Beyond "basic": houseplant style?

[Egzoset]

Hi,

I wish to avoid the use of any hardware other than soil, water and sunlight. I have a verada with 12 hours of sunlight at best and since the sun is gradually turning vertical there won't be much left as we get closer to June 21st. Yet, i'm looking for seeds meeting this description: "Sativa-dominant Stealthy AutoFem"...

There ain't many strains corresponding to that selection criteria. So far i only have a very short list of possible candidates:

Dutch Passion, Taïga
Ministry of Cannabis, Angelmatic Fem.
Paradise Seeds, Automaria 2

Each of those is said to provide a "cerebral" high (Sativa-dominant) in opposition to a "body" high (medicinal Indica-dominant). Their Ruderalis heritage helps to limit height ("Stealthy") and i didn't find reviews where there was mention of a "strong" smell ("Stealthy"), which under the circumstances probably wouldn't be a cause of concern anyway due to the relative lack of light. Finally, i retained each of these strains because they are Feminised Auto-Flowering varieties: e.g. no need to control anything, hence no fancy harware required.

Obviously, i'm not after a potent harvest. I'd just want to see if it's possible to grow my favourite plant indoors just like it were any other decorative flower. I plan to use my veranda a lot this summer and it woud be great to have something nice to grow and pamper.

[MDFinest]

I dont see what the question is.. but it's very possible to do it from your veranda. I dont see what you meant by their wont be much sunlight left as we approach the summer solstice. That is when the light hours peak before decreasing towards the end of the season. What is the estimated time on the auto flowering strain from seed to harvest?

[MDFinest]

But yea you can definitely grow cannabis as if it were a basic houseplant.. just giving it water and making sure it has sunlight. That is all it needs. The extra more advanced aspects of growing is just to ensure good quality, yield, etc. I've had great success in the past just giving it water, a simple yet effective medium, and small amounts of organic feed.

[Egzoset]

Hi MDFinest,

It's a veranda with an opaque roof, this means on June 21st at 12:00 my whole veranda will be located under that roof's shadow...

As i recall, the strains i've mentioned have a life of about 2½ months.

[Dexter007]

hi deffently posible.i have 2 babys growing in my bedroom window and they are doing great..slow growth cos im in ireland and not much sunlight but yeah..i first tought that they are going to grow lanky but now..extremly vide but short..i dont know the strayn now cos i just found these seeds in a top of the wardrobe so they can be there months or years i wouldnt know=)
but anyways..good luck with yout grow and lets hope everything will work outs just fine../

[Egzoset]

Thank you, i was starting to think i'm the 1st guy to plan something like that...

[Dexter007]

Thank you, i was starting to think i'm the 1st guy to plan something like that...

haha,you wish.i had one lowrider 2 (auto flower/feminised) growing my mates window ova the winter and i got 14 grams of it..and i mean ireland has fuck all sun in summer never mind vinter..and all i used was miracle grow soil ,perlite and i feed them with aolgoflash with m nutes,, and i think it was very good result for these condissions.

[Egzoset]

Now that's the type of post i'm really pleased to read as i'm from Quebec/Canada (in the St-Laurent Valley) and the climate over here is most probably closer to yours than any cozy place in California where sunlight is abundant...

How would you describe your experience in terms of smell?

[Dexter007]

quit strong to be honest..but you can get some other strain if you want.but its just that lowryder will probaly grow anywhere..heres the picture of my other plant what i have in my window..i dont know the strayn or anithing about it.just a random seed what i found top of my wardrobe so it could be there a lon long time

[Dexter007]

its bit down cos i over water it.i was tring my air/water pump behind the timer and i set the thing wrong so it cot way to much water..i like da built and test dufferent things what i built and make some use out of them..

[Egzoset]

Oh, quite strong a smell hey... Well... I guess i'll need to do two things: 1) keep it in the veranda, 2) find out which strain(s) is(are) a lesser cause of smell issues.

I verified the LowRyder 2 AutoFem and it's said to be Indica/Sativa, the opposite of what i'm after. Yet, reviews can be subjective since my notes also mention it's supposed to be a low odor ("stealthy") strain with grapefruit remnants.

I couldn't find odor specific information for the Taïga. The AngelMatic Fem odor is described as being a strong "earthy" flavour... As for the AutoMaria 2, that one could be of interest to me because of it's alledged fruity/flower smell. Oh and i doubt this would apply in my case but the later strain can possibly provide multiple harvests as well...

Thank you for your input, my motivation level has been improving lately!

[Dexter007]

no prob.but dont forget to keep us updated that what you at and how your geting on=)

[Egzoset]

Well, i thought i'd be growing the AutoMaria 2 Fem strain from Paradise Seeds but then i found this review:

Vancouver Seed Bank: Automaria -(autoflowering) 5 Seeds Per Pack Feminized (http://www.vancouverseedbank.ca/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=33_113&products_id=778)

Here they describe the AutoMaria effect as being "Stoney, bodily, medical" (essentially the opposite of the Sativa effect which i want). Is it possible the AutoMaria 2 in comparison to the AutoMaria changed in such a radical way it reversed from Indica to Sativa?...

It seems i haven't found the ideal "Sativa-Dominant Stealthy AutoFem Houseplant" just yet.

[Egzoset]

Despite some mixed signals i planning to go with the Paradise Seeds AutoMaria II, finally.

[WickedJack]

You wont be disappointed with VSB they are very good people & treat their customers right..

Check out the 1St Grow thread here from me Im from BC & have "just started"

http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/197634-1st-grow.html

Good Luck

Peace

[Egzoset]

I've just finished reading the thread, i reached the point where you changed to a more powerful source of light.

Have you seen good positive posts about using UV-B lamps near the end of the flowering cycle?

[Egzoset]

1st attempt to germinate Paradise Seeds Automaria 2 still inconclusive.

[washmedical]

goodluck!

[Egzoset]

I finally made some progress, from this:

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...to this:

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:D

I figured i'll have to move the plant from one window to the next just to get about 8 hours of sunlight daily...

[Egzoset]

It's a bit tedious having to move her around but it works:

277194 277195

...at the moment.

[khyberkitsune]

If you drink large bottles of soda (2 liter or more) fill them with water, cut holes in your roof, drop a few of those directly in and seal around them. The larger the bottle, and the clearer, the better of a constant light capture/transfer device you have.

Keep the plants under the veranda, still get them constant light, even at noon.

[Egzoset]

Hello Khyberkitsune,

I'm afraid making holes into the roof is no option as i don't own the building but i've found a way to help with sun capture anyway:

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This simple system improves positioning tolerance and a reflective 4' x 4' sheet only costs a few dollars!

[Purple Daddy]

I have a front bedroom that gets pretty direct sunlight through one window until about noon then 50%+ through another window until about 4 p/m. I've grown plants in this room with supplimental lighting with fair success, not as well as I thought they may grow.

[Egzoset]

Salutations Purple Daddy,

Right now it's fairly straightforward to grow practically about anything in front of my windows because the plants are tiny. I've chosen an equally small vase for each plant hoping that this contributes to help limiting their height, by restricting available space for the roots... Dimensions are as follows: 8 inches dia. at the top, 4+ inches at the base, 6 inches in between (not including an internal bottom plate) - there's a large hole at the bottom for ventilation and it's covered with a plate made permeable by the presence of multiple draining holes, this way the roots are expected to get plenty of oxygen... Each vase was filled with a mix of dark gardening top soil, peat potting soil and perlite; one soil is said to be enriched with compost while "plant food" has been included into the other. I started filling by putting a slim layer of fine aquarium rocks on the bottom plate to garantee proper ventilation then i covered this layer with a suitable textile to prevent clogging. Perlite mixed to the soils is supposed to contribute to water retention and prevent excessive compactness, to ease gaseous exchanges. A thin perlite layer separates the soil layers, it should work like a transitory water buffer: i don't want the roots to be completely drowned and risk becoming rotten. I used less perlite as the vase was getting filled, going from abundant to none, then i covered everything with coloured aquarium rocks to slow down evaporation from sun exposure; it sure improves the looks too and watering a plant doesn't cause soil splashes that way... My hope is that this creative layered piece of work will do fine at least until my dwarf plants have completed their life cycle. One problem i'm probably going to face would be weight as my AutoMarias are growing taller, perhaps in a few weeks i'll need to put them on wheels, for convenience and safety... When this experiment is over i plan to proceed to a post-mortem examination of the root system relatively to the layered soil structure: somehow i'm expecting to learn something there which i can use in my future gardening adventures!

[Purple Daddy]

I'm sure they'll do just fine.

[Egzoset]

Dexter007 wrote that he could grow cannabis in front of a window in Ireland, in winter, and harvest successfully...

This sort of tells me it's worth a try, or two! :detective1:

[Egzoset]

...or three!

277711

:420thought:

[Egzoset]

278641

278640

[Egzoset]

My 2nd self-cultivator session so far:

280978

...under four 45 Watts (3000 lm) CFL lamps so far, two more soon...

[bobjob4u]

If you can get them under hps they will yield out maybe double then what you will get with cfl. Either way enjoy.

[Egzoset]

I still "wish to avoid the use of any hardware other than soil, water and sunlight" as stated in the 1st sentence of my initial post.

I was forced to consider CFLs as an alternative because of insufficient sunlight.

[Egzoset]

This is what i'm experimenting with at the moment:

281016

[kingjustin]

That is some very colorful soil ya got there.

[Egzoset]

Indeed. But it's got no nutrients...

Here's why i've adopted such aquarium artifact:

1) It breaks splashes while watering
2) It doesn't allow mold to grow on it
3) It reflects back blue and red light
4) It makes photo sessions pleasant

Here's a somewhat more obvious sample:

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But really, this one is my favourite so far:

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Ain't she sexy on a stage like that one?!...

:cool:

[kingjustin]

Lets be best friends.

[Egzoset]

MouHa! Ha!

I propose we should vape one to that! 281027

[kingjustin]

Indeed, m'friend.

[Egzoset]

Salutations everyone,

A full year has passed so it's about time for me to post an update... :weedpoke:

...

Here's what happened. Since i found i could hardly provide more than ~10 hours of sunlight during the year's longest summer day i eventually concluded i'd need to build some sort of hybrid cultivation space adapted to "Behind-the-Window" experiments as it would work like a "Docking Station" for plants when it's been cloudy for too long, etc. As a result my strategy was to build a preliminary Prototyping Platform to acquire some hands-on background first.

Here's what this temporarily solution got like:

{...unable to post picture here, see album instead!..}
(2012-Jun-20)

After a while it seemed the tripod telescopic supports had to be moved on the edges, hence that's exactly what happened:

{...unable to post picture here, see album instead!..}
(2012-Oct-24)

It was doing well but then i got a SpiderMite infestation this automn which only got worst despite my efforts to tame it down lately...

{...unable to post picture here, see album instead!..}
(2012-Dec-23)

In addition to pest control it seems CFL bulbs aren't the safest option for a hot/humid enclosure (because of the integrated ballast). Considering the need to spray, etc., i'm now thinking of double-layered containment using glass (or translucide plastic) all around my primary chamber, to ease maintenance while allowing the light to enter and leaving most of the heat behind. Also, a totally sealed volume would make it possible to suffocate pests with CO2 flooding when convenient, but i want my plants to have wheels too...

288786

Ultimately my goal would be to grow behind-the-window in order to enjoy this hobby as much as i used to in the very begining, having some good time in my rocking chair as i observed mother nature at work and appreciated the delicate smell of my dwarf ladies. Maybe i'd like to include some provisions for proper temperature management, most likely for a small humidifier in any case, since it's only meant for 3 - 5 plants at most.

Now that's a bit funny somehow because i've been defeated by The Borg and the next time we meet i could rely on a piece of furniture with the looks of a borg regeneration alcove... I'd find this ironic and yet equally fair!

:rolleyes:

[Egzoset]

288797

Ah, at least hosting copies from external links does appear to work...

http://boards.cannabis.com/attachments/basic-growing/288797d1357042067-beyond-basic-houseplant-style-33pczh3.jpg

...but i can't re-used those it seems!...