Sweetsue's First Grow - Stealthy Trio of Autos Under CFLs

[SweetSue]

Keep your spirits up Sue! Keep being there for Dale and his health, and never stop learning. I like to keep myself busy planning upcoming grows. If complements and ass kissing won't get better care...

Raise hell!!

Thank you. I was sitting here thinking that rants like that don't really belong in a grow journal, but this is my journal, isn't it? We've done gardening with vigor and joy all the way through, and will continue to. That's part of my mission, if I even have one.

But this is fundamentally a medical grow. It comes with all the turmoil and frustration many of us deal with in our own lives, but keep to ourselves. I think it's important for someone to articulate that and the inevitable journey through these moments to a loving resolution. We all know loving is the only acceptable way. I don't mind sharing how I deal with it and get to the point where I've allowed love to express itself in the situation. My hope is that it can help someone else, who can then help another and so on.

I don't think it would be my journal without that.

 

[Radogast]

I may not have your back literally, we are a few hundred miles apart withtour own sets of life commitments, but I love the sharing.
I will gladly read any rant you need to express, as I have your many expressions of joy.
I will share your pain as I have shared your childlike wonder, and I will be better for sharing these moments in your life.

Besides you have family there to hold your hand.

Keep your chin up, your fist up, or hang your head low... just please keep growing and journaling because we love to watch you grow



.

 

[SweetSue]

Thank you. I needed to hear that.

 

[Danishoes21]

Cant wait to see you takeoff on another wonderful grow, and I probably speak for a lot of us here; you got literally thousands of us that got your back one way or another and will do everything in our hands to bring back a smile on your cloudy days. Keep doing good things for Dale, life is rewarding to people who do good things. Believe it.

 

[SweetSue]

I haven't shown the aloe vera pot for a while. No expansion signs yet, but it's still alive, so I'm giving it all the time it needs.

Daily Update: Pots in Limbo

This morning I mixed up a half gallon of treated water with 1/2 cup of coconut juice and 1/4 cup of aloe vera juice and split between the two. Things are nice and quiet during these layover days. Tonight I'll set up for sifting vermicompost and redress the soil surface in preparation for the new seeds. I figure that should give me a week to water in and let everything recharge.

Don't you just love all that clover?

Yesterday CO shared an insightful post by Clackamas Coots on EWC and the enhanced calcium content from the worm's digestive system. I would think healthier and happier worms would make castings even richer than sad, crowded and poorly fed worms, wouldn't you? My thought on reading this was that well-crafted vermicompost should be a great asset for an organic grow under LEDs.

It made me feel better about upgrading lights.


My Personal Learning Curve

I saved the main stalks from my original adoptees. Even that far back I had a strong sense that there would be more grows that would improve significantly over those spindly little things. Today I took them out for comparison. From left to right - my Medical No Name, the Northern Lights Big Bud, the Bomb. I think I've learned a fair bit about the craft of growing indoor cannabis. Imagine what better light penetration could accomplish.

I had a nice sit-down with the site administrator, nursing supervisor and social worker and we've made our peace and are now committed to working as a team to get Dale the best care possible. I have been dutifully apologetic and have promised them I will work harder to find less confrontational means of communication and they have assured me that they will be more quickly responsive to his needs.

I pressed home the idea that we must work as a team. Honey catches more flies than vinegar. I could sense my mother smile when I told myself that last night. Of course, she's right.

Every once in a while my angry woman persona is needed to force the directional change. I'm ok with that too. Whatever it takes.

 

[xtrchessreal]

Thank you. I was sitting here thinking that rants like that don't really belong in a grow journal, but this is my journal, isn't it? We've done gardening with vigor and joy all the way through, and will continue to. That's part of my mission, if I even have one.

But this is fundamentally a medical grow. It comes with all the turmoil and frustration many of us deal with in our own lives, but keep to ourselves. I think it's important for someone to articulate that and the inevitable journey through these moments to a loving resolution. We all know loving is the only acceptable way. I don't mind sharing how I deal with it and get to the point where I've allowed love to express itself in the situation. My hope is that it can help someone else, who can then help another and so on.

I don't think it would be my journal without that.

I completely agree and you are a very articulate and eloquent writer, a natural teacher, and clearly a loving human being, the kind we should all hope to be. Your ups and downs are exactly part of you, the grow, and are germane to the journal. I would say this journal would not be as effective in expressing knowledge without the "earthy real" feel you give it by sharing your life as it goes with it.

Thanks Sue, Seriously Thank You. I think I could say you are grounding me and many that come here to learn. Someone earlier said this journal is like a Master Class...I feel the same. So many experts have shown up here. There has to be a reason for that. I think it is your approach to your life as much as it is your grow. I've said it before, its like there is ancient knowledge of the peoples of early earth being played out here. All I do since reading your journal is grow, love, learn and live.

 

[SweetSue]

Why thank you xtrchessreal. I was deeply touched by that. The journaling has become so much a part of me and I so appreciate the friendships and energy we generate here. It has surpassed my humble beginning goals to simply document a grow. My life has never compartmentalized easily. I prefer a flow.

 

[SweetSue]

A little treat as we near the end of this journal.

SETTING UP A LOS NO-TILL GARDEN

I'm assuming you have already decided on the location and have determined the pots needed and the necessary lighting and climate requirements. Let's set to work with the other essentials - soil building and maintenance.

I see a series of very methodical steps that can be taken to set up and maintain an organic no till with minimal effort. It's really as easy as 1-2-3-4.

1. Build the soil.
2. Set up a SWICK watering system to spare yourself the frustration of under or over watering
3. Develop a regular plan for amendments and additives using teas, drenches and foliar sprays.
4. Prepare for the next grow

STEP ONE: BUILD THE SOIL
The Basic Clackamas Coots soil mix recipe for growing cannabis (in his own words):

"Equal parts of Sphagnum peat moss, some aeration deal (pumice, rice hulls, lava rock - whatever is sitting in the garage) and finally some mix of humus - my compost, worm castings some black leaf mold I bought from the local 'worm guy'
To each 1 c.f. of this mix I add the following:
1/2 cup organic Neem meal
1/2 cup organic Kelp meal
1/2 cup Crab meal (or Crustacean meal when available - it has Shrimp meal with the Crab meal. It's a local product from the fisheries on the Oregon & Washington Coasts)
4 cups of some minerals - rock dust

After the plant is in the final container I top-dress with my worm castings at 2" or so and then I hit it with Aloe vera juice and Comfrey extract. Or Borage. Or Stinging Nettle. Or Horsetail ferns. Whatever is ready.

The Rock Dust Recipe
4x - Glacial Rock Dust - Canadian Glacial (Gaia Green label)
1x - Bentonite - from the pottery supply store
1x - Oyster Shell Powder - the standard product from San Francisco Bay
1x - Basalt - from Redmond, Oregon (new product at Concentrates - about $18.00) ."

I believe that this recipe allows for some substitutions and that the biggest thing is to stick to the 1/3 SPM, 1/3 aeration, 1/3 humus and the amendments at the specified ratios. I have seen people (including myself) vary the actually "rock dusts" but don't if you can help it, and certainly don't omit the oyster shell flour in place of something else.

Living organic soil is very rewarding to grow in, give it a try, no one has ever looked back after going this route."

My only addition to this would be to add mycorrhizal fungi innoculant to the soil mix in advance of planting, or dust the roots with it before transplanting.

STEP TWO: A WATERING PLAN - SETTING UP THE SWICK
A SWICK is a self watering technique that allows the plants to essentially water themselves. The perlite that fills the reservoir wicks the water up to the pots and the extra 25% increase in aeration material in your soil mix wicks the water up into the soil where the roots can continuously access the ready water supply.

The depth of your reservoir is a personal matter. As long as you can keep the water level 1" to 2" below the bottom of the pot so you're not ever sitting in water you'll be fine. A shallow reservoir simply requires you to keep it topped off with greater diligence than the freedom afforded by a deeper one. Large kitty litter trays work well for this.

STEP THREE: CONTINUOUSLY AMENDING THE SOIL
This is my dream watering schedule. For my grow it wasn't necessary to water from the top once I installed the SWICK system, so this became my plan for drenches.

Water seedlings with coconut water or rainwater only.

The watering/amending schedule is done consistently, regardless of where the plant is in its life cycle.

Two to three waterings a week (basically every other day: I did twice a week)
- one enzyme tea watering (measurements for one gallon)
* 1 TBS sprouts, puréed
* 10 ml Fulpower fulvic acid
* 5 ml Agsil

- one rainwater watering
- one coconut/aloe watering
* 1/4 c fresh, young coconut water
* 1/4 tsp 200x aloe vera powder
* 5 ml Agsil
Repeat indefinitely.

Every three weeks add 1/4 tsp TM7 to 2-1/2 gallons water.

Beginning when there are four nodes, add bio accumulator teas.

With new soil do weekly application of two alternating teas
- 2-3 tsp neem meal + 1-2 tsp kelp bubbled in a half gal water for 24 hrs.
* dilute to make 2.5 gal water
* add 1/4 tsp aloe + 10 ml fulpower per gallon
- same measurements using alfalfa instead of neem

The estimated minimal cost of beginning this regime:
- $ 15 Malted barley (2.5 pounds; 4 oz/cup)
- $ 22 Coconut Water Powder (1/2 # = 75 gal @ 1/4 c. per gal.)
- $ 22 200x aloe powder
- $ 26 Fulpower (quart)
- $ 14.20 Agsil (pound)
- $ 13 TM7 (100 gm bag)
- $ 13 Neem/karanja (2.5 # = 5-6 cups)
- $ 14.06 Kelp meal (3# = 6 cups)

There are many plant-based amendments that can be used to fill the voids until you can afford to get these items picked up. For example, it's possible to substitute corn meal, molasses, kelp, equisetum, or camomile for plant immunity in place of neem/karanja, although you should eventually purchase them. Camomile in particular is legendary for its immunity properties. Sprouted corn can be substituted for coconut water to supply cytokinins.

Notes on this list of amendments:
- Priority should be given to coconut water, aloe vera juice and kelp meal
- Secondary priority to Fulpower (fulvic acid) and malted barley grain
- Third would be kelp, neem/karanja meal, TM7 and Agsil

STEP FOUR: SETTING UP FOR THE NEXT RUN
When you harvest, simply cut the main stalk above the soil surface and leave it. No need to remove the old root ball. Those old roots will eventually decompose into the soil matrix, leaving an internal network for additional aeration and pathways for nutrients to shuttle to the new roots.

The basic process is to gently move the old mulch to one side, add the top dressing, shift to the other side and repeat, then finish with additional mulch material. You want to dress with 2-4" of good quality vermicompost and any other thing you might want to add, as in some rock dust (granite or limestone are particularly beneficial) or some Yum Yum Mix, like I used.

If you have enough down time, maybe add an ACT or a SST, just for variety and why not? It never hurts to add something different every now and then, as long as it's organic in nature and used in moderation.

That's it. Top dress and water in. Plant and grow.

Easy peasy all the way.

 

[SweetSue]

I just placed an order for high calcium limestone (CaCO3). I decided to take DocBud's advice and add a couple tablespoons as a top dress and water in well to improve mineralization and hopefully get rid of the pesky fungus gnats.

We'll be watching for results.

 

[Dutty Panty]

Right on sue. So glad I continue to follow your journal as it evolves and gets more filled with amazing people and amazing knowledge. Thanks for stopping by the budland today

 

[SweetSue]

I just trimmed the very first nuggets from the Bomb.

I weighed them each before beginning. They came to 14 grams, untrimmed.

Not too shabby so far.

Aren't these the most beautiful little things?

I love the way those teeny leaves curl so lovingly around the buds. They are totally encrusted with lovely frostiness.

Don't you love the color and texture? The next harvest will be an improvement. I'll be making an upgrade that will make the nugs more dense. Just what the doctor ordered.

These were the smallest of the bunch. The rest are still hanging. The three tiniest pieces you see to the right of the group in the picture above are now decarboxilating as we speak. The timer just went off, so let me retrieve them and try out some decent buds.

There is no smoke better than the one you grew yourself. Dale is going to be so pleased.

 

[36Gr0w]

Great posts Sue. Great details and price breakdown.

Edit* The BioAg products need to be used as per instructions or less than. Don't mess around with more. As per CC *edit

 

[SweetSue]

Time for bed. This living alone isn't for me, so it's been so nice to have all these interesting conversations going on to distract me.

Before I go, thank you all for the reps. Will I ever come to a place where they don't take me by surprise? Probably not. I'm so happy I can make your own lives a bit richer. You've all contributed so much joy in mine.

 

[Danishoes21]

Yummy frosty bud!

 

[Subnoise]

Great update Sue. Finally got my new seeds yesterday. So excited to start up some new strains. Those nugs are beautiful so full of trichs and a nice lime green. Well done and your startup soil post was very informative. I bookmarked it for future reference. Ty for taking the time to put that all down. All the best to you and Dale.

 

[SweetSue]

I suppose one reaches the point where your experience in growing successful crops overrides your concern that This grow the buds would be airy and ineffective. I'm new to this life and I grew these lovelies under CFLs to your amazement and mine. Now, here we are at one of those moments of truth.

The Bomb's smaller colas have been jarred and a few of the smallest popcorn buds have been decarboxilized. Do we have decent resin sacs or puffballs?

I am happy to report that she grew plump, dense little trichome-encrusted buds that mean this tiny bit is enough for a "single shot", as it's referred to in both our home and nivek's. (We also call them one-on-ones.)

I cannot tell you how relieved I am. The best of the harvest is still hanging in solitude and quiet, slowly and gently transferring that moisture back into the atmosphere and intensifying the potency of the end product. I've discovered my goals have shifted from creating a steady supply of meds that didn't require bankrupting the family budget to growing healthier and consequently more potent meds within the constraints of my grow space. Fortunately I chose the right forum to work with. Once again the universe intercedes on my behalf.

This bit here is probably good for almost a week for me alone. It weighs about 1 gram.

I have another dish like that with Buddha buds, plus what's already in jars curing, and I still have this hanging.......

... which includes these two colas from Buddha: the largest secondary (left) and the main cola(right)

I close this pictorial with my favorite shot - Buddha, still dancing as she dries. This cola may be smaller and lighter, but she packs a lot into those little flowers. And such a beauty. (sigh)

How will I ever bring myself to break apart something that looks that beautiful?

The universe decided that today would be the day I wouldn't be able to make it out to Dale. The area got hit with 24 hours of rain, which melted the snow into ice and slush, which froze quickly last night in advance of an inch or so of snow and freezing temperatures. Yesterday 38. Today 19. Brrrrrrr. I decided it's sheer madness to even try. I honestly couldn't be assured of making it there.

He's not happy, but it is what it is. My presence in the room - even when I'm totally absorbed in what I'm doing on the iPad - is a balm for him. It's the same for me, but my seat in that room is a hard, straight back wooden torture device and my whole body sighed in relief when he called to tell me the transportation company had cancelled all trips today which meant his trip would have to be rescheduled. Which means I don't really HAVE to go out into this dangerous situation as I'd planned.

Time. Time to slip in a session of Callanetics (already have the workout clothes on and the Zen garden YouTube video cued up). Time to get the laundry done, and the dishes done, and the table cleaned off, and when did common domestic chores become such a joy?

I could take the time to wash my hair and just let it dry! WooHoo!!! Decadence.

Before I play domestic and personal catch up, let me enjoy more of the Bomb's gift to me. You all have a wonderful day. Stay safe and warm.

Get out there and spread some joy.

 

[SweetSue]

Yeah. Once I pulled the Bomb's colas out you had to wonder how stoned I was not to notice. In penance I took a couple more pictures. Could she be more beautiful?

Her main cola. Yeah.

How could I have missed this? Potent stuff, she is.

Enjoy. You've all earned it.

 

[Teddy Edwards]

Sweet, Sweetsue, very sweet.

 

[Doc Bud]

Yeah. Once I pulled the Bomb's colas out you had to wonder how stoned I was not to notice. In penance I took a couple more pictures. Could she be more beautiful?

With your setup? No, she couldn't be more beautiful. But your next run is going to be much better! You're just getting started.....you're gonna rock it, Sue.

 

[SweetSue]

Subnoise reminded me that I wanted to include the start up costs for soil building in the journal wrap up. I'm still working on a compilation of links and some other valuable information that got shared here. That will be posted as we move along.

Active soil building occurred between pages 4-6 of the journal. I ran a cost evaluation of my investment in soil building to that point. There really was nothing else added to this mix other than mycorrhizal fungi inoculant.

Soil Building

$ 10.20 Mycorrhizae and Innoculants
45.61 Yum Yum mix (shipping included)
40.00 Clackamas Coot Style Nutrient Mix (for 7.5 cu. ft of fluid)
20.00 Pumice (3 gal bag)
56.00 Worm Power Vermicompost (2 bags, 3 gal. each)
10.67 Sphagnum Peat Moss (3 cu. ft.)
21.00 Rice Hulls (4 gal)

$ 202.48 Total investment so far. I did replace the inoculant mix with a more appropriate one that is only Glomus intaradicea, G. mosseae, G. aggregatum and G. etynicatum. Even with pitching the original purchase it's reasonable expense to my thinking. I was lucky to have some interesting organic elements to add, but they were just a bonus. The Geo Pots ran me $14.05 for two 7 gal. size and $10.51 shipping. Worth every penny, according to everything I could find on them.

It's worth noting that much of what I purchased going in left me with excess supplies that can be used for other soil building projects in the future. I'm planning to start some container plantings of fruits and veggies on the balcony come spring. This initial soil will serve me for many consecutive grows and only get stronger and healthier with thoughtful amendments of SSTs, AACTs and top dressing with foraged elements and good vermicompost. I honestly haven't had the time to do a comparison pricing with chemical nutes. I never considered them as an option for my gardening so I've never priced them.

The cost of amendments is covered under the watering post.