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psycho_nauticus
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Dry bulk substrate
#26578125 - 04/04/20 09:15 PM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
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Hey guys, I just spawned a shoebox today and I squeezed each handful to field capacity, but I'm hoping I didn't go overboard and take out too much water or moisture. It is better to be on the drier side than wet correct? Or if it turns out too dry during this sub colonization are there are signs during this sub colonization I should look out for? Anything I can do?
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Myc097
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You should be fine I just leave my lids clipped down/on. You’ll be able to tell from the color of the sub. Wet is darker. If it starts to dry out just mist the sides. If you wait until the first flush is done you can just bottom water the cake.
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Dry bulk substrate [Re: Myc097]
#26578979 - 04/05/20 08:48 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
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Also whenever I spawned I put a little left over of my bulk substrate sprinkled on top as a tiny top layer. Some grains are still exposed I see, I guess I missed those and didn't catch them, is that going to be a big deal? Some people leave their grains exposed anyways and never put any layer on top right?
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Dry bulk substrate [Re: Myc097]
#26579750 - 04/05/20 03:18 PM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
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It's not a PF cake. It's a shoebox, and I also used a liner, so I'm not sure if that's even possible.
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Odo
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I only have a few bulk grows under my belt (since January 2020) but my latest one was, I think, too dry to start. From what I have read, dryer is better than wetter... also that one of the biggest mistakes noobs like me can make is misting too much. That being said my latest tub was "squeeze the fuck out of a handful and only get one or two scant drops" field capacity. This tub, unlike the others did not have any vermiculite in it - only straight coir. It also was quite a bit bigger (90 quart and 30" x 19"). More surface area means more evaporation, so kept the lid tighter than I had in the past but still allowing FAE. The surface got the beads of moisture like it is supposed to and the surface did not seem overly dry except in one corner mainly. This tub started pinning in 9 or 10 days like the others but it was not nearly as thick. I thought since was the third g2g transfer, that maybe the myceliun had gotten weaker.

I had been misting lightly once or twice a day after it pinned. Most of the fruits were only 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 inches when they started to open (about half what I'm used to on a first flush). So yesterday when I started harvesting some of the fruits it was very obviously dry below the surface. I decided to bottom water and the substrate soaked up every bit of well over a pint of water like a sponge, like really fucking fast, just a couple minutes. I didn't want to over water so I took it slow and easy. There was no standing water in the bottom of the tub. Fast forward about 12 hours and this is how the tub looks:

They look much happier! Still kind of short but a little taller and definitely fatter.
Okay, so to make a long story even longer, and finally answer the OP's question... I think a little wetter sub at the start would be fine, like a series of drips, not just one or two. I will also go back to putting some verm in,at least until I gain some more experience. The OP's shoe box presumably would tend to dry out quicker, so the advice to keep it shut to start makes sense. I must be doing something right since I got around 16 oz dry out of a 7-flush 54 qt (still going - started 01/29), a 2-flush pair of 32's and it all started with a 12' x 12" casserole dish that I just retired. I obviously have a lifetime supply. It's just too fun to stop! I'm going to try edibles next.
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A.k.a
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Re: Dry bulk substrate [Re: Odo]
#26581276 - 04/06/20 09:17 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
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I’ve had problems keeping conditions up on too dry tubs.
I think that if it is looking too dry bottom watering like he jsut said is the way to fix it.
I was never able to fix a sub just from misting more.
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LAGM2020     
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MLPismyOPSEC
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Re: Dry bulk substrate [Re: A.k.a]
#26581404 - 04/06/20 10:32 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
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"Field capacity" is too general of a term. Going from your other thread you said you followed Damion's coir tek, right? Personally that's far too wet, like almost twice as much water as you need. Use 2.25 L water for a brick of coir.
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psycho_nauticus
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Re: Dry bulk substrate [Re: A.k.a]
#26583386 - 04/07/20 07:34 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
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What are some signs that my substrate will have that will indicate to me that I need to bottom water? And what is bottom watering and how is it done?
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Sockadin



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Wait. Now I need help,are you guys saying that you squeeze each handful of coir before adding it to your tubs? This is not how I have ever spawned coir substrate. This might be why your running into dryer tubs issues if I'm understanding correctly op.
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A.k.a
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Re: Dry bulk substrate [Re: Sockadin]
#26583470 - 04/07/20 08:45 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
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If I’m doing a ton of tubs I’ll mix the coir then grab a couple random handfuls to test squeeze before using it, but making only a couple, especially if I’m doing different varieties that like wetter coir I’ll make the whole batch over hydrated and squeeze it to where I need it each handful.
Since he’s been worried about why shits not growing I told him squeezing each handful as you go will make sure it’s good.
Lol it’s only like four handfuls a shoebox but god damn did my hand hurt when I did each handful for 8 of them. Never again.
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LAGM2020     
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Sockadin



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Re: Dry bulk substrate [Re: A.k.a]
#26583484 - 04/07/20 08:53 AM (3 years, 9 months ago) |
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Wow I have never heard of that. Cool, but not something I would try. It was my understanding when you do your coir prep after it cools grab a handful from the bottom and if it squeezes a running stream to up the Vermiculite to soak up some of the excess water.
I really guess the joy of cultivation is learning how to eyeball stuff like field capacity.
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Odo
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Quote:
psycho_nauticus said: What are some signs that my substrate will have that will indicate to me that I need to bottom water? And what is bottom watering and how is it done?
In my situation, and with only a couple tubs under my belt, I just noticed that it seemed too dry as I was picking some very stunted fruits. What I did was get a water bottle and tilt it up against the side and pour a little out (maybe 2 oz) at a time along the whole front side. It got sucked up like a sponge. I tilted the tub towards me and there was no water up against the plastic. I did it again along all sides a few times until it took more time for the water to get sucked up. The next morning I tilted it again and saw no water, so I watered a little more. My goal was to just get the substrate to be moist but not overly wet. Since doing that and harvesting about half of the fruits over a day and a half, it seems to be kind of stalled. Could be I watered to much or could be that pins tend to abort if you only pick part of a flush, or a combination. I will see tomorrow if any more have started to open. Oh, I'm not sure how big your shoe boxes are, but my tub is very large, so you will need significantly less water. Just pour down the one side and see if it gets sucked up like a sponge or not. Try experimenting; one gets a little more water and one a little less - and don't be like me. Keep track of which is which!
On my other tubs I had left a little standing water (like very little!) in the bottom in subsequent flushes to rehydrate and mist a little to keep the surface damp. I don't know if this is standard protocol but it has worked for me. In a day or so the water in the bottom will get sucked up or evaporate. I don't do that very often; probably only once per flush cycle.
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