Way too many contradictions in this hobby.

lusidghost said:

Ah, the old "this is my first day on the internet, what does that mean?" character defense.

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singlecoiled said:

As a new grower who takes new hobbies way too seriously, I am left scratching my head. I am a big reader, and have read just about every grow book published, both old and new. Examples https://cannabislegale.org/these-are-the-5-best-cannabis-growing-books/

I have also watched many youtube videos showing grows and offering advice on growing.

Here are some topics that I find very frustrating, both from advice give on forums and from the grow books.

1. Flower time----Countless professional grow videos show MOST cannabis finishing at around week 8-9 (including pre flower time-- we are talking 8-9 weeks after 12/12 flip and they harvest.) If you ask around here, chances are no matter what you say (Lets say I'm in week 9 Flower with an Indica) almost 90% of people will say " You have many weeks to go)... I understand that Seedbanks may be dishonest with flower times, but for a newbie, all the mis-information I can find is conficting. And yes, I let a 7-9 week Indica go many weeks longer following advice from others and it was harvested a bit late....(watching tricomes and pistols with a loupe)

2. Bloom Nutrients-- And or Nitrogen during flower. This one is really giving me a headache, most say to cut nitrogen mid to late flower, but many also say that Bloom Nutrients cause more harm than good. So, I'm pretty much F'ed here. If I cant feed bloom and cant feed Nitrogen (grow nutrients-in flower) what the hell should I feed? I'm at the point where I'm starving my plants because I'm afriad to give them anything.

3. Flushing before harvest---- This is a funny one. In this case, I'm talking about the final flush before harvest. Almost every book I read and following the advice from many professional growers, the taste of the final product will be lower quality if not flushed. And of course, if you've been reading recent advice from folks on the forums,many people are saying not to flush. Another confict leaving me wondering. (I do not flush pre-harvest, but I still wonder who's right)

4. Flushing----- Now, not to complicate things, but the definition of "flushing" seems to be two different things. Definiton 1 is applying plain water 1-2 weeks before harvest. Definition 2 is to flush excess salts from the soil using twice the amount of water to soil. If you look at many feedcharts (Fox Farm as an example) they clearly say to Flush the soil (definition 2) if anything irregular shows----- So, once again we have contradictory opinions here. I cant tell you how many people say not to flush the soil (def 2) and how many say that pre harvest flush is useless.

5. Soil PH---- This is by far the worst for me as it is very important to have the right PH in the root zone, but to save my life I have now way to test it accurately. Have you ever tried to get deep into your soil to test after the roots have taken over the soil? You can't ! The best I can do is to measure water PH going in to compare to the water coming out, but I don't think this is accurate at all. There has to be an easier way to accurately measure soil PH in the root zone. Soil is really starting to annoy me and I'm tempted to go hydroponic even though I know there is a deep learning curve.

6. And last but not least, too many things look alike. Fungus Gnats or Root Aphid flyers? (they look very similar and are very small)... Same goes for deficiencies, lets take purple stems as an example.---Could be a deficiency, might just be the strain. Its just a big headache to me now.

I like growing, but with the price of weed dropping (its almost free where I live now) I'm wondering why I'm bothering anymore. I just cant seem to find good advice that doesnt contradict itself and feel like a dog chasing my tail.


(Side note: please excuse my horrible hacking of the english language, some of the words used here may be off and I am aware that my writing needs improvent !)

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crimsonecho said:

grow as many plants as you can. tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants and so on. have a garden and grow roses and other flowers too. thats how you’ll understand how to grow plants and all this “info” on many cannabis site is just funny. you need 100 different amendments in your soil to grow good bud? no 4-5 is more than enough. and cutting nitrogen in flower? why? nitrogen is essential for photosynthesis and so on. its just some absurd shit you read on forums.

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xtsho said:

Don't watch or read the cannabis specific stuff especially the youtube videos. Just pretend it's a plant and grow it. There's way too much nonsense floating around. Cannabis is just another plant. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be which is what many do. Pretend it's a tomato and let it grow. It's that simple. Cannabis growers are always overthinking things.

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weedstoner420 said:

This is a good point. I get the feeling some folks only grow weed, never any other flowering annuals or veggie gardening, not even a pothos or snake plant on their windowsill.

Other than needing a different light schedule to induce flowering, and having to worry more about humidity to prevent mold, I think you could treat weed the exact same way you would a tomato or pepper or eggplant, and it would turn out great.

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xtsho said:

Eggplant are harder to grow.

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xtsho said:

Eggplant are harder to grow.

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lusidghost said:

Nobody cares if you flush or not. It's the adding flavor or anything else for that matter part that bothers most people.

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weedstoner420 said:

Why is that? (Disclaimer: I have not grown it myself)

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weedstoner420 said:

Why is that? (Disclaimer: I have not grown it myself)

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xtsho said:

They're just finicky. They do better in regions that warm up faster in the spring than it does here in the PNW. I only got 5 or so eggplant off of two plants last summer. The cannabis plants I grew in recycled soil in 3 gallon pots did great though.

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Somatek said:

Grow books give you a good baseline but don't fill in all the gaps and are based on the best info at the time of publishing which we're finding out isn't necessarily the best way to grow now that it's actually being studied rigorously in universities as a new cash crop. Short version; take everything with a grain of salt.

I am taking everything with a grain of salt now, thats the problem! My diet here is almost pure salt these days, I could use a little pepper...Who can I trust--Who really knows how to grow?


People's advice is often wrong and often is simply parroting what they've read elsewhere with no nuanced understanding. Like saying "2 more weeks" when looking at a single pic of one bud which doesn't give enough context to give an answer. There's a trap of beginners asking beginner questions which only other almost-beginners answer as anyone who's spent time growing/online gets bored of the endless legions of people asking the same questions. There isn't one right answer, it's a matter of taste as some prefer an earlier harvest (headier/speedier) while others prefer a late one (more narcotic/sedative). As a grower it's up to you to figure out where to harvest the varieties you grow, which is easier with clones vs seeds as their consistent and easier to learn on. Again though the prevailing online attitude is "seeds are easier and just as good"...

I hear you here, there is a lot of "parroting" and I tend to ignore the Bro Science folks swimming with the school.... There are very knowledgeable growers here on this forum (example Uncle Ben) That have very different opinions then everyone else. BUT again, I'm not sure who's right.

Bloom nutes are designed to meet a plants needs during flowering; people who say they cause more harm then good don't know what their talking about and clearly are blaming the product for their mistakes. That's as common as people blaming a tool when their lack of experience is the issue. If you bought a quality fertilizer, follow their recommendations cut in half. It's good advice for beginners to use half strength as the recommended dose is assuming the plants are in an ideal environment with maximum potential growth. As a beginner that won't be the case, so start with half strength as a baseline to avoid excess fertigation.

I'ver been following an old grower named Uncle Ben who says not to use Bloom Nutrients (or go very lightly)----He is not alone, and I'm seeing many long time growers that use Veg Nutes all the way through flower. Who's right?... (Side note: after reading Bens posts, I researched Dynagrow and even the president (of Dynagrow) admitted that Bloom Nutrients are not needed. He says they make them because people want them----thats it...


It was standard and widely accepted that flushing before harvest improved quality by reducing the mineral content in the plant matter, improving how it burns/tastes. A paper from the UoG on optimal irrigation studies for pot had a blurb about testing that theory and didn't find any difference in the mineral content of the bud when analyzed. Which created the controversy around whether it does anything. The study didn't have any subjective testing to see whether people preferred flushed or unflushed pot, it simply looked at nutrient content. Looking at the actual paper though it also notes there wasn't any significant difference in weight; which logically to me means there's no point wasting money on ferts in the last couple weeks if the plant isn't really using them. The more you cut through the chatter and go to the source, the less confusing things are. Equally if someone doesn't have a source and uses the old refrain "I know because I've grown for x years and that's better" then their opinion is equally limited.

Thanks, I'll let this one digest a bit, well said. Its also a VERY controversial topic it seems. I grow one plant at a time, the cost of Nutrients isnt a problem for me, but I can see how it might be different for big growers.

You're confusing two different things because growers are sloppy with language (pistils are actually stigmas, a pistil is the ova/stigma/style, calyx's are actually called bracts as the calyx is a thin multi cellular layer on the embryo, etc). The idea of flushing minerals out of a plant to improve the quality is a questionable theory, the science of flushing the grow medium to prevent salt build up/nute lock out is proven and basic chemistry. When using mineral salt/synthetic nutes they will slowly accumulate in the soil and if not washed out regularly will build to the point where they start binding to other minerals and form precipitate that's unavailable to the plants to absorb. Since they are water soluble, they can easily be washed out of soilless mediums which have fairly low CEC's and don't hold ions tightly. Again, anyone disputing that doesn't understand what their talking about which is sadly common with the weed bros.

YES !!!!!! DING DING DING !!!!! People are sloppy and the Language used might as well be Martian. If your talking MUSIC as a musician, you can talk about the Key of a song is in and everyone understands your language. In Information Technology, we have Protocols in place to allow everyone to be on the same page and to talk the same language... From What I've seen in growing, there are very little protocols in place, and the language is all over the place....Flush is a prime example, people who say to Flush may be talking about two very different things. (I see it all the time)

If you're using a professional grow medium it'll be buffered to keep the pH stable and in the ideal range. If you're using a simple, quality fertilizer, mixing it properly and pH'ing properly you don't need to test the soil pH; it won't be your limiting factor so fixating on it will only get in the way. If you really want to test your soil pH then look up how to do a soil slurry test, it's as simple as diluting a measured volume of soil in neutral distilled water, letting it sit and then filtering out the solids before using a pH meter. Again, not something I'd worry about, focus on the macro until you work your way down to the micro details like measuring soil pH.

Yes ! I've hear this, BUT if I have lockout, or if the soil is buffering to the wrong PH, I still don't know how to check it. I cant dig the soil out of the roots without seriosly stressing the plant. My problem is that way too many people are telling folks to check Soil PH, but they dont say how.


Purple stems are almost always a deficiency outside of some very isolated and mostly landrace cultivars. It's a common early sign of nutrients issues, again beginners telling other beginners it's "genetic" is more often a case of ignorant people passing on bad info because they don't know any better.

Lol, thanks man. Speak of the devil, All of my lower leaves have purple stems and are falling off now Week 6 flower. I'd love to fix it, but have no idea where to start. I'm afraid to do anyting now. Add Cal Mag ? Half will say yes, half will say no. Epsom Salts, Dolimite Lime? Is it a Mag deficiency? PH off? I have no idea to be honest, and the more I read, the further I get from a solution. Too much conflicting advice here, I decided F it, I'm not going to bother to fix it.. I'd be secong guessing anything I did to solve the problem..


From an economic viewpoint growing doesn't make sense for most people with legalisation driving prices down. If you want a challenging hobby that forces you to learn various branches of science, if you life testing and discovering, if you enjoy problem solving and deducting a problem from limited clues, if you enjoy gardening and want to deepen your knowledge or if you're a connoisseur that wants more then the limited commercial offerings; growing is a great hobby. That or validation from Internet strangers that don't realise how naive it is to think you can judge a bud from a pic. That's as absurd as thinking you could pick a wife/husband from a pic without knowing anything else...

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lusidghost said:

Nobody cares if you flush or not. It's the adding flavor or anything else for that matter part that bothers most people.

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obijohn said:

12/12 flip time is not when flowering countdown begins. The flowering hormones take time to build up, you would start counting when the plant starts to flower. I pretty much start with clones, and the estimated finish time is pretty close, depending on your growing conditions.

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singlecoiled said:

This is exaclty what pisses me off. Its not that your wrong, its just that half the people say what your saying and half say that flower starts at 12/12... Come on people we need to get on the same page !!!!! It's a f-ing opinion, not fact as to when flower starts. I say use the start from 12/12 as a timer as its easier than starting the countdown after flowers show ( 2.5 weeks or so)

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