The James Gang

[H.A.F.]

Nothing pic-worthy but my signature block was updated with the latest seeds to get wet. Last top-bud of my last Chem91s1 had a lone seed in it, and there were no other plants that hermed or anything at the time. I know Chemdog is the mom, but it might be the dad as well. I'll get tent pics as I water tonight. but I wanted to jot down the drop while I still remembered what day it was.

 

[H.A.F.]

Fuck Deep Chunk. I tried spreading the limbs apart a little to get some light in there and a limb separated from the main stem at the base. That one in the back left corner. I Patched it up with some grafting tar but I might be better off taking that limb off and letting the other three have room to breathe. It's one of the "taller" limbs too, fuck the Rev and his Deep Chunk. If anyone finds a GOOD representation make some S1's and sell me some to hunt through. If this is the plant some of the old heads like Tom Hill are raving about then maybe they had to grow little bitty plants to keep them hid or something. This checks the fuck out of those boxes...

In other news, that might be a Cowboy Caviar or an Amy Aces top left. I'm getting no sweet, so it is likely the CC. I want some good OG so I can say I have tried some good OG. I have plenty of beans from other sources but that was never a path @J.James went down while I was testing beans for him. I think he may have even gifted me some but not as testers so they still sit in the fridge. I have lots of other varieties and crosses so that will probably be small piece of each drop.

The beast lower right is the UK Cheese which was a CSI freebie pack. Smells sweet-cheesy delicious already and looks to produce well for a short veg.

The Lemon Tree nutted out on me. That sucks because I would have dropped something lemon today. I still haven't gotten much lemon from lemon plants. They have all been delicious and the terps that show up always seem good to me - but no lemon. Last Lemon Tree was toasted caramel and butterscotch and it fucked me up like a football bat. Just no lemon. The rest of that tent is doing great, and the GMO Cake I was thinking would take longer was also flipped two weeks after the rest of the tent LOL - duh. Shitty pic

Here's a before pic of the CLHP. She's just past 8 weeks and hit fade mode rapidly. I want her ripe all the way down so I removed the bulk of those shade leaves. They can be all pretty in my worm bin

Here's the after

This tent pic is also a before. I arranged the T-hole in the center to grow between the 4 lights. but after getting everything situated and looking at it I put some mild bondage on her. I also have the Chemdog under a dimmer light board that is raised higher than normal. Other than the upper 2-3 sets of shade leaves she's pretty damn healthy. I'm hoping to take her close to ten weeks though so there's plenty of time for shit to go sideways.

Each node has about a foot-long piece of that rubber coated wire that is bent in half and wrapped around the main stem. Starting from the top I just hooked each limb and pulled it in until there was just enough clearance at the top from the next flower.

And here's BDSM girl. She's still spread out but at least if they put on weight I have a head start on the support they'll definitely need.

 

[H.A.F.]

I got my spring garlic in from Baker Creek and stuck it in the fridge. I guess it can go in as soon as the wet/cold is done. Since there's spring and fall garlic I'll try both but I only need one to work for me here and I can store it for the year. It was 6 large bulbs of early Italian purple garlic at $5 per bulb. Pretty steep but if it is the last garlic I have to buy then so be it. I am going to set up an earthbox with onion/garlic specific soil and keep it weed free - mulch no cover crop. Apparently those don't compete well with anything else. I figure once it's set up I can plant a bulb every 5-7 days and see what works best long term. Each one should have enough cloves for a small row.

I have a small area (about 15' x 20') of beautifully worked soil. It's on a slope, and the lower part was built up hugel style with logs first then soil from a raised bed. Mainly for peppers and tomatoes, and whatever can grow with them companionably, like tomatillos. I have a large compost pile dead center that has been fermenting since fall. Big overhaul this year to get it more level and less terraced.

I can jam a lot in that area but I also have a Yuuuuuuuuge spot (for me) that is just now being worked/amended. It is about 20' x 60' of eventually workable row/type flat garden. It has had cover crop, lawn collected mulch etc. since last spring, and will start with melons and pumpkins and stuff that I can have a small worked area and the plants can spead out, and make lots of bio mass.

I have cabbage seed that needs to be started inside now. I really don't eat enough of it to bother with a whole flat. But it stores well, it can be dehydrated to add to soups and such (unlike lettuce) or fermented but I ain't that into kraut. It also makes fantastic worm food/mulch/compost though, so if it grows well in my new garden area that has compacted soil, I can snag a head or two for me and leave the rest to make better soil. It goes out before I need to start peppers and tomatoes so it should be good. Cauliflower is the same. They say frost tolerant - well allrighty then. It's a $3 pack of seeds LOL

But first order of business is 20 cups to put beans in tomorrow.

 

[H.A.F.]

Things are looking fantastic for this drop. This is only day three but I had 50% above ground and open wwith a few helmet heads to deal with so I went ahead and excavated the rest just enough to see if there was life.

Brand new beans, 4yr old beans - both 4 out of 5 with a possibility still hanging out. The one Dank Sinatra upper right was the only one charging out of the gate.

In here the Cowboy Caviar was the only lollygagger, but breaking soil. The Pineapple Wine are both slow or no-go. Tomorrow I excavate and remove any dud seeds. Poking around this evening one of the Morning Brew was doing the sideways curly-Q so it got a nudge in the right direction.
In general the 707 and Irie brought the vigor. I also have a Chem91 bagseed which pretty much has to be a fem. Smokin' the Chembag this summer baby, and I might even clone that one.

 

[H.A.F.]

CLHP shrubby's plumping up a little but that looks like it'll dry-sift great. That's not a main top, just one that came out clear in the pic. You can definitely see the difference between a well-pruned plants flowers and one that was let go. She'll go 9 weeks at least, and the Chemdog is looking like 10-11. Both are a few days past 8. The Thunderhole is an all-star. Stretching like a yoga master but the lowest flowers I left on are getting plump. Burnside tree and Chem Power 4-top in the back.

Did I mention 'fuck deep chunk' yet? Just checking. I did go ahead and amputate the broken limb. I'm not getting weight out of either plant but at least with that one I can see the inside. The UK Cheese would be growing sideways and taking up some square footage but I have the limbs tied to each other and pulled in towards the center. Still no idea what the terps are on the mystery plant.

This is the pretty-smells tent, except for the GMO Cake under the fan. Pretty sure that one will be rank. But it may also be tall enough to go in the other tent when it's done stretching. HQ, Mountain Berry, Amy & Pam are all getting plump, frosty and terpy.

 

[H.A.F.]

The Pineapple Wine were freebies, and only a 6-pack. If those two are duds I'll probably drop the other 4 and see what happens.

Can't complain really because the Irie Stawberry Starburst, Sunkiss, and 707 Millionaire were all freebies.

The Dank Sinatra giving a good show means that my storage practices since my oldest beans were not complete shit. Some may have aged better than others but they were all given the same chance - so I am not as worried about my "old" beans.

So the next criteria will be to drop beans I spent $$$ on. I only have a few packs that I invested more than $10/bean on. Truffles from Aficianado is one that I need to get in the dirt. The Mojito from Jungle Boys is another. So those two will probably he half of my next two drops, still going with the 'something old, something new' theme.

4th Gear from CLG and Grapefruit from Hillbilly Bob are the next "old" ones I think.

 

[H.A.F.]

Grinding up the last of my Albany Piff - still good wake-up weed (or don't go to bed weed). It was in the tent with the Bad Attitude that hermed and I found another bean.

I have a little seed envelope with each of that run's moms labeled and the fact that the BA is the likely donor. While putting that seed in the right envelope (that makes 4 off the whole plant) I thought about how cool it was to see the Chem91 bagseed pop.

I'll be adding a bagseed section to future drops until I run out of ones I'm excited about. I have some that are a large pheno hunt drop where I'm pulling out the tomato starting trays and they get no love. They also can't be a side-drop with anything else because of the volume.

I have a few that the Lemon Tree hit a few years back. Crossed with the Sangris Cookies mom I think it's definitely a frost bomb.

I also have the 007up mom that got hit with the Headbanger Zee tester. The HZ had the secret pollen - seeded the hell out of herself but the rest of the tent had 4-6 beans per plant max. Since I didn't know it until adter she was dried and I started bucking I smoked it - and it was super lemony sour face punch, even seeded. I got a few hundred seeds off her but since she was a hermfest those went to a sprouted seed tea. She happened to be in the tent with some fire moms though, all drop-worthy like the Northern Lights, Homecoming Queen, CLHP and the UK Cheese.

Should be fun. I think I'll lean more towards cloning the bagseeds than I will other stuff. I know they are all unique.

 

[H.A.F.]

Getting kind of scared now it's been months and the first pepper is finally turning. I have to eat it to know what to do with the rest LOL

Danger Will Robinson!

 

[Fiddler's Green]

Quidado, they might be picoso.

 

[Fiddler's Green]

I got a random question amigo. Can you show a picture of your bio char maker?

I've just started to go down the bio char/rock dust rabbit hole and am looking at a way to make some on a small scale before I get a wild hair and making something bigger and end up burning cash instead. I'm starting to plan my beds and tree plots for the future garden/orchard expansion and even though I don't have the trees I want to mark the plots with a mix of wood ash, biochar, animal bedding and grass clippings to let that marinate in the mean time.

Where you able to make enough for your rotations?

 

[H.A.F.]

Quidado, they might be picoso.

It's chiltepin and hot - don't know the level yet but I never believe what they say on seed packs. Some things are super hot but delicious, some are mildly hot and unbearable. I'll let this one go until it looks as red as it's gonna get then take the plunge. Before dinner is a good time.

 

[H.A.F.]

I got a random question amigo. Can you show a picture of your bio char maker?

I've just started to go down the bio char/rock dust rabbit hole and am looking at a way to make some on a small scale before I get a wild hair and making something bigger and end up burning cash instead. I'm starting to plan my beds and tree plots for the future garden/orchard expansion and even though I don't have the trees I want to mark the plots with a mix of wood ash, biochar, animal bedding and grass clippings to let that marinate in the mean time.

Where you able to make enough for your rotations?

OK. My bio char maker is a brand new unlined paint can with a nail hole poked in the lid. A drilled hole would have been better in hindsight LOL but you get the size - about 1/8". There are also two holes at the bottom of the can on each side. O2 can get in but not enough for complete combustion. and it can get out just enough to prevent popping the top.

I made one batch from cannabis stalks and soaked it in recharge before adding it to the soil. It didn't make much so I bought a small sack from build-a-soil. I then learned that is stays in the soil for quite a while, so adding it maybe once a year in soil you re-use is probably good.

One thing I started last fall was just a rabbit-fence hoop about 4' across to use as an aerobic compost "bin". Green-brown-green-brown like any compost pile but I'm not worried about thermophilic breakdown. I have no added manure or anything in it that might need sterilizing. And none of it is coming inside. Might work to mark off an area. Then just keep adding to it?

As for the bio-char it's great but not necessary. You could pile stuff up in the area you want to use then burn it. There's a way to smother it and let it smolder like for a BBQ that leaves it as char I think.

 

[Fiddler's Green]

I'm just trying to add organic material to the sites even though I don't have anything to plant yet (but it'll be ready when the time comes) dig 2" and it's all sand.

I'm looking to incorporate some inoculated char into a few 20' x 20' plots along with a cover crop blend for 50+ trees and bushes. I figure all the big pieces of bark, branches and chips can be used after I finish a firewood pile. But I want to try it small scale first.

 

[Fiddler's Green]

What are you cooking the paint can in? Or are you lighting and smoldering?

 

[H.A.F.]

What are you cooking the paint can in? Or are you lighting and smoldering?

Just tossing it in the corner of the fire when burning brush, It'll smoke out of the top hole as it gets going then stop when it's done. But you can leave it until the next day when the fire cools and snag it.

 

[H.A.F.]

So I had this 3' wide rolling shelf. I spent $40 and got six 3' LED tube lights that can be wired in series. Just wire-tied them to the shelves for veggie starting, two per rack. I am gonna add a heat mat or two for specific plants that need it to get started but for now it's just the one plug with a switch in the cord.

On the seedling front I lost one Dank Sinatra and one Morning Brew to being duds. Both Pineapple Wine were also duds. Decided against a re-drop of any - we roll with these 16.

Which are likely to be 15 but we'll see. Got a wonky one with a lily-pad top and no apparent node for anything to grow out of.

 

[H.A.F.]

The CLHP hits 9 weeks Tuesday and I'm thinking Valentine weed.

If I hadn't removed all the shade leaves she would have been a lot more colorful, but she's definitely on the fade.

 

[H.A.F.]

It may go longer. It's getting the milky, but it doesn't have the powdered sugar look. Best thing about the living soil is that it's healthy enough I can wait and see. And it even has a little tip-burn like it had the perfect amount of nutes for a bottle fed plant LOL

It'll depend on if it has the 'fast onset' color change like the fade did. It took 3 days from healthy green to light green to healthy yellow-green. Here's the thing I noticed about this as a 'hash plant'. The resin glands aren't huge - so finer seive grade, but it also has thin stalks. So dry sift or bubble that first run will be primo.

But there's also the fact that there's lots of them

 

[Nobighurry]

Banana Hashplant bulking up the buds this week...

 

[H.A.F.]

Everything got LAB water and all are looking frosty and smelling great. Other than the top few leaves on the Chemdog she is looking ready for the long haul. mayhe 25% brown pistils at week 8. The Thunderhole is stakcking blackberry-nugs up the stem. They were round a few days ago now they hafe that pointy look like a green berry.

I am leaning towards this being a Cowboy Caviar - it's dank. And the UK Cheese takes up the space the Deep Chunk dont. As soon as the CLHP harvests I can clear this closet between the two tents. I like letting her have her room though.

This tent is loving life.