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Help me dial in my Subsistence Grow!
- Thread starter Nopalito
- Start date
Beach_Town_Brit
New member
Good luck with your first grow cycle 
That's interesting! How do they want you to cook it?
Nopalito
New member
No Title
Here are some pics to start out. Light is ready for pickup tomorrow so I'll probably plant tomorrow. I'm going to germinate directly in the soil.
Darth Feeder (pictured) will be feeding the Blumat line (currently soaking now). I'm going to do 2 regular sized bluemat carrots in each pot. I guess there's some debate as to whether or nor the Blumat Maxi's are better than a couple regular ones for fabric - style pots. Just another variable that I'm not going to be worrying too much about until my plants tell me I need to. Plus it's really for when I'm out of town and need to keep the soil moist. I'll be hand watering when i top dress anyway.
Here are some pics to start out. Light is ready for pickup tomorrow so I'll probably plant tomorrow. I'm going to germinate directly in the soil.
Darth Feeder (pictured) will be feeding the Blumat line (currently soaking now). I'm going to do 2 regular sized bluemat carrots in each pot. I guess there's some debate as to whether or nor the Blumat Maxi's are better than a couple regular ones for fabric - style pots. Just another variable that I'm not going to be worrying too much about until my plants tell me I need to. Plus it's really for when I'm out of town and need to keep the soil moist. I'll be hand watering when i top dress anyway.
Attachments
Love the Darth Feeder!
Nopalito
New member
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.
"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.
Nopalito
New member
Today I pick up my light and plant some seeds. I'm thinking of doing a white widow and an Afghan plant.
To to continue my noob thoughts on no till-
Of all the main proponents of no-till, the one that has, in my opinion, the best, most simple, and most current information is Clackamas Coot (Aka AgnesDawgz depending on which forum). As a matter of fact I bought from build a soil because I thought they were affiliated with Coot (they aren't but that's another story).
Its crazy because there is a lot of stuff about no till on the internet and some of it is years old. You can read a mega thread on no till gardening and then you find out it's from like 2012. Then you find a more recent thread and they're saying all that old info is useless. As often is the case on the internet, there is a lot of ego to sift through, a lot of pretentious dismissal of other people's methods, etc. My approach to it has changed a few times already and I don't even have seeds in the dirt yet.
That being said, that No Till Revisited thread on grass city that I linked to in the comments earlier seems to be the most recent- it's like 400 pages long and I'm only on page 30 and a lot of the content is like bread recipes and arguing but the very first post seems to really be all you need to get started. 6 amendments, the sexiest compost you can find and you're off to the races- no cooking required
. Hopefully in this grow journal I can condense all of their amazing knowledge into something even simpler- that thread is a goldmine but it does go off the rails pretty regularly.
Anyway thats where i'm at now. I'll check back in when I have the light and the seeds in the dirt.
To to continue my noob thoughts on no till-
Of all the main proponents of no-till, the one that has, in my opinion, the best, most simple, and most current information is Clackamas Coot (Aka AgnesDawgz depending on which forum). As a matter of fact I bought from build a soil because I thought they were affiliated with Coot (they aren't but that's another story).
Its crazy because there is a lot of stuff about no till on the internet and some of it is years old. You can read a mega thread on no till gardening and then you find out it's from like 2012. Then you find a more recent thread and they're saying all that old info is useless. As often is the case on the internet, there is a lot of ego to sift through, a lot of pretentious dismissal of other people's methods, etc. My approach to it has changed a few times already and I don't even have seeds in the dirt yet.
That being said, that No Till Revisited thread on grass city that I linked to in the comments earlier seems to be the most recent- it's like 400 pages long and I'm only on page 30 and a lot of the content is like bread recipes and arguing but the very first post seems to really be all you need to get started. 6 amendments, the sexiest compost you can find and you're off to the races- no cooking required
. Hopefully in this grow journal I can condense all of their amazing knowledge into something even simpler- that thread is a goldmine but it does go off the rails pretty regularly.
Anyway thats where i'm at now. I'll check back in when I have the light and the seeds in the dirt.
DingusKhan
New member
Thanks for sharing your findings! I'll keep you posted on how it goes with Base Camp Soil.
Nopalito
New member
No Title
Here they are. I'm gonna have to find another solution for the filter, it's going to get in the way as I raise the light. Lights are at about half power. Top dressed with some kelp meal, watered with aloe water. Got the blumats going, we'll see how that goes.
Here they are. I'm gonna have to find another solution for the filter, it's going to get in the way as I raise the light. Lights are at about half power. Top dressed with some kelp meal, watered with aloe water. Got the blumats going, we'll see how that goes.
Attachments
Beach_Town_Brit
New member
Looks good Nopalito, excited to see how this all goes. What did you plant, widow and afghan? Autos or photo period?
Marley
New member
Actually, I'm going to say the prefilter doesn't extend the life of the carbon filter at all. I doubt the prefilter is able to scrub odor. It may absorb some like anything else in an odor filled environment, but not to the point of helping the carbon filter last longer. Carbon scrubs it by catching the molecules and trapping them. I don't think that cloth filter does it on that level.
This is all a guess, mind you. But there's a reason carbon is used as a filter for just about everything and microfiber isn't.
This is all a guess, mind you. But there's a reason carbon is used as a filter for just about everything and microfiber isn't.
OzBud
Proven Grower (Check Signature)
I know the pre filter won't get rid of odour but it will get rid of dirt/dust and other crap from the air saving the carbon from having to clean out anything that it doesn't have to and keeping as much of the carbon surface area as possible free to trap the odour molecules which it can't do once the microscopic pores are covered in other crap.
OzBud
Proven Grower (Check Signature)
http://www.aaaheatingandcoolinginc.com/importance-of-the-pre-filter/
"No matter how advanced an air purifier is, it needs to have a pre-filter. The pre-filters are built to capture particulates floating in the air that are bigger than 5 microns. But why do we need an air filter if these particulates can be easily trapped by a normal filter? To protect the filters and help them do their job properly. The filters built in any air purifier are built to trap much smaller particulates than the size of 5 or 10 microns. While they will of course trap particles that the pre-filter catches, relying on the air purifier to catch them can significantly reduce its efficiency and limit its effectiveness."
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http://homeairguides.com/about-air-purifiers/what-is-a-pre-filter/
"Function of a Pre-Filter
When comparing different air purifying products, you’ll discover that some devices include a dedicated pre-filter, while others combine this feature with an Activated Carbon filter.
Regardless of how the pre-filter is outfitted on the device, one thing remains true – the purpose is to act as the first line of defense in order to capture the largest particles possible.
If the pre-filter was not on the device, then the True HEPA filter would take too much abuse from larger particles and wear out faster. This would result in you having to spend a lot more money each year in filter replacements.
Pre-filters are perfect for capturing large debris such as hair fur, dust and some pollen. Once these particles are trapped, the other filters inside the air purifier can work at maximum levels."
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Those aren't specific to hydroponic carbon filters but you get my point, not using a pre filter will reduce the life and efficiency of your carbon filter.
"No matter how advanced an air purifier is, it needs to have a pre-filter. The pre-filters are built to capture particulates floating in the air that are bigger than 5 microns. But why do we need an air filter if these particulates can be easily trapped by a normal filter? To protect the filters and help them do their job properly. The filters built in any air purifier are built to trap much smaller particulates than the size of 5 or 10 microns. While they will of course trap particles that the pre-filter catches, relying on the air purifier to catch them can significantly reduce its efficiency and limit its effectiveness."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://homeairguides.com/about-air-purifiers/what-is-a-pre-filter/
"Function of a Pre-Filter
When comparing different air purifying products, you’ll discover that some devices include a dedicated pre-filter, while others combine this feature with an Activated Carbon filter.
Regardless of how the pre-filter is outfitted on the device, one thing remains true – the purpose is to act as the first line of defense in order to capture the largest particles possible.
If the pre-filter was not on the device, then the True HEPA filter would take too much abuse from larger particles and wear out faster. This would result in you having to spend a lot more money each year in filter replacements.
Pre-filters are perfect for capturing large debris such as hair fur, dust and some pollen. Once these particles are trapped, the other filters inside the air purifier can work at maximum levels."
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Those aren't specific to hydroponic carbon filters but you get my point, not using a pre filter will reduce the life and efficiency of your carbon filter.