Ep 020: Day 6 of Flower — Quadrant Inspection Walkthrough
· Jeremy walks through all four quadrants on day 6 of flower for a mid-week garden update and inspection. He takes measurements (plant heights, screen height), points out the Halitosis and Branson's Royal Revenge genetics differences in stretch behavior, and explains how to read the canopy for crowning, node stacking, hermaphrodite risk, and leaf health. He demonstrates soft training in the scrog screen, checks mulch-layer life for ecosystem balance (predator mites, fungus gnat larvae, rove beetles, worms), compares the four soil recipes (Light, 3.0, and the two original recipes) and explains watering cadence differences between the 70-gallon bed, 10-gallon pots, earth boxes, and the 3x3 container. He frames inspection as IPM and shows how over-watering recovery is progressing on one plant.
Topics
day 6 of flower quadrant-by-quadrant inspection · Halitosis vs Branson's Royal Revenge stretch comparison · measuring plant height and scrog screen height · training canopy and planning second scrog layer · ecosystem observation in the mulch layer as IPM · checking new growth for hermaphrodite intersex traits · node stacking and crowning transition in early flower · comparing Light recipe vs 3.0 recipe vs original recipes · watering cadence by container size and 5 percent rule · training feeder roots with intentional top dresses · over-watering recovery narrative on one plant · mid-grow course correction philosophy
Sections
Day 6 of flower intro and inspection framing
Jeremy opens episode 16, day 6 of flower. Today is a relaxed cruise-control update because the hard work was done during pre-flower prep. He frames the walkthrough as an inspection and IPM exercise — the time when you don't have obvious problems is precisely when you should be investigating so nothing sneaks up on you. He grabs a tape measure to answer viewer questions about screen height and plant height.
- 1. Note day count (day 6 of flower)
- 2. Commit to a slow walkthrough since there are no urgent tasks
- 3. Frame inspection as part of IPM — awareness and observation
- 4. Grab a tape measure to capture screen and plant heights for viewers
Quadrant 1 — Halitosis number 1 under cobb lighting
Jeremy starts in quadrant 1 under the cobb lighting setup and inspects Halitosis number 1. He notes side branches went higher than the main stem (untrained, so it's genetics showing through), identifies low branches he'll try to rescue by pulling blocking leaves, and explains that edge branches he can't save may have to be cut once the second scrog layer goes on later this week. He lifts the earth box to show heavy worm activity — the soil actually wiggles — plus predator mites and nematodes he previously added. He tells newcomers not to freak out about creepy crawlies in healthy no-till soil.
- 1. Identify the cultivar and note which side branches ran up faster than center
- 2. Look for branches sitting below the scrog screen
- 3. Pull leaves that are blocking low branches from light
- 4. Decide whether to rescue or cut edge branches based on whether side lighting helps
- 5. Plan the second scrog screen layer at a height just higher than the current tallest growth
- 6. Lift and inspect the earth box underneath for worm and mite activity
- 7. Reassure viewers that diverse soil fauna is a beneficial sign, not a problem
Quadrant 1 — Halitosis number 4 and the 3.0 earth box
Jeremy moves to Halitosis number 4 and notes the stock is almost as thick as his thumb. He lifts the brand new 3.0 earth box to show predator mites on the vermiculite left over from the top dress and points out feeder roots coming up. He explains his earth box watering routine — monitor the reservoir every morning; today this one was empty so he filled it, the other still had water. He then demonstrates mid-canopy training, bending a side branch up through a scrog hole so it can grow above the screen rather than fall way below, and removing leaves that block would-be screen-breakers.
- 1. Inspect stock thickness on the Halitosis (thicker than a thumb)
- 2. Lift earth box to check predator mite and feeder root activity
- 3. Each morning, check the earth box reservoir and refill if empty
- 4. Bend tall side branches up through a scrog hole to keep them above the screen
- 5. Pull blocking leaves to give struggling lower branches a chance at light
- 6. Accept that some edge branches won't make it and will be cut later
Branson's Royal Revenge and using genetics knowledge to maximise yield
Jeremy inspects the front Branson's Royal Revenge number 9 in the 3x3 container — it barely hit the screen on day 6, halfway through the stretch, meaning this cut is a low stretcher. He explains the yield-maximisation logic: if Branson's 9 turns out to be your keeper you'd veg longer and flip bigger plants next run because you know they won't run away, but if Halitosis is your keeper you'd flip earlier knowing it stretches hard. He picks up a log in the bed covered in diverse life — rove beetles, predator mites, fungus gnat larvae, nematodes — as a live ecosystem balance demonstration. Halitosis number 2 at the back is dominating everything; he'll note that cut when he takes clones later.
- 1. Identify low-stretch vs high-stretch phenotypes by observing early flower stretch
- 2. Plan next-run veg length based on stretch behaviour (longer veg for low stretchers)
- 3. Earmark the most vigorous cut for cloning and note the tag number
- 4. Inspect logs and mulch debris for ecosystem diversity as live IPM monitoring
- 5. Accept that in mixed-genetics beds some plants will cannibalize others
Observing new growth — color, turgor, hermaphrodite check
Jeremy explains how he inspects new growth. In the mulch layer he's looking for population diversity — no explosion of any one species, a mix of orb mites, predator mites, rove beetles, worm castings. Up top he's looking at vertical turgor, tight nodes forming, and critically scans the first flower hairs for any pollen sacs or banana-shaped nanners, which would indicate hermaphrodite intersex traits. He explains that running brand new genetics means you should check once or twice per week so you catch any herm before it pollinates everything. On the new leaves he wants to see slight blue edges, no tip burn, no indication of over/under watering or a missing nutrient.
- 1. Scan the mulch layer for population diversity, not single-species dominance
- 2. Check new growth for vertical turgor and tight node spacing
- 3. Inspect every female hair site for pollen sacs or nanner-shaped intersex parts
- 4. Check new leaves for colour (slight blue edges), no tip burn
- 5. Rule out over/under watering or nutrient deficiency from leaf tell-tales
- 6. Repeat the herm check at least once or twice per week on new genetics
Node stacking, crowning, and plant height measurements
Jeremy explains crowning — the transition where stretching slows and nodes start stacking tightly, usually around day 14. Some plants are already starting to crown at day 6 because they didn't stretch much; others are still clearly elongating. He takes measurements with a tape from the soil surface — a tall plant is about 29 inches, another 32 inches, another 31 inches. The scrog screen is 14 inches up from the rim, 20.5 inches from the actual soil surface. He plans to add the second screen another roughly 14 inches higher, though 13 or 15 works too. He warns that if a plant is growing too fast toward the light you can slow it by adding a screen, bending, pinching or cutting.
- 1. Drop the tape measure to the soil surface and read plant height from there
- 2. Measure from the container rim and from the soil to the scrog screen separately
- 3. Plan second scrog layer at approximately 14 inches above the first
- 4. If a plant runs away toward the light, bend, pinch, or add a screen to slow it
Comparing Light, 3.0, and original soil recipes
Jeremy uses the four-quadrant side-by-side to compare recipes. The two original recipes (33 percent compost) look great — the Light recipe is his best veg soil, very productive. The 3.0 typically catches up and beats the Light in previous tests. Light and 3.0 are the most popular — most customers choose between them, many use both (Light in veg, then transfer into 3.0 for flower). He explains the no-till target is to use only about 50 percent of the soil's energy each cycle and keep adding back via mulch and amendments, never going to zero. He compares recipe choice to eating healthy — there is no one magic meal, any sound recipe works if you don't break cardinal rules like too much sodium.
- 1. Use side-by-side quadrants to compare recipes visually
- 2. Choose Light recipe if you like to add to it and top dress yourself
- 3. Choose 3.0 recipe if you want less work and more built-in amendments
- 4. Never deplete a no-till bed below roughly 50 percent energy
- 5. Top up the mulch layer continuously between cycles
Over-watering recovery and training feeder roots
Jeremy revisits the plant he previously over-watered — the new growth is now pretty, color is holding, it has fully recovered and the only lasting cost is about a week of growth. He uses the engine analogy: over-watering suffocates the biology like starving an engine of air, but once corrected the engine fires on all cylinders again. He digs into why he intentionally didn't fill the bed to the brim — leaving room for top dresses trains feeder roots to come up to find food, like training a pet to sit for food. If you bottom-water the whole time with no compost up top, feeder roots never come up and a late top dress takes much longer to work. Staging soil additions lets you send the plant forward through the cycle.
- 1. Don't panic when an over-watered plant recovers slowly — the cost is just time
- 2. Fill containers below the brim on purpose to leave room for staged top dresses
- 3. Top dress in layers so feeder roots learn to come up for food
- 4. If you ever need to rescue with water-soluble amendments, that's fine as a backup
Quadrant-by-quadrant watering cadence and container strategy
Jeremy covers the food section briefly — lettuce is regrowing after harvest, the tomato has been trimmed up and he expects productive new growth, peppers are sizing up. Then he walks through watering cadence by quadrant. The big bed takes about 5 percent (3.5 gallons of 70 gallons) every other day — Saturday and Monday filled, Sunday skipped. The 10-gallon pots need daily water — he lifts one every morning by hand to feel its weight (light means water); he caught one that was light even though the top felt wet, watered with saponin, put 5 percent in, got full saturation and no runoff. The earth boxes are the most hands-off — Saturday filled both, Sunday still fine, Monday one was empty so he filled it, roughly every 2 to 2.5 days per reservoir. Bigger beds hold more buffer so you can go snowboarding; smaller containers demand daily attention. He gives a 10 percent deep watering example (two shaping cans full) for the big bed as a one-off to make sure the bottom was wet.
- 1. For the 70-gallon bed, put 5 percent (3.5 gallons) in roughly every other day
- 2. Once per flip cycle, do a 10 percent deep watering to wet the full column
- 3. For 10-gallon pots, lift the pot by hand every morning to gauge weight
- 4. If a pot feels light, water slowly with saponin and bring it to full saturation
- 5. For earth boxes, check the reservoir daily and refill when empty (every 2 to 2.5 days)
- 6. Size container strategy to how often you can physically be in the garden
Wrap up — ask questions for the next FAQ
Jeremy closes by asking viewers to load up questions in the comments for upcoming FAQ episodes. He explains it helps the BuildASoil staff — new hires reference the FAQ videos to learn how to grow. He thanks viewers and says the interactivity helps the team elevate the whole BuildASoil system.
- 1. Post questions in the comments to seed the next FAQ episode
- 2. Reference existing FAQ episodes for common questions
Notable quotes
"Right now we're just in cruise control and that's going to give you an opportunity to just do some inspection because you don't have any pending problems that you might overlook."
Framing why this quiet day in early flower is actually the most important time to look closely.
"If you've got healthy plants most everything that you're going to see in the soil is of benefit so don't freak out."
Reassuring no-till newcomers seeing creepy-crawlies in their living soil for the first time.
"What i like to see in an ecosystem is a little bit of diversity and if i see healthy plants then i'm usually happy — it's when i see a shift towards a single species that i get a little worried."
Jeremy's core IPM heuristic for reading mulch-layer populations.
"When you're running brand new genetics you always want to check at least once or twice per week and make sure that you're not getting any intersex traits because if it dropped pollen it could pollinate everything."
Warning about hermaphrodite risk on new cuts during flower.
"We can literally kill the engine in our soil by over watering and suffocating it — once you get it corrected the engine should fire on all cylinders and you're ready to go back to full speed, you've just missed a little time."
The over-watering engine analogy that makes up Jeremy's teaching on recovery.
"If you train them that their food is going to be a certain area and they get used to that they're going to be ready for it — and so if they start to dig their feeder roots in and they get ready for food... later on in flower if i need to top dress they're going to be pretty much ready to receive that."
Explaining why intentional staged top dressing trains feeder roots upward.
"Like when you eat healthy — is there a certain meal you have to eat to live to 100? Not really — you should just generally eat healthy, and we're trying to keep the buffet stocked of healthy food for our plants by feeding the soil."
Jeremy's analogy for why any sound BuildASoil recipe will work — feed the soil, not the plant.
"Plan your work and work your plan — in an organic garden when you get behind it that's when stuff just gets out of control."
Jeremy's discipline lesson — organic gardens punish procrastination.
Glossary terms from this episode
10 percent deep watering · 5 percent watering rule · beneficial nematodes · cobb lighting setup · crowning · cruise control · day 6 of flower · defoliate · ecosystem balance · engine analogy (soil oxygenation) · feeder roots · finger check · Fungus gnat · fungus gnat larva · hermaphrodite (herm) · intersex traits · IPM inspection · Mulch layer · nanner · no-till energy budget · no-till living soil · node stacking · orb mites · over-watering recovery · pinch · pot lift test · Predator mites · recycled Earth Box · Rove beetles · Saponin
Products mentioned
10-gallon container · Tape measure · BuildASoil Light recipe · Beneficial nematodes · Earth Box container (recycled, second cycle) · Earth Box container (brand new with 3.0 soil) · BuildASoil 3.0 recipe · BuildASoil original recipe (with 33 percent compost) · Los Alamos Malibu recipe · 70-gallon fabric bed (10-gallon example) · 3x3 container (Branson's Royal Revenge quadrant) · Vermiculite top dress · Predator mites (beneficial IPM release) · Decomposing log in bed · Cobb lighting fixture · Scrog screen (first layer) · Scrog screen (second layer, planned) · Shaping can (watering can) · Bamboo pole (canopy support)