Newsgroups: alt.drugs
From: [jef f p] at [netcom.com] (Jeff)
Subject: The Joys of an Herb Garden at Home
Date: Sun, 2 Jan 1994 09:31:26 GMT
I found this file on a private BBS. It seems to be more current than
other info I have seen in the a.d ftp sites, etc.
See what you think, I didn't read the whole thing.
j
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The Joys of an Herb Garden at Home
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by Legal Lie Zitt
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Statement of Intent: GROW POT!
REMEMBER, it's up to you to inform your friends, family, neighbors and
co-workers that we have been lied-to, cheated, relieved of
freedoms, happiness, privacy, civil rights and liberties by the WOD.
Hemp prohibition is a political issue driven by big business interests
and it's damn well time we turn these policies around through
extreme civil-disobedience. Grow it everywhere, they can't get it all...
Stop political prison sentences in our time.
Stop the promotion of poisons and the prohibition of medicines.
Stop the lies.
Tell the truth.
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Legalize It!
- Bob Marley
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
OVERVIEW
GENETICS AND THE PLANT
INDOORS & OUTDOORS - CONSTANT HARVEST STRATEGY
PLANTING INDOORS
SHELF GROWING
RECYCLING
LIGHT
SEA OF GREEN
GERMINATION
VEGETATIVE GROWTH
FLOWERING
HYDROPONICS
PLANTING OUTDOORS
SOIL GROWING
SECURITY
PLANT FOOD AND NUTRIENTS
PH AND FERTILIZERS
FOLAIR FEEDING
CO2
VENTING
TEMPERATURE
PESTS
TRANSPLANTING
EARLY SEXING
REGENERATION
HARVESTING AND DRYING
CLONING
BREEDING
SINSEMILLIA
SINSE SEEDS
ODORS AND NEGATIVE IONS
OXYGEN
SAFETY AND PRIVACY
DISTILLED WATER
BIRTH CONTROL PILLS
SEED AND BUD STORAGE
REVIEW
_______________________________________________________________________
OVERVIEW
There are few things in life as good as your own herb, grown by yourself at
home out in the garden and indoors in pots... Oregano, Dill, Basil, Sage
and other herbs are all easy to grow. Mint will take over the whole yard if
you let it. Fresh mint and celantro are incredible in salads and oriental
dishes, and tomatoes are a must for any garden, inside or out. But it all
comes down to a truly motivational herb that is your friend and mine, a
great healer and teacher to those that know it well.
Most people think of gardens as a seasonal, yearly project, but it's
actually less time consuming and more rewarding to keep the garden going
year round. If one were to attempt to grow year round, indoor gardening
techniques will be needed at least during winter to keep the garden
producing. You will have herb fresh at all times, there is no worry of mass
storage thru the winter and spring, it requires less space, and once
established, requires only minimal attention every week to keep it
producing at optimal levels.
GENETICS AND THE PLANT
It's very important to start with good genetics. You should attempt to
find seeds from local gardeners that are acclimated and bred for local
climate and best floral characteristics. Potency, aroma, fast growth,
early maturation, resistance to fungus and pests. All of these factors
are considered by the seasoned gardener and you will benefit enormously
if you can find a friend to get you started on the journey that never
ends...
Attempt to find an Indica/Sativa hybrid if possible, as this will have the
best high and good characteristics for indoor growth as well. Indica
plants have a heavy, stony high that is tiresome, and sativas' are hard
to grow indoors due to high light requirements, so a hybrid of this
type can be bread that will have the energetic, cerebral high of the
sativa and the early maturation tendencies of the Indica plant.
The Indica plant is easily recognized by its extremely broad leaves that
are very rounded on the sides. The Sativa has very narrow, finger-like
leaves. A hybrid will have qualities of both and have leaves that are
a cross of these two types, thinner than an Indica, but much broader
than a Sativa. It is possible to recognize a good hybrid by the leaves
once you know what to look for.
Look for seeds that are dark brown or light grey. Some may have dark lines
inset into these colors, like tiger stripes.
INDOORS & OUTDOORS - CONSTANT HARVEST STRATEGY
One of the best solutions to energy vs. output for most home gardeners is
to use outdoor light for flowering and use continuous light indoors for
germination and vegetative growth. This will take advantage of the natural
light/dark cycle and cut your energy use in half compared to the same
operation indoors. A small greenhouse can be built of Filon fiberglass
sheets that is innocuous and looks much like a storage shed or tool shed
so it's not likely to raise suspicions.
In winter, indoor space is used to start new seedlings or cuttings to be
placed outside in the spring, using natural sunlight to ripen the plants.
This routine will provide at least 3 outdoor harvests per year. If more
space is available to constantly be starting indoors and flowering 2nd
harvest plants outdoors, harvests are possible every 30 days in many areas,
with a small indoor harvest in the winter as a possibility as well.
The basic strategy of year round production is to understand the plant has
two growth cycles. At germination the plant enters into a vegetative state
and will be able to use all the continuous light you can give it. This
means there is no dark cycle required. The plant will photosynthesis
constantly and grow faster than it would outdoors with long evenings.
Photosynthesis stops during dark periods and the plant uses sugars produced
to build during the evening. This is not a requirement and the plant will
grow faster at this stage with continuous photosynthesis (constant light).
Once the plant is 12-18" tall, weather permitting, it can be forced to
start flowering by placing it outside.
Moving the plants to 12-13 hour light periods (moving it outside) with
uninterrupted darkness will force the plant to flower. It will ripen and
be 2-3' when ready to harvest. When a plant is moved from
continuous indoor light to a 10-14 hour day outside, it will start to
flower in anticipation of oncoming winter. Vegetative starts moved outside
in spring will be ripe by May 30. Vegetative starts moved outside on May 30
will be ripe by July 30. Starts moved outside Aug 1 are picked by Oct. 1st
and so on. Operations are moved indoors and a winter crop is planted for
seed in anticipation of planting outdoors the next summer, or just for
some extra winter stash.
PLANTING INDOORS
A small indoor space should be found that can be used to germinate seeds;
these vegetative starts are placed outside to mature in the spring after
last freezes are over. The space can be a closet, a section of a bedroom, a
basement area, an attic or unused bathroom. Some people devote entire
bedrooms to growing.
The space must be light leak proofed, so that no suspicious light is seen
from outside the house. This could invite fuzz or rip-offs.
The space should be vented. Opening the door of a closet can be enough
ventilation if the space is not lit by big lights that generate a lot of
heat. Separate exhaust and incoming air vents are best. One at the top of
the room to exhaust air into the attic or out the roof, and one to bring in
air from an outside wall or under-floor crawl space. Use fans from old
computer cabinets, available from electronic liquidators for $5-10 each.
Line the walls with aluminum foil, dull side out to diffuse the light
and prevent hot-spots, or paint the walls bright white to reflect light.
Aluminized mylar, 1 mil thick is about $20 for 25 feet of a 4' wide
roll is best. Mirrors are not good to use, since the glass eats light.
Line the floor with plastic in case of water spills, etc. Set up a
voltage interrupt socket and be sure the electrical wiring will handle
the lamps your going to use.
A shelf above the main grow area can be used to clone cuttings and
germinate seedlings. It will allow you to double the area of your
grow space and is an invaluable storage area for plant food, spray
bottles and other gardening supplies.
Hang a light proof curtain to separate this shelf from the main area
when used for flowering. This will allow constant lights on the shelf
and dark periods in the main grow area. Velcro can be used to keep
the curtain in place and ties can be used to roll it up when tending
the garden.
A 6" square containers will allow for 4 plants per square foot. You may also
gauge by the size of your growing tray (for passive hydroponics); I like
kitty litter boxes. ($.80 each, on sale.) Planted 4 per square foot, a 12
sq. ft. closet will be enough space for 48 plants if you have all floor
space available.
Now you need light. A couple of shop lights will be fine if you
just want to start plants inside and then take them outside to grow in a
small greenhouse. Shop light fixtures waste some light, so some growers
mount 4 lamps on a piece of plywood, with individual reflectors made of
curved aluminum sheet bent into a U shape to focus all the light downward.
This is for advanced gardeners that have run out of other projects in the
garden and I recommend just using the shop light fixtures as is, at least to
start with. They can be purchased with bulbs for about $10 each, or without
bulbs for around $8. Try to find them on sale. Use one Cool White and one
Warm Light type bulb in each to get the best light spectrum possible for
plant growth. Do not use expensive Grow Lamp type bulbs, as they do not put
out as much light, and therefor do not work as well in most situations
(go figure).
SHELF GROWING
Shelf gardening with fluorescents may be the trend of the future,
since the materials are so inexpensive, and easy to obtain.
Fluorescent lamps are great for shelf gardening. In this system,
many shelves can be placed, one above the other, and fluorescent
lamps are used on each shelf. Some shelves have 24 hour lighting,
some have 12 hour lighting (for flowering). Two areas are best,
perhaps with one other devoted to cloning and germination of seed.
Shelf gardening assumes your going to keep all plants 3' or shorter
at maturity, so all shelves are 3-4 feet apart. Less light is necessary
when you have plants that are this short and forced to mature early.
One drawback to a shelf garden like this is that it is very time
consuming to adjust the lamp height every day, and it is
impossible to take a vacation for even a week with no tending of
the garden. This applies mostly to the vegetative stage, when
plants are growing as much as an inch per day. Lamps on the flowering
shelves are not adjusted nearly as often.
An alternative is to use fluorescent lamps for cloning, germination
and early seedling growth, then switch over to HPS for growth and
flowering. This may be the best solution for the average home
grower, since it will allow you to go on vacation if you don't have
new starts to attend to. Start new plants when you get home, and
position the HPS such that it won't need adjustment for several
weeks. Most HPS installations will not require lamp height
adjustment. Just attach the lamp to the underside of shelf or
ceiling as high as possible, and if you want to get a few plants
closer to it, put them on a box or table to get them closer to the
lamp.
A shelf is all that is necessary with this type of setup, preferably at
least 18" wide, up to about 24" maximum. This area must be painted a very
bright white, or covered with aluminum foil, dull side out to reflect light
back to the plants. Paint the shelf white too. Or, use aluminized mylar,
space blanket, or any silvery surface material. Do not use mirrors, as the
glass soaks up light.
Hang the lamps from chains and make sure you can adjust them with hooks or
some other type of mechanism so the lamps can be kept as close to the
plants as possible at all times. If the lamps are too far from the plants,
the plants will grow long, spindly stems trying to reach the lamp, and
will not produce as much bud at maturity as a normal plant. This is due to
internode length being much longer. This is the length of stem between each
set of leaves. If it is shorter, there can be more internodes, thus more
branches, thus a plant that provides more buds in less space at harvest
time.
Shelf gardening is sometimes referred to as Sea of Green, because many plants are
grown close together, creating a green canopy of tops that are grown
and matured quickly, and the next crop is started and growing concurrently
in a separate area of continuous light. Clones are raised in a constant
light shelf, until they start to grow well vegetatively, then placed on a
12 hour per day shelf to flower. Of course, sunlight is free, and the wise
grower understands the meaning of the word: subterfuge.
LIGHT
Indoors, 2000 lumens per sq. ft. is about as low as you want to go indoors.
If you get under this mark, plant growth will certainly not go as fast as
possible, and internode/stem length will increase. Also, light distance to
plants will be much more critical. Daily adjustments to the lamps will be
necessary, meaning you get no vacations.
2500 lumens psf should be a good target, and 3000 is optimal if
your going to inject or enrich CO2 levels (more on that later).
High Intensity Discharge lamps are the best solution for most indoor
growers. HID lamps come in 3 basic flavors: High Pressure Sodium (HPS),
Metal Halide (MH) and Mercury Vapor. Metal Halide is an improved spectrum,
higher intensity Mercury Vapor design. HPS is a yellowish sort of light,
maybe a bit pink or orange. Same as some street lamps.
HPS lamps can be used to grow a crop from start to finish. Tests show
that the HPS crop will mature 1 week later than a similar crop under MH,
but it will be a bigger yield, so it's better to wait the extra week.
The easiest HID to buy, and least expensive initially are the florescent
and mercury vapor lamps. MV will put out about 8000 lumens per 175 watts,
and 150 watts of HPS will go about 15k lumens, so HPS is almost twice as
efficient. But the color spectrum from HPS lamp output is not as good. HPS
is high in reds, which works well for flowering, while the Metal Halide is
rich in blues, needed for the best vegetative growth. Unfortunately, MV
lamps provide the worst spectrum for plant growth, but are very inexpensive
to purchase.
400 watt HPS will output around 45k lumens. For every 500 watts of
continuous use, you use about $20 a month in electricity, so it is
evident that a lamp taking half the power to output the same lumens
(or twice the lumens at the same power level) will pay for itself
in a year or so, and from then on, continuous savings will be
reaped. This is a simple initial cost vs. operating costs
calculation, and does not take into account the faster growth and
increased yield the HPS lamp will give you, due to more light being
available. If this is factored into the calculation the HPS lamp
will pay for itself with the first crop, when compared to MV or
fluorescent lamps, since it is easily twice as efficient and grows
flowers faster and bigger.
Lamp Type Watts Lumens per bulb Total efficiency
Fluorescent Bulb 40 3000 400 watts = 30k lumens
Mercury Vapor 175 8000 400 watts = 20k lumens
Metal Halide 400 36000 400 watts = 36k lumens
High P. Sodium 400 45000 400 watts = 45k lumens
Notice the Mercury Vapor lamps are less efficient than the
fluorescent, and can not be positioned as close to the plants, so
the plants will not be able to use as much of the MV light. The
light distribution is not as good either. MV lamps use more wattage
for a given lumen output, but are easier to hang than ten 40 watt
florescent bulbs.
There is a new type of HPS lamp called Son Agro, and it is available
in a 250, 1000, and 400 watt range. I think the 400 is actually 430
watts; they have added 30 watts of blue to this bulb. It is a
very bright lamp (53k lumens) and is made for greenhouse use. These
bulbs can be purchased to replace normal HPS bulbs, so they are an
option if you already own a HPS lamp. The beauty of this bulb is
that you do not give up most of the advantages of MH lamps, such
as minimal internode spacing and early maturation, like most HPS
users do, and you have all advantages of a HPS lamp. One bulb does
it all.
Internodal length of plants grown with the Son Agro are the shortest ever
seen with any type of lamp. Plants grown under this lamp are incredibly
bushy, compact and grow very fast. Son Agro bulbs however, do not last as
long as normal HPS bulbs. There is something like a 25% difference in bulb
life.
Metal Halide (MH) is another option, and is available in both a 36k
and 40k lumen bulbs for the 400 watt size. The Super Bulb (40k) is
about $10-15 more, and provides an extra 4000 lumens. I think the
Super Bulb may last longer; if so, that makes it the way to go.
Halide light is more blue and better than straight HPS for vegetative
growth, but is much less efficient than HPS. It is possible to purchase
conversion bulbs for a MH lamp that convert it to HPS, but the cost of the
conversion bulb is more expensive than the color corrected Son Agro bulb,
so I would recommend just buying the Son Agro HPS. Even though it costs
more initially, you get more for your energy dollar later, and it's much
easier to hang than 10 fluorescent tubes.
If you have a MH 36k lumen lamp burning at 400 watts and a 53k lumen
HPS burning at 430 watts, which is better efficiency wise? Which
will provide a better yield? Obviously, the Son Agro HPS, but of
course, the initial cost is higher. Actually, the ballast will add
about 10% to these wattage numbers.
I think the Son Agro bulb will prove much better than the MH for any
purpose. The MH bulb does not last as long, but is cheaper. Compare $36 for
a 400 watt MH bulb vs. $40 for the HPS bulb. Add $15 for the Son Agro HPS.
The HPS bulb life is twice as long. 10k hours vs. 21k hours. The Son Agro
is 16k hours or so. Still, longer bulb life and more light add up to more
for your energy dollar long term.
I tried to find lamps that were not so expensive. While MV is cheap,
it's not very efficient and costs a lot to operate several lamps.
It is more difficult to hang several lamps. Horizontal mounting of
any HID is a good idea, as this will boost by 30% the amount of
light that actually reaches the plants.
HPS is much less expensive to operate, but only comes in the 70
watt size at the home improvement stores. This size is not very
efficient, but blows away MV in efficiency, so they might be an
alternative to MV for very small operations, like 9 sq. feet or
less. Over 9 sqr. feet, you need more light than one of these can
provide, so you go to 2. 70 watt HPS lamps cost about $40 each,
complete. Two lamps would be 140 watts putting out about 12k
lumens, so it's better than MV, but a 150 watt HPS puts out about
18k lumens, the bulb life is longer, bulbs are cheaper and the lamp
more efficient to operate. The biggest problem is that the mid size
lamps like the 150 and 250 watt HPS are almost as expensive to buy
as the larger 400's.
Heat buildup in the room is a factor with HID lamps, and just how
much light the plants can use is determined by temperature, CO2
levels, nutrient availability, PH, and other factors. Too big of a
lamp for a space will make constant venting necessary, and then
there is no way to enrich CO2, since it's getting blown out of the
room right away.
Other issues come up, in that the bulb cost on the 70 watt HPS is
$24, the 150 is only $30, and the 400 is only $40. So you will spend
more to replace two 70 watt bulbs than you will to replace one 400
watt HPS. Go figure. Add that up with the lower resale value on the
70's (practically nothing) and the fact that they are being
modified and are not suited to this application, and it becomes
evident that $189 for a 250 HPS lamp, or $219 for a 400, might just
be worth the price. Here is the breakdown on prices (from memory):
Type Complete Cost Bulb Cost Bulb Life Lumens
HPS 400 $219 $40 18k hours 50k
MH 400 $175 $37 10k hours 36k
Son Agro400 $235 $55 15k hours 53k
Super MH400 $190 $45 ?? 40k
MH 250 $149 $32 ?? 21k
HPS 250 $165 $36 ?? 27k
HPS agro250 $180 $53 ?? 30k
MH 150 $139 $25 ?? 14k
HPS 175 $150 $30 ?? 17k
SEA OF GREEN
Sea of Green is the theory of harvesting lots of small plants, matured
early to get the fastest production of fruit available. Instead of growing
a few plants for a longer period of time, in the same space many smaller
plants are grown that mature faster and in less time. Thus, less time is
required between crops. This is important to you when the electricity bill
comes each month. One crop can be started while another is maturing, and a
continuous harvest, year round can be maintained. 9 plants per square foot
will be a good start for seedlings, and perhaps even maturity. 4 plants per
square foot will allow plenty of room for each plant to grow a large top
area, but will not allow for much bottom branching. This is OK since
indoors, these bottom branches are always shaded anyway, and will not grow
very well unless given additional light and space. Cut these bottom
branches and use the cuttings to start new plants. This creates more air
flow around the plants and helps avoid fungus and humidity problems.
The plants, if started at the same time, should create what is called a
"green canopy" that traps most of the light at the top level of the plants.
Little light will penetrate below this level, since the plants are so close
together. The gardener is attempting to concentrate on the top of the
plant, and use the light and space to the best advantage, in as little time
as possible. Use of nylon poultry fence or similar chicken wire laid out
over the green canopy will support the plants as they start to droop under
the weight of heavy fruiting tops. Stakes can be used too, but are not as
easy to install for plants in the middle and back of the room, where reach
is more difficult.
It's easy to want big plants, since they will produce more yield per plant,
but it's usually better with limited space to grow smaller plants that
mature faster and pack into smaller spaces. This is called Sea of Green,
and was developed in Holland. Instead of fitting 4 large plants in that
small room, fit 12 small ones on a shelf above 12 other small plants. These
plants take only 3-4 months to mature, and harvesting takes place
constantly, since there is both a vegetative and flowering area devoted to
each, with harvests every 45-60 days.
It's not the size of the plant, but the maturity and quality of the product
that counts, and it's a sure bet you can fit many smaller plants into a
small space with less wasted area than 4 large ones. You can also grow them
twice as fast, so harvests take place twice as often. The key here is
to get good at picking early flowering plants, and to propagate only those
that are of the best quality. Get good at cloning, and your monocrop will
be incredible.
It's good to avoid "topping" your plants if you want them to grow as fast
as possible. It's better just to grow 2 or 4 times more plants, since they
will produce more, faster, in the same space. Sea of Green entails growing
to harvest the main cola (top) of the plant. Bottom branches are trimmed to
increase air flow under the "blanket" of growing tops. Use these cuttings
for clones, as they are the easiest part of the plant to root. It's also
the fastest part of the plant to regenerate after flowering has occurred.
Don't pre-force plants so you can discard males early. This takes a lot of
time. Just cover one branch per plant with black paper (light tight,
breaths air) to force pre-flowers and differentiate early. How many plants
to grow indoors per square foot? You will have to experiment, and I would
venture the optimum is somewhere between 1 and 9 per squ. foot. If you
subdivide one square foot, 4" square containers would allow 9 plants per
square foot. This is about the size of a half-gallon milk carton, cut tall
for deep root growth.
GERMINATION
Germinate seeds in sterile soil (for planting outdoors) or a hydroponic
medium of vermiculite. Use a Jiffy cube #7 to germinate seeds in, or make
your own from gauze netting and vermiculite. Keep them moist at all times.
When the seed sprouts, place the jiffy cube in bigger container or directly
into a hydroponic medium.
Make sure the medium is kept moist at all times, but not
wet. A cut-down milk carton with holes in the bottom, set in a tray with an
1" of water should wick water to the seeds thru the vermiculite.
You can germinate seeds in a paper towel. But be very careful, it's
easy to ruin roots if they dry out, or are planted too late. Always
transplant as little as possible by germinating in the same container you
intend to grow the plant in for a significant period of time.
5-55-17 plant food such as Peter's Professional will stimulate root growth
of the germinating seed and the new seedlings. Use a very dilute solution,
in distilled water, about 1/3 normal strength, and keep temperatures
between 72-80 degrees. No light is necessary and may slow germination.
Place seedlings in the light once they sprout.
Plan on transplanting only once or twice before harvest. Use the biggest
containers possible for the space and number of seedlings you plan to
start. Plants will suffer if continuously transplanted and delay
harvesting. You will suffer too, from too much work!
Cut holes in the bottom of containers and fill the last few inches at the
top with vermiculite only, to start seeds or accept seedling transplants.
Vermiculite will tend to wash to the bottom of the container when watered
from the top, so this will help with that problem as well. Since
vermiculite holds water well, wicks water well, but does not hold too much
water, roots always have lots of oxygen, even if they are sitting in a try
full of water. A hydrogen peroxide based plant food is used to get extra
oxygen to the plants when the pans are kept continuously full. The water can
be allowed to recede each time after watering, before new solution is
added. This allows the plants roots to dry somewhat, and make sure they are
getting enough oxygen.
Use SuperSoil brand potting soil, as it is excellent and sterilized. If
you insist on using dirt from the yard, sterilize it in the microwave or
oven until it gets steamy.
Sterilize the containers as well with a bleach solution, especially if
they have been used a previous season for another plant.
VEGETATIVE GROWTH
Once sprouted, the plant starts vegetative growth. This means the plant will
be photosynthesizing as much as possible to grow tall and start many grow
tips at each pair of leaves. Since most plants have a vegetative stage
where they are growing as fast as possible after the plant first germinates
from seed, it is possible to grow these plants with no dark period, and
increase the speed at which they grow by 15-30&. Plants can be grown
vegetatively indefinitely. It is up to the gardener to decide when to force
the plant to flower. A plant can grow from 12" to 12' before being forced
to flower, so there is a lot of latitude here for each gardener to manage
the garden based on goals and space available.
A solution of 20-20-20 with trace minerals is used for both hydroponic and
soil gardening when growing continuously under lights. Miracle Grow Patio
food is good for this. A high P plant food such as Peter's 5-50-17 food is
used for blooming and fruiting plants with 12 hour days. Epsom salts should
be used in the solution for magnesium and sulfur minerals.
Keep lights on continuously for sprouts, since they require no darkness
period like older plants; trying to fruit before winter comes. You will not
need a timer unless you want to keep the lamps off during a certain time
each day. Try to light the plants for 18 or more hours, or continuously at
this point. Later, if you want to mature the plants indoors, you will need
to cut back light to 12-13 hours with strict, regular uninterrupted darkness
to get fruiting plants to produce.
Bend the plants stem back and forth to force it to be very thick and
strong. Spindly stems can not support heavy flowering growth. An internal
oscillating fan will also reduce humidity on the leave's stomata and
improve the stem strength as well.
HYDROPONIC VEGATATIVE SOLUTION, per gallon:
Miracle Grow Patio (contains trace elements) 1/2 teaspoon
Epsom salts 1 teaspoon
Lime (if not added to medium) 1 teaspoon
Human Urine 1/4 cup
Oxygen Plus Plant Food (OPTIONAL) 1 teaspoon
This mixture will insure your plants are getting all major and minor
nutrients in solution, and will also be treating your plants with oxygen
for good root growth, and potassium nitrate for good burning qualities.
Another good GROWTH PHASE mix is 1/4 tsp Peter's 20/20/20 fertilizer per
gallon of water, with trace elements and oxygen added.
FLOWERING
The the plant will be induced to fruit or flower with dark cycles of 11-12
hours that simulate the oncoming winter in the fall as the days grow
shorter. As a consequence, it works out well indoors to have two separate
areas; one that is used for the initial vegetative state and one that is
used for flowering and fruiting. There is no other requirement other than
to keep the dark cycle for flowering very dark with no light interruptions,
as this can stall flowering by days or weeks.
Once a plant is big enough to mature (18"-18 feet), dark periods are
required for most plants to flower and bear fruit. This will require
putting the lamp on a timer, to create regular and strict dark periods
of uninterrupted light.
Give flowering plants high P plant food and keep them on a strict light
regimen of 12 hours, with no light, or no more than a full moon during the
dark cycle. 13 hours light, 11 dark may increase flower size while still
allowing the plant to go into the flowering mode. Use less light, longer
dark periods to speed maturity toward the end of the flowering cycle.
Two shelves can be used, one identical to the other, if strictly indoor
gardening is desired. One shelf's lights are set for 12-13 hours, and one is
lit continuously. Plants are started in continuous light, and are moved to
the other shelf to flower to maturity after several weeks. This flowering
shelf should be bigger than the "starting" or "vegetative" shelf, so that
it can accommodate larger plants. Or, some plants can be taken outside if
there is not enough space on the flowering shelf for all of them near
harvesting.
A light tight curtain can be made from vinyl, or other opaque material,
with a reflective material on the other side to reflect light back to the
plants. This curtain can be tied with cord when rolled up to work on the
garden, and can be velcroed down in place to make sure no light leaks in or
out. If the shelf is placed up high, it will not be very noticeable, and
will fit in any room. Visitors will never notice it unless you point it out
to them, since it is above eye level, and no light is being emitted from
it.
Flowering plants like very high P level foods, such as 5-50-17, but
10-20-10 should be adequate. Nutrients should be provided with each
watering when first flowering.
Trace elements are necessary too; try to find foods that include
these, so you don't have to use a separate trace element food too.
HYDROPONIC FLOWERING SOLUTION, per gallon:
1/2 strength high P plant food, such as 4-12-6, or 5-50-17, etc.
1 tspn epsom salts
1 tspn lime (if not part of the medium)
1 tspn Oxygen Plus Plant Food (Optional)
1/2 tspn Trace Element food
I cannot stress enough that during the FLOWERING PHASE, the dark period
should not be violated by normal light. It delays flower development due to
hormones in the plant that react to light. If you must work on the plants
during this time, allow only as much light as a VERY pale moon can provide
for less than 5 minutes. Keep pruning to a minimum during the entire
FLOWERING PHASE. Bring the dark period down to 10 or 8 hours to hasten
maturity after flowering for 4-6 weeks.
A green light can be used to work on the garden during the dark period
with no negative reactions from the plants. These are sold as nursery
safety lights, but any green bulb should be OK.
Flowering plants should not be sprayed often as this will promote mold
and rot. Keep humidity levels down indoors when flowering, as this is
the most delicate time for the plants in this regard.
HYDROPONICS
Most growers report that a hydroponic system will grow plants faster than a
soil medium, given the same genetics and environmental conditions
otherwise. This may be due to closer attention and more control of
nutrients, and more access to oxygen. The plants can breath easier, and
therefor, take less time to grow. One report has it that plants started in
soil matured after the hydroponic plants started 2 weeks later!
Fast growth allows for earlier maturation and shorter total growing time
per crop. Also, with soil mixtures, plant growth tends to slow when the
plants become root-bound. Hydroponics provides even, rapid growth with no
pauses for transplant shock and eliminates the labor/materials of
repotting.
By far the easiest hydroponic systems to use are the wick and
reservoir systems. These are referred to as Passive Hydroponic
methods, because they require no water distribution system on an
active scale (pump, drain, flow meter and path). The basis of these
systems is that water will wick to where you want it if the medium
and conditions are correct.
The wick system is more involved since the wicks must be cut and
placed in the pots, correct holes must be cut in the pots, and a
spacer must be created to place the plants up above the water
reservoir below. This can be as simple as two buckets, one fit
inside the other, or a kiddie pool with bricks in it that the pots
rest on, elevating them out of the nutrient solution.
I find the wick setup to be more work than the reservoir system.
Initial setup is a pain with wicks, and the plants sit higher in
the room, taking up precious vertical space. The base the pot sits
on may not be very stable compared to a reservoir system, and a
knocked over plant will never be the same as an untouched plant,
due to stress and shock in recovery.
The reservoir system needs only a good medium suited to the task,
and a pan to sit a pot in. The other minor factor is an airpump is
used to aerate the water, but may be optional. The pots are filled
with lava/ vermiculite mix of 4 to 1. This medium will store water,
but has excellent drainage and air storage capacity as well. It is
also reusable to the extent it can be recaptured from harvested
plants. Use small size lava, 3/8" pea size, and rinse the dust off
it first. Wet vermiculite (dangerous dry, wear a mask) and mix into
pots. Square pots hold more than round. Vermiculite will settle to
bottom after repeated watering from the top, so only water from the
top occasionally to leach, and put more vermiculite on the top than
the bottom.
The pan is filled with 1 1/2 - 3 inches of water and allowed to recede
between waterings. Every two weeks the plants are watered with no
nutrients from the top to leach out mineral deposits. If you go
away, reservoirs made of 2 liter soda bottles inverted into a
container to fit, and hosed over to the pans with a water level
mark and position similar to a pet watering dispenser can be made
to keep the plants watered for 2-3 weeks at least.
An alternative to air pumping might just be to use the H2O2 (oxygen
Plus plant food) instead. Or perhaps both for best results. It may
be that only the shake-up aeration is really needed, so this will
be a good experiment for the benefit of future generations. Grow
some plants with shaken nutrient solution, some with aeration in
the pan, some with H2O2, and some with combinations of all 3
together.
One really great hydroponic medium is floral foam. Stick lots of holes into
it to open it up a little, and start plants/clones in it, moving the cube
of foam to lava/perlite later for larger growth stages. Foam rubber, or
most types of porous foam, as well as rockwool will be good for this as
well. I prefer the floral foam, as it is inert, and adds no PH factors.
It's also pretty cheap if you buy the generic brands.
Hydroponics should be used indoors or in greenhouses to speed the growth of
plants, so you have more bud in less time. Hydroponics allows you to water
the plants daily, and this will speed growth. The main difference between
hydroponics and soil growing is that the hydroponic soil or "meduim"is made
to dry quickly, and drain well so that there are no over-watering problems
associated with continuous watering. Also, hydroponically grown plants do not
derive nutrients from soil, but from the solution used to water the plants.
Plant food is administered with most waterings, and allows the gardener to
strictly control what nutrients are available to the plants at the
different stages of plant growth.
Passive hydroponics is easy with a reservoir system. Only a pot filled with
the correct low-moisture medium and a water tray to sit it in are needed.
No pumps, hoses or other apparatus is required. The pot is placed in the
pan, and watered from the top or directly into the pan. Holes in the bottom
and side near the bottom of the pot allows water into the pot, and is
wicked up to the roots by the vermiculite. A pot filled with lava and
vermiculate should be moist at the top after water is added to the pan.
Kitty litter pans can be purchased at five and dime stores on sale for as
little as $1 each, and make great water pans. 12-16 cut-down paper milk
cartons will fit in each pan. A small closet can easily hold a hundred
plants at a time when starting, and can hold 40-50 for harvesting.
Hydroponic medium will act as a soil, but be sterile, and inert, with few
if any nutrients of its own, usable by the plants. A great medium is 3/8"
lava mixed with vermiculite. Vermiculite is a PH neutral substance made of
mica that is mined from the earth. It is sterile and will not pass on germs,
fugus and pests to the plants, so it is much safer than planting in soil,
unless you use the best sterilized plant soils available. Mix lava with
vermiculite 4-1 for a medium that holds water well, but gets a lot of
oxygen to the roots. Wash the lava rock repeatedly to get most of the dust
out of it, before using it. Mix some domite lime, or seashell lime, one
tablespoon per gallon of medium to provide nitrogen and minerals for the
plants. Plants do not grow well and suffer from lack of oxygen in many
potting soils. If you plant in soil, use Super Soil brand potting mix, as
many potting soil brands are mostly wood and do not provide many nutrients
for the plants.
Planting can be made easier with hydroponic mediums that require little
setup such as rockwool. Rockwool cubes can be reused several times, and are
premade to use for hydroponics. There are disadvantages to rockwool that I
won't go into here. Some advantages of rockwool are that it is impossible
to over water and there is no transplanting. Just place the plant's cube
on top of a larger rockwool cube and enjoy your extra leisure time.
I find it best to save money by not buying rockwool and spending time
planting in soil or hydroponic mediums such as vermiculite/lava mix.
Pearlite is nice, since it is so light. Pearlite can be used instead of or
in addition to lava, which must be rinsed and is much heavier.
Watering can be automated to some degree with simple and cheap apparatus,
so take advantage of this when possible. Hydroponics will hasten growing
time, so it takes less time to harvest after planting. It makes sense to
use simple passive hydroponic techniques when possible. Hydroponics will
not be desirable if your growing outdoors, unless you have a greenhouse.
CAUTION: it is necessary keep close watch of plants to be sure they are
never allowed to dry too much when growing hydroponically, or roots will be
damaged. If you will not be able to tend to the garden every day, be sure
the pans are filled enough to last until next time you return, or you can
lose your crop easily. Plants in soil are much easier to care for in this
respect, since moisture storage crystals can be added to the soil to buffer
water for long periods between watering. If you need to, it is possible to
automatically regulate the water level in hydroponic pans by toilet bowl
float in a master reservoir, or using a gurgle bottle that holds water and
adds it as the level recedes, like a pet watering bottle used for dogs and
cats. Also, a pump can be put on a timer to add water to the pans.
If your watering every day hydroponically, you may be able to water
twice a day if you increase ventilation and make sure the plants
don't build up too much humidity. You can water more often (and
thus pump the plant more often) if you have slightly warmer
temperatures, less water retention in your medium, and better
drainage, or all of the above. What counts is that your watering
more often, but still allowing the medium to dry between waterings.
Change the solution every month if your circulating it with a pump,
but the reservoir system does away with this problem. Just rinse
the medium once a month or so to prevent salts build up. Change
plant foods often to avoid deficiencies in the plants. I recommend
using 2 different plant foods for each phase of growth, or 4 foods
total, to lessen chances of any type of deficiency.
Change the solution more often if you notice the PH is going down
quickly (too acid). Due to cationic exchange, solution will tend
to get too acid over time, and this will cause nutrients to become
unavailable to the plants. Check PH every time you water.
Watch out for alga and higher humidities in hydroponics when
pumping plants. A layer of gravel at the top of the pot may help,
since it will dry very quickly. Make sure your not over-watering
soil potted plants, by allowing them to fully dry out after each
pump. One way to pump a reservoir hydroponic plant when your at
home, is to water it more often from the top, and not allow too
much to stand in the pan. That way, the planting medium dries in a
day or even an afternoon, and you can water every day, or more than
once a day, completely drenching the plant, increasing nutrient
intake, while allowing the plant to dry each time. Be careful! If
you forget to fill the pan and your gone more than a day, your
plants could die. Obviously, this works out better when the plants
are indoors, or close to the house in a yard or greenhouse.
RECYCLING
Use pots made from squarish containers such as paper milk cartons, plastic
water jugs, etc. More plants will fit in less space and have more rooting
area if square containers are used. This makes your garden a recycling
center, and saves you tons of money.
PLANTING OUTDOORS
Outdoors, it's a good idea to use soil if you don't have a green house, since
hydroponics will be less reliable outside in the open air, due mostly to
evaporation.
Exposure is all important when locating a site for a greenhouse or outdoor
plot. In the winter, you need to know where the sun shines for the longest
period in your yard, and privacy and other factors will enter in as well.
Try to find an innocuous spot that gets full winter sun from mid morning to
mid afternoon, at least from 10-4, preferably 8-5. This will be really
asking for a lot if you live north of 30 degrees latitude since days are
short in winter. Since most gardeners will not want to use the greenhouse
in the middle of the winter, you can still use winter sun as an indicator
of good spring and fall lighting exposures. Usually the south side of a
hill gets the most sun. Also, large areas open to the sun on the north side
of the property will get good southern exposures. East and West exposures
can be good if they get the full morning/afternoon sun and mid-day sun as
well.
Disguise your greenhouse as a tool shed, or similar structure, by using
only one wall and a roof of Filon, and using a similar colored material for
the rest of the shed. Try to make it appear as if it has always been there,
with plants and trees that grow around it and mask it from view while
allowing sun to reach it.
Filon (corrugated fiberglass) sheets can be used outside to cover young
plants grown together in a garden. Buy the clear greenhouse sheets, and
opaque them with white wash (made from lime) or epoxy resin tinted white
and painted on. This will pass more sun than white Filon, and still hide
the plants. Epoxy resin will preserve the Filon for many more seasons than
it would otherwise last.
Dig a big hole, don't depend on the plant to be able to penetrate the clay
and rubble unless your sure of the quality of topsoil in the area. Grassy
fields would have good top soil, but your back yard may not. This alone can
make the difference between an average 5' tall plant, and a 10' monster by
harvest time.
You may want to keep outdoor plants in pots so they can be easily moved.
A big hole will allow the pot to be place in it, thus reducing the height
of the plant.
SOIL GROWING
Use Super Soil brand in CA, as this is the only known soil on the West
Coast that is guaranteed to be good. Many other brands are mostly wood
products and have very few nutrients, are too moist, etc. Add vermiculite,
pearlite or sand to Super Soil to increase it's drainage and aeration.
Use P4 water crystals in the soil to give the plants a few days worth of
emergency water reserves. This substance swells up with water and holds it
like a sponge, so that roots will have a reserve if harsh drought makes
constant watering necessary. Go real easy on this stuff though, it tends
to sink to the bottom of the pot and suffocate bottom roots (new growth
roots) and stunts the plant. Use in extreme moderation, let it swell up
for at least 45 mins, preferably and hour before mixing with other
soil.
Plant size in soil is directly related to pot size. If you want the plant
to grow bigger, put it in a bigger pot. Usually, 1/2 gallon per foot of
plant is sufficient. A six foot plant would require a minimum of a 3 gallon
pot. Remember, square containers have more volume in a square space (like
a closet).
SUBTREFUGE
Its interesting that pot plants really do blend in with other plants to the
point that they are unidentifiable by all but the most observant. I
remember a relative of the family on a visit to Texas showed me his corn
in the garden and I was standing 12" from several pot plants before I
recognized them for what they were.
Plants started outdoors late in the season never get very big and never
attract the least bit of attention when placed next to plants of similar
or taller stature. Even tall plant grown among several trees will be
almost invisible in their camouflage.
Outdoors the object is to control access to an area, and not to arouse
suspicion. Tucking them here and there, never in a recognizable pattern.
Space them out, and fit them in to the existing landscape such that they
get full sun, but they're hidden or blend in.
Visit the plants at night on full moons, and if your visible to neighbors,
appear to be pruning a tree, mowing the lawn, or doing something in the
yard that looks makes you invisible.
Dig a hole and put a potted plant in it. The plant's height will be reduced
by at least a foot, maybe 2 or 3 feet if it's a big hole.
Make sure your plants are out of sight, take a different route to get to
them if they are not in a secure part of your property, and cover the trail
to make it look as if there is no trail. Make cut backs in the trail, so
that people on the main trail will tend to miss the cut-back to the grow
area. Don't park on the main road, always find a place to park that will
not arouse suspicion by people that pass on the road. Have a safe house
in the area if you are not planting close to home. Always have a good
reason for being in the area and have the necessary items to make your
claim believable, (i.e., a fishing pole if you claim your fishing).
Briar and poison oak patches are perfect if you know how to cut through
Poison Oak to be washed away before an allergic reaction takes place.
Try to plant under trees, next to bushes and keep only a few plants in
any one spot. Train or top the plants to grow sideways, or do something to
prevent the classic christmas tree look of most plants left to grow
untrained. Tying the top down to the ground will make the plants branches
grow up toward the sun, and increase yield, given a long enough growing
season. Plants can be grown under trees if the sun comes in at an angle
and lights the area for several hours every day. Plants should get at least
5 hours of direct sun every day, and 5 more hours of indirect light.
Some growers top the plant when it is 12" high, and grow the 2 tops
horizontally along a trellis. The plant will never be over 3 feet tall,
and never arouses suspicion from neighbors. This type of plant can even
be grown outdoors in full view if you don't arouse suspicion by
your being in the area (like your own back yard, or land near your home).
PLANT FOOD AND NUTRIENTS
Plant foods have 3 main ingredients that will be the mainstay of the
garden, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. These 3 ingredients are
usually listed on the front label of the plant food in the order of
N-P-K. A 20-20-20 plant food has a Nitrogen level of 20%.
Secondary nutrients are Calcium, Sulphur and Magnesium. In trace
quantities, boron, copper, molybenum, zink, iron, and manganese.
Depending on stage of growth, different nutrients are needed at different
times. For rooting and germination, levels of high P nutrients with less
N/K are needed. Vegetative growth needs lots of N, and human urine is one
of the better sources, (mix 8 ounces to 1 gallon water), although it is not
a complete fertilizer unto itself. 20-20-20 with trace elements should do
it; I like Miracle Grow Patio food. Watch for calcium, magnesium, sulfur
and iron levels too. These are important. One tablespoon of dolomite or
hydrated lime is used per gallon of growing medium when a hydroponic medium
is first brought on-line, to provide nitrogen, calcium and magnesium. Epsom
salts are used to enhance magnesium and sulphur levels in solution.
Tobacco grown with potassium nitrate burns better. Plant foods with PN
(P2N3) are foods such as Rapid Grow and Miracle Grow. This is an excellent
fertilizer for vegetative growth, or through the flowering cycle as well,
when pumping the plant. Consider however, potassium nitrate is also known
as Salt Peter, and is used to make men have less sexual desire or impotent,
such as in mental institutions. So if certain plants are destined for
cooking, you might use Fish Emulsion or some other totally organic
fertilizer on these plants, at least in the last weeks of flowering.
"Pumping" is when you use more waterings to make the plants grow faster.
This is dangerous if you proceed in a reckless manner, due to potential
over-watering problems. You must go slowly and watch the plants daily and
even hourly at first to be sure your not over-watering the plants. Use
weaker plant food mixtures than normal, maybe 25%, and be sure your
leaching once a month and running straight water through the plants at
least every other time you water.
Use of light strength Oxygen Plus plant food (or Food Grade Hydrogen
Peroxide) allows the roots to breath better and prevents problems with
over-watering. Check soil to be sure there are no PH anomalies that
might be due to Hydrogen Peroxide in the solution. (One experienced
grower told me he would not use H2O2 (HP) due to possible PH problems.
This should not be a problem if your checking PH and correcting for
it in watering solutions. Until further experience verifies use of HP
as not a problem, we will consider it an optional measure if your worried
about over-watering problems.)
Be sure your medium has good drainage. At this point, if your watering
soil based plants once a week, you can water every 3-5 days instead if you
plant them in a medium with better drainage. Pearlite or lava rock will
greatly increase the drainage of the medium and make watering necessary
more often. This will pump the plants; they will tend to grow faster
because of the enhanced oxygen to the roots. Make sure the plant medium is
almost dry before watering again, as the plant grows faster this way.
An alternative is to use a standard plant food mixture (stronger) once
every 3 waterings. The nutrients are suspended in the medium and stored in
the soil for later use. The nutrients are washed out by 2 straight
waterings afterward and there is no salts build up in the soil.
Stop all plant food 2 weeks before harvesting, so that the plants don't
taste like plant food.
WARNING: Do not over-fertilize. It will kill your plants. Always read
the instructions for the fertilizer being used. Use 1/4 strength
if adding to the water for all feedings and 1/2 strength for hydroponics.
Use as recommended if adding to water 1 out of 3 times you water in soil.
Novice growers tend to over-fertilize their plants.
PH AND FERTILIZERS
PH can make or break your nutrient solution. 6.7-6.2 is
best to ensure there is no nutrient lock-up occurring. Hydroponics
requires the solution to be PH corrected for the medium before
exposing to the plants. Vinegar can make the PH go down, and potash
can take it up when it gets too acid. Buy a PH meter for $10 and
use it in soil, water, and hydroponic medium to make sure your not
going alkaline or acid over time. Most neutral mediums can use a
little vinegar to make them just this side of 7 ph to 6.5 or so.
Most fertilizers cause a ph change in the soil. Adding fertilizer to the
soil almost always results in a more acidic ph.
As time goes on, the amount of salts produced by the breakdown of
fertilizers in the soil causes the soil to become increasingly acidic and
eventually the concentration of these salts in the soil will stunt the
plant and cause browning out of the foliage. Also, as the plant gets older
its roots become less effective in bringing food to the leaves. To avoid
the accumulation of these salts in your soil and to ensure that your plant
is getting all of the food it needs you can begin leaf feeding your plant
at the age of about 1.5 months. Dissolve the fertilizer in worm water and
spray the mixture directly onto the foliage. The leaves absorb the
fertilizer into their veins. If you want to continue to put fertilizer into
the soil as well as leaf feeding, be sure not to overdose your plants.
FOLAIR FEEDING
Foliar feeding seems to be one of the easiest ways of increasing
yield, growth speed, and quality in a well vented space, with or
without elevated CO2 levels. Just prepare a tea of worm castings,
fish emulsion, bat guano, or most any other plant food right for
the job and feed in vegetative and early flowering stages. It is
not recommended for late flowering, or you will be eating the
sprayed-on material later. Stop foliar feeding 2-3 weeks before
harvesting. Wash off the leaves with straight water every week to
prevent clogging the stomata of the leaves. Feed daily or every
other day. Best times of day to Foliar feed are 7-10Am and after 5
in the evening. This is because the stomata on the underside of the
leaves are open then. Also, the best temperature is about 72
degrees, and over 80, they may not be open at all. So find the
cooler part of the day if it's hot, and the warmer part of the day
if it's cold out. You may need to spray at 2AM if that's the coolest
time available. The sprayer used should atomize the solution to a
very fine mist; find your best sprayer and use it for this. Make
sure the PH is between 7 and 6.2. Use baking soda to make the
solution higher PH, and vinegar to make the solution lower PH. It's
better to spray more often and use less, than to drench the plants
infrequently. Use a wetting agent to prevent the water from beading
up, and thereby burning the leaves as they act as small prisms.Make
sure you don't spray a hot bulb; better yet, spray only when the
bulb has cooled.
Perhaps the best foliar feeding includes using seltzer water and
plant food at the same time. This way, CO2 and nutrients are feed
directly to the leaves in the same spray.
Foliar feeding is recognized in most of the literature as being
a good way to get nutrients to the plant later when nutrient
lockup problems could start to reduce intake from the roots. It is
important to wash leaves that are harvested before they are dried
since they will have nitrate salts on them.
NOTE: One grower who reviewed this document comments: "Fish emulsion
smells. Bat guano could be highly unsanitary. Stick to the Rapid-Gro,
MgSO4, hydroponic trace element solution. Nitrate salts (The "N" in NPK)
are unhealthy to smoke. Personally, I never foliar feed."
CO2
Elevating carbon dioxide levels can increase growth speed a great deal,
perhaps even double it. It seems that the plant evolved in primordial times
when natural CO2 levels were many times what they are today. The plant
uses CO2 for photosynthesis to create sugars it uses to build plant
tissues. Elevating the CO2 level will increase the plants ability to
manufacture these sugars and plant growth rate is enhanced considerably.
CO2 can be a pain to manufacture safely, cheaply, and/or conveniently, and
is expensive to set up if you use a CO2 tank system. There are other
factors that can help increase yield and growth time that are much less
hassle.
CO2 is most usable for flowering, as this is when the plant is most
dense and has the hardest time circulating air around it’s leaves.
If your strictly growing vegetatively indoors, (transferring your
plants outdoors to flower), then CO2 will not be a major concern
unless you have a sealed greenhouse and wish to increase yield and
decrease flowering time.
The basic system looks like this:
20 lb tank $100
Regulator $159
Timer or controller $10-125
Fill up $15-20
--------------------------------
Worst case = $395 for CO2 tank setup synced to a exhaust fan with
a thermostat.
CO2 is cheaply produced by burning Natural Gas. However, heat and
Carbon Monoxide must be vented to the outside air. CO2 can be obtained by
buying or leasing cylinders from local welding supply houses. If asked,
you can say you have an old mig welder at home and need to patch up the
lawnmower (trailer, car, etc.)
For a small closet, one tank could last 2 months, but it depends
on how much is released, how often the room is vented, hours of
light cycle, room leaks, enrichment levels and dispersion methods.
It is generally viewed as good to have a small constant flow over
the plants at all times the lights are on, dispersed directly over
the plants during the time exhaust fans are off.
Opportunities exist to conserve CO2, but this can cost money. When
the light is off you don't need CO2, so during flowering, you will
use half as much if you have the CO2 solenoid setup to your light
timer. When the fan is on for venting, CO2 is shut off as well.
This may be up to half the time the light is on, so this will affect
the plants exposure times and amount of gas actually dispensed.
Environmentally, using bottled gas is better, since manufacturing
it adds to greenhouse effect, and bottled CO2 is captured as part
of the manufacturing process of many materials, and then recycled.
Fermenting, CO2 generators, and baking soda and vinegar methods all
generate new CO2 and add to greenhouse effect.
Other alternatives are CO2 generation from fermentation and
generators. A simple CO2 generator would be a propane heater. This
will work well, as long as the gases can be vented to the grow area,
and a fan is used to keep the hot CO2 (that will rise) circulating
and available below at the plants level. Fire and exhaust venting
of the heat are issues as well. A room that must be vented 50% of
the time to rid the environment of heat from a lamp and heater will
not receive as much CO2 as a room that can be kept unvented for
hours at a time.
Fermentation or vinegar over baking soda will work if you don't
have many vent cycles, but if you have enough heat to make constant
or regular venting necessary, these methods become impractical.
Just pour the vinegar on baking soda and close the door, (you lose
your CO2 as soon as the vent comes on). This method leaves a great
deal to be desired, since it is not easy to regulate automatically,
and requires daily attention.It is possible however, to create CO2
by fermentation, let the wine turn to vinegar, and pour this on
baking soda. It's the most cost-effective setup for most closet
growers, for whom $400 in CO2 equipment is a bit much to swallow.
In fermentation, yeast is constantly killing itself, and takes a
lot of space to do right. You need a big bin that you can constantly
keep adding water to, so that the alcohol levels will not rise high
enough to kill the yeast. Sugar is used quickly this way, and a 10
pound sack will run $3.50 or so and last about 2-3 weeks. This is
also difficult to gauge what is happening as far as amounts
actually released. A tube out the top going into a jar of water
will bubble and demonstrate the amount of CO2 being produced.
Try sodium bicarbonate mixed with vinegar, 1 tsp: ~30cc- this will gush up
all frothy as it releases CO2. do it just before you close the door on your
plants. a MUCH cheaper way to provide CO2 is 2 Oz sugar in 2 liters[3
pint~] of water in a bottle [sterilized 1st with bleach and water, then
rinsed], plus a few cc urine[!] or if you insist, yeast nutrient from a
home brewing supplier. Add a brewing yeast, shake up and keep at 25 deg
celsius[~70 F] . over next 2 weeks or so it will brew up about 1/2 Oz CO2
for every Oz sugar used. Keep a few going at once, starting a new one every
3 days or so. With added CO2 growth is phenomenal!!! I personally measured
38cm growth in 8 days under a 250watt HPS bulb[tubular clear, Horizontal
mount].
A good container is a 1 gallon plastic milk jug, with a
pin-hole in the cap. Also, the air-lock from a piece of clear tube
running into a jar filled with water will keep microbes out and
demonstrate the fermentation is working.
A variation is to spray soda water on the plants twice a day. This is not
recommended by some authorities, and receives great raves by people who
seem to feel it has enhanced their crop. It stands to reason this would
work for only a small unvented closet, but may be right for some
situations. It could get expensive with a lot of plants to spray. Use
seltzer, not club soda, since it contains less sodium that could clog the
plants stomata. Wash your plants with straight water after 2 or 3 seltzer
sprays. It's a lot of work, and you can't automate it, but maybe that's
good! Remember, being with the plants is a beautiful experience, and brings
you closer to your spiritual self and the earth. Seltzer is available at
most grocery stores (I get it at Lucky's @ .79 for a 2 litter bottle). Club
soda will work if seltzer water is not available; but it has twice as much
sodium in it. A very diluted solution of Miracle Grow can be sprayed on the
plant at the same time.
CAUTION: Don't spray too close to a hot bulb! Spray downward only, or turn
off the lamp first. Wash leaves with clear water before harvesting leaf for
cooking, since nitrates are not healthy to be smoking or injesting.
VENTING
You have to vent a lot with a HID lamp, less so for fluorescents. Also,
humidity build up requires that you vent at least a few times per day. For
a room with a hot lamp that builds up heat quickly, the best vent would be
one that cleared the room in 3 minutes, then would go for 27 minutes before
venting again, or similarly, vent 3 minutes, shut off 12 minutes, etc. The
trick is to find a timer that will do this sort of thing. Not easy to find
and not cheap. Once you need to regulate CO2 on and off inversely with the
fan, your looking at a $100 climate controller.
Alternatives are a thermostat that turns on a fan when a certain
temperature is reached, and turns it off when the temp recedes 4 degrees.
But it is a bitch to coordinate CO2 release with this one, since you don't
know when the fan goes on. $39 for this thermostat, but to sync it to CO2
with a voltage sensing relay is $100 for the ready-made switch, so then the
environment controller at $100 is cheaper. All you really want is a fan
that clears the air in a few minutes, a temperature switch that turns on
and off the fan, and an inverse switch that turns off and on the CO2. If
you can vent the room really quick and the heat does not build up too
quickly, the CO2 could be run in a slow, continuous fashion, and would
build up in-between the occasional quick exhaust cycles.
Two timers synced can be used, but the only ones cheaply available are the
30 min interval, 48 trips per 24 hours. So I could have a fan run 30 mins
on, then 30 mins off. I could also sync it to the light so that I don't
vent when the lamp is off. I can sync this to an identical timer that will
turn on CO2 during the time that the fan is not on, and vise versa. It
would be difficult to sync them closer that 5-10 mins, but at least there
would be a possible inexpensive solution. $20 for two of these timers.
Fans are expensive to buy for venting, but I just go down to the local
electronic parts liquidators and they have muffin fans for $5-10, so
that’s a real savings over the $50-70 these fans cost new at the indoor
garden stores. A good vent fan will keep the humidity and temperature down,
and distribute CO2 to your plants from new incoming air.
Even though CO2 enrichment can mean 30-100% yield increases, the
hassle, expense, space, danger, and time involved can make constant
or near constant venting a desirable alternative to enrichment. As
long as the plant has the opportunity to take in new CO2 at all
times, from air that is over 200 ppm CO2, the plants will have the
required nutrients for photosynthesis. Most closets will need new
CO2 coming in every two or three hours, minimum.
Internal air movement is very necessary as well. An oscillating fan
should be used to circulate air within the growroom, to help
circulate CO2. It will also keep the humidity down, allowing the
air to absorb more moisture, and reduce risk of fungus. A wall mount
oscillating fan will not take valuable floor space. The best grow rooms
have the most internal air circulation.
TEMPERATURE
Proper temperature is one highly variable factor. Most books state optimum
grow temperature to be 70-80 degrees, but many list extenuating
circumstances that allow temperatures to go higher. Assuming genetics is
not a factor, plants seem to be able to absorb more light at higher temps,
perhaps up to 90 degrees. High light and CO2 levels could make this go as
high as 95 degrees for increased growth speed.* An optimum of 95 degrees
is new data that assumes very-high light, CO2 enrichment of 1500 ppm and
good regular venting to keep humidity down. It is not clear if these
temperature will reduce potency in flowers. It may be a good idea to
reduce temperatures once flowering has started, to preserve potency, even
if it does reduce growth speed. But higher temperatures will make plants
grow vegetatively much faster, by exciting the plants metabolism, assuming
the required levels of CO2 and light are available, and humidity is not
allowed to get too high.
With normal levels of CO2, in a well vented space, 90 degrees would seem to
be the absolute max, while 85 may be closer to optimum, even with a great
deal of light available. Do not let the room temperature get over 35 C (95
F) as this hurts growth. Optimal temperature is 27-30 C (80-86 F) if you
have strong light with no CO2 enrichment. Less than 21 C (70 F) is too cold
for good growth.
Low temperatures at night are OK down to about 60 degrees outdoors, then
start to effect the growth in a big way. Mid 50's will cause mild shock and
40's will kill your plants with repeated exposure. Keep your plants warm,
especially the roots. Elevate pots if you think the ground is sucking the
heat out of the roots. This is an issue if you have a slab or other
type of cold floor.
As temperature goes up, so does the ability of the air to hold water, thus
reducing humidity, so a higher average temperature should reduce risk of
fungus.
Contrary to many reports, high humidity is not good for plants except
during germination and rooting. Lower humidity levels help the plant
transpire CO2 and reduce risk of molds during flowering.
Studies indicate the potency of buds goes down as the temperature goes
up, so it is important to see that the plants do not get too hot during
flowering cycles.
* D. Gold: CO2, Temperature and Humidity, 1991 Edited by E. Rosenthal.
PESTS
You really have to watch pests, or all your efforts could result
in little or nothing in return. Mites and Aphids are the worst; whiteflies,
caterpillar and fungi are the ones to watch out for long term. Pyrethrum
bombs can start you with a clean slate in the room, and then homemade or
commercial soap sprays will do most of the rest. When bringing in plants
from outside, pyrethrum every broad leaf top and bottom and the soil too.
Then watch them closely for a week or two, and soap down any remaining bug
life you find from eggs being hatched. This should do the trick for a month
or two, long enough it won't be an issue before harvesting.
Fungus is another obstacle in the path of a successful growing season.
When the flowers are roughly half developed they become susceptible to a
fungus or bud rot. It appears that growing conditions for the fungus are
best when temperatures are between 60 and 80 degrees and the humidity is
high. The fungus is very destructive and spreads quickly. It is a spore
type of fungus that travels to other buds via the wind so it is impossible
to prevent or stop if weather conditions permit it to grow. If things
should go badly and the fungus starts to attack your plants, you must
remove it immediately or it will spread to other areas of the plant or
plants.
Some growers will remove just the section of the bud that is infected
whereas other growers will remove the entire branch. Removal of the entire
branch better insures that the fungus is totally re- moved, and also
enables the grower to sample the crop a few weeks ahead of time.
Fungi can wipe your crop quick, so invest in some SAFE fungicide (Safer
makes a good product) and spray down the plants just before flowering if
you think fungus may be a problem. Don't spray the plants if you have never
had problems with fungus before. Keep humidity down, circulate air like
crazy in the grow space and keep unquarantined outdoor plants out of the
indoor space. Don`t wait until after flowering, since it's not a good idea
to apply the fungicide directly to flowers. Instead, flowers must be cut
off when they are infected.
Most fungicides are very nasty, and you won't want to injest them, so it is
necessary to use one that is safe for vegetables. Safer makes a suitable
product that is available at most nurseries.
Use soap solution like Safer to get rid of most aphid problems. Use some
tobacco juice and chili pepper powder added to this for mites. Dr. Bronnars
Soap can be used with some dish detergent in a spray bottle if you want
to save money.
TRANSPLANTING
There will be little or no shock if you are quick and tender in your
handling of the plants. Make sure you only need to transplant twice, or
better yet, once if possible, through the entire growth cycle.
Transplanting slows you down. It takes time, is tricky, and threatens the
plants. Start in as large a container as possible, square is best. 16 ounce
paper or plastic cups work OK, and 2 litter soda bottles cut down may be
big enough for the first harvest when growing hydroponically. One-gallon
plastic milk or water containers (squarish) will work too, if you want to
work around the handle (really not a problem if you don't mind cutting them
up when you transplant later for second harvest).
Or start seeds and rooted cuttings in 1/4 gallon paper milk containers, cut
and washed in hot, sudsy water to get rid of bacteria in the old milk. It's
better to have less seedlings than it is to have many seedlings that need
constant transplanting. These larger containers take only a little more
space, and allow you to transplant only one time before harvesting the
first crop. Transplant into a half-gallon milk carton (cut high for deep
roots) before forcing flower growth. To regenerate this plant after
harvesting, transplant it into a larger pot after it goes into vegetative
growth once again, 5 gallon paint buckets work pretty well if you can spare
the space, and a 2-3 gallon container would make this plant’s 2nd harvest
better than the first, given enough vegetative regrowth first.
One more tip:
A Russian study showed that seedlings with at least 4" of soil to
grow the tap root were more likely to go female. The source I'm
quoting says "This may be why some farmers get female/male ratios
as great as 80%/20%."
EARLY SEXING
It's possible to tell the sex of a plant early, and thus move male plants
out of the main growing area sooner by covering a plant's lower branch for
12 hours a day while it's in a constant light vegetative state. Use a black
paper bag or equivalent to allow for air flow while keeping out light. Be
sure to set up a regular cycle for these covered branches. If light is
allowed to reach them during the dark period, they may not indicate early
at all.
Use a magnifying glass to look at the early flowers sex type. A male plant
will have a small club (playing card) looking preflower with a small stem
under it. A female flower is usually a single or double pistil, white and
wispy.
REGENERATION
It is possible to harvest plants and then rejuvenate them vegetatively for
a 2nd and even 3rd harvest. A second harvest can be realized in as little
as 6-8 weeks.
Harvested plants come inside for rejuvenation under continuous light. It
will take 7-14 days to see signs of new growth when regenerating a plant.
As stated before, and in contrast to normal growth patterns, lower branches
will be the first to sprout new vegetative growth. Just make sure when
harvesting, you leave most healthy fan leaves and a few lower branches of
the plant, or even just a few grow tips will do. Since the plants stalk,
and roots are already formed, the plant can produce a second, even third
harvest of buds in a little more than half the time of the original
harvest. Allow the plant to grow a little vegetatively, then take outside
again to reflower. Or keep inside for vegetative cuttings. You now have two
or three generations of plants growing, and will need more space outside.
But you will now be harvesting twice as often.
HARVESTING AND DRYING
Harvesting is the reaping of the bounty, and is the most enjoyable time you
will spend with your garden.
Plants are harvested when the flowers are ripe. Generally, ripeness is
defined as when the white pistils start to turn brown, orange, etc. and start
to withdraw back into the false seed pod. The seed pods swell with
resins usually reserved for seed production, and we have ripe sinse buds
with red and golden hairs.
It is interesting that the time of harvest controls the "high" of the buds.
If harvested "early" with only a few of the pistils turned color, the buds
will have a more pure THC content and will have less THC that has turned to
CBD and CBN's. The lessor psychoactive substances will create the bouquet
of the pot, and control the amount of stoneyness and stupidness associated
with the high. A pure THC content is very cerebral, while high THC, high
CBD, CBN content will make the plants more of a stupid, or hazy buzz. Buds
taken later, when fully ripened will normally have these higher CBN, CBD
levels and may not be what you prefer once you try different samples picked
at different times. Don't listen to the experts, decide yourself based on
what you come to like yourself.
Do not cure pot in the sun, it reduces potency. Slow cure hanging buds
upside down in a ventilated space. That is all that is needed to have great
sensi. Drying in a paper bag works too.
If your in a hurry, it's OK to dry a small amount in-between paper sheets
in a microwave oven. Go slow and check it, don't burn it. It will be
harsh smoking this way though.
CLONING
Cloning preserves the character of your favorite plant. Cloning can make
a ocean of green out of a single plant, so it is a powerful tool for
growing large crops, and will fill a closet quickly with your favorite
genetics. When you find the plant you want to be your "buddy" for the
rest of your life, you can keep that plant's genetic character alive
for decades and pass it on to your children's children. Propagate and
share it with others, to keep a copy, should your own line dye out.
Cloning will open you to the risk of a fungus or pest wiping out the whole
crop, so it's important to pick plants that exhibit great resistance to
fungus and pests. Pick the plant you feel will be the most reliable to
reproduce in large scale, based on health, growth rate, resistance to
pests, and potency. The quality of the high, and the type of buzz you get
will be a very important determining factor.
Take cuttings for clones before you move plants from vegetative grow area
to the flowering area. Low branches are cut to increase air circulation
under the green canopy. Rooted clones are moved to the vegetative growth
area, and new clones are started in the cloning area using the low branch
cuttings. Each cycle of growth will take from 6-8 weeks, so you can
constantly be growing in 3 stages, and harvesting every 6-8 weeks.
If a plant is harvested, you can sample it, and decide if you want
to clone it. Pick your favorite 2 or 3 distinctly different types of
plants to clone, based on trying the harvested plants. The plants you
want to clone can be regenerated by putting them in constant light.
In a few weeks, you will have many vegetative cuttings available for
cloning and preserving your favorite plants.
After two months, any marijuana plant can be cloned. Flowering plants can
be cloned, but the procedure may take considerably longer. Its best to
wait, and regenerate vegetatively plants that have been harvested. A single
regenerated/harvested plant can generate hundreds of cuttings. Cut young
growth tips from a vegetative stage, mature plant (bottom branches are
best) 3-5 inches long with a stem diameter 1/5-1/10 inch. Cut with a
sterile razor blade or X-Acto knife (flamed) and immerse the cut end of the
clone into a tub of distilled water mixed with 1/4 tspn Peters 5-50-17 per
gallon. Next, cut the bottom .2 inch off the end while it is submerged,
using a diagonal cut. Remove the clone from the tub and dip into a liquid
cloning solution following instructions on the label. Dust with fungicide and
place in cloning tray or medium. Flowering plants can be cloned too, but
may take longer, and may not have as high a success rate.
Cloning goes quickest with the liquid rooting solutions, in a warmed,
aerated tray, with subdued lighting and high humidity. In a closet, you can
make space above the grow area so that the heat of the lamp warms the tray
(passive collecting) and spare the expense and hassle of the aquarium
heater ($24) or agricultural heating pad w/ thermostat (pricey). A double
4" fluorescent lamp will be perfect. Leave lamps on for 24 hours a day.
Cuttings should root in 2-3 weeks.
I found only one liquid rooting hormone solution that was not over $10.
(Olivia's Gel was $12 for a 1.6 ounce bottle. Geez, what is this stuff,
gold?) I found some dipNgrow for $9, considered myself lucky, and got a
tray and clear cover for $4. A clear tray cover or greenhouse encloser is
needed to brincover ($4)
made for rooting at an indoor gardening supply house. You must keep
humidity very high for the clones.
It's also possible to directly place a dipped cutting in a moist block of
rockwool, floral foam with holes punched, or vermiculite in a cup; be sure
to root cuttings in a constantly moist medium. Jiffy peat cubes are not
recommended, as published reports indicate results were not good for
rooting clones. Place starter cubes in tray of solution. Check twice a day
to be sure cubes are moist, not drenched, and not dry. After about 2-3
weeks, rootlets will appear at the bottom of the pods. Transplant at this
point to growing area, taking care not to disturb any exposed roots.
One grower writes us:
I have had virtually all attempted clones root with the following scheme:
0. Prep cutting by removing large leaves on tip to be cut, allow to heal.
1. While holding underwater, take final diagonal cut on stem to be rooted.
2. Dip in Rootone, then spear stem about 2" deep in 16 oz. cups of
1/2 vermiculite, 1/2 perlite, which are kept in a stryrofoam cooler.
3. Spray cuttings with a VERY mild complete fert. soln.
4. Cover top of cooler with Saran Wrap, then punch holes for ventilation.
5. Keep cooler in relatively mild temps, low light, and spray cuttings daily.
6. Cuttings should root in about 3 weeks.
Cloning is not as easy as starting from seed. With seeds, you can have
18" tall plants in 6 weeks or less. With clones, it may take 6 weeks
for the plant to sprout roots and new growth. Seeds are easily twice
as fast if you have empty indoor space being wasted that needs to be put to use
quickly. Always breed a few buds for seeds, even if you expect to be
cloning most of the time, you could get wiped out, and have nothing
but your seeds left to start over.
BREEDING
It is possible to breed and select cuttings from plants that grow, flower,
and mature faster. Some plants will naturally be better than others in this
regard, and it is easy to select not only the most potent plants to clone
or breed, but the fastest growing/flowering plants as well. Find your
fastest growth plant, and breed it with your "best high" male for fast
flowering, potent strains. Clone your fastest, best high plant for the
quickest monocrop garden possible. Over time, it will save you a lot of
waiting around for your plants to mature.
When a male is starting to flower (several weeks before the females) it
should be removed from the females so it does not pollinate them. It is
taken to a separate area. Any place that gets just a few hours of light
per day will be adequate, including close to a window in a separate room
in the house. Put newspaper under it to catch the pollen as the flowers
drop it a few days later.
Keep a male alive indefinitely by bending it's top severely and putting
it in mild shock that delays it's maturity.
Save pollen in an air tight bag in the freezer. It will be good for about a
month. It may be several more weeks before the females are ready to
pollinate.
Turn off all fans. Use a paper bag to pollinate a branch of a female plant.
Use different pollen from two males on separate branches. Wrap the bag
around the branch and seal it at the opening to the branch. Shake the
branch vigorously. Wet the paper bag after a few minutes with a sprayer and
then carefully remove it.
One pollinated branch can create hundreds of seeds. It should not be
necessary to pollinate one branch of each female you wish to cross
with a particular female.
SINSEMILLIA
When the female plant is not allowed to pollinate, it grows full of resin
that was intended to make seeds. False seed pods swell with THC laden
resin and the pistils turn red and orange and withdraw into the pods. Then
the plant is harvested.
Seeds are not part of the bud when the flowers mature. This is called
Sinsemillia, and simply means "no seeds".
SINSE SEEDS
It is possible to cross your favorite two female plants to create a new
strain of seeds that will produce all female plants. Preferably, these two
plants will be different types of plants, not from the same mother's seeds.
This will create the best offspring, since it will not lead to inbreeding.
It is easier to gauge the quality of female plants than male plants, since
the smoke is more potent and easier to judge it's finer qualities. Plants
from seeds created in this fashion will be all female plants since there
will be no chance of male chromosomes from female parents.
Use Gibberellic Acid on one branch of a female plant to induce male
flowers. Gibberellic Acid is sold by nursery supply houses for plant
breeding and hybridizing. When the male flowers form, pollinate the flowers
of your other target female plant you have selected. Just pollinate one
branch unless you want lots of seeds! One branch can easily create 100
seeds or more.
Once the branch has male flowers, cut the branch and root it in water, with
newspaper under it to catch the male pollen when it drops. Use a rooting
solution similar to the above cloning solution.
To pollinate a branch, use a paper bag over the branch and seal it, then
shake it around to pollinate the female flowers. Spray the bag wet to make
the pollen stick to the inside of the bag and then take it off the branch.
It is also possible to pollinate the flowers of the plant you create the
male flowers on, crossing it with itself. This is used to preserve a
special plants characteristics. Cloning will also preserve the plants
characteristics, but will not allow you to store seeds for use later.
ODORS AND NEGATIVE IONS
Negative ion generators have been used for years now to cut down on odors
in a grow room, but reports are coming in that a negative ion generator
will increase growth speed and yield. No true evidence to support this,
however it does make sense, due to the fact that people and animals seem to
be altered in a positive way by negative ions in the air, so plants may
"feel" better too. Try putting one in the grow room. You may notice the
buds don't have as much scent when picked, but that may be desirable in
some cases.
A negative ion generator can be purchased for $15 to $100 depending on the
type and power involved. Some have reversed cycles that collect the dust to
a charged plate. It is also possible to use grounded aluminum foil on the
wall and shelf where the ionizer sits, to collect these particles. Just
wipe the foil clean once a month. It should be grounded to an electrical
outlets ground wire. If you don't cover the wall and shelf with paper or
foil, the wall will turn dark with dust taken from the air, and you will
have to repaint that wall later.
OXYGEN
O2 to the roots is a big concern, since the plant requires this for
nutrients to be available, and to rid itself of toxins, etc. One of the
easiest things to do is use food grade hydrogen peroxide in the water to
increase the availability of oxygen in the water. H2O2 has an extra oxygen
atom that will easily break away and can be used by the plant. Oxygen Plus
is a plant food that contains 25% hydrogen peroxide and is perfect for this
use.
Using a planting medium that allows for plenty of aeration is also really
important. Be sure you have good drainage by using Perlite, sand, or gravel
in your mix and at the bottom of pots. Don’t use a medium that holds too
much water, or you may significantly reduce the oxygen available to the
plant. More on that in the section on hydroponics.
Aerating the water before watering is also a good idea. In the case of soil
potted plants, use an airpump to aerate the water overnight before watering
your plants, or put the water in a container with a cap and shake it up
real good before giving to the plants.
SAFETY AND PRIVACY
It has been reported utility companies can tell your bill is way off from
the same time last year, and police are even finding growers this way, so
more than 500 watts in the family home running constantly will show up as a
regular monthly increase in electricity use. You can claim space heaters,
more people living on the premises, too many television sets, and late
hours, if they happen mention it to you (innocently). If the police knock
and ask you about it, don't let them in, and move your plants to another
location during the wee hours in a vehicle not your own.
Upon moving into a new place, it may be desirable to immediately establish
high electricity use, so that your electrical use history won't reveal
your activities in the future...
DISTILLED WATER
Some growers report purified or distilled water helps their plants grow
faster. Perhaps due to sodium and heavy metals found in hard water that are
not present in purified water. Hard water tends to build up alkaline salt
deposits in soil that lockup trace minerals, and cause iron, copper and
zinc deficiencies. There are several types of purified water, but many are
not free of minerals that could be causing salt buildup over an extended
period of time.
Tap water comes in two flavors. Hot and cold. The cold pipe has less
calcium and sodium buildup in it, and should be freer of sediment once the
water has been turned on and allowed to flow for 30 seconds. Hot water will
have rust, lead deposits, and bough-que sodium and calcium, so much so, you
will see it easily. Use only the amount of hot water needed to make the
water the correct temperature (70-80 F). Tap water filtered through a
carbon (charcoal) filter will be free of chlorine and most large particles,
but will still contain dissolved solids such as sodium and heavy metals
(lead, arsenic, nickel, etc.).
Purified bottled water will be either Reverse Osmosis or some form of
carbon/sediment filtered water. When purchasing water at a store, unless it
says RO or Distilled, don't bother buying it. It could still have the same
dissolved solids and heavy metals your tap water has.
Reverse Osmosis filters will drastically reduce the amount of dissolved solids
in the tap water. When installed and maintained, it will reduce the heavy
metals and salts to minuscule levels, which are then probably safe to drink. While
(RO) systems can provide sodium free water, it is not as good as distilled
water. If filters and membrane are not changed at
least once a year, the system will be drastically reduced in effectiveness.
RO systems are expensive initially, but since a large garden alone can take
up to 10 gallons of water a week, it will pay for itself in a year or
two, compared to buying bottled water. It pays to shop around for these
systems, prices vary widely.
Distilled water is produced through boiling and steam run-off. It isolates
the O2 to its pure form. It contains no pollutants, heavy metals, dissolved
solids or chlorine that can react and build up in soils. It is expensive to
purchase, but the bottles can be used as plant containers (get the
squarish, tall styled plastic bottles) so the expense can be justified for
a period of time. Purchasing a distiller is an option. It will have to be
maintained (emptied of salts) on a regular basis, and carbon filter
changed, but it is a good item to consider if you believe your water to be
very hard. Very hard water is very hard on an RO system and a distiller may
be the best option if you desire drinking water as well. Drinking distilled
water will help your body flush toxins and reduced problems with kidney
stones.
An alternative to using distilled water is to run the water thorough a
sediment/charcoal filter combination to reduce dissolved solids and chlorine,
and use a vinegar mix to lower PH in the water and prevent alkalinity
buildup. This should make mineral available to the plants, even if salts
begin to build up from the wet/dry regimen over an extended time.
BIRTH CONTROL PILLS
A solution of one pill to one gallon of water has been reported to cause
increased growth speed in tomato plants. It is possible this will help
herb plants too. One treatment administered before flowering and one
administered a few weeks before harvesting might help the plant mature
faster.
One grower told a story of the same type of plants, one administered the
estrogen grew to 20 feet, while the other was 7 feet. This may be purely
anecdotal, but it may work. Try it and report back to us on results.
SEED AND BUD STORAGE
Use a seal-a-meal to hermetically seal the bag with no air inside. Freeze
or refrigerate, and bud and seed can be kept for years this way.
REVIEW:
1) Light - lots of it, but not too close or you burn leaves.
2) CO2 - if you can stand the hassle; or ferment in an unvented
closet.
3) Vent - More air the better. Both in and out of the room and
internal.
4) Oxygen - Use H2O2 in solution, and aerate water by shaking and
air pump, use Pearlite or lava for increased drainage and oxygen
storage.
5) Hydroponics - This will increase both yield and speed of growth
over soil.
6) Temperature - The hotter the better if you have enough light and
CO2; 70 up to 95 degrees with lots of light and CO2.
7) Nutrients - Make sure your giving the plant what it needs when
it needs it. Watch for deficiencies.
8) PH - 6.7 - 6.2 is ideal. Make sure you check the soil/nutrients;
match up.
9) Pests - Don't let all the above effort go to waste. Be vigilant.
10) Sea of Green - grow more plants, smaller, faster, with less
wasted light and space, using both indoor light, and forcing/
flowering outside where possible.
11) Transplanting - Make sure you only have to transplant 2 times
or less through the growth cycle, and do it early.
12) Grow smaller plants on shelves, increasing square footage
growing space by 2 or 3 times.
13) Harvest often and sooner with fast maturing clones.
14) Negative ions are good, and make the plants feel better.
15) Purified (RO only) or distilled water may solve chlorine problems and
make nutrients more available to the plant. This will insure pollutants and
heavy metals are not in the water.
16) Security - make sure your plants are not detected. Don't admit cops
into the yard or house without a warrant.
A final comment:
Good results can be had even in what appear to be rather marginal
situations. (i.e.: a four inch pot in a room with a skylight.) With the
minimum of: well drained medium, good light with ventilation, regular
application of a complete fertilizer, pest control, and avoidance of
detection, anyone can take a viable seed to maturity.
One need not have a lot of money, or even know-how to grow good plants.