Spees with Cees part 1

SpeesCees

Well-Known Member
SPEES WITH CEES!
- PART 1: Santa Maria , thrifty Dutchmen and more! -
A new column… a new point of view! Why I got the honour to share my green experiences with the readership of EssensiE, is not on me… but oh well… it flatters me, and hopefully you guys learn from it or perhaps it gives you some new inspiration. Important is that I will do my best to get the readership of EssensiE more closer to the little plant, to share my grow experiences and to bring some more light in the darkness called the revolutionary ‘female seed’ happening. Seed, cloning, soil, genetics, nutrition, lighting, watering, selection, flowerings, rinse, flush, drying, supplies, etc. etc. We go for plane talk and go for Spees with Cees!

Today seven received clones permanently potted in (earthenware) pots of 10 litres. Six of them were in top condition. Santa Maria is the name of these rapidly branching females, which have a special property as I can see at this moment. A while back a book was opened about this mysterious super-weed and I was happily surprised when seven clones were trusted to me.
As for the shape of the leaves, they look like a Special, I would say. But they feel much softer and more elastic, almost like silk. Frankly speaking, this silky feeling was new for me. I already had seen breeds from other growers which attracted my attention because of the soft and elastic leaves, but never as strong as with these seven Holy Virgins! Also the fact that they shoot up enormously, like some Sativa’s do, is luckily not included. Tying up the plants was never my favourite job. They grow nicely broad as well as up, the lamp rather high. They grow almost instantly a nice wide trunk and build up just a bit more leaves than the average Special-breeds. Interesting: the right crossbreeding between an Indica and a quite early Sativa, should bring in theoretically the highest yields under your lamps! Many internodes, not too broad a leaf, wide branching and consequently many tops. But also not that ‘slow’ and in the beginning with a lot of leaves growing plant, like the pure Afghans. Not that there is something wrong with those Afghans, on the contrary, they are still the foundation for a large part of the best Dutch weed. But oh well, we are Dutchmen, so we want more and better!

Attention hikers
The strange thing with these Santa Maria’s is that one hour before putting out the lights they let their leaves hang, like if there’s something wrong! Fortunately, I discovered that this behaviour belongs to this breed. Because when the lights switch on again, the plant raises its leaves in no time like it’s proud, its leaves almost begging and full of desire, aiming straight at the lamps. I also have the idea that they need more humidity than the average breeds. When the air gets a little too dry they are immediately very sensitive to the light of the lamp! For now, my first impression is that this is not a breed for the home grower who just started growing. The Santa Maria’s are real attention hikers, you really got to keep an eye on them. Fact is that the seven received clones are growing very fast at this moment. Probably because I’m enriching the soil with CO-2 tabs. I think it’s real strange that people pay large amounts for CO-2 installations!? It’s real simple and inexpensive to give some extra carbonic acid gas to the roots by putting it into the water. Just go to the aquarium shop and read those instructions from Velda, dear growers, and let your sane mind speak. And don’t you forget that tropical fish are even more vulnerable than our beloved plants.

Roots
But what I really wanted to write about, goes back in time, back to the roots! Why do I still meet people who always talk nonsense about ‘the plants’? I want to lead the young generation of growers back to the roots of our beloved little plant. A long time ago the plant grew in an area at the northwest of India, close to the Himalayan. Scientists gave the plant the official Latin name ‘Officinalis’, because of its proven beneficial effect and/or its wholesome effect. This was the case for the native breed; Cannabis D’Indica! (Therefore it is not understandable that these days a discussion rules about rather there must be or must not be medicinal marihuana at the pharmacists!) The original home base of this plant, is the only place where the plant can reproduce itself. There is practically no area on earth where Cannabis can reproduce itself, without human help. And therefore Cannabis is depending on people who have to sow its seed. Even when the adaptation to different soil and climatologic circumstances will be quick and will the Cannabis quickly be able to reproduce itself in some areas, it won’t be an Indica anymore! You would be talking about a Sativa!

High
In my perception most of the young smokers are badly informed about the true facts of being stoned! Resin isn’t THC. Resin contains THC! You don’t get stoned from the THC itself. The antibodies which your body produces against THC causes the fact you get high. That is why beginning smokers often don’t experience much the first few times compared to what they will experience later on, because their bodies can’t produce the antibodies that fast by direct recognition. And to make it just quite clearer, the resin you see on your weed, is nothing more or less than a natural protection from and for your plant! Against the sunlight, or under a magnifying glass, you can see apparently countless little hairs. These hairs are in fact no hairs, but glands, and each of them secretes a drop of produced resin. Based on the Indica, which has to endure 40 degrees Celcius at day and severe cold by night at natural circumstances, some things will get clearer. At day at 40°C the resin from the glands flows over the plant and especially over the places where they are the most vulnerable as for breeding. At night, when it can be tremendously cold, the resin becomes rock hard and forms a protection layer against the cold circumstances. This happens there, where the plant used to grow naturally.

The core
When you look at a country like for example Morocco, you will get a different story. The summers are less hot, the nights less cold, but the plant will produce and secrete resin. However this resin sticks to the gland like a drop and won’t flow out over the plant. This can look a bit like crystal. A lot of glittering can be seen during a particular phase of blooming. Because oxygen and light give the resin-drop a hard and thin crust, you can sieve the resin after a while. The resin-drop seems to be dry, but when it warms up you will see how resin-like the core still is. The sieved resin-drops can be pressed easily into a compact lump. Because of the heating and pressure the dried drops will break and everything will melt together. In Morocco the time for drying and ripening lasts for over 3 months!
Every Moroccan weed farmer knows that the quality of his to be sieved plants can only get better by drying and ripening them during the winter. Sieving too early gives dope that feels just a bit wild and not ripe, even when it can give a BOOM effect. So ladies and gentlemen, when you go sieve the cutting waste or more, my advise is to keep your weed cool, dry and dark for over three months. And please do not experiment with things like fermenting and other strange drying techniques, that isn’t good for the quality. Keep it clear for yourself and your plants, give them a dry, well ventilated room where it isn’t to warm and keep it dark! Light gives decomposition while there is synthesis and that costs a part of the THC-quality by forming NCB’s. Give them space and time, they will reward you !

Source: No Mercy Seeds
Stay cool, high and take time to fly !
 
Re: Spees with Cees part 2

SPEES WITH CEES!


- Part 2: sowing-seed, clones and some vegetable chatting -
Cannabusiness keeps on growing, a good example is the upcoming French cannabis fair. But personally I think it’s getting a bit risky, because of the coming European laws. Luckily, my personal environment isn’t getting endangered, and that’s why I continue working with the innocent seeds and plants. The monthly slogan I’m making up right now, is don’t cut too much, just let it grow. This month we are going outside, into the garden. Are you joining me?


In the beginning of April, it’s getting warmer outside! Many bushes and trees are full of buds, spring is coming. Most species aren’t worried anymore about a few degrees of frost at night. It’s spring: time to prepare for the yearling outdoor plants.
For starters you make a plan, because you have to know exactly what you want to do. Too sow a garden full of weed and wait for the police to arrive, can’t be your intention. And of course it isn’t your goal to get the plants get stolen by local youth?!
You are save with four plants, this is ‘allowed’ in the Netherlands, provided that they don’t cause someone inconvenience and they grow in the cold soil without any help… How could they make this up?

Start female!
Our country has many stupid laws, but the following one is clever. It’s allowed to have four plants in the cold ground, in other words: once or twice in 20 years we have a warm late summer and because of that we have weed that really grows and flowers. But oh well, chuckle with me, because our shops work just fine with these laws. A growshop provides the stuff you need for those four plants, completely legally!
Okay… clones or seed? We have to decide about that first. Are you lazy, do you want to have some plants in your garden because you think they are beautiful and you consider yourself lucky to get some weed from it? Than don’t take the trouble and just buy some clones at the growshop. Or sow some female seeds (not feminized seed!) directly into the cold soil when the weather is fine. Wait until the end of april/june when the soil has warmed up, because as long as it is cold the plant won’t grow. Growers who want to start their plants growing inside, should wait a bit. I will talk about that later on, because that’s another story.

Digging
First, take a good look at your garden, to determine which is the sunniest spot. When you put the plant on a shadowy spot, the plant could get mouldy and plagued by budrot (!). Mildew is usually the first thing to show. As much sun and fresh air as possible is important. When you found a place, check if the soil is suitable for immediate planting or sowing. Don’t trust your soil blindly when you aim for maximum result. Digging a hole can give you a lot of convenience for years to come, isn’t too difficult to do, so come on, get that spade and wheelbarrow out and just do it. Dig a decent sized hole in case the soil is really bad, like too dry, too compact (not penetrable by water), too wet or too loamy.
The plant gets a good start when you dig the hole vertically, because even a small squall during a summer rain can blow your plant away. About 80 cm is deep enough. Make the hole just as wide. In Morocco and Nepal I several times dug out healthy plants to see how their roots grew. And I’m convinced that the plants’ roots have a tendency to rather grow broad than deep. In the old days Cannabis had a well deserved reputation as a windbreaker, but only if they were allowed to grow in the right soil. But oh well, the pictures below speak for themselves. So take that extra trouble, it is worth it.

Wilt disease
Mix 2 or 3 bags of Allmix with the soil when you think it’s worth the money. It’s pricy, but worth it. Besides, making your own brew for 4 plants isn’t worth your time. Come along, we are going to the shop, searching for clones or seed, but we can also get it delivered. Seed is legal, so almost every shop has it in stock, as opposed to clones. Try to find out if your shop gets fresh clones, because when the clone isn’t fresh it will be difficult to get this plant started. Look for fresh, green clones. It’s better to have a plump, fresh, green trunk than a fatter but woody trunk, because it’s more likely for a woody trunk to get wilt disease. Of course some shops are owned by people who have the right knowledge and you may rest assured that they have good clones. Rule 1 is: get your hands off that phone, go to the shop! But realize, clones are still illegal.
Treating your clones against spider mites and/or thrips isn’t necessary in your back garden. But be careful not to take clones which already have spider mites. In an outdoor situation nature will take care of the vermin with it’s natural enemies. But caterpillars are strange. It looks like they make a real mess of your plants, but they only eat the leaves and are gone when the beautiful buds start to appear. Take the caterpillars away, but it’s not necessary to go hunting.
You have to plant the clones as early as possible. Based on regular potting compost, you can give them some tepid tap water, because the pH value is mostly low in new soil, so that will compensate. The first few days are critical, so when it doesn’t rain you will have to help.

Hint: Remember that the pH value of your soil ALWAYS determines the pH level you are offering the plant!

Birds
When you use seed, watch out for birds! They love it, so my advice is to germinate the seeds inside. Plant one seed in a pot, 10 by 10 cm is good enough. Use a good seed and clones soil, this hardly costs extra and gives you a better result. Next you keep the sowed pots warm and moist until the seeds germinate.
You can find a detailed report about how to germinate your seed at our website No Mercy Supply.
At a comfortable temperature good seed germinates after 48 to 55 hours. 23 to 25° C is good. Put them outside at sunrise, because you get the best sunlight outside. It’s easier and often better to put them under a growbulb. Let them grow a bit to make them less vulnerable, before you plant them into the soil. But be sure you change the medium in time. The 10-10 pots are good for the first 15 days or so, after this period it’s necessary to put them in a bigger pot to prevent stagnated growth. It speaks for itself that you have an advantage using female seed, because almost every sowed pot will be bingo! Fine weather has the largest influence on growth and flowering. If the weather isn’t good; bye! Forget it! Our humid climate doesn’t work in this case, and the plants who do make it aren’t usually the best plants, with all due respect. Realize that there is a small chance of getting a good smokable harvest… but sometimes it does work and you’ll bring in fine from just a few plants!
A well germinated outside plant gives the best and tastiest results for your weed.
And oh yeah….. No Mercy Supply, P.O. Box 324, 8250AH Dronten, the Netherlands. Don’t be shy and send us some stuff. :)
 
Re: Spees with Cees part 3

SPEES WITH CEES!


- Part 3 : How to collect knowledge and what happens at the roots? -


We can buy seed, clones, a huge installation connected to the most expensive systems and sometimes dreams… but with all of this you can’t buy “green fingers”. Collecting knowledge is important when you idealize being or becoming an excellent grower. Much too often we look at the plant… we see and come to our own conclusions. But we often forget that what grows above-ground, is formed beneath the ground. Because that is where it all happens. Everything you see is for 80% the result of what happens underground. When you have learned to work preventive and see what happens in the growing medium and you react the right way… you will come a long way.


Reading technical literature is a must when you want to collect a lot of knowledge. Sadly enough, there’s a lot of nonsense written. But you learn to sift the bullshit out, and slowly you’ll learn how to get a good harvest for about 5 times a year. With pre-grown female seed and a PreGrowBox, you can get 6 harvests a year! Let’s take a look at some points.

Hint:
First buy a good pH-reader before you buy growing stuff!

And preferably also an EC-reader, but when your budget doesn’t allow it this can wait. There is a lot of plant nutrition that comes with accurate instructions, and for which you only need a good measuring glass for a good EC. Well… you already have that pH-reader… so lets proceed.
Check your medium for pure pH levels!
This pH level plays the leading part in the development of your plants. It provides a value which lets you know what to do with the pH value when you use tap water. Take notice… a plant doesn’t absorb anything when the pH level isn’t right! Drinking roots contain membranes that close up when the pH level is too high or too low, and this causes stagnated growth. Stagnation causes a wet medium, because there’s no absorbtion. This wetness causes a lot of problems! Be sure you measure everything… especially the soil. Take a cup or bowl, fill it up with soil for three quarters of its volume and add a quarter of water which is made pH neutral (7.01). Stir it well and let it sit for about one hour. Now you can measure the soils pH level. 5.4 is too acidic. You could mix this with water with a pH value of 6.7 to 6.9, to balance the difference. By mixing the 2 degrees of acidity you achieve an average of 6 to 6.2.

Flushing
When your plants advance into their growing cycle, your growing medium will become harder. At this time your water has to have a lower pH value. When you flush regurlarly, the slabs will have more or less the same pH value when you flush regularly. With slabs and/or blocks flushing should ideally be done with pH 5.5. And after that you flush with pH 6.2. (and for once add teaspoon of Bacterial when you flush for the second time!)

Hint: You can submerge large Rockwool blocks and staple them in order to see the top most block drain itself.

Just for once buy some Bacterial (those 10 euro’s won’t break the bank) instead of expensive root stimulators, boosters and soil improvers based on enzymes and chelates, which all create a soil with a lot of bacteria. Nothing wrong with that, but why not immediately add those cultures of nitrifying bacteria to get to your target as fast as you can? Without enough and the right bacteria there’s no biotope of any value. This concerns every life form. You too have the right bacteria in your intestines… otherwise you would die. Be sure you get the ‘pH part’ right… keep asking, keep reading… it brings you the largest amount of knowledge necessary to achieve a good base and regular succes.

Ballast
It’s also important to water your plants from underneath as much as possible! At first there are no problems when the plant excretes some salt and nitrite (read: ballast substances), but later on this will become a problem. Look at your plants in their pots, and it will strike you that after every cycle a white edge shows at the top of the soil. This is the plant’s excrement, piss and sweat. It’s better for your plant when you don’t flush this down over and over again! The plant has to cope with the waste everytime. It’s natural that the ballast substances are secreted at the top layer of the medium. In nature the leaves (during the process of growth) make sure the rain falls outside the plants growing area, preventing the ballast substances to get flushed down (some plants hang their leaves when it suddenly becomes dark, but a few drops of rain for sure makes them hang immediately). So it’s better to put dishes underneath the pots and water from below? this is definitely worth the effort. When you’re using an ebb and flow system, don’t ever allow the water come above the upper edge, so the ballast is left where it has to be. Make sure nutrifying bacteria are constantly available in the medium when you want to have less trouble from your ballast substances (your plant will be greatful). These bacteria live off them and transform them into organic material. And here also lays the ‘secret’ explanation of why it is advisable to grow on the same soil several times. Once the ballast substances are gone and the soil is upgraded with Libre-mix, the same soil could be used again (measure it well!). But make sure you adapt the EC



A Purple in a garden, fertilized with pre-grown Mexican Haze
Spacing outside?
A few hints for growers who like to see their dream plants grow outside.

A bag of worm-fertilizer makes sure that your plants have a good start and don’t have a shortage for almost half the growing cycle.

Don’t place your clones or seed to close near a fence or shed… this causes mildew. Because when the wind blows freely through our plants, you can keep them mildew-free!
Sowing or planting too early doesn’t work. The soil temperature determines when the growing process begins. Early May is soon enough.

Seed will almost always develop faster than a clone even when it’s sown later than the clone is planted.

Put a large stick near your plants after a few weeks to prevent the risk of damaging the large roots in a later growing stage. You can’t ignore it when the plants grow fast and vertically and need support.

A lot of tepid water at a pH-level 6.2 – 6.5 within the last few days will give a good tasty weed. Don’t water the plant the last 2 or 3 days before harvest (when it rains… pray for it to stop).

Let your weed dry in the dark… As long as there is light, there is synthesis. The cells in the leaves still react to the light and the plant starts to protect itself. The plant will make substances that use THC, and in the end your weed will have a lower percentage of THC. So dry it in a dark place!

Don’t you ever give up hope of having a beautiful latter part of the summer. Every year it’s a gamble. One time it will work!

When your weed is finally perfect at the end of the season and you need an expert taster… you call me!

Stay cool, high and take time to fly. :smokin:



Next month: plug & play pre-growing, pH-secrets, outside improvement and more
 
Back
Top Bottom