Radogast's Hi-Brix Basement Grow - New Location - New Soil - New Experiences

[KingstonRabbi]

My first run soil cost about $150 for all ingredients. I got 34 oz from 8 plants run in that batch. Lighting for grow was about $200 in electricity, plus $250 to run heater this winter. That's $5/oz for just soil, $12 including lights, $20 including heat (that I won't need for next grow or 2). Seeds add $2-4 per oz., but nothing for clones. (That doesn't include amortized capital costs of equipment, but assuming 20 grows over even just 10 grows it doesn't add that much.)

2nd run is about $100 for ingredients, so $3/oz. I assume 3rd run is same cost.

All told, max cost is about $15-25/oz. for bud that's better than stuff selling for $400/oz. at dispensary. Sweet deal this kit is!

 

[dr.h00k]

Ahhh...a details guy......luv' it...yes indeed a great value...chheerz...h00k...

 

[bobrown14]

My first run soil cost about $150 for all ingredients. I got 34 oz from 8 plants run in that batch. Lighting for grow was about $200 in electricity, plus $250 to run heater this winter. That's $5/oz for just soil, $12 including lights, $20 including heat (that I won't need for next grow or 2). Seeds add $2-4 per oz., but nothing for clones. (That doesn't include amortized capital costs of equipment, but assuming 20 grows over even just 10 grows it doesn't add that much.)

2nd run is about $100 for ingredients, so $3/oz. I assume 3rd run is same cost.

All told, max cost is about $15-25/oz. for bud that's better than stuff selling for $400/oz. at dispensary. Sweet deal this kit is!

You guys don't wanna know how much I spend on soil ingredients... I make my own worm castings and mix my own compost. So all I need is a 3.8cu ft bag of Premier CSPM (same as the promix from same company without mycos) only costs me $9 per bale. I buy amendments and rock dusts bulk for pennies per pound. Mix my own. I rotate soil say every other run and amend, let sit then back into rotation. I actually wear out ex large rubber maid totes.

I buy pearlite by the 3 cu ft bag for $30 lasts me 2-3 soil mixes fits in a large 45 gal garbage can.

$3 a zip would be about right for me.. the money I save goes right into seeds & lights tho .... OMG.... so hard to say I'm saving anything. My wallet says no...

Rad if you're looking for a good Indica dom strain, take a look at Black Dog from Humboldt.. its a big yielder and is easy to grow with large thick stemmed colas. Woody won a contest or 2 with that strain here recently. It's a pretty plant going down the stretch. Very little work required... I ran that last summer when I was away most of the flowering period.. Got 8 zips or thereabouts per plant dried. The best I've done for dry weight. Taste is berries, gas and pine. Decently strong meds.

Chemdawg is a Sativa leaner.... not all that easy to grow either. I always have issues with them but I love the meds ... longest I've ever ran the same strain is C-dawg and I'm still going... only popped one seed. Why do I keep buying seeds?

That Lily plant looks pretty good, some big buddage.... ropes, tape and sticks in her future! Great job buddy.

 

[Radogast]

Can some of you take a look over at Mr Greene's thread and tell him if it's a boy plant?

My First Time - AK47 & Gold Bar Kush

 

[Radogast]

...

Rad if you're looking for a good Indica dom strain, take a look at Black Dog from Humboldt.. its a big yielder and is easy to grow with large thick stemmed colas. Woody won a contest or 2 with that strain here recently. It's a pretty plant going down the stretch. Very little work required... I ran that last summer when I was away most of the flowering period.. Got 8 zips or thereabouts per plant dried. The best I've done for dry weight. Taste is berries, gas and pine. Decently strong meds.

Chemdawg is a Sativa leaner.... not all that easy to grow either. I always have issues with them but I love the meds ... longest I've ever ran the same strain is C-dawg and I'm still going... only popped one seed. Why do I keep buying seeds?

That Lily plant looks pretty good, some big buddage.... ropes, tape and sticks in her future! Great job buddy.

I'm embarassed to say I went and counted my growing strains yesterday, and I am already at 10 strains 7 sativa or sativa dominant, 2 indica, and the indica CBD. The wife says she is fine with that mix through the summer. The family has been digging the sativas and probably won't get back to favoring indicas until the winter time - so I'm saving all my notes, and stockpiling indica buds for the winter. I found my cache of big jars and boveda packs yesterday: ready to chop and cure over the summer

 

[Lady Antheia]

Now that's the kind of summer harvest to really get excited about! Tomatoes, shamatoes.

 

[NorCaliwood]

Drive by.. Man you got alot going on in that tent.. GL Bout that Black DOG, great weed. I didn't get the yield Mister Brown did, I did a 3'er and got 5 oz's of what some say is the best weed going around Portland right now. I'm going to try one outdoors this year. They say it is pretty fast outdoors, so I guess I'll find out this year. But I do plan on doing half my flower room when it starts up again with it.
Looks like you got your hands full. I don't know how much sativa I'd try in a tent. They tend to become runaways and problems.
GL and Keepem Green





















ii

 

[Tead]

The mandala hashberry story reminded me of some smoke I got in the 80s. On a beautiful night, it had snowed, I didn't have a driver license or car and was riding my bicycle home from work at night on packed snow and ice. I was pedalling as hard as I could felt like I was a full inch off the ground/ice/snow going around turns at full speed not sliding. Totally aware of every little thing. Tingles all over.

I got home and was felling like it was the first day of the rest of my life. Like I ran the gauntlet and survived. Whew.....
Goodstuff

You triggered a small story... your bad.
Tead's been a bicyclist for many years on the mean streets of NOLA (not so mean actually... lots of bike paths). I used to work right down town and my daily run took me thru the French Quarter at 5am and 5pm. A biking coworker and I used to shoot down Bourbon street on the way home pumping as hard as we could, sliding like a streak beside cars and delivery trucks, dodging drunken tourist, and bumping our teeth as we flew over the brick road surfaces. It was exhilarating and fun. Neither of us ever had an accident doing that... dunno how. Perhaps it was the teamwork that helped us survive.... I taught him some old school hand signals that helped us. If you had your cig in your hand hangin out your window as you cruised down Bourbon and some jackass on his bike swooped by and grabbed it out of your hand as he passed.... that was me.

I don't do it anymore.... except sometimes when Tead gets a touch feisty and needs to roll back some years. I'm such an incredibly careful and conservative dude on 2 wheels these days.... funny.

Oddly, the morning run was often a touch more frightening... the path rolled past some tranny bars and you don't want to see the 5am NOLA leftovers outside a tranny bar a block off Bourbon.... trust me on that.

 

[Radogast]

You triggered a small story... your bad.
Tead's been a bicyclist for many years on the mean streets of NOLA (not so mean actually... lots of bike paths). I used to work right down town and my daily run took me thru the French Quarter at 5am and 5pm. A biking coworker and I used to shoot down Bourbon street on the way home pumping as hard as we could, sliding like a streak beside cars and delivery trucks, dodging drunken tourist, and bumping our teeth as we flew over the brick road surfaces. It was exhilarating and fun. Neither of us ever had an accident doing that... dunno how. Perhaps it was the teamwork that helped us survive.... I taught him some old school hand signals that helped us. If you had your cig in your hand hangin out your window as you cruised down Bourbon and some jackass on his bike swooped by and grabbed it out of your hand as he passed.... that was me.

I don't do it anymore.... except sometimes when Tead gets a touch feisty and needs to roll back some years. I'm such an incredibly careful and conservative dude on 2 wheels these days.... funny.

Oddly, the morning run was often a touch more frightening... the path rolled past some tranny bars and you don't want to see the 5am NOLA leftovers outside a tranny bar a block off Bourbon.... trust me on that.

5AM is a couple of hours before they wash the streets, isn't it ?

 

[Tead]

5AM is a couple of hours before they wash the streets, isn't it ?

That rolls around 6am. If I have morning travel plans, I avoid the bleach soaked streets. The trannys don't seem to mind either.

Good lord Rad, I need a playbill and an roadmap to follow it all... busy place!

 

[Annabanana]

I'm enjoying your journal very much thanks, Rad! How's the house reno's going? How old is the place? My house is circa 1897 but is due for some work. I'm SO envious of your basement! We don't have basements in our houses in Australia and I've always loved seeing them on American TV...especially the ones full of old furniture & stuff (hoarders dream!) Regards from Australia!

 

[KingstonRabbi]

Hi Annabanana. 1897 was a good year for houses! I'd heard everyone in Australia had basements dug out from looking for opals. Sorry to find out that's just a myth. Welcome anyway. Basements and hoarding take on a whole new level when you add plants.

 

[Van Stank]

I'll chime into the heat and humidity discussion... I happen to see a touch of it.
So, just to paint some background for Blazin (yea... wanted to abbreviate with BJ too)... I'm growing in an outdoor shed in The Big Easy. The heat, humidity, and UV are rough. When your source air is running at 99% humidity and the temps outside are floating around 100f, ya gotta know that challenges are around every corner.
One of the keys to dealing with the issue is air movement. Keeping your air moving around all corners of the garden is a huge aid to keeping any mold growth down. It's especially important to keep air flow going in and around the blooming buds.... stale air trapped inside the buds will quickly lead evil issues.
The other key is extraction. Even tho the humidity is at 99%, the air will still absorb moisture (i.e. plant expiration, evaporation from the medium)... but not much, so cycling fresh air into the area and pumping it out becomes super important.

You don't have to get fancy... I use $10 fans and cheap ducting material for such things in my world.

I can't even imagine trying to grow in New Orleans. I lived there back in the mid 90's and was happy to leave that dreadful heat and humidity!!

 

[LLHmaryjane]

What's your favorite indica?

I'm looking for recommendations on seed company and strain for a good indica.

My last Hawaiian Skunk seed failed to germinate and I'm down to two standard indica dominant strains (Borderliner XTRM and Bubba's Gift) and the CBD Critical Cure - and Bubba's Gift is hanging on by a reveg thread.


I'm looking for something with a trippy, mellow, aphrodesiac, love-your-neighbor kind of high. Like the weed I smoked in the early 80s


My short list right now is:
Paradise - Sensi Star
? - Hash Plant


Indica dominant might add:
? - Chemdawg
Mandala - California Dream
Dynasty - Huckleberry Kush

I'm not sure which seed places are best; but I'm loving Black Domina and it seems to me that it fits your specifications

 

[Radogast]

Blended smoke report

The wife blended Amherst Sour Diesel with Bubba's Gift today. Smoked 4 small 3-hit bowls in about 5 minutes. She reported mild hallucinogenic effects from the combo. A nice blend at lower doses.Taken quick like that, she closed her eyes and saw bright colors doing the oil show from a Grateful Dead concert .

 

[Blazinjones]

yea rad I jus had to let u no I thought I didn't get any black domina but it turns out I did lol I thought I clicked it out of the check out basket but it must have been a different one lol I tell ya those stoner moments catch u off guard at times lol and well my memory is already shit lol and smoking jus makes it worse tryn to remember shit..... wait what was I talkn about again lol.....
but yea figured id come back and correct myself from one of my other posts sayn I didn't end up getting it but I did and jus forgot appearntly lol

 

[Blazinjones]

Blended smoke report

The wife blended Amherst Sour Diesel with Bubba's Gift today. Smoked 4 small 3-hit bowls in about 5 minutes. She reported mild hallucinogenic effects from the combo. A nice blend at lower doses.Taken quick like that, she closed her eyes and saw bright colors doing the oil show from a Grateful Dead concert .

Nice lol shit i wish i had tht gud of smoke or maybe its my tolerance is 2 high lol it cud be im jus used 2 street weed so my tolerance for tht is to high but get i bet now im doing better with my los kit or if i were to get sum hibrix weed thn i cud maybe feel like tht lol

 

[CareStaker]

I've been blending SSSDH with B.Gift at night, and can report similar effects. Have tried other sativas with good effect too. SSSDH worked the best from what I have on tap. Was very trippy, stop motion, visual, blendy, wow holy shit type of ride.

Plants are looking positively ferocious in the back row, mixing it up, wow.

 

[Radogast]

I'm enjoying your journal very much thanks, Rad! How's the house reno's going? How old is the place? My house is circa 1897 but is due for some work. I'm SO envious of your basement! We don't have basements in our houses in Australia and I've always loved seeing them on American TV...especially the ones full of old furniture & stuff (hoarders dream!) Regards from Australia!

My house is the same age. An 1896 colonial revival (center hall colonial with front and rear staircases) with a symetrical facade - from paired beveled glass windows of paired parlors flanking a central door with beveled glass surround, past the paired second floor bedroom suites with railed balcony, up to the central dormer with a paladian window in the attic. (My wife put a wooden crow in the attic window yesterday, but it's nothing compared to the 4 foot gargoyle outside the dormer 2 houses down or the paired pink flamingo cutouts on the house across the street.)

We get tornado warnings almost every week mid-spring through fall, so a basement was made for safety. Besides, the man who built this house was a master stone and brick mason, I bet he built the basement himself. Since this is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and my most recent indoor project was building an exercise room in the basement, the main living area has been somewhat neglected.

On the first floor, My wife's office (the right front parlor) was painted pink and wood trim was removed, sanded and varnished. It has been furnished with 3 desks (one floor to ceiling), 2 book cases, a storage chest, a short file cabinet, 3 chairs, a grandmother clock, with 5 paintings, a mirror, and a 5x3' laminated area map on the walls. Most of this is furniture from 1880-1920 or in the style of that furniture purchased at auction, Total cost for the room refurbish and furniture, about $900.

Behind it, the formal dining room has been converted into the New Orleans room - a themed combination of bar, crafting room, and altars to ancestors. The walls were painted purple and floors cleaned up, but the woodwork was mostly serviceable. It is furnished with a 1920s 8' dresser with full length mirror (a wedding gift from Al Capone), a Georgian era carved wood sideboard with a Victorian mirror, 2 other mirrors, 4 tables, a built-in floor to ceiling cupboard, and a 6x7' wrought iron baker's rack. Besides the mirrors, the walls contain 13 pieces of 2-D art from New Orleans and Haiti and and 13 free standing shelves full of meaningful photos and items. The dresser, sideboard, LED lit beaded doorway curtain, 18 light 'monastery candle' chandelier, and paint cost about $450.

On the left hand side of the first floor, the kitchen will get a light once over (permanently mounting a pot rack over the center island, installing a wine rack, and maybe build a wine glass rack) before we start work on the Living Room (left front parlor.) The living room will be repainted in gray. The floors will need some heavy sanding and varnishing, and the fireplace tile skirt will need heavy cleaning. We've already purchased 2 wing chairs, 2 antique parlor tables, 2 mirrors , a bookcase, and paint for about $100 - so the only foreseen expense is to replace the modern futon we use as a couch with something more in keeping with our antique store style decor. (The map of Middle Earth stays, it's an antique story )

Our home had previously been occupied by a hoarder, and we purchased a rather full basement and garage of stuff. We also got to know and recognize several hoarders going to auctions over the fall and winter months. At this point, we have acquired a wealth of indoor and outdoor furniture, but it is all in use or staged in the basement for refinishing/repainting. We have a rather large hoard of object d'art, but my wife rented a retail space where she has been selling off her unused household goods for a modest profit (12" David and Venus Pudica sold the first day, The Three Graces three weeks later.) Rather than hoarding, we have been buying and selling with a net reduction in "stuff" this year.

There is enough work on the house and yard to keep me busy for many, many months. I try not to look too far ahead. The man 2 doors down (with the gargoyle) says he just got to the maintenance stage this winter after 10 years in his 1897 home. 20 years ago this neighborhood was a slum. Now a transitional neighborhood, we purchased the home at slum prices but are considered to be on the 'jewel' street in the 'jewel' neighborhood of our little city. Just in the last month, our home has become presentable enough to be comfortable for company when they come over.

- - Okay - -

You apparently released a pent-up torrent of pride in my home remodeling and furniture moving accomplishments.

Thanks for asking Annabannana. How is your house?


And, oh yeah, I need to prep and paint much of the outside.

I'm not sure which seed places are best; but I'm loving Black Domina and it seems to me that it fits your specifications

yea rad I jus had to let u no I thought I didn't get any black domina but it turns out I did lol I thought I clicked it out of the check out basket but it must have been a different one lol I tell ya those stoner moments catch u off guard at times lol and well my memory is already shit lol and smoking jus makes it worse tryn to remember shit..... wait what was I talkn about again lol.....
but yea figured id come back and correct myself from one of my other posts sayn I didn't end up getting it but I did and jus forgot appearntly lol

Black Domina has been on my mind a lot the last few days. I won't be buying seeds until I KNOW I have space in the rotation to raise another strain, or I decide to replace a current strain. I'm very happy with the strains I have sampled so far this grow.

Nice lol shit i wish i had tht gud of smoke or maybe its my tolerance is 2 high lol it cud be im jus used 2 street weed so my tolerance for tht is to high but get i bet now im doing better with my los kit or if i were to get sum hibrix weed thn i cud maybe feel like tht lol

Don't go up against my wife in a weed tolerance contest. I've seen her smoke 8-9 grams before 5 pm, meet friends for dinner, and after a couple of glasses of wine her friend said "You seem both happy and tired tonight." When she went all Grateful Dead light show today, I noticed that something was up because she seemed to be more interested in her son and I talking about the differences in how nations approach technology and participated more in what she would normally consider a boring conversation.

She is a master at keeping her shit together and has instilled that skill in her kids

Speaking of kids, the 18 yr old girl is graduating soon. She has been digging deep into her closet to unearth vintage 1930-50s skirts and dresses, and mixing it up with 1960s skin tight clothing at school. Today, she dressed as pretty much a fairy pirate in high heeled black boots and a lacy white corset. She is driving the boys crazy. A very healthy goodbye to high school - in my opinion.

 

[Radogast]

I've been blending SSSDH with B.Gift at night, and can report similar effects. Have tried other sativas with good effect too. SSSDH worked the best from what I have on tap. Was very trippy, stop motion, visual, blendy, wow holy shit type of ride.

Plants are looking positively ferocious in the back row, mixing it up, wow.

Thanks. My girls thrive on flattery.

I am trying my best to get Bubba's Gift to reveg. I am begining to see how it is not so much potent as it is a trippy ride - I expect her to improve as she cures.