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

Thanks for the info, Ill switch out my old carbon filter and see how things go,
Also, should I have my filter at plant level, or above the plants? I currently have it at the height of the plants and I haven't had much problem with smell.
I was wondering though if maybe spider mites would crawl onto the pre-filter fabric and lay eggs, which means if Im just spraying my plants, mites might be able to reproduce on the filter? idk, just seems that Ive cleaned everything out in my closet except for the filter, and mites keep reproducing, pretty sure I just found my Spider Mite problem
 
^ exhaust and filter should be at the top of the grow room on one side. The intake should be at the bottom on the opposite side, so that if you were to draw a line from the intake to the exhaust/CF, it would be a diagonal line from one corner to the opposite from top to bottom. The allows the best airflow possible.

I'm prettey sure they can lay eggs in there, as well as in duvets and mattresses! Don't want to freak you out but you should remove it and put it through the wash. They're machine washable so it should be fine.

If you were to use something like SBPI or an acaricide, you need to keep spraying every few days repeatedly for a couple of weeks at least. One or two applications are not enough, since repeated sprays are needed to disprupt the life cycle so the eggs don't hatch and start the whole life cycle over again. Also I don't know what you've been using but maybe you should try a different treatment. I find SBPI to work 100% of the time. If caught early enough it's fool proof I find (and quite satisfying as well, since it makes the plants look so damn healthy too for some reason).
 
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Im so glad, I was sure I would lose all my beloved plants (which I spent a lot of money on in seeds since I wanted the best genetics I could afford) to LSF. I cut all the affected leaves off and was quite aggressive in doing so and brewed up a batch of Plant Magic Essence. Instead of spraying it on, I just dipped the whole of the plants in the brew and it seemed to do the trick. They're now looking pretty healthy. I thought I might have had spidermites but they don't seem to be showing anymore damage which would be indicative of that. I might spray them with some SBPI in the next few days as a preventative anyway, since it would also do them some good whether there are mites or not.

I'm going to transplant four of the best Ice Cream cuttings into my Amazon system when I get a chance. I've got two lids - a 32 pot one and a 4 pot on, and I'll be using the 4 pot one obviously. I'll have to fill each of the sites with hydroton (clay pebbles) which have been sitting in ph adjusted weak nutrient solution for 24 hours since they're too big to hold the small net pots that are used with my aeroponic propagator. Since I'm using the 4 site lid I'll be doing a SCROG with my budbox utility shelf. That will have the advantage of overcoming the stability issue with the Amazon, since the plants are prone to topping over easily in this system with the roots not being anchored down like they are in soil or coco. I'll grow them up quite high first though, so I have plenty of room between the base of the plants and the screen, to give me plenty of room to work with and more air circulation down there which should help prevent mould.

I've decided the nutrients I'm going to be using for this Amazon grow are Canna Aqua, which is specifically designed for recirculating systems. It also has the bonus ingredient of humic/fulvic acid, so this should help with nutrient uptake. I'm also going to use House and Garden Root Excelurator, since I know this outperforms additives like rhizotonic and other root stims, and is also quite economical with it being used at a rate of only 0.3ml per litre! Apart from that I'm only going to be using phosphoric acid in veg and nitric acid in bloom (not the other way round like other people use, since the plants usually could actually do with a bit extra P in veg and N in bloom with the nutrients people use).

Since this is a recirculating system I'm considering buying myself a UV clarifier to help with pythium, although the Root Excelurator should help to prevent that in theory. In the meantime I think I'll try and use hydrogen peroxide on a daily basis, although the efficacy of that is questionable IMO.

Here's some photos of my grow:

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Paradise Ice Cream plants in aeroponic propagator:
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And it's roots which have just started to grow:
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Two Sweet Seeds Cream Caramel autos (don't laugh, it's just for the novelty and to fill in a corner while cuttings root and plants veg! I don't advocate growing autos indoors at all, except for in very specific circumstances):
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One of my Black Widow plants I'm training into a bonsai mum:
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Headband plant:
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Second headband plant:
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Third headband plant:

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^ you're welcome mate. Just out of curiosity, do you grow yourself? I can't remember if you do or not.
....

I went to my new guerrilla grow location to try and dig it over with a mattock and gave up after about 5 minutes, since there are so many tree roots getting in the way. So I and definitely going to try growing in a raised bed. I was thinking of getting some old car tyres from a scrapyard and filling it with 50-75% loam (topsoil for lawns) and 25-50% manure. The problem with tyres is the chemicals on them can potentially leach into the soil, but I would have thought this would be more of a concern for growing vegetables than cannabis, but I'm unsure. I could just get some pressure treated timber and make myself some 2' x 2' raised beds on site though. Luckily the garden centre is only about 100 feet from my grow site, so I will be able to haul the loam/manure straight there after buying it.
 
Thanks for the ideas AE, but the problem atm is that my mom still lives with me. When I finish school in about 2 years she'll leave and i'll be alone to do what I want hehe.

I would really like to start practicing right now, but the only option would be a guerilla plant, but I have absolutely no idea where do plant, the greenest area around must be like 30 minutes away by car. A lot of people in a small area where I live so I can't think of a spot nobody will ever come by.

The greenhouse is impossible because of my mom, but it still interests me. Like I said, there's a lot of people here, my backyard is surrounded by other's backyards, so I don't think I would be able to hide such a setup in there :/
 
I still think a guerrilla grow is your best bet. There's no way you're going to be able to grow indoors without your mother finding out. If you drive, I would suggest just driving around for a day, or use public transport if you have to, to find a spot and then use that. If you prepare the soil rather than growing in a container you won't really have to water or feed it much at all, so it can be left unattended for most of the time.

If you think your garden is surrounded by neighbours your should see mine. Mine is next to my neighbour's, only divided by a knee high fence and I managed to grow a few autoflowering plants to flower in there without anyone noticing. But anyhow, a guerrilla spot would be ideal for you in your circumstances IMO.

.............

Look what I just finished building. It's a DIY variac twin fan speed controller. Better than those fan dimmers you get from hydro stores IMO.

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Looking good AE, thanks for the info, Im going to move my exhaust a little more to the right and upwards then, hopefully create more of a vacuum than I currently have, plants are looking good...Wish I would've just germinated my Northern lights and vegged/flowered them instead though.

Spider mites all over the grow room...nooo.
I think I may just replace the filter/prefilter all together, as the carbon filter I have doesn't seem to be helping with the smell much (every time I walk into the room, it smells like weed) , wasn't a problem before, but Im starting to notice it, and I think the carbon filter was only suppose to last 1 1/2 years. I think the one Im switching to is only a 6 month filter though, hopefully it works better though (guess Ill keep the old one in the garage for a week or two, just incase...
 
^ if you paid a fair amount for it why not keep it and just refill it? It's really easy to do and can be done in five minutes.

I would look into finding a 'mectin type pesticide, such as abamectin since that will destroy the spidermites. I've got a feeling the treatment you've been using is inadequate since it obviously hasn't dealt with the problem.
 
It deals with the problem, they DO go away from a week or two, then just end up starting their cycle all over again, Ill go check the stores Saturday to see if they have anything with mectin/abamectin to finally kill these little bastards off forever.

Thats why Im thinking its the fabric on the pre-filter, and I can't find any carbon around here to even place in the filter, and it seems the amount I would need would cost the same ammount in shipping and price as a new filter would.

Can you PM me a link to prices for a few lbs of carbon, most of the places Ive seen only sell one lb for quite a bit(named the price but forgot I can't put prices) , when I'd need quite a bit more than that for the size of the filter I have.
 
^ that's why you need to keep spraying. The initial treatment kills all the adults, and then the next treatment a few days later kills off any that have hatched from any surviving eggs and so on. Eventually all the eggs will have hatched and they are completely gone. If you're not spraying regularly enough or you're not using a good enough treatment (and to be honest most spidermite products don't work), then they'll just keep coming back. The eggs can live in places like the pre-filter but if you keep spraying then it shouldn't matter.

Honestly if I were you and I couldn't find a treatment like abamectin or SBPI that I knows has a track record of working amongst growers then I would ship something like a bottle of SBPI from the UK. The great thing about SBPI is that because it doesn't work chemically, it's not harmful like other pesticides. It works by physical means i.e. it smothers the spidermites on contact and so they can't adapt to the treatment ever. It also contains a leaf waxing type thing and nutrients so it improves the health of the plants anyway (I can vouch for that lol).
 
Prelude, the carbon filter is only really worth refilling if you've got a top of the line make that should last for at least two years anyway. If it's a cheaper version then just save up for an expensive one. They really are worth the money, trust me. Once you've bought it it costs relatively little to refill, compared to the cost of buying a new one. The cost for me would be about just under a third of the cost of buying a new one. However it would be about the same as a budget one, although I really think they're a false economy since they don't work 100% from the start and always let some smell through (unlike the better ones which if set up properly should be 100% effective IMO) and usually stop working in less than a year. For me when I started out the budget filter didn't even last one single grow! After that I decided never again would I risk my security just to save a bit of cash when it's only a one off purchase anyway.

If you want a guide on how to refill the carbon filters just let me know. I can post it up or give you a link to one including photos and an easy to understand description.

I really want to look into trying a really decent ozone generator for odour control if I can. I think I might go for a slightly more expensive one, but will test one of the cheaper 400mg/h ones from a popularly internet auction site first. I'll just put it in the extraction ducting that is blowing air straight outdoors, meaning I won't be breathing in the ozone indoors at all. This should kill the smell as it leaves, hopefully. I'll post back on the success of it though.

I've decided to experiment with a technique where you keep cuttings in stasis for up to 4-8 weeks without having to root them. Basically all you do is take the cutting below the node as usual and put in a ziplock bag with a quick quirt of water and place in the fridge straight away. When you're ready to use it you take it out of the fridge and cut off the very end of the stem along the node to expose fresh stem that hasn't got an air embolism. Once it's brought back up to normal grow room temps it will start to root in the normal way. This should save clone room electricity and space as well as time and money. I can't wait to try it out. I've just taken a couple of cuttings which are in the fridge and I'm going to see if I can take it up 8 weeks and successfully root them after all that time. Even if the strike rate is only 33% that just means taking a few more cuttings than usual. I think it could be a really useful technique which would allow me to take a few cuttings from a plant a couple of weeks into flowering and store them until harvest, meaning I wouldn't have to have a separate area for clones/mums.

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Curing vs. Drying (difference?)

Let's call my buddy "J" (just b/c it seems to fit the topic ;-)) So recently J received a new strain of headies type buds, and allowed me to examine them. I criticized it a little bit b/c --although it had decent trichome-coverage and otherwise looked great-- the buds looked partially uncured. I would estimate about 75% cured (0% = right off the plant, 100% = completely cured).

When I say 'uncured', I don't necessarily mean moist or wet (to be honest though it WAS a little moist but as soon as brought home it was left in open-air to dry). But ultimately what I meant was: the overall bud structure lacked appropriate density and was too LOOSE. I believe this is also indicated by it's tendency for a lot of it's calyxes (oval shaped pods with a point @ one end) to be loose enough to fall off the stem/bud. Now this strain is 60% Indica, so I've ruled out that what I am seeing is the bud 'lankiness' typical of Sativas (because it's only 40 Sativa) and even if it was full Sativa the buds should be more compact than they are. Also the smoke is a bit harsh on the lungs in a way that I associate with non-cured. The trichomes are not quite as white as they should be; about 50% of them are sliver/transparent than white (so this is of course better than mainly yellow/orange ones I guess)

So I tell this to J, and he gets a little defensive (not enough that he's douchey, just a real subtle vibe). He talked to the grower, "B", and the grower said it was done deliberately b/c don't like sending out buds that are brittle and "bone dry" (buds breaking, unappealing, etc... I guess). Said if requested, that buds would be cured longer before they are sent (the thought that this would only delay sending them a few days may = assumption it is the same as quick-drying).

This popped a question in my head. It seems the grower was referring to curing as if it were the same as drying. I had the impression that bud gets dried AS SOON AS the plant is cut, and then curing takes place very slowly. For example, when harvested the buds are hung to dry just enough so that the stems snap (but buds still 'spongy'). Then the buds are placed in a brown paper bag in the fridge to ensure the buds dry VERY slowly over a 4(ish) week period. This is when the calyxes and plant matter begins to contract and become dense, leaving not much looseness relative to the strain's inherent bud density. When most calyxes blend in with each other to form a uniform greenery & consistency, this may indicate they are finished, ready to smoke (is this right?).

So now my question is, in what way did the harvester screw up? My intuition says that the buds needed cured longer to get denser and hold it's calyxes, but I'm not 100% that the above explanation is true about what curing is and it's function & effect on bud-structure, just my impression. Also, assuming the grower doesn't know the difference (more likely doesn't care / economic tactic), what would be a good way to explain it to a simple-minded person without sounding offensive & insulting their product?

TL;DR ----> Is there a difference between curing and drying buds? Like, drying rapidly (after picking) just till the stems snap, then drying much more slowly (4 weeks) to make the buds gradually drier and denser (= curing)?
 
I'm a bit fucked up at the moment so I'm having trouble reading, but the first process that is done after harvesting is drying. The plants are hung upside down in a lightly ventilated room (no direct breezes on the buds) at 50% relative humidity and 18-22C temperature until the buds snap when bent. Then at this point they are placed in paper bags for about two more days and finally in glass jars with rubber seals. Moisture buildup is allowed to escape from the jar by the grower by opening the jar every few hours for the first day and then at longer intervals until it's only being done about once per day and then once every other day and so on. This process in the glass jars is called curing and ideally should be done over a minimum of one month, but the maximum benefit is achieved after a six month cure after which no more benefit is had from further curing. Your buddy sounds like he doesn't know his ass from his elbow.
 
The minimum time for drying is four days.
The minimum time for curing is two weeks.


It all depends on how dry your climate is, how big your buds are, and how often you open the jar during the cure process which will determine how long it actually takes. Also, if you put the buds in the jar to cure too early, your cure time will increase due to more drying time needed during the cure process.

I skip the paper bag process completely.
 
Arthunter, everything youve said seems right on to me. I believe curing allows the buds to become more potent, and smooth when smoked.
 
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lol, sounds like you mostly answered your own question.
If you wanna teach your friend to cure buds, show him how to cure them properly, if your friend
declines, you should ask them for some bud fresh off the plant and each test both of your cured weed after its cured to see
which weed turned out to be the better smoke. (Just an idea, some people just don't take criticism well, and some people are completely open to advice)
 
Here's some pics of my grow. Pic 1 and 2 are headband plants, pic 3 is a Cream Caramel auto and pic 4 is of my Black Widow and Shit bonsai mums.

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