A World On A String

[THE PABLOS]

I like the smart pots...and did consider cutting them off. I don't think I'll keep reusing them over and over...maybe a run...then they can be used in my veggie gardens. Kind of a pain to clean...but they are superior to plastic...and yeah...not expensive.

Canna plants are tough as hell..they take a beating like not much else can. Never been one to baby them

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

RootMaker Containers

They are hard injection molded plastic, easy to move around when full. Root pruning design, never have roots circling at the bottom or packed tight along the sides. Real easy transplant, rootball comes right out. I use the one gallon size with coco. I can easily grab a plant and move it with one hand. I plan to do a doughnut with the 3 gallon size (which fits on a five gallon bucket perfect by the way). They make a five gallon size too. Greentrees Hydroponics carries them.

The manufacturer also makes root pruning seedling starter trays. With a little trimming the 32 cell tray will take a humidity dome lid. Actually, the manufacturer makes a number of nursery products, some for trees, which I'm surprised that I've never seen anyone use here.

 

[The Hummus Monk]

Mmmmm PABLOS.

 

[dramamine]

Hey Pablos, if you peel those smartpots down and off the medium, they transplant pretty easy. Set it on top of a similar sized pot to get it off the ground first.... Works well for me anyhoos.

 

[THE PABLOS]

Cool...

Cool...

So the last few days have found me with a roll of PH testing tape (and its color chart)...checking the PH of my piss whenever I can. Interested in how foods change body PH...what running does to body PH...basically fine tuning my hydroponic plant fueled feeding regiments. Learning new tricks to boost endurance/strength/speed...and aid in healing/recovery. Staying in an optimum PH range...I think..is important.

rained on me...the entire run today. Everything was slippery...slick...unstable and heavy. Spent time off man made trails..following game trails...which is much more difficult running. steeper climbs...closer switchbacks...unseen footing...and the stabbing scraping of the brush fields.

* these strips are probably not accurate enough. I need to fix the bulb in my PH meter...thing's been broken for a year at least??

** Juicing is...fundamentally...the way to go. It's an amazing way of feeding off plants

 

[Madjag]

How Much Can They Take

How Much Can They Take

Canna plants are tough as hell..they take a beating like not much else can. Never been one to baby them

OK, here it is.....when we grew 500 plants in the wild, one time the grasshoppers taught us a valuable lesson: always have a secure nursery in the garden area filled with seedlings as a backup. Nothing like coming in after 4 days off to find 10'-15" plants chewed to the ground and having to start replanting seeds on the 1st of June.

When we culled males at 2-3 feet tall, often the spacing was poor with 3 or 5 girls too close and a lot of wasted space in between where the males had been pulled. Here is our transplant method, honed from 5 years of guerilla growing....after we watered and the soil was a soaked mixture of sandy, loamy mud you put your Kung Fu hands as deep as you can into the mud on each side of the plant and scoop under it to grab as big a root clump as possible. Next, you pull the girlie out of the earth, walk over to a new spot where you have dug a hole just deep enough, and put that clump into the earth. Finish with a tamp-in and then water again to make sure it settles and has a good, strong stand-up position.

Sound too brutal? Well the Weed can take it and undisturbed girl plants grown virtually right next to these transplants did not grow any faster or fuller.

In the long run it's like your own mind choosing how they should be...they only want your attention and love and they will follow your lead. True, we didn't have 5-10 pound monsters like the super growers here on ICMag demonstrate (Tom Hill, et al), however we did have a few 2 pounders. Across a garden of 225 girls we averaged 6.5 oz per plant....and we had two gardens at that level.

Guerilla conditions make you realize that survival arrangements come first. We did a lot of experimenting like this because we were so far out....literally....and could not afford the soil-building techniques or perfect scoop-with-a-shovel transplant methods. When it's dark and you're watering and have to transplant before it gets pitch black (like it does at the bottom of Arizona's deep Rim Country canyons), you have to be expedient, cut corners, make choices and ask the plants to follow.

On another note...I used the Rootmaker Propagation trays that held 18 little air-pruner container per tray when I grew this last summer. After all seedlings were approximately 3-4 weeks old, I transplanted them into 3 Gallon Rootmaker pots like Crusader Rabbit illustrated above. When those plants were 2-2 1/2 feet tall, I finally transplanted them into 15-30 gallon soft, white air-pruning pots called RootTrapper II.

What I think I learned is that if you have the space and can afford 25-50 pots, start your seeds in the 3-gallon pots and skip the Propagation trays. This will work especially well if you use fem seed, but if you're like Pablo and only use natural male-female mix seed stock, then it means you'll have to account for what you pull and fill spaces by transplanting. The beer cup is a valid method, too. Just go from small to final size no matter what you start with and you will save time and $ over the 3-step method I used last season. In the wild we put 'em right in the ground as seed and if they were girls and spaced right no moving or messing with them was needed.

Read about Findhorn in northern Scotland.....50 years of hippiedom!! They grow incredible plants based upon loving them, singing to them, playing classical music, and many other caring techniques. Less about soil amendments and more about caring on the molecular level.....Eileen Caddy discovered some truths, baby.

Peace brothers and sisters,

Madjag

 

[THE PABLOS]

27 January evokes movement

27 January evokes movement

The Hell Hound run..the saga..will continue on..the multi harvesting of the last 4 girls..won't end with a last hold out..for another 10 days or more. I didn't expect this..not complaining..just didn't expect the longer flowers. Whether it's the teas..or the way I'm running the plants in the vertical...doesn't matter. The plants want to push...I'll let them push..not a problem

Some more harvest off the blended expression...the plant I find much to my favor. There is still a lot left to harvest off her...as she is turning over rapidly now...I'll be picking off her every couple days. These are flowers from sides...and middle



The Movement?

O yes. I gathered up the 4 remaining Hell Hound sisters..and slid them over to one side of the studio...which in turn...opened up the other wall. Along this other wall....I lined up the 3 Red Kali Mist sisters. That's their wall...now how...I'll mold them to it is up in the air. They are prepped with the top bends..and will be mostly defoliated after stretch. The first couple weeks..is all theirs...letting them have their heads



* This was a needed move...the veg studio was becoming clogged...not to mention the sin...that there was a large amount of wasted lumens in the flower studio...push comes to shove...something is moving

 

[THE PABLOS]

trim in

trim in

Some nuggets from the morning take

 

[Madjag]

Madsinthe

Madsinthe

Decided to be a test pilot today....2 months ago I decarboxylated 1 oz of Afropips Malawi99 and about 1/4 oz of Barney's Farm LSD and mixed into 2 pints of 190 proof Everclear. I took a level teaspoon at noon.

I call it Madsinthe after the fabulous liquor Absinthe, favorite of poets and painters in 1800's Europe. Though I've never tasted that Wormwood extract and herb delight, I have seen photos of its characteristic translucent green beauty.

Pablos...it's an amazing buzz....2-3 hour creeper that has a nice inner voice to it. maybe next week I'll go for a tablespoon and hang out in the garden and yard. Not the sort of high you want for being behind the wheel....

 

[THE PABLOS]

Nice man...looks awesome...exotic even.

I have jars of tincture I made...but that stuff tastes awful. Last time I used any was at a Hank 3 show..at the House of Blues...had seats up in the balcony

my wife and the couple we went with..were drinking whiskey..and getting fucked up. I kept using the tincture...overdid it...got all lethargic and felt more loaded than high. So I'm all like that...and everybody else was drooling drunk...and Hank was ripping pretty good...but can't say I was up for it...more like...tripping out stupid

...rednecks and punk rockers...rockabilly greasers..and betties flashing tits. Ever watch a show like that...from a balcony? I'd never seen the overview of the scene..until that night. Pretty funny

 

[THE PABLOS]

Another day of Sleet Running

Another day of Sleet Running

The shit came down most the night...rain/sleet..temps hanging in the mid 30s..not supposed to come up during the day much either. warming trend is on its way...but not for this day

A garlic patch getting sleeted. wish this stuff was perlite...that'd be sweet



be a mucky trail session. Legs are a day rested...which is good..as running in these conditions is more a slugfest than anything else. Total blue collar...put your mind away...and just swing into the slip

The ground won't be frozen...no..it'll be a constant stream (because when trails are made...they become water runoff gutters for the mountains...water bars and switchbacks help....but they can't prevent the side slope streaming wash of rain waters)...

Cold mountain winter wet...through and through....everything heavy...soggy...chafing the flesh

So these are the Prune Juice IX1 males. They are seen here..bottom feeding tea..but a few days into flower...already showing the desire



Goddamn Hell Hounds going forever...Goddamn Prune Juice moving slow in veg...this is a strange time. The adjustment into tea feeding and vertical growing baffles me in the wildness. Like a whole new process.

juicing and tea...you see..I'm going more in that direction. It's changing my perception. dedicating myself to becoming better hydroponic function...all movements into liquid...less the mass

 

[unclefishstick]

one of the dangers of working in a shop is all the bottles of shit you end up with...i started having all sorts of trouble earlier this winter...too much compost in the mix,chronically overwatering,roots too cold...i dunno whats worse,not knowing whats going wrong in your garden or knowing perfectly well whats going on but still being too lazy and set in my ways to fix it...i did fix it in the end here,i have stripped the nutes back to just the GO line again and compost tea,im adding what i think works for me back one thing at a time,but i think in the end there wont be too many add ons...

had a nice little wind ride yesterday,amazing what these modern fabrics can do,you can exist in your own little warm bubble...amazing how noisy riding into a 20 mph headwind is...and how silent having that same wind at your back is...i dont need to tell you how easy it is to drop into sports trance when its nasty out...and yer smokin good herbs!

 

[THE PABLOS]

When the time comes:

When the time comes:

Interesting batch of expressions...2 Red Kali Mist and 3 Prune Juice...the next plants up to be transplanted into 5 gal smart pots. There are 2 or more plants..here in this picture...that will be pollinated with the Prune Juice males.



* It's rather difficult...gaging the flower studio...to run such different plant expressions. There are many different factors...one must consider...especially if one is in the habit of head down pushing their way...with...any technique to make it through.

add in the breeding factors....you know like keeping an eye on males in the same flower studio...as flowering females...and the task becomes a delicate dance...though a dangerous one...//noteworthy also...the moving of larger plants to be bred..no simple thing any longer

Like I said previously...this set up is still in the same physical box...but it's a whole different ship to sail...and not a time for any sort of arrogance on the commander's behalf. It's taking full attention

 

[THE PABLOS]

one of the dangers of working in a shop is all the bottles of shit you end up with...i started having all sorts of trouble earlier this winter...too much compost in the mix,chronically overwatering,roots too cold...i dunno whats worse,not knowing whats going wrong in your garden or knowing perfectly well whats going on but still being too lazy and set in my ways to fix it...i did fix it in the end here,i have stripped the nutes back to just the GO line again and compost tea,im adding what i think works for me back one thing at a time,but i think in the end there wont be too many add ons...

had a nice little wind ride yesterday,amazing what these modern fabrics can do,you can exist in your own little warm bubble...amazing how noisy riding into a 20 mph headwind is...and how silent having that same wind at your back is...i dont need to tell you how easy it is to drop into sports trance when its nasty out...and yer smokin good herbs!

I'm a lot cleaner than I used to be...but then again...I'm not running near the #s anymore. I remember...in this thread..when I used to call my flower studio floor: Salt n' Sea...because I used the floor as run off mat...scraped coco salt jizz off the floor with a paint scraper..and all those fucking bugs...wow..the things I put the plants and myself through.

Agree...sometimes you have to go back to basics. I know exactly what you mean...by knowing what the issues are...but being too lazy to fix them. I'm into indoor gardening again..so find myself...being proactive to keep it interesting. I do like experimenting though...and would love to make my own nutrients. I'm 1/2 and 1/2 now...but for sure...using the company made nutrients

* Never bottom fed in 5 gal smart pots through a flower cycle. Not sure how that will work. I think it's important to use the organic teas in this method..one reason being..I'm concerned about nutrient build up....messing with medium PH. Emergency flushing could be a problem.

I am still going to run these semi organic...as I know my feeds and what they do to for growth and the PH of the medium....but I'm weening myself off store salts ever so slowly. Still a long ways to go.

** Wind...I understand wind. sometimes an entire run is designed specifically for wind conditions

 

[unclefishstick]

I'm a lot cleaner than I used to be...but then again...I'm not running near the #s anymore. I remember...in this thread..when I used to call my flower studio floor: Salt n' Sea...because I used the floor as run off mat...scraped coco salt jizz off the floor with a paint scraper..and all those fucking bugs...wow..the things I put the plants and myself through.

Agree...sometimes you have to go back to basics. I know exactly what you mean...by knowing what the issues are...but being too lazy to fix them. I'm into indoor gardening again..so find myself...being proactive to keep it interesting. I do like experimenting though...and would love to make my own nutrients. I'm 1/2 and 1/2 now...but for sure...using the company made nutrients

* Never bottom fed in 5 gal smart pots through a flower cycle. Not sure how that will work. I think it's important to use the organic teas in this method..one reason being..I'm concerned about nutrient build up....messing with medium PH. Emergency flushing could be a problem.

I am still going to run these semi organic...as I know my feeds and what they do to for growth and the PH of the medium....but I'm weening myself off store salts ever so slowly. Still a long ways to go.

** Wind...I understand wind. sometimes an entire run is designed specifically for wind conditions

there yah go,i was having problems with my medium acidifying late in flower since you never pH veganics,but it turned out to be as simple as aerating the nutrients for 24 hrs ahead of time since that tends to bring the pH back up,for that matter just aerating the water supply should take care of it too...
the good side of working in a grow shop is now that i just thought that i can go to the closet and grab an air pump and stone since i know theres a brand new set sitting there.....but im still glad i quit!!

just got back from a ride,always go the most difficult direction first i say...must have been gusting over 30 today...i figure holding around 20 mph into an equally strong head wind requires a steady output of 300 or so watts,or to put it another way i could be replaced by a 1/2 horsepower briggs and stratton motor...

 

[MedicalGrower]

Unclefishstick
That's a ride!!! Love the climb knowing its downhill all the way back...

 

[THE PABLOS]

Beauty within Prune Juice

Beauty within Prune Juice

I love this particular expression. She's deep and dark...like artery blood. I don't even need to flower her...to know...she will be...in ways..replicating the Prune Juice F1 mom (which was a replication of the Querkle mom)...a purple doll in the making. This plant...I've coveted the entire stage..documented her earlier in the thread..been keeping my eye on her...even in the mass clump of jungle...where she currently..dwells



Breeding her...she'll be a good breeder...as I now see her mom was (through the 2nd generation population)...as her moms mom was in creating the only F1 Prune Juice female..and only F1 Prune Juice male...from all that...this run...comes from.

The entire Prune Juice line is based off 2 F1 plants...the boy and the girl....and now...here we are..preparing to make F3...crawling out of the slough...building foundation

How did your run go?

" Well....it was below 40 degrees..windy..and I ran chip seal pavement into a rocky wet trail...which took me up a big canyon..crossing streams..climb climb until it's white..and there's fresh snow below the feet...zig zagging...bouncing around...keeping form..making it home in a bit more than...a couple hours "

 

[THE PABLOS]

Deep Congo F4

Deep Congo F4

These beans were gifts from IC member Lean Green. He previously has helped me in the Highend projects....and I consider him to be knowledgable and in sync with what I'm doing in my gardens. Good dude...totally trust his work. Thanks go out to LG from yours truly...thanks

Two different avenues...a purple line that is probably influenced by Deep Chunk...and a green line that is probably influenced by Congo



I'm germinating the beans in perlite and worm castings...in starter peat squares...then into coco.

* I hope to be able to use plants from both ends of the spectrum..and remix them into the F5.

 

[THE PABLOS]

Never ending Hell Hound harvest

Never ending Hell Hound harvest

Took some more branches off two of the four remaining sisters...with still a bunch more to harvest. There is one expression...I haven't even started in on yet



It's cool...chipping away at the stone

Showing here: a Prune Juice male starting to make flowers



Weather is changing for the better...means I'll get busy now..with some work

 

[unclefishstick]

its already almost time for me to get veggies sprouting and established...had a big windstorm yesterday,i bet i got 1/10 of an inch of dust dropped on the yard...so far im liking the mish mash of stuff i built the soil with,i have been presoaking it to get it fired up,and there are still deep layers of stuff thats only partially composted from the yard so i have been dumping 5-10 gallons of water into it every couple of days...at any rate it actually has some structure now and the 6 inches of mulch are holding the moisture in..seems like it should be ok....plus i get to move the bulk of the houseplants./cactus outdoors soon,gonna be a bunch of up potting to do this spring,some of them area already pretty big...