Building A Better Soil: Demonstrations & Discussions Of Organic Soil Recipes

[DankWolf907]

Examples:

On the right, OGkush dropped about 3weeks ago, never popped. Still havent tossed-tho its probably safe to now.

On the left, afghani, popped a week ago. Something weird happed below soil, deforming her. Looked like she was going to die, today...im seeing the 2nd set of leaves coming up(cant tell in the pic)
This didnt take anything extra from me, no wasted space or energy. Just patience!

Thats it, back to regular soil related topic. Sorry for derailing with angst

 

[SweetSue]

Ya, i get that. No one wants to waste money on educating themselves...
No worries, ill be back in 5-10yrs with the new species of MJ, not the new strain.

Honestly, thats a poor excuse, in the nicest way possible!
How much room does a seedling take? Lighting...1 cfl.

I keep reading people tossing seeds that dont pop in 3 days. It doesnt take much room, water, or energy to keep that mini starter pot around for a week or more.
The slow growing seedling, in a 1gal pot...again doesnt take alot.

Plants arent children, but they are alive, they each have something to offer, just like every other living organism in the vast universe. Just because its not 600grams of bud, doesnt mean it isnt valuable.
[/RANT]

On one hand it sounds so easy. How much space does one underwhelming performer take? But when you're growing for patients or even to supply your own meds that space under the lights becomes more valuable. If you have the luxury of just growing for recreational needs you can afford to keep those underwhelming plants going. For many of us the production numbers are critical to the needs of ourselves and our patients.

 

[Radogast]

I love and appreciate the input bobrown.
But honestly have to say this bothers me to read, time and time again, all over the web..

If we said the same thing about our children...

It hurts me to imagine the amount of perfectly fine plants, special plants, and most important...unique plants that have gone to the worms because people dont have patients.

You all have your own reasons, and im not knocking it completely..
Just sad about what were all missing out on.

On one hand it sounds so easy. How much space does one underwhelming performer take? But when you're growing for patients or even to supply your own meds that space under the lights becomes more valuable. If you have the luxury of just growing for recreational needs you can afford to keep those underwhelming plants going. For many of us the production numbers are critical to the needs of ourselves and our patients.

I agree with you both. As a medical grower for one patient who needs about 4 oz/month. I can keep a plant alive out of compassion (Now that my girls actually grow again) in a shared lightspace

Still - Keeping this plant alive for 534 days and counting, knowing for months that her yield will be under an oz AND that I have a clone of her ready to flower next month, is an emotional decision, not a practical one.

She kind of looks like a bonsai, doesn't she

 

[DankWolf907]

534 days?!??? Thats above and beyond what i was thinking. Hot damn man! Freakin dedication!

 

[Canyon]

Keep it or trash it?

Er,
I can go both ways on this as well as just going ahead and flowering something that could do better if nursed along for a few months.

On the 'keep them going side', I managed to come very close to killing most of my strains over the summer. It was a combination of several things, changing soil, changing nutes, changing from whiskey kegs to plastic pots, guessing wrong about what was going on.

The result was some grew out of it and some are still sticks with a few small leaves that are about 16 to 24 inches tall and just over a year old. I will keep them going until they are growing more normally, then flower them after I have established cuttings.

I would have done better to have bought some more seeds or clones. The truth probably is that I wanted the challenge of reviving them. There is something warm and fuzzy about saving a plant. Saving twelve strains is beyond that.

OTOH: If I had more than one of a strain I would not keep more than one. Even that is not entirely true; any clones that are extras, chances are I would give them to a friend with a card.

"Keeping this plant alive for 534 days and counting", I had one I keep for 547 days. However, I did get over 800 grams off of it. Two or three of the ones that are still stunted will probably go that long and have small yields.

Space and plant count restrictions are usually why I get rid of plants.

I never know
canyon

 

[Lady Cannafan]

DankWolf,
I understand what you are saying. And this is somewhat in response to your post to the coffee shop as well.

I personally go above and beyond the opportunity to save a plant or use it for some purpose.

The ONLY time I have ever trashed a plant was when I was forced out of growing for fear of LEO showing up at my door. Up until then, and now that I am growing again, I do NOT give up on my plants OR seeds. I have a she/male sitting in my living room right now in window light that will probably not do anything I was keeping it for (pollen). But, I'm going to let it grow and see if something happens to the little pistils that were already there. The nanners aren't giving pollen, never seen that happen before. But I want to see if there might be enough pollen grains to pollinate the little existing pistils. Experimentation....outside the box.

I have kept seeds going that wouldn't germ to the point that they rotted before I made the decision of tossing and they got tossed into the soil, in addition to digging up seeds from soil to see what happened, replanting and saved them. I have waited up to 3 weeks for them to pop. LOL Clones, when most would give up on the rooting....I do not. Not until they are withered away and dried up completely.

Anyone who has subscribed regularly to my journals knows how I will try to save a plant at all costs. I even use stems after harvest and am looking for ways to use the roots from harvested plants.

However, I don't have any hard feelings against anyone that has to make a decision whether it be space issues or cost issues or whatever the reason.
Just sayin.....

 

[SweetSue]

It's worth keep noting here that for most of us the plant isn't "trashed" but, at the very least recycled into reserve soils or compost heaps, and at best used in some medicinal sense. I doubt anything is wasted or tossed into the trash bin. This particular group tends to hang on to the very end, as Rad and Canyon so wonderfully illustrate. I grew a DDA that gave me 2 gr dry. Not practical at all, but great fun to watch.

Someone growing for multiple patients won't likely be so generous with the space.

 

[DankWolf907]

Id like to deeply and sincerely apologize for my rant, i did not mean to offend anyone! Particularly BB..
Yesterday was just a rought day or something.. And i honestly do take a little offence to plants being discarded for not performing to expectations(more seeds then plants). Anyways,

I even use stems after harvest and am looking for ways to use the roots from harvested plants.

Toss those roots back into the pot for the next lady, mixed in with the soil. The biggest benni is mycos, those roots should be covered in mycos and mycos that have been raised on a particular plant provide added benefits to future generarions of simular plants. Theres also a bit of added aeration.

 

[SweetSue]

Id like to deeply and sincerely apologize for my rant, i did not mean to offend anyone! Particularly BB..
Yesterday was just a rought day or something.. And i honestly do take a little offence to plants being discarded for not performing to expectations(more seeds then plants). Anyways,



Toss those roots back into the pot for the next lady, mixed in with the soil. The biggest benni is mycos, those roots should be covered in mycos and mycos that have been raised on a particular plant provide added benefits to future generarions of simular plants. Theres also a bit of added aeration.

No need to apologize for being passionate about living things. Most of us share your sentiments. We could sense you were having a rough day.

 

[Canyon]

This might not be the right thread but there are so many good people on this one that I wanted to ask it here.

Who amongst you does 12 or 24 hours of darkness before harvest and why? If yes is it threw personal experience and has anyone read a study of the science behind it.

Because my thought is you don't find that type of lighting in nature.

SBG,

Your post got lost among the on going conversations.

I have tried it a few times for up to 48 hours. Without having a comparison plant who can say what the results were. I was concerned that the buds would go soft. That never happened. So, I would say that there is no harm, however,the benefits are subtle.

The logic and details are lost in a cloud of smoke here. I do not remember if it was to stop chlorophyll production or just let the plant rest some. The ones who do it are believers. Me, I seldom have a good place to keep one dark.

Hopefully others will jump in.

Best
canyon

 

[SweetSue]

SBG,

Your post got lost among the on going conversations.

I have tried it a few times for up to 48 hours. Without having a comparison plant who can say what the results were. I was concerned that the buds would go soft. That never happened. So, I would say that there is no harm, however,the benefits are subtle.

The logic and details are lost in a cloud of smoke here. I do not remember if it was to stop chlorophyll production or just let the plant rest some. The ones who do it are believers. Me, I seldom have a good place to keep one dark.

Hopefully others will jump in.

Best
canyon

I don't think it got lost Canyon, I think it's likely no one in this group has tried it. I've been trying to remember where I heard the last conversation on this subject. I think it was Lembatoast, but I'm not certain. Let me send him a message and see if that memory is correct.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

I've been doing just that DankWolf, not out of knowing what good they would do in there...just out of wanting to make use of them. LOL
Thanks for that info on the mycos on them.

 

[SweetSue]

Any plant material added back into the soil has the effect of "tuning" the soil. The HB cultivators are trained to do this between cycles. My no-till plants get chopped right at the soil line and the root ball left to decompose. Major tuning going on there.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

I've been shaking the root ball up into the reserve soil bin and just pulling it apart. Seems to be doing just fine so far.

Thanks Sue.

 

[Radogast]

I've been doing just that DankWolf, not out of knowing what good they would do in there...just out of wanting to make use of them. LOL
Thanks for that info on the mycos on them.

Leaves and buds with trichomes are for human consumption
Leaves without trichomes and soft branches go into the worm bins,
Dried branches are thrown in the compost pile.
Main trunks are used for rat chew toys, bird perches, used under early veg pots as levellers, or 'Cannawands' and 'Mariwands'.
Roots are left to rot in the soil. I re-pot beside them.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Leaves and buds with trichomes are for human consumption
Leaves without trichomes and soft branches go into the worm bins,
Dried branches are thrown in the compost pile.
Main trunks are used for rat chew toys, bird perches, used under early veg pots as levellers, or 'Cannawands' and 'Mariwands'.
Roots are left to rot in the soil. I re-pot beside them.

Great recycling! (one of these days I'm going to get that worm bin going steady. LOL)

I use the branches closest to the main stem that have trichomes on them to infuse cooking oils, along with some of the larger leaves if there is any residue on them.

Oh, and main branches if they are from an outdoor tall girl I have been using as stakes to tie up heavy cola branches. ;-)

 

[SweetSue]

This might not be the right thread but there are so many good people on this one that I wanted to ask it here.

Who amongst you does 12 or 24 hours of darkness before harvest and why? If yes is it threw personal experience and has anyone read a study of the science behind it.

Because my thought is you don't find that type of lighting in nature.

I heard back from lembatoast.

Yes I have heard of that. What I do is, When its time to put them in flowering, I turn off the light for 48 hours and when its time to harvest I leave them in the dark for 4 or 5 days and they put on a few more trich's well worth it.

 

[Emilya Green]

you got to have some real faith in the process to turn off lights for 4 or 5 days at the end... not sure I am that brave

 

[SweetSue]

you got to have some real faith in the process to turn off lights for 4 or 5 days at the end... not sure I am that brave

TOAST is an old hand at this. He farms an entire hillside in California and runs one of the best reading journals on this site. I've not had that kind of courage yet either.

 

[Canyon]

Originally Posted by lembato

ast

Yes I have heard of that. What I do is, When its time to put them in flowering, I turn off the light for 48 hours and when its time to harvest I leave them in the dark for 4 or 5 days and they put on a few more trich's well worth it.


The 48 hr before flowering part address something I was aware I am doing. My daytime flowering is 5pm to 5am. The vege daytime is 4 am to 11:30 pm. When they go into flower they are getting 25 hours of light before they get a 12 hr dark cycle.

The vege side is most of the room and includes all other necessities and storage. The grow areas themselves are split with one having about 600 W of tT5 and T8 bulbs. I also have an area that is about 4 X4 with a 400 W HPS security lamp that I use for late stage vege. For now I cannot make it totally dark however I could turn that light off and block most of the light for two days. That is the plan for now.

Thanks
canyon