OCD 2017!!!

stickman · May 3, 2017

OCD Chilehead said:
No problem Rick. I'm going to get the plastic down and try some runs without the plants in the house. Then I know much ventilation I need.

I just found some not so good news. I was looking at the state extension on lowering ph. They said it is nearly impossible to lower my ph because of the free lime content. I guess I just need to work on the mounds. If you get a chance, maybe you can look at what they are saying, and let me know what you think. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/gardennotes/222.pdf

From what I read in the link you included, they were saying it was impractical to try to lower the pH if there was too much free lime, not impossible. Anyway, they're talking to the large-scale farmer who plants in acres not the garden hobbyist who only plants a few hundred square feet.

I'd say the first things to do are to...

(1)Test for free lime with vinegar... Your options will stem from the results of the test.

(2) Build a raised bed filled with lots of compost on top of your existing soil and use the solar mulch on top of that. Your plants get most of their nutrition from the top six inches of soil, and It'll gradually acidify the soil beneath while helping retain water.

(3) Use acidifying Nitrogen sources... things like Ammonium Sulfate or the Holly Tone organic fertilizer, but only in the amounts recommended for the proper Nitrogen levels for your soil. Creating another imbalance while treating the first would only make matters worse. I get that you've dropped a big bag of cash into building your hoophouse, and you already have the Garden Tone fertilizer on hand for this year. You should use it up first, and replace it with the acidifying stuff then.

(4) Keep an eye out for signs of Iron chlorosis in your plants.

It'll take time to whittle down the excess Cations in your soil, but it can be done in your lifetime.

OCD Chilehead · May 3, 2017

stickman said:
From what I read in the link you included, they were saying it was impractical to try to lower the pH if there was too much free lime, not impossible. Anyway, they're talking to the large-scale farmer who plants in acres not the garden hobbyist who only plants a few hundred square feet.

I'd say the first things to do are to...

(1)Test for free lime with vinegar... Your options will stem from the results of the test.

(2) Build a raised bed filled with lots of compost on top of your existing soil and use the solar mulch on top of that. Your plants get most of their nutrition from the top six inches of soil, and It'll gradually acidify the soil beneath while helping retain water.

(3) Use acidifying Nitrogen sources... things like Ammonium Sulfate or the Holly Tone organic fertilizer, but only in the amounts recommended for the proper Nitrogen levels for your soil. Creating another imbalance while treating the first would only make matters worse. I get that you've dropped a big bag of cash into building your hoophouse, and you already have the Garden Tone fertilizer on hand for this year. You should use it up first, and replace it with the acidifying stuff then.

(4) Keep an eye out for signs of Iron chlorosis in your plants.

It'll take time to whittle down the excess Cations in your soil, but it can be done in your lifetime.

Thanks Rick. I didn't think about that. I'll try the vinegar test. My results from the soil test says lime is very high. Greater than 5%. I'll take your advise and chip away at it. Time should do it.

Thank you again for taking a look at it.

stickman · May 3, 2017

I was thinking that the addition of Humates to the soil in your raised bed garden would also be of benefit to you. Check this out from the University of New Mexico.
http://www.humate.com/how-humate-works/

An organic source of Humates is crushed Leonardite shale, which can be mixed with the other ferts before spreading, or liquid extract, which can be added to other liquid nutes and watered in or sprayed.
https://leonarditefertilizer.wordpress.com/

From my own experience, I used Black Diamond humate extract added to the other liquid nutes that I fed my seedlings this spring and I think it helped with developing strong roots and really robust plants.

OCD Chilehead · May 6, 2017

stickman said:
I was thinking that the addition of Humates to the soil in your raised bed garden would also be of benefit to you. Check this out from the University of New Mexico.
http://www.humate.com/how-humate-works/

An organic source of Humates is crushed Leonardite shale, which can be mixed with the other ferts before spreading, or liquid extract, which can be added to other liquid nutes and watered in or sprayed.
https://leonarditefertilizer.wordpress.com/

From my own experience, I used Black Diamond humate extract added to the other liquid nutes that I fed my seedlings this spring and I think it helped with developing strong roots and really robust plants.

Just got a chance to read the links you sent. I never realized there are so many benifits to using Humate. I may stop in the local hydro store and see what goodies they may have. Black Diamond you say.

I've had a stomach bug since Wednesday. Feeling better today. Will get some work done this weekend.

Thanks again for your contribution to my growing skills.

stickman · May 6, 2017

OCD Chilehead said:
Just got a chance to read the links you sent. I never realized there are so many benifits to using Humate. I may stop in the local hydro store and see what goodies they may have. Black Diamond you say.

I've had a stomach bug since Wednesday. Feeling better today. Will get some work done this weekend.

Thanks again for your contribution to my growing skills.

Yup... Black Diamond is a General Organics product, and there must be cheaper alternatives out there.

Hope you're feeling better. [emoji2]

Sent from my LGL44VL using Tapatalk

OCD Chilehead · May 6, 2017

stickman said:
Yup... Black Diamond is a General Organics product, and there must be cheaper alternatives out there.

Hope you're feeling better. [emoji2]

Sent from my LGL44VL using Tapatalk

Thanks Rick!

moruga welder · May 6, 2017

If I may Chuck , horse poo , lots of it good aged poo , its cheap to free if you look around , also good old pine needles and ash , works great for me . just a thought ,

hope your feeling better my friend , :party:

OCD Chilehead · May 6, 2017

moruga welder said:
If I may Chuck , horse poo , lots of it good aged poo , its cheap to free if you look around , also good old pine needles and ash , works great for me . just a thought ,

hope your feeling better my friend ,

Thanks Frank.

That is what I added to the clay last year. Composted horse manure. I know a guy who has around 16 Alpacas. He said he would load my trailer with a couple yards. I've heard good things about that stuff. I think you can use it right away. Supposedly no seed will grow after passing through 3 stomachs. I would compost it of coarse. I think it would be a good soil conditioner.

Devv · May 6, 2017

Good info Rick! Humates are very interesting.

I've used horse manure in the past. I used to take the tractor to a co-workers place and clean his pens. I'd then let it get hot to attempt to kill the weed seeds. He moved so that option is now gone. Any manure that you age will probably contain some viable weed seeds; it's part of the program.

As for using it right away, it needs to get hot/composted to be safe to use, burn wise. And believe it or not horses have just one stomach, they're also prone to digestive issues. Cows, goats deer and the like have 4 part stomachs.

Edit: I had a call come in...

I wanted to mention, all the re-chipped mulch I've added is a long range type thing. Really good for the dirt I know. But I feel it's created nutrient uptake issues, as the mulch uses quite a bit a what's there already to break down. I know the rewards are forth coming. But now I know for sure my soil is not as good as it was (growing wise) 3 years ago. Although I know it will come back 10 fold (it better)

OCD Chilehead · May 6, 2017

Devv said:
Good info Rick! Humates are very interesting.

I've used horse manure in the past. I used to take the tractor to a co-workers place and clean his pens. I'd then let it get hot to attempt to kill the weed seeds. He moved so that option is now gone. Any manure that you age will probably contain some viable weed seeds; it's part of the program. As for using it right away, it needs to get hot/composted to be safe to use, burn wise. And believe it or not horses have just one stomach, they're also prone to digestive issues. Cows, goats deer and the like have 4 part stomachs.

Edit: I had a call come in...

I wanted to mention, all the re-chipped mulch I've added is a long range type thing. Really good for the dirt I know. But I feel it's created nutrient uptake issues, as the mulch uses quite a bit a what's there already to break down. I know the rewards are forth coming. But now I know for sure my soil is not as good as it was (growing wise) 3 years ago. Although I know it will come back 10 fold (it better)

Thanks for the info Scott.

I added composted wood chips last year. This year just compost. I think, I'll do what I did last year. I shoveled a small hole and replaced the dirt with my potting mix. It's like a pot up, in the ground. The roots seems to take off and then spread to the garden soil. A tip, I got from Justin White. He has clay soil as well.

OCD Chilehead · May 6, 2017

Here is the plants. I brought them outside last night and left them out all day. They seem to do well. It was a cloudy day though. I think my intense led's helped the transition, better than the fluorescent. No real data just observation.

I just moved into the shade covered hoop house tonight. No doors yet, but they will do fine. It feels like hail. I'm prepared this year. LOL! Hail No!

Devv · May 7, 2017

Very, very impressive Chuck!

I'm sorry I can't call that a hoophouse. It's a greenhouse, and a nice one at that. You do realize this is going to create problems for me; because now I want one! Killer bud, simply killer.

And then the plants: just beautiful plants. Nailed it you did! A ton of work my friend! But the good kind; the kind where at the end of the day you're tired and sore. But you look out there and just smile.

It would take some serious hail to give you any issues. What percent is the shade cloth?

keep it green!

Superhot Sim · May 7, 2017

Plants looking superb Chuck and going to love life in their new home. Love the colours of the tiger mamp plants, foliage is stunning. Your nicely set up for a fruitful season. Looking forward to seeing all your plants loaded in pods.

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Guatemalan Insanity Pepper · May 7, 2017

everything is looking fantastic Chuck, WTG :metal:

randyp · May 8, 2017

Great job Chuck.Those plants look happy in their new stopover. :party:

tctenten · May 8, 2017

Really looks great Chuck. Nice work and the plants look great too.

stickman · May 8, 2017

Hoophouse is looking stellar Chuck! Is that nylon re-enforced plastic sheeting on top? Good idea to have shade cloth on top too while hardening off. Just need to run the dripline and hang the doors and you'll be ready to rock!

OCD Chilehead · May 8, 2017

Devv said:
Very, very impressive Chuck!

I'm sorry I can't call that a hoophouse. It's a greenhouse, and a nice one at that. You do realize this is going to create problems for me; because now I want one! Killer bud, simply killer.

And then the plants: just beautiful plants. Nailed it you did! A ton of work my friend! But the good kind; the kind where at the end of the day you're tired and sore. But you look out there and just smile.

It would take some serious hail to give you any issues. What percent is the shade cloth?

keep it green!

Thanks Scott. It's something I always wanted. I was going to buy a harbor freight greenhouse. I figured it wouldn't be big enough for me. I wanted something that would keep the night time temps up. My original plan was to just keep container plants in there, but I tilled the area and now it's a in ground set up. I wish I had room for another one half the size. I would use that as a seedling room and later container growing. We shall see after I get yard cleaned up. Still have a wood pile and need to rent a stump grinder before I can have usable ground for any structure.

I've accomplished many projects since I don't work 6-7 days a week or out of town. It does feel good. This job I have now is only 10min from home. Before it was like 2+ hours. I have more time after work to get stuff done. Then I can have some rest in the weekends.

I don't know the percentage of shade cloth. I may have to order some actual shade cloth. This stuff is from harbor freight. I'm going to see how they grow.

OCD Chilehead · May 8, 2017

Superhot Sim said:
Plants looking superb Chuck and going to love life in their new home. Love the colours of the tiger mamp plants, foliage is stunning. Your nicely set up for a fruitful season. Looking forward to seeing all your plants loaded in pods.

Sent from my VFD 900 using Tapatalk

Thanks Sim!

I hope they appreciate the hard work. LOL

The tiger mamp and other variants do look great. My favorite is the Galapagoense. I've only got one of them. I didn't realize they have a odor to them if you run the stems lightly. Like a tomatoe does. Very cool looking plant.

OCD Chilehead · May 8, 2017

Guatemalan Insanity Pepper said:
everything is looking fantastic Chuck, WTG

Thanks Gip!

randyp said:
Great job Chuck.Those plants look happy in their new stopover.

Thank you Randy! You Rock!

tctenten said:
Really looks great Chuck. Nice work and the plants look great too.

Thanks Terry! Appreciate that.

OCD 2017!!!

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