Greatwolf's Hydro Auto Blueberry & Tangerine Dream Grand Experiment Journal — 2017

[SweetSue]

Re: Greatwolf's Hydro Auto Blueberry & Tangerine Dream Grand Experiment Journal — 201

Well that just went way over my head lol. Thank You for your reply on page 4 about the Twisted Sister, Greatwolf ! The plants are looking gourgis for 60 days Buying around here you never know what ur getting till you try it out and for pain (neck , back, hip) i have it makes a Big difference ! What i have now Will put you to sleep in about 1/2 J so morning relief is nit happening . I have been lookin into what i think ? will work and this is helping me make some decisions to what to purchase , i have a list of difft. strains and will add these to it after the results are in . Have been looking at some aerogarden systems 30-45 watts. just not able to purchase at this time // hopefully my disability will go through after waiting 3 yrs. now and trying to find a Good lawyer that understands NOT EVERYONE HAS HAD A PERFECT LIFE!!! i HAVE NEVER BEEN SO BROKE IN MY LIFE !

That's the last time you should let those words come from your mouth and fingers. I understand the frustration, having raised children way below the national poverty line, and I'll share that when my husband's disability finally came through it changed our lives in dramatic form, but every time you focus on what you don't have you keep that lackfulness in your life.

I'm pretty certain being broke isn't what you hope for tomorrow, is it? Do a little rewrite, something along the lines of "abundance flows into my life in ways it never has before." Leave the dismal past and present behind and put all your attention and energy into what's ahead, and believe with every fiber of your being that only good lies ahead.

Forgive me, I have this irrepressible nature and you set off one of my biggest passions.

It sounds to me like you're using products high in indica-style terpenes for the pain, a common practice. greatwolf has success with CBD, and many others use chemovars with more sativa-style terpenes for daytime use. They lift the spirits and offer energetic highs, as opposed to sleepiness. I'm going to assume your current income isn't allowing you the luxury of multiple purchases, but next time you go to the dispensary you may be able to split the purchase between two choices. Terpenes like pinene and limonene will benefit you greatly for daytime use.

I sincerely hope you're not purchasing underground, because then the choices are nonexistent.

And to our little slice of digital paradise. Are you finding to your liking? Is there anything in particular we can help you with as you settle in? If so, you have only to ask. Before long you'll be thinking "this is the family I never knew I had!"

Incidentally, that back pain could potentially be better managed using prepared oils in suppository form. That pathway has offered sweet relief to other members. It's not an easy sell, but once they try the results are surprisingly effective. If you're interested there are many resources on site to get you from novice to advanced dosing.

 

[greatwolf]

Re: Greatwolf's Hydro Auto Blueberry & Tangerine Dream Grand Experiment Journal — 201

That's the last time you should let those words come from your mouth and fingers. I understand the frustration, having raised children way below the national poverty line, and I'll share that when my husband's disability finally came through it changed our lives in dramatic form, but every time you focus on what you don't have you keep that lackfulness in your life.

I'm pretty certain being broke isn't what you hope for tomorrow, is it? Do a little rewrite, something along the lines of "abundance flows into my life in ways it never has before." Leave the dismal past and present behind and put all your attention and energy into what's ahead, and believe with every fiber of your being that only good lies ahead.

Forgive me, I have this irrepressible nature and you set off one of my biggest passions.

It sounds to me like you're using products high in indica-style terpenes for the pain, a common practice. greatwolf has success with CBD, and many others use chemovars with more sativa-style terpenes for daytime use. They lift the spirits and offer energetic highs, as opposed to sleepiness. I'm going to assume your current income isn't allowing you the luxury of multiple purchases, but next time you go to the dispensary you may be able to split the purchase between two choices. Terpenes like pinene and limonene will benefit you greatly for daytime use.

I sincerely hope you're not purchasing underground, because then the choices are nonexistent.

And to our little slice of digital paradise. Are you finding to your liking? Is there anything in particular we can help you with as you settle in? If so, you have only to ask. Before long you'll be thinking "this is the family I never knew I had!"

Incidentally, that back pain could potentially be better managed using prepared oils in suppository form. That pathway has offered sweet relief to other members. It's not an easy sell, but once they try the results are surprisingly effective. If you're interested there are many resources on site to get you from novice to advanced dosing.

I'll second everything Sue said there and add my own in a moment.

My initial reply focussed on anyone thinking that I'd recommend an aerogarden to grow in - I wouldn't, not unless you already had it laying around. I'm using things that I already have, as much as possible, to avoid spending.

Now as someone who has been dealing with chronic back pain for almost 7 years(anniversary is next month), let me tell you a little about that. I've said that I get 20 to 40% relief, right? That leaves 60 to 80% pain, pretty constantly. And that is common for people with chronic pain. Ask around, I'm not alone. I've described some of my symptoms. Here's some more of my fun:

What feels like a gunshot to the back of the hip, causing me to scream. Usually gone instantly, but easily greater than 9 on the scale.

Leg instantly going numb and paralyzed, feeling like 75 pounds of dead meat hanging there. Typically lasts 15 minutes or less.

Leg just collapses while walking. Even though I use a cane or a walker, this can catch me off-guard and has resulted in falls and injuries.

I list these because they, or others that are similar, are common and people reading this will relate. As they will to what I write next, I hope.

So I battle a constant struggle, not against depression, but against being down. Depression is too strong, at least in my case. My thoughts are not negative in that way (probably because I'm too stubborn). But I do have to fight against being down. I could lay there and feel sorry for myself. But that wouldn't help anything and I know it. It can be tempting sometimes. So instead I lay there and meditate. It may be difficult to calm the mind and keep the chaos at bay, but it has to done. And then you go on.

My nickname had always been Wolf, because I'm a hunter - for information. There's been little over the years that I haven't been able to find when I set my mind to it. Except how to fix my back, so now I'm having to settle for maybe finding better relief for it.

Ask Sue. I started reading in a thread or two back in November. Then I'd pop up in another thread. And another. And soon, I'm all over the place here. And I keep running into her, because she has been there, done that, and pushing the cause. So listen to her.

[Long way to get there, but I did, didn't I?]

Cheers from the darkside

 

[greatwolf]

Day 62 - Selection

Below are the virgin sacrifices, er victims, um, volunteers (don't you just hate auto-correct?).

Blueberry Bud #1: This is the original main stem and has developed beautifully over the past 9 weeks.

Blueberry Bud #2: This is from a stem on the first node. It actually managed to catch up to the main stem and is at virtually the same height.

Blueberry Bud #3: This is from a stem on the second node. It caught up with the main stem during the stretch, but surpassed it during flowering, producing a bigger bud. All without slowing the flowering period down.

Blueberry Bud #4: This is from a stem higher up. Medium sized, but because of its location it ripened at the same time as those above.

Blueberry Bud #5: Also from a stem higher up. Medium sized, same as Bud #4 above.

I hope that these 5 buds produce enough material for at least 50 caps, maybe enough left over for some vape. The Tangerine Dream should have some volunteers in a week or so. I'll detail the drying methods in a later post (maybe tomorrow). Current stats:

pH — 6.3
TDS — 256
Water Temp — 58.6 (morning)
Tent Temp — 64.4 (median)
Tent RH — 58% (median)

Note that the TDS is deliberately low in lieu of flushing.

Back to the darkside

 

[SweetSue]

Re: Greatwolf's Hydro Auto Blueberry & Tangerine Dream Grand Experiment Journal — 201

They're excellent maidens greatwolf. I'm certain you'll get relief from them.

Incidentally, early into my work in the med threads I learned that we're not trying to heal anyone, or fix anything. For starters, only the patient's ECS does the healing, we only supply raw materials and try to get our minds out of the way so our tension-free bodies (as close to tension-free as one can get to) can get the signalling right.

We offer relief, and relief comes in many flavors. One of yours may be in the form of a strong topical, applied proactively to the area where you get that stabbing pain, and possibly along the suspected pathway that impulse travels, if you can reason it out. I'm developing a healthy respect for the potential of our infused oil creams. They're doing so much more than simply relieve pain.

My daughter was relating to me just this evening that she's been applying the cream to her knees before bed every night. When she wakes she typically gets a few minutes of stabbing pains in her left knee, likely residual damage from a fall a couple decades back. She noticed after a few days the pain impulses were diminishing, and this morning it was limited to one brief stab that didn't even warrant a "Yelp!" She's been applying it to that pad on the upper back too. Don't you love learning new tricks?

May I ask, what was your starting CBD dose? At what rate did you increase? Where have you settled at?

I believe you're going to look back on this year as a transformative one. You're going to get the pain levels down. No idea how much, but I know without any doubt that you'll be managing it better before mid-year. That dead-weight trick your body does will keep you on edge, I'd think. I'm wondering if there's some yet unknown way to pick up the signal before it happens. That's just me being the wishful dreamer. We have senses we don't use, and I suspect communicating with the cellular community that works cooperatively to make you is one of them. Maybe someday we'll break that barrier.

 

[greatwolf]

Day 63 - Dryin' Time

Okay, just a brief update for now. Have to finish feeding plants, wiped out, going to rest.

Cut 4 of the 5 selected volunteers (5th was too airy, so letting it go longer). Little disappointed in weight, but probably enough for 50 caps, so min goal probably met. If so, I'll take that. Here's a pic of weight before trim:

And the weight after trim (I'm quite out of practice at this, but did adequate job):

I described the first method of drying I'm testing last week, a type of freeze drying, although due to density I'm letting initial freeze go 2 hours and given how I feel today, it will be at least 2 days for this.

My second method is rice based desiccant, but by taping 2 mason jar lids together and using a sprout screen:

I have separate drying and desiccant chambers that I can easily change out the rice from:

It dropped from 89% RH in the drying chamber to 76% in 1 hour. Not sure how it will do over time.

The third is the old paper bag:

Cheers from the darkside

 

[Blazinjones]

Re: Day 63 - Dryin' Time

Okay, just a brief update for now. Have to finish feeding plants, wiped out, going to rest.

Cut 4 of the 5 selected volunteers (5th was too airy, so letting it go longer). Little disappointed in weight, but probably enough for 50 caps, so min goal probably met. If so, I'll take that. Here's a pic of weight before trim:

And the weight after trim (I'm quite out of practice at this, but did adequate job):

I described the first method of drying I'm testing last week, a type of freeze drying, although due to density I'm letting initial freeze go 2 hours and given how I feel today, it will be at least 2 days for this.

My second method is rice based desiccant, but by taping 2 mason jar lids together and using a sprout screen:

I have separate drying and desiccant chambers that I can easily change out the rice from:

It dropped from 89% RH in the drying chamber to 76% in 1 hour. Not sure how it will do over time.

The third is the old paper bag:

Cheers from the darkside

Love tht lil stick threw the top of the bag hold n tht bud n the rice idea looks cool hope it works out 4 ya n jus wondering how you go about makn ur caps

 

[greatwolf]

Re: Day 63 - Dryin' Time

Love tht lil stick threw the top of the bag hold n tht bud n the rice idea looks cool hope it works out 4 ya n jus wondering how you go about makn ur caps

Yes, the stick in the bag is an old trick and by using a hole punch for a clean hole the bag is reusable a number of times. I'm cheap!

I'll document, somewhat, my cap making, but there plenty of great directions on this site. Oldbear has a spreadsheet I'm using that if you know the strains info, you can calculate dosage and even how to mix different oils.

Cheers from the darkside

 

[greatwolf]

Re: Day 63 - Dryin' Time

Okay, just a brief update for now. Have to finish feeding plants, wiped out, going to rest.

Cut 4 of the 5 selected volunteers (5th was too airy, so letting it go longer). Little disappointed in weight, but probably enough for 50 caps, so min goal probably met. If so, I'll take that. Here's a pic of weight before trim:

And the weight after trim (I'm quite out of practice at this, but did adequate job):

I described the first method of drying I'm testing last week, a type of freeze drying, although due to density I'm letting initial freeze go 2 hours and given how I feel today, it will be at least 2 days for this.

My second method is rice based desiccant, but by taping 2 mason jar lids together and using a sprout screen:

I have separate drying and desiccant chambers that I can easily change out the rice from:

It dropped from 89% RH in the drying chamber to 76% in 1 hour. Not sure how it will do over time.

The third is the old paper bag:

Cheers from the darkside

Brief update on drying methods:

Bag - after overnight, rh 80%

Dessicant rice jar - [NOTE: switched lower chamber to quart size, 3/4 full] after over night, and 2 changes of rice so far, rh 73%. But, I notice the rice each time has picked up a strong smell of the cannabis, so am a bit concerned about what might be lost.

Freeze/ vacuum drying - only 2 cycles yesterday, not nearly enough to dry it out add I suspected. Left under vacuum over night. Unknown rh this morning (batteries died in cheap device) and didn't want to wait to start freeze cycle this morning.

Back to the darkside

 

[Blazinjones]

Re: Day 63 - Dryin' Time

Brief update on drying methods:

Bag - after overnight, rh 80%

Dessicant rice jar - [NOTE: switched lower chamber to quart size, 3/4 full] after over night, and 2 changes of rice so far, rh 73%. But, I notice the rice each time has picked up a strong smell of the cannabis, so am a bit concerned about what might be lost.

Freeze/ vacuum drying - only 2 cycles yesterday, not nearly enough to dry it out add I suspected. Left under vacuum over night. Unknown rh this morning (batteries died in cheap device) and didn't want to wait to start freeze cycle this morning.

Back to the darkside

Sweet bro sounds exciting lol hope those cure techniques work out good 4 ya.

 

[greatwolf]

Re: Day 63 - Dryin' Time

Sweet bro sounds exciting lol hope those cure techniques work out good 4 ya.

These are just quick drying tests for when necessary. The cure is a separate step, not necessary for oils or tinctures.

You should check out Decoding the Holy Grail thread, very long, but great infill on oil, decarb, and much more. I've never made oil before and getting much help there and other places.

Back to the darkside

 

[Blazinjones]

Re: Day 63 - Dryin' Time

These are just quick drying tests for when necessary. The cure is a separate step, not necessary for oils or tinctures.

You should check out Decoding the Holy Grail thread, very long, but great infill on oil, decarb, and much more. I've never made oil before and getting much help there and other places.

Back to the darkside

Yea ive been meaning to jus been kinda sick lately n not up to much lol but once I get more motivated here i was guna go take pics and do updates n what not lol n ill check it out then cause I jus harvested last night and have a bunch ready for oils and concentrates and what have you lol

 

[SweetSue]

Re: Greatwolf's Hydro Auto Blueberry & Tangerine Dream Grand Experiment Journal — 201

greatwolf, I think I'm most intrigued by the rice process. I keep thinking about finding a way to make the rice do the job. Hadn't thought of terpene loss from absorbtion into the rice...hmmm....

I'd almost kill for a good freeze dry unit. Lol!

 

[greatwolf]

Day 64 - Brief Update & Yesterday's Photo's

Here's today's stats and yesterday's photos, after the partial harvest:
pH — 5.9
TDS — 450
Water Temp — 58.7 (morning)
Tent Temp — 66.7 (median)
Tent RH — 63% (median)

Aerogarden Day 63

Blueberry Day 63

Tangerine Dream Day 63

New Blueberry Top? Day 63

Tangerine Dream Top Day 63

Cheers from the darkside

 

[greatwolf]

Re: Greatwolf's Hydro Auto Blueberry & Tangerine Dream Grand Experiment Journal — 201

greatwolf, I think I'm most intrigued by the rice process. I keep thinking about finding a way to make the rice do the job. Hadn't thought of terpene loss from absorbtion into the rice...hmmm....

I'd almost kill for a good freeze dry unit. Lol!

The rice appears to be the best overall option, at first glance. The freeze/drying is just barely behind, but being more work I'm not sure it's worth it. The possible terpene loss of rice is concerning, and I'm not sure I can clearly explain my idea, but I believe it's related to being sealed.

I've added about 3 cups of oven-dried rice to the bag to see if that might be the best of all worlds and be not just a quicker than normal dry, but possibly a regular drying method (if terpenes aren't leeched out).

We'll see what the numbers look like in the morning. for now..

Back to the darkside

 

[smokesbetter]

Re: Day 63 - Dryin' Time

I just want to say Thank You Greatwolf ans Sweetsue for setting me straight . I do have alot more than most > Back to budding , Looking Good !! the buds are very impressing greatwolf . I dont own a aerogarden yet but would like to if nothing else for starting my outside Veggie garden for spring ( you know the other stuff)

 

[greatwolf]

Day 65 - Just Stats & Photos

Current Stats:
pH — 6.0
TDS — 561
Water Temp — 57.8 (morning)
Tent Temp — 67.6 (median)
Tent RH — 65% (median)

Aerogarden Day 65

Blueberry Day 65

Tangerine Dream day 65

Blueberry New Top Day 65

Tangerine Dream Top Day 65

Cheers from the darkside

 

[greatwolf]

First Blueberry Auto Oil Production

A little difficult to write this (that will teach me to follow Sue's example and lick the spoons ).

First, an update on drying techniques:

Freezing/Vacuum Drying - this produced a slightly drier product in the same short time. But did it also start curing the material? The reason I bring this up is the final color; it is not as apparent in the first photo below, but in the second you can clearly see it is closer to brown than the green of the other buds. The first day there were were 3 freezes, each for 2 hours. The second day there were 4 freezes - 2 hours, 90 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours. The last one it was left for several hours under vacuum before being hung in the rice bag.

Rice Jar Dehydrator - I'm concerned that terpenes are being absorbed by the rice because of a sealed system. The rice retained a strong smell.

Brown bag with rice - effective, simple, should work year round.

Here are the 4 buds:

I decided to go with 3 buds at, at 5.6 grams:

NOTE: BEFORE USING JARS IN A PRESSURE COOKER, ALWAYS CHECK THE JARS. THIS INCLUDES A VISUAL CHECK AND A BOILING WATER CHECK. POUR BOILING WATER INTO THE ROOM TEMPERATURE JAR TO THE TOP. IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE DOING THIS STEP YOU SHOULD NOT BE USING JARS IN A PRESSURE COOKER.

I'm not yelling. I just don't want anyone to miss that particular warning and say I should have warned them. I told you so, okay?

So on to the processing itself. I pulled apart the buds as old bear suggested and added 1/4 MCT oil. Since I do not have an immersion blender, I decided to blend in a small blender prior to heating. I scraped the mix out into a pint jar and loosely screwed on the lid. I placed the jar on the wire trivet in IP, and added 2 cups of water. I set it to Manual, High Pressure, 115 minutes (this is 5 minutes longer than Sue recommended, but I figured the the glass I'm using is less conductive than the metal she is and the additional time wouldn't hurt).

When the cycle was done, I released the pressure, took the jar out, and allowed it to cool to room temperature (this was to conserve any volatile compounds, allowing them to re-condense). I then filtered through 4 layers of cheesecloth and a coffee filter. To complete things, I added 1 tsp sunflower lecithin.

This gave me enough oil for 100 "00" caps and a 15ml syringe full. Now we'll just have to see how effective it is.

Back to the darkside

 

[SweetSue]

Re: Greatwolf's Hydro Auto Blueberry & Tangerine Dream Grand Experiment Journal — 201

Excellent presentation great wolf. Curious about that freeze-dried bud. It looks line dried, doesn't it?

I'm sending lots of positive expectation that these will offer you relief. Will you be using them oral only?

 

[greatwolf]

Day 66 - Cap 1 Report

Okay, here is my report:

First, based on the spreadsheet that old bear provided (back in November, I believe) and the specs from the breeders as well as cap capacity, the best case that I can hope for is that each "00" capsule would contain about 5.5 mg THC and 0.7 mg CBD. It is probably less, but gives a reference at least for comparison.

I did not take any separate CBD yesterday afternoon or last night, in order to reduce the number of variables.

I took the cap at 10:30PM and had a small piece of cheese as a snack. Might have felt a bit of a buzz around 11. One unusual effect was a tingling in the hyper-sensitive spot of my back. I can't call it painful, not even sure I would say uncomfortable. But definitely noticeable. I went to bed at 11:30. Slept for about 4 hours; this is longer than average by quite a bit - about once every 6 weeks or so. I was apparently awakened by the painful, shooting numbness in my leg, which is not unusual. [Pain level was around 6.] But it felt different and it is difficult to describe that difference. Further away? Yes, but that's not it. Muffled somehow? I'm really at a loss here for a description. And I was able to go back to sleep in about 10 minutes, which is unusual. I slept for a little over an hour, when it was nearly time for me to get up anyway to have breakfast with my wife. Normally, on a night like this, I would not have gotten back to sleep.

One last thing to note here: Something that I had not been aware of consciously until today is that I have a continuous tightness in my lower back. Not painful, not even really noticeable. Until this morning, when that spot was relaxed. That was noticeable. Even with the the spasms still continuing, those muscles had relaxed.

Now there are several caveats here:

This was one time.
This effect could be at least partially psychosomatic (wanting to feel better) - but we cannot discount that effect either.
I had been licking the spoons earlier.
While cold (which my back dislikes), the weather is stable, no immediate storms.

I have been vaping CBD during the day to manage the spasm, and it is finally beginning to subside. My plan is to again use the cap without CBD tonight and see if last night was a fluke or repeatable. Or if there will be ups and downs (most likely).

Sue asked if I would only be taking the the caps orally. The short answer is, initially yes. I want to limit the variables and gradually change things as they stabilize and I'm sure I know what the effects are. I'll want to add Tangerine Dream caps for daytime relief before changing dosing methods around. And probably adding CBD back in, as necessary.

Cheers from the darkside

 

[greatwolf]

Day 67 Photos

Sorry for the delay posting these, further update later.


Aerogarden Day 67

Blueberry Day 67

Tangerine Dream Day 67

Blueberry New Top 67

Tangerine Dream Top 67

Cheers from the darkside