Turning 75

I to all good peeps and to some that are not to good.
I just took a sabbatical of 30 days without so much as a smell.
First time since around 1978 that i became a FULL time smoker!Was dabbling since 1968 bought my first pound of Michoacan for $90
So 1978 thru 2018 that make 40 years longer then some have been around at least in this form.
I felt no withdrawal or other irritable things in this 30 day period.
I am on my second joint now and I mean to tell you I roll fatties.
I have enough smoke {all top drawer shit} put away to think of restarting a grow.
I absolutely love to grow big donkey dongs.
All organic and a way that has kept me rolling big fatties these last 15 or so years.
I came to love coco coir and worm castings and different source of pumice.
I work on getting the medium slightly acetic 6.1-6.2 with as high a EC as i can get before it gets to soggy and one has dry downs issue.
I grow in a closet with maximum plants .I mean I fit as many as i fit. LOL
I have come to find that their as many growing styles as their are growers.
We all walk a certain path to where we have come in the growing circle.
I love herbal tea's and top dressings.
I want the microbial life be eating and shitting.
In writing this post I now know in which direction I lean.
I have been growing a strain i made way back I call her Skunk A Rella, a cross of a old Red Hair Skunk and Cinderella 99.
This run the seeds will be rejuvenated as they are getting long in the tooth.
I need to get a few this to set up.
It takes me about 4-4.5 months to get product.
I continue to smoke this Skunk A Rella for it keeps me quite
entertained.
I run a 12/1 lighting scheduled and it makes me know that i am a wizard!
I just had a thought of walking new peeps a trip down wizard lane.
Be on notice I have been accused of killing grows?
Just a a heart valve replacement 1 day in the Hospital unreel Huh?
Ratzilla

WOW!

I am starting to sort out things that I put away.
I been away from my much beloved hobby since Sept.17.
I have been badly malign for calling it a hobby.
I pick out what bulbs i''ll be running and getting ready to set up
I usually start 50-60 seeds to cull to 24.
A very beautiful time to watch a seedling show it's prowess.
As a seed ages seedlings will show signs of this lack of strength.
I get around 4-5 years of good seedlings but after that long I feel it is better to make new seed.
I am at this crux thinking it was 2006 since it was rejuvenated.
I got a good ratio from the last batch and they were in my crisper door undisturbed, plus Skunk A Rella is STRONG.
I am OLD SCHOOL I see all plants as ONCE Sativa or Indica fuck rudercellis.
BUT what so many hybrids to go through looking for the magic grail.
I finally made my own grail and it will all morph from their.
I lost the Red headed Skunk part of it and the Cindy 99 lost most of it's vigor but Skunk A Rella is powerful. At least to me!
I think I could continue to grow her out till infinity comes.
She used to be quite red but for a few years now about 1/2 of the plants buds become very purplish black.
Waiting on my new billing cycle of my credit card to order about $250 worth of goodies like neem cake :IMO this keeps gnats Down and Bentonite clay : IMO adds much to the ECE a few guano's and other natural goodies.
My medium has been reused about 6-7 times and i keep it refresh by adding organic matter,humus, humic. a long with a 6 foot potting bench
I have a 90Gal com poster tumbler and a 55 gallon rain barrel all of this relative private.
I often wonder what period in the cycle of a plants life excites me the most,they are all so intriguing but in the end it's putting fire to the end of a fatty.
I now can look at a marijuana plant at any stage of it's life and CAN know what is ailing it or what what is it liking It's transpiration will tell all/
A plant weight is made up to roughly %90 water and knowing how all this water movement is happening is part of a druids trail.
It takes a long time to become intuitive.
Don't get me wrong many things makes me scratch my head and ass at the same time while thinking WTF.
But a peep sticking to a plant he knows well and how it will preform given the same {right}circumstances goes very far in the Wizard world.
I still need a few days 3-5 before setting it all up.
Wifie birthday is today
I bought a Marietta mix some salt and limes for her to drink, my plans were evil
to say the least but shes getting hammered on her wine instead.
My plans are to take her out but she gets mean when she drinks so maybe yes or maybe be know.
I quit drinking 27 years ago! Haven't had to say I am sorry for last night since.
I remember a few words that would make the hair on my neck stand up after a night of drinking." Do You Know what you did last night"
RatZillahttps://www.icmag.com/ic/images/smilies/tiphat.gif

Nice

Good to hear you are still going strong after all those years of growing and smoking!

Not sure I caught all that but cheers

Did you just turn 75? That means birthday! Happy Birthday!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inS9gAgSENE

AgentPothead said:

Did you just turn 75? That means birthday! Happy Birthday!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inS9gAgSENE

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I am excited to have reach this pinnacle.No Nov is my magical month when I'll be 75 .
I remember thinking 70 was cool but the years between them ment very little but 75 oh yea buddy!
Today I hung my fixture cleaned the glass and check to see that the 400w 7200k MH is working. All was well.

I check my seed stash and plenty of SAR from 2014 and 2016 I will start both in hopes of back crossing them.
I am happy that they are fresher then i thought.
I start my seeds by first bringing them to ambient temp.
Them I soaked them in distilled water for 24-36 hours with a drop of surfactant, yucca is my choice I also use a drop or two of a kelp solution looking for them to crack a wee bit.
After this soaking I start them in rooters rapid rooters are my choice a tree bark and other good things.then into 16 oz cups made up to give them a head start.
I think of a grow kinda like a relay race if the baton is not handed off at the correct time bad things can happen,
When its time to water, feed or transplant DO SO
It usually takes from 48-72 hours for most to pop with some taking 96 hours.
I make sure to keep them hydrated using a eye dropper and dosing them every 6-8 hours,this with the same water that i started them in.
My duct is also hook up a 4 inch inline fan pulling heat out of my enclosed fixture.
I need to get some distilled water and check my containers and such but tomorrow is another day!
RatZilla

If you are looking for something acidic to lower your medium I reccomend bokashi juice

Superauto said:

If you are looking for something acidic to lower your medium I reccomend bokashi juice

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My pH is right where I want it between 6.0-6.2 It i do want to fudge it down I prefer powdered calcium.
Or even adjusting my water to where i think it should go.
I use only collected rain water and being it is devoted of any elements it pH moves VERY easily.
Today i got some distilled water to soak my seeds ,a drop of Thrive Alive green {kelp 1-0-1} and then drove 40 miles to a hydroponic store for a bunch of stuff that i probably could do without, at least some of it but i am so anal only to leave behind a 30 lb bag of wiggle worm castings.
So typically a stoner move! they said they would ship it free for me.
Nice of them.
Did I mention that I have been running a 12/1 lighting cycle for years now.Saves much power and plants love it.
I refer those that have not tried this lighting cycle as the flat earther's.
For those that don't know how it goes 12 hours of the lighting of your choice I prefer a 400 W MH then in the MIDDLE of the 12 hour light out cycle i light up a few compact florescence for 1 hour.
This breaking up the dark cycle prevents plants from releasing hormones,auxin's that sets the plant from going into flowering.
I usually veg anywhere from 2 - 3 months preferring the longer cycle if going to make seed.
This gives both the female time to create {more flowering sites}and the males to reach their potency.
Before any peeps get caught up into this thread know that no pictures will be included.
Sorry a old promise to wifey to help keep her from going fetal about my hobby.
But to help pass on knowledge to newbies i have this calling.
RatZilla

I’m a newbie so please explain the 12/1. I know 12/12, 14/10, 20/4 and 24/0
Never heard of 12/1, how does it work?


Great thread, keep on posting

Happy upcoming birthday Ratz...

You've got about 10 years on me man,
but I know what ya mean about it seeming weird that we've been tokin' since before most of the members here were even born...
But there's a lot of old, longtime tokers on here!

I remember the days of the superb Mexican and Central American sativas...
I really enjoyed the energetic, electric brain buzz we got when the good stuff came in!..

Superauto said:

I’m a newbie so please explain the 12/1. I know 12/12, 14/10, 20/4 and 24/0
Never heard of 12/1, how does it work?


Great thread, keep on posting

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12/1 AKA the gas lantern technique.They use this trick to keep poinsettias from flowering until the Christmas season was Christmas.
Before electric lighting hence the gas lantern for light.
Being they use this to trick plants that are photo induce to go through their life cycle.
Meaning you can keep some plants in a constant state of vegetativeness forever.
Our favorite is one of these plants.
Most growers do a 18 on and 6 off some will do a 24/7.
With the 12/1 you supply a constant light source for 12 hours ,say from 6 am to 6 pm.
Now you have 12 hours dark which 1 hour is lit up right at the 1/2 way .
In this case 11.30 pm to 12.5 am will give you the 1 hour right in the middle of lights out time.
This light on time stops the plant from releasing its flowering hormone keeping it in a vegetative state.
My plants love this and show much happiness.
I have never seen and hermaphrodite induced in using this style for like 4-5 years now.
I would never go back.
Once you want flowering to start just stop with the 1 hour of lights on time in the middle of its dark cycle.
I have my main light a 400 W MH then i have 2 60 W compact florescent set up on their own timer.
I then just use my main light and set it to start @11 on 13 off to start flowering and reducing lights on by 1/2 hour every two weeks until 9 on 15 off is reach to finish.
The absolute best thing is money saved.
Say you veg for two months .
Saving 6 hours daily adds up to 48 hours in a two month period.
Say your running a 400 watt that's 19,200 watts pretty substantial savings i think.'
Even more if running multiple lamps and wattage's!!!
RatZilla

Bud Green said:

Happy upcoming birthday Ratz...

You've got about 10 years on me man,
but I know what ya mean about it seeming weird that we've been tokin' since before most of the members here were even born...
But there's a lot of old, longtime tokers on here!

I remember the days of the superb Mexican and Central American sativas...
I really enjoyed the energetic, electric brain buzz we got when the
good stuff came in!..

Click to expand...

Not to worry growing older takes less time then originally thought!
As finding the buzz we all seek it is so intuitive [subjective]
This is why I took some Red hair Skunk and mated it with Cinderella 99.The Skunk because it is a great producer and C-99 for it's potency.
I say its a uppity bitch that never lets me down.
I say take your two favorite strains and begin. lol
RatZilla

Great read Ratz keep er coming...B

Congratulations! Crikey you can talk! Lucky you still got a Missus to talk to. Mine's still around after 52 years. We still get it on good! And we laugh a lot together too. I got 4 years to catch up to you ...

Hey congratulations on the milestone birthday and re-birth of gardening! I find it very therapeutic for medical problems, even when I'm not gardening it's relaxing to think about the plants and what's coming up next in the garden.

I just hit a "milestone" birthday this year....don't want to even think about it, but we outlived Prohibition, anything is possible!

Teddybrae said:

Congratulations! Crikey you can talk! Lucky you still got a Missus to talk to. Mine's still around after 52 years. We still get it on good! And we laugh a lot together too. I got 4 years to catch up to you ...

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Been with this girl for 27 years and had 23 with the one before her.
To me it seems somewhere around the 20 years mark things change.
No more romance and more of a friendship then a wife.
I call her a cold hearted women even if she will do MOST everything for me.
I grow at her OK, what more could i want.
PS she drinks mightily, wine is her choice she sometimes gets mean as alcohol tends to do.
But I love her dearly and it far to late to look for a new women and she surly has more positives the negatives.
I know all the tricks that makes her squirm and scream but she holds the TRUMP card.
So i guess that i 'am the BITCH!

On another note all seeds soaked for 30- hours and all sank.
Did you know this shows viability in a seed if it floats you can bet it is not viable.
So after sinking I get my tweezers and place then into the rooters with the crack end pointing down if possible.
I really don't place much worth on this endeavor but it does help with the seed shredding its membrane so the new cotyledon leaves can open to start making use of its power source [the light].
I plug up the hole that the seed was placed in so no light can interfere with the germination process.
Lastly i set these rooters in Jiffy strips made out of peat and set on a heating pad.
IMO the most important is in not allowing the rooters to dry out.
I usually give them a eye dropper of water every 6 hours or so.
So with 60 seeds sowed any guess how many will pop?
I'am going with 58.
This all starts around the 48 hour and continues until 96 hour mark.
RatZilla

Hi Ratz,
Happy Birthday a bit early...I turn 70 early next year. Been growing off and on since 1975. A long strange trip indeed. Just building a new room in a new location...man how many times have I done that?

Just read your seed technique. Hope they all pop. Had a buddy tell me recently that he plants 1 1/2" down to ensure that the shell halves are shed before breaking surface. I only go down about 1/2".

Hey...you have any pointers on old seeds. I know scarification...and soak. You go a full two days. Any H2O2 or bleach (tiny amount) to ward off fungi? I'm about a month away from seed sprouting.
Cheers Dude...and I'll raise a glass of wine later in honor of your tolerant wife...
JD

mmmmmm.....wine. Doh!