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My two misfits after training and more light

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    My two misfits after training and more light

    I've posted about these 2 characters once before when I was ready to throw them away. They were supposed to be my outdoor summer grow but there just wasn't enough sunlight in my woodsy yard. Having nothing better to do through the hot, dry summer, I decided to play with them just to see what they would do. If nothing else they show what a little training can do even for misfits like these, so I thought it might be useful info for someone if I write about them here.

    These are both Gorilla Glue #4 auto-flowers (at least that's the seeds I paid for, twice), even though they look and act NOTHING alike. I've nicknamed them Ren and Stimpy. Ren, on the left, is the scrawny little scrapper with big ambitions. Stimpy, on the right, is the big galloutte with no goals at all. Stimpy began life over 75 days ago (supposed to be complete in 90 days... HA) and still has only 1 or 2 dozen pistils on it. It has a huge stalk like a tree and leaves fatter than my head after shooting up to 4 feet in the first 40 days. Completely on the other end of the spectrum, Ren started blooming when it was only 20 days old and 10 inches tall! It had 8 little tiny pairs of branches. With flowers. Wow. Believe it or not, they were raised identically, just planted a month apart.

    This is what they looked like a few days after I gave in to their pleas for more light and reluctantly brought them into the grow room for some artificial light and training to see what I could salvage. Not much to look at, huh? Yea, I figured this would be a total waste of electricity. Fortunately, it only costs about $20/month to run the 432 watts of T5s here in hydro-electric Oregon.

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    23 day old Ren on left, 53 day old Stimpy on right (for reference, those are 14 inch pots)

    Ren @ 23 days
    Ren @23 days

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    Stimpy @53 days

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    As a beginner with limited space and light, I'm really into the LST and SCROG approach in my little garage grow room. I especially like that it creates multiple top colas since it allows little side branches the opportunity to get more light, climb to the top of the canopy, and become "the best that they can be". I could tell that Stimpy was going to become a 10 foot monster that wouldn't fit in my tiny "semi greenhouse" outside, so I had to get it under control. And Ren would become nothing but a stick if I didn't get all of its tiny branches/flowers spread out under some bright light. I began tying and tucking daily. For a little while I had strings and wires all over them. Here they are a couple of weeks after putting them into training. Looks like its working. Note that as they grew I pushed the pots outward, keeping the crown of the plants under the center and best light of the T5 fixture.

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    2 weeks of training

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    Now look at them today! Lots of spread and lots of bud sites! I'm very surprised at the difference and will chalk this up as a fun and revealing learning experiment. Ren now has more hair than the average chihuahua, lol. Seriously though, I think Ren is actually kind of pretty with its multitude of tiny fluffy flowers and might be on its way to producing a whopping 1/2 oz of smoke, lol! If so, I will barely break even on the investment. As for Stimpy, well, I don't think Stimpy is ever going to amount to anything in the time it has allotted. I have to start a new crop in mid-Sept and Stimpy will have to go back outside into little sunlight and the wet weather of the Pac NW fall season. I'll care for it until it finishes, gives up, or succumbs to white powdery mildew.

    So, for you other beginners out there like me, if you get a misfit like I have, consider thinking outside the box, ignoring what the books say and just have fun with it. With these amazingly resilient plants, you just never know what might happen. And if you're afraid to try LST (low stress training), think of these two and BELIEVE that it really IS hard to hinder a determined pot plant!

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    After 3 weeks of training

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    Ren @43 days of age, 23 days of flower

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    Stimpy @73 days of age (there's a handful of pistils in there somewhere... nothing I would call a flower yet. Remember the vendor said these are 90 day autos, lol. True, there's probably some nute imbalance going on but nothing that bad.)


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    Ren poses for a [blurry] closeup (note the upside down leaf blade at left... some of them do that under training but doesn't seem to make any difference... plant leaves have light receptors underneath just not as many)
    Attached Files
    FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
    Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
    Flower 600w HPS
    alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
    1st grow White Widow
    Now growing GG4 auto and photo

    #2
    Very impressed indeed, and quite funny to the wife and I that you and I both named our misfits “ren and Stimpy”. My Stimpy is short bushy and mature already but not auto flower, not even sure what strain she is but so far is just poking through the ScrOg screen I hastily built, the other two (REN, and (McDonald , she is lovin it!). Well ren was lanky and no matter what I did light wise she wanted to run tall like a basketball player, so scrogging it had to be to suit my indoor 4x4x8 ft tent. Both of them are white widow.
    I am gonna be spending the next hour going over your post and pics but man they are lovely to look at I can’t wait to see how mine do. Thanks again for such a great blog

    Comment


    • NAKEDGARDENER
      NAKEDGARDENER commented
      Editing a comment
      P.S. I have pics on my profile of my current ScrOg grow just now 3 days after super cropping and scrog

    #3
    Just out of curiosity which seed supplier did you buy from, and why did you pay twice? Looks like you are doing the best possible with two questionable seeds.

    Comment


      #4
      Very, very nice. I'm guessing the reason you had to pay twice was for a reship...why? (unless it was an option at checkout that got missed, or the supplier screwed up)

      $20/month for your electricity? Damn, I need to relocate...
      ****tent (2x4) and large light (Relassy 300W LED) is in storage for now until I can solve some household electrical issues****

      CoM Stonington Blend soil, distilled water; Liquid Squid amendment if needed, molasses for flowering

      "I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up."

      Comment


      • Toripony
        Toripony commented
        Editing a comment
        Our electric rate is tiered from 7 to 10 cents/kwh. Heating a large house means we hit the highest tier most months or my garden costs would be even lower (432 watts running 18/6 for 30 days at .10 = $23.32). After learning that some people are paying 30 cents/kwh, I'm super happy to be growing here!

      #5
      The seeds came from Grower's Choice. I ordered 3 seeds, only 1 popped. The other 2 cracked open a tiny bit but never grew a root. Provided their germinating instructions are followed (paper towel method) they'll replace seeds for a $10 shipping fee after 14 days. Of the 2 replacements, 1 popped and again the other one barely cracked but never grew a root. This delay messed up my plans for a June through August grow. Yea, I questioned the seed quality because I previously bought 5 white widow photo seeds from them and they all popped in 3 days and grew beautiful, identical plants. I don't want to give the vendor a bad rep because many don't even offer replacements and maybe this 1 incident was just a fluke.
      I understand that genetics can vary but these 2 seem radically different to me. Stimpy never had that dark green color of Ren even though they're both in the same batch of soil mix. So my first experience with autos has been quite a turn-off.
      FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
      Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
      Flower 600w HPS
      alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
      1st grow White Widow
      Now growing GG4 auto and photo

      Comment


        #6
        I really am learning something new every day here on GWE. After reading this thread (https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...no-sign-of-bud), I now know what's wrong with Stimpy. It's not an f'd up auto, it's not an auto at all. Guess I got a photo seed instead. Thank you Guest and D.A.A.S.69 for sharing your expertise!
        FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
        Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
        Flower 600w HPS
        alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
        1st grow White Widow
        Now growing GG4 auto and photo

        Comment


          #7
          Lo & behold, my little GG4 auto Ren is becoming quite the showoff! Glad I decided to bring it inside for more light instead of tossing it 6 weeks ago. After training it to flatten out for my T5 lights, I managed to get my recently acquired 600w HPS installed and Ren's "flat top" is loving all that light. What a turnaround! I think the bit of clawing and some dark, waxy-shiny leaves shows some evidence of too much N in my soil. I should've left out the alfalfa meal for such a short grow (now around 80 days); good lesson for next time I grow autos. So the buds are going to be a little fluffy but it now looks like I might harvest an oz or two, making it a [barely] profitable grow. Biggest lessons: the process of growing autos is different than growing photos and next year get the auto seeds for my outdoor grow started earlier! Am hoping it will finish up in the next couple of weeks. Many very milky trichs but no amber yet. I'm going to leave this one long enough to be sure I get relaxing couch-lock sleepy meds.
          Stimpy, the 6 ft. tall non-auto auto, is now out in the little greenhouse in the shortening daylight and has finally started flowering. In the limited sunshine of my yard, I doubt it will finish before rain, mold and mildew sets in by Nov. 1.
          Last edited by Toripony; 09-17-2018, 05:19 PM.
          FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
          Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
          Flower 600w HPS
          alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
          1st grow White Widow
          Now growing GG4 auto and photo

          Comment


          • Toripony
            Toripony commented
            Editing a comment
            Found a bonus in my greenhouse this year... some wild thimbleberries came up in there (grape-looking leaves behind Stimpy). I'm letting them grow; OMG those things are sooooo good!

          • KingKush
            KingKush commented
            Editing a comment
            Nice plant, great comeback!

          • Toripony
            Toripony commented
            Editing a comment
            Thanks, KingKush

          #8
          Nice job on those

          Comment


            #9
            Another 2 weeks and Ren is getting really close to harvest. Happy to see the buds fill in some and getting really frosty. Don't see a single amber trich yet; wonder if it's gonna be one of those that never turns? Also have to wonder, after the seed problems I had, is this really a GG4? Can anyone tell?
            Am guessing another week or so to go. I'm really trying to hold out for amber this time.
            FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
            Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
            Flower 600w HPS
            alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
            1st grow White Widow
            Now growing GG4 auto and photo

            Comment


            • Redwasp
              Redwasp commented
              Editing a comment
              You still have some time left. I'm seeing lots of clear. At least wait till they are all cloudy. Looking very tasty though.

            • Toripony
              Toripony commented
              Editing a comment
              Yea, I'm seeing those, too. It's still growing new ones. Whadaya think, maybe 2 weeks? Was hoping it would finish quick since it's an auto or does that make a diff? It's 90+ days old.

            #10
            New pics/eye-candy. Got to admit I caught myself almost drooling while taking these (Thursday). I'm still amazed at what this dinky little auto has produced in about 100 days. I think the HPS light has been a tremendous boon, plus temps are moderate now and am keeping RH below 35%. I finally found one single amber trichome so still a while to go.
            FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
            Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
            Flower 600w HPS
            alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
            1st grow White Widow
            Now growing GG4 auto and photo

            Comment


            • alltatup
              alltatup commented
              Editing a comment
              Really beautiful, Tori: I see lots of milky!!!

            • KingKush
              KingKush commented
              Editing a comment
              Looking like some real chronic, NICE!

            • Toripony
              Toripony commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks, guys!

            #11
            Thanks for sharing. Great pics, I can see the milkiness & comparing mine to yours, I have realized mine have a while to go. ☮
            "Not all that glitters is gold, not all that is sticky is tar." proverb ☮☮☮

            Comment

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