So, what's this all about?

Hi all.

I have created this blog, in order to document how I'm going to grow some Malawi Gold plants.
I brought in the seeds myself in Salima, in Lake Malawi. They are as fresh as you can get.

Why do I use Marijuana?
Well, I admit I use it about 5 or 6 times a year recreationally, but I do use it for medicinal purposes also. I don't take any medication whatsoever, and use THC to reduce pain. (I have frequent back pain... Comes from years of stupidly lifting up servers and 21" CRT's) Also, my metabolism is really stable. Which means that I can go for a week eating only a sandwich a day, or eating 3 square meals a day, plus snacks, and beers... and my weight will be exactly the same. I use weed sometimes in these circumstances to increase my appetite.

Malawi Gold is a pure Sativa variety. 100% Pure. No Mix. :D

Tech Specs:

Height: 1.5 to 3 meters - I'm estimating about 1.2 meters on mine. I'll be doing some pruning.

Flowering Time: 10 to 14 weeks - I'm Estimating 13 Weeks on mine.

Yield per plant: Between 400 and 900 grams. I estimate I'll get about half a kilo per plant.

Type of High: Heady. Excellant for pain, and for increasing appetite. If you over do it (About 2 joints by yourself, of unmixed bud) you might start to almost see/hear things.


So, where do we start?

I dont really have any experience in growing homegrown. All I ever did in the past was dump some seeds into a pot, with some mud, water it every two days, and hey presto... a pretty decent plant 4 months later.

So, I have downloaded tons of Ebooks and videos documenting how to grow the perfect bud. (I'm not going to recomend any of them...I hate endorsements, but they are really easy to find... google is your friend... and so are the torrent search sites.)


Anyway, I have decided to use the following strategy:
Keep it simple. - Although everyone says you should maintain X% humidity, and Yº Temperatures, I'm just gonna relax a bit on the rules. I'm gonna leave the plants to fend for themselves... mostly.

This is where you come in. Through your comments I will alter the way I'm growing the plants, to see if we can't maximise their growth potential.

The equipment I have:
1 Grow cupboard - Aluminium Filing cabinet 40 x 120 x 190 cms
It has a dual lamp 80cm flourescent set up, and is covered on the inside with aluminium foil.
2 big pots
lots of little pots
soil. (Apparently, this soil is great for Roses)
Malawi Gold Seeds.


Phase 1 - Germination - In wet paper towels.
Duration: Estimated 6 days
Temperature: Constant temperature(+-28ºC)
Light: Zero Light
Humidity: 100% humidity (Seeds constantly covered in water).

Phase 2 - Cup'a'Pot - Move the germinating seeds to plastic cups. They will remain here till theyre strong enough to fend for themselves in pots.
Duration: Estimated 8 days in cups.
Temperature: 26º
Light: Flourescent, White, 20 Hours per day
Humidity: Water only when top of soil is dry.

Phase 3 - Vegetative Growth - I will transplant the Pot to pots. :P
The plants will live out the rest of their days in these pots. The pots will contain an Aerated Soil Mix (Check back later to see what mix I used) They will remain in this stage untill they are roughly 40cm's high.
Duration: Estimated 6 weeks in this stage.
Temperature: 26-30º
Light: Flourescent, White, 18 Hours per day
Humidity: Water only when top of soil is dry.

Phase 4 - Flowering - The final stage before Harvesting. Plants will be roughly 40-45cm's tall.
They will be sexed, and I will destroy the males.
Duration: Estimated 6 weeks in this stage.
Temperature: 26-30º
Light: Flourescent, White, 12 hours per day
Humidity: Water only when top of soil is dry.

Phase 5 - Harvesting.
I am going to try for 3 Categories of produce from my Homegrown:
1 - THC Crystals - Collected through a fine mesh while grinding all the bud.
2 - Ground Bud - Mmmm... Buuuud...
3 - Culinary grade weed. This is made up of the cutoffs, leftovers and remains of the plants. To be used for cooking.
Duration: Estimated 3 days for harvesting, drying and processing.
Temperature: 30-35º
Light: Incandecent, about 12 hours, enough to dry things out.
Humidity: As low as possible


Your comments are more than welcome. If you have had any experience in growing Malawi gold, please let me know your special tips or tricks.
At the end of the harvest, I will anonymously send a generous sample of the harvest to the top three tips or tricks.
Let the games begin....