onkelwilli - Super Critical Auto Flowering & REG Super Critical - 22-11-2010

[onkelwilli 6]

& Super Critical Auto Flowering

Super Critical

[indicando 2]

looking forward to see outdoor performance versus my indoor, I will outdoor in April

[Levente 467]

Very nice Bro! i wish you good health, and happy growing! They are looking good, and i am very interested!

[anguscr 290]

Looking good my man, very good description of the growing area, godd luck & good wishes to you.

[onkelwilli 6]

November 27, 2010

The seedlings are now 9 days old and have reached a height of 3 1/2 to 4 inches and are growing the second set of true leaves. We have had some sunny days, but unfortunately, also some cloudy days since they first sprouted and they are still in the same outdoor location where they get direct sun by 10 am and are under fluorescent lamps, daylight 6500 Kelvin, from 5.30 pm to midnight (we do not use the warm fluorescent, 2700 Kelvin, as that light produces more males than females). They have stretched bit, due to the cloudy days. As mentioned before, one Super Critical Auto flowering never opened and we accidentally hit another with the reflector of the lamp and it snapped in half. We left it one alone and it completely died two days later.

The seedlings get watered every 2-3 days, depending on the amount of sun they get. The more sun, the dryer the soil is. On cloudy days, water is often not required, since the soil does not dry out as fast as under the direct sun. We add Fox Farm Grow Big fertilizer at 1 teaspoon per gallon of water at every other watering and we only water during the day, never at night. Occasionally, the seedlings get misted with a spray bottle of plain water. Remember, less is more. It's better to give less water & less fertilizer, than to overdo it and kill them with love. At the moment our humidity level is at about 70%. Both, the Super Critical and the Super Critical Auto Flowering are still growing at the same rate. Just FYI, the white specs on the leaves are Neem oil residue. We sprayed the Neem at 1/4 tsp of Neem Oil mixed with 1 quart of water to keep away unwanted critters that want to munch at our babies. We have many caterpillars, grass hoppers and other insects that get hungry at night. We also have leaf miners, flies which deposit their eggs into the leaves and the tiny larvae then eat their way through the leaves, leaving pale track marks. They are tough to get rid of and prevention is the best medicine. Neem oil works wonders and does not harm the plant, nor alter the taste.

[onkelwilli 6]

We live in a tropical, Central American, climate with rainy season from May 15 to Nov 15 and dry season from Nov 15 to May 15. We direct seeded the seeds on November 18th into 5" x 8" black plastic bags, specially made for seedlings, filled with moderately moist soil from our garden. (We have found it less stressful for the plants to carefully cut open the side of the bag and place it in a hole it in the garden, without disturbing the roots, into the same soil in which they sprouted, instead of using coco peat or rock wool, then have to transplant the seedlings from a pot into the garden.) We make sure the soil is free from large chunks, rocks or debris and fill the bags about 3/4 full.

With clean tweezers we made a small 1/4" deep hole and place the seed in the soil. We covered it over very lightly with fine soil without pressing the seed or the soil down. We sprinkled the area with a few drops of water from our fingers, dipped in a glass of water. The seed bags were placed in milk crates and covered with a mesh to keep birds from eating the seeds and then left outdoors in a shaded spot. It is important to check the bags daily and make sure the soil does not dry out. Don't dig in the soil and look for the seeds as that will brake the delicate roots, just gently feel the soil and if needed, sprinkle on a few more drops of water or give a light mist with water from a clean spray bottle. If they are too wet, the seeds will rot.

The seeds broke through the soil on November 21st and they were immediately placed in an area with filtered sunlight. All 10 Super Critical sprouted, and 9 of the Super Critical Auto flowering sprouted. One seed never opened. On the day they broke through it was overcast and we left them uncovered. If it had been sunny, we would have left them covered with the green mesh to filter out the sun for the first day. Since we have a 12/12 light cycle and it already is dark at 6 pm, we place the seedlings under fluorescent lamps from 5:30 pm to midnight to give them additional light to prevent stretching for light. The sun rises at 6 am and by 10 am, the seedlings receive direct sun in their location.

By November 22nd, the seedlings had already reached a height of 1 1/2" and all had their 1st set of true leaves.

[anguscr 290]

Very good onkelwilli... Seedling are looking very good!!!!

[anguscr 290]

As Tokage says, lovely row my friend all seedling are looking ver good, they'll be nice plants for u buddy.

Good luck!!!!!!!! Great work

[onkelwilli 6]

Thanks

[onkelwilli 6]

Three weeks old the seedling . The sun is comming out today no sun for one week here. More update tonight on the seedlings.

December 4, 2010

The seedlings are now 16 days old and have reached a height of 4 1/2 to 6 inches and are starting to grow their third set of leaves. In the last few days some of the seedlings have been lost to one leaf cutter ant that hid in one of the bags and in the middle of the day crawled out and one by one, bit the tender stems in half. It was killed immediately, since then we have not had any more casualties.

We planted some of the tallest seedlings in the garden and noticed that the soil was very saturated in the bottom of the bags. Even though the bags we use have 1/4" drain holes in the sides and the top of the soil felt dry, there were no holes in the bottom and water was accumulating in the bag, keeping the soil on the bottom very wet. We cut several slits in the bottom of the bags to allow drainage.

Most days have been overcast with several hours of direct sun on most days. The seedlings still receive natural light from 10am till 5.30pm and we keep them under the artificial light from then till midnight. The seedlings which have been planted in the garden only have the natural light source. Humidity is still at about 70%.

So far there is no difference between the Regular and the Auto Flowering.

[Jimmy 952]

All looks so good man i hope you have a super nice grow!

/Jimmy

[franco 998]

great thread!!! Keep it coming onkelwilli, detailed and very interesting.

watch out with too much water...;-)

[onkelwilli 6]

All but ten are in the ground now new info an pick on sat. Thanks

[onkelwilli 6]

The seedlings are now 24 days old. Over the course of the past 7 days, all seedlings have been planted in the garden and so far no additional casualties. Since being planted, they have grown an additional 2-3 inches. Please note that the seedlings look short, because they were set deep into the soil. They had stretched a bit in the previous weeks due to overcast. In the past week, it has been mostly sunny and no rain with about 60% humidity in the air. Daytime temperatures can reach into the high 90's with a fair breeze. At night, the temps fall in to the low 60's. In the garden, which is surrounded by tall plantains and banana trees, the seedlings receive about 5 hours of direct sun, the rest of the day, the sun is filtered by the large leaves. Once a week, we fertilize the seedlings with MaxiGro 10-5-14 at one teaspoon per gallon of water. Each seedling receives about 1 cup of water via a watering can. They also get misted with a solution of 1/2 gal of water mixed with 1 tablespoon of Neem Oil and 1/2 teaspoon of dish detergent to help the Neem and water mix. This is misted onto the plants and surrounding soil almost daily to keep away any unwanted plant destroying insects, such as caterpillars, leaf cutting ants and grass hoppers.

[Guest samuelo]

pulling up a seat for this one.... thanks onkelwilli

nice work

[John-E-Blazed 13]

Massive grow bro! Respect!

"Rolls in Lazy-Boy and kicks back to watch this grow"

[Jimmy 952]

Nice update you doing:). good luck on the grow!!!

Jimmy

[onkelwilli 6]

The seedling are now 30 days old. They have adjusted nicely to the garden and have grown another 1-2 inches in the past week. The weather has remained hot & sunny, with a 12/12 light cycle and the humidity level has remained at about 60%. We have had some problems with aphids and leaf-hoppers, which sleep on the underside of the leaves at night and sit on the top of the leaves during the day and suck the sap out of them. For the last five days I tried a natural product made from garlic and hot chili peppers, which is supposed to be applied by foliar spray every 2-3 weeks, but we applied 3x a day with no luck. We also tried Neem Oil, which may have repelled some insects, but not the stubborn aphids. They enjoyed their bath and kept on sucking. Today I made a mixture of imidacloprid powder (a synthetic nicotine used for leaf miners) and water and applied it through foliar spraying and also poured some around the stem to be absorbed into the roots. I generally do not like using chemicals, but either I use it or I lose the plant altogether. I have a variety of about 10 strains in the garden and the aphids are particularly in love with the Critical, Green-O-Matic, Jock Horror and Kannabia Special, which have the most leaf damage from the sucking insects. They will not touch the Tikals or our own Thai strain. After applying the chemical the little suckers packed their shit and vanished. We generally water as needed, which has been twice a week. We have added Silica to the water to strengthen the plants against harsh environments. Yesterday, I foliar sprayed the plants with Nitrozime 0-4-4 (this is great to use 3 weeks prior to harvest for larger & denser buds) and also Earth Juice Microblast. Applying these products is good to do every three weeks and I have never had any problems with any of my plants or strains using them. We have made a worm casting tea today, which will be used in place of regual watering. The tea contains 15 gallons of water, 1 cup worm casting, 1/2 cup of honey, 1/2 cup of Marine Cuisine and 1 cup of some type of locally sold organic compost. The tea will be ready in about four days, when it has a golden brown color with a nice beer head on it.....LOL. It will be used in place of a regular watering at full strenght, but can be diluted with water 50/50 if desired. I do not foliar spray the tea. Great book: "Hemp Diseases And Pests" Management And Biological Control by J.M. McPartland. ISBN 0-85199-454-7......check on amazon.com used.

[onkelwilli 6]

The plants are now 38 days old and have reached 8-12 inches in height. The night I posted my update last week, we had a 15 minute long very steady rain. The plants did not need any watering for several days afterwards. We made compost tea with worm casting, honey and a few tablespoons of Foxfarm "Marine Cuisine". We water the plants with the tea 2x a week and add 2 tablespoons of General Hydroponics "MaxiGro" to every 5 gallons of tea. Each plant gets about 2 cups of the brew. In the past week, the Super Critical AutoFlowering began to flower, while the Super Critical Regular are the same size overall, but have not begun flowering, yet. Most days have been sunny with a few clouds, windy with temps around 85 degrees in the day and in the 60's at night.

[onkelwilli 6]

January 2, 2011

The plants are now 45 days old and are still around 12 inches in height. The week has been windy, hot & dry with temps still in the high 80's during the day and in the 60's at night. There has been no rain and the plants are still on the same watering schedule. We water the plants with 1/2 tea & 1/2 water 2x a week and add 2 tablespoons of General Hydroponics "MaxiGro" to every 5 gallons of the mixture. Each plant gets about 3-4 cups of the brew. At the last watering we added about 3 cups of fresh chicken blood to the mix to boost the plants' iron and nitrogen levels and we added 2 teaspoons of Pro Silica to make the plants more resitant to harsh environments . The next morning there was a visible difference, as the plants looked greener and the leaves looked "plumped up". Also, Super Critical Auto flowering is flowering on the top and the axial limbs are finally starting to grow & flower, yet the plans still grow symmetrically. The Super Critical Regular is only now beginning to flower on the top and is still symmetrical.

[onkelwilli 6]

Will give info on sat the 15

[Jimmy 952]

Looks cool man stay strong friend!!! Happy grow!

Jimmy

[onkelwilli 6]

Today, Jan. 15, 2011 our Super Critical & Super Critical Auto flowering are 58 days old. Sorry we missed the update last week. They have grown just a very little bit in height, but are beginning to grow buds along the stem and on top. We are on a Foxfarm outdoor nutrient program: Open Sesame, Beasty Bloom & ChaChing. We use our worm casting tea with 2 cups worm casting, 1 cup raw cane sugar or honey, 1/2 cup of marine cuisine into 15 gal of water, which is aerated with an air pump with large bubbles (small bubbles destroy the bacteria) The tea brews about 3-4 days until foam forms on top. We have not had any rain and most days have been sunny and windy, with temps in the mid 90's during the day and in the low 70's at night. Humidity is around 50%.

We have well-water with a ph of 7.2, with which we water thoroughly twice a week between fertilizing. We also have a compost pile made of hay & chicken manure, which has been decomposing until it turned dark brown and rich smelling. It has been placed around the plants as a top dressing. Once a week we use Pro Silica to make the plants more resistant to heat and facilitate iron uptake. We foliar spray once every 3 weeks with Nitrozime & Earthjuice Microblast & Humbold Sticky wetting agent, which will stop next week. Then we are going to use Humboldt Sea Cal and Sea Mag.

We have come to the conclusion, that this strain is not very well suited for this 12/12 light cycle. In order to grow to their full potential they need a lot more daylight, therefore a 18/6 or 20/4 light cycle.

[Guest superbluehaze]

excellent work, and your plants look very healthy.

well done, mate!

happy growing,

john

[onkelwilli 6]

Do you think do think it needs more nutes.