Boy it’s been awhile since I posted here! It’s been about two decades since I grew indoors, I will be growing AGAIN this year (hopefully) but I thought I’d share my knowledge with the beginners that would like to grow some of the most crystally diamonds you will ever experience in your life.
Back in the day, one of the most crystally looking buds I have ever grown had to be BushyOlderGrower’s Lifesaver, which I believe was a DJ Shorts Blueberry and Bogbubble cross. When I grew this strain the buds literally looked like a discoball, it was so jam packed with trichomes it was unbelievable. It smelled like diesel but damn it was pretty to look at. My second favorite strain had to be Super Silver Haze from Greenhouse seeds… this was a monster and stringy but one of the best harvest I have ever had next to BOG strains (RIP).
I think 80% of what it takes to grow diamonds is in the genetics, 20% is the medium you grow in. For veg i was using 400 MH hexagon lamps and for flower I was using 1000 HPS on a lightrail. The HPS was the trick for growing dense buds, I have no tried LED lights but I’ve heard that the buds aren’t as dense so this time around I think I’ll be sticking with my old ways despite my electric bill.
I believe in growing ORGANIC, I never went to the hydroponic route… if you want a huge harvest go the hydro route… but if you want killer buds go with organic. Here’s my revised recipe (big thanks to BushyOlderGrower for this recipe!):
Materials needed:
***** Perlite
***** Ocean Forest Soil
***** Worm castings
***** Blood meal
***** Bone Meal
***** A large 10 gallon mixing container (a storage tub works)
***** Long Dish Washing Gloves
***** A Two Filter Face Mask (Rubber)
***** Large measuring cup
Health & Safety Caution:
Always wear a protective dust mask, and rubber gloves when pouring and mixing soils. Several of the ingredients have been shown to be hazardous to your health if the dust is inhaled by accident. Blood meal, bone meal and perlite for example. It’s always best to do this outdoors if possible, upwind of the mixing tub of course.
First Step: Pour 90% of the Ocean Forest into the 10 gallon tub, leaving space for the other ingredients.
Second Step: Pour about 10% to 25% perlite in. This stuff is great for aeration and most of all drainage. No matter how much you use it wont effect the plant, it just makes the soil-mix even better.
Third Step: Pour about 5oz (or 150ml) of bone meal into your mix. Bonemeal is 100% Organic (3-15-0), and its a vital source of nutrients for vegging plants.
Fourth Step: Pour another 5oz (or 150ml) of bloodmeal into your mix. Bloodmeal is 100% Organic (13-0-0), and its a vital source of nutrients for vegging plants.
Fifth: Next add about 8oz (or 250ml) of worm castings. Worm castings release small amounts of available Nitrogen and all essential trace elements and is generally neutral to 6.0 pH,which is great for vegging plants.
Sixth Step: Mix the soil thoroughly. You can either use your hands, a small shovel or a drill with a paint mixer bit if you have one laying around. Hey, its another excuse to mess with your powertools! Your soil is now mixed and ready.
Flowering Instructions:
Are you flowering? Then just add these items into your vegging mix^ :
3oz of bone meal
3oz of blood meal
8oz of wormcastings
and 8oz of bat guano.
I no longer recommend cutting the roots when transplanting as this lead to a lot her Hermies due to stress. Make sure your HPS (if you’re using one) is fully ventilated and the room shouldnt be too humid or hot. Fans are necessary and before flowering, look for light leaks. One tip for preventing gnats, sift through your store bought soil and look for little yellow balls… those are gnat eggs… if you see those in there, I recommend to pick them out or don’t even use the soil… get the soil from somewhere else unless you like those little pricks. Also, on the top of your soil when flowering, buy borosilicate glass beads and pour them on the top of your exposed soil to prevent the little bastards from living in the soil. I really hate them and they’re a huge problem with organic soils.
I hope to grace you guys with some grow reports soon, it sure was fun growing. Growing your own is way different than buying them from a dispensary… smoking fresh bud, smelling the fresh chlorophyll is just dreamy. See you guys soon!