Slowly giving organic growing a go, after 6 years under lights I figured it’s about time to try. I am 6 weeks into veg from seed and still predominantly organic and looking good. I am growing in Coast of Maine Stonington Blend (first time) with 25% Perlite. Have only added silica, SuperThrive, Fish Shit (first grow) and Recharge.
Last feeding I checked the runoff of a few plants for ph. pH was in 6.3-6.7 range but I am getting crazy high EC/ppm readings of 3-4.5 EC (2400-3100 ppm, meter is calibrated). It’s not of concern as the plants all look great but I’ve never seen anything like this. I know from past experiences that organics and synganic nutrients together can throw off the EC readings but this is really confusing as the only nutrients are in the CoM soil.
Generally, I thought that most organic inputs were not immediately available as salts and therefore didn’t register a high EC. Could it be that the amendments in the CoM Stonington blend are just very readily available?
https://coastofmaine.com/product/stonington/
I can see where new growers using mixed soil and nutrients could freak over seeing EC’s like this. Can someone please give us a tutorial on EC in synganic bottled nutes vs EC in organic soils and amendments. Happy Growing 🙂
Recharge the Fourth Macronutrient
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Best thing to do would be test soil before planting it or after first thorough watering to get a baseline.
Good thoughts, I’ll be getting a couple of bags soon to up pot and I will try it then. A baseline on anything is good idea. Happy Growing 🙂
My feed mix going in is .4 EC or 300ppm
What is this “feed mix” you’re feeding? Have you tested your water without ANYTHING added? I have to use a RO system because my well water is extremely high in sodium, right out of the ground. If your water is high in sodium, that will lead to an issue. In true organic growing, you don’t test runoff – it won’t tell you ANYTYHING useful because you’re not feeding salts; which you correctly stated uses mineral salts to calculate EC and PPM. As JustCoolin suggested, you really need a soil test done – you need a Mehlich III test AND a Saturated paste test. The Mehlich II essentially tells you what the capacity of your battery is and the Saturated Paste test telly you what the amount of PLANT-AVAILABLE nutrients (at the moment of test is. In other words, Mehlich tells you what is in your soil in total (that has the potential of becoming (through microbial action) plant-available food; and the Saturated Paste tells you what’s already available to your plant. I prefer Logan Labs for my testing because they’re affordable and quick; however you need to pick one lab and stick with them because the same sample sent to 2 labs will return different results. What’s important is the consistency of their testing so sticking with ONE lab for all your soil and water testing provides consistent data that’s useful. You’ll want a water suitability test and I actually request that my soil testing be performed with part of my water sample – this will tell you what happens when YOUR water and YOUR soil come together.
Sodium can and IS found in all sorts of soil components. Coco CAN have high levels of sodium if it wasn’t washed enough. Compost that’s created with water that’s high in sodium can create elevated sodium levels in the soil. Anything coming from a costal region CAN get contaminated with sodium in several ways. Your mix is called, “Coast of Maine,” after all. I’m NOT saying there’s something wrong with their soil – they have a pretty good reputation – I’m just pointing out potentials sources of sodium in your soil and runoff, ASSUMING you’re not feeding a salt-based nutrient.
The migration from hydro or growing with bottled/salt-based nutrients to real “organic” growing can be confusing because it requires you to ditch MOST of what you know – it’s the polar opposite of your old grow style. The carrying over of practices can, and will, cause you untold frustration. You need to wrap your head around learning and entirely new and foreign style of growing. Now, if you want to apply salt-based nutrition to soil, you need to research “Synganics;” which is a half-way point with more similarity to synthetic growing than actual organics. Synganics requires an understanding of BOTH styles and when to know which methodology to your approach. This is more confusing and complicated, to me, than straight-up organics. With true organic methods MOST of the work is done PRIOR to your starting a grow – you mix up or buy your final soil mix (I think using a water-only soil making kit from BuildASoil.com or KISOrganics.com is, generally, an easier and better method that supplies you with a superior and more problem free soil than buying bagged soil) and then you test it at a lab like I mentioned. The results tell you about your soil and whether it’s unbalanced or needs additional amendments to be capable of carrying your plant through the cycle. If you’re new or don’t have strong grasp on what makes up a nutrient rich and balanced soil, a $50 analysis by a soil consultant, like @soil_doctor on Instagram, is worth its weight in gold! They can help you make the final tweaks that will almost certainly give you a problem free run with nothing more than water (done properly) and an occasional top-dress that they’ll advise you in terms of ‘WHAT and ‘WHEN’ to apply it. This may should like a lot of work but it really isn’t; and when you compare it to all the time you’d otherwise spend testing runoff and mixing and testing and applying various liquid feeds in a typical synthetic grow system, it’s actually a huge time saver that has far less hassles and produces a higher quality flower. Do the work up front and the grow cycle is pretty much on autopilot – just feed your microbes and let THEM worry about your cannabis plants. Also, the cost of some soil testing and organic amendments is almost always cheaper than the cost of a full run of bottled nutrients. Once you learn, you’ll be able to understand your soil reports and a consultant won’t be as necessary – a future savings.
I hope this lengthy reply isn’t too overwhelming and that it helps you. There are some great resources to learn more about organic growing – lots of books and I REALLY recommend there YouTube podcast, “Embracing Organics.” I can give you other recommendations if you want. Also, Kis Organics’ podcast, “Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast” is an essential series that’ll catapult your organic growing ability WAY forward. Hit me up on IG (@dtom420) for a list of other learning resources. Finally, @rust.brandon on Instagram is an incredible teacher of organic growing – he provides basic info as well as very advanced, science-based information in a way that most people can understand. You really need to focus on people who’s expertise and passion is actual organic growing so that you don’t get mixed messages from other methodologies. The better your teacher, the shallower your learning curve!
Best of luck with your grow!
@dtom420
Thanks DTOM420, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer, I ask for a tutorial and I got one. Excellently written and informative, that’s why I love the DGC.
Over the years the people and podcast that I listen to have changed as my skills and interest(s). Now that I have a good foundation, I listen to shows like Future Cannabis Project and KIS Organics but haven’t caught Embracing Organics yet but I will. Thanks, I have a lot to learning to do based upon your reply. You should repost as an article.
Today, I noticed that all my Lemon Sunrise plants are showing some Magnesium deficiency and all other cultivars are good. I am thinking calcium is locking out some magnesium, possibly too much Calcium from the CoM soil. I am going to wait and watch a couple of days. I will probably add magnesium sulfate if it continues barring a better organic amendment recommendation.
Thanks again, Happy Growing 🙂
Recharge the Fourth Macronutrient
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