Blaze's 2012 Adventure

[Blaze]

Greetings fellow farmers, and welcome. I've been too busy to spend much time on the forums these last few months so I thought I'd share a bit with what I've been working on lately. This last year has been a hectic and busy one, filled with much change in both my personal and professional life. Hopefully 2012 will be our best season yet - and so far we're off to a good start.

The line-up for this year:

Guava Kush - original seed and F2 seed
Blueberry Pie
Moonlight
Kryptonite x Grape Krush
Lemon Jack
Purple Zebra
New York Diesel x Jack The Ripper
S.T.F.U.
Mendo Pineapple - original seed, F2 seed, and the original clone
Old Betsy
Heart Attack Kush (A.K.A. Kush Cleaner, Longbottom Leaf)
Sour Diesel
OG Kush

Proper planning, foresight, and follow through are critical to a successful grow. Our first task for the season - acquiring our soil and composts. This is best done in the winter for several reason. First of all, if you live in an area that produces a lot of cannabis like I do, there is always a huge shortage of soil and compost come late spring and early summer, so it's always best to buy it a few months before you need to use it. This also helps ensure that the compost, soil, manure, etc is well composted before being used in the garden. Many soil companies, especially when trying to fill large quantities of orders that come in all at once, will rush their composting process. This can results in hot, inconsistent medium that can cause all sorts of problems for your plants. By allowing the compost to sit and mellow for a while before you use it, you can help ensure that you do not have this issue.

I always order my medium direct in bulk from a local soil company or farm. I do so for several reasons. For one, it is always far cheaper - the average cost for what I purchased was $31 per yard (that would be about 18 bags of soil from the hydro store), including delivery. Two, it supports a local agriculture business. Three, it is all made from locally sourced materials, and therefore more sustainable. I strongly believe in self sufficiency, sustainability, supporting my local community, and I try to reflect this outlook with all that I do. Fourth and finally - I like to grow big plants in big beds. I don't need bags of soil - I need truck loads.

This year I ordered some a few different things - some basic soil made from cleaned topsoil, compost, and manures, as well as a very mellow compost made form green waste, and another hotter compost containing duck manure and rice hulls. In order to help ensure quality I went an inspected the various products before hand in person, and looked over the lab tests from the company. Be wary of any soil company that won't show you their lab results. Lab test are certainly not a 100% gaurantee, but they will give you a general idea of what the soil and compost you are working with contains. I'll also be getting some composted cow manure from a local dairy here soon but it wasn't quite ready for pick up yet. I'll also be adding a blend of dry amendments and a few other things later on to get the soil right where I want it, but this will largely depends on the results of my soil tests that we will be doing in a few weeks.

Transportation for the materials also had to be arranged, and for this I hired another local company with a special truck equipped with extra high walls set up just for hauling large amounts compost and other lighter materials. They were also willing to take cash payments and keep records of the deliveries 'off the books' which is always a plus. Despite my legal medical standing, leaving as little of a trace of what one is doing when growing cannabis (even medically and legally) is always wise in my opinion. For a bit of extra safety I always have the materials delivered to a 'holding area' a short distance from, and out of view from the actual garden. This way the delivery people never actually see what is going on and never see the garden. I haul the materials the rest of the way myself with a smaller tractor - it takes a bit of extra time but the added safety is worth it in my opinion. Rips offs of medical gardens have become rampant in California in recent years, and much of this has been due to the very lax, blatant, and lazy attitude regarding safety that many California growers tend to have. Just because you are 'legal' it doesn't mean it is safe or smart to be obvious and 'in your face' with what you are doing.

Attached are a few pics of the first 40 yards of soil and compost being delivered.

NEXT UP: The new set up for clones and moms, and proper seed germination method.

 

[NaturalTherapy]

Excited to get a glimpse into your scale of things. Thanks for sharing. Great signature by the way- I was just nerding out to Ott lectures yesterday, can't get enough of that guy

 

[caregiverken]

Wow thats alot of soil :eek: That country side looks just like my place.

Im really happy that your back and sharing this with us Blaze.
When I 1st started growing and comeing to this forum,
You and other kind folks like you encouraged me and inspired me.:) Thanks

I love watching farmers like you do it right.

Gonna do the big Green house this year I hope?
Loved those fruit bins...did those work well?

 

[Seamaiden]

Good Lord, Blaze.... FORTY YARDS????

Haven't heard from you in a while, we have stories of adventures to share.

I'm having soil & property layout envy in a big way right now, big envy. Really like the looks of your line-up this year, too!

 

[southstreets]

Yea everything looks sick big blaze! I'll be watching! Good luck on the season bro!

 

[Blaze]

Hey thanks for stopping by guys, the interest is always appreciated. A greenhouse is in the plans for this year but the weather hasn't been very cooperative. I was able to get the spot cleared off and leveled, and the fence is up, but then the rains hit and it's been to wet to work. I have a feeling I will end up putting the plants out, then building the greenhouse around them over the course of the summer. I'll be setting up some temporary cold frames out of PVC and greenhouse plastic in my veggie garden this week since we were unable to get the permanent metal cold frame up in time. Forty yards was just the first load too - total amount of materials for this year is going to be around 140 yards once I get my manure delivered. However quite a bit of this will be going to other projects. I am totally re-doing my veggie garden with raised beds, and I put in a small orchard this winter as well. At least one light dep harvest is in the works as well. I definitely have my work cut out for me this year LoL.

I also built a new grow room this winter for cuts and moms. In the past I had generally just done my own seed starts in a greenhouse, and then acquired my cuts from other people during the spring. I've never really done much indoor other than to pop seeds and maintain moms, and I have never built a room before, so this was a big learning experience. The shell for the building I had built by a local company - total dimensions are 10 x 12 with 8' walls on the inside for extra height. I split the inside in half - front half is storage and a work area, back half is for the plants. I insulated the roof and walls, coated the whole inside with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal paint, and covered the floor with pond liner to make clean up easy. It took FOREVER to build out the inside and insulate everything - I have a lot more respect for people that can bust out construction projects quickly. Right now I just have some t5's going and will be setting up some 600s MH's this week. The moms are all in 7 gal pots with a my own mix of organic soil. First round of cuts were taken last week and are rooting now. The main bulk of the cuts will be taken next week, so they are rooted by the end of the month, and ready to go outside by mid May. Some powdery mildew and mites have shown up this last week so I will need to treat for those here soon. I'm waiting to acquire my last few cuts this week, then I will be spraying EVERYTHING and not bringing any new plants into the garden.

I also included a few pics of some of the other plants I am growing. I've got a 10 different types of hot peppers going right now, though they will have to go outside into a cold frame soon as I will be needed all the space in the room for vegging cuts. Also took a pic of my Hosui Asian pear that is starting to flower, which was one of the trees in my orchard I put in recently. The red flowers are tulips I scattered around in the woods near my house back in December. Final pic is of my dwarf grapefruit tree that has been flowering like crazy. I love the smell of citrus flowers - I use them often as edible garnishes in salads and what-not.

NEXT UP: Seed germination.

 

[outwest]

Looking good, Blaze. I'll be watching from home.

outwest

 

[420alldaze]

whats up blaze very nice, i wish you luck in your plans. im dreaming of the day i can do even half of that. peacentreez 42o

 

[Z-ro]

Blaze, I always enjoy your posts, they are so well thought out and thorough, and this thread is going to be an amazing journey and source of info for all levels of growers. I too am a busy man, but I will be watching this thread and popping in when I can to enjoy the ride. I wish you and all our other cali folks a fantastic season!

 

[Tankgrl]

Old betsy Blueberry pie? what OG Kush you running sir? Luv your guava and Mendo pineapple!

 

[ncga]

Blaze

Looking good


When you take your cuts let them sit on a heat mat( 75F) away from the main light for 3 to 5 days , then put them under your T5's. I'm getting much better rooting this time of the year with that slight delay in going under full light. Next I will be experimenting with a day / night temp diff

 

[Blaze]

Good to know! Right now all the cuts are chillin on the heat mat under the t5's. No roots yet though. I'll be doing the main batch of clones within the next few days after I treat everything for the mites and PM that have shown up on some of the mother plants.

I'll be running a little bit of the SFV OG Kush - that has been my favorite OG so far. The Heart Attack is also a 50/50 OG hybrid. The Old Betsy is some sort of Northern Lights cross, other than that I don't know much about it, other than the tester I did of it last year kicked some major ass. The Blueberry Pie is one of my strains - it is a cross of an exceptional pheno of the original DJ Short Blueberry. Smells sweet and fruity like blueberries, and tastes like graham cracker crust.

 

[Blaze]

OK, the seeds are popped and growing, here are some pics and details of the process:

First and foremost the germination tent has to be set up and the seeds prepped. This is fairly simple and involves cheap (or often even free) materials that are easy to obtain. First, I pick out the number of seeds of each variety I want to start, place them in the center of damp piece of labeled cotton cloth, and fold them up into packets (first pic). Then I fold all the packets up into a damp towel so they are all together - now the 'seed packet' is ready to go into the tent. The germination tent itself consists of an adjustable heating pad, warped in cloth, with a box made from some plywood and 2" x 4"' scraps around it. Above this there is a second chamber that has a gallon zip lock bag with a thermometer inside it, where the 'seed packet' is placed (2nd pic). The whole thing gets covered by another towel once it is up and running. I usually fire it up a few hours before I want to use it to get the temperature right where I want it.

I've found that around 80-85 F seems best for germinating cannabis. Despite what some may claim I have found through side by side tests that germinating around the full and new moons will give seeds a good boost when not growing under grow lights. The same forces that affect the tides of the earth affect water everywhere, including inside the seed, which allows them to absorb more water, and thus 'crack' sooner than normal. Usually within the first 24 hours using this system, the seeds are starting to pop open. Within 36 hours, most are ready to be transplanted into 1" plugs. By 48 hours the last few stragglers are usually ready to go in. If they don't crack within 72 hours doing it this way - they won't crack period. Hit a little over 95% germination rate this year, even with some 6 year old seeds. It is important to check the seeds every 8-12 hours during this period, as if they get too big too fast you run this risk of snapping the tap root when you transplant. Also they can begin to grow through the cloth packets if left for too long, which again can snap the tap root and kill the seedling.

Once the seeds are cracked and the tap root is growing, I transplant them into flats of 1" plugs. Before they get used for the year, they are given a bath in some water and hydrogen peroxide, then washed them with clean water to get them nice and sterile (third pic). This is a very important step in preventing the spread of dampening off and other soil born disease. The plugs are filled with a mix of Black Gold, organic coco, and Mango Mulch (local compost and manure blend) and Mykos. The Black Gold is one of the more consistent bagged soils and one of the few I would recommend. However I find it to be a bit heavy and low in organic matter for my uses, so I blend in some coco for structure, and Mango Mulch for extra nutrients and organic matter. It usually takes about another 24-36 hours for all the seedlings to emerge after being planted in the plugs. At this point I just have them set in a window sill so they stay nice and warm but still get direct sunlight. If the weather is nice I'll put them outside with some wire mesh over them to protect them form birds. You can't leave them in the plugs too long or they will get too leggy and floppy and fall over. I had two this year snap in half because of this. They usually stay like this for another day or two before being transplanted into 1 gallon pots.

 

[Blaze]

To transplant into the 1 gallon pots, the process is almost the same as for the 1" plugs. The pots all get sterilized - except this time in a big trash can filled with a water and mild bleach solution. They get filled with the same mix as before - Black Gold, coco, some sort of hotter compost like the Mango Mulch, and Mykos. The only main difference is I sprinkle a bunch of earthworm castings in the hole I make for the seedling, and all over the top of the pot before transplanting. This way the seedlings roots hit the earthworm castings as soon as they go in the pot, giving them another little boost. The main reason I use earthworm castings is for all the amazing beneficial organisms they contain - not their nutrient value. Thus I use them more like an inoculant rather than an amendment. It's important to get good quality earth worm castings however - they should be dark, soft, friable, and almost look like little globes (pic 4). I've seen quite a few brands of "earthworm castings" that are more filler and crap than anything else, and harbor little life.

Once the seedlings are all potted up, they are ready to go out into the seedlings cold frame. They will continue to grow in there for at least another 5 week, most likely 7, until they are ready to be planted. I'll get a few pics of the seedling cold frame here soon. The plan is to set up a temporary greenhouse this week for the clones as well, so stay tuned. I also included a pic of one of the new flowers that popped up this week in the yard, and the last pic is of some wild chamomile I found near the house today. It's a little immature yet, but we will be able to make some wild chamomile tea here pretty soon, yum!

 

[Burned Haze]

Some very serious gear u got gong, hope to see some future updates !

Keep it coming :)

BH

 

[Blaze]

Time for an update!

Been really busy as usual but I did remember to snap a few pics over the last two weeks. First two pictures are of the seedlings from about one week ago. They have been doing well and are on track to be planted sometime in late May. A few mutants and retards have shown up as is pretty typical when starting this many seeds, but it looks like about 90% of the seeds that were started will end up being nice healthy plants. Of course we still have to weed out the males once they show sex here soon. I will be saving select males for breeding as I always do.

Also got my temporary greenhouse set up, which will be getting used for a light dep harvest of Sour Diesel. The rest of the pics are some shots of the greenhouse being built. I used some cheap wood 2 x 6's and 2 x 4's for the base boards around the bottom. The main frame is built with 1" PVC pipe that is slid over a piece of 1/2" x 2' rebar that has been pounded into the ground. For extra stability the PVC is also attached to the baseboards using metal pipe strips. To attach the PVC joints together I drill pilots holes then thread through bailing wire and then slap on a layer of duct tape to keep the wire fr om cutting the plastic. I have found this to be much stronger that using glue and PVC joints to hold it together; the joints tend to break quite easily. Total dimensions are 10' x 20' and 8 tall at the peak. The house is covered with 6 mil poly which is attached to the frame with metal greenhouse clips. Since this was a temporary set up I just used to cheap stuff you can get at the hardware store which tends not to last more than a few months under the intense California sun. For a more long term set up it is worth the extra money to buy UV treated poly from an agriculture supplier.

In order to induce flowering this time of year I am pulling two layers of 6 mil black poly over the greenhouse at 8 am and 8 pm every day. Unless you are using real black out fabric two layers of poly is a must - one layer does not block out enough light. I just started manipulating their photo period to 12 hours, so ff all goes as planned, we should be harvesting these plants sometime in early July. I have noticed that dep harvests done early in the year and finished under the intense sunlight around the summer solstice always do best, especially in terms of quality. Something about budding under the summer sun really seems to give the plants a nice extra boost.

Final pic is of the Sour D's in the house today that I got from a friend. They need to be transplanted into larger pots, as well as trained and thinned, which will be happening over the next few days. I'll post up some pics on the 'smart pots' I make here when we finish.

 

[Blaze]

A few other random pics from around the farm:

One of the man gigantic Redwood moths that have been showing up lately, some of the lavender plants and the bees that have been going off the last few weeks, my first rose that are starting to bloom, and finally some little Bearess Limes that are starting to form.

 

[Capulator]

cool. sub'd!

 

[caregiverken]

Thats gonna be a nice Light dep!
Im subbed too.

 

[LordVane]

Geez, this promises to be big. Shall be watching this thread keenly. :)