[Fiddynut]

Originally Posted by pop_rocks

if its flavor you want, good soil is the way to go
ive grown in just about every medium under the sun and even more under lights, and good dirt gives the best flavor
there is this terroir, to growing in dirt
just like wines from different regions have distinct flavor, i think so does pot
its the unique combination of soil and climate that gives a plant its charm
if you really think about it, plants grown under lights in "ideal" conditions could be from anywhere, but the classics from back in teh day had this something extra that came from where they were grown
its the micro climates that gave each areas pot its personality
dont get me wrong, i love science and consistent results, but if yeild is not a big concern, i def recomend soil

when i look a the High times, i see the same thing
its become a big advertisement for celebrity growers or seed breeders ro expensive gear
and dont get me started on the CO scene where half the people they showcase dont even seem to be into pot at all, jsut about making money
sold out is the word i would use

hope those babies pop
you should start seeing the first signs of a tail coming out of the seed soon
from there i like to drop them into rapid rooters at first and then into some dirt

thats rad that you have been wiht your old lady that long
i found my other half in mrs chicky and its like you said, she lets me be me

ill keep checking back to see when you post the new link and we can just pick up there
right on man!
so ready for friday!

Good morning pop_rocks.
So good old soil is the way to go. Makes sense since that's what they evolved to grow in. My friend was saying that she loves the taste of the outdoor she grows in whatever soil she is using in Oakland. She may be moving out of state into a non med/rec state and will have to start growing indoor. She is not sure if she will like the indoor taste because the soil will be different. I told her that ff happy frog is from Humboldt and she should be able to grow great tasting buds with it. We started talking about terpenes and what affects them. Some of what I'm reading suggests that stressing your plants a little can increase terps. I told her I'd do some reading and ask around a bit and let her know what I found out. It seems that there haven't been a ton of studies into cannabis terpenes until recently and there are still plenty of unknowns. I like soil personally. I didn't need high yield or any of the complications of hydroponics at this point and doubt I ever will. I have a little curiosity about coco but not enough to try it. Soil seems to have lots of advantages like ph buffering and the ability to store nutes. I think that the goal for me is a living organic soil but I'm a ways off from trying that even. Either way I'm sure she can get an indoor grow dialed in and grow great stuff. It may be a little different due to slight differences in soil, climate ect but should be great. I like your wine comparison because it's the terpenes in grapes that give them the unique scent and flavor. We know how different the same variety of grapes can be when grown in different places.

I know what you are saying about the greedy people in the cannabis biz. It's just a booming industry for some and many don't respect the plant or the people who use it. The more of us who start growing our own the better. If most people grew their own food there would be no Monsanto. If we don't support the greedy ones they will turn to something else to make a quick buck.

I'm going to hold off on the new diary for a day or two. I have 2 of 3 sprouts up but they don't seem super strong. I think I may have made the soil too wet. I want to make sure that are going to make it before I start a new diary and save myself the embarrassment if they don't. I never thought of rapid rooters for seedlings. If these don't work out I will try popping seeds in the rooters next. Maybe I'm just being paranoid and I forget how slow that are at first. Once they look like they are growing I'll set up the diary.

Glad you found your other half and are happy. Life is easer when you have someone to share stuff with. I think I've seen studies that show that people who are in a good relationship are happier, healthier, and live longer than those who aren't.

Have a happy Friday and a great weekend!

[pop_rocks]

i wonder what she is growing in?
is she planting directly into the ground or using soil from a bag?
there is no reason she could not find the same mix where ever she is going and grow using that under lights

im a fan of the fox farm stuff myself and use ocean forest as a base
i think all their soils are good tho
im sure your friend can grow stuff she likes jsut as uch as what she is currently getting outdoors
it will just take some practice and effort to get her set up dialed in

i think hydro is good and has a place
but at this point i have too much going on to worry about PH and PPM, but i still have most of my gear and sometimes think of filling a tub wiht water
i had good crops using both
i like the organic approach as well and am interested in incorporating some of the techniques into my current set up
i guess thats what im striving for, to try different methods and take the best things i find and use them in my way of growing

always so much to learn and so many things to try

ill keep my fingers crossed and hope the best for your new seedlings
at that stage small missteps can mean big problems
the rooters are good because they will only hold so much water
i usually place them into this clear plastic tub thing and water once really well and then cover it with plastic wrap
i dont water again till a couple days later, just like i would clones

i def agree that life is easier wiht a partner at your side
esp when its someone who shares a lot of the same interests and has a similar outlook on life

hope you are ahvaeing a great weeeknd too man
has the weather turned to fall where you live?
looks like we are in for some santa anas this weekend, so other than it gettign dark at like 6.30 it still feels like summer here

[Fiddynut]

Today marks one month post harvest and a good day to call this grow complete. It was a great first grow for me. There were a lot of lessons learned and discoveries made. Here are some things I took away from this first growin experience.

If I can do it anyone can. I don't have any experience with house or garden plants. I thought my first try would result in failure. I thought that some experience was all I would get. As the grow went along and my plants grew I started to realize that I might just get some finished buds along with the experience that I was getting. After harvest and dry I ended up with just over 10 oz of buds. To say that exceeded my expectations is an understatement.

I had a few issues during the grow including under feeding, overwatering, lack of support once the buds got heavy, and some flying bugs that I never was able to identify. The under feeding was due to my reluctance to feed per instructions and because I tried to switch from synthetic to organic nutes. I was (and still am) pretty overwhelmed with all the choices of nutes. I spent months before this grow researching everything I would need to know to have a successful grow and how and when to feed seemed to be the part that everyone does different. Feeding was the hardest part of this grow and I suspect will still challenge me on my next one. Proper watering of my girls was a bit challenging at first but I think I got the hang of it after a few weeks. The solo cups I started in didn't have enough drainage holes and watering was difficult until I potted up to 6" pots. After that it was a matter of just getting a feel for it. I neglected to support my plants until late in flower cousing me to brake off a branch accidentally. When I finally supported them I had to put stakes through the roots which I doubt they appreciated. Next time I will plan for support and put stakes in earlier. I think the bugs were just fungus gnats but for a while I was convinced that they were root aphid flyers. I will be using mosquito dunks crumbled up on my soil form now on to prevent a gnat infesttation.

I think one of the reasons I had success was that I always tried to error on the side of less is more. I never burned them with nutes. I never took a big swing at a perceived problem. I didn't try to fix something that wasn't broken.

I was on the brink of freaking out when I joined this forum. I was a couple weeks into flower and one of my girls was yellowing a bit. I wanted to fix it. I knew I needed help. After I started posting pics I was given some great advise and encouragement.

While several icmag users chimed in and gave me some great advise there was one that stuck with me for the duration of the grow and beyond. He answered my questions and gave me the encouragement that I needed. He kept me from doing anything stupid. When I was panicked he told me to chill and that everything was going to be fine. The cool cat that helped me with all of that is pop_rocks. Without his help I have no idea whare this grow would have gone. I want to thank everyone who stopped by to check out this grow. Special thanks to anyone who gave advise or just a few words of encouragement. And most of all thanks to pop_rocks who probably saved my grow and taught me so much.

The cure is still ongoing but I've been sampling and I'm happy with the finished product. I got 3 different pheno's from my 3 plants. One is very sour diesel road kill skunky and its just getting better as it cures. My second favorite has a nice piney flavor but seems to be loosing some of that as it cures. The third tastes like the soil it was grown in but lacks the skunk or pine flavor and is kind of boring taste wise. All 3 are potent with energetic highs.

That is pretty much a wrap for this grow. I may post another smoke report after they cure some more. I have a couple seedlings started for my next grow and I'll be creating a new grow diary in the next day or so. As soon as I have it created I'll make a post here with the link. Thanks again everyone who stopped by and especially pop_rocks for helping and sharing knowledge with me.

[Fiddynut]

Originally Posted by pop_rocks

i wonder what she is growing in?
is she planting directly into the ground or using soil from a bag?
there is no reason she could not find the same mix where ever she is going and grow using that under lights

im a fan of the fox farm stuff myself and use ocean forest as a base
i think all their soils are good tho
im sure your friend can grow stuff she likes jsut as uch as what she is currently getting outdoors
it will just take some practice and effort to get her set up dialed in

i think hydro is good and has a place
but at this point i have too much going on to worry about PH and PPM, but i still have most of my gear and sometimes think of filling a tub wiht water
i had good crops using both
i like the organic approach as well and am interested in incorporating some of the techniques into my current set up
i guess thats what im striving for, to try different methods and take the best things i find and use them in my way of growing

always so much to learn and so many things to try

ill keep my fingers crossed and hope the best for your new seedlings
at that stage small missteps can mean big problems
the rooters are good because they will only hold so much water
i usually place them into this clear plastic tub thing and water once really well and then cover it with plastic wrap
i dont water again till a couple days later, just like i would clones

i def agree that life is easier wiht a partner at your side
esp when its someone who shares a lot of the same interests and has a similar outlook on life

hope you are ahvaeing a great weeeknd too man
has the weather turned to fall where you live?
looks like we are in for some santa anas this weekend, so other than it gettign dark at like 6.30 it still feels like summer here

Good morning pop_rocks.
I'm not sure what soil she is using. She grows in pots so I'm sure she gets bags but I think it's from a local source in the east bay. I'm sure she will be fine once she gets set up and gives indoor a try.

I think I am a long ways from trying anything other than soil. Maybe once I get a few grows under my belt I'll be more adventurers. I have a lot to learn using soil so I'll concentrate on that for now. I'm also paranoid enough about my ph pens accuracy and having to use ppm as well would give me more to worry about. As you said lots to learn and experiment with.

When I checked this morning I had 2 seedlings that looked good. The other one was up but still a very thin stem and I'm not sure about it. If I have to I'll replace the week one but I'm going to give it a couple days. I will start the new diary today or tomorrow since I think I have at least 2 good ones. If I have to start another seed I'll try the rapid rooter method you describe.
I'm having a busy weekend with an open house at work today and getting the house ready for tomorrow. My wife is having a baby shower for her best friend tomorrow and I will be taking a nice motorcycle ride. Just starting to feel like fall here. Last weekend I took a ride 200 miles north and the trees had mostly changed colors. It was 35 degrees outside when I woke up this morning. It's been a warm autumn up tell now but looks like a few days with highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's. Maybe get a first frost soon. I remember the Santa Anna winds would bring warm air to Oakland when I lived there. It was the warmest time of the year. It's dark by about 7 here but soon it will be getting dark much earlier. The worst part of winter for me is the lack of sun. In January it is dark at like 4:30 in the afternoon.

I have to get back to work but have a great day and enjoy some football tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the Sunday night game.

[pop_rocks]

i wish your friend the best

yeah, if you are planning on going a full organic grow, that is a lot to learn
plus you have a grow under your belt now,so why not just do pretty much what you did then because you know it works?
like you could modify your soil mix a bit or try different nut strenghts, but basically you are doing it the same
this will be the grow that helps you iron out the bugs from the first a bit more and learn to just make things easier

now that sounds like fall!
/actually that sounds like full on winter here in san diego!
hope you have a great ride!
see the changing seasons and maybe find someplace nice to stop in and grab a bite to eat!

[Fiddynut]

Originally Posted by pop_rocks

i wish your friend the best

yeah, if you are planning on going a full organic grow, that is a lot to learn
plus you have a grow under your belt now,so why not just do pretty much what you did then because you know it works?
like you could modify your soil mix a bit or try different nut strenghts, but basically you are doing it the same
this will be the grow that helps you iron out the bugs from the first a bit more and learn to just make things easier

now that sounds like fall!
/actually that sounds like full on winter here in san diego!
hope you have a great ride!
see the changing seasons and maybe find someplace nice to stop in and grab a bite to eat!

Good evening pop_rocks.
She will be fine. I think that she has always grown outdoor and knows it's a lot more work trying to recreate an outdoor environment indoors. I think she will dig parts of it like not having to trim a bunch all at once in fall and having the opportunity to try more strains and have more harvests per year.

I'd love to be full organic someday. It just seems like the most natural way to love the plant. But I have a lot to learn before I even think about that. I want to get some grows done with regular nutes and supplements and really get to know how each affects my plants. I want to learn how to read the plants to see what they are asking for. I'm guessing it's going to take a few grows before I'm really feeling comfortable with all that. Maybe once I'm dialed in on that I'll have the drive to learn how to build a soil that will give them all they need. In the mean time I'm going to keep learning and try to have fun with this.
Like you said I'll be ironing out the bugs on these next few. Trying a few different things and different strains.

Just about time for me to go down and get a look at my seedlings and take a pic. Then it will be time to start the new diary.

[pop_rocks]

as much as i like growing outdoors, indoors is just so much more convenient
you can start your grow on pretty much any day of teh year and taylor your lights around your schedule
it is a lot of work but i think its totally worth it
plus being someplace that is not pot friendly i think its safer too

yeah keep practicing and refining your skills
next up will be cloning so thats something new to learn
and def try more strains

looking fore ward to teh next smoke rept too
this is where the herb will have a nice cure and you will really see what you ahve
this is the sweet reward you have worked so hard for

[Fiddynut]

Originally Posted by pop_rocks

as much as i like growing outdoors, indoors is just so much more convenient
you can start your grow on pretty much any day of teh year and taylor your lights around your schedule
it is a lot of work but i think its totally worth it
plus being someplace that is not pot friendly i think its safer too

yeah keep practicing and refining your skills
next up will be cloning so thats something new to learn
and def try more strains

looking fore ward to teh next smoke rept too
this is where the herb will have a nice cure and you will really see what you ahve
this is the sweet reward you have worked so hard for

Good morning pop_rocks.
I'm loving the indoor too. Totally safer where I live. Maybe I'll try outdoor sometime but glad to be indoor for now.
It's time to start practicing again. One of my 3 seedlings didn't make it so I'm replacing it with one of a different strain. I had a cc GSC seed left so might as well pop it. I hope 2 strains at once doesn't complicate it much. Can't wait to start cloning.
I put up a new diary this morning after some procrastinating for a couple days. Here is the link. https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=333512