Blue Dream and Green Crack, 2nd bloom

[simpleleaf]

Blue Dream was harvested this morning, l left a lot of green on the plant and some popcorn buds for reveg.


Buds given initial trim and hung to dry:



Had some bad luck this morning, my 400w digital ballast for HPS supplementary light in the morning and evenings blew, it was only operated for a couple weeks (brand new). I have one light timer, so shortly before lights out, I'd unplug the LEDs and plug in the HPS (sequential operation). The timer would shut off at the assigned night-period time. Next morning, timer would turn on HPS, and an hour or so later I'd unplug it, and plug in the LEDs.

Because of the harvest, I unplugged all lights from the timer last night, so the tent was in darkness when I first opened it. After cutting Blue Dream under a small CFL, I plugged in the HPS, and nothing. When I plug it in to the socket, I can see a little spark coming from the socket.

I don't know if there's something in the way I was plugging it in and unplugging which caused the issue, or whether there's a flaw in the circuit. The ballast draws 3.8 amps -- it's a 15 amp circuit which runs the grow tent, it is a shared circuit with some other CFL room lights as the only other loads.

 

[simpleleaf]

Green Crack is at 8.5 weeks and still no signs of amber trichomes. I'm giving it more P & K, very roughly a 2-3.1-2.7 NPK formulation, same chemicals with no MAP in the mix. I haven't moved Blue Dream to the veg room, I probably won't until Green Crack is harvested and I can swap in Blueberry which is currently in the vegetative room.



It ends up that I like decreasing the daylight hours incrementally, rather than a fast switch to bloom, so I will continue with that method for a few more blooms, and see if I continue to like it.

Blue Dream: I intentionally left all the sugar leaves (I'm a bad trimmer!) She is currently at 80% humidity and weighs in at 42 g. The longer buds on the left just fit into a quart mason jar, so about 5" long.

 

[simpleleaf]

Green Crack is at 9 weeks and 1 day, and still no amber trichomes. I'm wondering if I'll have to reduce the photoperiod from 13/11 to 12/12 or even longer night periods? I've decided to delay any photoperiod changes until at least week 11, which is still 2 weeks away.

It's been about 45°F at night outside, tent temperature is often around 51°F before lights on, probably due to the germination mat heaters on the floor. After lights on tent temperature goes to about 60°F, and warms up during the day to maybe 71°F. The 140CFM exhaust fan is on at all times, but running on about 5V DC instead of 12V, so a much lower CFM. I'm probably going to put the exhaust fan on either a thermostatic or humidistatic control circuit, and loop the exhaust duct so it blocks thermal siphoning when it's off, but I'm busy on other projects right now.

 

[simpleleaf]

It's been roughly 2 weeks since the last update, they're at 11 weeks today. Everything's been the same, so today I decided to put it on 12/12 photoperiod, as Green Crack still hasn't developed any amber. From what I've read at Leafly, this is a maximum of 9 weeks to harvest. I wonder if the delay is due to cold temperatures, or the photoperiod. We've had a few 38 and 40 °F nights. The pots are setting on germination heaters which are on 24 hrs/day. I have a pretty tall Blueberry ready to put in bloom, then I'll have room to move Blue Dream to the vegetative room for reversion, if she makes it that far, she's looking kind of sick, as well the leaves are turning blue or purple. For now I'm gonna leave her where she is under 12/12.

Green Crack (and a little bit of already harvested Blue Dream):


Mostly Blue Dream:

Blue Dream is interesting that she's turned that color (even though she does look rather sick), I guess that's why it's named as it is. I don't know whether the color is mostly due to genetics, cold temperatures, change in fertilizer to vegetative formula so more relative nitrogen, reduction in its EC to about 1800 (as my meter reads), or something else, but I would like the keep the strain alive and hope she survives a reversion. It would be nice to grow a crop of it to full blueish/purple then harvest, even if it has a bunch of amber. Late-at-night couch-lock is okay to maybe help go to sleep or watch a movie. If the color is primarily due to the cold, I'll have to wait about 12 months for next winter.


Smokable harvest of Blue Dream is next. I never did weigh it after drying, its precise weight isn't very important to me, but from the prior weight and humidity, 42÷80%×65% is about 34 g, a little more than an ounce. The larger, longer buds still need a little more drying, if Rollitup's articles about the optimum humidity are best. The smaller buds on the left seem just right, they burn nicely.

 

[simpleleaf]

No pics today, but wanted to share a link about mycorrhizae and earthworm castings (link). My vegetative plants seemed to be growing very slowly, even though the pH was okay. Granted, I did some high-stress trimming on them, but I still wasn't happy with the growth rate. Because I've been sanitizing the potting mix to attempt to get rid of undesired insects and their eggs (and because I use inexpensive potting mixes), I started wondering if I had sanitized it too thoroughly using the hot-water technique I last used (and will continue to use since I can also adjust its pH in one step).

I decided to try infecting the mix with worm castings for their mycorrhizae. I put a tablespoon of earthworm castings as a topdressing in each pot a week or so ago. I just wanted to infect it with whatever magic ingredients they may have. Now the plants finally seem to be growing at a faster rate.

I haven't been using any sugar or molasses, after reading that article, I understand why folks want to add it to their watering schedules. It's not to feed the plant per se, it's to feed the beneficial fungi that should be in the potting mix.

 

[diggs99]

Nice job on the grow, very good journal, lots of good info

 

[simpleleaf]

Yesterday, at 12 weeks, I decreased the day hours from 12 to 11 for 11/13 photoperiod:


I thought I saw an amber trichome on a sugar leaf last Wednesday, but nothing more that I can find. If it doesn't respond in another week, I'll probably just harvest, and consider that the delay perhaps has something to do with the cold seasonal temps. The branches are beginning to bend a bit. I ferti-water them about once per week, if unusually dry weather occurs, twice a week. I'm using a strong mixture of synthetic fertilizers on Green Crack (about 2-3-3 NPK), and salt burn is occurring on leaf tips.

A pic of the vegetative plants, a mix of Blueberry and Green Crack:



In the last week, Blueberry on the right has grown another 6" or more, I'm sure due to the tablespoon of earthworm castings. I'm wondering whether I should delay the making of clones, as my vegetative plants always seem to get very tall. They're in a lowish light situation.

I've continued readings on sugar in plant nutrition (link).

 

[simpleleaf]

Green Crack at 13 weeks and 1 day, during winter. I'll be cutting it in the next day or two.

It still has no amber trichomes at all, they seem mostly cloudy opaque. Perhaps this is why you want warmer temperatures than 40°F at night and 60 to 65°F during the day. Although next winter I'm gonna remember this trick. I'm much happier with the size of the buds, I think due to dr.tomb's trimming technique.

I used a much different fertilizer mixture and a lot more than I expected of hydrated lime to raise the solution pH to about 6.5. Anyway, it seems to have created a stucco-like texture on the top of the potting mix.

 

[Big Perm]

Very nice job

 

[simpleleaf]

I cut all of Green Crack and more of Blue Dream. Green Crack needs a little more sugar-leaf trimming, but I may be lazy again and just let it dry. I just trimmed the largest fan leaves, and hung it up. It will be ready to put in paper bags in 3 to 5 days or so.

I may have harvested another 2 ounces, not sure yet, certainly more than last time, this was a bigger plant with larger terminal buds. The first photo below is what was trimmed a second time from Blue Dream, the second photo is the harvest of Green Crack, third photo is Blue Dream before second trimming, and 4th after trimming.



I checked out the white stuff on the pot surface of Green Crack, it is not hard, just a powder which has pooled from waterings, and it covered the drain tray as well. I found a chemistry reference (link) which suggested it could be Ca2, as near as I can tell some kind of calcium ion, and which sometimes occurs as a powder. Another chemistry reference (link) thinks it is CaKPO4, whatever that might be. I think I'll continue using hydrated lime during vegetative, but with the bloom formula the pH adjuster will be potassium hydroxide, and bloom formulas of the future will have lower EC than this time. I learned EC was too high once I got the meter (3800 µs/cm), but didn't want the plants to experience an osmotic shock so kept it at high EC for the rest of the bloom.

The bloom tent hours are now 18 daylight, so maybe what's left of Blue Dream will revert, I expect it to take about a month. Temporarily, I've moved the large Blueberry to the tent, but I'm not sure yet what I'm gonna bloom next or how plants will be arranged.

The major things I've learned this bloom:

How to completely replace the commercially bagged "steam sterilized" potting soil of the 1970s I used to use but which is no longer available. With the mycorrhizae inoculation (tablespoon of earthworm castings), all my vegetative plants are growing perhaps an inch a day, a pleasing rate and better than I've experienced prior.

To sanitize the purchased base potting mixture, it is put in a huge bucket, about the size of a trashcan, and fill it with hot water to have a final, mixed temperature of at least 160 deg F. I make sure the water volume is the greatest mass by several times to act as a pH sink, although I can't weigh that much at once so just eyeball it. I add a little sulfuric acid, to bring it's pH down to 6.5, but I can't pH hot water without damaging the pH meter's bulb, so will probably wait until it has soaked overnight and chilled before adjusting it. Eventually I drain the water off and pour through a clean windowscreen. It's now ready to use to plant, and once planted, infect with a dusting of earthworm castings as top dressing.

The only problem with hot water sanitation is that when done the mix is essentially waterlogged. Without the introduction of a beneficial fungus via earthworm castings, it is difficult for the plants to grow in this even with plenty of fertilizer, but it's free of insects and of the desired pH.

I noted the bag of organically-certified earthworm castings I bought was of very fine particle size, which means it probably doesn't drain well. A tablespoon per plant seemed just right and didn't seem to noticeably affect drainage. The vegetative plants are growing so fast!

I also learned a great technique for trimming, which I will practice more aggressively next bloom.

I need to replace the 400w digital ballast if I want any HPS supplemental light, but before I do that a new circuit should be wired from the circuit panel, and I want it wired with an isolated ground, but right now I have cancer and should have surgery, so boo hoo, a new circuit is just gonna have to wait. I have an old 175w magnetic ballast for both HPS and Metal Halide, and I have considered wiring those for supplemental frequencies during bloom, but am worried about energy cost, the magnetic ballasts are not as efficient. I wanted the 400w for a 10 thousand K bulb for UV, but for now that's just a pipe dream.

I've also learned quite a bit more about creating a better bloom formula, although the pH adjuster needs optimizing. Maybe third bloom will continue to improve.

 

[Big Perm]

I add a little sulfuric acid, to bring it's pH down to 6.5, but I can't pH hot water without damaging the pH meter's bulb, so will probably wait until it has soaked overnight and chilled before adjusting it.

Thumbs up on your ph down.
Can you take a small cup of it out and cool it down to test it? I have to small sample my water in my reservoirs all of the time. If I just stick a meter in there the meters go nuts. I think it might be light.

 

[simpleleaf]

Thumbs up on your ph down.
Can you take a small cup of it out and cool it down to test it?

Yes. It's a possible process. I'm not sure whether there's an advantage to having the acid in there when hot.

 

[Big Perm]

It's a possible process, and one I'll decide at the moment. I'm not sure whether there's an advantage to having the acid in there when hot. If anyone knows feel free to share!

In my experience...the temp effects my ph readings, I'm not sure if the temp changes the ph, and don't want to start any bro science.

 

[simpleleaf]

I agree Big Perm, the problem is we are almost always dealing with some amount of uncertainty, and since there's an objective in mind, something we want to do, we formulate hypotheses which are either proven right or wrong over time. We don't have much of a choice, it's either do it, or don't do it. If it's do it, then try to succeed as best as possible and learn from mistakes and successes.

I was hoping I could write every couple of weeks, instead of every week, and I had saved an interesting link to soil science I read earlier in the week, but now it's gone from this software's save function. Ha, too bad. I guess it only saves for a limited time.

Anyway, I looked it up, it's title was "Beneficial and effective microorganisms in a sustainable agriculture and environment." (link) I need to read that a few more times! In the interest of spreading microorganisms and repopulating a microbial flora in the potting mix, I gave a teaspoon of bat guano to each of the vegetative plants, then the next time, another teaspoon of worm castings. It seems that bat guano (link) has more relative amounts of fungi than worm castings (link). I started putting a teaspoon of molasses in the mix, but dry sugar would be easier to pour and mix, less messy, and with the synthetic micronutrients, I'm not sure the molasses is needed. I wonder if there's more invert sugar in molasses versus table sugar? I tried 1 TBS molasses in a gallon but I didn't use the whole gallon: the next time I went to use it a few days later, there were growths, looked like mold clumps, floating on top of the water. I didn't put this remainder on the indoor plants, but maybe it would have been okay. The vegetative plants have responded positively to these inoculations and to the molasses. The molasses seemed to attract a very small fly, about 1/8" long, I'm hoping a fungus gnat predator.

We've been having intermittent rain, so my latest harvest is taking longer to cure due to higher humidity. They're all trimmed and in a couple small paper bags alternating with jars. As of today, they're at about 80% humidity. I haven't weighed yet, but it's a nice harvest, several quart jars. The jars are good for measuring the humidity remaining, seal it up for half a day or more, then take a humidity reading. Back to the paper bag for more drying? If so, for how long? It seems to depend on ambient humidity.

The vegetative plants are building up alkalinity of some kind in the pots, I presume due to calnit, which is alkaline forming (link). Perhaps it's related to the white powder that formed on the top of this bloom's Green Crack.

The vegetative room's Blueberry and Green Crack had been yellowing on older leaves, with that yellowing accelerating when dry, and I'd been wondering about it, why was it doing that? It hadn't happened before the hot-water sanitizing of the potting mix, only now for the first time. I had taken them off a mat heater, so maybe colder soil temperatures contributed? In the last few days, while Green Crack looked pretty normal except for the older leaves, Blueberry began yellowing all over. A little panic set in.

I flushed them all with plain RO water yesterday, and got a 7.6 or thereabouts pH reading on the drainage, and I thought "Oh, that's too high." I've flushed so far 3 times, each time increasing the acidity of the flush water. The last flush the water was 88 PPM and 5.7 pH, drainage measured about 250 PPM and 7.2 pH. I read that you can drop flush water pH to 4.5 (link), but for now I stopped at 5.7. The plants seemed to respond well enough, maybe slightly less yellowing.

My vegetative formula is now obsolete, it is too alkaline forming.

Next bloom is Blueberry. This is my last crop of it. It is my least favorite high of all three, but is certainly the fruitiest flavored and is a good strain for that reason alone. I'll up-pot the Blueberrys to the largest pots I have and move to the bloom tent this next week. I have to sanitize new potting mix before up pot. I'm running the bloom tent temporarily at 6 hours of darkness.

 

[simpleleaf]

I wanted to put some pics up of my harvest, it's mostly dried at between 65% to 68% relative humidity. We've been having so much unusual rain, there are very few low humidity days in between rain storms, so drying has been difficult. The weather folks say we're having an El Niño, which basically means storm after storm after storm. It's quite welcome.

I never did weigh any of the harvest, but I'm guessing about 4 oz. Next winter can't come fast enough, I love budding with 40°F nights and 60°F days!



Blue dream is finally beginning to revert. It's taken longer than I expected, more than a month under 0 hours of darkness per day. I had flushed her, and forgot to follow with vegetative formula. The stems started browning, along with the buds developing a crispy, dried texture. Fortunately I remembered to fertigate a few days after the flush, afterward greening of the stems occurred, so I decided to remain patient. It's going on 2 months as near as I can tell. I'm not very disciplined with a growing diary, except for here.



You can see lots of green elsewhere beginning, but I've circled the largest new leaves.

I wanted to apologize, I've been having health issues and trying to get major surgery, it's frustrating, and my plants have taken a backseat to other concerns. If I make it through the process, I'll be back after a month or two of recovery. If I don't, then c'est la vie.

 

[simpleleaf]

Blue Dream finally reverted, but it took awhile, longer than a month.

5.23.2019

 

[simpleleaf]

The purpose of this post is to link to my other grow journals:
My latest journal, Simpleleaf's grows.
Another journal, Blueberry, simpleleaf's grow 3
My first journal, Blue Dream, Green Crack, and BlueBerry at 5 weeks.