SS, OMM, Tunes, OldSchool:
Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for all the comments.
I didn't find a trace of spider mites last night.......
And, thanks to everyone who commented on FLO. I've already done a flush and fed with reduced nutes.....still she curls, etc. The guy who gave me the clones says FLO must grow better outdoors...he's only grown it in soil, outside.
Oh well, it's still green, and buds are still forming....I don't think I'll be growing it again.
As for the lights:
It's going to take me a while to fabricate/design the system. It can be done several ways that's I'm aware of, and several more that I haven't thought of yet.
Even though I'm new to this, I find I have a "fire in the belly," a stong motivation and passion to excel and make a difference. My skills as a grower will evolve, I need more practice and a many more grows under my belt, but already I have ideas of where to go with this.
The lighting thing may just be a boondoggle.....it sounds good, but I have no idea if it will work or not. The only scientific study I've come across regarding growing Cannibis says that light is the single biggest factor in yield....nutrients are the least. And yet, all the hype and marketing is in the area of nutes. It's time to balance things out a bit.
I'm also concerned about pesticides. My spider mite problem got me thinking about that quite a bit.....If I was selling a large crop, and had spider mites the temptation to use a toxic product would be very strong.....
I live and work in a university town that has one of the best agricultural schools in the nation....I'm going to keep my eyes and ears open to see if I can't connect with someone there and do a study on dispensary MJ, testing it for various poisons/pesticides.
If.....and I say IF....it turns out that "medicinal" marijuana is full of improperly used pesticides, it's going to set us all back in a big way. Such a study is a year or more away, but in the meantime I think it's a good idea to think long and hard about how pesticides are used in medicinal Cannabis cultivation.
Wow! What a rant.....I don't blame anyone who didn't read it all. For anyone who did....thank you.