Quote Originally Posted by ds0110
To be a good grower no. You just need to know how to use the method you are using to its maximum potential. You have to learn what that strain likes and that doesnt require smoking. However there are a couple scenarios I can think of where smoking your own is time-saving/valuable. If you wanted to plant 20+ (40 non feminized) seeds of one strain in search of a mother..and you had specific traits in mind that had to do with the effects or flavor. Maybe you want the most potent one rather than the biggest one, longest lasting effects, etc. Each potential mother is different and to smoke is to fully experience them so that you can make the best informed decision. You could use qualified testers I suppose, but that takes time to field through ~20 individual females and sort through x amount of tester results, x being # of testers. This is even more important imo if you decide to breed. Sitting around smoking 20 different numbered jars of the same strain, trying to decide which mother lives, is a truly great day indeed. So in conclusion, imo, to be an expert grower, yeah, it helps a lot to smoke.
I hear you, and we have bred a few strains which turned out to be good, at least, according to our testers (patients). Whether we are getting maximum potential is probably relative depending upon the person, since each person has their own idea of what is good and beneficial, not to mention the fact what is good and beneficial seems to change over time. This is certainly not an exact science which makes it a unique and interesting process....and inconsistent because of so many variables. If the testing labs were more readily available (and not so expensive), I would not mind periodically testing just to see how we are doing, according to the numbers anyway. Whether that translates into primo bud, is...relative.