Inoculate your rhizosphere (also known as your root zone) with mycorrhizae. This can be accomplished by purchasing a mycorrhizae powder formula and applying it through a drenching method – fill a resevoir, mix dry powder thoroughly following the directions, and then apply with water. This will greatly increase nutrient uptake so you will need to feed less. Whether your plants are indoors or in a greenhouse depro, it is a good time to add flowering nutrients at this stage in the flower cycle.
Greenhouse
Spring has sprung, people. Print this blog now and get in your truck. You’re going shopping. A quick trip to Costco (for 1 item) and your local nursery or home-improvement center and you’ll have everything you need. You can McGuyver it if you want, but if you follow this guide precisely you’ll have a top-notch backyard greenhouse rolling in no time (one day, in fact – bring a friend).
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Spray with your whole site (indoor/outdoor/greenhouse) with Neem oil on the same day. Spraying with Neem oil safely and organically fights off spider mites and powdery mildew. On regular intervals, we encourage beneficial insects such as nematoads and lady bugs. When all your chores are done around the greenhouse, its a good time to plant marigolds, cilantro, etc. Read companion planting blog post for more. Top dress before planting so as not turn burn companion plants. Add pearlite as needed for drainage.
p.s. Be aware of over watering and over fertilization during these first few weeks of flowering.
When transplanting be sure to move into large enough containers to see the plant through it’s entire flower cycle. We choose to use larger containers to ensure enough space for root growth and reducing the need to water as often.
As Danny Danko, Cultivation Editor for High Times says, bigger containers mean bigger years. When transplanting, be sure not to press and compact the soil, let the water do this over time. Center and position your plant in container to maximize your flowering site potential for light uptake. When placing your plants in the greenhouse, place the tallest plants on the north wall going from east to west. Try to create a stadium effect, the following rows should gradually be smaller and smaller, placing the shortest plants on the southern wall.
When preparing your soil for transplanting, use your favorite fertilizer as a top dress. Stay tuned, since Roots & Harmony will be putting out their favorite top dress for sale soon!
Super Silver Goo Desktop [1600x1200]
The sun is strong enough now to produce dense flowers. Our preferred date is 4/20! The process of deprivation is removing the light from the greenhouse to force the flowers. Our tried and true methods is wrapping the greenhouse with a visquen (“panda plastic”, one side black/one side white), white facing outward, and we clamp it down with big wood working clamps. We wrap the greenhouse at 7pm and unwrap at 7am. By starting this process on April 20, you will be ready to harvest 3 full flowering cycles in one year. I.e., the second flower cycle depro would be initiated June 20th. The third flower cycle (starting August 20) doesn’t need depro since the sun is at the proper timing from the solstice. Cut clones today, so you can transplant ready plants by harvest time on June 20th.
Site preparation for your outdoor plot, will not only entail rich fertile soil, proper sun (the buds must have at least 5-6 hours of direct mid-day sun to produce a decent harvest) and water, it also must be a secure location. Select a remote location, away from the prying eyes of “cops and robbers”. Also be aware of pests and critters, such as wood rats, wild pigs, deer, etc. A good deterrent is a 9 foot heavy gauge vineyard fencing, buried about 1 foot underground.
Spring is at hand, keep your indoor/outdoor/greenhouse areas as tidy as possible. Spring cleaning involves sweeping and “bleaching” down grow room/greenhouse walls in between flower cycles. Instead of using typical bleach, we use 1 ounce of hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water. (Be sure to wear gloves when using HP)
Remove brush piles and weeds. This leaves fewer places for pests to hide.
How to Make an Herbal Extract
A special blog from the Medicine Mama
These words are for you… growers, trimmers, smokers. Lovers of this sweet, green, sacred sacrament. First we acknowledge, and give thanks, for all this plant provides–for ourselves, our families, and friends. This plant provides food, shelter and clothing. Most importantly, it provides a deep feeling of physical, mental, and emotional well being.
Before we dive into how to prepare an herbal extract, I’d like to give you a little taste of myself, my words as Medicine, flowing out of me into you, with the sacred, rhythmic, pulse of life…. The heart is an alter, this life is a prayer, the blood of our mother, the water, carries me, carries you. Within each of us is medicine, a place of healing and wholeness. We carry within us sacred elements, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and the power of the Great Mystery. We are pure creation. The world around us is an expression of the world within us. Whatever it is you desire, to be, see, and create……begins with intention, a prayer. So pray….. as you make the Medicine, till the soil, plant the seeds, trim the leaf, smoke the green. Find that place within you, of deep respect, and honor, for yourself, and all life… Understand the power within and use it, in a good way.
This recipe is folk style…. for all us common folk medicine makers.
This is very basic herbal medicine making. I figure we’d start simple.
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In the first few weeks of April, prep the greenhouse. This involves cleaning the site and building the greenhouse. When building the greenhouse, we hang supplemental oscillating fans and place necessary dehumidifiers. Our farm is on the coast, an we are dealing with fog in the early spring weeks, so we hang four 600 watt High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lights in a 10 by 20 space (200 sq feet). This ensures the the proper light cycle for forcing the flower, the balance between light and dark, 12 hours day, 12 hours night.
Continue normal watering. Occasionally, we will add a little molasses, 1/2 tsp per gallon to our resevoir to give the medicine an extra carbo boost. PH level should still be at 5.0-5.5. At Roots & Harmony, we have a tactic of withholding water for the last 24-48 hours prior to harvest to help trigger the natural defense of the resin to stop the plant from transpiration. We find this helps the resin glands swell a bit more. As and added benefit, your buckets are a lot lighter to move.
p.s. This is a good time in most climates to germinate seed and start clones for your outdoor season. It’s important to pick your strain by your growing preference and climate of your area.
At 3rd quarter mark of your flowering time is the appropriate time to give the last and final feeding, high in phosphorus and potassium, withholding all nitrogen. (e.g., For an 8-week strain, final feeding is about 14 days before harvest.) This ensures proper flush of nutrients, so that the plant can bring out it’s beautiful bouquet, aroma and the medicine’s vigor.
