By: Mel the Bumbling Gardener | Part 4 “Are you Growing Yet?” Hello to all my loyal NUG readers and hydro friends in San Diego. It has now been 1 year of “Growing with Mel the Bumbling Gardner” and I have to tell you, I’ve had a blast with this project and feel very lucky to have been able to sample so many great but very different “turn-key” growing chambers (The Spinner, Phototron, and Quick Grow Q-9). I wonder how many other gardeners in the world got a chance like this…Thank you NUG! If you remember last month’s NUG, I had just cut and trimmed “Row 1” of a 50-day grow using Heavy 16 nutrients…Really only 50 days from 7-inch clone to finished bud. You should also understand that I am not trying to grow a record harvest. What I am trying to do is find a way to plant, grow, and harvest each and every month all year long. What I am looking for is a gravy train of meds that never stops. Isn’t that what we are all looking for? – I’m just saying.
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Now that my “Row 1” harvest was all cut and trimmed, it was time to dry things out. Question; How do you “dry” your crop? I’ll bet many of you will answer, “I hang it up to dry.” Some of you will say, “I put it in the toaster oven because I can’t wait. It just takes too long for it to hang dry; it just takes too much time.” Now go on, I know you’ve used that little oven. Don’t try to fool old Mel, I’ve been there and done that myself. If you remember last month, I let you know I had found another box with my pro-model Q-9 from Quick Grow. I have to tell you, the guys at Quick Grow really had the grower in mind when they put this package together because they send a very complete growing unit; remember, all you have to do is add water, nutrients, and the crop you like and the Q-9 will do the rest. I was surprised at first when I opened that box. What I found inside was a “Flower & Herb Dryer.” What I thought was just a big box turned out to be a well thought-out air-dryer. No one tried to reinvent the wheel; they just put all the best parts together to make a very handy accessory tool that you will use after every harvest. Quick Grow’s Herb Dryer is the perfect addition to your list of must have tools. Drying time is decreased (2-6 days is normal depending on your drying room air temp) while the air flow is handled by a 3” ball bearing