New growers, EAT MY FREE INFORMATION!

I posted this originally in my medical forum for my home State and I realized this should really be available to new growers as well.

I've been a member of this community for over 6 years now going on my 7th and I feel like I need to give back to RIU for all the has been given to me.

When I was a young buck trying to learn how this growing stuff worked, I knew very little and the hydro shop was very confusing to me (still is sometimes). I went through a lot of trial and error as I have only 1 acquaintance I know that grows medically and we don't see eye to eye on methods to insure the end result is quality, so RIU is really my only sanctuary for reliable information from proven growers that know their shit.

I've heard a lot of people get really secretive about their grow style and to this I ask, why? I want every growing enthusiast from tomato growers to cannabis growers to know it can be done with a little dedication, some proper equipment, and a good buddy like RIU to keep ya on the right track when a growing issue pops up.

My first grow was tragedy of epic proportions. You may even be able to find my photos from 6 years ago floating around here somewhere and it's outright shameful what I grew, but I did learn from that experience. I grew in hempy buckets with perlite and vermiculite at a 1:3 ratio in little 3 gallon dollar store trash cans with the hempy hole drilled out about 3" up from the bottom of the bucket for drainage, creating the passive hydro reservoir at the bottom of the bucket.

I couldn't afford a digital PH meter which is a must in hydro, so I used the shitty $8 bottle kit at the detriment of my grow and efforts. I couldn't afford a proper light, so I had 2 rewired 150W HPS industrial lights I got off econolight.com and put them parallel together inside a hollowed out dresser cabinet (gangster, I know), using $1 baking pans from the dollar store as my reflector (don't get jealous).

I then purchased "The recipe for success" kit from techna flora at my local hydro shop. It had something like 10 or 12 different bottles and brother let me tell ya, I used every damn one. You can imagine my results, yes? Burned crunchy leaves on all 3 plants, hermaphrodite on another, and utter devastation that I did not have any smoke-able pot in the end. I did however learn from this experience.

Now being in good 'ol Michigan, I'm legally able to grow medical cannabis for my wife, so I thought I'd better do this right this time.

I sold my ps3 and bought a secret jardin dr120 grow tent for $186 (approximately). My wife's former caregiver gave me a 600w HPS htgsupply digital ballast, hood, and light bulb. I then used my old S&P td-125 inline fan from my previous failed grow and attached a carbon filter to it which cooled my light as well as filtered my exhaust air and provided the negative pressure (tent walls suck in) to bring constant fresh air in. It was beautiful until I got into a summer grow and then I had to separately air cool my light with yet another inline fan (400CFM).

Everything in my environment was good now. At this point, I realized I knew nothing about plant nutrition or what even makes a plant grow. I went with something simple this time which was the general hydroponics 3 part flora series grow, micro, and bloom. I also added floralicous plus but only as a watering additive, not as a foliar (using as a foliar now also).

I grew 4 plants in 5 gallon buckets with fox farm ocean forest. I started in too large of pots so growth was very slow initially but the grow went well with no pests to speak of and the harvest was great. I did have an unidentified problem around week 4 or 5 which presented itself on my next 3 grows as well which turned out to simply be a cal-mag deficiency that I didn't know how to recognize or even address before. Now I give a few hits of cal-mag throughout the plant's life cycle and I keep an eye out for purple stems or leaf mottling / curling up and all has been well again.

My next grow after the previous, I got mites and I got them bad. Week 4 of flowering 5 blue dream's (amazing strain), I noticed my canopy leaves had something going on as if I had light burn but it couldn't be light burn because my light was safely far enough away. 2 or 3 days later not knowing what I was dealing with, I opened my tent to find fucking webs allover my buds on one plant and a few small ones on my other 4. I went into freakout mode and bought all sorts of stupid products that did save my grow, but looking back I now know what to look for in mite damaged leaves as well as how to handle them in a safe and effective manner should they ever pop up again.

My current grow, I finally have the perpetual grow that I always wanted and I have everything dialed in perfectly utilizing a mother / veg tent and a flower tent with carbon scrubbers on both. I have a beautiful t-5 in my veg / clone tent and the same 600w HPS with a nicely upgraded hood with a brand new hortilux bulb (first time using one).

I have now began to refine the little things that make life easier for the cannabis grower (or tomato grower).

I have a 15 gallon tub I bought from lowe's that I fill with tap water (no R.O. yet). I have an air pump connected to 2 air lines and 2 air stones that sit in the tub and keep the water oxygenated while the chlorine evaporates off over the following 24 hours, so I don't kill any beneficial microorganisms that are in my rhizosphere (root zone). This has worked very well and makes my life easier.

I hate measuring nutrients, so I made that easier on myself. I got 12 hobbyist squeeze bottles with caps (8oz I think) and I filled them all with the products I use. I got a little shot glass measuring cup (available at any grow shop or online) that has teaspoons and ML's on the side for easy measuring. A little squeeze on my bottle into the shot glass and I'm good to go. Less mess and easy measuring.

I keep all my squeeze bottles placed directly in front of the original bottles they belong to and are labeled accordingly, so there are no mix ups and I can always reference the bottle if I'm unsure of something.


I have an old computer desk with closing flaps on the front that I use as my grow equipment station. All my nutrients are lined up accordingly in order of application. Micro (always first), Grow, Bloom, and Sea Green (beneficial microbes).

I have cal-mag on standby, floralicious plus for foliar (I like to rotate floralicoius and sea green which both seem to be great products), silica as an additive (haven't used it much, gotta research more), and my PH UP (never used it) and my PH DOWN. These are all in squeeze bottles and I can't tell you how much easier it makes your life when mixing nutrients and adjusting PH. I'd give my my life before you get my fucking squeeze bottles

I have 2 PH meters ($15 each) which one is my daily user and 1 is backup in case my primary breaks. I have a TDS meter which I rarely use and seems fairly unnecessary for me at this point, but I did purchase it so I knew what my PPM's were coming out of the tap. Useful? Sure. Required, no. As long as I don't overdo my nutrients, it's just not necessary.

I then realized the nutrient companies were telling me to use too much. I cut everything down by 25% from the recommended dose and I have had no burning of my leaves since. Plus I get to save on nutrient costs. That solved my nutrient burn problem and helped me dial in proper nutrient dosing.

I have also invested in a nice drying net which was $40 if I remember right. It has 3 tiers and hangs from the ceiling or whatever you'd like to hang it from. I like to hang it inside my tent and dry my buds in there, so my carbon scrubber can keep the air in my home smelling cannabis free (not that I'm offended by the smell or anything).

I had to invest in a dehumidifier which I got a good deal on for $100. Brand new they're about $200.
This is a MUST and I would not be able to grow in the summer / spring without it. I'd have PM allover the place and so would everyone else that chose not to use one in our environment those times of the year. A portable or window a/c unit will accomplish the same goal. My central A/c unit just can't dehumidify the way my stand alone dehumidifier can.

I would love to post some pictures and show off my setup which I will be working on tonight. I encourage everybody to share their style of growing and contribute to a free exchange of information, tips, and advice for the better of the RIU community and the cannabis growing community as a whole.

POST ON MY FRIENDS!

P.S. I may have to edit this for clarity later. I kinda flew by the seat of my pants on this one. Hopefully it's readable for everyone, but I will try to improve on this post later. I think the pictures will help show newer growers how easy it can be with the proper equipment and knowledge to create the true recipe for success

Apparently I can't add any more text to that post so here's my edit:

I have purchased a 8 site clone bucket that has made the cloning process exceptionally easy. That's right, fuck those propagation trays and humidity domes my friends! You can make one yourself or buy one from someone else, but I highly recommend them for any perpetual grower. After my clones are rooted (about 3-5 days), I then transfer them into 32 oz gas station fountain cups with a drain hole cut out about 3" from the bottom. They spend about a week in there while the roots develop and then they are transferred into their final home, which is a 5 gallon hempy bucket. 1 mother plant always stays in the mother / clone / veg tent and that mother is currently THC bomb which is an incredible strain.

When my flowering girls are done in 55-65 days, the vegging ladies are then transferred into the flower tent (after the buds dry from the harvest), and the cycle repeats itself.

Why do I use hempy buckets (water to waste hydro)? Perlite and vermiculite are super cheap as well as very light weight which makes moving it and using it very easy for me as opposed to the weight and mess of dirt. Do I have a problem with dirt? Hell no! In a perfect world, I would have plenty of land to create my own compost pile and so forth, but the world isn't perfect and most growers don't have that kind of space to compost. Be it as it is, synthetic nutrients and the ingredients of making a hempy bucket are simply easier for my situation.

I've seen the success of others' hempy buckets here and on ICMAG and I just had to give it another shot knowing what I now know from my previous 4 or 5 successful grows in dirt and so far it's a wonderful success and I probably won't be going back to dirt until I have more space.

As far as flushing goes, flushing is done to remove excess salt buildup from the use of synthetic nutrient salts to prevent root zone damage that can lead to nutrient lock out which will make vital macro and micro nutrients unavailable to the plant, causing irreparable damage.

My feeling on flushing is that it's probably not necessary when growing properly. I think most people flush because they've used an excessively high concentration of synthetic nutrients throughout the grow cycle and they periodically have to rinse away the excess salt buildup from their grow medium to prevent nutrient lockout.

Flushing does not improve taste. Flushing prevents the buildup of salts. Proper drying, curing, and good genetics is what provides good tasting smooth smoke.

you said flushing doesn't improve taste,it prevents build up off salts ??? I thought it was the salts that give it a harsh smoke?

mainliner said:

you said flushing doesn't improve taste,it prevents build up off salts ??? I thought it was the salts that give it a harsh smoke?

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Excess salts of one element or another will cause nutrient lockout of one or more elements thereby causing damage to the plant as it is unable to properly complete it's metabolic processes.

Flushing is something hydro growers have to do from time to time when using high concentrations of synthetic nutrient salts to was away the excess salts which have a tendency to build up in the grow medium over time. Whether you're growing in rockwool, hydroton, perlite, or whatever inert medium you choose, you will want to wash away the excess salts from time to time to keep your roots happy. Organic growing works very differently which is why organic soil grows do not require a periodic flush. In organic growing by it's very nature, you can stop watering in the last 2 weeks because organic matter is broken down by micro organisms over time, which then becomes available to the plant as micro and macro elements. In the case of the hydro grower who does not have soil and micro organisms breaking down the organic matter, that grower requires a constant supply of nutrients in some ratio or another, otherwise the plant would cease to complete it's necessary processes as the roots are in an inert nutrient devoid medium. The only way the roots get nutrients is from the synthetic salts. In that case, you would not want to completely cease any use of nutrients in a hydro grow towards the end, instead you would just reduce the concentration of the nutrients. In other words, cut back on the nutes.

You should really begin to better understand how plants work and how mother nature makes a plant grow naturally. Then you can understand how a plant grows hydroponically with synthetic nutrients. Hell you can even use synthetic nutrients with organic soil. Your grow would no longer be able to be labeled as organic but it will absolutely work as the plant will simply have the nutrients available immediately with the synthetics as opposed to the organics which have to be broken down, which then become available to the plant.

Flavor and taste is entirely dependent on genetics, giving the plant what it requires, properly drying, and properly curing. That is what provides smooth good smoke.

This should be a grow journal, don't you think?

ficklejester said:

This should be a grow journal, don't you think?

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I don't have the time or patience to do a grow journal. I'm just too damn busy and I wish I wasn't. Be it as it is, I crammed as much information as I could think of into this in hopes of helping some new growers understand this simple yet complex process of making a plant grow and produce fruit.

And this is what my hempy's do:

well arnt you headfull of info,that's good to.know for future questions thanks,,,,,,but,,,,man can you talk,lollol

As far as image posting on RIU, you should all disable GEOTAGGING on your smart phone. If you do not, your exact GPS coordinates are recorded into the file information and for a number of reasons that will remain unmentioned, that is not a good thing.

Always disable geotagging.

mainliner said:

well arnt you headfull of info,that's good to.know for future questions thanks,,,,,,but,,,,man can you talk,lollol

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I'm enthusiastic about the plant. Can't help it

Pics above. No geotag.

jonnynobody said:

As far as image posting on RIU, you should all disable GEOTAGGING on your smart phone. If you do not, your exact GPS coordinates are recorded into the file information and for a number of reasons that will remain unmentioned, that is not a good thing.

Always disable geotagging.

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did someone mention image posting,,,what images,,,whos images??

mainliner said:

did someone mention image posting,,,what images,,,whos images??

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Just a generalized statement for new growers. The advent of smart phones also allows smart snooping. Geo tags can be dangerous for some in non medical states.

Any who, I posted some pics of my hempy's in my edited post above. Let me know if you can't see them.

jonnynobody said:

And this is what my hempy's do:View attachment 3235625 View attachment 3235626 View attachment 3235625

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are they suppose to be that yellow??

mainliner said:

are they suppose to be that yellow??

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Yes, they are at day 58 of flower. They have somewhere between 2 days to 5 days and they will be ready to chop down and hang dry. As the plant nears the end of it's flowering cycle and it's metabolic processes come to a slow down, the plant will begin to exhibit signs of a Nitrogen deficiency which is absolutely normal at the end of flower. It's the natural order of things. Do you look at an old man and say, "why is your skin so wrinkly?" That's just the natural order of things my man. I didn't create the rules, I'm just here playing the game.

mainliner said:

are they suppose to be that yellow??

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Yes it's the natural order of things. Those plants are in day 58 of flower and they will be ready to come down in 2-5 days. As the plant nears the end of it's flowering life cycle, the plant no longer needs to produce chlorophyll as the plant focuses all of it's energy on ripening of the flowers. By this occurrence, the leaves will naturally begin to yellow which is the indicator the plant is near ready to chop (as long as this doesn't happen until week 7).

90% of new growers and even many seasoned growers chop their harvest too early, not allowing their flowers to achieve their full resinous potential. That good sir, is a crying shame. If the leaves aren't yellowing, the plant isn't nearing the end of it's life cycle yet. For the love of THC, don't fucking chop it yet!

You can also observe the resin glands to determine ripeness. The resin glands should be mostly milky and the heads of the glands should be swollen. Kinda looks like a swollen milky mushroom cap. You'll never get all of the resin glands where you want them because the plant is constantly producing new resin glands, so different resin glands will have different rates of maturity.

Most of the pot I see that others have grown is lackluster at best. I won't even smoke most others' pot because I can simply look at and feel the bud and tell you how many things were done wrong in the grow and I never even had to see the plant.

I work hard to achieve good results. Most people are simply not willing to put in the effort. I happen to like good pot and I happen to think anything worth doing is worth doing right. I fuck right, I grow right, I drink right, and I play right. There's just no other way of life for me.

By the way, my camera is ball sack which is why those pics are so grainy. I'm working on getting that shit figured out.

Preach it....thanks.

Old-School said:

Preach it....thanks.

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haliluagha there is a god!!