JORGE'S RX

INTEGRITY
A few or more issues back, there was an “article” in your mag about a dude named Jay Generation talking about his favorite Northwest strains. Turns out it was a huge advertisement about his company, Next Generation, and their newest strain, Bonkers.

A couple of issues back, Jorge Cervantes tells us about Next Generation and how badass they are and to check out to greenlifeseeds.com. He says it’s a trusted site. So I send them $180 dollars for the Next Generation outdoor special.

I went to the Web site a few days ago, only to learn that it “couldn’t be found,” and now when you go there, it’s something completely different. When a mag starts passing advertisements off as articles, that’s when it’s time to stop subscribing to that weak-ass mag.

I included my address to show that I am a subscriber, and because I wanted you to know who was telling you to fuck off.
K.B.
Via Internet

Dear K.B.,
As we say in Spain, you are touching my balls! I don’t make editorial policy for the magazine, but I do control my own shit, and I’m very proud of the accurate information that I risk my balls to collect and dole out (as do a lot of others), even to “subscribers” like you.

First off, realize that sending seeds across the US border is illegal, and the cops have been closing down seed sellers in Canada for more than a year. Growing marijuana in America is also illegal. Pay attention to these facts and show respect where it is due. I contacted the owner of Next Generation, who is in charge of the greenlifeseeds.com Web site. Here’s an excerpt from his response:

“The Greenlifeseeds domain name just expired, but it will be up again in the next couple days. I haven’t been able to check the e-mails there for a couple days. It’s taking me awhile to get it up again since I’m on the road. Some customers freak out at the delays, but I’m still in business—it’s just a Web-site problem.

“A lot of our orders to the US were delayed or ‘returned to sender’ in December 2007 and part of January because the border agents shut down my mailbox in Vancouver. There’s going to be some pissed-off customers, because their orders were returned from that mailbox after several weeks or were sent out very late. My lawyer was lucky to get the mail returned to the customers instead of handed over to the police. All the problems have left me pretty broke, but I can’t open a bank account now, so I’m trying to set something else up.

“We acquired a new mailbox and it’s been running smoothly so far. The Greenlifeseeds shipping business is now run out of the UK. It seems to be more trouble than it’s financially worth to do business with the US these days. Now that Marc Emery has been busted by the US, they’re after the rest of us too. They’re out to shut me down in Canada, and my bank accounts have also been seized, so it’s been pretty stressful.

“The orders are still going out, but it’s been taking a couple of weeks instead of the usual week or so. The orders to the US also have problems about 10% of the time and are taken by border agents.—Jay G.”

MORE LIGHT, LESS WATTS
I have heard many different things concerning wattage in relation to the distance from plant tops. How far apart should the lights be? Are they most functional placed in a tight row in the center 1 to 2 feet apart, or spread 4 to 5 feet apart from the center (i.e., the corners of a square)? In the 1-to-2-foot spacing, that’s 1,000 x 2 over less area, but is that overkill? In short, how should my lights be hung to achieve perfection?
Somacoma
Via Internet

Dear Somacoma,
Lighting is simple and straightforward: The higher the wattage of a high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp, the more heat and light it produces. However, that extra heat makes it necessary to hang the lamp higher the above plants so they don’t overheat. But the further the lamp is from the plants, the fewer the lumens received by them. The laws of physics dictate that light diminishes to the square of the distance from the subject—in other words, light fades very quickly.

So what should you with all this information? Just follow a few rules of thumb and you’ll be fine. First off, buy a good reflective hood for a horizontally mounted bulb. The bulb should be either 400 or 600 watts I don’t care for 1,000-watt bulbs because of their heat output, which means they have to be hung far from plants, which decreases efficiency and wastes energy. Hang the 400-watt lamp 18 inches above flowering plants for the most efficiency; hang the 600-watt lamp 22 to 24 inches above the plants. The 400-watt lamp will cover an area about 36 inches square, the 600-watt about 40 inches square. You can also buy an inexpensive light meter to actually measure the light levels at the top of the plant canopy.

LEAF HACKING
Should I trim the big leaves off my plants?
Frank
Via Internet

Dear Frank,
No. There are many things you can do to make your prized plants grow faster, but plucking their leaves off isn’t one of them. Leaves are where photosynthesis takes place. Photosynthesis is what makes plants grow. Removing the leaves will decrease photosynthesis, and that’s a bad thing. There are only two reasons to remove the leaves from your plants: if they’re more than 50% damaged from pests or diseases; and when leaves on the lower branches don’t receive enough light or the flow of fresh air in between plants is impaired.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE JULY 2008 ISSUE