broccoleee The next grow has started, this time Lemon Cherry Gelato from Barneys Farm. I had grown it before and still have seeds, but this time documented and in the living soil bed. I had the seeds in a water bath overnight, in the morning I put them in the easyPlugz and 3 days later the first seedling is peeking out, the second one will make it too.
Update: 10 hours later and so to speak on the 4th day the second lady has made it too, overall quite fast germination again and also 100% germination rate
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Used method
Other
Germination Method
1
Week 1. Vegetation
1mo ago
1/5
18 hrs
Light Schedule
24 °C
Day Air Temp
No Smell
Smell
65 %
Air Humidity
22 °C
Night Air Temp
120 liters
Pot Size
broccoleee - were planted the day before yesterday
- everything still looks a bit sparse, but you can slowly see the cover crop starting to grow
- temperature is around 25°C, VPD is about 0.9-1.0, and the light is initially set to 230-250 PPFD
About the bed:
- About 120 liters of bed
- Black soil from Sonnenerde in the 4th run (after the 1st run, 7-10 L of fresh soil added), coarse pumice at the bottom for drainage and fine pumice in the substrate as a water/nutrient reservoir, earthworms, pill bugs, springtails, and generally beneficial organisms, Bokashi, IMO
- So far, everything that has been cut from the plants in the bed has simply been added back to recycle nutrients; let's see how long it works decently without reamending
- Almicanna Cover Crop Mix + mulch/plant residues from the last run
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Used techniques
Transplantation
Technique
2
Week 2. Vegetation
23d ago
1/3
18 hrs
Light Schedule
24 °C
Day Air Temp
No Smell
Smell
65 %
Air Humidity
22 °C
Night Air Temp
120 liters
Pot Size
broccoleee - Things are progressing, and soon you’ll be able to see the first 5-finger leaf
- Cover crop is slowly coming through
- There's not much more to report right now
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3
Week 3. Vegetation
16d ago
1/5
18 hrs
Light Schedule
23 °C
Day Air Temp
No Smell
Smell
60 %
Air Humidity
22 °C
Night Air Temp
120 liters
Pot Size
broccoleee - just a little update
- things are moving forward and I'm going to set the ppfd to 350 soon
- I won't be using a humidifier this run and I think I need to clean it thoroughly first 🤮, unfortunately, I had mold again during/after drying and I think the weak point (I apparently didn't clean enough or did it wrong) is the humidifier and hose position or the fact that the mist could pull through the buds full of bacteria (I can only imagine that's the reason, hence the test without a humidifier)... I also only started using purolyt late in the flowering stage
- VPD is currently around 1.1, so that's fine
- I have Edelmulch again, most of the bad buds went back for recycling
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4
Week 4. Vegetation
4d ago
1/10
18 hrs
Light Schedule
23 °C
Day Air Temp
No Smell
Smell
60 %
Air Humidity
22 °C
Night Air Temp
120 liters
Pot Size
broccoleee - just an update
- I've got a few pests (thrips) and I think I brought them in with the springtails at the end of the last grow, but it looks like they aren't everywhere, maybe the companion plants are helping a bit after all, but of course, I went ahead and ordered a full range of various predatory mites/nematodes... probably my springtail population is shrinking again due to the predatory mites
- The plant on the right is either lagging a bit behind or was/is a bit stressed from pests, it's definitely smaller but let's see what happens
- The plant on the left has been topped for now and I'll probably invest quite a bit in training to keep it at the same height or get it to the same height
- otherwise, they really look lush again, no wonder the pests want to nibble on the pretty ones haha
Nice bed 💚 Even though I only use distilled water for the humidifier, I always have some biofilm in the tank. No idea how the microorganisms do it, but somehow they manage. Ever since I had mold indoors with the strawberry Gorilla, I've become a bit paranoid. That's why I've been running more airflow and even higher VPD since then.
@Tower84, hey thanks for the input, I’ve only ever used Brita filtered water, and I think that’s not good in the long run, so I might have had some deposits because of that... additionally, it’s not just a biofilm for me, it’s more like biomass down there, so I won’t do that anymore and will switch to osmosis water/distilled water... I definitely need to come up with something, more wind probably won’t help in my case anymore ?
@broccoleee, If you're already getting enough wind, then don't. I would thoroughly clean the device and try it with distilled water. The Brita filters can sometimes get pretty contaminated when they're older. If needed, you can try Purolyt, but I've never used it.
@AxemAll, They are companion plants with various functions. For example, some of them have deep roots, which means they pull nutrients from way down and "release them up top" when I cut the plant, the microbes break them down and thus produce nutrients for the plant. Other companion plants keep pests away, or attract them to themselves, and there are a few other functions as well. Additionally, the plants also cover the soil and somewhat prevent water evaporation, and when I trim the "cover crop," I'm essentially feeding the microbes again because they have something to break down. Since the companion plants also perform photosynthesis, they promote microbial diversity through their roots and thus provide nutrients through the symbiosis with the roots. I hope I could help you a bit 🙂
Living soil always looks so criminal with the weeds 😂 but the results speak for themselves. Your ladies definitely look really happy. I'm going to follow along, it will surely be interesting 😁🌱💚