sufficient views but no answers?

[Farang]

confused.

not one person has even a hint of an answer to any of my questions?

Farang Reviewed by Farang on 05-19-2012. sufficient views but no answers? confused. not one person has even a hint of an answer to any of my questions? Rating: 5

[BuddySkunk]

I don't get it, you didn't ask a question...

[Farang]

in three posts, I thought I asked multiple questions.

am I mistaken?

three posts prior to this meely mouthed complaint.

[BuddySkunk]

in three posts, I thought I asked multiple questions.

am I mistaken?

three posts prior to this meely mouthed complaint.

Well, I may not have seen the other 3 posts you're referring too. Catch me up, what's your questions?

[Farang]

dying to have an intelligent conversation but my questions are pretty detailed and complicated. I'll attempt to summarize:

newest and perhaps best potting soil I've run across is a mix of mushroom substrate and two things I'm totally unfamiliar with, trichoderma fungus and chitosan. no indication of any other major ingredients. I'm looking for input as to whether people think this is good for cannabis or not.

my major problem here in SE Asia is finding soil that actually drains. I found something reasonable but was forced to cut it with sand to get any drainage at all and I'm not particularly happy with that concept. most of what comes in so-called potting soil bags is left-overs from rice seeding beds. that doesn't drain at all.

second query: dolomite lime. as I understand it, dolomite keeps (forces?) the soil to remain at pH 7, but virtually every source I read says cannabis likes a lower pH. so I'm wondering if I should be using it. (haven't so far and only just found out it's available here.) I don't get readings above 7 often and haven't found any material to drop it back. I can get magnesium sulfate but NOT aluminium sulfate, for instance. I can get peat moss but adding it to the new soil prevents my containers from draining at all, not a good thing even if those extra ingredients prevent root rot. I've tried magnesium sulfate and sulfur with my veggies and they don't seem to like it, though I may have over fed those plants. if something I try doesn't kill the veggies, I theorize it probably won't hurt the MJ, but I cut it in half anyway before applying.

I suppose the corollary question is do I really need to worry about pH at all?

third question was about pH in impacting the soil pH. I have yet to find anything that makes a connection. people talk about adjusting their nutes to a low pH, something I can't seem to do. when I measure the pH of my teas, I read 7, same as my water. so I'm wondering if my water at pH 7 is preventing anything else I do from getting my tea or my soil pH's down. (I'm insanely jealous of all those posters out there who have the opposite problem!)

enough babbling for now. hope I piqued your interest and I'm looking forward to your input.

thanks in advance.

[Burnt Toast]

Keep in mind that not all views are made by registered members. "Guests" (unregistered individuals) can view your posts too. They just cannot reply to your posts until they register to become members of the forum.

[Farang]

thanks. I'll bear that in mind.

[BuddySkunk]

dying to have an intelligent conversation but my questions are pretty detailed and complicated. I'll attempt to summarize:

newest and perhaps best potting soil I've run across is a mix of mushroom substrate and two things I'm totally unfamiliar with, trichoderma fungus and chitosan. no indication of any other major ingredients. I'm looking for input as to whether people think this is good for cannabis or not.

my major problem here in SE Asia is finding soil that actually drains. I found something reasonable but was forced to cut it with sand to get any drainage at all and I'm not particularly happy with that concept. most of what comes in so-called potting soil bags is left-overs from rice seeding beds. that doesn't drain at all.

second query: dolomite lime. as I understand it, dolomite keeps (forces?) the soil to remain at pH 7, but virtually every source I read says cannabis likes a lower pH. so I'm wondering if I should be using it. (haven't so far and only just found out it's available here.) I don't get readings above 7 often and haven't found any material to drop it back. I can get magnesium sulfate but NOT aluminium sulfate, for instance. I can get peat moss but adding it to the new soil prevents my containers from draining at all, not a good thing even if those extra ingredients prevent root rot. I've tried magnesium sulfate and sulfur with my veggies and they don't seem to like it, though I may have over fed those plants. if something I try doesn't kill the veggies, I theorize it probably won't hurt the MJ, but I cut it in half anyway before applying.

I suppose the corollary question is do I really need to worry about pH at all?

third question was about pH in impacting the soil pH. I have yet to find anything that makes a connection. people talk about adjusting their nutes to a low pH, something I can't seem to do. when I measure the pH of my teas, I read 7, same as my water. so I'm wondering if my water at pH 7 is preventing anything else I do from getting my tea or my soil pH's down. (I'm insanely jealous of all those posters out there who have the opposite problem!)

enough babbling for now. hope I piqued your interest and I'm looking forward to your input.

thanks in advance.

Well, regarding the pH of the water you're irrigating with, I've read in more than 3 Marijuana Grow books that the pH should be strictly between 6.0 - 6.3. Although, I've also noticed that some of the other forum members with plants have used a more acidic pH (6.3+) and their plants seem to be doing just fine. Myself, I haven't messed with the pH of the water I'm using and my 5 babies are doing just fine though I do give them Miracle Gro Tomato Food 18-18-21 (at half strength, just as you said) because the tap-water in my area has a good pH level, so I've heard. If your pH is at 7.0 and your plants are doing just fine, perhaps the genetics of the seed(s) come from more harsher environments normally so they can either accept or adapt to the more acidic irrigation. Keep an eye out for any indication that your plant(s) is/are suffering from any nutrient deficiencies.

Regarding the soil, if the only available soil in your region doesn't seem to be compatible with the Marijuana you might want to try a Hydroponics system, although if you are going to try Hydroponics you need to be more exact*. All I can really suggest since I cannot see the soil itself is to test it out. If something sprouts you're doing something right man, and if it doesn't work I'm sure there's a way to order soil over the internet.

I hope this helped, I'm pretty baked right now.

Regarding the soil

[GanjaRobPDX]

To get better drainage, add coco pith or coco coir. Plenty of that stuff in SE Asia. Just pre rinse it well before adding to soil as coco pith/coir has lots of salts that need to be removed. Once salts are removed, coco coir is one of the best mediums to grow in.

[Farang]

thanks for those responses.

coconut bits are certainly available here and I'm avoiding using them for one major reason: they are in no way composted.

what I'm reading on line is that organic material in the growing medium reduced the amount of nitrogen available to the plant. I don't want to do that.

this new mushroom substrate soil I have access to drains quite well. still, I'm a little leery of it and so far, nobody has ventured an opinion on it. I transplanted two throw away plants (auto flowering) into the new soil and they look very happy. I've put off transplanting the rest hoping I'd hear something encouraging. now, the evidence before me says go ahead, so now I'm paranoid about reaping something that tastes terrible. so far, I've found nothing either way about the trichodema fungus or chitoban. what I do read makes it sound like they can do no wrong, so automatically, I'm skeptical. I was hoping someone had experience with them.

right now I'm going to pass on the hydroponics thing. because we have abundant sunshine and warm temperatures here, I don't think anybody in this country grows anything hydroponically and I seriously doubt I'd find the equipment or the materials required available here. importing is another problem. it's fine so long as you don't mind having an import duty equal to the cost of the merchandise and don't mind driving 8-12 hours one way to claim it at the docks, pay the duties and the rest. then there is the power thing. perhaps stuff from UK/Europe would work but nothing from the US. power here is 220/50.

besides, I'm already finding this a relatively steep learning curve. I fear starting from scratch with something I don't have the vaguest notion of. (yeah, I can spend the next couple of years reading up on line, but I've got plants in the ground and with one male, I'm hoping for seeds. importing seeds here got a lot more risky this year, luckily well after I got some from the UK.)

I'd love to be able to get my nutes down to the low 6's. haven't found a way.

but you guys are right. I'm doing OK with them using my pH 7 water so I should probably just chill out.

since overcoming the incredible spider mite attack, everything in the garden is very happy. for a while, I thought I was going to lose everything. and this grow, that feral cat seems to have decided it's not catnip and has not chomped down on anything in the garden. for that, I'm thankful. I don't think that cat knows how to FIM properly anyway.