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Ohio

Since JM brought up the subject about pills, I hear inmates at work talk about using Birth Control pills on thier marijuana plants that they grew all the time. When they ear hustle me talking to another c.o. about Growing giant pumpkins they ask me if i use Birth control pills. Does this really work to help plants grow better? anyone ever try it?
Brooks

11/18/2004 3:48:51 AM

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Interesting.. as far as I know the pills contain a type of steroid hormone, which in plants have counterpart in brassicosteroids. So, in theory the pils may work to stimulate growth.

Someone should do an experiment. Anyone planning a baby?

11/18/2004 4:02:12 AM

Cologne / Germany

If you check with google some people use it for potted plants in order to produce more flowers. No outdoor use. Some people even lost their flowers after applying (pill dissolved in water). Doesen´t sound like worth trying it on a pumpkin plant.
If you need more flowers, use fertilizer sticks high in P and put them into the soil, just where the node points are. Worked okay for me and is much cheaper.
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=21277

11/18/2004 7:43:17 AM

New England

Birth contol pills are Estrogen... a female hormone. But if your cons think they're gonna produce more female flowers in the weed they grow by feeding them bc pills they need to rethink their science. If their theory was accurate, you could feed testosterone to plants to make them grow more robust...which is also crazy.

11/18/2004 10:03:35 AM

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Tafka, forgive me for not knowing that estrogen is the one. Are bc pills that simple?
Anyway, estrogen, testosterone and similar stuff are steroids. My point is that steroids are important growth regulators in plants (namely brassicosteroids), so steroids in the bc pill may be used by plant as precursors for the synthesis of plant hormones.

Talking about bc pills: plants evolved them millions of years ago! There is a weed in Australia, which produces a substance (similar in structure to estrogen) that acts as bc pill. It is believed that this way the weed controls the number of grazing mammals.

Jernej

11/18/2004 10:44:00 AM

Ljubljana, Slovenia

upps, probably kangaroos&company, not mammals..

11/18/2004 10:56:48 AM

Cornwall UK.(50N 5W)300ft.

It is interesting to note that U.S. cattle can be treated with steroid type growth promoters which were banned in the E.U. about twenty years ago.Maybe your cow manure has a special ingredient!

11/18/2004 11:14:31 AM

Cornwall UK.(50N 5W)300ft.

I just remembered Clover contains high levels of oestrogen animals grazing large amounts of it can have fertility affected and also produce higher than normal % of female offspring if my memory is correct.

11/18/2004 11:25:33 AM

Worcester, Massachusetts

Urban jungle, yes bc pills are primarily estrogen. And yes, there are plants containing steroid precursers that can be converted into steroids by the body. Wild Yam for example(dioscorea villosa) has a history of folk use as a contraceptive in Mexico and Central America. There are many plant growth regulators that serve the same functions that steroids do in animals. (including the dumbest of all animals: the human.) But plant growth regulators will no more produce any measurable effects in animals than steroids will in plants.

11/18/2004 11:38:00 AM

Colorado Hail, CO. Elev. 5,900 FT

I remember year back {in the wild and crazy 80's} my drunk friend took me by a pot growers place who used birth control pills and asprin {I Think} on some plants. He did this to force a normal female plant into producing male flowers also. I observed first hand that he successfully did just that, as he had hermaphrodite plants growing in a seperate room. He explained pot plants grew male only or female omly flowers, and that all pot you buy would be derived from female plants, not from males. This was light years ahead of my plant and drug knowledge back then... so I remember that incident in great detail. He did this for some kind of gentic breeding project he had been doing. This was the guy who also showed me my first "cloned plant" setup. I just graduated from high school and wasn't too interested in all this back then. Years later I could kick myself in the ass for not paying more attention to what all he was doing. Was this possible, and if so, how or why did the plants express dual sex expressions? Maybe I was in la la land and imagined the entire thing...

11/18/2004 11:44:15 AM

Colorado Hail, CO. Elev. 5,900 FT

I think I must have search engines that can locate anything when it comes to unusual horticultural techniqes... here is one from some pot growing message board group who seem to be discussing the same subject ! LMAOLOL ! These people curse in this site, so don't say I didn't tell you !

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthread/t-251178.html

11/18/2004 11:58:32 AM

Cornwall UK.(50N 5W)300ft.

Heres a bit on the cattle hormones.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020105/bob13.asp
changing the sex of fish!

11/18/2004 12:18:43 PM

Cornwall UK.(50N 5W)300ft.

And more on the clover affecting animal fertility. http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/special/0998/pdfs/125.pdf.

11/18/2004 12:39:59 PM

Garden

My Mother puts birth control in the potted plants around the house....lucky for me!!

11/18/2004 12:48:22 PM

Cologne / Germany

Would be interesting to know what kind of stuff is diposable for plants at all. A calcium drink would be of no use for pumpkins because it´s not that kind of calcium the plant would be able to deal with. Why do athletes don´t eat garden fertilizer? :)

11/18/2004 3:10:40 PM

Cornwall UK.(50N 5W)300ft.

http://www.actahort.org/books/588/588_14.htm
Research on estrogen affecting female flower numbers in melons.
Unfortunately we can't get the full text on this one without parting with some dosh.check out the link at the top of the page to the international symposium on cucurbits some real good research stuff going on that we should find out more about.

11/18/2004 3:40:21 PM

Key West, FL

It's not like we're having problems growing big pumpkins or there is some secret that the heavy hitters aren't telling you. Why do people bother with these snake oils? lol

11/18/2004 5:16:39 PM

Cologne / Germany

Pot growers are similar to AG growers (concerning being crazy about their plants) but they deal with different goals. Madman´s link is pretty interesting to read indeed. But why should AG growers want to see a female or male only plant?
All we look for is 4 - 5 females at the right time in good positions on the main with enough potential to be keepers. We need males for selfing on the same plant or crossing with another one. Having enough male / female flowers (all together) if needed is the key.
Just some sort of general "bloom buster" we look for till July, with the ability to make the females stronger to set, reduced risc of aborts, enhanced viability of male pollen.
The same problem if a couple wants to have a baby and for whatever reason it doesn´t work. Some of you might probably know what I´m talking about...That´s nothing to "repair" within the limited time of fruit setting we have in one AG season. As always - just MHO.

11/18/2004 6:00:24 PM

Md/ Usa

maybe the goal of the ag grower is to get as many males and females to choose from to when it is pollenation time.
I that case it is simple with all flowering plants.
1/4 cup crushed triple phosphate and 1/4 cup of a calcuim. source.

11/19/2004 12:44:14 AM