Srfr's UK organic living soil Mephisto 2x4 grow journal

[Srfr]

Here it is, my first thread on the autoflower network!

I've been growing for quite a few years now but I'm still far from an expert. I have come a long way, however, with help from our organic grow friends over the pond, mostly in Pacific NW. I got into attempting "no-till" or as I prefer to call it, "living soil" in 2019 and haven't looked back. I've had ups and downs but it's still the best hobby ever. I do not sell my produce but simply enjoy being self-sufficient. Safe organic weed and no support for county lines gangs!

I'm currently at Day 15 of a 2 plant grow in my 2x4 tent. I'm growing Mephisto Mango Smile and a 3wok OG. This will be my 3rd run in 10-gallon bags with my living soil mix. I was given a TSL2000 by Mars Hydro a while back and it's a great fit in my 2x4. I run 24/0 lighting and a heat mat set to 24ºC for the whole run. I obsess over VPD and currently am running a constant 25ºC air temp and 65% humidity. 24 hour lighting helps me keep all this stable in a cold old southern UK winter. I've got an AC Infinity T6 Pro with the Pro 69 controller. This thing was a bit pricey but so very useful.

I've had an issue with soil gnats on this run after adding a load of pulverised leaf matter to aerate and add carbon to my mix. It was a mistake as I really should have composted it first as I think the gnats have thrived on this stuff rotting down. I use the tissue method for germination and lost 3 sprouts to the gnats! They massacred the tap root each time. To remedy this I let my bags dehydrate a bit and put them outside for 24 hours in sub-zero conditions to fuck with the gnats. I started my 4th attempt seeds in small pots and transplanted them on day 10. It seems that these gnats are only a problem for tiny seedlings and so far (5 days later), so good!

I tried the "bend and release" method last run and it was very successful so I'll try it again this run. (I grew some very very nice Tinto De Verano from Mephisto. A very good strain). Ideally, I'd do it today but I think the transplant may have slowed them slightly so maybe I'll do it tomorrow or the next day. They are just about showing me the roots are delivering for them, so I dropped the humidity from 70% to 65% today.

Well, that's a start. I'll add pix later and hopefully don't bore the shit out of everyone with my over-sharing lol.
PS: I'm always on the lookout for anyone else doing a similar style grow in the UK. All my info is from the USA (I've had great coaching on GrassCity forums from the Organic people), so it would be great to hear from UK people to get their take on inputs available here etc.

 

[Srfr]

@DOA @St. Tom

 

[Rasterman]

Here it is, my first thread on the autoflower network!

I've been growing for quite a few years now but I'm still far from an expert. I have come a long way, however, with help from our organic grow friends over the pond, mostly in Pacific NW. I got into attempting "no-till" or as I prefer to call it, "living soil" in 2019 and haven't looked back. I've had ups and downs but it's still the best hobby ever. I do not sell my produce but simply enjoy being self-sufficient. Safe organic weed and no support for county lines gangs!

I'm currently at Day 15 of a 2 plant grow in my 2x4 tent. I'm growing Mephisto Mango Smile and a 3wok OG. This will be my 3rd run in 10-gallon bags with my living soil mix. I was given a TSL2000 by Mars Hydro a while back and it's a great fit in my 2x4. I run 24/0 lighting and a heat mat set to 24ºC for the whole run. I obsess over VPD and currently am running a constant 25ºC air temp and 65% humidity. 24 hour lighting helps me keep all this stable in a cold old southern UK winter. I've got an AC Infinity T6 Pro with the Pro 69 controller. This thing was a bit pricey but so very useful.

I've had an issue with soil gnats on this run after adding a load of pulverised leaf matter to aerate and add carbon to my mix. It was a mistake as I really should have composted it first as I think the gnats have thrived on this stuff rotting down. I use the tissue method for germination and lost 3 sprouts to the gnats! They massacred the tap root each time. To remedy this I let my bags dehydrate a bit and put them outside for 24 hours in sub-zero conditions to fuck with the gnats. I started my 4th attempt seeds in small pots and transplanted them on day 10. It seems that these gnats are only a problem for tiny seedlings and so far (5 days later), so good!

I tried the "bend and release" method last run and it was very successful so I'll try it again this run. (I grew some very very nice Tinto De Verano from Mephisto. A very good strain). Ideally, I'd do it today but I think the transplant may have slowed them slightly so maybe I'll do it tomorrow or the next day. They are just about showing me the roots are delivering for them, so I dropped the humidity from 70% to 65% today.

Well, that's a start. I'll add pix later and hopefully don't bore the shit out of everyone with my over-sharing lol.
PS: I'm always on the lookout for anyone else doing a similar style grow in the UK. All my info is from the USA (I've had great coaching on GrassCity forums from the Organic people), so it would be great to hear from UK people to get their take on inputs available here etc.

Fungus gnats are annoying, but the only really bad thing about them that I've noticed is yeah, dead seedlings. I heard they only do that if they can't find suitable food, but it ain't true. I always use pods now for that reason.

Anyway, I always have gnats but keep them down with beneficials. I've been throwing forest topsoil in my pots at transplant more recently and now there are predator mites running around everywhere and very few gnats.

 

[Srfr]

Fungus gnats are annoying, but the only really bad thing about them that I've noticed is yeah, dead seedlings. I heard they only do that if they can't find suitable food, but it ain't true. I always use pods now for that reason.

Anyway, I always have gnats but keep them down with beneficials. I've been throwing forest topsoil in my pots at transplant more recently and now there are predator mites running around everywhere and very few gnats.

I think they are different to fungus gnats as fungus gnats turn into flies but these guys don't. I think they are called soil gnats and they feed on decaying roots like fungus gnats. I've had fungus gnats before and I treated them with yellow sticky cards and gnaterol (BTI). These guys were not affected by BTI or spinosad. My methods (drying out soil and 24 hours in freezing conditions) definitely fucked them up. My seedlings seem to be managing 5 days after transplant. I have a layer of rice hulls as a mulch and I also applied a little EWC as I also heard the beneficials in there do help. I've also applied a little LAB (lacto acid bacillus) and a little microbe tea. I still can see the occasional one but that's ok, I just don't want to see plague proportions again. This living soil is, well, living!

 

[DOA]

I think they are different to fungus gnats as fungus gnats turn into flies but these guys don't. I think they are called soil gnats and they feed on decaying roots like fungus gnats. I've had fungus gnats before and I treated them with yellow sticky cards and gnaterol (BTI). These guys were not affected by BTI or spinosad. My methods (drying out soil and 24 hours in freezing conditions) definitely fucked them up. My seedlings seem to be managing 5 days after transplant. I have a layer of rice hulls as a mulch and I also applied a little EWC as I also heard the beneficials in there do help. I've also applied a little LAB (lacto acid bacillus) and a little microbe tea. I still can see the occasional one but that's ok, I just don't want to see plague proportions again. This living soil is, well, living!

If I've ever had knats etc, I just unleash a battalion of nematodes, they sort the issue out and fast.

 

[DOA]

Here it is, my first thread on the autoflower network!

I've been growing for quite a few years now but I'm still far from an expert. I have come a long way, however, with help from our organic grow friends over the pond, mostly in Pacific NW. I got into attempting "no-till" or as I prefer to call it, "living soil" in 2019 and haven't looked back. I've had ups and downs but it's still the best hobby ever. I do not sell my produce but simply enjoy being self-sufficient. Safe organic weed and no support for county lines gangs!

I'm currently at Day 15 of a 2 plant grow in my 2x4 tent. I'm growing Mephisto Mango Smile and a 3wok OG. This will be my 3rd run in 10-gallon bags with my living soil mix. I was given a TSL2000 by Mars Hydro a while back and it's a great fit in my 2x4. I run 24/0 lighting and a heat mat set to 24ºC for the whole run. I obsess over VPD and currently am running a constant 25ºC air temp and 65% humidity. 24 hour lighting helps me keep all this stable in a cold old southern UK winter. I've got an AC Infinity T6 Pro with the Pro 69 controller. This thing was a bit pricey but so very useful.

I've had an issue with soil gnats on this run after adding a load of pulverised leaf matter to aerate and add carbon to my mix. It was a mistake as I really should have composted it first as I think the gnats have thrived on this stuff rotting down. I use the tissue method for germination and lost 3 sprouts to the gnats! They massacred the tap root each time. To remedy this I let my bags dehydrate a bit and put them outside for 24 hours in sub-zero conditions to fuck with the gnats. I started my 4th attempt seeds in small pots and transplanted them on day 10. It seems that these gnats are only a problem for tiny seedlings and so far (5 days later), so good!

I tried the "bend and release" method last run and it was very successful so I'll try it again this run. (I grew some very very nice Tinto De Verano from Mephisto. A very good strain). Ideally, I'd do it today but I think the transplant may have slowed them slightly so maybe I'll do it tomorrow or the next day. They are just about showing me the roots are delivering for them, so I dropped the humidity from 70% to 65% today.

Well, that's a start. I'll add pix later and hopefully don't bore the shit out of everyone with my over-sharing lol.
PS: I'm always on the lookout for anyone else doing a similar style grow in the UK. All my info is from the USA (I've had great coaching on GrassCity forums from the Organic people), so it would be great to hear from UK people to get their take on inputs available here etc.

How did you manage to connect your humidifier to the 69 Controller, did you manage to find some UIS control ports to get everything working?

 

[Srfr]

How did you manage to connect your humidifier to the 69 Controller, did you manage to find some UIS control ports to get everything working?

No, I just set the humidifier at say 65% and leave it. The 69 Pro controller just controls temps for me. I have the fan set to 0 and triggering at 25°c. This is perfect for low smell veg and cool ambient temps as the extractor fan doesn’t run much.

 

[Srfr]

Tonight I decided it was time to bend my ladies over. They look and feel happy so I went for it.

This is my setup. The yellow hoses are attached to a timer but I only use it when I’m away for a few days on work for a few days otherwise I just hand water.

 

[Rasterman]

I think they are different to fungus gnats as fungus gnats turn into flies but these guys don't.

Great - another bug to worry about!

I just don't want to see plague proportions again. This living soil is, well, living!

Agreed. It's when things slip out of control.

 

[Srfr]

Great - another bug to worry about!


Agreed. It's when things slip out of control.

When I re-amended my soil last run I added a couple of litres of ground-up brown leaf material to each bag. I actually emptied the bags to re-amend and mixed everything together real good. Like I said previous, I think all this "fresh" uncomposted carbon gave these guys a smorgasbord. Anyway, hopefully the issue is over until my next run perhaps? BTW, these little guys are less than a mm long and are white. They move kinda fast for their tiny size. Under the microscope they have two antennae that look like trichomes. They are kinda cute though, the little fuckers.
Any way, 10 hours after I bent them over they are looking very happy, pointing back up at the light. I'll continue to peg them down each day to keep that meristem as horizontal as possible. The idea is to do this for 14 days to encourage the side branches to shoot up. Unfortunately, because of all the failures, my timing is out and I'll be away for 6 days in the middle! I'll do my best, that's all I can do.