My Organic Garden: Part 2 - Grow Areas, Soil, Nutrients

[Redd_Beardd]

Location, Location, Location

I started my indoor garden about a year ago with nothing more than some seeds germinating in eggshells and a 400W MH light in the corner of my garage. Over the past year I have expanded my grow area to include an area set aside for vegetative growth and mother plants and a 7'x7'x7 grow tent for flowering. The tent is by far the easier environment to control since I have my light cooled with a fan venting out the tent into the garage (no, i haven't run the ducting out of the garage yet...but i do have a materials list and rough estimate of the cost) and an 10000 BTU a/c unit to keep the temp max at 80*F.

Grow Area: Vegetative | Mothers

• Dimensions: 3'x3'
  
• Lighting (Summer): 4' dual tube 40W flourescent shop light (used only during summer months due to heat)
  
• Lighting (Not Summer): 1000W MH Hortiluxe Universal
  
• Light Cycle: 16:8
  
• Air: Oscillating Tower Fan
  
• Avg Temp Summer: usually about 10* less than outside (80*F - 95*F)
  
  • The sativa dominant strains don't seem to mind and appear to be thriving in the heat.
    
  • The more evenly balanced (60/40 | 50/50) strain don't do so well in the heat. I have lost all my Chocolope and Purps mothers to the heat and currently only have Texada Timewarp and Kali Mist mothers.
    

Grow Area: Tent | Flowering

• Dimensions: 7'x7'x7'
  
• Lighting: 600W HPS
  
• Cooling (Light): 6" fan
  
• Cooling (Tent): 10000 BTU LG Portable AC Unit
  
  • No other fans in the tent. The AC unit blows constantly.
    

  [*]Light Cycle: 12:12

  [*]Avg Temp: 80*F

  [*]Exhale CO2 Bag

  [*]Future Additions:

  • Vent fans to recycle air
    
  • Ducting to connect and route fan cooling light and ac duct out with drier vent
    

Soil Mix: You are what you eat!

• 15 gal soil from compost pile
  
• 12 trowels worm compost from my worm bin
  
• 8 quarts perlite
  
  • I'm considering using coco coir in the next batch.
    

  [*]1/2 cup Kelp

  [*]1/2 cup Rock Phospate (0-3-0)

  [*]1/2 cup Indonesian Bat Guano (0.5-13-0.2)

  [*]4 cups Diatomatious Earth

  [*]4 cups Dry Molasses

  [*]1 cup Mychoraze

Nutrients: Compost Tea (mmm home brewed goodness!)

• 4 trowels soil mix
  
• 2 trowels worm compost
  
• 1 cup fish fertilizer (...yea yea I know...fish hydrosolate is better...next time...)
  
• 1 cup organic black strap molasses
  

This mix is brewed in a 5gal bucket of water. I aerate the water for 24hrs using an acquarium pump and air stone before brewing to help rid it of flouride. Then I brew the tea for 24hrs. I use this tea as both a soil drench and for foliar feeding. I've seen noticable results on all the plants I use it on. This stuff is amazing!! I highly recommend buying, or better brewing your own!!!

[TheOne]

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