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THE CANNABIS NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Issue 3 - 2016
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10 Over-fertilisation. What to do?
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18+ For adults only. Soft Secrets is published six times a year by Discover Publisher BV Netherlands
Canada is legalising cannabis here is why the UK should too AMSTERDAM
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Who should control the production and supply of drugs : Governments or gangsters? That’s the choice that politicians face – there’s no third option in which drugs don’t exist. Unlike the UK, Canada has recognised this reality. The country’s health minister announced last May that the Canadian¬ government will bring the cannabis trade under their control, by legalising and regulating it in spring next year. The Canadian announcement was made at the most important meeting on drugs for 20 years, at the United Nations in New York. Unfortunately, despite most experts agreeing that the global drug war – which has raged for more than half a century now – has been a disaster, the meeting mostly reaffirmed the status quo. But among the usual clichés about the need to be “tough” on drugs, Canada bucked the trend, and showed the world that to really be tough on drugs, the government must take control of them. This proposal isn’t out of the blue. Uruguay and four states in the US kickstarted the growing trend towards legalisation a few years ago. And Canada’s new prime minister, Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau, was elected last November after campaigning on cannabis legalisation. Now he’s making good on his pre-election promise. And a majority of the country support his proposals. Polls show legalising cannabis is supported by 68% of the population. Canadians don’t buy into the caricatures of legalisation being “irresponsible” or “radical.” They understand what Canada’s health minister meant when she told the UN they were convinced it “is the best way to protect our youth while enhancing public safety”.
Legalisation is also the smartest way to cut crime. Cannabis is the world’s most widely used illicit drug, generating billions of dollars in sales. Now all that money goes to organised criminals. Aside from being used to corrupt institutions and fund other forms of organised crime, this money fuels violence and conflict, as rival gangs fight for a greater share of the market and clash with law enforcers. Cannabis would be even safer if it was regulated by the Government. In the same way that alcohol prohibition in the US gave rise to gangsters like Al Capone, the prohibition¬ of cannabis has empowered¬ and enriched cartels and other criminal¬ networks. The current approach has, in effect, gifted control of a lucrative and risky market to those least likely to manage it responsibly. But it could be so different. It has been optimistically¬ estimated that Canada could generate more than £2billion in tax revenue from a legal cannabis trade. Cannabis is, in relative terms, a low-risk drug – but no drug is risk-free. And it’s precisely because of these risks that legal regulation is needed. No drug is made safer when it is produced and sold by organised criminals, and no user’s health and welfare is ever improved by saddling them with a criminal record. That’s why the left-leaning Liberal party made a manifesto commitment to legalise cannabis, rather than carry on with ever-more draconian¬ drug laws. The Lib Dems have always been the most progressive party on the issue of legalising cannabis. So, where are the UK’s main parties on the issue of legal regulation? The Lib Dems have historically been the most forward-thinking. They recently made cannabis legalisation party policy, after setting up
an expert panel to look into the issue. Under their plans, the UK would establish a tightly regulated, non-commercial¬ cannabis market that prioritises protecting public health over private profit. Sadly, both Labour and the Conservatives have avoided drug law reform like the plague. If they were acting on principle¬, Labour ought to support reform to help achieve social justice, because it is the poor and marginalised who bear the brunt of the drug war. And Tories should support drug policy reform because it is an issue of authority, cost-effective public spending, and appeals to their concerns on individual freedoms. Responsible legal control of drug markets is increasingly¬ being explored around the world, in preference to prohibition, and about half the UK now back cannabis law reform. This is no longer a niche issue - it’s moved to the mainstream¬ of public debate, and politicians are being left behind. It has been estimated by the Treasury that tax revenue from a legal cannabis market could be between £500million and £1billion, depending on demand and rate at which cannabis is taxed. Justin Trudeau has shown great leadership, modernising his country’s¬ approach to reduce the harms cannabis can cause. Labour and the Tories, by contrast, appear out of step as they cling to a harsh approach. They need to wake up: with more and more political leaders beginning to recognise the benefits of reform. The question increasingly being debated is not if whether we should legally regulate cannabis, but how and when. Source: Mirror.co.uk
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%< 7+( 7Ζ0( <28 5($' 7+Ζ6 7+( 1(: 36<&+2$&7Ζ9( 68%67$1&(6 /$: :Ζ// %( Ζ1 3/$&( +(5( Ζ1 7+( 8. $1' :+$7 $1 Ζ// &216Ζ'(5(' 0(66 Ζ7 Ζ6 The supposed point of the new law is to crack down on the surfeit of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS or "legal highs") that are the current big bogeyman threat to our nation's youth and other supposedly vulnerable groups. As of May 26 2016, possession with intent to supply any of these (e.g. headshops) can result in up to 7 years in prison and/or a fine. Possession will not be considered an offence as such, but this is somewhat ambiguous in its wording. Of course, if the possessor happens to be already serving a custodial sentence then this rule doesn't apply, and the miscreant will find him or herself facing up to 2 years added to their current sentence, and/or a fine. Psychoactive substances are defined in the original bill as any substance affecting one's central nervous system resulting in an effect on "the person's mental functioning or emotional state". Hypothetically, this clumsy catch all definition could include CNS stimulants such as the smell of freshly made coffee or the smell of perfume. An argument could even be made for music having said effect. There are exemptions to the law, however. The perennial tax cash cows of alcohol, tobacco/nicotine products and caffeine, for example. Weirdly, poppers have also been exempted. Not wishing to rain on anyone's parade here, the Irish government tried something very similar to this a few years ago and shot themselves in the foot as prevalence and consumption rose quite dramatically. Nobody except The Home Office appears to think that the new law is a good idea. As usual, the government are selective with the evidence, choosing to ignore anything that runs contra to their overarching aims, and even ignoring the advice of the ACMD, their own drug advisory group.
For the development of Blow Mind Auto, Sweet Seeds used the famous “Cordobesa” Amnesia Haze clone. To introduce the autoflowering trait in this genetic, they used selected genetic lines of S.A.D. (Sweet Afgani Delicious) Auto, which contributes with a background of sweet and musky aromas to the cross. This variety features a pleasant, deep and complex aroma of incense, with sweet and musky tones, complemented with lemony citric hints, shades of wood and dried fruit. Blow Mind Auto is a tall-stemmed autoflowering strain, very resinous and very productive! Genetics: Cordobesa Amnesia Haze x S.A.D. Auto Average height: 90 cm. Average indoor yield: 500 g/m² Average outdoor yield: 125 g per plant Taste / Smell: Incense, sweet, musky, lemony citric hints Breeder: Sweet Seeds
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As it stands, the law will have the effect of criminalising swathes of the (otherwise law abiding) population overnight: anyone who thinks that a draconian and prohibitive law being passed equates to every user miraculously stopping is delusional, as the routine breaking of the current laws around "real" substances illustrates. It is our view that, unfortunately, mass overnight criminalisation is precisely the point of the whole exercise. The vagueness of the definition as to what is or isn't psychoactive theoretically opens the door to the banning of pretty much anything that The Home Office disapproves of. Consider how much power this law is going to give them. This should be a concern to everyone. The NPS group there is biggest demand for are the synthetic cannabinoids. This indicates that while people want to get stoned, they don't necessarily want to break the law in order to do so. As of May 26th, this no longer applies, and henceforth Spice, Black Mamba and all the rest of them are illegal. This includes variants not even developed yet. There's an irony here in that the synthetic cannabinoids have been shown to have effects (and side effects) not usually seen with "regular" cannabis. Synthetic variants have been associated with a sharp rise in hospitalisations and even a number of deaths, again something not common in users of "real" cannabis. Real cannabis really isn't the problem: synthetic cannabis is. Rather than imposing ever more draconian laws on the population at large, the government should have taken a leaf from the Oregonian, Washingtonian, Coloradan and Alaskan drug policy book and used this as an opportunity to legalise real cannabis. In those states where this has happened, the trade in NPS in general and synthetic cannabis in particular has disappeared in a puff of (synthetic) smoke. Sources: http://www.drugwise.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Psychoactive-SubstancesAct.pdf http://www.changegrowlive.org/NPS/psychoactive-substances-act-2016-glossary?gclid=CJmj7s bF98wCFdYK0wodktMF0g http://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/the-global-drug-survey-2015-findings/ Dr Dee
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8
GROW WITH ROBERT B.
When and how to use CO2 FOR A MORE RAPID HARVEST AND A RICHER YIELD!
Plants need substrates with suitable nutrients and moisture for their roots, but they also need light, warmth, and, indeed, aeration. The aerial part of the plant only needs CO2 during the lighting phase. Through photosynthesis, plants produce sugar compounds from light, water and carbon dioxide. Further nutrients and trace elements also play a decisive role, which however does not come into play in that process. The resulting sugar is the source of energy from which plants derive the strength for their By Robert B. growth, which would be impossible without light, H2O and CO2. The photosynthesis formula is as follows: 6 H2O and 6 CO2 through the action of light in the green chlorophyll cells give 6 O2 and C6H12O6, i.e. oxygen and dextrose (d-glucose). Water is taken up by the roots, the air exchange is ensured through little pores named stomata on the underside of leaves and light illuminates leaves from above. The conversion of elements – called photosynthesis – takes place in the chloroplasts (organelles of plant cells). It is argued that, if a plant receives abundant water and light, it can grow faster with higher CO2 content. Now this argument is only true for C3 plants, which first form C3 compounds during the conversion of water and CO2. In C4 plants, a photosynthetic efficiency level is reached at 200 ppm and above of CO2 in the air; this efficiency level may not be increased by higher CO2 concentrations. Currently, as a result of burnt fossil fuels, the air contains about 380 ppm of CO2. In this case, the efficiency of a C3 plant can only reach just 50% of that of C4 plants. Only from about 800 ppm can a C3 plant convert more CO2 and therefore become more productive. Wheat, rye, rice, oat and hemp are C3 plants. Sugar cane, sorghum and maize are C4 plants. Moreover, a distinction is made between sun-loving and shade-loving plants. The latter only need very little light to reach 100% efficiency for their growth; more light will not increase growth but rather damage the plants. Sun-loving plants, instead, need more light in order to reach the efficiency level of shade-loving plants. With ten times as much light, however, their efficiency will be five times higher. Above this level, efficiency can no longer increase appreciably through more light.
First day in bloom
CO2 computer, 1600 ppm is the target value
The other types of plants that exist in nature are CAM plants, which excel with aridity. In addition to these three concepts of oxygenic photosynthesis, there are also anoxygenic processes, in which no oxygen is released. This is just a sketchy description given by theory; in practice, however, one cannot rely on unprofessional estimates, as temperature, water availability, nutritional balance, soil condition and other factors also play a key role. Among other key factors is the potential of a plant species and its adaptation to the prevailing situation. As a result, with the current air content of 380 ppm of CO2, maize has a very high yield potential. Hemp, however, can easily compete, is more ecological and lends itself to a much higher number of fields of application. This theory explains why an artificially increased
Larger buds with CO2 gasification?
CO2 content in the air can imply a considerably high growth of hemp plants, which will ultimately mature faster with a much higher harvest weight. The implication is that growers may double their profits and the time saved should also be factored in for the calculation of such profit increase. Now, as more importance should be attached to work efficiency, especially in indoor growing (for the higher use of space, equipment and energy), CO2 gasification of a facility could significantly contribute to cost efficiency. In this respect, several products are available on the market to increase the CO2 value in the grow room: i.e. a CO2 controlling unit for drawing gas from cylinders; a CO2 computer for such drawing operation to be accurate; CO2 tabs for releasing CO2 into irrigation water; CO2 bioreactors to obtain CO2 from biomass through fermentation; an acid to extract CO2 from lime; or a gas burner for the extraction of CO2. Of course, the list above does not include all product families and it is also possible to use technical devices to extract CO2 from exhaust or outdoor air and feed it to the room. Growers have already tried some of these products without neglecting CO2 gasification. Many did not spare their time or money, but could not significantly improve their results and, in some cases, their results were even worse. Of course, dealers stick labels with very promising catchwords and slogans on their products in order to sell them. In the CO2 gasification segment too there are better products or techniques. Even if growers buy the right products, these should be used appropriately in order to be effective. High-power aeration in a grow room can already avoid CO2 gasification of any form without the need to completely alter the facility, and gasification in itself may prove to be ineffective as CO2 could simply flow out of the window. If, for instance, CO2 tabs are dissolved in irrigation water, the CO2 contained in the water will be absorbed by roots, which should imply a better CO2 supply to plants. Care should be taken to always dissolve a tab shortly before the watering cycle, as CO2 may easily be dispersed from water. This is the theory. Even if a hemp plant can absorb some CO2 quantity by its roots, the effect will not be appreciable. In cannabis – just like in most other terrestrial plants – a gas exchange for photosynthesis takes place on the stomata of leaves. This gas exchange occurs directly where the gas is needed. Similarly, hemp roots absolutely need air in the soil substrate for them to breathe. In other words they need oxygen. Root breathing is important but is of no use for photosynthesis. Carbon could also be added for it to be transported to the leaves through root absorption. In fish-keeping a C fertiliser is used with the required quantity of carbon not bound to oxygen. But water plants function somewhat differently from terrestrial plants and there is no experience whatsoever with one such carbon fertiliser having been used for marihuana growing. However, absorption through roots always seems to be the most counterproductive way to supply CO2 to plants, even if a few manufacturers say otherwise. On the basis of the above considerations, the supply of CO2 to hemp plants through room air should be favoured. Therefore growers who often aerate their room can either forget about CO2 supply or completely change and adapt their facility, i.e. instead of having permanent air circulation, air will be recirculated every two hours and during the dark phase of the lighting cycle. In the latter case, the plant needs no CO2 and releases no O2, consumes some O2 and gives off some CO2. For this reason,
case, the use of costly LEDs is justified despite their high cost. The warm air build-up will be considerably lower with LEDs, provided that such lighting devices are well engineered for growing good marihuana. However, to create a hermetically sealed chamber for CO2 gasification there is a need to limit the choice to a room that ensures a cool and dry environment. If you choose a cellar that is already mouldy by moisture or is not adequately aerated, you will also have to consider a very high cost of air dehumidification. Nonetheless Ed Rosenthal firmly believes that growers may improve their cost balance with CO2, gasification, if it is correctly implemented, as a higher and faster return on the initial investment justifies the cost surplus. For a normal grow room, it is estimated that around 80% of power could be used for lighting. In a hermetically sealed chamber for CO2 gasification, the amount of absorbed power could perhaps be reduced to only 20% even in inaccurately selected rooms. Cooling and dehumidification are associated with high energy absorption, if the grower has virtually no cold water for extensive water cooling. In addition, a part of air humidity could simply condense and run off in the chamber.
CO2 drawn from a gas cylinder through a controller in forced ventilation
a CO2 supply is only appropriate during the bright phase and should be controlled by a timer or a CO2 computer. If air is only recirculated in the grow room every two hours, humidity and, normally, temperature will also increase. At about 380 ppm of CO2, if the air temperature is around 24 to 26° C during the bright phase (in which case plants are in a functionally optimal state), when the CO2 content ideally rises to 1600 ppm, temperature should be around 30 to 34°
always be kept below this value even by CO2 gasification. This consequently means that an air-conditioning system should be installed in the grow room for air to be chilled and dehumidified. As far as chilling is concerned, growers who cannot simply cool down water temperature by using water supplied from a cold mountain tributary lake or a siphon placed deep down in the soil, will have to use a lot of energy. This also applies to air dehumidification. A dehumidifier
For growers to harvest in hermetically sealed CO2 gasification chambers and maximise profits at the same time, all other required steps need to be taken, and they should be able to do so! Those who use the wrong soil or wrong plants will not be happy with the final results. The growing process should be envisioned as a pyramid, i.e. if the first level is totally inexistent or not perfectly completed, it will still be possible to implement the second level, but noting positive will be achieved. Only if basic work is perfect will further optimisation be of any use. By contrast, if basic work is clumsy, any search for optimisation will create even more damages. Growers whose results are comparatively worse at growing cycle 08/15 should only improve their basic work first and only then think about complex optimisations. For the running costs they have to cover, there is normally very little difference whether or not there is any harvest in a grow room. The higher the actual cost per square metre is, the more experienced should a grower be. Furthermore, those who use power to light, cool and dehumidify are considerably dependent on the price of electricity, which means that CO2 gasification is another cost that could be added to the power bill. Almost consistently throughout Germany, the cost of energy is much more expensive than in a few other EU countries, whereas in the USA the energy cost varies considerably from State to State, reportedly from below 10 to above 30 US cent per KW/h. Growers who pay four times as much for their electricity compared to other regions will work uneconomically if they use CO2 gasification. This is why Ed Rosenthal’s opinion could be right for a few US states, but probably not for others. Growers, therefore, should first think very carefully about the cost of equipping their grow room, as well as of all other running costs, and perhaps only start with a test system. As most growers cannot easily pick their rooms but rather work with any spaces available to them, such choice can perhaps make sense for some but not for others. This would at least explain why a few growers, like Ed Rosenthal, rely on those systems, while others cannot report any significant differences in their overall experience.
THROUGH PHOTOSYNTHESIS, PLANTS PRODUCE SUGAR COMPOUNDS FROM LIGHT,WATER AND CARBON DIOXIDE. C. This rise in temperature is particularly important for plants to favourably exploit the higher CO2 content. Nevertheless, if temperature is considerably higher, the plant growth will stop, as the plant will devote its efforts to endure the heat, which in any case will not damage the plant. In order to limit evaporation, the stomata, which are indispensable for breathing, will be closed. Growth will stop from around 36° C. For this reason, temperature should
should be used in such a way that exhaust heat will be formed outside the grow room. In addition to these technical changes, the used gasification chamber should be hermetically sealed for air not to circulate without ventilation. If the selected space for plant growth is likely to be affected by a build-up of warm air, presumably the cost of cooling will turn out to be too high. In any
If as a readers of this article you are into energy saving, you would rightly shake your head and say: “What? everyone talks about measures to save energy and marihuana is now grown as an agricultural product in chilled rooms with artificial light?” You might have simply installed an outdoor conditioning system in summer for your terrace! What is the sun shining for? What have greenhouses been built for? For tomatoes! Unfortunately marihuana is still illegal and, therefore, such transgressions in production come as no surprise: the prohibition of marihuana is silly, but indoor growers, who have merely adapted themselves to the market and have to meet their own or other people’s demand, are surely not. If a product is in demand, it is also produced and traded, this is something that prohibitions cannot change. Therefore, especially in the case of drugs, given the undiminished demand, a below-average product attributable to prohibitions is not safer but rather even more dangerous!
10
GROW WITH ROBERT B.
Over-fertilisation. What to do? YOU CAN STILL SAVE THE DAY!
Von Robert B.
There are various opinions on how to fertilise best. A few growers fertilise too little, others too much. Out of caution, it’s better to fertilise less, as plants totally absorb fertiliser in this case. When too much fertiliser is used, plants can be damaged, or may even die. If plants fertilised beyond a critical limit are harvested, the quality would be so bad that you will not even be able to give them away for free. Virtually any fertiliser - not merely a broad-spectrum fertiliser but also individual components or additives – could be used in excessive quantities. Depending on which substances critically overcome the threshold value, the effects on plants will vary. There are therefore no general indications that would tell you that an ingredient is present in a critically high proportion in the substrate. A few indications are leaves losing colour or getting rolled up. Depending on genetics, however, the dying-off of large leaves could be pretty normal. When little light is received in the lower parts, at the end of bloom period, leaves turn purple. Therefore it is important to correctly interpret symptoms for a peculiar type of genetics, as in some situations the plant could be perfectly vital. However, if one or a few ingredients are fed in a critically excessive proportion, the plant will first start to suffer, then stop growing and finally wither. Over-fertilisation is a delicate topic. When fertiliser manufacturers recommend EC values, their indications relate to genetics that can withstand a large fertiliser quantity. However there are also old strains or special Haze genetics that are fertilised beyond acceptable limits despite these ‘normal’
is made, the fertiliser may easily become absorbed and accumulate in the growing substrate (i.e. stone wool or CoGr). Or the grower may operate a recirculation system, in which used water is recovered and reused for further watering. The crop will more rapidly absorb water than fertiliser, which will accumulate in the water tank. The EC value in the remaining water may rise and overcome a critical threshold. There are growers who have simply put stone wool into pots, without protecting them against evaporation. Evaporation was so high that plants were already over-fertilised long before harvest and they finally withered. Depending on the specific situation, fertilisation should also be adjusted independently of the plant genetics. Growers who notice the effects of overfertilisation invariably make a typical mistake, i.e. they totally suspend fertilisation. If signs of
longer take the fertiliser from the substrate in order to gain a green colour. The plant will remain in an over-fertilised substrate, will not be able to overcome the problem and therefore will remain impaired. The problem will therefore not be solved and, if the grower uses tap water with the typical EC value of drinkable water, he will also add nutrient salts and worsen the situation even more. Suspending the fertiliser may only help if over-fertilisation has not reached the critical limit. Beyond that limit, the substrate shall be rinsed with PH-adjusted water at a suitable room temperature. If fertiliser traces are washed away from the soil, the plant can again become vital. This technique also functions if the critical value for a single substance is overcome. Even if the grower has wrongly interpreted a given situation and fed an excessive quantity of this substance, rising will not be a bad solution if the substrate
IF TOO MUCH INGREDIENTS ARE FED, THE PLANT WILL FIRST START TO SUFFER, THEN STOP GROWING AND FINALLY WITHER indications. A grower therefore cannot safely say that, during the bloom period, a range of 1.4 to 2.2 EC is usually ok for fertilisation. This can either be right or wrong. What counts is to gather information on the selected genetics before growing a plant and monitor how the various indicators perform during its growth. In certain situations, the indications of fertiliser manufacturers could be wrong even for genetics that can withstand a large quantity of fertiliser. If a grower operates a hydroponic system with 20% drainage, which washes the fertiliser away and this 20% is not even observed and no effective drainage
Too much iron in a flower booster
over-fertilisation are visible, normally this means that fertilisation has already reached a critical stage, whereby the plant ends up being damaged and its growth stops. At this stage, if the plant is further irrigated with PH-adjusted water and the plant growth has already stopped, it can no
is later fertilised normally - provided that a good broad-spectrum fertiliser is used, in which the ingredient is contained in a small quantity, that the grower has not further worsened the situation, and that the ingredient has not been dissolved (often fertilisation is done in the wrong way, the
Less fertiliser for the growth phase
Fresh CoGr mats should be rinsed underneath when they soak
PH measuring instruments
12 wrong fertiliser is used or the fertiliser is fed in the wrong dosage). It is also not a bad idea to rinse the substrate if there is a suspect of over-fertilisation, even if it is not necessarily true. If, on the other hand, over-fertilisation has reached a critical stage, then the grower should use at least as much water for rinsing as required to equal the volume of the substrate. If water coming out of the substrate is visibly coloured, this is an indication of over-fertilisation. After rinsing water should come out only slightly
The EC value can also be measured in drainage water exactly as it is measured in irrigation water. Since, normally, EC accumulates in the substrate, the EC value is generally higher in drainage water then in irrigation water. This is not negative but
of e.g. 2.6 is tolerated, above which it would be too much, and a value of 2.2 has already been reached, this means that irrigation water should be less fertilised in order to avoid later rinsing. Significantly, plants that are forming roots or
An EC measuring instrument
If lower leaves suffer for a shortage of water and light, growers should avoid making errors during fertilisation!
coloured. When water becomes again clear, this means that plants again need fertilisation. Depending on the fertiliser used and the degree of over-fertilisation, water may look differently at the beginning and at the end of rinsing. It can even be clear right from the start. On the other hand, if even a single substance
rather normal and even beneficial. However, it should be considered that a given type of genetics only tolerates a specific EC value in the
growing need a lower EC value in the substrate in order to properly develop. Growers who reuse stone wool, CoGr or soil are required to rinse them
IF SIGNS OF OVER-FERTILISATION ARE VISIBLE, NORMALLY THIS MEANS THAT FERTILISATION HAS ALREADY REACHED A CRITICAL STAGE… has been fed above the critical threshold, rinsing is indispensable. In any case, growers should use complete (i.e. broad-spectrum) fertilisers and avoid using nutrients individually, as they will most likely tend to make errors and frequently forget the indispensable trace elements.
substrate. Growers can easily assess these values by performing measurements in drainage water. If they have assessed for their genetics that a value
thoroughly three days before harvest, for a plant to mature healthily and for the substrate to be perfectly reusable with a low EC.
Stanford Hydroponics Stanford Hydroponics have been trading now for 4 years, and have been at their new address for just over a year which their customers seem to love being out of the way, and love the new surroundings too. Easy parking and loading at the front of the shop, where the soils and growing media are ready to go out. Walk up the stairs, sorry no lifts, and you walk into an open planned shop with the counter to your left, fully stocked with all the major nutrient companies food and stimulents and a nice selection of hydro systems ranging from DWC Undercurrent to NFT. All lighting solutions including LED, 315w DayLights, T5’s, CFL’s and HID’s including the 1000w and 600w double ended lamps. When it comes to ventilation Stanford Hydroponics will work out for you what you need if you need them to, they have a good Stanford Hydroponics selection of fans from super quiet to budget and only sell Tel.: 0044-1268-417171 the best filters for peace of mind. Unit 12 Little Malgraves Ind. Open 6 days, Monday to Est., Lower Dunton Road, Friday 9am to 5.30pm and Bulphan Saturday 9am to 4pm and will always have a deal if you need RM14 3TE Upminster, Essex the full kit.
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13
The Law Works in Mysterious Ways "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers"
(William Shakespeare)
Over the past month or two, I've been in touch with a number of people in most of the American states - Washington, Oregon and Colorado - where weed is now fully legal. All of these people were instrumental to some extent in facilitating the legalisation process, and most were both very generous with their time, and keen to assist me with my enquiries. One could call this a fact finding mission, as the idea was to try to gauge the feasibility of doing the same thing here in the UK as they've done in The States. It seems that there was only really two groups particularly vocal in their opposition to the legalisation plan. This being America, one could be forgiven for assuming that these groups were right wing Christian conservatives or something like that, but this would be completely wrong. The fact of the matter is that there was a lot of opposition from people who had been "exploiting profit in the gray area of unregulated and untaxed medical marijuana decriminalization laws"; so reading between the lines here, growers and suppliers making an untaxed killing from the previous legal set up. The other opposing group were the legal profession. This appears to be less about any moral or ethical problems with legalisation (we are talking about lawyers here, after all), and wholly to do with the amount of revenue the defence lawyers will lose through no longer really having anyone to defend (though perhaps they should consider representing the tax dodgers?) For both of these groups, the bottom line is money. More specifically, the money they stood to lose through a change in the law. This change was properly balloted and democratically validated, which is to say more people wanted the change implemented than didn't, but this fact cuts no ice at all with these people. The first of these groups, it strikes me, are basically loophole exploiting tax dodgers, so quasi criminal, and as such it doesn't come as any real surprise that they would have a problem with legalisation. It's been said for many years that the people legalisation of cannabis would hurt most would be those who currently benefit most from it being illegal, which is to say the criminals. This point is being clearly illustrated here, big time. However, it's the second group who should really be hanging their heads in shame here. So many times we hear lawyers loudly objecting to being called "shysters", "ambulance chasers" and so forth, while so many of them behave exactly like this. Little surprise, then, that lawyers generally are regarded with the same levels of mistrust and contempt as politicians by the public at large. Now, I should make it absolutely clear at this point that I'm not talking about all lawyers. As it happens, I've actually met one or two who do seem to be pretty good people, who think beyond buying that new Audi and actually working towards the common good as opposed to filling their bank accounts. Of course, the case I've been discussing comes from America, and it would be great to think that it couldn't happen here. I'm deeply cynical though. The police are calling for change, and there have been moves towards it, purely because there isn't the money to bring cases to court, and when they actually do, they're almost always thrown out. Nobody benefits but the lawyers, people: win or lose, they still get paid. Legalization would take that cash particular cow away, permanently. The quote I used above comes from Henry VI (part 2) and was written by Shakespeare on or around 1591. While I obviously don't condone that we "kill all the lawyers", Shakespeare was clearly onto something. Dr Dee
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A new range of CBD plants In addition to listing THC-rich strains, the Dinafem 2016 catalogue is designed
Amnesia CBD
to meet the future market demand for legal plants with CBD content for both recreational and medicinal uses. In this article, Dinafem’s I+D area manager, Dr. Kush illustrates the seed bank’s new breakthroughs. In the past, all recreational strains were high in THC, with a comparatively low or virtually inexistent CBD content, meaning that the psychoactive effects were very high. The beneficial properties of CBD were first discovered in 1981 by Dr. Mechoulam.
ers. It was a fun CBD tasting day with plenty of good conversation. That evening Dr. Kush made an arrangement with them to purchase a CBD-rich genetic base to be paid not only in cash but also through recognition.
The highest priced products on the black market are those with high psychoactive effects. For home growing, however, where production is regulated and the focus is more on public health, there is more room for other types of plants. We no longer live in a time of illegal whisky with 60% alcohol. Times have changed and new products have entered the market, such as lemon-flavoured beer with only 2% alcohol content.
After setting up a lab expressly equipped to test these plants, a large quantity of seeds were selected in order to maximise CBD production. As Dr. Kush put it: “This was the most extensive selection ever made by us at Dinafem”. The endpoints of this trial were the production of several female champions with CBD quantities in excess of 20% and THC quantities below 1%, plus other interesting qualities, i.e. tremendous strengths, high resin quality, high yield, intense smell and purple tones. There are also a number of excellent male plants.
Dinafem wishes to offer consumers and growers new, easier-to-use, less potent products with reduced side effects. These products may also be safer, given their neuroprotective and antipsychotic properties, which make them more effective cannabis plants for medicinal use, especially in the healthcare sector. This is underscored by the fact that they can be consumed intensively without a ‘morning-after’ effect and, for this very reason, become part of a more balanced, holistic approach to medicine that avoids the use of a single therapeutic agent. Looking ahead, given the emergence of a global market in legal and medicinal marihuana, there will be a better balance in cannabinoid content in the future, with more targeted uses. Dinafem is thinking about boosting this product family given its future role in the cannabis scene. That is why they are now concentrating on an I+D line, where this concept has been embraced so as to offer more balanced products. Of course, the new catalogue also includes Amnesia Kush, a variety designed for THC fanatics, but the remaining items are also all high in CBD content. Among the other breakthroughs of the new 2016 Dinafem catalogue to meet the new market demand, they are also working extensively on new flavours. As Dr. Kush explained: “Our work is meant for the legal market, we are heading in a new direction. All genetics will be grown legally, in a regulated market with advanced agricultural methods through which genetics will be tested professionally”. This new catalogue is therefore meant for growers operating in a legal market, with an exhaustive range of ratios, colours and bloom times and also a full range of cannabinoid and terpenoid profiles.
Amnesia CBD, Cheese CBD and Bubba Kush CBD
Two years ago, in early spring 2014, Dr. Kush visited Jimmi and Ana, two Reggae Seeds breed-
After testing the best parents, a playoff selection took place with two finalists, a father and a mother both high in CBD. The female was crossed with elite high-yielding clones with high cannabinoid content to obtain new crossbreeds for the new season, i.e. Amnesia CBD, Cheese CBD and Bubba Kush CBD, all with more CBD than THC and a total cannabinoid content ranging from 15% to 20%.
Purple Orange CBD
The genetic base is Californian. The crossing of a California Orange with a Diesel resulted in a plant with Sativa features, i.e. thin leaves and a bright colour, combined with a Diesel citric taste. For its birthplace, taste and CBD content, its genetics seem to be associated with that of the current CBD wave. When Dinafem received this genetic base, its CBD content was unknown, as the first selection was merely meant to retain an exquisite citric taste. The Ganjazz club too made its own selection. When harvests were analysed, before dispensing seeds to its partners, they discovered their high CBD content. The second selection was subsequently made from a large quantity of regular seeds. In this phase, plants were sorted based on visual inspections and lab tests. Interestingly enough, a few individuals had a CBD:THC ratio of 3:1, i.e. three CBD parts for every THC part. At the end, a dozen champion mothers were selected, all with a high cannabinoid content. The final selection was made for the best possible performance in terms of smell, large resin and chalice quantities, and few leaves, plus a purple colour. No question about it! The selection process was extensive to achieve outstanding mothers in all respects. This selection was followed by the production of a feminised Purple Orange CBD strain, which
J. Searcher
presented various CBD:THC ratios; the most typical being 3:1, although some individuals had 2:1 or 1:1, with nearly 15% average cannabinoid content. Other distinctive characteristics included a citric Diesel taste, nice purple tones, a high yield, a satisfactory quantity of chalices and a Sativa structure.
Amnesia Kush
Industrial Autoflowering CBD and Haze Autoflowering CBD
For the first time, Dinafem has included autoflowering CBD-rich plants in its catalogue. These strains are meant for inexperienced growers wishing to produce CBD-rich cannabis for medicinal or recreational uses, with moderate cannabinoid content and, therefore, a more balanced effect. Great taste was achieved both in Haze Autoflowering CBD, and Industrial Plant Autoflowering CBD, both inheriting the taste of their mothers, with no trace of typical autoflowering flavour. For their improved appearance, these products cannot be assimilated to conventional autos. Another interesting aspect is their growth speed, with maturity reached in 70 days maximum. They have a good structure, with dense, fleshy and almost leafless buds.
Bubba Kush CBD
Critical Mass CBD, Shark Shock CBD and Moby Dick CBD
These early CBD-rich plants were presented by Dinafem in several past seasons, in a project developed in association with the ‘CBD Crew’ seed bank and designed to create versions of Critical Mass, Shark Shock and Moby Dick with a more balanced effect achieved, again, by proportionately increasing the CBD quantity vs. that of THC. Tastes achieved are awesome with a clear presence of the original flavours.
Conclusions
THC-rich plants featured in seed bank catalogues are the direct consequence of cannabis prohibition. The world is however gradually moving towards legalisation, which means that more balanced strains will soon be in high demand for different uses. Of course, the new Dinafem catalogue includes a plant with a high THC content, Amnesia Kush, but also CBD-rich products (such as Amnesia CBD, Cheese CBD and Bubba Kush CBD), a plant with medium-to-high CBD content (Purple Orange CBD), and, finally, two autoflowering plants with medium CBD content (Industrial Plant Autoflowering CBD and Haze Autoflowering CBD). These products are not only meant for medicinal use but can also apply to a large number of recreational uses, with a more balanced and targeted effect to reach concentration at work or simply to enjoy its psychoactive but not devastating effect.
Cheese CBD
OG Kush CBD
BUBBA KUSH CBD
AMNESIA CBD
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CHEESE CBD
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HAZE AUTO CBD
INDUSTRIAL PLANT AUTO CBD
PURPLE ORANGE CBD
EUROPEAN WHOLESALER
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The evolution of DXWRƌRZHULQJ JHQHWLFV 2QH RI WKH ELJJHVW VWRULHV LQ UHFHQW FDQQDELV HYROXWLRQ KDV EHHQ WKH DUULYDO RI WKH ODWHVW KLJK SHUIRUPDQFH DXWRIORZHULQJ FDQQDELV YDULHWLHV 7KH EHVW DXWR JHQHWLFV IURP WKH SUHPLXP EUHHGHUV QRZ URXWLQHO\ RXW \LHOG SKRWRSHULRG YDULHWLHV JURZQ RYHU WKH VDPH WLPHVFDOHV $QG SRWHQF\ RI WKH EHVW DXWRV KDV been the same as photoperiod varieties for several years. The evolution and SURJUHVV RI DXWRV WR WKH WRS WDEOH RI WKH FDQQDELV ZRUOG KDV EHHQ QRWKLQJ VKRUW RI GUDPDWLF $QG ZKDW PDNHV LW D ELJJHU VXUSULVH LV WKH IDFW WKDW YHU\ IHZ SHRSOH WKRXJKW WKDW DXWRV ZRXOG HYHU PDNH LW 6R KRZ GLG DOO WKLV FRPH DERXW" $QG ZKHUH DUH DXWRV HYHQWXDOO\ KHDGLQJ LQ WKH ORQJ WHUP" By Tony, Dutch Passion Seed Company, Amsterdam.
1st generation autos. Proof of concept, but more work to do..
The first autos were brought to the mainstream by the Joint Doctor following his work in the 80’s and 90’s stabilising the genetics which would allow cannabis to bloom regardless of the light cycle. Many refer to these pre-2005 genetics as the 1st generation autos. The Joint Doctor managed to bypass the fundamental rules of cannabis which stated that a plant would only bloom when daily light hours were reduced to around 12 hours. By allowing the auto cannabis plant to bloom under 20+ hours of daily light the plant would have a new photosynthetic advantage over photoperiod varieties. Biomass and bud production
under 20 hours of daily light was of course much higher than that which would be possible under just 12 hours of daily light. But that was the theory. The only problem was that the first generation of autoflowering cannabis varieties lacked potency and yield, plants were often dwarflike. For the short sighted breeders in the cannabis community that was proof positive that autos were incapable of mainstream success. But the rest of us saw something much more interesting, and work continued.
2nd generation autos. Almost there, but not quite.
The 1st generation of autos showed a glimpse of the auto dream - bloom-
ing under 20 hours of daily light. It was a fantasy of most serious breeders. One of the great ironies of cannabis breeding is that the light energy has to be cut dramatically in order to initiate bloom. Just when you want to be able to supply maximum energy to your plants, instead you have to reduce daily light to 12 hours. But thanks to modern autoflowering genetics, cannabis can bloom in constant light. Now that the photo-gene had been bypassed the home grower could bathe their blooms in an extra 8+ hours of light per day. More light means more biomass, and continued refinements to the auto gene pool saw larger plants with improved potency and yield. Here is where some of the really hard work began as autos began to be crossed and back crossed to improve the overall genetic composition. There were varying levels of success, some of the seed banks were able to move the genetics along faster than the others. During this time different breeders experimented with different breeding techniques and tricks to push potency and yield. In Dutch Passion we refer to these as the 2nd generation autos which were mainly seen in the years from 2005 to 2010. Results were improved, the early adopters liked what they saw, but wanted more.
AutoBlackberry Kush
AutoUltimate in DWC
AutoMazar
3rd generation autos. The wait was worth it.
AutoBlackberry Kush
The 3rd generation autos are those that we see from the premium seed banks today. The best auto homegrowers routinely harvest 100-200g+ from their autos, and simply can’t distinguish between the potency of their autos and photoperiod varieties. An additional benefit of the best 3rd generation autos is that they can be grown under 24 hour light, at least that is true of the better seed banks. But a word of caution, there is still a large gap
18 between the best seed banks (who offer genuine 3rd generation auto genetics) and the rest of the seed banks, many of whom are still struggling with inconsistencies in yield and potency. There are some great auto genetics out there, but that is only half the story, you also need the experience, know-how and techniques to be able to produce the seeds consistently.
week or two and harvest a mature female from the same tent as they mature. It allows a constant stream of plants from just 1 grow room. The staggered harvesting possibilities gives you fresh cannabis on a regular basis with just a single tent, as well as minimising the numbers of mature plants. And all this extra convenience with heavier harvests and no loss of quality – it’s an attrac-
some of the 3 metre tall photoperiod monster varieties. And autos are the only real way to get a mid-summer cannabis harvest. Growers in mediterranean climates can grow 2 or 3 successive auto crops in Spring, Summer and Autumn. Its a great way of organising your home growing in a way that minimises plant numbers and provides cannabis harvests at various stages in the year.
but one thing we have learned is never under-estimate the ingenuity of the determined cannabis breeder. After all, as every cannabis grower already knows, rules are there to be broken!
AutoMazar
AutoUltimate under LED’s AutoBlackberry Kush
Auto genetics for the home grower.
Simply being able to match the potency of the best photoperiod varieties wouldn’t be enough to guarantee the acceptance of autos. It was the convenience and simplicity of autos which would be the real appeal to the average home grower. Many auto growers have forgotten the old concept of a bloom-phase and veg-phase of their home grows. There is no need for separate veg and bloom tents, many people just set their auto tent on a perpetual light cycle of 20 hours (or even 24 hours) of daily light. You can pop a new auto seed into the tent every
tive and simple way of growing which is gathering more and more fans.
Autos for outdoor growing.
Outdoor growers choose autos for an earlier harvest than is possible with photoperiod varieties. Indoors, most autos grow from seed to harvest in 10-11 weeks. Outdoors, autos often take an extra couple of weeks if the temperatures (especially night temperatures) are cool. Many outdoor growers like to plant a crop of autos after the last frost, around the start of summer. Auto plants tend to stay around a metre tall outdoors, this makes them easier to hide than
What next for autos?
You can expect more initiatives and surprises from the breeders, though they may not want to talk too publicly about their plans. You can expect to see more CBDrich auto varieties for medical growers. There will be autos that grow with unrecognisable leaf shapes that can be grown without anyone realising its cannabis. One dream is for an ‘ever-green’ auto, which would grow under 24-hour light and keep producing blooms for you to harvest almost indefinitely. Some of these ideas may be a few years away yet,
AutoMazar
DUTCH KUSH Dutch Kush is the newest variety from Paradise Seeds - an elite classic Kush strain crossed with the best of Dutch genetics. Fit for couch lock surfers and medical users seeking ultimate tranquility; a powerful and relaxing indica that grows big and finishes quick (8 – 9 weeks). It comes with all the force you would expect from a resinous strain famed for its hash producing qualities. Plants are characterised by their multi-branching with exceptional calyx development. The buds this plant produces are super dense and resin gushes from its flowers! Once in flower, the aroma really bursts through strong and pungent, giving a taste of earthy caramel, coffee and citrus with a skunky undertone. Its medical qualities are superb: a great antidote to insomnia and stress and also an excellent choice for medical patients who are looking for a natural treatment to manage pain and bring relief.
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GROW WITH ED ROSENTHAL
Far-Red Lamps I decided to test my theory, so in late June I placed four 730 nm (far-red) lamps over several plants to see whether I could induce early flowering by turning them on at dusk. I set up a group of controls to test my theory. The controls were exposed to natural light during the day but not the far-red lamps at day’s end. First, I planned my experimental garden. I set the plants up in a homemade deep-water culture system, where they grew well. A 9.525 mm braided nylon rope was used as the wick to draw water from the bottom of the container. Then the water was wicked up through the planting mix as the roots removed it. About a week later, July 1, the nutrient mix was changed from vegetative to flowering formula and the EC was kept at 550-600 ppm and the pH at about 6. Water and nutrients were added as needed to maintain those levels. During the summer months, the trays needed additional water and nutrients about twice a week. However, the system could have also been automated with the addition of a float valve attached to a reservoir, such as a large bucket that is installed above the water level.
In the summer of 2015, I decided to design an experiment with a few far-red lamps I had been waiting to use. The purpose of this experiment was to test and record the changes, if any, of adding far-red lamps to a controlled indoor grow. I hoped the far-red light would induce early flowering in the few plants placed directly under the added light. An induction fluorescent was mounted on a sidewall that delivered light only to the middle of the garden. The plants close to either the front or rear door received no light from the fixture. These plants were my experimental “controls”. By early August the experimental plants had been under the influence of the far-red lamps for more than five weeks. The results were unexpected. The
far-red light did not speed up flowering time. I still think the theory is valid, but I don’t think these lamps delivered enough intensity to trigger the phytochrome reaction I was looking for. However, without realizing it, I had inadvertently set up another experiment. By placing a 300-watt induction fluorescent in the middle of the experimental area so that some of the plants received five hours of extra illu-
mination during the lighted times, but were still shaded parts of the day. None of these plants received the far-red light treatment. There was also a third group of plants that could also be considered a control.They were on the other side of the fluorescents, opposite the far-red light treatment and received neither far-red nor extra light. The result was that the flowers on the plants receiving the supplemental fluorescent light were more developed by 7-10 days at the end of five weeks than either the ones receiving the far-red light or no supplemental lighting. The control, which received no supplemental lighting and the far-red light treated plants, both showed the same slower flower development. This indicates that less intense light slows flower development and ripening. This is in addition to reducing yield and quality. Expect plants grown in shade or under cloud cover to yield less in more time. However, you can improve yield and shorten ripening time with nominal supplemental light. By the first week in September, a month later, the
The plants under induction fluorescent matured first. The others needed several weeks to ripen
Bud close-up - filled trichomes are apparent
A mature bud
A farmer’s favorite moment-Harvest!
21
Far-red lights are hanging on the right side. Fluorescent is in the middle. Plants without light supplementation are on the left.
The fluorescent is on during shady time. It lights up plants in front of it, not off to the side. by day. Increasing light to the shaded part of the garden, especially when the plants are maturing, is even more beneficial. Supplementing the natural light with light from induction fluorescents, white LEDs or metal halides adds brightness, but is usually not noticeable to casual passerby since all of their spectrums are close to natural light.
Plant tops with far-red or fluorescent supplementation.
The plants under the light were harvested September 3. The controls were harvested 12 days later—but by that time the weather had changed. Oakland, a coastal city in California, experiences high humidity. With the temperature dropping at night to 13° C and the plants spending a large part of the time in the 13 - 21° C range, it was almost inevitable the plants would be attacked by powdery mildew (PM). We tried controlling it using a 10% milk solution and herbal fungicides, but the attack was overwhelming. The second part of the harvest was not worth our collection efforts because of the looser buds resulting from late September’s lower light levels and widespread attacks of powdery mildew. So, the use of supplemental light resulted in higher yields of the light enriched plants, and also decreased ripening time,
Close-up of bud under fluorescent supplementation. Flower development has accelerated. plants showed marked differences based on their placement, rather than on variety. The buds closest to the bulb and in direct contact with sunlight were the first to ripen. Buds on the same plant that received less light were a few days behind, but the side plants, which received no supplemental light, were two weeks or more from ripening. This outcome is consistent with other studies regarding daily light integral (DLI). It represents the total amount of light usable by the plant over a 24-hour period. The theory is that growth and maturity is dependent upon the amount of light the plant receives. In this experiment, neither the enriched light
plants nor the controls were receiving the maximum light they could process, but the enriched light plants were receiving considerably more than the controls. Therefore, any difference in growth or maturity, not variety related would be attributed to the increase in light of the experimental group. The result was that the experimental group did grow larger and mature faster than the control group. The result of this experiment has practical applications: supplementing natural light with additional intensity from electrical sources increases the yield while shortening ripening time. The light can be used to supplement the whole garden in the fall, when natural light intensity is diminishing day
Close-up of buds hanging
Close-up of top receiving far-red supplementation. Flowering has not been affected.
22
Branches trimmed from stem, ready to manicure
Plants hanging in a cool room to dry and cure. The process takes about three weeks saving the crop from the onslaughts of fall weather. The uncut plants were hung in an unheated room for about three weeks. The temperature in the space stayed in the cool range of about 15-21° C. The buds dried but retained some pliability; perfect for smoking—not overdried to stale and crisp.A friend then manicured the four plants. The two Jack hybrids weighed 68 grams and 87 grams respectively. Two unknown hybrids weighed 80 grams and 53 grams, respectively, a total of 288 grams. All the buds were moderate size but tight and fully loaded with trichomes.
The buds were placed in clean glass jars and will be stored in a refrigerator at about 7° C, which will keep them fresh. Since the phytochrome far-red light experiment is completed with negative results I am removing the lights from the room. I plan to install more lights that will go on during the day, during the time the plants are in shade. I anticipate that this will increase yield and speed growth and ripening. I will leave control plants without supplemental lighting to see the difference.
Three of the varieties have been manicured. The fourth is about to be transformed
All the buds were tight
The cups runneth over. More jars are needed to store the buds
The Jack hybrid produced some tight long buds with great color and mixed aroma.
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25
)ULVLDQ 'XFN RXWGRRU plant of the year! Dutch Passion have been awarded the ‘Outdoor Plant of 2016’ award by Soft Secrets Spain for their Frisian Duck feminized photoperiod variety. Frisian Duck grows with a stabilised natural webbed leaf deformity. The unusual leaf shape makes it difficult to identify as cannabis, and combined with the light aroma Frisian Duck has become a hit with outdoor growers. Frisian Duck is the first cannabis variety using the ducksfoot genetics which is tough enough to grow outdoors in a Northern European summer. Frisian Duck looks so unlike traditional cannabis that even experienced growers have found it hard to believe that the leaf shape really does belong to a cannabis plant. She is ready to harvest at the start of October in the Northern Hemisphere. Dutch Passion spent several years creating the Frisian Duck variety following numerous customer requests for a stealth cannabis variety with 100% natural camouflage. The genetics came from a selective crossing and back crossing of their Frisian Dew genetics in combination with Ducksfoot until the outdoor toughness was achieved in combination with the unrecognisable leaf shape. Dutch Passion are rumoured to be close to releasing an autoflowering version of this variety. www.dutch-passion.com
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STRAIN REPORT
Kosher Kush LIGHTING : Budmaster O.D 6 NUTRIENTS : Advanced Nutrients ( Reverse Osmosis Water ), Jungle Juice Grow, Jungle Juice Bloom, Sensizym and Nirvana. SYSTEM : Aeroflow - SCROG VEGGING : 14 Days BLOOMING : 58 Days YIELD : 544g dry off 4 clones I was gifted 4 Kosher Kush clones and decided to grow them in my L.E.D grow room. I have grown many strains from Reserva Privada and I was certainly excited to grow this one hydroponically. This grow room has a Budmaster L.E.D O.D 6 which is
Kosher Kush produces small hard nugs
adding additional CO2 to the water supply and air, also the water I will be using will be reverse osmosis water so my E.C levels remain as low as possible. The clones are growing taller now and beginning to form a single main cola with strong side branching. The stems are thin yet woody and tough and the twigs of leaves have a dark blood red glow about them. This strain is not a huge feeder and on the same hand not the biggest yielder, but with strains like Kosher Kush, it is all about headstash. I add a screen made from plastic pea netting and allow all of the side branches and tops to grow through, as you can easy grow this strain without a screen but I always find it easier to control my tops this way. As the first week of flowering is close, I reduce the humidity down to 50% and will take it down to 40% by week 3 of flower.I switch my feed also and now using Jungle Juice Grow and Sensizym and Nirvana, my roots are like white noodles and flowing all the way down the water tray of the aeroflow. I change my temps so they are 22 degrees and check room humidity. I do not want mold on the precious buds when they do form. After 10 days of blooming and the pistils are growing thick and the plants are coated in trichomes. I keep feeding them until day 30 of bloom where by now they have shot up in size and filled out. Flushing with only R/O water
AFTER DAY 40, THE SMELL IS INTENSE IN THE GROW ROOM AND YOU CERTAINLY NEED GOOD AIR FILTRATION SYSTEM FOR THIS STRAIN! a powerful light and uses 300w of electricity . I will be using an Aeroflow system and using Advanced Nutrients. For this grow I have decided to grow with microbial life so will use Piranha, Tarantula and Voodoo combined. I start by placing the clones into 2 inch net pots and let the roots hang down into the water chamber of the aeroflow. I have a smart bit of tech that shines a UV light into my reservoir which actually kills any pathogens or unwanted microbes. I use reverse osmosis water also so I have super clean and soft water.Once the clones are in the net pots and in the system, I add a mix of microbes and give the roots the best possible start. It is very important to make sure you have enough aeration in your water supply and are aware which temps are better suited for faster microbial growth. The clones will be vegged for 2 weeks only and flowered for 8 weeks as with this system the growth rate is wild. The clones look strong and happy and after 7 days feed them Jungle Juice Grow and Sensizym with Nirvana. By the second week I will feed once more again and switch to Jungle Juice Bloom. The temps are 24 degrees and the humidity is 65% and there is a very good draft around the bottom and tops of the plants. I have fresh air being pulled in from outside as well as
A freshly trimmed Kosher Kush plant
for the last 14 days will ensure the final taste is as good as I hope for. After day 40, the smell is intense in the grow room and you certainly need good air filtration system for this strain! In 2 weeks they will be fully done and ready for flush now. By using a dehumidifier, I manage to get the water levels in the air perfect for blooming The room humidity is 41% which I am happy with and my air flow around the plants is perfect. The beauty of using this Budmaster is there is no heat at all really so can play with the canopy again and pull the branches and main shoots out towards the light more. After this point, I will avoid moving anymore branches through the screen and let the buds grow and swell up nicely. Day 45 and the calyxes are now pointing up slighting and swelling until the point of the buds hard to touch. From the looks of things and having smoked this Kush variety before, the buds will grow to be smaller nugs that really pack a punch and if you're going for a commercially viable big yield, Kosher Kush is not the one but for taste and high is elite. Day 50 and these girls are sugar coated and ready for a chop in one week. The smell of the Kosher Kush is awesome and really dank. The buds are super oily and stink the room out as soon as you touch the plants. To look at the buds you see a dark green with hints of purple. The build up of trichomes is immense and it looks like sugar dipped buds. I will leave for one more week feeding only plain water in the reservoir to ensure a properly flushed final product. On day 57, the Kosher Kush is harvested and dried and the screen is removed so branches can be cut off to hang. This strain is really easy to trim as the fan leaves just snap off and the remaining sugar leaf is a matter of snipping away. My dry room is a small room I have in my house with a small gentle breeze running through out. This room is perfect for drying and have had great results before in here. After 8 days the buds are dry enough to be weighed and put in the curing jar. My final weight is 544g of dry stinking kush after 70 days of hard work..it was well worth it. This strain is notorious for its smoky kushy deep taste and knock out high. The buds are tight and greasy and stink to touch. I make extract with the leaves and the bubble hash is to die for and when you grind up a dry nug, the smell and aroma is pungent and almost overbearing. I definitely recommend this strain to anyone who smokes and licks their lips in search of the kushy dankness. Perhaps next time I will veg the clones for say 6 weeks and flower for 8 weeks to expect maybe twice the yield.
Femi
n ised S ee ds
NEW ·
W · NEW
W · NE NE · NEW ·
Crystal Candy® This strain was developed within a special programme of the Sweet Seeds’ R&D Department that was focused in the search for curious, exquisite and subtle sweet aromas that evoke aromatic sensations of candy shop. The aroma of this variety is sweet and fruity, with tones of chewing gum and fruit jellies, mixed with hints of acid strawberry and mature melon.
Variety SWS58 Secret Ingredients Indica/Sativa: 60%/40% Indoor Blooming: 9 weeks Outdoor Harvest: mid to late September
This variety is a big producer of aromatic resin crystals that completely cover the flowers and their surrounding leaves with a very high density of long, large-headed trichomes. The plants look like Indica-Sativa polyhybrids, very vigorous and productive, with big buds and long side branches.
3s+1s
19,00 €
5s+2s
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32/Ζ7Ζ&6
7+( &+$1*Ζ1* )$&( 2) 8. &$11$%Ζ6 32/Ζ&< $ *$0( 2) 61$.(6 $1' /$''(56 Ζ YH KDG DQ DFWLYH LQWHUHVW LQ 8. FDQQDELV SROLF\ IRU ORQJHU WKDQ PDQ\ FDQQDELV Against change... XVHUV KDYH EHHQ DOLYH DQG Ζ YH EHHQ D FRQWULEXWRU WR 6RIW 6HFUHWV QRZ IRU Parliament The only groups who appear consistently VRPHWKLQJ OLNH D GR]HQ \HDUV *LYHQ ERWK RI WKHVH Ζ YH EHHQ WDVNHG ZLWK ZULWLQJ surprised by the levels of cannabis consumption DQ DUWLFOH ORRNLQJ DW KRZ SROLF\ KDV FKDQJHG VLQFH WKH EHJLQQLQJ RI WKLV FHQWXU\ (both medical and recreational) here in the by Dr Dee A bit of background. As far as policy goes, through the 1990's, very little changed. On the other hand, the cannabis scene changed radically as resin lost its share of the market to weed. This started off gradually then gained pace from the mid '90's onwards, until resin was all but obsolete by the
Team for counselling and support (note: it's interesting how the assumption was made that the users would be "youths"). This is described as "depenalisation" rather than "decriminalisation". While the pilot didn't see an increase in cannabis use, it did save the police considerable time and
UK appear to be the politicians and the media, and increasingly this is being regarded by many (myself included) as disingenuous and hypocritical, given how many of them now admit to having used themselves with little or no detrimental effects. The media and politicians have a symbiotic (actually parasitic) relationship, and often it's hard to see who calls the shots. This year a petition of some 200,000 people forced a debate on the legal status of cannabis in parliament. Very few MP's attended this, having apparently been instructed by their parties to "stay away".
The whole matter is still regarded by politicians of the two big parties as a sure fire vote loser which indicates how far out of touch they are with the voters. It also indicates a quite astonishing level of
turn of the century. A point of note here is that the growing techniques that had allowed herbal cannabis to take over the market also contributed (in combination with hybridisation techniques) to a sharp increase in the potency of the product. The days of poor to average strength "home grown" became a thing of the past. Since 2000 there have been a number of prevalence studies conducted in an attempt to give an idea of the number of cannabis users in the UK. The results of these tend to vary hugely: use has increased sharply, use has decreased sharply, use has remained static except in over 40's and so on. Which one do you believe? One certainty in all of this is that there is always a lot of cannabis about, much of it allegedly supplied by organized professional criminals, so it's not too much of a leap to assume that there is a big demand despite what the prevalence figures say. 2001 saw the introduction of "The Lambeth Pilot Cannabis Scheme" where, rather than be arrested for possession, the cannabis was confiscated and the individual referred to the Youth Offender
resources. At the end of the trial period, the whole thing seems to have been quietly shelved. 2003 saw cannabis "downgraded" from Class B to Class C, meaning possession would no longer be an arrestable offence. Again, the idea behind it was to "free up" police time and resources and allow them to focus on serious crime. The change was implemented in 2004. This caused a lot of controversy within the government of the day and in January 2009 cannabis was moved back to Class B (against the advice of their own experts), where it remains.
What a shambles.
Now it's 2016, and there definitely appears to be a change coming. Some of this change is coming from the ground up with individuals flagrantly flouting the law and finding that nothing is happening to them. There are a number of other factors at play though, some of them quite unexpected, but all of them affecting policy directly or indirectly. Let's take a brief look at some of them.
contempt for those same voters. The Liberal Democrats are now taking a bold stance on legalisation, but are unlikely to get very far with it as they don't seem to have many heavy hitting media friends. In short, there's very little realistic prospect of parliament listening to the pro-legalisation voices. Big Pharma This is closely intertwined with medical cannabis. It's been rumoured that the big pharmaceutical companies have been instrumental in preventing the legalisation of cannabis, both at home and abroad (though one could say the same about the alcohol industry). This makes some sense, where these companies are all about profit and shareholders. They spend billions developing drugs and trialling them. All of this has to be recouped. From a financial point of view, something that "cures" could arguably be seen as a bad thing: much better would be something that "works" but doesn't "cure" and has to be taken (and paid for) over a long period of time. What they don't want is something that seems to do - at the very least - the same thing, with less
30 side effects, and potentially at a fraction of the cost; cannabis is, after all, just a plant. Events in America over the past few years make me less sure that this is actually the case. That said, however, in the UK we have a government who seem intent on the commodification of everything, right down to the fundamental essentials of life, in order to turn a profit.
However, a real development in the medical cannabis arena that has become clear over the past decade (and is becoming clearer with every passing week, it seems) is that cannabis also is effective at treating the very conditions it has long been held to actually cause, which is to say mental health problems. For a long time, prohibitionist science held that cannabis "causes" depression and anxiety; there's very strong emerging evidence
discrediting medical use to an extent as the idea of putting smoke in one's lungs (whether with or without tobacco) was regarded as having questionable therapeutic value. The introduction of cheap and effective vaping devices will see this practice decline.
that this is not the case. Prohibitionist science held that cannabis "causes" schizophrenia and other psychotic illness; again, there's growing a body of evidence pointing to this being incorrect. In fact, it is looking as though some of the many compounds found within the cannabis plant can not only be used as treatments for a range of these illnesses, but may actually prevent their
immediate impacts on mental health have been noted. These appear to be strongly correlated with mental health problems and a number of fatalities. Of note is the fact that in those places where cannabis is legal, synthetic variants have largely disappeared. People want to use cannabis but don't necessarily want to break the law.
Synthetic Cannabis The appearance of synthetic cannabinoids and their
Austerity This may be the deciding factor in where cannabis policy eventually ends up. As mentioned above, the police have called for a review of how cannabis offences are handled because their budgets are being squeezed, and they simply don't have the resources to prosecute cannabis users and low level growers and suppliers.
It would also appear that there are a number of pretty powerful anti legalisation people in government and the sciences who have interests in the pharmaceutical industry, causing a further impediment.
For change...
Medical Cannabis One thing that has become properly, abundantly, and verifiably clear is the medical value of cannabis, and this will be a huge driver in cannabis reform in the future. For many years, the very idea of medical cannabis was largely a source of either concern or amusement to both the mainstream scientific community (the evidence of thousands of scientific papers to the contrary notwithstanding) and to the political classes. But users and people suffering from a range of debilitating medical complaints knew otherwise. The problem was, that for many years, these same people (and we really should now refer to them as "pioneers") were prosecuted for growing and/or possession of a plant they knew was effective in alleviating their symptoms, and mostly without the attendant unpleasant side effects from "licensed" and "sanctioned" pharmaceutical medications. If they were unfortunate enough to be busted, the outcome always seemed to depend on some really quite spurious factors such as where they lived geographically, the mood of the arresting officer, the mood of the judge and the mood of the media (local, national and international) regarding medical cannabis at the time. There rarely seemed to be much consistency to the sentencing and this could range from a fine to a custodial sentence.
The Police Some regional forces decriminalisation while others want full legalisation. It's clear that many of them want a change. A number of police forces in England (such as Durham) have implemented what seems to be ad hoc decriminalisation, whereas other forces continue to adopt the "turning a blind eye" approach. What these informal approaches can mean is that in countries with multi-region police forces (such as England) this inconsistency can lead to "interpretation issues".
Anyone even vaguely in the know about this will be aware of the sorts of medical conditions cannabis benefits: AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, menstrual cramps and so on. What these have in common is that they are largely physical health conditions.
occurrence in the first place (however, this last very much comes down to the balance of THC and CBD found in specific strains).
In Scotland, where they now have one police force for the whole country, a move approved by the lawmakers has been in force since January 2016 where individuals in possession of single amounts (supposedly) up to 1oz will not be arrested. Many are interpreting this as de facto decriminalisation. This move is contrary to the Westminster view of how these things should be properly handled.
One final point here is that the smoking of cannabis has always been a way of
All of the moves by the police come down to one big factor: money. Which leads us into...
The bigger factor is that there is a real opportunity for cash strapped economies to generate a lot of income, but to do this is going to take an unequivocal change in the law. In 2010, the EU published a statement proclaiming that they (the EU): "...will not block any initiative of EU Member States to start the legal regulation of cannabis and other currently illegal drugs." An EU press release mentioned that the estimated total amount of revenue generated by “a combination of measures” could be between €35 billion and €60 billion to the EU alone. This, in my view, is what will be the ultimate decider in the question of cannabis policy. And this is where the government have their big problem: they love money (it's an ideological thing), but want to keep as much of it as they can for themselves and their pals in big business. As mentioned, cannabis is just a plant, and how do you stop people just growing their own? And there you have it. Running through nearly all of the above is one thing: money. Money, whether it's a lack of it or plain greed is what will ultimately bring the big change, and my own view is that this is a terrible pity. Parting caveat: be careful what you wish for.
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LEDs and Heat
All electrical devices create heat, and LEDs are no exception. One of the difficulties of creating the first high-power light-emitting diode was to keep the chip from melting! All the energy consumed by an LED is converted into either light or heat. The more efficient the LED, the greater the amount of light produced and the smaller the amount of heat. For example, a high-quality blue or white LED that consumes roughly 2.4 watts, and converts 50 percent of its input into light, produces about 1.2 watts of heat. That may not sound like much heat. But the LED is concentrated into a super thin chip (1 mm × 1 mm). If the chip were 30 mm × 30 mm it would generate over 1000 watts of heat! A low-quality LED that converts only 20 percent of the electricity to light generates about 1.92 watts of heat. The heat must be removed or the chip will overheat and fail. The cooler the LED stays, the more efficiently it will operate (produce more light) and the longer it will last. The emitter (LED chip) on high-end LEDs is mounted on a base made of a special heat-conductive ceramic. Less expensive LEDs use a small piece of metal known as a “slug.”
This photo was taken a few minutes after the previous one. Toni (see chapter 13, Case Study #2), the photographer, changed the light setting on his camera to show a different spectrum of light.
Next the LED is soldered to a special circuit board that is designed to transfer heat. The metal core printed circuit board (MCPCB) is made from a layer of aluminum covered with a thin layer of a material that conducts heat well but does not conduct electricity. This is the dielectric layer. The higher the thermal conductivity (measured in watts per kelvin [W/K]), the better. Inexpensive boards have a conductivity of about 0.5 W/K, better
quality boards have a rating of 1 W/K, and the highest quality boards have a rating of 2.2 W/K. A bit of copper is placed on top of the dielectric layer to conduct electricity and provide solder pads for mounting the LEDs and a protective layer. These circuit boards are often mounted to a heat sink that could have a cooling fan. Some lights have the LEDs mounted on conventional plastic circuit boards to save money. These plastic boards do no conduct heat well and will cause the LEDs to overheat and fail very quickly.
LED Power Ratings
Much confusion surrounds LED power ratings. LEDs are rated in watts. However, this rating is not the actual power consumption of LEDs in watts. The wattage rating of LEDs (1, 3, 5, 10 watts, etc.) is actually a class or family rating, and bears no real relationship to the actual power consumed by the LED. 1-watt LEDs operate at 350 mA 3-watt LEDs operate at 700 mA 5-watt LEDs operate at 1000 mA 10-watt LEDs operate at 1500 mA Note: Larger LEDs require higher, voltages and are less efficient.
All high-quality LEDs in these EVO LED 70 fixtures are made by Cree. Each 70 cm fixture contains four groups of LEDs. Each group of 9 LEDs provides 15 watts, for a total of 60 watts.
The “wattage classes” were set to standardize power supplies, and so that LEDs from different manufacturers could be combined within the same fixture. The standards were intended for white and blue LEDs only. The name of each rating (class) was fairly accurate—a 3-watt LED did consume about 3 watts. But the efficiency of LEDs has increased dramatically, and the volt-
age required to drive the LED to 700 mA has dropped. Today the average 3-watt white or blue LED consumes about 2.4 watts. Different colors of LEDs of the same class consume different amounts of power, because different colors use different materials and require different voltages. Wattage is calculated by Ohm’s Law. The formula is: watts = volts × amperes (W = V × A) Here is a breakdown of the actual power drawn by 3-watt-class LEDs of several different colors. Red/hyper red—2.4 volts, actual wattage at 700 mA is 2.4 volts × 0.7 watts = 1.68 watts Blue/royal blue/white—3.4 volts, actual wattage at 700 mA is 3.4 volts × 0.7 watts = 2.38 watts
Brilliance
When LEDs are “ganged” or grouped together, they can produce enough light to grow medical cannabis. An LED fixture must be 12 inches (30.5 cm) or less from plants to be an effective light source for cannabis cultivation. Depending upon manufacturer, modern LEDs produce from 40 to 70 lumens per watt (lm/W). New and experimental LEDs produce more than 200 lm/W. As of 2014, Cree Incorporated markets an LED that produces 152 lm/W. But, you will see below that lumens per watt are just part of the story. The brightness of LEDs is rated in two different ways, depending on their wavelengths. LEDs between 640 nm and 460 nm are rated in lumens. LEDs with wavelengths longer than 640 nm or shorter than 460 nm are rated by their radiant power (radiant flux) in mW (milliwatts). Lumens are not a good measurement system for measuring the output of LEDs. It is not a linear system, meaning that it does not measure all wavelengths/ colors equally. It was developed as a measurement for visible light and measures apparent brightness—how bright a light appears to the human eye. Lumens were developed to rate white light sources rather than to measure monochromatic LED light sources. Furthermore, human eye response to light is extremely uneven. Colors in the center of the visible spectrum such as green appear much brighter than an equally bright light or red or blue. Lumens can be used only to compare (LED) light sources with the exact same wavelength. This explains why some LEDs with wavelengths of 660 nm hyper, near the extremes of human vision, are often rated as “dominant wavelength 640 nm.”
33 White light is categorized by its color temperature. This is the temperature of a “black body” (an object that does not reflect any light) that has been heated until the light it gives off matches the hue of the white light source. The
point alone makes them more efficient per watt.
LED Bulbs and Tubes
A vast array of retrofit LEDs can be packed into a larger bulb that fits in a household incandescent screw
Keep LEDs as close as possible to plants, because light diminishes to the square of the distance. Regardless of the benefits of LEDs— many point sources and dialed-in light frequencies—light is light, and all natural laws remain in force.
Spectrum
Note: The spectrum of each LED may also dictate brilliance and light output. LEDs are monochromatic, unlike common CFLs, fluorescents, etc. LEDs produce a single color over a narrow range of wavelengths. White LEDs are actually blue, or sometimes ultraviolet. Some LEDs have a phosphor coating (aka downshift phosphor), which absorbs the blue light and reemits it at longer wavelengths. The phosphor coating contains a mix of different phosphors,
MOST LED GROW LIGHTS CONSIST OF LEDS WITH THE FOLLOWING WAVELENGTHS: hyper red red blue royal blue
660 nm 630 nm 470 nm 450 nm
THEY MAY ALSO INCLUDE SOME OF THE FOLLOWING: far red orange (amber) yellow green UV (technically near UV)
740 nm 617 nm 590 nm 530 nm 390 nm
each of which emits a different color, which combine to create white light. The proper mix of colors causes different temperatures, and that creates white light. More red and less blue creates a warmer white. More blue and less red yields a cooler white. Note: The human eye perceives cooler whites as brighter than warmer whites. This is why they have higher lumen ratings even though they may not actually produce more photons.
LEDs can be configured in many different color combinations. This photo shows less intense purple light, causing lower leaves to display green.
color temperature of the white light is equal to the temperature in kelvins of the surface of the glowing black body. LED grow lights take advantage of the availability of LEDs of different wavelengths to make lamps that only create light at the wavelengths the plant can use most efficiently. In other words, the wavelengths match the plants’ photosynthetic absorption peaks. LED technology allows manufacturers to literally dial in the spectrum of fixtures to produce incredibly high PAR ratings. This
fitting. Such bulbs cost from $15 to $30 USD and are generally not bright enough to grow plants well. They are rated in replacement terms for an incandescent bulb. For example, a 15.5-watt LED bulb replaces a 75-watt incandescent. LED tubes are shaped like regular T12, T8, and T5 fluorescent bulbs, but the tubes are filled with LEDs. More than 200 LEDs will fit in a 4-foot (121.9 cm) T12 tube. But not all LEDs are created equal. LED tubes are filled with little LEDs. An energyefficient 22-watt 4-foot T8 LED tube produces 1248 lumens. They do not
34 focused and directed through a lens, which intensifies the light. This factor can be compared when we look at overall fixture brilliance only. There are also a few spectrum details that must be addressed. LED fixtures can contain a few to hundreds of LEDs. The LEDs can be of many different spectrums. Fixtures are manufactured to include LEDs of different spectrums to provide the highest rat-
50,000 hours, and sometimes longer. They fail by dimming over time. LEDs are so new to gardeners that there is no specific information about when to replace them. Many LEDs with a range of spectrums are packed together in fixtures. A single LED that fails or is not as bright as others may not affect the overall output of the fixture enough to warrant replacing.
LEDs emit the characteristic purple glow that turns all the photographs purple!
fit in existing T8 fluorescent fixtures. The flicker-free tubes have a lifetime of more than 50,000 hours. T8 red tubes are 660 nm and contain 288 LED bulbs. Spectrums can also be split into blue and white with a 50/50 split between LEDs of 420 nm/5500 K that contain 144 red and 144 white LEDs. Some fixtures allow LED tubes to be mixed with T8 fluorescent tubes to improve spectrum. The tubes run cool and can be placed within inches of plants.
LED Fixtures
Usually, different LEDs are combined in a fixture to achieve a specific light spectrum. A series of individual LEDs can be mounted and hardwired into a single fixture that is square, rectangular, or circular. Or the fixture can con-
tain long T12 and T8 glass tubes loaded with LEDs. The most practical fixtures allow individual clusters of LEDs packed in a bulb to be easily replaced. Such fixtures also make upgrading to LEDs inexpensive.
LED vs. HID Lamps
We can easily compare LED and HID wattage, lumen output, and lm/W output. But comparing milliwatts per square meter (mW/m2) and PAR watts are the true measures of the light plants need for photosynthesis. Comparing PAR watts makes the best comparison. However, LEDs have several qualities that HIDs don’t have. LEDs produce very little heat and can be placed closer to the canopy of the garden, which inherently provides plants with more bright light.* LED light is also able to be
Plants show their natural green color when the LEDs are turned off.
ings for plant growth. However, I have had a difficult time finding accurate brilliance tests for LED fixtures. *See the “Inverse Square Law” on page 259, earlier in this chapter.
End of Life
LEDs have a life from 25,000 to
Overall, I can recommend replacing a fixture when it yields 85 to 95 percent light output. Do not worry about tossing out hazardous substances when disposing of LEDs. They contain no mercury to pollute the environment. LEDs and fixtures can be recycled.
This is an excerpt from chapter 17, “Light, Lamps & Electricity” from the Cannabis Encyclopedia (596 pages, 2,000+ color images, large A4 format) by Jorge Cervantes that is available everywhere in English. Spanish edition will be available January 2017. For more information please see Jorge´s website, www.marijuanagrowing.com.
WWW.ZAMNESIA.COM
37
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ASKING BUDMASTER THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS When I first started writing for Soft Secrets, my first ever article was about LED and how they were cast as the future of indoor lighting technology. Two years on and I caught up with Paul Kwasnowski from Budmaster to hit him with some serious unavoidable questions, that the average grower wants to know. There is only a small percentage of us who want to read about circuit boards and lens fittings whilst, the rest want to know who, what, when, where and most importantly why. I ask the questions that most cannot and will put a final concluStoney Tark sion on your views on LED as a consumer.
bad designs that you wonder if any of the designers have ever grown a plant in their life. What is the attraction of COB lighting and why are companies changing from the pink and purple color now? It makes people feel warm and safe because its white light, and I suppose there are advantages for people growing plants in public areas such as restaurants or gyms, so their customers don’t get LED striping on their retinas. There is no
What do you think about all of the recent hype about COB lighting? Are people getting too excited too soon? Yes, it’s all hype. COB have been around for a long time and people think they are the next evolution of LED, and they are for us, humans. For plants as dense and bushy as cannabis you will always have to move them closer to the plants in final bloom to get the required amount of photons to your plant. Moving lights close invariably means less coverage and that means you need additional lamps. We try
SSUK: Recently the market has gone wild for LED. What do you think has changed? Everything. The game has completely changed with new innovations we have made in the last two years. Quality and yields have gone up while our carbon footprint and that of our customers is continually going down. Not only do we fully manufacture our lamps here in the UK now with 90% of the raw materials made in the UK, but also we have extended our range to include the Osram horticultural family of LED which in the last 30 months has managed to establish itself as the preferred LED lamp in the European medical growing community. The quality and lifespan of the products has also been extended by sourcing of higher quality components and raw materials, for example one of our Osram LED lamps will drop less than 1% output per year ensuring a continued yield year after year. And as far as the Osram quality goes, well we haven’t had a single diode blow on us yet. There are now many new lamps and companies emerging. Are they not all just selling the same lights with a different brand? What makes your lamps different? The main dominating factor as to why ours are different than the rest and succeeding in the market is because ‘We Love Cannabis and We Care about
The Spectrum produced by a C.O.B and O.D is second to none is even how we started out six years ago, selling LED’s from China. However, after many disappointments from all the major factories we took things into our own hands and decided to build a better light that would produce a better end result and
Plants can grow very vigourously with L.E.D
advantage for the medical grower over traditional Surface Mount Diodes. The COB is of course more efficient than traditional HPS and also more efficient than SMD white LED’s. We gave people the COB because they asked for it and with the
48$/Ζ7< $1' <Ζ(/'6 +$9( *21( 83 :+Ζ/( 285 &$5%21 )22735Ζ17 $1' 7+$7 2) 285 &86720(56 Ζ6 &217Ζ18$//< *2Ζ1* '2:1 People’. So we want to build better lamps, profit is not our main focus. Sticky, rock hard buds year on year are our main focus. There have always been hundreds of different LED companies selling the same mass produced, low quality junk from the Far East and slapping a different label on it. This
one that keeps on giving. There are so many differences internally on the many cheap lamps out there, that if I started a list it would fill this whole magazine, everything from the use of exceptionally bad low bin LED that are assembled by hand! Also the use of hazardous materials all the way to such
modular build we have, it’s easy to give people what they want. Hell, why not? Just because pink is more efficient it does not mean it is suitable for everyone. For example, if you are a stealth grower then pink light at any other time than Christmas will raise a red flag...
Despite the price of these lights, the investment is well worth it for a number of reasons many different LED’s all the time, it’s what I love, playing around with LEDs! There is no COB available that is comparable to traditional horticultural SMD such as the Osram ssl80 family. The main reason that COB fails to match SMD in bloom, is basically the lack of penetration (because there no primary lens) and ppfd output for the same wattage as when using SMD. The PPFD is much less for the energy consumed by the COB. For example our 450w Citiled lamp has 625μmol m-2 s-1 at 2ft while our 405w Osram lamp has 1720μmol m-2 s-1 at 2ft. The COB appears brighter to us humans as they are designed to meet the human eye curve and not the plants. Why do some people complain about really poor results with LED and feel like they have wasted their hard earned money, when they were used to good results with a standard HPS? Either because they have purchased a bad LED or they have lost control of their environment when
38 switching to LED. For example, if you live in a cold area and you are switching from HPS to LED, you will need to add additional heating to your room if you don’t already have a climate control system
Do you see HPS making a return in the market again? No, it's getting banned worldwide slowly but surely, by the end of 2017 no more HPS imports into Europe.
The lights you have are very powerful in terms of light output. But what if I want to veg my clones or seedlings? What is the best solution for a small space?
*(1(5$//< <28 1((' : 2) 265$0 /(' 72 5(3/$&( : 2) +36 25 : 2) &+($3 /(' Ζ) 86(' &255(&7/< in place. We always tell people ‘Cold Roots = Small Fruits’. So touch your plant pots and if they feel too cold to the touch, then it’s too cold for your root. As well as additional heating, felt pots are also a good partner for LED to help keep the rootzone insulated. But at the end of the day, even if you do have to add additional heating to your room to grow with LED, it still makes it a lot easier to control your environment. It’s easier to warm up a room than cool one down.
LEC is something new that is producing good results but not really competition for good LED. Can you explain how someone using a 600w HPS can save electric with LED and at what point do
LED is always the best solution for veg as you can do it for very low wattage. We have some lower wattage Quantum Dot LED solutions coming to the market soon to plug this gap. But in all honesty, as you know you can veg under a standard light
I personally met a high number of growers who would prefer to buy four HPS bulbs and fill out a full room over investing in an expensive single LED light. What do you say to these people who have had their way of growing for years?
ciency, better price to the customer and of course the completely 100% evenly distributed spectrum, which means if you are growing low level on a racking or shelving system, that all the plants will receive a uniform mix of colors. You can see the same technology ‘Cadmium Free Quantum Dot Nano Crystals’ (Made in the UK) being used in the new range of Samsung televisions. The technology is also used to help surgeons extract cancerous cells so they inject a special blend of quantum dots into the patient and they attach themselves to a cancerous cell in much the same manner as a cannabinoid does. Then the surgeon shines a specific wavelength of light on the patient and can easily identify the cells for extraction. So we like to say that ‘LED is now helping to cure and kill cancer’. To the end user, once we get the Quantum Dots working at high power, it means a much cheaper and more reliable lamp as the LED. Beneath the Quantum Dot film are all blue LED’s which as many of you are aware, are generally the most efficient and lowest priced LED’s as they are mass produced in such large quantities compared to horticultural red LED’s. For example, a white LED is just a blue LED with a phosphor coating. So you can imagine the amount that are produced every year. Can you convince the readers why they should invest a large amount of money into LED and what kind of return can they expect?
Nothing much really, it’s their own personal choice which lamps they wish to use. I would just say watch you don’t burn yourself, grow room injuries were one of the reasons I first started looking at LED after burning my shoulder on my HPS. Of course we would love everyone to switch to LED, even if it’s not ours as this is ultimately better for all of us as it reduces the global carbon footprint significantly.
I can’t convince them, they just see me as a merchant or a salesman, which is a shame as it’s all about the cannabis as you know. Even had some guys online in the forums saying we were a corporate off-shoot owned by Osram. That gave me a good giggle. It’s the diaries from the medical growers we sponsor that speaks volumes and convinces people of the validity of us, the product and the result. The kind of return they can expect is not something I can quantify as we never know what people are doing or how they are going to use
Can you explain the light coverage from how the lights works to why you do not use reflectors and why the LED seems so small for covering a space any HPS covers easily? We try to get as much ‘Effective Coverage’ as possible with the LED and the most effective way to do this is by using a lens. A shade generally has only one point of control whereas a lens has generally three points of control, so we can more efficiently get the light to where we want it. More importantly, penetrate the upper canopy, so the lower leaf sets of the plant are getting light and working efficiently for the plant. Generally you need 300w of Osram LED to replace 600w of HPS or 400w of cheap LED if used correctly. There are many growers who are put off using LED’s because the pink and purple lights produced can be quite suspect looking. What have you done to try to change this? Not much to be done about this without getting inefficient, really. People can turn to the COB as an alternative or even white SMD, but they will never be as efficient or produce results on a par with a pink spectrum. Why do plants take more Calcium and Magnesium when grown under LED’s or is that just forum talk? They don’t always take more cal & mag when grown under LED, but we see many instances of cheaper LED leading people to have to add additional cal mag and this is due to a badly thought out spectrum that is not catering to both the photosynthesis and photomorphognesis.
they produce more P.A.R for their energy usage? We get more useable PPFD out for less power in than HPS for two reasons. One being that we target the exact wavelengths needed by the plant, and the other being that the LED’s we use have extremely good Radiant Efficiency. So compared to a cheaper LED of the same wattage we get more than double the ppfd. Are lights being made now for just vegging and growing or do the lights cover more spectrums? We do have a variety of spectrums, but our most successful is the multi spectrum we use in the GOD, OD and XG ranges, as this allows the customer to grow from seed to harvest with just one lamp.
bulb or strip light. The main part of the veg period requires so little light if used correctly. I have personally vegged 1.2sqm spaces with 50w of Osram LED before now. What is the lowest wattage you are using now? We do a 4w Quantum Dot LED strip light that sits atop propagators, giving you a portable solution so you can put your prop under your bed or in your cupboard etc. The Quantum Dot technology is the way forward and of course another world’s first in horticultural lighting from us. It's still in its early stage, but we have three more lamps planned using the Quantum Dot LED. The QD gives us many benefits including greater radiant and spectral effi-
the light. If you want to know ‘gpw’, well you know already we have had more than 2 gpw on more than one occasion and get regular 1.5 – 1.7gpw from intermediate growers with our Osram lamps year on year from the same lamp. With our Chinese LED we get an average of 1gpw in the first year. Thanks for clarifying a lot of the questions we had!
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SNOW WHITE STRAIN: Widow NUTRIENTS:
Snow White feminised (N.L x White x Cinderella 99) GHE Trichoderma, GHE Bio Roots, Hesi Powerzyme, Hesi Coco, Liquid Silicon, Superthrive, Bio Essentials LIGHTING: 600w High Pressure Sodium TENT: 1.2m x 1.2m x 1.8m GROWING TIME: 35 days FLOWERING TIME: 58 Days
Ζ KDG EHHQ KHDULQJ D ORW DERXW WKLV VWUDLQ 6QRZ :KLWH DQG KRZ LW KDV EHHQ D IDYRXULWH DPRQJVW PDQ\ 8. JURZHUV IRU D ORQJ WLPH Ζ DFTXLUHG D WHQ SDFN RI IHPLQL]HG VHHGV IURP 6SOLII 6HHGV $PVWHUGDP DQG JUHZ RXW LQ D VPDOO WHQW $V Ζ ZDV UHVHDUFKLQJ WKLV VWUDLQ LW VHHPV LW ZRUNV EULOOLDQWO\ LQ VFURJ DQG VHD RI JUHHQ 7KH EXGV JURZ ELJ DQG GHQVH DQG SRVVHVV D UHDOO\ IUXLW\ ROG VFKRRO VFHQW ZLWK D QDUFRWLF VWRQH IORZHULQJ LQ WR GD\V (DJHU WR SXW WKLV RQH WR WKH WHVW Ζ SRSSHG WKH VHHGV LQ WLVVXH DQG By Stoney Tark KRXUV ODWHU VWDUWHG P\ MRXUQH\ ZLWK WKH 6QRZ :KLWH ȋ VEGGING WEEK 1:
The seeds will be grown in 10 litre pots and placed down around a centimetre deep from the surface. The lighting is a 600w high pressure sodium so the temperatures are 22 degrees and the humidity is 70%. It only takes a few days till the seeds are sprouting and growing small and strong. I spray often to keep them warm and wet during the early stages of vegging. After the first week, the plant height is 2cm and dark looking. I feed the seedlings a soft feed of Superthrive and Bio Roots with Powerzyme.
VEGGING WEEK 2:
The plants are growing bright green with a shiny foliage, growing quickly. The leaves are pointing up at a 45 degree angle and look happy. The pots are close together so I am pushing for a packed out tent. I will not be pinching out any of these plants even though they are highly recommended for scrogging, so shall see how they perform growing on their own accord. After 14 days the plants are on their second leaf set and growing a third. The rate of growth is very fast and the canopy is beginning to really fill out in no time. I make a microbe feed with the Trichoderma mix and using an air pump, allow a microbe brew to aerate for the next 24 hours. In this brew I add Hesi Coco feed at a measurement of 3ml per litre. Also added is Bio Essentials and Powerzyme at a rate of 4ml per litre.
VEGGING WEEK 3:
The Snow White seem to be growing small and wide and the plant height is between 12-16 centimetres. Now the plants are producing the fifth leaf set. To smell the plants gives off a tangy but earthy smell and if you get your nose right on the plant, you can get a sweet aroma with a pungent kick. The plants will be flowered in 35 days so after 21 days, this strain is impressing me a lot by how vigorously she grows. Snow White is a heavy feeder and demands more nutrients than most, so I now increase my feeds to 5ml per litre and foliar spray when necessary.
VEGGING WEEK 4:
The profile of these plants are small and bushy, as you can really see the Northern Lights influence. To look at the 9 plants from above, you can see only green and lots of healthy vibrant new growth. My feeding regime stays the same as the girls are responding very well to the nutrient mix so far.The canopy is packed together nicely and considering that I did not pinch out or scrog, you could really go wild with a screen and this strain. After 26 days these girls are now growing taller and averaging a plant height of 32 cm and really growing quickly since last week. From above the plants are actually wider than taller and the widest plant can be measured at 42cm wide!
VEGGING WEEK 5:
The final week of the growing phase and I am really eager to see how this strain performs in bloom. The leaf pattern is wide fingered sugary leaves and very similar to the White Widow. As you see in the pictures, the leaves are not too wide despite Snow White being a Sativa dominant strain. The plants are tough to handle and when shaken around release a deep tangy fruit, which is more like the White Widow but with a sharp candy over tone. I can only imagine that comes from the Cinderella 99 lineage. The lights will now be changed to 12/12 and these girls will bloom for 56-60 days. I increase my feed to 5ml per litre of Hesi Coco, Powerzyme, Bio Essentials and add one drop per litre of Superthrive to the nutrient mix. As I am using microbes I always make sure my microbe brew is aerated to increase the colony count.
FLOWERING WEEK 1:
The whole tent is full of shiny strong shrubs and now the lighting has been changed to 12/12. The plant height is an average of 40 cm which is the right height to flower without having any serious stretching problems. It will be interesting to see if there is much of a stretch with Snow White as she has stayed low so far. It takes around 5 days for the first bright white hairy pistils to show themselves, then an on set of white pistils from everywhere. After 7 days the plant height has increased by an average of 14 cm so over the next two weeks, I expect quite a stretch. I remain using the same feed as in the veg stage yet drop the rate of nutrient to 3ml per litre. The smell of the plants now that they are flowering is much deeper and skunky smelling but a deep pungent edge. It is really interesting how this strain has many different aromas throughout her life cycle.
FLOWERING WEEK 2: The new growth is coming through fast and the leaf is really coated in sugar. Now you can squeeze a leaf and get a true scent of how Snow White will smell. There are bud sites filling up
9 seeds ready to be grown in a sea of green set up
After 35 days of growing the plants are filling out the space
These plants pack on some serious size
Time to harvest these beautiful stinky girls
41
at every shoot and it looks like there will be one main cola with many side branches to accompany. I change my feed to 4ml per litre and feed as the medium becomes dry and light, as the plant height is now between 50-65 cm and the tent is full from side to side. The flowers are bright white and soaked in crystals and so is all of the new growth. To smell the plants is similar to a fruity Widow but there is a peach like fragrance in there too. Snow White is a heavy feeder so if you are growing this strain, remember she likes to drink more than most strains. She is a really thick bushy plant with loads of new leaf growth. Red veins and red stems give her real character as a super sturdy plant.
FLOWERING WEEK 3:
After 20 days of flowering, this strain has stopped stretching and now is filling out. I measure the plants and find the smallest is 78 cm and the tallest 86 cm. The trichome production on this strain is immense and it looks like overnight the plants are turning to a shiny white. All of the new growth is also coated in trichomes and so far not one plant which is under performing. The plants are becoming heavy quite quickly and I may even need to add a net to allow extra support. I increase my feed back to 5ml per litre and feed once the pots have become dry again. The buds are forming and to squeeze the buds leaves black fingers so am really excited to smoke this strain. The information about Snow White states it is a very potent strain and can be very narcotic. The side branching is forming into tough woody arms that have also filled all over in thick white flowers.
FLOWERING WEEK 4:
The girls are really packing on weight with new growth from flowers and shoots. The tent is full of thick cactus looking plants and I take this opportunity to add a net inside. I reach in and put the heads through the net evenly and from the feel of things, these girls are going to produce a big yield. I make sure my airflow is adequate and there is a constant moving breeze
around the base of the plants, as well as the tops of the plants. The temperature is 23 degrees and the humidity is 37%. The buds are really packing on weight and can be squeezed with force even though it has been 28 days. You can grab the stem and shake the plant around and feel how top heavy this plant is, so a good idea to have added a net when I did.
FLOWERING WEEK 5: After 35 days the plants are totally white with thick forming high calyx buds. Everywhere you look on this plant has a cluster of trichomes from the new leaves to
42 the buds. The grow room smells of a pungent sharpness of White Widow with candy floss. The tops of these plants are very thick and heavy so be careful not to get bud mould late in flowering. For the last week of feeding before flushing for 14 days, I increase the feed to 6ml Hesi Coco, Bio Essentials and Powerzyme. I want to feed only water and Powerzyme for the last stages of flowering to ensure the best flavours and light grey soft ash, when smoking a joint.
FLOWERING WEEK 6:
Spliff Seeds say this strain will flower in 56 days for now at day 42, I will change my feed to only water and enzymes. This will draw up any remaining nutrients in the roots and push for the last stages of bud development.
drying process easier as most of the water will not be present and it ensures a final push from the plant. After 53 days I choose to let the roots totally dry out and by day 58, I will be ready to harvest. The majority of the fan leaves have now yellowed and upon inspection the calyx are stacked, coated in trichomes and have brown hairs falling onto the buds. I check with a loupe the trichomes and can see there is a bronze gold glow inside, indicating the ideal time to harvest. All 9 plants are taken out of the tent and carefully trimmed and hung back inside the tent with the carbon filter on for the next 7 days.
DRYING ROOM:
The buds are hung upside down on coat hangers and left to dry over the next week. Once the buds are dry to handle, next they will be placed into curing jars where they will develop in flavour and potency. The temperature of the drying room is 19 degrees and the humidity is very low.
TOTAL YIELD:
From harvesting 9 plants, the biggest producer was 127 grams and the smallest being 108 grams. I am really happy with the result as this strain was not trained or vegged for a long time and was grown using only a 600w High Pressure Sodium. I would recommend this strain to anyone who wants a serious cash cropper but please be extra vigilant with air ventilation, to stop mould happening inside the huge buds.
TASTE AND EFFECT:
The dry buds stink of a sour candy and when broken, release a pungent earthy fragrance. A small bud seems to grind up to a lot and a when grind-
The net which I added has big fat white tops growing straight up through the squares and the yield is impressive. The buds form and grow everywhere with this strain and the calyx are really tall and white. There are a few plants which are quite taller than the others, however in terms of bud production all of these Snow White plants have really gone wild. The plants will be harvested in around 15 days from now so now time for the flush!
FLOWERING WEEK 7:
The girls are being fed now only water with Powerzyme and as a result all of the fan leaves begin to yellow off. The buds are swelling like crazy and the plants are really top heavy with side branches following in pursuit. The smell is now changing to a more pungent sweet skunk scent but when these flowers are dry, then I will really know what flavours are deep with in this strain. The smell in the grow room is not overpowering like a kush but has a lingering sweetness, so still be careful with ventilation. Now it has been 49 days and for one more week I will let these girls grow then expect to chop at day 56.
FLOWERING WEEK 8:
This is the final week of flowering and soon I shall chop these shiny white budding monsters. When I flush I always like to make sure for the last 5 days the plant receives nothing and has an opportunity to dry out. This makes the
ing up smells great. The taste is a soft candy with the aftertaste of a fruity White Widow whilst the high is almost instant. This strain was tested at 19% THC but there is also a strong physical sensation. Over all this strain is great in all areas and if smoking is perhaps better suited for evening times to avoid falling asleep for the rest of the day. The Northern Lights influence has a real power to it and the White Widow and Cinderella 99 makes this a cerebral roller coaster. Peace!
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45
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3Ζ1($33/( .86+ 3LQHDSSOH .XVK IURP 5R\DO 4XHHQ 6HHGV LV D K\EULG RI WKH YDULHWLHV 3LQHDSSOH DQG 2* .XVK (VSHFLDOO\ WKH VHFRQG YDULHW\ KHUH LV D OHJHQGDU\ FRQFHSW LQ WKH ZRUOG RI JURZHUV DQG LV UHQRZQHG IRU LWV GLVWLQFWLYH DURPD DQG SHUIHFW DSSHDUDQFH 7RGD\ ZHȇUH JRLQJ WR WXUQ WKH VSRWOLJKW RQ WKH XQLRQ RI 2* .XVK DQG 3LQHDSSOH DQG By Mr. José (info@pestovat.cz) have an entirely practical look at it. To obtain this grow report, we used: ȩ IHPLQLVHG 3LQHDSSOH .XVK VHHGV IURP 5R\DO Queen Seeds; ȩ $ +20(ER[ (YROXWLRQ FXOWLYDWLRQ ER[ RI PHWUHV ȩ 7KH FXOWLYDWLRQ V\VWHP JURZ6<67(0 $,5 327 1.2 metres; ȩ $Q $GMXVW $ :LQJ 'HIHQGHU 5HIOHFWRU PHGLXP ȩ $ /XPDWHN : FRQWURO JHDU ZLWK SRZHU UHJXODWLRQ ȩ $ *,% /LJKWLQJ *URZWK 6SHFWUH 0+ : ODPS IRU growth; ȩ $ *,% /LJKWLQJ )ORZHU 6SHFWUH ;7UHPH 2XWSXW +36 600W for flowering; ȩ $GYDQFHG +\GURSRQLF RI +ROODQG IHUWLOLVHU DORQJ with additives from the same brand; ȩ $ PL[WXUH RI FRFR FRLU HQULFKHG ZLWK WULFKRGHUPD and perlite in a 1:1 ratio (48 litres in total); ȩ $Q $YDLU PHPEUDQH KXPLGLILHU DQ ROG OLWUH PRGHO which is possibly no longer in production); ȩ )DQV DQG DLU FRQGLWLRQLQJ IURP D ',< VKRS After we had set up the growing space there was nothing stopping us from starting to grow. We tried to choose a set-up that requires minimal maintenance and allows absences of several days. At the same time, we paid attention to the most efficient use of electricity and fertiliser. This set-up is definitely not the cheapest, but it is worth it – it will keep on working for several years. The only things that we had to buy were fertiliser and cultivation substrate. In addition, we were able to try out different sorts of substrate, including soil. We had tried using the AirPot flowerpot in the past and had been very satisfied with it. After the harvest there are always a lot of healthy roots. This is because the substrate in those flowerpots is evenly moist and at the same time dries out evenly. This proves that the roots get plenty of moisture and oxygen. Another advantage of Air-Pots is that you don’t have to calculate the moisture levels
in the growing medium just by the weight of the pot, but also visually or using a stick which you gently poke into any part of the flowerpot. But I’m getting ahead of myself unnecessarily. Let’s go back to the very beginning of the cultivation of Pineapple Kush.
Germination and Planting
The prepared seedlings nine days after sowing the seeds about three days we tried lowering them, as by then we could already see how the plants were taking root, growing and getting stronger. When cultivating under artificial light it is a good idea to put planted seeds under the lamp straight away, directly after they have been planted into peat tablets or rockwool cubes. This way they will be used to the intensive light of the bulbs from the beginning, and in addition they won’t grow long, thin stems. You can see on the picture of the cuttings that even our seedlings could
We left the seeds to soak in clean water at room temperature. After 24 hours some of the seeds had already split. We poked them into prepared peat tablets, which have proven very successful for hardening off seedlings. Peat tablets are much more suitable for cultivation in soil or coco coir substrate than rockwool cubes, which are often used. Not only do they mix well with the substrate, but in addition peat contains nutrients from which the seedlings can take up energy even before you start to add fertiliser. You can sow seeds directly into peat tablet without having to soak them first. But the method we used speeds up germination and minimises the risk of failure. It’s better not to leave anything to chance as you will spend maybe EUR 70-80 on seeds. You can see All sown on the photos that the seeds grew good roots and the seedlings happily grew have gone under the lamp a day or two earlier, even towards the light. As soon as the seedlings have been though we sowed them on time, which is proved by prepared in this way, you need to transplant them into the fact that we didn’t need to support the seedlings the prepared system as soon as possible. in any way, as they didn’t fall over or break.
After Transplanting into the System
You should transplant the seedlings into the system when the roots are beginning to grow through the peat tablet, as they will then continue to grow steadily. That was what happened for us as well. We then used halogen bulbs, hung at about 1.2 metres above the plants, to give light to the flowers. After
At that time the temperature varied between 20.1 and 27 °C and humidity between 50 and 88%, EC (electrical conductivity) was 0.7 and pH 6.3-6.4. We gave a half-measure of fertiliser to the seedlings and kept the humidity high using a humidifier. When the humidifier ran out of water, the humidity gradually
fell to 50% as mentioned. If you can’t check on your plants at last twice a day and fill up the humidifier with water, the risk of running out of water is quite high. Especially during the early days, a more frequent check on the water in the reservoir will pay off.
Growth Phases
We watered the plants manually for twelve days, so we could be sure that they were getting as much water as they needed. Later we set up the automatic irrigation so that it watered them for five minutes three times a day. We have a drip irrigation system, meaning that just enough nutrient fluid will drip in five minutes. In addition, a combination of coco coir, perlite and Air-Pots meant that the fluid drained back into the reservoir, so more intensive irrigation was possible, though not as intensive as it would have been with ex-clay. It is simply necessary to sort out the watering for each system independently and with regard to current conditions. In our growroom we were able to maintain high humidity, meaning that the substrate dries out more slowly and the plants can absorb moisture from the air too. We left the plants in the growth phase for two weeks. Three weeks and two days passed from the sowing of the seeds. When growing from seeds you should reckon with at least one extra week compared to growing from clones. During the growth phase the temperature was maintained in the range of 18-28.7 °C, humidity varied between 30-87% but fell to the minimum value only exceptionally. We gradually raised the EC from 0.74 to 1.56 and tried to maintain pH at 6.4, but it constantly
46 jumped to up to 7.14, so we were having to constantly correct it. Just before switching to the flower phase the EC climbed to 2.01. This was due to the fact that we delayed switching to the flower phase and we didn’t want to carry out the concurrent flushing until just before the flower phase. The longer you use nutrient fluid in a circulating irrigation system, the more the EC value rises. Flushing with clean water and enzymes was carried out during the transition to the flower phase, as we planned.
Switching to the flower phase
of course necessary to remember to flush regularly with clean water and enzymes. We did this regularly each week and the whole of the last week before harvesting. In the last week we added the product Final Solution. It should be mentioned that during the whole time we avoided major problems like pests or diseases. During the cultivation we had to use an anti-pest preparation, for thrips, only once. However, we intervened so very quickly that the plants were not damaged in any way. From the pictures you can see that we used supportive plant netting during cultivation. It helped us to organise the growth of the flowers and to make use of the lamps in the best possible way. The sea of green method is similar, but the plants get much more tangled up in the netting. The last flower phase was marked by a drop in temperature due to lower temperatures outdoors. Concretely this was 17.8-27.6 and when we had calculated the average of all the days we established that the average temperature during the second flower phase was 25.83 °C, whereas it had been 26.78 during the first phase, so it was almost one degree less. This may seem insignificant, but it’s an appreciable difference for the plants. EC varied between 0.35-2.88, where the lowest values applied to the flushing, while the highest were reduced straight away. Atmospheric humidity varied between 43-87. We had no issues with mildew, which can undoubtedly be attributed to adequate ventilation – the air-conditioning ran non-stop.
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&RORIRQ A month after switching
First Flower Phase
As already stated, we started the flower phase by flushing. Usually it’s enough to flush for one or two days, but with regard to the as yet small plant size and high EC value, we chose a longer flushing period, for five whole days. The EC of the fluid flowing out of the flower pots increased, which was proof that the plants still had sufficient nutrients. After five days we began to add fertiliser to the plants for the flower phase. The growth was even and healthy and all components worked without difficulties. The humidifier was still running at full throttle. Many growers think that humidifying the air should be carried out during the growth phase only – this isn’t true. The plants love atmospheric humidity and high relative humidity will accelerate their growth. So it’s a good idea to humidify the air until the risk of mildew arises, and that is during the last three to four weeks before the harvest, depending on the size of the plants and flowers. In the first flower phase nothing major happened and all the values were maintained at the desired levels: temperature 18.7-29.1, humidity 45-87, EC 0.5-2.23. The lowest values were recorded during flushing. PH varied between 5.77 and 6.76 but we tried to keep it below 6.
Second Flower Phase
During the transition to the second flower phase we increased the doses of fertiliser and tried to maintain the EC value at between 1.8 and 2.4. Big strong plants with a well-developed root system are easily capable of absorbing a lot of nutrients. When increasing fertiliser applications to the recommended level, it is
On the day of harvesting
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On the day of harvesting
Conclusion
Pineapple Kush is a pleasant variety with an intense scent. The plants grow evenly and quickly and form even branches. We could easily have removed more of the lower branches, or used the plants for the sea of green method mentioned above. Even so, Pineapple Kush is suitable for low-maintenance cultivation and I think that even a beginner could achieve excellent results with it. Look at the pictures and see that anyone would be satisfied – medium-sized plants with even branches and compact flowers. After switching to the flower phase, you should be able to harvest in around seven to eight weeks. Personally I like this type of variety, because it’s easy to work with and the result is definitely worth it.
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