[MEGA]Community Growing advice, tips, tricks, & experiences Part 4

[Artificial Emotion]

^ they look as healthy as they can be. Are you planning on trying any other strains or are you just sticking with the NL#5 for now?

By the way, I've been trying to find cups like the ones you have there but can't seem to find them anywhere!

 

[justsayknow]

I try not to make such statements unless I know what I'm talking about.

I'm assuming you've bought into the myth propagated by internet forums online from your statement.

Do you have an understanding of what genes are? Do you understand that if you don't have the allele for a monogenic trait, you won't express that trait? Do you understand the primary difference between ganja strains, hash strains and hemp strains? See this graph for an illustration of the difference. As you can see, hemp/fibre strains native to extreme latitudes, such as Russia or Canada, produce CBD predominantly, hash strains from moderate latitudes such as morocco produce CBD:THC at an approximate ratio of 1:1, whereas ganja strains native to latitudes near the equator produce predominantly THC with virtually no CBD. What this empirical evidence suggests is that there is one THC allele and one CBD allele. Lets call the THC allele T, and the CBD allele t. Because they are codominant, the heterozygous Tt condition will produce an intermediary THC:CBD concentrations, as is the case with hash strains, where as the homozygous dominant TT will produce mainly THC as in ganja strains and the homozygous recessive tt will produce mainly CBD as in the hemp/fibre strains. Because CBD can lessen the psychoactive effect of THC, breeders selecting for potency will unconsciously breed out the CBD allele. This is why most of the drug hybrid strains available from seedbanks are missing this CBD allele. Interestingly the CBD crew have brought out a range of THC:CBD strains.

NSFW:

This should help you understand cannabnionoid biosynthesis:

Grlic ( 1968 ) reports that various stages in the "ripening" of Cannabis resins can be observed. In this sequence cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) is successively converted to cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) and finally to cannbinol (CBN). Five ripening stages have been defined based on the progress of this phytochemical process 'unripe' (predominantly CBDA), 'intermediate' (CBD), 'ripe' (THC), and 'overripe' (CBN) along with a final stage for damaged or very old specimens termed 'altered.'

So as you can see, assuming the CBD allele is present in the first place, you would need to harvest early if anything, which is the complete opposite to your assumption.

Thanks for this post. I knew that THC degraded into one of the other cannabinoids but thought it was CBD rather than CBN. I think I got that impression from reading a very old grow guide.
I would prefer higher CBD content but it seems this isnt going to come from late harvest. It doesnt sound like CBN has a lot going for it.

Cannabinol or (CBN) is an oxidative degradation product of THC. It may result from improper storage or curing and extensive processing, such as when making concentrates. It is usually formed when THC is exposed to UV light and oxygen over time.

■CBN has some psychoactive properties, about 10% of the strength of THC.
■CBN is thought by researchers to enhance the dizziness and disorientation users of cannabis may experience.
■It may cause feelings of grogginess and has been shown to reduce heart rate.

From http://pureanalytics.net/blog/2011/12/12/medicinal-cannabinoid-faq-what-are-thc-cbd-cbn-cbc-and-%E2%80%A6/

 

[baris10]

Growing... Sorry.

I know you must get this a lot, but I'm looking to grow again. Last year was a fail.
I live in the UK, my "hardiness zone" is 8. I need to know what kind of strain to buy in order to grow outdoors, and when to plant it. Last year the stems broke/they wilted. I've used guides, my guide said if the soil is moist 2 inches below the surface, it's fine, if not, water it. I used sugared water.
None of my plants survived. I've been told that it might be the wind, so I should choose a stronger strain.
What do you recommend? What strain should I buy? When should I plant it? Is my watering technique correct? Should I use sugared water?
Any extra tips will of course be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Artificial Emotion]

There's a growing thread for these types of questions and it'll probably get moved there, just to let you know, but to answer your question, nobody can really tell you what strain to go for since that's a personal decision that only you can make. You should however make sure that it is a strain that's ideally been bred to grow outdoors. That might seem obvious but it's worth mentioning.

You should pre-grow your plants indoors under cover first before planting out, and harden off for a couple of weeks before planting out if you can, in something like a cold frame or by planting them under plastic coke bottles with the lid not screwed on.

You should prepare your soil now by digging it over with a gardening fork and a mattock if possible, removing tree roots, and lime it with dolomite lime. Then dig in well rotted manure (not at the same time as liming) or garden compost and plant the plant out in early May. To improve plant health, sprinkle in mycorrhizal fungi into the planting hole. Water roughly once a week if needed.

There are hundreds of different outdoor strains but if you want to look into cheap strains, look into KC Brains and Female Seeds.

What latitude do you live at?

 

[baris10]

Can you recommend a site to read up about strains? All I can find at websites that are looking to sell, which leads me to believe that they will be biased and unreliable. Thanks for the advice! However sadly I cannot grow indoors at all due to housing arrangements, perhaps sheltering the plant from the wind for the first few weeks?

 

[Artificial Emotion]

You can germinate them on a window sill and then plant them out in a cheap plastic greenhouse which you can take to your site.

If you want to read unbiased info about strains go to uk420.com and browse growers reviews by following the link here, which includes photos as well so you can get an idea of what the plants will end up looking like.

With the price of KC Brains seeds you'd be silly not to try KC33, KC36 or KC Mango.

What latitude do you live at?

 

[baris10]

53, 30

 

[nekointheclouds]

Welcome to bluelight and Cannabis Discussion, please check out our mega-thread directory, there is a link in my sig.

Merging with Grow thread.

 

[marie420]

How weird, I thought I had posted the pictures
They are seeds from Nirvana Seeds.
Im hoping to get a few clones (sativa dominant) to grow outdoors so I can have both indica and sativa to smoke.
Hopefully they have some good clones when I go in today

lol, everytime I post pictures I have a hard time finding the NSFW button. Mod feel free to edit, Ill try to figure this out when Ive got more time
Just wanted to post since I thought I already had.

About 1 1/2- 2weeks. They are looking pretty good, surprisingly. I have them in about 1/2 peat mixed with 1/2 fox farms. They seems to enjoy it
And I don't have to keep messing with the ph, which is absolutely nice. I just don't like how quickly the peat seems to dry up. I would like to use this mixture when re-pot, but , I dont know, considering how quickly it dries , I'd be water every day , day and a half.
Plants are basically in a box just for germinating, I figured I'd keep them in there a bit, as they seem to get more bushy for my when under CFLS, when under MH, they stretch quite a bit for me. And, I know it's not because my light is too far. So, Hopefully this grow goes better than the last,
-Hah, such an upgrade from my old camera phone...

They seems to be quite healthy and beautiful to me

 

[Artificial Emotion]

Here's a few pics of my Blue Widow. I'm really surprised I've managed to more or less keep the LSF infection in check. If I keep spraying with essence hopefully it'll be a good harvest. I can't wait to try out the bud from all the different plants so I can decide which is a keeper and ditch all the redundant clones.

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It's my goal to grow a plant that looks pretty much like this outdoors this year:

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[^Xayo]

Oh what the fuck !
Is that a plant of yours or is it even from some more northern climates ? I could imagine this coming from some perfect weather areas, but it would be amazing if this was possible in the cold and hard north.


Was so stupid and harvested one plant 2 days ago. Probably 3 grams off her, airy lousy buds. I hope its all getting better in the future.

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and her sister, I'm giving her all the time in the world now, after this mistake.
She has been the frostier and fatter one of the two, so my hopes are a bit higher

NSFW:

 

[Artificial Emotion]

That wasn't mine no, I'm just an admirer. It was grown somewhere in the UK, so yes, it was grown in a northern climate. I've seen larger plants than that grown in the UK before though.

Looks good but yeah, that second plant is relatively far away from being ready IMO.

Oh what the fuck !
Is that a plant of yours or is it even from some more northern climates ? I could imagine this coming from some perfect weather areas, but it would be amazing if this was possible in the cold and hard north.


Was so stupid and harvested one plant 2 days ago. Probably 3 grams off her, airy lousy buds. I hope its all getting better in the future.

NSFW:

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and her sister, I'm giving her all the time in the world now, after this mistake.
She has been the frostier and fatter one of the two, so my hopes are a bit higher

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[justsayknow]

^Yeah heaps of white hairs left there. Nice and frosty though!

That out door plant is definitely something to aspire to AE. I have no excuse being at a nice warm location 31 south of the equator, would love to pump out something like that if I had the room

 

[Artificial Emotion]

If I were you I would grow some sativas at that location. Even a lot of the heirloom landrace strains from The Real Seed Company would do well there.

If and when I have my own place where I can grow plants in my own garden without people snooping in, I'll definitely set it up so that I collect rainwater and distribute it to the plants, so they get watered automatically whenever it rains.

....

By the way guys, that Blue Widow plant that you see that's flowering was grown in soil from start to finish without any pH adjustment whatsoever. This pretty much demonstrates the futility of pH adjustment when you have normal tap water.

 

[Artificial Emotion]

Interesting clip about eradiction in the Parvati valley where they grow Parvati landrace cannabis. I can't wait to grow out my own Parvati seeds! I also have the Malana Cream seeds!!

Here.

Those police are fucking disgraceful. Who are they kidding?

 

[justsayknow]

A lot of the bag seed we get here is sativa dominant hybrids. Seems to be the thing to do outdoors. The only problem is its hard to conceal 2 or 3 metres of plant in the courtyard of a small villa. Also I kind of prefer the indica high. When I was living in a bigger house and weed was decriminalised here I had a couple of tall fruity ladies branching up to around 2 metres high but nothing as fat that guy in the camo has going on. What strain is that do you know?

 

[Artificial Emotion]

^ I'm not sure what strain it is to be honest. By the looks of it it's your average hybrid, but it's been given the right conditions to reach its full potential.

 

[Prelude2TragedyII]

I wish we could all hang out smoking weed and talking about growing weed in person. lol.
Fun fun fun.
I put off getting my clones, as we had a serious storm on the way (enough to rip trees out of the ground)
Figured I'd be better off waiting for 3 days, then buying some clones, so I plan on getting them tomorrow.

My Northern Lights is doing quite well, Im thinking of transferring them to a slightly larger pot soon.
So, since we have about 100+ summers, should I go with a Sativa strain for outdoor ? (I was planning to anyways)

I know I had this conversation with you before AE, but I remember last time I planted outdoors, the temps just destroyed my plants (hybrids, which seem to be picky about their environment)

Thanks for the info,
Looks good Xayo, I'll take a hit
and AE, I dont even know if you need compliments anymore you're too good at growing. lol. Hope everything is going well everyone

-Edit-
Another question. I turned over the soil/dirt in the area I plan on growing in (Ill try to get in a picture tomorrow or Tuesday as well).
I saw ALOT of roots from our neighbors tree (Unfortunantly , the only place I have to grow is near the fence of our neighbor, which is also where his trees are.) I turned over the soil about 3-4ft deep 3ft wide, and about 10-15ft long. (man was that a bitch to do ALL by hand)
Anyways, the first time I turned over the dirt, there weren't many roots, I'm assuming that was because the soil was as hard as clay/rock. Nothing could really grow in it. Now that I've softened the soil, I am seeing the roots of other trees/plants. Im wondering if this is going to cause any problems while growing outdoors, I really don't want my plants competing for nutrients against a tree. I've already slice off as much of the roots as I can, but Im sure they will come back.
Will this end up causing problems in the long run (probably 5-6 month grow , outdoor)

 

[justsayknow]

My Northern Lights is doing quite well, Im thinking of transferring them to a slightly larger pot soon.
So, since we have about 100+ summers, should I go with a Sativa strain for outdoor ? (I was planning to anyways)

I know I had this conversation with you before AE, but I remember last time I planted outdoors, the temps just destroyed my plants (hybrids, which seem to be picky about their environment)

See if you can find a spot where they get some shade around the middle of the day? Last time I moved mine under an olive tree but on the sunnyside it had a branch that protected the plant from the direct sun at around 1-2pm.

Also see if you can find varieties that have been grown for a few generations in your local area. I find that local ones do better than dutch strains in harsh arid conditions. A friend of mine has some Northern Lights that seems to have acclimatized to the brutal heat here to some extent but I'm not sure how he got them like that or if he got them from a local breeder.

 

[Artificial Emotion]

I wish we could all hang out smoking weed and talking about growing weed in person. lol.
Fun fun fun.
I put off getting my clones, as we had a serious storm on the way (enough to rip trees out of the ground)
Figured I'd be better off waiting for 3 days, then buying some clones, so I plan on getting them tomorrow.

My Northern Lights is doing quite well, Im thinking of transferring them to a slightly larger pot soon.
So, since we have about 100+ summers, should I go with a Sativa strain for outdoor ? (I was planning to anyways)

I know I had this conversation with you before AE, but I remember last time I planted outdoors, the temps just destroyed my plants (hybrids, which seem to be picky about their environment)

Thanks for the info,
Looks good Xayo, I'll take a hit
and AE, I dont even know if you need compliments anymore you're too good at growing. lol. Hope everything is going well everyone

-Edit-
Another question. I turned over the soil/dirt in the area I plan on growing in (Ill try to get in a picture tomorrow or Tuesday as well).
I saw ALOT of roots from our neighbors tree (Unfortunantly , the only place I have to grow is near the fence of our neighbor, which is also where his trees are.) I turned over the soil about 3-4ft deep 3ft wide, and about 10-15ft long. (man was that a bitch to do ALL by hand)
Anyways, the first time I turned over the dirt, there weren't many roots, I'm assuming that was because the soil was as hard as clay/rock. Nothing could really grow in it. Now that I've softened the soil, I am seeing the roots of other trees/plants. Im wondering if this is going to cause any problems while growing outdoors, I really don't want my plants competing for nutrients against a tree. I've already slice off as much of the roots as I can, but Im sure they will come back.
Will this end up causing problems in the long run (probably 5-6 month grow , outdoor)

Thanks mate you're too good to me.

When you say they died with the weather, do you mean the heat killed them off? If you're having trouble with the sun, you can shade them with shade cloth suspended by whatever means. If you put them in a cheapo plastic greenhouse it will protect them from the sun and the cold at night. If the cold at night is ever an issue, you need to harden off the plants before you plant them out, either in a cold frame for two weeks or by placing young plants under coke bottles with the screw on tops removed. It will act as a mini greenhouse, protecting the young plants from the elements.

As for the roots, that's a common problem that I've had to deal with plenty of times. The roots are very easy to deal with if you have a tool called a mattock (see photo for an example). They're not too expensive to buy. It's a bit like a pick axe and can be used to chop up the roots so you can remove them by hand. It really does work a treat and is so good, I wouldn't even attempt to prepare a site without one. I also use a standard garden fork as well. As for your question though, yes I would do your best to remove as much of the touch roots as possible. They may very well compete for water and nutrients.

Mattock:

NSFW:

Don't forget to use a chemical pH testing kit from a garden center to test the soil acidity. If it's acidic, which is more likely than not, you need to add dolomite lime well before planting. Also make sure not to use this at the same time as you add fertilizer because they will react with each other.

It's important to add organic matter as this will open up the soil making it retain water better as well as, at the same time counter-intuitively, improving drainage. Well rotted manure available from the garden centers or garden compost from a composting bin will work really well. Work it into the soil with a garden fork. If the soil is clay, silt or loam based then you won't need any fertilizer at all. Because of the cation exchange capacity of clay, it holds nutrients really well and has large reserves of all the nutrients cannabis will ever need. The only thing that might help is a bit of potash during flowering. You can get this from comfrey. I would grow a comfrey patch alongside your plants so you can make high potash fertilizer by taking the comfrey leaves and stuffing them in a bucket with a tap at the bottom, weighing them down with a stone or a brick. As they decompose, a high potash liquid will collect at the bottom, which you can siphon off and dilute and use to water your flowering plants with. If you're growing in the ground, it's vitally important to only use organic fertilizers and not chemical ones as otherwise it partly defeats the main purpose of growing that way imo.

I would seriously recommend trying Mandala Satori. It's a sativa dominant plant bred from landrace strains that has the stature and branching pattern of an more indica-leaning plant. Flowering time is pretty short too and it's quite tasty and has a great psychedelic, clear-headed high.