Sweet Seeds Cream Mandarine / Biotabs

kohlrabi Sprouted on day 5! I timed it so that the first week could begin at the weekend, and luckily the plan worked out. I can only recommend giving it a try – with this method, I have found a so far 100% reliable germination method: Soak the seed for 12-24 hours in approx. 50 ml of distilled water with a few drops of humic acid, then place the still-closed seed in a Root Riot cube and stick it directly into the finished pot with soil. All you need to do then is water it a little every morning and in 4-6 days the plant will pop its head out of the soil. Substrate One thing I'm not doing quite according to Biotabs' plan is the substrate. I have so much recycled soil (using bokashi/earthworms) that I didn't want to buy new substrate. I supplemented this with coco and pumice. Since this way the soil already contains nutrients, I'm using one less Biotab than recommended. I'm keeping an eye on the colour of the leaves and adjust if necessary. My biggest concern is that the soil might be too nutrient-rich for the germination and cultivation phase. We'll see. More on the irrigation setup coming next week!

kohlrabi The plant looks good – it's about the same height and size as Wedding Cake. So so far, most of the roots are probably still in the Root Riot Cube, so the high nutrient content of the soil shouldn't be a problem yet. I hope. Irrigation Some fellow grow enthusiasts have been using Autopots lately and are reporting impressive results. Although this has piqued my interest, I'm going to try a low-budget version with wick irrigation first. I got the inspiration for this from a YouTube video (in German: https://youtu.be/wL5yLMzd7JQ?si=z447nxctYgHYUGo2). I'm very excited to see if it works! Anyone who has read my journals knows that watering is the biggest problem for me. However, I have resorted to things I already own: Airpots and cat litter boxes from Ikea, of all things. I have always been very happy with how the rooting looked with Airpots. To create a water reservoir at the bottom, I used large versions and placed the bottom disc above the last third. Now they have at least 10 cm of reservoir space. I think it should be possible for me not to let anything dry out this time. Unlike in the video, I also have the advantage that only pure water is poured into the reservoir. All fertilisers and additives are already in the soil. I think I will completely empty and clean the large bowls every two weeks, but that should be enough. At the moment, however, I am still watering from above. From about week three onwards, there should be enough roots to make watering from below possible.

kohlrabi Contrary to my usual practice, this update is almost a week late. I apologise, but real life got in the way. (The pictures are from exactly 7 days after the last update, though.) I watered the plant thoroughly with Bactrex once in the middle of the third week. Tomorrow I am going to a conference and will water it from below for the first time, using clear water, half of it destilled. I am curious to see how they look on Monday. I am very happy with the growth. Once again, I don't have time for proper training. I have only trimmed the lowest branch tips as a precaution, because they never really grow strong. Otherwise, I weigh down the lower branches a little so that they grow as straight as possible outwards and do not compete with the upper branches for light.

kohlrabi Since my last update came so late, you can now read my update on my first attempt at wick irrigation from below just three days later. It seems to have worked very well! The plants watered from below show no signs of water shortage. There is still water in the reservoir, even though it was quite hot at the weekend. And both grew wonderfully. From now on, I will stick with this watering method and refill the reservoir as soon as the water has dried up. Maybe this will finally give me the time I need for training?! We'll see .