Growing Concerns by Russ – First Edition

 

Growing

concerNS

 

by
Russ

 

 

 
 

BC
Legal?    I’ve heard that
it’s legal to grow pot in British Columbia.  Is this true?




















signed,

Curious

Austin, TX




















Russ
Replies:    Sadly,
Curious… it is not legal to grow pot in British Columbia, or anywhere
else in Canada. Federal Laws prohibit it. However, police and courts have
a wide range of latitude in which to operate – from draconian to enlightened.
It depends on which province/municipality that you live and grow in, on
how they will react. Grower Beware!

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Pruning?   
I would like to learn more about pruning
my plants. Can you explain the process to me?





















signed,

Anonymous

Surrey, BC




















Russ
Replies:    Well,
Anonymous…pruning plants is a frequently misunderstood process. People
often remove leaves to allow more light onto growing tips underneath, in
the false belief that this is an accepted pruning practice. It
is not. Chlorophyl (the green leaf color)
is responsible for photo-synthesis and removing 5 square inches of chlorophyl
to get more light on 1 square inch of chlorophyl, does not make sense.

Pinching
is the practice of removing or ‘pinching off’ the growing tips of the plant
to force out more branches.

Pruning
is the removal of branches, leaves, and growing tips to facilitate the
circulation of air and the penetration of light throughout the plant to
increase fruiting.

You should
only remove leaves which are more than 40% damaged, or those attached to
branches you are pruning, eh?

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Temperature?   
What’s the proper temperature to grow my pot
at? Eh?




















signed,

White Widder

Kelona, BC























 

Russ
Replies:    Well,
White Widder…marijuana thrives between 68ºF at night (minimum),
and 82ºF during the light cycle (maximum).

 I
personally like to garden in a short-sleeved t-shirt. If I’m uncomfortable
with either the temperature or the humidity, then I know that my plants
are not growing to their full potential, because we share nearly identical
environmental  parameters for temperature (68ºF-82ºF), and
humidity (50%rh-65%rh). Keep her
cool, eh?

 


 








 

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CO₂?  
Can I use the exhaust from my natural gas furnace,
or hot water tank, to increase the CO₂
in my grow room?

signed,

Just Wondering

Calgary, AB

Russ
Replies:    No,
Just Wondering…although in theory this is a workable option, I personally
do not recommend it all. If the burner is dirty or improperly carborated,
it will produce CO₂
(carbon dioxide) and CO (carbon
monoxide), a deadly gas that
can kill you or your plants.

If you
wish to increase the carbon dioxide supply to your room, I recommend better
ventilation, or a myriad of non-lethal ways to produce CO₂
(eg. vinegar & soda, dry ice, bottled carbon dioxide, CO₂
generators, etc., eh?).

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Tin
Foil Folly?    
I have lots of tin foil, and I was wondering
if it would make a good wall covering to reflect the light.

signed,

Tin Man

Kitimat, BC

Russ
Replies:   
No matter how much aluminum (tin) foil that you’ve got, Tin Man, I don’t
recommend this as a wall covering in your grow room, for several reasons
(eg. aluminum foil conducts electricity very efficiently — remember the
aluminum-wired homes that subsequently burned to the ground, or got re-wired
with copper? If the foil is not placed perfectly flat, then the
scattering light rays will cancel each other out and decrease the available
light, etc., etc.).

I recommend
you go to a paint shop, order some high-quality flat white paint*
with a fungicide mixed into it (tell ’em it’s for your steamy bathroom),
and paint your grow room interior (all surfaces, eh?).

*Flat
white paint gives you the highest reflective value available to the average
grower – even higher than mirror! .

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Degenerate
Clones?    I
keep hearing about ‘clone degeneration’ from using successive clones, causing
loss of vigor, stunted growth, lower yields, and lower potency. How many
generations can I cut before I notify Dr. Kvorkian? Or should I only clone
from the original ‘mom’? How often do I have to replace my mom?

signed,

Dolly the Sheep

Scotland

Russ
Replies:    Well…Hello…Dolly! 
Shame on you! A New-Age grass-eating sheep like you should know that there
is no such thing as clone degeneration! Each new generation is an exact
copy of the original. PERIOD!

However: 
correct observation, wrong conclusion. The symptoms you describe (loss
of vigor, stunted growth, lower yields, and lower potency), are results
of stresses being applied to the plant.

Stress
comes in many forms. For example, bugs, pests, nutrient problems, medium,
problems, temperature/humidity problems, or even diseases. Keeping in mind
that plants do not have an immune system – such as you or I, Dolly – when
a plant becomes diseased, obviously all subsequent clones are diseased.

Clone
degeneration?                    
Yes  No!

Stress/Disease
build-up?           
Yes! No

Remember,
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Nuff
said, eh?

 

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Hydro
Phobia?    How
can I bypass my hydro meter and get more lights free without getting busted?

signed,

Power Hungry

Surrey, BC

Russ
Replies:    Dear
Power Hungry:    Bypassing your meter is not only dangerous,
but also ‘theft of service’, an indictable offense, and a totally different
moral issue than growing herbs. Growing pot is morally correct – theft
is immoral – in my opinion. Therefore, I do not condone or advocate the
theft of electricity under any circumstances. Pay your bill, eh?

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PH
Problems?    What’s
the right PH to use for growing Cannabis Sativa?

signed,

Up or Down

Victoria Springs, AU

Russ
Replies:    Dear
Up or Down:    This is a very controversial issue. The old
theory holds that you should maintain a neutral, 7.0 PH. This number has
continually gone down over the years, and my latest data recommends 6.0
to 7.0 for organic (ie. garden) soil, and 4.5 to 6.0 for a soil-less medium
(ie. hydroponics). The standard sunshine mix, pearlite, vermiculite, etc.,
are closer to soil-less than organic.

Each
subspecies of cannabis (indica, ruderalis?, sativa, or hybrid) requires
a different specific PH, but generally, I recommend 6.0 PH for hydroponics,
and 6.5 PH for ‘man-made’ soils, as starting points. Learn to read your
plants, eh?

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Hash?   
What is the easiest way for me to make
hash?  

signed,

Tri Combs

Moose Jaw, SK

Russ
Replies:    Dear
Tri… Great Question!  I believe that the easiest way to make hash
is also the best way to make hash! I don’t recommend using alcohol preparations
to make hash or hash oil, because the danger of explosion is real,
and because the complex extraction process is often misunderstood. Consequently,
you’ll usually produce a low-quality product!

I prefer
the ancient practice of removing the tricombs by manually screening
the buds and leaves, then pressing the loose tricombs into hash.

 

Here’s How
to make Hash:

 

Separate
sun leaves from buds and bud leaves during manicuring of harvest crop

Completely
dry the bud/bud leaves that have tricombs present. They should easily crumble
between your fingers. If you try screening them before they are absolutely
dry, they will ‘gum up’ your screen. ugh!

Place the
pot in the freezer for a couple of hours. This makes the tricombs (the
thingies with the THC in ’em) very brittle! They’ll break off and pass
through the screen with less friction.

Remove the
pot from the freezer. Crush it with your fingers until it is about the
size of bottled spices.

Place a
mirror below your screen to catch the tricombs.

Gently sift
your pot over a “HashMizer 2000“
screen, by lightly agitating the pot with a credit card, or even your fingers.

Collect
the tricombs off the mirror frequently with your credit card. Compress
them between your fingers. Smoke some. If it’s below your standards – discard
the hash – and reload the screen. Start ‘screening’ again.

This process
is the highest quality process because it uses low heat (body temp) and
low pressure (finger squeeze) needed to create a block of hash from tricombs.

The highest
grade of hash has the highest percentage of tricombs and the lowest percentage
of extraneous plant material. As the the tricomb count diminishes, the
grade declines, and more heat/pressure is required to create a ‘brick’
of hash.

Due to popular
demand, I have developed the Hash Mizer
2000 Kit.  This kit includes
all necessary parts, tools and instructions so that you can easily assemble
and use your own hash screen in about as much time as it takes to smoke
a joint! Send for your kit today!  Once your payment is received (only
International Money Orders accepted),  within 24 hours I will ship
your Hash Mizer 2000 Kit
to you in a discreet, plain brown shipping tube).

Snail Mail

Cost:        
$30 CA + $8 CA [s&h]

Payable to:  
GROWING CONCERNS

Address:     
P.O. Box 26105,

             
Central Richmond Postal Outlet,

             
Richmond, B.C. V6Y 1E0, Canada

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In
the dark?    What
kind of light must I use to get big, fat buds?

signed,

Midnight Cowboy

New York, NY

Russ
Replies:    Dear
Midnight Cowboy… Most North Americans use Metal
Halide bulbs for the vegetative phase
(18 hours daily), and then they switch to High
Pressure Sodium bulbs for the flowering
phase (12 hours daily).

In Europe,
they use HPS for both the ‘grow‘ and ‘bud‘ phases. In Australia,
they use MH for both phases.

My preferred
setup is 3 lights at a ratio of 2MH:1HPS for the vegetative phase, and
a ratio of 2HPS:1MH for the flowering phase.

Based
on an absolute minimum of 20 watts of power per square foot
of growing area, and 4 plants per square foot of growing area,  you
could expect a harvest of 1 ounce per square foot!

More
details about lighting, and other variables in the next issue of Growing
Concerns^TM. Until
then, I wish you good gardening, good smoke, and good-bye!