Biotabs Interview

GanjaGecko 1. Myself, who I am, where I'm from, what I do outside of growing? Hi, I'm GanjaGecko, I'm in my mid-30s and from Central Europe. When I'm not busy with plants, I work in a trade, enjoy going into the woods, or generally being in nature. Basically, anything with a lot people around. For about eight years now, I've been practicing martial arts/self-defense two to three times a week, which is a great balance to the civilized everyday life we ​​all have to go through. Martial arts has taught me a lot of discipline and patience, which is also noticeable in my development as a grower. And the fact that there's always something you can improve, and I try to integrate that into my daily life as best I can. Which the plants definitely benefit from, too. 2. How I got into growing, the very first steps, how did it all begin? Since my first contact with cannabis, this enthusiasm and the associated thought of one day cultivating my own cannabis have remained. The first "grow attempt," or rather, the point of contact that would remain with it for almost 20 years, happened sometime around age 18 or 19, when the choice was between HPS or energy-saving lamps, and LEDs weren't yet an option. We didn't know anything. There were certainly some early forums, but we weren't active on them. We didn't have much of a clue about anything. The equipment consisted of a reflector and an energy-saving lamp, I think 60W. No exhaust, just a small mini-fan to provide some air circulation. The whole thing was set up in a friend's closet, and the seeds came from purchased weed... We couldn't check on the plants every day. Eventually, the plants reached flowering stage, and the friend who kept them didn't know how to distinguish between males and females... by then it was too late, and they had both males and females in the tent. The moment they tried to remove the male plant, all the pollen fell, and a few weeks later they had around 100 seeds they couldn't do anything with. However, this also resulted in their first unintentional crossbreeding. And that was where it ended for the time being. From then on, they went back to simply consuming the plants. The idea of ​​growing your own cannabis never completely died out. What prevented me from actually doing it were the initial costs, the electricity bills, and, not least, the paranoia of getting caught. I think the topic of serious cannabis legalization in my country first came up in 2021. I'm not entirely sure, though. From then on, the idea was that you could grow your own cannabis without any paranoia. Shortly before the postponement, hoping it would finally happen soon, I thought I'd get some equipment. After all, the equipment was never illegal and would probably be in high demand and sold out once legalization was implemented. And that's exactly what happened. Since cannabis legalization, I've seriously engaged with the topic of growing and learned and read more than I did in all my time at school. I started seriously researching everything related to cultivation six months before my first grow, and the learning continues to this day, and hopefully it always will. 3. What role does cannabis play in your life – personally and as a grower? From the very beginning and right up to the present day, cannabis has fascinated me. Since I turned 18, I've occasionally tried living without it. But it always remained just that – an experiment. Because I always had my life under control, the only real reason to quit was financial. With cannabis, everything always felt a bit more organized. I could always go to work, and sports and my personal life never suffered. This only led to the idea of ​​becoming self-sufficient. Cannabis is more about enjoyment, relaxation, and order. Ironically, the only time I don't think about smoking cannabis is when I'm with the plants. 4. What growing method do you prefer and why? I prefer growing indoors with organic fertilizer. It's a completely controlled environment, and I simply prefer organic fertilizer because I believe nature provides everything needed. I've experimented with other methods from time to time, but I always come back to organic growing. In the summer, I like to take advantage of the sunny, warm days and put a few autoflowering plants on the balcony. These are always fed organically. Because the balcony isn't covered, the plants are exposed to all kinds of weather. This is wonderful in sunshine, but unfortunately also when it rains. With mineral fertilizer, you have to keep a close eye on the plants after two or three days of rain to see if the leaves show signs of nutrient deficiency because the rain has washed the nutrients away. You don't have these problems when growing with organic slow-release fertilizer. 5. Which strain is closest to your heart and what fascinates you about it? What makes it special to you? Not the closest to my heart, but I have to mention BlueberryMuffin. I did several grows of this strain early on and learned a lot from it. From trying different training methods to understanding the plant itself. The flavor and the intense blueberry terpenes are still pretty high on my list. The strain that's closest to my heart and that I think about most often is Wedding Cake x Banana Butter Cups from Square1Genetics. For me, it's the perfect high and has an incredibly complex terpene profile that delivers a wonderful taste experience. 6. What has been your biggest learning moment as a grower – a mistake or a success that helped you grow? There are many things that have helped me improve and continue to do so. Firstly, the time invested in accumulating knowledge. Of course, the small mistakes that helped me improve were also crucial. Especially at the beginning, documenting things helped a lot in analyzing one's own mistakes. And last but not least, being clever enough to listen when someone has a tip. It's a bit like a buffet where you pick and choose from a variety of growing techniques, selecting what works best for you. Simply put, it's about the understanding that there's always something you can improve. 7. What does your typical grow routine look like – how much time do you invest and what do you enjoy most? Like most growers i think, I enjoy the flowering stage, the phase in which the plant expresses its full beauty. During the week, I spend at least half an hour a day with the plants. On watering days, it's a maximum of one hour. One day of the weekend, depending on how much time I have, I dedicate to the plants more intensively. Initially, I was mixing liquid fertilizer like crazy every other day, which of course took up a bit more time. Eventually, that got on my nerves. At first, it's a good feeling to have everything under control and to give the plant what it needs at the right time. Then I looked into slow-release fertilizers. Now I think it's best to control the soil life and let the plant take what it needs at the right time. Using slow-release fertilizer like BioTabs significantly reduces the time needed for plant care. That suited me perfectly. Unfortunately, there are other things to do. Even though the idea of ​​spending all day tending to our favorite plants is a bit of a dream. 8. What advice would you give to beginners who are just stepping into the world of growing? I don't think I have one magic tip. You should just have fun. Always strive to improve on your previous grow. If you only want to grow to smoke, that's not the best motivation. I believe that as soon as you engage with the topic even a little more seriously, the fascination with the plant and everything connected to it will come naturally. Just be curious. What I really wish I had known earlier is how easy it is to grow beautiful cannabis, and how much fun it is. 9. How did you first hear about Biotabs and what made you want to try it? When I switched to organic slow-release fertilizer, I had been using a mineral PK booster that didn't mix well with the organic fertilizer. Then a fellow grower from the Growdiaries community told me about the organic PK booster "PK5-8" from Biotabs. The plants absorbed it very well, and it has been a staple in my growing regimen ever since. They also suggested boosting the soil life with Orgatrex and compost tea. Orgatrex has also become a regular part of my routine. I haven't made compost tea yet, but I'll definitely try it in the future. 10. How has Biotabs influenced your grow and what do you appreciate most about the product? For me, Biotabs offers exactly what I was looking for: helping the plant reach its full potential naturally. It focuses not only on the plant's needs but also gives the microorganisms the same attention. Allowing the plant to enter into the symbiosis with nature that it has had for millions of years and thats wonderful.