Redneck, People's Party II, and How It all Began

 It was the mid to late '60s I was attending the University of Houston as a Chemistry major and needed some social studies credit so I signed up for a freshman Economics course. I didn't know at the time but that course and the people I met that summer totally changed my life. I started the summer as a West Texas redneck Goldwater Republican but with one saving grace I was against the Vietnam War. The summer ended with me being to the left of Sanders.

I was a little older that the others in my class (I'd been dodging the Draft and school was a great way to do it) and the teaching fellow that taught the class and I hit it off right away. In fact Ray and I ended up being roommates and are still very good friends.

Anyway I'll cut to the chase, a couple of weeks after class started the social studies teaching fellows gave a party and Ray and I went. At the party were a number of People's Party II members and most of the Economics grad-students. This being the Sixties joints were being passed around and I had my first hit of marijuana. As eye opening as the joint was the fact Blacks and Whites were together as equals was even more so.

Not long after the party some of the People's Party II members that were there were ambushed and murdered in their home by the Houston Police. The late '60s was an interesting time, I guess I'm one of the few that still live the life and for the most part still walk the walk.

I developed a love for Cannabis, even tried to grow some without much success but I did befriend a dealer (which is another story for later) that keep me supplied with great grass for many years right up to the point in the late '80s when The Department of Transportation began making noise about requiring random drug testing.  I had to choose; smoke grass or make a living. Making a living won and I quit until I retired two years ago. 

Two of the first things I did when I took off the gray pants, white shirt, and red tie for the last time was smoke a joint and then set up a "grow tent". I had just a few months before leaving for the Oregon coast but did get a crop in of pretty good weed. 

More of the story later

ken       

Don't Need No Stinking Tent to Grow Marijuana Indoors

 My Super Lemon Haze Auto cultivar in the fourth week under cheap Vivosun (~$109 USD) LED lights:

Click it to big it.

Grow area is next to the Photo tent.  The only downsides to growing indoors outside a tent or grow room is some loss of light efficiency, being limited to Auto genetics and odor control. Just don't pick a "skunk type cultivar" to grow and you are good. 

I'm using two LED light fixtures for six plants in 3gal. round grow bags. There is a little more light falloff on the outer bags than there would be in a tent. I expect the falloff would be less if 3gal square bags were used allowing closer spacing of the plants. 

Total cost for a six plant harvest would be the slight increase in your utility bill, approximately $220USD for light fixtures, $30USD for the bags, $10-$15USD for fertilizer and $60USD for seeds. Bottom line for about $300USD you can expect up to 4oz of bud/plant. At today's retail top shelf Cannabis prices of ~$300USD/oz each of those 6 plants is worth ~$1200USD. Pretty good return on investment and even better totally legal here in Arizona.   

Sugar Coated

 The Nova OG Auto is in the short rows and is becoming sugar coated. I've been running a UV light 3 to 4 hours a day and it appears to be working to increase the trichromes.

Click it to big it.

As of now harvest is in ~2 weeks, I hope the bud continues to fill out and it becomes even more sugar coated.

Once the Nova OG is harvested along with it's tent mate I'll replace the two with six Super Lemon Haze autos that should be ready by the first of May. While Autos do not get as big as Photos and may produce less flower and have a little less THC they make up for it with less hassle and quick production. There ain't no way I could put Photo seeds in water on the first of January and harvest before the middle of May. Sometimes less is more.  

ken

Happy Holidays

 I hope everyone has a good and prosperous Winter Solstice celebration. Ours, which includes MsBubba's birthday has been one of the better ones. 

Next year is off to a good start. The plants are on schedule with the first harvest within a week or two to be followed with rolling harvests over the next four months and maybe a new planting in the first or second week of January. All harvests need to be finished by the middle of May so we can pack up the motorhome for four months on the Oregon coast.

June through September we are booked to Camp Host at Harris Beach State Park near Brookings, OR.. After Harris Beach we will return to Tucson to rinse and I expect repeat.  

See you guys on down the road,

ken

To Be Young Again

 An old friend, we and another friend moved to Houston together after HS, sent a photo of us the other day (Mike on the right, Roger not in the photo). We moved to Houston, IIRC because the University of Houston had just become a state school. This was in the early 60's and we still didn't know what we wanted to be when we grew up but were young and full of life.

 I had restarted taking flying lessons so I guess I did kinda did know what I wanted to be when I grew up but not a clue how to do it. BTW, the reason I restarted the flying lessons was my parents had made me an offer I couldn't refuse while in HS. When they found out I was taking flying lessons they offered to buy me a new MG-A if I would quit which I did until I left home. At the time a no brainer. Loved that MG.

The three of us did ok, Mike ended up with a State Farm Insurance agency, Roger became a medical doctor, and I had a good run as a corporate pilot.  Not too bad for three old West Texas boys from Odessa.

Just Look at 'Em

 All the electronic gadgets can be a help with your grow but the bottom line a little knowledge and your eyes and fingers are the best tools in the box. An example, this AM when checking the Photo plants with the big pH and Moisture meter to see if they were ready for water and nutrients all the plants were ok on pH (<7.0, most were close to 6.5) and according to the moisture meter I could wait another day for feed and water.

Not so fast Bubba, The Banana Kush in the middle of the tent leafs were slightly drooping, well maybe more than slightly, they were looking like the plant was in distress even though the test readings were pH just under 7.0 and the moisture meter sat right in the middle of the wet/dry scale. 

Trust your eyes, I added a couple of liters of pH adjusted water (6.0) to its pot and within 15 minutes the leaves were back to normal.  

One disaster avoided. I'll wait until tomorrow to water and feed the rest of the plants. 

ken

The Joy of Home Ownership

Yesterday we discovered a puddle of water next to the fridge that shouldn't have been there. The fridge just fits in a hole in the wall and when I say "just" it really does just fit. A total PITA to pull out or fit back in. This wouldn't be a post if there wasn't a leak so guess what, there was a slow leak at the ice maker shut off and the dry wall was soaked. This AM was spent removing all the wet drywall and now we have to live with the hole in the wall until it drys out.

Hole in the wall where fridge lives:

 The bad news I have a hole in the wall that will take a couple of weeks to dry before I can hang drywall and finish the repair. The good is I can make the space a ½" bigger in width so the fridge will fit easier. I've wanted to do the increase for years so all is not lost.

On to more enjoyable subjects:

The Auto tent plants are three weeks or so from harvest and I've started three hours of UV light to supplement the 18 hours on grow lights. According California Light Works UV light supplement can increase the production of Trichomes by as much as 25%.  It may be wishful thinking but the buds are already looking more frosty.

There is a chance, if all goes right, for another crop of autoflower plants before we leave for the Oregon coast the last week of May. Autoflowers may not produce as much bud and may have less THC than the same kind of Photo plants but they make up for it in ease and flexibility and most important the possibility of more than one crop per grow season. I will continue to grow mostly Photo plants but it sure is easy to supplement the grow season with a few Autos.  

See you guys on down the road,

ken

 

The Joy of Cannabis Farming

 I've tried to kill two of my plants. One was several weeks ago when moving the plant I dumped it and the contents of its pot on the ground. 

The plant has recovered with little loss of buds:

Sorry about the picture quality, I haven't re-installed Photoshop and color adjustment from grow lights is not good without Photoshop or Gimp.

The other was yesterday when one of the tent fans fell deadcenter and broke the two main stems. I tried to save the stems and buds but no joy:

  The rest of the plant appears to have recovered with a little help holding it upright.

The Photo-Tent plants are in week 6 with pre-flower light (R-79, W-99, B-50) for 15 hours/day. They go to Flower schedule Saturday (R-99, W-99, B-39) with 12 hours lights on:

The fan plant is in the lower right corner with the offending fan. The fan's spring clamp has been supplemented with a hose clamp. 

The tent side Auto-Plants are coming along OK, about where you would expect them to be:

As always; Click 'em to Big 'em,

ken

  

Down The Memory Hole

 I do not watch cable news or broadcast for that matter but I do read political and news sites online. I only saw one reference to Pearl Harbor yesterday and it was about not seeing articles about Dec.7.

Are our cultural memories getting shorter or is this normal?  What has it been, four generations? 

I haven't a clue where I was going with this. Could be because I feel my past is being erased or the fact that I've lived past my sell by date.

Anyway, see you on down the road,

ken 

The Economy of Growing Cannabis Part II

 Growing Photoperiod genetics indoors will require a step up in equipment with the associated increase in cost. It is still much cheaper to grow than it is to buy but unless you are growing a number of plants to spread the fixed cost of the "grow room" and the equipment needed to run it, you could be better off sticking with Autoflower plants and a cheap LED panel.

The two big ticket items are the "grow room" and the lights. For a photoperiod plant to flower requires 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness each day till harvest. The easiest way to gain the needed darkness is with a grow tent. Grow tents in personal use sizes run from ~$100 USD to ~$1000 USD. LED grow lights to cover a 4'X4' growing area run from ~$200 USD to ~$2000 USD. LED lights are like most things, lots of snake oil and sometimes you get what you pay for but never what you do not pay for. There ain't no free ride. 

There is another $1000 USD or so of fans, controllers and other misc "stuff" that will make your life easier and/or more productive.

Bottom line: While there can be an expensive upfront cost unlike most hobbies there is good chance that cost can be recovered by the money saved at the local pot shop.

 The real bottom line: Growing weed is an enjoyable hobby, I expect much like growing grapes for wine. Picking your genetics to grow, watching over and fixing any problems during the stages leading to harvest. Then of course the excitement and work of a new harvest and the best part: You do not have to be filthy rich to do it.    

Moving Plants Around

 As usual, more plants than room:

The "Auto" tent will be changed to a small Photo tent. The change is simple, add an inline intake fan to move air into the tent, seal up the light leaks and change the "timer" to 12/12 in a couple of weeks.

Two of the autoflower plants have been moved from the autotent to the side grow area and the two photoflower plants moved from the side area to replace them in what is now a small photo tent. Way too much monkey motion but bottom line I will now run two photo tents and use the side area and maybe the greenhouse for autoflower plants.

The two seedlings are Super Lemon Haze Auto from Seedman, four more are in water waiting to "pop". SLH according to Seedman has a 9 week seedling to harvest grow cycle. If close to true I might get a second grow cycle in before we leave for the Oregon Coast.

See you on down the road,

ken

Resurface Bench Top

 The main workbench top had not been resurfaced since new, about four or so years ago. It had gotten pretty grody over the years. When I put winding sticks on it there was just very small twist in the far left corner and little crown or cup along the length. Because of having been worked on for several years it mostly needed a re-surface. Easy job but lots of calories.

Bench back together with work piece and planes:

Making a swing seat for the grandkids. Amazing how much work for something so simple. 

ken