Hey , Dummy Grow a Plant - Simple Soil Container Growing

Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
Recap time :

Let’s go over what has happened since transplant ( dec. 14 ) . First , the container mix I have done in a basic , no-frills style is holding up well.
Plants were watered only on my local tap water ( 7.6 ph / 350 ppm ) . No issues so far.

Many overthink municipal water at times - it washes your ass , clothes , hydrates your pets , grows your grass and plants . Sure there are scary things in water - many will never be removed , but in gardening all over the world ….. it’s used. My tomato plants don’t give a shit about it - they grow … I eat them. My citrus tree is producing just as always without any input from me …. Except watering.

Calmag really isn’t a necessary evil in most situations as city water is often hard water ( calcium / magnesium ). Plus it’s in your fertilizer or nute charged mix anyways.

Growth up to this point is about 20 days …. And it is doing well. That’s why I say - keep shit simple - let the medium feed it.
I could ( if I wanted to ) begin to flip some of these plants to flower or continue to veg.

Technically the container mix has fed 20 days. So , I should have at least a couple more weeks before recharging mix by either dry fertilizer or top dressing more soil.

IMG_5311.jpeg
 
Blue_Focus

Blue_Focus

Well-Known Member
Budzbuddha said:
Recap time :

Let’s go over what has happened since transplant ( dec. 14 ) . First , the container mix I have done in a basic , no-frills style is holding up well.
Plants were watered only on my local tap water ( 7.6 ph / 350 ppm ) . No issues so far.

Many overthink municipal water at times - it washes your ass , clothes , hydrates your pets , grows your grass and plants . Sure there are scary things in water - many will never be removed , but in gardening all over the world ….. it’s used. My tomato plants don’t give a shit about it - they grow … I eat them. My citrus tree is producing just as always without any input from me …. Except watering.

Calmag really isn’t a necessary evil in most situations as city water is often hard water ( calcium / magnesium ). Plus it’s in your fertilizer or nute charged mix anyways.

Growth up to this point is about 20 days …. And it is doing well. That’s why I say - keep shit simple - let the medium feed it.
I could ( if I wanted to ) begin to flip some of these plants to flower or continue to veg.

Technically the container mix has fed 20 days. So , I should have at least a couple more weeks before recharging mix by either dry fertilizer or top dressing more soil.

View attachment 5357295
Click to expand...
I use tap water, But I lower the PH. The water varies from a PH of 7.5 - 8.5 and has a hardness of 26 PPM out of the tap..

My plants are happy.
 
Last edited:
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
Blue_Focus said:
I use tap water, But I lower the PH. The water varies from a PH of 7.5 - 8.5 and has a hardness of 26 PPM out of the tap..

My plants are happy.
Click to expand...
I adjust PH sometimes as grow goes long to help elongate the buffering already in medium. But when i soil top dress it tends to recharge that aspect as well since fresh soil has fresh buffering.
 
TankHankerous

TankHankerous

Well-Known Member
Blue_Focus said:
I use tap water, But I lower the PH. The water varies from a PH of 7.5 - 8.5 and has a hardness of 26 PPM out of the tap..

My plants are happy.
Click to expand...
I have similar tap water as you and have been adding cal mag until I hit about 200ppms. I figured since my ppms were so low without adding any calmag I would be deficient. My medium is promix and nutrients are maxigro and maxibloom for flower. I;m getting red/purple stems which I have been attributing to a magnesium deficiency or lockout. Do you find the need to add cal mag to your tap water with the low ppms or do synthetic nutes typically add enough? Also should mention I'm under LEDs. Thanks!

Great thread Budzbuddha!
 
Blue_Focus

Blue_Focus

Well-Known Member
TankHankerous said:
I have similar tap water as you and have been adding cal mag until I hit about 200ppms. I figured since my ppms were so low without adding any calmag I would be deficient. My medium is promix and nutrients are maxigro and maxibloom for flower. I;m getting red/purple stems which I have been attributing to a magnesium deficiency or lockout. Do you find the need to add cal mag to your tap water with the low ppms or do synthetic nutes typically add enough? Also should mention I'm under LEDs. Thanks!

Great thread Budzbuddha!
Click to expand...
PPM's out of my tap is 330. I've never used cal-mag. I'm still new at this and I grow out of potting soil.
 
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
IMG_3829.jpeg
Day 21 ( after transplant )

The growth is evident … all from the base medium ( layered ) mix. I am constantly training ( LST ) on all of them. No top dressing or other bumps done up to this point. They are all still on original container mix and non ph tap water.

This is the glaring reason why keeping things simple - no overthinking - no expensive nute lines - NO NPK GUESSING or other lame reason to screw with them.
Fox Farm Ocean forest isnt such a bad product as most people wank about.

This is why i say just allow new plants to acclimate to it. It is a bit hot on “ some strains “ during early growth but they will be fine. I used this analogy- a bit lame but expresses the point - think about getting into a hot tub …. May be a bit hot to you upfront but the longer you sit in it , the more you adapt to it.

Not sure how long i will veg based on size alone but you can see even photos ( such as these are ) will flourish for weeks. I like structure in my plants and am not too concerned in topping excessively as some growers like. I like that plants can not be too crowded and raise the potential of mold with too many close growing tops. I have 2 banana blaze plants with a forest of tops each and have to routinely LST ( spread ) them apart to hedge against mold in their later flower stages - not a lot of fun sweating the final weeks over flowers on top of other flowers.

IMG_3830.jpeg

Anyways , the plants in tents are pretty much bug free ( i don’t overwater ) and dry back is about every other day. Containers are free of salt buildup too.

I think i will be doing a first top dress or dry fertilizer bump in maybe 2 weeks. Just cover what plant may have exhausted up to this point. I do recommend raising any fabric bag container on to some kind of riser so the bottom doesn’t sit in a drip pan or stay soggy on tent floor.

IMG_3828.jpeg
 
420 Garden

420 Garden

Well-Known Member
Budzbuddha said:
View attachment 5358612
Day 21 ( after transplant )

The growth is evident … all from the base medium ( layered ) mix. I am constantly training ( LST ) on all of them. No top dressing or other bumps done up to this point. They are all still on original container mix and non ph tap water.

This is the glaring reason why keeping things simple - no overthinking - no expensive nute lines - NO NPK GUESSING or other lame reason to screw with them.
Fox Farm Ocean forest isnt such a bad product as most people wank about.

This is why i say just allow new plants to acclimate to it. It is a bit hot on “ some strains “ during early growth but they will be fine. I used this analogy- a bit lame but expresses the point - think about getting into a hot tub …. May be a bit hot to you upfront but the longer you sit in it , the more you adapt to it.

Not sure how long i will veg based on size alone but you can see even photos ( such as these are ) will flourish for weeks. I like structure in my plants and am not too concerned in topping excessively as some growers like. I like that plants can not be too crowded and raise the potential of mold with too many close growing tops. I have 2 banana blaze plants with a forest of tops each and have to routinely LST ( spread ) them apart to hedge against mold in their later flower stages - not a lot of fun sweating the final weeks over flowers on top of other flowers.

View attachment 5358613

Anyways , the plants in tents are pretty much bug free ( i don’t overwater ) and dry back is about every other day. Containers are free of salt buildup too.

I think i will be doing a first top dress or dry fertilizer bump in maybe 2 weeks. Just cover what plant may have exhausted up to this point. I do recommend raising any fabric bag container on to some kind of riser so the bottom doesn’t sit in a drip pan or stay soggy on tent floor.

View attachment 5358615
Click to expand...
Thanks so damn much for taking the time and helping so many with this. It was a game changer for me with doing autos using your method. Keeping things simple.
 
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
Ok boys and girls ….

TOPDRESS TIME !

Here i pulled one of my plants to show method.
It is ridiculously simple for any container.

No stupid mixing Parts A + B with a Squirt of C, D and E….. No Guessing NPK Ratios or other nonsense.
No Ridiculous feeding schedules.

For this Example , I am using Roots Organic Terp Tea Grow - you can use your “ dry fertilizer “ of choice ( happy frog , Dr. Earth , Megacrop , Etc. ) - I choose to use Roots Organic because of the heavy Myco Component within it.

IMG_3864.jpegIMG_3867.jpeg

I do have DynoMyco on hand but to keep things simple and direct - I chise this all in one fertilizer.
Roots Organic Terp Tea Grow or Bloom comes in bag as a fine powder - not granulated as others.

These plants are in 2 gallon pots ( my preferred size ) but will work with bigger pots and topdressing with more product. For my 2 gallon size - i add a Tablespoon and a half - tilled into topsoil - using the application spoon to thoroughly mix and distribute product - working in to topsoil. After that i add some fresh soil ( mild or FFOF ) to cover product.

IMG_3865.jpegIMG_3866.jpeg

The only downside to this product is it is highly hydrophobic- hence the Tilling and soil cover. It would normally float on water if you did not do this.

Then saturate your container as needed. I was seeing some slight fading on 2 of the plants ( older leaf ) and decided to do the Top Dressing now. Of Course , your feeding will vary based on your grow environment and strain. Some strains can be feed hogs.

I do not add Molasses or other Bottled Fluff.

I’m trying to money in your pocket, for cryin out loud.
But …. If you must spend your beer money - send it to me and i will pee in a bottle - slap a label with a kid blowing a bubblegum bubble and call it -
Sweet Wonder Pee bongsmilie
 
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
My Application amount ( Root Organic ) based on container size-

1-2 gallon ( 1 full tablespoon or tablespoon and a half )

3-5 gallon ( 2 tablespoons or strain dependent )

Note : IF plant seems overfed from your application ( dark leaf / etc ) - water only for a week or two to allow plant to work thru excess at it’s own pace. ADD NOTHING OR FLUSH.
 
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
1 month from Transplant


Well, it looks like i will begin flipping some of these - like this GG X SG ( GG4 - Sour Grape ) which was topped. I don’t have enough room to grow them any bigger.

This is where you can decide - up pot or flip.

This is the original mix with 1 topdress i did on Thursday- i figure that bump to mix will carry thru first transition / then another topdress to carry stretch phase. Once that stops - i will EITHER topdress with Fresh Soil OR Dry Fertilizer ( bloom or Grow ) depending on situation.

This is to mostly to highlight the NO-HANDS approach to layered container growing. It has been and still is basically a minimal effort grow.

IMG_3887.jpegIMG_3888.jpeg

I have 2 more of same size in the QB96 tent and it is getting a little crowded. So i have to flip. They are on crate risers but will reconfigure the 3 to at least work in that space. I am adjusting LST ( easy to do ) as all i do is pull paperclip and lower the hole i poke it thru fabric pot.

Stay Tuned.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top