The James Gang

[H.A.F.]

i like to toss all my banana etc in the blender it cuts down on gnats/fruit flies plus worms are healthier and reproduce quicker, toss some corn cobs in whole the worms carve thru them and lay eggs in them, I toss a couple handful of oatmeal, cornmeal and egg shells in blender until almost a powder spread it across the top of your bins worms go ballistic for it supposed to give them that loving feeling lol, like you said fun to try different things worms Devore blended/smoothie food and turn into castings much quicker

They definitely eat it quicker small. They love tomato. I have papery tomato-skins that I have to take out of the bin occasionally. I have that stackable thing so I add new bedding in a new tray every time I sift the bottom tray. I have been getting my weed leftovers bone-dry and re-intriducing that to the bin, I cut all the stems up before they dry so there's a woody component too. Eggshells and other stuff go in the blender

 

[H.A.F.]

I think I have a dud Orgi BX. Lower right, I'll have to wait though... Next time I'm waiting until they pop before adding the cover seeds
I dug around in the middle there to see if there was a sprout, and no. But there's still a chance one of those weeds pop's the seed-leaves next

The pot I pre-staged looks like a good plan though. I flled that cup in the middle to help keep the dirt temp cooler for the worms.

 

[H.A.F.]

Did some rearranging and watering. I pulled the UK Cheese out of here because it was wanting to grow sideways instead of up. I think everything will be happier now. That top in the center is from the ChemD. One side of the plant has two limbs that stretched to that lower canopy level, the others are just shy. I isolated the cinnamon smell, and it's the back left "other" pheno of the Vin Santo. Obvious terp difference from the other two.

The Chemdog is tall and skinny, so perfect for the center. had to stake up the CLHP and the Royal Limez (a few days before harvest...) to make everything fit.

The CLHP has a few amber on the lower nugs upper parts. It is in the harvest window. Waiting on it to have that 'look'. Needs a little more powdered sugar.

The Royal Limes is turning rapidly. she dropped allthe lower leaves (with a little help) they were droopy and loose. knocked them off with a finger.

The lowers are almost all milk except the new growth and there are ambers on the leaves.

The other thing I look for but rarely think to get a pic of is plump. Just happened to notice it in this one.

On some of the nugs that had the initial "It's a girl!" pistillate calyx you can watch them plump and turn, and they are the same level of maturity as most of the initial bud.

 

[H.A.F.]

I can fit 6 plants in the closet in 5gallon pots. Especially when they are small. With this tentative plan I could veg both regs and fems in them instead of waiting and only up-potting girls. .

Culled males would work just like harvested plants. Empty a pot drop a bean. But in that case it would be dropping another of the same strain until I get a girl.

The plan is getting legs.

I keep going back to this plan. There's gonna be ~6 weeks between dropping a bean and culling males. Here's a short list of the regs I need to smoke asap...

SSHP x Baguettes, Rock Island Rocket -CLG (and a few other testers from] @J.James)
Chocolate Thai Zkittles -Riot
Double Alien -La Plata
Lemony Wicked OG -Maddfarmer
Prana -Irie
Queens Sangria -Emerald Mountain
Querkle -Mz. Jillz/TGA
Sky Cuddler Kush -Freeborn (MeanGene)
Sour Hebrew National -Best Coast
Tardis -Homegrown Natural Wonders
Trufflez -Afficionado

And that is just the top of the ladder of 76 cultivars and doesn't count the fems. JJ gifted me 4 of the Sky Cuddler so for me that's good enough. I don't need to catch the next Freeborn drop unless it's something completely different from what I have in stock. Same with the Trufflez - I didn't care what I grew from Leo, just wanted to try something.

Back to the plan. I have a few "mandatory" drops like the mystery contest. So I just need to rank what I want to grow next, then designate a "Trufflez" (or whatever) pot, and it get's repeated Trufflez drops until I get a girl. The other option is doing two beans and having a better chance at a girl, but then if there's two that's a full grow of not being able to try something else.

I think I have as much fun thinking about growing as I do growing...

 

[H.A.F.]

If I don't have watering to do first order of business is the trich check. Lots of pics, then check them on the computer.

The Royal Limez that was fading rapidly is gone tomorrow. Trich check on one of the lowers and it's got plenty-o-amber on the leaves, all milk on the buds. Going back in to defoliate and I'll take it down sometime tomorrow before lights on. Got soaked yesterday.

 

[H.A.F.]

Confirmed dud and I dropped the last Orgi BX. I did some hunting and the cross sounds amazing. Bohdi's Goji OG and TGA/Subcool's Agent Orange

Based on the "calendar" the Royal Kush and PTK should be done around the 19th - and are looking to be on schedule.

The closet can then get cleared out and I can start checking the veracity of the plan.
I have 5gal pots showing up soon, so I am dumping the 7 and 15 gallon pots and dividing the soil between the 5's.

 

[H.A.F.]

I plucked the cover crop out off the cup for the Orgi, but the clear inner cup let me check on it and the worms are still happy and doing something. The new bean will just drop right in. Then I wait a few days before adding the cover crop.

 

[H.A.F.]

Finally got a look at the plants. The 19th is 8 weeks for the RK and PTK.

With the living soil the humidity ha been generally a few degrees higher. I want to get airflow while they finish plumping and get some light to those lower bud leaves. The Freakshow is a 9-ish week strain.

One crazy thing I have noticed is that the Freakshow has almost a bug-repellant quality. It has a real antisceptic pine/citrus/gas thing going on that seems like a citronella plant - the bug repellant part, not necessarily the terp. All the upper fans are frosty, and it has been an easy grow. no pruning needed to get plenty of light, no bugs. If the smoke is tasty and gets you high I might have a "freakshow pot" back in the rotation in a few months. And I just got a 20pk so I could run them for a while. Like the colorful plants, it's just been fun to look at in the garden.

 

[H.A.F.]

Stoned on the new Flo-Rida gibberish to follow...

It would be interesting to see the same pot/same strain run a reg through veg and get culled as a male before eating it's way through flower, then getting a girl in the pot next. Just from the living soil standpoint. There are not a lot of strains I want to do that with, maybe eventually to the point of cloning when the pack gets low. But only if it's good smoke.

I have several what I consider 'top shelf' strains in the cupboard - and they are for me so that's all that really matters.

Anyway, if I start getting low on the fire I know which packs to find it in. But I have a large selection of probable to sure fire yet to run, then run again to see the other terps, etc. Life is too short to smoke mids...

I see the CLHP as a good starting point for the next batch of hash. Old retired dude takes afternoon naps because the lights come on in the evening Might be a fat temple ball in the near future.

I have maybe a dozen containers in the little weed fridge that will keep me happy for a while. A few that could be that 'desert island' weed.

So I have a freezer-shelf full of trim and larf, then a dozen or so jars of "keep the tops" and hash the rest. I know there are some strains that will be better after a long cure. If I have room and it looks to have that potental, it stays.

Might have to do two separate batches in the washing machine but I am mixing it all together.

 

[H.A.F.]

I got about a 1/4 bucket of nugs, larf and sugar leaf. Saw a build-a-soil video on hash making straight to rosin pressing.

One thing I haven't done before is to let the stuff soak for a half hour before running the machine. Make sure everything rehydrates so there's less veg in the hash. A layer of ice on the bottom then a heavy layer on top. water just to float the ice for the soak, then filled about 3/4 for the run.

 

[Zaphod420]

I got about a 1/4 bucket of nugs, larf and sugar leaf. Saw a build-a-soil video on hash making straight to rosin pressing.
View attachment 98992
One thing I haven't done before is to let the stuff soak for a half hour before running the machine. Make sure everything rehydrates so there's less veg in the hash. A layer of ice on the bottom then a heavy layer on top. water just to float the ice for the soak, then filled about 3/4 for the run.
View attachment 98993

I have never done a 30 min rest on my bubble runs but after watching:
BuildASoil: HOME MADE ROSIN: Intro to Solvent Free Rosin and Bubble Hash // PEDRO'S GROW ROOM

16:22 Pedro makes mention of doing a rest and explained why and my "that's a pretty good idea" light bulb went off.
Please let us know if you think the rest actually helped you yield more hash H.A.F.

 

[H.A.F.]

I have never done a 30 min rest on my bubble runs but after watching:
BuildASoil: HOME MADE ROSIN: Intro to Solvent Free Rosin and Bubble Hash // PEDRO'S GROW ROOM

16:22 Pedro makes mention of doing a rest and explained why and my "that's a pretty good idea" light bulb went off.
Please let us know if you think the rest actually helped you yield more hash H.A.F.

It made perfect sense to me as well. I ran it through three times after the initial soak. I don't have a cold room or insulated washer, but I reuse the already cold water to maintain what ice I have. I added another bowl of ice for the third run. Not bad for a lot of it being already cured bud.

 

[H.A.F.]

To be clear, I don't have any way to know if I got more yield, but it's sticky, and looks fairly pure. It was between 160 and 73 micron. I used thhe 160m for the trash catch to get more.

Big silicone mats are good for working it. better than parchment or turkey bags.

Working it helps get most of the excess water out but it still needs to dry. I didn't work it to actually build heat and bust resin glands, Just gently pressing it then wiping any moisture off with a paper towel.

I have it laying on a silicone mat flattened out between 2 dry sift screens so there's airflow but no dust, then set in a cupboard.

 

[H.A.F.]

Afterthe ice melts out of the vegetable matter and it drains to 'moist' instead of wet I am gonna try fermenting it. Just get a weight, add that much brown sugar and mix it up, then top it with enough brown sugar to cover it and make about a 1/4"-1/2" thick layer. In about a month I'll have at a minimum garden fertilizer for next year, but will definitely try it with weed as well.

 

[H.A.F.]

Another one bites the dust. The cabbage leaf Royal Kush hit the marks exactly at the end of week 8. Crappy pic, this is the purple-bud one.

Only 168g wet and lots of gnats washed off. Looking at the plants only the PTK and the RK have gnat carcases on them. None crawling around and it seems whatever problem started them fixed itself. This has the new cover crop on it so it was one that hat it die off from shade. Same for the others since they were all short and bushy.

I have 4 pots per room now, but one is the big 15gal. Once that one is gone I should be able to clear the veg closet. I have the RK in front of a fan until it dries from the wash. Here is the set-up for the interim pots waiting on plants. or for the extra pots when I figure it all out.

 

[Fiddler's Green]

Nice and uniform all the way to the bottom.

Any special method to the wash or just a few dunks in water with H2O2 and rinse?

 

[Fiddler's Green]

Have you considered putting the avocado worm house (awesome idea btw) over the cut stalk?

I'm done peppergrinding

 

[H.A.F.]

Nice and uniform all the way to the bottom.

Any special method to the wash or just a few dunks in water with H2O2 and rinse?

As far as uniform, I topped it. period. no pruning lower stuff which I am kind of regretting. Might have been a better overall result with the air-space and light access for the cover crop. From now on though unless the breeder recommends topping or it is known to be super tall and stretchy I am just growing trees. Since it's just for me it should produce in the 1.5-2oz per plant range which is plenty. And when I am running testers it will show the plant expressions better than the 4-tops.

As far as the wash, this one fit in a bucket so I just dunked it and swirled it around. a little. When I pulled it I used a strainer to get the bugs and leafy bits out (probably a few dozen the first time, then less each dunk) then washed it again. after three there was nothing in the water.

 

[H.A.F.]

Have you considered putting the avocado worm house (awesome idea btw) over the cut stalk?

I'm done peppergrinding

I have now Only thing is that the avocado's are basically like a frat house which turns into a nursery. In the 5g pots I need to pull at least a solo-cup size chunk out of the middle. If I have all those worms doing the work I don't want to chop them out before I transplant.

I am gonna try several things once I get a few more harested so that's definitely in the game. I'm going to check the weight on the RK and move the one in the 7g pot. I am going to pot the CBD SAGE which is supposed to get big in that pot instead of the 5g. I was wanting to do at least one plant without disturbing the previous roots, and that might be the ticket. Another plan is to cut the root-ball out in a solo cup shape then fill that hole with worm goodies I can remove at transplant with no root-mass in the way.

I have about two weeks or so until the new sprouts need an up-pot and seeing how far the roots deteriorate or get eaten as 'newly-dead matter' with different methods is the main goal.

 

[H.A.F.]

Moment of clarity jotted down before I forget...

if the CBD plant is gonna get big then giving it more pot just encourages that - so it get's the 5g...