Uncle Ben's Gardening Tweeks and Pointers

kinetic said:

Uncle Ben just wondering if you had an opinion on Coast of Maine products. Specifically the master nursery products of bumper crop and black gold. If you have any experience with these. Thanks

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....Coast of Maine reformulated the terrific Bumper Crop Organic Soil Amendment and super charged it with....

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Rob0769 said:

Hey UB I have a question about double harvest. I am about to cut my ripe ones and I have talked to 2 people who both swear by double harvest. They differ on opinions though. One says they let theirs go for 3 weeks. The other says no more than a week or the second harvest will be fluffy. Do you have any information that would help ease my mind and help me avoid wasted time and effort?

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uncle ben said:

you harvest the bottom part of the plant like you would the top part - when it's ready.

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uncle.duke said:

Hey ub.. last opp was decent.. always trying to improve.. I'm starting from seeds now, and I was curious can I just plant the seeds in a styro foam cups with soil?

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Uncle Ben said:

Germinating Cannabis Seeds (for Bio Growers)

Your seedlings will be alot better off if you germinate directly in soil - less handling and mechanical disturbance means less chance of physical damage to the plant's taproot (and roothairs) and less food reserves used to position itself due to the natural hormonal influence called Gravitropism - that spells seedling VIGOR.

This is my foolproof method for Cannabis Seed Germination in soil:

First, if harvesting seeds from my own crosses, I air-dry newly harvested seeds for a couple of weeks, and then store them in the refrigerator with a little rice. Cold-treatment seems to increase viability and germination rates, especially with indica-dom strains. I almost always get a 100% germination rate with quality seedstock.

Soak the seeds in plain water for at least 12 hours prior to planting to hydrate them, which will speed up germination. In general, good seeds will sink, bad seeds will remain floating (they contain air, not an embryo). I first sterilize seeds in a bleach solution (1 Tbsp. bleach/1 gallon of water) for 1/2 hour to kill any fungus residing on the seedcoat. Dump the sanitizing solution and top off your glass with clean water, you do not need to rinse those seeds.

Sterilize enough *damp* fine soil with heat to germinate all of your seeds. You can do this by treating the damp soil to temps of (no more than) 200F for 20 mins in a conventional oven, or in a microwave oven on high for 2 minutes, while stirring a couple of times, or pouring boiling water thru the mix. Your goal is to get and hold the entire soil mix's temperature at 170F to 180F for about 20 minutes which can be monitored with a probe type thermometer. Let the mix cool thoroughly. This will insure that damp-off fungus spores have been killed in the soil mix. Make sure the soil mix is light and humusy (not real coarse). You can add a little sand or vermiculite to aid in drainage and weight. Stay away from perlite, it has a nasty habit of floating out of the mix (if you do indeed need to water later).

Buy some white 20oz styrofoam "drinking glasses", commonly called "Styro-Cups", and punch holes in the bottom (and side bottom) for drainage. I use a red-hot ice pick for this. These containers are 6 1/2" tall and will allow ample room for the taproot to grow before cotyledon emergence which will increase your seedling's vigor. The taproot (radicle) is already at least 4" long at the point of emergence - don't restrict it in order to maximize seedling growth rate. Styro-Cups can be found on the shelf displaying picnic items at your local grocery store.

Fill the pots almost to the top with your soil mix, water well to settle the mix, take a pencil and make a small hole about 1/4" to 1/2" deep, NO deeper, and drop *one* seed in. Cover the seed with *fine* soil, only enough to top up the hole, firm lightly with your finger, and lightly water until water runs freely thru the drain holes. Place in a warm spot around 80F/26C. Do NOT cover the cup with saran wrap or anything else. The seed has been hydrated from the soaking and will germinate soon. This container should not require further watering until the seedling is up and running.

During the first couple of days, mist the top soil surface lightly if need be, never allowing the top to crust over, but not to the point that the medium stays waterlogged which will invite pythium rot. "Less is more" at this point. Do NOT water this pot any more until the seedling is up, and only if it needs it at the point of emergence and do NOT mist the seedling once it is up as you're inviting damp-off disease if you do. Again, no need to cover with plastic wrap as the radicle (taproot) will grow at least 4" before the cotyledons emerge from the soil. IOW, even though you can't see it, the plant's root is seeking and finding moisture at the container's lower soil levels. I cannot emphasize this enough. The seedling will emerge anywhere from 2 to 10 days from the time you sow it.

That's all to it! With good care, your faves will be ready to transplant within 1 to 2 weeks, and will easily slip out of the "cup" with a solid rootball that will never know it's been disturbed if potted up gently and quickly. Move up to a final pot of 3 to 5 gallons to sex and finish.


Good luck,
Uncle Ben

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Rob0769 said:

Is it possible to do a triple harvest with the third harvest not being all stressed if you have the leaf matter to support further life? My friend lets his go year 'round and around again. He just clips the bud off the plant then eventually it reverts back to veg when the sun says since it's outdoor. I ask because I had a plant grow sideways instead of up and sideways so after the double harvest I'll still have a whole half a big plants.

Also a question about superthrive. I saw you did some tests with it and decided it is a good root growth nutrient. If I use something like rapid start would you recommend superthrive or just one or the other?.

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Uncle Ben said:

You can reveg based on photoperiods to trigger the hormone that controls the flowering response - phytochrome.

That archive is old. I have a thread about Superjive. I'm with the good doctor - http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%20Chalker-Scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Vitamin%20B1.pdf

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budman111 said:

Hey UB, What is your advice pointer on storing seeds for a few years at least? I was thinking just store in cool dark place with desiccant silican sachets but some refrigerate and some freeze!? I tested my fridges humidity and it was 50-60%, pretty high i would say for storing seeds.

Any advice welcome.

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Light, heat, and humidity are the enemies of seed viability. You need to preserve the dormant
state of this little plant (a struggle between auxins and anti-auxins) by depriving the seed of light,
warmth, and moisture. Low humidity and cold temps helps put any fungus spores in check also. I
have stored and germinated seeds stored in the fridge for over 5 years with almost 100%
germination rate, and have germinated seeds that were in stash stored long-term in the freezer.

I use rice (Uncle Ben's of course) as a dessicant and heat it to about 220F for a while in the oven
to insure there are no dormant fungus spores residing on the granules and to insure it is quite dry.
After it has *thoroughly* cooled, I throw a little rice in with the seeds which are stored in a dark
container like a film case or pill bottle. Then it's time to chill. I have heard Captan, a broad
spectrum fungicide, can be used to insure that the seeds are further protected. It's done
commercially on food crop seeds like corn.... I haven't tried it though. Of course, commercial
seeds are stored at room temp, conditional that they are to be sowed without much delay.

Keep cool,
Uncle Ben

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Uncle Ben said:

unsubbed......

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tical916 said:

Hello, another quick question for you all.

I will be using the basic AN 3 part nutrient system. Micro/Grow/Bloom 5-0-1/2-1-6/0-5-4 respectively.

Now I`m thinking I should use Micro/Grow in 1:1 while vegging, giving me a 7-1-7. And Grow/Bloom during flowering, 2-6-10. And then watch how the plant is reacting and further adjust from there. Would this be a good launching point? Also do I need anything else? I know nutrient companies sell millions of diff products are any of them that worth it?

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SeaBow said:

Uncle! Uncle! I call uncle.... This has GOT to be the best reading I've had on this subject to date. I can't stop BUT this question doesn't seem to have been answered and I'm only on post #300 and after reading this thread for hours with the additional research of other subject matter and links included as I travel through My Eyes are BLEEDING! 2am

Any chance of an opinion on this?
Again, as has been stated 1,000 times here WOW what a thread!

(p.s. did search before I gave up and hit the "reply with quote" button)

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