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**No3odiesShad0w** · 02-11-2022, 04:15 PM

Cali actually yes. The previous grow i noticed the mites during bloom and i tried spraying the buds and just lost everything. Second, the plant had bad genetics. It's the one I've been struggling to grow for a year with no results. Verses the blue dream from legit seeds. Besides i don't want to spray the buds with neem oil or anything else if I'm going to be smoking it later plus the idea of dead spider mites and dead eggs inside the buds didn't sound so appealing. The mix of a dying stunted plant + bad genetics + mites IN the buds+ risking the health of my good plant = Get rid of it and focus on the good one.

I did learn A LOT from this battle that's for sure. Best method PREVENTION. That's what I'm going for. The blue dream i can say is 95% spider mite free. The quarantined ones in the other room 100% mite free and even then i give them a spray of some neem oil here and there. They are thriving beautifully.

Lastly THANK YOU. I know you got crusted with me in the past for asking the same stuff but i promise you it's not that i haven't been putting the info into practice, it's just finances are rough and it's usually slow going. Clearly though the info you've given me works. The blue dream had just exploded in new flower growth. In the next 2 weeks i expect the buds to get really fat.

The watering schedule info was good.... Still confused because all the numbers were for much larger grows. Mine i need measured in cups. For 2 gallons of soil i got about 3 cups of water every 2 days. It's not perfect but I'm still figuring it out. 2 cups was too little. 3 cups everyday is too much. So maybe 4 cups every 2 days? I'm work it out but thanks again. Been really helpful

**3Berries** · 02-12-2022, 07:06 AM

You can try this as it's non toxic.

How to Use Dish Soap for Spider Mites

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/use-dish-soap-spider-mites-99718.html

**Cali** · 02-12-2022, 02:03 PM

No3odiesShad0w Glad things are working out better, also keep spraying every week at least once a week during veg to keep any pest away. About the watering it is tough I struggled a lot with that and I been growing in living soil since 2019. I use 1/4 of a gallon per 5 gallon pot, depending on how the plant is growing i Will water more frequently or wait another day or two. Like when they are stretching I had to do every 2 days after they slow down back to 3. Also the weather it’s hot here in Cali and dry lately so that will change things up a bit. Another thing is I use Grassroots living soil pots. They have a lining on the inside to prevent the pots drying out from the sides and allow it to dry more natural. From the top and the air pruning of roots at the very bottom. Almost like a plastic pot but with the air pruning at the bottom while still being breathable on the sides to give it the fabric pot function. I like them more than my old fabric pots.

**Bootsy** · 02-12-2022, 09:28 PM

Jornal Update. Plants all doing great so I can be picky. the Orange Bubbas are today in the 2 by 4 tent under 12:12 lighting. The Crude Cake growing up too fast. From same size and training with the Orange Bubba's she is 6 to 7 inches taller than them and has been on 12:12 for a few day now. I will have trouble even using supercropping her because I already bent almost all stems horizontal quite a bit - I didnt get to train them early. It's my first time with the SF100's so I am not sure of the response to them yet. I have a PAR meter coming any day now and will do some checking for reference of lighting levels - if it works. I am wondering if i need the three lights since the SF1000 supposedly has a 2 by 2 footprint. Two of the photos show a view with all three lights on, and one with only the 2 sf1000's - and they are not spaced evenly. I must admit it looks as if I centered the 2 white lights I would have nice coverage. A further wrinkle is that with tent insulated in my basement - right now the temperature is between 72 and 75 with all three lights on and drops below 70 with only the Spider Farmers. If I turn off the Best VA, the heater will have to be on even when lights are on. I have been happy with the Best VA's for a few grows and now wonder how they compare actually with the SF1000, so if not too much light I will leave them as is and have a pretty good comparison of the two lights on the OB's that are far left and right. Much talking - sorry again. Have next plants for the 3 by 3 . no pests yet, and next run of plants for the 3 by 3 have poked their heads up. Cheers!

**Bootsy** · 02-20-2022, 10:17 AM

Next update to my grow. a week since last posting. See photos. All three gift clones seem to be doing great. very bushy because of all the training I had to do, which leave more bud sites available to light from above. I have been defoliating basically every day to expose bud sites near the top as they have really bushed out. they are starting to look much clearer but still more clearing needed. this is the process I will follow for a couple more weeks and hopefully will end up with a semblance of control over colas for a decent yiled. I now have two Best VA's (over OB2@ and CC) and one SF1000 (over OB1). When I tested the lights with my new PAR meter the Best VA's had more intensity and penetration so giving a try. I do realize that spectrum ha a lot to do with it, and although the Spider Farmer SF1000 is much brighter looking, it seemed to be leading to more stretch which I don't have room for. Hopefully this will give me an evaluation of the two. No more new lights till I find the right price for a Mars Hydero SP3000 for this tent. Quite a bit of growth from last week, a evidenced when lookinf with respect to the tomato cages. No sign of bugs or deficiencies that I can see. It appears that these may both be long flowering strains so I likely have a ways to go. I added Kelp extract and folic acid last watering. Till next time.

**Bootsy** · 02-28-2022, 07:22 PM

Time for another update. No complaints. Really not a lot has happened except a little more stretching and buds starting to fill out, and a shot-load of leaves removed. there are more buds per sq ft than i have ever tried, and I am not positive what to do. remove a bunch, or keep trimming here and there and accept that buds will be smaller. see the top views, which are right after a pretty heavy trim. Crowded but Looks like there will be a decent harvest regardless. Great news -for me- My medical treatments are done till end of March, so I am heading to Mexico on Tuesday for 3 weeks to visit friends. Will be great to get out of the f....n cold. But - my wife will have to keep the two tents of girls going (photos of profile and then top of each of 3). I optimistically expect that just watering of the three big girls will do with elective leaf removal. The bigger issue is that my next grow are just at the stage to start manifolding (4 to 6 nodes)- she says she's up for it, and actually did it 5 years ago, so we will see. She dont like consuming so it seems quite an imposition. hoping they bush out nicely, but life goe on. they can be seen in the odd photo, which was taken just after transplanting into the final 5 gallon homes. the two biggest (Canuk CBG and Northern Lights) will be topped tonight before i head to the airport - if they have recovered ok from the transplant. Be well, and stay warm. Progresso looks like it will be relaxing.

**Bootsy** · 03-17-2022, 10:47 AM

Well. Progreso Mexico has been awesome. my hardest thing is to NOT do too much, since I'm supposed to be resting for recovery from C. See a couple of garden photos for posterity taken by my wife back home (she had her trip in the fall). She hasnt done anything except water with adjusted PH, but to me they look great so far. The stretch that I was worried about in the Crude Cake (now and Orange Bubba really wasnt too much anyway so nothing special has been needed. I see a few yellowing fan leaves, but nothing extreme that I wouldnt have expected. I get home this Tuesday so everything will wait for me now. I would like to have the smaller plants now in veg defoliated, but life goes on - and it will give me a few hours entertainment to train and defoliate when i get home- that's why she didnt do it

. Dr Grinspoon (middle of the crowded tent) has already caught the others (almost 3 weeks younger) so i expect she will be my first real tall plant grow - and the intent is for this to be a mother for cloning of this rare one for friends and my next grow. Dr G is going in her own little tent when i get home which is intended to be in a 2 by 3 veg tent from now on. The rest are just THICK but pretty. The photos are with lights on and I dont have the nerve to ask for more or the unpaid help might get surly.

You can really see the difference in the light colour (spectrum) with the Best VA's as typical but high power blurples. If Par meter is correct, the Best VA's have way more intensity and penetration than the SF1000 (white). The unseen other Orange Bubba is totally under another Best VA so i will get a side by side comparison of effectiveness.
Regarding readings from my PAR meter - I will say that the Mars Hydro TS 3000) in 3 by 3 tent measured almost exactly what they claimed - and may never have to be at full power, the Best VA's were higher than claimed and have deep penetration, but the Spider Farmer (SF1000) was a fair amount lower than their claims of intensity. this would match what Nebula said from a trial grow she did with the SF's in which she was happy but thought the penetration could be higher.

Next week I will have a full update. each of the strains in flowering have long flower times of 10 and 11 weeks (now at 5 and 6 weeks)- which again is a new thing for me. wonder if I will have to add any supplements beyond the home made Kelp juice (seaweed is easy to get here of clean beaches) and molasses that I planned on in my water only soil?

Thanks for reading, and if you do see anything to mention, please do. Cheers.

**Bootsy** · 03-25-2022, 10:31 AM

Home after three weeks away. the girls were just watered by my wife with no training or checks. very thick and unruly growth and a little light burn from growing too close to lights but otherwise all are good. Photos are before trimming except the one showing the profile of the full tent, which is after quite a bit of work. I am leaving a lot more stuff down low than i usually do (lolipopping), so will see how the lower buds are at the end. the buds on the orange bubba and crude cake seem small, but they are still a month away from harvest so hopefully they fill in - but they smell intoxicating. I added a bud shot from the two orange bubbas - first one from under the Best VA and the other under the Spider farmer sf1000 - the best VA one looks more mature, but it was too close while i was away and appears a little burnt. the best VA plant also grew almost an inch more than the spider farmer one - which may be due to its higher intensity. As it ends up, the recovery wasnt as tough as I thought - just giving them new soil and they thrived, after a lot of training. The 3 by 3 tent (not shown) will now be a training challenge too, but keeps me entertained. Thanks for tuning in.

**SoOrbudgal** · 03-25-2022, 11:07 AM

Hey there Bootsy that room looks great i bet your thrilled. Less is more in some cases, not over loving just let them do their thing and feed them as needed late in bloom. Your grow this round looks great to me

I've left bottom half alone most my growing years only lollypopped on occasions when i thought it would help with getting longer colas i keep trying to get 16" ones LOL. But i only seem to get those outdoors where i just top and that's it then i clean the lower half midway into the bloom.

**Bootsy** · 03-30-2022, 06:40 PM

Update. All three ladies are looking pretty nice to me and the tent is a fun place to breathe deeply. I am not sure of the original breeder but found flowering times of avg 63 and 77 days depending on breeder. since they are at 55 days it seemed time to check trichomes. the one under the Best VA is closer to done, so i only looked at her under the scope. see the attached photos - which to me show getting close. I typically dont like too much amber , and there is some. I am guessing less than a week to harvest for at least this one. very exciting as i wasnt expecting them for a few more weeks. The Best VA vs Spider Farmer does show a difference. see the microscope photos, which have one from each. the Crude Cake is getting close too, but guessing 2 weeks away. Im now into planning the next grow's strains, which will be 3 long flowering sativas, including Dr Grinspoon, Panama Red and an unchosen (which could be a second Dr Grinspoon), but I think a friend has acapulco gold that I could access. Amazing recovery for the girls, which to me shows they are truly weeds. these were easy except the training. More later. thanks for following.

**Bootsy** · 03-31-2022, 08:04 PM

Orange Bubba - see photo of another flower sample from around halfway down the plant. i think i harvest earlier than many folks and this is where I typically like to do it (say 20%amber). this is the OB under the Best VA blurple style. the other under the Spider Farmer F1000 (and crude cake) are still with white pistils so they are waiting. i love it when they mature at different times. makes nothing urgent, and I hand trim so it takes quite awhile per plant. Really of flowersuper nice smell so hopefully super nice product . this is only 8 weeks, so I think this must be an indica leaning hybrid - my guess. I found on-line two different breeders with Orange Bubba and they were quite different in properties. Saturday is looking to be the day for first chop. Very glad i kept these three alive. My estimate is 2.5 ounces on this plant, but i have never been close on any quantity yet that I can remember.

**Bootsy** · 04-01-2022, 10:16 AM

Justr a quickie update with today's photo. I was amazed at how much amber already. this photo is from the same bud as yesterday. chopping tonight.

**No3odiesShad0w** · 04-02-2022, 11:57 PM

Bootsy are you using one of those USB microscopes? I was thinking of getting one in the future. Seeing your pictures makes me want one more. It's looking like you have a nice harvest coming!
I'm interested in the light experiment you're doing. I'm currently using a spider Farmer sf2000 i think. I've been having good results with it and was considering in interesting in a second just like it. I see your burple light is getting better results (hard to tell since they're both different strains under different lights ... Could be strain related). I would consider a burple light but i have a small 25w one and i rarely ever use it. It's such a strain on my eyes. I have a Mars Hydro 600 LED (i originally bought it thinking it was equivalent to a 600w bulb lolol i was wrong. That's why my plants were so stretchy and thin. They would collapse under their own weight). I use the Mars Hydro for veg and the SF for bloom.

All that being said.... How well do you like the spider Farmer? Would you recommend it? Would you recommend a different light? Brand? I know there's plenty cheap Chinese crap so i try to get like Samsung diodes or something with a reputation. I have been saving so i plan to buy one within the next month or 2, especially since I've finally had a successful grow and looking like more success on the way. I also need a tent, more of that super soil and organic soil, humidifier and some other stuff. I think the most important is the light and soil for now.

**Bootsy** · 04-03-2022, 10:38 AM

Hi No3odiesShad0w. The usb microscope I have cost $25 and has been a really useful fun toy. highly recommended.
Regarding lights, I had one Orange Bubba under the SF 1000 and it is doing a nice job and at the other side of the tent waqs the one under Best VA. Very slight difference in grow height and bud appearance so it's pretty much the same effectivenessas the Best VA 600's (which have 10 W diodes and were purchased for their intensity). That plant under the SF is ready for harvest today, so I think it i only 2 days behind what the other one was, and now that the buds are ripe I dont think I could tell the difference. The SF use a lot less power. In my other tent I have an MH TS3000, which is freaking awesome with it's depth of penetration. According to my PAR meter, I wont be able to run it at full power ever in my 5 ft high tent so it's somewhat overpowered. I also have another SF1000 in my little veg tent and it did a great job vegging a plant for a close friend. I wouldnt buy any more blurples myself, and am a fan of Mars Hydro and Spider Farmer. I will say that regarding the par maps the mfrs provide, the Spider Farmer was around 15% lower. I thought the SF1000 (which wont have a lot of penetration) might have inferior growth comparitively but it is not discernable to me. The spider farmer growth is quite nice if you look at the plant to far left in the photos. The Mars Hydro SF3000 PAR measurements indicate it has a slightly higher output than the mfrs ratings. I was just impressed by my blurples but will not buy again. This grow has convinced me to keep them until I find a great deal on a Mars Hydro TSw2000 for the 2 by 4 by 6 ft tent. there is so much second hand grow gear that i expect soon to find one cheap. None of the SF or MH seem to make colas as long as the HID 600W, but they both burn so much less (100 vs 160W) energy, which turns into heat that it allows me to run my fan at a lot lower speed because it generates so little heat. hope that helps. If I had the choice I would pick MH over the SF, but not by much.

**Bootsy** · 04-05-2022, 07:59 AM

No3odiesShad0w. I just remmbered that Nebula did a side by side test of both the SF and MH in that exact size (MH TSL2000 and SF2000). Have a look. she picked the SF as winner due to lower power consumption (200W vs 300W and all else basically the same. this somewhat changes my opinion, but I will likely be getting the first used one I see of either. the construction - i like the MH TS3000 with its cheap contruction as it is sooo light and dont see it as a negative. but using a lot less energy and having fewer isues due to spectrum are big things. I know I should worry more about efficiency. Part of my preference on the MH was that the SF1000s had lower measurements than they claimed, and i get wound up about that kind of thing.
this website has a lot o great info.
I think a friend is buying an MH TSL2000 in a used bundle so I may get to do a par test on it, but reading the GWE comparison again was very useful. so much newer gear available second hand here. I think it might have something to do with our city water having ph really high and very soft, so watering can cause issues. I assume this is why so much use equipment i available - great for me and my buds. I have counselled a couple of people who were giving up without realizing how easy it was to fix their main problem - PH. On an aside, Be well. all the best healthwise - I am waiting for final test results on my C. here's hoping....

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