Got a slap over the back of me ed this morning . . . . find out why!!

Yo growers . . . . .

So my ol pal guru grower (68 fine years of age, btw) popped round this morning to s(t)ay high n have a coffee, I was in the middle of a bit of watering. So I carried on he accompanied me.

I went to my next dry pot and as I do, I started to till the top 1/4 inch of the soil . . . . . WHHHHAPPPPPP!!!

That's when I got m cuffing!! ""What the fuck are you doing butt????"" he asked???

"Do you know how long it takes for a decent soil food web to be created and just where it reaches, fuckinnnnnnnnn retard, leave it alone! No wonder u got a few fuckin gnats."""

Now in no way do want a one up on him/ prove him wrong, I respect his judgment explicilty!!! I publicly bring my punishment to the RIU community in case it may . . . .dunno 'elp!!

DISCUSS p p pllllease . . ..



~_

I wouldn't have him over for coffee again as romantic as it sounds

Sounds like he wanted more than coffee

ROTFLMFAO . . . . . . you rock skunkd0c (It DID say Mongo, wrong thread, lol) . . . . . . .nutterrrrrr!!!!

It's you're avatar, you can say anything you like, no matter what . . . . YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY GARDEN!! LOL

Hahahaha!!! No-till rocks, but the top 1/4" doesn't mean shit, in reality.

Our fraternity doesn't invite each other over, we turn up and talk n discuss n do everything BUT what I think this conversation is trying to turn into @skunkd0c . . . . lol

Indagrow said:

I wouldn't have him over for coffee again as romantic as it sounds

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~_

Ooo oooo nice, on point . . . . . . discuss, if you would please

Rrog said:

Hahahaha!!! No-till rocks, but the top 1/4" doesn't mean shit, in reality.

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68 , that is a bit strong pal, does he smell like piss ?

Fungus is mostly a bit deeper. The top 1/4" is likely a buffer zone. Scratching the surface is harmless. This is mostly an issue when the grow is done and you leave the soil and root ball alone, and simply re-plant. This keeps the existing microbe system in-tact and active for the new plant. Disturbing / tilling the soil ruins this.

He doesn't, but my couch sometimes does a few days after we've all dispersed from a harvest party . . . . .the lil fucker, he always gets the couch, he's old!!!! lmao . . . . .

skunkd0c said:

68 , that is a bit strong pal, does he smell like piss ?

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~_

Nnnnice . . . .nice . . . . so I till at least 1 inch in veg as I like to let my plants drought quite often . . . . a wee bit more than the surface . . . . . . no ???

Rrog said:

Fungus is mostly a bit deeper. The top 1/4" is likely a buffer zone. Scratching the surface is harmless. This is mostly an issue when the grow is done and you leave the soil and root ball alone, and simply re-plant. This keeps the existing microbe system in-tact and active for the new plant. Disturbing / tilling the soil ruins this.

Click to expand...

no...

1/4" is meaningless and harmless.

1" is definitely digging into the fungus

Semper.Fi said:

ROTFLMFAO . . . . . . you rock skunkd0c (It DID say Mongo, wrong thread, lol) . . . . . . .nutterrrrrr!!!!

It's you're avatar, you can say anything you like, no matter what . . . . YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY GARDEN!! LOL

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kind words bro ^^

Semper.Fi said:

the lil fucker, he always gets the couch, he's old!!!! lmao . . . . .~_

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Sounds like you two be spooning or something .. get a bigger couch ?

Semper.Fi said:

Ooo oooo nice, on point . . . . . . discuss, if you would please

Click to expand...

First, "tilling" or scratching the top quarter inch is harmless, if anything it would deter the gnats simply from allowing it to dry quicker, BUT that being said I don't mess with mine much.
Too much peat in your mix can allow the soil to "contract" a bit and it's helpful then to sorta open it back up a lil
If it's of any use, i'm a bit against the grain, in I prefer not only light nutrients but light waterings as well.
Especially if you have homemade compost/ewc.
Also having decomposed tree log chunks as part of your aeration really, really, keep the soil "humid" and retains the water much much longer than when I didn't have them in my soil.
I do NOT keep my soil moist all the time, absolutely not a subscriber to that.
And I base ALL of my judgements on post-harvest rootball inspections, you will learn SO much from doing that. Roots are a clear indicator of the plants health.
When you are still tryin to perfect your soil-recipe/growing techniques, it's a priceless tool, pop open those rootballs and see whats going on, see if you have "empty" areas in the rootzones, see how dense and hairy they are, all those things will tell you if you are doing a good job or not, much more than the nugs will.
With good genetics you can harvest crystally-ass nugs with a sick plant. Easy.
For the first 15 yrs or so I did this with EVERY plant.
Lil changes here and there and you find what works best for you.

skunkd0c said:

Sounds like he wanted more than coffee

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You kill me man!

regarding watering, I'll refer to the old Blumat threads. FWIW, those using the Blumat (continuous moisture level) found better results. I certainly did. I theorize that dried soil = dormant microbes. Dormant microbes aren't doing anything.

I also don't inspect root ball, since I'm not wanting to disturb the beautiful microbial network. I simply re-plant right next to the root ball. If I can't plant right away, I use a clover cover crop. The roots of the clover will keep the soil microbial network active.

deserved . . ..

kind words bro ^^

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lmao

Sounds like you two be spooning or something .. get a bigger couch ?

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It's my house, I do have my own room with a bed, no pissy 60+ year old, usually a couple of fems . . . . .(girls), I'm not that keen a horti.


~_

_

Exquisite data!!

I shall butcher my next root ball and report back!!!! Top man!!!

greasemonkeymann said:

First, "tilling" or scratching the top quarter inch is harmless, if anything it would deter the gnats simply from allowing it to dry quicker, BUT that being said I don't mess with mine much.
Too much peat in your mix can allow the soil to "contract" a bit and it's helpful then to sorta open it back up a lil
If it's of any use, i'm a bit against the grain, in I prefer not only light nutrients but light waterings as well.
Especially if you have homemade compost/ewc.
Also having decomposed tree log chunks as part of your aeration really, really, keep the soil "humid" and retains the water much much longer than when I didn't have them in my soil.
I do NOT keep my soil moist all the time, absolutely not a subscriber to that.
And I base ALL of my judgements on post-harvest rootball inspections, you will learn SO much from doing that. Roots are a clear indicator of the plants health.
When you are still tryin to perfect your soil-recipe/growing techniques, it's a priceless tool, pop open those rootballs and see whats going on, see if you have "empty" areas in the rootzones, see how dense and hairy they are, all those things will tell you if you are doing a good job or not, much more than the nugs will.
With good genetics you can harvest crystally-ass nugs with a sick plant. Easy.
For the first 15 yrs or so I did this with EVERY plant.
Lil changes here and there and you find what works best for you.

Click to expand...

_
WWwwwwwwwhhhhhhaaaatttttttt! Turning in slow motion to look at you . . . . .

Dry root ball = far more oxygen and rampant biology . . . . . ime!!!

EDIT after a bit of reading from fellow growers . . .
Drier root ball = far more oxygen and rampant biology . . . . . apologies, I can see how I may have escalated this chit chat . . . not bone dry, but certainly not soaking . . . .


Just HOW old are these blumat threads???? lol


Lllllike this though:

I use a clover cover crop. The roots of the clover will keep the soil microbial network active.

Click to expand...

Rrog said:

regarding watering, I'll refer to the old Blumat threads. FWIW, those using the Blumat (continuous moisture level) found better results. I certainly did. I theorize that dried soil = dormant microbes. Dormant microbes aren't doing anything.

I also don't inspect root ball, since I'm not wanting to disturb the beautiful microbial network. I simply re-plant right next to the root ball. If I can't plant right away, I use a clover cover crop. The roots of the clover will keep the soil microbial network active.

Click to expand...

Rampant biology in dryer soil? Really? Really? You're thinking the microbes like it dry? Like fish do? Lol

Rrog said:

Rampant biology in dryer soil? Really? Really? You're thinking the microbes like it dry? Like fish do? Lol

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this has been sorta a controversial thing for a while now..
I base ALL of my sayings solely on what I've experienced.
But if microbial activity stopped during dry weather i'd assume you'd see that in nature, and you don't.
It's hard to say really.
I can tell you one thing fro absolute certain though, for me? I have waaay better results when I water less, rather than more.
But, with all the crazy variables you never know.
I have seen that when you keep your soil more of a "humid" state rather than moist (I know we are splitting hairs) the roots go CRAZY with white hairs, and I've also noticed that the soil has much more of a solid and dense rootball.
So, I guess what i'm saying is this, it really has a LOT to do with your definition of "dryer soil"
Not DRY soil, but dryer.
The redwood forest I live in (central CA coastal redwoods) we all have heard about our drought, even in the driest, the forest was greener than anything.
So what gives?
I mean I brew me my AACTs just like every other organic guy here, but at the same time, there HAS to be some sort of soilweb that doesn't need to be wet to live.