Tropical Sativa Man
Cannabis is bad BC it´s not gender-neutral
I never considered myself a novice grower, but I am realizing that I am 
The last grow I did was in 2010 in the Midwest, United States. I was dealing with Indica hybrids back then, and I've always grown in soil in the woods. Since I had harvested plants in the past, I thought I was a good grower. Now, I live tropics, and I am growing pure Sativas here outdoors. My oldest plants are 3 weeks old, and it has been an action-packed three weeks. Here's what I've encountered so far:
1) Ants stole 3/4 of my best seeds - around 45 seeds I never heard of ants eating seeds, but they do here!!!
2) Spider mite infestation. I ordered some all-natural coconut oil based soap to treat the plants. I used Joy dish soap on a few plants to test, and it worked for a couple days. It did not harm the plants.
3) Ant infestation. I mixed my soil with some amendments on three of the plants. My soil contains trace amounts of bone meal, molasses, bat guano, egg shell, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, and worm castings. Apparently, the ants love these elements!!!
Every day has been a new surprise and a new challenge. I'm growing outdoor because I don't have my indoor operation set up yet, and I am growing landrace pure sativas that are bred for outdoor growth.
It's different growing at the equator where you have an average of 12 hours light and 12 hours dark all year long. I've heard some of these plants won't begin to flower until they've reached a certain age regardless of the light cycle. Pure sativas are also known to get 15-foot high or more, which I cannot have. Here, we have two seasons: wet and dry. Other than that, you can grow all year long here.
I also learned that pure Sativa seeds take a very long time to germinate. Whereas an Indica seed will germinate in 24-72 hours, most Sativa seeds won't start germinating until at least 72 hours have passed. Pure Sativa seeds have a lower germination rate - far lower - than Indicas. There seems to be a genetic trait (only thing I can think of) that causes a lot of pure Sativa seeds to crack but not actually germinate. I've seen this several times now.
It's amazing how even a fresh new seedling can tolerate immense heat and direct equatorial sunlight all day long! With Indica seedlings, you have to acclimate them to direct sunlight little bits at a time. If you do that with pure Sativas, they will grow leggy and fall over. You have to put pure Sativa seedlings in direct sunlight as soon as they pop. These little seedlings are extremely resilient and tolerant of immense heat, droubt, and direct sunlight. These are my observations so far.
I'm looking for insights from experienced growers and second opinions. I have a simple at-home garden, and I make dues with what I have, and I have a limited budget. Thanks for reading.
The last grow I did was in 2010 in the Midwest, United States. I was dealing with Indica hybrids back then, and I've always grown in soil in the woods. Since I had harvested plants in the past, I thought I was a good grower. Now, I live tropics, and I am growing pure Sativas here outdoors. My oldest plants are 3 weeks old, and it has been an action-packed three weeks. Here's what I've encountered so far:1) Ants stole 3/4 of my best seeds - around 45 seeds
I never heard of ants eating seeds, but they do here!!!2) Spider mite infestation. I ordered some all-natural coconut oil based soap to treat the plants. I used Joy dish soap on a few plants to test, and it worked for a couple days. It did not harm the plants.
3) Ant infestation. I mixed my soil with some amendments on three of the plants. My soil contains trace amounts of bone meal, molasses, bat guano, egg shell, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, and worm castings. Apparently, the ants love these elements!!!
Every day has been a new surprise and a new challenge. I'm growing outdoor because I don't have my indoor operation set up yet, and I am growing landrace pure sativas that are bred for outdoor growth.
It's different growing at the equator where you have an average of 12 hours light and 12 hours dark all year long. I've heard some of these plants won't begin to flower until they've reached a certain age regardless of the light cycle. Pure sativas are also known to get 15-foot high or more, which I cannot have. Here, we have two seasons: wet and dry. Other than that, you can grow all year long here.
I also learned that pure Sativa seeds take a very long time to germinate. Whereas an Indica seed will germinate in 24-72 hours, most Sativa seeds won't start germinating until at least 72 hours have passed. Pure Sativa seeds have a lower germination rate - far lower - than Indicas. There seems to be a genetic trait (only thing I can think of) that causes a lot of pure Sativa seeds to crack but not actually germinate. I've seen this several times now.
It's amazing how even a fresh new seedling can tolerate immense heat and direct equatorial sunlight all day long! With Indica seedlings, you have to acclimate them to direct sunlight little bits at a time. If you do that with pure Sativas, they will grow leggy and fall over. You have to put pure Sativa seedlings in direct sunlight as soon as they pop. These little seedlings are extremely resilient and tolerant of immense heat, droubt, and direct sunlight. These are my observations so far.
I'm looking for insights from experienced growers and second opinions. I have a simple at-home garden, and I make dues with what I have, and I have a limited budget. Thanks for reading.
