The Musings of Serapis

[Serapis]

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Welcome

My time here at Roll It Up has been awesome. I've written 3 grows, and like any true obsessive compulsive, I like all techniques and have to try them all. From soil, to drips, ebb and flows and floods, aeroponics and fogoponics. I also have been dabbling in making tinctures and cannabis treats. With all of this going on, many of them simultaneously, I decided to lump everything into one place on the forums; here.

Just to give you an idea of what this thread will encompass, we'll be sharing tips, answering questions, bouncing ideas off one another, following an outdoor grow in an urban setting, checking in on the varieties in the jardin, cloning, and eventually, some breeding. And of course, we'll be spending some time in the kitchen, cooking with our favorite herb.

So please subscribe to the thread and select email notification for updates and you won't miss a thing. I'm going to start of this journal of musings with one that came to life today. I've always wanted an easy cloner, but never wanted to pay that kind of price. I ran across some great file saver totes on sale at Lowes, 2 for $7, and they were solid construction, black bottoms with thick, opaque, gray tops. After drilling a few holes here and there, I ended up with something like this...

This is it. Simplicity.... but wait, what is under the hood? EZ Cloner tips and PVC on a pump? Sometimes, I have that option with the pump and plumbing I already have; but I choose something a little more controversial, and that is Fogponics. Under the hood of this cloner is an ultra sonic frequency mister, or fogger, in a float. I also have a 12" air stone in the water. The water ppm is 400, with Micro Grow and the PH is 5.8.

The cuttings up front were taken just today, from a pineapple express plant that is currently vegging in the tent. The cuttings didn't last long in the 15% humidity room, so I had to revive and use a vented dome. I currently have a middle insert missing, so fog can keep the dome humid. It is operating on a cyclic timer, running on for 5 minutes, off for two. The cycle repeats every 40 minutes. The cuttings in the rear are Bubblelicious.

The Bubblelicious cuttings have been rooting for 5 days now and I finally spotted some...

I made some tincture today, and boy is it potent. As I sit here typing this, I'm getting kind of woozy. I used 8g of some popcorn from my last harvest and 4 oz of 153 grain alcohol and ended up with 1.75 oz of tincture. I added a few drops of cinnamon extract to each dropper bottle I filled for a bit of flavor. Every time I burp, I taste cannabis, lol.


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[StewartWarner]

The fog looks sweet! lol what is this tincture you speak of and how can it be made?

 

[OldGrowth420]

N ice thread Serapis. Very interested in this fogging method, i read somewhere that at one point i pre-history, all plants were fed this way.

 

[Serapis]

The fog looks sweet! lol what is this tincture you speak of and how can it be made?

The extraction can take 60 days, or twenty minutes, depending on your dare factor. If you don't mind bringing alcohol to a near bowl and maintaining that temp for 20 minutes, without letting it boil over and exploding, you can do it in 20 minutes.

I took 8 grams of underdeveloped popcorn bud and some trim and I placed it in my herb grinder (mr coffee grinder I use for herbs only) and with two quick pulses, I had a bunch of nice, finely chopped herbage. I placed it on a layer of foil and it went into the oven at 325 for 5 minutes. The heat activates the active THC, which we then extract with alcohol.

The common name for this method is Green Dragon. I was trying to get two full droppers, but ended up with just 1.5 lol hard to control evaporating alcohol. The stuff is extremely potent.... I I was only going to use 2 oz of alcohol, but it didn't cover pile of crushed herb and it wasn't liquidy enough. I used too much herb, so I doubled the recipe. I spilled some on my hand and without thinking, licked it off.... So not only did I get skin absorption of THC, I was hit sublingualy as well, alcohol on the tongue. Because of that, i wasn't able to self-titrate and determine my proper dose. That happened 4.5 hours ago and I still feel it strong... I did one dropper full, plus the 'accident'

N ice thread Serapis. Very interested in this fogging method, i read somewhere that at one point i pre-history, all plants were fed this way.

I like the fogging, because it reduces the possibility of leaks, for one. For another, it promotes really nice root hairs. I've read that these foggers can handle water up to 400 ppm and the droplett size is about 5 micron, if I remember correctly.

 

[TheLastWood]

Damn that cloner is nicer than my botanicare 25 site aero. I keep asking why the hell do they make them out of white plastic?

Glad ur making this thread, read your little brownie thread and it made me soo hungry.

Know there will be a lot of good info in here.

 

[thexception]

good luck w/ur thread. u contribute a lot on the site i have seen so why not in ur own anyway, I must be ignorant, but I don't see how u constructed it, through the bin top. what is a file saver? I just don't get it. It looks awesome, just wish I knew or could see the original black inserts, before u modified them & put them in the bin top. and what r u just using plugs in them? educate me please! lol...

 

[Serapis]

If you have any questions, ask away. It really was quite simple. I did the layout for the drill spots from underneath the top and then drilled pilot holes. I also have a neat tool called a deburring tool that takes of the left over plastic jaggies. The trick to building one of these is getting a dark, thick plastic tote about 7-8 gallon size. Also make sure the top is sturdy enough to support weight after making all of the holes in it.

The mist Maker model M001, was purchased on eBay. Try to avoid foggers with a lot of LED lights that may inhibit root growth. The one I have has a single red LED. If you run it 24/7, the water will reach 80 degrees, so it is extremely important to keep light out. I even use black air line tubing so light can't enter through the air stone line. I can't stress enough the importance of keeping light out. Unless you like cleaning up slimy algae, block that light. I even add 5-7 drops of an aquarium algae killer that is safe for fish and plants, just to make sure...

damn scribed for the long haul you should take some pics when its off so I can copy that design dont wanna spend 350 on ez cloner

 

[Serapis]

HI! Thanks for dropping in.... OK, I'll create a pictorial on creating one of these... If anyone is interested, hit your local Lowe's and see if you can find the 2 for one file totes. They are bundled together. I found mine on an end cap of the storage tote aisle. They were like $6-$7. I also made a 3.75" net pot DWC with one of these that holds 5 plants. I'll show it off when I start potting cuttings.

The holes are 2" and were made with a hole saw bit. Each hole has a Sunlight 2" net pot along with a 2" neoprene insert, similar to an EZ Cloner set up, but this uses the net pots. They offer more support with a thick rim edge. For fogging, I don't bother cutting the bottom of the net pots off, as they don't interfere with fog reaching the stem. Normally I don't need a dome for fresh cuttings when using this, but for some reason, the pineapple express went limp on me in a hurry. I utilized the hard 7" plastic dome from my small propagation tray to cover them and they recovered. So keep in mind when designing your own cloner, that you may need to utilize a dome. So have something handy that will fit over a portion of your inserts. Some foil cake pans and roaster foils have plastic high tops that come with them. Those work well.

good luck w/ur thread. u contribute a lot on the site i have seen so why not in ur own anyway, I must be ignorant, but I don't see how u constructed it, through the bin top. what is a file saver? I just don't get it. It looks awesome, just wish I knew or could see the original black inserts, before u modified them & put them in the bin top. and what r u just using plugs in them? educate me please! lol...

 

[Serapis]

damn scribed for the long haul you should take some pics when its off so I can copy that design dont wanna spend 350 on ez cloner

Hi ya NL! Glad to have you here. Feel free to post your mind here.

SERAPIS! Subscribed woot woot!!!!!

Welcome Bro! Glad to have you here with that enthusiasm! lol Woot!

Damn that cloner is nicer than my botanicare 25 site aero. I keep asking why the hell do they make them out of white plastic?

Glad ur making this thread, read your little brownie thread and it made me soo hungry.

Know there will be a lot of good info in here.

Those brownies are killing me. If I don't get physical in a day, I don't eat any. So every time i open the fridge, I'm thinking of stuff to go do in the garden so I can treat myself to a few, lol.... ingesting cannabis is great. It is a totally different experience. It's like, every time I burp now, i taste it. LOL I have brownies in the fridge, cannabutter in the freezer, 2 dropper bottles full of tincture, and I still have a mountain of leaf, trim and pop corn bud to process from my last harvest. I harvested nearly 2 pounds from two plants that were ScrOGged in a 4x4 tent. About 10 ounces of good dank bud with all stems removed. I had nearly 14 ounces when it was buds on stems, lol... It took 6 half gallon mason jars to hold it. The majority of the weight was popcorn bud, trim and leaf. I have learned that I need to defoliate better to prevent so much lower growth. I would have rather had 2 pounds of weed and 10 ounces of pop corn and trim.

So I'll be doing some guides on making butter, tinctures, and brownies.

 

[stumps]

My cloner is a lot like your. I went a step closer to hillbilly. I don't use the plugs. What temp is your rez?

 

[Harrekin]

Good point on the defoliation, I was considering this too recently. I topped my Snow Whites for 4 colas, but theres 4 decent sized buds on each and about 30 popcorn sites so I was wondering what method you were thinking about using?

 

[nothingtodeclare]

will follow along looks like there will be some good info an food for thought , i am also interested in the fogaponics we brought a small one before off the bay but broke really quick an did not think it be viable for the cloner.

 

[Serapis]

I've learned to FIM once the plant has reached it's 5th to 6th node. This forces the plant to branch. I then take the most promising looking branches and I LST them to train them to grow out low, and then allow them to grow up. By keeping them tied down when they are young and tender, the center of the plant received light. I'm also trimming off all fan leaves from the second node back to the main stem/stalk, so all nodes are getting light. This will encourage branching as well. The weaker 2-4 node branches that I decide to remove, become cuttings for my cloner, so they aren't wasted. I look for stems that are about half the size of the others, or less, and wed them out. My goal is to have about 8 strong candidates at the bottom, growing out. Meanwhile at the top, once I have all 6-8 candidates showing and tied off, I top the plant. I now want to force growth in the top, near the center. I remove all sucklings and fan leaves that block my lower LST tops. When the plant hits stretch in flower, those will explode and stretch up. giving you a fantastic 6-8 bud tops, plus the 4-6 you generate up top. Good strains, trained this way and allowed to veg for a solid 30 days or more can easily net 4-6 ounces each under a good lamp. You can take it further with a ScrOG.

But to wrap up an answer, I've learned to FIM first, establish the base, then top the plant. For those that don't have the set up or time for long vegetative growth, skip the FIM and just top. Using this method, make sure you cut off any branching that attempts to occur below the topping. You want the plant to focus solely on the top, or you'll end up munching on a lot of pop corn. Only keep the tops and tips that will produce. The others are stealing nutes from your end game.

Good point on the defoliation, I was considering this too recently. I topped my Snow Whites for 4 colas, but theres 4 decent sized buds on each and about 30 popcorn sites so I was wondering what method you were thinking about using?

 

[Serapis]

I'm happy to report that mine has been working well. I even bought a back up to have on hand if all else fails.

will follow along looks like there will be some good info an food for thought , i am also interested in the fogaponics we brought a small one before off the bay but broke really quick an did not think it be viable for the cloner.

 

[Harrekin]

I've learned to FIM once the plant has reached it's 5th to 6th node. This forces the plant to branch. I then take the most promising looking branches and I LST them to train them to grow out low, and then allow them to grow up. By keeping them tied down when they are young and tender, the center of the plant received light. I'm also trimming off all fan leaves from the second node back to the main stem/stalk, so all nodes are getting light. This will encourage branching as well. The weaker 2-4 node branches that I decide to remove, become cuttings for my cloner, so they aren't wasted. I look for stems that are about half the size of the others, or less, and wed them out. My goal is to have about 8 strong candidates at the bottom, growing out. Meanwhile at the top, once I have all 6-8 candidates showing and tied off, I top the plant. I now want to force growth in the top, near the center. I remove all sucklings and fan leaves that block my lower LST tops. When the plant hits stretch in flower, those will explode and stretch up. giving you a fantastic 6-8 bud tops, plus the 4-6 you generate up top. Good strains, trained this way and allowed to veg for a solid 30 days or more can easily net 4-6 ounces each under a good lamp. You can take it further with a ScrOG.

But to wrap up an answer, I've learned to FIM first, establish the base, then top the plant. For those that don't have the set up or time for long vegetative growth, skip the FIM and just top. Using this method, make sure you cut off any branching that attempts to occur below the topping. You want the plant to focus solely on the top, or you'll end up munching on a lot of pop corn. Only keep the tops and tips that will produce. The others are stealing nutes from your end game.

I was thinking about topping for 2/4 colas, then lollipopping the 4 new tops before I flip it to flower, reckon this would do a similar trick?

 

[Serapis]

Absolutely. If you want to avoid a long veg time, I certainly would follow that plan of action. Always top... It does split the yield up some, but this is good as far as drying, curing and mold are concerned. Would you rather have one massive thick wet bud or two medium buds that have a reasonable chance of drying without being ripped apart. I like topping because I like to see more bud sites. I prefer to FIM first though. Tight grows should avoid branching and focus on the top of the plants.

I was thinking about topping for 2/4 colas, then lollipopping the 4 new tops before I flip it to flower, reckon this would do a similar trick?

 

[Harrekin]

Absolutely. If you want to avoid a long veg time, I certainly would follow that plan of action. Always top... It does split the yield up some, but this is good as far as drying, curing and mold are concerned. Would you rather have one massive thick wet bud or two medium buds that have a reasonable chance of drying without being ripped apart. I like topping because I like to see more bud sites. I prefer to FIM first though. Tight grows should avoid branching and focus on the top of the plants.

I dont have a seperate veg tent yet, so I wanna cut down veg time as much as possible. Cheers man, thanks for your help, +rep (not working yet, need to spread around more) and scribed.

 

[TheLastWood]

Hey serapis, I just fimmed a jack herer I have in veg and lstd it yesterday. I have 4 large branches on the top, 2 large ones halfway down the plant and 2 smaller ones at the bottom. I lstd them all in a kinda spiral shape. I'm wondering If I should just cut the 2 smaller ones off? If its ok with you ill upload a pic so yoiu can see what I mean

 

[plantvision]

Serapis, this is the first thread that I will be subscribing to, as I am new to RIU, I just love to grow plants, and this really spiked my interest. With the greenhouse op, I have visited a huge rooting op, it was like walking through dinosaur land, super foggy and hot. This looks just like it, plan to try it my self. Thanks for the info.

 

[Canon]

Serapis,, NICE thread! I'll pull a chair up to the table on this one.

Mind if I add a couple foot notes to your Tincture post?

Pure alchol is good for this. If you can't get High proof and want some,, just use a quality vodka if you like. If you want to increase the alky, and reduce the water, Pour it into a plastic bowl (with tight cover). Make sure the sides funnel outwards. Then put it into the freezer to settle and seperate. When ready, the alky will remain liquid,, water will freeze, and when you remove it...... High Proof alky.

Snapps, bourbon, etc. can be added for flavor as well as flavor extracts from the grocery (most are alky / glycerine based).

Surely your prime bids, or anything can be used that has trichs visible. But, you can also use moldy bud, Harsh stuff you don't want to smoke or even hash that's gone wrong.
Nice way to make a save at times. You could also use males / hermies. Granted some willbe better than others, but THC is THC.

I know some chop it up finely. May want to try NOT grinding / chopping. When you chop it you give the liquid better access to the plant material. Without chopping it your just desolving the trichs and saving,, reduces the Dragon flavor a lot.

Under the tongue, etc. definately works. BUT, it also mixes well with morning coffee, Afternoon cocktails, B-B-Q Beers, and at the restraunt / work with food. You can put it on your cheeseburger, in a salad, and on your mint parfay. People see you with a eyedropper and a pharmacy bottle they'll figure your just taking medicine.

Going somewhere? Nice way to move it in your pocket.

If you continue to reduce it,, naturally you'll end up with a form of hash oil! (Like better ISO)

Hope somthing here is helpful or an idea generator.

Nice thread,,, think I'll tag along.

If you Google - Making Tinctures, You'll find a ton of info from Rick Simpson (ugh!) to Martha Stew-wart.