Growing in the basement during the depths of a Michigan winter poses real challenges. For this year's NYGC my goal will be to improve my skills for mitigating the cold and very-low humidity that stresses my winter plants.
Because I run a perpetual with regular, photoperiod plants, I'll start the NYGC by following several plants. The timing of my flip to flower depends on space freeing up in the flower tent, which is difficult to predict a few months out. If the plant I'm following turns out to be male, I'll switch to a new plant for the rest of the journal.
My set up is a 4 x 4 veg with a 5 x 5 flower, soil that I've been reusing and amending between grows for several years. My soil blend started out as Organic Mechanics, chosen largely because it has no peat or coco. Instead of those materials, I use rice hulls as a mulch layer, which I work into the soil every time I transplant, then add a new layer. I amend the soil with every transplant (starter pot to 1 gallon, to 7 or 10 gallon). For those amendments, I use my own interpretation of a veganic, soil-food web approach. As a medical grower, the safety of the final product is my primary goal. One of the most important reasons that I include no animal byproducts was my discovery that agricultural waste products are eligible for OMRI listing even if organic practices were not followed in the creation of those byproducts. Those organic bone and blood meal powders are likely to have persistent traces of antibitoics, hormones, or unwanted synthetic inputs. Not a risk I'm going to take with medicine. That decision does create limitations, but I still produce more top-notch product that my patients and I can consume. My hierarchy of goals for the grow: safety, efficacy, flavor, vigor, then yield.
The strain I hope to follow: Beautiful Day, which is Topanga Pure Kush x Strawberry Milk, from Bodhi Seeds
My backup strains:
1) Lucky Wookie x Anslinger's Demise, this is an early-stage project of mine, Lucky Wookie is from Bodhi and Anslinger's Demise is from Kineo's Genetics
2) The Kiwi, which is Ice Queen x Blue Heron. from Dynasty Genetics
3) Kabul Candy, which is (Pink Pex x heirloom Afghan Hindu Kush) x heirloom Afghan Hindu Kush, from Heart and Soil Project
Seeds are in the paper towel, just waiting to see the first signs of germination. I'm not sure if I'm able to change the strain name for my challenge grow, but I made a last-minute adjustment. Instead of the Beautiful Day from Bodhi, I decided to pop some Project V (Vortex x Vortex) from SpartanGrown. The Beautiful Day will have to be next.
