Better Buds with Mr. Bill

Mr. Bill, our plant fix-it guy, invites you to ask him questions so that you can achieve better yields.

Mr. Bill is ready to assist you by drawing upon over twenty-eight years of active grow shop experience - including answering growers' questions about the hydroponic industry. Before Mr. Bill opened his first store he worked in the agricultural industry for five years, growing tobacco.

Mr. Bill,

My week-fourteen flowering 'S' plant has several new growth places on colas that appear to look like three thick, flat fingers protruding. What might this be?

Anonymous

It is difficult to predict the exact problem, without either seeing a photograph or knowing your grow room's specs - e.g., exact genetic content of your strain, average day/night temperatures, type and number of lights used and at what distance from the plants, etc. Therefore, temporarily ignoring the potentiality of these protrusions resulting from light stress, I believe the issue revolves around the fact that each plant has a genetic code built within itself that causes it to grow in specific ways.

Plants also require certain growing conditions which, when not reached, will change their flowering or growth patterns (timing). If your grow room or garden runs under the best absolute conditions, your crop can be finished earlier; if your cultivation conditions are less than ideal, then your garden may take longer to mature. This is what I believe is happening - either your plants were finished flowering, or this is a natural trait of your strain once it has been flowering for too long, and they naturally started re-growing.

One thing of which I am certain is that the plants exhibiting this pattern of new growth - bursting from the calyx and growing up to two inches - are much more potent than plants that do not grow like that. This could mean that you kept the plant longer than its intended flowering time and it simply started re-flowering. This would explain the higher potency from plants that end up growing in this manner, as the plants are flowering for longer than their maturity-timing, just from being exposed to a good light source. The Jack Herer strain shows this characteristic of spikes coming out of a nice, round flowering top, and it has won its fair share of smoking awards.

Dear Mr. Bill,

Is butane-extracted hash harmful to my health?

Signed,
Hash Enthusiast

When making honey oil from your garden waste, concentrating butane gases for consumption can be a problem. I have talked to a few people who sell devices specifically designed for making honey oil from butane, and all of them state that you need to use a certain type of butane that is used for extractions by hospitals, one that is 100-percent clean of foreign substances.

Butane is odorless, so sulfides (t-butyl mercaptan, with a rotting cabbage-like smell or thiophane, with a rotten egg odor) are added to butane so that if there is a gas leak, we will notice the foul-smelling chemical. Butane is commonly misused and deliberately inhaled; when inhaled, it causes drowsiness, euphoria, unconsciousness, oxygen depletion/deprivation, memory loss and even frostbite. Intentionally inhaling butane has also been known to cause death!

Regarding others, please remember that even if the residual butane does not bother you (either as a smoker or producer), it may disturb other potential users of your product.

In addition, it is essential to remember that butane gas is denser than air, thus it tends to sink and settle in lower places. Going out onto your second-story balcony to make hash in the fresh air helps with ventilation issues; however, any residents of lower floors will be placed in danger - even if they are outside - as the butane settles and could be accidentally ignited. Make sure you are working in a well-ventilated area, with no chance of ignition, and are using a properly processed butane - do not use a certain type of butane simply because it is inexpensive or readily-available.

A Note on the Dangers of Hormone Use in the Cannabis Industry:

Plant hormones that stop your plant from growing upwards and forcing them into flowering are not safe for human consumption - whether eaten or smoked. These hormones are usually used on non-edible plants, the ones we only look at, and have no intention of eating. Have you ever wondered how greenhouses get all their plants ready for holidays and special occasions, for example lilies or mums at Easter time? They apply a product that forces the plant to stop growing and begin its flowering period. If you choose to use this type of product, make sure it is registered; if the products are registered, then and only then can you use them in the intended and instructed manner.

Cheers,
Bill