Reverend Budbreath
10-11-2006, 01:01 AM
Hi all, sorry I haven't posted in so long...
Sad to say it, but I have decided I've had it with soil for now. I have put in over two years trying to, if not "master", get really competent at organic soil. It isn't showing a lot of dividends. In fact I'm losing my ass. Lately, I have had problem after mysterious problem, and as you guys know, problems in soil are usually impossible to diagnose most of the time. You can't pin it down to a certain factor. At least, I can't. Magnesium deficiencies (or a lookalike---who can tell?!) when there is plenty of Mg present, some pots using hardly any water in a watering cycle and throwing things off (I refuse to wreck my back bending over to feel the weight of every last one of 40+ pots), pH mysteries, nutrition mysteries... plants throwing out bananas at only 45 days of flowering from some unknown stress... amending/remixing soil... having to dispose of large amounts of soil... fungus gnats... I've had it. I'm done.
I've concluded that the reality of this universe is that in actual fact, only some slim margin of the all who grow are really meant to excel at soil. They are the select few who just have "that thing" that allows them to kick ass consistently. I think it's more than knowledge and experience. There's something else involved that's metaphysical.
And I ain't got it.
I have magic in other areas, and I have come to accept that it's okay that I don't have it this particular area, as badly as I wanted it. I was trying to do right by the earth, be "green" and use only organics, and that was a noble enough reason to do it, but it's not working out. Yeah the herb is very clean when it is harvested---that's IF it is harvested. Every time, I never know if I'm going to make it to the end without a disaster. And that NEVER happened with hydro (I started on hydro 20 years ago). Plus my yields are just horrible, and I'm VERY tired of that.
I also realize that I might still have "the touch" when it comes to outdoor gardening with far less picky plants, which I haven't done much of. Maybe that will go better. But with cannabis indoors, in soil, my chops suck, despite over two years of study. It's getting too expensive to have problems every time.
I thank all of you soil expert folks who taught and inspired me... I know some of those lessons will still pay off somewhere down the road. But for now, I'm going back to the 'dro. I hope you can dig it.
Sad to say it, but I have decided I've had it with soil for now. I have put in over two years trying to, if not "master", get really competent at organic soil. It isn't showing a lot of dividends. In fact I'm losing my ass. Lately, I have had problem after mysterious problem, and as you guys know, problems in soil are usually impossible to diagnose most of the time. You can't pin it down to a certain factor. At least, I can't. Magnesium deficiencies (or a lookalike---who can tell?!) when there is plenty of Mg present, some pots using hardly any water in a watering cycle and throwing things off (I refuse to wreck my back bending over to feel the weight of every last one of 40+ pots), pH mysteries, nutrition mysteries... plants throwing out bananas at only 45 days of flowering from some unknown stress... amending/remixing soil... having to dispose of large amounts of soil... fungus gnats... I've had it. I'm done.
I've concluded that the reality of this universe is that in actual fact, only some slim margin of the all who grow are really meant to excel at soil. They are the select few who just have "that thing" that allows them to kick ass consistently. I think it's more than knowledge and experience. There's something else involved that's metaphysical.
And I ain't got it.
I have magic in other areas, and I have come to accept that it's okay that I don't have it this particular area, as badly as I wanted it. I was trying to do right by the earth, be "green" and use only organics, and that was a noble enough reason to do it, but it's not working out. Yeah the herb is very clean when it is harvested---that's IF it is harvested. Every time, I never know if I'm going to make it to the end without a disaster. And that NEVER happened with hydro (I started on hydro 20 years ago). Plus my yields are just horrible, and I'm VERY tired of that.
I also realize that I might still have "the touch" when it comes to outdoor gardening with far less picky plants, which I haven't done much of. Maybe that will go better. But with cannabis indoors, in soil, my chops suck, despite over two years of study. It's getting too expensive to have problems every time.
I thank all of you soil expert folks who taught and inspired me... I know some of those lessons will still pay off somewhere down the road. But for now, I'm going back to the 'dro. I hope you can dig it.