Hi guys! How you all been doing? Long time from the last time I came here! Cheers to all! (no Dust not to you, you still suck no matter how much time it have passed... karma's a bitch) See you soon, Take care.

Hello @Jose.gh nice to hear from you

(El Niño x Super Lemon Haze) El Niño: Haze, Super Skunk, Brazilian and South Indian.x Super Lemon Haze: Lemon Skunk (original skunk, citral) + Super Silver Haze (Skunk, Northern Lights, Haze) White Lemon Grow Report GH White Lemon is a very vigorous and very stable strain with a rubbery characteristic of the stem and grows tall, being ideal for SCROG grow setups and Supercropping. Two phenotypes are noticeable in this strain, with a third pheno much more ocasional. Leave shape is Indica-like despite the height grow rate of a Sativa. This factor, wide and dark leaves, will help this strain to deliver her dense and tight buds in flowering period. Bud's smell is distinctively lemony, the one from the genetic material of Super Lemon Haze and very frosty and compact from the El Niño side. Very easy to grow, ready in 8 to 9 weeks. High yeld ability. White Lemon Smoke Report Indica phenotype smells like herself, like a very good lemon, altough it comes with a twist of something more after grinding, it's a very sharp and strong spicy smoke inhaling and sweet lemony exhaling, with a oily after-tongue. High is workable but with a heavy brain and loose body high aswell. Sativa phenotype is more sweet smelling and tasting, think it realy resembles more the lemon haze side of the genetics then the indica one previously mentioned. Smokes as the first but with a sweeter tone. For a sour lover the indica pheno smoke will be better. The High of this pheno doesn't compare to the indica one, the stone setlles more on the body altough with same cerebral, but with lack of good awareness to do something besides couch, bed, hammok... Both are top notch smoke! Thank you, Green House!!! Take care http://www.strainhun...-smoke-reports/

Here's some good info that dfwi sent trough e-mail to some of us Hunters. So I'm passing the word to dfwi, enjoy! You cut the poppie about 300mm down the main stalk and remove all the leaf then just cut up into peices so it fits in the blender. Then add water about 4 to 5 times more than plant matter and blend real good you end up with the green sluge you see which we pour into a pot and simmer on high for about 30 to 40mins you dont want to rapid boil just a constant high simmer. after about 40mins we pour it threw a strainer some use cheese cloth others fancy mesh i just use the kitchen wipes works then we squeeze and are left with the green brown water i just throw away the cooked plant matter some i'm shore will tell me there is more you can get from it and i'm sure you can but i dont bother after this we transfur it into a larger flatter dish to do the final cook off now we get this simmering on a super low simmer we are trying to evaporate all the water you can see the build up allready on the side this slow simmer can take up to 1hr my-be bit longer but this is where you need to be paitant you dont want to burn it. once all the water is gone you are left with pure opium you just scrap up of the bottom of the dish Man am I getting wasted tonight Good health and Happy dreams to you all, I am going to go and get all fucked up ......................peace dfwi Thank You, Dfwi!!! Anyone of the receivers could have done it, but I had the time and the will so I did it.. I hope it was done in the right way, with all the info and pics. Take care

WhiteLemon (El Niño x Super Lemon Haze) El Niño: Haze, Super Skunk, Brazilian and South Indian. x Super Lemon Haze: Lemon Skunk (original skunk, citral) + Super Silver Haze (Skunk, Northern Lights, Haze) -flowering time: 8-9 weeks -height: medium-tall -good for SCRoG A few days before sprouting I've soaked the medium (soil + hydroton balls around 10%) with Plagron Roots and Hygrozyme. After the germination process... Both sprouted yesterday (16/01/2011) They have been planted and will grow in one 10.8L pot, to try to create a Mycorrhizae Network in the future wen the root system gets big enough for it, lets see. Soil:BioBizz Light-Mix Base inorganic nutrients: Advanced Hydroponics of Holland 1 Grow, 2 Bloom, 3 Micro. Base organic/mineral nutrients: Plagron Alga-Grow, Alga-Bloom Humic / Fulvic acids:BioBizz Top Maxx Enzymes: Hygrozyme Rootings & Seaweed: Canna Rhizotonic;Plagron Roots Fish Emulsion: BioBizz Fish-Mix Bloom: Plagron Green Sensation ; Advanced Nutrients Big Bud ; Advanced Natural Power Growth/Bloom Excelarator Vitamins: Superthrive and Hesi Supervit Micro Organisms: Nutrifield Defence System (prev. TriBoost) ; Nutrifield Plant Starter (prev. X10 Boost) ; MycoPlant Carbohydrates: Advanced Nutrients CarboLoad Foliar only: Plagron Phyt-Amin Take care

Congratulations Lev!

Hi guys! It's good to be back! So I'll start of with a question.. How do you guys keep your electronic ph & ec testers working good? Ph testers are more sensitive than the Ec testers... You just rinse after use or you use any solution to clean the probes after using? Would love to know all about it from you personal use! Thanks in advance! Take care!

The advice is to use a cleaning solution or storage solution (wen in storage), but if we don't have any of those two they recomend to use tap water instead of distilled water.

White Lemon is the best strain from GH, from the ones I already tryed, here's why: White Lemon Grow Report GH White Lemon is a very vigorous and very stable strain with a rubbery characteristic of the stem and grows tall, being ideal for SCROG grow setups and Supercropping. Two phenotypes are noticeable in this strain, with a third pheno much more ocasional. Leave shape is Indica-like despite the height grow rate of a Sativa. This factor, wide and dark leaves, will help this strain to deliver her dense and tight buds in flowering period. Bud's smell is distinctively lemony, the one from the genetic material of Super Lemon Haze and very frosty and compact from the El Niño side. Very easy to grow, ready in 8 to 9 weeks. High yeld ability. White Lemon Smoke Report Indica phenotype smells like herself, like a very good lemon, altough it comes with a twist of something more after grinding, it's a very sharp and strong spicy smoke inhaling and sweet lemony exhaling, with a oily after-tongue. High is workable but with a heavy brain and loose body high aswell. Sativa phenotype is more sweet smelling and tasting, think it realy resembles more the lemon haze side of the genetics then the indica one previously mentioned. Smokes as the first but with a sweeter tone. For a sour lover the indica pheno smoke will be better. The High of this pheno doesn't compare to the indica one, the stone setlles more on the body altough with same cerebral, but with lack of good awareness to do something besides couch, bed, hammok... Both are top notch smoke! http://forums.strainhunters.com/site/index.php/index.html/_/articles/strains/gh-white-lemon-grow-smoke-reports-r53 Take care

Thanks Sizla! The info that came with the new ph tester I bought says that we shouldn't use distillate water on it.. But what you wrote makes sense to me too, if I didn't read the info I would do it for sure! Take care

Hi Chronixx! If you are already growing plants with new soil with a ph around 5.5 to 6.5, this means you don't have to correct it, it's ready to use just like that! If the soil is proper for growing plants you realy don't have to worry about correcting it! The only thing you need to correct is the ph of the water for the feeding solution: Check the actual ph level of the water before start using it (normaly the ph value of the water have a higher value than the plants will need), so, usualy you should put some drops of ph down before mixing the nutrients (around 1 or 2 drops per 1.5L/2L of water), give it a good stir after adding the ph down drops to the water so the ph down acts nicely! Then start adding the nutrients, and after all the nutrients use your ph tester to check what is the ph level of the feeding solution and correct it again to the desired ph level! 5.7 - 6 in Veg , 6 - 6.4 in Bloom (in soil) It's as simple as this! Have a good grow! Take care.

Good to hear from you Tokage! Thanks for the input guys!!! I had to buy a new one, here it is: http://www.adwainstruments.com/site/component/content/article/131

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN THE MARCH 2009 ISSUE OF HIGH TIMES Subcool’s Super Soil Step-by-Step Master bud breeder and longtime grower Subcool reveals his tried and true tips for stirring up the perfect organic-soil mix for pot plants that taste amazing, smell incredible and pack a potent, intoxicating punch.by SubCool Fri, Aug 07, 2009 1:51 pm more: grow, grow articles, subcool, mzjillShare | Story by Subcool, photos by Subcool & MzJill "There’s nothing that compares to the flavor of properly grown organic pot: The subtle tastes and aromas created by using only “Mother Earth” are overwhelming to the senses when it’s done properly. As with vegetables, a rich organic soil can bring out the best in cannabis. Over the past 20 years, I have tried almost every possible way to cultivate our favorite plant. And while hydro is certainly faster and the yields blow soil away, I’ve developed an organic-soil mix that consistently performs extremely well, with very little guesswork involved (i.e., I don’t have to worry about pH or ppms ever). I spent a few years developing the recipe for this Super Soil mix, and using it in 7-gallon nursery pots, I can run from start to finish adding only plain water. Other than a bit of sweat equity every 90 days or so, using this soil takes a huge amount of the science out of gardening and puts nature back in charge. Also, the recipe is always changing in slight ways as I continue to fine-tune it in my efforts to achieve perfection. The Base Start with at least six to eight large bags of high-quality organic soil. This is your base soil—i.e., your regular potting soil without the additives. The selection of your base soil is very important, so don’t cut corners here. I can’t begin to discuss all the different products out there, but I will mention a few in this article. A good organic soil should cost you from $8 to $10 per 30-pound bag. Since I want to give you a very specific idea of what I consider to be a balanced soil, take a look at the ingredients in a product called Roots Organic: Lignite, coco fiber, perlite, pumice, compost, peat moss, bone meal, bat guano, kelp meal, greensand, soybean meal, leonardite, k-mag, glacial rock dust, alfalfa meal, oyster shell flour, earthworm castings and mycorrhizae. Another local product we’re trying out now, Harvest Moon, has the following ingredients: Washed coco fibers, Alaskan peat moss, perlite, yucca, pumice, diatoms, worm castings, feather meal, fishmeal, kelp meal, limestone, gypsum, soybean meal, alfalfa meal, rock dust, yucca meal and mycorrhizae fungi. So far we’ve found that Roots Organic produces a more floral smell in the finished buds, while Harvest Moon generates larger yields. If you have access to a good local mix like these, then I highly recommend starting with a product of this type. We’ve also had decent results using commercial brands, but never “as is.” The best results we’ve had to date using a well-known commercial soil has been with Fox Farms’ Ocean Forest soil combined in a 2-to-1 ratio with Light Warrior. Used on its own, Ocean Forest is known for burning plants and having the wrong ratio of nutrients, but when cut with Light Warrior, it makes a pretty good base-soil mix. You can also just use two bales of Sunshine Mix #4, but this would be my last choice, since plants grown in this mix may not respond well to my “just add water” method of growing. After choosing your base soil, the Super Soil concentrate is placed in the bottom one-third to one-half of the container and blended with the base soil. (With strains that require high levels of nutrients, we’ll go so far as to fill ¾ of the container with Super Soil, but this is necessary only with a small percentage of strains.) This allows the plants to grow into the concentrated Super Soil layer, which means that in the right size container, they’ll need nothing but water throughout their full cycle. One of the things I like best about this soil mix is that I can drop off plants with patients, and all they have to do is water them when the soil dries out. Stir It Up There are several ways to mix these ingredients well. You can sweep up a patio or garage and work there on a tarp, or you can use a plastic wading pool for kids. (These cost about 10 bucks apiece and work really well for a few seasons.) Some growers have been known to rent a cement mixer to cut down on the physical labor. Whatever method you use, all that matters in the end is that you get the ingredients mixed properly. This can be a lot of work, so be careful not to pull a muscle if you’re not used to strenuous activity. On the other hand, the physical effort involved is good for mind and body, and working with soil has kept me in pretty good shape. But if you have physical limitations, you can simply have someone mix it up for you while you supervise. As far as the proper steps go: Pour a few bags of base soil into your mixing container first, making a mound. Then pour the powdered nutrients in a circle around the mound and cover everything with another bag of base soil. In goes the bat poop and then more base soil. I continue this process of layering soil and additives until everything has been added to the pile. Now I put on my muck boots, which help me kick the soil around and get it mixed up well using my larger and stronger leg muscles instead of my arms. The rest is simple; as my skipper used to say, “Put your back into it.” This is hard work that I obsess over, even breaking up all the soil clods by hand. I work on the pile for at least 15 minutes, turning the soil over and over until it’s thoroughly mixed. Then I store my Super Soil in large garbage cans. (And before using any of it, I pour the entire load out and mix it well once more.) Once it’s placed in the cans, I water it slightly—adding three gallons of water to each large garbage can’s worth. Though it makes stirring the soil harder, adding water will activate the mycorrhizae and help all the powders dissolve. Before Planting So we’ve added the water, and now we let it cook in the sunshine—30 days is best for this concentrate. Do not put seeds or clones directly into this Super Soil mix or they will burn. This is an advanced recipe to be used in conjunction with base soil. First you place a layer of Super Soil at the bottom of each finishing container; then you layer a bed of base soil on top of the Super Soil concentrate; and then you transplant your fully rooted, established clones into the bed of base soil. As the plants grow, they’ll slowly push their roots through the base soil and into the Super Soil, drawing up all the nutrients they need for a full life cycle. The Super Soil can be also be used to top-dress plants that take longer to mature. I’ll use this mix for a full year. Buds grown with this method finish with a fade and a smoother, fruitier flavor. The plants aren’t green at harvest time, but rather purple, red, orange, even black—plus the resin content is heavier, and the terpenes always seem more pungent. This method is now being used by medical growers all over the world, and with amazing results. The feedback I’ve received is really positive, including reports of hydro-like growth and novice growers producing buds of the same high quality as lifelong cultivators. So give it a try! You won’t be disappointed. The Mix Here are the amounts we’ve found will produce the best-tasting buds and strongest medicines: 8 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil) 25 to 50 lbs of organic worm castings5 lbs steamed bone meal5 lbs Bloom bat guano5 lbs blood meal3 lbs rock phosphate¾ cup Epson salts½ cup sweet lime (dolomite)½ cup azomite (trace elements)2 tbsp powdered humic acid This is the same basic recipe I’ve been using for the past 15 years. The hardest ingredient to acquire are the worm castings (especially since many people don’t even know what they are. FYI: worm poop). But don’t decide to just skip them: Be resourceful. After all, worms comprise up to ¾ of the living organisms found underground, and they’re crucial to holding our planet together. Also, don’t waste money on a “soil conditioner” with worm castings; source out some local pure worm poop with no added mulch." Subcool is the author of Dank: The Quest for the Very Best Marijuana, available at dankgearonline.com. Take care

Daylight Hours Explorer Shows the hours of daylight received during the year for an observer at a given latitude. This is an important factor contributing to the seasons. UNL Astronomy / ClassAction / Coordinates and Motions / Animations Usage Instructions Running this animation on your computer... right-click to download daylighthoursexplorer.swf and daylighthoursexplorer.html to the same directory open the html file in a browser to run the animation http://astro.unl.edu...rsexplorer.html To find your latitude use Google Earth or Maps Take care

Growing cannabis outdoors "Growing cannabis outdoors has been mans traditional method of growing his favourite recreational and medicinal herb for thousands of years. Nature has provided cannabis with the adaptations and hardiness needed to grow in many regions. Specialist selective breeding by the more professional seed suppliers has produced some truly outstanding varieties that will produce excellent ganja in non-tropical northern European climates and even thousands of metres above sea level. For those growers that don’t wish to grow indoors or in greenhouses, outdoor growing is a great and easy way to produce your stash. Growing cannabis outdoors with good quality seed not only gives amazingly powerful weed but it also produces some of the best tasting weed with deep flavours and rich aromas. The outdoor grower typically grows from April/May to October in the northern hemisphere. Outdoor growers often germinate the seeds indoors and give their plants a headstart by growing them indoors under lights for a few weeks. These plants are often gradually acclimatised to outdoor temperatures before being permanently planted outside as established plants in time for the summer. It's also possible to start growing cannabis outdoors in the beginning of April, the first weeks under a piece of glass or in a greenhouse. The yield per female plant is between 100 and 400 grams for the different strains. Most of the plants have yields in between. Yields are especially dependent on sowing time, nutrition, and sunlight. All "indoor" and "outdoor" varieties can be grown outdoors in more Southern latitudes. For this reason, the harvest time under natural light is also given for all the "indoor" varieties. Greenhouse varieties and Indoor varieties can be grown outdoors in Central and Southern Europe with very good results. In more Northern latitudes (Scandinavia) only the outdoor varieties that are harvested early can be grown outdoors. Most "outdoor" varieties cannot be grown indoors, unless mentioned in this catalog. One of the most important factors for the outdoor grower is to correctly prepare the site. The ideal grow site should get unrestricted sun for as much of the day as possible. Protection from strong winds will also shield your crop. A grow site will often benefit from shelter; a small earth bank, a fallen tree stem or thick bushes can not only protect the plant from prevailing winds but it may also protect the plant from animals and unwelcome human attention. Having a close source of water, such as a nearby stream can make it easy to get water to your crop during hot weather. Many outdoor growers will use organic fertilisers such as bat guano, worm castings, bloodmeal, bonemeal etc to improve soil condition before the grow starts, perhaps digging in plenty of compost as well. More proficient outdoor growers will test the soil when preparing the site and fertilise it accordingly. Professional soil testing kits can be bought from garden centres which will indicate the soil type, the pH and factors such as sand content, loam and clay content etc. There is no ‘perfect’ soil for growing in and different varieties will often perform well in a range of conditions so long as nutrients are present, drainage is good and pH is within 5.8-6.5. For some people, outdoor growing means a secure and private part of their back garden or even a balcony. In some parts of the world this is too risky, so growers will choose a private and often remote spot in the countryside where they can grow. Internet maps or local knowledge can be used to find private sun-facing locations. Some growers prefer the seclusion of high altitude mountains for complete peace-of-mind and security. A new technique is to grow cannabis plants in large soil-filled sacks that have been hoisted into the tree canopy. This technique allows growers to choose locations that may be closer to home since the plants are completely invisible to people passing nearby. Yet plants grown in this way benefit from all-day sunlight and can be grown relatively close to cities and villages without raising suspicion. Just make sure that the sack is securely fixed in place. Those lucky enough to live in a Mediterranean climate with a private sun terrace are ideally placed for convenient outdoor growing. Those growing outdoors on their own land will be able to ensure that the plants receive the water and nutrients that they need and should be guaranteed the very best results assuming they originally invested in quality seed stock. Those growing on their own land may have the option of growing the plants in plant pots or rooting them directly into the soil. Plant pots have the advantage of being portable but may need regular watering in hot weather. The experienced grower will often avoid ‘black’ plant containers which get very hot in direct sunlight. They will also avoid putting plant pots directly onto a hot surface (e.g. tiled terrace) which will stress the roots. Those growing plants rooted directly into the soil will often get the best growth and yield so long as the soil is in good condition and the spot receives good sunlight! Those growing outdoors may not always be able to visit the plants regularly so a grow spot has to be chosen which is private, sunny and with some protection from animals such as rabbits and deer that will happily munch the plants if not kept away. Some growers surround their secret grow spot with branches and undergrowth to conceal the crop and deter grazing animals. Other growers deliberately plant thorny plants (blackberry plants etc) around their grow area to provide lasting and effective protection. This technique usually involves systematically surrounding the grow patch with a thick, tall and impenetrable barrier to humans and animals. When done properly there is absolutely no way that anyone could guess cannabis plants are growing nearby. Often the only way into the centre of such a grow is by crawling along the ground through a single secure route that can be easily covered and hidden. Visits to the grow spot will often involve checking the plants for pests and treating them accordingly. In dry weather water may need bringing to the plants. Some outdoor growers transport the original soil to the grow site, often it will have been pre-enriched with e.g. worm castings and perhaps water absorbent gel crystals will have been added. Water absorbent gel crystals can be bought in many garden centres and absorb excess moisture swelling into large water retaining gel particles. These then slowly release the water during dryer times. They allow plants to thrive with additional water reserves for their roots even in drought conditions. When growing cannabis outdoors think carefully about the variety. Not all strains are suited to outdoors, so read the reviews carefully and choose a good seed supplier. The best outdoor strains were often developed over a period of several years, selectively breeding those offspring that displayed the best suitability to outdoor conditions as well as retaining premium potency levels. This is a full time job that requires an expert ability not just to create premium outdoor strains but also to stabilise them. Sometimes the hardest part of outdoor growing is selecting the right location and preparing it for the cannabis plants/seeds. Often the outdoor grower will have several different grow locations and accepts that losing the occasional plant is an occupational hazard. Once the spot is ready it will often be used for many years of harvesting by the outdoor cannabis grower. Outdoor growing is challenging but fun, it may require ingenious thinking and professional preparation but when done correctly the outdoor grower can experience the thrill and satisfaction from harvesting all his herbal supplies free of charge, the way nature intended." I highlighted what I tought best, after a few outdoors I'm into... source: http://www.dutch-pas...nabis-outdoors/ Take care

RODELIZATION SOMA'S WAY TO FEMALE SEEDS Here’s an easy, environmentally friendly method for breeding feminized seeds. by SOMA Wed, Jul 30, 2003 12:00 am Story by Soma "Creating feminized cannabis seeds is an art. Just like art, there are a few different methods of application. I have written about some of my different methods of making seeds in previous HIGH TIMES articles. I have used gibberellic acid, pH stress, light stress, and fertilizer stress to force my female plants to make seeds. All of these methods are harsh on the plants, and some, like the gibberellic acid, are not organic. In my search for cleaner, more earth-friendly ways of working with the cannabis plant, I have found a new way to make feminized seeds. Feminized seeds occur as a result of stress, rather than genetics. All cannabis plants can and will make male flowers under stress. Certain strains like a higher pH, some a lower one. Some like a lot of food, some like much less. There is quite a lot of variety in marijuana genetics, and you can’t treat every plant the same way. It takes many harvests before you really get to know a particular strain. Just like getting to know human friends, it takes time. I have grown the same strains for close to a decade, and am truly getting to know every nuance the different plants exhibit. I can recognize them from a distance. I must say that I get a lot of help from my friends, both in making seeds and in learning new and better ways of working with this sacred plant. I named this new method "Rodelization," after a friend who helped me realize and make use of this way of creating female seeds. After growing crop after crop of the same plants in the same conditions, I noticed that if I flowered the plants 10-14 days longer than usual, they would develop male "bananas." A male banana is a very slight male flower on a female marijuana plant that is formed because of stress. Usually they do not let out any pollen early enough to make seeds, but they sometimes do. They are a built-in safety factor so that in case of severe conditions, the plant can make sure the species is furthered. To me, a male banana is quite a beautiful thing. It has the potential of making all female seeds. Many growers out there have male-banana phobia. They see one and have heart palpitations, they want to cut down the entire crop, or at the very least take tweezers and pluck the little yellow emergency devices out. I call them "emergency devices" because they emerge at times of stress. In the Rodelization method, the male banana is very valuable. After growing your female plants 10-14 days longer than usual, hang them up to dry, then carefully take them off the drying lines and inspect for bananas. Each and every banana should be removed, and placed in a small bag labeled very accurately. These sealed bags can be placed in the fridge for one or two months and still remain potent. For the next phase, you need to have a separate crop that’s already 2 1/2 weeks into flowering. Take your sealed bags of pollen out of the fridge, and proceed to impregnate your new crop of females. To do this, you must first match the female plant and the pollen from the same strain in the previous crop. Shut all the fans in the growroom down. Then take a very fine paintbrush, dip it in the bag of pollen, and paint it on the female flower. Do this to each different strain you have growing together. I have done it with up to 10 different kinds in the same room with great success. I use the lower flowers to make seeds, leaving the top colas seedless for smoking. This method takes time (two crops), but is completely organic, and lets you have great-quality smoke at the same time you make your female seeds. If you’re one of those growers who’s never grown seeds for fear of not having something good to smoke, you will love this method. You can also use this pollen to make new female crosses by cross-pollinating. The older females with the male bananas can be brought into the room with the younger, unpollinated females after they are three weeks into flowering. Turn all of the circulation fans on high, and the little bits of pollen will proceed to make it around the room. Do this for several days. Six to seven weeks later, you will have ripe 100% feminized seeds; not nearly as many as a male plant would make, but enough to start over somewhere else with the same genetics. As a farmer who has been forced to move his genetics far away from where they started, I know very well the value of seeds. My friend Adam from ThSeeds in Amsterdam has a motto that I love to borrow these days: Drop seeds not bombs." http://hightimes.com/grow/soma/622 Take care

Green House Genetic Strain map "Use your mouse wheel to zoom in and out, select a strain, then it will move to the middle. Click again on the name, and the arrows of lineage will become yellow, indicating parentage." http://www.greenhous...strain-map.html Take care

http://hightimes.com/grow/ht_admin/7086The Mystery of Lemon Tue, May 03, 2011 3:38 pm more: may 2011, field guide to marijuana strains, strains, grow, grow articles Share |The famous Irish playwright Oscar Wilde said, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” The same applies to the legendary pot strain Lemon Skunk: It’s rarely pure these days, and discovering its origins is by no means simple. By Callum Francis He’s widely known as the Lemon Man. For the past 12 years, he’s plied his trade in relative anonymity, nurturing his prized possession: Lemon Skunk. For over 25 years, in Las Vegas growrooms, a closed network of growers shared cuttings and seeds of Lemon Skunk with only a few of their brethren. The Lemon Man, now 29, was connected to the Lemon Skunk crew through family. He began growing in his mid-teens, but like many cultivators, he heard the siren song of Amsterdam, its cornucopia of genetics beckoning him. At the age of 17, he departed for Holland. Naturally, he arrived on Dutch shores with his American export. “It was 1999,” he says. “I kind of kept going back and forth, networked around, met some really good people – wonderful mentors.” He began to share his cuttings, and breeders went to work with Lemon Skunk. By 2007, it had won first place in the High Life Cup for DNA Genetics. DNA’s version of Lemon Skunk was a cross of the Lemon Man’s female with a male Skunk #1, courtesy of Flying Dutchman. In his just-released HIGH TIMES Field Guide to Marijuana Strains, HT senior cultivation editorDanny Danko cites Lemon Skunk as “a mostly sativa strain specifically selected for its zesty lemon characteristics,” praising it as “an easy-to-grow masterpiece of genetic achievement.” One of Amsterdam’s resident cannabis experts, known as “The Nose,” describes its smoking characteristics: “It’s fruity, very stony, with a nice taste. It’s a very good smoke.” But this is where things get a little murky. As the Nose explains, “Amsterdam is an impatient place when it comes to genetics. People get hold of something nice; they start messing with it, seeing what they can come up with. It becomes very convoluted, because cuttings and seeds get distributed widely. They’re manipulated, then passed on, and people lose track of where the strains come from.” The Lemon Man tells me that Lemon Skunk is actually an old-school Original Skunk #1 that originated in California. But over the course of 25 years of cultivation in Las Vegas, its fame as “Lemon Skunk” took hold, since the strain was renowned for imparting a hint of citrus along with its strong, mellow high. Its success in Amsterdam was deeply gratifying for the Lemon Man – especially when Arjan, the chief of the Green House coffeeshop and seed-company empire, crossed Lemon Skunk with Super Silver Haze to create Super Lemon Haze. The Green House’s creation, which has been measured at a whopping 23 percent THC, won the Cannabis Cup in both 2008 and 2009 and took second overall this past year. However, in a recent phone call, Arjan said that he can’t place the Lemon Man, nor can he confirm that Super Lemon Haze’s original genetics were acquired from him. The Lemon Man now lives in Colorado and runs the Verde Wellness Center, a dispensary in downtown Denver, which he opened just over a year ago. It serves 500 patients and, at any given time, has some 10 to 20 strains available. The Lemon Man is a pleasant, low-key personality, consumed with meeting the ever-changing requirements of the state’s burgeoning medical-marijuana scene, which includes rigorous oversight of Verde’s gardens. When I relate my conversation with Arjan to him, the Lemon Man shrugs his shoulders and hardly seems thrown off. “That’s Amsterdam,” he explains. “I was responsible for bringing the genetics over, and a lot of people got a hold of them.” Still, Arjan’s inability to place him causes the Lemon Man to scratch his head. He refers me to a YouTube video from the 2008 Cannabis Cup. It’s an episode of the Italian television program Le Iene, a hip, satirical show that reports on politics and cultural trends; on it, Arjan is interviewed about Super Lemon Haze. Very clearly, he tells the interviewer that Lemon Skunk originally comes from Las Vegas. “I don’t know what to tell you, but I’m the Lemon Man, I’m from Vegas, and I brought Lemon Skunk to Amsterdam,” the Lemon Man states matter-of-factly. “But I’m not going to argue with Arjan – he’s an amazing individual who has done tremendous things for cannabis and the industry. Super Silver Haze always was a wonderful strain; it had really good genetics. Lemon Skunk was always a great strain, too, and they really made a wonderful combination. I think the Super Silver Haze, with that element of sativa, brought Super Lemon Haze to another level.” So we’ll leave it to the cannabis historians to figure this one out. But the Lemon Skunk still grows strong, and the lucky medical patients of Colorado can sample the legend for themselves. In an industrial area of Denver, where the Verde gardens are situated, the Lemon Man has saved his current garden of Lemon Skunk until the last possible minute so that a photographer can capture it in all its blooming glory. In his strain guide, Danny Danko describes Lemon Skunk’s performance as follows: “It grows tall yet boasts a high calyx-to-leaf ratio, making for colas that are easy to trim and a joy to smoke. Sweet, fruity and covered with bright orange hairs, she also packs an impressive punch, with a soaring high that seems to have no ceiling. This citrus strain definitely has pedigree.” No argument here. The Lemon Skunk lives up to its hype, both in appearance and smokeability. “I’ve done soil; I’ve done the aeroponics,” the Lemon Man explains. “Right now, we’re actually using ebb and flow – a flood-and-drain system. I really do like the soil a lot. I’m really a soil person, and we’re going to have another room dedicated to soil. You’re going to lose a little bit of your yield, but I like the hydros, too – even though they’re very finicky and you have to keep a close eye on everything. This system is pretty simple. It definitely requires a lot of reservoir changes and that you be precise about nutrients. “I like to keep things as organic as possible,” the Lemon Man continues. “I’m really big into the worm castings and stuff like that, but with a lot of these systems, it’s challenging to be 100 percent pure organic. Plants are like us – they really don’t need a lot sometimes. Many people, when they begin gardening, they either overdo it with nutrients or overwater everything. We run each strain on a different reservoir so we can dial in their feeding needs. I think it’s good to feed everything on a light dose. Every strain responds differently when it comes to feedings. People always ask: ‘What cycle [do you run], what do you run your pH at?’ – all that stuff. But it’s all strain-specific.” Lemon Skunk is certainly not alone in the Verde garden. “I’m working with some really nice OG Kushes. They’re not big yielders, but the quality is worth it – super-potent, super-nice. In fact, I’ve noticed that a lot of the Kushes seem to do really well in hydro systems. We’re also working with J-1, an old Jack Herer cross, as well as an OG Sage cross that came out really nice. And our Master Kush has been very intriguing. “But figuring out what’s right for each strain is a trial-and-error thing,” the Lemon Man concludes. “That’s where the art of growing comes in.” Visit the Verde Wellness Center at 5101 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80220, or call 303-474-4489. Take care

A quick answer to why we should use EC instead of TDS The debate over EC and TDS has been an ongoing issue for a long time. These two measurements are used to determine the strength of hydroponic solution. Although they are widely used they should only be used as a guideline and you should always follow mixing instructions on the label of you nutrient. EC stands for Electrical Conductivity and is measured in mS/cm or millisiemens per centimeter. TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids and is measured in PPM or parts per million. TDS is acquired by taking the EC value and performing a calculation to determine the TDS value. Because TDS is actually a calculation it is really only a guess at what the nutrient concentration is. On top of that, there are three different conversion factors to determine TDS and different manufacturers use different conversion factors. In other words you could test the same solution with two different meters and get two totally different readings. But the EC is read the same by all meters the only difference is the conversion factor. Some additional information for the geeks like us First of all lets talk about the differences and similarities between EC and TDS. We all know that they are both a measure of the amount of dissolved solids in your nutrient solution. This measurement is used by growers to get an idea of how much nutrient is present in the solution. By maintaining the correct level of nutrients in the solution your plants will achieve maximum results. This all sounds very important but there are some major differences between the different meter manufacturers. Some of you may have noticed that some calibration solutions that are marked to read at a certain TDS may actually read different from meter to meter. This is where the problem begins. Some of you may have not even heard of EC and others may have heard of it but do not even know what it is. Unfortunately many growers in the United States have become very accustomed to using the TDS scale while in most other countries, including Europe, they don't use anything but EC. The fact is that TDS is actually a result of a calculation from EC. The problem is lack of consistency among manufacturers when it comes to conversion factors. This is where it may get a little confusing. Most meter manufacturers in the hydroponics industry use one of two conversions. There is the 442 conversion (40% sodium sulfate, 40% sodium bicarbonate, and 20% sodium chloride) which some say is the closest thing to a hydroponic solution. The 442 conversion is approximately 700 x EC in millisiemens (mS). Then there is the NaCl conversion (sodium chloride) which others say is the closest thing to a hydroponic solution. The NaCl conversion is approximately 500 x EC in millisiemens (mS). You can see where the confusion comes from because the same solution will read 2100 ppm on one meter and it will read 1500 ppm on the other. That is a difference of 600 ppm which as many of you know could be devastating. Both meters are functioning correctly they are just calculating the TDS using a different formula. So, if you do not calibrate your meter using the correct calibration solution your meter could give you a very inaccurate reading. The solution is simple, use EC. With EC, no conversion is required so all meters will read the same regardless of the manufacturer. Here is a chart showing some sample measurements: Electrical Conductivity (EC) Parts Per Million (PPM) millisiemens (mS) microsiemens (µS) NaCl Conversion 442 Conversion 1.0 1000 = 500 ppm 700 ppm 1.5 1500 = 750 ppm 1050 ppm 2.0 2000 = 1000 ppm 1400 ppm 2.5 2500 = 1250 ppm 1750 ppm 3.0 3000 = 1500 ppm 2100 ppm http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/debate_over_ec_and_tds.asp Take care