Cannabis Chronicles

LUI Day 24

the LUI’s are looking very nice and filling in the canopy nicely where the top clones had been taken . . . here’s a few views . . .

LUI-Day-24-Top-View

LUI-Day-24-Under-Canopy

LUI-Day-24

LUI Backup Clones Day 2

these clones were given a little drink of pure water today to make sure they stay well hydrated . . .

LUI-Day-2-Clones

Today we plan on re potting our original 13 LUI babes into little bigger homes . . . as you may remember we started back on December 15 with these babes in standard 4 ½ inch square planters . . . they are quite convenient since 8 fit to a standard planting flat . . . we usually count on them sustaining at least 3 to 4 weeks of growth before transplant . . . the next step up here at the bird’s nest is to 5 quart utility buckets . . . ice cream buckets of a similar size are often available for folks who indulge in such . . . and generally any 1 gallon or 5 quart container will do . . . our current preference is for buckets where the plastic is kind of “frosted” but still somewhat translucent . . . it allows for observation of the root ball’s condition at a glance . . . we can literally watch waterings seep down into the root ball and can watch root development through the sides . . . one of our growing friends from CW turned us on to the potential of the “see thru” sides in terms of observing root growth and watering (thanks KK!) . . . and it certainly doesn’t seem to bother the plants at all that their roots get a lil bit of diffused light! Our planting mix will be all commercial products . . . we’re doing this in keeping with our hope to make this grow as accessible as possible . . . we want folks to be able to reproduce our efforts and not think that what they see is due to our “magical” soil re-mixes . . . in general we do believe that our harvest weights and final quality are better when using our re-mixed soil which has literally been built and nurtured here at the nest for the last few years . . . perhaps when we show the clone generation growing out we can put them in a composted soil re-mix for comparison . . . we’re going to mix together 3 basic products for the LUI’s to grow in for the next stage . . . we’ll mix one part mushroom compost with one part FoxFarm Ocean Forest potting soil and then we’ll add perlite until it all “feel” right . . . so the basic recipe is as simple as a bag of the FFOF and a bag of the shroom post . . . and then enough perlite to make sure the soil will be well aerated . . . Here’s a description of mushroom compost we’ve copied from another online source . . . . . . . . .

MUSHROOM COMPOST . . . . . . . . . Commercial mushrooms grow in a specially formulated and processed compost made from wheat straw, hay, corn cobs, cotton seed hulls, gypsum and chicken manure . . . The 3 to 4 week long composting period is closely supervised and managed to assure that the composting temperatures exceed 160°F for a few days in addition to a steam pasteurization which occurs about one week before mushroom . . . spawn is mixed with the compost . . . Finally, a layer of sphagnum peat moss mixed with ground limestone is top dressed onto the compost, and mushrooms grow on the peat . . . When the harvest if finished, farmers steam pasteurize everything in the growing room and dispose of the peat moss and compost that remain . . . This product is sold as mushroom soil, spent mushroom compost (SMC) or spent mushroom substrate (SMS) . . . Mushroom soil is great for gardens as a slow release organic fertilizer (2-1-1, pH 6 . . . when mixed into soil or as a mulch one year and a soil amendment the next . . . With SMC there need be no concern about heavy metals or pesticides since the compost ingredients have very low levels of heavy metals . . . Mushroom farmers have used integrated pest management practices for decades and pesticides are rarely used on mushroom crops . . . With steam pasteurization, all weed seeds are dead as are any insects and other pests that might be present . . . So that’s a description of the mushroom compost which is a great soil amendment or even stand alone soil medium . . . for this grow we’re going to mix it with FFOF . . . the FoxFarm OceanForest is a great stand alone soil medium itself . . . but for most folks it’s very expensive . . . we’ve heard of some lucky folks finding it through their local Home Depot but this seems to be the exception rather then the rule . . . mixing it with the mushroom compost “cost averages” a great cheap soil medium and a great expensive one here’s a product description for the FFOF soil mix . . .

FoxFarm 100% Natural & Organic Ocean Forest Potting Soil . . . FoxFarm Ocean Forest Potting Soil is a powerful blend of Pacific Northwest sea going fish, crab meal, shrimp meal and plenty of earthworm castings, nature’s finest soil amendment . . . FoxFarm has added composted forest humus and selected peat mosses to create the optimum organic medium for a versatile planting environment . . . Ocean Forest Potting Soil starts seedlings naturally so they can become strong, vigorous plants . . . Plant directly into FoxFarm Ocean Forest Potting Soil for exceptional results, it’s ready-to-use . . . No additional ingredients are required . . . Use as a potting soil for indoor or outdoor potted plants . . . Perfect for vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers and berries . . . Also makes a great soil amendment for gardens, trees, shrubs and roses . . . Super start for seeds and seedlings . . . Light texture for excellent aeration and drainage properties . . . No additional fertilizers needed for as long as 30 days . . . Ideal for flowers, gardens and houseplants . . . Loosens clay and rocky soils while promoting nutrient uptake by plants . . . Contains composted forest humus, sphagnum peat moss, Pacific Northwest sea-going fish, crab meal, shrimp meal, earthworm castings, vermiculture compost (bedding material and manure), sandy loam, perlite, fossilized bat guano, granite dust, Norwegian kelp meal, and oyster shell (for pH adjustment) . . .

that’s the “story” on the FFOF soil . . . mixed together with mushroom compost it has the potential to be a great soil medium for our little LUI’s . . . add a lil perlite and were sure the babes will be in heaven! it’s a busy day at the nest . . . but we’ll try and be back later with some transplant pic . . .

ok then . . . on to describe a simple soil mix . . . As indicated we’ll be using
the FoxFarm Ocean Forest potting soil and mushroom compost . . . the FoxFarm comes in a 1 . . . 5 cubic foot bag . . . we dumped a bag and a half of the FFOF (2 . . . 25 cubic feet) into a 50 gallon rubbermaid container where we mix soils . . . and then we added an equal amount of mushroom compost . . . we have mushroom compost in 1 cu foot bags . . . so 2 and one quarter bags of mushroom compost were added (2 . . . 25 cubic feet) . . . here’s a pic of the mushroom compost and FFOF side by side in a container . . .

 

FFOF-and-Mushroom-Compost

next we mixed the FFOF and the mushroom compost together . . . this mixture was rich and heavy . . . so comparison in the front of this pic is a smaller bin of our “seedling/cloning mix” which is 50% organic potting soil and 25% each perlite and vermiculite . . . as we said it was a nice rich organic mix . . . but a little bit “heavy” for our taste . . . so we’ll add perlite for aeration . . . we added a total of 25 quarts of perlite to the 4 . . . 5 cubic feet of potting mix and the perlite spread on top of our soil mix is shown in the second photo . . .

Patrially-Mixed-FFOF-and-Compost

Perlite-Added-to-FFOF-and-Compost

as we’ve said before here and in other threads . . . when handling perlite (or vermiculite) it’s best to wear a mask . . . we also tend to wet down materials like this if possible . . . the same rule holds true when working with other potentially hazardous organic materials like bat and sea bird guano . . . they can’t really be wet down like perlite . . . but they may harbor bacteria which cause respiratory inflammation or infection and are of special concern for folks with pre-existing lung related illness or compromised immune systems . . . dust masks are always prudent when handling powdered garden materials! this final soil shot is the finished product all mixed together . . . it’s darker and richer than our seedling/cloning mix which is shown for comparison . . . more mature plants get a richer and heavier mix to sustain heavy growth! . . . but it is significantly lighter than the mushroom compost or even the FFOF alone . . . since we want to keep the roots well aerated . . .

Final-FFOF-and-Compost-Mix

that container is just for soil mixing and storage Badtolz . . . tonight we’re going to be transplanting 13 LUI’s into 5 quart containers . . . that means they’ll barely touch the soil we mixed up . . . there’s probably 40 gallons of soil mixed there . . . when we use our 2′x3′ containers each holds more than 20 gallons of soil . . . so it’s pretty easy for folks to understand why we learned to remix our soil endlessly and effectively . . .