Unsure how to maximise my harvest

[BlueBucket]

Hi all

 

After goggling and reading countless articles and viewing many youtube vids, I'm still unsure that I'll be getting the most from my crop.  Although cannabis doesn't alleviate all symptoms of my illness, it 100% works for my chronic severe nausea and inability to sleep due to pain .. nothing, not even the wafers given to chemo patients eased my nausea in the past.  I get a few bad headaches and have balance probs due to inflammation in ears .. so am wary of using anything 'too green' like juicing the leaves (as I've read it can cause headaches).  That and I've always needed to eat food I really really like as I never have an appetite and forcing down something I don't like the taste of usually comes back up.  Most times just forcing down stuff I like is difficult enough.  

 

This is my second hydro grow, I didn't get much out of the first using only the buds (not that I had many!).  I used the Rick Simpson method to make a thick grease like substance (washing with nearly pure alcohol) which worked brilliantly, but I absolutely don't like the taste .. was real messy and caused a bit of waste trying to put a bit in capsules in a bid to not taste it, so I got some syringes and squirted a bit on half a jelly baby and swallowed it whole without tasting it .. but sometimes I'd get the tiniest bit on a finger which would end up on my teeth or tongue .. back up again.  As such, was wondering if making cannabutter would work just the same and whether I'd get as much out of it <- meaning volume.

 

The ability to eat and sleep better really improved everything and made life liveable, so I dread running out of it again and need to maximise my crop.  Also, I'm fine while taking cannabis everyday, but when I stop I get bad anxiety for a few days which can also be very unpleasant.  Another reason not to run out.

 

So am I wasteful just using the buds?  Does anyone know if I would get the same volume of cannabis if making butter (cooktop method .. stewing the buds in butter and water) as I did the Rick Simpson method?  Reckon I'd have less trouble eating a bit of cookie dough!  ..  I also saw a video of this excitable chap using the cold press method to juice leaves, oranges and whole coconut saying it was a brilliant long-lasting high .. I imagine that the anti-nausea and whatever it is that lets me sleep would still be there with the THC in this case too.  Apparently, the citric acid combined with oil from coconut undergoes some chemical process that 'cooks' it.  I've not heard of anyone else making this claim, so it could be b/s.

 

Sorry for the big story, but any advice from medical users or others with experience would be greatly appreciated. 

 

(I'm growing medical hybrid strains 'Nightingale', 'Hiydrow', 'CBD Supreme' .. and 'Blueberry' which I grew from seed sourced from 'Seedsman' in the UK .. sent stealth)

 

 

[merl1n]

Hey Bluebucket,

                          I too am a medi user. For me anything to reduce the use of the pharma crap is a huge plus. I strongly believe from experience that what works for some people, may not work for another. For example some swear by solely CBD, where I find that a combination of the differing cannabinoids is required and not solely CBD. The Rick Simpson method is but one of many ways in which to make oil. Personally the black oil increases my headaches as the impurities are still present in RSO, where refining it further reduces such impurities and results in better effects for me. The taste is another issue, I have found that using a peppermint extract (not essence) in cooking masks the taste sufficiently. Oil can be a messy process but if you keep it warmed it flows a lot easier, thus less mess.

Now, there is also the issue of activation of the cannabinoids into a form which gives the most benefit. The is a process known as decarboxylation which removes the carboxyl ring from the THC-A chemical chain, this coverts the THC-A to THC which is then absorbable by the body. Heat is required for decarboxylation to occur. This can occur via cooking or with a flame. When I make tincture I pre-bake the herb to allow the decarb process to occur prior. Here's my process for making tincture https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/topic/45016-op-rum-tincture/?hl=tincture&do=findComment&comment=476910 

As for maximising your harvest, I grow using a process known as SCROG or SCReen Of Green. Naturally a plant grows like a xmas tree shape or  ^, this is due to the sun's movement from east to west. But within a fixed room environment this movement does not occur. By SCROGging my plant I invert the ^ to be V and train my plant out from the centre to fill my space. This maximises the area for the buds to develop. Something like this https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/gallery/image/10063-7/

I have a steel table frame covered in mesh netting with my plant underneath it in the middle. Here's a rough sketch https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/gallery/image/17476-rough-sketch-steel-table/ I then train my plant out a bit like a starfish, keeping all growth below the netting, once my growth reaches the outside of the netting I then turn 12/12 and allow the growth splurt to grow up thru the netting. This upward growth is where the buds develop. To support the heavy buds I use 2 trailer nets above the table otherwise with the weight of the buds they end up bending over facing the floor, not what I want . If you look closely at this image you can see one of the trailer nets in the lower left hand [url=https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/gallery/image/10059-3/

 

I hope this helps and if you have further question then please do ask. I don't have all of the answers but I'm sure others here will have information that they will be more than willing to share.

 

Merl1n

Edited February 22, 2018 by merl1n

[greenqueen2]

Thanks again for sharing merlin, one thing jumped out at me in that post and was about using the peppermint extract as my daughter does not like the taste either and capsules are fiddly and no good if i need it during a grand mal because i need to administer fast under the tongue or cheek so do you just add that at the start off cooking process or at the end, probs a silly question but thats the first time ive heard about adding another flavor and id really like to try that with her and see if its a little nicer for her, thanks merl,,GQ

 

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[BlueBucket]

Thanks Merl1n .. excellent tutorial ..  We made our own alcohol as couldn't source anything like what Rick Simpson recommended .. I call it rocket fuel and wouldn't dare drink it .. Good thing about the 'rocket fuel' is it's almost pure alcohol and will evaporate leaving nothing behind? .. god knows.  Perhaps I should just try the OP Rum.  We are both noobs when it comes to this stuff, but have access to an old family still and youtube of course.  If I could use OP Rum or even Vodka (if there's such a thing as OP Vodka, I've never been a drinker) it would save having to knock up batches of alcohol as I believe that's also illegal .. pfffffft!  So frustrating when taking care of yourself is illegal.  I may also try the peppermint extract to help with the taste. 

 

I did do the SCROG thing .. but my plants went mental and keep growing regardless of trying to keep them under, my fault for growing different strains .. I had to put another net on top, which two plants quickly pushed their way through.  I tried to copy a photo of my setup, but browser security settings said 'no'.

[merl1n]

Hey GQ,

I add the extract with the other wet ingredients in a recipe. There is also a product called peppermint oil which could be added after cooking as it would soak into the cookie really well, but peppermint oil goes rancid and if it is used on cookies they'd have to be eaten fairly soon after they'd been flavoured.

 

Hey BlueBucket,

For 'drinkable' I used rum over vodka or spiritus (Polish Vodka 95% alcohol) as Rum has a flavour, where vodka and spiritus are like lighter fluid Now for oil I use Isopropyl alcohol (more commonly called iso) iso is the stuff used in alcohol wipes prior to blood being taken, but drinking the stuff is not a good idea as it can send you blind and I don't mean blind drunk .

Iso is also used in the electronics industry for cleaning circuit boards prior to soldering and I obtain mine from an electronics wholesaler, that's not a Dick Smith's or Tandy's, but a genuine wholesaler. Some cleaning chemical wholesalers also sell iso but that usually in a 25ltr drum and for 25ltr of iso you'd need a massive amount of greenery. The electronics store sells 5ltr bottles for $25. Tandy's and dick smith sometimes do have it but it will cost you something like $25 for 500ml.

 

As for SCROGging, it is a skill my first scrog I weaved the growth thru my net but come harvest it was an absolute bastard to remove, hence now I push all of the growth under the netting. As you have found out, one strain/grow makes management so much simpler. This way growth rate is the same or similar and I only grow the one plant, this means less tangles or overgrowth. It also means if the filth come to visit I have one plant and less legal bullshit.

 

Merl1n

Edited February 22, 2018 by merl1n

[BlueBucket]

I wonder how vanilla extract would go? .. if your little girl isn't keen on peppermint greenqueen2.  The vanilla extract is alcohol based and shouldn't spoil?

[BlueBucket]

Hey Merl1n .. thanks for the netting tip.  The trailer net you used, I'm guessing you can pick one up from a place like Supercheap .. we have an old trailer net, but didn't even think of it at the time.  I ended up first using a plastic trellis thing, which I then needed to cut to pieces to remove .. then modified an old fishing net as I couldn't find anything else suitable in Bunnings, nurseries or online.  Trailer net sounds perfect for the job!

 

 

 

Hello again Merl1n ..

 

I'm glad the SCROGing is a skill as I was feeling a bit defeated with it <- like useless with it.  I'm hoping next time I'll do a better job of it .. should do with the info I got from you    I'll use the OP Rum when using your recipe for the tincture .. and god I wish I had it last time I was in hospital!  You bet I'll be taking some with me next time and taking more doing physio!  This forum has been fantastic for learning stuff .. and no, I won't get a trailer net from Supercheap .. will find a decent one.  Hope karma pays you back for the help you've been to me today .. Cheers bluebucket 

Edited February 22, 2018 by BlueBucket

[merl1n]

I've found vanilla isn't strong enough personally, the canna taste is REAL strong and needs something stronger to overpower it

 

EDIT: Yea Supercheap have them BUT the Supercheap are SUPERCHEAP and tend to breakdown with the UV light fairly quickly (2 grows) If you buy quality they do last a bit longer

Edited February 22, 2018 by merl1n

[greenqueen2]

Thank you merlin your a gem some should be paying you more money mate,,GQ

 

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[greenqueen2]

Thanks for your suggestion to bluebucket, im always racking the brain for better way, cheers mate,,GQ

 

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[merl1n]

Hey BlueBucket,

I'm not a drinker (well, not anymore) Years ago someone gave me a title "Instant Asshole, just add alcohol"

Some would say I don't even need alcohol, but add alcohol and Ohhh man. What a mess

On one of my hospital stays I took my pipe and my tin of green with me but one of the other patients could smell it, making a complaint to the nursing staff. Many moons ago someone bought me a hipflask which just sat in the cupboard unused, but come a hospital stay it came out of retirement and was filled with tincture. Worked out a treat, I still needed the meds but on previous occasions I was in need of meds even before the med trolley did it's rounds, now I can manage the wait with my own meds (and no smell )

 

"...Hope karma pays you back for the help you've been to me today ..." Don't worry, the bills in the post lol