The Monster Mash
23 January 2023
Thoughts on Growing, Goodies, Gizmo’s and Gadgets
As we have some time to go as we wait on the grow and as my sleeping patterns are wack and I have the time - I’d like to take the opportunity to ramble on a bit and in doing so maybe give you some insight into my growing philosophy.
I think most growers develop their own personal style and techniques over time. MOST are not bad and are simply an adaption to what works best for them individually. The vast majority of growers are good growers; a big part of that being that in reality, cannabis is a pretty easy plant to grow. A few are REALLY Good Growers and have taken the time to educate themselves and are doing their best to not just grow, but grow right. There’s an even smaller group that are EXCEPTIONAL Growers. These growers are usually not much different in age than the previous two groups, though they do tend to be slightly older. What is it in my estimation that makes this small group of growers EXCEPTIONAL? They’ve simply learned to pay attention to their plants AND have learned how to adjust their grows and growing habits to what works best for them not always what the books say. Group C isn’t necessarily smarter than Group A; they have just learned what works FOR THEM.
That being said, there are some givens. If you want good bud grow your own. If you want GREAT bud and enough to share grow your own WELL!
If you are a serious pharmer you are gonna push yourself a bit; learn all you can, observe and take note as much as possible and just to be comfortable with yourself and what your doing - you’re going to develop your own style and unique ways of growing. These are the EXCEPTIONAL Growers.
Time, trials, errors and happenstance often lead most growers to the same places. What I’ve found is that if you grow long enough you’re going to have to at least have a cursory knowledge of things like nutrient needs, PH, PPM/EC and the like but how folks go about acquiring that knowledge can be quite diverse and sometimes self derived. For example; it wasn’t until I had been growing seriously for some time before I ever heard of Schwazzing and realized that even without the benefit of having read the $500 book not only was I a Schwazzer of sorts - so we’re most EXCEPTIONAL Growers. We all had learned without reading the book, but instead by reading our plants.
The question is - how much you learn on your own and how much you learn by relying on the information of others who are doing their best to do the same thing you are? I think it’s about 50/50 myself. You can and do learn on your own - but if you’re wise you will also seek out and take the advice from other pharmers whose results speak as loud as their words.
What about goodies, gadgets and gizmo’s do you need ‘em? I find myself often overwhelmed by the shear amount of technology and techno-speak that has evolved with todays modern cannabis cultivators. Octo-pots, cloning stations, humidity monitors, Hydroponics, Bubble-ponics, Coco, dirt, living soil, VPD… the list goes on and on … and seems almost designed to keep you as in-tune with the technology as it does your plants. So… how do I feel about all this stuff? Do you NEED it? Is it helpful? The answer is bit complicated …
If you have the time, finances, mental clarity, determination and will, there is little doubt that at least some of the current technology can be very useful, helpful and sometimes NEEDED. Your personal grows may in fact, not really suffer much if you don’t know terms or understand more complex concepts but they’re is just simply some stuff you’re going to HAVE to have and NEED to know.
In the end all you can really do is the best you can. My advice when it come to growing, goodies, gadgets and gizmos? Have some patience with yourself and be honest enough to truly say - “I’ve done all that I know to do at this time and done it the best I could” and for the rest … “I sought out the wisdom of others”. If you’re going to use the gizmos - then learn how to use them properly and to benefit your grow or you’re really better off not even investing the money and could potentially do more harm than good. For me personally, what I do works FOR ME and I’m really not sure I have either the skill, time left or capacity for learning or the patience with myself for properly using more gadgets. However - some of them are cool as shit!
(This is for @MrWizard the Gadget & Gizmo KING✌️)
