First know-what-I'm-growing-grow

[ShaggyGrower]

DD and Nebula have been transplanted from their 4 inch and 6.5 inch pots respectively into 11 inch (10 litre)  pots.  I have 46 litre pots for later (not as big as the 65 litre pots I've seen in GHS vids).  Roots looked good. 

 

Think I might need another CFL to be able to cover all the plants when they're in their bigger pots and before I have my main tent with the 250w/400w/600w/660w HPS available.

[Cannabissapean]

Intresting color-variation in that root-ball.  (white roots / tan roots) (Even the soil appears to be of different colors)

 

Any idea what caused that?

[ShaggyGrower]

Tan roots look to be in shadow where the white roots are in the light.  I think I had my HPS tent open and thus showering red light into the shadow part causing it to appear redder/tan.

Here's an unmolested pic (no editing).

Edited November 3, 2017 by ShaggyGrower
added photo

[Cannabissapean]

Ah, that explains it.  She looks great and perfectly timed for the transplant.

[ShaggyGrower]

Day 6 of Veg for DD & Nebula. They're going great guns, with double tops (after the topping)  and side shoots that have caught up - they're my two main plants and seem to love whatever I throw at them.  JW having issues - I think I overwatered when I transplanted her into a 10l pot after topping.  IC after it's germination issues is doing ok-ish, I think it will be a dwarf plant. SS doing not so bad.

Anyhoo, today they have taken a day trip from the 125w CFL propotation tent, to the 600w HPS tent.  I've placed the 125w CFL over them, plus they're getting about 35k lux of HPS light (as well as ~ 18k CFL blue light).  Hopefully more light including some red will result in more growth and a little node stretching, as DD & Nebula are really REALLY tight atm, and it's all a bit of a fight in the middle of those plants.

[ShaggyGrower]

Decided to introduce DD & Nebula (and JW) to lollypopping.  I've taken of their cotyledons (crispy anyway), their first single leaf & side shoot, and their first three leaf. 

 

The lowest item left on them are side shoots (which are going great) that went with the removed three-leaf.  I've taken the first three-fingered leaves off the side shoots as well. 

 

I've LST'd those side shoots as well on DD & Nebula.  Early I know to trim, but they seem mega healthy so I figure they can take it.

[ShaggyGrower]

Does anyone recognize an excess/deficiency like this photo?

 

I've been through the following chart but can't see a match: 

[Official_sirgrowalot]

2 hours ago, ShaggyGrower said:

Does anyone recognize an excess/deficiency like this photo?

 

I've been through the following chart but can't see a match: 

Kind of looks like a boron deficiency! Get some trace elements in their

[ShaggyGrower]

Thanks @mungbean79

 

Researching a boron deficiency I came across, "If you are using high quality soil or cannabis friendly nutrients then you will probably not have to add any additional boron to your plant as it will already be present. The only time a nutrient related deficiency may occur is when heavily filtered or reverse osmosis water is used to water the plants. This water has a lack of boron in it unlike tap water which has naturally occurring boron." http://stonercircle.net/2015/12/16/fixing-boron-deficiency-cannabis/

 

Perhaps when I watered with dehumidifier r/o (reverse osmosis water) it got that deficiency. Hmmm. Using Rain RO water now, so hopefully should have natural boron in it.  The only supplement I have with boron is Shogun Roots, so I've popped a little of that and some calmag in the foliar spray and will use that.  Lack of humidity might cause it as well, so perhaps them day tripping to the 600w HPS tent (35% humidity) room from the 125w CFL tent (65% humidity) is a bit too much for them. 

[Official_sirgrowalot]

Do you know what the ph of your soil is I don’t know if tropic bat mix is the same as guanokalong soil where you have to change ph to veg and flower as ph 6 will get more nitrogen and less potassium and when ph is 6.5 it’s the other way around maybe the ph in your soil isn’t were boron is readily available!

[ShaggyGrower]

12 hours ago, mungbean79 said:

Do you know what the ph of your soil is I don’t know if tropic bat mix is the same as guanokalong soil where you have to change ph to veg and flower as ph 6 will get more nitrogen and less potassium and when ph is 6.5 it’s the other way around maybe the ph in your soil isn’t were boron is readily available!

 

Just ran some r/o (ph'd to 7.0) through some tropic bat mix and it's some out as 6.86.  I usually ph the feed in at 6.2.  I'll ph the next in at 5.8. Thanks @mungbean79

 

The blurb:

'You don’t need to worry about pH…the peat's been treated with lime to get a pH of 6.5 (ideal).'

https://www.growell.co.uk/growing-media/soil/tropic-bat-mix.html

Edited November 9, 2017 by ShaggyGrower
added link

[ShaggyGrower]

DD & Nebula have 8 shoots/colas each now; 2 x top cola (after being topped), 3 x 2 side cola.  Nebula is 1 inch from bottom side shoots/cola, up stem, to top cola shoots (10 cm from soil to top shoots), DD is 2 inches from bottom shoots, up stem, to top shoots (8cm from soil to top shoots).

 

Weighed a 10l pot with just a mix of topic bat mix and coco and it was 2kg dry, with perlite it's 1.6kg dry.

 

Today:

DD: 2.8kg (with perlite)

Nebula: 3.2kg  (with perlite)

JW:  3.05kg (without perlite - a test. I shall always use Perlite from now on - thanks @Cannabissapean)

 

It'll give me an idea how much moisture is still in (1kg = 1 litre) each pot so I know when to water.  I have a tendency to overwater.

[LedCherryBerry]

Hey Shaggy,

Those are surely beautiful girls. They look so happy.
Love the work you're doing on them. 
Also love the internode sizes. Super compact!

[ShaggyGrower]

Thanks @Cindy & @LedCherryBerry.  They're doing ok, with the odd bit of sickness to keep me a little concerned.

 

I've taken a couple more sets of fan leaves off DD & Nebula that were showing nutrient/light deficiency/excess damaged.  I don't think those leaves are going to recover and removing them lets more light in and the plants can redirect their energies elsewhere.  I think I'm seeing a root trying to sneak out of DD's pot, and two trying to go AWOL from Nebula's.  They've only been in their 11 litre pots for 8 days.  They'll have to stay in those pots until my bag-seed grow is harvested, in about a week, then they can go in their final 46 litre pots which I hope will be big enough (and will have lots of perlite in).  There are a few small (gnat/fruit) flies appearing from under the pots - boo!

 

They're all (5 plants) stretching a little bit since they've been day-tripping to the HPS tent.  I put them in there at HPS lights on (6.45am) and take them out and back in their small tent at 1.15pm for their lights off (I can better control increased humidity for them in the smaller tent). (CFL) lights back on at 7.15pm, so an 18/6 schedule.  Blue CFL light follows them around, but when they don't need it ('cause they're sleeping), it goes in the HPS tent for the bag-seed.  Perhaps I'm seeing things that are not there, but I do think the blue 125w cfl is helping the bag-seeds produce more bud.

 

Pot weights suggest they don't need watering yet. Empty pots (DD/Nebula/JW) weigh between 1.6-2.0kg.

 

Yesterday they were: DD 3.10kg; Nebula 2.75kg; JW 3.00kg; IC 300g; SS 620g.

 

Today they were: DD 2.92kg; Nebula 2.64kg; JW 2.92kg; IC 250g; SS 580g - today. 

[LedCherryBerry]

24 minutes ago, ShaggyGrower said:

There are a few small (gnat/fruit) flies appearing from under the pots - boo!

Dude, Treat those as soon as you can!
They're going to infest the shit out of the grow room in a matter of days!
I also noticed on my girls they were sneaking under the pots instead of flying around. I guess that's where they lay eggs the most.

If you have the chance, buy some H2O2 at 3%, dilute it 1/5, and the next feeding, add 1 liter of that solution to the feeding of each plant.
H202 literally makes larvae explode, and kills adults, if not damages them pretty seriously.
It also has that lovely effect of giving some extra oxygen to your roots, but be careful with the dosages, you wouldn't want to fry your babies.

I repeat: treat them ASAP. 
You're gonna regret this (like i am doing with my grow) if you don't.


Anyway, i cut my fan leaves when they're completely yellow, and show 30-40% necrosis.
I do this because i feel like that, if the plant has a problem, and is trying to show it on that particular leaf, she will focus on that, instead of spreading the issue to other leaves. When i feel like they're so damaged they cannot support photosynthesis, i cut them off. 
Don't worry about what's beneath the leaves: what you care, in the end, is the top canopy..

[ShaggyGrower]

 

Hi @LedCherryBerry, OK, just placed an order for hydrogen peroxide at 3% (Amazon) - thanks. 

 

DD & Nebula have two main stem fan leaves apiece only - their top cola fan leaves.  The stems (2 x 3 side shoots and 2 top colas after the one topping) and their fan leafs are doing well.

 

I prefer to chop early (if I believe the plant can take it) so the plant can spend its resources on new growth rather than pumping energy into dodgy/not wanted growth.

Found this interesting: http://www.plantadvice.co.uk/garden-advice/articles/general/the-ultimate-guide-to-killing-fungus-gnats/125

 

edit: after reading from the above link, I've added an layer of perlite to the top of each plants' pot, so hopefully the gnats won't be able to dig in through the top.  They're not due a water for a while, so hopefully the H2O2 will have arrived by then.  I'll give them a dose of that with a small bottom water first, as I recon any gnats will me within two inches of the top (sorted with perlite) and bottom which I hope the bottom water with H2O2 will help.  Some more H2O2 with the rest of the water I'll be watering them with, but this time top watering through the perlite layer.  If anyone foresees a problem, let me know

edit2: Girls now rest in trays of perlite, so the gnats can't get in/out through the bottom either.

[ShaggyGrower]

Day 15 of veg.

 

All going well.  DD & Nebula have had their second and final topping.  JW it turned out I did not top, but fim'd - I can cope with the additional cola sprouts :).  IC still the runt (small black pot) but looking good. SS just got topped.

They're all a little small-looking.  That's due to a slight defoliation, the topping/fim-ing, some germination/early seedling issues, and still in early veg lighting, I think.  I'm OK with that atm as I'm experimenting with topping early so they can spend more time on growing growth that will be kept.

 

They're still day-tripping into the HPS tent from the CFL tent.  From next week they'll have the HPS tent to themselves.  I'll give it a good clean first, then re-arrange the inside a little.  I'm seeing a few little roots trying to sneak out of DD, Nebula and JW, so will transplant them into 46l pots when the HPS tent is available.  20% Perlite, 20% Canna Coco Professional Plus, and 60% Tropic Bat Mix UNLESS YOUR ADVICE IS SOMETHING ELSE!?!?!

 

Another question.  I have 250w/400w/600w and a 660w boost setting (plus a 125w Blue CFL).  What power level would you recommend for this stage of veg, and when to change it to what and when?

 

 

 

[LedCherryBerry]

Hey Shaggy,
Love your girls! Look at em, so full of life :3

Anyway, about the power question, it depends on how much you want to leave them in Veg.
For the current phase, i'd stick to 250W. 
I'd then increase it to 400 at week 4, add the cfl at week 6, and 600W when switching to 12/12.
I'd also take advantage of the boost only on the last 2-3 weeks of blooming.
But that's what I would do, if i had time, patience, the resources, and a LOT of stashed weed somewhere that helps me fuck up my plans

Peace!

EDIT: Remember that Blue-spectrum is recommended for VEG phase, but weed doesn't actually give 2 shits about that and can Bloom with blue light too. Blue light = short nodes, Red light = long nodes, at least it's what i've heard (and experienced a bit with this grow).

What kind of spectrums do you currently have? 

[ShaggyGrower]

Thanks @Cindy and @LedCherryBerry.

 

@LedCherryBerry, I have a single blue light 125w CFL and a single BAY6 600 Watt HPS full spectrum (250w/400w/600w/660w digital balast).

 

 

[ShaggyGrower]

.

[ShaggyGrower]

The girls are now permanently in their 'HPS' tent, together with their older neighbours the bagseed (which is drying). They're resting on a couple of their final 46l pots.

 

Lights are set on 125w blue CFL for the first 2 hours  (mimicking early morning blue light), then 400w of HPS power additionally goes on for the remaining 16 hrs of light.

 

Humidity a bit lower than i'd like (35-50%) so will be placing open buckets of water in there.  Rather too dry than too wet though I'm finding while growing.

 

edit (info): In the group photo we have DD top left; Nebula top right; IC middle; JW bottom left and SS bottom right.

[LedCherryBerry]

Seems like we're both going to enjoy some sweets in a few days, eh? 
Hehehe good job buddy! 

Uhm, just a little question.
Isn't morning light supposed to be red instead of blue? I've never seen a blue sunrise..
At least, not on Earth! Mars sunrises are blue..

[ShaggyGrower]

12 minutes ago, LedCherryBerry said:

Seems like we're both going to enjoy some sweets in a few days, eh? 
Hehehe good job buddy! 

Uhm, just a little question.
Isn't morning light supposed to be red instead of blue? I've never seen a blue sunrise..
At least, not on Earth! Mars sunrises are blue..

Thanks! I've dried some of mine already from last Wednesday. A nice smoke that creaps up on your and than BAM!, you realize you have perhaps had a puff to many. 

There were two plants though, so perhaps one is a cerebral high and the other more indica.  I will have to separate them out (one smells more citrus).

 

 

Regarding blue light:

'

Blue Light (400 nm - 500nm)

 

Blue light is very important. Without at least some amount of blue light, most plants won't grow normally. The plant has several different ways it measures blue light, and they each have their own effects. For example, when you see a plant growing towards the light, it's actually only responding to just the blue light. Without any blue, the plant wouldn't know where to grow!

Blue light also has an effect on how stems and leaves tend to grow. Seedlings and plants given plenty of blue light tend to stay short, with short stems and squat growth. They tend to grow big leaves and spread them out. 

It's often recommended for cannabis growers to use bright white fluorescents or metal halide grow lights during the vegetative stage since the extra levels of blue help keep young plants from growing tall and lanky, and encourages lots of leafy growth.

Blue light also works together with red light to help the plant "know" whether it's day or night time, and help set circadian rhythms. You may notice that cannabis plants start drooping right before the lights go off each day, and they start perking up right when lights come on. This is a way for the plant to save energy while it's "sleeping." Since the blue in the light helps it "know" the time schedule, it will prepare as best it can for lights-out and lights-on.'

 

http://www.growweedeasy.com/color-spectrum-marijuana-grow-light#blue-spectrum

Additionally (from the same link):  '

As just one example, during the spring and summer, more of the blue spectrum of light makes it to earth because the sun takes a more direct path through the sky.

In the summer, a plant responds to this bright direct light (with lots of blue) as a cue to grow vegetatively with lots of big leaves and short stems. The plant tries to spread out as much as it can and increase its leaf mass.

Blue light - Grow lights with a higher ratio of blue light are often used in the vegetative stage as they tend to make cannabis plants grow short and squat, with big healthy leaves.

As fall approaches the sun starts hanging lower in the sky. As a result, more of the light that reaches the plant falls within the red spectrum.'

So I'm thinking blue first thing to wake them up gently/train growth [short/bushy] with some spring/summer light before the more summer red HPS comes on, and then turn the blue off a couple of hours before the end of their 18 hr 'day'. 

[LedCherryBerry]

This clarifies it, thanks
Anyway, seems like we did the same thing!
My S2 (harvested yesterday) was more indica and fruit smelly, S3 is more citrus smelly and is totally a sativa dominant.
I also tried a small flower last week from the indica, and did the same you described: slow, hanging monkey on your hairs, pulling your head closer to the sofa, and then hits you with a hammer on your brain, and you indeed realized you've smoked like a stove (consequently blowing up your body). A 0.1 flower lasted 2 hours, a 0.4 killed me for a DAY. And i've been smoking 4-5 joints a day. That shit is DANK.

But from what i can see, you've grown yours much, much more than i did.
They're much more mature, and perharps more resinous. 
Anyway.. Only time will tell. 

Cheers!

[LedCherryBerry]

1 hour ago, Cindy said:

Hi Shaggy 

After reading your last post. I was just wondering if the blue light in my leds has help keep my plants short and wide ( with additional training ) 

 

Hey Cindy,
Blue light = short nodes
Red light = long nodes
A good combo of the 2 gives a good idea of the spectrum she'd receive in nature.
If your lamps have the possibility to change the spectrum of each light (i guess you have 72 or something like that), that'll give you the chance to "tweak" your plant. 
More blue light will result in a bushier plant, more red will result in a stretchy plant. 

Light intensity is another thing: you can grow weed with blue only, red only, white only, it doesn't matter the spectrum. What matters is the amount of light you give to your girls. If you have, say, 1 x 15 watt blue light (say 6500k), that will not be enough to grow some. 
But a 150-200w 6500k will do the trick.

Hope i cleared some points