SoilBible · Episodes · Ep 010

Ep 010: Final Transplant into the 10x10 Beds

· Jeremy executes the big final transplant from one-gallon pots into the 3x3 beds, the two Earth Boxes, and a second bed, moving all nine confirmed females plus one 'maybe' into their forever homes. He mixes a drench recipe (Build A Soil Saponaria wetting agent + Rootwise Microbe Complete + Rootwise Elixir enzymes in warm filtered water), demonstrates Earth Box assembly with a fresh 3.0 mix, walks through hole-cutting the plastic mulch cover, and transplants the cultivars (Branson's Royal Revenge and Halitosis) while removing lowers, mulching with straw, and top-dressing with Kashi blend. He also harvests overgrown lettuce from quadrant four and thins it for regrowth.

Topics

transplant drench recipe using saponaria + Rootwise microbes + enzymes · Earth Box assembly and no-till modifications · cutting plastic mulch cover to transplant through · side-by-side recipe comparison across containers · soil sample for lab analysis from Take and Bake · female selection with one 'maybe' gamble · lower leaf defoliation and pre-pruning at transplant · top-dress with Kashi blend to start mulch layer · lettuce harvest and thinning for regrowth in quadrant four · quick veg turnaround toward early flower flip

Sections

0:00 — 2:00

Vegetable check and episode intro

Jeremy opens in the BuildASoil Family Farms greenhouse alongside an indoor 30-gallon lettuce container that mirrors quadrant four of the 10x10 tent. He explains that the greenhouse crew used a drill-powered greens harvester to cut and then hand-thinned the lettuce, and that today's episode is a big transplanting kickoff now that females have been identified. He previews the plan: set up a new Earth Box, transplant four plants per section, take a soil sample from the Take and Bake bed for the lab, and discuss each section before making changes.

  1. 1. Check on lettuce and kale in quadrant four of the 10x10
  2. 2. Compare against the 30-gallon greenhouse lettuce harvested with a drill-driven greens harvester
  3. 3. Plan to harvest and thin the tent lettuce so it regrows
  4. 4. Preview transplant plan: four plants per 3x3 bed, two Earth Boxes in quadrant one
2:00 — 6:00

Transplant drench recipe and Rootwise Enzymes

Jeremy builds his transplant water in roughly three and a half gallons of warm filtered water. He adds BuildASoil Saponaria (or Therm X 70 as alternative) as a wetting agent — under one teaspoon for the whole bucket — to produce foam and spread moisture. On top of that foamy base he mixes a maintenance dose (about a half tablespoon) of Rootwise Microbe Complete and 15 ml of Rootwise Elixir enzymes. He explains that the enzymes are pre-made by the same microbes fed on organic non-GMO substrate, bottled with a scoby, and kept in the fridge, and that using warm filtered water keeps the microbes and enzymes at peak activation.

  1. 1. Fill bucket with approximately 3.5 gallons of filtered warm water (~80F) via sink filter
  2. 2. Add just under 1 teaspoon of BuildASoil Saponaria wetting agent (less than 1/4 tsp per gallon) and stir to foam
  3. 3. Sprinkle in ~1/2 tablespoon Rootwise Microbe Complete as a maintenance dose
  4. 4. Add 15 ml Rootwise Elixir enzymes (label says 3-5 ml/gallon)
  5. 5. Stir and allow the fridge-cold enzymes to come up to temperature while building the Earth Box
6:00 — 8:00

Female sexing status and staging plants

Jeremy reports nine clear-cut females already throwing white hairs and three maybes. He needs ten plants total (four per 3x3 bed, one per Earth Box), so he will gamble on one maybe — the one he is 99% sure is female — and flag it for follow-up. He notes that under regular lighting early sex ID can trick you and a couple of plants lag behind, but if males had not shown by now they are likely female. He stages the plants so each bed gets its four before any digging starts.

  1. 1. Count confirmed females (nine with visible white hair)
  2. 2. Identify three 'maybes', pick the most confident one
  3. 3. Stage two plants for Earth Boxes, four for section two, four for section three
  4. 4. Remove any males from the tray to avoid confusion
  5. 5. Note which maybe goes where so it can be tracked in later videos
8:00 — 14:00

Earth Box assembly from scratch

Jeremy unboxes a new Earth Box and assembles the caster wheels (two have locking casters), snaps in the screen insert so the cutout squares line up with the corner wick zones, inserts the fill tube in the corner hole, and packs the two wick corners tightly with BuildASoil 3.0 before lightly moistening them so the wick action survives first watering. He stresses the no-till deviation from Earth Box instructions: do NOT keep the reservoir full at transplant, top water only until the plant visibly grows and roots spread, then bottom water. He also defends the rectangular shape and food-grade plastic mulch cover as part of the 'magic' of the system, not something to replace.

  1. 1. Flip Earth Box upside down, press all four caster wheels into the base until fully seated
  2. 2. Drop the screen insert in so cutout squares line up with the soil wick corners
  3. 3. Insert the water fill tube into the corner hole (no angle cut needed)
  4. 4. Scoop BuildASoil 3.0 into both wick corners by hand and compress firmly with a fist
  5. 5. Lightly moisten the packed corners so the wick doesn't wash out on first water
  6. 6. Dump the rest of the 1 cubic foot bag in around the fill tube and level
  7. 7. Pre-moisten soil to roughly 5% additional water by volume (under 3/4 gallon for 7.5 gallons of soil, so about 1/3 gallon) using the transplant drench
18:00 — 24:00

Take and Bake soil sample and section 2 transplant

Jeremy starts in section two (the Take and Bake bed), pulls back the straw mulch, clears the white dutch clover cover crop from the transplant zone, and scoops a couple cups of mulch-free soil into a labeled bag for a saturated paste lab test. He drops his first one-gallon (Branson's Royal Revenge number nine, a clear female) straight in without ripping the root ball, keeping the root crown at the surface to avoid stem rot. He strips the lowest leaves, snaps a lower branch by accident, and notes how pungent the stem rub already is on the Branson's Royal Revenge. He backfills with the dug-out soil, presses it down, and covers with the straw again.

  1. 1. Pull the straw mulch back from the transplant spot and set it aside
  2. 2. Clear the white dutch clover cover crop from the top layer
  3. 3. Dig two cups of mulch-free soil and bag as a saturated paste lab sample (first plant only)
  4. 4. Dig a hole slightly wider than the one-gallon root ball
  5. 5. Pop the plant out of the nursery pot intact, do not tear roots
  6. 6. Drop the plant so the crown sits at the surface — not buried up the stem
  7. 7. Remove lowest leaves and very low branches that touch soil
  8. 8. Backfill with the original soil, press lightly, replace straw mulch
24:00 — 28:00

Halitosis transplant and deep mulch philosophy

Jeremy transplants Halitosis number two (the labeled 'maybe'), clears straw and cover crop to one side so it's easy to replace, and pre-prunes very low branches that would never make it to the canopy. He uses scissors instead of ripping so the plant doesn't shred, and cuts defoliated leaves up small so they break down faster into the mulch layer. He points viewers to Ruth Stout's No-Work Garden Book as the inspiration for deep mulch feeding the soil through constant decay, and explains how the cannabis leaves themselves become part of the mulch cycle.

  1. 1. Clear straw and cover crop to the back of the bed in one pile
  2. 2. Dig a hole wide enough for the one-gallon
  3. 3. Pre-prune the lowest tiny branches with scissors, don't pinch
  4. 4. Drop plant in, fill around the sides, press down gently
  5. 5. Chop pruned leaves small and scatter as mulch layer
  6. 6. Replace straw mulch and cover crop pieces
28:00 — 33:00

Section 3 transplants and recipe comparison

Jeremy moves into section three, which has four different BuildASoil recipes (Los Olly Malibu, BuildASoil Light, BuildASoil 3.0, and the Take and Bake kit counterpart) and plants one Branson's Royal Revenge in each (numbers 12, 8, 5, and 2). He explains this is a geno run, not a proper clonal pheno hunt, because the seeds themselves carry genotypic differences; phenotype equals genotype plus environment. He notes that Los Olly Malibu is darker and more humic-rich because it uses fish compost and hardwood biochar, and that all four recipes should produce similar results — the comparison is to show that living soil is forgiving when the principles are followed.

  1. 1. Transplant Branson's Royal Revenge number 2 into the BuildASoil Light recipe bed
  2. 2. Transplant number 5 into Los Olly Malibu Compost recipe
  3. 3. Transplant number 8 into BuildASoil 3.0 recipe
  4. 4. Transplant number 12 into the remaining recipe
  5. 5. Add ~5% of soil volume as transplant water (~1/3 gallon per 7.5 gallon container)
  6. 6. Spray the mulch layer down to rehydrate straw and cover crop
33:00 — 40:00

Earth Box hole-cutting and transplant through plastic mulch

Jeremy handles the two Earth Boxes: one already has a round of cannabis plus a cover crop broken down into it (craft blend and Kashi blend already mixed in), the other is a brand new fresh 3.0. He pulls the plastic mulch cover over, cuts an X in the spot opposite the fill tube (so he can water without disturbing the plant), digs out a hole through the X, transplants the plant, and flaps the triangle cutouts back around the stalk. He adds a handful of Kashi blend sprinkled around the plant to start the mulch-layer feeding on the new box, and he puts at least two worms in the fresh Earth Box because the old one already has worms that broke down the last stock and cover crop.

  1. 1. Snap the plastic mulch cover over the Earth Box and lock the bungee around the fill tube
  2. 2. Pick the transplant spot opposite the fill tube
  3. 3. Cut an X (not a hole) through the plastic with scissors or knife
  4. 4. Pull back the four triangle flaps to expose soil
  5. 5. Dig out enough soil to drop in the one-gallon root ball
  6. 6. Drop the plant slightly proud of the surface (mounding will happen later)
  7. 7. Backfill around the root ball, make sure soil contacts roots all around
  8. 8. Sprinkle a handful of Kashi blend around the transplant on the new Earth Box only
  9. 9. Add at least two live worms to the fresh Earth Box
  10. 10. Pull the four plastic flaps back around the stalk to close the hole (optional tape)
40:00 — 42:00

Final watering and Earth Box moisture assessment

Jeremy does not bottom water either Earth Box — he top waters with the transplant drench only. The previously-used Earth Box already has enough moisture so he adds almost nothing. The fresh 3.0 Earth Box is drier, so he adds more to get moisture into the root zone. He waters around each transplant zone in the 3x3 beds with the Rootwise drench and warns that the straw mulch blocks the light enough to kill the cover crop under the canopy once the plants fill out, and that is fine because it becomes a living mulch.

  1. 1. Water only around each plant's root zone with the Rootwise + Saponaria + Elixir drench
  2. 2. Do NOT refill the Earth Box reservoir; top water only until roots spread
  3. 3. Lift each Earth Box to feel the weight and estimate moisture
  4. 4. Add moisture only to drier boxes
  5. 5. Leave straw mulch in place to hold humidity and block light
41:00 — 45:00

Quadrant four lettuce harvest and thinning

Jeremy moves to quadrant four, pulls big kale leaves as a table harvest, and then clears the overgrown lettuce. He cuts lettuce slightly higher than usual so he doesn't scoop up the decayed bottom layer and thins the dense growth with scissors. He explains that in the greenhouse they flip the bed every four harvests because stressed lettuce bolts (shoots a seed stem and turns bitter), and references Sol Viva, a book about a year-round permaculture greenhouse on the East Coast that kept lettuce producing for years thanks to animals providing warmth and CO2. He finishes by previewing the trellis plan for this tent using the same roller technique as the greenhouse tomatoes.

  1. 1. Harvest big outer kale leaves into a bag
  2. 2. Scissor-harvest the lettuce slightly higher than ideal so decay stays in the bed
  3. 3. Thin the densest patches until regrowth has room
  4. 4. Leave the cut stems above the growth tip so they can regrow
  5. 5. Plan trellis install for this quadrant using an overhead roller

Notable quotes

"Today is really going to be the big kickoff where we have identified our females."

Jeremy framing the episode — final transplant day now that sex has been confirmed

"If you Google saponin as a plant growth promotant on Google Scholar you're going to find a lot of information about some benefits to natural plant saponins in the garden."

Making the case that the Saponaria wetting agent isn't just a surfactant but also a research-backed growth tool

"Rootwise Microbe Complete — this is my absolute favorite, it's the best on the market, worked with Kevin for a long time and I'm pretty loyal to this product."

Full endorsement of Rootwise when adding it to the transplant drench

"I kind of use it like lighter fluid for the fire when I want it to kick start — if I've top dressed or if I'm about to transplant."

Describing how he uses the Rootwise Elixir enzymes sparingly but at key inflection points

"The number one thing I want you to take home is we're not going to bottom water until after we've transplanted. We've top-watered and the plant starts to grow like any other container. Once it starts to visibly grow and the roots are spreading, then it's safe to start bottom watering."

Jeremy's biggest Earth Box rule in the whole episode

"There's something magic here and I urge you to try it."

Defending the rectangular shape and food-grade plastic mulch cover of the Earth Box against growers who would replace it with something rounder or metal

"One of the secrets here to the fast growth is that we're using microbes and enzymes, and so I don't use ice cold tap water. We use filtered water and I make sure... it connects to the sink so I can actually turn the hot water on just a little bit."

Revealing that warm filtered water is a deliberate part of the Rootwise protocol, not an accident

"Phenotype is the genotype plus the environment."

Explaining why the 3x3 comparison is really a geno run, not a true pheno hunt, since the plants are seedlings not clones

Glossary terms from this episode

Bolting (lettuce) · Bottom watering · BuildASoil 3.0 · BuildASoil Light · Cover crop living mulch · Craft blend · Deep mulch gardening · Earth Box · Feeder roots vs. water roots · Geno run · Greens harvester · Kashi blend · Lettuce thinning after harvest · Los Olly Malibu recipe · Lower defoliation at transplant · Maybe plant (sex ID) · Phenotype vs genotype · Plastic mulch cover (shower cap) · Quick flip to flower · Rootwise Elixir (enzymes) · RootWise Microbe Complete · saponins · Saturated paste soil test · Scoby · Stem rub · Straw mulch · take and bake · Top dress · Transplant at 5% water by volume · Transplant drench

Products mentioned

BuildASoil Craft Blend · BuildASoil Kashi Blend · RootWise Microbe Complete · BuildASoil Saponaria · BuildASoil Take-and-Bake Kit · BuildASoil 3.0 Living Soil · Worm castings · Rice Hulls · Therm X 70 · BuildASoil Light recipe · BuildASoil website · Rootwise Elixir · Los Olly Malibu recipe · Earth Box (container) · Earth Box caster wheels · Earth Box plastic mulch cover · Earth Box fill tube · Earth Box trellis kit · City Picker self-watering container · Roots square self-watering container