Growing Basics with the Big Buddha!

Hi there readers, I am going to demonstrate what we would do using the most popular single light a 600w and a grow space of around a metre square, We think this is on average what space personal growers have and in the end result , will have adequate personal smoke to see you through till the next crop as well as enough spare to cover the costs and plenty of enjoyment for you and your friends, Ok we have already cloned a tray of 24 plants allowing for a few mistakes you will eventually only need 16 the rest could either make a nice gift or go into the mother room.

From clone they are put into 1 litre pots of good Dutch high grade soil mixed with perlite to the ratio of 60soil/40perlite turning the mix into a very light mixture which will hold plenty of air, this will be its home for the next 3 to 4 weeks.

Potting.
We are going to use the common 10 litre pot, and were going to grow 16 in rows of 4 , the potting mix we use was tried a few years back and since then we have tried many different mixes but for all round ease ,performance , and excellent taste and yield, we use:

Good Dutch soil
Bag of coco
Bag of worm castings
Bat guano
Perlite
Clay pebbles

The ratios we put in each are around 35% each both coco and soil 20% perlite then about 10% worm castings, bat guano you only need a handful for each pot, but make sure its well mixed in, We have put this mix up against using pure soil and pots using only coco and this mix above, always outperforms both!, its like having the best of both worlds.

We like to buy good quality brands rather than buying more cheaper products here in Spain we still bring in quality Dutch soil rather than the cheap local stuff, this is the same in the uk normally compost is made outdoors intended for outdoor use so when potting indoors with cheaper outdoor made compost there always chances of getting pests and larvae's in the mix , with the Dutch specialised for indoor use their soil is kept in warehouses with UV lights killing all pests and larvae's so there never any problems with pests later on, for spider mites, we spray every 3 days till pests are totally gone, also, we like to change sprays to a different brand/formula, so the spider mite are constantly barraged with different killer mixes, after spray has worked ,we spay with clean water then order some Phytoseiulus, top predators, then we set them onto the plants cleaning, up every last pest , in flowering , check the spray, your using , but usually you can get away with pest sprays up until around 4 weeks into flowering if you get mites during the last crucial weeks get some predators fast, if infestation gets worse try using a vacuum cleaner, hold buds, lift up underside of leaves and let the vacuum nozzle suck off the mites using your hands to protect the bud.

Ok we fill the first 5 to 10 cms of the pot with clay pebbles, make sure they have been washed through with water, then we put the mixture in, pot up and place into room, for the next 2 weeks you only need to feed water, before its first week of flowering nutrients at half strength over the years we have experimented with many different nutrients from all over Europe, We have several crops continuously going on around Europe and nutrients are varied, one nutrient we have all tried and like is Advanced nutrients from Canada, we noticed that overall there were consistently better yields and healthier plants using Advanced, they have also a great range of totally organic nutrients, so it is well worth taking a look.

Flowering
During 12/12 we start feed nutrients at half strength then fed all the way up until the last 2 to 3 weeks to ensure a good flush out and use all the remaining nutes. During flowering for additional boost we like to use the bat guano mixed into the nutrient mix, but we also use big bud from advanced nutrients, remember if the plant gets any problems any time during growth just feed lightly as it will just get worse if you start feeding it more enriched nute water. The last few weeks is a good indicator of what you have fed over the flowering duration at harvest the plants fan leaves will start to yellow showing you have a plant that has used up all available food.

Yields
In the 10 litre pots we turn on flowering when the plants are from around 50 -80 cms tall in turn they finish around 90 to 150 cms, so yields are dependent on strain , using our big Buddha cheese, we average around 40 to 60 grams of perfectly dry cured bud a plant, my record, was this afghan phenotype which produced 88 grams, but generally we don't really care about yields as long as the plant has stayed happy throughout its lifecycle, it will reward you with her fine fruit, the best she has got to give!
It's bad to think " Yeahh... I am going to get x amount off each plant giving me this much!!!" etc etc etc

Drying and curing
We have seen a lot of good weed ruined by the final stages the drying, drying to fast(dampweed),to drying in the wrong place i.e.: a bedroom/wardrobe which have deodorants or perfume ruining the bud, So we take the drying and curing just as important as growing, what you need most important to have a good constant average temperature, with air circulation, sometimes its good to use the growroom you are in,, first we clip of all fan leaves then after drying for 3 to 5 days we give the buds its final trim, this time the frosty trim is collected to be processed into "Bubblehash", and then the buds are put into either large brown paper bags or a clean cardboard box for its final cure, this will be cured anywhere from 5 to 10 days opening up daily to move round the buds for a perfect even cure, when the buds are ready they can be stored long term in glass jars, for even longer storage store some in the freezer, by know , you should have some really remarkable clean tasting pot, even better than what is sometimes seen in a Dutch coffeeshop.

Enjoy much peace and love

Big Buddha