was 78 here yesterday, 77 now, supposed to be 55 tomorrow and 85 by friday, dunno if its whiskey, tequila, or vodka time this week. 90s are corona/heineken days, 80s are usually grey goose days, 70s are usually knob creek days, anything below that are hornito days, im just confused with what to drink this week but I did plant my G13 blue og and TH seeds ultra sour in rockwool this morn before I "warmed up".
Uncle Ben's Gardening Tweeks and Pointers
- Thread starter Uncle Ben
- Start date
Uncle Ben
Well-Known Member
I know, and I feel for you guys. That Arctic Vortex is one son-a-bitch!
Stay warm and stay off the streets bro.
Rocketman64
Active Member
This is a shot of my weather station receiver just before I called it a night. According to local weather reports, the low hit -17 sometime this morning. Throw in the 30mph wind and presto!! My balls are gone!!! I guess this is global warming??
Rocketman64
Active Member
Hey Ben, I don't suppose you have any tips or tweaks for a frostbitten female? This really breaks my heart. I can only grow a couple plants a year and this was one I was really looking forward to. This Killing Fields was one healthy, beautiful specimen just two nights ago. The grow area got below 30F last night and I'm afraid it may have done her in. I know once damage is done to foliage like this it's irreversible but what about the rest of the plant? Should I expect further decline or do you think she may rebound if I keep her warm for the duration? I didn't see any frost on the surface of the dirt so I think the root ball may have stayed above the danger zone, can't say for sure. Here's one pic showing a healthy plant and three pics after frost:
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Uncle Ben
Well-Known Member
Holy crap! Where do you live, in Canada? I may have broken pipes even though they were wrapped. I'm not getting water to the greenhouse yet.
Where's Al Gore when you need him.
I know hindsight is 20/20 but you might invest in more heat. I like the top mounted cone type heaters for 25 lb. propane tanks. You can get them with 1,2, or 3 cones. If you need more get this one from HD. I have it as a backup for my greenhouse as my big boy relies on electricity to run and you never know when the grid may get loaded up and go down. It really kicks butt and cheap. Heck, the regulator and hose alone would be about $35. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo-50K-80K-LP-Convection-Heater-RMC-LPC80DG/202895381?N=c6zn#
Another option - reveg for about a month, flower again.
Good luck!
Where's Al Gore when you need him.
I am so sorry, that just sucks. BUT, I doubt if 30F is gonna do too much damage if it was for just a short period of time. I'd give it a few days before really doing some heavy duty pruning.
I know hindsight is 20/20 but you might invest in more heat. I like the top mounted cone type heaters for 25 lb. propane tanks. You can get them with 1,2, or 3 cones. If you need more get this one from HD. I have it as a backup for my greenhouse as my big boy relies on electricity to run and you never know when the grid may get loaded up and go down. It really kicks butt and cheap. Heck, the regulator and hose alone would be about $35. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo-50K-80K-LP-Convection-Heater-RMC-LPC80DG/202895381?N=c6zn#
Another option - reveg for about a month, flower again.
Good luck!
Rocketman64
Active Member
Actually, I was prepared for the cold temps in the attic. I didn't do anything different this year then I had in previous years. I've been able to keep my small 2x2x4 space in the 50-60F range with no problem through the winter. But, shit, now we're talking -17F with 30-40mph gusty winds. I was amazed it stayed at 30 in there!! Due to fire hazard, I don't use anything that requires fuel of any type- candles included, to keep the room at temp. I refuse to walk around all day in a state of worry about a fire for the sake of one stupid plant. I came up with a fairly simple solution that doesn't pose much of a risk. I took a porcelain light socket and mounted it to a piece of PVC with the wires running out the bottom. I used an old piece of steel pipe from an air compressor filter to put over the bulb. I then rolled a piece of thin aluminum around the pipe leaving an air gap between the two. This acts like a lid not allowing any light to escape since it's in the flowering room 24-7. I keep the heater just under the light hood to trap some of the heat. The outside of the heater is just warm enough so you can't touch it but not so hot that if anything comes in contact it will burn. I have my choice of 40w, 60, 75 or 100 watt incandescent bulbs for temp control. I had the 60w in the heater last night because I dropped the last 75w and didn't have any 100's. Here's a couple pics:
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Rocketman64
Active Member
Oh, by the way....I'm in Ohio. Currently 4F, just think- 12hrs ago it was 20 degrees colder.
Uncle Ben
Well-Known Member
Smart design.
Might wanna try an infra red lamp, the red one, not the white. BTW, I've melted PVC pipe a bit, or at least browned it by putting a 100W incandescent lamp near the PVC housing of my well in the pump house.
Damn, that is cold and the wind brutal. Used to live in Cleveland. Ohio can be cold at night in August.
Might wanna try an infra red lamp, the red one, not the white. BTW, I've melted PVC pipe a bit, or at least browned it by putting a 100W incandescent lamp near the PVC housing of my well in the pump house.
Damn, that is cold and the wind brutal. Used to live in Cleveland. Ohio can be cold at night in August.
Rocketman64
Active Member
So far the pvc is holding up okay, doesn't seem to be an issue. I haven't put anything bigger than the 75w in it yet, never needed to. Love the infra red lamp idea, never gave that one a thought, that would certainly do it. Where I live we refer to Cleveland as 'Satan's Playground'. Sorry to anybody from there or currently living there. The name was given after many, many horrible experiences in and around that area....we'll leave it at that.
Doer
Well-Known Member
We were talking about plant hormones and I also remember Uncle Ben, talking about Alfalfa. There is a connection I found.
Here is an article the describes the growth stimulation hormone found in it. And, course, it is a great nitrogen producer when it is growing. It fixes nitrogen in the soil.
http://www.californiacoastalrose.com/articles/article/2795657/46500.htm
Here is an article the describes the growth stimulation hormone found in it. And, course, it is a great nitrogen producer when it is growing. It fixes nitrogen in the soil.
http://www.californiacoastalrose.com/articles/article/2795657/46500.htm
Rocketman64
Active Member
Thanks for the great read! I live in an area where Alfalfa is grown in abundance for animal feed. I can pick this stuff up cheap and usually very fresh. I'll have to do more reading but I can see already Alfalfa may be worth including in my veg/herb garden this spring. I'll have to take whatever is left over and use it on my outdoor grow next time around.
Doer
Well-Known Member
I found quite a few experiments with and with TRIA the growth stimulant portion. It works on just about everything. And thet use it fresh, too.
Rocketman64
Active Member
Different hormonal responses in plants opens up a discussion that could last for decades. I find that stuff absolutely fascinating. It makes me realize just how little we actually know about processes that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Along those same lines, I have a question for the crowd at large regarding energy 'distribution' for lack of a better term. I ran across an article referring to how plants can be manipulated with different techniques of training, fimming, topping, etc... In that article there was this statement: "...When the plant is left to grow as it chooses, it usually has more branches than it has the energy to support. This means that a lot of energy is wasted on smaller branches, especially the lower ones. The energy need is spread out over so much growth, that in extreme cases flowering takes a very long time as the plant tries to supply energy evenly to every location." I guess the question I have is why would a plant continue to build more branches and foliage if it didn't have the energy to support it? It seems the statement is backwards. For me, it seems more logical to think the plant is building more branches and foliage because it DOES have the energy to do so. The author of the statement is leading me to believe the plant will continue to construct additional plant matter DESPITE the fact it doesn't have the energy to support it. Also the statement, "...a lot of energy is wasted on smaller branches..." seems out of line. I guess we would have to define what we call Energy. It seems to me with more vegetation there exists more transpiration which in turn simply increases the 'pumping' power to pull more moisture and nutrients from the grow medium. Doesn't this benefit the entire plant not just that one branch? Somebody needs to straighten me out on this one. Does the plant really know what 'wasting energy' is or is this just a human emotion being applied due to lack of knowledge of the actual process at work here? I'm really not trying to start a debate about human emotions and growing but I really would like to know how the plant is 'deciding' where to apply energy, when to apply energy, how much energy it needs, etc.. I also wonder if we use the term 'Energy' a little too loosely when it comes to plant growth. It simply encompasses too many different processes to explain what a plant needs to thrive. Any thoughts out there?
Uncle Ben
Well-Known Member
To me the word "energy" is meaningless. When someone throws it around so loosely like they do in cannabis forums, I'll ask them if it's cosmic. 
Hormonal processes is what drives all living things.
""...When the plant is left to grow as it chooses, it usually has more branches than it has the energy to support. This means that a lot of energy is wasted on smaller branches, especially the lower ones. The energy need is spread out over so much growth, that in extreme cases flowering takes a very long time as the plant tries to supply energy evenly to every location."
I don't think he gets it, understands botany. Call it the lollipop syndrome.
I mean, where does he think this energy comes from if not "the branches"? Reminds me of the old timers parroting the paradigm that tomato plants need to be suckered. Fine, go head and remove that very unit that produces yo maters.....and your roots, etc.
Yes, that branch sitting 6' feet on the other side of your apple tree does effect, provides "energy" lol for those apples. For some odd reason, pure ignorance of course, most cannabis growers think it's leaves adjacent to bud sites that provide the "energy" for that bud. By the same token, they think buds need direct light to develop properly. Lot's of stuff at play here like apical dominance, translocation of proteins, hormones, carbos, etc.
BTW, where did you get that quote from?
Hormonal processes is what drives all living things.
""...When the plant is left to grow as it chooses, it usually has more branches than it has the energy to support. This means that a lot of energy is wasted on smaller branches, especially the lower ones. The energy need is spread out over so much growth, that in extreme cases flowering takes a very long time as the plant tries to supply energy evenly to every location."
I don't think he gets it, understands botany. Call it the lollipop syndrome.
I mean, where does he think this energy comes from if not "the branches"? Reminds me of the old timers parroting the paradigm that tomato plants need to be suckered. Fine, go head and remove that very unit that produces yo maters.....and your roots, etc.Yes, that branch sitting 6' feet on the other side of your apple tree does effect, provides "energy" lol for those apples. For some odd reason, pure ignorance of course, most cannabis growers think it's leaves adjacent to bud sites that provide the "energy" for that bud. By the same token, they think buds need direct light to develop properly. Lot's of stuff at play here like apical dominance, translocation of proteins, hormones, carbos, etc.
BTW, where did you get that quote from?
lilroach
Well-Known Member
Somehow nature has managed to figure out how to grow plants long before humans tried to improve on the whole process. If one just sits back and understands why plants grow branches and leaves, the entire concept that branches use more "energy" than they produce is laughable.
Uncle Ben
Well-Known Member
Bingo!
This bassackwards thinking has permeated our society too. Right is wrong and wrong is right.