The freebie run

@Shooey, Thanks for your kind words =) !!

@sativaman, Ah, I am not from your fair lands - I don't know much about the Canadian peat industry and it might well be sustainable over there! I wouldn't know know how though - peat takes about 10 years to form 10mm of peat. Though Canada is bloody massive so it might work sustainably over there. I know it's not managed sustainably in the UK. I've not switched over to coir because I am at heart an organic grower and I like the "chuck it in some mud and wait" methodologies. Inert mediums like 100% coir is a step towards hyroponics which just isn't for me. I'm also under the impression that coco is slightly more difficult in that it's easier to make mistakes with your nutrient levels etc. The solution for me is to start buying bags of horse manure / worm casings / etc and mix up my own peat-free compost but I really don't have room for bags of horse shit in my flat :)

@wrongleverkronk, I though (Canadian) peat was sustainable. Plus it was a local product, compare to coco.. Well now I know better. Coco is great too.. sorry to ask but, then why not use only coco? Theoretically they are both inert...

@sativaman, I love peat for growing in - great water retention, naturally protective for small plants - I've never had any problems with it at all. My issues with it are purely environmental. It's a massive carbon sink and peat bogs and marshes are a really important biomes for many increasingly rare plants and animals. Outside of nature reseves though, massive areas of our peatlands have been seriously damaged as the living top layer is stripped off so the compost underneath can be extracted, so yes, peat is an amazing substrate for growers but it's really bad for the environment. I am reducing my use of it (I now use a 60:40 coir/peat mix), but ultimately I want to stop using it entirely.

@sativaman, I read your diary and review of Phoenix's OG - it's what started me thinking about planting something less sativa-y next time. When I started smoking I was just smoking what I could get my hands on over here - I never had a good connection, then when I moved to growing my own I went straight for the sativas (C99 I think was my first grow) so I am feeling like I need to educate myself a little bit on some of these classics :).

@wrongleverkronk, I ordered and payed for phoenix og kush. It was one of my grow that I've smoked with delight until the very last buds. If you are a fan of classic kushy taste you will love it... I would grow it again.

@Med_in_Tropic,Hehehey! Man you are always fun to read! ..Sounds like a good deal you have there!! Thanks for this advice! I am luckier this one as the new seeds I've sowed broke soil today! But wasting seeds is a bummer. I will try this simple trick for now on.

Hi @sativaman, normal people would steam the soil mix to sterilize. I microwave for the heat to kill germs. For seedling, there is only small amount of soil. So, I mix them well. And moist the mix a little. My wife does not like to see gardening stuff in her kitchen. This is our boundary. The garden is my but kitchen is her territory. So I wait until my wife is busy with her beauty routine. And I sneak into the kitchen to microwave the soil. It takes only no more than a few minute until everything heat and steam up. Then I use mitten to carry out the container to cool outside the house. Once it is cool enough, I mix in mycorrhizae and plant the seeds.

@Med_in_Tropic, I Like what you say. Especially about over cleaned environment: I expect seeds to carry a minimum of self mechanisms that will bring them thru the first week. When you microwave your soil are you doing it for the heat or the radiation? how long..to heat it up thoroughly?

@alchemist, Well yes but she is at week 4 of flower so hard to compare with the 2 others. Still I really like what I see as structure and colas! Cheers!!

@deFharo, Thank you very much!

@wrongleverkronk, problem is, biggest limitation is space: I live in small bachelor. If I push it I can grow in a 4x4 but it eat up some space. If I push it a little more, I can spilt my closet in half and use it as a veg. room like I do ATM. But, if I really push it I can set up an other 4x4, but limitations are on the electric board as I have 15 amps. I can run 2 flower tent 4x4 with opposite light cycle and a veg closet with 250w MH. If I do this, (witch I am about to do again!) I am pretty squeezed up with clothes in the bathroom, and always on the watch for not using too much power!! Here (in Canada) it's winter and it's naturally dryer and perfect for flowering, as opposite to summer where humidity is too high. I wish I could grow more...

@wrongleverkronk, She is game changer. This crop was an in between until new seeds arrived. I've planed to do short veg., so I would have flip this week without any topping. Thing is, their is 2 things I Love more than the others about ganja: a strong sativa high, and a dank kushy taste. I think she will have a strong kushy profile... And I talked to other (well respected) growers on the grass city forum and I got really good reviews.... So now I plan to veg. as usual, with the goal to finish with plants between 3 to 5 footers. I just looked at them again right before typing this: my call is about 3 weeks before flip, with the first ≈ 10 days counting as veg. time until bud formations.

@BUDMAN73, Thanks! always exciting to try!!