MrCrispy

21Apr: Glad that the sun came out for everyone on Hippy Hill yesterday...I miss the days where my health let me join such things. This is the last week for the Manipuri & Risoli inside; male Sinai & male Risoli are isolated and heavily pruned now; The Nanda Devi are growing out of their slow start, and the Uttarakhand may shake off their near death experiences and emerge from their stunted phase. The Sinai shows some pheno variation, one with quite short node spacing, perhaps indica-leaning; 3 female and 2 males out of 5. Next week I will probably cull a few, top a few, and the pruning will be weekly from now on. I pulled the light up 4-6" this week in the tent since it was so crowded with a big wind storm going on outside.

14Apr: Weird weather patterns make for inconsistent days, so here is how I handle that until it settles down. In my 5x5 tent - SF4000 light timer kicks ON 6am, OFF 9pm; starts/ends day @ 40% strength. After breakfast, I open up the tent and shuffle enough plants to sit and observe. Once I kill any bugs found, I peek at things with a magnifier. I lift each pot and judge which ones feel 'heavy' or 'light'...we want them dry and light twice a week on TUE and SAT, do it's better to go dry a day if needed than overwater. Lights get bumped to 100%, fan timer runs noon-4pm; ventilation/humidity usually shows 76F/58% by 10am. If the weather is good, everybody goes outside, and I just flip the power toggle on the light and/or fans. Whenever it gets too windy, cold or dark, everybody is back inside, I hit the toggles again; timer cycles stay intact. Maximize optimum growth while using as little as possible of the energy footprint. After dinner I do another inspection/meditation session where I reduce the light to 40% again. Be kind to each other and consider behaving in your life the same healthy ways you use with growing weed. ;) Have a good week!

7Apr: Whew. Going to be above 90F today, so I got an early start at 7am. Everything was pulled out of my two tents and set out on the porch with my grow mix. Lights were switched off, and by 8am things were shut tight to stay cool for later. (14) 2.5qt pots were tapped out even though they had just been transplanted a week ago, but already the root systems are filled out nicely. I went ahead and moved everything into 5qt pots, where I'm guessing they will stay until Wk6. One Rasoli stood out in that it was 'clustering' at the crown. A peek with my magnifier and holy cow, it's a boy already at 4wks. See that diary for more. It's going to be a bad year for bugs. I found aphids on 3/4 of all plants of all sizes. One of the downsides to farming a big set of mixed crops....bugs! I squished them all by hand without plant damage. This is why 5min a day sitting with your plants pays off.

4Apr: Yesterday I tackled some chores you may want to consider. My pruning tools were soaked in alcohol, scrubbed clean in hot water, then sharpened with a 100 grit diamond sharpener; and I did a weed pulling run that lasted half a day. Maple trees got seaweed fertilizer and a mound of amendment around each. I will post my Uttarakhand updates today, as two are still limping along. My Hybrid Lighting Technique: Lights in the big tent kick on at 6am, and by 9-10am I move all plants outside for (free) sunshine. Lights off (but timer on) until anywhere between 1pm and 5pm. I decide each day 'how hot is it' after I eat lunch. If temps will exceed 80F, I pull in the young plants and bump up the air circulation in the tent, where it rarely gets over 78F. Lights kick off at 8pm. This remains the plan until plants are in 5gal pots or bigger, when they will stay outside. This maximizes potential light while minimizing power usage. Sleeping in the tent overnight is never bad, since I dont worry about digging squirrels, or the grasshoppers from my neighbor's dry abandoned property that he claims 'saves water'.

Tomorrow is my first planned nutrient feeding. I highly recommend picking ONE day a week and making that feeding day. I like Sundays. Up until now, plants were getting nutes from the aquarium water and soil. 1st food will be 50% strength. I have two goals when I hit Sunday feeding day: 1) You want the potted plants to be nearing dry soil. Drying out for 1-2 days before feeding is *critical* in my process. Much more damage comes from over watering than under. Try 50% water on THU-FRI and zero water on SAT if you have problems. Being *outside* in the breezy sun makes this a no-brainer once we hit week 5-6. 2) Water Volume: when you know it's dry, you can follow this rule: Water enough that 10% of the water added drains out the bottom. Try and avoid dry spots by filling the container quickly until about 1/2-3/4 inch of water pools, then watch the drain off. Later, this will be critical in managing max nutes, PH swings, and optimal growth rates. Never be afraid to 'tap out' your root ball and check moisture if you are unsure.

Saturdaze: As I smoke more deeply into last year's grow, I am struck by just how much I *LOVE* the hybrid of ApeOrigin's 'Ciskei 'Bushman' (I got a free seed, it was a male) that I bred with my ACE Double Thai that I have grown for 3 generations. It turned out like big sticks with puff ball buds, and I made hash out of it. The African terpene profile mixed with the Thai like an appetizer at a 5 star Japanese restaurant. Here's to all you growers out there who havent paid a dime for weed since it went legal.

I didn't have the oomph to make my own soil this year. I contracted a rockery that supplies greenhouses to deliver 2 cubic yards. Here is what is in it. I like it so far. Not cheaper that bags, but better and no bags to throw away. Coco Coir, Canadian sphagnum Peat moss, Forest humus, Perlite, red Lava chips, Pumice, worm castings, Fish bone meal, Fish meal, Crab meal, Shrimp meal, Kelp meal, Alfalfa meal, Soy Protein Hydrolysate 14-0-0, Langbeinite, Azomite, Basalt, Oyster Shells, Gypsum, humic acid, fresh Mycorrhizal fungi

Soo many chores this week! For context, I have over 80 linear feet of planter box garden I am also growing. Lots of value in mixing it up and growing a 'victory' garden. *Pest Control Week*: Wow, isnt it too early? Yep, too early to get infested. I have already this month seen: cutworm wasps, aphids, and much worse, grasshoppers & green assassin bugs. I am a believer in mixed OMRI certified methods, as follows. - Sluggo in the container gardens, under fruit trees, around the base of any potted plant living outside at night. Refresh 2days after any rain - Captain Jacks Deadbug (Spinosad) mixed per directions, and misted over everything. Yep, every damn plant. If you have fruit trees or just pruned trees, and they have new leaves right now, DO THIS. In two weeks, you will have _unmolested_ leaves like you didnt know possible. Repeat every 6wks, up until you cut off nutes before harvest. - Ladybugs: Buy 1000 live ladybugs. Release half on a cool day soon, the rest one week later. 2 days from any Capt Jack spray, to be safe. - Praying Mantis: Buy 1-4 eggs every year, and hang them with wireties gently at the boundaries of your garden/yard. Now I do every other year, since they are established in nearby trees. My big girls will have a mantis in each plant by mid summer. Good luck folks and have fun out there. Make time for just sitting with your garden. Just sitting. Now do this every morning for 5 min. You might notice a tiny red speck and head off the dreaded spider mite infestation, or worse, see a green assassin lay eggs under the leaves!

Mar19: I am trying to pay attention to stuff I do without thinking about it. Watering seedlings/seeds: What is my water source? It's different than most. I have a 4stage R/O unit, which mostly is there to knock down the ppm of the gKh (galvanic hardness). If you are on an urban/suburban water supply, you may get 'liquid rock' at 600-1200ppm registering on a TDS meter. I can get to 50ppm and below after my RO unit filters it. This water is used for EVERYTHING that gets 'mixed' with something else: nutes, PH adjusters, teas or whatever. I do not use it for my seedlings! Seedlings (& seeds) get cold easily and doing so interrupts their proper awakening. Instead, I use the water from my aquariums near my grow tents. My two 20gal aquariums keep incredibly well aged warm water at hand for anything you need. It has the proper form of small amounts of Nitrogen and trace elements, already broken down from the fish cycle. Skim water off the top of the tank, and you also get a nice 'fractioned' oil slick that is proteins rejected from the water column. This is all goodness for a baby plant under 6" in height, and never seemed to hurt when I gave it to big girls between feedings, as a tea. Invest in basic research on aquarium water quality and you will learn lots to apply in gardening! This morning I am enjoying last year's 'DJ Short Temple FLO'. In a blindfold test I might describe the taste as a 'Chocolate Stout'. The chores are caught up, and I want to meditate on the miracle of rain, in the rain. See you next week.

Mar18: See my Nanda Devi diary for a complete change of heart on germination in paper towels. Treat this strain like the landrace that it is, mimicking Himalayan conditions of sandy soils and toasty hot ground temps. Sandy soil types at high altitudes and full all-day sun exposure can get as high as 80F at one half inch depth. I lost most of the Uttarakhand from my stubborn PT approach. Details later in that diary. The Manipuri did ok and is up. The Sinai shows strength in all sprouts using paper towels, now in cubes nestled into soil in cups. DJ Blue is 100% though slender sativa traits make them fragile for a while. After chores I will update the other diaries individually. Have a great week, and if it's not working, change it!

Mar12: Quick backgrounder on my medium choices this year. I manage root systems more than I do plants. The stress of transplanting can be much less than the stress of being rootbound Expanded clay is only used for container bottoms where 1-2" in a 20gal pot provides aeration and keeps roots from clogging drain holes, with added benefit of easing the last transplant. I typically move from 1" rockwool to dixie cup size to 6" diameter to 5gal to 20 gal then based on optimum plant potential, it might go into 55gal, my 1 cubic yard soft cloth planter, or a giant hole in the yard. I make compost all year long, resting my pile throughout winter. I just ordered (2) cu yds of planter mix and (2) of pro potting soil from my local rockery for $500 delivered. This is about the same cost as 1.5cu yds of 'by the bag' soils, even with a nearly 20% delivery fee. This order will service my 1/4 acre of gardening and my orchard.

Mar11: I moved the seed mat to my isolation tent (MarsHydro 3x3) for cold nights, like last night. With the heat mat, zipped up (no circulation running) it is staying 63-66F air temp while below 35F outside. I have 100 sugar peas also plumped up with 1/4 sprouted, these are Royal Snow peas from last year's seed crop, and the heirloom spring Raab (aka Broccolini) is sown in the 40'x18" fence planterbox that faces north. Looks like two more Rasolis and a Manipuri popped last night.

I sourced a collection of Landrace genetics during the 2019-2021 seasons. I always rest my seeds 1-2yrs. My grows are shared to encourage carbon friendly techniques and reasonable measures to promote strain preservation, including pollen harvesting and storage. IMHO modern strains are at best hybrids with unexpressed potential 'locked away' due to a focus on potency breeding. Last year was Africans, this year is about the medicine Buddha, a time for thoughts of the Himalayas, healing and compassion. Let me know if I can help, my first grow was 1982.

(Background on this year's grow) So, this morning is (+7 days) from my ‘normal’ seed starting day (Mar1). Last year I pulled it back to Feb15 trying to grow overlapping waves. Not doing that this year! It’s anyone’s guess how the weather will manifest itself…so here we go! a) Nanda Devi (ready late Aug) b) Rasoli (ready Oct 1-7) c) Uttarakhand (Ready NOV 15th 16 foot high and lavender) d) Afghan Mix(UP) freebees which are one or more of: ......a.)Balkh ......b.)Badakshan ......c. (Mazar-i-Sharif (i.e. the cultigen ‘Mazari’) {this is found in my breeding project, the skunk in the mix} ......d. (Kunduz e) Sinai ‘Rose’ (ready SEP) f) Manipuri (ready NEXT Jan!) g) DJ Short’s Limited run ‘Blue v2’ This year is a B side year, with all personal breeding projects ‘resting’. I think I am more interested in exploring than breeding. Its tough have room for what I would grow if they let me. I am most excited about #c and #f, though there are lots of potentials for unusual gene expressions to pop up, since they arent locked down when you get landrace genetics. #g is really the only one I expect a particular phenotype from…I couldnt resist my annual DJ Short grow. I may cross it into one of the others, like I crossed Temple FLO with ACE Double Thai. Yeah, I know it’s a crazy list, but on day one you have to plan for (25% environmental loss) then (50% male expression), so for every 100 seeds less than 40 are sure to be female, and strong. I will then pick the best 2-3 of the (8) types, and ultimately end up harvesting a dozen plants, with (2) of these long flowering strains that run past next xmas.