Indoor McDee goes Organic

[McDee]

Unless your water is crazy out of whack, it's not gonna be a big factor in an organic grow.

That being said, I am getting a small RO filter system Wednesday. It's mainly for my mega crop grows and the humidifier.

That's what is mostly. I mix in some bubbled tap water too. What would you say is too low & too high? I get a little nervous when it's below 6 & over 7. I have spot checked to make sure it not way out of wack tho.

 

[McDee]

Interesting subject guys , I water with fish pond water . I have a 800 ltr [ big tub ] pond with small pond fish , not a lot as I keep them in check and cull them when there is to many , I get a Ph of 6,5 to 7 , mostly around 6.5 to 6,8 - the second part is the soil I make , now here I always get a soil Ph of 7 , The soil plays a huge part in the Ph range a plant is happy with , a truly living soil extends the range and nutrient uptake of plants , I do add bloom boasters towards mid flower once a week 3 or 4 times , Sea bird guano - kelp , also molasses to feed the microbes and humic acid now and again . For me it is a very simple way to grow . One thing with the molasses I use is it is stock feed and when I do use guano and kelp the use of molasses brings the Ph into range .

I bet that pond water is full of all kinds of goodies. That is the range I would like to be at 6.5-6.8.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

That's what is mostly. I mix in some bubbled tap water too. What would you say is too low & too high? I get a little nervous when it's below 6 & over 7. I have spot checked to make sure it not way out of wack tho.

as long as the ppm of the water is low, (like under 200) the soil should buffer the water.. really hard water will hold its ph more and thats where it can cause problems ime.. anything higher than 200ppm , youre better off filling 5 gal bottles at a water machine or getting an ro filter.. So to be clear, low ppm water with a ph of 7 or 8 isnt an issue.

 

[WildBill]

That's what is mostly. I mix in some bubbled tap water too. What would you say is too low & too high? I get a little nervous when it's below 6 & over 7. I have spot checked to make sure it not way out of wack tho.

I've always had either neutral or alkaline water to deal with pretty much all my life. I think the highest I had to deal with was 7.8 at my mom's house. And I grew quite a bit of Roses for her..................in black gumbo soil.
My current water is fairly high. From 7.5 to 7.8 and add a pretty steady 180 PPM.

Not having to deal with acidic water, I think my comfort level is around 6.2. And that's from not having to actually deal with acidic water.

That's organic. I'm growing with MC, then I would like my water to be at 7.5 to 7.2 so that my end product will be around 6.5 to 6.8 after adding the MC.

 

[McDee]

as long as the ppm of the water is low, (like under 200) the soil should buffer the water.. really hard water will hold its ph more and thats where it can cause problems ime.. anything higher than 200ppm , youre better off filling 5 gal bottles at a water machine or getting an ro filter.. So to be clear, low ppm water with a ph of 7 or 8 isnt an issue.

I do a 75/25 of RO/Tap. My tap is really low I'm ppm's too. Most of the time it's straight R/O, but I like to get them some calcium and magnesium due to the R/O. Plus it helps maintain the pH instead of having swings. I will test ppms of tap and tap/ro mix, and see what they are.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

molasses has a good amount of calcium too

 

[McDee]

molasses has a good amount of calcium too

Oh, I did not know that. That's good to know. Also thanks for the rep points!

 

[WildBill]

molasses has a good amount of calcium too

Molasses has a butt load micronutrients also.
If I had a dollar for every gallon of molasses I've used since the early 90s, I could probably buy Nug Smashers bad ass 1 touch machine.

I've always used Medina horticultural molasses. Started using that in the early 90s. When I was making small batches of compost tea, one gallon jugs were fine. When I expanded my garden and started using organic techniques on my pasture, I had to up the ante on the molasses.
55 gallon barrels are extremely heavy With Medina horticultural molasses! I bought two and then went back to 5 gallon buckets. 5 gallon buckets aren't exactly Light either!

 

[McDee]

Molasses has a butt load micronutrients also.
If I had a dollar for every gallon of molasses I've used since the early 90s, I could probably buy Nug Smashers bad ass 1 touch machine.

I've always used Medina horticultural molasses. Started using that in the early 90s. When I was making small batches of compost tea, one gallon jugs were fine. When I expanded my garden and started using organic techniques on my pasture, I had to up the ante on the molasses.
55 gallon barrels are extremely heavy With Medina horticultural molasses! I bought two and then went back to 5 gallon buckets. 5 gallon buckets aren't exactly Light either!

It makes mighty fine cookies too! My question is can you use too much? Like should I put it in every time I hand feed, or is that overkill?

 

[Tom Bombadil]

It makes mighty fine cookies too! My question is can you use too much? Like should I put it in every time I hand feed, or is that overkill?

i have before without any ill effects, but it may have been overkill.. then again, i reuse soil for years sooo