Elephant Man's Grow Journal, 1st attempt

[Elephant Man]

BTW dudes, EM has put so much work and research it really deserves to be a 'five star' grow! I guess I already voted cuz I tried to give it again LOL. Let's get EM that star back, vote!

LOL, my style of growing is certainly not for everyone, and I would never intentionally imply it is the best method either. In simpliest terms, I try to grow outdoor...but indoor...natural. When I was first entertaining the idea of growing, and was lurking on forums reading, I learned more from a few journals out there than anywhere else. I decided I wanted my journal like that, detailed. Lemme just say that again, for anyone following along:

DETAILS...are what makes a good journal IMO. Who knows how long this log will be up here...and who knows how many have read it and are smoking tasty organic flowers right now as a result...even if they never posted or even registered. 'Doing it yourself' is the greatest, and thanks to journals like mine and many others, it is all right here...

Ok Zarnon, here is a funny one for you bro. Ever since I decided to start breeding, I can't seem to grow a male LOL. 2 jack herer hybrid beans I had both are female and just now 3 biggie small seedlings are looking to be all ladies too LOL.

PS #2: I realize I haven't given a proper smoke report for my Grunt brothers...just been waiting till now for a decent cure. Gonna give it my best shot, never done this before, and wasn't a big smoker before my injury.

My first plant harvested was bagseed nicknamed 'Big Herm'...because of newbie confusion when it came time to sex. It could have come from high quality product...but was in a bunch I had saved so who knows. I am going to guess from reading I have done that she could be a 'kush'. Actually bushed out more than stretched in flower, a real freak. At 8 weeks and 50% amber, she hits hard and rushy...30 mins of 'get up and clean' and then out of nowhere BANG couchlock creeps in. Good smooth smoke but I'm not a big fan of the 'rushes'. Funny thing to note, whatever she is, she is the ultimate stealth strain...almost no smell whatsoever until nearly 2 weeks cure LOL. My WW stinks more in veg than she did hanging LOL. She is chillin' revegging at the moment, so we'll see if I can do better second time around. I'm not that great on identifying scents or aromas though, so please bear with me...I am trying to have a freind help with that.

My second plant was Blue Mystic, a Dr. Chronic blueberry hybrid. Fun to grow, easy to clone, good with occaisionally high temps and resistant to overfeeding.:cool2: My pheno hasn't gone blue for me yet but I don't sell so bag appeal doesn't mean much to me. Other than that, a very beautiful sticky flower...my pheno has pink pistils and monster cones. VERY fast finisher too...mine was taken at 7 weeks and 25% amber. Powerful body high, as an indica-dom should be...first time I smoked it, I was out in ten LOL. Getting a little better with cure though, should be interesting to see how it is in 6 months as I will probably be putting most of it away. One of my closest freinds really likes it though. Got several moms from clones so look for her in the perpetual SOG thingy soon might even see if I can take her earlier next time, try and catch her all clear. I think this plant was my first revelation that I may be a sativa smoker.

Last, but certainly not least was 'Nirvana Special' (Jack Herer X Oaxacan). Now this plant is something else, giant sativa. Tough as nails, nearly impossible to overfeed, loves high temps, nutrient hog, explodes during stretch in flower, easy to clone. Be prepared to watch her grow 2"+ a day during 2nd and 3rd week...mine finished out at 7' tall. Also, don't even bother with preflowers, they will never come LOL, takes 2 weeks in flower just to pistil. Took 1/3 of her at 8 weeks and watched the rest of her pack it on till 9 . Sativas can be tricky guys, they can fake you out and make you think they are done, clones 6 weeks in right now are gonna maybe go 10 weeks, maybe longer. Her buds were lanky and long and don't look like much...but turned out really dense and lost hardly any size at all. Skunky fruity smell, not as sticky or sugared out as blue, but nice looking. Love at first toke , not as powerful as blue, but a much longer more mellowed high with no peakiness or 'rushyness' at all. Some of the smoothest smoke I have ever enjoyed, 'fine cigar like', the opposite of harsh. Very creative high, great with coffee for a 'go out and take on the world' attitude, absolutely no problem smoking this all day and getting everything done. Cannot decide if she is more fun to smoke or grow, so gonna do both LOL...much more of her and more sativas to come.

Oh yeah, just picked up another 7 strains from an awesome freind , more details to come...

 

[laylow6988]

You must be an insparation everywhere. You came here not knowing a thing. Never grown before, studied off of what was available on forums and such. You have proved that anyone can go right into growing with no prior experience and turn out ok. I wouldn't expect a begginer to handle it as well as you have, or to be so resourceful.

Boy would my goat love to be there to take care of your grow scraps lol.

 

[Elephant Man]

You must be an insparation everywhere. You came here not knowing a thing. Never grown before, studied off of what was available on forums and such. You have proved that anyone can go right into growing with no prior experience and turn out ok. I wouldn't expect a begginer to handle it as well as you have, or to be so resourceful.

Boy would my goat love to be there to take care of your grow scraps lol.

Thanks LayLow, I don't know man, the way my rabbit chews at his cage trying to get at the males I toss I'm guessing it would be quite a fight. All my leaf and stems get ground and dried and fed to my worm farm, some gets mixed in with old soil to compost.

Is that your goat? I wish I could live on a farm, or even just have a small garden like my grandmother did...just have to do the best I can with my garage.

I forgot the best part about that previous smoke report, been chatting with a huge og grower and was told about the art of mixing. If you haven't tried it...it is the bomb. Mix a few good strains, even if one is your least favorite, you wind up getting more of a varied diversity of cbd's and pretty intense high. Gonna probably become my preferred method of smoking eventually, goodbye tolerance level.

My particular freind has a blend of like 40+ strains or something .

 

[Elephant Man]

Been another one of those multiple update nights/mornings, if you are just signing in be sure to go back a page.

"Houston...we have pollination..." male WW is done and 5 lucky ladies are showing dead pistils indicating impregnation. Once again, please do not try this at home, removing this male was quite a process and only time will tell if I have succeded in keeping my flower room sterile.

As promised some terrible pics of the roughed up male after a good wash and bagged transport outside, sorry freinds, still trying to find a little extra $ for a real camera.

Just in case anyone is interested, in my personal experience doing this, the initial pollen from the early preflowers was white and maybe not as viable. I have read mixed information on how long before pistillate change, but assuming 24 hours is enough time, the white 'preflower' pollen was not doing it. It was only after a week of attempted pollinations that I noticed the pollen becoming a yellow color and observed pistil change.

:smoke1: I feel quite a bit more relaxed now he is gone, not sure yet if the seeded ladies will join the others in flower or not...but if they do...it won't be till after a few days of washing. I was hoping to make some Biggie Small seeds next, but I believe all 3 I germed are females . More seedlings stepping up to bat in a month or so...

 

[Zarnon]

Sativas can be tricky guys, they can fake you out and make you think they are done

Totally dude. It's a major timing thing. When you think they're done, give 'em another week then after that repeat a few more times. I am going to finish my sativa predominant ak-47 almost a month after I harvested my indica dominant ones!

 

[Elephant Man]

Totally dude. It's a major timing thing. When you think they're done, give 'em another week then after that repeat a few more times. I am going to finish my sativa predominant ak-47 almost a month after I harvested my indica dominant ones!

Nice...got AK beans...guess I will have to take another run at them some day, first run I only popped one and he went male, didn't really like growing that pheno either...was a little tempermental . Now that I have abit more experience I will tackle AK one more time one day, just cause you recommend it.

Speaking of tempermental, I am not liking WW either...so nute shy that she has problems in my basic amended mix with no feedings. Don't really think it is a white thing either, Blue Mystic loves my setup and keeps right up with JH "the nute hog". She has quite an impression to make in the smoke department to hang out in my mother room, got like 10+ strains waiting for their chance. Perhaps my WW seed will be more adapted to my environment...or they hope so anyway LOL.

I have noticed how much popularity WW gained recently and have noticed quite a few growers choosing it as their first strain (I did), probably because of TBG and his amazing pics and smoke reports.:cool2: But I personally would have to give a fair warning to new growers on this one, especially since they are usually overly anxious to feed.

More pics...

 

[laylow6988]

Thanks LayLow, I don't know man, the way my rabbit chews at his cage trying to get at the males I toss I'm guessing it would be quite a fight. All my leaf and stems get ground and dried and fed to my worm farm, some gets mixed in with old soil to compost.

Is that your goat? I wish I could live on a farm, or even just have a small garden like my grandmother did...just have to do the best I can with my garage.

I forgot the best part about that previous smoke report, been chatting with a huge og grower and was told about the art of mixing. If you haven't tried it...it is the bomb. Mix a few good strains, even if one is your least favorite, you wind up getting more of a varied diversity of cbd's and pretty intense high. Gonna probably become my preferred method of smoking eventually, goodbye tolerance level.

My particular freind has a blend of like 40+ strains or something .

Well the goat is at my dad's. I wish I lived on a farm to. Wouldn't that make life easier? I did have my stuff growing in my garage, but things didn't work out between me and the woman. She has a lil girl so I let her have the house. I'll buy a new one next year sometime. So now I am doing an apartment grow. Just enough to get me by so I wont have to hit the streets for my supply.

Yeah, I am hoping that I get a male skunk to play with. But I got 7 more skunk seeds and I am sure a male must be floatin in there somewhere.

I do plan on growing any seeds that seem to be worth my time, and pollinating a branch or two on the plants depending how things turn out.

 

[Elephant Man]

Well the goat is at my dad's. I wish I lived on a farm to. Wouldn't that make life easier? I did have my stuff growing in my garage, but things didn't work out between me and the woman. She has a lil girl so I let her have the house. I'll buy a new one next year sometime. So now I am doing an apartment grow. Just enough to get me by so I wont have to hit the streets for my supply.

Yeah, I am hoping that I get a male skunk to play with. But I got 7 more skunk seeds and I am sure a male must be floatin in there somewhere.

I do plan on growing any seeds that seem to be worth my time, and pollinating a branch or two on the plants depending how things turn out.

Sorry to hear about your lady problems bro, I wish I had a bit of advice for you but I can't do anything right but grow. It sounds like you have done your homework mang on the partial pollinations and I wish you the best of luck. But of course as you probably know, we should try to continue a strong word of caution to new growers out there...does not even take a visible amount of pollen to contaminate your entire grow...maybe even your home...for quite an extended period of time. I make it sound a little too easy I am afraid...and that is because it is...very easy to wind up with an entire crop of seed and nearly nothing to smoke.

Some pics of new males and strains and abit of aeroclone root porn.

 

[DLtoker]

Straight up AMAZING. Super thread. It was a little intense at first, but now being through it I am super stoked with the knowledge. Today was the day I was going to build a hydro set up for my mothers but I am definitely changing those plans right now. Thanks for the contribution!

If you have time, do you have any updated soil mixes?

 

[Elephant Man]

Straight up AMAZING. Super thread. It was a little intense at first, but now being through it I am super stoked with the knowledge. Today was the day I was going to build a hydro set up for my mothers but I am definitely changing those plans right now. Thanks for the contribution!

If you have time, do you have any updated soil mixes?

That makes me feel really good brother...if a few peeps learn just a little something from my journal...and it helps them achieve some quality smoke...using whatever method they choose...well that is just peachy ...and exactly why I am here.

I would love to grow hydro, but I am afraid my desert temps and low humidity make that difficult. It can be done, just not interested in the extra hardware and cost involved. I started my mothers in soil in preparation for clones in hydro (a little trick I learned from my bro Stoney), but in the process fell in love with dirt.

LOL...just this very moment got a pm for a simple mix so gonna post right up.

I wanna go ahead and say...that right in the beginning...I got very lucky. My local hydro shop is a very high volume place with salespeople that really don't do alot of pushing of products...believe it or not. I just happened to be smiley with a cute one that told me to mix Fox Farms Ocean Forest and Fox Farms Light Warrior half and half. The rest is all right here...my first grow went incredibly well and is actually a documented account of my struggle to figure out why...LOL. Tis' the mad scientist in me to analyze everything.

What I found was a world of info on microbial farming, or bio-organics, and the rest of this journal...has been my best attempt to apply this to indoor growing of MJ.

Another long winded post folks...I am sorry...

I have to say something here that has been hounding me for quite some time. I have to agree with some recent discussions about what is 'set in stone'. My advice is...question everything...do not take anything as being 'the preffered method'...and there are boundless variables involved...IMO, far too many to even compare grows...that is why I chose to be here...no one is going to tell me my way is wrong, and I am never going to tell anyone my way is the best...or, will even work for everyone...adjustments will ALWAYS have to be made.

One more little bit and I swear I will shut up and get on with the mix. I have been doing some really weird stuff lately here in the lab that I am debating on whether to post about it, will get to that later. But the point is, one big thing can seperate alot of growing styles. I grow for medical purposes and as crazy as it sounds, yeild is my least concern, I focus on quality. Hear me out...I have, from one grow, more than I ever expected to have. It might surprise some of you to hear this, but in a good soilmix, MJ will grow and bloom and get you stoned with only water...LOL...don't believe me? Try it...I have. You are surely not going to get pounds, but hopefully you get my point. And about yields, I don't sell and so far have refused to go and buy a scale, because I don't really think it matters. Of course, I am curious...but I refuse to weigh it all just for curiousities sake. I personally think growing to sell only continues to criminalize MJ, but what you do with your own is out of my hands. Per forum rules, please do not discuss this with me or anyone here or anywhere on the forum.

That being said...this is the simplest completely organic mix I can think of:

Fox Farm Ocean Forest is what I base my soilmix on...I either start with it...or try and replicate it inexpensively. It was designed for canibus and has a bit high P and probably a really good Ca/Mg ratio which is important. It is the hottest mix I would ever start seedlings in...but they thrive in it...Fox Farm rules hehe.:aok: There are a few other premixed FF soils that I use...and some I would love to try. One I love is Light Warrior...there is a special thing that happens when you mix this with OF soil with ph I believe and it is light enough you won't have to add any extra perlite. OF contains microlife, in the casings and guano, but LW adds mycorrhizael spores...which is were the craziness comes in the seemingly underfeeding.

Ok folks...this might raise some flags with some...but mix the 2 above and you are done with veg...ph water, no additional feedings necessary up to 18 - 24" in one gallon. Sorry if some disagree, please do not post here if you do...unless you have tried it yourself. I am in the opinion that OF and perlite (10-30%) alone will get it done too...with a bit of manure or added casings, ferts, and lime etc. I know it will. (done it)

Ok...puff puff coffee...so you got this big beautiful 18" - 24" plant (or smaller) in one gallon and you wanna flower it? Here we go:

I like 2.5 gallon buckets, just drill some holes in the bottom. But anyway, in 2 (indica dom) - 5 (sativa dom) gallon, mix up this:

Equal parts:

Fox Farm OF
Fox Farm LW
For every gallon, add 1 tablespoon Fox Farm Peace of Mind Fruit and Flower dry ferts. 5-8-4, like 4 lbs for $9 and will last forever.

Again...believe it or not...this mix alone with clean ph water will finish her off just fine. Your yeild might not be that impressive, but she should not have any problems at all and cured flavor will be excellent! :bongin: An excellent starting point and a base for all my experiments, it is much better (especially if it is your first time) to do this and smoke out in 3-4 months than have something go wrong and be staring confused at a bunch of fried crusty plants LOL. Take the results and run with your own mix after, by all means, please share your results with us!

I know there will be those who will wanna giver' a little boost along the way HEHE , but let me go check on the girls and you guys can see about getting FF soil in your area...K? You guys got the teas from a page or 2 back....gimme a bit and I will post a few simple amendments and available liquid ferts...keeping it simple DLtoker K?

:smoke1: Eman

 

[DLtoker]

Fantastic! (I feel I should be in an infomercial ) Well that is so simple yet so perfect!. I can't wait to get this started now. FF is in my local organic garden/hydro store and they have plenty of guanos to choose from as well. I am going to make my first mix just like that and also fool with teas. It's also really hard to burn plants growing organically i hear so that's great becuase I sat staring at fried leaves at a point in my first hydro grow. I can't wait to hear what you're brewing next Thanks for everything so far... Now its time to relax the mind :smoke1:!

 

[DLtoker]

Sorry one other thing... Your teas, for example the veg tea. You say to mix with 5 gallons of water. Could I just make it with 1 gallon to super concentrate it and then mix it with regular water when I get to my plants to water? And tea will go bad within 24 hours if it stops bubbling I read right?

 

[Elephant Man]

Everything is looking good in grow so I got some done 'round the house and thought about this post abit...

(puff puff coffee):tokie:

I am just gonna dive in the shallow end here and say I flower with mostly metal halide. Probably just cause I am a bit of a kook, but also after dozens of pages on the subject I came to the conclusion that (simplest terms) high pressure sodium is for yeild, and metal halide is for flavor. It has been shown that blues (high kelvin) promote strong cell growth, and healthy plants means alot to me. Obviously a combination being supreme. I may be wrong and I may correct myself one day, but I am telling you this in reality to further emphasize the amount of variables involved. As I understand it, under HPS, she will burn through higher levels of P, Mg, and sometimes Iron. Under MH, N and K.

One of my good freinds and mentors, posts here as HGB, once used a term I actually had never heard. So I get to qoute him , "Read the leaves".

Not such an easy task believe me and much harder to do from pics of someone elses plant, but it is very important. As it happens in your grow, you will eventually see probably every symptom of problems there is. Read the grow faqs, find Hick's troubleshooter post, another post I did a while back called 'Mineral Elements'. Read these posts over and over and look at your plants, feel the leaves...one day it will come together and you will acheive zen with your plants...heehee.:farm:

With any amendment we have to be very careful we never add any synthetics or salts or anything that could wipe out our soillife. In flower is where we will need them the most, so be sure your product is OMRI listed, or otherwise approved, or listed in this journal. Private messages are welcome.

Liquid ferts:

Ok, anyone just signing in to this thread should definately check out the teas a few pages back. They are the most inexpensive liquid fert posted here. I am currently giving these about once a week, always within 24-48hrs of being brewed. In a simpler mix than mine, you could try these teas at every feeding (watering), especially for hungry sativas, but like I said before, keep it simple your first go round and make small changes later...see what happens. Very important to water slowly and in small amounts spaced apart. Make a fun thing of it, little water, roll a joint, little more water, do a few bongloads etc. In organics, runoff every watering is not necessary, but you should until you get the hang of getting your soil saturated. Just as posted way back in this thread, dry spell is important, and your microlife is going to really protect them from drought stress.

I have seen some peeps trying to use the ferts from the teas individually and without brewing. I can tell you this, I will not give Alaskan fish ferts without brewing first and may be eventually phasing it out completely. It has some acid in it and I believe some insoluable nitrates that need to be brewed to be more freindly to our beasties (microlife). The FF POM in our tea is gonna bring the ph to perfect after brewing. If you can't make the teas or don't want to, use something like this:

In a soil like we have, chock full of nutes, FF Big Bloom will fatten the ladies up nicely. Checkout TBG's grow journal for amazing results in another brand of soilmix.

I like Biobizz nutes too, the 'fish mix' is a complete veg fertilizer in itself. For a little treat here and there.

I hear very good things about Earth Juice products, I haven't got around to trying them yet, but I will.

I do not know about the Advanced Nute line, it probably is organic, but I can't afford it...LOL.

I love Botanicare products but unfortunately as I understand it, Pure Blend Pro Bloom is not organic...as far as I know, the rest of their line is.

As far as ratios, in the basic mix above, the feeding schedules on these products websites will work fine...but if you want to save a few bucks...add a few soil amendments, and play with your liquid feeding schedule abit.

Lemme get some eats and I'll be right back with our dry amendments.

 

[Elephant Man]

Sorry one other thing... Your teas, for example the veg tea. You say to mix with 5 gallons of water. Could I just make it with 1 gallon to super concentrate it and then mix it with regular water when I get to my plants to water? And tea will go bad within 24 hours if it stops bubbling I read right?

Yeah man, your catching on quick. Lots of peeps I know dilute their teas but actually I just give them a good watering and the tea on top after. From what I understand our beasties are really sensitive to drastic ph changes so I try not to mess with the teas at all after brewing. Yes on the second question too brosky, the constant aeration and mycos in the POM and guanos gets a super population of aerobic beasties going that can overcome pathogens and bad beasties of the anaerobic variety...that will show up after extended brewing times without maintenance of the good beasties.

 

[Elephant Man]

Coffee is on, couple doobies rolled and away we go::ccc:

Dry Amendments:

First off, everyone get themselves a box of Diatomaceous Earth. I have never needed mine, but IMO, it should be handy for any potential pests.

If you are following the multiple transplant process I described earlier in this journal, you can start adding these amendments after your first transplant from your 4" or solo cup. Clones can take these from rooting.

Earthworm Casings

Uggggh...stoned here...forget who said it...but "there is not one inch of fertile land on earth that has not passed through the belly of an earthworm."
By far the single most important dry amendment you can use. Far to many benefits and info to cover here, feeds for 1-3 months, mix at 25% of total soilmix or topdress. Fun little known fact I have read that you can grow in just casings and perlite, bit expensive without your own worm farm, I promise to test it one day for you guys and gals though.

Guanos and Manures

Go to the grower's resource section and read "The Scoop on ****" made by the gurus the three little birdies. Steer, horse, and similar manures, I typically put about a heaping tablespoon or 2 per gallon, mixed in bottom inch or 2 of soil...or even just sprinkled on the bottom of the pot. Same with guanos...except half that strength or less...I topdress with guanos too, but not manures. Chicken and rabbit and any other hotter manures should be used the same, but like only 1 teaspoon per gal.

Kelp Meal (0.5-1-2)

Powerful stuff. Full of macros and traces, vitamins, aminos, and good voodoo stuff like cytokins. 1 teaspoon per gallon. I won't grow without it...LOL. Get this or a liquid kelp or seaweed extract like Botanicare Liquid Karma.

Dry soluable Molasses (1-0-3)

Again...grower's resources...three little birds article. Molasses is a carbo loader, big K source, and powerful activator for our beasties. Also, the only thing I ever give right up to harvest. 1 teaspoon per gallon.

Shrimp, Crab, or Fish Meal

Ocean forest...this one is another biggie. Typically the meals are 3-4 N and 4-6 P...one tablespoon per gallon. Just a special little tip here, I have a favorite...it is made by 'Down to Earth'. Just in case you have trouble finding any of this stuff...or just want to see what it looks like...go to this site: http://www.groworganic.com/item_F020_FishBoneMeal31606Lb.html
Anytime you use something like the 'fish bone meal' in the link, see how much higher the P is? One teaspoon per gallon for the fish bone meal.

Rock Minerals

Gonna wanna pick up a supplement for our micros, can use epsoms plus, rock phosphate, azomite, cal/mag. One tsp per gal. Look for a 2 to 1 ratio of Ca to Mg.

Alfalfa Meal

Pretty sure I did a post on alfalfa in this journal, girls love it here, one teaspoon per gallon. Can also use cottonseed meal or soybean meal, but you gonna be missing out on some beneficial beasties in the alfalfa meal so try hard to get that. I add it to my teas too. Stay away from corn gluten meal, it may contain growth inhibiters.

Dolomitic and Oyster Shell Lime

Again...won't grow without it. This is gonna help lock our nutrient packed possibly slightly acidic soil in at a reasonable ph. Here, we have to do a little experimenting in regards to our own personal water source, but luckily MJ is such a Ca/Mg hog we got some leeway. One to two tablespoons per gallon on the dolomitic, or half that with up to a 4 tablespoons of oyster shell.

Jersey Greensand (0-0-3)

Really long term slow release K source...this one will feed several crops in recycled soil. One tablespoon per gallon.

Beneficial Bacteria and Mycorrhizael Innoculants

We get these from lots of our ingrediants but since we are talking about boosting, I gotta say the most powerful of these is either Biozome, GH Subculture, or some AN products I haven't used...I think tarantula and scorpion juice. Botanicare Hydrogaurd is another biggie for me, like a vaccination for your girls and superb for cloning. Just a pinch in second and final transplant is all that is needed with these, can be sprinkled right on roots.

A word on macros

You can play with these ratios abit yourself, the macros for any of these can most likely be found in this journal...if not on yor packaging. I run about 5-5-4 in veg, and 4-8-8 in flower, but since our microlife is large and in charge of intake, we have quite abit of leeway. I get the best results from actually using the smallest amounts from as many different sources as possible...our beasties will handle the rest.

I hope I remembered most of the dry amendments, may have to update later. Couple of these items can be subbed out with stuff like bone and blood meal, macros are pretty high...no more than 1 teaspoon per gallon on the bone, half that for the blood. I personally quit using either of these though...just a bit of uncertainty in the manufacturing process irks me. I got one more post (I hope) on foliars...one of the most often overlooked happiness booster and fast acting fixers IMO.

:smoke1: Eman

 

[newgreenthumb]

Thanks again for the headbangin' info. I just germed three bagseed and they are going to be 100% microbeastie grows. :headbang:

 

[DLtoker]

Eman You, my friend, are the ****! I can't believe you have just started growing a few months ago... I read that right, right? Thanks so much!

 

[HGB]

One of my good freinds and mentors, posts here as HGB, once used a term I actually had never heard. So I get to qoute him , "Read the leaves".

Not such an easy task believe me and much harder to do from pics of someone elses plant, but it is very important.

glad ya picked up on that bro very important to be able to leaf read for sure...

this plant can be very easy to grow or very hard just depends on the grower...

tons of great info in your GJ and other post brutha..... thx for share'n

:48:


grow on

 

[Elephant Man]

Thanks guys :aok:

Gonna be following your grows for sure NGT brother and anything I can do to help you let me know, K?

Yeah DL mang, think I started with MJ in October...basically my sign up date. I just unfortunately have the luxury of being stuck here at home most of the time due to injuries so I do a lot of reading and chatting with fellow growers. I will always be grateful for Marp giving us this site to share and learn and I help out however possible.

HGB my brother, thanks so much for stopping by:48: . You have always encouraged me to continue to approach this with an open mind, and I can't thank you enough for reminding me over and over that these are just weeds. Here's to many more beautiful flowers my freind! :bongin:

 

[Elephant Man]

Ok guys and girls, after a chat with an incredibly knowledgeable freind named 'Fing 57", a while ago, and tons of reading...I have decided to drift away on an entirely different path from the norm. Basically, this is due to 5 reasons:

1. My love of smoking equatorial Sativas
2. My love of growing equatorial Sativas
3. Economics
4. My love of breeding and growing from seed
5. My desert location and average temps/low RH

I am just a tad busy today so let me get back to you on the particulars, but this DJ. Short article sums it up nicely:

How to bring out the Sativa and breed the ultimate buds.

To understand the principles behind the breeding of cannabis you first need to be familiar with some basic terms related to genetics. "Genotype" is the genetic and chromosomal make-up of any given individual – it is the genetic code. "Phenotype" is the expression of body type, structure, and appearance of individuals; it results from the interaction between genotype and environment.

Specific environmental conditions are often required for certain phenotypic expressions from a given genotype. If the available nutrients, hours of sunlight, or other conditions are not available then the development of the plant or animal will be altered. These conditions are referred to as "environmental triggers."

Two individuals with the same genotype can have greatly different phenotypes if grown in different environments.

Indoor vs outdoor

In terms of growing and breeding cannabis, there is a distinct difference between indoor and outdoor grow environments. No matter where on the planet one is, the indoor environment is usually far more limited when compared to the spectrum of conditions existing outdoors.

When compared to the wide variety of conditions available outdoors, the indoor environment may be seen as relatively bland and generic. The greenhouse environment, especially when fortified with electric light, is perhaps the closest thing available to a happy marriage between the two.

Three subspecies

It is useful to agree, at least in theory, that there are three separate subspecies of the genus Cannabis – Sativa, Indica and Ruderalis.

Cannabis Sativa is the equatorial variety found primarily around 30 degrees latitude North or South. Sativa generally grow tall, from seven to thirty feet, have many long branches, narrower leaflets, and mature slowly.

Cannabis Indica varieties generally inhabit the areas between 30-50 degrees North or South latitude. Indica are generally much shorter than Sativa, only about three to five feet tall. They have fewer and shorter branches than Sativa, the longer of which are lower on the plant, with much wider leaflets. They also mature earlier and more rapidly than Sativa.

Cannabis Ruderalis grow naturally primarily past 50 degrees north latitude (the Siberian steppes). Ruderalis are the shortest, least bushy, and fastest maturing of the three.

The end of the sweet spots

Prior to the late 1970's, virtually all commercially available cannabis products came from the great outdoors. Many of these varieties had been grown in their particular region since antiquity – not since the advent of sailing had a greater diversification and distribution of the herb occurred.

Most cannabis available was also very well acclimated to its particular region of origin. Certain places tended to produce very unique and desirable types of herb that were renowned to each region. I like to refer to these high-quality cannabis producing areas as "sweet spots." The products coming out of these sweet spots during this era were among the finest herbs ever available.

A series of phenomena occurred in the late 1970's and early 80's that has since revolutionized the cannabis industry. This series included the triad of sinsemilla, High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting, and the introduction of Indica genetics, coupled with draconian herb laws that drove the industry far underground. Never before in human history was so much genetic diversity of cannabis grown in such generic, indoor conditions. The results of this phenomenon have wreaked havoc on the cannabis gene pool.

The road to blandness

As Indica, sinsemilla and HID lighting became predominant, it became apparent that Sativa varieties were very difficult to coax commercial amounts of sinsemilla herb from indoors. The fast maturing, dense bud structure of the easy-to-grow Indica soon dominated the indoor grow scene.

Another factor contributing to the desirability of the indoor Indica was its truebreeding "dioecious" nature, meaning that individual plants tend to be male or female only, but not both. In contrast, many Sativa strains show hermaphroditic tendencies indoors, with male and female flowers on the same plant. (It is my opinion that wild Sativa strains of cannabis are primarily truebreeding hermaphroditic varieties.)

As outdoor production diminished due to intolerant laws and the drug war, indoor production of Indica phenotypes became the staple of the commercial indoor grower. The road to generic blandness had begun.

Although some Sativa/Indica crosses matched some of the Sativa flavor and head high with the Indica bud structure, this desirability would only last for a few generations of breeding. Unless a person is breeding for a very specific trait, crosses seven generations and beyond the original P1 Indica/Sativa cross lose much of their original charm and desirability. Cloning, however, helps to extend a given plant's potential.

Ruderalis: myth and misnomer

As indoor growers attempted to improve their genetic lines via breeding, another interesting phenomenon occurred: Ruderalis. Although there is a wild variety identified as Ruderalis in Russia ("Ruderalis" is supposedly Russian for "by the side of the road") that grows very short and matures very fast, I seriously doubt the rumor that someone actually went to Russia to collect seeds of this variety sometime in the past. Or, if someone actually did go all the way to Russia to find, collect and smuggle "rudy" seeds, I do feel sorry for their waste of time. They could have gotten the same worthless thing from Minnesota, Saskatchewan or Manitoba with much less hassle.

The North American Ruderalis probably originated as follows: After the Indica varieties arrived in the US and became incorporated into the gene pool, many breeders began to cross the earliest maturing individuals with each other in hopes of shortening the maturation cycle.

It would only take a few generations for the ugly Rudy phenotypes to begin expressing themselves. By ugly, I am referring to a strong lack of potency and/or desirability. I know, I was once guilty of the practice myself. It did not take me long to realize that this was a huge mistake in regard to the quality and potency of the future generations' finished product, and all subsequent breeding along this line was ceased.

Many of these manipulated rudies were released on the open market between 1981 and 1986. It was shortly after this period that the grow journals of the era (Sinsemilla Tips and High Times) ran articles about the possibility of a new wonder variety for indoor grows: fast blooming Ruderalis. Rumor had spread to myth and misnomer. Therefore, it may be more appropriate to say that the Ruderalis phenotype was coaxed from Indica genetics, via the indoor breeding environment.

The same applies to many of the Indica dominant varieties available today. Breeders selecting for early, fast flowering or fast growth often miss out on some of the finer and more subtle characteristics available from crossing certain genotypes. My advice to breeders is to wait until the finished product is suitably tested before coming to any conclusions regarding desirable candidates for future breeding consideration.

Phenotypic expression

The malleability of phenotypic expression among the Sativa/Indica crosses must also be noted. The variability of phenotypic expression among the f2 generation of a truly polar (pure Sativa/pure Indica) P1 cross is quite phenomenal. The second generation f2 crosses will exhibit the full spectrum of possibilities between the original parents – extreme Indica, extreme Sativa, and everything in between.

However, regardless of any particular phenotype selected from among this given f2 cross, future generations may drift radically. Depending on the presence (or lack) of a number of environmental triggers, an f2 Indica phenotype may be coaxed more toward Sativa traits, or an f2 Sativa phenotype may be coaxed more toward Indica expression. The key is environmental conditions.

This is what distinguishes the truebreeding, ancient acclimated, region of origin varieties – especially the tropical and equatorial Sativa – from the crosses that have happened since. The ancient specimens have a much narrower genotype range, and therefore a more specific phenotype than their contemporary crosses despite environmental conditions. It is up to future adventurers to provide the best possible environmental considerations, along with the best possible genetic considerations, in order to resurrect the legendary happy flowers of yore.