Re:

Pharaohs of Egypt tested positive on marijuana

Wed, 08/Nov/23

The German toxicologist Dr. Svetlana Balabanova has tested mummies of the Ancient Egypt for the drugs, and it’s positive as she demonstrates in her work the clear traces of cocaine, nicotine and marijuana (THC in particular) are present in tissues of the mentioned mummies.

Another funny fact: none of nicotine or coca originates in the Old World, but both things are truly American.

It’s okay, that the known history record asserts the trade with America has been established (or re-established?) some time in the 1500s-1600s, except that the old guys of the Ancient Egypt have been already entirely packed with the exclusively American ‘controlled substances’ thousands years before any columbuses, corteses, and walters raleighs. Who’s the plug?

Frankly, scientists constantly thirsty for the things like Ancient Egypt as well as any other Ancient Something-else. This time they have realized the chemical contents of the bodies, so well-preserved for almost a myriad years, may lead to greater discoveries like pointing out who crossed the Atlantic for the drug trade long before pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy did it.

So, they start digging it humbly rather far ago, in the 19th century, suggested there are certain political barriers for doing it freely. They really rush in 1924, continue in 1948, and finally the most of discoveries in the field belong to the 1989-1995, scored by Dr. S. Balabanova and the team.

Yay, the Pharaohs were the dudes!

All points to that the Pharaohs of the Ancient Egypt and their Ancient Egyptian high priests religiously or for-health were the dudes, and that’s why we call them “high priests,” hahahaha, kidding.

Provided, a king or a queen, and their retinue consuming marijuana and hashish all the way being stoned AF make no actual surprise. Of course, they are hilarious, no doubt, yet they are not any unique occurrence of the continuously impaired rulers, no matter with what.

The real question, however, arises from the naughty fact that neither cocaine nor nicotine is present in the plants of the known Old World, while either nicotine and cocaine are only found in the plants of the New World also known as America. Egyptology? Anyone?

Pharaohs smoked Marijuana, while Cocaine and Nicotine they consumed as edible

STUDY “Presence of drugs in different tissues of an Egyptian mummy” by Franz Parsche and Andreas Nerlich, published in “Fresenius’ Journal of Analytical Chemistry (1995)”, states that levels of THC suggest an inhalation of marijuana or hashish, while cocaine and nicotine are found mostly in the liver, so the latter two were eaten as edible. Where, the nicotine must not be necessarily a tobacco because, for example, eating tomato and potato through all life shows nicotine in the body as well. Here is the quote:

« 
By use of radio immunoassay systems and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, significant amounts of various drugs were detected in internal organs (lung, liver, stomach, intestines) as well as in hair, bone, skin/muscle and tendon. These analyses revealed a significant deposition of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), nicotine (and its metabolite cotinine) and cocaine in the tissue from the mummy. The concentration profiles additionally provide evidence for the preferential ways of consumption: Thus, the highest levels of THC in lung specimens point to an inhalation of this drug — as it has been assumed from known ritual smoking ceremonies —, while nicotine and cocaine containing drugs showed their highest concentrations in the intestines and liver, so that they seem to have been consumed perorally.
»

May it mean the Ancient Egypt traded to the Americas for nicotine and cocaine!!?

Marijuana traces in Pharaohs’ bodies entertain the marijuana community adding a whole lot to the marijuana culture, enigmatically. And, the whole of Egyptology really wants to explain it: how’s the hell that nicotine and cocaine landed in the tissues of the mummies from the New World while the latter’s got officially discovered only in 1492 by Columbus.

Even though tomatoes and potatoes do contain nicotine, neither of these plants was officially known to the Ancient Egypt, and there is no solid excuse about the fact that the mummies have packed weed and cocaine like 5,000 years ago, ages and ages before Christopher Columbus’s touchdown in the Caribbean.

Pharaoh’s Plug

The Ancient Egyptians have never been accounted as super good sailors, doing mostly on land, that may mean someone else delivered goods to them. Once I met a curious version that attracted my attention as a clear example of the out-of-the-box thinking: What if Pharaoh’s plug traveled not the way over the Atlantic but used the land route through Asia and China and then someone from Asia, even if not Chinese, crossed the Pacific? Filipinos and Indonesians were good sailors, right? Besides, on the top north where the Bering straight is, the distance between the two worlds is short enough and even shorter, it is merely 82 kilometers wide (equals to 51 land miles or 45 nautical miles, translates into 6-8 hours to travel by sail with a small sailboat, practically behind the corner).

Here — Chinese script carved into rocks (in New Mexico, Arizona and California) may prove Asians lived in New World 3,300 years ago

Here — A 2013 study suggests the possibility of contact between Ecuador and East Asia

We should not forget about the Olmec, the ancient culture of the Americas existed in the period roughly from 1200 BCE to 400 BCE, very roughly. More important, there is a claim they have contacted Africa.

No, we should not believe everything written. I only wonder what will happen first, either archeologists will find the evidence, or genetics will resurrect (or recreate) Ramses II and will just ask him. Like, what if they are right that the memory presumably is stored in molecules? Like, there is molecular storage in the DNA. Hmm, you know, this part of science moves on pretty fast too.

Mad?

Yes, but the teleport was once mad too, but it is not now and already invented, not yet sending people as a whole into any point; however, it is not a total miracle anymore 😜👍

Relevant enough (Critics)

Critics, presumably driven by envy, hits the finds, of course. The defense suggests that Dr. Svetlana Balabanova used a hair test which is accepted in a court of law as a proof that a substance was consumed while the person was alive, right now, in the modern age. How it works — a sample is washed in alcohol, then the solution is tested, while such a method is used to apply a hammer of law upon people nowadays, in the modern age. So, WHY for the love of gods the SAME method should not work perfect for a Pharaoh and his/her priests and priestesses? Bullet-proof enough, I think.

Wonder why I refer to a Pharaoh as “her” along with “his”? Of course, the tradition did not allow a feminine ruler in the Ancient Egypt, as far as we know, however, there were feminine rulers who disguised themselves as men. Hatshepsut was such, the most famous of the Egyptian feminine princes wearing a fake beard. Also, some sources suggest Nefertiti masqueraded herself under a man’s look. The monuments devoted to her rebellious husband, those made closer to the end of his rule, obviously show boobs and heaps as if he was a woman — some scholars think that Akhenaten was an alien, some scholars think those were the wrongs of genetics, but some think that Nefertiti took over the power eventually and just dressed as a Pharaoh-man (presumably the only way for a Pharaoh-woman to align to the tradition of the Ancient Egypt). Of course, she puffed, or we just love to think so, why not? Even if she had never usurped the absolute power, she was still a Queen of Egypt involved absolutely into religious spiritual rituals and most probably enjoying goods from the Americas and certainly from the Middle East, for gods sake.

Akhenaten and Nefertiti and their children, marijuana stoners in the Ancient Egypt, probably

IMG: Akhenaten and Nefertiti and their children (src:wikipedia)

“Those mummies are modern fakes” — the envy still shouts. Yack, yack, all of them, starting from RAMSES THE SECOND himself resting now in peace in the Cairo Museum!! Is it what you say? Do you hear yourself? Silence is gold more often than kept.

Ramses II

Ramses the Second, often referred to as Ramses the Great, was the magnificent Pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled the country for 66 years as the second longest reign, and died at the age of about 90 years old, his period is considered the Golden Age of Egypt. Let’s see what they’ve found in his body then.

Rameses II, this is his mummy in the Cairo Museum

Ramses II (1292–1190 BCE) ruled Egypt for 66 years!!! now R.I.P. at Cairo Museum, photo credit, creative commons license (mods applied: rotation 90% to be aligned with the actual position of the mummy in the museum as I’ve been contemplating him for an hour there back in 2003)

«
The presence of Nicotiana sp. and Anthemideae [plant known as chamomile belong to genera of this tribe] in the abdominal cavity of Rameses II, as plant substances utilized in the preservation process by the Ancient Egyptians. Both [substances] were discovered during the re-examination of his [Rameses II] mummy in Paris in 1976, the former as the fragments of leaf and the latter as massive amounts of pollen (>500,000 grains/cc) (Layer-Lescot 1985; Leroi-Gourhan 1985). The evidence for Nicotiana, tobacco, was published in 1978.
[…] a point is not lost on Balabanova et al. (1993). A short note on this research in Lancet (1993) elicited some sharp responses particularly as the evidence was extended to show the use of hashish (Cannabis Sativa) and cocaine (Erythroxylon coca), the latter at a date earlier than any record in the New World (cf. Cartmel et al. 1991). Like the use of opium, cannabis usage either in religious ritual or medicine is possible.
» source: Rameses II and the tobacco beetle, Buckland & Panagiotakopulu

Yet another doubt suggests there is no single depiction about any cocaine consumption by Pharaohs, neither showing the marijuana tokes, while all Egypt is full of pictures, and those pictures show many aspects, if not every aspect, of life.

To my personal perception, this “move” is weak or stupid or both because it’s not that “every aspect” got pictured, even though they were many.

Secondarily, when you meet somebody insisting the Egyptian script is perfectly decrypted, why not you ask him then, if it is so, the Egyptian script is perfectly deciphered why are the Senet’s rules yet a mystery?


Autoflowering vs Feminized seeds explained

Thu, 23/Mar/23

Feminized marijuana seeds have been presented to the world in 1990 and promptly got recognized to be an unbelievable problem solver, universal for every kind of amateur, professional, indoor, outdoor, whatever grower. Also, super economic. Yet another decade, yet another thunderbolt hit the marijuana community again: the autoflowering seeds got created!

Autoflowering seeds are significantly stronger, thanks to their Ruderalis lineage. They are all-forgiving for beginner growers, reducing headaches for experienced ones. They are resistant to diseases, pests, environmental pollution, including light pollution, and other stresses rather than feminized seeds.

We stick to feminized seeds since then, we love autoflowering either, and we already count both as normal marijuana growing. The mission to wipe out the most troubling headaches away from home weed growing has been accomplished so far. A heavenly blessing these autoflowers occurred to be for the beginner growers and all of us.

Let’s cite here in this post what are the benefits and what are the disadvantages of either type. How to choose wisely between autoflowering seeds and feminized seeds you learn, because your next few weeks of gaining experience in weed cultivation shall depend on this pick.

What are feminized seeds?

– “Only Women of Sparta give birth to Men”

– “Only Female Cannabis yield potent Buds”

We are unsure about the former, but the latter is true. When we cultivate weed, we want exclusively female cannabis plants, because only their kind bloom with the most potent marijuana buds – and they must stay “virgin”.

If a male plant is somewhere nearby, then “boom!” and your female plant starts producing seeds instead of enriching her flowers. At this point, you say goodbye to buds (flowers), but don’t frustrate as you win a ton of seeds even though staying sober for a while. A seedless female cannabis plant is called Sinsemilla, literally “no seeds” in Spanish.

Weed growers in ancient times (before 1990 AD) used regular seeds knowing not for sure if the latter are males or females. Only on the vegetation stage, the gender of a cannabis plant becomes clear, so those ancient weed growers obligatorily removed male plants away from females, and the remaining sinsemillas could flourish freely and produce beautiful buds.

You have already guessed that Feminized Seeds that we buy from a seed bank mean they do not produce either male or hermaphroditic plants, but they are all 100% females. You can imagine, how the discovery has simplified production for the experienced growers, but for newbies, it granted the biggest ever opportunity to get into growing of the top-class weed out of the minimal effort. Sweet.

What are autoflowering seeds?

Naturally, cannabis plants of the Indica and Sativa families start producing flowers (aka buds) only when the daytime and the nighttime become equal to each other, i.e. the plants receive 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness daily. Photoperiod is the term for the phenomenon.

Autoflower is not photoperiod

Photoperiod weed (this is feminized seeds) stays at the vegetation stage, go on growing, never flowering until the 12/12 photoperiod.

Autoflowering weed is not photoperiod, but it grows a certain period of time before starts flowering regardless of light regime. Usually, the overall grow time for autoflower seeds’ weed is significantly shorter.

For example, you may just add or remove light artificially in the growing room, or even changing location of the plant for more light in winter nights taking it indoors, but gathering natural light in daytime (if climate allows).

So, you may influence future yields by influencing the light given for the feminized seeds; and you cannot repeat the trick for the autflowers, that’s the principal difference between feminized and autoflowers seeds.

Having feminized seeds you mess with the photoperiod

When you grow feminized seeds (instead of autoflowers) indoors you must at some moment mimic the natural course by setting the schedule of the artificial light to the 12/12 hour light regime. Being outdoors you must adjust your schedule to the Sun astronomy.

Autoflowering seeds are ignorant of the photoperiod

Apparently, autoflowers bloom buds merely reaching the age, usually a radically short age of several weeks, regardless of how much light per day you cast on them. Also, they are actually “autoflowering feminized” seeds and are all females, sometimes referred to as “autofems” for that reason. Pure magic, a-ha! The price follows. We confirm, it is worth it.

How does autoflowering work?

Autoflowering magic is a genetic trait. We have heard an earful about Indica and Sativa all around the cannabis space, but there is a “forgotten” family, which is Ruderalis, the wildest of all three, literally and figuratively.

Cannabis Ruderalis

Ruderalis evolved in the colder northern regions under the insufficient Sun, resulting in its bloom based on the plant’s age rather than a reaction to the amount of light. Some people swear the best Ruderalis originates from the famous Chuy valley in Kazakhstan, mistakenly calling it Russia at times but these are two very contrasting countries. Another version of the autoflower creation addresses to Kandi mountains in the middle of Sri Lanka.

Weed grows wild and widely in both places and is reckoned to be among the strongest genetics in the world. We love to think both versions are reasonable:

– Chuy Valley is chill at times and lacks the duration of sunlight as of the latitude,

– And you forget about the photoperiod in the lower layers of Kandi jungles.

– We smoked both, and we confirm: “Bloody lethal!”

Well, eventually, some passionate breeders have picked that Ruderalis type of wild marijuana and bred out the autoflowering marijuana. As of the line-age of Ruderalis, the autoflowering plants are very strong and ignorant to photoperiod, also resistant to stress, granting rookie growers a great chance! Wise men say autoflowering seeds are the best take-off for rookies or lazy ones to minimize any great involvement in severe agriculture.

Autoflower vs feminized

As always we pay a price for convenience, here is the comparison where the autoflowers lose to feminized seeds (aka photoperiod seeds) in exchange for what autoflowers win.

1) THC, the principal psychoactive compound in marijuana, counts a fairy great value for the autoflower plants. Thanks to breeders, it may reach 20%, without prejudice. However, feminized seeds gain our attention with up to 30% of THC. Both are huge, except that you pursue particularly a number. Just a strain brand available in its two versions: feminized and autofems.

2) You cannot affect the end date of the vegetation stage as they just start flowering uncontrollably, however predictably. Apparently, with the feminized seeds, you give as much time as you want for the vegetation, resulting in a bigger, stronger, taller plant, consequently harvesting twice as much from the feminized seed plants rather than from autoflowering seeds under similar conditions.

3) Autoflowering plants are usually smaller and shorter. For stealth growing away from neighbors’ eyes, either in case of lacking space in a tent or a closet. Count it a pro.

4) Autoflowers deliver weed quickly, practically in no time compared to feminized seeds, roughly 4-5 weeks versus 6-8, up to 10 (terms may differ for different strains). Then you can have one harvest after another caring less about the weather and the light, not yet neglecting at all.

5) Autoflowering seeds, once mentioned, bear stronger genetic traits and survive stress better as of their relationship to Ruderalis. If you are a beginner grower, they shall auto-correct many of your mistakes.

6) Feminized seeds are more whimsical and they shall not forgive as many of your faults. This includes the weather which usually is not your fault. Even though you do all wrong, autoflowers shall produce moderate to pathetic buds but in time, which is doubtful for feminized.

How to grow autoflowering seeds

Autoflowering seeds are a DIY beginner’s pack. Minimally you’ll need a pot, a batch of soil, and light, or sunlight. Anything you add on top, like nutrients, proper LED lights, and a professional soil mix, shall improve the performance. Remember that autoflowers are designed to be all-forgiving, but without extremums, of course.

Who has invented feminized seeds, and when?

We send our love and thanks to the “Dutch Passion” seed company who invented the feminized seeds in 1990 and pioneered them to the market. We dare to say this genius invention naturally led to autoflowering seeds.

Who has invented autoflowering seeds, and when?

Who invented autoflowers, the world does not really know, it happened in the early 2000s. Both great discoveries reshaped the seeds market dramatically and forever: what were those regular cannabis seeds of the recent past – nobody recalled since then (kidding).

How tall do autoflowers get?

Autoflowering plants are shorter, compared to their feminized counterparts. Depending on a strain, autoflowers can grow as short as 50-70 cm (20-30 inches), and as tall as 150 cm (50-60 inches), which is not tall for a feminized photoperiod marijuana plant.

What is the size of a pot for autoflower?

The size of a pot is a very important aspect of marijuana cultivation. If the roots are locked the whole plant can grow weaker. Autoflowering plants are not huge at size as of their very idea, therefore a standard 12-liter pot or a similar bucket (3 gallons) shall fit the purpose well enough.

Yet you can go for a smaller pot, whatever reasoning you have for it, there is a direct relation between the size of a pot and the height/size of a plant. If this is your purpose, take a smaller pot, as small as 7-8 liters (2 gallons) should work nicely. Just in case.

Are autoflower seeds less potent?

Autoflowering seeds were significantly less potent in the past as they had inherited many traits of Cannabis Ruderalis. However, being a popular product today, they reflect the market demand, and keep developing.

Today autoflowers produce good potent buds. They shall kick in, no doubt. Modern feminized seeds go even further, highlighting up to 30% of THC, while autoflowers count more or less 20% of THC. Badass anyway!

Which do I choose?

— Feminized seeds are serious. They require ambition, attention, and everyday care. They won’t discount a washout, but they shall repay with the jars of sticky stinky buds on the otherwise occasion. If you can allocate plenty of space and free time, then you pick feminized seeds.

— Feminized seeds are already the normal way to grow marijuana, they conquer the market so far. You should not avoid them by the reason they are “professional” because they are actually “semi-professional”. Ultimate professionals use regular seeds, which are available in seed banks too.

— Autoflowering seeds are supportive if you are chasing a funny, easy cultivation style, no hustle. They shall practically guarantee buds of a fair to brilliant quality, depending on your efforts. If you have no wish to be a nurse for your marijuana, then you go for autoflowering seeds.

— Feminized seeds are a good fit for the bravest experiments, where autoflowers do not. Such includes cloning and your world records that you bear in mind.

— Autoflowering seeds is the easiest beginner’s pack for a DIY weed.

That’s it. Now you know.

Happy growing!


The List of Mistakes that Beginner Growers make

Wed, 22/Feb/23

These are not exactly mistakes when you are into growing marijuana on your own because they are more likely a learning process. However, we have a list of most common mistakes that beginner growers make. And, applying these few simple rules shall give you a unique opportunity to commit greater mistakes on the further stages. There’s plenty of space for this in marijuana growing, haha.

How long does it take to grow a marijuana plant?

Patience you need to grow a marijuana plant – the otherwise is an often mistake, but you should not hurry at no stage of marijuana growing. In general, the full growing cycle takes about 4 to 6 months for a solid marijuana plant to ripe, where the term depends on many variables of the equation. Commercially offered seeds may give fruits as fast as 4-8 weeks.

How to decrease the marijuana growing term?

– Outdoor or indoor, where for the latter you can alter the term by changing the light regime: as soon as you set your light regime as 12 and 12 hours the plants immediately react ending the vegetation and just start flowering (producing buds that we smoke). Do not do that too early.

Apparently, for the outdoor, you cannot change the Sun astronomy, as it is the main and only source of light for the outdoor marijuana.

However, what you can do is select a proper date in the calendar when you plant seeds to have the Sun rolling over the sky in a 12 on 12 mode right when you need your future weed to flower. The very reason why some countries enjoy two harvests of marijuana per year.

– The genetics of seeds that you use influence the how-long question too. Autoflowering seeds are independent of the light regime but they take a certain amount of time for vegetation and then start flowering regardless of where the light is.

Autoflowering cannabis grows as fast as 4-5 weeks.

Feminized cannabis grows as fast as 6-8 weeks.

Autoflowers offered in the market usually need a shorter period from seed to weed and are considered to be the easier effort for beginner growers.

– Playing with nutrients for your marijuana plants, and this includes building a hydroponic garden, ease your waiting too. May it be a harder way to learn and perfect your skills, however the “plants on steroids” (enforced nutrients) shall perform fast similar to you wishing to grow your body promptly in a gym adding proper nutrients.

– Using clones shall make the vegetation shorter just logically. Doing so you skip the seed germination stage and seedling at all. There are pros and cons and a lot of arguments about growing marijuana from clones. We suggest it is not bad to use the clones but just using the clones is a different business and it certainly delivers a shorter growing term for your marijuana.

This or that, or a combination of the listed, but you are to accept that all plants are naturally slow, including the marijuana plants.

Being a first-timer, you’d better not cut the growing term too much but let it go the natural course for a cannabis plant to grow taking as long as it needs under the current environmental conditions.

The obvious exception is choosing an autoflowering seed or another kind of seed (like Ruderalis) with a genetically modified growing term (or should I better say a milder gene editing? Yes, this one as it reflects the idea of feminized seeds better), either embarking on a quest of growing your marijuana from a clone. The latter shall never grant you knowledge about how to germinate, nor what a seedling is, but we still recommend exploring the natural cycle before you alter it.

Note that the light regime alteration and leveraging on the chemistry of the nutrients are the advanced techniques.

How to grow marijuana easy

There is an easy way to stay away from the common growing issues. For this, you may treat a marijuana plant just as a regular plant, as if it’s no different from a potato or a tomato. You may lose a bit in quality (depending on what you count as “quality”) but this is the very idea of how you may grow marijuana easy, no stress, no sweat.

In all cases taking care of soil is the best efficient way, as it requires less effort compared to all other issues soil deficiency may produce; but you only once mess about soil making a DIY mix, then only watch how the magic happens for your joy.

How’s that possible to grow marijuana easy?

Because a marijuana plant is a natural thing and, after millions of years of evolution it can survive and give fruits without your assistance. Hence you may help weed to grow herself, and she’ll as high as in an Amsterdam coffee shop but in your household, satisfying.

At least this list of mistakes beginner growers gives a good idea where you look at along the whole process of your a hustle-free growing.

There are almost no bothering neither boring things in growing marijuana, apparently the mysterious fragrance shall encourage you every time you enter the grow space 😉

How to grow marijuana for free

One word: Soil.

Soil is the very source of everything for marijuana plants, all that they need to flourish well, yet the soil is too often underestimated by the first-timers; myself included.

Most of the most common mistakes that beginner growers make. The wrong soil can ruin everything. The proper soil can make all your efforts easy going all way up to growing your weed for free, or almost free, and it is as important as a seed itself.

The list of what you need to grow marijuana for free

1) Seed. Once upon a time we have picked a couple of seeds from street marijuana, and it has worked, and we’ve got high. This was an effective experiment of growing marijuana both successfully and free of charge. However, if you allow yourself a few buck investment taking a “professional seed” from a seed bank you’ll just gain a better chance to succeed.

Acknowledge that as a beginner grower, you may fail. But using a professional seed from a seed bank your odds are higher. But a free marijuana seed shall give you free knowledge of trial and error.

TIP! Pay the most of your attention to the cannabis seed germination stage. This is when the whole thing starts, and a seed gives a small root out of itself, such is called germination. Before you even send a marijuana seed into the soil you make it germinated in a Petri Dish. Very important.

2) Soil. Again, you can take a professionally mixed soil which is not a million bucks in price. But you can also use soil from your garden and it shall perform too, reasoning that a marijuana plant is a natural thing, while “wild soil” already contains hopefully an amount of desired nutrients for cannabis plants as long as other plants do grow in it all the way.

TIP! A rule of thumb is that random soil usually is too dense for a marijuana plant. You require to make it loose by mixing it with sand or crushed brick, which are also free of charge. Such shall allow more oxygen to come to the roots of your marijuana plant, also giving a better way for the nutrients.

3) Indoor or outdoor? Well, this depends on the climate overall and the current season in your region. We mention herein how to grow marijuana for free supposing you take the right season and climate.

In our experiment about using random seeds of street weed, we have put two already germinated marijuana seeds into flower pots but we have placed one pot on a balcony and the other we kept at home. The balcony plant went stronger and it reached its ripe. But the room plant went weak and sick too early and died after a few weeks.

The reason? The more natural environment makes a cannabis plant naturally stronger, as long as it is exposed to wind and rain and a temperature range it lives a normal life, so to say.

4) Water and light are very important for your future success with marijuana growing as a beginner grower. Please about further on in this post.

Finding the right soil for cannabis

We have mentioned above how important the soil is. It delivers all nutrients through the roots through your whole marijuana plant all way up to the buds. Therefore you pay the most attention to finding the right soil for cannabis, and here we share a few tips:

1) Where from? Once you have excavated a potful of soil from your garden, consider also taking other soil from “somewhere else” if you have several marijuana plants for your beginner’s effort. This is for seeing the difference between this and that soil.

2) Make the soil loose. Except that you’ve purchased a professionally mixed soil, in all other cases for a DIY soil you always make the soil loose by adding sand or crushed clay brick, some people use carbon for the purpose.

Loose and crumbly soil is always better for marijuana as soon as it provides better access for water and oxygen to the roots of a marijuana plant.

3) Ventilation. Make holes in your pot for better ventilation, and for the excess water to go out easily. Such shall prevent the roots of your marijuana plant from rot and a lack of oxygen.

4) Mites vs worms. Keep an eye on who else lives in your soil. There are useful beasties living in soil, and there are harmful ones (yet another reason to take soil from different places into different pots to see how marijuana plants shall go on growing in this and that case).

A tip? Worms are good, they provide better ventilation of your soil, also they process the soil elements into what plants “eat”. The other beasties such as mites and insects are not good and you’d better get rid of them, either take care of avoiding them from the start.

There are “professional” worms existing on the market, you can buy them to enhance your soil mix. We suggest they are not expensive.

5) PH level, also referred to as “acidity”, is important for marijuana growing. We suggest in wild soil the PH level is already fine, especially if you make it outdoors in your garden. But for the indoor growing, and in a case you are going to use nutrients hard, you keep an eye on a PH level.

For a marijuana plant the PH level is in a range from 5.7 to 6.2 for hydroponic or indoor, and up to 7.0 outdoor. There are relatively cheap PH meters in the market, designed either for aquariums or specifically for growing, both types may fit.

Otherwise, to keep your experiment as free as possible, you use that wild soil, as we mentioned, and you go outdoors (or balcony) so the plants are taking the most of nutrients from nature. Once you add nutrients the PH level is going to change, then you need to be checking on it periodically.

Choosing a seed

Many sources say, growing marijuana from an anonymous seed may be flooded with surprises and may hard your efforts, this is partly true. However, as soon as you’ve got a seed from weed that you’ve just smoked that makes your seed not that far anonymous, but yet.

Taking a seed from a trusted seed bank is still a good option and a minimal investment indeed. At least you shall know for sure that a possible fail shall not give credit to the seed. On the other hand, why not try, and more important the seed is a living thing, so shall be the future cannabis plant, you can just let nature go its way, otherwise buy seeds from a seed bank.

If you have decided to have a “some weed seed” consider the following advice

1) Ripe. The marijuana seed for planting should be ripe. That shall mean the color of a cannabis seed must be dark brown, not black, not green. Also, it must have curvy stripes on its surface.

2) Solid. The marijuana seed should be solid, bearing no cracks. Yes, this is a sort of obvious, but we saw beginner growers being so desperate that they take a damaged seed. The effort is doomed even before they got started.

3) Germination. Pay the best attention to germination, this is when a seed shows a small root. Read the easy way how to germinate weed seed below:

How to germinate weed seeds

– To germinate a seed you put a cotton cloth on the bottom of a shallow and wide cup or a container made of neutral material. That may be a plastic container used in the food industry, or a glass Petri Dish, that we find most convenient. No metal due to its acidity, and no possibly toxic material.

– Generously moisture the cloth with water. Use clean water. Do not be too greedy about the amount of cloth, have it clean, made of cotton, and let it form a sort of a bed for a seed.

– Place the seeds into that cloth. It should not be lying on a surface but be deep into cloth.

– Moisture another piece of cloth and cover the seed, or the seeds if you have few, with it.

– If you have a few seeds in one container give them space for sending out roots freely, for that place them apart from each other.

– Let the oxygen penetrate the container. Open it up once a day to ventilate, but you keep it in a dark warm place all other time.

– The whole germination may take a week, up to two weeks, so you be patient.

– Add water periodically to keep the micro-environment well moist, but not flooded.

Once your seed germinated you have a good chance to succeed. Weed may outcome being not of the best quality if it is a street weed seed, but what shall make that weed so important is that it shall be your weed.

What else do you need to know picking a random seed from street marijuana

The existence of a seed defines that it was a hermaphrodite plant where you found that seed. Professional growers only grow female plants, and those have no seeds at all. The offspring of your anonymous street marijuana plant, where you picked your anonymous marijuana seed, shall have a great chance of being a hermaphrodite too.

Such may result but not necessarily a lower THC level and poorer trichomes but be sure it’ll give you some high anyway. The logic is simple: you have already got high from weed wherein you have found that seed.

Marijuana overwatering

Marijuana overwatering is a very common mistake for beginner growers, especially for first-timers. Cannabis plants do not require a lot of water.

The good growers’ advice on watering your cannabis plant is: you put your pointer finger one inch down into the soil – until you feel moisture or see your finger is moist as it is off the soil, you need no more water yet.

Do not over-water your marijuana plant under no circumstances. Such may kill your whole plantation.

LED lights for growing marijuana

Light is essential for marijuana plants, as it is for any plant. If your plants grow indoors, then you need LED lights designed for growing and there is no other way. This is pretty much an investment. The whole LED lights set may cost you 200-400 dollars and shall add a ton to your monthly electricity bill for a few consequent months.

Besides, you can be f**ed by a wrong LED lights vendor delivering a wrong specter of light. You’d better learn about it before you buy any lights, and read comments about how reliable is the vendor you pick.

How do we decrease weed lighting cost?

The sunlight is the best for plants, better than anything artificial like LED lights, and it’s free. You try being outdoors in the garden or on the balcony, but make sure you are at the right season when it’s warm enough outdoors.

More important: marijuana plants switch from vegetation to flowering when the light regime becomes 12 and 12 hours. It means the Sun shines 12 hours a day and it’s dark the other 12 hours.

The light regime is the worst beginner growers’ mistake. You shall need to switch your LED lights into the 12/12 regime at a proper moment, and for outdoors you’d better check for the Sun’s astronomy in your region to gain the 12/12 sunlight regime at the end of the vegetation stage.

How do we avoid light-related problems the easiest way?

1) Use autoflowering seeds from a seed bank or a friend, because the autoflowering seeds do not rely on the light regime but they are designed to start flowering by time and not by light change. We have already mentioned, that the autoflowering seeds feature a shorter growing term overall.

2) Use Ruderalis, if you can find one, which I doubt. However, the autoflowering seeds mix the genetics of Cannabis Ruderalis to be independent of light. Cannabis Ruderalis is a wild plant originating from Sri Lanka and India, those have a lot of weed with strong genetics growing wild.

No panic if you still lack lighting or fail the regime setup. This shall give smaller buds, a weaker plant, but it shall give some buds and some plant. Of course, no great achievement if such happens, but this is your first try and you learn.

How much space do I need for cannabis plants?

Marijuana plants do need space for all three reasons: sufficient space for roots to avoid competition with other plants, a space for growing tall, and a space for growing wide. The latter is to prevent touching the neighboring plants too much.

1) For the roots: think about a big bucket, say, a 10 to 12-liter bucket (or a pot of this size) shall solve the problem. Do not forget to ventilate it as we mentioned earlier in this post. If you are planting marijuana outdoors give the same space wide, having no other plants (cannabis or not) just next to your weed.

2) For the tall: make it 1,5 – 2,0 meters over the soil level if you grow indoors or in a tent. You shall also need fresh air inside of your growing space, then you deliver proper ventilation to your plants.

There are certain techniques to use a smaller space by changing the geometry of the stems, but this is already an advanced level, and we talk here about beginner growers’ mistakes solely.

TIP! if you decide to buy commercial seeds from a seed bank, and you lack space yet, then you consider strains of a low height. There are very low ones in the market, as low as 50-70 cm.

Yet another tip: if you switch from a vegetation stage to a flowering stage by changing the LED light in your indoor growing space, then you can save on the height of that growing space by switching the light regime a little bit earlier. Plants shall continue growing when flowering but they shall not do that intensively as during the vegetation stage.

For the outdoors, there is no such issue, unless your neighbors are unfriendly. Use a fence for God’s sake, or, again, those seeds of low-height genetics. We should warn you about neighbors, should we?

3) For the wide: say, 2×2 meters is a bit wider than you need. Having lack of space, use 1×1 meter space. There is no strict rule about it, but just your marijuana plants should not be one by another.

Do not give too much care to your marijuana plants

Yes, this makes a certain problem more often than we can imagine, because you want your weed, and you value your efforts, but this is your first time and you know practically nothing.

Therefore, you’d better be patient, you’d better accept there shall be mistakes, you’d better watch to learn than expecting the frostiest harvest of all time from your first attempt.

Do not over-care your plants, give them time, wait and be watching more rather than doing, and don’t be too much of a mom to your plants.

A good example of over-care is over-watering, as we mentioned here, and the next two listed beginners’ mistakes are such as well:

Cutting marijuana leaves

You’ve heard of course that cutting marijuana leaves during the flowering stage may dramatically increase your future harvest of buds.

How does cutting marijuana leaves perform?

Once you cut tips of the marijuana leaves, either very tips, or up to one-half of the leaves, or just decimating the whole leaves of the plant, you save nutrients delivered into the leaves, as those get smaller in size, and the freed amount of nutrients goes all into buds making the latter bigger, higher, frostier.

However, this may form a real problem for a beginner grower due to the lacking experience. Many superior professional growers do not recommend for absolute beginners to use scissors to cut marijuana leaves at all on the first try, excluding maybe a few too obvious cases.

Do not over-dose the nutrients

Imagine that you have decided to use the nutrients, even though skipping it shall cut the cost even though requiring proper soil, proper light, proper space, etc. To use nutrients staying away from overdosing when you are a beginner grower there is a safe way:

Use a simple trick until you learn this science better: add nutrients in very small amounts carefully and watch how the plant reacts but give sufficient time for the reaction.

Any change in color of any part of the plant or any other change, anything seeming abnormal, may mean (but not necessarily) an overdose of nutrients or a nutrient. The overdose of nutrients may even kill a plant.

There are exceptions about the color change, like, “going purple” may reflect a too low temperature or another environmental issue, or stress (where overdosing is stress too).

Growing for the first time without nutrients at all or just tiny to small doses shall grant you a better understanding of the whole process. Because in case of an unknown issue you shall have less range of guess about what you’ll have done wrong.

Keep notes while you grow weed

A good piece of advice for a grower of any experience is to log whatever you are doing to the plants and whatever is happening to the plants. This shall help to learn the whole process, and to track the experiments, how your ideas, the weather, the season, and the nutrients influence the plants. You shall find these notes useful for your next trials, this is how the knowledge is accumulated.

Marking plants with small tags is a good idea too in any case, especially when you treat them differently, like, a different nutrient regime, different soil, light, genetics, whatever differently you apply to your marijuana plants.

When to harvest marijuana

Choosing when to harvest marijuana as a beginner grower you may miss the right moment, or cut the bud too early. The latter is coursed by impatience (of course, you already know how important is to stay patient in a plant business, do you?) and the former is merely greed about higher THC. Needless to say that losing a whole harvest at the very end after weeks and weeks of growing efforts is an “epic fail”.

Trichomes you watch to catch the right moment for harvesting your marijuana buds.

Some people advance to using a microscope to detect the best condition of the trichomes, but a 10x magnifying glass (jewelers use such and sell in their shops) fits well enough. Alternatively – a good pair of eyes, trichomes are actually visible.

For a beginner grower, the best time for harvesting marijuana comes when approximately 60% of trichomes are amber, and about 40% remain milky-white. There is an argument about how much trichomes should get ripe, which means amber color, and we suggest this is a matter of personal preference. We cut when amber to milky reaches roughly 60/40.

Ready to hit the road now?

As a rule of thumb you always keep in mind two simple ideas: “never panic” and a “no rush”, this is the best way to win in growing your marijuana.

We dare to say that no beginner in the whole world ever avoided mistakes that beginner growers make. That is why they are called this way. Just stay come and give time to your plants before you doom them to fixing a nonexistent issue.

Anything that may ever happen to your marijuana plants shall work for your experience. Your sticky frosty buds, which you are getting in the end, are the best in the world, because they are the buds, that you have grown.

Peace and love.


Making cheap organic Fertilizers for Cannabis

Thu, 11/Nov/21

Speaking about “free weed” again, you can make cheap organic fertilizers for cannabis practically out of nothing, just reusing (recycling) the materials, which are already at home. That may save both time and nerve, making your weed growing hobby merely an adventure, instead of a buck-eating enterprise. More important, using natural organic fertilizers, like banana peel or coffee used grounds, shall add up greatly to your knowledge on your way from a nub to frosty buds.

This post contains the empirical ideas for the experiments, which may result in extending your experience in growing weed. However, they are experiments, then we offer the following advice:

  • Do not apply everything at once, because you will not know what has impacted the next state of your plant (whether it changed for better or worse). Plants are slow, you have time, just add or be adding one thing at a time then watch.
  • Do not add a ton of anything, even if panicking. Add a reasonably small quantum, then watch. If you have a few plants, consider the different flow of experiments for each of them.

Primary nutrients for cannabis (NPK)

To understand the concept of marijuana nutrition quickly we start with the NPK magic spell, worth mentioning every time. The acronym unwinds to Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium – these are the principal nutrients the marijuana plant requires to include in your attempt to result in healthy stinky nugs. Potassium is “K” because “kalium” is the word for potassium in Latin, and it is K in the periodic table.

What’s the function of nitrogen in marijuana plants

Nitrogen (N) is responsible for the internal processes in the plant, aka metabolic processes. Consequently, it stands for plant structure formation. This makes nitrogen so important in the vegetation stage. That’s when the plant grows in size the most, before flowering. Nitrogen is the wellness of your marijuana plant.

Free DYI fertilizer for nitrogen

You get free nitrogen for your cannabis soil from coffee beans, where the used coffee ground waste from your coffee cup is the best source of nitrogen for your marijuana plants.

How to add nitrogen to cannabis soil

What is on the bottom of your coffee cup and in the filter of your coffee machine is a ready thing. Use it as a nitrogen fertilizer for cannabis. Just add the mass to the upper layers of soil, and it’s done.

Also, animal blood is a good source of nitrogen, you can get some from your butcher, I suppose. I’ve never used one, but technically such may serve.

What’s the function of phosphorus in marijuana plants

Phosphorus (P) is for new cell division, making new tissues of the marijuana plant grow faster and better. That means phosphorus is crucial in the rooting stage and flowering stage. It does not mean you skip it in the middle, as it boosts the development of marijuana plants in general.

Free DYI fertilizer for phosphorus

You get free phosphorus from fish leftovers or aquarium water. General knowledge is that fish and fish scales are rich with phosphorus, and fishbones may provide calcium – whereas calcium is in the list of marijuana secondary nutrients. Aquarium water also contains nitrogen, phosphorus, plus some other ions too.

How to add phosphorus to cannabis soil

Fishbones you roast or grill. Then crush them or grind, and then add the quasi-powder, that you’ve resulted, to the upper layers of soil. That should increase calcium and phosphorus. Scales are a good fit for the purpose as well.

Using fish guts is a little complicated, as you need to prepare an emulsion translated into fish rotting for a couple of weeks. I do not think such a smelly enterprise is a good idea, but you try. Some people do.

However, the best and the most genius solution to get enough phosphorus and nitrogen is aquarium water!

What’s the function of potassium in marijuana plants

Potassium (K) is for better photosynthesis, that’s the reaction of your plant to light. Also, potassium enhances many other vital processes, among them the regulation of water in plant tissues and nutrient transportation.

Free DYI fertilizer for potassium

You get free potassium from the regular banana peel. Sometimes we call that peel “the king of fertilizers” for a reason! Banana peel is rich with both potassium and magnesium – the latter is super important, and it is in the list of marijuana secondary nutrients.

How to add potassium to cannabis soil

For using banana peel (potassium and magnesium) to fertilize your weed, roast it till dark brown crusty condition to break organic compounds into elements, then bury it crushed into the soil. You need not dig too deep, but the upper layers of soil around the plant are just enough.

Secondary nutrients for cannabis

We already know, that marijuana plants desperately need nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These soil amendments you watch especially. Also, there is a secondary nutrient list, as vital as the primary one, it includes calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.

What’s the function of calcium in marijuana plants

Calcium is a must for any living organism, including us. For marijuana plants, calcium is a trucker of minerals, as it helps to deliver all other nutrients from roots all way to leaves and buds. Also, calcium is responsible for the integrity of cell walls and improves the resistance of plants to severe temperature changes. Calcium makes plants stronger.

Free DYI fertilizer for calcium

You get free calcium from fishbones, as we have mentioned already. But the traditional source of free calcium ashore, including the wild nature, is eggshells!

How to add calcium to cannabis soil

To add calcium to cannabis soil you boil an egg, and crush or grind the eggshells as close to powder as possible, then add them to the soil.

Powdered milk is a beautiful solution too.

What’s the function of magnesium in marijuana plants

Magnesium plays the principal role in the formation of chlorophyll, which is very important for photosynthesis – the process of conversion of light, water, and carbon dioxide (CO2) to energy for growth employing sugars. Visually, magnesium makes your green stuff greener. The lack of magnesium makes the light less efficient.

Free DYI fertilizer for magnesium

You get free magnesium from pumpkin seeds, peanuts, red beans, black beans, and cacao. The latter is not cheap but you apply a tablespoonful or two of it to improve the levels of magnesium in your cannabis soil.

How to add magnesium to cannabis soil

Peanuts and pumpkin seeds you roast, then crush or grade them carefully before adding them into the soil. Cacao is a ready thing. As we do with coffee, you just collect and re-use the remains in your cacao cup.

As soon as we speak about enhancing the nutrient levels rather than creating, you can re-use the water, left after you boiled red beans or black beans for yourself, for watering.

Do not forget that banana peel may add magnesium to your cannabis soil, once you already use roasted banana peel for potassium, that principal nutrient from the NPK formula.

What’s the function of sulfur in marijuana plants

Sulfur is a catalyst of photosynthesis, and it creates proteins and organic structures of the plant. While doing this, it incorporates nitrogen into those structures. Logically, more sulfur leads to a decrease in nitrogen. Sulfur stands for the growth and vitality of marijuana plants in general. The overdose of sulfur can be toxic or fatal for the plant.

Free DYI fertilizer for sulfur

A free source of sulfur is the manure of mammals. The better news is that plants may absorb sulfur from the air. If you grow weed outdoor in a city, there will be sulfur dioxide resulting from fuel consumption by vehicles.

How to add sulfur to cannabis soil

Mushroom compost is a source of sulfur.

Aquarium water is a fertilizer for organic growing

For growing weed just as it goes, consider watering your marijuana plants with the aquarium water as a genius, lazy, and free-of-charge soil amendment. Fish sh*t and pee dissolved in aquarium water deliver a lot of stuff that your marijuana plants will find tasty. And, of course, we mean fresh (not salt) aquarium water and a fair amount of fish in it. The outcome shall include nitrogen and phosphorus at a minimum.

Are DIY fertilizers for indoors and outdoors?

The outdoors soil is already in its natural environment. However, you can turn to experiment with DIY organic fertilizers to achieve better bud and fix for free whatever may go wrong.

For indoors, I suggest hitting this road is rather brave but may bring fruits too. After all, if you have awesome soil and a proper LED light, then needless are gallons of expensive fertilizers, as you only regulate tiny abnormalities or speed up some processes for free just by using this guide on DIY fertilizers for marijuana plants.

Organic fertilizers vs chemical fertilizers

As long as we ask a random grower about what’s the difference between organic and chemical fertilizers, we often hear a lively speech about the safety of the former and the yields of the latter. Our common sense logically suggests the same:

– “Inorganic fertilizers lose in quality, but they are commercially effective. Thus, the chemical fertilizers (or nutrients) satisfy end-users and vendors. This balance keeps the concept of man-made nutrients alive,” – this is very logical, except this is not true!

  • From a plant perspective, there is no difference at all, because plants “eat” ions – charged molecular particles. Your weed desire Magnesium (Mg+) for breakfast, but not a zebra poo.
  • From a plant’s perception, if we could ask her, there’s no difference between organic or inorganic soil amendments, as soon as both types eventually deliver ions to the roots.
  • Thus, organic fertilizers are about the price, mostly.

The same provision explains that chemical fertilizers give results quicker, if not immediate. Chemical ones have the ions (the nutrients) ready to go, but the organic ones need yet to degrade the poo-matter, or whatever matter, to ions in the soil.

Why do we roast banana peel? – to break organic matter faster by exposure to temperature.

Is there another disadvantage of chemical fertilizers? – yes, the medium where the ions are dissolved, can be bad.

Why does everybody say chemical fertilizers can damage the plant? – because of concentration, i.e. adding too much of it.

What’s the strongest advantage of chemical fertilizers? – only this kind fits best for hydroponic, yay!