The Max has been growing for about a year now... So far I have had some bad luck with the male/female ratio.. Too much stress on the plants.. Too hot, too small of a pot..etc... Anyways my question to you growers who have been doing this awhile... How long was it before you were able to grow enough to keep your smoke habits fed?? MAD MAX
too me about two years too to completely dial it in, unfortunately they only grow so fast and you can only get a few grows every year. You've got the rest of yur life to enjoy the fruits of yur labour.
I did nothing but read for an entire year before I tried growing my own, and it still took me another year or more to get all the mistakes out of the way. Look at it this way, you are training yourself on how to do something you have never done or even seen done before. It's like trying to figure out how to rebuild a carburetor from a written schematic...sure, it can be done, but I bet you make alot of mistakes along the way. It's hard not to get discouraged when it seems like the learning curve is so slow, and mistakes are easy to make. I have kept going because I have made progress every single time, until now I feel I have really streamlined the process for myself on the growing end. If you are persistent, I promise you it pays off. Stick to my advice and hang in there, and one day you'll put lillies on my grave, and wish you could thank me. peace.
Ya know Chop sometimes you seem a man wiser than his years... That really seems to put everything in perspective.. So true Joker, it seems so petty now, just discouraged.. Lately the Max has been without smoke more than he has had it.. The Max doesnt like that much..LOL Max's timeline as far as indoor grows goes ike this... March of 05 first indoor grow, harvested and smoked was great.. By the summer time temps were too hot for the Max to grow.. Fall of 05 was Maxs 2nd indoor grow, had 3 out of 4 males.. Springtime of 06 Max Convince the Ole lady to let him hook into the HVAC... Max is able to grow into the summer but again 3 out of 4 males.. Right now the Max may have 4 out of 4 males, Max is not happy... Max has built another cabinet for vegging and has now 240 watts of floros.. Max's C-13 has warped to piss and Max is currently rebuilding the doors.. So does all this sound normal to ya or is Max fucking up alot?? about Maxs ramble a Bit drunk and the Ole lady took away the shotgun LOL MAD MAX
outdoor soil: first try, 12ft'rs...50/50 m/f ratios. indoor soil: 2 times and 20 or so plants later hydroponics: 3 times aeroponic: 1 time mostly due to incorrect equipment, of which I would soo love a PPM meter, a res chiller, and a c02 setup, thats about all thats left for me to try in the hydroponic world. Maybe some LCD's when they make them better P.S. Filtered water is a must, I didn't really think it mattered much until I tried it, but it definitely helps, I used to have PH swings really badly with some waters, the water would get murky after a few hours..haven't had the problem much, but when it arises, it can be very stressful/harmful to your roots. now, I don't even have to touch PH at all between res changes, except maybe once, and since it is always higher, I just add some H202 every couple of days, and that seems to level it out nicely by itself, since it has a PH of 4 or less.
Okay, I don't think you are so far out of whack that you can't get back on course with a couple of tweaks. You definitely have the strong desire...everything else is secondary. For one thing.....flouro's. I know that some people like to use them, but they just aren't the right tool for the job. If heat is an issue, then I suggest having a growing season and an off season. Grow in the Fall and Winter, take the Spring and Summer off and enjoy getting ready for the Fall. But use the right kind of light...it's soooo worth it. I'm actually kinda in that same situation right now, as my accomodations currently do not provide adequate cooling. I had a heat issue this summer, and 11 out of 11 turned male. You wanna talk about pissed!!!! :new_cussing: Believe me, I was discouraged. It took a while, but I went back to the drawing board, looked at my mistakes, compensated, and went back to work. I have had one successful grow under my belt, and I'm on my second one now. I'd say I've improved quite a bit based on the results. I read everything in the FAQ about how to raise the f/m ratio in your plants using environment, and applied what I could. Really followed it. My babies just started pre-flowering, and this morning I counted at least 7 females without even closely inspecting all of them. I would say that's a drastic improvement over where I was. I only saw one obvious male showing, and no hermies that I know of. Now, I'm sure genetics play a part in that, but it's not blind luck....I used to think it was. It's true, the harder you work the luckier you get. I'm not saying any of this to brag or whatever, I just want it to encourage to keep going, knowing I had the same troubles as you and overcame them through persistence. You can, too. I have told myself my plants are a reflection of what I know...If I can grow great plants, then I have become learned on the subject. If I am having troubles, there is a reason and I just have to look for it. Take what you want, and leave the rest...Good luck!
Good points Joker. Max...it's all about trial and error. I've been thru so many trials it's not funny,and the errors....don't get me started, but I never gave up and always looked to improve my setup. In time you work out the kinks but even then...shit happens and ya just gotta bite the bullet.
Dont misunderstand Joker I am using the Floros only for vegging.. I have a 400 watts HPS fpr floweriing sorry I wasnt more clear on that. I think Chop really said it best..You got your whole life to get it right LOL Thanks for the Kind words Herb and Joker.... not so MAD MAX LOL
