resi_max's new permanent fixture

04.27.2024 Continuing the new grow setup, we added a ScrOG net. The first one I built, and I think it came out pretty decent. It sits 15" above the bed, but I may lower that a few inches later. We used mason twine and PVC from the hardware store. Not bad. We also got rid of those annoying hanging hygro-thermometers from the ceiling, interfering with light, as well as a tendency for myself to get tangled up in them every day. They are now off to the side -- two hanging from the top of the ScrOG net frame's screws, 1 from a buckle loop about 6 inches from the ceiling provided by the tent itself, and the fan controller's thermometer now runs to the side. Our automation software takes samples from them all, averages them, and controls the exhaust fan and our heater according to the pair of single averages (temperature and humidity). The project is coming along, and I would say close to complete. Except...there is still no seed sowed. We'll wait for the seed mail and then have some fun :) This diary is just documenting my new grow box build...boring I know, but necessary :) 04.29.2024 Today we scratched in some seeds, but not the fun kind -- cover crop seeds. We want their roots to loosen up the soil, add enzymes for the microbial life, and fill it with a nice green turf -- which will then be chopped down to decompose. We have quite the variety of seeds sowed, and we went a little overboard. There is a huge volume of seeds scratched into the surface of the bed, which consists of about 50% clover (4 varieties), and 50% of other legumes to aid in soil health. Specifically sown varieties are: 50% of: - White Clover - Yellow Sweet Clover - Crimson Clover - Medium Red Clover 50% of: - Flax - Lentil - Buckwheat - Cowpea - Forage Pea - Common Vetch - Hairy Vetch - Millet - Fenugreek We will let these grow as a time-lapse, as tall as they want, and then we will chop them down, digging most of them up. Their primary purpose is to loosen the soil, so once large enough we have no use for a good portion of them growing. We will chop and drop the rest, and use it as a bedding material. Once they are fairly established and before chopping, we will introduce some sprouted seed tea consisting of barley and alfalfa, some mycorrhizae innoculant, and of course some compost tea to get those fungi and microbial life to to become more lively. We may even add some home-made mushroom compost and blend it all in afterwards. We'll post a time-lapse video of the sprouts growing in next week's update -- these seeds germinate and grow extremely tall, and extremely quickly, so should add some interesting vegetation to an otherwise boring setup so far. Good soil takes time to create from scratch. As the super-soil has been composting for a month, and mixed into our base mix in the bed a week ago, we are just getting started in actuality. I expect it won't be another month or more until this bed is ready for some cannabis sativa. But, until then, soil creating is what we are focusing on. Do you have this much patience? :)