First Ever for GardensGrow

[GardensGrow]

Jay, being the "hippie" that I am I actually have about 20 different oils that I could try. Also, now that I've calmed down a little and had time to think, I realize that when I came home yesterday the duct tape had come loose on the left side of my light fixture and so the air flow was completely bypassing the filter. This is probably why she smelled it yesterday and not today. I'm going to run and get some Gorilla tape because I've heard that stuff holds even better.

Thanks for the advice and reassurance; I'm sure glad there are so many knowledgeable people on this site

Edit: Hawk it seems that we always post at the same time haha. So I think that the smell occurred because of what I described above. There was a 1/4" gap around most of the 6"-4" adapter so it seems like air would easily be able to get in. Do you think that's feasible? Also, if it means anything, she has been suspicious for a bit now. After all she's here all the time so she's been able to pick up on a few things. And after the "flood" she said things really started coming clear. She said if it weren't for already having suspicions that she probably would have brushed it off.

 

[Hawk]

Sweet.

Plants look good. Great even. What kind of soil and nutes are you using (or planning on using)?

 

[GardensGrow]

Thanks for the compliments. I'm using Miracle Grow Organic potting mix. In the original 6" pots I mixed in about a tablespoon of McGeary's slow release organic 5-3-4 nutes just to get things moving a bit.

Now the Earthbox has the same potting mix and nutes but, because of the design of the Earthbox, the nutes are in a pile on the left and right sides of the plants under the black tarp but still on top of the soil. I have no idea how it works but apparently it allows the plant to grab whatever nutes it needs whenever it needs them.

 

[jayzero]

Jay, being the "hippie" that I am I actually have about 20 different oils that I could try.

Haha, excellent. I feel I probably picked it from a subconsciously predetermined short-list of things I suspected you might well have around. Sounds like things are sorted, in any event.

 

[Hawk]

Thanks for the compliments. I'm using Miracle Grow Organic potting mix. In the original 6" pots I mixed in about a tablespoon of McGeary's slow release organic 5-3-4 nutes just to get things moving a bit.

Now the Earthbox has the same potting mix and nutes but, because of the design of the Earthbox, the nutes are in a pile on the left and right sides of the plants under the black tarp but still on top of the soil. I have no idea how it works but apparently it allows the plant to grab whatever nutes it needs whenever it needs them.

Ok, right on. I was just wondering if the yellow might be sign of nutrient need. When mine were a similar age I had begun giving them "my" full strength nutrient mix (which is actually 1/2 strength if you go by TechnaFlora's directions).

 

[GardensGrow]

Haha, excellent. I feel I probably picked it from a subconsciously predetermined short-list of things I suspected you might well have around. Sounds like things are sorted, in any event.

Things are as sorted as they can be. I wrapped all the major joints in the duct work with super heavy duty waterproof metallic tape. Funny thing is I just got a huge whiff of it in the house and, upon nasal inspection, I think the neighbors might be burnin' one! I think what I'm smelling is a little too harsh and dense to be from my grow...

Ok, right on. I was just wondering if the yellow might be sign of nutrient need. When mine were a similar age I had begun giving them "my" full strength nutrient mix (which is actually 1/2 strength if you go by TechnaFlora's directions).

I'm actually thinking that you're right. I'm trying to be patient with the Earthbox because I'm certain that the nutes haven't "leached" down into the soil or whatever it is that the Earthbox does. But if the roots don't find something quick I think they might start getting worse. I would feed from the top but the manufacturer warns against it. If things continue to get more and more yellow I'll probably pull them all out and put each in it's own 12" pot...

 

[GardensGrow]

Pictures of my uber-tape job and some updates of the ladies. Couple different angles for ya! I arranged some of the larger fan leaves to be tucked underneath the newer branches so that the little guys can get more light. I think I'm going to wait a couple more weeks (maximum) to start flowering.

 

[GardensGrow]

I decided for some reason to check for preflowers and low-and-behold they are already present. This tells me that the plants, while I may wait a bit longer, are ready for the flowering cycle whenever I am. Following is the list of what I believe my plant sex to be:

Michelle - Definitely female; I pointed out the pistils with a red arrow in the pictures below. There is another pistillate primordia on the other side of the plant

Sally - Not sure; I'm thinking there is a small chance of hermie because I think I've seen both type of preflowers. Time will tell.

Jessica - Probably a dude. In the picture you can notice in the blue circle how far out the ball is from the plant. It's definitely the tell-tale sign of a male's "ball on a stick"

Cindy - Not sure; might be a guy though judging by the strange structure of the preflowers

I have a strong feeling that it's going to be three guys and one girl! Oh well what can you do? I haven't initiated flowering so I may try to take some clones...

 

[Hawk]

FWIW, mine started showing sex (pre-flowers) near day 30. By day 35 I could positively identify two of the three. The other was a bit slower but by day 40 I had them all confirmed one way or the other. Didn't start this thread but my pre-flower pics are in there:https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/79688-male-female-pics-included.html



I figure as long as at least one is a girl you're still just fine. You could continue to veg that plant. Train the heck out of her until her size and shape best fits your space for a "single plant grow".

4 smaller plants or 1 big plant: I'd *guess* there are generally more pro's than cons with 4 smaller plants. But a nicely trained single plant might get you a similar number of colas to harvest.



If you take clones, is your plan to start flowering them with the mom?

 

[GardensGrow]

Hawk you have a really good point. If you look at the location of Michelle in the Earthbox (back left) you can see that I could LST her towards the front, then over to the right, then back, and then over to the left. Essentially I could make a completely huge "square" around the exposed soil. There would be a hell of a lot of side shoots!

One question though: how does one stop the tip from growing once one is ready to flower. Once I make the loop around I'll want it to stop growing. Would I just prune the tip?

I'm still not sure if I'm really going to do clones or not. If I did do clones I would set up another small area somewhere where I could veg them while the mom flowered.

 

[ceestyle]

Hawk you have a really good point. If you look at the location of Michelle in the Earthbox (back left) you can see that I could LST her towards the front, then over to the right, then back, and then over to the left. Essentially I could make a completely huge "square" around the exposed soil. There would be a hell of a lot of side shoots!

One question though: how does one stop the tip from growing once one is ready to flower. Once I make the loop around I'll want it to stop growing. Would I just prune the tip?

I'm still not sure if I'm really going to do clones or not. If I did do clones I would set up another small area somewhere where I could veg them while the mom flowered.

You just get the tip around the fourth corner and flip it 12/12. It'll start growing upward, as will all the remaining bud sites. It is a thing of beauty.

 

[GardensGrow]

Thanks ceestyle. Sounds like a good show!

Well I'm about 95% sure the three are males. I think for the sake of the one female I should get rid of the guys today and start training her before she gets too big. I just wish there was something I could do with the guys instead of adding them to the compost pile...

 

[GardensGrow]

Well I decided to get rid of the boys. And now Michelle has the whole place to herself! I guess it's on to the LST'ing...

 

[RaulFarquhar]

Sounds like a good plan that you have there for Michelle. She could be huge with all of that space to herself. Good eye on spotting the preflowers.

 

[labey87]

I've been following the progress, and its looking pretty. I cant wait to see this baby wind around that earthbox. It will be a beautiful journey. I have three plants growing that are almost two weeks behind yours and I started LSTing them yesterday. I switched them to 11.5d/12.5n 4 days ago and hope to see sex within a week from now so I can weed the males out and transplant the female(s) in bigger pots and let it/them do their beutiful LST thang! gl man, I'm watching

 

[GardensGrow]

Raul and labey thanks for the kind words. I really do think I'll get quite a pull from Michelle once I wind her around. I can envision 12 bud sites or so...

labey, if you wait long enough into your veg you'll start to see preflowers. It's recommended in the "Bible" to wait for preflowers as they are supposedly a signal to tell you when they're ready to flower. Apparently if you start the 12/12 before they preflower it won't bring your flowers any faster and may have the potential to confuse the plants. I obviously don't have any experience with this but it makes sense to me. Seeing that your two weeks behind me I suspect you'll be seeing them real soon. That's just my $0.02 but, since you've already started 12/12, I'd say disregard my rant and keep chuggin' along! You ought to throw up some pictures in your Gallery so I can take a peep!

 

[GardensGrow]

Just a quick thing not completely on topic but I recommend everyone check out my thread regarding H.R. 5843: Federal Decriminalization of Marijuana Use. Write your US Representatives today!

 

[Hawk]

Any new pics?

 

[GardensGrow]

Actually yes I uploaded new pictures and made a post the other day and I could have sworn I pressed the submit button....weird.

Anywho I'll do it again! I've actually been seeing a little bit of an issue with Michelle. As you can see in the pictures the tips are burning (and some of the interior of the leaf) and the color of some of the leaves are a light green with yellow blotches; some older leaves turning completely yellow. The pictures don't show the yellowing very well. I will get some better ones soon.

For the cause of the yellowing I'm thinking that I have a lack of nitrogen uptake. For the burning I think I had my light too close so I moved it up a bit. I'm not one to take drastic measures so I'll wait and see how things get. I've made a few minor adjustments but I've still refrained from feeding them from the top.

Thoughts, comments?

Overview:

Burnt tips:

Light green:

 

[ceestyle]

dude, you need some nitrogen pronto. what was the deal with those nutes? something about setting them in piles on the sides or some shit?

i'm sorry i'm too lazy to go back and look, but what kind of light and how far up is it?