nothing (or negligible amounts) fed to the root system, but I suppose in theory you could keep a plant very happy that way.... Some orchid growers sorta do this but a substantial amount of the nutrient is drawn up from foliar feeds washing down into the pot/slab. Better as a supplimental form of fertilisation IMO which can certainly result in excellent yeilds over and above that which you would otherwise get in a plant solely root fertilised.... I luv me foliars, but I wouldn't exclude the root feed over it....

 

All that said, I'd love to see grannies soil mixes, how about a soil gardening thread where you share your organic goodies? Sounds like you make a home mix, which often provides superior results to the crap that can be sold at the local garden centre. We do need more soil growers on the boards, as while hydroponics can provide superior results (IMHO, of course) there is definetly something to be said for a good organic soil mix.

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geez, i've got a bit to learn, eh? still, got to start somewhere...

 

i did add the lime and it has improved, looks a lot better.

 

the soil i'm using is just some potting mix from bunnings, some allrounder, not perfect i know by the sound of it, wasn't the cheapest though so i thought it'd be alright.

 

Granny, i would def be keen on your recipe, i'm not keen on hydies so would prefer to grow in soil. thanks in advance!

 

which brings me to the nutes, i was under the impression that you still needed to add 'food' to soil as well, and i thought that i may as well use something specifically for cannabis. but from the sound of it i'm actually doing more harm then good by giving it too much. i think i'll cut them out for a while and see how it goes. the next grow will def be another upwards step!

 

Thanks again to you all, you've obviously taken some time with your responces.

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yeah, had the ticks, so i thought it'd be alright. which means i probably didn't need the nutes.

 

like i said looking better after the lime, but not great, will try just water for a while and see how we go.

 

i've got a lot out of this thread. makes me look like a dumbass, but i got a lot out of it...

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