Self's increasingly self-sufficient, local, organic perpetual medical mini-room.

[habeeb]

I've been taking clones of everything incase I want a mother down the line.

smart, smart, smart


1 step now, will stop 2 steps later..

 

[emerald city]

Emerald City -
Thanks for stopping by! lets see...

The first and simplest answer would be because its what I've always known, and I know it works. But definitely another practical reason would be the cost of feeding my plants, which will soon be absolutely zero. Then there's everything about trying to have a smaller footprint, and use everything sourced as close to oneself as possible, cutting down on packaging and freight and all that costs the environment. I also just like the idea that I have the knowledge and ability to find and prepare all the ingriedients necessary to grow top-shelf medical cannabis within walking distance of my home. It means a lot more to me to feed my plants good compost from last years garden, or seaweed harvested in a fall gale, than to pay $$$ to someone else for a chemical concoction. I respect anyone growing ganja who respects the herb, and I've smoked plenty of dank, delicious chem-fed bud (also crap chem bud too) but to grow any other way for me just wouldn't be me, nawhatImen?

It definitely would! lol, I always give myself a challenge when I get serious about something, and my patients have varied needs I'm trying to provide for. I do plan on narrowing things down and fine tuning, I'm honestly very new to growing seriously indoors, I've always been more of creeping-through-the-swamp-at-the-crack-of-dawn grower. The speed of the perpetual and fast repetition of the cycles is teaching me a lot more then many seasons outdoor could. I feel like I'm gaining on the learning curve lately though. Any input is especially appreciated!
sorry for r/ant/amble.
have a good one!
~self

Morning S-Thanks for the explaination.
I give you organic growers many props for takeing the time and effort to do your thing..As a small farmer i have to agree that keeping the carbon footprint as small as posible while working within the natural realm is a very cool way to be as 'green" as possble.We try to use those type of cultural practices in our flower and vegitable gardens,always adding and building up the compost in our raised beds.Havent taken it as far as try to get state certified organic as the hoops to jump threw for a little farm just arnt cost effectivefor our situation....On the other side Ive worked in the closet for years trying to perfect a perpetual type grow that is as easy and fool proff as possible.For me ,after 20 plus years of exparimenting im more concerned with the proper ammounts of ferts being available not the exact type being used...Ive been told that on the small level[atoms] ,that a plant cant tell the differance between an organic source of nitrogen vs a synthetic source..
I can tell you how many times ive been asked to trouble shoot a patients grow op,and with all the organic stuff they have put in makes it immpossible for me to fix the situation[cant really measure it or leach it out vs coco/promix which i can fix very quickly... rambling now gota work ill finish my thought later.

 

[self]

yep, I totally agree with you!
I'm a landscaper, and we use a combination of organic and non-organic nutes. lots of espoma organic line, but also peters, now jack's classic, regularly. In my own garden I'm really interested in trying to eliminate waste and inputs, so I stick with things I know will be perpetually recylable. For my grow, I cheat a little, in that I harvest wild plants and waste and bring them home, but I aim to eventually have a complete and healthy living soil of mircobes and fungi that will work with my plants to give them access to everything they need when they need it. A lot of growers in the organic forums are doing it a lot better than I am, but I'll have it dialed in soon, especially with all the knowledge and inventiveness here on ic.

on another note, I'm considering upgrading to a 600w vertical barebulb. My space is 4x4 x 5 tall, would this maximize my production? I believe the heat would not be a problem.
opinions?

 

[emerald city]

yep, I totally agree with you!
I'm a landscaper, and we use a combination of organic and non-organic nutes. lots of espoma organic line, but also peters, now jack's classic, regularly. In my own garden I'm really interested in trying to eliminate waste and inputs, so I stick with things I know will be perpetually recylable. For my grow, I cheat a little, in that I harvest wild plants and waste and bring them home, but I aim to eventually have a complete and healthy living soil of mircobes and fungi that will work with my plants to give them access to everything they need when they need it. A lot of growers in the organic forums are doing it a lot better than I am, but I'll have it dialed in soon, especially with all the knowledge and inventiveness here on ic.

on another note, I'm considering upgrading to a 600w vertical barebulb. My space is 4x4 x 5 tall, would this maximize my production? I believe the heat would not be a problem.
opinions?

If you can deal with the heat,try useing a 1000 watts per 4x4 area..If head room is a issue go witha horizontal bulb to gain a few inches of canopy height. If i can ever be of help give me a shout via pm or the maine medical sceene page..
E/C out

 

[self]

I would have to rewire my room or add another circuit breaker to put in a 1k. I've decided to go with a phantom 600w dimmable ballast with a bare bulb ushio hilux. should be here next week!

 

[self]

overdue update...

overdue update...

well...the inlaws were in town. came early and stayed late. 8 days with only a few chances to water, nothing more. Lots of work had to be done when I could get back in, including hooking up my new light setup, a phantom 600w dimmable ballast with a ushio hi-lux hung vertically. it blows up my space in a big way, especially with my sort of "bleacher" stadium for plants of different heights.

I'm really happy with the structure, calyx size, branching, and early trichomes on this ghs exodus cheese from a freebie seed.

one kandy kush is already curing (and lemony-delicious killer), but this one is getting close too.

This seems to be the best burmese kush pheno, but unless it really shines after a long cure, I won't be growing more.


~self

 

[self]

thought I would share a little of my soil mix and fert methods...
My amended soil is roughly:

40% promix
30% composts (with lots of seaweed & crustacean waste)
10% ewc
10% crushed natural charcoal
+ greensand, dolomite lime, vermiculite

for the final potting I mulch with a mix of shredded comfrey, horsetail, rockweed, and nettle mixed with ewc.

I water and foliar with different FPE's: comfrey, nettle, rockweed, bracken, horsetail.

and ACT made with ewc, BIM cultivated from cannabis rootzones, molasses and a splash of hydrolized fish fert for fungal growth.

it seems to be working.

have a good one,
self

 

[self]

kandy kush harvest pics up soon...

 

[mad librettist]

Ive been told that on the small level[atoms] ,that a plant cant tell the differance between an organic source of nitrogen vs a synthetic source..
I can tell you how many times ive been asked to trouble shoot a patients grow op,and with all the organic stuff they have put in makes it immpossible for me to fix the situation[cant really measure it or leach it out vs coco/promix which i can fix very quickly... rambling now gota work ill finish my thought later.

whoever told you that was trying to defend chemical gardening/farming, not talking science. Spurr not so long ago posted here about plant available organic compounds (which was news to me), and for a long time I have know that plants care whether they get nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, ammonia, etc...

Riparian plants have special structures for dealing with the mud they live in, because the nutes there would kill a land plant. Annuals tend to prefer nitrate, and ammonium not so much. Synthetic ammonium nitrate is sure to cause damage, as it has both.

So plants are affected by whether or not their nutrients are coming in a healthy state, in healthy amounts, and with healthy timing.

 

[self]

some flowering shots...
first one of the burmese kushes during 36 hours of dark before harvest. smells like greasy grassy burnt rubber, but with a little cure starts to develop more of an opium/perfume/fancy soap smell. My best pheno is still ripening, two of the three females get purple calyxs late in flower. I think I'll reveg the best when I harvest it, the other two have been low yielding.

Heres a couple of my dutchgrown select mix pack. I especially like the low one, its been very fast out of the gate, and the buds became golf ball sized in no time with lots and lots of trichomes. Im guessing sweetest cindy99. The tall fucker obviously stretched a little more, not sure what it might be...

and heres a few of the kandy kush, still putting on weight, so I'm going to let it go another week. Lemon Dank! the trainwreck slaps you in the face and leaves you pleasantly confused, while the og kush make everything warm and fuzzy.

Thanks for stopping by
~self

 

[self]

an outdoor treat...bc mango x mandala

 

[heady blunts]

looking really good in here!

 

[self]

Thanks heady!

 

[LilMan72003]

Greetings self,

Your garden is very impressive, especially doing all this under 400w. Your decision to purchase 600w was smart. 1000 watts would of made temps shoot into the 90s...

I really like your soil mix, and use something quite similar to it myself. Just something to consider...vermiculite is a good drainage agent, but better used in seedling mixes due to its small particile size. In pots, it is in your best interest to open up as much pore space as possible in the soil for water/oxygen penetration, and room for the roots to grow in. That is why I would suggest using Perlite, but CHUNKY perlite especially. But thats just me being picky

One question for you. Unless I missed it, it seems like you haven't actually added any NPK fertilizer, in addition to all of your beneficial organic. What is your reasoning behind this?

 

[mad librettist]

it is in your best interest to open up as much pore space as possible in the soil for water/oxygen penetration, and room for the roots to grow in. That is why I would suggest using Perlite, but CHUNKY perlite especially. But thats just me being picky

actually, perlite sucks on both counts. try calcined DE or turface and you won't go back to something with as little internal porosity as perlite.

Why take up all that room in your container with inert space holders when you can use something that holds water and nutrients internally even as it loosens the mix.


Perlite is a great entry level product for those getting started, but if you are trying to take it up a notch buy something better, screen it, and enjoy your smart choice.

 

[mugenbao]

actually, perlite sucks on both counts. try calcined DE or turface and you won't go back to something with as little internal porosity as perlite.

Why take up all that room in your container with inert space holders when you can use something that holds water and nutrients internally even as it loosens the mix.


Perlite is a great entry level product for those getting started, but if you are trying to take it up a notch buy something better, screen it, and enjoy your smart choice.

For what it's worth, I've seen mad say this so many darned times in so many darned threads that I finally decided to try it

He's right. The stuff rocks.


.

 

[LilMan72003]

Interesting Mad...I will take a look into that stuff. However, I'd be careful saying Perlite is a good for those "just getting started". It is probably one of the most commonly used amendments in soil growing, and a part of the soil recipe of many master growers.

 

[mad librettist]

Interesting Mad...I will take a look into that stuff. However, I'd be careful saying Perlite is a good for those "just getting started". It is probably one of the most commonly used amendments in soil growing, and a part of the soil recipe of many master growers.

it's not my intention to bruise egos, but I do want to put pressure on people to look at all the alternatives to perlite.

IMO a grower who is trying to know the soil from inside out will be read this and wonder "why perlite?".

Calcined DE or Turface screened to appropriate size is gonna take things to the next level if you currently use perlite.

 

[self]

yeah, im trying to get some of that napa floor dry for the next grow. Perlite works great, but it does float up, and it does crush and make a mess. especially for recycling your soil, I'm moving away from perlite.

 

[self]

Greetings self,

Your garden is very impressive, especially doing all this under 400w. Your decision to purchase 600w was smart. 1000 watts would of made temps shoot into the 90s...

I really like your soil mix, and use something quite similar to it myself. Just something to consider...vermiculite is a good drainage agent, but better used in seedling mixes due to its small particile size. In pots, it is in your best interest to open up as much pore space as possible in the soil for water/oxygen penetration, and room for the roots to grow in. That is why I would suggest using Perlite, but CHUNKY perlite especially. But thats just me being picky

One question for you. Unless I missed it, it seems like you haven't actually added any NPK fertilizer, in addition to all of your beneficial organic. What is your reasoning behind this?

Hey lilman, thanks for stopping by, don't worry about Mad, thats just how he is.
I kind of threw the verm in 'casue I had it, but luckily it was a very large particle insulating kind.
As for the organics, I feed the soil, and the soil feeds the plants, no store bought fertilizer necessary.

specifically, I use worm castings and nettle and rockweed for nitrogen, comfrey and bracken and sometimes guano for phosphorus, horsetail and rockweed for potassium and micronutes and silica.
I won't claim commercial yields, but I do grow some tasty, knockout ganja, and it only costs me my electric bill.
have a good one
~self

oh, my outdoor is grown in a rough tom hills OD mix, I'm going to try to incorporate some composted chicken shit into my indoor grow, I'm always a little light on nitrogen on the hungrier strains.