Some useful links on growing (continually updated)

Mr. Krip;1317546 said:

I recently posted this in my grow journal, and its received some good response, so I thought I'd post it here also...

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WHAT THE GOOD GROWERS ALREADY KNOW

Now that I've finished harvesting my first two plants, I thought I'd share my "Top 5 Tips for New Growers".

I hope this will help others out there, especially the newer growers, who are being bombarded with all kinds of new and different information and having to try to figure out what's worth remembering.

Here's the stuff to remember!

1) As far as soil or hydro, which brand of nutes, which type of lights (LED, CFL, MH, HPS, T5, etc.), what's the best way to train (FIM, Top, LST, SCROG, etc.), and other questions related to technique - The "best method" is the one(s) that work for you! Different growers have different styles of growing and where one method, or nute regime, works great for one grower, another may have better success with something different. Opposing methods are not something to argue over, they are something to learn from. The more techniques you learn, the more you can experiment with to find the method that works best for you.

2) The plant is a living organism that will do its best to survive and thrive like any other living organism. That means, as growers, our plants don't die. WE kill them! We do this by NOT giving them what they need to survive. They need water, light, air, nutrients, and a favorable climate. If we can provide these, the plants repay us for it with bountiful harvests of great meds!

3) Before you start worrying about spending lots of money on nutes, put your money into providing a good environment for your plants. Proper lighting, ventillation, humidity, and temperatures will do more for maintaining healthy plants than any nutes you'll find. I'd rather grow with lower quality nutes in a good environment than try to make a go using the best nutes in a bad environment.

4) Part of maintaining the right environment MUST include PH. Once again, it doesn't matter how good your nutes are (or how good you think they are!), if the PH is out of range, the nutrients may not be able to be absorbed by the plants. Often I'll see growers who have a perfectly sound nute regime identify a deficiency and then try to make up for it by simply adding more nutes and never checking/adjustig PH. Then they say something like, "geez...I'm giving the plant tons of phosphorous but she's still showing a phosphorous deficiency!" Well, before you give the plant more Phosphorous, you should ask yourself, "why, if I'm on a sound nute regime, is the plant showing a P deficiency?" The answer will most likely be related to PH or other environmental factors and NOT the lack of Phosphorous in the nutes.

5) Listen to the plants! I had numerous growers tell me to do this before I really understood what it meant. It's not only being able to look at the plants to identify a specific issue, or when to harvest, but on it's most basic level, it's to determine that you have an issue before it becomes a BIG issue. For example, if you walk in your growroom and see your plants looking a little droopy, don't think "Well, I'll just give it another day and see if it gets any worse". It will! Your plants are telling you there's SOME issue...maybe overwatering, maybe underwatering, maybe temps, RH, or something else, but don't expect it to get better unless and until YOU make some adjustments!

Happy Harvests!

K

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DocBud;1274094 said:

I did not watch the video yet...but if you're talking about popping seeds, please don't use the paper towel method. It breaks all the rules and is only really good for 5th grade science class. Sure, seeds germinate this way and you can grow plants.....but it's far from the best way!

Here are the rules....not my rules....but actual scientific rules based on plant biology.

1.)Do not expose the roots to light
2.)Do not handle or disturb roots
3.)Allow the emerging radicle to orient itself via gravitropism (look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about)
4.)Keep bright light on the emerging seedling

What this mean is that you should germinate in such a way that the seed and root are in total darkness, IE under the soil.

Soak the seeds in water for 18 hours then plant them 1/4 inch deep in soil or vermiculite or a rapid rooter, oasis cube, etc.

If you want more females, make sure they emerge under bright light and temps of about 72-74 degrees with a weak 3-1-2 nutrient charge.

The first 24 hours of a seed's life is a huge determiner of sex.....I've got some long posts here and there on the forum regarding seed germination if anyone cares to search. But if you learn one thing....DON"T USE THE PAPER TOWEL METHOD.

Soak 'em and plant 'em.

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DocBud;1299052 said:

Well, here is my veg and early flower watering method. After 4 or 5 weeks of bloom I leave out the humidity part:

1.)Water when lights come on. Six hours prior to lights on, turn up the RH to 80%.

2.)Mix up nutes, teas, snowstorm...whatever you're going to feed. I run about 3 gallons through a 2 gallon pot each time I water.

3.)Water the plants when the light comes on and decrease the humidity back to normal, 50-60%

4.)I let them really dry out between watering, almost to the point of wilting, but not quite.

I don't know if this is the "best" way to water.....but it has allowed me to grow some very large plants in relatively small pots.....like plants that yield 5 oz in organic soil in 1.5 gallon pots.....that was what a couple of the Querkles gave me. Ya'll see the pics I post.....I'm trying to get really resinous plants. My theory is that they go through the summer monsoons, get big and healthy, and then temps drop, it gets dryer and they finish.

I'm sure you could vary and adapt this technique in many ways, but I think the humidity thing has real merit. The growth rate after a watering in veg is pretty remarkable.

Warning:This will leach a bunch of nitrogen from the soil....and everything else. You either have to have really rich soil, or OC+ for this technique to be effective. (Or you can feed every time you water) It's great if you want your plants to fade, and they taste really, really good.

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SteveHman;1258350 said:

I’m new to the “hobby” of growing MMJ and have done quite a bit of reading. The one thing I’ve found is the more I read, I realize I need to read more. Education is key to any endeavor and this one is no different. So, I’ve decided to compile a few of my lessons learned after completing two grows and am now in my third. I hope that this will help some new growers as they are working their way through the growing process.

1. Read—a lot: There are some great forums on this site that will provide you with the answers to most of the questions asked. Learn how to use the search tool for the forums and bookmark (or subscribe) to some of the sticky posts.

Some of the forums I’ve bookmarked and refer back to frequently are:
https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/how-grow-marijuana-everything-you-need-know.81264/
https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/plant-abuse-chart.71664/
https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/how-ask-grow-support.83620/

2. Follow other Growers: Depending on the type of grow you are doing, someone has already done it—successfully. Look through the Grow Journals and find one that closely matches what you are trying to accomplish. I am using LEDs in a Hydro setup, so I follow journals using similar methods. Read the journal from page 1 through the end before asking questions of the grower or other contributors. Nothing is more frustrating than having to answer the same question multiple times because you were too lazy to do the reading.

3. Don’t fall in love with your setup: I have seen people argue vehemently that they have the BEST system ever. Of course if you have spent a lot of time and money on building your system you don’t want to admit that it’s not the best. Every system has its own merits and I have toyed with three variations of mine. I will continue to tinker and look for ways to simplify the system and increase yields.

Don’t bash someone else’s system because you think you’re an expert grower. If you don’t have some great results using your setup, or are constantly making excuses for why your system didn’t perform then you shouldn’t be telling other growers that yours is the way to grow. Not everyone loves vanilla that’s why B&R sells 31 flavors.

4. Ask for help only when you’ve exhausted tips 1 and 2: I have read at least 4 new posts a day asking simple questions that should be common knowledge to every grower before they crack their first seed or take their first clone. If it is not common knowledge to you, then educate yourself first. Buy some books, read some journals and go through all of the FAQs on this and any other site. Google is a great resource too.

When you’ve exhausted all avenues and need to ask for help, please follow the guide lines posted:
https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/how-ask-grow-support.83620/
They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that is definitely the case here.

5. Don’t pass yourself off as an expert if you can’t back it up: I have read some spurious posts from people that are making some pretty outrageous claims. If you are making bold statements about a plants particular process, how certain wavelengths of light affect growth, how root development works, you better have some proof to back it up. There are a lot of first-time growers here that are looking for ways to improve yield, save money and grow some meds for their personal use.

• If you are giving out advice based on your gut feeling, please keep it to yourself.
• If you are an experienced (master) grower and have years of experience then please share.
• Unless you have a degree in microbiology, botany or another related science, don’t tell me that plants excrete waste from their roots. Advanced growing is a science and unless you possess the proper credentials please don’t pass on pseudo-science to the rest of us. If you find an interesting article from a peer-reviewed publication then please share it.

6. Share your experience online: Start a journal, even if you get no followers it will force you to take readings, measurements and give you a historical record of your grow so that you can either repeat it, or improve on it. If you do get some followers then you will reap the benefit of their input on what you’re doing. And let’s face it, we all want to brag about what we’re doing and talking about it at work or with your neighbors is just a bad idea.

7. Respect your fellow growers : Doesn’t require an lengthy explanation.

8. Support 420’s Sponsors: They help keep this community going and growing. When possible send business their way.

9. Support your local Hydro Shop: If you live in California, there’s a Hydro shop about as frequently as there are Starbuck’s. When you need to find that emergency item and can’t wait for it to be shipped you will need to visit them. If they don’t have a good customer base they won’t be able to stay in business to provide you that support.

My local guy is awesome, I get a 15% discount off of his best prices and that includes special order items. He and his staff are knowledgeable growers and can answer questions about your setup. They know what you’re growing so you don’t have to use the tomato analogy (unless you’re actually growing tomatoes).

10. Visit your collective/dispensary before you start your grow: This only really applies to growers that will be selling their excess meds to the dispensary. Find out what they are looking for in a vendor. Ask which strains are most in demand and also what they will pay for them. Ask to see/smell some of their top-shelf meds to better understand what they consider to be A+ quality meds.

The time to do that is not after you’ve spent 12 weeks growing, drying and curing to discover that your babies are not considered “marketable” because you bought seeds that appealed to you. They will still buy the meds but you won’t get top dollar for them. If you grow just for yourself not a big issue, but if you are growing for others find a strain that has mass-appeal. Find one that is not the basic/common strain but will be a bit unique and still retain the characteristics that the dispensary is looking for.

One of my local BT’s told me that they want “stanky”, didn’t care about name, if you don’t know the genetics. So for the next grow I will be using known genetics and finding the “stankiest” strain I can.


I hope this is of use to some of the new growers out there. I continue to learn something new every day about the art and science of growing and appreciate everyone’s feedback and support I’ve received.

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