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There are
few things in life as good as your own herb, grown by yourself at home out in
the garden and indoors in pots... Oregano, Dill, Basil, Sage and other herbs
are all easy to grow. Mint will take over the whole yard if you let it. Fresh
mint and celantro are incredible in salads and oriental dishes. But it all
comes down to a truly motivational herb that is your friend and mine, a great
healer and teacher to those that know it well.
Most people think of
gardens as a seasonal, yearly project, but it's actually less time consuming
and more rewarding to keep the garden going year round. If one were to attempt
to grow year round, indoor gardening techniques will be needed at least during
winter to keep the garden producing. You will have herb fresh at all times,
there is no worry of mass storage thru the winter and spring, it requires less
space, and once established, requires only minimal attention every week to keep
it producing at optimal levels.
The best part of being a
gardener is it connects you to the earth. It connects you with nature, and is
spiritually enriching. Try giving your plants energy by beaming good thoughts
and energy at them every time you visit them. I find this helps me as much as
it helps them; my plants seem to respond to it favorably.
It's very important to
start with good genetics. You should attempt to find seeds from local gardeners
that are acclimated and bred for local climate and best floral characteristics.
Potency, aroma, fast growth, early maturation, resistance to fungus and pests.
All of these factors are considered by the seasoned gardener and you will
benefit enormously by finding a friend to get you started on the journey that
never ends...
Attempt to find an
Indica/Sativa hybrid if possible, as this will have the best high and good
characteristics for indoor growth as well. Indica plants have a heavy, stony
high that is tiresome, and sativas' are hard to grow indoors due to high light
requirements, and late flowering traits, so a hybrid can be bread that will
have the energetic, cerebral high of the sativa and the early maturation
tendencies of the Indica plant.
The Indica plant is easily
recognized by its extremely broad leaves that are very rounded on the sides.
The Sativa has very narrow, finger-like leaves. A hybrid will have qualities of
both and have leaves that are a cross of these two types, thinner than an
Indica, but much broader than a Sativa. It is possible to recognize a good
hybrid by the leaves once you know what to look for.
Look for seeds that are
dark brown or light grey. Some may have dark lines inset into these colors,
like tiger stripes. White, small seeds are immature and should not be planted.
One of the best solutions
to energy verses output for most home gardeners is to use outdoor light for
flowering and use continuous light indoors for germination and vegetative
growth. This will take advantage of the natural light/dark cycle and cut your
energy use in half compared to the same operation indoors. A small greenhouse
can be built of Filon fiberglass or PVC sheets that is innocuous and looks much
like a storage shed or tool shed so it's not likely to raise suspicions.
In fact, a large shed of
metal or plywood can be modified with a luminous roof of PVC, glass, fiberglass
or plastic sheet, and some strains that do not require a great deal of light
will grow well. Such a shed will discourage fly-by sightings and keep your
business your own! It also allows you to keep out rats and gophers, keeps out
the neighbor kids, and can be easily locked up. It will also give you an
opportunity to actually plant in the ground if you desire, and this is the best
way to avoid root-bound plants (if your not using hydroponics), and get bigger
harvests.
In winter, indoor space is
used to start new seedlings or cuttings to be placed outside in the spring,
using natural sunlight to ripen the plants. This routine will provide at least
3 outdoor/greenhouse harvests per year. If more space is available to
constantly be starting indoors and flowering 2nd harvest plants outdoors,
harvests are possible every 60 days in many areas, with a small indoor harvest
in the winter as a possibility as well.
The basic strategy of year
round production is to understand the plant has two growth cycles. At
germination the plant enters into a vegetative state and will be able to use
all the continuous light you can give it. This means there is no dark cycle
required. The plant will photosynthesis constantly and grow faster than it
would outdoors with long evenings. Photosynthesis stops during dark periods and
the plant uses sugars produced to build during the evening. This is not a
requirement and the plant will grow faster at this stage with continuous
photosynthesis (constant light).
Once the plant is
12-18" tall, weather permitting, it can be forced to start flowering by
placing it outside in the Spring or Fall. (For Summer outdoor flowering, the
night must be artificially lengthened in the greenhouse to "force"
the plants to flower. See FLOWERING chapter.)
Moving the plants to 10-13
hour light periods (moving it outside) with uninterrupted darkness (no bright
lights nearby) will force the plant to flower. It will ripen and be 2-3' when
ready to harvest. When a plant is moved from continuous indoor light to a 10-13
hour day outside, it will start to flower in anticipation of oncoming winter.
Vegetative starts moved outside March 1st, will be ripe by May 1. Vegetative
starts moved outside on May 1 will be ripe by July 1. Starts moved outside Sept
1 are picked by Nov. 1st. In Winter, operations are moved indoors and a crop is
planted for seed in anticipation of planting outdoors the next summer, or just
for some extra winter stash.
Keep in mind that the
"man" is looking for plants in the Sept./Oct./Nov. time-frame, and
may never notice plants placed outside to flower in April. Be smart, make your
big harvest in May, not October!
A small indoor space should
be found that can be used to germinate seeds; these vegetative starts are
placed outside to mature in the spring after last freezes are over. The space
can be a closet, a section of a bedroom, a basement area, an attic or unused
bathroom. Some people devote entire bedrooms to growing.
The space must be light
leak proofed, so that no suspicious light is seen from outside the house. This
could invite fuzz or rip-offs.
The space should be vented.
Opening the door of a closet can be enough ventilation if the space is not lit
by big lights that generate a lot of heat. Separate exhaust and incoming air
vents are best. One at the top of the room to exhaust air into the attic or out
the roof, and one to bring in air from an outside wall or under-floor crawl
space. Use fans from old computer cabinets, available from electronic
liquidators for $5 each. Dimmer swithes can be used to regulate the speed/noise
of the fans. Use silicon to secure the fans to 4-6" PVC pipe pushed thru a
round hole cut in the floor and ceilings. Use lots of silicon to damp the fans
vibrations, so that the walls do not resonate to the fans' ocsilations.
Line the walls with
aluminum foil, dull side out to diffuse the light and prevent hot-spots, or
paint the walls bright white to reflect light. Aluminized mylar, 1 mil thick is
best.($20 for 25 feet of a 4' wide roll.) Mirrors are not good to use, since
the glass eats light!
Line the floor with plastic
in case of water spills, etc. Set up a voltage interrupt socket and be sure the
electrical wiring will handle the lamps your going to use. Always place
ballasts for HID lamps on a shelf, so they are above floor level, in case of
water spills. Spacers place on the floor under a ballast will work too.
A shelf above the main grow
area can be used to clone cuttings and germinate seedlings. It will allow you
to double the area of your grow space and is an invaluable storage area for
plant food, spray bottles and other gardening supplies. This area stays very
warm, and no germination warming pad will be needed, so this arrangement saves
you $.
Hang a light proof curtain
to separate this shelf from the main area when used for flowering. This will
allow constant lights on the shelf and dark periods in the main grow area.
Velcro can be used to keep the curtain in place and ties can be used to roll it
up when tending the garden. Black vinyl with white backing works best.
Now you need light. A
couple of shop lights will be fine if you just want to start plants inside and
then take them outside to grow in a small greenhouse. They can be purchased
with bulbs for about $10 each, or without bulbs for around $8. Try to find them
on sale. Use one Cool White and one Warm Light type bulb in each to get the
best light spectrum possible for plant growth. Do not use expensive Grow Lux
type bulbs, as they do not put out as much light, and therefor do not work as
well in most situations (go figure). If Cool White is all you can find, or
afford, use them. They work fine, and are by far the cheapest.(About $1-2
each.)
Shelf gardening with
fluorescents may be the trend of the future, since the materials are so
inexpensive, and easy to obtain. Fluorescent lamps are great for shelf
gardening. In this system, many shelves can be placed, one above the other, and
fluorescent lamps are used on each shelf. Some shelves have 24 hour lighting,
some have 12 hour lighting (for flowering). Two areas are best, perhaps with
one other devoted to cloning and germination of seed.
Shelf gardening assumes
your going to keep all plants 3' or shorter at maturity, so all shelves are 3-4
feet apart. Less light is necessary when you have plants that are this short
and forced to mature early.
One drawback to a shelf
garden like this is that it is very time consuming to adjust the lamp height
every day, and it is harder to take a vacation for even a week with no tending
of the garden. This applies mostly to the vegetative stage, when plants are
growing as much as an inch per day. Lamps on the flowering shelves are not
adjusted nearly as often.
Normally, the lamps should
be kept within 2 inches of the tops of the plants, with the plants arranged
such that they get progressively taller as the end of the lamps go up, so that
all plants are within this 2" range. This is an ideal however, and if you
do go on vacation, adjust the lamps so that your sure the plants will not be
able to grow up to the lamps within that length of time. If enough flourecents
are used to completely saturate the shelf with light, the spacing issue will
not create spindly plants. They will mearly grow a little slower if the lamps
are not very close to them.
An alternative is to use
fluorescent lamps for cloning, germination and early seedling growth on the top
shelf of a closet, then switch over to HPS for heavy vegatative growth and/or
flowering in the main closet area.
Position the HPS such that
it won't need adjustment, at the top most possible point in the closet or room.
Most HPS installations will not require lamp height adjustment. Just attach the
lamp to the underside of shelf or ceiling as high as possible, and if you want
to get a few plants closer to it, put them on a temporary shelf, box or table
to get them closer to the lamp.
A shelf is all that is
necessary with this type of setup, preferably at least 18" wide, up to
about 24" maximum. This area must be painted a very bright white, or
covered with aluminum foil, dull side out to reflect light back to the plants.
(Dull side out prevents hot-spots; diffuses light better.) Paint the shelf
white too. Or, use aluminized mylar, a space blanket, or any silvery surface
material. Do not use mirrors, as the glass soaks up light.
Hang shop lamps from chains
and make sure you can adjust them with hooks or some other type of mechanism so
they can be kept as close to the plants as possible at all times (1-2").
If the lamps are too far from the plants, the plants could grow long, spindly
stems trying to reach the lamp, and will not produce as much bud at maturity.
This is due to internode length being much longer. This is the length of stem
between each set of leaves. If it is shorter, there can be more internodes,
thus more branches, thus a plant that provides more buds in less space at
harvest time.
Shelf gardening is
sometimes referred to as Sea of Green, because many plants are grown close
together, creating a green canopy of tops that are grown and matured quickly,
and the next crop is started and growing concurrently in a separate area of
continuous light. Clones are raised in a constant light shelf, until they start
to grow well vegetatively, then placed on a 12 hour per day shelf to flower.
Indoors, 2000 lumens per
sq. ft. is about as low as you want to go indoors. If you get under this mark,
plant growth will certainly not go as fast as possible, and internode/stem length
will increase. Also, light distance to plants will be much more critical. Daily
adjustments to the lamps will be necessary, meaning you get no vacations.
2500 lumens psf should be a
good target, and 3000 is optimal if your going to inject or enrich CO2 levels
(more on that later).
High Intensity Discharge
lamps are the best solution for most indoor growers. HID lamps come in 3 basic
flavors: High Pressure Sodium (HPS), Metal Halide (MH) and Mercury Vapor. Metal
Halide is an improved spectrum, higher intensity Mercury Vapor design. HPS is a
yellowish sort of light, maybe a bit pink or orange. Same as some street lamps.
HPS lamps can be used to
grow a crop from start to finish. Tests show that the HPS crop will mature 1
week later than a similar crop under MH, but it will be a bigger yield, so it's
better to wait the extra week.
The easiest HID to buy, and
least expensive initially are the flourescent and mercury vapor lamps. MV will
put out about 8000 lumens per 175 watts, and 150 watts of HPS puts out about
15k lumens, so HPS is almost twice as efficient. But the color spectrum from MV
lamp output is not as good. HPS is high in reds, which works well for
flowering, while the Metal Halide is rich in blues, needed for the best
vegetative growth. Unfortunately, MV lamps provide the worst spectrum for plant
growth, but are very inexpensive to purchase.They are not recommended, unless
you find them free, and even then, the electricity/efficiency issues outweigh
the initial costs saved.
400 watt HPS will output
around 45k lumens. For every 500 watts of continuous use, you use about $20 a
month in electricity, so it is evident that a lamp taking half the power to
output the same lumens (or twice the lumens at the same power level) will pay
for itself in a year or so, and from then on, continuous savings will be
reaped. This is a simple initial cost vs. operating costs calculation, and does
not take into account the faster growth and increased yield the HPS lamp will
give you, due to more light being available. If this is factored into the
calculation the HPS lamp will pay for itself with the first crop, when compared
to MV or fluorescent lamps, since it is easily twice as efficient and grows
flowers faster and bigger.
Lamp Type Watts Lumens per bulb Total efficiency Fluorescent Bulb 40 3000 400 watts = 30k lumens Mercury Vapor 175 8000 400 watts = 20k lumens Metal Halide 400 36000 400 watts = 36k lumens High P. Sodium 400 45000 400 watts = 45k lumens
Notice the Mercury Vapor
lamps are less efficient than the fluorescent (FL), and can not be positioned
as close to the plants, so the plants will not be able to use as much of the MV
light. The light distribution is not as good either. MV lamps simply are not
suitable for indoor gardening. Use flourecent, MH, or HPS lamps only. Halogen
arc lamps generate too much heat and not very much light for the wattage they
use, and are also not recommened, even though the light spectrum is suitable
for decent growth.
There is a new type of HPS
lamp called Son Agro, and it is available in a 250, 1000, and 400 watt range.
The 400 is actually 430 watts; they have added 30 watts of blue to this bulb.
It is a very bright lamp (53k lumens) and is made for greenhouse use. These
bulbs can be purchased to replace normal HPS bulbs, so they are an option if
you already own a HPS lamp. The beauty of this bulb is that you do not give up
most of the advantages of MH lamps, such as minimal internode spacing and early
maturation, like most HPS users do, and you have all advantages of a HPS lamp.
One bulb does it all.
Internodal length of plants
grown with the Son Agro are the shortest ever seen with any type of lamp.
Plants grown under this lamp are incredibly bushy, compact and grow very fast.
Son Agro bulbs however, do not last as long as normal HPS bulbs. There is
something like a 25% difference in bulb life.
Metal Halide (MH) is
another option, and is available in both a 36k and 40k lumen bulbs for the 400
watt size. The Super Bulb (40k) is about $10-15 more, and provides an extra
4000 lumens. I think the Super Bulb may last longer; if so, that makes it the
way to go. Halide light is more blue and better than straight HPS for
vegetative growth, but is much less efficient than HPS. It is possible to
purchase conversion bulbs for a MH lamp that convert it to HPS, but the cost of
the conversion bulb is more expensive than the color corrected Son Agro bulb,
so I would recommend just buying the Son Agro HPS. Even though it costs more
initially, you get more for your energy dollar later, and it's much easier to
hang than 10 fluorescent tubes.
If you have a MH 36k lumen
lamp burning at 400 watts and a 53k lumen HPS burning at 430 watts, which is
better efficiency wise? Which will provide a better yield? Obviously, the Son
Agro HPS, but of course, the initial cost is higher. Actually, the ballast will
add about 10% to these wattage numbers.
The Son Agro bulb will
prove much better than the MH for any purpose. The MH bulb does not last as
long, but is cheaper. Compare $36 for a 400 watt MH bulb vs. $40 for the HPS
bulb. Add $15 for the Son Agro HPS. The HPS bulb life is twice as long. 10k
hours vs. 21k hours. The Son Agro is 16k hours or so. Still, longer bulb life
and more light add up to more for your energy dollar long term.
Horizontal mounting of any
HID is a good idea, as this will boost by 30% the amount of light that actually
reaches the plants. Most HID's sold for indoor garden use these days are of
this horizontal mounting arrangement.
HPS is much less expensive
to operate than any other type of lamp, but comes in the 70 watt size at the
home improvement stores. This size is not very efficient, but blows away FL in
efficiency, so they might be an alternative to FL for very small operations,
like 9 sq. feet or less. Over 9 sqr. feet, you need more light than one of
these lamps can provide, but you could use two of them. 70 watt HPS lamps cost
about $40 each, complete. Two lamps would be 140 watts putting out about 12k
lumens, so it's better than FL, but a 150 watt HPS puts out about 18k lumens,
the bulb life is longer, bulbs are cheaper and the lamp more efficient to
operate. The biggest problem is that the mid size lamps like the 150 and 250
watt HPS are almost as expensive to buy as the larger 400's. For this reason,
if you have room for the larger lamp, buy the 400. If your going pro, a 1080
watt model is available too, but you might find there is better light
distribution from two 400's rather than one large lamp. Of course, the two
smaller lamps are more expensive to purchase than one large lamp, so most
people choose the larger lamp for bigger operations.
Heat buildup in the room is
a factor with HID lamps, and just how much light the plants can use is
determined by temperature, CO2 levels, nutrient availability, PH, and other
factors. Too big of a lamp for a space will make constant venting necessary,
and then there is no way to enrich CO2, since it's getting blown out of the
room right away.
Bulb Costs: the bulb cost
on the 70 watt HPS is $24, the 150 is only $30, and the 400 is only $40. So you
will spend more to replace two 70 watt bulbs than you will to replace one 400
watt HPS. (Go figure.) Add that up with the lower resale value on the 70's
(practically nothing) and the fact that they are being modified and are not
suited to this application, and it becomes evident that $189 for a 250 HPS
lamp, or $219 for a 400, might just be worth the price. Keep in mind that for
$30 more, you can have the larger lamp (400watt) and it puts out 20k lumens
more light than the smaller lamp. Not a bad deal!
Here is the breakdown on
prices (from memory):
Type Complete Cost Bulb Cost Bulb Life Lumens HPS 400 $219 $40 18k hours 50k MH 400 $175 $37 10k hours 36k Son Agro400 $235 $55 15k hours 53k Super MH400 $190 $45 ?? 40k MH 250 $149 $32 ?? 21k HPS 250 $165 $36 ?? 27k HPS agro250 $180 $53 ?? 30k
MH 150 $139 $25 ?? 14k HPS 175 $150 $30 ?? 17k
If your looking for these
types of lamps, look in the Yellow Pages under gardening, nursuries, and
lighting for indoor gardening stores in your area.
Sea of Green (SOG) is the
theory of harvesting lots of small plants, matured early to get the fastest
production of buds available. Instead of growing a few plants for a longer
period of time, in the same space many smaller plants are grown that mature
faster and in less time. Thus, less time is required between crops. This is
important to you when the electricity bill comes each month. One crop can be
started while another is maturing, and a continuous harvest, year round can be
maintained. 4 plants per square foot will be a good start for seedlings. 1
plant per square foot will allow plenty of room for each plant to grow a large
top cola, but will not allow for much bottom branching. This is OK since
indoors, these bottom branches are always shaded anyway, and will not grow very
well unless given additional light and space. The indoor grower quickly
realizes that plants that are too tall do not produce enough at the bottom to
make the extra growing time used worth while. An exception to this rule would
be if it is intended the plants are to go outside at some point, and it is
expected that the light/shading issue will not be a factor at that point.
The plants, if started at
the same time, should create what is called a "green canopy" that
traps most of the light at the top level of the plants. Little light will
penetrate below this level, since the plants are so close together. The
gardener is attempting to concentrate on the top of the plant, and use the
light and space to the best advantage, in as little time as possible. Use of
nylon poultry fence or similar trellising laid out over the green canopy will
support the plants as they start to droop under the weight of heavy fruiting
tops. Stakes can be used too, but are not as easy to install for plants in the
middle and back of the room, where reach is more difficult.
It's easy to want big plants,
since they will produce more yield per plant, but it's usually better with
limited space to grow smaller plants that mature faster and pack into smaller
spaces. Sea of Green was developed in Holland. Instead of fitting 4 large
plants in that small room, fit 12 small ones on a shelf above 12 other small
plants. These plants take only 3-4 months to mature from germination to ripe
buds, and harvesting takes place constantly, since there is both a vegetative
and flowering area devoted to each, with harvests every 45-60 days.
It's not the size of the
plant, but the maturity and quality of the product that counts. Twice as many
plants grown half as big will fill the grow space twice as fast, so harvests
take place almost twice as often. Get good at picking early flowering plants,
and propagate only those that are of the best quality.
6" square containers
will allow for 4 plants per square foot. You may also gauge by the size of your
growing tray (for passive hydroponics); I like kitty litter boxes. ($3 each at
Target) Planted 4 per square foot, (for vegatative seedlings) a 12 sq. ft.
closet will hold 48 seedlings on one shelf. In my case, I use 4" rockwool
cubes that fit into kitty litter pans @ 12 cubes per pan. I can get 5 pans onto
a 12 sq. ft. closet upper shelf, so that is 60 seedlings on one small shelf!
For flowering indoors, 1
plant per sq. ft. is a good rule of thumb for SOG. If less plants are grown in
this size space, it will take them longer to fill the space, thus more
electricity and time will be used to create the same amount of product. If more
than one plant p.s.f. is attempted, the grower will soon find that plants thus
crowded tend to be more stem than bud, and the total harvest may be reduced, so
be cautious.
It's good to avoid
"topping" your plants if you want them to grow as fast as possible.
It's better just to grow 2 or 4 times more plants, since they will produce
more, faster, in the same space. Also, "training" plants with
twist-ties is a great way to get them to bush out a bit. Just take any type of
plastic or paper twist tie and wrap it around the top of the plant, then pull
it over until the top is bent over 90-180 degrees and then attach this to the
main stem lower on the plant. Do this for one week and then release the plant
from it's bond. The plant can be trained in this fashion to take less vertical
space and to grow bushier, to fill the grow space and force lower limbs to grow
upward and join the green canopy. This technique takes advantage of the fact
that if the top is pulled over, it creates a hormonal condition in the plant
that makes it bush out at all lower internodes.
Sea of Green entails
growing to harvest the main cola (top) of the plant. Bottom branches are
trimmed to increase air flow under the "blanket" of growing tops. Use
these cuttings for clones, as they are the easiest part of the plant to root.
It's also the fastest part of the plant to regenerate after flowering has
occurred.
Germinate seeds in sterile
soil (for planting outdoors) or a hydroponic medium of rockwool or vermiculite.
DO NOT (!) use a Jiffy cube #7 to germinate seeds. Informal tests and
experience show these peat cubes do not work well and stunt the plants growth.
Planting in vermiculite gives the seedling so much oxygen, and are so easy for
roots to grow in, that the plants look large 1 week after germination!
Keep them moist at all
times, by placing seeds in vermiculite filled 16oz cups with holes in the
bottom, placed in a tray of weak nutrient solution, high in P. Rockwool cubes
also work extremely well. When the seed sprouts, place the rockwool cubes into
larger rockwool cubes. No repotting or transplanting, and no soil mixing!
You can germinate seeds in
a paper towel. This method is tricky; it's easy to ruin roots if they dry out,
or are planted too late after germinating. Paper towels dry out REAL FAST!
Place paper towel in a bowl, saturated with weak nutrient solution (not too
much!), and cover with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Put bowl in a
warm area; top of the gas stove, water heater closet, or above warm lamps.
Cover with black paper to keep out light. Check every 12 hours and plant
germinated seeds with the grow tip up (if possible) in a growing medium as soon
as the root coming out of the seed is 1/16" or longer. Use tweezers, and
don't touch the root tip.
Transplant as little as
possible by germinating in the same container you intend to grow the plant in
for a significant period of time. Just plant in vermiculite or rockwool. You
will be amazed at the results! 90% germination is common with this method, as
compared to 50% or less with Jiffy Cubes. (Your milage may vary.)
5-55-17 plant food such as
Peter's Professional will stimulate root growth of the germinating seed and the
new seedlings. Use a very dilute solution, in distilled water, about 1/3 normal
strength, and keep temperatures between 72-80 degrees. Warm temperatures are
very important. Many growers experience low germination rate if the
temperatures are out of this range. A heating pad set to low or medium may be
necessary, or a shelf constantly warmed by a light may do, but test it with a
few seeds first, before devoting next years crop to it. No light is necessary
and may slow germination. Cover germinating seeds with black paper to keep out
light. Place seedlings in the light once they sprout.
Plan on transplanting only
once or twice before harvest. Use the biggest containers possible for the space
and number of seedlings you plan to start. Plants will suffer if continuously
transplanted and delay harvesting. You will suffer too, from too much work! 13
2-liter plastic soda bottles filled with vermiculite/pearlite will fit in a cat
box tray, and will not require transplanting for the first harvest, if you
intend to grow hydroponically. Transplant them for a second regenerated
harvest.
Cut holes in the bottom of
containers and fill the last few inches at the top with vermiculite only, to
start seeds or accept seedling transplants. Since vermiculite holds water well,
wicks water well, but does not hold too much water, roots always have lots of
oxygen, even if they are sitting in a tray full of water. A hydrogen peroxide
based plant food is used to get extra oxygen to the plants when the pans are
kept continuously full. The water can be allowed to recede each time after
watering, before new solution is added. This allows the plants roots to dry
somewhat, and make sure they are getting enough oxygen.
Use SuperSoil brand potting
soil, as it is excellent and sterilized. If you insist on using dirt from the yard,
sterilize it in the microwave or oven until it gets steamy.(NOT RECOMMENDED)
Sterilize the containers with a bleach solution, especially if they have been
used a previous season for another plant.
Once sprouted, the plant
starts vegetative growth. This means the plant will be photosynthesizing as
much as possible to grow tall and start many grow tips at each pair of leaves.
A grow tip is the part that can be cloned or propagated asexually. They are
located at the top of the plant, and every major internode. If you
"top" the plant, it then has two grow tips at the top. If you top
each of these, you will have 4 grow tips at the top of the plant. (Since it
takes time for the plant to heal and recover from the trauma of being pruned,
it faster to grow 4 smaller plants and not top them at all. Or grow 2 plants,
and "train" them to fill the same space. Most growers find)
All plants have a
vegetative stage where they are growing as fast as possible after the plant
first germinates from seed. It is possible to grow plants with no dark period,
and increase the speed at which they grow by 15-30&. Plants can be grown
vegetatively indefinitely. It is up to the gardener to decide when to force the
plant to flower. A plant can grow from 12" to 12' before being forced to
flower, so there is a lot of latitude here for each gardener to manage the
garden based on goals and space available.
A solution of 20-20-20 with
trace minerals is used for both hydroponic and soil gardening when growing
continuously under lights. Miracle Grow Patio or RapidGrow plant food is good
for this. A high P plant food such as Peter's 5-50-17 food is used for blooming
and fruiting plants when beginning 12 hour days. Epsom salts (1tsp) should be
used in the solution for magnesium and sulfur minerals. Trace minerals are
needed too, if your food does not include them. Miracle Grow Patio includes
these trace elements, and is highly recommended.
Keep lights on continuously
for sprouts, since they require no darkness period like older plants. You will
not need a timer unless you want to keep the lamps off during a certain time
each day. Try to light the plants for 18 or more hours, or continuously at this
point.
Bend a young plant's stem
back and forth to force it to be very thick and strong. Spindly stems can not
support heavy flowering growth. An internal oscillating fan will reduce
humidity on the leave's stomata and improve the stem strength as well. The
importance of nternal air circulation can not be stressed enough. It will excersize
the plants and make them grow stronger, while reducing many hazards that could
ruin your crop.
HYDROPONIC VEGATATIVE
SOLUTION, per gallon:
Miracle Grow Patio
(contains trace elements) 1 teaspoon
Epsom salts 1/2 teaspoon
Human Urine (OPTIONAL - may
create odors indoors.) 1/4 cup
Oxygen Plus Plant Food
(OPTIONAL) 1 teaspoon
This mixture will insure
your plants are getting all major and minor nutrients in solution, and will
also be treating your plants with oxygen for good root growth, and potassium
nitrate for good burning qualities. Another good GROWTH PHASE mix is 1/4 tsp
Peter's 20/20/20 fertilizer per gallon of water, with trace elements and oxygen
added, or fish emulsion. Fish emulsion is great in the grean-house or outdoors,
where smells are not an issue, but is not recommended for indoors, due to its
strong odor.
The the plant will be
induced to fruit or flower with dark cycles of 11-13 hours that simulate the
oncoming winter in the fall as the days grow shorter. As a consequence, it
works out well indoors to have two separate areas; one that is used for the
initial vegetative state and one that is used for flowering and fruiting. There
is no other requirement other than to keep the dark cycle for flowering very
dark with no light interruptions, as this can stall flowering by days or weeks.
Once a plant is big enough
to mature (12" or over), dark periods are required for most plants to
flower and bear fruit. This will require putting the lamp on a timer, to create
regular and strict dark periods of uninterrupted light. In the greenhouse, the
same effect can be created in the Summer (long days) by covering it with a
blanket to make longer night periods. A strict schedule of covering the plants
at 8pm and uncovering them at 8am for 2 weeks will start your plants to
flowering. After the first 2 weeks, the schedule can be relaxed a little, but
it will still be necessary to continue this routine for the plants to
completely flower without reverting back to vegatative growth.
Outdoors, Spring and Fall,
the nights are sufficiently long to induce flowering at all times. Merely bring
the plants from indoors to the outside at these times, and the plants will
flower naturally. In late Summer, with Fall approaching, it may be necessary
only to force flowering the first two weeks, then the rapidly lengthening
nights will do the rest.
Give flowering plants high
P plant food and keep them on a strict light regimen of 12 hours, with no
light, or no more than a full moon during the dark cycle. 13 hours light, 11
dark may increase flower size while still allowing the plant to go into the
flowering mode. Use longer dark periods to speed maturity toward the end of the
flowering cycle if speed is of the essence. (8-10 days) This will however,
reduce total yield.
Two shelves can be used,
one identical to the other, if strictly indoor gardening is desired. One
shelf's lights are set for 12-13 hours, and one is lit continuously. Plants are
started in continuous light, and are moved to the other shelf to flower to
maturity after several weeks. This flowering shelf should be bigger than the
"starting" or "vegetative" shelf, so that it can
accommodate larger plants. Or, some plants can be taken outside if there is not
enough space on the flowering shelf for all of them near harvesting.
A light tight curtain can
be made from black vinyl, or other opaque material, with a reflective material
on the other side to reflect light back to the plants. This curtain can be tied
with cord when rolled up to work on the garden, and can be velcroed down in
place to make sure no light leaks in or out. If the shelf is placed up high, it
will not be very noticeable, and will fit in any room. Visitors will never
notice it unless you point it out to them, since it is above eye level, and no
light is being emitted from it.
Flowering plants like very
high P level foods, such as 5-50-17, but 10-20-10 should be adequate. Nutrients
should be provided with each watering when first flowering.
Trace elements are
necessary too; try to find foods that include these, so you don't have to use a
separate trace element food too. Home improvement centers sell trace element
solutions rich in iron for lawn deficiencies, and these can be adapted for use
in cultivating the herb. Prices for these mass produced fertilizers are
significantly cheaper than the specialized hydroponic fertilizers sold in
indoor gardening shops, and seem to work just fine.
HYDROPONIC FLOWERING
SOLUTION, per gallon:
1 tspn high P plant food,
such as 15-30-15, or 5-50-17, etc.
1/2 tspn epsom salts
1 tspn Oxygen Plus Plant
Food (Optional)
1 tspn Trace Element food
I cannot stress enough that
during the FLOWERING PHASE, the dark period should not be violated by normal
light. It delays flower development due to hormones in the plant that react to
light. If you must work on the plants during this time, allow only as much
light as a VERY pale moon can provide for less than 5 minutes. Keep pruning to
a minimum during the entire FLOWERING PHASE.
A green light can be used
to work on the garden during the dark period with no negative reactions from
the plants. These are sold as nursery safety lights, but any green bulb should
be OK. It is best to keep the dark hours a time when you would normally not
wish to visit the garden. Personally, I like my garden lit from 7pm to 7am,
since it allows me to visit the garden at night after work and in the morning
before work, and all day long, while I'm too busy to worry about it, it lies
unlit and undisturbed, flowering away...
Flowering plants should not
be sprayed often as this will promote mold and rot. Keep humidity levels down
indoors when flowering, as this is the most delicate time for the plants in
this regard.
Early flowering is noticed
1-2 weeks after turning back the lights to 12 hour days. Look for 2 white hairs
emerging from a small bulbous area at every internode. This is the easiest way
to verify females early on. You can not tell a male from a female by height, or
bushiness.
3-6 weeks after turning
back the lights, your plants will be covered with these white pistils emerging
from every growtip on the plant. It will literally be covered with them. These
are the mature flowers, as they continue to grow and cover the plant. Some
plants will do this indefinately until the lights are turned back yet again. At
the point you feel your ready to see the existing flowers become ripe ( you
feel the plant has enought flowers), turn the lights back to 8-10 hours. Now
the plant will start to ripen quickely, and should be ready to harvest in 2-3
weeks. The alternative, is to allow the plant to ripen with whatever natural
day length is available outside, or keep the plants on a constant 12 hour
regimen for the entire flowering process, which may increase yield, but takes
longer.
Plants can be flowered in
the final stages outdoors, even if the days are too long for normal flowering
to occur. Once the plant has almost reached peak floral development, it is too
far gone to revert quickly to vegatative growth, and final flowering will occur
regardless. This will free up precious indoor space sooner, for the next batch
of clones to be flowered.
Look for the white hairs to
turn red, orange or brown, and the false seed pods ( you did pull the males,
right?) to swell with resins. When most of the pistils have turned color
(~80%), the flowers are ripe to harvest.
Don't touch those buds!
Touch only the large fan leaves if you want to inspect the buds, as the THC
will come off on your fingers and reduce the overall yield if mishandled.
Most growers report that a
hydroponic system will grow plants faster than a soil medium, given the same
genetics and environmental conditions. This may be due to closer attention and
more control of nutrients, and more access to oxygen. The plants can breath easier,
and therefor, take less time to grow. One report has it that plants started in
soil matured after hydroponic plants started 2 weeks later!
Fast growth allows for
earlier maturation and shorter total growing time per crop. Also, with soil
mixtures, plant growth tends to slow when the plants become root-bound.
Hydroponics provides even, rapid growth with no pauses for transplant shock and
eliminates the labor/materials of repotting if rockwool is used. (Highly
recommended!)
By far the easiest
hydroponic systems to use are the wick and reservoir systems. These are
referred to as Passive Hydroponic methods, because they require no water
distribution system on an active scale (pump, drain, flow meter and path). The
basis of these systems is that water will wick to where you want it if the
medium and conditions are correct.
The wick system is more
involved than the reservoir system, since the wicks must be cut and placed in
the pots, correct holes must be cut in the pots, and a spacer must be created
to place the plants up above the water reservoir below. This can be as simple
as two buckets, one fit inside the other, or a kiddie pool with bricks in it
that the pots rest on, elevating them out of the nutrient solution.
I find the wick setup to be
more work than the reservoir system. Initial setup is a pain with wicks, and
the plants sit higher in the room, taking up precious vertical space. The base
the pot sits on may not be very stable compared to a reservoir system, and a
knocked over plant will never be the same as an untouched plant, due to stress
and shock in recovery.
The reservoir system needs
only a good medium suited to the task, and a pan to sit a pot in. If rockwool
slabs are used, a half slab of 12" rockwool fits perfectly into a kitty
litter pan. The roots spread out in very desirable horizontal fashion and have
a lot of room to grow. Plants grown in this manner are very robust because they
get a great deal of oxygen at the roots. Plants grown with reservoir
hydroponics grow at about the same rate as wicks or other active hydroponic
methods, with much less effort required, since it is by far the simplest of
hydroponic methods. Plants can be watered and feed by merely pouring solution
into the reservoir every few days. The pans take up very little vertical space
and are easy to handle and move around.
In a traditional hydroponic
method, pots are filled with lava/ vermiculite mix of 4 to 1. Dolite Lime is
added, one Tblspn. per gallon of growing medium. This medium will wick and
store water, but has excellent drainage and air storage capacity as well. It is
however, not very resuable, as it is difficult to recapture and sterilize after
harvest. Use small size lava, 3/8" pea size, and rinse the dust off it,
over and over, until most of it is gone. Wet the vermiculite (dangerous dry,
wear a mask) and mix into pots. Square pots hold more than round. Vermiculite
will settle to bottom after repeated watering from the top, so only water from
the top occasionally to leach any mineral deposits, and put more vermiculite on
the top than the bottom. Punch holes in the bottom of the pots, and add water
to the pan. It will be wicked up to the roots and the plants will have all they
need to flourish.
The reservoir is filled
with 1 1/2 - 3 inches of water and allowed to recede between waterings. When
possible, use less solution and water more often, to pull more oxygen to the
roots faster over time. If you go away on vacation, simply fill the reservoirs
full to the top, and the plants will be watered for 2 weeks at least.
One really great hydroponic
medium is Oasis floral foam. Stick lots of holes into it to open it up a
little, and start plants/clones in it, moving the cube of foam to rockwool
later for larger growth stages. Many prefer floral foam, as it is inert, and
adds no PH factors. It's expensive though, and tends to crumble easily. I'm
also not sure it's very reusable, but it seems to be a popular item at the
indoor gardening centers.
Planting can be made easier
with hydroponic mediums that require little setup such as rockwool. Rockwool
cubes can be reused several times, and are premade to use for hydroponics. Some
advantages of rockwool are that it is impossible to over water and there is no
transplanting. Just place the plant's cube on top of a larger rockwool cube and
enjoy your extra leisure time.
Some find it best to save
money by not buying rockwool and spending time planting in soil or hydroponic
mediums such as vermiculite/lava mix. Pearlite is nice, since it is so light.
Pearlite can be used instead of or in addition to lava, which must be rinsed
and is much heavier.
But rockwool has many
advantages that are not appreciated until you spend hours repotting; take a
second look. It is not very expensive, and it is reusable. It's more stable
than floral foam, which crunches and powders easily. Rockwool holds 10 times
more water than soil, yet is impossible to over-water, because it always
retains a high percentage of air. Best of all, there is no transplanting; just
place a starter cube into a rockwool grow cube, and when the plant gets very
large, place that cube on a rockwool slab. Since rockwool is easily reused over
and over, the cost is divided by 3 or 4 crops, and ends up costing no more than
vermiculite and lava, which is much more difficult to reclaim, sterilize and
reuse (repot) when compared to rockwool. Vermiculite is also very dangerous
when dry, and ends up getting in the carpet and into the air when you touch it
(even wet), since it drys on the fingers and becomes airborne. For this reason,
I do not recommend vermiculite indoors.
Rockwool's disadvantages
are relatively few. It is alkaline PH, so you must use something in the
nutrient solution to make it acidic (5.5) so that it brings the rockwool down
from 7.7, to 6.5 (vinagar works great.) And it is irritating to the skin when
dry, but is not a problem when wet.
To pre-treat rockwool for
planting, soak it in a solution of fish emulsion, trace mineral solution and
phosphoresic acid (PH Down) for 24 hours, then rinse. This will decrease the need
for PH worries later on, as it buffers the rockwool PH to be fairly neutural.
Hydroponics should be used
indoors or in greenhouses to speed the growth of plants, so you have more bud
in less time. Hydroponics allows you to water the plants daily, and this will
speed growth. The main difference between hydroponics and soil growing is that
the hydroponic soil or "medium"is made to hold moisture, but drain
well, so that there are no over-watering problems associated with continuous
watering. Also, hydroponically grown plants do not derive nutrients from soil,
but from the solution used to water the plants. Hydroponics reduces worries
about mineral buildup in soil, and lack of oxygen to suffocating roots, so
leaching is usually not necessary with hydroponics.
Hydroponics allows you to
use smaller containers for the same given size plant, when compared to growing
in soil. A 3/4 gallon pot can easily take a small hydroponically grown plant to
maturity. This would be difficult to do in soil, since nutrients are soon used
up and roots become cut-off from oxygen as they become root-bound in soil. This
problem does not seem to occure nearly as quickly for hydroponic plants, since
the roots can still take up nutrients from the constant solution feedings, and
the medium passes on oxygen much more redily when the roots become bound in the
small container.
Plant food is administered
with most waterings, and allows the gardener to strictly control what nutrients
are available to the plants at the different stages of plant growth. Watering
can be automated to some degree with simple and cheap drip system apparatus, so
take advantage of this when possible.
Hydroponics will hasten
growing time, so it takes less time to harvest after planting. It makes sense
to use simple passive hydroponic techniques when possible. Hydroponics may not
be desirable if your growing outdoors, unless you have a greenhouse.
CAUTION: it is necessary
keep close watch of plants to be sure they are never allowed to dry too much
when growing hydroponically, or roots will be damaged. If you will not be able
to tend to the garden every day, be sure the pans are filled enough to last
until next time you return, or you can easily lose your crop.
More traditional hydroponic
methods (active) are not discussed here. I don't see any point in making it
more diffucult than it needs to be. It is necessary to change the solution
every month if your circulating it with a pump, but the reservoir system does
away with this problem. Just rinse the medium once a month or so to prevent
salts build up by watering from the top of the pot or rockwool cube with pure
water. Change plant foods often to avoid deficiencies in the plants. I
recommend using 2 different plant foods for each phase of growth, or 4 foods
total, to lessen chances of any type of deficiency.
Change the solution more
often if you notice the PH is going down quickly (too acid). Due to cationic
exchange, solution will tend to get too acid over time, and this will cause
nutrients to become unavailable to the plants. Check PH of the medium every
time you water to be sure no PH issues are occuring.
Algae will tend to grow on
the medium with higher humidities in hydroponics. It will turn a slab of
rockwool dark green. To prevent this, use the plastic cover the rockwool came
in to cover rockwool slab tops, with holes cut for the plants to stick out of
it. It's easy to cut a packaged slab of rockwool into two pieces, then cut the
end of the plastic off each piece. You now have two pieces of slab, each
covered with plastic except on the very ends. Now cut 2 or 3 4" square
holes in the top to place cubes on it, and place each piece in a clean litter
pan. Now your ready to treat the rockwool as described above in anticipation of
planting.
If growing in pots, a layer
of gravel at the top of a pot may help reduce algae growth, since it will dry
very quickly. Algae is merely messy and unsightly; it will not actually cause
any complications with the plants.
Use pots made from squarish
containers such as plastic water jugs, etc. More plants will fit in less space
and have more rooting area if square containers are used. This makes your
garden a recycling center, and saves you tons of money.
2-liter soda bottles work
great, but are not square. 13 will fit in a kitty litter box, and these will
take a 3 foot plant to maturity hydroponically. If you can get 4 litter boxes
in a closet, you can grow 52 plants like this vegatatively. Spread them out
more for flowering.
Old buckets, plastic 3-5
gallon containers (food and paint industries, try painters' and resturant
dumpsters), paper paint buckets, old plastic garbage cans of all sizes, and
garbage bags have all been used successfully by growers.
Do not use paper milk
cartons and juice cartons for reservoir hydroponics, since these are difficult
to sterilize, and they introduce fungus into your reservoir trays. Inert
materials, such as plastic is best.
Be sure to sterilize all
containers before each planting with a clorine bleach solution of 2 tbspn. of
bleach to one gallon of water. Let container and meduim such as rockwool soak
for several hours in the solution before rinsing thouroghly.
Outdoor growing is the
best. Outdoor pot by far is the strongest, since it gets more light, it's
naturally more robust. No light leak problems. No dark periods that keep you
out of your grow room. No electricity bills. Sunlight tends to reach more of
the plant, if your growing in the direct sun. Unlike growing indoors, the
bottom of the plant will be almost as developed as the top.
Outdoors, outside of a
greenhouse, there are many factors that can kill your crop. Deer will try to
eat them. Chipmonks and rodents too. Bugs will inhabit them, and the wind and
rain can whip your little buds to pieces if they are exposed to strong storms.
For this reason, indoor pot can be better than outdoor, but the best smoke I
ever tasted was outdoor pot, so that tells you something; nothing beats the
sun.
Put up a fence and make
sure it stays up. Visit your plot at least once every two weeks, and preferably
more often if water needs demand.
It's a good idea to use
soil if you don't have a green house, since hydroponics will be less reliable
outside in the open air, due mostly to evaporation.
Light exposure is all
important when locating a site for a greenhouse or outdoor plot. A backyard
grower will need to know where the sun shines for the longest period; privacy
and other factors will enter in as well. Try to find an innocuous spot that
gets full winter sun from mid morning to mid afternoon, at least from 10-4,
preferably 8-5. This will be really asking for a lot if you live north of 30
degrees latitude since days are short in winter. Since most gardeners will not
want to use the greenhouse in the middle of the winter, you can still use
winter sun as an indicator of good spring and fall lighting exposures. Usually
the south side of a hill gets the most sun. Also, large areas open to the sun
on the north side of the property will get good southern exposures. East and
West exposures can be good if they get the full morning/afternoon sun and
mid-day sun as well. Some books say the plants respond better to morning-only
sun, verses afternoon-only sun, so if you have to choose between the two,
morning sun may be better.
Disguise your greenhouse as
a tool shed, or similar structure, by using only one wall and a roof of white
opaqued plastic, PVC, Filon, or glass, and using a similar colored material for
the rest of the shed, or painting it white or silvery, to look like metal. Try
to make it appear as if it has always been there, with plants and trees that
grow around it and mask it from view while allowing sun to reach it.
Filon (corrugated
fiberglass)or PVC plastic sheets can be used outside to cover young plants
grown together in a garden. Buy the clear greenhouse sheets, and opaque them
with white wash (made from lime) or epoxy resin tinted white or grey and
painted on in a thin layer. This will pass more sun than white PVC or Filon,
and still hide the plants. Epoxy resin coats will preserve the Filon for many
more seasons than it would otherwise last. It will also allow you to disguise
the shed as metal, if you paint the clear filon sheets with a thin layer of
resin tinted light grey. Paint will work as well, but may not protect as much.
Be careful to use only as much as needed, to reduce sun blockage to a minimum.
Dig a big hole, don't
depend on the plant to be able to penetrate the clay and rubble unless your
sure of the quality of topsoil in the area. Grassy fields would have good top
soil, but your back yard may not. This alone can make the difference between an
average 5' tall plant, and a 10' monster by harvest time. Growing in the ground
will always beat a pot, since the plant will never become root bound in the
ground. Plants grown in the ground should grow much larger, but will need more
space for each plant, so plan accordingly, you can't move them once they're in!
You may want to keep
outdoor plants in pots so they can be easily moved. A big hole will allow the
pot to be place in it, thus reducing the height of the plant, if fence level is
an issue. Many growers find pots have saved a crop that had to be moved for
some unexpected reason (repairman, appraiser, fire, etc.).
It's always best to put a
roof over your plants outdoors. When I was a lad, we had plants growing over
the fence line in the back yard. We started to build a greenhouse roof for
them, and a cop saw us hauling wood, thought we were stealing it (which we were
not) and looked over the fence at us and our lovely plants. We were busted,
because he saw them. If he had seen a shed roof instead, there would never have
been a problem. Moral of the Story: build the roof BEFORE the plants are
sticking over the fence! Or train them to stay well below it. Live and learn...
When growing away from the
house, in the wild, water is the biggest determining factor, after security.
Water must be close by, or close to the soil surface, or you will have to pack
water in. Water is heavy and this is very hard work. Try to find an area close
to a source of water if possible, and keep a bucket nearby to carry water to
your plot.
A novel idea in this regard
is to find high water in the mountains, at altitude, and then route it down to
a lower spot close by. It is possible to create water presure in a hose this
way, and route it to a drip system that feeds water to your plants
continuously. Take a 5 gallon gas can, and punch small holes in it. Run a hose
out of the main orifice and secure it somehow. Bury the can in a river or
stream under rocks, so that it is hidden and submerged. Bury the hose coming
out of it, and run it down hill to your garden area. A little engineering can
save you a lot of work, and this rig can be used year after year.
Guerrilla farming refers to
farming away from your own property, or in a remote location of your property
where people seldom roam around. It is possible to find locations that for one
reason or another are not easily accessible or are privately owned.
Try to grow off your
property, on adjacent property, so that if your plot is found, it will not be
traceable back to you. If it's not on your property, nobody has witnessed you
there, and there is no physical evidence of your presence (footprints,
fingerprints, trails, hair, etc.), then it is virtually impossible to prosecute
you for it, even if the cops think they know who it belongs to.
Never admit to growing, to
anyone. Your best defence is that your just passing thru the area, and noticed
something you decided to take a look at, or carry a fishing pole or binoculars
and claim fishing or bird watching.
Never tell anyone but a
partner where the plants are located. Do not bring visitors to see them, unless
it is harvest time, and the plants will be pulled the same or following day.
Make sure your plants are
out of sight. Take a different route to get to them if they are not in a secure
part of your property, and cover the trail to make it look as if there is no
trail. Make cut backs in the trail, so that people on the main trail will tend
to miss the cut-back to the grow area. Don't park on the main road, always find
a place to park that will not arouse suspicion by people that pass on the road.
Have a safe house in the area if you are not planting close to home. Always
have a good reason for being in the area and have the necessary items to make
your claim believable.
Briar and poison oak
patches are perfect if you can cut through it. Poison Oak must be washed away
before an allergic reaction takes place. Teknu is a special soap solution that
will deactivate poison oak before it has time to create a reaction. Apply Teknu
immediately after contact and take a shower 30 mins. later.
Try to plant under trees,
next to bushes and keep only a few plants in any one spot. Train or top the
plants to grow sideways, or do something to prevent the classic christmas tree
look of most plants left to grow untrained. Tying the top down to the ground
will make the plants branches grow up toward the sun, and increase yield, given
a long enough growing season. Plants can be grown under trees if the sun comes
in at an angle and lights the area for several hours every day. Plants should
get at least 5 hours of direct sun every day, and 5 more hours of indirect
light. Use shoes that you can dispose of later and cover your foot prints. Use
surgical gloves and leave no fingerprints on pots and other items that might ID
you to the fuzz...in case your plot is discovered by passers by.
Put up a fence, or the
chipmonks, squirles and deer will nibble on your babies until there is nothing
left. Green wire mesh and nylon chicken fencing net work great and can be
wrapped around trees to create a strong barrier. Always check it and repair
every visit you make to the garden. A barrier of fishing line, one at 18"
and another at 3' will keep most deer away from your crop.
Gopher Granola is available
for areas such as the N. CA mountains, where wood rats and gophers will eat
your crop if given any opportunity to do so. The best fence in the world will
not keep rats away from your plants! Do not use soap to keep dear away, it will
attract rats! (The fat in the soap is edible for them.) Put the poison grain in
a feeder than only small rodents can enter, so that birds and deer can't eat
it. Set out poison early, before actual planting. The rats must eat the grain
for several days before it will have any effect on them. Ultimately, you may
find it's easier to grow in a greenhouse shed in your own backyard rather than
try to keep the rats from eating your outdoor plot.
When growing away from the
house, in the wild, water is the biggest determining factor, after security.
The amount you can grow is directly proportional to the water available. If you
must pack-in water, carry it in a backpack in case your seen in-route to your
garden; you will appear to be merely a hiker, not a grower.
Transporting vegatative
starts to the growing area is a most tricky aspect of growing outdoors.
Usually, you will want to start plant indoors, or outside in your garden, then
transport them to the grow site once they are firmly established. It may be
desirable to first detect and separate males from females so that no effort of
transporting/transplanting/watering males is incurred.
One suggestion is to use
3" rockwool cubes to start seedlings in, then put 20 of them in a litter
pan, cover it with another pan, and transport this to the grow site. The cubes
can be planted directly into soil. If spotted inroute to the grow area, burying
a dead cat may be a good excuse for being in the area. Few people would demand
to see the rotting corpse!
One outdoor grower we know
has given up on seeds. He has several strains he likes to clone, so he starts
200 clones in his closet, then transports them outdoors in boxes to the grow
site. No males, no differentiation, no weeding, no germinating seeds, no
genetic uncertainties, no crops grown for seed, no
transporting/transplanting/watering plants your just going to pull up later, no
pollination nightmares, no wasted effort!
Use Super Soil brand in
California, as this is the only known soil on the West Coast that is guaranteed
to be good. Many other brands are mostly wood products and have very few
nutrients, are too moist, etc. Add vermiculite, pearlite or sand to Super Soil
to increase it's drainage and aeration.
Organic gardeners use their
own compost prepaired from a mixture of chicken, cow or other manure and
household food waste, leaves, lawn clippings, dog hair and other waste products
including urine, which is high in nitrogen. Dog hair is not recommended for
guerilla gardeners planting off their property where police could find it. DNA
tests could prove it was YOUR dog's hair!
Use P4 water crystals in
the soil to give the plants a few days worth of emergency water reserves. This
substance swells up with water and holds it like a sponge, so that roots will
have a reserve if harsh drought makes constant watering necessary. Go real easy
on this stuff though, it tends to sink to the bottom of the pot and suffocate
bottom roots (new growth roots) and stunts the plant. Use in extreme
moderation, let it swell up for at least an hour before mixing with other soil.
Plant size in soil is
directly related to pot size. If you want the plant to grow bigger, put it in a
bigger pot. Usually, 1/2 gallon per foot of plant is sufficient. A six foot
plant would require a minimum of a 3 gallon pot. Remember, square containers
have more volume in a square space (like a closet).
Planting in the ground is
always preferable when growing in soil. The plants can then grow to any size,
unlimited by pot size.
Bat Guano, chicken manure,
or worm castings can all be used to fertilize organically in soil. Manures can
burn, so they should be composted with the soil first, before planting, over
several weeks. Sea weed is available to provide a rich trace mineral source
that breaks down slowly and constantly feeds the plants.
If growing outdoors in
available soil, look around for leaves and other natural sources of nitrogen
and work them into the soil, along with some dolmite lime and composted organic
fertilizer. Even small amounts of plant food such as Miracle Grow can be added
to soil at this time. (Organic gardeners frown upon this practice, however.
Toxic wastes are produced by commercial fertilizer production.) Mulch can be
made from leaves and spread out over the garden area to hold in moisture and
keep down weeds near the plants.
Its interesting that pot
plants really do blend in with other plants to the point that they are
unidentifiable by all but the most observant. I remember a relative of the
family on a visit to Texas showed me his corn in the garden and I was standing
3' away from several pot plants before I recognized them for what they were.
Plants started outdoors
late in the season never get very big and never attract the least bit of
attention when placed next to plants of similar or taller stature. Even tall
plants grown among several trees will be almost invisible in their camouflage.
Outdoors the object is to
control access to an area, and not to arouse suspicion. Tuck them here and
there, never in a recognizable pattern. Space them out, and fit them in to the
existing landscape such that they get full sun, but they're hidden or blend in.
Fence lines and groups of several together are best. Try to find strains that
seem to match the surrounding plants. Feed nitrogen to your plants if they need
to be greener to blend in. Some growers even use plastic red flowers, pinned to
a plant, disguising it as a flower bush.
Visit the plants at night
on full moons, and if your visible to neighbors, appear to be pruning a tree,
mowing the lawn, or doing something in the yard that makes you invisible.
Dig a hole and put a potted
plant in it. The plant's height will be reduced by at least a foot.
Some growers top the plant
when it is 12" high, and grow the 2 tops horizontally along a trellis. The
plant will never be over 3 feet tall, and never arouses suspicion from
neighbors. This type of plant can even be grown in your yard in full view. Many
stories abound of having the neighbors over for a BBQ and nobody ever noticed
the nice plants over by the fence...
Plant foods have 3 main
ingredients that will be the mainstay of the garden, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and
Potassium. These 3 ingredients are usually listed on the front label of the
plant food in the order of N-P-K. A 20-20-20 plant food has a Nitrogen level of
20%.
Secondary nutrients are
Calcium, Sulphur and Magnesium. In trace quantities, boron, copper, molybenum,
zink, iron, and manganese.
Depending on stage of
growth, different nutrients are needed at different times. For rooting and
germination, levels of high P nutrients with less N/K are needed. Vegetative
growth needs lots of N, and human urine is one of the better sources, (mix 8
ounces to 1 gallon water), although it is not a complete fertilizer unto
itself. 20-20-20 with trace elements should do it; I like Miracle Grow Patio
food. Watch for calcium, magnesium, sulfur and iron levels too. These are
important. One tablespoon of dolomite or hydrated lime is used per gallon of
growing medium when a hydroponic medium is first brought on-line, to provide
nitrogen, calcium and magnesium. Epsom salts are used to enhance magnesium and
sulphur levels in solution.
Tobacco grown with
potassium nitrate burns better. Plant foods with PN (P2N3) are foods such as
Miracle Grow. This is an excellent fertilizer for vegetative growth, or through
the flowering cycle as well. Consider however, potassium nitrate is also known
as Salt Peter, and is used to make men have less sexual desire or impotent,
such as in mental institutions. So if certain plants are destined for cooking,
you might use Fish Emulsion or some other totally organic fertilizer on these
plants, at least in the last weeks of flowering.
Most hydroponic solutions
should be in the range of 150-600 parts per million in disolved solids. 300-400
ppm is optimum. It is possible to test your solution or soil with a electrical
conductivity meter if your unsure of what your giving your plants.
Keep in mind most disolved
solids readings are usually on the low side, and actual nutrient levels are
usually higher. It is possible with passive hydroponics, to get nutrient
build-up over several feedings, to the point the medium is over saturated in
nutrients. Just feed straight water now and again, until you notice the plants
are not as green (slightly), then resume normal feeding.
"Pumping" is when
you use more waterings to make the plants grow faster. This is dangerous if you
proceed in a reckless manner, due to potential over-watering problems. You must
go slowly and watch the plants daily and even hourly at first to be sure your
not over-watering the plants. Use weaker plant food mixtures than normal, maybe
25%, and be sure your leaching once a month and running straight water through
the plants at least every other time you water. This applies mainly to plants
grown in soil mediums.
Use of light strength
Oxygen Plus plant food (or Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide) allows the roots to
breath better and prevents problems with over-watering. Check soil to be sure
there are no PH anomalies that might be due to Hydrogen Peroxide in the
solution. (One experienced grower told me he would not use H2O2 (HP) due to
possible PH problems. This should not be a problem if your checking PH and
correcting for it in watering solutions.)
Be sure your medium has
good drainage. At this point, if your watering soil based plants once a week,
you can water every 3-5 days instead if you plant them in a medium with better
drainage. Pearlite or lava rock will greatly increase the drainage of the
medium and make watering necessary more often. This will pump the plants; they
will tend to grow faster because of the enhanced oxygen to the roots. Make sure
the plant medium is almost dry before watering again, as the plant grows faster
this way.
An alternative is to use a
standard plant food mixture (stronger) once every 3 waterings. The nutrients
are suspended in the medium and stored in the soil for later use. The nutrients
are washed out by 2 straight waterings afterward and there is no salts build up
in the soil. (Does not apply to hydroponics.)
Stop all plant food 2 weeks
before harvesting, so that the plants don't taste like plant food. (This
applies to hydroponics as well.)
WARNING: Do not
over-fertilize. It will kill your plants. Always read the instructions for the
fertilizer being used. Use 1/2 strength if adding to the water for all feedings
in soil or hydroponics if you are unsure of what your plants can take. Build up
slowly to higher concentrations of food over time. Novice soil growers tend to
over-fertilize their plants. Mineral salts build up over time to higher levels
of disolved solids. Use straight water for one feeding in hydroponics if it is
believed the buildup is getting too great. Leach plants in pots every month. If
your plants look REALLY green, withhold food for a while to be sure they are
not being over-fed.
PH can make or break your
nutrient solution. 6.7-6.2 is best to ensure there is no nutrient lock-up
occurring. Hydroponics requires the solution to be PH corrected for the medium
before exposing to the plants. Phosphoresic acid can make the PH go down; lime
or potash can take it up when it gets too acid. Buy a PH meter for $10 and use
it in soil, water, and hydroponic medium to make sure your not going alkaline
or acid over time. Most neutral mediums can use a little vinegar to make them
just this side of 7 ph to 6.5 or so.
Most fertilizers cause a ph
change in the soil. Adding fertilizer to the soil almost always results in a
more acidic ph.
As time goes on, the amount
of salts produced by the breakdown of fertilizers in the soil causes the soil
to become increasingly acidic and eventually the concentration of these salts
in the soil will stunt the plant and cause browning out of the foliage. Also,
as the plant gets older its roots become less effective in bringing food to the
leaves. To avoid the accumulation of these salts in your soil and to ensure
that your plant is getting all of the food it needs you can begin leaf feeding
your plant at the age of about 1.5 months. Dissolve the fertilizer in worm
water and spray the mixture directly onto the foliage. The leaves absorb the
fertilizer into their veins. If you want to continue to put fertilizer into the
soil as well as leaf feeding, be sure not to overdose your plants.
Folair feeding seems to be
one of the easiest ways of increasing yield, growth speed, and quality in a
well vented space, with or without elevated CO2 levels. Just prepare a tea of
worm castings, fish emulsion, bat guano, or most any other plant food right for
the job and feed in vegetative and early flowering stages. It is not
recommended for late flowering, or you will be eating the sprayed-on material
later. Stop foliar feeding 2-3 weeks before harvesting. Wash off the leaves
with straight water every week to prevent clogging the stomata of the leaves.
Feed daily or every other day.
Best times of day to Foliar
feed are 7-10Am and after 5 in the evening. This is because the stomata on the
underside of the leaves are open then. Also, the best temperature is about 72
degrees, and over 80, they may not be open at all. So find the cooler part of
the day if it's hot, and the warmer part of the day if it's cold out. You may
need to spray at 2AM if that's the coolest time available. The sprayer used
should atomize the solution to a very fine mist; find your best sprayer and use
it for this. Make sure the PH is between 7 and 6.2. Use baking soda to make the
solution higher PH, and vinegar to make the solution lower PH. It's better to
spray more often and use less, than to drench the plants infrequently. Use a
wetting agent to prevent the water from beading up, and thereby burning the
leaves as they act as small prisms.Make sure you don't spray a hot bulb; better
yet, spray only when the bulb has cooled.
Perhaps the best foliar
feeding includes using seltzer water and plant food at the same time. This way,
CO2 and nutrients are feed directly to the leaves in the same spray.
Foliar feeding is
recognized in most of the literature as being a good way to get nutrients to
the plant later when nutrient lockup problems could start to reduce intake from
the roots.
WARNING!: It is important
to wash leaves that are harvested before they are dried, if you intend to eat
them, since they may have nitrate salts on them.
NOTE: One grower who
reviewed this document comments: "Fish emulsion smells. Bat guano could be
highly unsanitary. Stick to the Rapid-Gro, MgSO4 (epsom salts), hydroponic
trace element solution. Nitrate salts (The "N" in NPK) are unhealthy
to smoke. Personally, I never foliar feed."
Above is a great comment,
and there is great wisdom in an organic, non-toxic garden. Personally, I use
only CO2 on my indoor hydroponic plants, and never folar feed. It simply does
not seem to be necessary when using hydroponics.
Elevating carbon dioxide
levels can increase growth speed a great deal, perhaps even double it. It seems
that the plant evolved in primordial times when natural CO2 levels were many
times what they are today. The plant uses CO2 for photosynthesis to create
sugars it uses to build plant tissues. Elevating the CO2 level will increase
the plants ability to manufacture these sugars and plant growth rate is
enhanced considerably.
CO2 can be a pain to
manufacture safely, cheaply, and/or conveniently, and is expensive to set up if
you use a CO2 tank system. CO2 is most usable for flowering, as this is when
the plant is most dense and has the hardest time circulating air around its
leaves. If your strictly growing vegetatively indoors, (transferring your
plants outdoors to flower), then CO2 will not be a major concern unless you
have a sealed greenhouse, closet or bedroom, and wish to increase yield and
decrease flowering time.
For a medium sized indoor
operation, one approach is to used CO2 canisters from wielding supply houses.
This is expensive initially, but fairly inexpensive in the long run. These
systems are good only if your area is not too big or too small.
The basic CO2 tank system
looks like this:
20 lb tank $100
Regulator $159
Timer or controller $10-125
Fill up $15-20
Worst case = $395 for CO2
tank setup synced to a exhaust fan with a thermostat.
CO2 is cheaply produced by
burning Natural Gas. However, heat and Carbon Monoxide must be vented to the
outside air. CO2 can be obtained by buying or leasing cylinders from local
welding supply houses. If asked, you can say you have an old mig welder at home
and need to patch up the lawnmower (trailer, car, etc.)
For a small closet, one
tank could last 2 months, but it depends on how much is released, how often the
room is vented, hours of light cycle, room leaks, enrichment levels and
dispersion methods. This method may be overkill for your small closet.
It is generally viewed as
good to have a small constant flow of CO2 over the plants at all times the
lights are on, dispersed directly over the plants during the time exhaust fans
are off.
Opportunities exist to
conserve CO2, but this can cost money. When the light is off you don't need
CO2, so during flowering, you will use half as much if you have the CO2
solenoid setup to your light timer. When the fan is on for venting, CO2 is shut
off as well. This may be up to half the time the light is on, so this will affect
the plants exposure times and amount of gas actually dispensed.
Environmentally, using
bottled gas is better, since manufacturing it adds to greenhouse effect, and
bottled CO2 is captured as part of the manufacturing process of many materials,
and then recycled. Fermenting, CO2 generators, and baking soda and vinegar
methods all generate new CO2 and add to greenhouse effect.
CO2 generation from
fermentation and generators is possible. A simple CO2 generator would be a
propane heater. This will work well, as long as the gases can be vented to the
grow area, and a fan is used to keep the hot CO2 (that will rise) circulating
and available below at the plants level. Fire and exhaust venting of the heat
are issues as well. A room that must be vented 50% of the time to rid the
environment of heat from a lamp and heater will not receive as much CO2 as a
room that can be kept unvented for hours at a time. However, CO2 generators are
the only way to go for large operations.
Fermentation or vinegar
over baking soda will work if you don't have many vent cycles, but if you have
enough heat to make constant or regular venting necessary, these methods become
impractical. Just pour the vinegar on baking soda and close the door, (you lose
your CO2 as soon as the vent comes on). This method leaves a great deal to be
desired, since it is not easy to regulate automatically, and requires daily
attention. It is possible however, to create CO2 by fermentation, let the wine
turn to vinegar, and pour this on baking soda. It's the most cost-effective
setup for most closet growers, for whom $400 in CO2 equipment is a bit much to
swallow.
In fermentation, yeast is
constantly killing itself; it takes a lot of space. You need a big bin to
constantly keep adding water to, so that the alcohol levels will not rise high
enough to kill the yeast. Sugar is used quickly this way, and a 10 pound sack
will run $3.50 or so and last about 2-3 weeks. This is also difficult to gauge
what is happening as far as amounts actually released. A tube out the top going
into a jar of water will bubble and demonstrate the amount of CO2 being
produced.
Try sodium bicarbonate
mixed with vinegar, 1 tsp: ~30cc- this will gush up all frothy as it releases
CO2. do it just before you close the door on your plants. A MUCH cheaper way to
provide CO2 is 2 Oz sugar in 2 liters of water in a bottle [sterilized 1st with
bleach and water, then rinsed], plus a few cc urine[!] or if you insist, yeast
nutrient from a home brewing supplier. Add a brewing yeast, shake up and keep
at 25 deg celsius[~70 F] . Over next 2 weeks or so it will brew up about 1/2 Oz
CO2 for every Oz sugar used. Keep a few going at once, starting a new one every
3 days or so. With added CO2 growth is phenomenal!!! I personally measured 38cm
growth in 8 days under a 250watt HPS bulb[tubular clear, Horizontal mount.
A good container is a 1
gallon plastic milk jug, with a pin-hole in the cap. Also, the air-lock from a
piece of clear tube running into a jar filled with water will keep microbes out
and demonstrate the fermentation is working.
A variation is to spray
seltzer water on the plants twice a day. This is not recommended by some
authorities, and receives great raves by people who seem to feel it has
enhanced their crop. It stands to reason this would work for only a small
unvented closet, but may be right for some situations. It could get expensive
with a lot of plants to spray. Use seltzer, not club soda, since it contains
less sodium that could clog the plants stomata. Wash your plants with straight
water after 2 or 3 seltzer sprays. It's a lot of work, and you can't automate
it, but maybe that's good! Remember, being with the plants is a beautiful
experience, and brings you closer to your spiritual self and the earth. Seltzer
is available at most grocery stores (I get it at Lucky's @ .79 for a 2 litter
bottle). Club soda will work if seltzer water is not available; but it has
twice as much sodium in it. A very diluted solution of Miracle Grow can be
sprayed on the plant at the same time. One factor of using selzter water is it
raises humidity levels. Make sure your venting humidity during the dark cycle,
or you could risk fungus and increased internode length.
CAUTION: Don't spray too
close to a hot bulb! Spray downward only, or turn off the lamp first.
Even though CO2 enrichment
can mean 30-100% yield increases, the hassle, expense, space, danger, and time
involved can make constant or near constant venting a desirable alternative to
enrichment. As long as the plant has the opportunity to take in new CO2 at all
times, from air that is over 200 ppm CO2, the plants will have the required
nutrients for photosynthesis. Most closets will need new CO2 coming in every
two or three hours, minimum. Most citys' will have high concentrations of CO2
in the air, and some growers find CO2 injection unnecessary in these
circumstances.
Some growers have reported
to High Times that high CO2 levels in the grow room near harvest time lower
potency. It may be a good idea to turn off CO2 2 weeks before harvesting.
You have to vent a lot with
a HID lamp, less so for fluorescents. Also, humidity build up requires that you
vent at least a few times per day. For a room with a hot lamp that builds up
heat quickly, the best vent would be one that cleared the room in 5 minutes,
then would stop for 25 minutes before venting again, or similarly, vent 3
minutes, shut off 12 minutes, etc. The trick is to find a timer that will do
this sort of thing. Not easy to find and not cheap. Once you need to regulate
CO2 on and off inversely with the fan, your looking at a $100 climate
controller.
Alternatives are a
thermostat that turns on a fan when a certain temperature is reached, and turns
it off when the temp recedes 4 degrees. But it is a bitch to coordinate CO2
release with this one, since you don't know when the fan goes on. $39 for this
thermostat, but to sync it to CO2 with a voltage sensing relay is $100 for the
ready-made switch, so then the environment controller at $100 is cheaper. All
you really want is a fan that clears the air in a few minutes, a temperature
switch that turns on and off the fan, and an inverse switch that turns off and
on the CO2. If you can vent the room really quick and the heat does not build
up too quickly, the CO2 could be run in a slow, continuous fashion, and would
build up in-between the occasional quick exhaust cycles.
Two timers synced can be
used, but the only ones cheaply available are the 30 min interval, 48 trips per
24 hours. So I could have a fan run 30 mins on, then 30 mins off. I could also
sync it to the light so that I don't vent when the lamp is off. I can sync this
to an identical timer that will turn on CO2 during the time that the fan is not
on, and vise versa. It would be difficult to sync them closer that 5-10 mins,
but at least there would be a possible inexpensive solution. $20 for two of
these timers.
Fans are expensive to buy
for venting, but I just go down to the local electronic parts liquidators and
they have muffin fans for $5-10, so that's a real savings over the $50-70 these
fans cost new at the indoor garden stores. A good vent fan will keep the
humidity and temperature down, and distribute CO2 to your plants from new
incoming air.
Internal air movement is
very necessary as well. An oscillating fan should be used to circulate air
within the growroom, to help circulate CO2. It will also keep the humidity
down, allowing the air to absorb more moisture, and reduce risk of fungus. A
wall mount oscillating fan will not take valuable floor space. The best grow
rooms have the most internal air circulation.
Proper temperature is one
highly variable factor. Most books state optimum grow temperature to be 70-80
degrees, but many list extenuating circumstances that allow temperatures to go
higher. Assuming genetics is not a factor, plants seem to be able to absorb
more light at higher temps, perhaps up to 90 degrees. High light and CO2 levels
could make this go as high as 95 degrees for increased growth speed.* An
optimum of 95 degrees is new data that assumes very-high light, CO2 enrichment
of 1500 ppm and good regular venting to keep humidity down. It is not clear if
these temperature will reduce potency in flowers. It may be a good idea to
reduce temperatures once flowering has started, to preserve potency, even if it
does reduce growth speed. But higher temperatures will make plants grow
vegetatively much faster, by exciting the plants metabolism, assuming the
required levels of CO2 and light are available, and humidity is not allowed to
get too high.
With normal levels of CO2, in a well vented space, 90 degrees would seem to be the absolute max, while 85 may be closer to optimum, even with a great deal of light available. Do not let the room temperature get over 35 C (95 F) as this hurts growth. Optimal temperature is 27-30 C (80-86 F) if you have strong light with no CO2 enrichment. Less than 21 C (70 F) is too cold for g