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    Help me dial in my Subsistence Grow!

    Hey everyone - I've been loving lurking on this site and soaking up everything there is to read.
    Here's my situation-
    I'm going to be moving in about 3 months to a new house. Currently have a yard, this one is going to be a town house so I'll lose my awesome raised beds outside. I'm still pretty new at growing, I've only done 2 grows before this, one years ago, outdoor, questionable dispensary clone and laughably small yield and one indoor with an hps light in a closet, grew in soil, was coming along beautiful, then I went out of town and my friend who was taking care of my plants messed up the nutes and it was kind of a bummer what happened to the plant but I count it as a good learning experience. I'm a medical patient, but since it is legal in California, I would much prefer to grow my own meds than to pay insane prices for the quality meds.

    As of now, I'm throwing some auto blueberry in a plastic covered raised bed full of fox farm and I'll feed them guano and try to eke out a couple jars worth in the last weeks before I move.

    In my new spot, I'll most likely have to stealthily stick a 2 x 4 tent somewhere, probably in my garage. After what seems like days of reading here's what I've settled upon. I'd like to ask for your input on things I may be able to improve:

    -I'm thinking of going with an LED. Based on what I estimate, I think a 400 watt equivalent (Advanced LED P300) would serve my purposes well. I want to save money on electricity and since I live in a place with a semi arid mediterranean climate and it gets in the 90's temp in the summer, I want to keep heat levels down during the day. And keep it quiet, I want to be a courteous neighbor.

    -I want to grow in super soil, specifically Kind Soil mixed with coco loco. I want to do this because I go out of town a lot and I like the idea that there are no nutrient schedules. Water only seems to be the lowest maintenance as long as you aren't baking it yourself. I prefer soil to hydro. Nothing against hydro I just really like growing things in dirt. I would use 10 gallon root trappers.

    - I want to grow 2 plants per grow and grow them into bushes. 2 is only for variety, otherwise i'd just grow one tree. I read a whole bunch about topping, mainlining, etc etc and I think I might end up doing scrog. Still not sure about it, seems like people have success with all of these. Also saw someone just tie the colas to a round tomato cage and that seemed like an easy way to do it as well.

    -I'm also considering getting the starter kit blumat drippers. Might seem like overkill but, you might be noticing a pattern here, I'm out of town for 3-4 days at a time sometimes and I'd love it if all someone would have to do while I was gone would be to fill the reservoir with pre PH'ed water. Low maintenance.

    I'd love it if I could pull at least 8 oz off them per grow at some point, that would more than cover my needs. Not sure if that's realistic or what to expect from this type of setup.


    Are there any things I should consider that I might be missing?
    Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
    Amazon.com : Advanced Platinum Series P300 300w 12-band LED Grow Light - DUAL VEG/FLOWER FULL SPECTRUM : Patio, Lawn & Garden

    #2
    Hi Nopalito, glad you joined the scrum
    I live in a townhouse in California, and I grow in a 2x4 tent. My approach is to grow 3 autos in 3 gallon pots, by staggering my planting I get a harvest every month.
    I found that growing bigger plants for longer gave me bigger yields per plant but not really overall (2 oz a month is the same as 3 x 8oz over full 4 month grows but offers more variety and a steadier flow of weed). Plus we'd smoke our big harvests too quick and run out of weed.

    BTW I love my P300, best LED light I've tried (I've only tried G8, Mars Hydro, and Roleandro though).

    If you do go Blumat drippers and kind soil, please share your experience here. I've been pondering that approach myself
    Last edited by Beach_Town_Brit; 04-18-2017, 01:32 PM.
    Sand, sea, sun, sausages, and sinsemilla.

    About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won't like you at all.

    -Rita Mae Brown

    My Small Tent, Monthly Harvest, Perpetual Auto Grow

    My IG

    Comment


    • Tika
      Tika commented
      Editing a comment
      Cell said per usual BTB

    #3
    Beach_Town_Brit seemed to cover everything and is in a much more similar situation as yours than I am. The only thing I'll suggest is taking a look at 315 LEC's as a lighting option and see if that would work for you. You might be able to yield more and I hear the temps from them aren't too bad. I've been a light nerd long before I started growing and when I decided to do this the first thing I bought were LED's. However, I could tell a major difference in growth between the LED's and Metal Halide no matter how much I wanted them to be better. I'm sure there are some out there that perform just as well but I bet they're extremely expensive in comparison.

    Aside from that, welcome to the forum!
    #TeamAutoMechanics

    Previous grow journals:
    Pure Power Plant and Blue Mystic + Freebies
    Girl Scout Cookies and Gorilla Glue (AutoMechanics Grow Thread)

    Grow Room Video: https://vimeo.com/218651917

    Comment


      #4
      Thanks guys!
      Beach_Town_Brit I'm gonna read your grow journal right now, I'm definitely open to harvesting more often and autos would take even another step out of the job. Just have to find some old school afghani in auto and I would be a happy camper! I'll definitely share my experience with the blumats and super soil, I think it could actually be a really smart way to do it assuming the blumats don't give me trouble like they have for some. Seems like it's kind of close to nature? A soil microbiome that is always just wet enough.

      Marley I'll check into those ceramic lights. Any idea on the difference in wattage requirements?

      Comment


      • Marley
        Marley commented
        Editing a comment
        The LEC would use about 135w more, but the increased yield might be worth it. I'm sure you can find someone who has compared LED to LEC on YouTube or a forum. I'll do some digging and see what I can find.

      #5
      So as an update, I decided to go for this light - http://timbergrowlights.com/400-watt...ear-framework/

      I feel like I melted my eyes out reading reviews but in the end I decided this was the best as far as quality, replaceable parts, and good reviews for the money. More updates as they come.

      I think this thing could distribute the light in the 2 x 4 to get a nice scrog going.

      Comment


        #6
        That's interesting, I haven't seen that before so I can't comment on how well it will work.
        #TeamAutoMechanics

        Previous grow journals:
        Pure Power Plant and Blue Mystic + Freebies
        Girl Scout Cookies and Gorilla Glue (AutoMechanics Grow Thread)

        Grow Room Video: https://vimeo.com/218651917

        Comment


          #7
          The guy who makes them is local and that was also a huge plus.

          More updates (this will end up being my pre grow journal I suppose)

          decided I wanted to make my own super soil since I'll still have a yard for long enough to "cook" the soil and my city gives compost away for free.
          Went to a local nursery to buy the amendments and some peat moss to start putting it together. When I started describing to the guy what I wanted to do he cut me off and said "No, that's the square foot gardening method, it's expensive and a waste of time"

          i kept trying to describe what I wanted to do without actually saying what I was growing (it's recreationally legal here but I don't really like to announce it). He just kept cutting me off and saying "just throw them in some fox farm and call it a day or go soilless if you're indoors."

          i get his point that people make things too complicated but I still want to make my own soil. I'm going to try out buildasoil.com's nutrient and mineral package to add to the compost / peat / perlite mix and cook it out until I move. Should be nice and rich by then.

          My current blueberry autoflowers have have broken the surface in my raised bed outside, 3 of 5 so far. I'll post pics soon, this one i did actually just "throw them in some fox farm"
          Last edited by Nopalito; 04-23-2017, 12:13 PM.

          Comment


            #8
            I'm not sure if this would interest you, but here's a soil recipe by Subcool if you want to see an example of how one soil grower makes his own soil. This supplies list makes a LOT of soil at once, but it might help give you ideas about possible ratios even if you want to make a smaller amount

            Composted Super Soil IngredientsFull tutorial: http://www.growweedeasy.com/organic-...#supplies-list

            Comment


              #9
              Originally posted by NebulaHaze View Post
              I'm not sure if this would interest you, but here's a soil recipe by Subcool if you want to see an example of how one soil grower makes his own soil. This supplies list makes a LOT of soil at once, but it helps give ideas about possible ratios even if you want to make a smaller amount

              Composted Super Soil IngredientsFull tutorial: http://www.growweedeasy.com/organic-...#supplies-list
              NebulaHaze great stuff! It was actually some of your soil tutorials that gave me this idea. I ended up finding a premixed package of just enough amendments for 6 cf of soil which is exactly the amount I need. Should get in today actually!

              Comment


                #10
                Cool handle, Nopalito. I'm looking into doing a live soil grow too. I've been experimenting, trying a little of everything else, its fun! Where did you get the primix of amendments? Do you just dump that into a bin of soil and mix in?
                Nothing is foolproof for the sufficiently talented fool.

                Comment


                  #11
                  Originally posted by DingusKhan View Post
                  Cool handle, Nopalito. I'm looking into doing a live soil grow too. I've been experimenting, trying a little of everything else, its fun! Where did you get the primix of amendments? Do you just dump that into a bin of soil and mix in?
                  I'm following more or less the Clackamas Coots style of soil as interpreted by the guys at BuildASoil.com. They're a pretty passionate group of guys out of Colorado who sell the premixed amendments as well as premade super soil although I'm for sure not paying shipping for that. I like how simple the coots mix is and as far as my weak grasp of reading science journals, the soil science seems to back him up. If it wasn't for the convenience and the small scale of my grow, I might also use the subcool mix mentioned above by NebulaHaze

                  Plan is to throw some local city compost made of food scraps and yard waste (up to 2 cu ft. free in my city!), some peat moss, and some lava rock into a big bin and just hand mix it with everything. Might even use some yucca extract to wet it out initially. Also will try to get a hold of some earthworm castings and some topsoil that I might split with the compost. I know there might be some people who will bring up the fact that you don't know that the food is even organic that is thrown in to city compost but I believe in the composting process and that it will break all the stuff down into something perfectly useable and it will be among the freshest compost I can find. I'm still learning about soil science though and I'm open to correction on that point.

                  Still not sure yet if I want to go No Till or TLO. I decided on 2 plants with 15 gallon containers so in theory I could get away with an indoor no till operation which would be awesome!

                  Seems like everything I read raises a new question in my mind but this is where I am right now.

                  Comment


                  • Nopalito
                    Nopalito commented
                    Editing a comment
                    DingusKhan TLO meaning "True Living Organic" and No Till is (as far as I know so far) using living soil but never removing it from the container or disturbing it, since after a few grows, a whole network of micro creatures establishes itself in the soil. Mulching keeps organic matter available for all of them. in TLO you recycle and re-amend the soil every time.

                    “It seems to me that one thing is absolutely necessary and that is passion without motive - passion that is not the result of some commitment or...

                  • DingusKhan
                    DingusKhan commented
                    Editing a comment
                    That link is a great read, I skimmed it, but I have to get back to work. I'm goofing off enough on Friday.

                    I'm just starting to explore this very thing, but I'm getting a little lost in the weeds with the differences between "living soil", "super soil", mycorrhyzziae, etc. I will read that article this weekend.

                  • oldjarhead100
                    oldjarhead100 commented
                    Editing a comment
                    unclejimswormfarm.com hey Nopalito I just purchased 1000 worms for composting my self I have then in a tote in the cellar , you seem like a dyi kinda guy so I thought you might like this idea

                  #12
                  Welcome to the forum, cactus dude!
                  Anyone can grow schwag. If you want to grow top shelf bud, study hard: https://www.growweedeasy.com

                  Growing since July 21, 2016; pothead since 1967
                  2 BCNL Roommate hydroponic grow boxes w/ 400w COB LEDs, Future Harvest nutes
                  Grow # 18, Aug. 2023: Anesia Seeds: Imperium X, Future 1, Sleepy Joe, Slurricane

                  Comment


                    #13
                    So I finally mixed my soil this weekend. Here's my mix -

                    I splurged and got some Malibu Compost. I didn't know my local grow shop had it-

                    2 cu ft. Malibu Compost
                    2 cu ft. Volcanic Pumice (Perlite has a tendency to float to the top of the soil which is super annoying)
                    2 cu ft. +/- of Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss (Often forum-ized into the acronym CSPM)

                    To this base soil I added both the Clackamas Coots nutrient mix and the mineral mix from Build a soil.

                    Nutrient Kits Include:

                    (Use at 1.5 Cups Per cubic foot of soil or about 3 Tablespoon per gallon of soil)

                    1. Crustacean Meal - Crab and Shrimp

                    2. Kelp Meal - Acadian Seaplants Brand

                    3. Neem Cake

                    Mineral Kit Includes:

                    (Use at 4 Cups Per Cubic foot of soil or about 1/2 Cup per gallon of soil)

                    1. BuildASoil Basalt - Our Favorite Rock Dust for trace minerals. Highly paramagnetic.

                    2. Gypsum Dust - Calcium and Sulfur

                    3. Oyster Shell Flour - Calcium Carbonate - Adds available calcium and limes the Peat moss.


                    I wet it down with some aloe water, mixed it well and threw it in a big trash can and have it cooking on my side yard, turning once every other day or so.

                    In about 4 weeks I'll have some real serious soil.

                    Based on some advice I got about this type of soil grow, probably going to stick with 2 plants in the 15 gal pots and do a no till.


                    Eventually I'd like to set up a veg tent in which I can veg something for about 30 days or so and then throw it under the scrog to fill about half of it during flower, then veg another one 30 days and throw that in the flowering tent as the previous one is getting to the end.

                    Peace

                    Comment


                      #14
                      So I've been talking to the buil a soil people as well as doing a little more reading. If you're gonna do a live organic soil, make sure you know about the nutrients in it and which ones even need to be "cooked". The nutrients I used don't need an initial cook and it's ready to go as is! Good news. My light is done next week so I'm gonna get started quicker than I thought!

                      Comment


                      • NebulaHaze
                        NebulaHaze commented
                        Editing a comment
                        That's interesting! How do they want you to cook it?

                      • Nopalito
                        Nopalito commented
                        Editing a comment
                        NebulaHaze Here's what they told me:
                        "With the choice of 3 nutrient amendments (neem, kelp, and crustacean meal), and 3 mineral/rock dust amendments (basalt, gypsum, and oyster shell flour[liming agent for the peat moss]) we use in that recipe, there is no cooking required as it will not cause the soil mix to go thermophilic. From my understanding, blood meals, some guanos, and a few other popular ingredients are the ones that cause this 'cooking'."

                        In the beginning, according to that grass city thread I posted earlier, there is a little supplementing with coconut water, aloe water, some malted barley and kelp tea. after a few cycles it becomes truly water-only soil. The more I read, the more flexible it seems like it is. People have mentioned doing grows just watering with aloe water and coconut water the entire grow and getting good results, and there are people who have never used either of those and had amazing grows too. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the guiding principles of it.

                      • NebulaHaze
                        NebulaHaze commented
                        Editing a comment
                        I somehow missed this until just now. That is a really great write up! Short and sweet, thanks for sharing your technique with us! Can't wait to see more

                      #15
                      Awesome. Can't wait to see it all set up.
                      #TeamAutoMechanics

                      Previous grow journals:
                      Pure Power Plant and Blue Mystic + Freebies
                      Girl Scout Cookies and Gorilla Glue (AutoMechanics Grow Thread)

                      Grow Room Video: https://vimeo.com/218651917

                      Comment

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