Mass Grass 2018

[TheScorpion]

Here's the Forum. It's got tikes growing on the leaf stems.

Bacillus thuringensis kurstaki - Is there a brand name?

I use Monterey B.t.

Like 4tsp/gallon.

It's cheap and effective, and leaves no residue -it's bacteria naturally found all over the place, but when you concentrate it on plant surfaces, caterpillars and larvae eat it and die.

It's used in mosquito dunks and kills those larvae in the water. I stick a dunk in my 110gal rainwater reservoir every month, but not for mosquitoes... for fungus gnats.
Water it into the soil and no fungus gnats.

 

[TheScorpion]

We are well past any spraying of BT. Was spraying BT every other week in veg along with neem on the weeks I didnt spray BT. I will be happy to pull a harvest and add this years knowledge to last and make next year the year I kill it in the best way

I wouldn't say "way" past... because I had corn borers show up three weeks ago. They're from a moth.
Those moths lay eggs from a month ago til the end of the season where I am in central MA.

I haven't seen a borer around for two weeks, but I still keep it handy, though I only applied it four times so far.

The time to start applying it was certainly the time frame you mentioned.
That horse is out of the barn already, for sure, but I keep it handy all the way to the end and mix it if I need to.

Every season, I say, "Next year, it'll be even better!"
-and it's a little better each season.

I learned last season to start using it early and have had minimal problems with cats this year.

Last season? Had borers... and never really got them under control. I also had a LOT more mold, and most of those spots had eating, shitting caterpillars right there in them.

I hate them. I put up a moth/Japanese beetle trap near the patch and catch a bunch of corn borer moths... but they still lay eggs on my plants and I still need to use B.t. spray.

 

[TheScorpion]

Awesome! Thanks. Clean so far, but the rain has been unbelievable. It's best to have everything ready to roll just incase. All my grow experience has been indoor in a very controlled environment. The electric bills were just oo much. It's going to be outdoor from here on with a greenhouse next year. I'll just do indoor in the early spring to get everything started.

Is that Bubbles?

I went with a greenhouse frame this year; one of the aluminum ones (hand-me-down,) and I only used the top panels just to keep soaking rains off them. That helps a LOT with the Nepalese Jamaican to prevent mold.

Haven't decided if I'm going to put up bug-netting next year for the moths and such, but I'm thinking I'll just start B.t earlier -not after I have a half dozen active borers working away inside the stalks. hahaha

Meh, I managed to save all the branches that were affected save two. Those I cut prematurely and wish I hadn't now.
I could have just injected B.t. in those spots and saved them. Live and learn.


"My name's not 'Bubbles'. My name's The Scorpion. I just moved here from the desert."

 

[NENugger]

Hey theScorpion. I agree about hermies, but that wasn't what I mean by self seeding. I mean it fell off the OE plant I seeded with Durban I was taking inside. nothing hermie.
Self seeded in this case means fell on the ground in the fall and sprouted into a healthy plant the following spring without human intervention.

Good sign to know the seeds I made are growing and finishing nicely in our Mass climate.

 

[OG_NoMan]

Let me clarify a little. I have a comprised immune system and get weird infections/bacteria`s so I am crazy about trying to have clean meds. I know they say you can use BT up until harvest with no ill effect but I aint chancing it for me. Worse case I lose some bud, but I don't grow for money so while I get annoyed with loses its more because I strive for perfection.

Thescorpion:
You seem pretty knowledgeable and we definitely appreciate the tips. You got any pics?

 

[TheScorpion]

Hey theScorpion. I agree about hermies, but that wasn't what I mean by self seeding. I mean it fell off the OE plant I seeded with Durban I was taking inside. nothing hermie.
Self seeded in this case means fell on the ground in the fall and sprouted into a healthy plant the following spring without human intervention.

Good sign to know the seeds I made are growing and finishing nicely in our Mass climate.

Ah, thanks for the clarification.

That really IS a good thing.
I'm a firm believer in the power of genetic coding and it's innate ability to adapt to whatever situation is finds itself in and why choosing the right male and female phenos we like in grown out seed stock from a strain we like is so important.

This isn't grow box breeding. It's subject to environmental variations; sometimes extreme, but always WILD.
The whole reason genetics evolved to exist in the first place.

It couldn't hurt to breed on site and use successive generations; choosing the best performing phenos in your particular area as we go.


That wispiness though... could be more from a poor start than anything.

I had two seedlings that didn't like being put in big pots too soon; they developed rooting problems -evident by the unique discoloration of the fan leaves. They had neat patterns of yellowing and reddening, like 1/3 of a fan leaf would be clearly delineated by this discoloration. One of those seedlings caught up somewhat and has four fat little 4" long buds growing on it, but the other one is still wispy and fluffy, still a narrow stalk.

I didn't have the heart to kill it hahaha

 

[TheScorpion]

Let me clarify a little. I have a comprised immune system and get weird infections/bacteria`s so I am crazy about trying to have clean meds. I know they say you can use BT up until harvest with no ill effect but I aint chancing it for me. Worse case I lose some bud, but I don't grow for money so while I get annoyed with loses its more because I strive for perfection.

Thescorpion:
You seem pretty knowledgeable and we definitely appreciate the tips. You got any pics?

Well, you're being exposed to B.t. as we speak.

Your body sees it a thousand times a day. It's in soil, on a lot of things.
Like I said, it's completely harmless to mammals.

I'll get some pics up in a minute. Any excuse to go out in the patch is a welcome one hahaha

 

[TheScorpion]

Here's a University of California at San Diego paper on bacillus thuringensis.

If they aren't hyper-conscious of what's healthy versus what's harmful, I'll eat my fuggin hat.

 

[TheScorpion]

Frig, forgot the link.
https://www.bt.ucsd.edu/bt_safety.html

 

[Zeez]

"My name's not 'Bubbles'. My name's The Scorpion. I just moved here from the desert."
[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=78144&pictureid=1884762&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

Dam Shitapillars

 

[TheScorpion]

OK, here are some pics.

First, a disclaimer:
I'm not a professional grower by any stretch of the imagination. I'm a hobbyist who enjoys growing and consuming cannabis in a safe and legal environment. I do this because while I DO love trading with other private growers, I wanted to spend only the money it takes to pull off a season -nothing more. I don't sell it; it's locked at all times and I follow the law in every respect.

This is merely a hobby for personal use being carried out in a discreet and private location.

Here's to legal herb, everyone! Cheers!


I kept the NJs under the roof in an effort to mitigate their mold risk and also tried Nugbuckets' mainlining method using four and eight-top pruning techniques to make inspection an easier task.
Eight tops did much better, but the pruning affected growth rate considerably during veg and they didn't like it. Next year I'll just probably just supercrop them all instead.
The long pots are EarthGrow tomato planters with the guts removed and drainage holes drilled. Got three distinct phenotypes in this batch of seed: Wide leafy flowers/fat leaves/deep stank; narrower tall flowers/deep stank and one pheno that's a deep green, has long big flowers forming, but looks like it will finish in November! It looks to be at around 3-4 wks. We'll just have to see what happens. It resembles a Chinese indica.

NJs:


Pheno 1 (leafy):


Pheno 2 (taller buds):


Pheno 3 (Wild indica looking,):


The Triple Cheese are from little 2" tall clones a friend gave me. I wanted something heavier from time to time last year, and the NJ is a really UP sativa. I planted them right in the 18 gal pots and they took right off after a couple of days. Really amazing growth rates, good and solid branches. Moved them out of the GH the last week of August and culled the one male NJ out that showed up while I was on a vacation. He managed to pollinate some early flowers, so I'm excited to see how those offspring look and behave next season.

3Ch:

 

[TheScorpion]

The greenhouse:



Two 55-gal drums, I pump rainwater collected from barrels at the house. One skeeter dunk once a month. Gravity fed.
The potting mix I used this year was composed of:
2 five gallon buckets full peat moss
1 gallon worm castings
1 five gallon bucket compost made last season
1 large coffee can full of perlite
1.5 cups Jobe's All-Purpose fertilizer

More Triple Cheese.

This one I supercropped:


Bud shot:

 

[AgentPothead]

I use Monterey B.t.

Like 4tsp/gallon.

It's cheap and effective, and leaves no residue -it's bacteria naturally found all over the place, but when you concentrate it on plant surfaces, caterpillars and larvae eat it and die.

It's used in mosquito dunks and kills those larvae in the water. I stick a dunk in my 110gal rainwater reservoir every month, but not for mosquitoes... for fungus gnats.
Water it into the soil and no fungus gnats.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=78144&pictureid=1884762View Image

Monterey BT is definitely BTK strain. Mosquito dunks contain BTI a strain from Israel. Pretty much any BT is gonna kick ass though.

 

[TheScorpion]

I scattered a little bit of Jobe's on the topsoil once in early August and one of the NJs got singed leaf tips on one branch. I didn't feed them again until the 2nd week of flowering and I used Tiger Bloom.
Nothing since then, only water. The soil mix holds moisture well, and I only had to water more then once a week during the hottest part of the summer. I haven't watered them in a week now, and just give them each a gallon when the pots get light.

The Triple Cheese both needed twice the watering as the NJs did. They were much bigger and had a LOT more leafy surface area to respirate through. They got a soaking every few days, but lately, I haven't had to water since the rain ended this past week.

I'd love a 2-4 week long stretch of dry warm weather, but I may as well shit in my hand, wish in the other and see which one fills up first.

Massachusetts... I believe that's a native word for "where the weather rapes you constantly"



Oh, here's the runty one that had rooting issues. I didn't have the heart to just cut her down, so I let her go. Maybe I'll get a joint or two out of her hahaha

 

[OG_NoMan]

Just blazed a little that I snipped 5 days ago. Obviously tasted a bit green but definitely nice head high with heavy eyes. Also noticed that the trichomes were about 50/50 cloudy/clear when cut and looked at right before grinding up today and was definitely more cloudy with a couple amberish. Does bud continue to ripen while drying? This is all making me happier about having to chop next weekend

 

[TheScorpion]

Just blazed a little that I snipped 5 days ago. Obviously tasted a bit green but definitely nice head high with heavy eyes. Also noticed that the trichomes were about 50/50 cloudy/clear when cut and looked at right before grinding up today and was definitely more cloudy with a couple amberish. Does bud continue to ripen while drying? This is all making me happier about having to chop next weekend

I'd imagine yes: resin ages once the plant is cut.
I think that when they're all cloudy, resin production has ceased. Amber is just an older resin stalk with more degraded resin at the gland. When you cut a plant down, resin production stops, naturally... and the resin glands turn cloudy. I don't see how it couldn't turn amber once it's been cut and dried.

Which brings me to the dilemma I have every season: Do I let them go to accumulate a little more amber? I make the decision based less on trichome color and more on that final swell that most strains exhibit -right after all trichomes turn all cloudy.

In some strains, like the NJ I have, the buds REALLY fatten up in the final week.

The Triple Cheese? I don't know. So far it's at what I'd call "peak"; all trichomes are cloudy, few, if any pistils look as though they're still "reaching", and fan leaves are turning and being shed.

Gonna let one go to this full moon coming up Monday, (I'll cut the following morning,) and the other one can sit and grow more if it wants to.
I haven't seen much more swelling in either, so I'm thinking the end is nigh.

I've never been disappointed with letting a plant go another week when I thought it was really ready.

I do love growing outdoors... even though it's uncontrolled, prone to the elements and pests and slow when compared to indoor.

It cost me $200 in materials this season. Whoopety doo.

If I had grown a pound of weed indoors it'd have cost me $600 in electricity for the year plus items used to grow.

 

[TheScorpion]

At 50/50 cloudy/clear I'd say you have at least 2-3 weeks left.

The NJ is still all clear and the high is racy but trippy as fuck from the little larf I tested. Like rocket fuel.
Last year, letting that go til the middle of October was best. Mmmm... Weed!!!!

 

[OG_NoMan]

At 50/50 cloudy/clear I'd say you have at least 2-3 weeks left.

The NJ is still all clear and the high is racy but trippy as fuck from the little larf I tested. Like rocket fuel.
Last year, letting that go til the middle of October was best. Mmmm... Weed!!!!

Well really it will be harvested almost 2 weeks from that as I cut that 5 days ago and plan to harvest in 8 days. I have a few plants that I will leave based on health of the plants and doneness. Most of my plants are swelling currently and it would be a waste to leave it all out just to lose it. Last year I lost pounds so far this year I have lost about an ounce

 

[TheScorpion]

Well really it will be harvested almost 2 weeks from that as I cut that 5 days ago and plan to harvest in 8 days. I have a few plants that I will leave based on health of the plants and doneness. Most of my plants are swelling currently and it would be a waste to leave it all out just to lose it. Last year I lost pounds so far this year I have lost about an ounce

Damn.. an ounce so far?!?

I've lost maybe a couple of bowl packs.

I wouldn't consider going without GreenCure or Bt spray at this point. No need to spend all season caring for them when two safe products keep us from losing a bunch of herb.
I don't even like to use Dave's Bug Buster-O, and this year I had no need to spray that stuff.

Last year, it was fungus gnats... and cats... and mold.

This year, with good preventative treatment of B.t. and GC... no issues causing me to lose precious flower.

 

[OG_NoMan]

Damn.. an ounce so far?!?

I've lost maybe a couple of bowl packs.

I wouldn't consider going without GreenCure or Bt spray at this point. No need to spend all season caring for them when two safe products keep us from losing a bunch of herb.
I don't even like to use Dave's Bug Buster-O, and this year I had no need to spray that stuff.

Last year, it was fungus gnats... and cats... and mold.

This year, with good preventative treatment of B.t. and GC... no issues causing me to lose precious flower.

Its all relative if I harvest today I would have @10 lbs I am guessing you have 2-3 lbs growing by the pics?