The Laws Of Organic Cannabis

[Subcool]

Lights
Atmosphere
Water
Soil
Of Cannabis

I spent yestarday looking over the boards at all the amazing shows here.
There are many talented growers here and its not like you guys need my help.
Other the past 35 years I have developed some techniques that produce the nice buds you see in my pics and I get so many Pm's whe I join a site asking me how I grow I think its nice to show my intire process if thats ok.

This thread will go on awhile as there is much to teach about Organics and its not only about taste. Chemicals toxify the planet and Organics rebuild the eco system and restore the micro fibers that connect all living things.
Check back often to learn more about growing in Dirt and Poo.


This is yet one more Soil Mixing tutorial. This one is going to focus on making a batch in the city while keeping it neat and tidy. First we use a tarp and a sheet of plywood under so the shovel will slide easily as we mix and scoop. This was created over 35 years of soil growing and blows away any method I have tried. Hydro growers that swap over never switch back to water.

Here is the recipe to make this concentrate!
You cannot grow plants directly in this super concentrate!

8 Bags Roots soil or equivalent high quality supped up grow soil
25 pounds Pure Worm Castings
½ cup Azomite trace minerals
2/3 Cup Sweet Lime IE Dolomite
1 Kilo Bone meal / IE 5 Pounds
1 Kilo Blood meal ( I use a bit more bone than Blood in this recipe)
1 Kilo Bat Guano bloom formula preferably Fruit bats
3/4 cup Epson Salts
The Perlite and Coco I happen to have and it will make a better mix but it is not necessary.


First we take the tarp and the Lucky rug and lift the edges to form a 2 sided pan.

So for the last year Sticky Lungs and Joe Blow have been prompting me to try a new soil called Harvest moon. It really doesn't have a name or a label but these guys carry a product line called that and they seem like really nice people.
The main complaint with Roots is the fir bark that is used as a filler. It gives you splinters and makes us wonder if the mix is the best it can be. So the Harvest Moon people don't use Fir bark but high quality Coco Fiber and no spinters.
They hand wash the coco untill its extremly low ppm and then hand mix there soil. They do this outside which bothers me somewhat.
I love there soil mix so far and we have made an entire batch of Super Soil using 8 bags of there mix as a base.


Here are the two products.

So lets take a look at the ingredients of a product called Roots Organic

Lignite*, coca fiber, perlite, pumice, compost, peat moss, bone meal, bat guano, kelp meal, Green sand, soy bean meal, leonardite, k-mag, glacial rock dust, alfalfa meal, oyster shell flour, earth worm castings and Mycorrhizae.
I have always believed in giving my plants a wide range of soils and additives I figure it's like a buffet they get all they need

“Lignite, also known as leonardite, mined lignin, brown coal, and slack, is an important constituent to the oil well, drilling industry. Lignite, or leonardite as it will be referred as hereafter, is technically known as a low rank coal between peat and sub-bituminous. Leonardite was named for Dr. A.G. Leonard, North Dakota's first state geologist, who was a pioneer in the study of lignite deposits. Leonardite is applied to products having a high content of humic acid. Humic acid has been found to be very useful as a drilling
mud thinner.”

Another local product we are trying now is called Harvest Moon

Washed coco fibers, Alaskan peat moss, perlite, yucca, pumice, diatoms, worm castings, feather meal, fishmeal, kelp meal, limestone, gypsum, soybean meal, alfalfa meal, rock dust, yucca meal, and Mycorrhizae fungi.

So the Harvest Moon boys also believe in just add water for people that are growing medicine and have less experience. There solution is an additive called One Shot which I am still awaiting data on.

You add 1/2 to 3/4 cup to a bag of there soil and its good to go.
I used a small 1/2 cup for a 7 gallon pot for this trial

Continuing to build my mountain behind the fence I built just for stuff like this

So we add water and let it cook in the sunshine. 30 days is best for this concentrate .

Do Not Put Clones or Seeds in this mix!

 

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If you have access to a good local mix like these then I highly recommend starting with these type products. We have had decent results using commercial brands as well but not as is. The best results we have seen from well known soil that is available nationwide is Fox Farms “Ocean Forrest” soil combined in a 2-1 ratio with Light Warrior. On it’s own the Ocean Forrest is known for burning plants and having the wrong ratio’s of nutrients but when cut down with Light Warrior it makes a pretty good mix.

You can also just use 2 bales of Sunshine mix #4 but this is my last choice and plants growing in this may not complete properly with this “Just add water” method of soil growing. The concept to this concentrated soil is to not have to worry with mixing up nutrients after the soil is made. The concentrate is placed in the bottom ¼ to ½ of the container and blended with base soil. This allows the plants to grow into the strong concentrated soil and in the right size container need nothing else but water throughout the full harvest cycle.

This is the same basic recipe I have used for 15 years the hardest ingredient to acquire is the worm castings most people don't even know what it is.

There are several methods of mixing this up well. You can sweep off a patio or garage and work there on a tarp. You can use a kids plastic wading pool these cost about 10$ and work really well for a few seasons. Some growers have been known to rent a cement mixer and cut down on the physical labor. As long as you get the ingredients mixed up properly that is all that matters.

First we take the tarp and the Lucky rug and lift the edges to form a 2-sided pan. I actually use a staple gun to tack the tarp to the privacy fence I built to perform chores like this while staying out of the public eye. This can be a lot of work so don’t pull a muscle if your not used to strenuous activity. This method is good for mind and body. Working with soil keeps me in pretty good shape, but if you have limitations you can simply have someone mix it up for you while you supervise. One of the things I like about this method is I can drop of plants to a patient and all they have to do is water the plants when the soil dries out.


I place a few bags of base soil in first making a mound. I then place the powdered nutrients in a circle around the mound and then cover with another bag of base soil.
Then goes in the bat poop and then more base soil. I continue to layer soil and additives until everything has been added to the pile. So now I put on the muck boots, these help me kick the soil around and get it mixed up well using my larger leg muscles and not my back and arms. Then it’s as simple as my Skipper used to say “ Put your back into it”. This is hard work that I obsess on, even breaking up all the clods of soil by hand. I mix for about 15 minutes, turning the pile over and over until it is mixed well. I store the mix in large garbage cans. Before using the mix the entire load is poured out once more and mixed well. Once placed in the containers I water it slightly adding 3 gallons of water to a large garbage can full. It will make the stirring harder next week but it will activate the Mycorrhizae and I think help all the powders dissolve.


So now we add water and let it cook in the sunshine. 30 days is best for this concentrate and it can be used as described in the Transplanting section.
Do not put seeds or clones directly in this mix. It is an advanced mix used in conjunction with base soil. It is used to place in the bottom of each finishing container and fully rooted established clones are placed in a bed of base soil. As the plants grow they slowly push their roots into the super soil drawing up all nutrients needed for a full cycle. The Super Soil can be used also to top dress plants that take longer to mature.

Keep soil stored indoors if possible or at least away from pest and bugs. It would make great ant colony material.

 

[Subcool]

Seed Starting

You would be surprised how many veteran growers have problems with getting seeds started. The most common mistake is to use a heat mat and cook the seeds. Cannabis is a weed and as long as the seeds are viable its hard to prevent them from germinating. I have had pot seeds germinate under the floor mat of a car in my youth and recently some of the seeds I deem not viable germinated under my BBQ grill in gravel in the cold winter. I see people soaking or treating the seeds in god knows what products and I just shake my head.
All a seed needs to germinate is moisture and a temperature range between 50-90 and your good to go. There are other factors involved though and if you will germinate your seeds between 70-80 degrees you will have a better ratio of females. Warmer temperatures tend to produce more male plants.
Many growers still use the tried and true method of soaking seeds in a paper towel. With the invention of “Rapid Rooters”, a product made up from composted organic materials bonded together with plant-derived polymers. These plugs are manufactured using a scientifically controlled process that yields large populations of beneficial microbes in the media. We started using them to clone in about 3 years ago and when I tried starting seeds in them I knew I would never do it any other way.
I flip the cone shaped rooting plugs upside down so the have more stability. They are made to fit into sectional treys but that just added cost and you will see I try and keep things simple and low frills. Wash hands well with a disinfecting soap, this will remove any oils or contaminants. Make a small hole with a poker and place the seed point side up into the plug about ½” into the rooter. Place the plugs into a domed container and place under florescent lights. I like to use plastic/tuperware shoe boxes stacked on top of each other. There low cost and easy to find at any department store. Not everyone has access to a fancy grow shop at all times. Don’t let the cubes dry out is really the only thing to worry about. Its best not to drowned them but as long as they don’t dry completely out I have always had great success using this method.

 

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Transplanting

It’s very important to transplant before plants get completely root bound. If you get lazy and let your small plants sit around in their starter containers, it will slow the transition process after transplanting. I have seen first hand the huge difference when I gave some clones to a card holder. The day I transplanted I had 4 extra clones that I passed to him. Instead of transplanting right away he wated until they were root bound and looking poorly. I was able to harvest 30 days before him and the quality and quantity difference was hard to believe. My method is not for the lazy or procrastinating type, the more on top of each technique you become the better each harvest will become as well.
When I am ready to transplant into the final pots. I use #10 nursery pots now that will hold a full 7 gallons of liquid. Seven may not sound much bigger than a 5 but let me tell you these slanted #10 pots hold a bunch of soil! Make sure to lift properly using your legs and not your back when moving one that’s just been watered.
So I store the soil in large cans and then use the same kiddie pool/or tarp I mix in to transplant in. Helps keep the mess down. I fill each pot ¾ full with the super soil. I then fill the top half with plain potting soil. This buffers the roots and gives the plants time to get used to the hot soil I use.

 

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Continued

Lets set up our pots on our trusty tarp the same one I used in mixing this soil. We line all the pots up and place between ½ and 2/3rds of a container of concentrate into the bottom of each container. Stains that have heavy nutrient requirements get more and short slow Indicas that require less food get less concentrate. Remember its better to under feed and fade a bit to early than to over feed and burn your plants up. Plants grown in this organic soil that fade early produce amazingly potent, smooth and tasty buds and the loss of yield is small. Some strains can grow fast and have such heavy nutrient requirements. For these plants top dressing half way through the flowering phase can be beneficial. We will discuss this more later in the book.

After the first step then layer some plain commercial potting soil on top of the concentrate, about 2" worth. Use your hand or a small trowel to lightly mix the two layers. This allows the plant to be buffered as it hits the hot soil on bottom. Make sure the roots do not touch direct super soil use your hand to mix the plain potting soil around with the super soil. Then go ahead and fill the container with plain potting soil leaving a small hole in the center.

It’s important to water the plants well before transplanting. This helps prevent shock a nice damp root ball will make a happy plant. Gently flip the plant upside down. Wack the bottom with palm of hand to loosen the root ball. Support the plant by placing hand on pot allowing stem to protrude though fingers. Remove from pot and support the base. Flip upright and place in hole made into the soil making sure the root ball is even with the top of the soil. Gently pack the soil level and don’t forget your label.

 

[JAWS]

nice read so far brother subby, please countinue..

 

[zubbeyboy]

Great info.Much appreciated!!!

 

[PurpMann]

Great post sub! What would the recipe be for the super soil if only mixing enough for 5 or 6 plants? I Just dnt hav enough room for 25 pounds of worm castings lol

 

[Subcool]

Just cut the recipe in half or 1/4's

Sub

 

[kill-9]

:fighting0040::fighting0040:

 

[7rayos]

Cheers for that masterclass Dr SubCool. I grow organic and it's a good refreshing of principles. I also grew in hydro a few times before, and used it to argue my friends there's no match for organic taste. Now i don't argue them no more, because i'm so fuckin' sure i don't find the need of proselitism. The only thing i'd change in your guide is when you say "don't forget the labels", which should go in 30ft tall neon lighted letters, or tattooed all over the body in case anyone has a ex-pat german hippie friend that helps with the transplants. I had 12+ strains in over 40 plants this last time, and this guy only had to change pots. I've said to him clearly "don't forget to put the label", but hey, he's a hippie and rules are bad for ya. When confronted he looked at me with abandoned puppy face and said "but they're all the good kind, ain't them?" :animal0057:

 

[Subcool]

About 12 years ago we had 9 strains from Holland including AK and eletes from US like Cleaner loose all there tags.
It took us several grows to figuree em all out again :)

 

[OB-one]

Hey just wanted to say, the Super soil is no joke the stuff is awsome. the smoke was great, better flavor than my hydro batch.

 

[bigherb]

sub

thx bro your knowledge is much appreciated ,
worm casting n guano r not easily available here ,i havnt found them yet at least .
just my third outdoor attempt ,but i use seaweed extract during veg n first few weeks flower n then just som good ol grandma molasses n my reciepe is almost exact as yours .

results were high grade n picturesque

wish i had a field instead of a patio.

can tell us som more about wat indoor setup you like best how many lights ,watts ,veg lenght ,veg pot size,wat do you do wit ur soil after ur harvest?

og is the way to be

1luvbigherb

 

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Cloning

Cloning


I have a secret to share with you. We do not keep mother plants!
Mother plants count in total plant numbers they also use up electricity keeping them in the vegetive state and as they get bigger can take up valuable space. Long ago we figured out we could do away with mother plants by becoming efficient in cloning.
Since we have multiple areas in before mature plants are placed in the budding room cuts are taken and rooted. This gives us small, healthy duplicate plants with vigorous growth instead of older barky stems to try and root from. I have read up genetic shift and I simply believe it does not apply when taking cuttings from healthy plants. Sure if you clone some old tired root bound mother with woody stems who knows what could happen but as long as the cutting is make up of healthy cells we have never encountered a problem.

This can be easier said than done however because many growers struggle with cloning.
When I first started growing it was the one aspect of the hobby that eluded me. I went through every device and product on the market until I figured out it really comes down to two basic conditions. Temperature and Humidity! These are the main factors that determine rooting time. If these factors are controlled cuttings will root very fast and be completely healthy and ready to transplant. If these factors are not controlled rooting can take longer and the cuttings can become stunted and never really take off even after they finally root. Aim for a constant temperature between 74-78 Degrees. While people root outside these parameters we have the best success using this range.
I recommend you start using Rapid Rooters. These are small plant based plugs pretreated and ready for cuttings. I forego there plastic treys and just flip the triangle shaped cubes upside down for support and make a new hole with a pen or nail. I have used soil in cups and rockwool cubes but Rapid Rooters are really the best choice and they seem to hold just the right amount of moisture without suffocating the plant. As long as you don’t let Rapid Rooters dry out you will have great success.

 

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Take only fresh green shoots to clone from. Older parts of the plant will have almost a thin Bark and cuts taken from this area will not root as easy and may not contain 100% healthy cells. I like to prepare all my materials first before I take any cuttings.
Make sure you cut the clone and a sharp angle like a spear. While a new clean razor blades works best I simply use clean sharp scissors that I trim with.
Cut off the long fan leaves about half way, this will prevent water loss.I use a plastic pen to make a hole in the rooter and hold it open with my fingers as I pull out the pen. I stick the label in at this point before placing the cutting in.
I gently find the hole and slide the cutting down never forcing it. Be careful not to squeeze the cutting as you press it into the Rapid Rooter.
I keep repeating these steps until all the plants on the list are checked off, list are important they keep us from forgetting so take the time to write things down.

I see people wasting coin on all kinds of contraptions only really designed to take your hard earned dollars out of your pocket.

You think cloning is important now? You bet on it it’s the key to mastering the art of Fine cannabis production.

 

[Subcool]

Room Construction

In this chapter we will discuss the construction of a proper grow area. There are several key areas I would like to cover but in no way are these the only methods that can be used. With the invention of grow huts and even larger enclosed personal grow areas its become easy to set up a space. I like to do things on a bigger scale because I am teaching the craft of indoor growing on a care giver scale. We still only bud 12 plants at one time but we do grow year round and in order to do this you must have complete control of your grow room environment.
Here are some Key points to address:
Insulation is critical in controlling temperature swings and energy consumption, it also provides sound proofing.
Security is also important as not everyone views our special plant as medicine but cash for the taking
Durability is a must if your going to run crop after crop you can’t use flimsy materials.
Stealth is important in a legal garden to prevent judgmental neighbors causing problems.

 

[Subcool]

My very first grow room was a walk in closet with a 430 Sun Agro lamp and a cheap bathroom exhaust fan.
I had heat issues and smell problems but I was lucky and I produced enough bud to learn a few things that would make my next one better.
My second area was a 4x12 Corridor with 3 400 watt lights and a larger exhaust system with added air-conditioning. It worked well but my power bills were outrageous in the un-insulated apartment I set up in.
I have grown in 3 states and 3 countries so I have tackled many different conditions, all of this drove me to the level of scale you see in the rooms featured.
With each design I learned more and more and you will see all of this applied to the rooms featured here.

Before we look at a area actually built for growing lets look at a few rental homes that were converted to grow in with minimal changes to the structure.

This is a bed room and walk in closet from almost 10 years ago.
If you can’t screw or nail into the walls a free standing enclosure works great
I also love upstairs bonus rooms for converting.

 

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This is a simple 20x24 garage that we walled off the front portion for storage and added a small office as well.
We can open the doors and if you look inside its very hard to tell its not just all storage and office.
12 Feet of the width of the garage gave us plenty of room to construct three separate rooms and an additional area starting seedlings.
Not all rooms are used at once but its very handy to be able to use a room temporarily when the plants are larger just before harvesting.




This is what we have so far. I have had new rooms professionally framed for longevity and security. The sizes are surprisingly small for what I am investing but I don't want a bigger area just a safe one.

Main Bud 11x 5-1/2 2400 watts with locking door CO/2 800 cfm carbon scrubber
Veg Room 1 5x7 1000 watts with locking door tied into main venting system
Veg Room 2 1000 watt switchable ballast

 

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Atmosphere

Growing indoors can be quite challenging but if the grow room is designed properly things go much easier. There are countless ways to set up a grow room but we will focus on converting a Bedroom or Garage into a safe and permanent grow area. Control of the Atmosphere is crucial so we will go into detail. Venting the lights, maintaining proper temperature and humidity must be done properly or problems will occur. According to the part of the world you live in and the size of your set up, you may need some or all of the following equipment to run a medical garden:
Window Air Conditioner/ Portable Air Conditioner/ Mini Spit Air Conditioner & Heater
Portable Safe Electric Heaters
Dehumidifiers
In line Fans
Fan Speed Controller
Blowers
Oscillating Fans
Large Carbon Air Scrubber
HPS Ballast
MH Ballast
Vented Hoods
CO2 Tank
CO2 Solenoid and Flow Control w/Timer
Digital Thermometers
Air Pumps
Water Pumps

Why are you going to need all or at least most of this equipment?
Indoors your God of all you see and you have to have total control.
If your room gets to cold during the winter yields will suffer and worse problems like mildew or mold could completely kill your crop.
If your room gets to hot in the Summer yields will suffer and pest like mites are much easier to control in a cooler grow room.
If your humidity is to high ductwork and hoods can form moisture and reduce the life of bulbs or even burst a bulb when a water drop hits a hot lamp.
Even a legal grower doesn’t want to advertise the fact he has the dankage inside so the carbon filter is a must as well.
People that haven’t been trained simply don’t understand Air and Cooling so I am going to attempt to help out.