Second try with all organic gorilla zkittlez. This time I started one off in a equal part coir (well rinsed and buffered), perlite (rinsed) and EWC. I also added a decent amount of oyster shell flour to the mix. I put her in with my others and she QUICKLY surpassed plants that were 3 weeks older. No yellowing, no wilt, quick growth. All under the same 26W of CFL and 10W of incandescent until veg.
This week will include the germination, seedling and week 1 vegetative growth stages since there is no "germination" or "seedling" categories.
After 2.5 weeks she went into my ROLS under the LEDs.
"Soil" consists of the following:
3 gallons rinsed and buffered coir
3 gallons rinsed perlite
3 gallons EWC
1 gallon inoculated biochar
basalt rock dust
glacial rock dust
gypsum
oyster shell flour
kelp meal
crab meal
alfalfa meal
malted barley powder
neem seed meal
Karanja meal
About the grow area:
2x4 veg tent with insulated walls
4x4 flower tent with insulated walls
Air is exchanged between the veg and flower tents 24/7
The veg tent has 1x 1'x2' diy Samsung F-Series LED w/ 4x 2' strips running at 10w each w/ 1x 2' 24w FS+UV tube in the middle (about 64 watts total for 2 square feet).
The fixture is 4000K.
18/6 in the summer and 24/0 in the winter.
Heater and humidifier are in the veg tent. CO2 pumps into veg tent if needed. This keeps the veg tent warmer and more humid with more co2.
I also have some CFLs that I keep on 24/7 in the winter to get the heat up and/or for seedlings/clones/mothers.
The flower tent has 2x 1'x2' diy Samsung F-Series LED w/ 4x 2' strips running at 19w each w/ 1x 2' 24w FS+UV tube in the middle (about 100 watts total for 2 square feet).
One fixture is 3500K and one fixture is 3000K
12/12
Water-cooler dehumidifier and A/C are in the flower room. Condensate pump pumps outside to a 5 gal bucket which I empty once a week. This keeps the flower tent cooler and dryer.
The ceiling is not insulated in the flower tent.
Environment is controlled via an Arduino and solid state relays based on the outside conditions and flower tent conditions. The system is open and uses outside air if it's right, otherwise the system "seals" (as much as a tent can) and uses the air conditioning devices.
So far the flower tent is rock solid steady and the veg tent is hotter and more humid almost all the time.
@Belverde, thanks! This will be my first indoor all organic grow. My last outdoor grow was bruce banner and was all organic. Despite a nasty infestation of spider mites and then bud worms and being grown in some "less than ideal" soil, the taste and high were amazing.
You have some amazing grows going on there. Good luck to you.
Fungus gnat tip. Mix 1part hydrogen peroxide with 4 parts PHโed water. It will kill the larva of the gnats and is a good supplement to help get air into your roots. Youโll need to use some neem or something to get rid of the adults and make sure they donโt come back but youโll definitely notice a reduction in the gnats with this tip. Garden looks great man. ๐ค
@ZJRDUDEZ, Thanks!
While H2O2 is fine for chemical grows, this is an all organic grow using recycled organic living soil and peroxide kills the bacteria needed to provide nutrients to the plant.
In this case I've been watering with R/O with mosquito dunk pieces (bti), adding sticky traps and dusting with DE. I also top dress with neem in veg and Karanja in flower. They are almost gone and I feel they'll be eradicated after another bti watering.
It seems the bti is taking care of the larvae very well and the sticky traps take care of the adults. I'm not sure if the DE is actually working, but I'll keep using it this round. Next round I'll be adding bti pieces to the soil, watering with bti, using no mulch in veg (to keep the top part of the soil dryer), top dressing with neem/Karanja and dusting with DE and adding sticky traps. I'll be adding the mulch in flower.
@Chronicbastard, Thanks! If I find the time to completely eradicate these gnats I may get buds as nice as yours! I almost got them all with just the DE so far.
Interesting setup!
Looking good! โ๏ธ
I recently harvested three Gorilla Zkittlez, vey beautiful plants, sweet sweet smell, lovely purple color towards the end and massive crystals! ๐๐
Have fun with your grow! ๐