Minimalist approach

jack the beanstalk

jack the beanstalk

Active Member
Maybe this isn't exactly "advanced" but then again, maybe it is.

Has anyone done a minimalist approach growing MJ? I know, a seed in a pot of soil is pretty minimal but maybe not that minimal. This might be difficult to communicate but I am thinking of trying to reduce overall input of nutrients and do a sort of "max to minimum" run of 4 equal clones. Of course having more plants and strains with a control group would be ideal but I am not allowed to have that many so that is that. :cry:

I guess I am just looking for some feedback as to what people think will be the results so I can steer my methods best. The strain will be a fruity, heavy branching Apollo 11 strain, the soil will be FF OF. I think I am going to run something like this.

clone#
1. Soil only, all feedings with water.
2. light feedings of the main 3 nutrients according to schedule but at 1/4 strength.
3. 3/4 of full feeding schedule same nutes.
4. 3/4 of full feeding schedule with a booster and sugar daddy added.

I will of course need to adjust for nutrient burn or add soil as needed. I know that I am only learning about this one strain but I plan on taking notes, maybe a log and repeating this test with several strains to develop a feel for what is really needed to get at least 95% of the way to perfect buds at a minimum of cost.

Is there anything wrong with this plan? Are there any 2 boosters that would work best or be most likely to add to the quality and bulk of my harvest? Keep in mind that I am not looking for "bag appeal" but rather than resin content, aroma and quality. I hash almost everything I grow. All opinions are welcome.
 
whiteflour

whiteflour

Well-Known Member
You can certainly have some great grows in just organic soil using plain water, just don't expect it to be monsters. Organics will never compare to growth rate of chemicals but they do have their advantages.
 
jack the beanstalk

jack the beanstalk

Active Member
I didn't start an organic vs chem thread here...

The goal is to find out what the minimum fert amount, of any type, any manufacturer is needed for the so called "monsters".
 
I

iscrog4food

Active Member
There are 3 variables involved in any project (not just grows) and they are:

1) TIme
2) Quality
3) money

The variables are interdependent so you can minimize one but you will have to make up for it somewhere else. THat being said time is the only variable that is truly real in a sense that you cannot create more. Money and quality are subjective. Basically spend the money and save the time/ produce quality buds IMO.
 
riddleme

riddleme

Well-Known Member
IMO a minimalist approach would be to throw a bean outside and walk away, come back in 5 months and see what happened

don't get me wrong I love experiments but looks more like to me you would be determining which feeding % was better

and IMO i would use Happy Frogs over OF but even better would be to try 4 different mediums as well
 
whiteflour

whiteflour

Well-Known Member
jack the beanstalk said:
I didn't start an organic vs chem thread here...

The goal is to find out what the minimum fert amount, of any type, any manufacturer is needed for the so called "monsters".
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Personally I think that's all subjective and I've really not seen any fertilizer I would recommend over the others. I've used MG, schultz, commercial ag products all with good results. I'm trying fox farms now but so far haven't been impressed considering the price - but I plan to try hydro soon so it's an investment choice.

When It comes down to it if I had a choice I'd use agricultural fertilizers, but the cost makes them impractical. There's nothing like have a 50gal barrel of Nitrogen though. :)
 
homebrewer

homebrewer

Well-Known Member
I can tell you the results of your test before you even do it. Though clone #4 should really have more stuff going into it if you want to see some varying results.
 
F

free99

Member
"Is there anything wrong with this plan? Are there any 2 boosters that would work best or be most likely to add to the quality and bulk of my harvest? Keep in mind that I am not looking for "bag appeal" but rather than resin content, aroma and quality. I hash almost everything I grow. All opinions are welcome"

The only real thing I see wrong with your plan is the conservative nature of it. You seem to know your thresholds well, and you understand your feeding plan.

I think your "approach" should be to give the plant as much of everything as you possibly can without over doing it and reducing overall quality.

I am not sure what kind of nutrients you are using. Organic or chem. I tend to have great results with Super Natural brand, especially with their late flowering formulas: Super Boost and Bud Blaster.

I learned everything backwards. I learned how to do hydro before soil. I grow mainly hydro because I like it and it's what I know. But I want to experience the differences in growing and in finished product for myself. So I don't know much about organics if that's what your choosing. But I do use organic soil.

If your going organic, I like the fox farms potting soil (I think a lot of ppl do). It's strong stuff though, I mix it down with a soiless mix and some pearlite at about 1:3:1 (fox farms/soiless/pearlite). To be honest, I am not familiar enough with organic nutrients to give you further advice here.

I don't think the money you would save on nutes would justify giving the plant less than it can handle. I guarantee you, the most expensive nutrients around will be far less expensive, gram for gram, than bud. Even if you got just 10% more yield by feeding them the full program, it would be relevant. It would have far more value than the nutrients you saved. If they somehow grow the same at 75%, (they won't, they will be smaller) you have saved yourself at best, dollars.

I think you should be striving to push every possible limit; How close your light is, how much you feed them, flushing at the proper time, cutting at the proper time, and getting that lamp AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE without burning.

You already sound like you know what to do, so why hold back? Stick with the methods that have worked well for you so far, and find ways to push the limits and improve on what your doing. Give them everything they need, not too much, not too little!


Resin content? Make sure relative humidity is low! Use a dehumidifier if necessary. The plants will produce precious resin to protect themselves when they feel are drying out. It also helps a LOT to water, then allow the soil to dry.... water... allow the soil to dry... if you stick your pointer finger all the down about 3 inches or so into the soil and feel moisture, you do not need to water yet. Instead, wait til the soil is close to dry or dry, and water liberally. This also prevents plants from going pot bound to early as the roots expand in a uniform matter rather than straight down.

I would apply your concept of minimalism to other things in life for sure. I'm not saying more is better or trying to shit all over your project either.

Hope I didn't waste your time!
 
jack the beanstalk

jack the beanstalk

Active Member
Not at all, best post yet.

The thing is, I suspect that a lot of the things we do to these plants are not needed. I am aiming to whittle the process down to the needed components. I don't want the whole "witch's brew" when it's really just a few ingredients that work. I am not selling my final product or I would not be wasting 99% of it's value turning huge resinous buds into hash. I hate the idea of flushing money down the drain. Just because plants seem to "handle it" does not mean logically that they are even noticing it. I can produce products with pretty containers that won't hurt your plant, does that mean you should add them at $30 a qt? No.

Reducing the process to the most important parts is my goal.
 
riddleme

riddleme

Well-Known Member
Now that makes sense, and I would suggest looking at the high P bloom bosters as being an un-needed part good luck with your test
 
mouthmeetsoap

mouthmeetsoap

Active Member
Sweet man. I can definitely see what you're doing here, and think it could be informative. Not sure who's grow it was but I saw one recently where it was kept in a storage room from seedling under a couple cfls and given tap water once a week. Never even checked on it except for when it was time to water, and the plant grew beautifully, putting out 11 and 13 blade fan leaves! I was surprised.
 
homebrewer

homebrewer

Well-Known Member
Feroce said:
I went with option #1, soil and water. I care a lot more about quality than quantity, since it's stash only.

I mixed my own soil, so basically I just water once in a while and raise the light occasionally. I'm using Black Lake Organics #3 mix for veg, #2 mix for flowering. Perfect way to grow for the lazy guy:mrgreen:

Link: http://www.blacklakeorganic.com/Default.aspx?pageId=546417
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Just because you're watering with plain water doesn't mean you're not feeding your plants. Your soil already has food in it so you're not really taking a 'minimalist' approach to growing.
 
potpimp

potpimp

Sector 5 Moderator
Jack, you need to chat with Uncle Ben. He's a master gardener and has grown some unreal bud. He is very much of a minimalist, if you want to call it that. He *freely* gives his opinions about "snake oil and rocket fuel". He uses cheap but good ferts, knows what to use, when to use it, and most importantly, knows how to read his plants.
 
jack the beanstalk

jack the beanstalk

Active Member
potpimp said:
Jack, you need to chat with Uncle Ben. He's a master gardener and has grown some unreal bud. He is very much of a minimalist, if you want to call it that. He *freely* gives his opinions about "snake oil and rocket fuel". He uses cheap but good ferts, knows what to use, when to use it, and most importantly, knows how to read his plants.
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Yes of course, this is key. I am still getting used to knowing the signs as well. It seems like I almost always get caught at week 4 with my pants down and some symptoms, PH problem, K, or cal def, crawling up the plant.

I have been reading a bit of Uncle Bens stuff and I just found the Lucas formula as well. It's a lot to digest but I am getting somewhere.
 
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