Dick does dank 2.0

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
This chronicle is the sum of all I know. Everything I have learned thus far about growing cannabis was either from reading posts by enlightened growers here at rollitup or from these two books which are highly recommended:

True Living Organics
by The Rev

Teaming with Microbes
by Lowenfels and Lewis

So here is how I do dank: plants are grown in recycled organic soil. They get water reclaimed from a dehumidifier which is augmented with locally sourced well water and rain whenever feasible to be collected. Compost is sourced from my own worm bin which also produces leachate from the bottom spigot. I add various amendments to the soil during the recycle process:

Crushed oyster shell
Composted chicken manure
Azomite
Dolomite lime
Garden gypsum
Insect frass
Kelp meal
Neem seed meal

Used to add more inputs but this is what is in stock. Don't even bother with teas anymore; fresh ewc in the soil keeps the microbial party raging. I give liquid fish as needed to keep em nice and green usually late in veg. For mid-late flowering worm leacheate diluted with water is pretty much all they get. Watermelons & strawberries are in season this time of year so the worms are getting fat. The worm leacheate from feeding the worms so much fruit smells so sweet I could almost mix it with vodka and have a cocktail.
While I consider the worm bin to be the heart of my grow; the bluemat watering system is the life-blood. I watered plants with a rusty old can for years until this summer when I wanted to go on a vacation and not come home to withered-ass plants.
At first a 5gal bluemat system did not seem sufficient because the plants typically suck down more than that in a week. I knew that during a typical warm summer day my plants use more or less about a gallon & 1/2. So after 5 days the bucket would be dry which sort of defeats the purpose.
The solution was simple. Added a pump, hose, and timer with another 5 gal source bucket directly under the reservoir bucket. The source bucket feeds the upper reservoir every 12 hours for 11 seconds which pumps about a 1/2 gallon. Now all I do is top off the source bucket every time I empty the dehuey each day. There's just a cork float glued to a stick with white tape indicating the water level. If the bucket gets low I turn on the pump by restarting the timer in e or twice. Easy breezy....
There are 2 separate lines from the bluemat reservoir: one goes into the flower room while the other goes to a vegging tent. There are 2 bluemat carrots in each 10 gal smartpot for flowering and just 1 in the 3 gal bags for vegging. Some plants get transplanted to a 10 and are kept in veg to bulk them up or monster cropped after sex is determined.


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In the bloom room there is a 600w eye hortiluxe hps and small leds for targeted side lighting. A 4' fluorescent fixture fitted with 10k agromax finishers and hortiluxe FS + UV bulbs go over the plants closest to harvest. For vegging I use a 400w mh to get tight nodal stacking. There's another small veg area I use for clones and seedlings that runs a T8 but it is not currently in operation.

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Perpetuity is the goal but a never ending weed supply remains elusive. Timing is critical when space is limited and setbacks can cause delays at the worst possible time. I still end up at the dispensary sometimes to fill in any gaps waiting for plants to dry or be ready to cut.
A few years ago I embarked on a breeding mission with the goal of acquiring a shit-ton of seeds from my own crosses. Selected the stinkiest male out of the bunch and let it flower until it started throwing pollen. Took a small branch into the bloom room and tapped on a few of the girls. Every dam plant was full of seed which killed the yield but accomplished the mission. Now I have like a thousand beans to choose from 5 different crosses all from the same candyman haze daddy. After discovering several different phenotypes and finding out which crosses I like the best I selected a few mothers and cloned the hell out of them. A few of my favorites are:
Blue Dream x Candyman Haze
Strawberry sour diesel x CMH
CMH X CMH
My favorite cross I found so far is the CMH dad x a CMH momma. The original breeder must know what they are doing unlike myself. It is quite potent, yields well, and tastes like cherry licorice or something. Very sweet & not at all skunky. Big beautiful chunky buds. The SSD is a close second but just doesn't yield as much; still has that distinct sour diesel flavor & punch but it's sweeter on the exhale from the CMH. Tight compact buds. Here's a pic of a recent harvest of the CMH; started trimming and realized I forgot to take a photo...
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I have just started a new set of plants from seed. All the mothers were getting very woody in the stems and cuttings were taking forever to root out so they are currently flowering. The last set of clones I tried to root died after 3 weeks without roots. I think it was due to a clogged aero pump.
Decided to go with the BD x CMH cross for the first set. Will be updating with more pics as I go so strap in buckaroos it's gonna be a bumpy ride. Thanks for dropping by and checking out my thread. I am always happy to answer any Qs about my grow or yours. Peace
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Are you at all concerned about contaminants from your dehumidifier?

Somebody here once told me we could get legionnaires disease from dehumidifier water. I can see how that is possible if you drank it. Maybe I should be concerned but have yet to come across a single case of anyone getting sick from or even much info at all pertaining to the contraction of diseases from watering plants with reclaimed water. I found out that a lot of greenhouses & grow ops use a/c or dehumidifier water. I also tested it out on house plants long before I used it on my mj.
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Today I want to talk about an easy fertilizer I use called spikes. You can make an organic spike from a mix of various soil amendments or just buy them pre-made. The use of spikes assumes that the soil you use is laden with compost and supernaturally active with microbes. It could be as complex or as simple as you want it to be but the idea is to basically stuff a bunch of organic material into a hole and allow the plants roots to sort of grow in around it. It is just a slow release way to feed plants without amending the soil directly. Of course whatever is in the spikes needs to be broken down to become available which results in slow release feeding.
I have made my own spikes in the past but buying them pre-made in a bag is easy and cheap. You just plug them into a spot in the container or grow bed near the outer perimeter of the plants root ball. I use Jobes all purpose organic flower spikes which are made of mostly bone meal, feather meal, potash, manure, and mycorrhizae. Currently selling for less than $5 per bag of 50 on Amazon; I can afford to put 2 in each container at 10 cents a piece just before flipping to bloom phase. They feed for 8 weeks so spikes are perfect for getting through flowering without giving much else besides water.
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
How hard is it to dial in the bluemat and have you used tropf-bluemat?
Funny you should ask. I was just about to post here today about the trials and tribulations of my experience using Tropf Bluemats. There is no e in the spelling but the spellcheck feature keeps trying to fix it....no not blunts... blumats...dam you spellchecker!!
Dialing in and setup of the system is not hard at all but the system can be tricky to maintain. Because it is gravity fed there's no power or timers but it is not set and forget. More like set and fiddle around with it again and again. You kind of hafta run it for a few days to see if the flow stays constant. You'll need to reset the whole system all over again if it ever goes dry which is a pain in the ass. The carrot sensors must be filled to the brim with water and no air; if they get any air inside they must be soaked and reset. They provide both passive moisture and direct drip when properly set.
The reservoir must be elevated above the plants for the gravity feed to flow properly and all the feed lines must be kept at an even height or one carrot will drip faster or slower than the others. You have to go around and check the rate of drip every couple days and adjust them accordingly. Once you run it for a couple weeks you'll have a good idea how much water your plants consume and how to set the drip so the plants get as much water as they need without runoff. You still may need to soak the roots every so often to keep every corner of the containers moist. Once you get the drip flow set and it is uninterrupted by low reservoir levels the system will water the plants automatically for a week or more. Any interruption to the flow introduces air bubbles which dries up the whole system. Don't ever let it get dry.
It's important that the reservoir is of a dark thick light proof material with a lid to prevent algae from growing inside. One thing I overlooked during setup was to add a shutoff valve. The kit I bought came with one but I am using it to shutoff the line to the veg side of the grow area; if I had a shutoff for each line it would make resetting the system easier and less messy.
 
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newgrow16

Well-Known Member
Funny you should ask. I was just about to post here today about the trials and tribulations of my experience using Tropf Bluemats. There is no e in the spelling but the spellcheck feature keeps trying to fix it....no not blunts... blumats...dam you spellchecker!!
Dialing in and setup of the system is not hard at all but the system can be tricky to maintain. Because it is gravity fed there's no power or timers but it is not set and forget. More like set and fiddle around with it again and again. You kind of hafta run it for a few days to see if the flow stays constant. You'll need to reset the whole system all over again if it ever goes dry which is a pain in the ass. The carrot sensors must be filled to the brim with water and no air; if they get any air inside they must be soaked and reset. They provide both passive moisture and direct drip when properly set.
The reservoir must be elevated above the plants for the gravity feed to flow properly and all the feed lines must be kept at an even height or one carrot will drip faster or slower than the others. You have to go around and check the rate of drip every couple days and adjust them accordingly. Once you run it for a couple weeks you'll have a good idea how much water your plants consume and how to set the drip so the plants get as much water as they need without runoff. You still may need to soak the roots every so often to keep every corner of the containers moist. Once you get the drip flow set and it is uninterrupted by low reservoir levels the system will water the plants automatically for a week or more. Any interruption to the flow introduces air bubbles which dries up the whole system. Don't ever let it get dry.
It's important that the reservoir is of a dark thick light proof material with a lid to prevent algae from growing inside. One thing I overlooked during setup was to add a shutoff valve. The kit I bought came with one but I am using it to shutoff the line to the veg side of the grow area; if I had a shutoff for each line it would make resetting the system easier and less messy.
Thanks for the detailed information. I have tried to setup a custom pump on timer to water my rols. Water just found the quickest way out as peat became hydro phobic. Wish there was a cannabis watering service, feed and walk your pets and water your plants!!
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
So with all that being said I was worried when I first got the Tropf Blumat system that my plants would consume the 5 gal reservoir in a few days. My plants use more or less about a gallon a day. I wanted to be able to go vacation for a week and not come home to wilted ass plants. So added another 5gal bucket to feed the reservoir with a pump and recycle timer set to go off every 12 hours for 12 secs which is about a half gallon; more or less. Worked like a charm for the most part.
So the system run ok now as long as you don't move things around too much. Early this week I spun my plants around as I try to do and reset all the carrots. A few were dry so they were re-soaked and drip valves reset. Some of the pots felt a bit light so I increased the drip flow on those. Next day I noticed the tape on my float stick used to visually gauge the water level in the reservoir was hitting the lid; dead empty....gasp!
Opened the flower room to find puddles all over the floor. Refilled the res and reset the drip flow. It's sorta like bleeding the brakes on a car. You start at the end of the line and open the valves until they are pissing out. Then dial it back to a slow drip, then to when the drip is just hanging on every few seconds. Then onto the next carrot sensor up the line and so on until they are all flowing properly. Then top off the reservoir again and check the drip rate again the next day. This is par for the course with this system; it's convenient but certainly not maintenance free. Blumats can be a pain in the ass but still far easier than hand watering and less worry when you just can't be there.
 

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
Today I want to talk about an easy fertilizer I use called spikes. You can make an organic spike from a mix of various soil amendments or just buy them pre-made. The use of spikes assumes that the soil you use is laden with compost and supernaturally active with microbes. It could be as complex or as simple as you want it to be but the idea is to basically stuff a bunch of organic material into a hole and allow the plants roots to sort of grow in around it. It is just a slow release way to feed plants without amending the soil directly. Of course whatever is in the spikes needs to be broken down to become available which results in slow release feeding.
I have made my own spikes in the past but buying them pre-made in a bag is easy and cheap. You just plug them into a spot in the container or grow bed near the outer perimeter of the plants root ball. I use Jobes all purpose organic flower spikes which are made of mostly bone meal, feather meal, potash, manure, and mycorrhizae. Currently selling for less than $5 per bag of 50 on Amazon; I can afford to put 2 in each container at 10 cents a piece just before flipping to bloom phase. They feed for 8 weeks so spikes are perfect for getting through flowering without giving much else besides water.
I totally use spikes In my outdoor grow. Usually home made. I was wondering what you thought of earthpods bloom? I'm almost curious enough to try them....yes much more costly then Jobes
https://www.amazon.com/EarthPods-Easy-Bloom-Flowering-Plant/dp/B0797ZL5LK/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=organic+bloom+spikes&qid=1565139669&s=gateway&sr=8-4
 

FunkeyMunkey

Well-Known Member
I have always wondered about spikes as well. My fear being that they would add too much for flower and not allow the fade towards the end. I don't like them still green as can be during harvest. Jobes are easily accessible to me and I might have to give them a try. Thanks for the info

Curious, do you use just for flower or one during veg and one during flower?
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
I totally use spikes In my outdoor grow. Usually home made. I was wondering what you thought of earthpods bloom? I'm almost curious enough to try them....yes much more costly then Jobes
https://www.amazon.com/EarthPods-Easy-Bloom-Flowering-Plant/dp/B0797ZL5LK/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=organic+bloom+spikes&qid=1565139669&s=gateway&sr=8-4
Earth pods look like they would work thing is they only feed for 14 days. Seem better suited for small houseplants than mj. I would probably just make my own spikes instead because they don't seem to provide a list of ingredients.

I have always wondered about spikes as well. My fear being that they would add too much for flower and not allow the fade towards the end. I don't like them still green as can be during harvest. Jobes are easily accessible to me and I might have to give them a try. Thanks for the info

Curious, do you use just for flower or one during veg and one during flower?
I use them only in bloom phase for slow release feeding. They feed for 8 weeks which is perfect for the 10 week strains I run. I put 2 into each 10gal pot about a week or two before flip; no reason you couldn't add them earlier. You do need an active soil for them to work well so you want soil chock full of compost. By the time buds begin ripening the fans are yellowing off and dying; no worries about over feeding. The spikes definitely help push larger flowers.
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
One of the best things about growing organic bud is the quality of the trichome. As my namesake suggests I love to make drysifted hash. Sure I can always run bubble or even blast bho when I want some dabs but drysift is my passion. I like it because its terpy, flavorful, and versatile. It is the simplest form of concentrate. Requires no solvents or much effort to get a big ol pile of golden goodness.
Because of the way I train out my plants I usually end up with a lot of underdeveloped bud in the low part of the branches. Also usually have sugar leaf trims after a good harvest. They all go on my custom built sifting screens once fully dry:
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Drysift art....
They are just simple frames made of 1" square wood with mesh stretched across. The top sifter is a stainless steel 130 micron mesh and the bottom shown here is a 45 micron screen printing cloth secured with staples and tape. I have a few more screens with mesh sizes in between those but I don't use them.
If the first bounce is done light enough to prevent the material from breaking up there will be very few contaminants meaning it will be a very fine grade hash as it is without the need for further cleaning. Not quite full melt but easily hand pressed into a tasty and potent hash....
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All I did was fold a piece of parchment and dump in some "first bounce" drysift. I begin by folding it like a packet of bar coke and warming it in my palm. It will become flat, fold it into itself many times and keep on pressing it flat again using the warmth of hands to soften it. When the desired color is reached form into a loaf and smoke it up. I like to make like a little hash blanket to cover over my weed in an ice filled bong.
Here's some pics of various grades of drysift i made. The first bounce is the purest but it's still kind of dirty by artesan hash standards; it's in a green container. Two grades on the card that were the second bounce have visual contaminants. When it's got like bits of tiny leaf in it doesn't press very well; I just enjoy it as is on top of some bud....
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Peace
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Time for some bud porn.
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This is a KOS candyman haze back cross. CMH x CMH. All these pics are of the same plant. She is in early week 9 and the buds are so heavy now that the colas are pointing towards the floor. All of the CMH clones harvested so far have done this but I thought it was something I did wrong. Can only tie a plant so much.
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Nice bro!!! I just converted my garden to 2 315’s and they’re starting the second week of flower. Hoping to get the same results! Those buds look chunky
Thanks, has a lot to do with this particular strain. Had a different cross growing side by side but did not get this chunky.
Have heard great things about CMH lighting. Still running old school 600w hps with side lighting. I have too much invested to upgrade now but I was looking at Timber COB leds that look dope af. Started saving up cans...every beer gets me closer
 
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