Celt’s Cavern Of Chaos

Good article @Mr. Sauga :thanks: The corn borer does very much the same kind of damage as the hemp borer. The corn borer can also have 2 and 3 hatches a year which makes them quite destructive if they infest your plants.

The worst thing about both of them, is the fact that once hatched and they actually bore into the stem, the only way to get rid of them is to cut the limb off or split it and mechanically extract the little bastards. Then in the fall, burn any stalks of infected plants. They will over winter and mature in the stalks and emerge in warmer weather to lay more eggs.
 
For those following along, we will get to growing (in the not too distant future I hope).

The redesign is plodding a long but I need some fittings and everything has been closed since Thursday. If the hardware store isn’t taking today in lue of Boxing Day, I’ll get some of what I need today.

Krista and I are also going away for a couple days to visit with our best friends, something we haven’t get to do much in the past few years due to my work but the 2nd time this year. No, or very little snow around so Wally and I will likely bugger off touring the mountain again in the side-by-side.

I don’t often get out into the wild much anymore so looking forward to being away for a couple days on the mountain ;)

Hope everyone had a good Christmas and has a great new year :) see you all in a few days.
 
Morning all,

Update on what’s been going on in the Cavern.

After finding parts to McGyver bulkheads for my tank, couldn’t get proper bulkhead fittings, and plumbing the system mountain man style, I fired it up. After a few modifications (after thoughts) I fired the system up. Well, the tank aeration and circulation, haven’t got to hooking up the buckets.

After all that, the good news is, it works :rofl: bad news is, it is loud and sounds like an industrial plant in full operation. Worse news is, the bloody shaft seal leaks like a sieve, something I was a little concerned about working with an old pump.

The pressure is also quite high, something I would have compensated for IF the pump was worth using, it’s really not.

This brings me back to looking for a new pump :( and if I sprung for one today, 2 weeks minimum before I would get it from Amazon. Not sure yet which pump and flow I want, but now after having reworked the system to put pump and reservoir outside the tent, I want an inline pump. Algreen and Vivosun both have pond pumps that can be used inline and above water so this is where I am leaning atm.

Glad I had a good fall harvest and not in need of meds, this project is becoming a PITA :rofl:but should be worth the effort if I ever get it operational :rofl:
 
Morning Celt, I‘m slower than cold molasses, finally in on page 9. Crap you move right along here.... gonna hunker down and catch up on this one before it runs out of control. Also I turned off a bunch of notifications so im not getting notice of any @013 tags.... apologies for this - I’ve got to get account settings & quote feature tuned up. Intro sounds enticing and turntable is righteous.... in the words of Arnie... I’ll be back
 
Morning Vet :) engineer yes but a lazy one, sooner fly by the seat of my pants than sit down doing a bunch of calculations :rofl:
Been a maintenance technician/engineer since I was 17 and I'm the same. Cuff it and adapt along the way. If it'll work in my head it's worth a go :laugh:
 
Morning Weasle and friends,

As usual the cavern is living up to its name ;) things here haven’t been idle even though no plants have been started yet.

Aside from the grow (and it’s issues :rofl:) I have been making oil - 11g+/- made from 3 oz of decarbed Blue Dream. Of that I used 3.8g to make peanut butter balls, and used another 4g to infuse 1cup of Lily White Corn Syrup, 1/2 of which went into making a couple batches of gummies.

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I came across a gummy recipe that is touted as the original recipe developed by the german who originally marketed them. It only has 4 ingredients and requires no lichen to stabilized them for storage and they don’t need to be refrigerated, but they also have ZERO fat in them meaning I needed to infuse a sugar.

Since corn syrup is a major component in this recipe, I decided to try infusing it after only partial success on the first batch. After trial and error, I came to the conclusion that the infusing process should be carried out prior to making the gummies. The first run of gummies, I added the oil to the corn syrup as I went and realized that oil does not mix easily with sugars :rofl: the first batch (yellow) has specks of black (oil) through some of them so I know some will be more potent than others.

For those that want to try infusing sugars (sans fats), patience is required :rofl: it’s a slow process. I will go over how I infused Corn Syrup but the process is the same for other sugars:

Heat you syrup (sugar) in the microwave, or in a pot on the stove, and stir in you oil. Use a spoon, whisk, spatula, it really doesn’t matter, it will be slow mixing. I found the easiest way, once you get to the point of seeing little black specks in the sryup, was to let it cool enough to handle, pour it back into a bottle and shake the sh!t out of it every 5 mins or so. Eventually you will get a nice homogenous mix.

Caution: ensure the cap is closed on your bottle before shaking, hot sticky syrup flies everywhere and what a mess, just ask me :rofl:

Just for reference, white corn syrup added no taste and is why I used it, besides, a bottle had been sitting in the cupboard for years :rofl: and this is what it looks like before infusion, nearly clear water coloured
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Now, edibles have not been the only project on the go, but was something I needed to attend to as I have Care Packages going out to friends and family that I wanted to include some edibles in :)

Here is what has been taking place in the grotto (part of the cavern where I grow).

Quick recap:

The original sump pump died. Not sure why but the shaft seal leaked allowing water infiltration into the motor. At this point, the main reservoir was centred between the buckets on a “lazy Susan” affair.

Going back to the drawing board, I dug out an old jacuzzi pump that had been sitting in the back shed for years to see if it worked.

After testing, it spun so away I went to redesign the system with an external pump aNd the reservoir outside the tent. Giving us this:

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This turned out to have a leaky shaft seal as well DAMMIT. It was also too noisy and way too much pressure for what I am trying to do.

Liking this setup better than the reservoir being internal to the tent, it will make regulating solution temperatures easier, meant hunting for an “external” pump suitable for this setup.

With income being tight, and has been for a year now, and not knowing exactly how “big” a pump I require, Mountain Man Engineering came to the aid with an idea:

Lets tear apart the old sump pump and see if we can make it an external pump.

This has been a process, that is not yet finished but on the home stretch to install and see if it works :rofl: Today I will be attempting to install all the cobbled together parts and see it we have flow :)

Depending on how many issues I run into, there are ALWAYS issues when you fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, I will post updates/results either tonight or tomorrow:)
 
Afternoon @InTheShed

Yes, this recipe has 0 fats/oils so requires infusing the corn syrup with pure hash oil or you can use bud to infuse the corn syrup. I just prefer making my oil and using it so I can better judge the potency see visually see the oil dissolve into the syrup.

I guess it might help to explain what is really going on in the infusion process. Fats dissolve Cannabinoids and is how we infuse butter, coconut oil and other fats. When infusing a sugar, the Cannabinoids, which are oils, don’t actually dissolve. The heat “thins” the oils making them easily to break up into little balls of oil. The more you mix, or shake as I did, the smaller the balls become until they become micro spheres and evenly distributed throughout the mixture making it appear to have become a solution like the fats make. It’s actually an emulsion rather than a solution.

As it cools, the syrup is thick enough that the micro spheres stay suspended giving the same effect as using an infused oil/fat.

The recipe is simple and is as follows:

1 pkg flavoured Jello
1 tbsp unflavoured gelatin (1 envelope from a box of Knox gelatin)
1/4 tsp citric acid (I found that 1/2 tsp works better to mask the hash oil taste)
1/4c infused corn syrup
1/3c water.

Mix the dry ingredients then add the syrup and water.
Mix slowly to minimize air bubbles.
Let rest 5 minutes
Microwave on high for 30s and then mix again.
Heat again 15s and mix again, repeat 4 times for a total of 1 1/2mins heating.
Let cool for 10 mins mixing few times.
Pour into moulds and leave until it gets enough to move to the fridge.
Leave in fridge for an hour or until they set enough to remove from moulds.
* After removing from the moulds, leave to air for 24hr or more, turning them over periodically. This supposedly causes them to become more rubbery like the original gummies.

As there is no fats involved in this recipe, there is no need for lechin to keep the fats from ”bleeding” or any need to refrigerate. Time will tell if this is true :)

Just a note for those making these and want an idea of potency, this recipe makes about 115 of the 3/4” tall gummies.
 
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