Another Good Growing Guide - part 3
Table of contents
- Sinsemillia
- Sinse seeds
- Odors and negative ions
- Oxygen
- Safety and privacy
- Distilled water
- Birth control pills
- Seed and bud storage
- A final comment
SINSEMILLIA
When the female plant is not allowed to pollinate, it grows full of resin that was intended to make seeds. False seed pods swell with THC laden resin and the pistils turn red and orange and withdraw into the pods. Then the plant is harvested.
Seeds are not part of the bud when the flowers mature. This is called Sinsemillia, and simply means "no seeds".
SINSE SEEDS
It is possible to cross your favorite two female plants to create a new strain of seeds that will produce all female plants. Preferably, these two plants will be different types of plants, not from the same mother's seeds.
This will create the best offspring, since it will not lead to inbreeding. It is easier to gauge the quality of female plants than male plants, since the smoke is more potent and easier to judge it's finer qualities. Plants from seeds created in this fashion will be all female plants since there will be no chance of male chromosomes from female parents.
Use Gibberellic Acid on one branch of a female plant to induce male flowers. Gibberellic Acid is sold by nursery supply houses for plant breeding and hybridizing. Spray the plant once every day for 10 days with 100 ppm gibberellic acid. When the male flowers form, pollinate the flowers of your other target female plant you have selected. Just pollinate one branch unless you want lots of seeds!
Once the branch has male flowers, cut the branch and root it in water, with glass under it to catch the male pollen when it drops. Use a rooting solution similar to the above cloning solution.Collect the pollen with a plastic bag over the branch and shake it. Use a razor blade to scrap up fallen pollen and add it to the bag too.
It is also possible to pollinate the flowers of the plant you create the male flowers on, crossing it with itself. This is used to preserve a special plants characteristics. Cloning will also preserve the plants characteristics, but will not allow you to store seeds for use later. Crossing a plant with itself can lead to inbreeding problems, so it may not be the optimum solution in many cases.
I once tried using Gibberellic Acid, sprayed on a healthy female, every day for over a week. No male flowers appeared on the plant. Your milage may vary.
ODORS AND NEGATIVE IONS
Negative ion generators have been used for years now to cut down on odors in a grow room, but reports are coming in that a negative ion generator will increase growth speed and yield. No true evidence to support this, however it does make sense, due to the fact that people and animals seem to be altered in a positive way by negative ions in the air, so plants may "feel" better too. Try putting one in the grow room. You may notice the buds don't have as much scent when picked, but that may be desirable in some cases.
A negative ion generator can be purchased for $15 to $100 depending on the type and power involved. Some have reversed cycles that collect the dust to a charged plate. It is also possible to use grounded aluminum foil on the wall and shelf where the ionizer sits, to collect these particles. Just wipe the foil clean once a month. It should be grounded to an electrical outlets ground wire. If you don't cover the wall and shelf with paper or foil, the wall will turn dark with dust taken from the air, and you will have to repaint that wall later.
OXYGEN
O2 to the roots is a big concern, since the plant requires this for nutrients to be available, and to rid itself of toxins, etc. One of the easiest things to do is use food grade hydrogen peroxide in the water to increase the availability of oxygen in the water. H2O2 has an extra oxygen atom that will easily break away and can be used by the plant. Oxygen Plus is a plant food that contains 25% hydrogen peroxide and is perfect for this use.
Using a planting medium that allows for plenty of aeration is also really important. Be sure you have good drainage by using Perlite, sand, or gravel in your mix and at the bottom of pots. Don't use a medium that holds too much water, or you may significantly reduce the oxygen available to the plant. More on that in the section on hydroponics.
Aerating the water before watering is also a good idea. In the case of soil potted plants, use an airpump to aerate the water overnight before watering your plants, or put the water in a container with a cap and shake it up real good before giving to the plants.
SAFETY AND PRIVACY
Utility companies can tell your bill is way off from the same time last year, and police are finding growers this way. More than 500 watts in the family home running constantly will show up as a regular monthly increase in electricity use. You can claim space heaters, more people living on the premises, too many television sets, and late hours, if they happen mention it to you (innocently). If the police knock and ask you about it, don't let them in, and move your plants to another location during the wee hours in a vehicle not your own.
Upon moving into a new place, it may be desirable to immediately establish high electricity use, so that your electrical use history won't reveal your activities in the future...
Light leaks, open windows, heat expelled from rooms that would normally be cool, and rip-offs are all serious issues to be concerned about. Don't use a burglar alarm on when your away from the house. People are busted this way when the kids try to rip off the garden and the police come. Lock the house up well, and let them take it if they need it so bad. It's not worth getting busted for a burglary...
Think ahead to any situation that will require outsiders to visit sensitive areas of the house. Repairmen, solicitors, meter readers, neighbors, appraisers, and pets should all be considered and contingency plans made in advance.
DISTILLED WATER
Some growers report purified or distilled water helps their plants grow faster. Perhaps due to sodium and heavy metals found in hard water that are not present in purified water. Hard water tends to build up alkaline salt deposits in soil that lockup trace minerals, and cause iron, copper and zinc deficiencies. There are several types of purified water, but many are not free of minerals that could be causing salt buildup over an extended period of time.
Tap water comes in two flavors. Hot and cold. The cold pipe has less calcium and sodium buildup in it, and should be freer of sediment once the water has been turned on and allowed to flow for 30 seconds. Hot water will have rust, lead deposits, and lots of sodium and calcium, so much so, you will see it easily. Use only the amount of hot water needed to make the water the correct temperature (70-80 F). Tap water filtered through a carbon (charcoal) filter will be free of chlorine and most large particles, but will still contain dissolved solids such as sodium and heavy metals (lead, arsenic, nickel, etc.).
Purified bottled water will be either Reverse Osmosis or some form of carbon/sediment filtered water. When purchasing water at a store, unless it says RO or Distilled, don't bother buying it. It could still have the same dissolved solids and heavy metals your tap water has.
BIRTH CONTROL PILLS
A solution of one pill to one gallon of water has been reported to cause increased growth speed in tomato plants. It is possible this will help herb plants too. One treatment administered before flowering and one administered a few weeks before harvesting might help the plant mature faster.
One grower told a story of the same type of plants, one administered the estrogen grew to 20 feet, while the other was 7 feet. This may be purely anecdotal, but it may work. Try it and report back to us on results.
SEED AND BUD STORAGE
Use a seal-a-meal to hermetically seal the bag with no air inside. Freeze or refrigerate, and bud and seed can be kept for years this way.
Rap seeds in a paper towel to absorb moisture. Keep them in the freezer, and pull out only as many seeds as you need, then pop them back in the freezer quickly.
A FINAL COMMENT
Good results can be had even in what appear to be rather marginal situations. (i.e.: a four inch pot in a room with a skylight.) With the minimum of: well drained medium, good light with ventilation, regular application of a complete fertilizer, pest control, and avoidance of detection, anyone can take a viable seed to maturity.
One need not have a lot of money, or even know-how to grow good plants.
