Old NewB--Flyin' by the seat of my pants . . .

Hi, Hifolk,

Well, life is just full of twists and turns, isnâ??t it? Iâ??m a 63-year-old grandmother who has probably smoked less than
an ounce throughout my entire life, beginning one very paranoid night in the early â??70â??s when some friends toked
me up and dragged me out to the movies to see â??Mad Dogs and Englishmen.â?� :stoned: What a night! I was traumatized,
certain that total strangers could tell I was stoned. Was sure Iâ??d be in jail by the end of the night.
(The result of that night was a lifelong love of Joe Cocker! Wonder why?)

A few years ago I got in the habit of taking a hit or two when I visited my daughter and her hubby in Memphis.
It wasnâ??t long before I noticed a very real improvement in my chronic back and hip pain when under the influence,
and I acquired a quarter ounce of personal stash, my very first! (Iâ??m scheduled for a huge, extensive back surgery :(
but if I can beat the pain with hooch, Iâ??m not gonna go under the knife.)

Long story short: in late April I planted a few seeds from that stash, figuring if they grew I could always poke around
online, later, get some good seeds and try to grow something I liked better than the stuff these seeds are from. (I donâ??t
care for the whole-body stone that makes me just want to curl up on the couch. But I had to see if I could grow some first!)

Six seeds struck, and to my delight four of them turned out to be female. I tossed the males.
(Was that correct? :question: They donâ??t get buds, do they?)

Now Iâ??ve got these big ole' beautiful girls out in the yard battling this incredible heat wave weâ??ve got in Louisiana,
and I am baffled by the whole thing. I've no idea what stage my â??kidsâ?� are at and would welcome any input, advice, or information.

These gals were all started within the same week, and at about 2-1/2 months of age they are 31, 26, 24 and 22
inches high from the dirt up. Theyâ??re in 3 to 5 gallon pots, in a mixture of â??garden soilâ?� trucked in from a nursery, to
which I added peat moss, Mississippi River sand, perlite, a bit of small lava rock and little pieces of expanded shale.

For awhile I was sometimes feeding a weak Miracle Gro concoction (about half the recommended amt. for outside plants)
in rain water. For the past couple of weeks Iâ??ve been watering with plain rain water and spraying the leaves, top and bottom,
most mornings with rain water to which Iâ??ve added (per gallon) 16 ounces pee, :eek: 2-3 tsp. Epsom salts, and 1-1/2 tablespoons Miracle Gro.

Guys (and gals), I have been surprised at every phase, never before having seen the noble weed alive and growing.
When they showed their sex I was amazed. The females seemed to start preening at that point, thriving and practically
glowing :rastabanna: and putting out all those tiny filament hairs, and the two males started looking weak and sickly.
I was flabbergasted. (It looks like the opposite of the animal kingdom displays, where the males are all
gorgeous and the females look plain and timid.)

The 31â?� and 26â?� plants have these growths coming from the places where the little creamy filaments grow from.
(The filament tips on the largest plant have turned a sort of burgundy.) The â??growthsâ?� look almost like teensy tiny
artichokes, or micro-pine cones. I think. Hard to describe. They are beautiful and the 31â?� lady is loaded with them in
every nook and cranny. They seem to be piling up almost, one on top the other. :question: Make any sense?

The 22â?� plant seems to be starting to make a few of these things but the 24â?� lady has none. She is showing a hint of
promise here and there, but nothing to write the Forum about.

I could swear that a few weeks ago, all four ladies were getting those interesting little pods or whatever they are.
(Are these the famous buds?) Is it possible something ate some of them? I could be wrong in thinking all four plants
had these things. But I just think I remember seeing them on all the plants.
Maybe not! Shoot! That's what I get for not paying them much attention.

So far, I havenâ??t sprayed them with anything, although I often see one or two critters when I look them over. Like
an aphid or two, or some fly-looking-thing I canâ??t identify. I was thinking of spraying on some Neem oil or insecticidal
soap. A very few leaves have a few holes in them.

Right now, the heat is what worries me; I just learned about it on this forum. Iâ??m looking at 100 to 113 degrees
in the sun, most days. So hot, itâ??s exhausting just to go murmur some encouraging sweet nothings to my ladies.
A few leaf-tips are brown and the occasional leaf is yellow, but by and large the plants look extremely healthy.

They get full sun all day, except for an hour or two of mostly shade after daybreak. I could move them to where they
would get the first sun, but then their late afternoon and evening sun would become mostly shade. (Or I guess I
could pile them into my Yerf-Dog Rover and drive them back and forth every day so theyâ??d get all-day full sun.)

Is the heat holding them back? Would shadecloth help? (Surely not!) How about a fan during the hot part of the day?

If you tell me the heat is doing a lot of damage, I will very reluctantly go buy lights and rig something up inside.
I sure donâ??t want to.

I have so many questions but would settle for just two basic answers if someone would be so kind:

1) What should I do about the heat problem?

2) Where can I find the very basic information, like a â??Growing Pot for Dummiesâ?� level of education? I have
no idea of how soon Iâ??ll be harvesting, how to go about getting samples to try ahead of the full harvest, or even
exactly what part of the plant is the stuff I will chop up and smoke! When I read descriptions of the various kinds
of plants (while Iâ??m researching seeds) there is so much I don't understand. Itâ??s like Greek!
How did I manage to stay so dumb for so many years?

I have some pics I took yesterday, I could post them if I can figure out how.
:)
Thanks!

glad you're enjoying growing our little miracle plants :thumbsup: ... it sure is fascinating, watching them grow, and slowly understanding how they differ so much from other plants ...

check down in our Cultivation section, for help with your plants, we still have some experienced growers to help you along :) ... the Search function works quite well, too ...

meanwhile, here's an "oldie, but a goodie" link to the very growing guide, most of us geezers read, many moons ago :D ...

THE MARIJUANA GROWER'S GUIDE..........by Mel Frank & Ed Rosenthal :thumbsup:

lot of reading there, but lots of info, too ...

good luck with your heat, and don't be afraid to sit them in a bit of shade, just watch for any 'stretch', in the stems, from too little light ...

btw, I read online once, that Joe Cocker, and his wife own a steakhouse, in Colorado now, and live there ... should find more info on his website

:smokin:

Hi to 1 newb to another..lol

I also have to go for back surgery I have severe degenerative disc disease..I've shrunk 1.5 inches in the last year believe it or not...And Im only 35 =\
I dont smoke but if you say it relieves the pain then I just might keep some for myself..:D

welcome ma'am i'm a newbie myself & it sure is hot here in cenla but you just water those ladies in the a.m. & try to let them get 5 hours of direct sun & i dont know a whole bunch about bugs, but i had a lil bug problem myself and i was told to do this and it worked, take ciggaret butts about half way smoked and boil them hard for about 15 mins then strain, pour in a spray bottle & spray your plants and the base and all around, tabacco is natural & does not hurt your ladies, but bugs sure dont like the stuff.. best of luck and karma on your grow if you need anything just holla..
B.