If this is to be believed, it’s going to be a rather wet affair 
Temperatures are getting more pleasant
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It’s still hot here in the South
Now she enjoys her existence, and no deficiency or discomfort is visible in her.
I was tempted today to turn up the dimmers to 60%. The only thing I did was adjust the lamp distance back to 43 cm, and I’m still staying at 50%.
Because what’s coming now, I believe, you can’t really estimate from the picture. Meanwhile, the Mexican has fan leaves as big as my own head
Seriously, seeing that live is pure joy.
It’s a bit scary where this will end if it continues like this - she and the Sour Diesel will become brutally huge, fat, and big.
A magnificent specimen! Well-fed. Today Day 36, Growth Day 10. If you look from above, you can no longer see the pot underneath, and that’s a 20-liter pot.
I’ll leave the fan leaves for now, because the shoots underneath are also coming up without help. The Mexican has developed splendidly. That makes growing fun.
And the Sour Diesel, the same age, is fully keeping up. 
Hmm, if I look closer, she’s even more brutal than the Mexican.
She’s in a 25-liter fabric pot from Royal Q. Seeds.
Beautiful, there’s still a lot of space, in height as well as in width.
The start was bumpy but the development now; pure joy!
Things are also booming on the balcony. The strawberries in the 40-liter pot are simply huge.
Two tomato plants that I thought were dead will be repotted soon.
They are also coming along now.
The yeast mixture has also been fermenting for 2 hours now, which I will then mix into the watering water for the tomatoes.
I will then also prepare a nettle ferment. I really made my fingers sting today doing that.
Have a nice day and enjoy the weather, soon it’s storm time.
Greetings from Pflanzenpaule
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Oh, what a lovely little storm we had yesterday. It just passed away too quickly for me.
I greet everyone reading here and hope you have a nice day.
Mine already started off great. My wife apparently had a bit too much Jamaican in the last few days because it wasn’t really hitting her. So, with the last one this morning, I thought, one more puff and then another. That gave a wonderful impact, and my better half suddenly felt something more again. 
I really needed this awesome start to the day.
The water tank and all the work it creates is really getting to me right now. I hadn’t imagined it like this, because then manual watering would almost be faster and easier.
The Bio Bizz PH - is simply a very unstable pH story. Might Never Ending Story!
Due to the microlife in the soil, I wanted to stay organic when lowering the pH. It’s very difficult for me as the mentioned product consists of citric acid.
Now I have to check the pH every day because it reaches its initial value of pH 8 again within 24 hours. That’s too high for me and not good for the Living Soil in the long run. The ideal would be 6.5, but since the organisms in the rhizosphere shouldn’t get tired, I keep it around pH 6.8 - 7. They should still do a little buffering.
Why does the pH value rise so rapidly?
Citric acid is biodegradable: BioBizz pH- is based on citric acid. Bacteria and microorganisms in the water (and they live everywhere) love this acid – but as food. They simply eat up the citric acid. As soon as the acid is broken down, the pH value rises back to its initial level.
Then there’s also;
CO2 outgassing Because I move the water in the tank using an air stone, dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) outgasses. Since CO2 acts as a weak acid (carbonic acid) in water, outgassing automatically leads to a significant pH increase.
So today I took out the air stone and put a very small circulation pump in the bottom. I hope that’s better then. In the morning, the pH was regulated down to 6.9 again, and at 3 PM, a few hours later, it was back at 7.2! That’s still OK. Nevertheless, a small addition to the citric acid at 3 PM was 15 ml of EM active, which also lowers the pH. Perhaps it will be a bit more stable now, and I’ll see that tomorrow morning.
Because there’s also;
The buffering capacity of tap water: By mixing osmosis water with tap water, I have carbonate hardness (KH) in the tank. This acts as a natural buffer that tries to push the pH value back into its alkaline original range. And it does that constantly and a bit too quickly for me. Despite this, I’ll stick with organic lowerers for now, but now in the presence of Effective Microorganisms. Hoping to stabilize it a bit that way. These organic compounds buffer the water more gently than pure citric acid and are less prone to extreme jumps. I’ll have to observe this over the next few days. The good thing about Living Soil is that even a pH of 7 - 7.5 can still be buffered very well.
The next water filling into the tank will also be mixed 2 days beforehand and allowed to naturally outgas for 2 days to first reach the natural maximum pH value, and only then will I lower it.
Now with the circulation pump, I also have much less movement, and it’s awesome with the hooks, no matter how much water is in the tank. I can always hang the pH pen nicely in there at all heights.
Should this remain very unstable even with EM active, I will have to bring in other weapons for pH reduction. Then the mineral option would be phosphoric acid and/or nitric acid!
Even if it sounds contradictory for an organic grow (cultivation) at first: Many Living Soil growers use mineral pH lowerers for regulation in the water tank (e.g., phosphoric acid for flowering or nitric acid for growth).
Advantage:
These acids are not broken down by microorganisms. The pH value remains stable for days.
Effect on Living Soil:
In the small amounts required for adjustment, they absolutely do not harm the soil life. They merely decompose into tiny amounts of phosphate or nitrate, which are used by the plants as nutrients.
So I’ll remain flexible and await what comes or not. I’ll see how it must happen. But for now, I’m still far from the idea of just turning on the tap and letting it run. I close it in the evening, and in the morning, before the tap opens, it’s checked and adjusted. The warm weather is also currently leading to water temperatures of 24 / 25 degrees. I’ll throw in two cooling packs and wait until it’s 19 - 21 degrees.
The Ladies;
The 3 photoperiod plants continue to develop splendidly. But somehow, I have the feeling they’re only growing in width, not in height. I think my impatience is taking me on a rollercoaster ride here. It’s only Growth Day 12 today!
The 2 Autos;
Growth Day 14 today, they seem very puny compared to the others. Also a bit pale on the leaves, both show some calcium deficiency. They are in new Dope Lite Erde. The result so far is quite sad when you compare them to the other three. Maybe they had too little water! That should get better now with the automatic watering. Just in case, I added 5 gr. Dolomite lime and 5 gr. rock dust to both in the past few days, and today 2 teaspoons each of solid fertilizer with fungus and CO KG and a little deficiency remover on top. The Amnesia Skittlez has at least grown a good amount of roots out of the bottom of the fabric pot, which appear nicely white. Tomorrow I will take new photos again. Now, from Monday, the temperatures will be significantly milder, so yesterday I directly ordered predatory mites and nematodes to send an army of pest killers on patrol again next week.
Paule wishes you a nice Saturday evening and Stay High
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Here’s a small update from the big tent
and in the small one, all pistils should now be fertilized. Wishing everyone a nice evening
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Busy busy, @herr_gruen
I’ll keep it short early in the day because I’m about to take advantage of the mild weather with Gizmo.
Yesterday late afternoon, I turned off the tank and managed to get the pH a bit more stable by lowering it with Bio Bizz PH - (citric acid based) and a small addition of active EM. The pH was still around 7.2 in the morning, which is still tolerable for Living Soil.
However, with a small dose of active EM and living bacteria from the soil conditioner, I quickly brought the pH back to 6.8, and today without PH - .
The tap is open, and the ladies can feast on water throughout the day.
Due to the massive leaf structure and the external humidity conditions.
In the room, it was already 63% last night, and now the air is very humid.
For the autos, which are in stretch, I lowered the humidity to 59%, with it continuing to drop in the coming days. This is good. For the bigger ones, I switched on the dehumidifier last night, and that’s good now too.
I need to measure all of them later for height and take new pictures.
Online, I found a more stable pH - based on phosphoric acid, which is suitable for growth and flowering and also compatible with soil organisms.
Xpert Nutrients pH Down 250 ML, I ordered this because it’s supposed to keep the pH stable for 3 - 7 days, even with hard water.
I wish you a happy Sunday
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i take it ya’ll dont know de excitement of waking up to thundering rain clouds at 2 in da mornin and scrambeling to run all de plants to safety before dey get drenched 
or da I cant go on vacation or even to da store cuz I gotta watch my plants scenario B. Forget about a casual date at a restaurant if I see rain clouds I am legging it !
Hopefully I can find a date dat just likes to watch plants grow 
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Indoors there are no problems, it only rains if you hold the watering can too high 
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I like your idea with the hooks, I have a big box of them and will no longer be holding my ph meter when the tank is low. Thanks.
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So the first part is done.
Today, grey is next.
Water tank refill, because the first 45 l are gone.
Also, defoliation and some LST must follow this week.
The Sour Diesel, growth day 13 on Sunday.
The Mexican Sativa
The stalks are vital and strong.
Kalini Asia, growth day 13, yet 8 days younger overall.
And the nettle ferment continues to brew.
It doesn’t stink at all and smells deliciously sour as it should.
The two autos are only level in height with the bushes.
In terms of volume, they are far behind.
And that in a new Dope Lite ready mix.
Today I will add some dolomite lime, rock dust, and some solid fertilizer again.
I have adjusted something and set it so that the VPD is no longer determined from the ambient temp and relative humidity, but from minus 2 degrees of the leaf temperature.
Before, the VPD was too low.
That probably didn’t bother the big one..
I wish you a nice day.
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@Pflanzenpaul A little tip for nettle slurry: if you add a handful of rock dust, it will largely neutralize the smell. I let my container ferment in the garden, it’s welcome to stink. Just watered the herbs and strawberries with it again,
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If anyone else here still has problems with ants in the garden, a wormwood slurry helps
1 kilogram of wormwood (not flowering) to 10 liters of water, let it ferment loosely covered for 2 - 3 weeks, stir once daily. When it stops forming bubbles, the concoction is ready.
Now it’s time to search, collect, and prepare the slurry.
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Listen, with nettle slurry, I know how that concoction stinks.
This time I did it a bit differently. Not as a slurry in that sense, but as a ferment. And I must say, it’s really kicking off and running as it should.
Until today, I opened the bucket briefly 1-2 times daily and stirred it. Then I just lightly placed the lid back on so gases could escape.
This is how it looks now after a few hours of “not” stirring. And after a few days. Day 4 today!
This is exactly how it should be!
I seem to have achieved an absolute textbook fermentation here.
What you can see in the picture and what I can smell (sourish) is confirmation that my microbe army of LAB, EM, and yeast is doing exactly what it’s supposed to.
Just stirred well again, I’m now just leaving it covered so my little army can finish their work undisturbed.
The white layer is not mold, but a so-called “Kahmhaut” (pellicle), also known as a yeast or bacterial film. It typically forms on the surface of “acidic, low-oxygen fermentation processes” like Bokashi, sauerkraut, or EM ferments. The fine, wrinkled pattern is an absolutely healthy sign that the yeasts and lactic acid bacteria are rapidly multiplying.
And after stirring, you can wonderfully see how the plant fibers are broken down and the water takes on a strong, nutrient-rich color. The small white flakes floating on top after stirring are simply the divided remnants of the pellicle – completely harmless and great for the soil.
And since it already smells quite sourish, that is the most important quality feature of all. It shows that the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are diligently producing lactic acid and have successfully lowered the pH value.
Why this is good:
This acidic environment protects my ferment. Putrefactive bacteria or pathogenic germs (which would be responsible for the typical beastly slurry stench) have absolutely no chance of survival in this acidic range. My concoction practically “preserves” itself while breaking down the nutrients.
Believe me, this is much more pleasant than the slurry funk.
When this is soon ready, I will strain it off and then the pomace, so to speak, will be spread on the tomato soil on the mulch, and the ferment will be diluted 1 to 10 or 1 to 20 into the soil. The few liters will be enough for the ladies and the strawberries as well as tomatoes.
Above all, the lactic acid bacteria, the yeast, everything goes into the soil.
Should provide a decent boost.
I also wanted to add horsetail and comfrey. Especially the horsetail would have released plenty of silicon.
But I couldn’t find any. However, I’m always keeping an eye out because this wasn’t the first or last ferment.
For now, ground elder, nettle, fenugreek, and banana peel should suffice.
Meanwhile, the tank is filled with fresh 30 liters of water. PH 6.9, PPM 211, and an EC of 0.4 or 422 : 1000.
In the bathroom, I’ve already taped off one wall and now I have to drive my daughter so she can pick up her car.
I’m letting the ladies go thirsty today and will only turn the tap back on tomorrow.
Today I saw that the Kalini Asia is showing good roots at the bottom of the fabric pot, and Torti the Wedding Cake is now too.
The 2 Auto in the Dope Lite are stretching and growing well now, but everything is still mostly in the deficiency range.
What kind of crap did this guy sell again. No wonder the nickname “the most hated.”
Today, 10 gr. of solid fertilizer was applied to each pot. Not much, to avoid over-fertilizing in the end. A little potash (potassium carbonate), a little magnesium sulfate, but only thinly with 1 gr. each.
Another 3 gr. each of dolomite lime, rock dust, and rock phosphate.
Now it remains to be seen if it improves somewhat or if they burn.
It can’t be from the water, because the other three are thriving and enjoying the wellness.
Well, autoflowers are always a bit strange in my opinion.
I think the Bubble Gum also had a strange course.
I’m currently smoking some of that, here and there. Well, they were fed with Bio Bizz and also had a rough start.
But now dried and cured, the buds don’t just look awesome. They’re sticky, it tastes good and hits hard. Flawless.
Now I have to go again, right into the thunderstorm.
Greetings and good luck with the ant hunt.
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There are already some good plants to make teas, liquid manures, or cold water extracts. I have a big list of recipes for watering or against almost all pests and fungi. I even have something against voles and moles. Comfrey and horsetail are abundant here, I just haven’t found mugwort yet, but that will come. For now, I’m keeping the aphids away with nettle liquid manure, and the ants will get their magic potion too.
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Much to catch up on
The move is pretty much done.
I’ll report back in a few days.
Everything still hurts, my hands are cut open and I’m bruised and battered everywhere 
But. 1 day, 4 trips.. everything’s done.
Two nights here and this strange cough, which has been with me since November 25, is only there now and then. Strange.
No more throwing up in the mornings. Strange.
But the
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Given the housing shortage, it’s no wonder something like that doesn’t stay vacant for long. Nice that you’ve got everything behind you. I’m really curious how your plants are doing after the move.
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