MerryAnna's Swazi Adventure

[MerryAnna]

Totally not unfortunate for me. I love it! The other likes food and food TV also, and that works out well for me as well

SO glad to hear you'll get some buds after all the bud killer pigeon and naughty neighbour events. Did you make anything edible out of the hermie? I keep thinking about what the hell one would do about that situation - I thought your earlier take on the possible scenario was pretty funny ("...hi. so, about that illegal plant in your garden that I just happen to know all about...") . But the more i think about it it seems like the only option other than ignoring it and hoping it doesn't get your girls in 4-5 months! Unless you want to get stealthy and dangerous, or dastardly. Neither seem worth it really.

That geek fest sounds super fun. I spent the saturday geeking out too. I was meant to be resting and finding it hard (resisting a'rest ) so I racked up numerous episodes of Next Generation and that worked. Had a very restful day in the end, might do the same today. It's a bit rainy here.

Happy gardening, and great Sunday to you!




Man that sounds exciting - 31% I'm thinking that could make some killer pain cream... Thanks for sharing your plans

Great day all!

Hiya.
I spent every waking minute trying to think up what to do about the neighbour's plants, and i eventually decided to do nothing. I wasn't spying (honest, guv'nor), but there are 2 young guys in the family, high school & uni ages. What's dad going to do if it's their weed & i knock on the door? What if it's incidental weed (like bird droppings that lead to the plants?). What if?? Anyway, i thought of vengeance, because it's fun to plot revenge, but i'd never act on it. I wouldn't appreciate any of what i'd thought up to happen to me, so i left it. Also too scared to admit to anyone who knows my address that i grow weed. And Karma is particularly spiteful when it comes to me.
I'm off to the garden, Happy Monday!

 

[JustinHemp420]

Get some doom and spray their plants from over the wall.

 

[MerryAnna]

Get some doom and spray their plants from over the wall.

Can't. I'm not a licensed preacher, only they may spray...

 

[JustinHemp420]

Can't. I'm not a licensed preacher, only they may spray...

Hahahaha should have saw that one coming. How about your gardener, isn't he from the ZCC?

 

[MerryAnna]

Hahahaha should have saw that one coming. How about your gardener, isn't he from the ZCC?

*grin*
Yeah, but he just likes destroying MY crop. Also, i think that DOOM preacher-guy was from another church...

 

[MerryAnna]

Update:
I've been working on site quite a bit these last few weeks, and an adorable little snotty kid gave me summer flu, so my girls have been left pretty much to their own devices. I have not been able to keep up with the feedings every 2nd day - it's more like every 3/4 days (i alternate foliar & soil feedings). I'm not happy about this, but nature/fate may know better than me, so i'm trying this new concept called "being adaptable". I'm not very good at it yet.
Not-brilliant stuff that's happened since the previous update:
1) one of my 5-footers had to get chopped. She went totally hermie - nanners at every budsite. I had high hopes for her, but it happens. Like sh$t.
2) i lost a fair number of seedlings to the harsh afternoon sun. I know all about survival of the fittest, blah blah blah, but it still makes me sad. I was also trying a few different methods of growing/germination (i normally do a 24 hr soak, starting off with lukewarm water & epsom salts) to check methodology, so boo-hoo.
3) the dogs, who have been surprisingly good for the past 5 weeks, decided to dig holes all around the garden. This is to punish me for not being home 24/7 to give them love, attention and delicious snacks. (In case i haven't mentioned this, we have 2 terribly spoiled jack russell terriers. They get to choose from 4 human beds every night - that's besides the random doggy nap corners & beds around the house. There are more doggy treats & toys around the house than human ones. You get the idea). They hit up 3 sites with tiny baby seedlings. All in all, i've lost about 1/4 of my new babies.

Better things that's happened:
A) planted a bed in April/May, they vegged over winter, flipped late September. Turns out to be Durban Poison, all taller than 2 1/2 feet (this bed only gets about 2 hrs direct sunlight per day, it's amazing). They be fattening up nicely, with the help of a little beetroot FPJ, and carrot & papaya FPJ. I whacked them with a good dose of molasses this week, they're still quivering with happiness.
B) i have a really fun pheno manifesting in the garden. It's a swazi mutation (i think, no gene expert) that has fans with 3 fingers. Super bushy, tons of lateral shoots, lots of long, single leaves. Will try to post a pic tomorrow - i have 4 in the garden at the moment, all in pre-flower. I'm excited to watch them through flower, i hope it's a great smoke cause this is a great pheno for a guerilla grow...
C) i made a @#$&load of weed FPJ from the 5' hermie. It should last me until winter (hopefully). Also whipped up a new batch each of comfrey, papaya and papaya & carrot FPJ.
D) i finally did a seed sort. All unsuitable/unripe seeds are awaiting germination - i'm going to sprout them, blend them all up with some LAB after germ & feed them to my younger girls. I figure it's like giving them a "stem cell" feed (even though i'm still not sure how i feel about this stem cell stuff, the potential for unethical applications...*shudder*).
E) we had a little afternoon shower today, great N boost applied directly to leaves without me having to lift a finger, what a joy...
F) i revegged a number of my winter moms. I tried it on 20, 10 took. These 10 i've planted in "new" locations around the garden. I'm trying to introduce the beneficial root bacteria that developed during the primary grow in those locations, with the idea of planting new seeds.there during the next waxing moon phase. The thought is that newly germinating roots will struggle in a location where there are no beneficial bacterii off the bat, but if there is a live culture close by, i believe it will give new roots a super-boost. Idk. Thoughts? The idea seems to hold, i planted a few spots already and the germination seems fair, but i'd appreciate some other perspectives...

Alrighty, that seems to be it for now... can't sleep, so my brain is in zombie mode.
Happy Weekend!
✌&❤

 

[Imhigh85]

It is lovely to be back life has sucked for the last week being on bed rest

 

[ShMaNgLeD]

Update:
I am quite frustrated at present. I have so very much to do, and no time to do it in. I'm never around anymore, i missed a male, which means a lovely crop of seeds.
Pigeons are still at it, i need to build some sort of a protective structure as deterrant.
I need to empty out my phone storage, so i can take pictures, so i can post some effing pictures on the thread.
I want to augment soil to increase my grow area.
I need to transplant a 4' tall girl that will never flower, because the too bright street light keeps her in veg. But she's directly in the soil, and i'm scared of damaging the tap root.
I need to do a top & trim on my bigger vegging girls.
Also, my feet hurt & i'm flu-y, so of course life is a nightmare at the moment . Woe is me.
Now that i have that out of my system:
Spent a great hour educating an (interested) person about the various joys of weed. She left with 2 jars of canna anna pain cream, 20 reg swazi seeds & a half-grown potted girl. She went to uni with my mother - same F1 generation brainwashing my ma got, i mentioned to her once cannabis works for more than cancer. She went & researched, complete canna convert in less than a month.
She kept sticking her nose in the plant, unbelieving of how good it smells. So, yay, even with my loooong to do list & achy feet & congested nose, i still had a brilliant day. She had such a serene expression on her face when she smelt that plant, like she finally found something that's been missing from her life, i won't ever doubt that we physically NEED to ingest weed in order to be healthy, happy, complete humans. I mean, why do we need an endocannabinoid system unless we're supposed to ingest cannabinoids? Why do dogs & other animals have it? (Our old dog is 14 years old. He loves breathing my smoke, also nibbles on bud. Cataract in one eye, took him to the vet about it in May, she would not believe his age. Nothing wrong with him AT ALL.He medicates himself, as does the other dog, as do the effing pigeons. But why am i preaching to the choir? )
Anyway, have a good one!
✌&❤

Amen sister!

 

[Amy Gardner]

Update:
I've been working on site quite a bit these last few weeks, and an adorable little snotty kid gave me summer flu, so my girls have been left pretty much to their own devices. I have not been able to keep up with the feedings every 2nd day - it's more like every 3/4 days (i alternate foliar & soil feedings). I'm not happy about this, but nature/fate may know better than me, so i'm trying this new concept called "being adaptable". I'm not very good at it yet. .
Not-brilliant stuff that's happened since the previous update:
1) one of my 5-footers had to get chopped. She went totally hermie - nanners at every budsite. I had high hopes for her, but it happens. Like sh$t. .
2) i lost a fair number of seedlings to the harsh afternoon sun. I know all about survival of the fittest, blah blah blah, but it still makes me sad. I was also trying a few different methods of growing/germination (i normally do a 24 hr soak, starting off with lukewarm water & epsom salts) to check methodology, so boo-hoo.
3) the dogs, who have been surprisingly good for the past 5 weeks, decided to dig holes all around the garden. This is to punish me for not being home 24/7 to give them love, attention and delicious snacks. (In case i haven't mentioned this, we have 2 terribly spoiled jack russell terriers. They get to choose from 4 human beds every night - that's besides the random doggy nap corners & beds around the house. There are more doggy treats & toys around the house than human ones. You get the idea). They hit up 3 sites with tiny baby seedlings. All in all, i've lost about 1/4 of my new babies.

Better things that's happened:
A) planted a bed in April/May, they vegged over winter, flipped late September. Turns out to be Durban Poison, all taller than 2 1/2 feet (this bed only gets about 2 hrs direct sunlight per day, it's amazing). They be fattening up nicely, with the help of a little beetroot FPJ, and carrot & papaya FPJ. I whacked them with a good dose of molasses this week, they're still quivering with happiness.
B) i have a really fun pheno manifesting in the garden. It's a swazi mutation (i think, no gene expert) that has fans with 3 fingers. Super bushy, tons of lateral shoots, lots of long, single leaves. Will try to post a pic tomorrow - i have 4 in the garden at the moment, all in pre-flower. I'm excited to watch them through flower, i hope it's a great smoke cause this is a great pheno for a guerilla grow... ...
C) i made a @#$&load of weed FPJ from the 5' hermie. It should last me until winter (hopefully). Also whipped up a new batch each of comfrey, papaya and papaya & carrot FPJ.
D) i finally did a seed sort. All unsuitable/unripe seeds are awaiting germination - i'm going to sprout them, blend them all up with some LAB after germ & feed them to my younger girls. I figure it's like giving them a "stem cell" feed (even though i'm still not sure how i feel about this stem cell stuff, the potential for unethical applications...*shudder*).
E) we had a little afternoon shower today, great N boost applied directly to leaves without me having to lift a finger, what a joy....
F) i revegged a number of my winter moms. I tried it on 20, 10 took. These 10 i've planted in "new" locations around the garden. I'm trying to introduce the beneficial root bacteria that developed during the primary grow in those locations, with the idea of planting new seeds.there during the next waxing moon phase. The thought is that newly germinating roots will struggle in a location where there are no beneficial bacterii off the bat, but if there is a live culture close by, i believe it will give new roots a super-boost. Idk. Thoughts? The idea seems to hold, i planted a few spots already and the germination seems fair, but i'd appreciate some other perspectives......

Alrighty, that seems to be it for now... can't sleep, so my brain is in zombie mode.
Happy Weekend!
.&.

I seem to have missed this update completely! . I really don't know how that happened .

You have so many plants by the sounds of it - even accounting for the departed. So that was a week ago you promised pictures .., how's everything going then? Got room on your phone yet?
I hope you managed to salvage something from the pigeon ravaged plants...
Hey I've been meaning to say, nice accolade for Kevin Anderson's coach - coach of the year .

Speaking of zombie mode - I can't string two words myself right now. Maybe see you round over the weekend m'dear ..

.

 

[MerryAnna]

Busy prepping for a HUGE thing next week, cooking jams, chutneys, canning fruit & pickles, baking fruit cakes. And those are just the "incidedentals" that i'm taking along. Cooking traditional "farmer's fair/agri show" type food, only gorrr-may. So very little time for personal stuff, ie taking pics.
Girl, i've got a blueberry jam going that my mom eats out of the jar with a spoon (she normally mixes the berry jams with yoghurt for brekky, i use very little sugar). Also doing some herbal infused oils & vinegars (herbs from my garden). I wish legislation would hurry up & change so i can start selling my ganja goods. I just showed my sister the results of 1 month's use - no crow's feet around my eyes, in bright sunlight (i'm almost 37, don't have a beauty routine apart from washing my face with whatever soap i find lying around, never, ever use cream and i laugh A LOT. I haven't used the canna cream in a week, still no crow's feet. I also made some for a quadriplegic kid, and a lady who had a hip replacement, and they want more. And no, it's not me who is so good with pharmaceuticals or whatever, it's the plant.)
Just took a quick tea break, gots to get back to my hot pots.
Ps thanks for the K.A. coach update, i didn't even know (no tv, barely listened to the radio, found out about the coup in Zimbabwe this morning. ). He's a great coach, look at how well KA is doing this year...
What's news Down Under?
❤❤❤

 

[Amy Gardner]

Hi MA, have you recovered from your sticky cooking-and-preserving-fest yet? Hope it all went really well.

News down under - not much here. I'm a bit ignorant of the news these days, apart from the Cannabis news updates I read here in 420! Oh - Australian law has just recently allowed hemp products to be sold as food (I sent that story in to Ron Strider - nice to see it get posted here .). Previously we could buy it but they weren't allowed to say it was for ingestion, only topical. I've been eating hemp oil (in a daily green juice) for about a year anyway - so now I'll be doing it legally ..

Growing and using Cannabis that isn't hemp - still illegal. Long way from changing too. Apparently there are provisions now for a doc recommending it or approving it for a patient but no actual avenue for acquiring it, so you could have your GP approval but still get done for having any in your possession ... we have a really conservative legislative atmosphere in this country. . There's all this talk about 'studies need to be done, social impact needs to be assessed... ' blah blah blah ... Just so weird when US culture is imbibed into Australian culture like it's our Nation cousin, but are the legislators looking at the data coming out of the States where studies are being done and social impact is totally assess-able? No, nada! Gripes my ass! Anyway - that's my rant for the day (I didn't realise it was so risky asking me 'what's news down under'!)

Getting any garden time this weekend?

..

Edit: I forgot to ask this very important question. I made an attempt at my first LABS following your guide, which I blogged. I got something wrong at the first step because nothing has happened to the rice water at all - maybe a little cloudy layer on the bottom, nothing more. .. What amounts of grain and water do you use for this first step...? I'll try again...

 

[MerryAnna]

Hi MA, have you recovered from your sticky cooking-and-preserving-fest yet? Hope it all went really well.

News down under - not much here. I'm a bit ignorant of the news these days, apart from the Cannabis news updates I read here in 420! Oh - Australian law has just recently allowed hemp products to be sold as food (I sent that story in to Ron Strider - nice to see it get posted here .). Previously we could buy it but they weren't allowed to say it was for ingestion, only topical. I've been eating hemp oil (in a daily green juice) for about a year anyway - so now I'll be doing it legally ..

Growing and using Cannabis that isn't hemp - still illegal. Long way from changing too. Apparently there are provisions now for a doc recommending it or approving it for a patient but no actual avenue for acquiring it, so you could have your GP approval but still get done for having any in your possession ... we have a really conservative legislative atmosphere in this country. . There's all this talk about 'studies need to be done, social impact needs to be assessed... ' blah blah blah ... Just so weird when US culture is imbibed into Australian culture like it's our Nation cousin, but are the legislators looking at the data coming out of the States where studies are being done and social impact is totally assess-able? No, nada! Gripes my ass! Anyway - that's my rant for the day (I didn't realise it was so risky asking me 'what's news down under'!)

Getting any garden time this weekend?

..

Edit: I forgot to ask this very important question. I made an attempt at my first LABS following your guide, which I blogged. I got something wrong at the first step because nothing has happened to the rice water at all - maybe a little cloudy layer on the bottom, nothing more. .. What amounts of grain and water do you use for this first step...? I'll try again...

Hi, Amy!
Still pretty sticky, had a ridiculous experience at the function, will pm you about it when i can "unstiff" my entire body. The only part of me not stiff & sprained are my feet, which are pounding. Even my ears are stiff.
Anyway, LAB:
I rinsed the rice for dinner one night, and just kept the water. I didn't know if it was starchy enough, so i added a pinch of starchy oats. Then i barely covered it, and left it a week. The starch water will only smell faintly yeasty/ sour. If you don't get that whiff, leave it another day or 3. I stuck it in the sun outside by the weed for a bit - didn't know if there were enough bacteria in the sterile kitchen...
When you get the whiff, you can mix it with the milk to start the LAB. My 1st batch took longer than the subsequent batches, because i left the starch water longer, and used the same container to make the cheese/whey step, which i didn't sterilize between batches. And it will take longer in cooler, wetter weather... it's nature, it will work (eventually). Don't second guess yourself, or overthink it...
✌&❤

 

[Conradino23]

Lactobacilli are great, it never hurts to spray or use with watering.

 

[MerryAnna]

Lactobacilli are great, it never hurts to spray or use with watering.

Last month, I added some straight LAB to a site i'm readying for a winter grow - worn out soil. I turned it today, and it was earthworm paradise. LAB is brilliant for a home-made infused watery thing i cooked on top of the fridge at zero cost. (Maybe 50 cents for the milk & sugar). ☺

 

[MerryAnna]

Hi, everyone!
Quick update on my garden, with pictures for a change.
1st: my swazi journal girls. I slightly miscalculated the trajectory of the sun when i planted these ladies. They spend a greater portion of their day in the shade than i'd like (about 3 hours in the morning), then direct sunlight for about 3 hours, then dappled/part - shade thw rest of the day. These ladies are 2 months old tomorrow - plan is to veg naturally until Dec 21, summer solstice, after which they should flip themselves fairly quickly. So, with 3 weeks veg left, here they are at about 3 ft tall.

Daily feeds from now until Dec 21, we'll see how that turns out.

Here's a girl in 2 different stages of flower. It's 1 plant, but the fatter buds are near a rosemary bush. I hope you can see the difference, the sun was not my friend this morning:

Rosemary sprigs

Finally, a large headache:
I topped this 5 footer 3 weeks ago, and she's still growing. The wall in the background is 7ft tall. You see the problem.

Ps, growing under a tree is working out wonderfully. Canopy protects from nosy batardes Google Earth, while protecting from the harshest noon sunlight & punishing storms.
Also, i'm leaving a few weeds around to make the garden look neglected, so that no-one would notice the rather ginormous shrubs, just an overgrown backyard. Believe it or not, it's worked very well so far, i just look like a lazy slob.
Have a great week!
Xoxo

 

[Grow Bro]

Hey Merryanna. Things are looking great their. Pitty about the shade. Next time you know where to plant at least.

 

[MerryAnna]

Hey Merryanna. Things are looking great their. Pitty about the shade. Next time you know where to plant at least.

Thanks. I've been growing more than usual these past few seasons, so i need to try out different locations. The ones under the tree actually get great light, the very tall one in the last pic is almost 3 months old. See what 3 extra hours a day sunlight does? Amazing.
Thanks for stopping by! ✌

 

[Amy Gardner]

Great update MerryAnna - so lovely to see your garden. It's looking beautiful. I'm very pleased to see you got to spend some time in it

I'm sure your partial shade girls will still do ok - will they get more sun later in the grow do you think?

The wall in the background is 7ft tall. You see the problem.

Yeah - thats a nice big plant right there. I so look forward to next year when I'll be in a position to start veg much earlier. Have you considered 'super cropping' it? Looks to me like that would work very well there.

I can see the rosemary thing you're talking about. So lovely and rambling the way they're all growing together. I don't think it looks like a lazy person's garden... more like a secret adventure garden

 

[MerryAnna]

Great update MerryAnna - so lovely to see your garden. It's looking beautiful. I'm very pleased to see you got to spend some time in it

I'm sure your partial shade girls will still do ok - will they get more sun later in the grow do you think?



Yeah - thats a nice big plant right there. I so look forward to next year when I'll be in a position to start veg much earlier. Have you considered 'super cropping' it? Looks to me like that would work very well there.

I can see the rosemary thing you're talking about. So lovely and rambling the way they're all growing together. I don't think it looks like a lazy person's garden... more like a secret adventure garden

Thanks, Amy!
I'm slowly working through everyone's journals & threads, yours is actually next on my list...

I've always loved English cottage style gardens, although i'm sure a proper one has more cultivated plants & less weeds .

The whole area under the tree has taken me 2 years to raise 1/2 a foot - very fertile compost heap. I'm slowly exchanging weeds (not ganja) there for herbs. Dill, coriander/cilantro, flax, rocket... at the moment, there are loads of potatoes growing over in that patch, as well as some wild african watermelon (you 'crystalise' the rind, then bottle it with a lemon & ginger laced syrup. It's a local delicacy, crunchy & crisp & sweet & fresh... yum). Loads of pumpkins & tomatoes all over the place, i cook jam from the tomatoes (technically, it's a fruit, very distinct taste) & make pasta sauces... i love my job, can you tell?
Anyway, super cropping is a great idea. We've been having loads of rain, rain contains lots of N, N makes plants go boom. Luckily, i'm working from home for the forseeable future, so i can get back into my routine (garden in the am, cook in the pm). I can get back to the girls' feeding schedule again, which i've been sorely neglecting.
I'm also making super duper canna infused coconut oil, to be used orally & in a scar cream that works insanely well. (Not to get too graphic, but holy cow, i could see a difference in scars etc after only a month of use. After 6 weeks, i look 10 years younger, which is insane.)
In other news: uncle (the guy i started growing for initially) has to relocate to my home town for work, so he's coming to stay @ ours until his tenants can move out. We don't have strenuous regulations & quality controls on herbal meds over here, and the opportunists who make his infused oil overcharge by hundreds of $ (well, R, but you get it), so we'be been trying to teach him about cannabis at the rate of 1 lesson every 6 months. Now, i can actually show him how to grow & infuse oil himself, so very excited about that!!!
That's my day, how's yours?

 

[Imhigh85]

I already have some cannabis infused oil and was wondering if if you had any ideals what to do with it 8 oz of concentrated oil has not been filtered yet was stopping by to see what you think and if you had any ideals keep up all the good work