⛺️Orion’s 3x3 & 2x2

Mpower11 · July 12, 2021, 8:41pm

Sorry for the delay in reply… Needed all those pictures before I could reply…

Teaming with Microbes looks like a good book… I may get myself a copy also…

True Living soil book covers everything From A to Z… I believe you will enjoy the book… If you want I have a copy of first edition on PDF I can share but Second edition has updated Tea recipes etc… Plus you can’t bet having a hard copy…

All good stuff your getting… Frass is high in N and it’s packed with Humic acid and Vitamin’s very good for the plants if timed right… But not every feeding… Just to much…

Build a soil rocks I know so many people that live it there. Wish I could order from them but shipping costs make it not possible for me…

Good luck you have questions I’m around if needed

OrionsCeiling · July 13, 2021, 3:40am

I definitely plan to grab a hard copy of the book, but I really appreciate your offer!

I do have one question. The recipe calls for a humic acid. I have something coming in the mail called URB natural and it’s an organic humic and microbial innoculant. Do you think that’ll work for the tea?

Also, if I do not implement all of the required ingredients for the tea, will that cause an imbalance in the ratios and burn my plants?

To be honest I was going to use the tea at half strength my first time, but if you think that’s a bad idea please let me know. I’m trying to go easy on the plants. None of them seem to be heavy feeders as of yet, the gold leaf may be the heaviest feeder in the tent.

OrionsCeiling · July 13, 2021, 3:47am

Some pics from my aunt who checked on them today

Mpower11 · July 13, 2021, 12:51pm

I don’t see this being a problem

Depends on what your leaving out required products you need for sure… There is a few products listed as optional

If there were my plants I would do this

Example lets say you need 5 gallons of water to feed the plants

I would make 2.5 gallons of tea then add 2.5 gallons of water…

Unless it’s just the picture to me your plants are starting to look hungry… Don’t get me wrong they look great no issues right now at all… Just I think it’s feeding time… When your back I would consider removing some more Fan leafs also… Congratulations looking like some fire coming

Also when watering I would do it like this if possible

Watering Twice

Arguably one of the most important fundamental practices in TLO container growing is watering
twice. This can have a huge influence on root health as well as mineral absorption. Here’s how it
works: you water with plain water, lightly, until you see some water run out the bottom of the
container. Then wait for at least 1 hour (I often wait a couple of hours) then water again until you see
drainage from the bottom. This evenly saturates the container soil mix and the roots. If you do not do
this, the roots will actually start guiding the water flow through the container and you will end up with
dry spots that are bad for roots, and bad for plants, especially when container growing!

OrionsCeiling · July 13, 2021, 1:02pm

That’s all killer info. Thank you, Mark!
I do not implement the watering twice method but I will now. Beginning when I come back I will have a more organized feeding schedule, as I have landed a position working at an organic farm during the week! I’ll be able to see my girls every night of the week. I’m giddy!
With that, I’ll have more time to organize my grow as well as take more time to feed.

In regards to certain ingredients I’d leave out, I was referring to some of the ingredients like the high N bat quano. I suppose whatever I leave out would need supplementation down the line whether it be amending or another tea down the road… so it’s best to add as many or all of the ingredients. Okay. Thank you for clearing that up! They are certainly starting to look hungry, so I’ll whip up a tea the day I get back, they’ll be fed dechlorinated, filtered water pH 6.1-6.8 with added Orca Myco until Saturday.

Definitely beginning to look lighter and lighter. Though, the light tends to make them look slightly yellow/puke colored in pictures. When I left they looked lush, maybe I should’ve amended before I left, but I was too worried about changing factors before I left and couldn’t fix them myself for a week.

Edit: this is all gold bars of knowledge! Thank you @Mpower11 for sharing!

Mpower11 · July 13, 2021, 5:24pm

Np…

Sounds like your on track and have a ready good handle on everything… Yes I believe you should have Top Dressed before you left… When your back I would add a good shot of worm castings they will help speed up the time it takes to break down the nutes…

I rotate from tea to top dress also… Not both at the same time… In your case I would consider a small top dress / Tea combo only because I feel the soil is low on nutes

I forgot to add… The left over product in the tea bag after brew I split up as top dress before I feed the tea… (water it in)

Also on the water twice with Living soiling… You want the runoff as little as possible. When you see the first drop stop there

OrionsCeiling · July 14, 2021, 1:38pm

Thank you!
Definitely going to do this and follow up. I’ve been meaning to mention that I will be training with bamboo stakes when I get back. They are on their way to my house, I think the stakes will help me fill out the space and open the canopy, albeit a bit late. Either way, the bud sites could use more light and airflow, as many of the plants grow tight to the stalk, really sharp-angled upward growth on a lot of the side branching caused the bud sites to be too close together. Plus additional support for the colas down the line.

I rotate from tea to top dress also… Not both at the same time… In your case I would consider a small top dress / Tea combo only because I feel the soil is low on nutes

How often do you feed teas/top dress? I understand top dressing every thirty days, does that mean that you feed teas every thirty days, with two weeks in between your top dress and teas? Or do you feed teas more often? I want to make sure I’m understanding your schedule.

In this particular case I’ll top dress w/ castings and do a compost tea at half strength (brewed at full strength) at the same time and top dress the tea components prior to the feeding.

You were right about the plants becoming hungry while I’m gone. Here’s a few pics from my aunt who watered them last night:

Fluffhead · July 14, 2021, 2:51pm

The most beautiful shades of green

OrionsCeiling · July 14, 2021, 3:05pm

Certainly coming along!!

Mpower11 · July 14, 2021, 6:06pm

That will work I have tried stakes plastic before… I stopped doing it because I needed half a dozen in the pot and I was concerned about disturbing roots… ended up not seeing a problem but you never know…

That is a really good question… The hardest part about growing this way is timing… What I found works the best for me is this…

Example Week 4 in veg (first feed)

I start with Top Dress 7 days later I add Compost Tea… Because they are close together I adjust accordingly strength of top dress / Tea… not to over do it… You can always add more

Normally repeat the 2 to 3 weeks later…

I like to top dress first because after abut 1 week the top dress starts to become available to the plant… Then you add the tea and it really aids breaking down the food from 7 days ago…

But I don’t feed based on Time… I feed based on when I feel it’s time again by the way the plant looks… But Like I said normally it’s 2 to 3 weeks later. Once you learn to understand what the plant is wanting… I call this reading the plant you will be untouchable

I agree… In your case top dress as soon as you get home… I would go heavy on worm cast because it will aid the breakdown of nutes and you need that ASAP… Same day your home start your 24 brew for the next day feeding… IF they were my plants that is what I would do… And don’t forgot to add the carbs… This is prime time for carbs… This is the product that brings on the flavors

Yes they are very hungry

Mpower11 · July 14, 2021, 6:19pm

I should add this also… The bigger the pot size the better everything will be and easier…

My next grow I’m going to finish in 10 to 12 gallon pots (at least that’s the plan at the moment)… But once in flower I don’t recommend you change pots anymore… Should be in your final pot before you flip

OrionsCeiling · July 15, 2021, 7:44pm

Awesome info. I’ll do all of the above when I get home and begin brewing the tea at that time as well. At this point I’m ready to get home! Leaving tomorrow night…
Went for a bike ride today w/ semi-electric bikes! Super fun and gorgeous views out here in northeast Vermont. Highly recommend this leisure spot.

On my next run, I’m going to do either 10 or 15-gallon pots for my sister cookies & fluffhead og to flower. they’ll be able to fill out and then I’ll probably just use those pots from there & re-amend & plant seeds right next to the stalk or transplant next to the stalk.

The 5-gallon pots I’m using now are good. I like that they stay wet for a day or two, but not easily accessible to reach the plants for watering. I’m in a tight space. I can see now that a pump system for watering would be most beneficial for a possible pheno-hunt in 3-5 gal pots.

Mpower11 · July 15, 2021, 8:37pm

My watering days are feed by drip irrigation.

Compost tea feeds are manual. The tea will plug up the emitters

OrionsCeiling · July 19, 2021, 1:27am

Here we are after the trip. I let them dry out a bit more than the last few days just to make sure they weren’t being overwatered…

Gold Leaf (tallest in the back) is looking the most nutrient deficient.

One of the 🧑‍🎓Grape Pupils (center) is looking more green than the clone to its left

Grape Ape (bottom right) looking light green

OMG looking happy and green

Mind Tricks looking like fireworks in the back. Super bushy & incredibly long calyx/pistils forming making the buds look bigger than the rest.

Amended with 🪱worm castings at 2-4tbsp/pot depending on size & Azos at 1tbsp/pot.

Mpower11 · July 19, 2021, 12:54pm

Your pot 5 gallons correct?

Am I reading this correct that you added

2 to 4 Tsp of Worm Cast and 1 tsp of Azos per pot?

So the only food was Worm Cast? I’m not sure what is in Azos isn’t that just for microbes?

OrionsCeiling · July 19, 2021, 7:42pm

Oops my mistake when typing!

I meant tablespoons. 2-4tbsp per pot and 1tbsp of azos. The azos is just azospirillum bacteria that I was previously lacking in the soil

I’m going to do a compost tea tomorrow in which I will add the fertilizers

Mpower11 · July 19, 2021, 7:49pm

Ok I was going to say your plants need more than just worm castings.

Fluffhead · July 21, 2021, 2:40pm

Your tent is popping homie

OrionsCeiling · July 23, 2021, 3:16pm

I believe that the compost tea was a bit too high in N for the girls, as the mushroom compost I added may have been too concentrated. Gold Leaf has seen better days, but the buds are stacking even still. New growth is looking greener than in the past few days, it was rather lime colored earlier this week.

I also caught a cold which sucks. But gives me more time to look at my girls, albeit I feel lethargic!

Watered with Nematodes last night but I think I’m going to flush the nutrients somewhat and do a simpler tea consisting of molasses, castings and fish hydrolysate, as this will have most if not all of the nutrients needed for flower. I guess I didn’t mix this previous batch correctly, but my, was it full of life!

Mpower11 · July 23, 2021, 3:31pm

Is that tea finished our just starting? It doesn’t look mature to me