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Redd Beardd's Organic Garden: Redd Beardd's Return


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Well, after an unexpected hiatus I'm back and growing again!  During my downtime, I've read more on organic and biodynamic gardening and gone much farther down the rabbit hole.  My soil mix hasn't changed nor has my compost tea recipe.  I have however, stumbled across a new area of study, biodynamic gardening.  Most of you are probably more familiar with the term gardening by the moon.  Biodynamic gardening takes this a step further by accounting for the not only the lunar phase, but also the lunar sign.  Yea, yea I know...that's some real hippy shit right there.  But before you blow it off, just know that it's not about mysticism or how to plant, but about when to plant.  It's like a scheduling guideline.  I'm still a relative newbie in my understanding, but the basic premise is that the gravitational pull of the Moon exerts a measurable force (a.k.a. gravity) on water on Earth and to a lesser degree so do the planets.  The Moon's pull increases and decreases as it passes through the four phases (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarter) and as it passes through each phase it also spends approximately 2.5 days in each sign.  You beginning to get the scheduling idea yet?  Anyway, each sign of the zodiac is associated with a given element (fire, earth, water, air) and each element is better for certain types of garden activities.  For example, Cancer is water sign and is the most fertile of all the signs.  During 1st or 2nd quarter (waxing / increasing) when the Moon is in Cancer is said to be the best time to sow seeds or transplant plants that produce their fruits or vegetables above ground.  While cultivating, pulling weeds, applying organic fertilizers, planting root crops, etc is said to be best done during the 3rd or 4th quarter (waning / decreasing) when the Moon is in a dry or barren sign like Taurus.  

Anyway, enough of that hippy shit and on to the good stuff...

Strains

  • Wild Thailand
    • ​Strain:  Pure Sativa
    • THC:  22.3%
    • Genetics:  Landrace
    • Seed Type:  Feminized
    • Lineage:  Pure race obtained from Ko Chang (Thailand)
    • Breeder:  World of Seeds
    • Seed Bank:  Castle
  • Hawaiian Snow
    • Strain:  Sativa
    • THC:  23.0%
    • Genetics:  Landrace
    • Seed Type:  Femenized
    • Lineage:  Hawaiian, Laos
    • Breeder:  Green House Seeds
    • Seed Bank:  Castle
  • Yummy
    • Strain: Sativa Dominant
    • THC:  5.0%
    • CBD:  5.0%
    • Gentics:  Hybrid
    • Seed Type:  Femenized
    • Lineage:  Originally Yummy was a cross of a very special Yumbolt strain selected in 2003, with the G13 Haze male
    • Breeder:  CBD Crew
    • Seed Bank:  Castle
  • Panama
    • Strain:  Sativa
    • THC:  Untested
    • Genetics:  Hybrid Sativa x Sativa
    • Seed Type:  Femenized
    • Lineage:  Panama '74, Green Panama and Colombian "Punto Rojo".
    • Breeder:  CannaBioGen
    • Seed Bank:  Castle

Growing Environment
I germinated all the seeds in my soil mix in peat seed starting containers in a domed tray under T5 florescent lights.  After approximately 12 days of growth, I transplanted them to 3" containers and left them under the T5's on a 16:8 light cycle for another 10 - 12 days.  At which time I moved them to my grow tent (7'x7'x7') under a 1000W Hortilux Metal Halide light and am keeping them on a 16:8 light cycle.  In the tent I have a 6" cooling fan for the light hood and an 8,000 BTU A/C unit set to 78*F.
 
 Journal Updates

[04-May-2014] Pre-soaked for 24hrs

starting the seeds


 
 
[06-May-2014] Hawaiian Snow, Wild Thailand, and Panama germinated!

Germination - Hawaiian Snow and Wild Thailand


 

Germination - Yummy



 
[10-May-2014] Seedlings

Seedlings - Hawaiian Snow, Wild Thailand, Yummy


 
[11-May-2014] Panama germinated!

Germination - Panama



 
[21-May-2014] Seedlings, seedlings, seedlings!!
Wild Thailand

Wild Thailand [21-MAY-2014]

Hawaiian Snow

Hawaiian Snow [21-MAY-2014]

Yummy

Yummy [21-MAY-2014]

Panama

Panama [21-MAY-2014]




 
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Thanks for the info friend, and thanks for sharing. 

 

It's a technique I've used a lot, usually is used in cultures outside but inside works just as well. 

 

For people who do not believe in this, just get tested. Will be surprised of the results. 

 

I am attentive to your daily, Greetings! ;)

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@Jose.gh  - thanks for follow!  i actually got interested in biodynamic gardening because of my vegetable garden.  i've been following the lunar / biodynamic calendar for those this season and was so impressed by the results that i decided to apply them to my indoor / cannabis garden.  the way i look at it is regardless of indoors or out, the Moon has a definite effect on your plants so why not follow throughout all the gardens...

 

@Madhorsefucker - yea, even though all of them are sativa / sativa dominant three of them sure do have some noticeable indica traits....we'll see how it goes....

 

my general plan for this garden is to train them all into a ScrOG which is why i chose these strains...that and they all have similar flowering times. 

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Cool strains in here  :)  Thanks for opening a journal and best of luck with those babies, i love the smoke of the Hawaiian! I havent tried the others but i hope they will all be as good or better who knows  ;)


 


Have a good grow

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So, even though it's only been two days since my last posting, it's been 7 days since I took pictures of the girls...and they are all growing strong!  I have watering them with compost tea only and they obviously love it!

 
Wild Thailand - 28-MAY-2014

Wild Thailand - 28-MAY-2014

 
Wild Thailand - 28-May-2014 - Close Up

Wild Thailand - 28-MAY-2014 - Close up

 
Hawaiian Snow - 28-MAY-2014

Hawaiian Snow - 28-MAY-2014

 
Hawaiian Snow - 28-MAY-2014 - Close up

Hawaiian Snow - 28-MAY-2014 - Close up

 
Yummy - 28-MAY-2014

Yummy -  28-MAY-2014

 
Yummy - 28-MAY-2014 - Close up

Yummy -  28-MAY-2014 - Close up

 
Panama - 28-MAY-2014

Panama -  28-MAY-2014

 
Panama - 28-MAY-2014 - Close up

Panama -  28-MAY-2014 - Close up

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Nice pics, thanks for share bro :)

 

I discovered the power of the moon, with the cuttings. 
 
If cuttings are made   with full moon and them descending towards, the roots appear much faster. If cuttings do in new moon to become full, take more time (no good). 
 
Works just yet, if you are finishing flowering, and the full moon hacerca wait for the full moon over, because gocollos much fat full moon (it's real, it's proven). 
 
 
Greetings! ;)
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cool, thanks for the tip, brother!  

 

the reason the girls are still in the small, 3" containers is because I've been waiting for the right time....this weekend while the moon is in the 1st quarter / waxing and in cancer.  ever since i started following the principles of gardening by the moon the results have been nothing be good.

 

cheers!

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Well, I transplanted all the girls to their final home last Friday and was happily surprised by how well their root systems were growing.  Not only that, but the soil was very light and airy...so I think I nailed my soil mix!  As I noted when I started this journal, I've been following biodynamic / lunar gardening practices.  This is first time I've ever tried this method and all I can say is I'm hooked!

 

Anyway, yes, I took a bunch of pictures when I was transplanting...and yes, I'll share....   :biggrin:

 

Mixing up a batch of amended soil....

mixing up some soil

 
 
Roots of Wild Thailand!

Wild Thailand - Roots

 
 
Wild Thailand in her new 3 gallon smart pot home

Wild Thailand - Transplanted to 3gal Smart Pot

 
Roots of Hawaiian Snow...looking good!!

Hawaiian Snow - Roots

 
 
Hawaiian Snow in her new home...

Hawaiian Snow - Transplanted to 3gal Smart Pot

 
 
Hawaiian Snow is already putting off some good looking lateral branches!!

Hawaiian Snow - close up lateral shoots

 

Yummy - Roots

Yummy - Roots

 

Yummy - in her new 3 gallon smart pot home

Yummy - Transplanted to 3gal Smart Pot

 
Panama - Roots

Panama - Roots

 
Panama - she may have had a rough start, but she's sure caught up!

Panama - Transplanted to 3gal Smart Pot

 
 
In the past when I have transplanted my plants I would dust the roots and sprinkle a small amount of mycorrhizae in the soil right where the roots would be placed.  This time, however, not only did I do that, but as I was filling each smart pot I added it to the soil in layers at a rate of approximately 2 tablespoons every 2 inches of soil added.  I've read gardening articles that recommend adding it to the soil mix rather.  The guys at my favorite local horticulture supply shop turned me on to dusting the roots with it.  This time I decided to take it a step further with the layers.  I decided to try the layering + root dusting because of the concentration of spores in the mycorrhizae I use is not as high as others.
 
...and even though these pictures don't show it, I added a layer of lava rocks as mulch to each container.  I got turned on to this by a fellow grower here in the forums and the plants really love it!
 
OK, so admittedly I'm somewhat of a nerd at heart.  Not only do I record pertinent data about each plant (i.e. soil moisture levels, feeding, height, etc) on a regular basis in a notebook, but I also enter that in a spreadsheet.  Using this data I have created some pretty cool charts...at least I think they're pretty cool.  If nothing else, they help me identify trends...which is quite helpful when working out what I should add or remove to even out soil moisture. 
 
Hawaiian Snow - Data + Chart

Biocannabis Tracking

 
Combined Charts

Combined Charts

 
If anyone is interested in the details of what I record, I am happy to share!
 
Cheers!!

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

It's been 3 weeks +/- since my last post and the girls are going strong!  During this time I topped them all and have been pruning.  All of them are responding very well to the pruning and have produced a good number of lateral branches.  One thing I learned from this exercise is that I should have allowed the Wild Thailand, Panama, and Yummy strains to grow taller before topping them.  It has not hampered their growth by any means, but the Hawaiian Snow is a quick growing beast...she's already practically 20" tall even after topping her at 8.5"!!  As for feeding, the only nutrients I have been feeding them are regular foliar applications of compost tea (bacterial dominant during veg / fungal dominant during flower) and watering with the run off from my worm bin.   Yesterday I decided it was time to flip the switch and swapped bulbs and changed the light cycle to 12:12.   Now the fun really begins!!!

 

Wild Thailand - 48 days and 10.25"

26-JUNE-2014 - Wild Thailand

 
Hawaiian Snow - 48 days and 19.75"

26-JUNE-2014 - Hawaiian Snow

 
Yummy- 48 days and 8.5"

26-JUNE-2014 - Yummy

 
Panama - 45 days and 10.75"

26-JUNE-2014 - Panama

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  • 4 weeks later...

The girls have been in the flowering cycle for almost 4 weeks and they are going strong!  Wild Thailand, Panama, and Yummy have all remained shorter and bushier than I would have expected for Sativas.  Wild Thailand has responded very well to my pruning efforts and has the most bud sites of the three shorter strains.  Panama appears to have fewer buds, but they have the potential to be fatter and denser than either Wild Thailand or Yummy.  And speaking of Yummy, over the last week she has really opened up.  I think her buds are going be somewhere between the density of Panama and Wild Thailand.  Now, Hawaiian Snow, she has gone crazy!  She has continued to stretch while she has gone to flower and she doesn't appear to be slowing down.   She's already hit 42+ inches!!  She has responded amazingly to pruning and will easily produce the largest yield.  Her flowers are quite different than any of the other three...which I have to attribute to her landrace heritage.

 

...and now for some pictures!

Wild Thailand

07-JULY-2014 -- Wild Thailand

 
Wild Thailand - Close up

07-JULY-2014 -- Wild Thailand Close up

 
Hawaiian Snow

07-JULY-2014 -- Hawaiian Snow

 
Hawaiian Snow - Close up

07-JULY-2014 -- Hawaiian Snow Close up

Yummy

07-JULY-2014 -- Yummy

Yummy - Close up

07-JULY-2014 -- Yummy

 

Panama

07-JULY-2014 -- Panama

 
Panama - Close up

07-JULY-2014 -- Panama Close up

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hehe eyah for sure the HS look like a crazy teenager ;) But beautiful big girl :) all the rest look very nice too with nice color and nice lil flowers developping!

 

Keep us updated and have a good flowering ;)

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thanks Dust!  this is my first garden that i will be growing to completion using soil i reclaimed / harvested and feeding only with bacterial teas i made.  i'm pretty stoked about how healthy and vigorous they all have been.  i've also never grown any of these strains before, so i really had no idea of what to expect in terms of growth rates or characteristics.  one thing i have learned from this grow so far is that i will never grow hawaiian snow in anything smaller than a 5g container again!   :biggrin:   all of the girls are in 3g smart pots and even though this doesn't appear to have had any negative effects on any of the plants, i'm sure hawaiian snow's roots are getting pretty cramped! 

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Hey buddy looking very nice :) and i bet you would agree there's nothing like organically grown cannabis !

Also great to see another worm farmer on the site, the message must be spread about the importance of earthworms and their ability to multiple nutrients and present them in plant soluble form, which must our buds grow fat and strong :D 

How highly would u recommend smart pots over regular pots ?

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thanks brother!  i'm sure this is going to be pretty amazing crop.  last night, when i was doing my daily check on the girls, i accidentally brushed one of the buds on the wild thailand...the aroma was incredible...light and fruity.  i can't only imagine how she will taste!

 

i got a worm bin for my birthday a few years back.  the first time i used the run off from the bin on some house plants i was amazed.  almost immediately the plants stood up and became a brighter, healthier color.  i had to give some to a friend and have them use it to make sure i wasn't seeing things!  ever since then i've always made sure to maintain my worms and will never be without them.

 

i first tried smart pots about a year ago.  i was getting frustrated with how my plants were growing...below avg yields...poor root growth...etc.  i posted my problem to the forums and was recommended to use smart pots and add mychorrizae fungi to the soil.  i did both and the plants responded in kind!  the extra oxygen in the soil and the mychorrizzae made a huge difference.  the root balls were significantly larger and the plants themselves were noticeably healthier.  i will never grow in any other container again!  the only potential down side i've noticed is the soil in the hawaiian snow smart pot tends to dry out more quickly than my other plans.  however, i attribute this more to the size of the smart pot than the smart pot itself.  never having grown any of these strains before i decided to keep everything uniform.  i know better now.  either way, the hawaiian snow has not suffered.

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  • 4 weeks later...

well we're reaching the end of the flowering cycle and it's nearly time to harvest.  this thursday is the 9 week mark and the Moon enters Scorpio (best sign for harvesting flowers) this saturday.  i've been checking the colour of the trichomes and the majority on Wild Thailand, Panama, and Yummy are milky white.  for the most part, it's been a very good grow.  however, it's been rather hot the back half of the flower cycle this summer and as a result my Hawaiian Snow has suffered from some stress.  i was also completely unprepared for how big she got!  i had to transplant her from her 3 gal smart pot to a 5 gal smart pot to accommodate her growth.  part of the problem with the heat in my grow area is even though i'm set up in a tent, the tent is in my garage and i wasn't able to vent out of the garage.  in the end i'll be able to take what i've learned from this grow and correct my mistakes in my next garden.

 

...and now for the pics!

Wild Thailand

Wild Thailand

Wild Thailand - Flower Close-up

Wild Thailand - Flower Close-up

 
Hawaiian Snow

Hawaiian Snow

 
Hawaiian Snow - Close-up

Hawaiian Snow - Flower Close-up

 
Yummy

Yummy

 
Yummy - Close-up

Yumm - Flower Close-up

 
Panama

Panama

 
Panama - Close-up

Panama - Flower Close-up

 
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Looking nice man glad to see the end is coming and with a nice finish it seems :) Well except the hawaiian she lookis like she still have a few weeks to go haha ;)

 

but others look good, did you start already to flush your plant and give only water? It looks a little bit green to me to be cutten soon, for my taste of course ;)

 

Have a good end of grow! :)

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thanks Dust!  i haven't fed the girls anything but compost tea or worm juice their entire lives.  and they haven't even had any tea for about 4wks now...only water.  so yea, they're pretty well flushed.   :pickeat: 

 

yea, the hawaiian definitely has a few weeks left in her.  initially i was under the impression she'd have a similar 9 - 11 wk flower time as the others, but apparently this one is a little shy!

 

of the other 3, i'll most likely harvest yummy this week/end.  her leaves are turning yellow and dropping.  the other two are just starting.  i've been removing most of them which is why they still look so green.  i'm on the fence about when to harvest actually.  i'm moving next week and breaking down, transporting, and setting back up is no small chore...but if i want to take the hawaiian to full bloom i don't really have a choice.  :acute: 

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  • 1 year later...

Hi.

You make me so happy. I´m a certified biodynamic farmer. It´s so nice to read about someone moving out of the envelope.

To Redd_Beardd, Maria Tuhn is making a sowcalender every year, very usefull, but don´t forget to do your own thinking.

Biodynamic, or as it originaly startet; biologikal dynamic, farming and gardening, is a very importaint and integratet part of antroposofi.

A blessed christ-mass to you all !

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biodynamic agriculture lol sounds so scientific yet it is nothing but faith growing and pseudoscience, sorry i must point this out:D  i dont like religions that are trying to push in the fields of science and claiming to be part of it

the man who invented the concept also promoted methods such as burying ground quartz stuffed into the horn of a cow, which are said to harvest "cosmic forces in the soil" lol

 

the hypotheses he made has no evidence nor are they based in any kind of rational thinking its faith, thought the moon might have some effects in plants, the way it effects is not proven to be like rudolf steiner visioned it (he didnt test em)

this biodynamic agriculture is about  believing in magical childish things like harry potter rather than learning about agronomy or the biology of the plants. it is far more rewarding to learn from the scientific angle i must say:) you will actually learn how plants live there lives

 

''No difference in beneficial outcomes has been scientifically established between certified biodynamic agricultural techniques and similar organic and integrated farming practices. Critics have characterized biodynamic agriculture as pseudoscience on the basis of a lack of strong evidence for its efficacy and skepticism about aspects criticized as being magical thinking''

 

it is the scientific methods and advancements that has given us all the information and facts that we know about plants just like it fly man to moon hehe take the biodynamic shit with grain of salt people it is just wishful thinking

 

i tryed to find if there are real tests done on the subject and this is what dr.Beeson said about it

The literature on the moon and plants can be assigned to two groups: one comprising reiterations of peasant beliefs, myths and rules, both ancient and modern, and similar unsubstantiated statements; the other comprising experiments supported by numerical data capable of statistical analysis. This second group consists of (a) experiments mainly of the anthroposophical school, which demonstrate the existence of lunar effects on the growth of plants; and (B) experiments of professional horticulturists and foresters, which prove that there are no such effects, or that, if they do exist, they have no value in agricultural practice.

 

''The experiments Beeson reviewed from the so-called “anthroposophical school” (a.k.a., Biodynamics) were primarily those of Lily Kolisko, published in 1936.

More recent examples of work from biodynamic investigators include, for example: Evidence for Lunar-Sidereal Rhythms in Crop Yield: A Review (PDF) and Can lunar cycles affect the taste of wine?.

Obviously, the biodynamic folks have an axe to grind regarding lunar effects on plants.''

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Hi Jankahar.

Thanks for your coments and links, you can´t get enough info, therefore I sugest reading Carl Unger "What is antroposofi" and Ehrenfried Pfeiffer "Earths fertillity".

To be able to to talk and worlk together, maybe reach  common ground, mutual understanding, a common languige is recuierd.

I háve read and studied a lot of the arguments, and as equaly importaint, the counterarguments, now 35 years; to me reality, practice, being pressent, thinking, in short, ;) , aproching things, this, in an awake, clearthinking way, on common ground; that will maybe bring us to a clearer understanding of the "mysteries" of nature and growing.

I´m Danish, therefore my incomplete wreiting, sorry, I´sure you´ll cope ;). Have you ever heard of "The Copenhagen school"? Niels Bohr, Einstein and others, came together, you can gues about what.  

Even these gyes, and I do believe others of their calliber, has questioned the origen and order of things, and so should we!

If we only want to work with the fysical world, we´ll be and we are limmited, the above mentioned guies agnowleged that, I think we should too.

love Bo.

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