Maine 2021

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Love the canna-retriever.

Nice looking plants.

Are you using CoM's Stonington Mix or one of the others? Great stuff, I use that to get them started, they absolutely love it. And I've been using it in my grow bags, too.

That was quite a load of rain we got this morning after a very dense overnight fog. Glad most of my plants are harvested now, prime mold conditions. Still have 2 Cherry Wines in grow bags under the covered porch and a couple more Cherry Wines still in the ground--for some reason they ended up being dwarfs (genetic?) and got a very late start flowering but are plumping up nicely now. Only one small spot of mold I just cut out today. These Cherry Wines seem pretty resistant.

What part of the state you in?

Got more rain coming tonight--judging by the radar it looks to be another big dump. Crossing Vermont now, should reach us this evening:

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Thats Moxie my new little (big) buddy. He's only 8 months old and growing more every day. I got him as a companion for my other grow buddy, Bodhi.


I used Coast of Maine Bumper Crop mixed with the Stonington Blend and a little extra leaf mold compost. I'm very happy with the Bumper Crop and plan to use it again next year.
I'm up on the Canadian border and its rough out there today. All my plants are leaning and hanging over. I've got my fingers crossed they can weather this storm. It opened up a few hours ago and just down poured. I've got them staked pretty well and when the rain lets up I'm going out to hit em with the leaf blower, lol.

You guys stay dry and be careful driving. Theres downed trees everywhere this morning.

natureboygrower said:

Yeah, plants look really great @Tangerine_ how could someone not pet that puppers lol.
What's the story on the Berner cookies? Is he the originator of cookie crosses? I know he catches a lot of flak ( which i dont follow) but is friends with B-real of Cypress Hill which IMHO carries weight. Cypress Hill have repped cannabis for 30 years now, really before any other hiphop group.

Trimming friend last night
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Thanks! Your little trim friend is a cutie

I only loosely follow the Cookie Fam soap opera but yeah, I think they (B-real and Berner) all run in the same circles. I dont think Berner actually breeds or works anything. They all just help hype it up, lol.
The Berners cookies came to as a freebie in another trade. Berners Biscotti has more OG qualities and I've found it to be much more powerful and just an all around more enjoyable smoke. But indoor it grows like an OG with a lanky frame. I'm going do a few reversals with some these and hopefully find something a little better.

I feel like I'm going to be stuck in trim jail til for a while. I had to pick up some Claritin this time. About an hour in and the snot and tears start flowing, lol.

Tangerine_ said:

Thats Moxie my new little (big) buddy. He's only 8 months old and growing more every day. I got him as a companion for my other grow buddy, Bodhi.
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I used Coast of Maine Bumper Crop mixed with the Stonington Blend and a little extra leaf mold compost. I'm very happy with the Bumper Crop and plan to use it again next year.
I'm up on the Canadian border and its rough out there today. All my plants are leaning and hanging over. I've got my fingers crossed they can weather this storm. It opened up a few hours ago and just down poured. I've got them staked pretty well and when the rain lets up I'm going out to hit em with the leaf blower, lol.

You guys stay dry and be careful driving. Theres downed trees everywhere this morning.

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What a cute pup. They look like fast friends.

Bumper crop, eh? Hadn't heard of that one, will have to check it out.

We had hella wind here last night and a bunch more rain. Haven't seen any downed trees but surprised we didn't lose power.

My two fabric pots went into the shed last night. Of course about 20 minutes after I pulled them back out this morning when it looked like it was clearing up it opened up again...oh well, they should dry off this afternoon. Looks to me like they'll be finishing up this week, maybe next weekend.

I hear about the trim jail. I've been listening to a ton of cannabis/hemp webinars done by various experts, University of Vermont especially informative. Learning tons. Makes the time go quicker. And when my brain gets information overload (happens quickly) I switch to music.

Best of luck finishing up. Hard to believe we haven't had a frost yet (down here anyway)--in fact it hasn't even dropped below 50 down here more than a handful of nights.

Full moon tomorrow, think I'm going to chop the 4 remaining plants in the predawn hour. They're ready and I'm curious if the terps will be extra strong.

Can anyone identify this little worm pest? Picked it off one of the Cherry Wines. I also found one while trimming (yes, I washed my buds, not sure how it stayed in there).

Doesn't seem like a cat (no legs) but can't ID it. Any ideas?

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Full moon tomorrow, think I'm going to chop the 4 remaining plants in the predawn hour. They're ready and I'm curious if the terps will be extra strong.

Can anyone identify this little worm pest? Picked it off one of the Cherry Wines. I also found one while trimming (yes, I washed my buds, not sure how it stayed in there).

Doesn't seem like a cat (no legs) but can't ID it. Any ideas?

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Some kind of fly larva?

That storm we just had was rough. I had dozens of snapped branches. The weight from the rain and then those heavy wind gusts beat the hell out of them. I managed to get everything clean up and secured though.

It got down to 40f last night but still no frost. I'm still gonna push it another week if I can. That WC needs another month but I cant see that happening.

And the bumper crop...I think you'd really like it. For bagged soil I've found it to be higher quality than the more common more expensive brands like FFOF or Roots. Its well composted and performs much better IMO.

Just heard from a botanist I checked with that it's a Hoover Fly larvae (beneficial).

It got down to 45 last night here, but I'm only a few miles from the ocean so that keeps things a little milder.

How much is bumper crop? I was able to get Stonington locally for $17 a bag, which is actually a pretty good price (usually $29!), but still it adds up. But I re-use it so it's kind of a long-term investment.

Good luck with the next week. Today looks like lots of sun here but gusty northwest winds and it's probably not going to hit 60.

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Just heard from a botanist I checked with that it's a Hoover Fly larvae (beneficial).

It got down to 45 last night here, but I'm only a few miles from the ocean so that keeps things a little milder.

How much is bumper crop? I was able to get Stonington locally for $17 a bag, which is actually a pretty good price (usually $29!), but still it adds up. But I re-use it so it's kind of a long-term investment.

Good luck with the next week. Today looks like lots of sun here but gusty northwest winds and it's probably not going to hit 60.

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Last time I was at the local hardware store is was $14 for the 2.0 cu bags. One of their plants is close by so that might make a difference.

Bought a small press last minute and it was the best $365 spent ever. The blueberries and chocolate rosin is so spot on to it's blueberry smell it's a real treat. So runny though i have to freeze the parchment before collecting. It's going to be a fun winter for rosin and hash balls

Useful blueberries and chocolate


Bodhi Cocoon

Now you guys have me thinking about light depo. Blight and botrytis taxed me hard this year. Rarely had either when running guerilla style a few years back. Smaller plants, hardier strains, looser buds., but not fashionable these days. The exception was Vintners Moonshine, it was an outdoor champ this year.

"Bumper Crop" , made by Coast of Maine, branded under Master Nursery. A decent adjunct or alternative to Stonington blend. Wish it had a bit more perlite in though.

Tangerine_ said:

Last time I was at the local hardware store is was $14 for the 2.0 cu bags. One of their plants is close by so that might make a difference.

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Nce score. $14 for Stonington blend? Was that a sale price? Further south, some places are getting $25 -30 a bag.

I saw as low as $19 in Knox County. Stonington only comes in 1.5 cubic foot bags. You can bet a big sack delivered from the factory for discounted rate--I think it was something like $600 for I forget how much (yard? half a yard?).

You could probably just add your own amendments to Bumper Crop and end with a similar medium. Agree they skimp on the perlite a tad perhaps but you could add your own.

Odd that COM marketed the bumper crop under a different name. I wonder what that's about?

natureboygrower said:

Odd that COM marketed the bumper crop under a different name. I wonder what that's about?

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Money!

NewEnglandFarmer said:

I saw as low as $19 in Knox County. Stonington only comes in 1.5 cubic foot bags. You can bet a big sack delivered from the factory for discounted rate--I think it was something like $600 for I forget how much (yard? half a yard?).

You could probably just add your own amendments to Bumper Crop and end with a similar medium. Agree they skimp on the perlite a tad perhaps but you could add your own.

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It is light on perlite but I found that to be a plus. I think I only had to water by hand a few times all season. We did get a lot of rain though.
I've got one more plant to take down and then I think I'm going to throw all the soil on a tarp and reamend for next year.

natureboygrower said:

Bought a small press last minute and it was the best $365 spent ever. The blueberries and chocolate rosin is so spot on to it's blueberry smell it's a real treat. So runny though i have to freeze the parchment before collecting. It's going to be a fun winter for rosin and hash balls

Useful blueberries and chocolate
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Bodhi Cocoon
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That looks amazing!
I'm going to do some fresh frozen sometime next week and I'll add some pics too. I love seeing the end results from everyones work.

natureboygrower said:

Odd that COM marketed the bumper crop under a different name. I wonder what that's about?

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I think the Master Nursery company / name was around a long time, before Coast of Maine was making it. Just guessing, but maybe there was a contractual thing between Master Nursery and Coast of Maine when they first hooked up.

Each also have bagged fertilizer too. I like the Stonington Blend bagged fertilizer, but wish it had a little more calcium.

Tangerine_ said:

It is light on perlite but I found that to be a plus. I think I only had to water by hand a few times all season. We did get a lot of rain though.
I've got one more plant to take down and then I think I'm going to throw all the soil on a tarp and reamend for next year.



That looks amazing!
I'm going to do some fresh frozen sometime next week and I'll add some pics too. I love seeing the end results from everyones work.

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Thank you. I'm still learning the whole pressing process. I've noticed that the end result is strain dependent. I've pressed 4 different strains and the rosin has all been of different consistency. And older material comes out darker but still enjoyable. Not quite as enjoyable as fresh

I really want to try FF but need to do some research. Going off of how runny the blueberry strain is and it's dry, FF may be a challenge picking up. Freezing the BB rosin definitely helps. I cannot get over how flavorful the blueberry is, fake tasting but in a good way, like blueberry pez if there is such a thing. ( btw, I ordered up a low temp banger after reading your post in tnt, looking forward to trying it out)
Would love to see some ff pics after pressing. It would give me something to shoot for. I just saw rosin for the first time ( to smell) maybe a month ago from a dispensary a friend had. It didn't look bad but at $40 a gram, that shit adds up

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Took down one of the Copper Chems before dawn this morning. Was looking pretty ripe when I inspected yesterday. Terpenes were off the charts, super lemony and spicy/earthy. Trichomes looked mostly cloudy with a few starting to turn amber. I think I'll let the second Copper Chem go another week, it's a little less ripe and I'm curious to compare effects if I let a few more trichs go amber. Sounds like a nice week shaping up weather-wise. Decided to leave the Chinook Haze for now even though every day I'm removing spots of budrot. I've just about filled up a large ziplock bag so it's starting to take a toll. But I think it could use a few more days.

Hang in there everyone, almost home.

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Nice

Tangerine_ said:

Thats Moxie my new little (big) buddy. He's only 8 months old and growing more every day. I got him as a companion for my other grow buddy, Bodhi.
View attachment 5011405

I used Coast of Maine Bumper Crop mixed with the Stonington Blend and a little extra leaf mold compost. I'm very happy with the Bumper Crop and plan to use it again next year.
I'm up on the Canadian border and its rough out there today. All my plants are leaning and hanging over. I've got my fingers crossed they can weather this storm. It opened up a few hours ago and just down poured. I've got them staked pretty well and when the rain lets up I'm going out to hit em with the leaf blower, lol.

You guys stay dry and be careful driving. Theres downed trees everywhere this morning.

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Shhhhh don't tell my boxer or husky
Goldens are my FAVORITE

Just checking back in with the final harvest report. Everything's been curing in mason jars for at least a month, sampled a little of the copper chem and chinook haze recently and it was mighty fine. The terps are to die for. Nice flavor and full effect.

Yield per plant was significantly smaller this year. Just 6 plants yielded almost 10 lbs. in 2020, this year 15 plants yielded only 9. Most of those were Cherry Wine which seems a little smaller in stature with smaller flowers, but even the Copper Chems and the Chinook didn't nearly match what those strains did last year. Lot less sun in July this year, that may have something to do with it. Plus I got them in the ground 2 weeks later than last year, so that's 2 weeks of veg. they missed.

Overall 2021 went very well though, relatively little budrot (just the Chinook Haze really) and all the plants stayed strong and healthy through flower. Weather was a little touch and go at the end but we managed.

One thing I wanted to share that I've read a lot about recently: rotating your plants to new locations is key to minimizing pests and mold. The cannabis pro at UVM Extension says 2 years max. in the same spot or you're asking for trouble (she's seen it firsthand lots of times). I know, easier said than done when you're dealing with a little backyard, but if you have the space it's good advice. I've got 9 acres here (although not all suitable for growing) so I should be able to move around a bit. Just wanted to share that tidbit which I didn't really know about till this year.

Have a great winter everyone. See you next spring.

I have a friend who works at a store that sells COM products and he just passed this on to me. Coast of Maine is transitioning many of their soils away from peat. The are going with a cellulose product. Apparently they were already testing it out before this years peat shortages and after this falls poor peat harvest they have decided to try to get away from it. They claim performance will be the same as the peat based product, but that the texture and look will be different. There is also a up to 10% price increase coming in 22.