The basics of growing fine herb.

The basics of growing fine herb.
*Answers to common "noob" questions.
One of the biggest problems we see with new members is the misinformation that they have received from people who don't know anything about marijuana cultivation. Here are some of the answers to some of the more idiotic questions that plague the boards from time to time, so PLEASE don't ask this in the forums... You are just opening yourself up to being flamed / laughed at by the other members.

1. Adding Cool Aid, orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, bongwater, etc... when you water your plants will NOT add color, flavor or potency to your buds.
2. Urinating on your plants will NOT help them grow better... It will kill them.
3. Birth control pills do NOT help produce more female plants.
4. A woman's menstrual fluid does NOT help you produce bigger / denser buds.
5. You can NOT accurately sex a plant by it's size.
6. Miracle Grow soil is NOT good for growing marijuana. It will work in a pinch, but you have no control over what nutrients your plants get, and when.
7. The roots of the marijuana plant do NOT contain any THC.
8. Blowing pot smoke on your plants will NOT increase THC production.
9. Hermaphrodites do NOT produce "femanized" seeds. Femanized seeds ARE from female plants that are chemically induced to produce male organs.
10. Driving nails through the stem or trunk does NOT help plants produce more resin.
11. Trimming off fan leaves does NOT help the plant to grow bigger buds... You are only depriving the plant of stored food / energy. If you want more light on lower bud sites, carefully tuck the fan leaves out of the way.
12. Hanging your buds upside down to dry does NOT make the buds produce more THC. It is just easier to hang them up by their stems when drying.


Getting started
Grow video... http://video.google.ca/videoplay?doc...wing+marijuana

*Quick Tutorial
Tutorial written by rangerdanger ... formatted for your reading pleasure by MellowDood

FOR BEGINNERS -- INDOORS

GETTING STARTED

Before I get into the nuts and bolts, first know this:

Growing pot at home will change your life

(1) Everyone who lives with you will know you’re growing.
(2) You won’t be able to have friends over like you used to.

You don’t want them to know about your money tree. People talk and eventually EVERYONE will know. Trust me on this one. No more having friends sleep over. They will find out. If you have the plants in a closet, wardrobe, cabinet, etc., anyone who goes into the room where the plants are will smell them.

AND know that if you get busted, everyone who lives there will also be in trouble, ESPECIALLY if you are a minor.

You’re gonna have to read -- a lot.
Read a growbook or 2. Anything by Ed Rosenthal is good. Many are available on-line, free, do a search. Read before you do anything else.


Now, if you’re still with us, let’s get down to business...



GROWSPACE

Get the growspace ready BEFORE you germinate seeds.

You will need an enclosure. Like a closet or wardrobe. You will need to paint the inside walls with flat white paint or put in mylar. Avoid using aluminum foil.

The enclosure needs to be light-tight. NO light leaks.



VENTILATION

You will need ventilation. A door left open ain’t gonna cut it. Plants need fresh air; the more the better. You need an intake and exhaust. And an oscillating fan for air distribution and stem strength.



LIGHTS

While it’s possible to grow plants under a few fluorescents, you’re not gonna get much worth smoking unless you pack the growroom with them. Using an HPS (High Pressure Sodium) light will get you 3 x more buds than flo’s. More potent too.

Some growers like to use flo’s for seedlings or MH’s for veg. I prefer using a full-spectrum HPS bulb (like an Agrosun) for the entire grow.



STRAIN

I recommend using bag seeds for a first grow. They are free and usually very hardy, especially Mexican commercial. Get familiar with growing before spending $$$ for seeds.

NOTE: (MellowDood) there are cheap seeds offered by Nirvana seedbank, only about $15-20 for a pack of 10 beans. these are better than bagseed in my opinion because with bagseed you might be getting hermies. i started with bagseed and had great success, but i got lucky.



STYLE OF GROW

Soil. Hydro is quicker but more complicated.

The best potting soils are Fox Farms Ocean Forest or Black Gold. Sam’s Choice from wal-mart will do in a pinch.



THE BOTTOM LINE

Can you grow pot without meeting all of the above criteria?
Yeah, but it won’t be worth your time, trouble, cost and risk.


*Grow guides
These sites offer free grow guides... If anyone stumples across decent grow guides, let us know and we will add them to the list.

http://www.mellowgold.com/grow/begin/

http://www.growing-marijuana.org


As with any other "grow guide" out there... People will disagree with some of the methods discussed in each guide.

A guide is just that. A guide... It is by no means set in stone. Information / methods are always changing... Please bear that in mind.

*Soil vs. Hydroponics?
For the beginner... Soil is the way to go. It is less complicated than using a hydroponic system... And a lot cheaper. Hydropinics is generally reserved for the more advanced cultivator. Not the one plant wonder that is usually, the grower just starting out.
*Indoor vs. outdoor
You can grow indoors year round. Unfortunately, the yields from an indoor grow are MUCH smaller than what you may get from a decent outdoor grow. Growing outdoors has its risks. You are subject to what nature decides to throw at you. Fire, floods, pests & other plant eating critters, etc. You have to be willing to haul all of your supplies (water, fertilizers, etc...) to your grow site. You also run the risk of LEO spotting your plants and "confiscating" them, or someone else finding your plants and ripping you off. With the increased yields comes increased risk.



5.Growroom Design and Set-Up
****Have your setup ready BEFORE you try to germinate any seeds!****

*Materials needed
Your materials will vary depending upon your style of grow. You must decide if you are going to grow indoors or outdoors... Soil or Hydro...The following list is just the basic necessities for an indoor soil grow...

Indoors:
You will need to set up, or build your grow room or closet and make sure that it is WELL ventilated, without having any light leaks.
You will need containers large enough to grow in... Usually 3 to 5 gallon pots work well.
You will need the proper lighting equipment suitable for your grow. (see below)
You will need oscilating fans to agitate your plants and strengthen their stems.
You will need inline fans for your intake / exhaust.
You will need some type of odor control. Such as an (expensive) ozone generator or a relatively cheap carbon scrubber bucket that you can build yourself.
You will need a good Potting mix. If you have access to Black Gold or other comparable soil, use it! (PLEASE, no Miracle Grow!)
You will need other items like Perlite for soil aeration and Dolomite lime to mix into your soil to help stabilize your pH levels, and fertilizers for vegatative and flowering stages. (Metanaturals work great)

(INSERT VARIOUS GROW ROOM / CABINET PICS ETC...FOR REFERENCE)



*Germinating your seeds

Information provided by llIndigoll

I usually bury seeds that have popped out a root tip with the root tip pointing down under about 1/4" soil. During the first 3-5 days the seedling does not need any light at all.
Here's a step-by-step process that works for me every time with growing in soil:


Here is what I use for germination: Seeds, Kleenix tissue, water spray bottle. These seeds are Northern Lights from an organic seed garden in Oregon.



I spray the Kleenix with water until it is wet, but not dripping wet. Then I put the 4 seeds in the middle of the Kleenex, then fold it up so the seeds are surrounded by wet material. I use a glass jar to seal the seeds in. Then I put the jar into the cabinet (any warm, dark place will suffice). I check the condition of the seeds once a day.



When the root tip emerges from the seed it is time to remove them from the wet Kleenex and place into the prepared soil containers. In this case it took 3 days. No need to remove the seed husk, in fact I'd suggest leaving it on until the plant discards it.



This should be done the day you put the seeds into the jar. Sometimes I do not get it done until right before planting the seeds, but in this case I remembered to prep the soil in advance. The reason this is important is to avoid shocking the new seeding. I use: Black Gold Seedling mix, water spray bottle, 1-pint containers.



I wet the soil before putting the 'popped' seed into place. This creates a moist environment from the top of the medium to the bottom. I use the spray bottle as I fill in the container to make sure it is wet all the way through.
After the soil is prepared and has been at room temperature for 3-5 days I create a shallow hole with the end of a pen. This is where the seedling will be placed.



Careful. At this point, damaging the root, seed head, or cotyledons could easily kill your plant. I remove the seed from the Kleenex and place the root tip facing downward into the hole I created in the soil.



I cover the seedling with a thin layer of soil, just enough so I can't see it anymore.



I use plastic baggies to cover the 1-pint containers. This works well because they are the perfect size. I poke a few small holes in the bag to help prevent molding, rotting, etc. It also keeps the moist soil wet enough for the new seedling to keep developing.



I use a cabinet for the next step. The new seedling needs no light, and they seem to sprout faster for me without any light. I check the seedling once a day until I see 1-2 inches popping up out of the soil. This method has had a 99% success rate for me. No watering while it has the bag on it.



After 3 days the seedling has sprouted, and it is now time to remove the plastic bag. This seedling is ready for some fluorescent lighting.
If a plant takes more than 5 days to pop up out from the soil I assume that nature chose another destiny for it, and I re-use the soil and recycle the seedling (compost).



The fluorescent lighting I use is very cool, so these seedlings do well being within 1" of the bulbs. I check daily for vertical growth to keep the seedlings from harming themselves. Still no water at this point, and I will not water them until I see roots popping out the bottom in most cases. On rare occasions I need to add a few squirts from the water bottle, but only enough to keep them from wilting. The thing I want them to focus on at this point is root development.



1 week old