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The Home Cannabis Creator
A Northwestern Guide to Pretty Good Pot
by the Cannabis Creator
Special thanks to the department of corrections in Everett, Washington for
providing me with all the time that I needed to write this. Also thanks to
all the free thinking people responsible for the digital
information/publishing revolution that is unleashing the truth at a time
when it is sorely needed.
CONTENTS
Introduction
Forget what you know
Cannabis is a plant
General info about cannabis
Commentary on cannabis
Risk factors
Rips, tips and your own big mouth
Number of plants
Odor control
Where to start
Choosing a space
Lighting
AC primer
H.I.D.'s
Mylar
Lighting requirements
Ventilation
Soil and containers
Hydroponics
Growth cycle
Photoperiod
Cloning and sprouting
Sex and sexing
Limiting factors
Water
Light
Nutrients
Oxygen
Carbon dioxide
Potency, maturity, harvesting and drying
When to harvest
Harvesting, manicuring and drying
1. Introduction
Welcome to The Home Cannabis creator. Congratulations on your excellent
taste in subject matter.
This is a straightforward compilation of the collective experience of a
successful co-op of Seattle-area growers known as the Snohomish County
Cannabis Creators (S.C.C.C.). Founded with the planting of a seed in 1991,
the S.C.C.C.'s mission is to make information and high quality clones
available to anyone interested, so that they can have the know how and the
genetics to produce world-class sensimillia. Membership is then gained by
selling this product well dried for a reasonable price, so that it will
always remain widely available for the sick, the stressed and the silent
lovers of the cherished herb.
This guide is intended specifically for people who wish to create cannabis
indoors, using lights, for personal use or on a small commercial to large
commercial scale. It is geared for the novice or unsuccessful, because if
you are experienced and successful you have established what works for
you, and that is the system that I recommend most highly. I have known too
many happy growers that made the mistake of buying one of those 300-plus
page grow textbooks after growing successfully for a period of time.
Usually they are horrified when they discover that the "official" book
tells them that they are doing something, or everything, completely wrong.
The methods described here are certainly not the only way to create large
amounts of high quality cannabis; in fact, it seems to me that there are
as many ways as there are growers. What it all boils down to in this
school is how to have the greatest success, productivity and satisfaction,
while spending the least amount of time, energy, and money in the process.
It boils down to efficiency.
Also included is my personal favorite part, the dispelling of a persistent
list of local tall tales that cause many current cannabis creators
unnecessary stress or confusion and cause some people not to grow at all.
If you do grow, but are not producing the quality or quantity of cannabis
that you desire, or if you have been unsuccessful in the past, I suggest
that you read on with an open mind, as if you hadn't ever attempted to
grow before. Without change, things will only remain the same- so the
first rule still applies to you- forget what you know. Start fresh. Don't
try to improvise with your old supplies, methods, equipment, or anything
else if it's a compromise from what is described. Be aware that large
gardens are a full time job. A large garden won't necessarily produce more
buds than a small garden unless you spend proportionately more time
tending it.
Vast amounts of information have been left out for simplicity's sake.
Cannabis is certainly one of the most complex subjects that one could hope
to ponder, and you will find your career as a cannabis creator to be a
continuous learning experience, for however long you pursue it.
A. Forget what you know
The very first and most damning mistake a novice cannabis creator can make
is stubbornly sticking to anything that you think that you already know
about creating cannabis. Many people who decide to grow do so after years
of being what I call "cannabis enthusiasts". That is to say, that you have
already had much experience with cannabis, seeing, smelling, distributing
and of course tasting, and thus of course, it probably has been the
subject of many animated conversations in your life. But talk is cheap.
Ask yourself this- "Have any of my friends confided in me that they were
producing large amounts of high quality cannabis, and did they actually
let me assist in the process from start to finish?" If the answer is yes,
then you don't need this book. If your friend grows and trusts you that
much, have them set you up. If the answer is no, I implore you to forget
everything that you have ever heard about it, because 99.9% of all stories
circulating about successful cannabis creators are completely false. The
reason for this is simple: successful cannabis creators don't talk about
their operations. I cannot count the number of ridiculous stories that I
have heard from people (usually at a party or bar, after a few drinks)
concerning this mysterious grower-friend and their even more mysterious
methods.
Common tall tales include the guy that has 500 (or more!) 8 foot tall
Christmas trees in his basement (hopefully nobody with 500 plants would
tell this blabbermouth, and by my calculations, this basement would have
to be about 50 x 100 feet). Or the guy who hung his plants or buds upside
down so that "the resins would 'drain' into the buds" (resins don't
'drain', period). Or their friend who sprayed the buds with (pick one)
water, fruit juice of any kind, sugar water, or anything else to give them
crystals or make them look, taste or smell better.
The next time that someone tells you "this is 39th generation bud!" ask
them what a generation is.
I still hear about Mylar on the floor and/or ceiling, or multiple layers
of Mylar to avoid infra-red detection (this story was spread by a narc who
happened to have a business selling Mylar).
My personal favorite is the amazingly common story that someone is
actually growing their plants upside-down- buckets in the air, lights on
the ground. ("Uh... whatever.")
For our purposes; for the normal Joe or Jill who just dreams of smoking
the kind freely, (as in for free), or maybe slightly bigger dreams of
quarters and pounds available, these kinds of stories represent total
ignorance, whether or not they are based on truth. Furthermore, anyone who
alleges to be growing "the UW" is probably misinformed at least. The
University of Washington did have a medical research program, but only for
two years, 1978 and 1979. Then came the war on drugs, and research was
banned by any independent non-government laboratories. (Hmmm). I am highly
suspicious of "U.W." stories because I have seen every different kind of
bud referred to as "the U.W.", no two ever alike.
As far as the person who got busted when the power company or the police
helicopter "detected" their grow lights, most of these tales are ones that
the fascists would be happy to have you believe. As for power consumption,
many residences use lots of electricity for many different reasons
including cannabis creation. There is no way that anyone can detect
anything through the power lines. As far as the Infra-red thermal imaging
(heat sensing) technology that a minority of law enforcement have
available, this device can only measure the temperature of an outside
surface like the roof or a wall. High powered lights get quite hot so they
tend to make warm spots, but if your lights are in any well insulated
space like a basement, they may not even show up at all. Also if there is
attic space above the grow room, the outside roof temperature would not be
affected because the air in the attic acts as an insulator. One notable
exception to this rule would be any warm exhaust air flowing out of the
room directly to the outside. On a heat-sensing device this would appear
as a large fountain. This can be avoided by exhausting into another room
(attic, garage, etc.) or up a chimney, instead of directly to the outside.
But listen carefully, students, this is the twist that they want you to
miss- In either case, it is a moot point because if they are using these
techniques on you, then you are already under investigation. If you are
already under investigation, it probably wasn't anyone who you don't know
that "detected" you, get it?
I think that this concept is the underlying point and theme of this whole
book. It cannot be stressed or understood enough that your main problem as
a smart grower will definitely not be law enforcement figuring it out by
themselves.
Jails are chock full of people who would give up their own mothers to get
out. Police forfeitures generate lots of money that they can use to
encourage criminals on the outside to be narcs. Tip lines ring off the
hooks, deluged with calls from people brainwashed with drug-war hysteria,
who think they heard a rumor or smelled something just slightly out of the
ordinary. Cops bust naive kids with a pipe or a bowl, and then threaten
them with anything that will get them to squeal. These are just a few of
the ways that modern law enforcement tries to deal with the responsibility
of having to find and imprison otherwise normal Americans for something as
common and benign as eating donuts. The fastest ways. The least expensive
ways. The easy ways.
Another good tip is that anyone who claims to have the best pot definitely
doesn't. So don't believe what you've heard.
B. Cannabis is a plant
The concept of cannabis creation can be understood most easily by keeping
one simple fact in mind- cannabis is a plant. A very highly evolved plant
for that matter. Plants were not designed to grow indoors. So in order to
have a happy thriving garden indoors, you must fool the plants into
believing that they are in fact outdoors. It is your job to re-create or
simulate to the last detail, The sun, the wind, the rainfall, climate and
soil conditions of the perfect outdoor plot in say, northern California,
Thailand, or Hawaii. In this environment cannabis is the fastest growing
plant on the planet. It processes the suns light (photosynthesizes) more
efficiently than any other fast growing plants such as bamboo, corn or
kenaf.
C. General information about cannabis
Cannabis is a dioecious woody herbaceous annual. Dioecious means that each
plant will have distinct male or female characteristics, woody refers to
the consistency of the stem, herbacious means, yes, pot is an herb, and
annual means that outdoors, if left wild, it will complete its entire
growth cycle, from seed to maturity (seed) in a single season and then
die. This is perfectly normal.
The main active ingredient in cannabis is THC, or delta-9
tetrahydrocannibinol. The THC is concentrated in the resins of the mature
female flowers and to a much lesser degree in the leaves and male flowers.
These parts of the plant are simply dried and then smoked or eaten to
obtain the desired effect.
In over 5000 years of documented medical history, from aincient Chinese
and Babylonian cultures right up to today in the United States, there has
never been a reported overdose or death from ingesting this substance. It
has been estimated that one would have to consume at least seven pounds of
medium quality cannabis in a short period of time just to produce a "toxic
effect" in the human body. Every modern governmental study in the world
convened to examine the issue, including studies by the U.S. Army, the
Jamacian coptic study, Nixon's 1968 LaGuardia Commission and more recently
the Republican governor of California, George Dukemajens' Shaffer
Commission, have all recommended decriminalization. In 1988, the drug
enforcement agency's (D.E.A.'s) own administrative law judge, Francis L.
Young wrote, in an over 60 page long ruling that "it has been clearly
shown [in this court] that cannabis is far less toxic than many foods that
we commonly consume" (like potatoes) and that "it is unreasonable,
arbitrary and capricious" that this substance is placed in "schedule one",
the United States federal governments' category of drugs that includes PCP
and heroin, not even available for prescription by doctors.
There are three important varities of cannabis that you should know about.
Cannabis indica is generally a short (two to six feet) bushy plant well
suited to indoor growing with chunky ripened flowers that can range in
potency from okay to mind-blowing.
Cannabis sativa is generally a wild unruly vine indoors, and outdoors has
been known to reach heights of 16 feet or more, yeilding pounds of
slender, flavorful buds that can range in potency from okay to messing
with the space-time continuum.
The majority of good seed stock and clones available to todays indoor
grower are pure indicas and lots of indica\sativa hybrids (crosses, or
blends) usually leaning towards the indica side.
Cannabis hemp is by far the most important variety of cannabis. Its
flowers would not interest you, in fact they have earned this plant the
nickname "ditch weed". The impressive part of the hemp plant is its stems,
which can provide a stunning array of important and biodegradable
products, such as a natural fiber for papermaking, textiles and to replace
timber products and therefore clear cutting, and cellulose, an industrial
feedstock used to make plastics, chemicals, fibers, non toxic fuels for
heating and generating electricity, and clean burning ethanol to run cars.
Its edible seeds are also impressive, a highly nutritious food containing
critical unsaturated fatty acids as well as more edible protien than
soybeans, and can be used for producing high grade biodegradable oils that
can form the base for paints or lacquers or be used for lubrication. For
endless information on this subject and enlightenment on the meaning of
life on earth, I highly recommend reading "The Emperor Wears No Clothes"
by Jack Herer.
For today we will concern ourselves with only the first two varities of
cannabis; hemp is deserving of its own book.
Although there are technically only these two classifications of high THC
varieties, indica and sativa, cannabis must be thought of on a much
broader scale. An easy way to think of the countless different pure and
hybridized strains of cannabis is to compare them to dogs.
When talking about dogs, hybrids are called mutts, but everyone knows that
mutts can have more character and charm. Like dogs, pure lines can only
come from pure parents. Also, a dog may be a german shepard or a chiuaua,
but just because a dog fits into a category like that dosen't mean that
every shepard or chiuaua is the same as the next. In fact, it's just the
opposite.
All living things have DNA which help determine all of their physical
characteristics. DNA is what insures that no two people, dogs or cannabis
seedlings will ever be alike. Even identical twins are different. For our
purposes, DNA is the code that contains every bit of information as to how
a plant will grow, how it will look, it's potency and every possible trait
that it could ever have. To further the dog analogy, the DNA and thus all
physical features come 1\2 from the female parent and 1/2 from the male
parent, resulting in offspring (seeds or seedlings) that should somewhat
resemble their parents.
Unlike dogs, cannabis can be "cloned". It is very important to understand
the simple basic difference between a seedling and a clone. A seedling is
a plant that was sprouted from a seed that was the product of sexual
reproduction between a male and a female. Approximately one-half of these
seeds or seedlings will be female, and approximately one half male. Each
and every one, regardless of its sex, will be different.
A clone was never a seed. A clone starts out as a growing tip of a larger
established plant (a seedling or a clone) which was cut off, treated with
a rooting hormone, put into its own small container, sprouted roots, and
is now a separate plant, although potentially identical in every way to
the plant that it was taken from. As its name implies, it is an exact
genetic duplicate. As far as the plant is concerned, it is the same plant.
It never died, the DNA stayed intact, so that clone will always be the
same sex, and have the same growth traits as well as the same potential
potency, flavor and high.
This is very handy for the cannabis creator, because all you have to do is
obtain one good clone and every bit of cannabis you create can be exactly
the same, technically never increasing or decreasing in potency. Any
potency variations in a mono-clonal (one clone) sinsemillia (seedless-no
boys=no pollen=no seeds) garden are related to environmental factors and
conditions, maturity, drying techniques, and the presence of a perceptive,
consistent, hard-working grower. (Or the lack thereof).
2. Risk factors
A. Rip-offs, tip-offs and your own big mouth
Reading a chapter entitled "risk factors" of cannabis cultivation in the
United States, one might automatically assume that the subject of that
chapter would be law enforcement. After all, hundreds of millions of
dollars are spent every year by various anti-plant life agencies around
the country on the ferocious war to exterminate this harmless and helpful
species. However, despite the normal paranoia that is a byproduct of the
current system, law enforcement actually only represents about 2% of the
problems that face modern American freedom fighters. Law enforcement
techniques like reducing mandatory sentences for squealers and placing
anti-cannabis ads with 1-800-GROW police hot lines are vivid proof of
exactly how clueless these people are when it comes to where to start
looking for the cunning grower.
Any estimate given by the authorities relating to the percentage of
cannabis seized in a particular time period or area is fabricated. The
truth is that they have no idea how much of the crop was uncovered,
because the remainder went undetected.
By far, the number one risk facing the modern cannabis creator is thieves.
This point cannot be emphasized enough. Rip-offs don't answer to anybody.
They don't care about your civil rights. They dont follow any rules at
all.
In my opinion, people who steal are really at the bottom of the food
chain, period. But people who steal cannabis, especially from the growers,
endangering their freedom, have got to be the saddest, lowest, most
pathetic and most thoughtless (deviod of thought) individuals on this
earth. And they are abundant.
The number one way to get busted is when the ripoffs come to steal your
crop and somehow the cops get called. This may be simply the concerned
neighbor who calls when they see prowlers, or a concerned passer-by who
only witnessed you violently pummeling a would-be intruder with a bat, or
someone who heard gunshots when you shot the scumbag, (not recomended) or
the shots of the scumbag shooting you (less recommended). (It is a serious
legal complication to have a gun at the pot growing location).
The second most common way to get busted is through your girl/boyfriend or
your roommate/grow partner, (love and money are both by nature
de-stabilizing) or anyone else who has knowlege. No matter how much you
trust someone, they might end up telling just one other person, who "they
trust". This person has nothing to lose and will undoubtedly tell just one
other person who "they trust" and who you might not even know. The
cannabis creators' creedo should be "for every one person you tell, that's
too many." It can be good to have a partner if you have a large garden,
because cannabis creation can be a lot of work, but this person should
have just as much to lose as you do. This is the best incentive for both
of you to keep your mouths shut.
Realistically, a small commercial operation (5KW or less), in a good
location, with a good odor control system that only two trusting people
know about is virtually unbustable. You peek out of your blinds for
months, always expecting to see the cops, but the bust only comes when a
Cessna has engine failure and crashes through your roof. In my experience,
I have never seen any cannabis creator get busted because the police
figured it out by themselves. It is true that the slightest hint may get
them on your trail, but it is inversely true that without that, you should
be getting away with your wildest dreams.
B. Number of plants
Under the law, a cannabis creator is judged by one factor and one factor
only; the number of plants in a single residence. A plant is defined as
having roots, so unrooted clones do not count. The cannabis creator must
also learn to distinguish between state and federal law. Washington state
has some of the most leiniant cultivation laws in the country, but this
country has some of the harshest, most evil and draconian penalties on
planet earth. According to state law, the catagories are 1-99, 100-299 and
300 or more. Federal law adds a 50-99 category. It is hard to say exactly
what determines whether a given case will go to state or federal court.
Most cases below 100 plants go to the state because theoretically, the
feds only want the big fish, but this simplistic analogy cannot explain
the arbitrary methods of our warped and corrupt federal government. In
fact the whole theory of saying that a large number of plants equals a
large amount of cannabis is fundamentally flawed. 300-plus plants could
potentially fit under a 400 watt lamp and yeild 6 or 8 ounces of dried
product, or 300 plants could fill a vast outdoor plot or greenhouse and
yield one or more pounds per plant, a considerable difference. So, we find
that living in this state of unreasonable and illogical laws, people learn
to turn the laws around and use them against their oppressor. Case in
point:
A first time offender (no prior felony convictions) will almost never
receive jail time in Washington state court on a case of 1-99 plants, and
certainly no more than 30 days. The maximum penalty is 90 days. This is
very good to know considering that in an averege sized basement, converted
to a 3 to 5KW grow facility, 99 plants or less can easily yield two to
four or more pounds of dried, manicured cannabis each month. When you have
achieved that, and you still aren't meeting your economic goals, you can
easily afford to rent another house or apartment and install 99 more units
to stay within the one-hundred or less prosecution category. Cake.
C. Odor control
There are many common ways to reduce the fragrance of pungent cannabis
flowers, including ionizers (negative ion generators), charcoal filters,
air scrubbers, and chemical sprays. Unfortunately, reduce is the key word
here. None of these methods will do much to eliminate any smells except
from the smallest room or the least stinky garden. There are some strains
of cannabis that are known for their lack of the trademark pot smell, and
are perpetuated for that reason. I realize that you're more likely to find
a charcoal filter than any particular clone, but I am trying to emphasize
that basically, you should be prepared to deal with the beautiful smell of
fragrant cannabis flowers.
Here is a brief overview of how these devices work. Ionizers work by
generating negatively charged ions and dispersing them into the air. When
these negative ions come in contact with positively charged particles
floating in the air like dust or pollen, they change the particles' charge
to negative, causing the particle to "precipitate", or to fall to the
ground. This results in cleaner air, and dirtier floors and walls.
Another kind of ionizer is called a "collector ionizer". These incorporate
some disposable filter and either a positively charged surface which
attracts the ionized particles, or a small fan that moves the air through
the filter (which usually also contains activated charcoal) and then
injects the ions into the outgoing airstream. Charcoal filters are similar
to these but use only the fan and activated charcoal, and are usually
slightly more heavy duty, and seem to work about as well, as long as you
keep the charcoal fresh by changing the filter regularly.
Air scrubbers consist of a large barrel of water with your exhaust piped
into it, like a giant bong, and then to the outside. Pine cleaner and/or
liquid smoke are added to the water to taint the smell. I have never
personally built one of these but the theory makes sense, except that it
seems awkward and I don't think it would work with high-powered exhaust
blowers.
Chemical sprays are used in hospitals and kennels to deal with very harsh
odors. They work, but I personally find the artificial, chemical odor
overwhelming to the point of nausea. I do not recommend these sprays
because they are impractical to use on a continuous basis, and frankly if
its gonna stink, I'd rather have it stink like greenbud.
If you can't find or afford any of the above, a simple trick is to buy a
box of urinal deodorizers from a janitorial supply store, or maybe car
deodorizers, and put one or two next to your exhaust blowers' intake.
Now aside from the above described odor reduction devices there are two
more things that I will recommend for this task. The first one is called
an ozone generator. This mighty device generates ozone, an unstable oxygen
molecule that actually changes the molecular structure of stinky particles
that they come into contact with. This results in total odor elimination.
The proper way to use an ozone generator is piped into your outgoing
exhaust. (The generator has its own small blower built in.) Of course,
like everything, there are trade-offs for this amazing performance. Ozone
can be harmful to plants, animals or people in too high of a
concentration. The only way to use it safely is by using it to treat the
exhaust that is going outside. Also, ozone generators are quite expensive.
The three models that I am familiar with run around $750., $1350., and on
up to $2600., with this most expensive model being quite adequate to
de-stinkify the 5000 C.F.M. exhaust of a large warehouse (25KW) full of
stinkiness. (Yummy!) It seems to most people like a lot to spend, but in
some situations, it can be your saving grace. I recommend ozone for all
commercial growers. If you are interested in this device, try calling
indoor grow supply stores with ads in the little nickel or yellow pages.
The second, most practical and most effective method of odor control is
your exhaust system itself. You will learn later in this book that a good
exhaust system is just as important to happy plants as light or water, and
although this won't actually make the outgoing air less stinky, it allows
you to control where the stinky air goes. For example, lets say you live
in a third floor corner 2 bedroom apartment. One bedroom is your bedroom,
the other is your grow room. A properly installed exhaust system can solve
two odor problems at the same time. One, inside the living space of your
apartment. By leaving your exhaust blower running 24 hours a day, there
will always be "negative pressure" inside the grow room. This simply means
that air will constantly be flowing into the grow room through every
possible crack and opening, and when fresh air is constantly flowing in,
no smell gets out. Two, outside your apartment. By cleverly routing the
exhaust pipe into your unused chimney pipe, or out of the far back corner
of your attic, the smelly air will end up where there are no noses to
smell it- either 4 stories off the sidewalk or parking lot (and heading
up) in the chimney pipe example, or on the backside of your building where
there are no stairs and where nobody hangs out. (If a bud reeks in the
city, but there are no noses to smell it, did it ever really smell at
all?) Another thing to consider in apartment cultivation is that even if
you can smell the weed out in the parking lot, there is no way to tell
which apartment it is coming from. It sounds crazy, but 'round these parts
it happens all the time. Smells pretty good, too.
D. Power consumption
I was reluctant to even include a section about power consumption because
I thought that it would just breed paranoia. Residences all around use
large amounts of power for all kinds of things, including cannabis
cultivation, and there is no way for grow lights to be "detected" by the
power company. However, I do have a list of power saving tips for the
power conscious.
The number one power sucker in your home is the hot water heater. Most of
these units use between 3500 and 7000 watts. Turning off this unit at the
circuit box will dramatically reduce your power bill (not to mention the
length of your showers, ha ha). Number two would be your baseboard
heaters. These are the most wasteful power suckers. A 4-foot long
baseboard unit can draw 1000 watts or more. A small apartment usually has
several of these. Turn them off at the box. Plug-in electric space heaters
usually consume 1000 to 1500 watts. Cold? Hang out with the ganja. (I have
seen electric internal forced air heating systems in large homes that
consume as much power as ten or more 1KW grow lamps. These are ideal grow
houses because by turning off the heat, your bill may not be any higher
than the previous residents). Tied for number three are your dishwasher
and clothes washer. Both of these units use lots of hot water, and the
dishwasher even super-heats the already hot water. The clothes dryer is
also a major culprit. Use paper plates and go to the Laundromat. At number
four we have the refrigerator and freezer. Most people won't want to try
and live without these, but try putting gallon jugs of water in the empty
spaces (if any) of both. Water retains its temperature more efficiently
than air, so your fridge will use less energy. Also, a lot of people seem
to have this thing about leaving all the lights in the house on all the
time. Remember to turn off lights you're not using. Use low wattage bulbs.
If no one is living at the grow facility, all of these appliances should
be turned off at the box and you should be growing a lot of weed.
3. Where to start
A. Choosing a space
Any space is a good space to create cannabis. Ceilings should be a minimum
of about 6 feet. Attics, crawl spaces, alcoves, closets, sheds, barns and
extra bedrooms are good. Basements are the best unless you own property
and happen to have a backhoe and an extra school bus or storage container
to bury. Anything underground is very good. If you need to maximize your
square footage in a small bedroom, take the closet doors off and use that
space just like a part of the room. The space will need a good power
supply (for 2KWs or more, the range or clothes dryer plug will provide
240v power) and access to water (trash barrels filled with a garden hose
are common in spaces that don't have a nearby bathtub or work sink) and
somewhere to vent your exhaust.
B. Lighting
I. AC primer If you don't know anything about household electricity, and
don't want to learn by say, checking a book out from the library on basic
household wiring, then I recommend trying to stay under about 2KW (two
thousand watts) of power use to minimize the risk of fire on, or the
electrocution of, your person. Always keep extention cords off the ground
and keep cord runs as short as possible. Wrap cord connections in duct
tape. If you can't plug your 1KW lamps directly into the wall socket, use
extra heavy duty cords, and never ones over 25 feet long. Never use
spliters or power strips on outlets or cords running 1KW lamps. Never run
more than one 1KW lamp on a single household circuit (15 amp breaker).
Only run circuits at 70 percent of their rated amperage for a safety
margin. The formula to calculate amperage is watts divided by volts equals
amps. (Example: 1000 watt lamp at 120 volts = 8.33 amps). (120 volts is
standard American household wall socket voltage).
If you plan on using more than 2KW, then you should use a "power drop" or
"power board". This is essentially a breaker box that wires directly into
a heavy-duty (240 volt) power source in your residence and is installed
nearby or in the grow room so that you can safley power multiple 1KW
lighting systems. Boxes designed specifically for this purpose are
available at indoor grow supply stores and incorporate a heavy duty timer
that will put up to 8 1KW, 240 volt systems on a timed cycle of your
choice. They can also provide stout supplies of 120 volt power if
nessecary for high amprege, low voltage accesories such as exaust blowers,
fans or heaters. These outlets can be on the timer also, or can be wired
for continuous power. Good indoor grow supply stores will custom make the
board that you want. These boards should have "pigtails" (short fat cords
with molded 240 volt plugs adaptable to your dryer or range outlet).
Alternatively, the board can be purchased without the pigtail and "hard
wired" to a compatible plug or directly to the circuit box with heavy
gauge Romex cable (10 gauge solid copper wire) by someone who surely knows
what they are doing. It's not too complicated, but it can be very
dangerous. Be smart.
II. H.I.D.'s H.I.D. stands for High Intensity Discharge. H.I.D. lamps that
are commonly used for cannabis creation include metal halides (M.H.), high
pressure sodiums (H.P.S.), sodium conversions, balanced spectrum sodiums,
and florescents.
Metal halides are the most common variety of H.I.D. lamp for indoor
horticulture. They also have the shortest service life. Their light output
will drop to 50% of new in only about 6-9 months of regular use, and your
yeilds will drop accordingly, so only new metal halide lamps are suitable.
H.P.S. lamps are substantually brighter than M.H.'s and last longer, but
emit most of their light in a narrow red-orange color band, as opposed to
the M.H.'s full spectrum (all colors), sun-like light.
Sodium conversions are a retro-fit replacement lamp that run in a M.H.
system but use slightly less power and emit light in a more balanced color
spectrum than regular H.P.S. lamps. They also retain thier intensity about
ten times longer than M.H. lamps, but are quite expensive.
Balanced spectrum sodiums were developed by the Dutch specifically for
their world-renowned greenhouses. They started with a H.P.S. to achieve
maximum efficiency and service life, and then tweaked the ingredients in
the lamp to increase the amount of blue light in the light spectrum. The
430 watt son-agro lamp by Phillips was the first balanced spectrum sodium
to hit the market in the U.S., and remains the most efficient (most light
per watt) 400 watt class lamp available. Recently, I have seen Dutch 600
watt balanced spectrum sodium systems available to American growers.
Although they are incompatible and unfamiliar, These systems warrant a
very close look. They claim to produce 90,000 to 100,000 lumens, or about
80% of the output of a new 1000 watt M.H., using only 60% of the
electricity. In a large garden, this efficiency increase could increase
yields significantly.
Florescents are bulky and relativley inefficient, but do provide a good
color spectrum, generate very little heat and have soft, even light
distribution. These characteristics make them very suitable for rooting
clones or for growing very small plants (under 12 inches). They are also
amazingly inexpensive. A four-foot, two-tube shop-lite fixture is only
about ten dollars at your local hardware store. Many different kinds of
tubes are available to put into these fixtures, some fancy models costing
up to 15 dollars or more per tube claiming better growth, but they aren't
any brighter, and that is what the cannabis plant cares most about. "Cool
white" tubes are the smart choice if using florescents. They are the most
common, very inexpensive, usually less than a dollar each, and have a
similar color spectrum to the M.H., good for vegetative growth. The "watts
per square foot" theory applies to flourescents also. (See "Lighting
requirements", below) Florescents use about ten watts per foot per tube,
so a four-foot two-tube unit would consume about 80 watts, and would be
suitable to light four square feet at 20 w.p.f.2. (Minimum vegetative
requirement). These lights do not even compare to the light output of M.H.
or H.P.S. lamps. You should not try to grow tall plants with florescents,
because the lower branches will basically be in the dark, due to the lack
of light intensity over about one foot away from the tubes themselves.
M.H.'s, sodium conversions, and balanced spectrum H.P.S.'s are the choice
of serious cannabis creators for their flowering rooms.
All of these H.I.D.'s work on the same principal. They all have "ballasts"
that plug into the wall, and transform the low voltage household current
(120v or 240v if you are using a power board) into high voltage (480v) to
run the lamp. When you turn it on, a capacitor in the ballast builds up a
huge bolt of energy, which is sent to electrodes at either end of a gas
filled tube inside of the lamp itself (the arc tube). This burst of energy
causes an arc of electricity to jump through the gas and the arc is then
maintained by the high voltage, generating very intense light as a
reaction, thus their name, High Intensity Discharge.
M.H. and H.P.S. lamps come in various wattages, but I mostly only recomend
1KW (1 Kilowatt, or 1000 watt) lamps for flowering rooms, or the
occasional 400 watt for a very small space. Smaller ones such as
Flourescents or 150, 250 and 400 watt H.I.D. systems can be utilized in
vegetative areas with young plants, but if you plan on growing them above
about 14 inches tall in the vegetative room I still recommend using 1KWs
for best results.
These systems consist of: Power cord. Plugs into wall or power board,
supplies ballast with low voltage 120 or 240VAC (Volts AC). Ballast.
Essentially a transformer. Converts the low voltage to high voltage. Lamp
cord. This is a long non-detachable cord that carries the high voltage
from the ballast to the socket assembly. The socket assembly is where the
lamp screws in and also where the hood attaches. The hood is a large
reflective piece that focuses the light downward. The lamp is a vacuum
sealed glass sphere that contains the gas filled tube which emits the
light. All of this usually comes in a package deal for around $250.
There are two main types of hoods, vertical and horizontal. Both refer to
the orientation of the lamp. A vertical hood holds the lamp vertically,
with the socket side up and the tip of the lamp pointing downward. A
horizontal hood holds the lamp horizontally, with the socket on one side
and the lamp sticking out sideways. Vertical systems seem to be more
practical because they are less expensive, less complicated to assemble
and, as long as all the walls are lined with Mylar, they distribute more
direct light more evenly.
III. Mylar After you have gone to considerable trouble and expense to
achieve proper lighting in your space, it only makes sense to be aware
that to get the maximum light levels (i.e. fat buds) out of your system,
the plants need to be surrounded (four sides) with a highly reflective
surface. Other things have traditionally been used such as tin foil or
space blankets, but these are totally ineffective, even compared to flat
white paint, which is a better alternative.
Mylar is a highly reflective plastic sheeting used to bounce light back on
to the plants. Using mylar is the most effective and economical way to
increase the critical light levels in any indoor garden. It is by far, the
most reflective material available to line your grow area, so that your
precious light is directed onto and absorbed by your plants, and not the
surfaces of the area surrounding them. It comes in rolls that are
generally about 4 feet wide, in thicknesses of 1 or 2 mil. (Thousandths of
an inch). 2 mil. is about 40% more expensive, and both thicknesses reflect
equally, but the 1 mil. tends to be hard to work with and wrinkles easily,
whereas the 2 mil. goes up more like a mirror and is easier to re-use. It
should be hung on all walls that face the plants, and lightweight,
moveable barriers can be made for the sides that open to the room using
foam insulating board, cardboard, or frames built from 1x2's, and covered
using duct tape and staples. To prevent staples from tearing the mylar it
is a good idea to put a piece of duct tape over the spot where you are
going to staple it, then staple through the tape several times. Adhesive
caulk can be used to hang it on concrete or brick surfaces.
IV. Lighting requirements As far as lighting requirements for a given
space, try to think on a watts-per-square-foot basis. If you learn to do
this from the beginning, you will find that it is an easy and consistent
way to relate the relative brightness of any grow area. (Also,
yield-per-square-foot is a good way to track production). You will also
find a direct link between this brightness and the growth habits, bud
density and overall yield of your plants. To calculate the square footage
of your area, multiply (L)ength times (W)idth. Then divide the square feet
into the total watts of all the lamps. This figure is your watts per
square foot (w.p.f.2). A minimum of about 20-30 w.p.f.2 will be adequate
for the vegetative area and 30 to 40 w.p.f.2 or more is recommended for
highest yields and vigorous growth during flowering.
C. Ventilation
Outdoors, plants are exposed to constant fresh air, so they are supplied
with an unlimited amount of carbon dioxide. Indoors, the air is mostly
stagnate, so the cannabis creator uses high powered exaust fans to
simulate the outdoor fresh air enviroment. The growers ventilation system
actually serves many purposes. By constantly removing hot, humid air out
of the grow space, the exaust serves to reduce high humidity levels caused
by water evaporation [from wet soil or reserviors] in the room, and to
control the substantial heat created by 1KW H.I.D. systems. As the stale
air is removed, fresh air flows into the room to take the place of the old
air, which will be depleted of carbon dioxide by fast growing cannabis
plants. This fresh air contains lots of fresh carbon dioxide for the
plants to breathe. Also, as discussed earlier, your exaust system is your
most obvious and effective means of odor control. These are reasons why
for the serious indoor horticulturist, ventilation is not an option! It is
mandatory. Ventilation is just as important as adequate light or water.
This means that you not only need to exhaust a lot of air out of the room,
but vigorously circulate the air inside the room as well. 16-inch
oscillating fans and 20-inch box fans are good to place inside the room
for blowing fresh air around the plants. Except in the case of very young
plants that are not yet established or not growing quickly, generally more
is better, especially in flowering. Plants that have been exposed to
vigorous air circulation grow much sturdier and more vigorously than
plants that have not.
Exhaust blowers, (also called squirrel cage fans) are rated by C.F.M.
(cubic feet per minute). Good ventilation means having a blower that will
keep your average temperatures around 78 degrees and your realitive
humidity at about 50%. If you have no idea what to get, start with about
150 to 250 C.F.M. per 1KW H.I.D. lamp and ballast. Common sizes include
100, 265, 465,745 and 980 C.F.M.. The fart fan in your bathroom is usually
rated at about 55 C.F.M..
Four inch dryer duct is only adequate for up to 100 C.F.M.. Above that you
should use 7, 8 or 10-inch aluminum flex-duct for up to 1000 C.F.M.. Keep
the run as short as possible and avoid sharp turns for maximum airflow.
Connecting exhaust blowers to the ducting used to be a labor intensive
task involving razor blades, several cardboard boxes and an entire roll of
duct tape. Today, your local hardware store carries an amazing new product
called spray insulating foam. Try some. Apply liberally.
D. Soil and Buckets
Although any prepackaged potting soil will do, For production purposes, I
recommend Pro-Mix. It comes in bales, is fairly easy to find and consists
primarily of Canadian peat moss and perlite. This provides proper ph
levels, does not pack down easily and won't remain soggy, allowing the
roots to "breathe" (healthy roots need a good balance of oxygen and water)
and therefore also allowing you good control over the watering/fertilizer
regimen. It is also very inexpensive as compared to other options.
Although the hand watering and appearance of the media may make you think
that this is a soil-based system, it is actually a quasi-hydroponic setup
in which the medium provides the optimum water-to-oxygen ratio, and not
the nutrients to the roots (plant). All nutrients are provided by regular
fertilization with a high-quality, full-spectrum, hydroponic formula which
is dissolved in the water at watering time.
Normal potting soils and other heavier soils can be amended with about 2
or 3 parts peat moss and perlite and/or vermiculite to one part soil to
decrease water retention. Heavy, soggy soils create unhappy root
conditions. A simple test for any soil is this: take a handful of wet soil
and squeeze it into a ball in your fist. When you open your hand it should
fall apart or fall apart with a slight poke. If it becomes a solid ball
after you squeeze it, it is probably not suited for your purposes. When
filling the buckets, do not pack the soil down. Break up any chunks. The
consistency of dry soil should be light and fluffy. As far as buckets go,
a simple rule of thumb is about 2 gallons of capacity per foot of the
height of the finished plant. Too small of a container can definitely
restrict growth and cause watering problems. Most growers I know
transplant rooted clones into 2 gallon containers for vegetative growth,
and then transplant them into 7 gallon containers for flowering. Gro-bags
are convenient for getting stealthily in or out, as they make a much
smaller package than a stack of buckets. Their squat, squarish shape is
also well suited for indoor growing.
E. Hydroponics
Hydroponics is Latin for "working water." The concept is very simple.
Instead of growing plants in soil that is naturally rich in organic
nutrients (like compost or various poop), the plants grow in a media that
provides the roots (plant) only with physical support, and a supply of
oxygen to the roots that is unachievable in normal soil based systems.
Rockwool, the most popular hydroponic medium, with its near-perfect oxygen
to water retention capabilities has been the home of some of the
healthiest, fastest growing, most vigorous plants I have ever seen. The
nutrients are provided solely when the media is periodically flushed or
soaked in water that has the necessary nutrients dissolved in it. This is
usually accomplished with a simple set up of pumps and sequence timers,
which deliver the solution out of a reservoir to each plant using
drip-emitters that water each container individually, or ebb and flow
techniques that fill and then drain trays or tables. This is called
"active hydroponics" where the water is actively moved around. The Pro-mix
based system described in this book is essentially a "passive" (no pumps,
no timers) hydroponic system, because the media doesn't provide the
nutrients, they are provided dissolved in the water at watering time.
Unfortunately, As with many simple concepts, hydroponics doesn't
necessarily translate easily to reality. Most hydroponic media leave
little room for error, and one mistake can spell disaster. I recommend
full blown hydro set-ups only to the experienced grower who has a keen
sense of all of the needs of his or her plants.
4. Growth Cycle
A. Photoperiod
This is the part about how you make your clones or seedlings (that is to
say, small young plants that consist only of stems and leaves) into plants
with big, fat, juicy buds.
In the wild, male and female cannabis plants sprout in the spring, and
grow side by side through the summer. At some point in the summer, they
begin their flowering cycle. Shortly after that, the males' flowers start
to mature, shedding their pollen into the air, pollinating the females'
adolescent flowers, which then grow multitudes of seeds. When the frost
comes, the plants die and the seeds are scattered around the surrounding
area. Some seeds may be eaten by birds or other animals and may be passed
through the animal and dropped in another location, nature's way of
spreading it around. Then comes winter, the rain and/or snow come, and
some of these seeds get covered with a layer of composted leaves and/or
soil or dung, in the animal case, and soon the cycle begins again. Spring
comes, sun shines, and behold a seedling- or a whole generation of
seedlings.
When the seeds sprout, it is early in the spring and the days are much
longer than the nights. The advanced cannabis plant actually has the
ability to measure the length of each night (thus photoperiod, or a
photoperiod determinate plant). As long as the nights are short enough,
the cannabis plant will grow only stems and leaves (vegetatively). About
halfway through the summer there comes a point where the days and nights
are equal length (equinox) and it is about this time that most varieties
of cannabis begin their flowering cycle. First stem and leaf production
will suddenly accelerate; some varieties will double in size during the
first 10 days or two weeks. Then upward growth slows, in some cases,
stopping altogether, and the tedious slow process of flower production
begins. This continues, buds building on buds for the rest of the summer
until they are ripe. If the males are removed before they shed their
pollen, the females will continue to flower, hoping for some pollen to
float by. As long as it doesn't, you will eventually have a crop of
ripened 'sinsemillia' buds.
Indoors, this cycle is very simple to replicate. You must have two
separate areas for growth. A vegetative area with 24-hour continuous or 18
hours on, 6 hours off "short night" light for clones, seedlings and plants
that are still to small "to put into flowering", and another, usually much
larger space in which the light(s) are on a timer (12 hours on-12 hours
off every day). It is important that during the dark cycle you do not
interrupt your plants' "sleep." Even a small amount of light reaching the
plants for a short period of time during the dark cycle can substantially
interfere with the flowering cycle, causing the plants to be set back a
week or more by causing what is known as photoperiod shock, when a plant
can't figure out what season you are trying to duplicate. It should be
pitch dark in the flowering room for 12 or even 13 hours every night, and
then damn bright for the rest of the time. Usually after 45 to 60 days of
this, if you have all females, you will be able to recognize your goal.
Most indoor varieties will double or triple in size from the time when you
put them on this 12-hour cycle until the time they are done. For example,
a plant that is put into flowering when it is one foot tall may only reach
a finished height of two or three feet, but a plant that is two feet tall
when you begin flowering it could grow to be four to six feet tall and
quite a large bush. Larger plants yield more buds, but take up
proportionately more space and take a longer time to grow to the desired
flowering size than small plants.
This is why I say that your yield is based more on the amount of light in
your room, not the number of plants, their size, or the amount of space
they are in. (Light is usually the 'limiting factor' indoors).
An easily achievable goal should be 1 pound per 1KW per crop cycle. One
pound may come from two monsters that each take up half the space under a
1KW light and yield a half-pound each, or 1 pound might come from 32
1-foot tall plants that each yield only
½ ounce each but will finish in arelatively shorter time and also take less time to grow in the vegetative
stage to the desired flowering size, perhaps only 6 or 8 inches.
Larger yields can easily be achieved per crop utilizing certain varieties
with longer flowering periods, (up to 90 days or more) but over time, your
total yields will probably be about the same, because you could of had two
crops of a faster, lower yielding variety in the same time. It is a
trade-off no matter how you do it, it just depends upon your own ideas
about what you want.
It is important just to remember that assuming all environmental factors
are as described, your overall yield will be determined primarily by the
amount of light and also to some extent the variety or strain you happen
to have.
B. Sprouting and Cloning
I assume you have already read the section entitled "Cannabis is a Plant."
If you have not, then do so now!
Sprouting cannabis seeds is a simple matter. Before you plant your seeds
in the soil, you should germinate them by placing them between two paper
towels soaked with distilled water, placed on a plate and covered with
plastic wrap. Kept in a warm, dark place, the seeds should sprout in about
3 to 7 days. Gently put the seedling, sprout-end up, about one-half to one
inch below the pre-moistened soil.
Cloning is a much more complicated matter. It requires either some skill,
or a green thumb, or fanatical attention to detail, or a lot of trial and
error, or possibly all of the above. I think of cloning as an incubation
process and have decided that maintaining a constant warm temperature
(75-80) is the key factor.
This is the concept. Cut a small piece from an existing plant that is in
the vegetative growth stage or one that has been in flowering for less
than 2 weeks, (the key here is that is should not have any flowers on it)
about 3 to 4 inches long. This piece must be a growing tip of the plant,
not a leaf, (though a clone may have a number of leaves on it), but a
piece on that new growth has been apparent at its tip. This does not mean
that it has to come from the top of the plant, because on any healthy,
well-established plant there should be many, or perhaps dozens of growing
tips all over it. Handle this piece gently, and using a new razor blade,
cut a small piece just about 1/16th of an inch from where the first cut
was made, at a 45-degree angle. This exposes the moist, tender inner
portion of the stem. For larger clones you may want to cut off one set of
the lowest leaves also, leaving approximately 1/16th-inch stubs of the
leaf stems. The razor blade can also be used to very gently scrape some of
the outer skin off the lower portions of the stem that will be under the
soil, again, for the purpose of exposing the tender inner portion of the
stem. This should all be done as quickly as possible. Then using rooting
hormone, such as Rootone Powder or Dip-n-Gro liquid (diluted 13 parts
water to 1), dip the lower part (the part that has been cut and scraped,
the part that will be under the soil) of the clone into the hormone and
then carefully place it into a hole that was pre-poked in the media using
a nail or toothpick.
You can use paper, plastic or Styrofoam cups (always poke holes in the
bottom) or small buckets (less than one-half gallon) to hold the soil, or
Jiffy-7 peat [moss] pellets, which are small discs that when soaked in
water, expand into a cylinder that is basically just peat moss in a tiny
nylon sack. These work well for larger batches because of their small
size. Place the whole unit inside of some kind of humidity tent or dome,
maybe a plastic Ziploc bag for one or two clones in party cups, or a 11x21
inch propagation tray for larger batches for example, to retain the
moisture. Small pots evaporate quickly, and since the clone has no roots
with which to draw up water, it needs to be kept in a high humidity
atmosphere or it will dry out and die promptly.
Absolutely the most important factor is not to over saturate the soil, it
should barely feel moist to the touch. Remember- for roots to grow, they
need oxygen just as much as they need water. It is as easy to kill a clone
with too much water as it is to kill it by letting it dry out. Spray
bottles work well to mist the clones. Place the newly planted clones under
fluorescent lights on a continuous 24-hour per day light cycle.
Florescents should be kept within about a foot or less from the clones for
maximum effectiveness. "Cool white" tubes work very well and are very
inexpensive. They generate very little heat and have soft, even light
distribution. A 4-foot "shop-light" fixture can be purchased at the
hardware store for less than $10 and two tubes to fit it should run about
$1 each. This is sufficient light for two 11x21 inch (standard size)
propagation trays. Each tray can hold up to about 25-30 clones in Jiffy-7
pellets. Keep the temperature steady and warm, and after about one week,
if you are doing well, or two weeks if you need improvement, roots will
suddenly sprout directly out of the stem and the clone will start to grow.
As soon as this happens, it should be taken out of the dome, transplanted
if necessary, and moved into the vegetative area, not too close to the
light, not too close to the fan.
C. Sex and sexing
The only way to tell the sex of a cannabis plant is after it has been
flowering for at least two weeks. Examine the internodes, or the place
where two stems meet. Two little white hairs in a "V" are a female flower,
while strange-looking bunches of grape like flowers indicate a male. Make
sure to cut the males as soon as they show their sex unless you want a
batch of seeds with your female buds, in which case cut all the males
except for the best one (you judge) and then cut it as soon as the little
grapes (pollen sacks) start to pop open. The branches of these males can
be placed in water and put in a sunny window. The pollen sacks will
continue to pop open for several days and you can carefully collect an
apply the pollen to just the females you want to seed. Remember that there
is enough pollen in a single male flower to pollinate thousands of female
flowers. If you grow only females the results will be sinsemilla (Spanish
word for seedless or without seed).
5. Limiting Factors
There are five limiting factors to plant growth. Any green plant needs all
five of these things to be available to it or growth will slow or stop.
Each one is just as important as the others, and more or too much of one
will absolutely not make up for lack of any other. Limiting factors are
each a link in the chain. The weak link is the one that is slowing the
plants down. If you think you have a problem, it is most likely one of
these five things.
A. Water
Plants need water. All residential water supplies are treated with
chlorine which is not good for plants. Evaporate the chlorine out of the
water by leaving it in open containers such as milk jugs or barrels for 24
to 48 hours before using.
The proper way to water an established plant is to saturate the soil, then
do not water again until the soil feels dry at the tip of your finger
poked into the soil, and the container feels light. You can tell just by
watching the plants. Experienced growers who are intimate with their
plants can tell that they will need to be watered 2 or even 3 days before
they do simply by looking at them. Lower leaves may lose their turgidity,
and the whole plant, though seemingly unaffected, may actually seem to
shrink. The moment they start to droop you have waited too long.
Overwatering is a most common mistake. Usually, the plant is not growing
satisfactorily due to another limiting factor, and the hapless cultivator
tries to give it more and more water and/or fertilizer, essentially
drowning the roots and killing the plant.
B. Light
People who are not familiar with the 1KW lighting systems that are
commonly used in northwestern grow rooms are often shocked at the blinding
light intensities that they can generate. Sometimes I like to turn the
lights off and point out to them how dark it is without them. No man made
light source will ever match the intensity of the sun. Without adequate
light or light in the correct [color] spectrums, green plants will not
grow. Cannabis is arguably the most light-loving plant species on the
planet. A cannabis plant that does not get enough light will be sad and
spindly with small leaves and buds and a lot of stem. If you follow the
directions in here under 'lighting', you should not have a problem. Don't
be suprised if it seems bright, it's supposed to be. In fact, I have taken
to wearing mountaineering sunglasses with side panels and U.V. protection
whenever I am in my grow rooms, due to the fact that I have noticed my
vision deteriorate over the years, undoubtedly from constant exposure.
These type of shades also have rubber hooks that go around the backs of
your ears to keep them on your head when you are looking down all the
time.
C. Nutrients
Chemical fertilizers are the easiest way to maintain the nutrient needs of
a large garden. These should not be associated with strange tasting or
"chemical" tasting buds. Many of the best soil growers use high quality,
mass produced, full spectrum nutrient formulas to produce top quality
cannabis. Also the vast majority of all hydroponic gardens use full
spectrum chemical fertilizers due to a lack of completely water soluble
organic liquids. The only thing you can do to blow it is to overfertilize.
Follow directions. Your plants will tell you when they need fertilizer. A
well-fertilized plant will be dark green and vigorous, while a plant that
needs fertilizer will be a slightly pale green and have yellowing leaves
and slow growth. You know you fertilized at the right time if they are
back thriving in the next few days. Always remember that more fertilizer
won't help if any of the other limiting factors are not taken care of.
However, there is another group of people that insist that only organic
nutrients, such as various guanos (a.k.a. turds), blood meal, bone meal,
various seaweeds, or organic composts etc. be used to provide the nutrient
needs for the very most premium flower production. I have experimented
with organics and had great results, with increases in resin production
(not nessecarily THC production), and overall health, and also a slightly
more pungent smell and sometimes slightly enhanced taste, but I believe
that for the most part, these differences are extremely subtle and
noticable only to the connoisseur. For production purposes, I always end
up coming back to the "grow juice" as it's called, just because it's
easier. Actually, it smells better too.
D. Oxygen
Only the plant's roots need oxygen. They absorb it in the same way that
leaves absorb carbon dioxide, and use it to build sugars and carbohydrates
(grow). Oxygen is the main component of the air we breathe. This is the
reason why over watering is a problem. As the soil dries out the roots are
exposed to oxygen. If the soil remains saturated, the roots are starved of
oxygen, suffocating, basically drowned.
E. Carbon Dioxide
The leaves of all green plants absorb carbon dioxide out of the air, use
the carbon, and transpire the leftover O2, or oxygen, into the air. This
absorbsion is the equivalent of our breathing, except that humans and
animals absorb oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide as a by-product. One
theory of why plants like you to talk to them is that they are being
bathed in a stream of carbon dioxide-rich air. For cannabis, this must be
similar to a pro athlete breathing from an oxygen tank.
If the air in the room is stagnant the plants will quickly use up the
carbon dioxide and stop growing. Adequate carbon dioxide levels can be
maintained with good ventilation and by having vigorous air circulation
around the plants. Carbon dioxide enrichment systems are available, but
they were the first thing to go when I edited for simplicity. I'll leave
them to the adventurous. I personally think that if mother nature doesn't
need it, neither do I. However, I should mention that if you are using a
hydroponic rockwool-based system, by adding CO2 enrichment, you have
essentially eliminated four out of five of the limiting factors, water,
nutrients, oxygen and CO2. Using extremely high light levels in addition
to this setup can result in what can only be described as
"super-charging".
6. Potency, maturity, harvesting and drying
A. When to Harvest
The single most important factor in the potency of your crop of cannabis
is the plants themselves. Any given clone or seedling has a
pre-determined, genetically set, potential potency in its DNA. Once you
have finished, dried and sampled a certain healthy, mature bud, a clone of
that plant will only vary about 5 to 10 percent in potency no matter what
techniques are used to grow it. Good buds are born, not made.
The second most important factor is the maturity, or ripeness of the buds.
As the buds get bigger and bigger, you will notice that some of the hairs
(pistils) on the buds which were all white to begin with, will start to
wither and turn red. When about 65 to 75 percent of the all the hairs on
the buds have turned red and new growth seems to slow (usually after about
45 to 60 days in the flowering cycle for most pure indicas and 50/50
hybrids), the buds should be ripe for harvest.
Something else to watch is the crystals, which should appear under a
magnifying glass like tiny clear mushrooms of resin. If they begin to tint
amber or yellow, it is a sign that the THC (which is concentrated 95
percent in these crystals) is starting to degrade into two less
psychoactive byproducts: CBD and CBN. If you notice this happening the
plant has already reached its maximum potential and should be harvested
immediately unless it is very large, possibly in which case individual
parts of the plant may ripen before others. Once again, every one of the
infinite number of cannabis varieties is different, and with "faster"
strains, (that is, varities that finish sooner), you have to be more
careful about this over-ripening, whereas some strains seem to continue on
flowering forever without ever ripening as it is described here. You just
have to watch and use your good judgment. If you aren't sure, then wait.
The last few weeks is the time when buds are bulking up the most
weight-wise, and with a good sized crop, days can turn into extra ounces.
When you have waited this long, you can wait a little longer.
B. Harvesting, Manicuring and Drying
Harvesting is easy. Cut the plant into manageable sections and trim all
the large multi-fingered leaves off of the buds. Single-fingered leaves
that stick out of the thick part of the buds should be trimmed to the
circumference of the bud. These trimmings, when properly dried, make good
joint rolling material.
When you are manicuring, you may find yourself with an unbelievably sticky
coating on your fingers and scissors. This is almost pure resin, otherwise
known as finger hash. If you start out with clean hands and clean
scissors, you can collect this substance by gently rubbing your fingers
together in small circles. Do not try to use heavy pressure between your
fingers. This stuff is so sticky I have seen it take skin off. You might
not mind losing a bit of skin but smoking it is no fun. Instead gentle
circles will produce little tiny pieces that look like the dust from a
pencil eraser. These pieces can be rolled together into small BB sized
balls. Scissors can be scraped in a process a lot like pipe scraping. All
of these little pieces together can add up to hours of quality
entertainment for a room full of stoners, if you know what I mean. It is
best to use a small piece of bud underneath these resin balls (a green
screen) because like pipe resin it melts when a flame touches it and will
go right through a screen. Extra stickiness comes off your fingers
effortlessly with a little butter or margarine (don't try to smoke this).
Hang the manicured buds on some hemp twine (like clotheslines) in the
drying room. The idea of hanging is to facilitate even, thorough drying.
Although they can be laid out on newspapers, I found that this leaves
unsightly flat spots on the buds and they can remain wet for longer
because the air cannot circulate around all sides. Keep tematures
moderate, around 75 and around 50% humidity. You may need to use a
ventilation system to reduce humidity if your drying room is particularily
crowded (I hope you have this problem!), or a heater if it is too cold. I
recommend placing a small fan in the room to circulate the air, especially
if using a heater. Usually in about seven days, your buds will be ready to
smoke. Do not be fooled if after three or four days the buds feel dry to
the touch. If put into bags, the moisture that remains on the inside will
transpire into the outer dry parts and will result in an unacceptable
degree of wetness.
Now, I've really tried to keep the commentary to a minimum here, and pot
knows, it's hard when you are the writer, editor and publisher, BUT, this
rant I must have.
Improperly dried pot is unacceptable for smoking and useless for
enlightenment purposes. One of the reasons that pot is commonly sold
wholesale, to smiling customers, for as much as the going rate for gold,
is because the grower has had to dry it out before selling it. This drying
cannot be veiwed as losing money. No one should ever have to pay this
amount of money for water. Drying is merely the process of evaporating
water, purifying the buds down to just the essence of their remarkable
existence.
As the buds dry, clorophyl breaks down into more simple, easy-burning
sugars. Harsh smoking characteristics such as a green or shakey taste
diminish. The true unadulterated flavor can come through. The THC itself
evaporates a water molecule, making the THC psychoactive, giving the high
a greater feeling of spaciousness, enhanced perception and appreciation of
beauty, as well as seemingly miraculous medical benefits.
The buds attain a level of combustabillity such that you will be able to
crumble them into a firm, lip-smacking, even burning spliff of Rasta
revelry, or receive a prompt flow of thick, cool, flavorful smoke from
your favorite waterpipe, as soon as the flame touches the bud.
Needless to say, the disappointment to the consumer of not being able to
get stoned after finally acquiring the desired object, a bag of weed, at
great time and expense to all, is definitley severe. This is compounded
when you are one of the ever growing number of people who use this
substance to relieve pain and suffering incomprehensible to healthy
people. Dry pot is the balm of the sick, a miracle cure-all. Ask them.
Every stoner knows that kind, dry buds are probabally the single greatest
gift to mankind ever. If you do not plan on thoroughly drying the buds you
grow with every bit as much care as you took growing them, then you shall
not be worthy of the title "cannabis creator" and I should now beg and
implore you to: (A.) give this guide to someone who will, or (B.) burn
this guide. Why? Because I wouldn't want anyone thinking that I was
associated with you. Selling undried buds, even at wholesale prices is a
definite karma no-no, and smoking them is totally defeating the purpose.
I know there are money hungry people out there- it's even considered
normal in our materialistic consumer based society. Thats the greatest
thing about this occupation- you can set your own salary by growing as
much pot as you want- but the way for a righteous non-greedy cannabis
creator to estimate yields (and therefore profits) is simply, only on a
dried basis, Thank you.
This concludes The Home Cannabis creator, everything you ever wanted to
know about cannabis creation but were afraid you would be detected by the
power company. Good luck and a happy high!