*** Ask Dr. VonDankenstine ***

MrHowardMarks said:

Agreed with twistedidentites...

It may be a Mag deficiency, but doubtfull... It's probably the MG, too much nitrogen during flowering?

When it's from the bottom up it's usually a micronutrient problem, if it starts with new growth, that's when you need to panic... So chill out and wait on the Tiger Bloom to arrive.

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Agreed with MrHowardMarks...
I know he meant to say Micro nutrient problems start at the top and Major and secondary nutrients problems start from the bottom and work their way up since they are mobile.

doniawon said:

DOC
I have another question for ya..!
I use 3 gallon buckets of rock on 4x4 flood tables, inch of rock in bottom of flood tables buckets full of rock.. generally i clone in 1" rockwcubes then go to 4" and then when they go to flower i bury them in rock and continue with a drip nft type set up..drip tubes to each buckt returns to a resi..
my question is can i eliminate some of the media i have listed what are some other ideas and can i just use 1" plugs to buckets and get the same result??

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MrHowardMarks said:

I'm no doctor... But I think I can help...



Yeah, you can go with the 1" plugs straight into buckets...

And all other media is more costly than "gravel" which I imagine you mean expanded clay pebbles... Like Hydroton.

Other possibilities are silica pellets, perlite, or rockwool cubes... To name a few.

But the hydroton is reusable, so, in the long run it is the cheapest.





I'll allow the next questions to remain unanswered so the Doc can have something to do next time he's around...

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Budski said:

Hey Doc,
When do i start the final flush? When the tric's are 20-30% amber or before that. Cause i plan on doing this... Correct me if im wrong or anything.
I have (2) 5 gal pots so. ill use 5 gals of distilled and 5 more of (Pur) water. then let dry out for 7 days? and then water a gallon of distilled(and i also herd to use blackstrap molasses) wait another 2 days and on the last day(10) 24 hours of darkness.Cause i feed my plants every 3 days(normally) "so i figure they would be wanting more water" Then Chop! I manicure everything, let hang dry for 7 days then jar for 2 weeks opening everyday for the first week untill moisture and texture are like prefer correct? Am i missing something. I was going to dry hang for 3-5 days then paper bag it for a week, then jar. But i was told to just skip the paperbag stage.

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You could start your 2 week flush when the tri's are 25% amber-I like to pull-em when they hit 1/2 milky-white--1/2 golden honey amber. There's no "set-in-stone" rule. As Marks says about the bell curve with ppm feedings: The same bell curve applies to trichomes, you start with clear and after weeks of development you end up with dark amber. Clear gives you a strong head buzz and amber gives you more of a strong body buzz. You can pull them anywhere in-between-I pull in the middle to get the best of both worlds---Balance. You don't need to give them 24 hours of darkness but harvest in the morning before lights-on. I like the 3 to 5 day method with paper bags over the straight 7 day hanging. The bags even out the moisture in the buds but still allows the complete assimilation and conversion of chlorophyll to take place. But in the end its a personal choice. Let us know how things turned out----good luck and happy harvest!!!

DR. VonDankenstine said:

You could start your 2 week flush when the tri's are 25% amber-I like to pull-em when they hit 1/2 milky-white--1/2 golden honey amber. There's no "set-in-stone" rule. As Marks says about the bell curve with ppm feedings: The same bell curve applies to trichomes, you start with clear and after weeks of development you end up with dark amber. Clear gives you a strong head buzz and amber gives you more of a strong body buzz. You can pull them anywhere in-between-I pull in the middle to get the best of both worlds---Balance. You don't need to give them 24 hours of darkness but harvest in the morning before lights-on. I like the 3 to 5 day method with paper bags over the straight 7 day hanging. The bags even out the moisture in the buds but still allows the complete assimilation and conversion of chlorophyll to take place. But in the end its a personal choice. Let us know how things turned out----good luck and happy harvest!!!

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so hang for 3 to 5 days untill stem snaps not bends then paper bag for 3 to 5 days? how do u know when to transfer to the jars from the bag stage? and why do people say to do 24 hours darkness b4 harvest?

and when bagging leave it open or closed with holes on the sides?

Hang for 3 days then brownbag it for 4 days then put it in your jars and burp each day for a week. Should be ready to taste at this point, Cure for another 3 weeks in jars and your good to go.(note: if your stems snap in 3 or 4 days the drying enviroment has low humidity and should be increased but make sure to have good airflow around the buds)
Some growers believe that a 24 dark period will increase resin in the buds.

DR. VonDankenstine said:

Hang for 3 days then brownbag it for 4 days then put it in your jars and burp each day for a week. Should be ready to taste at this point, Cure for another 3 weeks in jars and your good to go.(note: if your stems snap in 3 or 4 days the drying enviroment has low humidity and should be increased but make sure to have good airflow around the buds)
Some growers believe that a 24 dark period will increase resin in the buds.

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open or closed(bag), they will be in a closet with the door slightly open with a fan blowing(not directly on the colas tho)and lights off,when hung. Yea i have low humidity around 15-25%. In my last grow they(stem) didnt snap even at day 5 if i remeber correctly. and really 3 weeks to cure? isnt 2 weeks average. I just want to smoke a nice fat blunt like 3 grams or so. after that the jars will be still curing. the whole blunt thing would be after idk a week or so depending on if im fiending to try my smoke. But parinoid if im going to like it.and worried it might taste like chlor before it fully cures, but really i just dont want the chlyr taste. Wow mybad about going on and on.

whats the fastest most effective way to clean a shit load of hydroton 8/50L bags??
has anyone converted a clothes washer??
also i use hydroton silica stones and jumbo perilite all together if that matters

Laundry baskets and a hose...That's your best bet man...

You'll find little pebbles for the rest of the houses life, that how hydroton works.




----I wanted to add onto Docs drying reply...

Right at harvest remove as many fan leaves as possible to keep the chlorophyl taste out of the weed.

You'll want to keep steady airflow in the hanging area, if there's high humidity 70%+ use a space heater.

After the initial drying period of 3-5 days, the buds will be crispy, but the stems will be bendy... This is when the sweating begins.

I do it in cardboard paper box lids... They work well for trimming too. I just stack the lids so they're mostly covered, the dry crispy outside will suck the water within the stems.

Once the stems are almost snapable, but still bend, usually a day or two, so we're at day 5-7... Put them in an airtight container, and seal it for 8-12 hours, the buds will even out the moisture level...


Sit them back in the box lids, until they're crispy again, 8-12 hours, then back in the jar...

Burp the jar periodically.


If they're still wet, sit them out a few hours...


They're now smokable, and probably quite tasty... But...


If you let them sit in the jar for a month, the sugars will convert through fermentation, and an actual "cure" will have taken place... Most people never get a chance to smoke properly cured bud, they smoke it right off the plant practically...





Also, I wanted to assure you there are many, many ways to cure weed, well, cure anything... Just drying it out isn't curing...

And don't use excess heat in the drying process, you don't want them to dry out too fast.

Shit... Think I typed enough?

Oh... And DON'T use a typical house drain for the gravel drainage, guarenteed you'll have to run a pipe snake if you do...

It'll clog up the washer too...


It takes a lot of work to grow.

MrHowardMarks-
How bout using H2o2 as a cleaner/sanitizer for hydro-ton???

the doc and howard rock!!! when i grow up i wanna be like you!!!!!

ill stick to the method.. 25 gallon tubs.. drilled holes in bottom..fill with rock, water and H2O2.. let sit for an hour.. prop up one side with brick and let drain..

Thanks pal-frienders

ok can i wire 2 gang boxes electric outletts 2 a 240 cuircit like 2 an ac or electric stove outlet

1. Is it worth it to buy a $20 humidifier if mine stays at only about 25? I've already tried letting buckets of water sit under the light.

2. I'm using a room with an entire wall consisting of windows. I'm really worried about light getting in during the 12 hours of flowering darkness. Will Panda Black & White Poly be able to completely light proof my room during this time if all the windows are completely covered in it?

In no particular order...


Yes H2O2 on everything...


Panda poly is the shit, it'll work.


Stick with the method you know on cleaning the hydroton... Sounds good.



2 gang just means 2 outlets, or a switch and an outlet, it'll work, but if you don't know anything about electricity, I'd do some research, or ask someone to do it for you...

If the humidity is at 25 you should be fine, but a humidifier will work at least 10x better than a bucket of water...

my plants are 2 weeks old and in 16oz cups. the roots are starting to come out of the holes i poked in the cups. i can see that the roots spin around the bottom of the cup and finally out the bottom. when do u think i should transplant them?

ptrigger said:

my plants are 2 weeks old and in 16oz cups. the roots are starting to come out of the holes i poked in the cups. i can see that the roots spin around the bottom of the cup and finally out the bottom. when do u think i should transplant them?

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transplant them now

blunts or papers??

I use Elements 1 inch rice papers...

I'll smoke 3 joints... You can have one blunt.

If you like blunts try out Royal Blunts "Eastwood" wrap, or "Miami Blunts" 8 pack.


If there's a rasta shop in your town go in and ask for fonta leaf... It's a whole tobacco wrapper leaf... 2 bucks is average, rolls about 10 blunts... It's kinda tricky though.

ptrigger said:

my plants are 2 weeks old and in 16oz cups. the roots are starting to come out of the holes i poked in the cups. i can see that the roots spin around the bottom of the cup and finally out the bottom. when do u think i should transplant them?

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If you want to you can but, No need to---I keep all my vegetative plants in 16's---clones/seedlings/germanation/vegetative growth--I have a couple mothers that have been in 16's for 4 months and are very healthy---I do have to feed them every day.

I made what would be considered a mistake by planting my newly sprouted seed in Miracle Grow Moisture control. I used a Jiffy Pot by the way. After a couple weeks when I go to transplant my seedlings, would I be safe just placing the Jiffy Pot full of Miracle-Gro into a 3-gallon container filled with Fox Farm Ocean mix? I haven't added any nutes yet.

Renzo said:

I made what would be considered a mistake by planting my newly sprouted seed in Miracle Grow Moisture control. I used a Jiffy Pot by the way. After a couple weeks when I go to transplant my seedlings, would I be safe just placing the Jiffy Pot full of Miracle-Gro into a 3-gallon container filled with Fox Farm Ocean mix? I haven't added any nutes yet.

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It would be great and your plants would love you for it!!!