The standards of the LECIG.. I haven't been this excited about my grow in a long long time. It's probly mostly due to the fact that now I can put all my collective thoughts and works on a forum for me to reflect on, time and time again. And of course it's nice to be able to talk to people who actually grow and have experience and not just opinions. Yesterday I was listening to this hydro shop owner tell me about the difference between organic and synthetic. I wanted to laugh cuz he used the words.. "The only difference is.."But even I know there is a big difference. I think the problem with my area is that not enough people are growing good organic medicine, and the ones who do only grow outdoor, which around here can be very shady due to harsh heat conditions during the summer and bug infestation and over all poor care of large crops. The list goes on! For so long, the quality of medicine has been at a low point. It seems as though I have forgotten my own standards for medical cannabis, just sort of settling for what's available. This change in growing method is going to ensure that I never have to go back to that quality again. It's going to make sure that I don't spend a fortune on simple nutrients. I just have to get back into the groove of organics, but this time, do it right! I'm anxious to get out and find the amendments I need. I might head to Home Depot just to see if they have some simple brand amendments like granite rock flour, neem cake, and kelp meal..cuz that's the only place open at this time of the morning. I really need to hurry on getting all my final amendments so the soil can begin its cycle. Right now it's sitting mostly dry and half unmixed. Hope there isn't some kind of negative organic reaction by just sitting there in the bin unmixed and dry....eh!Over the years I've heard many growers get excited about going organic or learning about organics and following its philosophies like one would follow their dreams. Now I know why!!It's making more sense then ever! *face palm*I don't know why I'd ever let all those growers talk me out of organics. They totally didn't know what they were talking about. I totally didn't know what I was talking about, and I keep aquariums, I should know about cycles of nitrogen and nutrients in a substrate and such. *face palm face palm*What the fuck is wrong with me?!You know what.. (Acting as own father) I'm just plain lazy!! lol I take on all these projects & interests.. Tropical fish, planted tanks, wilderness adventure, cannabis growing, fishing, archery..etc etc.. And I'm never really able to grasp it all in the end. It seems there is always a point where I start demotivating on my interests and start cutting corners.And that's exactly what I've been doing..cutting corners with my cannabis growing. I love cannabis, not just getting high. I love to grow so much I'm willing to throw all my money away just to keep it in my life, I'm not wealthy, but I work hard to afford my lifestyle and my hobbies, and the well being of my wife and I. Whoa..that all kinda rhymed!Hell..I'm still doing it well! lol So the volume on the quality and the commitment to higher standards needs to be turned up to its maximum output in this LECIG. This first batch of soil should work ok for now but it will be vulnerable and susceptible to difficulty. Hopefully it will be a good base to start from and I can add better quality amendments as I transition from one grow to the next. I guess the method and set up of my grow won't be the only thing that is "ever changing", but that of my soil as well. But that's what it takes to produce higher quality medicine essential for my life and condition....a higher standard for living.-So I was doing some actual measuring and my ducting is 8" for sure but I wasn't sure what size holes my tent had till I discovered that they were 8" as well. This is GREAT news because now I won't need to buy reducers or extra ducting, I can just buy one 8" filter and I won't need the extra scrub I don't think cuz I still have the life of this generic brand scrubber. And I won't need to do as much construction. I'm so excited now, I have more room to spend on amendments. And away I gooooo!!!!!Trying my best!!
You really need to get some neem seed meal to add to your soil. It will provide preventive benefits plus the value it adds to your soil. It really is a must have amendment.
That's so funny that you should mention it.. And I also picked up the rest of my supplies. Here they are.. These are the last things I needed to get this next grow going the way I need it to grow. 1 Phat/Phresh filter 8" x 24" 1 1000w Hortilux super HPS Box of dolomite lime Crab meal Neem seed meal Glacial rock dust (yay!!!) And one green LED work light. Of course anything that I'm not sure of I will be using very very sparingly..like the glacial rock dust and the lime. I'm not going to use the full amount recommended for each, but as long as the elements are there is all that matters to me at this point. I will get more ballsy as I gain more experience. Of course if anyone is 100% sure of one fact or another, they are welcomed to share it with me. But for now, I believe that completes all my purchases for the next 2 grows at least, with the exception of the clones and or seeds I may purchase. Trying my best!!
.....forgot what I was gonna say! ...oh wel!! brewing tea!! It's my first time really brewing a tea the right way, and it's a simple tea. 5gal, 1cup EWC, 1/2 & 1/2 cup of kelp meal and alfalfa meal.The bubbler is lifting the tea bag, turning the small particles nicely from the bag. It looks dark yellowish green and brown and is getting darker.They say I won't need the tea bag so I won't be buying these nylons again. It's always nice when I can cut an expense here and there. Feels good.I'm so anxious to change up my set up today, but I won't, I need to let my plants finish flowering first. Once they are done and trimmed, I'm gonna go to town on this room. I'm pulling everything out and cleaning it up good and organizing the best of my gear so it's easy to find. Right now the whole house is a mess from 3 different projects I got going on. See that steel lab grade shelf..next to that light hood box? It's 6ft x 4ft with wheels, that I got for free while at work. Normally equipment like this costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars I will never have. I get lots of great equipment and supplies for free sometimes when labs and factories close down. I go in and get a fair pick of what's left behind. Shelves, desks, trash cans, binders, clip boards, tape, tools, buckets, beakers, water supply lines and plastic tubing, gloves, goggles and just about anything you can think of really. I need to start using the best of my equipment in a more organized fashion. I found a small tool box that I'm gonna clean up and use for organizing tools and such.I've decided that I'm gonna do something that most growers would never think of doing...I'm gonna wait longer before I go buying my clones. I'm gonna go out and pick up an ounce today and I will see what's available as far as seeds and clones but I don't think I will be buying any clones. I really need to give my soil a chance to finish its cycle so that my new plants can have a good life from the start. I need time to rebuild my grow room and clean it properly. I'm just so excited its gonna be so easy without changing ducting or my fan. Hopefully when I'm done, it's perfect. Trying my best!!
Banking on Seeds!!! Look what I found at the collective.. 10 seeds, fem Chem4 x OG, $100 After some thought I've decided to try growing two of my favorite flavors. Hope they sprout, I will be experimenting with them one at a time once I'm confident I have a growing medium to support them. They had many kinds from CC and TGA and more, but this is the one that stood out the most. They had more expensive seeds like 6 for $100 but nothing that looked good enough. I want something that will yield and smell great, nice and earthy. So here it is. And I've earned enough points to get a free clone next time! 😠Trying my best!!
......PAINI have a spine disorder. It fucking hurts all the time. Cannabis doesn't take away the pain, although sometimes it almost seems as if it does. But really, it helps me cope and I even believe it prevents certain conditions from getting worse. But really.. OUCH!! I'm in pain! And this is where I start to burn up more cannabis than normal. I'm not a "stoner", but I do make jokes and act high sometimes. Normally I'm very active and intelligent, or at least I try to be articulate to some point or another. Excuse me.. :smoke 💨 *cough cough*Where was I.. Oh yeah.. My lady doesn't even smoke cannabis. She doesn't drink or do anything out of the normal. She's a tutor for bratty kids! lol I'm not saying that you need to have a "real" reason to use cannabis, but I certainly wouldn't be smoking it if I didn't have this fucked up spine. I'm strong and I can take lots and lots of pain, but cannabis is a miracle for me and many others..we need this miracle every day. I am very thankful for many things in my life and I'm very thankful I have this plant in my life as well. Happy thanksgiving pretty little ladies! 😘💚Move'n on up to new highs!!
Grow closet (non-stealth)Ok so here is what I'm thinking.. I need to do some remodeling of my grow to fit everything into one space, but I'm having problems fitting it all and having room to work, so I've decided to set up one of my storage closets as a veg room, to allow me the comfort of knowing the lights aren't going to be a problem, and that I have enough space to work comfortably. I'm still using the 2x2 box I made, but just adding it to the closet... When I'm able to make some noise, I will remove the door and save it in another room or use it as extra insulation against the exterior wall of this room for added noise and heat transfer. I will hang a piece of extra panda plastic over the door and secure it with Velcro, tape and staples. I will then run 4" ducting (properly) from the exhaust fan of the grow box out through the plastic door and over to the 8" room filter so that no extra heat or smell gets added to the room. The box already has a 4" makeshift intake filter and light buffer, so I will simply add 2 more of the same sized intake filters to the bottom of the plastic door. That handles my airflow. I just need to run an extension cord into my closet and seal the holes with tape. Keep in mind, I could just use the closet without the box, but I'm trying to save space and have extra light security when I work in my grow room. I'm also gonna rig some wood with plastic to make drapes that I can hang up and pull down and roll away if needed. This way I can hang them on my flower tent as curtains for light protection. I don't think you can ever have enough. My whole room is covered in plastic and the window is sealed light tight by a large window box. Over kill over kill over kill is how I try to protect my budding plants from the blazing and seemingly crafty California sun. Check back for more updates on this grow closet later. Move'n on up to new highs!!
Ok..let me tell you something blades! I might not be the most experienced grower here on GC but one thing for sure will stand out, and that's that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to construction (excluding electrical). For simple room designs that any beginner can master, I can come up with a million ideas to make a room work well. Here's the box inside the closet. In a couple hours I will be able to take off the door and store it away for now. Then I can use some plastic that is covering my other room to drape the closet doorway with. Shit...gotta go for now, I'm having major nerve complications right now in my upper back and I can't even hold my phone Move'n on up to new highs!!
Ok so I'm feeling better after a long nap and some good thanksgiving dinner. Turns out the door was easier to take off than I thought. I can seal the box off and still run ducting and cords out to the main outlets. And I can hang my thermometer/ hydrometer up here to monitor conditions without having to open the box. And I've placed the power controls on top of the box. Tomorrow I will include a drain system with a catch tray using some materials I have. I always try to use any left over materials to reduce junk just hanging around. I will also run 4" ducting from the box to the main room filter. I think im gonna save myself the trouble and just let the plastic curtain hang the way it is for now since the box has its own light protection. i still plan on making a couple movable curtains. I believe that's all I need to make it work, by the time I'm done I should be able to go get some clones and start veg for the next grow. I might just go Saturday to get the clones...not sure yet. Move'n on up to new highs!!
Green Lighting!Hey people! Just wanted to go over one item of interest that I bought and have been trying out the past couple days. The GreenHornet 3.5w 480lumen LED night light. It's a very interesting bulb. Has 96 LED's in the one bulb. Cost me over $23. You know those impulse buys that you just can't resist? I mean, you know it's a bad idea, you know it's too much money, you know you don't need it, and yet you listen to your own voice say.. "I'll take one of those too!"Yeah..that's this item! lolBut I'm hoping it will be of some use further down the road. I've been using it because my 3x3 tent has these flaps for intake vents that are only secured by Velcro which allows a bit of light leakage (hence my curtain idea) so I've been using this light. Plus, it intrigued me, and I just had to have it! lol also, I was taking advantage of the fact that the hydro shop employee knew who I was and was giving me 15% off of everything. *cha-ching*This bulb really surprised me when i Pulled it out of the box, its heavy for a small bulb. and its crazy bright. it could light up a 14x14 room easily. I'd say the only downfall is this scary redish pink color effect that I see when I turn the light off. It last a few seconds and when I try to see in the dark I feel totally blind. It's scary, but that's the effect the bright green light has at first when to turn it off. strange. Does anyone have an opinion on green lights or LEDs in general that they would like to share? or perhaps other impulse buys? lolMove'n on up to new highs!!
Moving forward!!So today I've been hard at work cleaning my spare room to make room for more stuff coming out of my grow room, lights and nutes and boxes I won't be using any more. And I've made a brand new space under my main air filter for drying buds. Check it out!! I put the rolling steel shelf between the exterior wall and the tent where it will get good air flow and won't get too cold. I've also finished the ducting to my veg box and the drain tubes for the flood trays. I just need to pick up one more net for these flood trays to get the pots off the bottom of the trays. After that I just need a small bucket to place under the box. I have one ready to go already. And here's the ducting going to the main room filter. It gets good air flow. And here is the veg box ready to receive new clones for LST That completes the multi-use grow box/closet project for now. I love the fact that I have twice as much room and still able to have a vegging tent at the same time. I'm able to use all this old usable equipment to save money. Which reminds me, I was planning on buying 6" ducting before I had changed to a different plan. It's a good thing I didn't go get 6" ducting because I found a whole box of it when I was digging out the 4" ducting. lol I also inoculated my new soil with the tea I was brewing. So yeah...making progress! Thanks to everyone on GC
Chem4 x OG- first germination attempt I've decided to try germinating a couple of my seeds...why not!? I got these from the dispensary for $10 each, 10 seeds total. And here goes 2 of them to start out with. *plop* These are "Chem4 OG" I assume it means chem dog and OG kush mix breed. Here is the info on it. Turns out these are just regular seeds so I hope I have a few females in there. I'm throwing them in to my lucky Amsterdam shot glass where I will wait for a seed split and then it's straight into a moist medium I have ready for them. Good luck babies!! don't let me down!! Thanks to everyone on GC
Well, seeds are still in the shot glass, trying to keep them warm. One has sunk to the bottom but hasn't split yet. In a few hours I will just plant the one that sunk. Doesn't look like these are very strong active seeds. They might be a bit old.Thanks to everyone on GC
Step by step by step.....by step!! I'm getting there, making good progress. Today I went and got my first pound of red worms. I made a bin from supplies I had on hand but I also invested in a handy compost bag that can hang over a bucket. I will have to demonstrate that later on but for now I got the worms in my bin. I added a base and drilled holes in the top with a divider out of cardboard. Thanks to everyone on GC
Oops..I hit reply too early. lolHere's more of the bin with the worms. Here is the compost bag I bought for $70, it has a built in screen and breathes nice. And it's just my size. So that's all in the making, I will have to see how the worms do. I also went and got some tray nets for my veg box to make sure the trays drain good and the plants don't sit in water. And...oh yeah..I got a little something else to fill that veg box.. ^4 sour diesel clones. I've always wanted to try growing sour diesel and now I get to do it organically. right now they are in prepped potting soil and roots organic mix that I hit with a mild ACT 2 days ago. Can't wait to see if there are any good results from this organic approach. Also I'm gonna be LST'ing for pretty much the first time in 6 or 7 years! lol these babies are gonna need a lot more light soon but I'm gonna let them rest for a day before I really start to light them up. Mmmm...can't wait. 5-6 more weeks till they go under the 600w I'm switching to. I'm hoping with the LST'ing, I can fill out my entire 3x3 tent and maybe even try a SCROG if my LST is successful enough. So excited!! Thanks to everyone on GC
Well here goes the chem4 OG into the medium. The seeds have soaked for a day and have sunk to the bottom of the glass. It's all on them now. Good luck babies! Thanks to everyone on GC
With seeds I like to fill the cup half way. Sprouted seeds always seem to stretch and I can add some more soil carefully around them. View attachment 127900 That's how I did the MM 1+2 x MTV and it's looking good. View attachment 129388
Good advise. I should have done the same, now that you mention it. But I'm sure I will loose some soil weight over the next couple weeks if they grow. It's kinda warm in that veg box so I have to make sure they don't dry out.
Light timer issues!! So I'm having a slight issue with my light timer. It's more of an issue with me rather than the timer. I was messing around with things during the day and found out later that my timer switched on early. *face palm* I'm not gonna do anything about it. I think maybe it's an hour difference but I will just have to see if it really screwed anything up. The plants are well into flowering so I'm sure it's workable. I wanted the time frame to be around that time anyways so at least that much is good. Hope these Dream Queen plants make it all the way to harvest. For my next grow I will have to take extra care to set up my timer in a place that won't get hit or reset by mistake. ...fuck it, it was 8am anyways so I just adjusted the timer to come on at 8pm so it will be an hour later, that's good if anything, it will help them finish quicker. And that way I'm still back to a regular time frame I prefer. When I first started this grow last month I started it at 9pm, but that was because it was hotter at the beginning of fall. Now it's cold and i wish I had a day time grow going at the same time so I can warm the house without spending more. There's always next year!