Boss's Poor Mans Grow

whatever you do dont add vinegar to your soil. if your ph is fluctuating its more than likely too low. vinegar with a ph of 5 would not help. as for testing your ph with vinegar with the bubbling scenario...total bs. you can pick up a cheap ass ph test at any store, the ones used for fish or hot tubs. it comes with a dropper bottle and a tube, and a chart to measure the color. eg blue-9, green-7, yellow-5. etc. these are cheap like $5 and will give you a relative ph value in your soil. all you gotta do is measure the ph value of some plain water. run this water through your soil and collect the run off. then measure the run off. there are easy ways to adjust ph too. for instance you could use vinegar(ph ~5) to lower it. or wood ash(ph ~11-14) (as long as you know there are no chemicals present) to raise it.

btw i like what youve got going on, reminds me of the good old days working with some cfls.
 
sounds good but man if u can cut down the sq footage to like 4 or 6 you would about double your lumens and double your harvest! think about it.
 
Do we have this on the site anywhere?

Marijuana
Intermediate Marijuana Grower's Techniques


This is a grower's guide for those folks who already know a thing or two about growing marijuana.

There are several key factors in growing the optimal or near optimal Marijuana plant. These factors can be manipulated to produce different physical variations in any seedstock selected.


THEY ARE:

*01* Light Intensity and Spectrum
*02* Photoperiod
*03* Temperature Cycle
*04* Nutrients
*05* Humidity Cycle
*06* CO2
*07* Pruning
*08* Leeching
*09* Cloning
*10* Stress



Light Intensity And Spectrum
The Light Spectrum should be as close as approximation of natural sunlight as is available. The light intensity should be as bright as is possible while still keeping temperature in line.

In addition to metal halide and high pressure sodium lighting you can experiment with fluorescent lights suspended around the plants. This can improve the yield of buds towards the bottom of the plant.



Photoperiod
During the growth phase (vegetative), the light period should be a minimum of 18 hours per day. The light can be continuous during the growth phase (24 hours per day) with profound effects.

You can try using the light cycle below instead of going straight from 24 hours a day of light to 12 hours. Start this cycle during the vegetative phase, 25 days before you want to start flowering.



LIGHT CYCLE CHART FOR FLOWERING
DAY HOURS ON HOURS OFF

1 24 0
2 23.5 .5
3 23 1
4 22.5 1.5
5 22 2
6 21.5 2.5
7 21 3
8 20.5 3.5
9 20 4
10 19.5 4.5
11 19 5
12 18.5 5.5
13 18 6
14 17.5 6.5
15 17 7
16 16.5 7.5
17 16 8
18 15.5 8.5
19 15 9
20 14.5 9.5
21 14 10
22 13.5 10.5
23 13 11
24 12.5 11.5
25 12 12
During the FLOWERING PHASE, 12 hours of uninterrupted light stimulates the production of budding sites for the flowers. The light is left on 12 hours a day till plants are harvested.

I cannot stress enough that during the FLOWERING PHASE, the dark period should not be violated by any light. It delays flower development and promotes leaf growth. 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.



Temperature Cycle
The atmospheric temperature in your grow room should be in 70's and 80's for most marijuana strains. However, the closer you get to the ideal temperature range, the better the buds and the less likely you are to get male plants (see stress).

A marijuana strain that originated in a hot climate will require a higher optimal temperature than a strain that originated in a cooler climate. If you are not sure where your seeds originated, you can experiment with temperature to see what effect warmer or cooler temperature will have.



Nutrients
Nutrients And Marijuana Grown In Soil
Nutrients And Hydroponic Marijuana



Humidity Cycle
The humidity should be kept high (around 90%) unless you are growing in soil and over watering has occurred, and you need to dry the soil quickly. Marijuana doesn't like its roots to be wet all the time, so don't water every day when growing in soil unless the temperature is quite high. If proper ventilation is maintained, problems like fungus and algae should be minimal.

Average watering solution usage growing in soil:

10 days after transplant--------1 Quart (946 ml)
20 days after transplant--------1.5 Quarts (1419 ml)
30 days after transplant--------2 Quarts (1892 ml)
During Flowering--------------1.5 Quarts (1419 ml)



CO2
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels should be high, particularly during the FLOWERING PHASE. Growth rates can be increased dramatically if the CO2 level is near 700 ppm.

300 ppm (Outside Air)
700 ppm (Ideal)
2000 ppm (Plants Burn)
5000 ppm (Death)

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. Beware! The DEA has asked the supply houses to provide lists of large CO2 users. If you are questioned, simply say "I have an old mig welder at the house and I want to try and patch up my (lawnmower, car, trailer, etc.). If you find that you are making lots of trips to the supply house, complain that your "buddy" keeps leaving the cylinder valve open all night. This should provide a plausible excuse.



Pruning
To maintain the optimal growth rate, trim all dead leaves. The more often you trim, the slower the Marijuana plant will grow and the narrower the internodal length. Trimming the growth tip after the plant is 4-5 leaf sets tall will produce a "Y" shaped plant with two "arms". Too much trimming will result in poor growth and often hermaphrodism (having both male and female flowers). Keep pruning to a minimum during the entire FLOWERING PHASE. (see why prune and pruning tips)



Leeching
From time to time, it is beneficial to leach the soil of high concentrations of salts. The salts come from the fertilizer solution by means of evaporation. To leach soil, over water the growing medium until fluid can be seen above the soil line. Allow the swampy mess to soak for a few minutes, then pump/siphon off excess from the "well" at the lower end of the growing area.

To leach a hydroponic garden, drain the reservoir of any existing solution and replace with water that has aged 3 days or longer and don't add nutrient solution. Leave for a day or two and repeat or add regular strength nutrient solution.



Cloning
Marijuana Cloning: The Easy Way
Cloning Marijuana By Dr. Doobie



Stress
Since Marijuana is very responsive to its environment, big changes in any of the growth factors (light, heat, food, water, etc.) can affect not only the growth of the plant but also potency and even sex.

The whole thing is really a trade-off. If you want bigger, faster growing buds, then you could experiment with increased stress. However, too much stress will force hermaphrodism or even a male from a normally female plant.

VOTE OR PERISH!

ATTEND CANDIDATES RALLIES AND ASK IF THEY SUPPORT LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA. REMEMBER THEY ACT ON WHAT THEY THINK NICE FOLKS WANT. ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE. IT WORKS.

This Document is intended for informational purposes only. Please feel free to distribute this file far and wide...
 
Found out why bushy is bushy today, and it may open a whole can of worms.

Seems when that light dropped on her, it partially snapped the main stalk at the very top node growth. But only partially (like 2/3 or 3/4 maybe a bit more).

the part that was still connected continued to grow, but very slow. In the meantime, she grew out everything on the sides, like being topped, but without growing the two stems from the top node that topping would normally do.

So when I noticed this (the dead part of the top node was being pushed out of the way by new growth, thats when I saw the healed part under it) I pulled the dead part off.

Now she will be able to grow up a bit, but she will be a good 2 weeks behind. But, she has a fat stalk and should be able to hold all those budspots nicely without support.

We may or may not get two main colas, we will see. So far it looks like an awesome way to keep plants short, without topping and getting two long top stems.
 
I did too. Its no lengthy read. I've read more grow books that are 300pages+ than I can count. Some good, general info.
 
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