Stanks Switch It Up In 2019

[Van Stank]

Yes, yes, yes. I've been thinking about this more and more the last few days. First I need to educate myself more about making and maintaining a living soil. I know some basics but want to get a much better understanding before I start buying things and putting it all together. I'd love to see how it goes for you with your soil. As Arnie said, 'forget the naysayers'.

Well guess what Vet.....I was down in the tent a bit ago doing some watering and low and behold, I spotted a plant that I had recently (Jan 26th if I'm not mistaken) been up potted to a round 1 gallon pot. I would rather go with a square pot but since I have this one here and ready......well why the hell not move this experiment up to right now!

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• Van Stank
• Feb 3, 2021

Here was the flower tent before I realized I had her....

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• Van Stank
• Feb 3, 2021

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• Van Stank
• Feb 3, 2021

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• Van Stank
• Feb 3, 2021

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• Van Stank
• Feb 3, 2021

And just like that....we are off and flowering the Gelato in a 1 gallon pot of Stank Soil. Now I will say this, I am going to go back on the next water and day and fill that pot to the absolute brim with soil so there is no wasted space. I think there is about 3/4 of an inch of space at the top where it settled. I will attempt to get her to the finish line with no top dressings or amendments unless she shows some serious deficiencies. I'm not going to grow her for optimal growth....just to see if she can limp to the finish line in the small container.

I almost flipped a Gorilla Glue in a 2 gallon as well, but decided against it. I know I can get them to the end in 2s and 3s with no issues and good yields in my soil.

 

[InTheShed]

Excellent find and the perfect spot in the flower tent!

 

[Amy Gardner]

giving it 5 days to get its roots going in the new pot and then flipping.

Looking forward to seeing how this project progresses, van! I wouldn’t bother giving it the five days after transplant. I transplant and flip. Most of my living soil mentors do it pretty much that way too AFAIK. Lots of root growth happens first 2 to 3 weeks of flowering. I’ve known folks - and master growers - who prune, transplant and flip on the same day, routinely. If you had some identical clones I’d suggest doing one and not the other - to compare for all our benefit.

Folks watching it and wanting to try similar should bear in mind that not many “first time” soil mixes are going to be like Stanks!

 

[Van Stank]

Hi Van Stank. I hope you are recovering from the snow shoveling! I am curious if you have a tutorial somewhere in your 150 pages (or other journals) on cloning? I’ve never done it, and you seem to do it a lot. I’d like to give it a try, but if you don’t have one then no problemo, I’ll search around here a little more.

Hey Boo

No I don't have a tutorial on cloning as far as I know. I know I've shared several cloning experiments I have done over the years, to include leaving a cut in a cup of water in a dark basement with only light from the sun shining through basement windows to get it to root. That one took like 35 days if I remember correctly.

I have to take cuts off a couple more plants today or tomorrow so I will put together my "best practice" tutorial for you or any other interested parties. Cloning is very easy (Hell even @InTheShed finally got the hang of it after how long Shed?) and I highly encourage growers to give it a try. Doesn't take much space or resources to do it either....chances are you probably have everything you need to do right now. No need to get real fancy with cloning either unless thats your thing...the latest and greatest.

I use rapid rooters soaked in distilled water, take the cuts from lower on the plants, trim off the lower node leaves, cut the stem just below a double node if possible (if not, a single leaf node is fine) at roughly a 45 degree angle, dip it in cloning gel or aloe vera sap from an aloe cutting, and into the rapid rooter plug and into a humidity dome. Spray the underside of the leaves with water every day or two making sure to keep the rooter plug damp but not soaked. Too wet, not good, too dry not good. I find a good soaking on day one, and spraying about every other day until roots show works pretty good. I generally see roots in 10 days doing that, with the quickest being 7 days and the longest being 15 days or so.

I also take cuttings and put them right into soil in a solo cup and let them root in soil directly. That takes a bit longer but is also easier. You might have to add a clear solo cup over the top if you go this route....as they uptake their fluid through the leaves until they root. Having the clear solo cup as a dome will make that much easier and your chances of success much better. You don't want the soil too wet or too dry. Too wet will lead to potential rot of the stems and too dry won't promote rooting.

 

[InTheShed]

Hell even @InTheShed finally got the hang of it after how long Shed?)

A looooooong time! I dunno, 8-9 months?

I ended up using beez0404's method with a few modifications, and I still do.

 

[Van Stank]

Looking forward to seeing how this project progresses, van! I wouldn’t bother giving it the five days after transplant. I transplant and flip. Most of my living soil mentors do it pretty much that way too AFAIK. Lots of root growth happens first 2 to 3 weeks of flowering. I’ve known folks - and master growers - who prune, transplant and flip on the same day, routinely. If you had some identical clones I’d suggest doing one and not the other - to compare for all our benefit.

Folks watching it and wanting to try similar should bear in mind that not many “first time” soil mixes are going to be like Stanks!

I know that there are a lot of people that like to transplant and flip. I have tried it in the past and when compared to the pots that I give 2-3 weeks before flipping, never have comparable yields or root development. For me in my set up, those few days in smaller pots and weeks in larger pots make all the differences in my hitting the higher yields.

And thank you for your last comment. I know when compared to a lot of folks soil recipes, mine is quite a bit more complex and riche. I get much more growing time and energy out of my mix (By design) than most recipes or commercial versions. Remember commercial versions are designed to need you to buy something else to help the plants finish. Mine was designed to not need anything in 95% of the plants I run. Its only the rare plant that needs more than my soil can provide. And its not uncommon for Landrace strains to NOT like my soil....hence why I am working on custom blends for different strains or type grows.

My whole goal was to build a LEGIT, water only soil. Hours of reading other peoples journals showed me I wanted no part of buying nutes, pHing them, or being handcuffed into watering plants daily like coco growers. Now growing in 1 gallon pot wasn't part of that equation....and I'm not even sure my soil will make it. But I love trying and seeing just what is possible from my stuff.

 

[VetSmoke85]

Can't wait to see how this goes. I know it will take time to learn and build a quality soil but I'm certain that's the route I want to go long term. Lots more reading and watching to be done.

 

[Amy Gardner]

Well I think your soil is the best one around to try this out in. They probably got the best possible chance of success!

I’ve grown in pots that small but not with water-only, my dunks have fertilisers and microbes in them.

Thanks for noting about the additional yields you get from getting plants time to settle into bigger pots. I’m gonna have to try that now.

designed to need you to buy something else to help the plants finish.

so true it seems

 

[Van Stank]

Great looking journal Stank- I wish I had more time to sub more - I barely have enough time for even my own.




No fishers right here where I am now but plenty in some places I grew up, as well as wolverines, marten, and weasels (and porkys)

Every member of the weasel family is strong and tough and quirky as hell, and most anyone I know who grew up in the bush and had to deal with them has lots of crazy stories.
One of my earliest weasel experiences was when I was just a little kid and I woke up in the middle of the night to a bunch of crashing and thumping. This was up in the Yukon. A little ermine had jumped up on the counter and dragged an entire large roast out of the pan, on to the floor and across in a greasy trail to where it had a little hole in the cabin wall and was frantically trying to pull the roast in- making this ‘thump thump thump’ sound as it slammed against the wall. The roast looked like 100 times the size of that weasel and there was no way in hell that it was going to fit but it sure got points for trying.


The marten in our yard in some of those places were pretty ‘tame’, or at least very bold, and would always be out there frolicking around tunneling in the snow and raiding the bird feeder. We had a sport when I was a kid where my brother and I would ‘fish for marten’ out the window with a little bit of meat on the end of a string. We’d cast it out there and three or four marten would squabble over it and try to latch on. We could drag them all the way back to the window and dangle them in mid air while they growled their bloodcurdling growls the whole time. Good sport for a kid! No doubt we could’ve brought them right in the house if we dared.

Hunting I’ve had marten come right up and start attempting to drag my deer away from me, growling like demons. Like- ‘Excuse me buddy but that’s my deer and it’s a bit big for you!’

But there are endless stories about those little devils especially with the wolverines which used to play hell with the trap lines up north and are incredibly smart and crafty. Also fond of breaking into your cabin while you are away, devastating the place and pissing on everything. Ask me how I know. Ha ha.

Nice plants by the way

Awww man, the Yukon. If only I wasn't broken LOL. Seriously man, If I had life to do all over again I would love to give that sort of living a go, Ms Stank as well. We are envious of the people living on all those alaska and artic shows. Even though my ego says I could survive trying to live up there now, I know better....it wouldn't be living, it would be barely getting by and I am honest enough with myself to know thats not what we want at this stage LOL. Oh to be young again!

I grew up with ferrets as a pet for a lot of my childhood so I know that all the weasels are tough. My old man used to trap Martens as he grew up, along with whatever else he could get up in the UP of Michigan as a kid. I think I'd get a good chuckle out of one coming up trying to take my kill. The Fisher Cats around here are so interesting...the sounds they make....unreal. I hear them often when I step out to smoke at 2am, screeching and shrieking all sorts of eerie sounds. I love the winter time, so much easier to track them and learn their habits and territory in the fresh snows. Get to see where everything really moves through at and how frequently. I Know where I would be hunting lol, and it sure ain't where any of the local yahoos have their stands at!

Thanks for swinging through Weasel! Hope ya stick around but I certainly understand if ya have time constraints, I sure as hell do LOL. Cheers brother!

 

[Azimuth]

Made me wonder if I could pull off flowering a plant in my Stank Soil in a 1 gallon pot and what approach would I need to take to likely get me as close as possible to the finish line. The wheels were churning and that's led me to want to give it whirl. I want to try it for a couple reasons....one being that "they" say it can't be done, and two being that I always love a new challenge.

Looking forward to the experiment and to see what is possible in the hands of a master grower.

 

[Azimuth]

I'm going to go back to Page 1 and read thru. See what I can learn.

I'm guessing quite a bit...

 

[dynamo1]

 

[DeeCee112]

Thanks for the tag @InTheShed . Very timely update @Van Stank I was literally just asking about doing this in the organic section! I also have some clones I'm keeping small for the exact reason you mentioned, to wait for their turn in the tent. Because I have so many of them I thought it would be fun to try a SOG style run with 12 clones and grow smaller plants with just main colas (less trimming yay) in 3g pots but i also have an itch to try organic so I can compare them to their mom's grown in Soilless with synthetic nutes. I keep hearing 3g pots are too small for organic though

 

[Van Stank]

Looking forward to the experiment and to see what is possible in the hands of a master grower.

Well I look forward to seeing how this goes, but rest assured there is no master grower here my friend. I'm just a good grower with great soil and really good lights and a woman that doesn't mind my madness and that combo usually produces some pretty good results. I'm always tinkering and trying to get better. The more you learn, the more you realize there is to learn. Welcome to Stankville bud!

 

[Ozarkian]

Cant wait to see this one. When I finally mix up the stank recipe, I plan on running sixteen 3 gal pots

 

[Van Stank]

Thanks for the tag @InTheShed . Very timely update @Van Stank I was literally just asking about doing this in the organic section! I also have some clones I'm keeping small for the exact reason you mentioned, to wait for their turn in the tent. Because I have so many of them I thought it would be fun to try a SOG style run with 12 clones and grow smaller plants with just main colas (less trimming yay) in 3g pots but i also have an itch to try organic so I can compare them to their mom's grown in Soilless with synthetic nutes. I keep hearing 3g pots are too small for organic though

Yeah I keep hearing that it can't be done in 3s or 2s as well lol, but I can assure you that it can be done in those. We are about to find out if it can be done in 1s.

I've vegged one of my strains I was stress testing in 1 gallon pot for 90 days in 1 gallon pot. She looked like hell after 90 days in that little pot with no amendments but she recovered like a champ as soon as I threw her in some fresh soil.

I put a lot of thought into my initial choice of amendments and went with a soil blend that had a fairly even mix of slow, medium, and quick release type of amendments. Not all nitrogen is the same, some is quickly broken down and available and some broken down much lower. Same thing with everything else in my soil.

Those factors have a lot to do with me being able to do a lot of things I do in my soil that others say isn't possible. Well its not possible with their soils, but just because "they" say it can't be done doesn't make it true. Not to mention, our understanding of cannabis growth relative to soils is still in its infancy. The knowledge base is increasing as we are allowed to freely share our failures and successes to the public. Somewhere out there, someone is going to read these journals and think "Hell, Stank did it in 1 gallons, can I find a way to do it in half gallon pot?" And you know what? Thats pretty freaking cool, regardless of their success or failure. Reading that it couldn't be done in 3s and 2s is really the only reason I ever tried it, otherwise I would have stuck to 5 gallon pots as my choice size.

Experiment when you have the chance! You'll be surprised how much you learn. Don't experiment if you can't afford to have it fail though....meaning if you need meds, don't experiment on your whole crop if you can't afford to lose the whole crop, because its always a chance. Try it on one or two plants just to be safe. Believe me, I have killed my fair share of plants.

 

[DeeCee112]

My thoughts exactly! I'm going for it, and will be sticking around to watch yours now!

 

[Azimuth]

rest assured there is no master grower here my friend. I'm just a good grower with great soil and really good lights and a woman that doesn't mind my madness and that combo usually produces some pretty good results. I'm always tinkering and trying to get better. The more you learn, the more you realize there is to learn.

Well, I guess our definitions are different, then. I see someone with amazing results, especially when compared to most others growing in organic soils, who understands the concepts well enough to adjust his mixes depending on an individual strain's requirements and is constantly pushing the boundaries of the known science to learn more and become more proficient, to advance the art. Hell, more EXPERT! And then the ability to teach others what he's learned.

That, my friend, qualifies you as a master in my book. I've come across a few others in my short time here on various aspects of growing, @bobrown14 is another in this organic soil growing thing, @Emilya for her watering thread, SweetSue for her study hall and the assimilation of the various processing methods of the meds for the cancer protocols, etc. I'm sure there are many more I'll discover as I delve deeper into the site.

But in my book, you are most certainly a master of your art.

Carry on.

Azi

 

[Ozarkian]

Well, I guess our definitions are different, then. I see someone with amazing results, especially when compared to most others growing in organic soils, who understands the concepts well enough to adjust his mixes depending on an individual strain's requirements and is constantly pushing the boundaries of the known science to learn more and become more proficient, to advance the art. Hell, more EXPERT! And then the ability to teach others what he's learned.

That, my friend, qualifies you as a master in my book. I've come across a few others in my short time here on various aspects of growing, @bobrown is another in this organic soil growing thing, @Emilya for her watering thread, @SweetSue for her studdy hall and the assimilation of the various processing methods of the meds for the cancer protocols, etc.

But in my book, you are most certainly a master of your art.

Carry on.

Azi

Absolutely agree. Definitely a master of his art.

 

[Van Stank]

Harvest Update

Today was the day for the Jelly Wifi. She went a total of 65, possibly could have gone a bit longer, but I wanted her down this weekend, before the Superbowl. She was a breeze to trim up and so damn frosty!! I think I will let her run 70 days on the cut of her.

She started turning purple here over the last week and might have gone a bit darker if I had given her a little longer. We will find out on the next run

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• Van Stank
• Feb 5, 2021

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• Van Stank
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• Van Stank
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• Van Stank
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• Van Stank
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• Van Stank
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• Van Stank
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• Van Stank
• Feb 5, 2021

The yield is gonna be a bit on the smaller side but I have a feeling that the quality on this is going to be through the roof on this one. Her smell is really unique, can't really describe it...but I do get hints of jelly in background.

On a side note, I got a pleasant surprise in the mail today. I had been waiting for the November POTM prize from Nextlight and hadn't heard anything as of about a week ago. I reached out to Teddy who informed me Renee was running that now but she was out and he was gracious enough to put me in contact with NextLight. I emailed them and let them know that I hadn't received or heard anything regarding the shipment and asked what I needed to do to make it happen. I got a reply back immediately that there was an oversite on their part, they didn't know there was a switch in the contacts here from Teddy to Renee and he would get it shipped out immediately. I was gracious for a quick reply and thanked him for their continued sponsorship. Always nice to get that sort of attitude from a company in today's world.

So today I got back from running an errand there were two boxes on my porch. I knew what one was, the Nextlight, but didn't know what the other one was, but the shipping label also said it was from Nextlight.

I opened the Core up, always like to make sure that nothing was damaged in shipping and that the light works before I destroy any shipping boxes. I swear boxes are my enemy here, they are relentless and appear out of nowhere. I use most of them in compost or to expand garden areas (tear open the cardboard, lay it flat on grass and then dump compost over the box area and it will kill the grass underneath and give you a usable area the following season).

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• Van Stank
• Feb 5, 2021

Those Nextlight Cores are really beautiful little lights and perform incredibly well. They have a fantastic spectrum to them and have great coverage from relatively small footprint. Then we got the other box.....it said Mammoth Coolers on it but had a shipping label from Nextlight, what the hell was going on?

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• Van Stank
• Feb 5, 2021

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• Van Stank
• Feb 5, 2021

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• Van Stank
• Feb 5, 2021

How awesome was that. And I kid you not, about 10 minutes after opening the box, my cell phone rings. It was a number that I don't recognize and that means I generally don't answer it....but I did and turns out it was the representative from Nextlight calling to make sure I received the light, and then asked if I happened to have received another box? Why YES!! YES I DID!! He apologized again for the oversite on their part and said he sent the cooler as way to make up for it. Now that is some good stuff there! You don't generally see that kind of support or response from most businesses these days. Awesome job @NextLight