I’d like to try a social experiment here, feel free to amend my extrapolations at anytime… in order to give myself a better understanding of all our skill levels here I have come up with a simple rating system. I know some people consider putting a label on things to be a bad practice, but remember this is just a fun experiment…1)Beginner…2)Novice… 3)Intermediate…4)Grower…5)Advanced…6)Master… The Beginner Grower: is someone who just has put their first seed in the ground. They don’t have a book yet, but they may have been looking around on the internet for help and have found overgrow. What they know for sure is that," Man,all I want to do is learn how to grow some weed cuz this s***'s getting expensive…The Novice Grower: is someone who definitely owns a book and has looked at several grow websites. They probably have taken their plants through the complete cycle and now have nuggs. They are probably looking for more information on the drying and curing process, that’s why they are here now.“Man,I don’t want to waste all that effort, let’s hear what the pros have to say!”…The Intermediate Grower:is someone (like me) who has read a stack of books and has been looking on the internet at grow sites for years. They have probably finished many plants and are just looking for ways to improve their game." Man, I think I got this under control but it sure is nice to hear what other people have to say."…The Grower: is someone who has left behind books and casually looking at the internet a long time ago. They know everything about genetics and breeding and seeds and all the most important aspects of this game. They like helping the people on the lower levels but also look forward to exchanging those big ideas with their fellow peers. “Man I can’t wait to get into the newest aspect of this s***”… And finally there is the Master Grower: this person has reached the highest Pinnacle of our cultivation endeavors. They are the Elite breeders and Growers who have made available to us all of these awesome strains that we are playing around with now. People like Scott from Rare Dankness, DJ Short, Subcool, Kyle kushman the list goes on and on. I would personally like to thank all the master Growers out there for what they do for us regular guys,I humbly bow to you,much respect!.. well this may have been a silly idea but it was fun thinking of all these things and this is by no means a serious defining process. I am just an old geezer with a lot of imagination!
Nice - I would consider myself a beginner, but with years of other gardening experience. I enjoy growing really difficult peppers and tomatoes, so this is like the next amazing challenge for me. Im looking forward to learning how to make oil for back pain.
I thought about this a little bit and came to the conclusion that i must be an intermediate grower. I feel comfortable growing in different environments but missed the boat on breeding. Too many good seeds to pop. I can’t imagine leaving behind books or not being curious what other people are doing.
I’m just a retired Professor Of Slinganomics…
I consider myself an Intermediate because I’ve been growing for the pat 15 years and must have learned something in the process. I can bring a grow to completion no problem, but when I read about growers who claim to get more than a gram per watt, I feel like a real loser.
That made me sad. I have tried to help grown adults that couldn’t bring themselves to water or check there rooms because they were just to busy, tired, or whatever other excuses they could come up with. Time after time. This is after spending thousands to build a room and knowing my part of the yield is all i get. So if you are consecutively pulling off a harvest, time after time, you are not a loser you are a dedicated grower. If you want more than a gram then veg longer under more light in an area that allows more headroom. Your area is your limiting factor i assume. Your plants that i saw in your training thread looked well cared for and healthy.
Thanks for the encouragement. I’m a med user (chemo), so growing has become a practical (and financial) necessity since being diagnosed with cancer back in ‘09, but it’s also a real joy. Like any gardening, seeing plants respond to care and yield great fruit is a source of great satisfaction. I guess my dilemma is whether to grow more untrained plants to a quick maturity, or to train a few for greater yield. Done plenty of both over the years. I think that because I use 2-gallon final grow containers, I’m ahead with the no-train method. With my setup (and homemade, feminized seeds), I can produce a harvest every two months if I work at it. Anyway, the grow you refer to (15 plants) just went into flowering mode last week. Following the logic that big, healthy plants produce big, healthy buds, I’m anticipating a nice harvest. I think 8 or 10 plants is probably optimal for my situation (Organic, 600+ Watt Solis ballast/air-cooled hood in a 3’ x 3’ by 5’ grow space). Just couldn’t bring myself to kill off 5-7 healthy plants.
Ha! Ha! Yea getting rid of plants sucks. Good luck packing them in. I have been lucky before so i will send out some good thoughts for you. Throw some of the defoliated leaves in a smoothy for the extra amino’s and vitamins. I love it. Good luck with everything and thank you for allowing me to post my training pic’s on your thread. That is kind of you.
De nada.
Here they are one week into flower. If I had fewer plants, I’d train the remaining tops over to take advantage of the extra space and light. But if the past is any indication, these will generate some weight. I trimmed off all the lower buds, but left the fan leaves.
It’s funny to think how many people at CW and OG back in the heyday would consider you an advanced grower because you could flower a pure sativa strain indoors.
I never made it above novice.
Ive been growing for 40 years. But every time I start a grow I feel like a beginner. Understand?
Looks good. Go with what you think worked best in the past. Just keep the humidity in check with the full room.
Totally agree, its funny when you have some dried bud that you knew you could have grown better, it sits in the jars like bad Juju. Then a friend smokes some and its his instant favourite…sigh. lol Seems there is no grow that couldn’t have been better. Being your own worst critic, drives your skills up, but the more we grow and know, the less we brag. Cheers Until I place high in a competition, I’ll consider myself and overly dedicated novice.
Reminds me of a couple old sayings,
“Can’t push rope” being somehow related (hemp) and the first that comes to mind.
“You can bring a horse to water, but can’t make it drink”, is the other.
Once you have even limited skills with this plant, you realize there are millions of possibilities, and many don’t taste as good as those few…You can grow a perfectly healthy weed that tastes awful with limited medicinal value. Sometimes we get lucky.
99%
For me a beginner is someone who fight with the quality/quantity/speed equation.
An intermediate is someone who know how to get the maximum of one of these three parameters with the same lab, depending on the strain he’s working.
An elite is someone than don’t give a fck, he’s just ready for the competition without thinking about it.