I've been reading on the forum for a few months now because my wife and I have decided to grow our own cannabis starting this coming September if everything goes as planned. We have a move planned and we need to get situated into our new home so that is very subject to change. After plenty of research we have decided to go organic for the simplicity...we also like the idea of it being all natural. I don't PLAN of bugging you all a whole bunch but I know I'm going to have a ton of questions when the time comes so I wanted to introduce myself now. I'm Keaton and my wife is Trisha. I understand that the soil/compound that the plants are grown in is by far the most important aspect of the whole ordeal. Right now we are trying to decipher some of the recipes that have been posed on the forums and make sure we can get everything we need in our local area. One question I can ask right now is....is there a reputable on-line store we can look at to do a one stop shop and have everything delivered straight to our door instead of visiting 5-6 different stores in hopes of finding what we need? I would gladly pay for delivery if that means I don't have to go shopping with my wife Our plan is either 1 or 2 plants at a time for purely personal use for ourselves along with friends and family. The strain is still undetermined but we are leaning toward tangerine dream and God Bud but AK-48 is still in the mix. Any suggestions you have are more than welcome when it comes to any aspect of our little grow. We have plenty of time to change our minds on the strain so please chime in if you think we didn't choose wisely. Thanks in advance for all the help...I don't think we would have even thought to attempt something like this if we didn't stumble across a forum like this.
Welcome to Grasscity Organics! GCO ftw! Are you sure you want to post your names? Calling you Dank-nuggitz will suffice lol You can get everything you need online from www.buildasoil.com For some things, his price is really great, and for other things it is not..... mostly, if it is very heavy or otherwise difficult to ship, it will be expensive. I would get your soil base (peat, aeration, and compost/EWC) from other sources.... peat and aeration can be gotten at Home Depot. Compost and EWC are the hardest to find (good quality stuff is hard to find, anyway), but totally worth the effort. Look for the good stuff.... check Jerry's 'Sourcing Organic Soil Components' thread (http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1277064-sourcing-organic-soil-mix-components.html), as well as Craigslist and Google. If you feel brave enough to tell us generally where you will be living (what state or region), we can tell you what composts to look for. Other than the soil base, almost everything else could be bought on buildasoil.com without getting price-gauged.... it'll cost a bit more than it would if you tracked it all down, but not too bad. His nutrient kit may be particularly interesting to you..... all the soil amendments you need in 1 baggie What is the size of the space you are growing in? Is it a tent, or closet, or what? You might find that your best option is to have two girls flowering, while 2-4 others are vegging in a separate space.... that way you don't have to wait 7-12 weeks between harvests.... I think your strain choices are fine..... nothing wrong with them.... have you bought the seeds already? You may be able to find seeds/clones more cheaply that are just as good.... I bought my seeds successfully from Herbies, but if I were to do it again, I'd probably buy directly from a breeder.... like IceRiverGear or Mandala Welcome bro! Feel free to ask tons of questions, and never stop reading lol I'll attach some good reading materials for you to start off with.....
Was hoping GtG would stop by with his powerful link-fu. +1 on buildasoil Another +1 on Mandala. Satori is especially yummy. Wet
Those are nicknames for forum purposes because I didn't want anybody calling me dank-nuggitz until I actually grow some haha For right now I'm going to leave out specifics on where we will be moving but I can say that it is in the heart of the Midwest in farm country. I have not lived there since I was a kid and I didn't do much gardening back then. I'm sure I can find a nice little shop somewhere though. It will just be my wife and I in a 3 bedroom home with a heated 3 car garage out in the country so the possibilities for space are pretty much endless. I have been looking at tents but have also thought about building a "hidden room" in the basement about 8x8 so Mom doesn't stumble across my shananagans when she stops by. I thought about growing 2 and having 3-4 vegging and but I didn't really want to buy two lights. From what I've been reading that wouldn't be possible. I'm not completely against springing for 2 lights though. I am VERY interested in the nutrient kit that comes all in one bag for the first grow!. I really want it to be a success...that would really build my confidence. I think then I would start experimenting with my soil a little more. I live VERY close to a very reputable seed dealer. I was just planning on taking a little drive down there before I left to grab the seeds that we decided on plus a few more for my old man. He has been growing Alaskan thunderfuck for as long as I can remember and I think he would appreciate how far genetics have come in the last 30 years. Yes...he has been cloning the same plant for that long. haha Thanks for the warm welcome guys!
Well I live on the east coast, so I couldn't really tell you what composts are available in the midwest..... google and craigslist will probably help you there.... or maybe some midwestern blades will swing through here.... You will definitely need two lights to get a perpetual grow going..... the high-intensity light you plan on flowering with (HPS or LED), and a High-Output (HO) T5 fluorescent light for vegging under..... the HO T5 setup should run you only about $100, so it's not like you have to buy another 1,000w ballast or anything lol You might be surprised how good the old genetics can be...... the increase in potency of MJ over the last 40 years has been due to improvements in growing techniques at least as much as it is due to improved genetics, if not more so. If I were you, I'd take a clone of his Alaskan TF just to try it out..... compare for yourself.....
I might have to do that. My dad has been using the same hydro technique for 30 years. Maybe I can convince him that a water only organic can be easier AND better? My plan was to keep the whole thing a secret from EVERYBODY but a little competition sounds fun. My dad always told me that the best way to keep people from asking you for money is to pretend that you don't have any. I was going to try to use that same concept with my weed haha I think the old man can keep a secret though.
Right on! I thought you were telling him about your grow b/c of what you said about buying seeds for him, but I guess that doesn't really equate to admitting you are growing, now that I think about it lol..... but if he grows, then I highly doubt he'll give ya shit lol.... and if down the road he's asking you for MJ, it just means he's admitting organics grows better, tastier buds!
"My dad always told me that the best way to keep people from asking you for money is to pretend that you don't have any." Yep - this method works great for me because I really don't have any money - no pretending needed lol. It's always easier when ya don't have to act... Hehe J
Haha no he wont care at all as long as I'm discrete. He would only be looking out for me if he said anything at all. http://buildasoil.com/products/living-organic-soil Is there a reason I shouldn't just buy two bags of this soil and call it a day? I understand that I could save a little money making it myself but for me convenience would be worth $20. The only thing I'm not sure of is weather or not the soil has cooked before its delivered or if I need to let it sit for 4-5 weeks. Either way if you veterans sign off on it I think I'm going to give it a shot for my first few grows, Any input is appreciated like always. Edit: I think I'm going to invest in a tent too. 1/2 for vegging and 1/2 for flowering. They can be VERY pricey so I'm not completely set on this idea yet. If anybody knows of a unit that will support 3-4 vegging plants and 1-2 flowering plants in the $250 range please let me know. I know that might be a long shot but I thought I'd ask. Happy 4th of July to everybody....stay out of the ER!
I know that Purplelizard is/was using BAS's soil mix. You could probably PM him to ask how he likes it. Here's his grow thread... http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1303217-purps-organic-grow.html
Everybody seems to give the soil a big thumbs up. I've asked a few people and water and simple teas seem to do the trick when they use it so I'm going to give it a shot. How about seeds? I have been reading about the autoflower seeds and I honestly don't really like the idea. I think I want to have some sort of influence on my plants and when I think they should flower. That being said, I would also like the opinion of some people that have used both autoflower and feminized seeds. What do you prefer and why? I apologize if this topic has been gone over. I've tried using the search function and either I just suck at it or I'm searching for the wrong topics.
Autoflower v Femmed, photoperiod.... Personal preference, I believe. I think they're starting to get some really potent autos now. I've grown a couple autos and they're pretty cool, in the span of ~2 months it goes from seed to bud-laden. They're pretty cool plants, and flower despite the light-cycle, so you could pop some in to fill-in space in either your veg or flower room. I think w/ photoperiod you'll have a lot more variety from which to choose, and by controlling it's veg/flower cycles you can grow the plant in a way to best suit your area. Scrogging, LST, blah blah. Autos = fast, miniature christmas trees. Photos you could make into mammoth trees, or bushes, or w/e you want, but will have a longer harvest. I suggest you try both.
So you could theoretically have one room with 6 plants that are all different ages on 18/6 and harvest every 10 days or so? Could I just clone a few days before harvest and always have 6 plants on rotation? Maybe I don't hate the idea. Haha Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum
If your father has a 30 year old Alaskan Thunderfuck, he will be the one who is giving the genetic lessons, not you. You would be very privileged if dad would let you grow a cut of his plant. ATF is light years better than anything you suggested for seed choices. Just because seed banks have selections of over-hyped new strains doesn't make them better. You have a chance to grow one of MJ's most sought after classic strains that is not available to the rest of us, don't pass up this chance if available. PW
My uncle grew the strain in Alaska back in the 80s. He had a pretty big operation up there for quite a few years...big enough to land him in jail for 5 years. Before he went in he gave a clone to my dad and an older cousin of mine. They have kept it going ever since. I'm DEFIANTLY going to grow the strain eventually but it has been around my family for so long that I was going to shake think up a bit and give the family a little variety. That is the only reason I'm looking into other strains.
Well, do it quick while you still have all the answers. Do you really think your Dad and cousin have kept this strain going for this amount of time just for sentimental reasons and are not aware of new strains that have happened along? Or, perhaps the new strains just didn't quite measure up to what they had? New doesn't mean better, just that it's new. And please for your Dad's sake, no autos. The last thing he would want is ANY Ruderalis genetics anywhere his ATF. Femmed seeds are bad enough, but ruderalis goes beyond the pale. Wet