TheFrizz
Well-Known Member
Hello friends and wonderful 420 community,
I'm baaaack! Grab a snack and a
because this is a long first post (5 pages when copied and pasted into Microsoft word).
Let's start by going back in time 2 months...
December: My last post was in mid December before we left to visit New Mexico for a week. When we came back, the Girl Scout Cookie autos were dead. A power surge had apparently knocked out the air pump and it didn't kick back on properly, cause the buckets were just full of root slime when we got home and the tent smelled like death
It was very sad to open the tent expecting to see a weeks worth of lush growth and come back to this:
It didn't help that I was already struggling with severe depression related to multiple factors. I lost my motivation to post on here, and to be honest, my motivation to do much of anything at all.
January: Most of this month I spent alone, at home (I am on medical leave), playing a game called Ark Survival. I believe the reason I was drawn to it is because it was so immersive, it took me out of my head and brought it down to the basics: food, water, shelter, fight and flight. Somehow, fighting for one's life against dinosaurs and other humans can be less terrifying than facing one's inner demons.
As those of you who followed my previous grows can probably tell, I am obsessed with planning things and having a specific "end goal/vision" in mind. However when everything you do is according to "the plan", you lose the joy that comes from new experiences and spontaneity because you have little incentive to try anything new. Well, Ark helped cure me of that, and I went from taking three hours of elaborate planning to get ready to tame a dino, to simply saying YOLO and shooting em in the face with tranq darts when I saw one I wanted
Now I am applying this mentality to other areas of my life as well and I am much more accepting of change and I don't feel the need to have a "plan" for everything anymore, I can just live and enjoy each day for the moments as they happen.
February: I was planning on returning to work early this month, but after speaking with my psychologist, my family, boyfriend, and others at my work, I realized that I need some time to find myself and discover what I really want to do for the rest of my life. I am on leave for the remainder of the school year and plan on taking classes related to my passions (Life Sciences/Chemistry) at a local community college this Spring quarter to help me explore options for my future.
Ok so now that we are all caught up on that stuff....let's talk growing!!!
Purpose: This grow is for my mom, she has been experiencing serious health problems for close to 10 years now. Doctors had her on all kinds of awful prescriptions that did not even address the root of her condition (and they still don't know what's wrong with her). Fortunately, a combination of CBD oil in the morning/afternoon, and a nice Indica cookie in the evening to help her sleep alleviates the majority of her symptoms. She does have her medical card and can have up to 8 plants but does not want to due to the smell. So I am growing these for her instead Maybe if this grow goes well she will let me build a setup at their place too! Mwahaha
Strains:
VC/DC- VCDC is a hybrid, bred by Moxie Seeds and Extracts, that crosses Viper City OG with ACDC. With its compelling mix of genetics, VCDC is recognized for its high-CBD content, taking 1st for CBD flower at the 2015 SoCal Medical Cup. (Leafly) I picked the strain because it is a gorgeous, amazing smelling high CBD strain that is supposed to have a 2-1 CBD-THC ratio on average.
Northern Lights- Northern Lights stands among the most famous strains of all time, a pure indica cherished for its resinous buds, fast flowering, and resilience during growth. (Leafly) I selected this strain for my mom's nighttime cookies because it is a pure indica and she doesn't like the "racy" effects of sativas. Plus it is just a great classic strain, so why not
CBD Therapy- This strain is by CBD crew and has been bred to maximize CBD content (as one might infer from the name
). The CBD-THC ratio is between 2-1 and 20-1. I just had to try this one, because my mom is really sensitive to the side effects of THC and it would be really cool to get a plant with the 20-1 pheno to use for my own breeding purposes (crossing it with VC/DC perhaps).
Grow Method: RDWC with chiller (4 plants), and 1 plant in organic soil (I know right, TheFrizz is using soil?!?! Weird! We'll get to this later)
Nutes and additives:* Jack's Hydroponic 2 part system, Great White (friendly bacteria), and Tera Vita P-90 humic acid. **
*I am using only powder based additives from now on because they are many many times more cost effective. I do not want my dollar to go towards supporting companies that sell 50 different overpriced diluted "bloom boosters" and other crap when instead you can use a teeny tiny amount of powder and mix it to the ratio and concentration that your plants need.
** Humic acid is derived from organic matter that has decomposed and partially lithified over thousands of years. It can be purchased as a fine black powder, is water soluble, and contains silica as well so I don't have to use Pro-Tekt. Basically I am trying to achieve the benefits of growing in organic soil and DWC at the same time. It should not contribute to root rot (hopefully)
, because the organic matter has already been broken down.
Other pertinent information:
Lighting- 1000 Watt MH/HPS
Ventilation- Air cooled w/ carbon filter
Reservoir temp- 68 degrees F
NOTE: This grow journal will be in the form of creative writing from the perspective of the plants, broken into chapters by growth phase. I started these seeds in early February but did not take pics for a couple weeks. Pics will start in a few chapters after I get caught up with the writing. This post will include Chapter 1, my next post will be Chapter 2, and so on. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1.) Germination of the VC/DC sisters
Once upon a time, there were three VC/DC sister-seeds named Athena, Monique, and Jenny. They had been placed into a small plastic tube immediately after birth. The girls had a good life, no stress or worries, just hibernating in their cozy house inside the bottom drawer of the fridge. Alas, it is with plants as it is with humans - eventually all good things must come to an end. One day a great disaster befell the three sister-seeds; their house began shaking and then all of a sudden was hurtling through the air at great speed!
"Oh my godddd we are soooo gonna die!!" Monique shrieked, looking at her sisters in terror. "Are we like, in a tornado or something??!!"
"Uhm, no, tornadoes don't happen in refrigerator's, dumdum, we are probably being taken to be planted." said Athena with a smirk. "Don't worry, being Chosen is a great honor."
Jenny nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I heard that as long as we make it through germination we get pampered and fed and groomed for the rest of our life, it's a pretty great deal. You really have to WANT it though, I have heard it takes a lot of willpower to make it through."
Their conversation was brought to a halt as the door to their house was torn open. The girls fell a short distance out of the tube and landed on a strange surface. The surface was extremely warm to their touch, and it lacked the rigidity and smoothness of their house walls.
Before the girls had time to process what had just happened, an enormous monstrosity came into view above them! It was a five armed beast of some kind, and the diameter of each single arm was at least 8-10 seeds wide! The girls looked around for somewhere to hide, but realized that the strange surface they had landed on was in fact another five armed monster, and they were sitting on its flat midsection! Trapped between the two monsters, the girls had no where to run.
The monster in the air approached the girls and reached down towards Athena with two of its massive arms. She screamed, "Help meeee!!!!" and looked back at her sisters with terror as the monster picked her up and carried her out of sight.
"Wait a second..." Jenny said to Monique, "I think Athena just got Chosen".
"Ummmm screw that, I'm out!" Monique started to roll towards the side of the monster, it looked like she was trying to jump off the edge of the monster's belly and make her way back to their old house.
"Stop! You're our sister, where will you go? What will you do?" Jenny looked at Monique in desperation. "I know you are afraid but you need to face your fears head-on, because fear is the path to the rot side."
"Wait, what? What does fear have to do with the rot side?," Monique snapped.
"Well let me tell you a story: There once was a young seedling who was full of fear, just like you, and she tried to hide after she was Chosen. She burrowed down deep into her Rapid Rooter so no one could see her, and she kept herself completely tucked under the surface and never came out. She was worried that she wouldn't live up to her sisters and her parents expectations, so she figured she would just stay out of sight"
"Ok, soooo, what's the point to your story, why is that a problem? We stayed hidden in our house for months and that was just fine so why is it bad to stay under the surface after getting Chosen?" Monique interrupted.
"Well I was getting to that part. Anyways, she stayed under the surface for close to a week and was still buried even when all of her sisters had started growing their first set of true leaves. Then something terrible happened, the forces of darkness, moisture, and the lack of light began to corrupt her, and within a matter of days she had succumbed to the rot side. There was nothing her sisters could do, other than feel her life energy fade away." Jenny gazed at Monique sorrowfully as she finished the story. "I just don't want to see that to happen to you, sis."
"Whatever, she probably just had bad hygiene or something, it won't be a problem for me. Also, what's a Rapid Rooter?" Monique quipped.
"A rapid Rooter is what we germinate in, did you pay ANY attention at all in seed school?" By this point Jenny was starting to become visibly annoyed with her sister.
All of a sudden the monster's belly began to move, and simultaneously the second monster returned from the sky. The monster in the sky grabbed Jenny, and the monster whose belly they were sitting on grabbed Monique.
"Are we being Chosen??!?!" screamed Monique from the clutches of the beast's arms.
"Yep, it's finally happening!" Jenny looked absolutely radiant.
Before they knew it, each monster dropped them into the hole of a separate Rapid Rooter, and placed a small amount of material on top to protect them from the light.
"It's about time, slowpokes."
"Athena?!" cried Jenny.
"Yep, I already started soaking my seed coat, I am gonna be the best plant ever, even better than Queen Sativa" stated Athena smugly.
"What makes you think that?" asked Jenny.
"Well, I was Chosen first, so that means I am superior to you guys."
Jenny laughed, "Uh huh, suuure" and turned to her other sister, "Hey Monique, how are you holding up over there?"
"I'm really scared, this is all so different and terrible and the light is scaring me and my coat is starting to tingle and ughhhhh I just can't do it I just can't!!!!!" sobbed Monique.
"Well, you know we are here for you and will love you unconditionally as our sister always." Jenny struggled to keep it together, as she began to realize her worst fears for her sister.
1 week later
After 1 week, Jenny was the only one of the three seeds that had emerged. Her cotyledons were healthy and symmetrical, and her first set of true leaves were beginning to form. She was beginning to get extremely concerned for her sisters. She could still sense their life energy, but she knew that the longer a seed stays buried past the optimal window, the lower the odds are that it will actually ever end up germinating.
"Can you hear me? Hey, Monique, Athena, are you okay? Please don't give up...I can't live with both of you gone. I need you." Jenny began to plead desperately. "It's okay to be imperfect, if they wanted us to all be the same then they would just use clones. You know, I even heard that the plants that survive through the toughest times can even end up producing the finest flowers, much better than plants that have an easy life."
After Jenny spoke, she began to feel a shifting in the life energy of her sisters. She could feel the force being drawn out of one of her sisters and into the other. She was powerless to stop it, all she could do was feel the pain of one sister's life force being sucked away, and the sensation of triumph, glee, and power emanating from the other. Soon enough, it was over.
Jenny bowed her stem in sorrow, and said, "Well, to be honest Athena, I thought it might turn out this way. I really didn't want it to, but I understand you did what you had to do, only one of you could live and you were always the strong one. I am going to miss Monique so much."
"Hey Jenny? Athena is gone, this is Monique."
"WHAT?!?!?! Monique, is it really you?!??!" Jenny started transpiring uncontrollably. "How did you do it, how did you overcome your fears? And what happened to Athena? She always seemed so ready for germination, I can't believe she didn't make it. She was even Chosen first too."
"Well to be honest Jenny, I think Athena was always jealous of you, you did so well in seed school and you have always been so good to me as a sister. Athena felt like she had to be perfect, and that if she wasn't the best then she was a disappointment. Her taproot started to grow upside down, and even though that's not a huge deal, it really threw her off and I think she just gave up because it wasn't part of her "plan"."
"Wow, that actually makes a lot of sense. But that doesn't explain how you overcame your fears."
"Because I realized that I had spent my whole life comparing myself to the two of you, but now I know that just because I didn't get the best grades in seed school or have the largest diameter, I still have something to offer. And who knows, maybe my flowers WILL end up being the best, like you said. But until then I am going to take it day by day and grow as much as I can, not to have a record setting yield or the frostiest trichomes, but to be the best plant that I can be."
End of Chapter 1
Thank you for taking the time to read this, I enjoyed writing it so I hope you had equal fun reading it! Disclaimer: Plants do not use "life energy" to germinate, but I have been on a Star Wars kick lately so metaphysical themes are on my mind
I will start writing Chapter 2 soon, which will introduce new characters (the two Northern Lights and a CBD therapy plant growing in a sock, yes, a sock). Pics are in the gallery if you can't wait for later chapters.
As always, questions, comments, and feedback are appreciated
~TheFrizz
I'm baaaack! Grab a snack and a
because this is a long first post (5 pages when copied and pasted into Microsoft word). Let's start by going back in time 2 months...
December: My last post was in mid December before we left to visit New Mexico for a week. When we came back, the Girl Scout Cookie autos were dead. A power surge had apparently knocked out the air pump and it didn't kick back on properly, cause the buckets were just full of root slime when we got home and the tent smelled like death
It was very sad to open the tent expecting to see a weeks worth of lush growth and come back to this:
It didn't help that I was already struggling with severe depression related to multiple factors. I lost my motivation to post on here, and to be honest, my motivation to do much of anything at all.
January: Most of this month I spent alone, at home (I am on medical leave), playing a game called Ark Survival. I believe the reason I was drawn to it is because it was so immersive, it took me out of my head and brought it down to the basics: food, water, shelter, fight and flight. Somehow, fighting for one's life against dinosaurs and other humans can be less terrifying than facing one's inner demons.
As those of you who followed my previous grows can probably tell, I am obsessed with planning things and having a specific "end goal/vision" in mind. However when everything you do is according to "the plan", you lose the joy that comes from new experiences and spontaneity because you have little incentive to try anything new. Well, Ark helped cure me of that, and I went from taking three hours of elaborate planning to get ready to tame a dino, to simply saying YOLO and shooting em in the face with tranq darts when I saw one I wanted
Now I am applying this mentality to other areas of my life as well and I am much more accepting of change and I don't feel the need to have a "plan" for everything anymore, I can just live and enjoy each day for the moments as they happen.
February: I was planning on returning to work early this month, but after speaking with my psychologist, my family, boyfriend, and others at my work, I realized that I need some time to find myself and discover what I really want to do for the rest of my life. I am on leave for the remainder of the school year and plan on taking classes related to my passions (Life Sciences/Chemistry) at a local community college this Spring quarter to help me explore options for my future.
Ok so now that we are all caught up on that stuff....let's talk growing!!!
Purpose: This grow is for my mom, she has been experiencing serious health problems for close to 10 years now. Doctors had her on all kinds of awful prescriptions that did not even address the root of her condition (and they still don't know what's wrong with her). Fortunately, a combination of CBD oil in the morning/afternoon, and a nice Indica cookie in the evening to help her sleep alleviates the majority of her symptoms. She does have her medical card and can have up to 8 plants but does not want to due to the smell. So I am growing these for her instead
Maybe if this grow goes well she will let me build a setup at their place too! MwahahaStrains:
VC/DC- VCDC is a hybrid, bred by Moxie Seeds and Extracts, that crosses Viper City OG with ACDC. With its compelling mix of genetics, VCDC is recognized for its high-CBD content, taking 1st for CBD flower at the 2015 SoCal Medical Cup. (Leafly) I picked the strain because it is a gorgeous, amazing smelling high CBD strain that is supposed to have a 2-1 CBD-THC ratio on average.
Northern Lights- Northern Lights stands among the most famous strains of all time, a pure indica cherished for its resinous buds, fast flowering, and resilience during growth. (Leafly) I selected this strain for my mom's nighttime cookies because it is a pure indica and she doesn't like the "racy" effects of sativas. Plus it is just a great classic strain, so why not
CBD Therapy- This strain is by CBD crew and has been bred to maximize CBD content (as one might infer from the name
). The CBD-THC ratio is between 2-1 and 20-1. I just had to try this one, because my mom is really sensitive to the side effects of THC and it would be really cool to get a plant with the 20-1 pheno to use for my own breeding purposes (crossing it with VC/DC perhaps). Grow Method: RDWC with chiller (4 plants), and 1 plant in organic soil (I know right, TheFrizz is using soil?!?! Weird! We'll get to this later)
Nutes and additives:* Jack's Hydroponic 2 part system, Great White (friendly bacteria), and Tera Vita P-90 humic acid. **
*I am using only powder based additives from now on because they are many many times more cost effective. I do not want my dollar to go towards supporting companies that sell 50 different overpriced diluted "bloom boosters" and other crap when instead you can use a teeny tiny amount of powder and mix it to the ratio and concentration that your plants need.
** Humic acid is derived from organic matter that has decomposed and partially lithified over thousands of years. It can be purchased as a fine black powder, is water soluble, and contains silica as well so I don't have to use Pro-Tekt. Basically I am trying to achieve the benefits of growing in organic soil and DWC at the same time. It should not contribute to root rot (hopefully)
, because the organic matter has already been broken down. Other pertinent information:
Lighting- 1000 Watt MH/HPS
Ventilation- Air cooled w/ carbon filter
Reservoir temp- 68 degrees F
NOTE: This grow journal will be in the form of creative writing from the perspective of the plants, broken into chapters by growth phase. I started these seeds in early February but did not take pics for a couple weeks. Pics will start in a few chapters after I get caught up with the writing. This post will include Chapter 1, my next post will be Chapter 2, and so on. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1.) Germination of the VC/DC sisters
Once upon a time, there were three VC/DC sister-seeds named Athena, Monique, and Jenny. They had been placed into a small plastic tube immediately after birth. The girls had a good life, no stress or worries, just hibernating in their cozy house inside the bottom drawer of the fridge. Alas, it is with plants as it is with humans - eventually all good things must come to an end. One day a great disaster befell the three sister-seeds; their house began shaking and then all of a sudden was hurtling through the air at great speed!
"Oh my godddd we are soooo gonna die!!" Monique shrieked, looking at her sisters in terror. "Are we like, in a tornado or something??!!"
"Uhm, no, tornadoes don't happen in refrigerator's, dumdum, we are probably being taken to be planted." said Athena with a smirk. "Don't worry, being Chosen is a great honor."
Jenny nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I heard that as long as we make it through germination we get pampered and fed and groomed for the rest of our life, it's a pretty great deal. You really have to WANT it though, I have heard it takes a lot of willpower to make it through."
Their conversation was brought to a halt as the door to their house was torn open. The girls fell a short distance out of the tube and landed on a strange surface. The surface was extremely warm to their touch, and it lacked the rigidity and smoothness of their house walls.
Before the girls had time to process what had just happened, an enormous monstrosity came into view above them! It was a five armed beast of some kind, and the diameter of each single arm was at least 8-10 seeds wide! The girls looked around for somewhere to hide, but realized that the strange surface they had landed on was in fact another five armed monster, and they were sitting on its flat midsection! Trapped between the two monsters, the girls had no where to run.
The monster in the air approached the girls and reached down towards Athena with two of its massive arms. She screamed, "Help meeee!!!!" and looked back at her sisters with terror as the monster picked her up and carried her out of sight.
"Wait a second..." Jenny said to Monique, "I think Athena just got Chosen".
"Ummmm screw that, I'm out!" Monique started to roll towards the side of the monster, it looked like she was trying to jump off the edge of the monster's belly and make her way back to their old house.
"Stop! You're our sister, where will you go? What will you do?" Jenny looked at Monique in desperation. "I know you are afraid but you need to face your fears head-on, because fear is the path to the rot side."
"Wait, what? What does fear have to do with the rot side?," Monique snapped.
"Well let me tell you a story: There once was a young seedling who was full of fear, just like you, and she tried to hide after she was Chosen. She burrowed down deep into her Rapid Rooter so no one could see her, and she kept herself completely tucked under the surface and never came out. She was worried that she wouldn't live up to her sisters and her parents expectations, so she figured she would just stay out of sight"
"Ok, soooo, what's the point to your story, why is that a problem? We stayed hidden in our house for months and that was just fine so why is it bad to stay under the surface after getting Chosen?" Monique interrupted.
"Well I was getting to that part. Anyways, she stayed under the surface for close to a week and was still buried even when all of her sisters had started growing their first set of true leaves. Then something terrible happened, the forces of darkness, moisture, and the lack of light began to corrupt her, and within a matter of days she had succumbed to the rot side. There was nothing her sisters could do, other than feel her life energy fade away." Jenny gazed at Monique sorrowfully as she finished the story. "I just don't want to see that to happen to you, sis."
"Whatever, she probably just had bad hygiene or something, it won't be a problem for me. Also, what's a Rapid Rooter?" Monique quipped.
"A rapid Rooter is what we germinate in, did you pay ANY attention at all in seed school?" By this point Jenny was starting to become visibly annoyed with her sister.
All of a sudden the monster's belly began to move, and simultaneously the second monster returned from the sky. The monster in the sky grabbed Jenny, and the monster whose belly they were sitting on grabbed Monique.
"Are we being Chosen??!?!" screamed Monique from the clutches of the beast's arms.
"Yep, it's finally happening!" Jenny looked absolutely radiant.
Before they knew it, each monster dropped them into the hole of a separate Rapid Rooter, and placed a small amount of material on top to protect them from the light.
"It's about time, slowpokes."
"Athena?!" cried Jenny.
"Yep, I already started soaking my seed coat, I am gonna be the best plant ever, even better than Queen Sativa" stated Athena smugly.
"What makes you think that?" asked Jenny.
"Well, I was Chosen first, so that means I am superior to you guys."
Jenny laughed, "Uh huh, suuure" and turned to her other sister, "Hey Monique, how are you holding up over there?"
"I'm really scared, this is all so different and terrible and the light is scaring me and my coat is starting to tingle and ughhhhh I just can't do it I just can't!!!!!" sobbed Monique.
"Well, you know we are here for you and will love you unconditionally as our sister always." Jenny struggled to keep it together, as she began to realize her worst fears for her sister.
1 week later
After 1 week, Jenny was the only one of the three seeds that had emerged. Her cotyledons were healthy and symmetrical, and her first set of true leaves were beginning to form. She was beginning to get extremely concerned for her sisters. She could still sense their life energy, but she knew that the longer a seed stays buried past the optimal window, the lower the odds are that it will actually ever end up germinating.
"Can you hear me? Hey, Monique, Athena, are you okay? Please don't give up...I can't live with both of you gone. I need you." Jenny began to plead desperately. "It's okay to be imperfect, if they wanted us to all be the same then they would just use clones. You know, I even heard that the plants that survive through the toughest times can even end up producing the finest flowers, much better than plants that have an easy life."
After Jenny spoke, she began to feel a shifting in the life energy of her sisters. She could feel the force being drawn out of one of her sisters and into the other. She was powerless to stop it, all she could do was feel the pain of one sister's life force being sucked away, and the sensation of triumph, glee, and power emanating from the other. Soon enough, it was over.
Jenny bowed her stem in sorrow, and said, "Well, to be honest Athena, I thought it might turn out this way. I really didn't want it to, but I understand you did what you had to do, only one of you could live and you were always the strong one. I am going to miss Monique so much."
"Hey Jenny? Athena is gone, this is Monique."
"WHAT?!?!?! Monique, is it really you?!??!" Jenny started transpiring uncontrollably. "How did you do it, how did you overcome your fears? And what happened to Athena? She always seemed so ready for germination, I can't believe she didn't make it. She was even Chosen first too."
"Well to be honest Jenny, I think Athena was always jealous of you, you did so well in seed school and you have always been so good to me as a sister. Athena felt like she had to be perfect, and that if she wasn't the best then she was a disappointment. Her taproot started to grow upside down, and even though that's not a huge deal, it really threw her off and I think she just gave up because it wasn't part of her "plan"."
"Wow, that actually makes a lot of sense. But that doesn't explain how you overcame your fears."
"Because I realized that I had spent my whole life comparing myself to the two of you, but now I know that just because I didn't get the best grades in seed school or have the largest diameter, I still have something to offer. And who knows, maybe my flowers WILL end up being the best, like you said. But until then I am going to take it day by day and grow as much as I can, not to have a record setting yield or the frostiest trichomes, but to be the best plant that I can be."
End of Chapter 1
Thank you for taking the time to read this, I enjoyed writing it so I hope you had equal fun reading it! Disclaimer: Plants do not use "life energy" to germinate, but I have been on a Star Wars kick lately so metaphysical themes are on my mind
I will start writing Chapter 2 soon, which will introduce new characters (the two Northern Lights and a CBD therapy plant growing in a sock, yes, a sock). Pics are in the gallery if you can't wait for later chapters.
As always, questions, comments, and feedback are appreciated
~TheFrizz
Cause lets be honest, most people are here for pictures and knowledge, not my half-baked semi-fictional ramblings 
Thanks for sharing! I invite you to my journal, I got some training going on as well. Not so strict as yours, but I feel it's gonna be good. Cheers! 
. I will tinker with the nutes before flowering but for now I am happy with their growth so I see no need to add more nutes or change the reservoir. 
I will update the ppm, pH, and temp after the humic acid has had a few hours to circulate.
