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[MEGA]Community Growing advice, tips, tricks, & experiences Part 5 (2012-2013)

Scenerio
Hello! I'm smoking a strain of Grandaddy Purp, not a 100% pure strain though. I have seeds to multiple strains of medical grade marijuana and would like to grow for personal use only. No sales intended. However, I want to have a product that's absolutely amazing. I live in Florida and it's very humid here during the summer. How do I go about starting my own nursery for medical grade weed? I'd like to know the following specifics if possible, hopefully this thread can help others.
  • How to prevent smell


  • a sealed grow room with a good carbon filter set up is your best bet with this
 
[*]What kind of light and wattage

Depends what yield you want.

[*]How to prevent smell

Carbon filter.

[*]How to properly dry and manicure bud without losing any potency

Dry until stems snaps, hung from strings in cardboard box. Make holes in either side of box and place near grow room intake so air is pulled through carbon filter to kill smell. Trim off leaves with spring loaded scissors, no explanation needed.

[*]What kind of soil or fertilizer not only kills insects but keeps a plants buds as big and potent as possible

Soil or fertiliser doesn't kill insects. Buy multipurpose compost.

[*]What is the best light cycle

Veg 18h on 6h off, flower 12h on 12h off (18/6 and 12/12 respectively). Or up to 20h in veg.

[*]What can I use to further nutrient my plant to produce dense buds

What?

[*]Do specific strains require different growing environment

No. Unless it's a lanky sativa in which more headroom because they get tall.

[*]Does climate and humidity play a big role in growth? If so how

Yes. air exchange (lots of co2 needed for photosynthesis). Lower humidity in flower to prevent flowers from getting mouldy. Don't bother messing with rel. humidity in veg, not worth effort.

Thank you in advance to all who reply to this thread.

You need to do more research yourself.
 
Does anyone have any experience eradicating Hemp Russet Mites from their garden? A ridiculous amount of growers this year in Nor Cal got hit by them, and man they are little fuckers. We were able to stop them to some degree with sesame oil and a spray called pyganic. In my research I have found that rosemary oil and sulfur sprays also seem to be effective.
 
Yes, you need to use an agaricide. I would specifically recommend a neonicotinoid pesticide. One of the -mectins such as abamectin or ivermectin sprayed on the undersides of the leaves will work. This will be so effective it will almost certainly eradicate them, but try and keep it to the vegetative stage only if you can. If used correctly these are extremely safe and non-toxic. Ivermectin is even given to humans to treat parasites in a much higher concentration that you would get from the dilution used on your plants so you could in theory drink a fair amount of it and suffer absolutely no harmful effects whatsoever (I don't recommend this). Abamectin actually comes from a soil bactera and so in one respect some would consider it to be 'natural' to a certain degree.

SB Plant invigorator also works but a very small percentage of plants will react to it, appearing to look mutated and sick. It is effective though as long as it hasn't been sitting around for more than 18 months, after which it becomes less effective.
 
Yes, you need to use an agaricide. I would specifically recommend a neonicotinoid pesticide. One of the -mectins such as abamectin or ivermectin sprayed on the undersides of the leaves will work. This will be so effective it will almost certainly eradicate them, but try and keep it to the vegetative stage only if you can. If used correctly these are extremely safe and non-toxic. Ivermectin is even given to humans to treat parasites in a much higher concentration that you would get from the dilution used on your plants so you could in theory drink a fair amount of it and suffer absolutely no harmful effects whatsoever (I don't recommend this). Abamectin actually comes from a soil bactera and so in one respect some would consider it to be 'natural' to a certain degree.

SB Plant invigorator also works but a very small percentage of plants will react to it, appearing to look mutated and sick. It is effective though as long as it hasn't been sitting around for more than 18 months, after which it becomes less effective.


you're the man. So are strong pesticides my best bet? Like I said I was reading about people using organic methods as well, but I like how neither of those are as toxic as say floramite haha.
 
You can try those alternatives but I doubt they would be anywhere near as effective. If youre worried about residues as long as you don't use in flower there won't be any. But even if there was, it wouldn't be harmful. Like I say ivermectin is actually given to humans in much larger amounts than you would use so there's no health concerns if used right. Those organic pesticides come with their own issues anyway.

Most people aren't growing organically as they might believe I might add. If for example you are using lights, you aren't growing strictly organically. What I'm trying to say is don't get too preoccupied with staying 100% organic.
 
You want to try and get Harkers Harka-mectin. This is a pure highly concentrated ivermectin liquid marketed to treat pigeon mites, but is ideal for our use because there are no other nasty chemicals added. Try 0.5ml per litre water and add a wetting agent like yucca extract or the wetting agent made by Growth Technology (this is cheap as chips) and spray on the underside of the leaves. They usually all die after the first application but it can take up to three tries before they all die. Once the solution of Harkers is made up, you should use it immediately rather than storing it for later use, by the way.

Harkers Harka-mectin should be available from a certain popular internet auction site but I have no idea how long shipping to your destination would take. If need be there are other products but I would recommend this, because it's just the right size (a small 5ml bottle) and is not expensive to buy.

If you want to read more about the mectins visit UK420 as they have loads of info. Of course, if you have any other questions I'll do my best to answer them as best I can.
 
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Thanks so much for your help <3 I was only concerned about organic because of health factors, and this is an outdoor grow (were in flower obviously lol) so I will probably be applying these methods if we get hit at our indoor over the year.
 
Does anyone have any experience eradicating Hemp Russet Mites from their garden? A ridiculous amount of growers this year in Nor Cal got hit by them, and man they are little fuckers. We were able to stop them to some degree with sesame oil and a spray called pyganic. In my research I have found that rosemary oil and sulfur sprays also seem to be effective.

Did you notice the cloud of em' after you heard the heleCOPters ?
 
Its finally cool enough that i can turn on my lights in my grow room... Got a couple clones from the dispensary...
Jack Herer
And
Purple Cream (Purple Kush x GDP)
Ive had the bud from both of these exact clippings and its some of my all time favorite...
I can only run my 400w mh right now till it gets about 10 more degrees cooler outside then i can fire up the 1000w hps
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My outdoor method involves a large hole approximately half the size you want the plant to be. I'd place organic compost at the bottom (fruit, veg esp. banana for potassium). I'd then back fill with a 60/40 coco peat and perlite with a few slow release nitrate pellets. Plant out young plant from planter bag and place near top of hole after teasing the roots a little. Then back fill to the base of the plant. Water well.

As for feeding the plant I'd have an inverted 1.25 liter bottle with a tiny hole in the lid as a drip feeder. Unless it had been raining the bottles were refilled and replaced as they expired. It would contain an organic plant solution for hydroponic systems. Feeding A formula until buds start to develop and then A and B until 1 week from harvest. When buds are 3-4 weeks add PK 1:3 plant food, there are many different brands for 1 week. This does make a difference in your yield. A product that was a bloom booster was also used in the final 3 weeks of flowering. 1 week prior to harvest I flushed the plants 2nd daily with a full watering can of plain H20 each.

I also added good microbe colonies of fungi and bacterial types this reduces the risk of root rot. They also break down the organic plant food allowing the plant access to more nutrients. Simply mix a powder solution into water and then water your plants. There are a number of different companies offering these products through hydroponic web sites etc. Go visit your local hydroponic plant growing supply shop and ask about them. Makes a huge difference even outdoor!!

Neem works well as a pest control. I also used snail bate when planting young trees out door. I also recommend pruning paint in case of little accidents like broken branches or early sampling (although diluted honey is effective and no pruning paint near any buds :). Do not apply neem or pruning paint 2 weeks prior to harvest. Your plants should be healthy enough and large enough to withstand most things except lack of water. Expect big dank buds from Indica and large sweet sticky Sativa.

Some tips for making dwarf outdoor pot that looks like a creeper vine lol. First remove the tip from the plant at around 1 month. This will cause the remaining leaf nodules to develop branches, tip as needed to shape the plant into a dense bush. Next tie down the various branches with stakes to allow each branch to maximize sunlight. Be carefull doing this as the branches may split so have some pruning paint on hand.

This is best done in the early development of the plant as it's more pliable. To increase bud density may also be tipped this causes the remaining bud to develop out wards. Be vary care full ding this and ensure sure sterility. Honey that is slightly diluted may be used on the area of the bud tipped. Stress seems to increase the potency of the cannabis as well. If you have a green house you can get powdered co2 gas just add to water and watch it fizz. Best used twice a day and this will increase plant density.

Also I recommend a small desk fan in a green house to provide some wind resistance, this will strengthen the plants stem. A couple of low watt fluro grow bulbs (120 watt) are also good in a green house place to shine on the sides of the plants. This gives extra light to all the branches vertically. This system can also be used with 400-1000 watt grow bulbs indoor. Ensure ventilation both intake and extraction when using 400 watt + grow bulbs. As your drip feeding the best method is individual plant pots with a coco peat and perlyte (or similar) substrate.

Ensure you have reflectors around the perimeter of the grow such as foil to ensure maximum light uptake by the plants Also a large plastic tool container or similar to place the pots into. This catches any excess fluid from the plant food drip. Oxygenating tablets can be added if their is a large amount of fluid collected and the drip feed ceased until the excess fluid has been absorbed or evaporated. Alternatively if your running a recycling pump system a refrigeration unit to cool the nutrient fluid is a must. Carbon filters help with smell use them on you exhaust vent.

Colonies of good microbes are essential for a good grow in indoor hydroponic setting by preventing root rot and a number of other diseases while strengthening the root system and making more nutrients bio-available for the plant. Aphids can be a pain and neem seems to work to stop them colonizing your grow. There are other products that are natural anti pest products on the market. Even the good bacteria can be sprayed onto the leaves to prevent mold attacking you leaves/buds.

Also I'd indoor run clones/seedlings on a blue light for 4 weeks 240 watt fluro. A mister is good although good ventilation and heat exchange is paramount. You can spray with a hand spray 3 times a day. Also I'd have them suspended over a nutrient bath (base of pots just touching the surface) that had a fish pump as an oxygenating device. I'd use 100% perlyte for the first 1/4 of the pot topped with the usual 60/40 coco peat and perlyte. Following this they are planted out into pots, watered and an inverted drip bottle added with A solution with small amount of good bacteria and fungi added.

Hope this may be of use to some of you.
 
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I am wondering if seedlings would grow particularly slowly under an 80W CFL or if I am doing something wrong.

I have 5 seedlings under there right now (was only gonna do 4 but ended up with 5, couldn't bring myself to turf one), 3 are a like two and a half weeks old and two are a week and a half old roughly.

The ones that are 2.5 weeks old are still only developing their second set of true leaves, which are still only a fraction of the size of their first set. They seem to have faded a little in how green they are and the leaves are wilting, even the day after a watering it makes no difference. They have suffered a little bit of stress, two copped mild burn from me accidentally letting the light touch them and the other one I knocked over a time or two. They are all bagseed but all from the same plant.

The other two I have are a lot greener and seem to be doing better at this stage (although I would of said at this point the other ones were doing okay as well), one is the same genetics as the other three and the other one is a different, more indica dominant strain, the different strain at this point is actually my largest seedling out of all 5 and seems to be doing quite well. It is probably worth noting at this point that this strong seedling is the only one of the 5 that I have in soil that is marketed as seedling soil, the other 4 are in potting soil that presumably has some nutrients (atleast one definitely has "dynamic lifter" added) and could maybe be burning my plants. Still, it really concerns me that shit might be going really wrong with the other ones if this one is doing so well and they are not.

I have them in 8 oz/237mL styrofoam cups that have 4 or 5 half centimentre holes for drainage (is this too much btw lol) and have been watering them every couple of days or so. It is hard to find anything specific on exactly how much to give seedlings so I have just been getting the soil nice and moist and letting it dry out pretty well before resoaking it. It does seem like they have been drying out quite quick which is why I wonder if I have too many/too large drainage holes. Being rootbound is another thing I thought of but to me this seems absurd, for how small they are in the size container I just don't see it.

The setup is in a garage, and even though it is spring here it has been unusually cold, so I am wondering if the low night temperatures could be stressing them out, it would also potentially explain why the more indica leaning plant is doing better than the others.

I don't have a way to test the soil Ph, but since they are all planted in store bought soils and less than 3 weeks old I would of thought they couldn't be that out of range. I actually went to buy a soil testing ph kit over a week ago, but the instructions said I needed three soil samples, one from top, one from middle and one from the bottom, how the fuck is anyone meant to get that out of a styrofoam cup without damaging the plant roots it is ridiculous. Anyway, in between then and now I had an unexpected significant expense and don't even have a disposable income for the better part of a week to get one of these.

I am just a bit confused, part of me thinks it is the lighting more than anything, the soil shouldn't be burning the plants and if it were I would think it would look different than slow plant growth and some wilted leaves, maybe I am wrong? My gut is telling me it is either the light or the soil ph but I am really keen to hear anyone elses ideas. I don't think the temperature is ideal but I find it hard to imagine it would have this impact, especially since the parents were grown in this region and had to put up with some fairly low temps at times.

I half wonder if I should just scrap what I have going and restart in a more scientific manner, I started these at different times in different soils when I over estimated how many seedlings I could raise in my setup and wanted to see which worked best, but now I am left with a couple different strains at different ages in different soils and as a result it is hard to narrow down what my problems are. It would more than a little frustrating if I had to do that however as it would ultimately reduce how many plants I can have this year by a handful and also sets me back almost three weeks. If anyone could offer any insight, tips or ideas about what I might be doing wrong or how to solve the issue I would appreciate it immensely.

I am sure that under 80W of light I can expect fairly slow growth compared to pretty much any other effective method but I am also becoming pretty sure that in ideal circumstances they would still be looking a lot better under there. Many thanks in advance!

Get a 120 watt fluro bulb for seedlings (blue spectrum) and place it fairly close to the young ones indoors. Not to close as they will fry. Ensure plenty of ventilation!! Alternatively 2 blue spectrum fluro's at 240 watts would be better although a little more space between plant and light than just 120 w. Depending on how many you have etc. Use a small desk fan to help the seedlings stems become stronger and to help keep them cool. A mister set on a timer can also be an asset depending on the area you growing your seeding in. Organic pesticides like Neem oil spray are usually enough to deal with most pest. (except the two legged kind)

Always ensure your soil substrate is sterile. Substrates such as coco peat are ph balanced. It is the nutrient feed that can alter the balance. Good microbes colonizing the substrate reduce ph fluctuation. Don't use potting mix for example as it's not sterile and ph may not be balanced (neutral). Use citric acid as the acid and whatever isn't to toxic for the base can't remember what it was??

To the sterile substrate good microbes can be added, these come in powdered form and you add to water such as Mycorrhiza. Mycorrhiza help increase root surface area and nutrient uptake. These products are available at most hydroponic retailers and online. Also good bacteria help break down nutrients and out colonize bad microbes. It is also important to ensure the soil is well oxygenated and drains well.

Get a ph soil test kit this is vital!! (I hope you got the soils from someplace other than bunnings as they won't be very sterile best going to a proper hydroponics shop and getting substrates). Make a solution with citric acid or calcium hydroxide base depending on what is lower and water the substrates with this solution. Ensure you have a good microbial colony and the soil/substrate the plants are in is very lose and drains easily even sand 50% and potting mix can be used outdoors.

You probably have infection in the plants roots. Next time you grow scrub everything with bleach and I mean EVERYTHING some fungi that cause root rot can lay dormant and infect your next crop. DO not use non sterile substrates such as potting mix in the plants early development and always use good microbes. Your problem is the soil is not porous enough to drain the plants well add some sand as this will aid drainage and help keep the soil oxygenated. Poorly oxygenated soil will cause root rot. Probably every few days with a good water as you can over water mullies.
 
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