Just Another Crappy Day in Paradise Grow Log....Part Two.

[honeygurl]

ok, time release :thumbsup:

[goliath808]

I'm using half garbage soil from last years grow, half home made compost. If I have a pile I need to start fast, I use smaller pots and straight Sunshine mix #3. Throw some 14-14-14 time release on 'em and let 'em rip.

i notice you say you use home made compost... what would you say are the best home made compost recipe? i know you told me to use the 14-14-14 fertelizer, which i will be doing on my other plants when i start growing them, but for the most part if i get more seeds to grow i would like atleast half of them to be organic. other then this imma ger a worm composting bin and use that for all my plants, weather or not im going to have ferts in the soil.

[oldhaole]

There ain't one....well kinda...

Put down a weed barrier of black plastic shade cloth. Take all the organic kitchen waste, dog shit, and all the weeds out of the garden, fallen leaves from the Avacado trees and dump them in a big pile, and cover it all with dirt. Cover that with breatheable black shade cloth. Forget about them for a year. Ta Da! Compost.

The only reason I was using compost for my starts is I didn't want to buy dirt. I'm lazy and cheap. I was using old rubbish soil from my long season holes, and I needed something with some fresh nutrients to add.

I usually save the compost for long season. I consider it very valuable and a bitch to make....so you don't want to waste it on short season.

Worm castings are great for plants. If it works...big if... you have no need for compost...but let's get real.

There's a logical progression here. No offense, but you have much to learn grasshopper.

You're just starting to play with the herb. Make a bunch of seeds. Focus on the plant. You have yet to see cutworms, snails, slugs, rats, and birds. Also lets not forget Bud rot, and White Powder mold. Add that to Females, Males and lets not forget the dreaded hermie. Top it off with all the Oahu Rip-offs, and you have a hard road ahead.

This year write off as a learning experience. Expect nothing. Get the basics down. Shit, for $30.00 you can buy just what your plant needs. And your plants will grow as well as mine...maybe better. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day.

When pops says "Sure, you can tear up the lawn to put your plants in" THEN you want to look into composting and a worm bin. If your looking at a small scale grow, compost and a worm bin is redundant. You don't need them. And believe me, it isn't worth the effort. Not yet at least.

[bigsby]

I guess if you are throwing dog shit into the mix you probably want to leave it a year but otherwise, a properly constructed and tended compost pile should be complete in 6 - 8 weeks. Piss is also a great additive to any compost pile. The pile needs adequate drainage, periodic aeration, and nitrogen additives from time to time (hence the piss).

Careful with the seed that go in there. They are killed by the composting process so long as you achieve optimum thermophilic composting which generates significant heat. However, you need at least a cubic meter of material to achieve these results. Otherwise, the seeds and pathogens will live on.

[rudy2010]

I think I need to do something with my composter. I bought one cheap from the city. It has square layers and a loose fitting top. It seems to take forever to compost the stuff I put in it. What are key things that will speed up the composting process to 6-8 weeks.

[bigsby]

This is a bit off topic. Hope it's OK oldhaole.

Actually those composters are among the best. Three parts right? Keys to composting are as follows:

1. Get a good balance of green vs. dead matter - think dead leaves vs. fresh cut grass.

2. Make sure you have a nitrogen additive. Like I said, piss works great. I let my kids use is as an out door toilet which greatly pleases my mother in law... You can also buy a compost accelerant but the key ingredient is nitrogen so you may as well use your own.

3. Make sure you have decent drainage. Straw works very well as the first layer but really, so long as it is sitting on dirt and not concrete you will be fine.

4. Add water. You want the material to be the texture of a wet sponge. Not soaked but good and damp. I leave the top off mine when it rains and then flip it afterward.

5. Turn the pile every 10 - 14 days to add oxygen. Add more water and nitrogen accelerant at the same time if needed. Here is where your system is so useful. Take the top section off and place it next to the other two. Now just scope the material out with a fork and place it in the empty container. Repeat until you have removed all the material.

If you get the mix right you will see an explosion in the red worm population. This tells you that the microbial activity in the pile is high which is what you want. Also note that composting will greatly slow or stop during cold periods below 40 degrees F. unless you are dealing with quantity. Also note that if you continue adding new material you will end up with bits of uncomposted stuff in your finished pile. I also use my three tiered system to segment nearly finished compost. I use two sections for the nearly finished / larger pile and one section to collect new stuff.

You can find all kinds of info on line. Run a google search.

[bigsby]

Just one more note and then I promise not to hijack this thread further...

Compost anything organic. Do not compost anything that is cooked, as this attracts rodents. You can also throw in egg shells, and recycled cardboard. Egg cartons are a good example but also a lot of packaging these days. I also throw in paper towels, napkins, and kleenex. Now get composting!

BTW I don't recommend that you use compost on your MJ plants, especially if you have an indoor garden. Compost is full of bugs and pathogens that you will then introduce to your garden with the compost. Best to use it in the veggie garden. Outdoor gardens are a different animal. I do wish I could be an outdoor farmer again!

[goliath808]

k first off before i reply to that post of yours...
dont you just hate it when your thinking about something all day, and then right when the moment that thought matters you forget all about it?! i swear this whole day i thought of a ton of questions to ask and now that im on the threads i cant remember any of them!!!!!! :stoned:

any ways back to the information part. hahaha


no offence taken bro. i know im new to the game and need a lot to learn, and thats why im reading through threads and asking a lot of questions. im also reading some books on the topic. as for the composting, i understand the whole concept of composting, what i meant by the 'compost recipe' is that are there any certain organic materials to compost that these plants just love?!! dont different things decompose into different types of nutrients for plants? i heard that banana peels and corn husk being composted are good for bud plants? but then again i just heard this, and you know how deceiving word of mouth can be...

as for the rest of the tips you gave me so far, thanks. its helping a lot, and will continue to help me in my future career as a ganja farmer :rastasmoke: bwahahahaha! one of my friends actually around 8 plants too right now, im trying to talk him into teaming up with me. after i told him of a few tips you given me... it looks like this team up just might happen. after this happens, its time to start breeding :thumbsup:. hmm, a new question just popped into my head... since i mentioned breeding, i should ask for a few tips on that topic. well for now imma just ask, are there certain traits to look for in diff plants that could be a determining factor of some killa offspring, or is it just the luck of the draw? i just want a general yes or no answer, no need to get into details on this one. if so later on down the line when the breeding actually happens you could probably help walk me through them traits though.

[LetsSeeYa]

''since i mentioned breeding, i should ask for a few tips on that topic. well for now imma just ask, are there certain traits to look for in diff plants that could be a determining factor of some killa offspring''


If you go back to the 1st thread you will see that he has said that the seeds that are used to the environment gets the biggest bang. But with that season over, this thread is making seeds grown in the environment to grow in the long season, which is ''the'' time to grow/re veg=giant yield. So buy a bag of weed thats been grown on the rock your on and grow em all. Then the long season will give you a plenty when reading, practice and everything else you need to deal with there.

After all that and want to breed your own strain, you pick what you like from each of each male and female that you like and breed them together:thumbsup:and thats that:wtf:



:rasta:

[rudy2010]

Thanks for the kind words and sorry for jacking the thread. But great info on the compost. I have chickens and lots of straw. I just need more green leafy or grassy stuff. I think I will do the two tier one tier thing too.

I guess once the stuff composts it does not much matter what the recipe was. I believe my chicken poop will make a good addition.