Maine 2021

NewEnglandFarmer

NewEnglandFarmer

Well-Known Member
Hope everyone had a good winter.

What do my fellow Pine Tree Staters have in the works for 2021?

After a surprisingly successful first year growing (beginner's luck?) I'm going to just do three cannabis plants (still have half my Greenpoint seeds) but going all-in on hemp. Aiming to do a small commercial grow and try making and selling some CBD products.

Really liked the Cherry Wine buds from last year and got a bunch more seeds. Might do a couple dozen plants...still deciding on exact numbers.

Looking to build on last year's success and keep learning. Will start seeds in the next waxing quarter moon.

What y'all got planned?
 
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Buzzzxx

Well-Known Member
Damn @Sevenleaves , wish I could find some mob seeds!! :) been hunting for those.

My outdoor summer grow will be consisting of running 6 different auto strains in 5 gallon fabric pots. Going all organic with coast of maine stonington blend with some happy frog on top, recharge, and occasional top dressing with roots organic bloom. I generally grow indoors,because I suck at outdoor growing, but gonna give er another try this year.
 
thumper60

thumper60

Well-Known Member
Buzzzxx said:
Damn @Sevenleaves , wish I could find some mob seeds!! :) been hunting for those.

My outdoor summer grow will be consisting of running 6 different auto strains in 5 gallon fabric pots. Going all organic with coast of maine stonington blend with some happy frog on top, recharge, and occasional top dressing with roots organic bloom. I generally grow indoors,because I suck at outdoor growing, but gonna give er another try this year.
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Local cut if your in maine its around everywhere.
 
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Buzzzxx

Well-Known Member
Yup I am in the mid coast area. I have looked for it through the seedbank I usually frequent, north Atlantic seed co., without success. I will keep on looking. Mob was one of my all time favorite smokes
 
thumper60

thumper60

Well-Known Member
Buzzzxx said:
Yup I am in the mid coast area. I have looked for it through the seedbank I usually frequent, north Atlantic seed co., without success. I will keep on looking. Mob was one of my all time favorite smokes
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The gals at Alantic also run a clone biss, They may have cuts of mob? I wouldnt trust mob seeds get the real cut.
 
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Buzzzxx

Well-Known Member
Thank you for the tip on that! I will give them a shout and see if any are available. Thank again.
 
NewEnglandFarmer

NewEnglandFarmer

Well-Known Member
first-seedling.jpg

First seedling poking up out of the dirt on 4/20--how's that for good timing? I'd celebrate with a little of last year's harvest but just started a 3 week T-break last Friday so I'll wait till that's over.

That's a Copper Chem I planted 3 days ago, decided to pop the 4 I have left over from last year. Also planted the remaining Chinook Haze. I think those two are my favorite from the strains I grew last year. Everything else is Cherry Wine--popped 3 dozen of them and by the time the males are culled likely end up with 18 or so. Decided to go big on CBD this year, little experiment. Got a license from the state and we'll see if I can't get a little side business going.

Quick sidenote, decided to try some Coast of Maine Sprout Island seed starter, had good success starting in Stonington blend last year but that's a bit hot for the wee ones. Thought maybe they'd get off to a faster start in this stuff. Not sure I'll repeat the experiment, though--stuff smells like a moldy basement. Not quite so bad now but when I first opened the bag it made the whole room smell awful. I took the bag back and got another but it was just as bad. Hopefully that's not a harbinger of things to come this year!

Realize it's a gamble running those Greenpoint sativas again but I may as well use up the seeds and maybe I'll get lucky again this year. Anyway I've still got 90% of last year's harvest all jarred up, a bunch in tincture for long-term storage, so worst case scenario if this fall's harvest is a bust I won't be dry.

Thinking the Cherry Wine I'll harvest first week of October or so. The sativas probably Columbus Day or later, we'll see.

Away we go!

OK, let's get some updates from my fellow Mainers. @thumper60 I saw your thread so I know you're already hard at it...
 
thumper60

thumper60

Well-Known Member
NewEnglandFarmer said:
View attachment 4883742

First seedling poking up out of the dirt on 4/20--how's that for good timing? I'd celebrate with a little of last year's harvest but just started a 3 week T-break last Friday so I'll wait till that's over.

That's a Copper Chem I planted 3 days ago, decided to pop the 4 I have left over from last year. Also planted the remaining Chinook Haze. I think those two are my favorite from the strains I grew last year. Everything else is Cherry Wine--popped 3 dozen of them and by the time the males are culled likely end up with 18 or so. Decided to go big on CBD this year, little experiment. Got a license from the state and we'll see if I can't get a little side business going.

Quick sidenote, decided to try some Coast of Maine Sprout Island seed starter, had good success starting in Stonington blend last year but that's a bit hot for the wee ones. Thought maybe they'd get off to a faster start in this stuff. Not sure I'll repeat the experiment, though--stuff smells like a moldy basement. Not quite so bad now but when I first opened the bag it made the whole room smell awful. I took the bag back and got another but it was just as bad. Hopefully that's not a harbinger of things to come this year!

Realize it's a gamble running those Greenpoint sativas again but I may as well use up the seeds and maybe I'll get lucky again this year. Anyway I've still got 90% of last year's harvest all jarred up, a bunch in tincture for long-term storage, so worst case scenario if this fall's harvest is a bust I won't be dry.

Thinking the Cherry Wine I'll harvest first week of October or so. The sativas probably Columbus Day or later, we'll see.

Away we go!

OK, let's get some updates from my fellow Mainers. @thumper60 I saw your thread so I know you're already hard at it...
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Going to be a busy summer here got 4 med cards to fill most will be staggered light depo this way i can run a bunch of stuff that normaly wouldnt have time to finish here.Whats the deal on the permit from the state on hemp? cost, how many plants are allowed, how many hoops did you have to jump thur.
 
NewEnglandFarmer

NewEnglandFarmer

Well-Known Member
thumper60 said:
Going to be a busy summer here got 4 med cards to fill most will be staggered light depo this way i can run a bunch of stuff that normaly wouldnt have time to finish here.Whats the deal on the permit from the state on hemp? cost, how many plants are allowed, how many hoops did you have to jump thur.
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Are you a caregiver? Thought you told me you didn't deal with all the Augusta rigamarole.

So here's the deal on hemp: totally different office than MJ, run out of Forestry & Conservation. They seem pretty chill overall, woman in charge has been real nice and easy to deal with. Cost me $650 (application fee plus outdoor license for 1 acre). No plant limit on my license, just has to be 1 acre or less of growing area. Application is pretty easy. Have to submit a planting report, again easy. Then you have to have them come out within 30 days of harvest, they grab some flower samples and send to the lab to make sure THCa is less than 0.3%. If you overshoot you have to destroy the crop. I was told last year everybody in the State passed. That's pretty much it.

I'm going to take a whack at ecommerce (I'm a web developer by trade). I've budgeted about $3K total investment on this plus a huge amount of time/labor of course. We'll see how it goes. Looked into MJ rec. license but that process seemed more complicated. Maybe down the road.

Rolling the dice on this but figured it was worth a try. I would not do this on a big scale where you're counting on selling your harvest to a processor--way too risky right now. Lots of farmers have lost their shirts on it the past couple years. Big shakeout happening.
 
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thumper60

thumper60

Well-Known Member
Have been growing rec last few yrs, But me the wife an kids got med cards for this summer that will double my plant count for 200 bucks. I was seeing PYO hemp for less than 50 a lb last fall, but shit with a acre i could grow tons
 
NewEnglandFarmer

NewEnglandFarmer

Well-Known Member
Hmmm, I thought 2020 was the first year for rec. Isn't that totally separate from med.?

Yeah, I read about those folks with the PYO. Not sure if they're doing that again this year.

Be careful going big on hemp--if you don't get a solid commitment from a buyer before you plant you could get skunked. If you process/sell yourself that's a different story. But it definitely has potential. Would help a lot if Congress legalizes cannabis, then the THC limit becomes a non-issue. Still need a market, though. It's coming...there will be more demand for fiber for textiles, other uses, not just flower/cbd oil.
 
thumper60

thumper60

Well-Known Member
NewEnglandFarmer said:
Hmmm, I thought 2020 was the first year for rec. Isn't that totally separate from med.?

Yeah, I read about those folks with the PYO. Not sure if they're doing that again this year.

Be careful going big on hemp--if you don't get a solid commitment from a buyer before you plant you could get skunked. If you process/sell yourself that's a different story. But it definitely has potential. Would help a lot if Congress legalizes cannabis, then the THC limit becomes a non-issue. Still need a market, though. It's coming...there will be more demand for fiber for textiles, other uses, not just flower/cbd oil.
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Rec growing has been legal since 2016 it was 6 plants in flower per person, in 2018 the state cut that to 3 per person. I tend to bend the rules a bit thats why we are going to med growing less bending of rules needed.
 
NewEnglandFarmer

NewEnglandFarmer

Well-Known Member
Got it--"personal use" rec. Thought you meant commercial. And the cards allow you to grow more quantity? That's different than being a licensed "caregiver" right? It's all so confusing. I did 6 last year for personal use but 3 of those were under my wife's name (actually I guess it was only 5 since the Cherry Wine counts as hemp--you're allowed to do 3 of those too).

I read the House (Congress not Augusta) actually passed a legalization bill last year, but the Senate refused to consider it. Maybe now they'll pass something and we can all stop worrying about all these idiotic rules.

Will be interesting to see how this all shakes out in the coming years. Quite an amazing sea change has happened in a pretty short time. If you'd told me when I was in high school in the eighties that I'd be legally growing in my lifetime I'd have just laughed. Yet here we are.

Was pleased to see the third Copper Chem poking its head out of the soil this morning along with 2 of the Chinook Haze. I was a little worried about that stupid seed starter mix I used but I guess it'll be OK.

Keep me posted on your progress...always learn something from your operation out there. Who knows, maybe once this pandemic's overwith I can stop by for a visit, give you some extra seedlings or a cut. Don't get out to your neck of the woods too often but I enjoy the Western Mts.
 
NewEnglandFarmer

NewEnglandFarmer

Well-Known Member
Finished week 2, seedlings are coming up nicely now and spending the days outside in the sun. Here's the whole gang in the cockpit of my boat (keeps them safe from critters):
seedlings-week2.jpg

As you can see I didn't get 100% germination: all 4 Chinook Hazes germinated, all 3 Copper Chems, but only of 31 of 43 Cherry Wines. Not 100% sure why, I used a seed mix instead of the Stonington Blend this year, otherwise methods were identical. Last year 22 of 24 germinated. Won't be using that seed mix any more.

Been a dry spring so far but got a bit of rain this weekend and hopefully more this week. Guessing it's going to be another dry summer but who knows. Chilly enough today that I have a fire going in the woodstove this morning.

How are the other Mainers faring?
 
thumper60

thumper60

Well-Known Member
NewEnglandFarmer said:
Finished week 2, seedlings are coming up nicely now and spending the days outside in the sun. Here's the whole gang in the cockpit of my boat (keeps them safe from critters):
View attachment 4894028

As you can see I didn't get 100% germination: all 4 Chinook Hazes germinated, all 3 Copper Chems, but only of 31 of 43 Cherry Wines. Not 100% sure why, I used a seed mix instead of the Stonington Blend this year, otherwise methods were identical. Last year 22 of 24 germinated. Won't be using that seed mix any more.

Been a dry spring so far but got a bit of rain this weekend and hopefully more this week. Guessing it's going to be another dry summer but who knows. Chilly enough today that I have a fire going in the woodstove this morning.

How are the other Mainers faring?
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So that cherry wine is hemp? the buds looked dank last fall LOL no wonder hemp fields are getting ripped.
 
NewEnglandFarmer

NewEnglandFarmer

Well-Known Member
thumper60 said:
So that cherry wine is hemp? the buds looked dank last fall LOL no wonder hemp fields are getting ripped.
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Cherry Wine supposedly was developed for bigtime resin/trichs, terps, and visual appeal. I agree, dank is a good description:

cw.jpg

Yeah, I've heard theft is an issue. Some growers put signs up saying "this is hemp and it won't get you high!"

I'm about 900 feet off a quiet town road and the garden area is shielded from view so not too worried. Only once in 20 years here have I had to confront a suspicious trespasser, just a young teen who was part of a juvenile "gang" that burgled a neighbor (idiots stole a laptop and used it, cops got remote access to the device, turned on the camera, and busted the sorry fools).

Maybe I should have my ferocious guard dog (joke) Toby stay out there nights:
garden-week-20.jpg
 
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