I actually read about using a garlic press when I was researching using the refractometer and it sounded like a great idea. That being said, I just tried pressing three leaves from the "Vulxed" Dolato. Using three leaves should give a better "average" than using only one.
What I ended up with was minced MMJ leaves and NO juice to test!
Moi aussi. I use two electrical box knockouts - slugs. You need a good stiff surface to press against. I can usually get 3 presses (2-5 drops total) out of an average size 5 bladed leaf.
One member got out the welder and tacked a couple slugs right to the vicegrip jaws.
WELL, THIS IS GONNA BE A CONTROVERSIAL UPDATE!
OK, everyone, this is bound to be a controversial update and should keep things interesting!
Most of you are probably aware that I'm using Brother @Doc Bud's High Brix soil mix. It really is an ideal mix for growing the highest quality MMJ possible and, if you're looking for ways to improve it, you can pretty much stop looking since Doc's already done the work for you and if it helps, it's probably already in there.
I'm also lucky enough to be a Product Reviewer here onand when I was asked to test a soil amendment from a new sponsor, I was pretty reluctant (to say the least!) to start messing with the high brix mix.
The sponsor is @Vulx and the product is a volcanic rock dust (see Home - Vulx Soil Amendment Made from Volcanic Mineral Mix ).
I'm a big fan of rock dust as an organic soil amendment to remineralize the soil and I'm a heavy user of Azomite (and, to a lesser extent, Gaya Green) for my fruits and vegetables.
But, what would it do to a high brix grow?
Well, there's only one way to find out!
So, I agreed to do some testing and Vulx was nice enough to send me three pails of their product:
And, since there's only one way to tell what this stuff does to the brix levels, I also got me one of these:
So, the question we're going to try to answer with this grow is, "Will Vulx improve brix numbers when used with 3rd run high brix soil?"
The only strain I'm running two of this round is the Dolato, and they're either sisters or one is a clone of the other, but they've both been vegging for 3+ months and are both about the same size.
So, I up-potted all the plants and included the Vulx in one of the Dolato's containers and the other Dolato is in "pure" 3rd run soil. They were all extremely rootbound and I expect to see some pretty rapid growth now that they're in their final homes.
The instructions say to mix 2.6 oz. of Vulx per gallon of "light" soil (see the instructions on their website, but Promix falls into the "light soil" category). Since the plants went into #10's, it called for 26 oz. of Vulx which happens to be 1.625 lbs.
How convenient that each pail was 1.6 lbs.! So, I mixed a full pail into the one container that got "Vulxed".
I just got back from the store getting some Distilled water, which is needed to calibrate the Brix Refractometer and will take some preliminary brix readings in a few minutes.
I even picked up a new heavy duty garlic press to help extract the leaf juices:
In the mean time, here are the girls in their new homes under the SP-250's:
Some natural light group pics:
Platinum Cake:
Blackwater:
Platinum Kush Breath:
Dolato #1 (NO Vulx):
Dolato #2 (Vulx):
I'll post the introductory brix reading ASAP.
Happy Harvests!
K
Those bus look sticky as hell.... Tricombs all over Wow NiceTHE STRAINS
So, let's get into some detail on these strains...
CALI CONNECTION BLACKWATER
Blackwater is a cross between Mendo Purps x Tahoe OG S1 (OR Mendo Purps x SFV OG for regular seeds) that took 3rd place for "Best Indica" at the 2014 High Times Medical Cup in Los Angeles. It averages 20% THC and is known for some dark purple buds. It has a flowering time of 8-9 weeks.
The goal, when breeding Blackwater, was to create one of the darkest OG Kush strains available. The buds from my grow didn't turn dark (I can probably get them to turn by lowering temps!), but they were huge, dense, and covered with trichomes and cured to a nice grape smell. The colas produced the biggest buds I've ever grown with some individual buds weighing over a half and ounce. This, to date, has been the preferred strain to help my Dad with pain.
Here are some of those huge colas & buds from my last Blackwater grow:
INHOUSE GENETICS DOLATO
Dolato is a 70% indica/30% sativa cross between Gelato #41 and the NorCal cut of Dosido that boasts an average 26% THC ratio (22%-29%). Flowering time is also 8-9 weeks. I've heard the flavors described as earthy, musky & piney, but my cured Dolato buds smell just like chocolate, to me! And, while I haven't had mine tested, judging by the trichomes from the last grow, I'm thinking it should be towards the HIGH end of the THC range!
Here's some Dolato colas at only 22 days of 12/12:
By Day #37 of 12/12, they looked like this:
And, on Day #60:
Dried & Cured Dolato Buds:
INHOUSE GENETICS PLATINUM KUSH BREATH
Platinum Kush Breath is a cross between OGKB V2.1 x Platinum with a 60-75 day flower time. These are also incredibly frosty buds and my cured buds smell like sour oranges. The branches on this one were pretty spindly and most had to be supported with yo-yo's to keep them from collapsing under the weight of the buds.
Here are some pics from the last Platinum Kush Breath grow on Day #26 of 12/12:
By Day #35 of 12/12, we had this:
Here's Day #59 of 12/12:
And, by Day #70, right before harvest, they turned a great color!:
This was the PKB sample/tester bud I took:
INHOUSE GENETICS PLATINUM CAKE
Platinum Cake is a cross between Wedding Cake x Platinum and also has a 60-75 day average flower time. As frosty and tasty as the other three strains are, I'd have to place this one as the top strain I've ever grown. The one PCake plant I harvested was put into the flower cabinet at the last minute to replace another plant that turned out to be male (from feminized seed!) so it didn't have much of a veg period. There was a lot of stretch and some wide internode distances, so she didn't yield as much as I would have liked and will need some good training to really produce. But, what she produces is just incredibly beautiful, dense buds completely covered in trichomes with just about every leaf on the plant also covered in trichomes. The buds are still curing on this one, so I don't have a great description of the smell or flavor yet, but it's a skunky/floral smell right now. The trichome coverage on these buds was ridiculous and I'm going to be growing a lot more of this strain and will be using her for some breeding.
Here are some pics from my last Platinum Cake Grow:
Day #30 of 12/12:
Day #53:
And dried buds (still curing):
It's worth noting that all the buds above, with the exception of the Platinum Cake, were grown under Mars Reflector 144's and all were grown using @Doc Bud's High Brix kit.
Let's see how the SP-250's do!
Happy Harvests!
K
I was told by another member that you want at least a 15 gal. pot for living soil is it ok to use a 10gal. pot for living soil ? I found the article on Bonsai Mothers and bookmarked it. In the future I would like to keep a mother plant with good genetics from a 2:1 ratio of THC CBD when I find a strain I like for pain etc. and maybe a plant with a 1:1 ratioWell, they're not really drooping, at all. The solo shot of the PCake makes it look a little "droopy" but you can see from the group shots that she's really not.
These plants all started as Bonsais in 4" containers for about 3-6 months (depending on which plant) before putting in the #1's a few weeks ago. They were on salt-based nutes when in the 4" containers and are transitioning to organic high brix so they haven't really been "fertilized" in weeks, now.
There are some signs of some older deficiencies and, with the size of the plants right now in those #1's, they're probably rationing what's there, but they're all doing great and, I'm sure once I get them in the #10's, they'll explode pretty quickly and be very healthy.
I may buy a couple of the SP250 lights when I get the stuff for a grow tent. Thanks for the suggestion it looks like the lights are working well so far.
I'm using Doc Bud's High Brix kit. Doc recommends a minimum of 7 gallons and 10 is no problems, as you could see from the prior grows.I was told by another member that you want at least a 15 gal. pot for living soil is it ok to use a 10gal. pot for living soil ? I found the article on Bonsai Mothers and bookmarked it. In the future I would like to keep a mother plant with good genetics from a 2:1 ratio of THC CBD when I find a strain I like for pain etc. and maybe a plant with a 1:1 ratio
What is Doc Bud's High Brix kit ? I ordered the Coots mix and the Oly Mountain Mix soils is it a soil mix ? I will be following this thread to see how well they do. Its going to be a while before I will be able to perches the lights etc. , after the first of the year. I spent a bunch of money on soil stuff. I want to use a living soil next spring and ditch the nutesI'm using Doc Bud's High Brix kit. Doc recommends a minimum of 7 gallons and 10 is no problems, as you could see from the prior grows.
So far, the SP-250's are great, but as I always say, you don't need much to veg the plants and the real test will be when we flip to flower.
That being said, I've been very happy with my Mars Reflectors which I ran for about 3 years andI'm sure the SP-250's will be at least as good!
Sorry to dump another long thread on you, Brother, but this one is worth it!
Well, if the mason jars are sealed, there's really no way for your wife to smell it unless she's smelling some odor on the outside of the jars. Is it possible she's acting over-sensitive to get you to stop?I have a question on growing in a tent. My wife HATES the smell of cannabis, Can you smell the stinky girls outside of the tent ? Would using two carbon filters and fans keep the smell down ? Some how my wife can smell my weed and I keep it in sealed Mason jars so if there is any smell at all she is going to be unhappy and when mommy isn't happy NO Body is Happy Lol.....
Opening the tent is a concern. I plan to seal the room I will use so the smell isn't in the house. I think she is smelling the stuff from the jars when I open it. I can open it a few hours before she comes home to pack a bowl and when she walks in she knows I opened it and she swears she smells it at night when we lay down to watch some TV I say there is no way you should smell it , it is in a sealed jar but she says she can. I don't think she is trying to get me to stop she knows its better then the high doses of Methadone I was on before but she still sees it as a drug.Well, if the mason jars are sealed, there's really no way for your wife to smell it unless she's smelling some odor on the outside of the jars. Is it possible she's acting over-sensitive to get you to stop?
That being said, if you have a good carbon filter venting to the outside, and the fan's powerful enough to maintain negative pressure in the tent, she should not be able to smell it from outside the tent. Once you open the tent, though, all bets are off!
Where do you get the HIgh Brix amendment kit ?
The "Zon". Read up on it good, first! It's the best system out there, IMHO, but very different than most.
I have a question on growing in a tent. My wife HATES the smell of cannabis, Can you smell the stinky girls outside of the tent ? Would using two carbon filters and fans keep the smell down ? Some how my wife can smell my weed and I keep it in sealed Mason jars so if there is any smell at all she is going to be unhappy and when mommy isn't happy NO Body is Happy Lol.....
You can read more about this at articles posted by our sponsor RoyalQueenSeeds.
Read the first 5-10 pages, then skip to page #1180!Thanks @Mr. Krip ... got it bookmarked!
Wow! Only 1181 pages ... and at 5 min per page ... that's 4 straight days of reading if I did the math right ... lol
I think I'll start at page 1180
I Lost the post on how to Bansi mother plants can someone share the link. Sorry to get off point I didn't get a chance to finish the article or info on what it is and how to do itRead the first 5-10 pages, then skip to page #1180!
There's also good info on his website at DOC BUD's HIGH BRIX BLEND
