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Post by elgringuito on Dec 11, 2021 22:51:24 GMT -5
Hola a todos. I have grown a few times back in the US, but now I am having a hard time finding pre-prepared soil and all the ingredients (like I used back in the US). I need some sage experienced soil advice for my first grow here. I would like to grow natural in soil if I can, but it pretty much has to be "mix it yourself" ('cuz I can't find everything the same way here as I could in the US).
I found "black soil" at the local hardware store. (It looks pretty good. Two dudes go out and shovel dirt into bags for you, haha.) Then I found perlite, coco coir, worm castings, and some rock dust online (no idea what kind). Then I found rice hulls in a local nursery (for silica). I am also collecting egg shells (for calcium), drying them, and grinding them to dust with a coffee mill. Only, I have no real idea what ratios to use for best results.
Should I try maybe 45% black soil and then cut it with 20% worm castings, and use 10% perlite, 10% coco coir, and 10% rice hulls, and then put in a little egg shell dust and rock dust, and then check the pH? But how much egg shell calcium is the right amount? And how much rock dust? (If I can find some seaweed, I can try throwing some of that in also.)
I could not find elemental sulfur, so if the soil pH tests high, can I bring it down with coffee grounds? And can I just throw in unused ground coffee in (since I don't drink coffee), or should it be spent coffee grounds? Also, Papitohead recommended a link that says you can water with banana peel tea, so I will try that.
Does anyone have any advice? Or would anyone adjust the formula? Many thanks in advance. I am really hoping for a successful first grow here in Colombia, but I don't know how to find all of the things I used to use back in the States. Thanks.
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Post by scumbuster on Dec 12, 2021 16:30:09 GMT -5
Hola a todos. I have grown a few times back in the US, but now I am having a hard time finding pre-prepared soil and all the ingredients (like I used back in the US). I need some sage experienced soil advice for my first grow here. I would like to grow natural in soil if I can, but it pretty much has to be "mix it yourself" ('cuz I can't find everything the same way here as I could in the US). I found "black soil" at the local hardware store. (It looks pretty good. Two dudes go out and shovel dirt into bags for you, haha.) Then I found perlite, coco coir, worm castings, and some rock dust online (no idea what kind). Then I found rice hulls in a local nursery (for silica). I am also collecting egg shells (for calcium), drying them, and grinding them to dust with a coffee mill. Only, I have no real idea what ratios to use for best results. Should I try maybe 45% black soil and then cut it with 20% worm castings, and use 10% perlite, 10% coco coir, and 10% rice hulls, and then put in a little egg shell dust and rock dust, and then check the pH? But how much egg shell calcium is the right amount? And how much rock dust? (If I can find some seaweed, I can try throwing some of that in also.) I could not find elemental sulfur, so if the soil pH tests high, can I bring it down with coffee grounds? And can I just throw in unused ground coffee in (since I don't drink coffee), or should it be spent coffee grounds? Also, Papitohead recommended a link that says you can water with banana peel tea, so I will try that. Does anyone have any advice? Or would anyone adjust the formula? Many thanks in advance. I am really hoping for a successful first grow here in Colombia, but I don't know how to find all of the things I used to use back in the States. Thanks. You have a lot more complicated plan than I ever did. Unless your trying to get a 100% optimized production I think your over thinking it. Just keep good notes as to the formula you decide on, and grow notes of how the plants look. You can then tweak it in follow up grows. I was never able to find the pre prepped soil either but its been so many years I don't really remember where I got my stuff in Colombia. Im thinking It was Home Center. If you found worm castings you did better than me, but it still was a good grow. My grow was pretty makeshift but turned out well.
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Post by elgringuito on Dec 19, 2021 22:03:44 GMT -5
Yeah, you caught me. I am kind of an old organic tilth-head from way back. I was kind of hoping for 100% optimized organic production, because I was running organic super-soils in the States, and the quality and the yield were out of sight. But I guess I am just going to have to be realistic.
I dropped onto the forums at 420. Apparently chemical fertilizers (NPK pellets) kill any kind of beneficial bacteria you add to your soil, and they will kill worms in the soil also. But the black soil here is really good, and you can open it up with coco coir and rice hulls for cheap. And the worm castings are super cheap. So I just have to get over it, and mix it all up in pots, and do the best I can until I can get a garden where I can build the soil for in-ground grows. And count myself blessed that I have it so good.
Thanks for the perspective.
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Post by elgringuito on Dec 19, 2021 22:22:52 GMT -5
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Post by elgringuito on Feb 1, 2022 12:49:54 GMT -5
Ok, well, so much for my soliloquiy, lol. (Disculpe, jaja...) I guess a guy has access to what he has, eh? I filled my cloth pots with maybe 1/2 black dirt, 1/4 rice hulls (for moisture and silica), and maybe 1/4 worm castings. I planted 8 seeds in Root Riot cubes, so I guess we will see what that does. If nothing else, it should provide an interesting data point on what you get if you just use 1/2 black dirt, 1/4 rice hulls, and maybe 1/4 worm castings?? Lol. (Ok, I'm back now...)
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Post by scumbuster on Feb 2, 2022 19:35:05 GMT -5
What seeds did you go with? Order some or local seeds? What strain? I think you will find it does pretty well. Just top dress occasionally with the worm castings. How big are the pots?
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Post by elgringuito on Apr 11, 2022 3:25:31 GMT -5
Wow, sorry about the long delay. It has been over the top busy. My first batch did not work out too well, because the soil was wayyyy too heavy, and I did not open it up nearly enough. I found some really good soil in Bogota, as well as the nutrients to make supersoil benditaseagrowshop.com/producto/bulto-sustrato-100-litros/Do they have anything similar in Ecuador? I could also dress up the existing black soil (clay), but for the cost, I think these bags are worth it. I got onto the 420 forum, and they talk about how to recondition the soils with nutrients, to save money, so I will probably just try to recondition these new bagged soils, to save money. It would be great to know if there is a similar grow shop in Ecuador. Seedsman made good, so now I am ordering from both Delicious and Seedsman. (Crop King has some very interesting seeds, but they are like twice as much money!) I am mildly autistic, so a 1:1 CBD:THC ratio works really well for me. I appreciate Delicious Seeds' Auto Blue Ace 1:1 (more like 2:1), it is very interesting. I put colloidal silver on one female long enough to get flowers, and I smeared a few male flowers on the female pistils, so we will see if I get seeds (and if not, I may order more). From Seedsman I just got some Exodus Auto Cheese CBD 1:1, and also some Sweet Nurse Auto CBD 1:1, and I hope to put five in water tomorrow (and have to wait until something else finishes up before I can plant more). Do you have any issues in Ecuador? Or no one really cares in Ecuador, as long as you are just taking care of your own thing?
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Post by elgringuito on Apr 11, 2022 3:33:33 GMT -5
Just to say it, I am not generally impressed with autos, and want to go back to regular photo-periods. At the moment my grow space is on my roof, and we have night security lights, so at the moment it has to be autos. But I look forward to an indoor grow space again. I am curious to see how your Mars Hydro works as compared to the regular LEDs.
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Post by scumbuster on Apr 11, 2022 13:52:23 GMT -5
In Ecuador they just grow dirt weed. LOL Where I was on the coast there is no good dirt for your plants. The soil is mostly sand. I was just using composted leaves and it seemed to work ok. But there version of Home Center has a really poor selection of anything you need. And its not legal to grow, so no specialty stores. I just arrived back in Colombia last Tues. and got to our home last night, so once we get squared around and settled back in I will start a few. I will have to dig through my seed packets and see what I have left. I know I don't have any 100% CBD left but do have some 1:1 and a couple high powered ones I have never tried. Within the next month I will be ready to germinate a few so I will need to start investigating. I havent decided weather to plant or make wine first.
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Post by scumbuster on Apr 11, 2022 13:53:09 GMT -5
In Ecuador they just grow brick weed. LOL Where I was on the coast there is no good dirt for your plants. The soil is mostly sand. I was just using composted leaves and it seemed to work ok. But there version of Home Center has a really poor selection of anything you need. And its not legal to grow, so no specialty stores. I just arrived back in Colombia last Tues. and got to our home last night, so once we get squared around and settled back in I will start a few. I will have to dig through my seed packets and see what I have left. I know I don't have any 100% CBD left but do have some 1:1 and a couple high powered ones I have never tried. Within the next month I will be ready to germinate a few so I will need to start investigating. I havent decided weather to plant or make wine first.
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Post by elgringuito on Apr 11, 2022 22:40:10 GMT -5
Well, I am glad you are doing well. All is well here, but... they are changing the laws here in Colombia. It seems they no longer want American veterans with PTSD, which I have, along with autism, scoliosis, and some serious parachuting injuries, all of which are helped by medical cannabis. So, the net upshot is that since I am no longer welcome, it looks like sooner or later I will probably need to leave Colombia. It is really too bad to have to leave. We love the weather here. Some Colombian friends recommended highland Ecuador, around Ibarra. They said that the weather is very similar. I am open to Ecuador, but Ecuador is not open to me. I had severe reactions to vaccines in the army, and had to go to the hospital. So I really don't want any vaccines. So right now Ecuador is off-limits because of the vaccine requirement, but lots of countries are dropping their vaccine and PCR requirements now, so I hope I will be able to cross the border soon. The only thing is that I read on Wikipedia that Ecuador has a medical program. I had a license in the US in two different states, and I still have my card, so I don't think I should have any real problem qualifying. Only, do I probably need to wait until I am a resident, before I can get a card? Oy, so I could be without medicine for a while. So, wherever I go, I would just have to deal with it, and be thankful for what there is. I ordered some 30:1 CBD:THC, but I am learning now that 1:1 works best for me. I just soaked some Exodus Auto Cheese CBD 1:1, and they are soaking on the paper towel (in the paper towel routine, haha). I hope they will pop soon, so I can plant them up. I also just put some Delicious Seeds' Delicious Candy Auto on to soak overnight. It is supposed to have "high" levels of CBD, and allegedly "medical" values, although I wrote to ask them, and they don't say how much, or give any details. However, it should be an interesting experiment. When the next pots come open, I want to plant some Sweet Nurse 1:1, and see what that is like. At least there is one good thing about autos, and that is that they do yield relatively quickly, and outdoors, even with night security lights. Just out of curiosity, what kind are your 1:1 seeds? Also, I read on Wikipedia that Ecuador has a medical program. It seems they require 30:1 seeds, rather than 1:1. www.controlsanitario.gob.ec/normativa-cannabis/ >> La concentración de THC permitida en los productos terminados de uso y consumo humano, es la siguiente: >> Medicamentos en general, productos naturales procesados de uso medicinal y productos homeopáticos: Inferior al 1% de THC; >> Alimentos y suplementos alimenticios: Inferior al 0,3% de THC; CBD is great, but I find that 1:1 helps me much, much more. So is it difficult to do 1:1? And do you know anything about their medical program? Thanks.
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Post by scumbuster on Apr 12, 2022 7:35:24 GMT -5
If you choose Ecuador, you will find it 25 to 30% more expensive than Colombia. But if your living around Bogota like me, its the most expensive parts of Colombia to live. The highlands of Ecuador still may be slightly cheaper than around Bogota. I wish I had spent some time in the highlands as the climate there suits me better. I was in love with the beach bum lifestyle and spent the last 3 years ocean front. It was nice but the heat got to be old. I really feel better and am sleeping better with the mild temps here.
I dont know any of the cannabis's laws in Ecuador other than generally its not legal to grow. But I also know in the highlands if you mind your on business and don't flaunt it no one is probably going to notice or care if your growing. But if you do for sure be discrete.
Its a shame you might have to leave Colombia. I probably will not be leaving Colombia anytime soon, but I will be starting to investigate other places I could go as an option. Depending on how bad Colombia gets after the next election if Petro wins. My hopes are the congress will hold him in check and Colombia doesn't devolve into another Venezuela.
I would keep an eye on updates to the Ecuadorian vaccine requirements. They seem to have been loosening as of late. On the coast most of the mask requirements had been lifted and you saw very few people warring a mask the last few months. I had heard they were going to be officially lifted but didn't keep up with the news since we were leaving.
My 1:1 seeds are Euphorica CBD, Durga Mata, Medical Mass. I was pleasantly surprised to see I still had 3 Candida seeds left which are >1:15. If you do go to Ecuador I would suggest you get any seeds you want and take with you as its tough getting anything delivered in Ecuador. And the few shipments we did get delivered were all opened by customs. High tariffs that are sometimes as much as what you ordered.
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Post by elgringuito on Apr 13, 2022 10:38:55 GMT -5
Thanks for the very good info. I was very surprised to find out that Ecuador is more expensive than Colombia. They say the land is cheaper, so I was expecting the cost o living to be cheaper (but I guess not). The other major options are Argentina and Costa Rica, but Ecuador seems attractive for the Eternal Spring weather. Also we could just drive, so we don't have to sell vehicles, etc. It would seem a lot easier. How is the customs going to Ecuador? Do they tear everything apart? How much risk is there in taking seeds, medicine, etc.?
Those seeds look good.
I would prefer to stay in Colombia for now, if we can. We thought of one more option this morning, so we will check it out and see how it goes. But it would be easier to stay if we can.
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Post by elgringuito on Apr 13, 2022 10:41:31 GMT -5
It is concerning about Petro.
We will keep watching about the Ecuadorian vaccine requirements.
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Post by scumbuster on Apr 13, 2022 14:33:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the very good info. I was very surprised to find out that Ecuador is more expensive than Colombia. They say the land is cheaper, so I was expecting the cost o living to be cheaper (but I guess not). The other major options are Argentina and Costa Rica, but Ecuador seems attractive for the Eternal Spring weather. Also we could just drive, so we don't have to sell vehicles, etc. It would seem a lot easier. How is the customs going to Ecuador? Do they tear everything apart? How much risk is there in taking seeds, medicine, etc.? Those seeds look good. I would prefer to stay in Colombia for now, if we can. We thought of one more option this morning, so we will check it out and see how it goes. But it would be easier to stay if we can. You may want to investigate taking your vehicle from Colombia to Ecuador permanently. I know you cant permanently take one from Ecuador to Colombia. Not sure in reverse. When we drove through the border we only got our passports stamped and drove across. No check at least for us. It looked like if someone wanted to just drive across illegally they could have. There were cars parked everywhere with people turning around and going in other directions. Very unorganized. I didnt see anyone outside checking any vehicles. That was the Tulcan crossing.
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Post by elgringuito on Apr 14, 2022 8:59:58 GMT -5
Very good info. Thank you. And oy, I checked it out, they want up to 50% tax on the cost of the vehicle, to bring it in. It might be better to sell and then buy again. Uff.
Scumbuster, do you perhaps know why Ecuador should be 25-30% more expensive than Colombia?? I was told that land was cheap in Ecuador, so I thought life would be cheaper--but it seems it is the other way?! From what I hear, they do not even treat the water in the country??? So why would it be more expensive??? (Not understanding...) Is the quality of life (or efficiency) 25-30% better??
We found one option for staying in Colombia, we might try to wind that out. We have to keep researching. In the meantime I have Exodus Auto Cheese, LSD Auto, and Delicious Candy Auto seeds popping and going into pots with my new soil (so as to take the edge off of the wait, haha).
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Post by scumbuster on Apr 14, 2022 16:18:31 GMT -5
I was living near Manta which is supposed to be one of the most expensive places. I was told its because in Manta its all new construction. The earthquake about 5 or 6 years ago leveled Manta and most of the other towns and cities around it. So I guess that had a big impact on costs. Rebuilding whole communities from scratch. I needed air conditioning about 4 months a year and electric in those 4 months ran about $120 a month. The rest of the year it was around $45 a month. Yes the water isn't well treated, and we brushed our teeth with bottled water and kept a 5 gallon bottle of drinking water in the kitchen. You will pay through the nose if you import anything. Now if you stay in the mountains in smaller towns I am sure it would be substantially cheaper than what I was paying in Manta, but comparing apples to apples a small mountain town in Colombia to Ecuador I'm sure Colombia is cheaper. If you get residency your medical will run $70 a month and if your married another $10 to add your wife. Manta compared to the North Bogota/Chia area for medical technology is no comparison. Bogota/Chia area wins hands down. Prescriptions are out of pocket. Not covered by there medical. Fiberoptic internet was $56 a month for 20 mbs. For the 2 of us we spent between $500 & $600 a month for groceries & cleaning stuff you buy in the grocery store. We had a cleaning woman 1 day a week @ $120 for the month. A good thing is the gas is subsidized. Diesel, Gasoline and Propane. A 50 lb. bottle of propane was $4. I believe gasoline was about $2 a gallon. Thats the stuff I can remember off the top of my head. You might try a few different cities on this site to compare cities in Colombia to Ecuador. It says Quito is about 26% higher than Bogota and that sounds about right to me. www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Colombia&country2=Ecuador&city1=Bogota&city2=Quito
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Post by elgringuito on Apr 19, 2022 19:56:44 GMT -5
Ok, we had a long meeting with our attorneys today, and it seems like it may be possible to stay. (It would sure be easier just to stay here... and it sounds like cheaper as well!) Of course we will have to see what happens in the country if Petro gets elected.
If I may ask, how did you get a safe and reliable housekeeper? My concern is that I have a video studio in my house, and so I have a lot of small, expensive items that could easily disappear. Is there a way to take the danger out of that? Or how did you get a housekeeper you felt you could trust?
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Post by elgringuito on Apr 19, 2022 20:00:39 GMT -5
I collected a ton of seeds already. And I just mixed my super-soil fertilizer. It would really be nice to stay here and grow.
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Post by scumbuster on Apr 20, 2022 12:45:02 GMT -5
We eliminated one cleaning person due to something being misplaced.. LOL When we couldn't find something once and question the old cleaning person, she mysteriously found the item when cleaning the next week she came. LOL so it can happen to anyone. Maybe we were just lucky but the last one we had was a true gem. I think its a crap shoot on finding someone. If you have a specific room as a studio I would just keep anything of real value in it and keep it locked.
Yea, Petro will be the big question moving forward. If Colombia gets too bad there are other countries for us to try.
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Post by elgringuito on Apr 26, 2022 20:38:55 GMT -5
I have heard a bunch of people say that Colombia could not go the way of Venezuela that quickly, because the situation is different here. Only, where would you go if you could not do Colombia?
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Post by scumbuster on Apr 27, 2022 4:52:20 GMT -5
I don't have any specific place to relocate to, but would visit Hungary and Argentina to check them out. There is a Facebook group, www.facebook.com/groups/BuenosAiresExpatHub I have been following. I check out different barrios on Google Maps. In Argentina with the high inflation rate the USD is gold. You never use an ATM to take money in Argentina because the government controls the rate and you only get 50% of what the money changers will give you. At the ATMs you get 50% and the Argentine government gets 50%. So if you look at these sites that estimate the cost of living its actually 50% less if you have a major currency like Dollars or Euros. But in spare time start looking just in case. Even if I don't relocate these are places I wouldn't mind visiting some day so its useful info.
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Post by elgringuito on Apr 28, 2022 22:25:46 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip about the Facebook group. I signed up.
If we can, we want to stay in Colombia. However, if things deteriorate to the point where physical safety is a question, we will almost surely move. We started researching Costa Rica, Argentina, and maybe Ecuador. At least according to Wikipedia, both Costa Rica and Argentina have relaxed attitudes toward cannabis, and they have decriminalized small amounts. Plus, a medical is possible (and I should not have any real difficulties getting a medical license). I am just guessing I could probably get a medical license in Ecuador also. But of course, Colombia wins here because in Colombia it is not even an issue. (If you can't make it with 20 plants...)
It seems very good to know that Argentina might be cheaper. Chile could also be a good option, but they won't even let you grow your own with a bonafide medical condition! We could probably just grow there quietly, but it seems safer to go somewhere where we can grow legally. We really like South America, and it seems like Colombia has the most to offer. So we would like to make a go of it, if it can be safe to do so.
But how would you get USD into Argentina on a continuing basis? Or would you take a tip to Ecuador twice a year to draw USD out of the ATM, haha, and thus pay for your trip? Or how does one resupply their USD, if not through an ATM machine?
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Post by scumbuster on Apr 29, 2022 7:22:27 GMT -5
If you follow the group you will find a number of innovative ways to have USD. From what I understand you can use Western Union to send yourself USD and they will give you the real exchange rate minus the fee to send. But it still works out to be significantly better than the ATM rate. You can also sell Bitcoin or stable coins at the street rate. I have some bitcoin so I would be set in that respect. They have Western Union promotion codes they pass around to get a discount on the fees they charge. It seems you can get furnished apartments pretty reasonable there. I have seen decent looking places in upscale areas from $300 to $500 a month. I had heard Chile and Costa Rica are expensive. Uruguay might be worth a look. It was the first South American country to legalize cannabis. From Buenos Aires you can take a ferry to Uruguay so if we visit we would no doubt cross to check it out too. That far south you do have more 4 seasons and hot summers with cold winters.
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Post by elgringuito on May 10, 2022 14:51:58 GMT -5
I think we are going to ride the election out, and make any decisions after the election is done, and then watch the currents. I guess some guys are already selling and going, but others say that "Colombia is not Venezuela", because Maduro was a general, so he had full-on coup powers. Whereas in contrast, here there is a whole infrastructure that would staunchly resist full on communism, so we feel we want to try waiting it out. If it starts to get too bad, then we will probably look at Argentina. (Or at least, that is our plan today, haha. And of course we will see what tomorrow brings...) By the way, I did finally find good bagged soil in a store in Bogota. So far it seems pretty good. The little girls are growing strong. It is much better than the homemade soil I made. And they have all of the things to do organic supersoil as well (so we want to stay in Colombia now, hahahaha). benditaseagrowshop.com/producto/bulto-sustrato-100-litros/
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Post by scumbuster on May 11, 2022 4:50:37 GMT -5
We are in the same boat as you. We are hanging in here for a while. I tend to think even if Petro wins the place isnt going to crash overnight. And yes he will have lots of political resistance unlike Chavez. Its way early to be thinking of selling unless you really are not that fond of Colombia and are looking to get out anyway. A more likely timeline, in my opinion, is to see how bad it gets the next 4 years with him in power and what his prospects are for his reelection. In 4 years things could look largely like things are now with little real change. Its when they start fiddling with the constitution and eliminating the term limit of the president you need to get worried.
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Post by elgringuito on May 12, 2022 15:08:13 GMT -5
That seems like a good perspective. Maybe they will resist him for four years, and then turn him out after the economy does not do so good? It seems possible. Thanks for suggesting that.
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