New Growers Needed for Grow Lab Study. Goal: 2.5 grams Cured Bud per watt HPS

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I'm developing an ebook of my favorite techniques, equipment and genetics - with the end goal to incorporate our gardening techniques in lab like conditions to personal food production for individual families in greenhouse or outdoor gardens in developing countries.

I need growers who would like to use some or all of my procedures in their grow to increase yield, potency, reduce harvest time and cost; and to help me improve the system in each of those areas. I will help you set up your garden, find the least expensive equipment, go through operations on a daily basis.


This is what I have to offer, you should be able to duplicate my results within a few grows:

I currently yield around 3 litres of 4 week cured bud per plant (60-75 grams per litre, 8%-11% of cut weight), growing medium yield strains like Kali Mist, Bubblegum and Jillybean. I have 14 strains in flower, 12 buckets, 600 watt HPS:

12 Buckets X 3 Litres/bucket X 60 Grams per litre =


2,160 grams per grow for a 600 watt light, after 4 weeks curing. 10% of cut weight.







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12 x five gallon buckets in an 8' x 3' garden:




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Levels BABY! GIDDIE UP!!




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Under one 600 Watt HPS and a light mover:



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Over an Air Floor:



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Taking less than 1 hour to train a plant:





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And 15 minutes a day maintenance work to tend both the veg and flower gardens. Once these plants are trained just rotate, water/feed and ignore:





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Great for short gardens >>> two Super Strawberry Diesel with 6' 4" inches of stem each plant (double topped), both are under 6" from the bucket rim. CCOB is a good way to grow if you have limited height or (like me) just don't like tall plants. Each stem goes from the center of the bucket to the edge (6"-1"= 5"), around 1/4 of the bucket (38"/4 ~ 9") and go up ~5" for 4 x 19" = 76" (6'4") of stem grown in less than 6".

The stem stops growing when bent horizontal, there is no stretch in flower, so there are more branches per foot than with a vertical stem. More yield for the same length of stem.



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Top view. Each plant gave 2 liters (8-9 cups) of cured bud. I can comfortably fit 12 of these in my 8' x 3' garden with one 600 W light = ~6 gallons of bud per harvest. More once I learn to grow better, make my own soil and nutes, etc, etc ... . I'm doing a continuous harvest, eventually I'd like to harvest a plant or two every week, balance things out instead of trimming for days at a time. Since the stem virtually stops stretch when bent horizontal the nodes are much closer together than a vertical plant that's gone through stretch during flower, so more nodes (colas) per foot of stem.

note: These are old pics, my yield is up 50% since these were taken. Air pruning buckets and a few other small changes.



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My end goal is to develop a simple system that can be used to produce the same high yield of edible fruits and veg et a bles in a controlled outdoor or greenhouse setting. I will get this system for edibles by developing a marijuana growing system that produces 4 litres (about a gallon) of 4 week cured bud per plant (60-75 grams per litre at 10% cut weight), with 12 buckets under a 300 watt custom LED light with an elliptical trough reflector on a light rail - then adapting the system for specific vegetables: corn being the sensible first test. I don't have the interest in edibles to develop the system directly, but adapting a marijuana system should be relatively easy. I'm currently growing 3 litres per plant, 12 buckets, 600 watt HPS with a light rail and will make a few changes to up my average to 4 litres with the 600 watt HPS.

I need the input of new growers to find out if my directions are accurate, encompassing and easy to understand. You'll help me develop the system. In return, anyone who wants to duplicate my system should be able to yield 2 litres per bucket (x 12 buckets), 24 litres under a 600 watt HPS, within a few grows. 3 to 4 litres per bucket, after a time, if you're committed to studying, experimenting and investing 15 minutes a day into gardening.

I'm going to post my procedures from seed to cure, most of which I've gotten from more experienced growers like BOG, Subcool, DJ Short, etc. My Weed Science from Dr Jay, Phife and my fellow Weed Scientists. If anyone would like to start by adding one of these techniques or pieces of equipment please post in this thread and I'll work with you until you get the results that you want.

I'd like to use your pictures and experiences in the ebook as well, I'll be posting the book on my site for free download and offering it free to dispensaries and to caregivers to sell on DVD as a fundraiser. Even though it's free online very few people will stumble upon it.

24 litres (6 gallons) of cured bud under the above conditions guaranteed or I keep working with you until we get the results we want. 6 gallons of cured bud per grow from a 600 watt HPS. Your results will tell us if the equipment and techniques are what we need to bring food to developing nations, when you yield 2.5 grams cured bud per watt HPS then the procedure will be ready for the next step.

Thanks in advance to anyone joining in the study.

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Germination


Easy Seed Germination: simple, fast, safe

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I haven't invented anything new but I follow these steps every time I germinate seeds and I've got a 100% success rate - I've lost only one seed with this method, I was careless and planted it upside down. Nearly fool proof. Hopefully someone will find this useful.

I like it because it's simple (1 step), fast, safe, and I don't have to handle the sprouts. I usually get sprouts popping the surface in 2-3 days, the shortest around 30 hours and the longest 3.5 days.


Plastic cup (16-20oz)
Pro Mix (non fertilized soil less)
Distilled water
Magnifying glass (or good eyes)
Bic pen refill
Glad Press and Seal wrap (crinkled)
Tablespoon
Masking Tape
Sharp poking tool (knife, scissors)

1. Mix Pro Mix normally - enough distilled water so the mix holds together when squeezed in one hand but not so much water that it drips.

2. Poke holes in bottom of cup. Fill cups with Pro Mix, put hand over top and shake up and down to get rid of air holes. Pat the top of the pro mix in cup down gently. Fill to 1" below the cup top - room for the sprout to grow if it comes up when you're not around; and to put in more Pro Mix if the stem stretches. Label each cup with masking tape before putting the seed in. I use different colored cups for different strains as well.

3. With the writing tip of the pen poke a hole in the center of the pro mix, about 1/8". Not deep, just a starter hole. The seed will do the rest of the work.

4. Using good eyes or the magnifying glass find the scalloped (opens) and dimpled (hing) sides of the seed. Poke the scalloped end into the pro mix - I find it easiest to put the seed between the thumb and index finger and gently squeeze it in. Don't push far, just until it stays upright.

5. Recheck the seed to be sure the dimple side is up.

6. Using the open tube end of the pen refill push the dimpled end of the seed down until it is 1/16-1/8" below the surface. Using the pen refill skuff up the pro mix until 1/8" is over the seed dimple. Loose and airy is good.

7. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of distilled water over the top of the pro mix. Do NOT uncover the seed.

8. Rip off a piece of Glad Press and Seal wrap, tear it's length in two so you have a square, and wrap over the top of cup making a complete seal.

9. Place the cup minimum flower distance from your light in your flower room. The heat from the light will act like a steamer with the distilled water and the seed; the (12 on/12 off) cycle of the light will mimic nature; the crinkled Glad wrap will keep the moisture and heat in and diffuse the light.

10. After the first day pull back the Glad Wrap a couple of times a day to look for sprouting.

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Easy Seed Germination: simple, fast, safe

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Soil

I use Pro Mix almost exclusively, mostly because I get decent results and I've always got something else to work on - subcritical co2 extractor, elliptical trough reflector, air pruning buckets - so I've skipped this simple step that will give great yield increases. Simple because we can stand on the shoulders of giants while making our soil.

I like Subcool's Super Soil recipe better than any I've studied - simple to make, great ingredients, fantastic results. I've emailed Subcool for permission to use his recipe, I'll leave it up until I hear from him. I'll be using Subcool's Super Soil for all of my new plants, I expect this to give me a great yield increase.

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2010 Revised Super Soil Recipe

by Subcool


To me, there is nothing like the taste of properly grown organic cannabis. The subtle flavors and aromas created when using Mother Earth are pleasantly overwhelming to the senses when everything is done properly. As with many vegetables, a rich organic soil can bring out the best in a plant. Throughout the past 20 years, I have tried almost every possible way to cultivate our favorite plant and while hydroponic is certainly faster and more productive, I have developed a soil that performs extremely well with very little guess work. I don’t worry about PH or PPM (parts per million), I simply have spent a few years developing a n effective recipe. Using seven gallon nursery pots, I can grow plants from start to finish using only water. Other than a bit of sweat equity every 90 days or so, this takes a huge amount of science out of the garden and puts nature back in charge. This recipe is slightly different from the one I had used previously— the one so many consider to be gospel— and that has been passed around for years from grower to grower. I consider this version to be new and improved and reflects the exact formula I am using at the time this book was actually printed.

I always start with at least 6-8 large bags of high quality organic soil. The selection of your base soil is very important, so don’t cut corners here. I cannot possibly discuss all the different products but I will mention a few notable favorites. A good organic soil should cost between $8-10 per 30 lb. bag. To get a really good idea of what I consider to be a balanced soil, take a look at the ingredients of a product called Roots Organic:

Lignite*, coca fiber, perlite, pumice, compost, peat moss, bone meal, bat guano, kelp meal, Green sand, soy bean meal, leonardite, k-mag, glacial rock dust, alfalfa meal, oyster shell flour, earth worm castings and Mycorrhizae.

I have always had success in giving my plants a wide range of soil amendments; I figure it's like a buffet where they get all they need.

“Lignite, also known as leonardite, mined lignin, brown coal, and slack, is an important constituent to the oil well, drilling industry. Lignite, or leonardite as it will be referred as hereafter, is technically known as a low rank coal between peat and sub-bituminous. Leonardite was named for Dr. A.G. Leonard, North Dakota's first state geologist, who was a pioneer in the study of lignite deposits. Leonardite is applied to products having a high content of humic acid. Humic acid has been found to be very useful as a drilling
mud thinner.”

Another soil product we are now testing is called Harvest Moon:

Washed coco fibers, Alaskan peat moss, perlite, yucca, pumice, diatoms, worm castings, feather meal, fishmeal, kelp meal, limestone, gypsum, soybean meal, alfalfa meal, rock dust, yucca meal, and Mycorrhizae fungi.

The Roots Organic soil has typically produced a more floral smell in the finished buds, while the Harvest Moon generates larger yields.

If you have access to good local mixes like these, then I highly recommend starting with these types of products. We have also had decent results using larger commercial brands, but not without plenty of additives. The best result we have seen from well known soil that is available nationwide is with Fox Farms “Ocean Forest” soil combined in a 2-1 ratio with “Light Warrior,” also produced by Fox Farms. On its own, the Ocean Forest is known for burning plants and having the wrong ratio of nutrients, but when mixed with Light Warrior it makes a pretty good base soil.

You can also just use two bales of their “Sunshine Mix #4,” but this is my last choice and plants growing in this may not complete properly with my “just add water” method of soil growing. The concept with this concentrated soil is to not have to worry about mixing nutrients once the soil is made.

The mix is placed in the bottom ¼ to ½ of the container and blended with base soil. This allows the plants to grow into the strongly concentrated soil and, in the right size container, they need nothing else but water throughout the full growing cycle. With strains requiring high levels of nutrients like Cheese and Space Queen and other high energy demand strains, we go as strong as ¾ of the container with Super Soil but this is only with a small percentage of strains.

Here are the amounts we have found that produce the best tasting buds and strongest medicines:

8 large bags of high quality organic potting soil with coco and Mycorrhizae
25-50 lbs. of organic worm castings
5 lbs. of Blood meal 12-0-0
5 lbs. Bat guano 0-5-0
5 lbs. Fish Bone Meal 3-16-0
¾ cup Epsom salt
1 cup Sweet lime (Dolomite)
½ cup Azomite ( Trace element)
2 Tbs. powdered Humic acid
*** If using an RO system add in 1/2 cup powdered Cal/mag

This is the same basic recipe I have used for 15 years. While I have made small changes in the ingrediants the basic recipe has stayed the same with the main change being the type of products we use. I do make small changes and that means the true recipe is always changing slightly but each of the changes is small and if I see no benifit I return to the previous mix. The hardest ingredient to acquire is the worm castings. Most people don't even know what this is. Be resourceful and find it! Worms make up ¾ of the living organisms underground and hold our planet together.
Be careful not to waste money on “Soil conditioner with worm castings.” Buy local, pure worm poop with no added mulch.

There are several methods of mixing this up well. You can sweep the ingredients off a patio or garage and work with it there on a tarp.You can use a kids’ plastic wading pool. These cost about $10 and work really well for a few seasons. Some growers have been known to rent a cement mixer and cut down on the physical labor. As long as you get the ingredients mixed up properly, that is all that matters.

This can be a lot of work so don’t pull a muscle if you’re not used to strenuous activity. The manual method is good for the mind and body. Working with soil keeps me in pretty good shape, but if you have physical limitations you can simply have someone mix it up for you while you supervise. One of the things I like about this method is that I can drop off plants to a patient and all they have to do is water them when the soil dries out.

Place a few bags of base soil in first, making a mound. Then place the powdered nutrients in a circle around the mound and cover it all with another bag of base soil.
Then, in go the bat poop and more base soil. I continue to layer soil and additives until everything has been added to the pile. At this point, I put on the muck boots. These help me kick the soil around and get it mixed up well using my larger leg muscles and not my back and arms. Then it’s as simple as my Skipper used to say: “Put your back into it.” This is hard work that I obsess on, even breaking up all the clods of soil by hand. I mix for about 15 minutes, turning the pile over and over until it is thoroughly combined. I store the mix in large garbage cans.

Before using it, the entire load is poured out once more and mixed well. Once placed in the storage containers, I water the mix slightly, adding three gallons of water to a large garbage can full. It will make the stirring harder next week but this will activate the Mycorrhizae and help all the powders dissolve.

Now, we add water and let it cook in the sunshine. Thirty days of cooking is best for this concentrate.

Do not put seeds or clones directly in this mix. It is a concentrated mix used in conjunction with base soil. Place it in the bottom of each finishing container. Fully rooted, established clones should be placed in a bed of base soil that is layered on top of the concentrate. As the plants grow, they slowly push their roots into the Super Soil, drawing up all nutrients needed to complete their life cycle. Super Soil can also be used to top dress plants that take longer to mature.

I use this mix for a full year, just adding about 30-50% in the lower portion of the container, depending on the strain, and plain base soil in the top portion. (Base soil means your regular potting soil such as Roots, Harvest Moon, or even Sunshine Mix without the additives!)

Buds produced from this method finish with nicely faded fan leaves and the end result is a smoother fruity flavor. The plants are not green when done but purple, red, orange and even black at times. The resin content is heavier and the terpins always seem to be more pungent.

This method is used by medical growers all over with amazing results. The feedback I receive is really positive with reports of hydro-like growth and novice growers producing buds of the same quality as lifelong growers.


You can watch more info on my Youtube channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/subcool4...10/s-jOcEMnTbc

Notes#

We switched from Bone meal to Fish bone meal because its organic
Rock dust is no longer available due to the patriot act and I am not sure it helped anyway the Roots soil has Glacial Rock dust included.

I am now using 6 bags of Roots 2 bags of Biobiz Light in my recipe.

This is the most current recipe.

I hope this clears up some confusion.















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2010 Revised Super Soil Recipe

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These were my tops of my Jack The Ripper, Jilly Bean, Pandora's Box and Killer Chemdog. I rooted the cuttings and vegged to 4 nodes (~2") then put right into flower to sex the mothers. I germed 3 seeds of each and got 3 Jilly Bean, 3 Pandora's Box and 1 Jack The Ripper female; and 1 double sprout JTR seed that had 1 male and 1 female sprout. The double sprout female was a runt and I didn't top it but getting 8 for 9 females is a pretty good flip of the coin.

The Jillybeans have an unbelievable Dreamcicle smell, all three. (one pheno was the Candy Store, my keeper) I though the ads might have exagerated a tad but they're understated if anything. 2 to 3 weeks of flower left. I don't get a huge yield with these but I get a nice taste long before the mother plants are ready. The 3 in a row on the left (PB, JB, PB) are all 14"-15". The tall Jilly Bean pheno on the far right is 24" (on right KCD, JB, JB with the slightly smaller JTR in front). 5 budcicles in each 5 gallon bucket. Both JTR have a strong lemon spice smell, fantastic.



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3 Jillybeans CCOB at 4 weeks. (5 gallon buckets) They already smell of Dreamcicle. I veg my plants vertical to 22", topped once, and there usually ends up 46"-48" of stem grown in 6"-12" of height above the bucket rim. I did a Kali Mist in 4" just to see how short I could grow a sativa dominant. If I double top I get 60"+ of stem but it's a lot more work and time training a double topped plant. A single topped plant can sometimes be trained in a day, a week at most.



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This is the JB on the top left from above. It has 36 branches and the two colas, all 38 will become small colas with equal light. (note: The largest of these colas, fresh cut, filled almost an entire 1 litre Ziploc jar)




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Jack The Ripper, Pandora's Box, and 2 Killer Chemdog - all look like they're dying but this is what plants look like during the first week of CCOB training. I've got the branches of each node connected with twist ties and stacked like playing cards fanned out. They'll lift towards the light over the next week and I'll train them up with more twist ties.



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Two Pandora's Box vegging in 6" pots, one at 19" and one at 16" - from the toppings. I'll train and put into flower at 22". The stems virtually stop growing when bent horizontal, the branches take off, so we have to veg to at least the circumference of the bucket ~38" for a standard 5 gallon bucket.



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Light

Solving the fatal flaw of LEDs - experiment

Plant Light Receptors

600 watt HPS, Sunleaves 2 reflector, Light Rail 3.5


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Water and Nutes

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I'm going to develop or adopt a nute recipe that can be made from materials that can be found in most countries , currently I use a very simple over the counter set up: I cut my fertilizer in half and feed every watering, I use Fox Farm nutes with a few supplements.

Veg

Fox Farm Big Bloom and Grow Big

Hygrozyme
Liquid Karma
Dark Energy (I have no idea what this does, I just like the name. Cool design on the bottle. My plants grow better with it, maybe because I like the name.)

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Flower

Fox Farm Solubles: Open Sesame, Beastie Bloomz, Cha Ching.

Hygrozyme
Liquid Karma
Dark Energy
Super Nova

Kool Bloom
Big Bud
Over Drive

I've been experimenting with Humbolt's gravity with good results. I've just started with Humbolt's Snow Storm. I always burnt the plants with Purple Maxx, I want to see if I have better luck with Snow Storm.

Burning a plant can cost up to half your yield. I'll be lucky to get 2 litres off the Bubblegum below, which was my latest Purple Maxx victim. Its always best to experiment with only one plant at a time, protect your yield and harvest time on the other plants. This Bubblegum will be 2-4 weeks longer finishing than a healthy plant.

{pic to come}

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I use tap water that sits in 5 gallon buckets to vent the chlorine, I'm going to put in a reverse osmosis unit.

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Cage





I'll make a schematic in Autodesk and post it along with a parts list and basic assembly instructions. 8' x 3' cage for 600 watt HPS and light rail. 2"x4" and Reflextic insulation. 360 degree access, all plants are on an edge, no reaching across plants to work. All of the sides roll up. Odor control works like a bio containment lab - low pressure inside the cage keeps all odor in and vents through the roof where the hottest air is drawn out, continuously. Cool.

Simple and easy to make, it makes working in the garden so easy and enjoyable. Saves a lot of time, work and effort from a floor level square garden.

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Equipment

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Air Pruning lets the root tips grow into a dry area, where they die. Root constriction traps the roots and either stops the growth or keeps the root from expanding, chokes it off. Both techniques promote root branching and stop the roots from circling around the bucket. Both result in better water and nute uptake and everything that comes from that. My buckets use both: the two bucket air pruning system lined with landscape fabric for immediate root trapping and constriction. 25%+ yield increase.

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1. Air Pruning



I drilled 1 1/2" and 1/4" holes in this 5 gallon bucket then lined it with Landscaping Fabric (cheap, at a gardening store, Walmart).

Thanks to OneEyedWilly I just put my air pruning bucket inside another bucket when I want to keep more moisture in. This plant is a Strawberry Cough.



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2. Root Trapping and Constriction

I picked up two types of landscaping fabric, one that is a thin sheet with tiny holes (constriction) and the second a thicker woven mat (trapping). This first one is the thicker woven fabric, much easier to work with because it hold it's shape. This one has my best hopes for a liner for our existing buckets. The fabric is tightly woven on one side and loser on the other - loose side on the pro mix / roots side to give the roots a path in, tight side toward the bucket to stop circling the bucket behind the fabric.

I repotted a Bubblegum clone in this picture. I roughed up the root ball a bit, tearing out the circling roots.





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Note: The two bucket system gives great drainage and will virtually eliminate root rot even without hydrostone for bottom drainage.

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DIY Air Pruning Pot Experiment - Pictures

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Air Floor
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I've been thinking on and off about air flow in the garden and how any intake vent on the bottom side of the grow room is going to curve up to the exhaust and air in parts of the garden may be stagnet. I've seen some cabinet grows with air intake vents under the floor so I drilled 120 x 1/2" holes in the 8' x 3' floor of my flower cage and made the rest of the cage more air tight. My cage floor is 34" off the room's floor. The cage walls stop just below the cage floor to allow lots of air flow.

I rolled my walls down and right away I could feel a positive air pressure. I stood up on the air floor with the walls down and I could feel a breeze coming up through the holes, all over the floor. When I put the plants back their leaves were shaking slightly from the breeze. Now I'll see if the fresh air coming from under the leaves makes the plants grow better.

I didn't want to weaken the 1" plywood too much so I drew a grid with rows and columns 3" apart and skipped every second spot on the grid. I'm going to use a 1" drill bit to ream out some of the holes on the two end panels,to increase the air flow away from the air exhaust in the middle of the cage. 6" between holes in a row or colum, ~4" diagonally. The area of a 1/2" hole is ~0.2", a 1" hole has an area of ~0.785".



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My floor is cut into 4 sections of 24" x 37", I drilled 30 holes per panel. On the seams I drilled every spot because there was nothing to weaken. The faint circles are where each of the 12 buckets go when the garden is full.

The grid feels like a low flow air hockey machine.





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The Light Rail and closed interior, the air exhaust on the middle left. Putting the Reflectix roof on brightened the room more than I thought it would.






Air Floor

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note: People have found that the air floor help with pests and mold by pushing fresh lower humidity air through the canopy. More benefits than just increased yield and reduced flowering time.

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Crop Circle Of Bud

Simple and Easy Low Stress Training

I do CCOB, like an inefficient scrog without the screen but the plants are movable. I top my plants once; veg each side of the stem to 22" in a 6" pot; transplant to a 5 gallon pot on an angle; bend the stems around the bucket rim. The branches grow up and the stem acts like a hydro tube feeding each small cola.

The stems virtually stop growing when they're bent horizontal, so I have to veg the plants so they will bend all the way around the 38" bucket rim. A single 38" stem is thicker and harder to train; two 22" stems crossed at the bottom and following the natural curve of a topped plant will train much quicker and easier. I often put two 14" topped plants in the same bucket, great results.

This is a 1 stem Kali Mist at 35" and a 2 stem Flo (18" & 19"). The stem is much thicker and more difficult to bend and train. We need to get the stem around the 38" of the bucket rim to get as many branches as possible, so two thinner, shorter stems are much easier. The stems virtually stop growth and stretch when bent horizontal, many more branches than a vertical plant of the same stem length. The Flo trained in about 15 minutes and the Kali Mist took days.

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Flo - Kali Mist



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This Bubblegum's stems weren't crossed and took over a week to train. If crossed I could have done it in a few hours.





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Flo



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Kali Mist



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A Flo (left) and a Bubblegum. The Flo has another week or three, the Bubblegum should harvest in the next week. The Flo is a knarly plant, twisty leaves, small hard buds. This is my second time around for the Flo, the last hermied and I burnt it with Dutch Passion Penetrator. The smoke was so beautiful I had to run it again, this time just a few pre flower pods and bananas on the lower nodes. I picked them off and the plant has been perfect since.

Note: I'm running my last Dutch Passion Flo this flower. I've got 3 DJ Short Flo from seed in my veg room, another 6 weeks and I'll have them in flower. It's that good that I wanted to get the best. DJ's version might rival Kali Mist as my favorite strain.



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The Bubblegum (right) is going to be my best producer ever, of Bubblegum. I should get 12+ cups of cured bud.



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The single stem Kali Mist from above on the left; on the right a Kali Mist grown with 4" of height above the bucket rim.



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"What do you mean when you say the stems are crossed?"

Bend them so the stem on your left goes to your right and the stem on your right goes to your left - they'll circle the bucket rim in different directions. The two stems of a single topped plant develop a bowed leg stance and the natural curve circles the bucket easiest if we cross the stems and go the other way - otherwise we have to bend against an already developed curve.

Here's a series of pictures for crossing the stems. The plant is re-potted from 6" pots to 5 gallon buckets - at an angle - to make bending around the rim quicker and easier.

The bucket is a DIY air pruning bucket from a thread linked above. It works fantastic, the simplest yield increaser.

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"How long due i keep it died down?"

It takes about 2 weeks for the bend to become permanent but the plants will pull towards the light as soon as they're untied. Bend to the position you want and leave them tied down for the whole grow.

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"I also havent watered today, am planning on watering tomorrow, there not going to crack on me will they?"

No, they'll be fine. Stems are easier to bend when the plant needs watering but I bend when the root ball is saturated or dry. Patience and things will be fine. Watering after bending is no problem at all.

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"i have 4 plants tied down and now the side shoots are becoming plants of there own ... once i tie down the plant do i also tie down the side shoots the grow upwards to get in more light maybe ?"

When you bend the top cola of the plant below a node, the branches on the highest node becomes the meristem - the main colas that the plant focuses energy for growth. If you bend the stem horizontal the energy is spread over all of the branches, the tallest getting the most and growing fastest.

Think of the stem as a hydro tube feeding the branches, and the branches each as a small plant. I keep my stems horizontal for the whole grow but will only tie down some of the branches if they stick up over the canopy, extra long branches usually at the base of the plant. As long as the branch is getting light and it's not shading other branches or is too close to the light, it's fine.

Over the first week the side branches will reach up to the light and grow as small colas. Help separate them, arrange for space and light, air flow. I use a tomato cage with almost all my new plants, a couple dozen 24" colas in 3 or 4 square feet.

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"Does toping a plant just mean cutting the top and then two stems will grow?"

Yes, exactly. Cut, as Moe from The Simpsons would say, "Between the leaf holes!". Uncle Ben has a great topping thread:

Uncle Ben's Topping Technique to Get 2 or 4 Main Colas



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"How early do you need to top the plant so it can grow two stems?"

Anytime, even if you top when you put the plant into 12/12 you will get some growth.

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"Do you tie the stems down with just string?"

I use spools of garbage bag ties, the things are fantastic. String is difficult to work with.



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"How do you grow Kali Mist so short?, I only have 3 feet of height to work with, can I do the same????"

Yes you can do the same, very easy but you may snap a stem here and there. Just Low Stress Training (Alpha-bending the stem-omega)

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"If I were to grow 9 plants of Kali Mist 3 feet tall each, how much died herb would be produced as an estimate in your experience?"

If you were to grow my style you could get 1-4 liters of cured bud per plant, depending on your experience and set up. I've measured a liter of bud to vary between 40 grams and 110 grams, even for bud from the same plant - depending on the area of the plant harvested. You will need between 18" x 18" and 24" x 24" for each plant (I use 18" x 30"). I get very high gram per watt yield because of a light mover, root branching, other things.

Interestingly the heaviest liter of bud I had was some stringy sativa like buds I got from a Kali Mist in DWC, they reminded me of a stringy White Widow I had a few years ago. I thought they'd weigh next to nothing, really surprising. In Pro Mix the buds are more compact, in hydro harder and crustier, the buds seem more spread out like the stem of the bud grew and sepeated the nodes.

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Kali Mist - Serious Seeds

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Harvest Guide

When is the plant ready to harvest? When the trichnomes produce the cannaboids to affect the high/stone that you want.

How will you know when the trichnomes have the proper cannaboid mix? From experience - color of trichnome is the best indicator of ripeness and for the type of stone wanted. Color is the most consistent method of achieving consistent effects.

The chart below shows basic ripeness colors, harvest different plants within the cloudy to amber spectrum and stick with the high/stone (color of trichnomes) that you want.

The high/stone that you want may not exactly coincide with the ultimate yield, but it'll be close. If you are growing for personal or medical use the effects are paramount in strain selection and harvest.

In general:

1. Indicas are harvested more cloudy than amber to avoid sedative effects (unless that's what's wanted).
2. Sativas can be left to turn a bit more amber with increased yield and generally better effects. Less sedative.



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Simple visual clues for ripeness are:

1. When the buds on the colas look like they're expanding and going to burst (very distinct).
2. When the buds get a sandy look from the naked eye, trichs are changing color.

These two Strawberry Diesel look like the calyx are about to burst, an indicator that they are ready to harvest. The calyx swell, separate from each other.



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Curing

I use the lazy person's curing method, I find it easiest and have gotten the best cured bud this way. I have no experience with other's cured bud to compare mine to, but literal 1 hit each of a random strain I had in my Supreme Vaporizer put two of my friends away 2 nights ago, they could not do a second hit. There are no doubt better methods but this is simple, potent, tasty and smooth.

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1. Clip off the ripe buds and leave the rest of the plant to ripen. An extra week can double the yield of the bottom of the plant, even short plants.

2. Trim. I hate clipping dry buds, messy and hard.

3. Lay in a camp dryer until the stems snap (3-7 days usually)

4. Put in a paper bag, pour out once a day until they stay crisp outside

5. Put in Zip Lock Jars and pour out once a day for 2 or 3 weeks.



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There are slower methods but this is the one that I've had the most luck with. I'll probably stick with it until I try someone's bud with a better curing method, then switch and never look back. Until then I'm happy.

The buds have to be dumped once a day to:

1. Let dry. Water is transferred from the core to the outside.
2. Let any gasses vent
3. So different parts of the buds touch each other.

Mold is the constant enemy, it is painful to grow phenomenal bud and have it turn sour from improper curing.


Camp Dryer

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Cloning

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Single Cutting Cloners

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I currently use only the Pro Mix cloning method below with 100% success rate in less than a week. I have never lost a cutting with this method. Incredibly simple, fast, resilient, no hydro, no pumps. Pop the cap on the cup and leave it until the roots are showing and it's ready for transplant.

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I clone but don't keep a mother plant - after the first week of flower I take two clones (for safety) and keep the genetic chain going. I've got 23 strains growing now (14 in flower), cutting back on one plant per strain, the mother, really makes life easier.

I didn't want to run a bubbler for 2 clones so I picked up fruit cups from the supermarket, the kind they use for cut up strawberries. I use them as a humidity dome, the top never comes off and I never have to tend them, just pop the top when I want to transplant.

Picking the cutting is the most important part of the cloning process - the cutting must be green and pulpy, if it is woody it will not root. A simple method for developing the proper tissue in the cutting for rooting is to have the plant in 12/12 for a week - the type of cells produced during stetch (dark hours) are exactly what we need. That's all we need to know about producing rooting tissue: more dark time.

I like my cuttings about 2 inches from the branches node to the 45 degree cut at the bottom. The small top leaves and 1 other set left. The 45 degree cut done with a razor knife not scizzors. An inch of the side of the cutting scraped for an extra rooting area. Dipped in water then rooting power. The cutting stem put in a hole made in the pro mix with a pen refill. The top to the cup put on. I'll put a pictorial in later, very simple. And when we screw up, and we all will, the cuttings are not expensive to get more.

Moisten your peat pad or pro mix as normal, put in the cutting with rooting powder, leave it. I haven't touched these since February 19 (the earliest ones), no water, they're all rooting.

What I like about them best, they're idiot proof. Pick a good cutting, scarification and 45 degree angle cut, rooting powder, plant, forget about it. Biosphere Cloners.



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Pro Mix



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I love the Chubby Cloner



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Peat Pad


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Nursery - 42" cube - 22 clones, Bubba Kush, Kushberry and 2 chocolopes ready for the veg cage, 6 strains from seed in the colored cups.


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Veg Cage - 48" high x 52" wide x 48" deep - Jack Flash, Kali Mist, Strawberry Cough, Super Silver Haze and 2 The Dope (Dr Greenthumbs new strain). All plants topped once, for comparison the Jack flash on the left is 24 inches from the topping (split in stem) to top, 48" of usable stem - the two main colas will bend up and grow 3"-6" during stretch. The rest of the stem will not stretch. It's going to be a monster, long branches already.



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Pics of my garden: SSD, KM, BG, BL, T, Flo, RD

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Threads that you might find helpful

Alcohol Tincture

DIY: crock pot Alcohol Reflux: resin Extractor, tincture Refiner, alcohol Distiller

Refine Your Cannabuter: Better Taste, Simple

DIY: make your own Press Bowl - pictures

BHOE comparrison: Honey Bee vs 1/2" Copper Pipe - Pictures

CO2 Subcritical Fluid Extractor Design - and other fun stuff

Root Clone Test - pictures

Feminized Seeds Hermie Test - 14 strains, which are high risk; frequency; DM Reverse;


Strains

Middle of the Night Insomnia: A Marijuana Success Story

Outdoor strain finishes in August

Jack The Ripper, Jilly Bean, Pandora's Box - pics

Crippling deforming arthritis: strain recomendations please

Effect Report questionnaire

Take this with a grain of salt: Strain Characteristic chart - effects, flower period, I/S, taste & scent, lineage


ethylene: List of plant responses


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Strain Reviews: Spectrum of Effects Reports

Kali Mist - Serious Seeds

Bubblegum - Serious Seeds

Jack The Ripper Spectrum of Effect report by Scareb

Pandora's Box - Spectrum of Effects report by Scareb

Pandora's Box - Subcool: Spectrum of Effects report by Callisto

Jillybean - Subcool: Spectrum of Effects report by Callisto

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Resources

http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/recipes/index.htm

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"A good vaporizer is something that should cost less than a counter top microwave oven but to get a good one we're happy to spend more than we would on a laptop computer." - Hobbes

"Quoting yourself is the first sign of insanity. Jackass." - Hobbes' ever helpful but invisible friend

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My favorite vaporizers:

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1. Volcano - absolutely the best, easiest to use. Mostly bag. I've got 2, a digital for home and my old classic for my back pack as a portable. After buying just about every type of vaporizer on the market I went back to the only vaporizer I really like. So good I gave one as a present to a med patient, for me nothing compares. If you're a hippie sell your gear grinder vegetable juicer and buy a Volcano. Get the solid valve set unless you have difficulty manipulating things with your hands, changing bags is an easy meditation but it takes a little dexterity. $670 usd plus shipping at VapeNow.

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2. Herbalaire - excellent bag and direct draw vape. 1/3 the cost of a Volcano. I bought it for a portable but I like the Volcano more so I gave this one to a friend. $250.

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3. Silver Surfer - excellent, resilient direct draw. Cool looking, easy to load. No digital reading. About the same price as the Herbailaire. Direct draw vaporizers take some small skill to work properly, I didn't like it and gave it to a friend. $200.

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4. Supreme - torch heated portable. Amazing hits for both taste and potency, even more potent than the Volcano. If you like the fullness of a smoking hit but want the increased potency of a vaporizer, and no smoke, this is it. Built in temperature gauge, nearly impossible to burn your bud even without it. If you don't mind waiting 5 minutes to heat up your vape by hand this is the one, I can't say enough about it. The only direct draw vaporizer that takes the same skill as a Volcano bag to work properly - just inhale. Perfect for sitting on the beach after surfing, or taking out past the break in a water proof bag. Great to take a deep hit and pass to a friend, and again. I get 3 choking hits between heatings. Unique amongst portables: it gets you high fast, and tastes good. Around $200 plus shipping from the manufacturer.

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5. Magic Flight - AA battery powered portable. Works in seconds, easy to hide, easy to use, easy to load. Unconditional guarantee - if you back a truck over it then stab if with a pitch fork and it won't work they'll give you a new one. It'll still work though. Sour tasting, like slightly burnt popcorn. Small hits but will bury someone with low tolerance. $100.

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6. Purple Days - direct draw. The Miser. If you're short on bud you can make a gram last 20 bowls, 3 hits per bowl. Really 6 or 10 hits a bowl, but it just starts to sound ridiculous. It is amazing. The bowl is the bottom half of the stainless steel tube attached to the white tube in the picture. Tiny, the wooden vaporizer is the size of a pop can. Fantastic taste, good potency but small hits. Takes time. Good for grazing or for people without a high tolerance. Around $200 plus shipping, a large backorder last I checked. There are alternatives, with possible drawbacks. I have 2 Purple Days and love them both, I keep them plugged in all the time and use them during the 3 minutes it takes my Volcano to heat up and run a bowl.

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Desirves a look:



The Extreme Q Vaporizer - I've read some mixed reviews on this one so I got the Herbalaire instead. I'd like to get one but I don't like the glass bowls ... it looks like it could be an excellent low cost alternative to the Volcano with the option of direct draw with a fan and a remote control. If I can figure out how to make stainless steel replacement for the glass parts I will definitely get one, if you don't break things as often as I do then it deserves a close look. I've broken a Volcano metal valve, it took some serious carelessness but I achieved the impossible.

Almost all people who review the Extreme love them, some people say they do two things average (bag and direct draw) but excel at neither. Uses a fan instead of an air pump. $300.

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I buy most of my Vaporizers from VapeNow. Fast and dependable, good people: http://vapenow.com/

Supreme sells off ebay and from their own site, equally good people: http://www.supremevaporizer.com/

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Save your dregs (vaporizer ashes), the remaining resin can be extracted using a simple and safe CO2 extractor. I use 28 grams of dregs per extraction (1 tray of brownies per extraction) and get 3 trays of brownies every two weeks from my volcano dregs. When I give them to my friends I cut the tray in 16 pieces and they cut most in two for about 25 servings per tray. To gauge potency - two friends took a half brownie each before going to Avatar. After the movie one of them had to be helped INTO his car to be driven home.

There's a lot of resin left in the bud after one Volcano run at 400 Fahernheit and with a non polar extraction the taste is virtually all oil, especially if you use a bit of trim at the end of the extractor for an extra filter. There is only brownie taste, no chlorophyll, terpins or ashes.

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Avoid:

I-olite/I-inhale: Underpowered. If they would have spent a few more bucks on a more powerful iolite heating unit and increased the air flow this would be phenominal, I'm going to find an iolite unit to hook to my Supreme and have the Ultimate Vaporizer. The Iolite sucks though.

BC Vaporizer - anything with a hot plate is horrible for bud but works OK with oil.

VP600 (or anything plastic or made in China) - if they're selling a vaporizer for $19.95 there's probably a reason. I couldn't even do one hit because of the melting plastic smell. I took it apart, salvaged the ceramic heating tube and a few other parts and made a fantastic vaporizer using a light switch box as the housing. My improvised vap works similar to the Supreme, but not nearly as consistent. Takes effort that I'm not willing to put into the process.

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Make better than most buys.

Magic Flight - Light Switch Box Vaporizer - I-inhale (Iolite)


Light Switch Box Vaporizer - the white ceramic tube, the glass bulb and plastic tube are from the VP600. The vaporizer heats up and is ready to go in seconds, huge hits. The temperature can be kept fairly constant by adjusting the the butane torch. I'm going to hook a kitchen thermometer to the inside of the ceramic tube to get accurate heating - this vaporizer can be made for a few dollars or from scavenged parts and with a bit of practice will give better hits than any direct draw vaporizer I've tried except the Supreme.

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http://forums.thedailyshow.com/?page..._id=28916&pg=1

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