Growing marijuana

[ChipTrippyFox]

Definitely if you are in a position to grow from clones, do that. They take far less time to grow to size and you'll spend less on electricity if growing indoors because of the shorter veg time. Seed plants do yield more though, so if you're growing outdoors it's arguably worth growing from seed rather than cutting but cuttings offer advantages seed plants don't, such as giving plants of known characteristics and being cheaper because you don't have to keep buying seeds form a breeder, you have the plant for years.

Having a healthy mother plant from which to take cuttings is an important thing to have. There are different ways of doing things but I would advise you to grow a bonsai mum which will allow you to take cuttings from a plan that takes up only 8 inches by 8 inches like the plant shown in the photo below from Oltimer1's website, Cannabase.

Oldtimer1 describes the technique on his Cannabase website which is straightforward and allows you to have multiple strains in a very small area with simple, cheap low power T5 shop lights.

Plants that size would be perfect for me
What kind of yeild might somthing like that have? 3-5oz? Less?

 

[DrGreenthumb]

Plants that size would be perfect for me
What kind of yeild might somthing like that have? 3-5oz? Less?

That plant is just for taking cuttings from. You're going to need to keep something like that, along with a little extra room for rooting cuttings, plus a separate space (on a different lighting schedule) for flowering. It's probably not worth flowering with less than a 400W HPS light & a 1 metre square tent (plus fan, carbon filter, hydroponics), that kind of setup could give you 10-20oz about every three months (likely closer to 10oz)

 

[justsayknow]

Growing from seeds is not easy unless you have someone guide you through the incubation stage, sexing, etc. It would be better for you to acquire some well established clones. Growing outdoors is relatively easy. They like as much sunlight as possible; light, airy soil; lots of nutrients (not miracle grow). Try putting them in containers (five gallon buckets or the like work well, with holes drilled in the bottom for drainage), which will allow for a more controlled growing environment and the ability to relocate them if need be.

It is so much fun, and such a rewarding and educating experience.

Yeah you will need to study some pictures of the male and female flowers so you can tell which ones are the females. They are the ones you want. Also with bag seed there is some chance you will get a hermaphrodite. You might want to look up if there are any laws in your area about plant numbers and keep your numbers below that which will attract a higher penalty. If you are growing outside planting late is not always a bad thing as it will lower the growing time and keep the size down (I'm assuming you are in the Northern Hemisphere and its coming up to Summer)

That Bonsai is so cool.

 

[Artificial Emotion]

As said, that plant is a bonsai plant specifically used as a mother plant to take cuttings from and it needs to be maintained like that and is never flowered.

However, you can get a plant not far off that if you do start from cutting rather than seed. Seed plants should ideally be grown out until they show their sex, not for the purpose of determining sex. Although if you are growing regular seed this is obviously useful because it allows you to know which are males and therefore need to be culled, but the reason this is desirable is because plants grown in this fashion are much much more potent (I'm talking at least double potency). IIRC this was determined by tests using hundreds of plants grown by oldtimer1, although it might have been his associates, I can't remember (funnilly enough Oldtimer1 is the same guy that grew the bonsai plant in the photo). However if you are growing from cutting, the plant can be flowered by switching from 18/6 to 12/12 literally as soon as it grows roots and if it's a pure indica and it's trained well with LST and you restrict pot size, you can get a small squat plant.

 

[justsayknow]

but the reason this is desirable is because plants grown in this fashion are much much more potent (I'm talking at least double potency). IIRC this was determined by tests using hundreds of plants grown by oldtimer1 (funnilly enough the same guy that grew the bonsai plant in the photo).

That's handy to know. So were those tests on a mother vs the clones taken? Ie identical genetics.

 

[ChipTrippyFox]

I honestly hate that the only thing getting in the way of me trying to grow is my partner X(

I know I could do it, I'm sure it would be a rewarding experience just to be able to.

 

[Artificial Emotion]

That's handy to know. So were those tests on a mother vs the clones taken? Ie identical genetics.

Yeah I thought so too. From what I remember Oldtimer1 saying, they did tests on identical genetics in huge greenhouses in Holland quite some years ago, yes. Otherwise as you probably guessed, the variable traits being expressed like potency would taint the results.

I could try and find the quote but I'm not sure if it's still in the archive as it was made quite some time ago.

 

[jackie jones]

They say that you should only clone a clone a number of times before the characteristics diminish, right?

In the winter, in my area, there is a lot of this bud that comes over the Canadian border that always looks the same - Big, dense, pale green buds with orange hairs. It smells and tastes like hay. Tolerance develops very quickly.

 

[Artificial Emotion]

They say that you should only clone a clone a number of times before the characteristics diminish, right?

In the winter, in my area, there is a lot of this bud that comes over the Canadian border that always looks the same - Big, dense, pale green buds with orange hairs. It smells and tastes like hay. Tolerance develops very quickly.

Yeah that's true but think of the clone only strains like Exodus cheese and the number of clones of clones of clones and so on with very little degradation in quality. I personally would replace stock after 15 years or so if I had something special.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

If you live somewhere with an oppressive law enforcement regime, well, no smell don't sell don't tell I guess.

Growing weed is actually pretty easy but it takes some work and is a great project if anyone is up to it.

 

[w01fg4ng]

One of the worst parts about growing pot is trimming. This is because trimming sucks.

However, on the same token, one of the best parts about growing is access to finger/scissor hash (retrieved by trimming-naturally). This hash is better than any water/ice/Dutch hash in the world--NO JOKE!


Here's a pick of my Pre-98 Bubba Kush finger/scissor hash to give you an idea:

 

[jackie jones]

Nice trim work.

 

[w01fg4ng]

Thanks.

One advantage to having a smaller grow op is being able to get through every step (like trimming) properly. It's easy to mess up anywhere in the growing process really.

 

[jackie jones]

One thing that took me years to learn was the right time to harvest. A couple times I got overzealous and cut early. Now I can sense right to the day.

 

[justsayknow]

They are some nice sparkly buds there. I made some finger hash this season too but did it a bit late so the leaves had started to dry out a bit which isn't what you want for that kind of thing.

Do you guys always do all your trimming immediately after harvest while the leaves are wet? It seems to give a better result and it's a bit easier. Definitely better for finger hash.

 

[Artificial Emotion]

I personally try to do it as soon after harvest as possible because I find that when the plant tissue is still fresh and turgid it makes it much easier to trim than if the bud is dry.

I like wearing latex gloves which I use to trim with. When I'm finished I simply place it in the freezer and the finger hash just flakes off. There's less contamination from the oils of your hands and it lasts a bit longer if you don't smoke it all in one go (not a very important consideration for obvious reasons though).

 

[xSound]

Wow, I didn't expect to come back to this many responses. Give me time to read through and respond guys. Haha.

I'll edit this post with responses as I get to them.

Do you want to try growing indoors xSound?

If you're asking about germinating the seeds specifically (germination is where seed sprouts) then yes you can put them in the soil and they will grow. Get a small seedling pot and some sowing or cutting compost, which is basically just potting compost that is lightly fertilised to allow delicate seedlings or cuttings to grow without getting burned by large amounts of nutrients. Sieve this with a garden sieve and put it into the pot before watering it with a small watering can or a 2L bottle and a screw on bottle top rose like shown below. Get a dibber (shown below) or a similarly shaped object to poke a small hole and drop the seed into the medium about half a cm deep and cover with the soil. Store it in a warm area where temps are around 25°C, but it's not critical as long as it's warm enough and not too hot (no warmer than say 30°C) and somewhere like a warm airing cupboard will do, although I personally germinate vegetable plant seeds like tomatoes etc. with horticultural heating mats controlled by a cheap thermostat that uses a probe I place in the soil so I can get the correct temp for seedlings and cuttings. Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged and within 7-14 days they should germinate. With viable seed your germination rate should be at least 80% providing your germination technique is right.

There are probably different opinions on this but I would start off with a cheap pack of regular seeds which you can buy online. This will allow you to differentiate between male and female plants but you could start with feminized if you wished which would save on space and would cut down on the number of seeds you would have to germinate.

NSFW:

NSFW:

Yeah I would like to grow indoors, but I have no problems with outside assuming I can find a safe spot to do it. I live in the states so ordering offline will be difficult, but thanks for all the great advice.

The most important piece of advice I can give you is don't tell anybody that you're growing, not even your best friend. The most likely way you'll get busted is due to loose lips. It sucks telling people all your plants died because in reality your grow is taking off and you are just realizing how much trouble you could actually get into. Just remember if you can't keep it a secret and feel complelled to tell somebody, how can you expect any differently from them.

So many people have given me this advice that it's not even funny.

 

[w01fg4ng]

One thing that took me years to learn was the right time to harvest. A couple times I got overzealous and cut early. Now I can sense right to the day.

Totally. It took me a few grows before I was able to dial in my method too.

They are some nice sparkly buds there. I made some finger hash this season too but did it a bit late so the leaves had started to dry out a bit which isn't what you want for that kind of thing.

Do you guys always do all your trimming immediately after harvest while the leaves are wet? It seems to give a better result and it's a bit easier. Definitely better for finger hash.

Thanks. The major reason why I trim before drying is to retrieve the finger hash.

IMO, trimming after the bud has dried is easier; here's why: I like to cut each trim leaf off at it's base stem. When the flower is still wet, it's easy to accidentally "overshoot" the base of the stem you are cutting and end up cutting buds off. This is because the leaves tend to STICK to the flower more when it's still wet.

When the flower is dry, this problem is almost non-existent. It's easier to locate the base of the leaf stem because it's not sticking to the flower. You can easily SNIP each one off quickly without worry of sabotaging the bud.

I like wearing latex gloves which I use to trim with.

I tried doing this, but after 30 minutes my hands became soaked in sweat. I never used them again.

Even trim jobs from a small grow up will take me a few hours to perform. There is no way I'm wearing latex gloves for that long lol.

 

[xSound]

Definitely if you are in a position to grow from clones, do that. They take far less time to grow to size and you'll spend less on electricity if growing indoors because of the shorter veg time. Seed plants do yield more though, so if you're growing outdoors it's arguably worth growing from seed rather than cutting but cuttings offer advantages seed plants don't, such as giving plants of known characteristics and being cheaper because you don't have to keep buying seeds form a breeder, you have the plant for years.

Having a healthy mother plant from which to take cuttings is an important thing to have. There are different ways of doing things but I would advise you to grow a bonsai mum which will allow you to take cuttings from a plan that takes up only 8 inches by 8 inches like the plant shown in the photo below from Oltimer1's website, Cannabase.

NSFW:

Oldtimer1 describes the technique on his Cannabase website which is straightforward and allows you to have multiple strains in a very small area with simple, cheap low power T5 shop lights.

How do clones work? Like how are the made? I gather from this thread you would need to know a growing to get a clone, but just outta curiosity. Also what are cuttings? I see this term being tosses around a bit.

Thanks.

One advantage to having a smaller grow op is being able to get through every step (like trimming) properly. It's easy to mess up anywhere in the growing process really.

Yeah I don't plan on having many plants. Just enough for my personal use. Maybe one or two assuming I can get away with that.

 

[Artificial Emotion]

I tried doing this, but after 30 minutes my hands became soaked in sweat. I never used them again.

Even trim jobs from a small grow up will take me a few hours to perform. There is no way I'm wearing latex gloves for that long lol.

Sweat is a problem but I prefer to put up with sweaty hands than sticky hands, even if it can be removed with olive oil or whatever. I take frequent breaks, allowing my hands to breathe and for the sweat to evaporate. Each to their own though, whatever works for you.

How do clones work? Like how are the made? I gather from this thread you would need to know a growing to get a clone, but just outta curiosity. Also what are cuttings? I see this term being tosses around a bit.

Cuttings (clones) are a way of reproducing the plant through asexual reproduction (cloning) rather than sexually between two plants. So the plant should have the same characteristics as the plant from which the cutting was taken because it is genetically identical. As for how to take cuttings, here's a link for you to read.