Grow Journal - First Grow. part way through

[Bootsy]

Latest photos from today. quite a few yellow leaves on plants, which is somewhat worrying. If we still gotta go a couple of weeks, might be out of bigger ones before the end. Oops on the trimming, but too late now. Fed yesterday with molasses and liquid seaweed. This has really been an intro, and so cool And - there are still a lot of the little leaves in with the flowers. Maybe they will be enough to power the flowers. Fingers crossed.

[Bootsy]

Hi. I wonder if I should add my 300W LED for the last while. The 600W HPS is going now. there is room, and I believe the fan can still be turned up to handle the little bit of extra cooling. Any opinion? seems like 2 to 3 weeks left approximately.

[Bootsy]

A friend just mentioned that mine being a little stunted would likely be because of the first week or so where they were hit with pretty cool temps (65 F). that would suck - but at least wont happen again.

[Paracelsus]

I picked up some true breed Vader OG and Jedi OG natural seeds. Solid genetics and living soil is a good place to start fingers and toes along with my eyes will be crossed. I hope to get some Future mamas and papas along with a cradle of seeds for the future.

[Jibblerjoe]

Yes just finished a couple Vader og, was some serious fire. My mother really liked it so I gave her the harvest after I tried it a few times. Seeds are expensive tho, Ocean grown start a new life. There's a keeper in every pack.

[Paracelsus]

JJ Each pack has 12 Pips inside, these genetics I want a couple of studs.

[Bootsy]

So, it's warming up at home and the basement warming up as well. still pretty cool, but the tent now is rising in daytime. went to 80 three days ago with the 600w HPS on full power. dropped light back to 75% and got temp back down to 77. yesterday it was back up to 79 again, so I had the light turned back to 50%. I believe i read that up around 80 might reduce development - so...will see how it goes today. Wow - it must really be hard to control the temp in warmer areas. i am home tomorrow, and if everything is working right and temp still up near 80 . If that is the case, I am thinking I will just add the 300w LED along with the HPS at 50%. if anyone reads this and has some experience with this, please speak up. I say it again - this is very interesting and fun. hope the results are fun too.

[Jibblerjoe]

More light always good, fuller spectrum even better, more heat not so much. I'm having same temp fluxes, but with 400 my easier to maintain. I would say that if Cooler air from outside the tent is not possible turning down power is only option. Mixing the lights will be good, if temps can be maintained.

[DingusKhan]

Do you have any flaps open to let air into your tent? I have cut smart pots or other dark fabric, and taped it over the screens inside the tent. Lets air in, blocks the light. Your tent might cool more efficiently that way, if you haven't already made in inlet.

[Paracelsus]

If you got the lights on no reason not to open all the doors. And you could back the lights off the plant a few inches just to be safe. Of course direct all your fans at the roof of the tent to move the hottest Air out.

[Bootsy]

More Photos. My grow assistant is taking some pretty nice photos with her phone. also has been taking them with our camera, but I wont see those until i get home tomorrow. All look okay, but really did stop. Still. Lots better for next time, and there's still some time. I intend to add the 300W LED for the final while, since it doesn't give much heat. Might as well give em everything I can. Gonna just stay with blackstrap molasses until we're done. The main expectations to not super growth would include, I think: 1. really cold first start as seedlings at 65F, 2. reverse day/night temperature for a week more than intended during the flowering stretch period (supposed to limit stretch); and 3.Aggressive defoliation by rookies. But - still getting there. I still like the look of White Rhino, but she's sure tiny.

[Bootsy]

I am home soon. Thanks for the comments. Intend to add the led regardless. Then check the intakes, becuase even going from a 4 to a 6 inch made a big difference, so maybe the existing even is blocked. To be honest, there might even be annother intake i havent made use of. This was a great one to start with because I/we have learned so much that next time will no doubt be better. I would have been fine shutting her down and giving the girls to a friend. My amazing assistant ( wife in this case) and i learned more for the future than any instant gratification could has veen far surpassed That said, sure hope the girls are as pleasurable as they look. To those paying attention to me: Be well. I do appreciate all the comments.

[Paracelsus]

Every day is a holiday !

[Bootsy]

more photos. Now that i have seen them in person, the ladies are smaller than I thought. and there are a lot of yellow amongst the leave remaining - which is fairly concerning. Hopefully there is enough green stuff to finish the buds off. First time for me at all, and I find them fascinating to see, smell and touch (only a bit). the trichromes are very pretty under the magnifier. I am surprised how brittle feeling the buds are, since photos make them look soft. There seems to be some density to the buds, and even if each one is decent , there should be a nice yield. We have decided we will go with what DingusKhan mentioned and even leave 1/3 to a later harvest to sample different effects. Might as well get as much experimenting as possible. I played with the lighting levels to try to get max on the plants. with current basement temperatures, I can keep the 600 W HPS at 50% along with the 300W LED, and the tent temp goes to almost 76. The tent is small, so I cannot get the LED evenly directed at all the plants (considering it the supplement, and the HPS primary light) but it is hitting them all. I am leaving again tonight for a month, so the harvest is now in the hands of my wife. She is a very precise listener, so I bet she really will do well. Wish I was around for the curing. I was only going to add blackstrap molasses from now on, thinking the seaweed and other bloom stuff could affect taste, but with the lack of leaves left, there might not be much growing left. Could be a sample to show people what can happen with enthused defoliation. I think the pictures are 1 blueberry, 2 white rhino, 3 critical widow, and 4 cinderella 99.

[MadMike]

The first grow is always a learning session. I heard somewhere that your 3rd grow is your true first grow. That feels right for me.
I do think the plants look nitrogen starved. Looking back through your posts (just found it today) I thought they were yellowing early. It's a little late to give them any N now and I think you should just keep with the bloom nutes and ride it out. I expect your going to find that your going to end up with plenty to smoke.

I know a little about so-hum and I have been skeptical that it's a plant and done soil. You're the first grow I've seen using it so it's a learning experience for both of us. It looks like it was a great starter soil and then needed a little supplement half way into the grow. That's a little speculation based on appearance from someone only on their 3rd grow.
You might want to get an hand lens and start looking at the trichs to see how many are milky and amber. That will help guide your harvest day. You may need to harvest a little early though but that doesn't hurt the overall quality much. You can get a hand lens pretty inexpensively and I upgraded to this one and I love it!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YBHQ7X2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A great $13 investment.
On the defoliation -- I do think it was a little heavy a little early but not extreme. I think the low N is what set them back after the defoliation. I've seen some pretty heavy defoliating with great results. On the plus side, heavy defoliating really helps light get lower into the canopy helping colas to fill out.
I think the two of you have done a good job with your first grow. Just wait and see how much better the second one will be. There is a ton to learn and the good thing is that it's fun to learn as well. Lord knows I'm still learnin'.

[DingusKhan]

Very nice! I know what you mean about seeing them in person, not blown up on your HD monitor. They look like they are getting frosty already.

[Bootsy]

Help?! Uh oh! Just got this photo that my wife astutely caught . weird looking filaments. Dont know if it's the dreaded fungus, but if i don't hear from anybody here (my only source of knowledge in this stuff other than reading), I will pull the string and White Rhino, the only one with many leaves - will go on to the greater good. Apparently no other plants, and it only looks like this one place. Darn.

[DingusKhan]

I really hope I'm wrong, and I hate to say this. I hope someone can come and refute me. But that looks more like spider mite web than fungus.

[Locrian99]

I thought spider mite web too but I don’t see bite marks on the leaves.

[Bootsy]

From the description i got, a web would fit whats there as strong stuff that is wrapped around. What do i do? Close to harvest with all. Might have to wait till tomorrow as its almost bedtime for the attendant. Im in a later timezone. Nice IPA and a white rhino supplement with a decent blues band in the background. Spider mite. Good protein?

[Bootsy]

Ok. based on the advice, and i did post as well on the sick plants forum , we will closely monitor with the hope that this was just a foreign substance. we have good dust bunnies down there. when the stuff was pulled off the trimmed bud,it didnt seemto grow from the plant, and we ca see nothing out of place. was kinda like a velcro type attachment, like lint or something. will look tonight again and update. the trimmed bud is pretty

[DingusKhan]

Hopefully, as Locrian99 pointed out, it might not be spider mites. It might be the web of another spider which don't love pot.

[Bootsy]

So. under close inspection, the filaments were from the fabric pots. I did get the cheapest I could find. sorry for the alarm folks, but being remote I am a little on edge about this grow. The bud that was cut off (see photo) is partially dried and at 2.9 g with the stem. White rhino, although almost like a bonsai plant because it is so timy, is doing the best. the rest, despite losing a lot of the remaining leaves, seems to be doing ok. I wouldnt feel bad about having to harvest any of them, so we will get through this first grow. expect the sacrificed bud will give some contrast with the rest when harvested. To me , it looks like critical widow is closest, with White Rhino next. we are now at 8 1/2 weeks since switch to flowering

[Cronk]

those look great. You both did a great job. I congratulate her for doing it remotely. Does she also read the forum?

[Bootsy]

Thank you. I am pleased, and impressed with the care they have received. Will see how the yield is, but I expect it is now in the 3/4 oz per plant? based on the one bud being 2.9 with stem partially dried, and there are 10 per plant, and then I assume some of the lower flowers will be worthwhile?. As far as i know, my wife didnt go to the forum at all. We dealt with things through me, so that if there were issues, she would feel no guilt. Other than a couple of things that led to a bit of stunting, and the Sohum living soil apparently running out of some nutrients before the end of the grow (makes sense once it was mentioned above) . It got us through the first grow, though, so no complaints - and it's organic, even the few things we added. have the 300 W LED back on, but it can only get at two of the plants effectively since it's got to sit aside the HPS reflector. With the HPS at 75% alone, the tent overheats to 80F or higher, but with it at 50% and the 300W LED (which worked well for the vegetative part of the grow, we stay around 77F. White Rhino (described as a BanSaii size, and Critical Widow, both seem to be really close for the first harvest. The plan is for each plant to have 2/3 for max THC, and the other go a little further to maximize the ?CBN?

[Bootsy]

I just read what I wrote. It sounds like I was blaming wifey for the couple of things - not - those things happened when i was home anyway, but i didnt finish that statement. I was going to say that other than those couple of issues, it all went very well. I learned a lot about every stage. how to accommodate need for heat, and need for cooling (all gear is now ready), and more. And now, from my understanding, these pots of living soil are ready for the next plants , as it should be more mature??? got what appears to be a decent LED and a HID fixture. with all gear, I am now hopeful of a full investment payback this first time.

[Paracelsus]

A good organic pest management regimen IPM would include foler diluted Neem oil once a week until flower. If you must during flower oyou got to be careful and only use the lightest concentrations of Nemo oil and not on the bud sights. I know you’re in the clear for now but this should be part of all your future growth and it’s simple and cheap. Not Neem cake but Neem oil
https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/...#post-23614916

[Bootsy]

thanks for the pest management suggestion. i will try to implement next time.

[Paracelsus]

My pleasure, I saw a spider in my garden today. I think I scared him. I tried to put them back in the pot but I squished it by accident. LOL

[Bootsy]

Hi. Would appreciate opinions on whether to harvest. Please note that we don't have the capability to use a loupe , and the scope is tough as well. Might have a friend coming by to look, but may have to decide based on the pistils. Description from the caretaker as follows: Blueberry has 50 to 60% of pistil curled and brown. glassy trichromes, but a few brown ones. White Rhino has 75% browned pistils, and some amber trichromes, and definitely quite a few cloudy. Cinderella 99 has 50% browned pistils, with glassy trichromes - but has a lot of yellow leaves overall. Critical Widow has 60% browned pistils and glassy trichromes, and is also really turning yellow. we want highest THC for 2/3 harvest. Gonna hold off on blueberry right now. however, think white rhino is ready. critical widow and cinderella likely are stopped growing anyway. Please - I know it's tough, but opinions will be sooo appreciated.

[Bootsy]

Updates from the inspector. each of them has a fair amount of white cloudy, including blueberry. unless i hear that it's better to still wait, I guess we will harvest them all, but as there's only one trimmer, it might take a couple of days. starting with the most yellow one.

[DingusKhan]

If by "the most yellow one" you mean the one with the most yellow fan leaves, don't do it. Those are not an indicator of bud ripeness. Try to ignore the trichomes on the sugar leaves, even though they are the easiest to find and earliest to turn amber. Those don't count either.

You really want to see the trichomes on the calyces. You might have to take several very close up photos to get one with a calyx in focus.

[DingusKhan]

Gorgeous buds! But I don't think they look very cloudy yet, but close. I would guess a week or so. If you have a microscope, you could snip off a little bit of a bud and set it on something easy to point your microscope at and get a good photo that way.

Or, I've had good luck with something similar to this

https://smile.amazon.com/Camera-Fisheye-iPhone-Samsung-Smartphones/dp/B077SWY783/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1520649028&sr=8-4&keywords=cell+phone+macro+lens+25x

[Paracelsus]

Take a bud and test it