Grow Journal. Second Grow. Planted Feb 1

[Bootsy]

My grow is now in firt week of flowering. I have made lots of mistakes along the way and done questionable stuff so posting for interest. If this isnt the correct place to do it, please just let me know. This grow is in coco, using a packaged system of coc, platic grow bags, starter cubes and nutrients from Holland Secret. Tent is a 3 by 3 by 5 ft that i got used before first grow. I used a 600 W dimmable HID with metal Halide bulb so far. I live in Nova Scotis Canada,o we are in winter. The room i have the tent in is over top of a cold basement, so requires extra heat this time of year. I have an unbranded 300W LED light that I stopped using last time since i had to add heat with the light during the day. Figured might as well have the heat and light in one. The air is really dry, since without humidifiers we typically will be around 25% rh indoors. I have a aquarium airstone in a bucket with water, which adds about 7% rh so i am hovering daytime around 35-ish.. Daytime temperatures were around high 70s or 80 for most of the grow till last week with just the light at 75%. i then I figured out that if i cracked a window during the day i could keep it at 75 with 100% on the light. Heater on at night.
First mistake was in using the starter cubes - which i assumed had nutrients for starting. These were only coco, and by the time i learned that, it was too late to save the first four seeds. once figured out, i got em started. the idea is that the seedlings start in the cubes, then you simply put the cubes on top of the coco in bags. In the photos you see the cubes, and the other is my tent set up on Feb 11. notice the heater hanging inside that now is near the air intake to warm it at night. Also see a few other plants I started in case i got any males - but these went to compost.
The plantas are 2 blackwater, 1 pineapple chunk and one mint chocolate chip. More later. Comments appreciated.

 

[Bootsy]

Second problem was that leaves got droopy a lot. then i read in one of the GWE articles that in coco the plants grow so fast that they need access to the nutrients all the time, and i was leaving the watering for 3 days till almost dry - so I was sorta starving them. started watering more often (with the run off) and they went nuts - growing faster than i had seen. first photo from 24th - pre-drooping. I had trouble getting light at right distance, so first nodes were pretty spaced and the plants needed a lot of support. Second photo has them after manifolding. I found it very difficult this time to train to keep a level suface, mainly because the growth was so extreme that it meant daily trimming and training, but also because i put 4 plants in the 3 by 3 tent. seemed like a good idea at the time, but i must keep each plant to around a 13 to 14 inch diameter - limiting colas i can likely have. more later

 

[Bootsy]

Once i figured out how to keep her cool, I put the MH to 100% 600W. again trying to get the right height was ongoing, but growth went nuts. first photo is from 3 March when they started going crazy. Second photo is only 3 days later. Although i do not like this as much, the growth using coco is way fast. Next photo from 10 March (6 weeks) . every day i trim leaves and move branches around, which is kinda fun.

 

[Bootsy]

oh yeah, it was not long before this when i realized how much the nutrients made the water go acidic. i started treating the ph too - which likely added to growth. at this time i am into water/feeding every two days.

 

[Bootsy]

I took 4 clones off bottom branches on 11 March, and not sure why I didnt before, but noticed i might have height issues in the 5 ft tent. so - i poset a question, getting suggestion to supercrop - so i gave it a try. that was fun and seemed to work. first photo you should be able to see somewhat what i did for 3 of the plants. all recovered. the MCC is slowe and is now on a 3 inch box to get it up with the others. Each day is more training and trimming, not with any real plan as to colas.

 

[Bootsy]

Being the bold dummy i am, I decided that since i have the cooling available (outside air) i would try maxing out light. I added the old 300W LED on the right side. With the MH at 75%, with the LED, the tent temperature is 73 to 75 degrees. I am not seeing any light damage yet. They were put into flowering on the 11th. I have the LED angled so it seems to have good coverage for just over 1/2 the tent. the HID is balanced so with the LED off it still seems to have good coverage over the whole tent, but nagled as you go to right. see photo. hope it doesnt stress em and cause hermies. second photo shows on the 15th. I stopped training to let colas start going vertical (seemed to make sense)

 

[Bootsy]

So. Now I gotta do something about thinning the girls out. I believe i will have to cut back , Two photos are each from one of the plants, almost overhead. maybe getting rid of a bunch of smaller branches in order to get space around the main colas. the limited space is the problem. I still have a bit more than 13 inches to raise the lights, but the photos show how crowded it is, 5 days into flowering. i am under the understanding I shouldn't do too much more bending, and am so limited in space. This is fun! Especially since it is all bonus, and not holding up anything for me, so i can afford to make mistakes.
The next training session will be later today. SO -do i still leave lots of leaves for power until the colas get longer? do i get rid of as many of the small colas as needed to give room around the main ones? Reading more of the tutorials first before coming back to this. Cheers to breakfast beer n smoke. Oh yeah - temperature at 73.5 when i looked

 

[SoOrbudgal]

Whew I need a smoke from reading maybe a crown royal also.

 

[Bootsy]

Yeah. When i went back and looked.  Very wordy. My excuse is that I'm getting shack wacky - in third week of recovery from new hip and cannot drive or walk without crutches for another.  Sorry for the wordiness. a month grow condensed.

 

[SoOrbudgal]

Bootsy ahhh being unable to do normal activity is frustrating i'm sure, some of us call it cabin fever. And I do have that problem seasonally here in Oregon. Thus the reason I took up indoor growing. Good Luck Bootsy

 

[Canuck147]

Long winded or not - it was worth reading Bootsy . I wouldn't cut any branches or colas off - take off leaves.

But - your tent is already full - it is going to get very bushy very fast. So you are correct in doing something about it now.

Good luck growing.

 

[Bootsy]

thanks. i got a little overboard today with the PC. basically broke one branch so i had to prop it up. wonder how it will do. did a training on the MCC and getting close to a flat profile. ooooh boy is it crowded!

 

[Bootsy]

Uh oh. I believe I may have solved my horizontal space issue. I think my pre-identification of sex was flawed. Both Blackwaters look quite a bit like the photo of males i see. should have paid more attention. Please - I'd appreciate some confirmation before i kill the guys. Shiiiit! hoping i am wrong

 

[Canuck147]

You are correct - better put some pants over those balls - better yet - snip snip

 

[Bootsy]

So. confirmations of maleness. i have them ou tof the tent at this time. jut gonna check if there's any use other than compost before i chop em down.

 

[Bootsy]

so. now i dont have to worry about spread. ive let the branches fall out on both, and getting a lot of little buds from the horizontal branches as well as the main colas. I am going to leave both the lights on as long as I can, thinking as it warms up over the next two months cooling might be an issue. I will do a better job training next time, but still hopeful of decent buds. both plants are getting quite a bit of both lights with the Mint Chocolate Chip being under the LED and the Pineapple Chunk mainly under the HPS. However, when i turn off either light, both plant seem pretty well covered by the one left on. I there is an upper limit I may have exceeded it for two plants. Inefficient no doubt, but I will learn what happens.

 

[SoOrbudgal]

You can always leave the tent flap opened more during lights on to cool down I've always done this. You've tried real hard with this grow and done pretty dang good considering what you had to begin with. A+@Bootsy now ya know what it takes and grows will get better.

 

[Bootsy]

thanks. I had the tent flap half open open for awhile and it does make a big difference. further, I have spare timers, a booster fan and am going to play with a controlled direct inlet duct from the window as well as the exhaust. it would be fun to actually dose them with that much light and see what comes.

 

[Bootsy]

In case anyone is curious, interesting photos today. two showing the light coverage with either the LED or HPS off, and one with both. not total direct to each, but a lot of overlap. i had used both of these lights for the whole tent for times before. And it seems now as if they have slowed growing. I'm really waiting to see how the buds form as this is new to me. Last time i only saw photos till near the end while on a project. Included are also closer photos of buds from the Mint Chocolate Chip (LED so odd coloured) and the Pineapple Chunk (taken with flash) for future comparison. gotta learn how to take best photos of buds. I thought the leaves looked as if they were bleaching but they looked fine when the lights were off. thanks for listening.

 

[JDU]

Lookin good! 🚜