Let's Do Some LST


  Grow Goals for Seedlings / Clones     ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ 🌦️ VPD of 0.4 - 0.8 kPa for rooted seedlings / clones   🔆 12 DLI (Daily Light Integral) for seedlings / clones   🔎 Pest Inspection 🔎 Plant Happiness Inspection   ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾       🚜 Kill Any Tag Along Pests on the Clones    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Clones arrived in mineral wool “rockwool” cubes. Before these clones entered my sacred space, I swirled each one in the Neem Oil solution to kill any tag along pests:

      NEEM OIL SOLUTION:   Before adding most of the water, mix together a tiny bit of that warm water, ¼ tsp dish soap and 10 ml Cold Pressed Neem Oil. 
     Then, pH 56oz / 1.5L of warm water add it to the neem/soap mix. 


   Cold Pressed Neem Oil is different than cheaper heat processed neem oil because it still contains the natural Azadirachtin (same active ingredient that is in AzaMax pesticide). Also, neem has a weird property in that is kills a lot of the bad pest in the soil without harming good things in the soil food web like nematodes, protozoa, anthropods, etc.   This is why it makes a great soil drench for gnats as well. During a gnat outbreak treatment, I will spray the neem oil solution on top of the soil to stop the adult from laying eggs     
  
   Organic Neem Bliss 100% Pure Cold Pressed Neem Oil
     https://www.plantonix.com/neem-oil.php           🚜 Gnat Prevention    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ I hate fungus gnats. 

    I will only be watering the mineral wool “rockwool” cube itself plus watering about 8cm or so of the soil around the cube to avoid having the dry soil wick all of the water away. It even more crucial that I avoid watering any soil that is not yet occupied by the root system. That unoccupied soil will just stay wet, which grows fungus, which attracts fungus gnats. This is why a good rule in later weeks (Weeks 2+) to let the plants go a bit thirsty rather than risk overwatering. It does not rain on schedule in the real world. A fungus gnat spends most of its lifecycle as a larvae, not the adults that you seen flying around. This is why yellow sticky traps should only be used to monitor for infestation since catching only catching the gnats in the very last part of their life cycle will not help. Non-adult gnat larvae will eat the root tips of your seedlings and starve it to death. 
 
 After I transplanted the clones into Happy Frog soil in 5 gallon fabric pots, I added a solution of BTI (Bacillus Thuringiensis subspecies Israelensis, aka Mosquito Dunks brand) to the watering container each feeding to kill any larvae based pests such as gnats. Mixing Mosquito Bits into the soil before planting is also a great idea. 

    


  https://summitchemical.com/products/mosquito-dunks   https://summitchemical.com/products/mosquito-bits         🚜 “Cup Inside Cup” Method for Transplanting    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Two "solo" cups, with the 1st solo cup's bottom removed and then the remaining cone is sliced in half. From there I fill the 2nd cup with about an inch of aquarium gravel and insert the two halves from the 1st cup (to make a cup inside of a cup). When transplanting, I remove the outside cup and then place the plant into the hole. Then I gently slide out each half of the inside cup. One thing to note is that the new Square Solo cups have a weird shape that is not good for cup in cup. I had to switch to an off brand like Hefty, or the generic brand at Target stores in the US. Ensure that the brand has smooth sides. Another cool thing is that I can check the progress of the seedling by briefly separating the two cups to check for root growth in the aquarium gravel.     🔎 Plant Happiness Inspection       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Clones arrived a bit beat up

. Vendor did not label them at all.       ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fabric pots to prevent root binding. I am taking the Syn-ganics approach. Using soil with microbes + mycorrhizae added to the nutes. Mycorrhizae will be phased out during flowering as the high phosphorus the environment halts fungal germination (Teaming with Fungi: The Organic Grower's Guide to Mycorrhizae by Jeff Lowenfels) Enzymatic (Sensizym) will assist in breaking down dead root material in the soil. Any brand enzymatic that can break down cellulose will do just fine. Agsil16H Potassium Silicate is pre-mixed at 148g per 1 gallon / 40g per 1 of water. Silica will aid plant strength/structure and also make the plants taste terrible to pests. As a side note, plants with too much nitrogen input taste sweet and delicious to pests! Bacillus Thuringiensis subspecies Israelensis (Bti) (aka Mosquito Dunks) solution is added to the nutes each feed to kill any larvae based pests such as gnats. Mixing Mosquito Bits into the soil is also a great idea. Seaweed Bottled Mix Ingredients (NOT a endorsement. I purchased this with my own money)
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ - Ecklonia Maxima Kelp - Fish Hydrolysate - Blackstrap Molasses - Humic Acid / Fulvic Acid - Select Amino Acids (L-Alanine, L-Argine, L-Aspartic, L-Cystine, L-Glutamic Acid, L-Glycine,   L-Histidine, L-Isoleucine, L-Leucine, L-Lysine, L-Methionine, L-Phenylalanine, L-Proline,   L-Threonine, L-Serine, L-Tryptophan, L-Tyrosine, L-Valine) - Calcium Phosphate - Arcanite - Sugars - Yucca Extract - Tryptic Soy Agar - Plant Hormones, Plant Growth Stimulators and Vitamins (Auxins, Cytokinins, Gibberellins,   Abscissic Acid (ABA), Adenine, Indole Acetic Acid (IAA), Adenosine, Zeatin, A (Carotene),   B1, B12, C, D, E, K, Biotin, Niacin, Choline, Pantothene, Folic Acid, Follinic Acid) _____________________________
___________________________________________________   I Build My Own Custom Grow LEDs https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165481-grow-journal-by-negotiatedbubble   Custom Built Modified Grow Tent Frame https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165474-grow-journal-by-negotiatedbubble   Custom Built Watering Table https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165482-grow-journal-by-negotiatedbubble

   VPD Chart and Calculator spreadsheet:
 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Dta8AptwIIgo728nAu4l9acrWYWPdrljjV4uzXwGJ0Q/edit?usp=sharing
    My Custom Nutrient Spreadsheet 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1grolLVrJLQVSdK7sdnR7dS86axWIzDgW1iWWZIFHhiA/edit?usp=sharing