Bubbler DWC Tutorial - PART 10

lamsbread · September 28, 2011

Bubbler DWC Tutorial - PART 10

This tutorial has been copied and pasted from 420magazine.com

PLANT MOISTURE STRESS - Symptoms and Solutions

Quite often I hear groans from folks having leaf problems -> “Help, my leaves are cupping and the leaf edges are turning brown!”, or, “My plant's leaf tips are curling down and turning black ....what's wrong?” Unless insect damage has occurred or the plant is suffering from a severe case of calcium deficiency, the plant is trying to tell you that it is water stressed. It's hard to tell *exactly* what the culprit is, and unfortunately the “solution” the grower chooses many times is not the right one. A mis-diagnosis only serves to make matters worse by promoting further decline. I’ll try to cover some of the more common causes that can induce these common symptoms and try to offer a few simple solutions. The ultimate and correct solution is in the hands of the grower.

1. Over-fertilizing - the most common cause of leaf cupping aka leaf margin rolling, leaf margin burn, and leaf tip curl/burn is the overzealous use of too much plant food in relationship to factors such as plant size, vigor and rate of growth. The first unit of a plant to show moisture stress is the leaf at its margins and/or tips, reflected by margin rolling (cupping) or burning. Sometimes copper colored necrotic spots show in the leaf also. A hard, crispy feel to the leaf frequently occurs as well, as opposed to a soft and cool feel of a happy leaf. When you have a high concentration of salts in solution (or in the root medium) compared to lower salinity levels found in the plant’s tissue, water is actually drawn out of the plant across the root gradient in order to fix the ppm imbalance. IOW, this is a natural, osmotic response that serves to equalize salinity levels on both sides of the root’s epidermal gradient. Back off on the amount and/or frequency of plant food. Too much plant food can also burn the roots, especially the sensitive root tips and hairs, which then creates another set of problems such as nutrient deficiencies. A note for the bio folks - as soil dries, the concentration of the remaining salts rises further exacerbating the problem. Leach (flush) your pots once in a while to get rid of excess salts.

2. High Heat - the plant is losing water via it’s leaves faster than what can be replaced by the root system. The leaf responds by leaf margin cupping or rolling (up or down) in order to conserve moisture. A good example is reflected by the appearance of broad-bladed turf grass on a hot summer day, high noon, with low soil moisture levels - the leaf blade will roll in and the grass will take on a dull, greyish-green appearance. Upon sunrise when moisture levels have returned to normal, the leaf blade will be flat. Lower the heat and concentrate on developing a large, robust root system by practicing sound plant culture. An efficient and effective root system will go a long way to prevent heat induced leaf dessication and leaf margin curling by supplying sufficient moisture for good plant health. One short episode of high heat is enough to permanently destroy leaf tissue and cause a general decline in the leaves affected, which often occurs to leaves found at the top of the plant located near HID lamps. The damaged leaf (usually) does not recover, no matter what you do. Bummer in the summer. One can only look to new growth for indications that the problem has been corrected.

3. High Light - yes, it’s true, you can give our faves too much light. Cannabis does not receive full sun from sunrise to sunset in its natural state. It is shaded or given reduced light levels because of adjacent plant material, cloudy conditions, rain, debris and dust collection on the leaf surface, twilight periods of early morning and late afternoon, and light intensity changes caused by a change in the seasons. Too much light mainly serves to bleach out and destroy chlorophyll as opposed to causing leaf cupping, but it often goes hand-in-hand with high heat for indoor growers. Again, back off on the light and concentrate on developing/maintaining an efficient and robust root system. Keep in mind that all but equatorial material receive less light during flowering than during the vegetative stage.

4. Overwatering - this practice only serves to weaken the root system by depriving the roots of proper gas exchange. IOW, the roots are not getting enough oxygen which creates an anerobic condition causing root decline and root rot with the end result showing up as leaf stress, stunted growth, and in severe cases, death. Alot of times folks think the plant is not getting enough plant food (which it can't under such adverse conditions), they add more nutes for a "curative", and just add insult to injury.

5. Underwatering - not only is the plant now stressed due to a low supply of adequate moisture, but carbohydrate production has been greatly compromised (screwed up). Step up the watering frequency, and if need be, organic growers may need to soak the pot from the bottom up until moisture levels reach an even consistency throughout the medium especially with mixes that are heavy in peat. If severe, a little surfactant (liquid Ivory dish soap) added to the drench will help return the organics back to a normal moisture retentive state. If the pot feels light to the lift - it’s time to water. Don’t wait until the soil pulls away from the sides of the pot or leaves droop before you water.

Other Problems

Nutrient Deficiencies - Nutrient deficiencies in modern gardens are really rare. What most people see as a ‘Nutrient Deficiency’ is, 9 times out of 10, a pH problem. A pH that is too high or too low ‘locks out’ your plants ability to uptake nutrients. Since the plant can not uptake those nutrients they appear to be deficient. When in fact, there are plenty of nutrients in the solution/soil but, due to pH Lock-out, they are unavailable to the plant. Adding supplements or more nutrients (which is what most do) will only compound this problem by throwing the pH off even more and further raising the nutrient PPM.

Solution: The best thing to do if you suspect ANY form of nutrient deficiency is to check and adjust the pH as necessary.

Over Feeding- Signs of over feeding include: dead/burnt leaf tips/margins and leaves curling under.

Solution - Check and adjust the pH level as necessary. Flush and decrease the fertilizer/nutrient level. Do the 8 Step Recovery.

Heat Stress - Signs of heat stress can look a lot like nutrient burn, except it occurs only on the top of the plant closest to the lamps. A yellowing of the upper leaves is usually a bleaching from being too close to HID lights.

Solution - A good test to see if your lights are too close is to put your hand between the light and the plant. If your hand gets too hot for comfort, the light is too close and needs to be moved up higher.

Yellowing (Chlorosis) - Chlorosis is a yellowing of leaf tissue due to a lack of chlorophyll. Possible causes of chlorosis include high alkalinity,high pH, and nutrient deficiencies. Nutrient deficiencies may occur because there is an insufficient amount in the nutrient solution or because the nutrients are unavailable due to a high pH. **Note- Always check the pH before increasing nutrient level. In the last few weeks of flowering a yellowing of the leaves is completely normal as the plant uses up all stored nutrients.

Yellowing - Lower/Middle Leaves - Yellowing of the lower leaves/older growth is a sign of a possible Nitrogen (N) deficiency. Nitrogen is a transferable element (this means the plant can move it around as needed). If a plant is not receiving enough Nitrogen from the roots then it will rob Nitrogen from the older growth. Plants that are Nitrogen deficient will exhibit a lack of vigor and grow slowly resulting in a weak and stunted plant that is significantly reduced in quality and yield. In a Hydroponic system, usually the pH is too high and has locked out the available Nitrogen.

Solution - First, check the pH, and adjust if necessary. The correct pH is 5.6 - 6.1 in a hydroponic system. I like 5.9. Second, make sure you are giving the correct amount/type of fertilizer/nutrients. For the vegetative stage of growth, your plants need a nutrient with a high Nitrogen (N) content like 2-1-1 (or 20-10-10).

Yellowing - Upper (New Growth) - Yellowing of the upper (new growth) of the plants could be a sign of a Sulphur (S) deficiency. Sulphur deficiency is pretty rare but usually start off as a yellowing of the entire ‘younger’ leaf including the veins. Other signs of sulfur deficiency are: Elongated roots, woody stems, and Leaf tips curling downward. **Note- Most yellowing of the upper leaves is a bleaching from being too close to the lights.

Solution - Check and adjust the pH level as necessary. Check your nutrient levels and make sure you are giving the correct amount/type for you particular stage of growth. Also a good test to see if your lights are too close is to put your hand between the light and the plant. If your hand gets too hot for comfort, the light is too close and needs to be moved up higher.

Leaf Curling Up - Leaf curling up can be a sign of a Magnesium deficiency caused by too low of a pH level. Magnesium deficiency will show as a yellowing (which may turn brown and crispy) and interveinal (in between the veins) yellowing beginning in the older leaves. Interveinal chlorosis (yellowing) will start at the leaf tip and progressing inward between the veins. It could also be a sign of excess heat and humidity in the grow room.

Solution - Check and adjust the pH level as necessary. When the pH is not at the proper level your plant will lose its ability to absorb some of the essential elements required for healthy growth. If you’re growing in hydro it starts at 5.8 and below. If the pH is correct, then add 1 teaspoon of Epsom salts per each gallon to your water. Or, to foliar feed them, add a ½ teaspoon per quart to a spray bottle. **Note- If your tap water is over 200 ppm Magnesium will be locked out due to the calcium in the water. Magnesium can get locked out by too much Calcium, Chlorine or Ammonium Nitrogen. If this is your problem we suggest using bottled or RO (reverse osmosis) water.

Leaf Curling Down - When the leaves curl under and burn at the tips and margins it’s usually a sign that the nutrient level is too high.

Solution - Check and adjust the pH level as necessary. Flush, do the 8 Step Recovery and decrease the nutrient level.

Droopy Leaves - Leaves that are drooping are most likely caused by under watering or lack of light.

Solution - Check the waer level and add more lights.

Spider Mites - Spider mites are not insects but are more closely related to spiders. These arachnids have four pairs of legs, no antennae and a single, oval body region. Most spider mites have the ability to produce a fine silk webbing. Spider mites are very tiny, being less than 1/50 inch (0.4mm) long when adults. Spider mites have tiny mouthparts modified for piercing individual plant cells and removing the contents. This results in tiny yellow or white speckles. When many of these feeding spots occur near each other, the foliage takes on a yellow or bronzed cast. Once the foliage of a plant becomes bronzed, it often drops prematurely. Heavily infested plants may be discolored, stunted or even killed. Web producing spider mites may coat the foliage with the fine silk which collects dust and looks dirty. Spider mite species seem to be warm weather or cool weather active pests. Adult females usually lay eggs on their host plants. The eggs hatch in days to weeks into the first stage, called a larva. Larvae are round bodied and have only three pairs of legs. The larvae feed for a few days, seek a sheltered spot to rest and then molt into the first nymphal stage. The first nymph now has four pairs of legs. The first nymphs feed a few days, rest and molt into the second nymph. The second nymphs feed, rest and molt into the adult stage. The males are usually the size of the second nymph and have pointed abdomens. The females have rounded abdomens and are the largest mites present. Most spider mites spend the winter in the egg stage but the twospotted spider mite over winters as adult females resting in protected places.

Solution - Early detection of spider mites, before damage is noticed, is VERY important. The tiny spider mites can be detected only by a full and thorough leaf inspection (on both sides of the leaf). If you find Spider Mites you must act fast and hit them hard with either a bleach solution (1 tablespoon of bleach to 1 gallon of very hot 95°F, pH balanced, water in a spray bottle.) Hydroponics Stores also sell Neem Oil and other remedies for spider mites.

Or one of the best things to do is get a bucket of HOT water and make a combination of neem oil and safer soap or additive free dish washing soap. You want the water to be warm so that the neem oil will break apart and mix throughout the water. DO NOT dunk your plants in until the water has safely come back to room temperature.
The safer soap will not only act as a wetting agent to help coat the plant but also weakens the exoskeletons of the lil buggers. The neem oil will make them immobile so they cannot move and suffocate them.
Dunking is the most effective method while they are smaller because it coats everything from the ground up, but this is a very effective spray. You should spray every three days, the undersides of the leaves or dunk every three days depending on size. This is the most eco friendly and safest method of treatment. This is what you should try first.

I have to share this with you. I did a complete Drain and Replinish today. I was not 100% happy with the smell from one of my tanks. It should smell like fresh cut iceburg lettuce, or fresh alfalfa sprouts. It smelled like an old used stinky used floor mop. My roots were not discolored, but they were not perfectly snowy white either. My water was not slimey or discolored, so I am certain I do not have a problem YET, but I am not taking any chances. This is why we must do a Drain and Replinish weekly. It is Saturday and I do love spending time with my plants. So I decided to do a complete drain and rinse, as much as I could, and I filled them back up with fresh water, and three tablespoons of peroxide per gallon of water. (a high dose, only safe for large plants with a large root system) I then let them sit 5 minutes, and I Drained them again, and added back 5.9 pH balanced water and a full dose of nutes.

Yesterday, I stopped by Lowes and bought a new 5 foot lenght of 3/4 inch clear plastic tubing, for 40 cents a foot. My old one had some mold in it and I was not comfortable sticking that in my reservoir.

Today I took a one by four board, about 7 inches long, and made me a prop to hold my lid up while I had my hand and arm in the tank. My roots are large, my plants are large, so I am removig the feeder tubes and hub today. I normally do at 4 weeks of Vegging. I took the pump out, cleaned it, replaced the filter and put the pump back in.. It was nasty and I think it was the source of the bad smell. I leave it in, running, to circulate the water and cool it too. I also use it to drain the tank.
I am showing you the pH meter to show you the size of the board.

The board looks longer in the pic, but it worked just right.

Took these pics today. Tallest plant is 34 inches, most average 28 to 30 inches tall. The very tallest one in the bucket is bent and tied over, with the grow cup hanging 1/4 way out of the lid. I made a mistake growing three mature plants in this 5 gallon bucket. Two years ago, I put three clones in the same 5 gallon bucket and they thrived and did good, but they did not get any where near this BIG. To me, clones do not get as bag as seed plants.

The tank with 6 plants, is in this pic. Been in VEG from seed for 5 weeks, three days. The other tank lacks a day being 5 weeks of Vegging. I will start the 12/12 Flowering Light Cycle tomorrow.

For Lights I have two 6500Ks for each one 2700K bulb. In 12/12 Flowering, I will change them, and have more 2700K and less 6500K bulbs. I do have a couple 4100K and one 5000K in there that will stay. Again, I want a Dual Spectrum, or both high and low Kelvin bulbs. I want more 6500K bulbs in GROWING, and more 2700K bulbs in BLOOMING.

Allow me to stress or emphasize this:
A water pump can harbor dead debris, dead roots, mushy yukey slimey stuff and crap that really screws up the pH. Give your water the sniff test to determine if the water pump is spoiling the water. It should smell like fresh cut iceberg lettuce or alfalfa sprouts, and not stink bad. Most all water pumps have a filter in them that needs cleaning after two weeks, or get the pump out of there after 3 weeks.

After the first two weeks, and then daily, your pH should and will climb from 6.0 to 7.0 in about 18 to 24 hours because the plants are eating the nutes and the water is going down, and becomes more acidity. If the water jumps from 6.0 to 8.0 in a day, or worst, in 8 hours, you have a serious problem, and 99% of the time it is dead debris, dead roots, dead pieces of roots or leaves in the water. And the water pump can hold and hide that crap. Get the filter in the water pump cleaned after two weeks, or after the roots are in the deep water, or get that water pump out and the pH will be more stable.

5 weeks of VEGGING and 24/7 LIGHTs is about over.

WHEN DO I START 12/12 FLOWERING CYCLE?

The longer the VEG cycle, the more the yield.
Consider that in nature, outdoors, we plant a seed in mid to late April. It grows through April, May, June, July, and in mid to late July, as the sun's rays change, and the lenght of the daylight changes, the plant naturally changes from VEG to FLOWER, with the diminishing sun's rays. (It is not hte new nutes taht changes the cycle) That is nature's way. The plant grows and matures to an adult plant for about 3 to 4 months. THEN, it makes flowers. That is nature's way.
Indoors, in HYDRO with feeder tubes, we cut that time in half, by using 24/7 LIGHT. instead of 3 months, or 13 weeks, it takes about 5 to 6 weeks to become a mature plant in HYDRO, with 24/7 LIGHT. Pot plants growing as young plants, make what we call nodes, or a set of two leaves, one directly across form the other. When a pot plant is mature, it will make new leaves one at a time, not directly across from an other leaf, but staggered. The new leaves "alternate" instead of appearing in pairs.

OK, also in nature, in addition to plants, we see animals and humans reproduce at maturity or adulthood. If a human, (or dog or any animal) is forced to make babies before maturity, like getting a 12 yr old girl pregnant, or a dog in her very first heat, then the babies are weak, or runts, or deformed, and just not at their best or strongest.
It does not make sense, it is not wise, it is not logical, to make a child have a child, and it is not wise or smart or logical to make an immature baby plant, have babies if you don't have to. LET THE BABIES GROW AND LET THE ADULTS MAKE BABIES. Of course, if you are doing a SOG Grow, or have limited Height Space, well you ahve to do what you have to do, when you have to do it. But if time and space allows, then VEG that plant to maturity before starting the 12/12 Flowering Cycle..
If you will VEG for 5 weeks, to 6 weeks, you will have more time for proper TOPPING, PRUNING, AND FIMMING, and you'll get bigger plants, a much larger yield, and you will also have a mature happy adult plant, ready to make healthy, stronger babies (flowers) .

If you begin Indica Flowering, after VEGGING 3 or 4 weeks, you will harvest about 70% of what you would have harvested, IF you had waited and VEGGED for 5 or 6 full weeks before starting 12/12.

This info applies to rapid growing in Hydro, and to Indica strains. NOT slowly in SOIL, and NOT Sativa strains.

I average 3 to 4 ounces per plant, VEGGING 5 to 6 weeks, and I have gotten 7 ounces from one plant. I have pics to show it. I got that with a long VEG Cycle, planned, proper Topping and Pruning and Fimming, and creating more tops or cola sites by proper Topping.

I have seen grows done where 12/12 was started the very first day, and they got 24 to 30 inches tall by harvest time, and yielded an ounce to two ounces per plant of dried manicured buds. That can be done in 8 weeks and there is nothing wrong with that. But I want more.

Let me add here, I suggest you do not change to Flowering Nutes the first day you start 12/12. I always wait 3 or 4 days to change nutes from VEG nutes to BLOOM nutes.

I figure today is very close to 5 and half weeks of VEGGING, so today I am starting these on 12/12 Light today, 10-8-09.

I did a Replenish of a gallon of pH Balanced water to each container and adjusted the reservoirs from the daily 7.0 back to 6.0. I added 1/6 packet of nutes to each reservoir, and two teaspoons of Cal-Mag just because it was sitting on my shelf and not being used.
I checked my clamps on my light reflectors and tightened them again.
I checked that my window covering was secure and all light is blocked out. Then I turned all the lights out, closed the door and looked for Light Leaks. I had no leaks. To begin a successful 12/12 period, you have to have 100% complete darkness. It is not the nutes but the change in the light cycle that forces the BLOOM cycle to begin. I am still using the VEG nutes and I will for two more days. The BLOOM nutes are heavy on phosphorus and short on nitrogen. Phosphorus encourages more blooms, but does not force them. Nitrogen will encourage a stronger plant with stronger stems and also encourage more growth. I will do a Drain and Replenish this Saturday, (in two days) and then change to Bloom Nutes.

This Saturday when I have plenty of time, I will also add some additional 2700K bulbs.
It is finally getting cooler in my area, and I no longer have any HEAT issues. I was running the Central Air Conditioner often, and all and every trick I knew to successfully cool my reservoir and grow area. This many watts in that closet did generate SOME heat, although nothing like HID Lights (High Intensity Discharge). I got up to 86 degrees in the grow area and up to 74 degrees in the tank one time. I averaged 82 degrees and 52% humidity during the hot days. I was always able to keep humidity at least 50%, very desirable in the VEG Cycle.
Temps and Humdity look great now! 79 Degrees and 62% Humidity is very good to me!

You can sucessfully do a grow without a pH meter or a ppm meter. But an electronic themometer that will show HIGH and LOW temps is an absolute necessity. You have to know what is going on in the grow area while you are away and at night in the darkness of 12/12.

I want to show you how I prepare and do my daily maintenance. My closet is neat, clean and orderly, but my room is sloppy. No one sees it but me and my wife.

Daily, I get home in the evenings and I bring three gallons of water to my closet. Each tank is drinking a full gallon daily, and the bucket drinks about 3/4 gallon daily. I used to prepare my water at the kitchen sink, but I have found this way much easier. I keep a towel and a paper towel handy at all times. I also keep a plastic bag for dead leaves and an empty bucket nearby to put water I might drain out in. And I have a trash can near by too.

Here you see my home made prop to hold my lid up, my pH Down, my little yellow plastic measuring spooon, my quart mixing jar, my small glass for taking water samples, my half of a styrafoam cup to hold the wet glass i so it doesn't stain the carpet, my pH meter and the 3% peroxide if I see I might need any. I take water samples in the small glass, about a 1/3 glass full, then I sit the glass in the strafoam cup. The cup catches the leaks from the wet glass to prevent soaking the carpet, and it helps prevent the glass from falling over when I rest my pH meter in it to take a reading.

I took these pics just to show you the pics and not while I was really doing my testing.

Here you see my handy dandy little yellow measurer, it holds exactly a teaspoon. I got it from Stealth Hydro in 2007 when I bought some Foilage Spray and a Spray Bottle. I loaned the spray bottle to a friend when I also loaned him my kits and I never got the spray bottle back.

This is the rest of the sloppy messy room.

Here above you see my large oscilating fan on a stand about 3 feet tall, that runs 24/7 on low speed that is in the center of the room. I also have a very small oscilating fan in the floor in front of the tanks. I unplug the large fan while I am working in there.
The ceiling fan also runs 24/7. Air circulation and air movement are both very important for healthy plants and a breeeze on the plants strenghtens them.

You also see my messy room, full of grow equipment. I am not proud of the mess and clutter, but I wanted you to see that I do use two fans. You also see some useless Odor Control Air Filters that will go in a yard sale. The Ona Bucket works great for odor. We have had company visit and we asked them if they smelled the ferret or anything strange and they said no, they only smelled fresh linens or fresh laundry. (the Ona)

y routine is I get home in the evening and find the tanks a gallon of water short. A missing gallon of water is a good sign, you do not want to find they did not drink a gallon after drinking a gallon everyday. 5 or 6 plants will drink very close to a gallon after the first two weeks, depending on the temperature of the room and water. The 3 plants in the bucket drink 3/4 gallon daily. Once when it got very hot, they drank a full gallon.
I get home, I take 3 gallons of water to the closet and then I can sit down in front of my plants.
I remove a few dead leaves from the tank lid and lower parts of the plant. Going in and out of the tank ocasionally pulls a root off and that causes a small leaf to die. An ocasional large fan leaf yellowing and dying is normal and to be expected too.
I look in the tank, and find a gallon of water missing. I take a water sample in my small glass, sit the glass in the cup, and take a pH reading. Normally everyday, it is 6.8 to 7.1. I have learned that a level 3/4 to 5/6 teaspoon of pH Down will take the tank to 6.0 on average. To gradually adjust it, I fill my little measuerer almost half full with pH Down, put it in the quart jar, fill the jar with water, stir it, and pour it in the tank. Then I add a 2nd quart jar of plain water.

NEVER ADD ANYTHING TO THE TANK WITHOUT FIRST DILUTING IT. NEVER MADE ANY DRASTIC ADJUSTMENT THAT CAN BE DONE GRADUALLY.

Then I add a 2nd almost half a teaspoon of pH Down to the 3rd jar, stir and pour it into the tank, leaving me a jar short to make up the full gallon. Then I do a 2nd pH test, and find it close to 5.9 to 6.2. My plain water is 7.0 out of the faucet. Then I add a pinch, like a 1/6 teaspoon of pH Down to the 4th jar of water and pour it in, test it again and I get 5.8 to 6.1 everytime. If it read a little low, like 5.6, I add a 4th jar of plain water. If the pH went too low, like to 5.2 I drain a quart to two quarts of water out and replace it with plain 7.0 water.

If I have time to check it in the mornings, it will be about 6.2 to 6.4. Time I get home in the evening, it is 6.8 to 7.1. Today it was at the highest it has every been, 7.4, and I did find some tiny pieces of dead leaves and dead roots in the tank, that I removed. I added 6 teaspoons of 3% peroxide to that tank.
Tomorrow will be another Drain and Replenish day. I always get a tremendous growth spurt after a Drain and Replinish.

A couple months ago as I prepared for this grow, I went to the attic to get my equipment and I realized I had a very large collection of bulbs, some almost three years old that had gone through 4 grows. I had a bunch of 65 watt bulbs that I knew were very old so I tossed them. I had 8 42 watt 2700k bulbs, that I knew were only one year old and had only done one grow. I set them to the side and saved them for the Blooming cycle.

Then I had remaining 6 6500k 85 watt bulbs that had only been through one grow. I had two 105 watt 6500 k spiral bulbs too. I figured I had enough cool white 6500k bulbs for Vegging so I ordered some mid-range 4100K 105 watt bulbs I found very cheap. I ordered two 200 watt 6500k bulbs and I hated them, they got too hot for me and my unvented closet. I took them down after the first two days.

Hanging now:
3 6500k 85 watt bulbs
1 6500k 105 watt bulb
1 5000k 105 watt bulb
2 4100k 105 watt bulbs
2 3000k 105 watt bulbs
over three containers, over 14 plants.

I will add 4 2700 k bulbs soon.

YOU DO NOT NEED NEARLY AS MANY LIGHTS AS I AM USING.

Two days after starting 12/12 I replaced two gallons of water with two new gallons with BLOOM nutes in the water. I plan to do that daily now that I am on 12/12.

I did the change to 12/12 lights in one quick step, but I am graduating from VEG nutes to Flowering nutes and will make the transistion over 5 days.

Many growers do suggest a 24 hour, 36 hour to 48 hour total dark period when changing to 12/12. I do not do that. I have only read that some try it and claim it makes the change faster or claim they see flowers (sex) faster. I expect to see male flowers first and within ten days ffrom starting 12/12.

The DARK period is recommended if your plants are not fully mature when you change them to 12/12 and Flowering. These are mature plants. I can tell by the alternating nodes. When a plant is young, the new leaves appear in pairs, one leaf directly across from the other leaf. when it is an ADULT plant, the new leaves are staggered or alternating.

These plants are just growing like crazy!

I do not believe any Indica can double in size in the Flowering Cycle as some growers say or claim. I have never experienced it. I seldom get another foot taller in the BLOOM cycle, but we will soon see.
I'll be up Fecal Matter Creek if they do get over a foot taller. I'll have to take the closet shelf out!

The giant in the center bucket is bent over, trained to grow sideways.

All Topping should be done before you start 12/12. But an old friend from a closed down site (O.G.) and a couple of other active grow sites, her name is MOGIE, she just emailed me these pics and told me I could and should add them to my Tutorial. I wish I could go back and add them in the proper place, but due to EDITING Restrictions, I can't. So here you go.

Topping a Plant

1. Locate the very top of your plant and cut through the main stem just below the newest growth. This should be done after the 3rd or 4th leaf set but can be done at any time after the 3rd leaf set.

2. Shows Plant Top cut off and where the 2 new Branches that will form a "Y" in the main stem will grow from.

3. Shows the newly topped plant after 2 days of growth, notice the Y in the Stem Forming.

FIMMING A PLANT!

Fimming is actually no different that topping, what fimming does is virtually the exact same thing only your leaving part of the new growth. This only takes of part of the new growth and actually topping the very very new growth which is very hard to see.

What this ends up doing is making it seem as if your getting 4 new tops right next to eachother when its actually only 2 at the very top (like topping) but since it was cut so closely to the next newest set of fanleaves 2 branches which would have formed there anyways seems to make it look like there is 4 new tops.

This is how you go about doing this.

1. Locate the very top of the new growth