Thank you for the information
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I really need to met you in person. If someone has me physically do something, I get it. Words don’t work on my brain. I keep trying though.
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Aren’t those just soap nuts? Never heard them referred as reetha?
I think back in the day Lotus had talked about using those all the time I’v looked at them on line but haven’t pulled the trigger yet , my thing now is the yucca Powder for BAS
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Today I will be mixing up some reagents for THC and CBD testing. These tests are a subjective, reagent based, test. They will not give us an absolute number such as 20% THC or 8% CBD. What they will allow us to do is compare samples and say which one has more CBD/THC than the other(s). This will be particularly useful for my auto projects to determine which cultivar(s) to continue breeding.
**We will be working with chemicals, so let’s be as safe as possible. A respirator, protective eye glasses, and gloves just to be safe. I also suggest having a sink or eye wash station close by and a well ventilated space to work. **
First weigh out 5 grams of either the vanillin (THC) or potassium hydroxide (CBD). Shown here is the potassium hydroxide (KOH).
After the reagents are made, place them in a labeled amber bottle for later use. Shown here are both reagents mixed and ready to be bottled.
Next we need to decarboxylate the buds before testing. Heat the oven to 240°F. Weigh out about 0.75 - 1.00 grams of cannabis and make a little tin foil pouch. Use a Sharpie marker to identify different samples. Place the packets in the oven at 240°F for 40 minutes. Here I have several samples, Grass Monkey 3, 5, 7, 8; Creme Brulee 1,3,4,7; Diamonds and Pearls 1, 4, 8; and Juanita la Lagrimosa.
For each sample weigh out 0.50 grams in a shot glass and add 5.00 grams of denatured alcohol. Mix well and let set for 30 minutes. After this, decant the liquid off the top without getting any plant matter in with the sample. This is your extract for testing.
The first test will be the Duquenois reagent test for testing THC. This test has been modified to eliminate the use of chloroform. Get a glass vial and label it with our sample ID. Next add three drops of our cannabis extract, followed by 10 drops of the 5% vanillin reagent. Now, carefully add 10 drops of 37% hydrochloric acid in the same test vial with our reagent and extract. Mix well and wait for color change. This can take up to 30 minutes. The color should go from a light blue or purple to a dark blue or purple color depending on the amount of THC.
The next test will be the Beam reagent test for testing CBD. Get a glass vial and label it with our sample ID. Next add three drops of our cannabis extract, followed by 10 drops of the 5% KOH reagent. Mix well and wait for color change. The color should go from a light pink or purple to a dark pink or purple color depending on the amount of CBD.
The results of these tests were pretty much what was expected. These are almost all the same with the exception of Juanita la Lagrimosa (labeled JLL). The Juanita clearly showed a lighter color in the THC test and a darker color on the CBD test. I have previously tested this strain at 8% THC and 8% CBD. So, these results are inline with what I was expecting.
The original beam test used a non-polar solvent (naphtha) for the extraction. I would like to try that for the extract again as it eliminates much of the green color making the results easier to read IMO.
Source:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=8180934&postcount=2
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It’s funny @ReikoX, years ago I was actually isomerizing oils of “poor” quality cannabis to increase THC content… came out cherry-red after last wash and stripping of nonpolar solvent. Now-a-days, I actually look for higher CBD/CBN…
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Pardon me for interrupting, but I think the bold should be corrected to read “10 drops of the 5% potassium hydroxide reagent”.
Excellent example of these tests, BTW!
I’ll be mixing up my first batch of reagent for Beam’s tests this weekend. 
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Great stuff @ReikoX, killing it bro.
You have access to the Ocean at all?
Ever mess around with seaweed extract?
I make my own via simple cold water extraction, shit is the 
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so cool! I’m watching with my note book at the ready!
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Tha is for catching that error. I fixed the post with the correct directions.
The Creme Brulee have been cleaned up and topped. I’ll probably flip them to 12/12 in the next day or two. The clover was also chopped and dropped, providing some slow release nitrogen for stretch. That and it just looks nicer. The mothers down below need a haircut as well.
Since the last round of clones was successful, I will likely wait to clean the cloner later this week and get some healthy clones while I’m at it.
The workbench got a little dried out. The Adonis is bigger and the Jilly Bean were fine, so I waited too long.
Adonis
This is the first week flowering, so hopefully it just costs me some of those big water leaves that needed to be trimmed anyway. (Note, looked much better the next day)
Jilly Bean 1/3
Jilly Bean 2/3
Jilly Bean 3/3
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Plants looking good as always. Dropping knowledge as always.
Have you ran the creme brulee before? @ReikoX
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Yes sir! It wasn’t my best run, but the smoke is very good.
Here they are a few days before the chop.
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The workbench is looking much better today. So much so, I had to take a picture. I may have lost a couple of leaves on the Adonis, but she was in need of some thinning out anyway.
I gave my mothers a haircut again. This time I decided to clone a few plants that are getting older and have woody stems. These three are Zak Haze, Skywalker OG, and Jilly Bean. I took enough cuts to fill my cloner and, hopefully, replace these aging plants in veg.
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Well it is about time to harvest some EWC from my vermi-inn. First I removed all of the trays and emptied out the tea from the bottom. I’ll add this to my feed tomorrow. Then, leaving the bottom tray behind, the rest of the trays were put back.
After harvesting the bottom tray, I filled it about half way with used soil. This was quite dry from sitting, so it was moistened with a pump sprayer.
On top of that was a layer of coffee grounds followed by a layer of leaf that’s been collecting in my freezer. That us all covered with a layer of wet newspaper.
I got a good 2-3 gallons of nicely worked EWC. This will be top dressed and watered in twice per cycle. Once at the beginning and again when I flip to flowering.
These Creme Brulee tend to go yellow as soon as I flip them to flower. Notice the one on the right getting some yellowing already. I went ahead and top dressed about a quarter inch of these castings and watered it in with sprouted barley, fulvic acid, yucca powder, and silica.
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Hey @ReikoX! Looking good, man!
If you don’t mind, can you tell me more about yucca? What are the benefits? I’ve got a few big ones in my front yard. I’d love to use them on my plants if there are tangible benefits. Is there a fairly simple process to utilizing them?
I am assuming it is possible to harvest leaves from them without killing them (the ones I have are impossible to kill without digging about 2 feet down to get the root out).
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The yucca root is high in saponins, it acts as a wetting agent. This was yucca root that was harvested wild then skinned, dried, and powdered in a coffee grinder. I also made a whole plant (roots leaves etx) FPJ but I already used that up.
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I like my yuccas too much to do that. 
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I used it as a substitute for aloe to switch it up. Get some soap nuts (aka reetha nuts) they are even higher in saponins and pretty cheap on Amazon.
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