LadyGray

There's something about stress to a plant at specific times that seem to make the overall harvest better in my opinion. This is my first harvest (2 1/2 weeks away and the buds are sticky and sweet-smelling!!), and though I had been a so-so gardener of flowers and vegetables, it seemed that certain rules applied from my regular growing habits to my "girls" worked just as well in the end.

Alot of times, gardeners, books, stores will tell you that purchasing a plant that is "dry" or "root bound" is bad, but I haven't had that experience - ever. I find that dry plants tend to "want" to live if quenched properly, and in the case of my girls, leaving them to go to the dry side has been a plus in the end (I had to learn this).
I have bent, broken, stripped, and had to eventually cut back one of my girls due to over drying, and she has come back fuller, and stronger to my surprise. Even the amount of ferts had to be increased due to her revived status. I don't know why this happens, but it seems to be consistent.

For my other plants, I don't twist or bend, but I crush the stems between my fingers, and when they get to the point where I can't crush them anymore, then I start training them, but by that time, the stems are strong and thick, and I can barely see through the stem (You can see through the stem when they're young. There's this little space that you can't see where the node and leave are growing out of. I'm thinking the cellulose there supports the weight of the leaf as it grows.).

Still, one has to be careful I suppose, and I'm not saying that my way is THE way. I'm just saying that for some reason, my plants seem to just...thrive. What am I using? Nothing in particular, just soil-less mixture, Bone and bloodmeal, 20-30-20 chemical fert, and during the flowering process, a 10-60-15, with a few handfulls of blood meal during the transplant to its final resting place.

I haven't yet had the pleasure of the "bugs" and "mites" that tend to come, but I'm thinking it's because I've learned to stay two-steps behind in tending to it, rather than trying to second guess the stages. Even cloning has been more of "hit" than a "miss" for me, and I'm thinking it's because I don't overdo the care of the transplants.

Finally, I think these plants are meant to take a great deal of adversity. I've scratched the branches of my girls by accident (one I did so bad that I was sure it was doomed by bugs or something), and all I did was spray the scratch with Cloud Cover and it healed itself. I wrapped a plant once at the base (It was a four stemmed plant) because I pulled it too far while training it. I used the Red Cross tape you get at the store - the one without the sticky sides, just plain tape. I forgot about it, and was surprised to find that it had not only helped to knit the branch back, but the plant was about grow over it! I went down and carefully cut the tape away, checked out the base, sprayed the area, and it's fine now.


Nietzche was right. Whatever doesn't kill your girls...

TonDerudesKa

great post LG!!!

You are a natural. And....you have discovered one the basic tenets of a succesfull grow...don't smother 'em with love. I foresee many fruitful grows in your future!

cy

Phantom

Hey Ya LadyGray,

I agree with ya 100%. I like to follow the saying "Don't sweat the small stuff". Too many people stress over little things that don't really matter in the long run as long as you follow some basic growing principles.

Keep the passion growing

Phantom
Ghost Who Smokes

LadyGray

It's Been A Great Learning Experience!!

Thanks for the kinds words. The past few months have been very enlightening. I've actually learned stuff about myself while growing!

I only hope I can pass on what I've learned. My overall stress levels have decreased greatly since this first harvest. Hell, I'm convinced my work has improved!!

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