What a difference a week makes! The babies are fully established in the bed now, the health has turned around, and the growth is vigorous. This week started out with another foliar spray to attack the spider-mites again, this time it's Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew! I didn't hold back, I sprayed EVERY leaf, I cleaned EVERY leaf, they will NOT defeat me! lol
I also wanted to make sure I can head off any fungus gnats establishing themselves in the bed. Time to mulch! I applied a thick layer (2-3") of rice hulls to the soil. I haven't used rice hulls as a mulch yet and am excited to see how they perform. Rice hulls add a couple of benefits: 1. Silica builds strong cell walls for strong, trainable plants. 2. A good mulch layer should prevent fungus gnats moving in, as they like to lay their eggs on the moist, top layer of soil 3. A healthy living soil bed has a consistent moisture throughout to allow the biology to thrive. The rice hulls will prevent the top layer of soil from drying out.
And finally this week, on the day before flipping to flower, I did one hand-watering, so I could spoil them with goodies before their transition. The goodies in question:
-Rootwise Mycrobe Complete
-Rootwise Bio-phos (formulated with microbes that will mobilize phosphorus for flower)
-Buildaveg (dosed according to Buildasoil's feeding schedule)
-Buildabloom (dosed according to Buildasoil's feeding schedule, getting them prepped for flower)
-Aloe Vera (builds the plants immunity and is a saponin acting as a surfactant, allowing the water to distribute evenly through the soil)
Here comes the stretch... Happy Growing!