Miketama **Milky Way - Introduction 🌌🌱
Milky Way F1 is a robust autoflowering hybrid known for its resilience and vigorous growth. This strain delivers a balanced high with sweet, creamy terpene profiles reminiscent of its name.
This grow began as an experiment in sustainable cultivation and quickly became a lesson in resilience. I decided to plant the Milky Way F1 seed directly into its final 8L pot, reusing soil from previous grows. Unlike the usual Bio Tabs method (see photo3 ), I removed all old roots and reworked the medium thoroughly. This wasn’t about saving money - I wanted to leverage the beneficial bacteria still thriving in the soil, plus there were undissolved Bio Tabs that could continue releasing nutrients.
The Fatal Mistake:
Unfortunately, I made a critical error. Feeling confident about the substrate’s consistency, I planted the seed without germinating it in fresh medium first. This decision proved devastating - **5 seedlings died from damping-off**, victims of lingering pathogens in the recycled soil.
Only one germinated seed survived the pathogen assault: the Milky Way F1. I believe she made it (and here’s my second mistake) thanks to a Bactrex irrigation (Trichoderma protects against pathogens) applied when the cotyledons hadn’t even opened yet.
I remain convinced the soil itself was still viable, but for the other strains, I’ll start fresh and see how the Milky performs. As a precaution, I:
- Sprayed hydrogen peroxide on the soil surface and around the pot base
- Added 2cm of fresh substrate on top
- Disinfected the entire grow box to prevent contamination of new plants
*“Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”*
The Milky Way F1 earned her place in this diary through sheer survival - now let’s see what this cosmic warrior can produce! 🌌💪
P.S. I didn’t throw away the remaining 50 liters of soil! Instead, I used it to repot my houseplants, and after just one week they’re absolutely thriving - which confirms my belief that the soil was still perfectly viable. The substrate had plenty of life left in it; the damping-off issue was likely about timing and methodology, not soil quality.
@Grow4ever, Thank you for stopping by and for your kind wishes. I hope everything goes well.🙂
I like your plants in large pots. Surely you don't want to be too precise about the harvest😁. I wish you all the best🍀
@Mia_BIOTABS, Unfortunately I made a stupid mistake, probably a germination jiffy would have saved my seeds, fortunately I have a reserve and more of each strain :) what’s your opinion on recycling the biotabs soil 👍or👎?
@Miketama, I just see this message , sorry for the late answer ! But we wish you and your family the same ! BTW im doing the same with soil of my growths ... i use it to repot plants in and around house.
@MonyetDiablero, Yes I think it remains the best way to reuse the soil.
I had never done it with cannabis, I know that new plant=new substrate is the rule, but if I don’t see it I don’t believe it :)