Switcher56
Comfortably numb!
Growing different strains...
Abstract
Returning to the scene some 30 years later as a patient vice a recreational user, there is a lot to learn and not everything there is to know comes from books, videos and the Internet. There is a lot of chaff out there and one needs to decipher the chaff from the wheat.
Unless your medicine is covered from your health plan (none that I know of do) or DVA, one needs to be as frugal as one can get. Frugal doesn't mean cheap, it means spending wisely.
Growing your own medicine is the only way to go. The initial investment pays for itself in the long run, and if you did everything right, can pay for itself after the 1st run. Therefore, subsequent grows are basically free. Well not free, but you catch my drift. Growing your own (not as a hobby) is cost effective compared to acquiring our meds from dispensaries. I was raised with the mentality of a penny saved is a penny earned. The true definition of frugality.
Depending where you live you may be limited with the amount of grows (outdoors) one can achieve e.g 1 or what strains one can achieve indoors. The problem is further exacerbated if one is ltd to the amount of plants they are allowed to grow. So if this applies to you, there might be something to learn/think about here.
Intro
As not everything is created equal (I come to find out) one needs to tread lightly during their 1st grow. I am limited in the amount I can grow. Being frugal, trying to get the most bang for my buck, I am growing different strains:
- Gdp
- Dutch Treat
- Green Crack
- Trainwreck
My main tent is a 3x3x6 (can't go higher
). It was purchased to grow indoors year round. I grew tomatoes in the main tent during the winter. I started my girls in a recycled aquarium I use to keep my tropical bonsais in. My tomato plants were also struck there. It didn't take me long to figure out that the lighting was inadequate, too leggy, although, it was equipped with brand new full spectrum bulbs.I thought of acquiring a 300W light for the aquarium but, decided against that approach. The aquarium was a passive system more or less. No air circulation. Might be great for striking seeds, but that is it. Trying to maintain the proper environment for my plants was next to impossible.
So I acquired a veging/clone tent. 2x2x3 and armed that one with a 300W light, a circulation fan, and an exhaust fan. Growing is carried out using air pots (fabric). The later is a great choice for creating the fine roots plants require. Think of a plant roots like our circulatory system, veins to capillaries. It is the capillaries that feed our cells. The more capillaries/roots a plant has, the more efficient it can feed itself. With this set up I am able to maintain my tent in the zone (to date).
A word of caution wrt using "air pots"... because of the large "wet" (read damp) surface area (the entire pot vice just the top), expect your humidity to rise, after each feeding/watering. Things do settle out in about 4-6 hrs. During the veg phase the RH is between 50-60, with temps (dependent on ambient temp) between 72-78. I am not worried about seedlings as they are grown under dome until it has sprouted their 2nd set of full leaves, gradually opening the vents over the course of a couple days to acclimatizing the plants to life outside the dome. How will this tent perform in the warmer months? Dunno! I guess I'll find out
The main tent is equipped with both temp and humidity controllers, along with the appropriate cooling, dehumidifying, heating and humidification.
Discussion
Since coming here, I have come to find out that not all things are created equal. Well that is a piss off LOL. The information I acquired is that you may have a pack of seeds, but in that pack of seeds there might be differing genetics between the seeds (although all from the same cultivar). I am not sure what I was thinking, but it is what it is.
Nothing replace hands on experience!
I have made a habit of checking my plants twice a day. 1st thing in the morning and before going to bed. The morning check is to say good morning LOL, but more importantly to check their environment and feed/water as required. Our plants will tell us when they are unhappy.
So being the frugal dude that I am, I am growing 4 strains. It was planned that way. Being a novice grower I didn't know any better. I use more than one strain a day and I guess my decision was to fast track my medicine cabinet, cost effective as well.
So what is the problem?
4 different plants = 4 different growth characteristics and colour. My Green Crack is a bright green (read not lime green (normal for Gc from what I have gathered)), while my Dutch Treat (edit: Trainwreck) has darker leaves with a tint (faint) of purple. The other two have a normal colour to them. My sativas are growing faster than my indicas as expected (not by much) but the leaves are larger as well. Gdp is small and compact a slow grower. But, what am I comparing it to? He is doing fine (can't call a grandpa she now can we LOL)? Trainwreck has its own traits and characteristics.
Growing 4 different strains at a time can be problematic. Growing 4 different strains in separate rooms is one thing. Growing them in the same room presents certain challenges. e.g my Dutch Treat is one thirsty bugger, whilst granpa the least of the bunch. That is not a biggy. Instead of one chart per grow, ya need 4, no biggy.
If I had to do it over again, would I grow different strains at the same time again, probably not. Why? Simple my dear Watson. You can't use one plant to compare it to another, because it is a different strain. You can judge 'em superficially I guess, but I believe that one will need to be very observant to cut off problems at the pass and, if you are unsure of what to look for, may spot it too late.
Having 2 tents will permit taking clones, striking seeds etc... The main reason I bought it, is to become self sufficient, taking clones of the best female. This of course can only be done if you have more than one plant to go by LOL. It also permits timing your grows accordingly, so as 1 finishes, the others are ready to go.
Both the tent and greenhouse have been clean & disinfected. *Although the greenhouse has been prepared (modified) to grow plants in there, it will be disinfected once again with bleach prior to the girls entering their new home. I am more worried about contamination from pests during their acclimatizing phase than in the green house. One of the reasons I quit bringing my tropical bonsais outside. The marginal benefits full sun provided, did not outweigh various pests infestations I had to deal with afterwards. I quit placing them outside and they flourished from that point on.
* I built a log cabin years ago, we used bleach to clean (remove the weathering) from the logs. One side effect is that we didn't have any black flies or mosquitoes around the cabin that summer. 25-30 feet from the cabin reminded us that we were indeed in the woods. A happy accident
I am using that acquired knowledge here and see if I can duplicate previous results.Now I understand that infestations can also occur indoors. By installing Hepa filters to my air intakes should alleviate if not eliminate the hazard (fingers crossed), unless soil born pests of course.
Conclusion
The rationale seemed sound at the time but, it is the tortoise that won the race. So one may ask why do it that way? Well... one's gotta do what one must do when ltd on how many plants we can legally grow at once.
It has been one hell of an education
since embarking on this journey. 5 months in, my A1C has dropped 4 pts and I have lost 32 lbs. This forum has enlightened several areas I had questions on. Even though I have only been here a short while, one thing I have noticed, this forum is like so many others (regardless of topic) in ways. IMHO you need to have a clear path on where you want to go and, not expect the forum to carry out your research for you. Something I have observed about forums in general over the years. you may not be directed in the right direction but, directed towards the "popular". Furthermore, society has become "spoon fed" for the lack of a better word. One is better off attending the library/class and then come to the forums for discussion and clarification.We all have our way of doing things, experimenting is always a good thing to discover certain things. I guess my biggest disappointment was the lack of honesty of some people in our industry. Locally I have been misinformed and lied to on more than one occasion. They must figure because we never done it before, we don't know what we are talking about. I will concede that the view point is valid but, never under estimate the knowledge of a potential customer. Some folks do an inordinate amount of research prior to embarking on a new adventure. It goes without saying that although you can get the basic knowledge out of a book (some books are questionable) as not all texts are created equal. e.g steering some one to x, y or z <--- read proprietary.
In closing, it behooves everyone who comes here seeking advice to listen to the advice given. Having done your "homework" 1st, will greatly assist someone with the advice received and, the former knowledge will permit you to decipher the chaff and the wheat, or at a minimum request clarification
. Happy growing!
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