Uncle Ben's Gardening Tweeks and Pointers

kinetic

kinetic

Well-Known Member
Uncle Ben just wondering if you had an opinion on Coast of Maine products. Specifically the master nursery products of bumper crop and black gold. If you have any experience with these. Thanks
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
kinetic said:
Uncle Ben just wondering if you had an opinion on Coast of Maine products. Specifically the master nursery products of bumper crop and black gold. If you have any experience with these. Thanks
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Never used them. Be glad to comment if I had a label with 'guaranteed analysis' to look at.

As with anything in life, if it sounds too good to be true....watch out!

Website is using the trendy buzzword "Naturally". That's enough BS for me. Organics are nothing more than inorganic chemicals, as is everything else. If you want good compost, make your own.

http://coastofmaine.com/mn-bumpercrop.shtml

....Coast of Maine reformulated the terrific Bumper Crop Organic Soil Amendment and super charged it with....
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Keep me a fukkin' break. Yeah, it's supercharged alright, right into their corporate bank account. And as usual there's no analysis. I guess when you can pull the wool over the eyes of gullible people by selling them dreams and cute labels, why bother with what's in that stuff?

I'll stick with Peters.

UB
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
Rob0769 said:
Hey UB I have a question about double harvest. I am about to cut my ripe ones and I have talked to 2 people who both swear by double harvest. They differ on opinions though. One says they let theirs go for 3 weeks. The other says no more than a week or the second harvest will be fluffy. Do you have any information that would help ease my mind and help me avoid wasted time and effort?
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You harvest the bottom part of the plant like you would the top part - when it's ready.
 
U

uncle.duke

Member
Hey ub.. last opp was decent.. always trying to improve.. I'm starting from seeds now, and I was curious can I just plant the seeds in a styro foam cups with soil? Also can I use those red plastic cups instead? Or styro foam is better? My grow area is a constent 80f. And I'm using a fresh bucket of soiless sunshine 4 mix. And was just hoping mother nature would take its course. is there a special method you use or something I should watch out for?? I know I have to keep the soil slighly moist, anything else? These kids were a little pricey and I'm try to have a good success rate. So a little green thumb info would appreciated.. thanks! I normally just buy clones, but this time I would like to start from the very begining to end
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
uncle.duke said:
Hey ub.. last opp was decent.. always trying to improve.. I'm starting from seeds now, and I was curious can I just plant the seeds in a styro foam cups with soil?
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Here's my seed germination archive -

Uncle Ben said:
Germinating Cannabis Seeds (for Bio Growers)

Your seedlings will be alot better off if you germinate directly in soil - less handling and mechanical disturbance means less chance of physical damage to the plant's taproot (and roothairs) and less food reserves used to position itself due to the natural hormonal influence called Gravitropism - that spells seedling VIGOR.

This is my foolproof method for Cannabis Seed Germination in soil:

First, if harvesting seeds from my own crosses, I air-dry newly harvested seeds for a couple of weeks, and then store them in the refrigerator with a little rice. Cold-treatment seems to increase viability and germination rates, especially with indica-dom strains. I almost always get a 100% germination rate with quality seedstock.

Soak the seeds in plain water for at least 12 hours prior to planting to hydrate them, which will speed up germination. In general, good seeds will sink, bad seeds will remain floating (they contain air, not an embryo). I first sterilize seeds in a bleach solution (1 Tbsp. bleach/1 gallon of water) for 1/2 hour to kill any fungus residing on the seedcoat. Dump the sanitizing solution and top off your glass with clean water, you do not need to rinse those seeds.

Sterilize enough *damp* fine soil with heat to germinate all of your seeds. You can do this by treating the damp soil to temps of (no more than) 200F for 20 mins in a conventional oven, or in a microwave oven on high for 2 minutes, while stirring a couple of times, or pouring boiling water thru the mix. Your goal is to get and hold the entire soil mix's temperature at 170F to 180F for about 20 minutes which can be monitored with a probe type thermometer. Let the mix cool thoroughly. This will insure that damp-off fungus spores have been killed in the soil mix. Make sure the soil mix is light and humusy (not real coarse). You can add a little sand or vermiculite to aid in drainage and weight. Stay away from perlite, it has a nasty habit of floating out of the mix (if you do indeed need to water later).

Buy some white 20oz styrofoam "drinking glasses", commonly called "Styro-Cups", and punch holes in the bottom (and side bottom) for drainage. I use a red-hot ice pick for this. These containers are 6 1/2" tall and will allow ample room for the taproot to grow before cotyledon emergence which will increase your seedling's vigor. The taproot (radicle) is already at least 4" long at the point of emergence - don't restrict it in order to maximize seedling growth rate. Styro-Cups can be found on the shelf displaying picnic items at your local grocery store.

Fill the pots almost to the top with your soil mix, water well to settle the mix, take a pencil and make a small hole about 1/4" to 1/2" deep, NO deeper, and drop *one* seed in. Cover the seed with *fine* soil, only enough to top up the hole, firm lightly with your finger, and lightly water until water runs freely thru the drain holes. Place in a warm spot around 80F/26C. Do NOT cover the cup with saran wrap or anything else. The seed has been hydrated from the soaking and will germinate soon. This container should not require further watering until the seedling is up and running.

During the first couple of days, mist the top soil surface lightly if need be, never allowing the top to crust over, but not to the point that the medium stays waterlogged which will invite pythium rot. "Less is more" at this point. Do NOT water this pot any more until the seedling is up, and only if it needs it at the point of emergence and do NOT mist the seedling once it is up as you're inviting damp-off disease if you do. Again, no need to cover with plastic wrap as the radicle (taproot) will grow at least 4" before the cotyledons emerge from the soil. IOW, even though you can't see it, the plant's root is seeking and finding moisture at the container's lower soil levels. I cannot emphasize this enough. The seedling will emerge anywhere from 2 to 10 days from the time you sow it.

That's all to it! With good care, your faves will be ready to transplant within 1 to 2 weeks, and will easily slip out of the "cup" with a solid rootball that will never know it's been disturbed if potted up gently and quickly. Move up to a final pot of 3 to 5 gallons to sex and finish.


Good luck,
Uncle Ben
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Rob0769

Rob0769

Active Member
Is it possible to do a triple harvest with the third harvest not being all stressed if you have the leaf matter to support further life? My friend lets his go year 'round and around again. He just clips the bud off the plant then eventually it reverts back to veg when the sun says since it's outdoor. I ask because I had a plant grow sideways instead of up and sideways so after the double harvest I'll still have a whole half a big plants.

Also a question about superthrive. I saw you did some tests with it and decided it is a good root growth nutrient. If I use something like rapid start would you recommend superthrive or just one or the other?.
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
Rob0769 said:
Is it possible to do a triple harvest with the third harvest not being all stressed if you have the leaf matter to support further life? My friend lets his go year 'round and around again. He just clips the bud off the plant then eventually it reverts back to veg when the sun says since it's outdoor. I ask because I had a plant grow sideways instead of up and sideways so after the double harvest I'll still have a whole half a big plants.

Also a question about superthrive. I saw you did some tests with it and decided it is a good root growth nutrient. If I use something like rapid start would you recommend superthrive or just one or the other?.
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You can reveg based on photoperiods to trigger the hormone that controls the flowering response - phytochrome.

That archive is old. I have a thread about Superjive. I'm with the good doctor - http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda Chalker-Scott/Horticultural Myths_files/Myths/Vitamin B1.pdf
 
chuck estevez

chuck estevez

Well-Known Member
budman111

budman111

Well-Known Member
Hey UB, What is your advice pointer on storing seeds for a few years at least? I was thinking just store in cool dark place with desiccant silican sachets but some refrigerate and some freeze!? I tested my fridges humidity and it was 50-60%, pretty high i would say for storing seeds.

Any advice welcome.
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
budman111 said:
Hey UB, What is your advice pointer on storing seeds for a few years at least? I was thinking just store in cool dark place with desiccant silican sachets but some refrigerate and some freeze!? I tested my fridges humidity and it was 50-60%, pretty high i would say for storing seeds.

Any advice welcome.
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I had a 80% germ rate on some 12 year old TFD O. Haze last year. I store seeds in small baggies which are kept in a tupperware plastic tub in the fridge with a little rice. My crosses that are over 10 years old usually get a 100% germ rate. Keep 'em cold and dry.

Many years ago I took seeds and did a freeze/thaw experiment. After 3 freeze/thaw cycles, they were still viable.

Here's something I wrote many years ago on the subject:

Light, heat, and humidity are the enemies of seed viability. You need to preserve the dormant
state of this little plant (a struggle between auxins and anti-auxins) by depriving the seed of light,
warmth, and moisture. Low humidity and cold temps helps put any fungus spores in check also. I
have stored and germinated seeds stored in the fridge for over 5 years with almost 100%
germination rate, and have germinated seeds that were in stash stored long-term in the freezer.

I use rice (Uncle Ben's of course) :) as a dessicant and heat it to about 220F for a while in the oven
to insure there are no dormant fungus spores residing on the granules and to insure it is quite dry.
After it has *thoroughly* cooled, I throw a little rice in with the seeds which are stored in a dark
container like a film case or pill bottle. Then it's time to chill. I have heard Captan, a broad
spectrum fungicide, can be used to insure that the seeds are further protected. It's done
commercially on food crop seeds like corn.... I haven't tried it though. Of course, commercial
seeds are stored at room temp, conditional that they are to be sowed without much delay.

Keep cool,
Uncle Ben
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Good luck,
UB
 
T

thewizard01

Member
hey UB, I was curious if you had any links saved you could copy and paste or know of any good websites that explain plant botany. Dosn't need to be mary J specific. I was just hoping you knew of some good material to learn from for semi noobes, instead of listening to other noobs? Thanks bud.
 
Kite High

Kite High

Well-Known Member
S

SeaBow

Member
tical916 said:
Hello, another quick question for you all.

I will be using the basic AN 3 part nutrient system. Micro/Grow/Bloom 5-0-1/2-1-6/0-5-4 respectively.

Now I`m thinking I should use Micro/Grow in 1:1 while vegging, giving me a 7-1-7. And Grow/Bloom during flowering, 2-6-10. And then watch how the plant is reacting and further adjust from there. Would this be a good launching point? Also do I need anything else? I know nutrient companies sell millions of diff products are any of them that worth it?
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Uncle! Uncle! I call uncle.... This has GOT to be the best reading I've had on this subject to date. I can't stop BUT this question doesn't seem to have been answered and I'm only on post #300 and after reading this thread for hours with the additional research of other subject matter and links included as I travel through My Eyes are BLEEDING! 2am

Any chance of an opinion on this?
Again, as has been stated 1,000 times here WOW what a thread!

(p.s. did search before I gave up and hit the "reply with quote" button)
 
E

elkukupanda

Active Member
SeaBow said:
Uncle! Uncle! I call uncle.... This has GOT to be the best reading I've had on this subject to date. I can't stop BUT this question doesn't seem to have been answered and I'm only on post #300 and after reading this thread for hours with the additional research of other subject matter and links included as I travel through My Eyes are BLEEDING! 2am

Any chance of an opinion on this?
Again, as has been stated 1,000 times here WOW what a thread!

(p.s. did search before I gave up and hit the "reply with quote" button)
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Hahaha that's the spirit brother! This thread have so much info.. Here is a link that explains about NPK values.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPK_rating
i got myself a cheapo 10 bux one and its doing he job on my first grow..
this is some good read too
http://www.sunset.com/garden/garden-basics/crash-course-fertilizers-00400000015144/

more info all around the oum and probably examples on this thread
 
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