Don't forget the micro-beasties

[buffalobuds]

I have been using for 45 yrs. and growing on and off most of that time.. I have read all the different ways everyone uses tents.lights,hydro,coco, soil and nutes. Seems everyone forgets that cannabis started Eons ago as a WEED. No humans around,most likely spread by animals and cared for by nature. We came along and decided to domesticate it. We now control every aspect of it life and force feed it with chemicals we think is good for them. News flash.....nature does this all by her self through a symbionic relationship with the soil. This is done with the help of decaying plant matter, billions on micro-beasties( bacteria and fungus) and the plants ability to produce sugar on the surface of its root system to attract the correct microbe to provide the chemical it needs to grow. So the key is feed the SOIL not the plant. The plant knows how to do this for milleniums She can do it all by herself.. Try it you will see for yourself

[DoctorJohnson]

I think that you have a rather romantic view of soil, and that's fine, it's romantic stuff--Mother Earth, the Good Earth, etc. etc.--but don't get carried away. Cannabis grows just fine when fed just nutrient salts with no attention at all paid to the microbiome around its root system. I know that sounds clinical and unromantic, but it's true.

[DW2]

But don't forget the nematodes! They have rights as well. (LOL)

[buffalobuds]

Doc You are very right !!!! I have heard of great success in every type of grow system and 95 % grow more and better than me. I just let nature and the seed do they thing, but the flavor of it being made like it should taste is well worth it. Some times less is more

[DoctorJohnson]

Doc You are very right !!!! I have heard of great success in every type of grow system and 95 % grow more and better than me. I just let nature and the seed do they thing, but the flavor of it being made like it should taste is well worth it. Some times less is more

The organic folks seem to say "Try it and you'll see what I mean." If I had the room and the time it would be fun to mix up some super soil, but for now, a 2'x2' tent in the corner with four bottles of General Hydroponics will have to do...

[KingKush]

Yup. When you grow big you have to actually consider things bigger than yourself. Like your wallet and then the planet, probably in that order. The bigger player you are, the greater your responsibility becomes. Small closet/tent grows could use nuclear lighting with DDT & gmo growth regulators for all I care but when it comes to people actually growing for quantity it distills down into one singular thought: you're either part of the solution or part of the problem.

[oldjarhead100]

hey Buffalobuds you are correct in what your saying it is a weed and will grow ,that being said if you take one plant and do very little to it and one plant that you give optimal conditions then the one that has been cared for with optimal conditions will give the biggest yield with the highest quality bud

[buffalobuds]

oldjarhead........Letting them grow by themselves is not doing nothing. I provide as many nutes in raw, non-chemical form, be it organic, mineral or living (micro-beasties} . They break all that down to forms the plants can use. It has been proven many times that plants can be force feed and become super plants knocking out pounds. But being feed chemicals do they taste like a wild strain, growing on their own. That is what i strive for.

[D.A.A.S.69]

Amen brother, feed the soil.

[buffalobuds]

oldjarhead........Letting them grow by themselves is not doing nothing. I provide as many nutes in raw, non-chemical form, be it organic, mineral or living (micro-beasties} . They break all that down to form the plants can use. It has been proven many times that plants can be force feed and become super plants knocking out pounds. But being feed chemicals do they taste like a wild strain, growing on their own. That is what i strive for.

[DrPhoton]

The problem here is the use of the word "chemical". Now im sure its an inocent use of the word, but it would be more accurate to use the word RAW when trying to differentiate between organic chemicals and RAW chemicals from fertilizers. You might be able to use the term synthetic, however not all forms of fertilizers are processed and are infact raw mined minerals from the earth. When it comes to plants, chemicals are chemicals, wether that be naturally manufactured or synthetically processed. The fact of the matter is that the word "chemicals" is not a synonym for bad or different. Everything is made up of chemicals, which the plant uses in the same way no matter what the source is. Now of course there are differences in the types of chemicals which have an effect on the solubility of nutrients, however this is not of discussion.

Organic may provide superior quality, this does not mean the same cannot be obtained from raw fertilization. The only difference between the two is the balance and source. Microorganims manufacture chemicals in organic matter where as fertilizers are manufacturered from chemical processes in a lab or naturally mined. So they both undergo chemical transitions but are done by different processes. Just because they are from different sources, does not mean the plant sees them any differently.

Although plants have survived naturally on their own without human intervention, does not mean that they thrive as well when they are. We are constantly providing the best environmental conditions to promote maximal genetic potential possible. Such as lighting, airflow, structure support, pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers etc.

This is my view which i understand based on the material from books on plant biology i have read.

[Chefbjy]

DrPhoton you make things so interesting. These nutes we feed our plants aren't chemicals per say but a raw form of what has been broken down over time in the soil outdoors. Sure there are enzymes and microbes that break down into what our plants use. It takes time for the natural processes to occur in soil and if we deprive the soil of nutrition we would only be going backwards. Some people may think they are chemicals because it wasn't broke down over time and not from a completely natural source. Nute companies provide things that have been processed and broken down for us to use now and not wait for it to occur naturally. I never use chems and prefer organic but nitrogen phosphorus and potassium are all chemicals no matter how you look at them weather it be from pine cones ash or lime.These things are available through a raw form ie nutes.

[DrPhoton]

Chefbjy I like how you put it.

"Nute companies provide things that have been processed and broken down for us to use now and not wait for it to occur naturally."

Yes i still use some organic soils as a base for micro nutrients but i typically make my own fertilizer with raw salts for the macro nutrients. Its really hard to make a soluble form of phosphorous. The nute companies do it best.

[WeirdWiredWolf]

I let my roomie try her "it's a WEED, leave it alone" tactic on one of my bagseed plants (in FFOF soil, she wouldn't let me do any supplemental feeding) just so she'd quiet down about how my nutes/light was too much for the plants. "Her" plant recently died from some weird affliction (I suspect mystery bugs from another houseplant, temp/humidity swings from being in a window and lack of direct sunlight this time of year). I'm fairly sure the seeds I have are a landrace, so I'd love to try for as close to a 'wild' grow as possible once the weather gets amenable.

[buffalobuds]

Dangerdan and Wolf The reason I do not use chemical base( bought on a shelf) is that the stuff the plant uses is bonded to salt for stability and easy handling (solid or liquid). Salt is like Kriptonite to the Mico-Beasties I need to feed my plant. I also feel I can taste the difference. PS Sorry for your lose

[DoctorJohnson]

Not to be disrespectful, but I can say as someone with a degree in microbiology and who has taken a years of chemistry classes, that's an overly simple view of microbes and their nutrition. There are soil bacteria that absolutely LOVE the chemical salts in fertilizers. Pour some nitrate salts on your compost pile and watch it's temperature increase 20 degrees as the bacteria there fly into a metabolic fury!

Organic growing and building great soil are a wonderful thing, but I like to keep the folklore and the woo woo to a minimum and focus on the biology and chemistry--that's what's most accurate and powerful and repeatable and proven..

[buffalobuds]

You are very right!!! A overly simple view is what I have learned on as many garden web sites, cannabis sites, Gov. sites and reading every book on roots, beasties and soil. Take what makes the most sense from all info and hope for the best. So far i must be lucky because i've managed to get 50+ Gr p/p, dry out of three 22" autos in 3 gal. pot in the sun, two yrs. running . Can't complain. So there it is.. TO future leaning.