Dirtbag's Method to Growing to a Better Life as written by tobh

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tobh

tobh

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Fkn awesome @tobh! Stoked to finally see it all compiled as one.

I'll be completely honest, it makes me a bit uncomfortable when anyone attempts to emulate anything I do, it just makes me feel responsible for the results. But you absolutely did the style justice man. Proud to have my handle in the title.

As with pretty much every grow there are lessons to take away and apply toward future grows, and I think having your process documented this clearly will help you out down the road. But this run was pretty spectacular to watch unfold. Absolutely puts to bed the debate over defoliation in my mind, although there is of course considerations to be made based on strain and sensitivity to herms, but stable genetics can be slapped around a lot harder than most people think. Especially in a fast system like rockwool.

Great job dude. 👏
For sure, I think the biggest thing that people who try to follow this will inevitably end up complaining about is what you described -- sensitivity to herms and how a given strain handles stress. That being said, even on a first run with unknown quality genetics, I still am considering this a successful run. Just like in coding, we learn more from our failures than we do our successes. There were a lot of really valuable lessons throughout this run, and being uncomfortable for much of the process has certainly increased both my confidence as a grower and understanding of this plant overall.
Great work putting this all together. Makes me slightly ashamed of what my data collection has become. My excuse is my job is all data based (lol), but still an excuse. Again, amazing write up.
Honestly, if it weren't for keeping things documented behind the scenes, this wouldn't have been nearly as comprehensive. In a sense I had a journal going -- it just wasn't public. There were simply too many variables being manipulated for me to be able to focus on anyone else's input aside from the select few who watched it all unfold. I will say this, I won't be doing it that way again. I might pester logic to set up a draft thread feature or something, or even setup a dummy account so I can document everything in the proper formatting in a chat with myself as to keep things organized. I don't think I'll be doing one of these style journals again though. At least not regarding this method of growing.

My primary motivator for this style of journal is that there are several members following @Dirtbag's footsteps as well, and I was the first to really buy in and pursue doing it. Those growers deserve to know what they're getting into, what the potential pitfalls are, and what to expect at each stage using this method. It's not for beginners, the faint of heart, or those that aren't willing to be uncomfortable practically butchering their plants several times while pushing those same plants to their absolute limits throughout the entire run.

This puts a grower in a very precarious position. A fuck up (ie, not fertigating the plants for nearly 24 hours) can and will be catastrophic. However, if done well, the results are phenomenal as @Dirtbag has indicated time and time again using this method.
Oh I’m sure it will be used for years ! Thanks for puttin it together !
Fingers crossed! There aren't many journals on here like this, and this is specific to using advanced techniques that we're seeing several others adopt.
Great work by the way ! Don’t forget the smoke report in a few weeks ? Lol
So, on that note. Those branches that were hanging down in that picture were cut shortly after that picture was taken. The initial report from my ol lady is quite good despite those buds being early. Flavor and smell sucks as they were quick dried, but otherwise the effects are on point.

Bud shots and a true smoke report will be posted at the appropriate time either way.
 
Dirtbag

Dirtbag

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I'll say @tobh, I know I suggested 3 waterings per day to runoff but after our discussions I decided to adopt the crop steering philosophy to my watering this time doing the same as you, with up to 8 waterings a day, no runoff until about the third and manipulating WC in the veg and generative phases. I really like how it's been working. But like you, I've made too many small tweaks this run to know exactly what is doing what, but I can tell you something is working lol.
 
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tobh

tobh

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I'm definitely not sure if the crop steering tactics did anything or not either. I'm going to keep doing it in subsequent runs though. I feel like we've barely touched the surface of what those techniques can offer in terms of growth rates, size, overall plant health and of course speed to completion. Being able to manipulate the environment a bit more precisely would be great, but I'm done changing shit for now. Gotta actually get used to this setup for once instead of continuing to change shit every time haha. Only changes I am going to make is some refinements on the platform and the plumbing. Otherwise not a damn thing else is being modified.
 
ComfortablyNumb

ComfortablyNumb

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Well done. This is what I wanted to do with ours, compile it all into a single long post from start to finish.

I was thinking about setting up a spreadsheet to keep track of all the variables. That way, you can get reports on all kinds of stuff, and it would make doing this kind of log much easier.
 
DanC520

DanC520

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Honestly, if it weren't for keeping things documented behind the scenes, this wouldn't have been nearly as comprehensive. In a sense I had a journal going -- it just wasn't public. There were simply too many variables being manipulated for me to be able to focus on anyone else's input aside from the select few who watched it all unfold. I will say this, I won't be doing it that way again. I might pester logic to set up a draft thread feature or something, or even setup a dummy account so I can document everything in the proper formatting in a chat with myself as to keep things organized. I don't think I'll be doing one of these style journals again though. At least not regarding this method of growing.

My primary motivator for this style of journal is that there are several members following @Dirtbag's footsteps as well, and I was the first to really buy in and pursue doing it. Those growers deserve to know what they're getting into, what the potential pitfalls are, and what to expect at each stage using this method. It's not for beginners, the faint of heart, or those that aren't willing to be uncomfortable practically butchering their plants several times while pushing those same plants to their absolute limits throughout the entire run.

This puts a grower in a very precarious position. A fuck up (ie, not fertigating the plants for nearly 24 hours) can and will be catastrophic. However, if done well, the results are phenomenal as @Dirtbag has indicated time and time again using this method.

Totally get it. Documentation has plenty of practical and educational purposes. I can only imagine how this hobby would have gone for me if not for people putting their experiences out there. Good shit man.
 
tobh

tobh

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Well done. This is what I wanted to do with ours, compile it all into a single long post from start to finish.

I was thinking about setting up a spreadsheet to keep track of all the variables. That way, you can get reports on all kinds of stuff, and it would make doing this kind of log much easier.
yeah, i debated doing that at the beginning. in the end, i ended up relying on private chats for pretty much all of it though. even picking everything out of a spreadsheet would've been a hell of a lift, albeit easier in the sense that one wouldn't have to review hundreds of pages of conversations and pick out the relevant parts.

then, of course publishing this thing. i was fully prepared to be super pissed that someone replied in the middle of compiling it into the multiple posts. The word doc I wrote everything in is 16 pages too so figuring out how many posts it was going to take + pictures was a no-go.
 
Justlovetogrow

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Great read tobh I love it when people put there mistakes in the journal aswell as the good stuff looks a good harvest for ya man I reckon 1.5-2lb which is awesome out of a small tent great job👍
 
PK1

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ya dude, don't change the method of growing. We have some learning curve to go through and figure what how works.
Is there a limit on how long a post can be?
there is a limit on how much pictures you can upload and the box only holds so much words. not sure the count but i bet tobh does. lol!
 
tobh

tobh

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Is there a limit on how long a post can be?
I haven't found an actual limit.Technically speaking a text area (where you input your thing) has a maxlength property that if is left unset, means a user can input an unlimited amount of text. However, on the server side a default setting for what a user can submit tends to be somewhere around 2GB. That's a TON of text. There is a caveat though, and that is the browser itself also has a configuration for what it'll allow. In the case of Firefox that is somewhere around 8KB, which again is a ton of text. It won't kill the browser or anything, the browser will do what's called chunking instead, which is actually how picture uploads work.

That being said, you are restricted to 20 pictures per post. That's why I had to break up the journal into what, seven posts?
into multiple Great read tobh I love it when people put there mistakes in the journal aswell as the good stuff looks a good harvest for ya man I reckon 1.5-2lb which is awesome out of a small tent great job👍
Appreciate it man. I'm not quite ready to speculate on final yield yet. A couple weeks from now before we break into the stash I'll weigh it all out though. 2lb is the target, and I won't stop until I attain that number with various genetics. Came close last run, and feel like this run is even closer. I'm big on transparency as well, and I don't give a shit about most other people's opinions, so I'm more than happy to flaunt my mistakes along with my wins. Fucking up is just as much part of the craft as doing it successfully, after all.
 
Dirtbag

Dirtbag

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Great read tobh I love it when people put there mistakes in the journal aswell as the good stuff looks a good harvest for ya man I reckon 1.5-2lb which is awesome out of a small tent great job👍
I agree. I appreciate the honesty and humility. It's something that can be lacking in online forums. But it's absolutely necessary to actually learning and growing, and getting better. Which to me is the greatest benefit of an online forum like this. Having a place for us to be able to share our thoughts and experiences to learn from one another is a huge asset and helps us all get better, and faster than working through everything on our own.

It chaps me when people bullshit their way through a diary and I can tell. That ego gets in the way sometimes.
 
Madmax

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You sneaky devil..i knew you had a journal going somewhere...great write up tobh.that makes it easier to follow along than journals that seem to get lost and off track among the conversations that are not on topic..

Looks a good yield mate..
 
tobh

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It chaps me when people bullshit their way through a diary and I can tell. That ego gets in the way sometimes.
Half of the people on the forums are here for measuring their dicks. Or to have that minuscule ego boosted. That's why I've become quite liberal with outright ignoring people. Tired of interacting with people that think because they can grow one of the most documented and easiest plants to grow on the planet that they're hot shit. Anyone can grow weed. Doing it well is a whole other thing, and even that is not reason enough to be a douche about it.
 
tobh

tobh

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You sneaky devil..i knew you had a journal going somewhere...great write up tobh.that makes it easier to follow along than journals that seem to get lost and off track among the conversations that are not on topic..

Looks a good yield mate..
lmao well i was documenting the progress, yes. My motivations were just different on this one. I missed a ton details doing it the way i did it, but the important details are all here now. And you're absolutely correct about the actual journal getting lost in conversation. It sucks reading a great grow journal, but having to wade through dozens or hundreds of posts to find that one with the detail you might need to tackle an issue.

On the other hand, those also yield incredible conversations that are amazing concentrations of detailed information.

This way I'm hoping will still yield such conversations but now specific posts from the grow can easily be linked to so that context isn't entirely lost in a flood of irrelevant conversation.
 
Dirtbag

Dirtbag

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lmao well i was documenting the progress, yes. My motivations were just different on this one. I missed a ton details doing it the way i did it, but the important details are all here now. And you're absolutely correct about the actual journal getting lost in conversation. It sucks reading a great grow journal, but having to wade through dozens or hundreds of posts to find that one with the detail you might need to tackle an issue.

On the other hand, those also yield incredible conversations that are amazing concentrations of detailed information.

This way I'm hoping will still yield such conversations but now specific posts from the grow can easily be linked to so that context isn't entirely lost in a flood of irrelevant conversation.
Totally tobh. That's why at the end of a diary I try to do a full recap.
Still doesn't give you the little crumbs that get dropped along the way though. And some of our conversations can go off the tracks for a few pages lol..
 
tobh

tobh

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Totally tobh. That's why at the end of a diary I try to do a full recap.
Still doesn't give you the little crumbs that get dropped along the way though. And some of our conversations can go off the tracks for a few pages lol..
some of those conversations yield excellent information though. i mean, that's what forum means -- a centralized place of discussion. historically forums have been philosophical, political, religious, or otherwise educational. Hell, the Socratic Circle was born from this exact concept. The beauty of online forums is the facade of anonymity which truly provides a level of equality in person forums could never match.
 

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