Onion

Howzit Fridgedoor. I have only now just started looking for alfalfa seeds (previous grows were in coco). I found them here: Living Seeds and Seeds For Africa but they are expensive in my view. I am now trying big operators like Agricol. I'll let you know when I have found a good price for bulk.

I don't have the space or the terrain for Hugelkultur which was a suggestion for my grow. I don't have access to the space or ingredients for making living organic soil and I'm a cheap skate. I am going to trust that the mountain has made a magical organic fynbos soil, rich in whatever the plants will need. I will possibly add some bokashi bran when I plant, but I need more info. I will inoculate with mycorrhizae harvested from further up the mountain in fynbos roots. I will feed with solutions that contain kelp juice, Lactobacillus, castings and chicken manure, as well as a sprout tea (containing alfalfa), and monitor that. If I need more I will come back to the drawing board for nutes. That soil is dark and loamy and so far it has held water so well that my sprouts have only needed a tablespoon of water each in the styro cups (holes in bottoms to drain) in 3 days. I think that given the fact that the gardens are in a retaining wall on the mountain slope, the rock underneath the soil will be a source of moisture from mountain run-off too. The same water from a borehole will do the rest. Update on the gals - all three have popped cotyledons.

GERMINATION: My first three seeds went into baggies on the evening of 9th September. The first popped on 11th and the remaining two popped on 12th. They are in cups in Western Cape coastal, mountain soil, and the first has popped it's cotyledons. The remaining two look set to pop cotyledons later today or tomorrow. The weather is now suitably above 13 degrees most of the time, so the sprouts will be able to metabolize. Spring has sprung and new leaves are starting to show all around the garden. Of our local landraces, I favour the Transkei. It has a beautiful clean high, creative, sociable and euphorically energizing. I am hoping to do a comparative grow with a different batch of Transkei origin seed and if I get lucky I might get a male out of this grow. I have tried harvesting pollen and it is not easy for me, but I hope to get it right this season if I am lucky enough. I am going to grow in the dark loamy soil in the garden, which is on a mountainside overlooking a bay. I am strongly considering Hugelkulture with some homemade amendments. I will take some Myccorhizae samples from the fynbos and inoculate my soil before transplanting. Last season I developed my own basic kasteel combo bug control juice, which I will treat the leaves with as a preventative measure. I will feed with Lactobacillus, kelp, castings and chicken poop. I will also mix in some bokashi bran when building my pile. If I can get hold of a small quantity of alfalfa pellets I will mash some of those in too.

Spring is here. Outdoor season starts now for me. Molly is now in soil in a cup.

I highly recommend Rubber Tape. I think Pratley does one and you can find it at any Builders Wharehouse or well stocked hardware store. It seals the stem and holds it firm.

It's a trafficable offence that carries a fifteen year jail sentence as I read it. The police have been heavy handed on some people who sell cigarettes and alcohol on the black market and not on others. I would say caution is paramount.

It is surely unconstitutional to exclude people from climbing the ranks in commercial activity, from small-scale to corporate size enterprises. There should be a tiered licensing and multi-sector approach. It's a good example of how people across the spectrum can benefit from economic activity related to cultivation, sale and beneficiation of cannabis. It is also a good example of how easy it is for the State and Monopoly to capture the market. Anyway, that's all I can say on the subject. Lol. I will move away from such serious stuff. I didn't know that the Bill had been passed until I came onto this site as a guest.

@Ill_Evan I'm also concerned about the commercial aspects of the law. Any idea when those will be addressed? As I understand it, only people with licenses are allowed to cultivate under regulated circumstances. When will those license matters and regulations be addressed?

I'm in the process of cross referencing in the BILL to understand what it is saying. My concerns are the felony charges and prison sentences. They are brutal. Sure, quantities appear to be quite generous for personal use and cultivation. Another concern that I have is the definition of "remuneration". It's saying you can't exchange cannabis for money or for anything else that makes it a transaction. So I can't give you ten clones for x g dry material or concentrate for instance. Another reason I am concerned is because our police Minister appears to be rather heavy handed in all of his dealings with the public, and shows little concern for dignity. My earlier reference to the timing of the passing of the BILL by cabinet concerned me because of Covid. People have limited opportunities to make concerns heard. I remain skeptical of Government timing and we wait to see what Regulations are going to be introduced. Please bear in mind that I had the Draft Bill (the leaked done), not the actual Bill, and I thought it was the same thing.

With respect. The law is a very serious subject and that is why I take it seriously. I have discovered subsequent to my initial comment, that the BILL I had in my possession was the leaked BILL of January last year. The 2020 BILL is revised and reads very differently, so I retract my initial criticism of the BILL.

I'm fine with that. I had the leaked BILL from January last year, which I have discovered was edited and is different from the actual BILL, which I have now found on the government site. My error for not looking for a new version. So I will have to retract what I said about the BILL being a bad one. I will read the revised one. Still it is unnecessary for a bunch of people to make fun of someone for having a difference of opinion. I accept your apology though. Thanks.

I express an opinion, and your group thing it is ok to attack with guns blazing. I offer reasonable responses to the provocation and then you insult me and treat it a s a joke. I am not going to share my thoughts in this kind of hostility. I will ask admin to delete my account. Plenty of grown ups on the planet to talk to about herb.

Yes, that timing is correct. I'm going to retreat back into my own private space and say no more on the matter.

I'm going to reserve comment.

What a bad time for this to happen. It is a terrible Bill that criminalizes some things heavily. This is going to be a long and costly legal battle that will likely happen in front of a judge. They really snuck this through now! Very unhappy about this.

Hi thanks! I am still not 100 % certain yet. I will make a post when I have my ducks in a row. What do you have planned?

Looking forward to a great outdoor season coming up and getting to know what other growers are up to in sunny safferland.