Elephant Man's Grow Journal, 1st attempt

[Elephant Man]

OK, the living organics experiment has started .

Not sure if anyone is following along, but puttin' this up for timeline etc.

Today, in a 50 gallon container, I mixed

Half bag of Bumper Crop® Organic Soil Amendment - West Coast
A blend of composted fir bark and forest humus fortified with 15% chicken manure, worm castings, bat guano and kelp meal. pH balanced with dolomite and oyster shell lime. An all purpose pre-fertilized planting and garden soil amendment. Excels as a nutrient rich top dressing and mulch. With 6 species of myco! 2 cubes cost me $6!

Half bag of Worm Gold Plus 100% Organic worm casings with kelp and rock minerals 20 quarts - $18

Half bag of topsoil

3 lbs of of Master Nursery Oyster shell lime Calcium 36% Calcium carbonate equivalent 96% 10lbs $7

Half bag of Perlite and Vermiculite, 12 qts each $4 and $5

Mixed well and watered with RO water (CANNOT USE TAP)

Then I added:

2 cups cottonseed meal
1 cup of used coffee grounds
1 cup EB Stone Tomato and vegetable food 4-5-3 blended with humic acid and beneficial microbes including myco 3 species 500 viable organisms per pound 4lbs - $6
1/2 cup each blood and bone meal
1/2 cup EB Stone Bat Guano 9 -2-1 2lbs $6
3 cups steer manure
1 cups prilled dolomite lime
1 cup finely ground 100% organic oatmeal
4 oz Whitney Farms Smart Start 9-3-5 calcium 3% sulphur 2.5% Contains 8 species of mycorrhizal fungi - lists the species and cc 7oz $2
1 cup alaskan fish ferts

Mixed again and wet thoroughly

I still have a couple things to try and get monday.

This is my basemix that will be used later, this mix is going to sit for 2 weeks minimum, and after a month or 2 should be swarming with mini and micro beasties, mites, and worms . All good:aok: , as this is my 'miniature compost pile' and in time, will be tossing all kind of recyclables and used soil in there .

Speaking of recyclables, in the mean time, I will be drying out lots of banana peels, coffee grounds, fruit cores (vegetable matter) etc. to be added later once my beasties are so numerous they can decompose this stuff rapidly, and overpower any 'bad' beasties that could be introduced. In essence, this is the care of your basemix and beasties that matters most, they will take care of the plant for you:aok: .

 

[THE BROTHER'S GRUNT]

Whats going on Eman. Man you build more stuff then a factory can put out in a week my friend. :aok: Everything is looking great man keep it up.

 

[Elephant Man]

Whats going on Eman. Man you build more stuff then a factory can put out in a week my friend. :aok: Everything is looking great man keep it up.

Glad to see ya back TBG:aok: . The 'mad scientist' in me has absorbed quite alot in these short 2 months, I got my clones, and the really weird stuff is on it's way!

I am beat, these last 3 days have been pretty intense, working till dawn, diagnosing problems, trying to get this living organics thing going, fighting with a timer . I need some sleep and a good back massage .

 

[HGB]

Not sure if anyone is following along, but puttin' this up for timeline etc.

Look at the post count to veiw ratio

sound's like ya need to take today off and rest up a bit broham... search out some greensand and let the beastie's thrive... after all you are growing for the plant and not just growing a plant :ccc:

grow on

 

[Zarnon]

Well, I'm gonna wish you the best of luck, but that seems to be an incredible amount of material to put into the pile. I've never done compost so I'm going to observe.

Not sure what the final amount of material you'll get but just adding up the prices you're approaching what I pay for premixed. I know cost was an issue so just broaching it. I'm buzzed az hayell so please forgive if I make no sense.

I know how exciting it is to start out.. man, I think I was glued to my chair for an entire month trying to learn what I could from the 'old hands' on Overgrow. It was hard to get out of the way sometimes and let the plant do her thing.

 

[Elephant Man]

Thanks HGB, I was having trouble with a timer and had to throw my schedule all out of wack, but I think I got it fixed.

Zarnon, thanks for ridin' along. This stuff is being taught to me step by step. Alot of strictly organic guys probably already have this stuff on hand, so they would be more prepared. These ingredients will last a LONG time.

Pretty soon I will be building the pots, a system of layers and spikes, with only a small amount of base. Once they are ready to feed, I will be using 'living teas' that will maintain the beasties that are basically teaspoon amounts of base, e casings, ferts in a bucket of RO water with an airstone.

Might be kind of hard to see how far this stuff will go, but trust me, I'll show you guys this stuff lasts forever.

Picture of my tea bucket below after 8 hours bubbling.

If I catch on quick, I plan to try and apply this to hydro, that has been done too.

 

[Elephant Man]

Another little DIY for anyone thinking of using opposing timers for 2 flower rooms.

In the pic below is an aquarium power center made by Coralife. This product is used to 'flip' opposing outlets for 'day and night' lighting. It has 2 day outlets and 2 night plus 4 constant and 1875 watt capacity. If you are dealing with limited total amperage like I am, this item should allow you to use one outlet for multiple lights. I am only using it to flip one room right now and only running 400w digital on it, but I think this thing could flip 2 1kw lights off of one outlet . Cost me $30, so a little more than 2 timers, but will save you ALOT of time trying to safely sync 2 timers off of one outlet.
Timer is digital and backed with battery .

Couple mother shots of those not in flower, the big one is miss biggie small and she is my favorite . She puts out some invincible clones .

 

[HGB]

might be a bit off topic like broham but....

been play'n with sour dough starter's, it's alive as well and can produce a lot of food for very little money

this one is about a year old hehe and going strong...

makes great bread,rolls and pancakes like


:bong:

 

[newgreenthumb]

Elephant if I had half your creativity I would be the Mad Scientist of grow in my area. Keep it up it gives me motivation. :aok:

 

[Elephant Man]

HGB, oh no, you mean I have to learn to cook now too ! jk

Man, you are a never ending supply of info, chewing as fast as I can, but I still got quite a mouthful from the last juicy bit ya sent me . Oh, and as far as I am concerned there is no off topic in this thread . I'm gonna have to look into that when I have more time, but if ya get around to it, feel free to throw up what you can here.

Newgreenthumb,

You are very welcome my freind, I got an empty chair saved here for ya!
I will do my best to help others by passing on the info that the gurus have left us. It's like a big 'pay it back' chain ya know? I have a particular soft spot for people that need help trying to finance their first grow, I know what it is like to suddenly find yourself disabled and for the first time NEEDING mj just to get out of bed.


edit, Actually, the only thing I would consider off topic (mean face), would be any questions about growing for profit, this includes private messages.

 

[HGB]

I have a particular soft spot for people that need help trying to finance their first grow, I know what it is like to suddenly find yourself disabled and for the first time NEEDING mj just to get out of bed.

indeed bro

you grow on and teach and share

 

[laylow6988]

Another little DIY for anyone thinking of using opposing timers for 2 flower rooms.

In the pic below is an aquarium power center made by Coralife. This product is used to 'flip' opposing outlets for 'day and night' lighting. It has 2 day outlets and 2 night plus 4 constant and 1875 watt capacity. If you are dealing with limited total amperage like I am, this item should allow you to use one outlet for multiple lights. I am only using it to flip one room right now and only running 400w digital on it, but I think this thing could flip 2 1kw lights off of one outlet . Cost me $30, so a little more than 2 timers, but will save you ALOT of time trying to safely sync 2 timers off of one outlet.
Timer is digital and backed with battery .

Couple mother shots of those not in flower, the big one is miss biggie small and she is my favorite . She puts out some invincible clones .

That looks like a cool toy. So can you set it to different times or just 12/12? That does seem to be cool though. You could run a flowering room and veggie room at the same time off of one timer. I only have one 400W but I would have use for the second one for the fan. Have you done any experiments with thermostats? I was thinking about hooking one up to my fan. In the winter a vent fan is not needed but once in a while. I think it would be cool to have one fan and a heater in winter to keep temps from fluctuating too much during the 24 hours.

 

[laylow6988]

OK, the living organics experiment has started .

Not sure if anyone is following along, but puttin' this up for timeline etc.

Today, in a 50 gallon container, I mixed

Half bag of Bumper Crop® Organic Soil Amendment - West Coast
A blend of composted fir bark and forest humus fortified with 15% chicken manure, worm castings, bat guano and kelp meal. pH balanced with dolomite and oyster shell lime. An all purpose pre-fertilized planting and garden soil amendment. Excels as a nutrient rich top dressing and mulch. With 6 species of myco! 2 cubes cost me $6!

Half bag of Worm Gold Plus 100% Organic worm casings with kelp and rock minerals 20 quarts - $18

Half bag of topsoil

3 lbs of of Master Nursery Oyster shell lime Calcium 36% Calcium carbonate equivalent 96% 10lbs $7

Half bag of Perlite and Vermiculite, 12 qts each $4 and $5

Mixed well and watered with RO water (CANNOT USE TAP)

Then I added:

2 cups cottonseed meal
1 cup of used coffee grounds
1 cup EB Stone Tomato and vegetable food 4-5-3 blended with humic acid and beneficial microbes including myco 3 species 500 viable organisms per pound 4lbs - $6
1/2 cup each blood and bone meal
1/2 cup EB Stone Bat Guano 9 -2-1 2lbs $6
3 cups steer manure
1 cups prilled dolomite lime
1 cup finely ground 100% organic oatmeal
4 oz Whitney Farms Smart Start 9-3-5 calcium 3% sulphur 2.5% Contains 8 species of mycorrhizal fungi - lists the species and cc 7oz $2
1 cup alaskan fish ferts

Mixed again and wet thoroughly

I still have a couple things to try and get monday.

This is my basemix that will be used later, this mix is going to sit for 2 weeks minimum, and after a month or 2 should be swarming with mini and micro beasties, mites, and worms . All good:aok: , as this is my 'miniature compost pile' and in time, will be tossing all kind of recyclables and used soil in there .

Speaking of recyclables, in the mean time, I will be drying out lots of banana peels, coffee grounds, fruit cores (vegetable matter) etc. to be added later once my beasties are so numerous they can decompose this stuff rapidly, and overpower any 'bad' beasties that could be introduced. In essence, this is the care of your basemix and beasties that matters most, they will take care of the plant for you:aok: .

Be careful using used soil. You don't want to transfer any disease. Maybe before you add the used soil, put it in a clear garbage bag. Tie it up. And let it sit out in the sun for a while. Kinda mix it up here and there. I read that it will kill most of anything. Including pests and disease. Hope I added some good info... I try. But it's hard to stay ahead of you "Bill Nye".:yay:

 

[Elephant Man]

That looks like a cool toy. So can you set it to different times or just 12/12? That does seem to be cool though. You could run a flowering room and veggie room at the same time off of one timer. I only have one 400W but I would have use for the second one for the fan. Have you done any experiments with thermostats? I was thinking about hooking one up to my fan. In the winter a vent fan is not needed but once in a while. I think it would be cool to have one fan and a heater in winter to keep temps from fluctuating too much during the 24 hours.

Kinda missing the point of the timer bro, the idea is to have 2 1kw lights on the same circuit breaker safely. You will be over amperage with them both on, but this timer will never allow them to both ever come on. Make sense?

Ya got to go one page back for the thermostat tutorial , works killer.

 

[Elephant Man]

Be careful using used soil. You don't want to transfer any disease. Maybe before you add the used soil, put it in a clear garbage bag. Tie it up. And let it sit out in the sun for a while. Kinda mix it up here and there. I read that it will kill most of anything. Including pests and disease. Hope I added some good info... I try. But it's hard to stay ahead of you "Bill Nye".:yay:

Thanks brother! I learn way faster than I can post this stuff up for ya guys, please bear with me. You are absolutely right about the recyclables. This basemix has to 'cook' for at least a month before I will be adding anything but well dried leftover organic plant matter. We are going to be using a seperate tote container for recycled soil. Basically, by the time we add any of that, our 'pet' beasties will be so numerous and thriving that they will overcome any potential bad beasties that could be introduced. It is not 'absolutely necessary' to recycle anything, we will be feeding our beasties with casings and meal, but the recycling thing is a main reason for me to do this.

 

[learnin to gro]

im not sure if you looked into this but companies sell red wriggler worms. for relatively cheap money and since you are so handy you could build a home and make your own wormcasting box they take up little space and get rid of waste quickly. in fact its the rage out in LA office buildings people have boxes at there desk and toss lunch scraps in there checkem out cool creatures andf they reproduce quickly in ideal conditions
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/red-wiggler-worms.html

 

[Elephant Man]

im not sure if you looked into this but companies sell red wriggler worms. for relatively cheap money and since you are so handy you could build a home and make your own wormcasting box they take up little space and get rid of waste quickly. in fact its the rage out in LA office buildings people have boxes at there desk and toss lunch scraps in there checkem out cool creatures andf they reproduce quickly in ideal conditions
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/red-wiggler-worms.html

Thanks Learnintogro! Welcome aboard! That is good info there and I have seen a few good links on worm farming. I had to buy a big bag of casings to start and once you guys see how long this stuff is gonna last me, you'll see I have plenty of time to look into that later . If any of you guys have a worm farm going, please feel free to post some DIY up here, because as LTG said, be very handy here .

I still have a few things to add to the base I am gonna try my damnest to get today so please bear with me guys.

 

[Elephant Man]

I went shopping today and might have the last few things I needed for my base mix. Gotta get with my mentor first.

By the way, I wanted to post a congratulations to my mentor and living organics guru REV, for being included in this staff at SKUNK magazine.

I will update little later...

 

[Zarnon]

Hey, BTW, the plants look really nice. This is a clone mother? How old?

*z*

 

[Elephant Man]

Hey, BTW, the plants look really nice. This is a clone mother? How old?

*z*

Welcome back Zarnon . Every plant in the pics is from seed, Dr. Chronic. This is my first 'informed' MJ grow. All of them are between 30 and 35 days old, I think. There are some baby pics at the beginning of this thread, and all pics are dated.

The mothers are doing GREAT. When I first planted them, I used a few techniques my grandmother taught me in the garden, like layering, adding beneficial microbes, and watering twice very slowly. To this day they have had VERY little food and show no signs of deficiency. Except for AK, she doesn't like me much, but she is better now. I spent a long time trying to figure out what went right (mad scientist in me) and this is when I found living organics. Pretty close to what I did in the first place, but now I am learning why.

In a couple minutes the lights will be on and I will post pics of the 2 I put in flower last over the weekend.