stinkyattic
her dankness
...and then I went upstairs.
The little cabbages haven't grown much. They've just gotten fatter and rootier. Still no stretch.
The seedling mix has gone sour, as evidenced by the rusty blotches on the first adult leaves. Time to repot.
Let's talk about supercropping!
Supercropping means different things to different people. In the cannabis world, it is used to describe a method by which strategic pinching off is used to promote side growth, often in anticipation of a sea of green or even screen of green (SOG and SCROG, respectively) flower cycle.
In the commercial greenhouse world, it's an entirely different concept. And that's the world I cut my teeth in: maximise ratio of exposed leaf surface to exposed soil surface at all stages of growth. Light hitting soil is wasted wattage. Pot up only to the minimum increment necessary to allow healthy root growth. Do it frequently. Let the plants tell you when they need a bigger apartment.
Nursery style supercropping depends upon having a range of pots in increments where each one is incrementally increasing soil volume of the last, and the canopy is allowed to grow almost solid before potting up.
I started with cells that hold about 8 cubic inches soil. Today I moved to pots that hold about 18.
Note in pics:
- low leaf spotting showing that the starting mix is sour
-down turned leaves and stunting showing heat stress (it has been near 90 here yikes) combined with root bound condition
- good root formation, roots starting to curl around the chines of the pot . This makes it easier to transplant without damage.
I have let the cells go fairly dry to allow the soil to shrink and release easily from each cell. New dirt goes in new pots. I'm using canna bio terra. Level is set so the seedling is submerged in dirt up to its seed leaves. Holding the cell upside down, gently grasp/support around stem as you poke the base of the cell until the rootball releases. Plant, backfill with more dirt, water in, done.
I like to plant so the original cube is a diamond in the new pot. It seems to encourage healthy root exploration.
The first watering was 2ml/L each canna aqua Vega (yup sue me I used hydro juice on my dirt omg I'm kicked out of the club) and a humic acid supplement. Total ppm about 800, applied at pH 6.9. Sour soil in the previous pot went with them; gotta knock that back, even if it's only a small percentage of the total current volume.
Let's see how they look in 24h. I may hit them with a Silica Blast foliar if this Indian summer keeps up. Seriously, they look overheated. But they will be fine.
Back under the t5. Going to fix myself an evening bowl now.
The little cabbages haven't grown much. They've just gotten fatter and rootier. Still no stretch.
The seedling mix has gone sour, as evidenced by the rusty blotches on the first adult leaves. Time to repot.
Let's talk about supercropping!
Supercropping means different things to different people. In the cannabis world, it is used to describe a method by which strategic pinching off is used to promote side growth, often in anticipation of a sea of green or even screen of green (SOG and SCROG, respectively) flower cycle.
In the commercial greenhouse world, it's an entirely different concept. And that's the world I cut my teeth in: maximise ratio of exposed leaf surface to exposed soil surface at all stages of growth. Light hitting soil is wasted wattage. Pot up only to the minimum increment necessary to allow healthy root growth. Do it frequently. Let the plants tell you when they need a bigger apartment.
Nursery style supercropping depends upon having a range of pots in increments where each one is incrementally increasing soil volume of the last, and the canopy is allowed to grow almost solid before potting up.
I started with cells that hold about 8 cubic inches soil. Today I moved to pots that hold about 18.
Note in pics:
- low leaf spotting showing that the starting mix is sour
-down turned leaves and stunting showing heat stress (it has been near 90 here yikes) combined with root bound condition
- good root formation, roots starting to curl around the chines of the pot . This makes it easier to transplant without damage.
I have let the cells go fairly dry to allow the soil to shrink and release easily from each cell. New dirt goes in new pots. I'm using canna bio terra. Level is set so the seedling is submerged in dirt up to its seed leaves. Holding the cell upside down, gently grasp/support around stem as you poke the base of the cell until the rootball releases. Plant, backfill with more dirt, water in, done.
I like to plant so the original cube is a diamond in the new pot. It seems to encourage healthy root exploration.
The first watering was 2ml/L each canna aqua Vega (yup sue me I used hydro juice on my dirt omg I'm kicked out of the club) and a humic acid supplement. Total ppm about 800, applied at pH 6.9. Sour soil in the previous pot went with them; gotta knock that back, even if it's only a small percentage of the total current volume.
Let's see how they look in 24h. I may hit them with a Silica Blast foliar if this Indian summer keeps up. Seriously, they look overheated. But they will be fine.
Back under the t5. Going to fix myself an evening bowl now.
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