NeerGreen: New Era grow #1

[cannabineer]

I went to CVS today. NO fans there either. Harumph.
Alice is not growing very fast, and her leaves have this crinkly curly quality. I was wondering if she has RH issues, so I've rigged a humidifier worthy of Rednekistan ... two moist towels hung in the grow tent. It makes a lovely difference in the feel of the air.
Halle is taking to the moister air like a champ.

With Alice just sort of poking along, this is turning into a "one-and-a-half plant grow". I wonder how long I will need to veg in order to use most of my 4x4 grow space!!

Here's Alice. She's healthy and apparently happy. Haven't watered her in a while ... soil is still moist and her bucket isn't very light. I sure do hope I get some fine smoke from her ... a "production" plant she isn't by any, uuhh, stretch.

Heeeeere's Halle! So green, so vibrant ...
You can see the funky leaves from my thumbnail topping a week ago.
The side shot shows her winningly bushy nature.

... The house is definitely starting to smell a bit weedy. I'll need to think about buying a carbon/fan setup soon. I was hoping to hold off on that until actual flower. cn

 

[cannabineer]

The girls today ... they're 8 weeks old from wetting the seed. I'm hoping one more month of veg will get them big enough to start using my lamp/tent well.
I gave both a good watering. Halle has been showing roots at the drain holes, but they were beginning to dry up. I elected to use just water because although the plant doesn't show any credible signs of overfert, one leaf tip (bottom of image) shows brown lesions ... I think they came from droplets of the GH broth I mixed for her a few days ago.
I topped Alice ... she was staring to "bolt". In the meantime side stems made it through the shade leaves, and she looks a little less runty. cn

Alice is a curly girl. Preflower hunt turned nothing up.

Halle is sporting several obvious female preflowers.

 

[curious2garden]

cannabineer I read your journal from the first page and really enjoyed it. Get some more seeds and go after the hydro again. I LOVED the labelled nutrient solution bottles you did.

You did a fantastic soil rescue. Me if it's soil I can kill it! I've killed everything in soil anyone has given me, philodendrons and even iron plant!! Which is allegedly impossible to kill but I am an over achiever I guess.

Anyway I am subbed and hoping to see you do hydro again soon. By the way have you seen these: http://www.zircon.com/products/more_leak_alert.html (no affiliation but I'm probably going to get one).

Also this guy has an incredible under current grow and look what he lines his floor with. I wish I would have found the thread PRIOR to putting up my tubes but there's always next time. https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/485521-rebuid-reload-step-step.html

Anyway I'm subbed.

 

[cannabineer]

Welcome to my labOARatory, curious2garden! (movie laugh)
... and THANK YOU for reading the whole thing! You're a refreshing change from the "tl;dr" crowd.
I'm seriously looking at trying to find a house I own as opposed to this renter I'm living in right now. Once that goes well, I will make myself an NFT system, probably "from scratch" i.e. marine plywood and sheet plastic. Then I'll get serious about making hydro work again for me! I'm pretty sure I've isolated most of my whoopsies and uh-ohs, but until I'm in a better environment I'm best off just growing out a stopgap resupply in soil. The Undercurrent setup interests me, but I have a bit of an aversion to float valves (bad experiences repairing a swamp cooler that was well past its operational lifetime ... )and I also wonder how hard it would be to do complete nute changes in one, especially if "chasing" a pathogen like the slime.

I am tickled and honored that you've subbed my little Hemp Opera. Oh ... and good news! I found a teenytiny but definite female preflower on Alice today!! cn

 

[cannabineer]

Big day chez Neer!
I replanted my two girlies this morning.
They were in two-gallon nursery pots; now they're in seven-gallon cloth pots (Smart Pots brand).
Here they are before.


Here's Alice ... her root ball looks just right to me ... full penetration but no root circling. I got her out of the pot by squeezing its sides to break it loose from the pot's walls, then got a hand over the soil around the stem ... and carefully turned the whole thing over. Some soil dropped onto the "work area", but most stayed with her.

I forgot how much physical effort is involved in potting plants! Soil is heavy, and keeping the area clean is a bit like herding cats. But it all came together, and here is Alice in her Executive Mansionette.

Halle, rootball and newly placed ...


They're not "watered in" yet. I am filling a 5-gallon bucket with RO water ... even as I type! I will also add that while i was handling the plants, diong mild but unavoidable injury to lower leaves while caressing and massaging the new soil into place ... they emitted that delightful signature aroma of vegetating weed ... lemon/pine, sort of. Amazing that the plant's way of cussing "watch it, Buster!!" would smell so ethereal and even lyrical. cn

 

[curious2garden]

.......snip.......I will make myself an NFT system, probably "from scratch" i.e. marine plywood and sheet plastic.

I stopped by a large pipe warehouse out here and they had some 6" schedule 80 PVC so I bought one 20' and made my NFT system out of that. The pipe was dirt cheap and so easy to use. Well for tomatoes anyway we have yet to see how the first mmj grow goes.

......snip......The Undercurrent setup interests me, but I have a bit of an aversion to float valves (bad experiences repairing a swamp cooler that was well past its operational lifetime ... )and I also wonder how hard it would be to do complete nute changes in one, especially if "chasing" a pathogen like the slime.

OH yes aren't swamp coolers 'special' grrrrrrrrr, sounds like we have had some similar experiences LOL

I also had similar thoughts about the illness issues with an undercurrent system. It seems like the multiple reservoirs would make handling issues an order of magnitude harder to handle. However I also worry about losing a plant when you are far along in a NFT grow and can't untangle the dead/dying plants roots from the rest. So many questions and so few years to figure it all out.

... and good news! I found a teenytiny but definite female preflower on Alice today!! cn

Wow that is good news! Congratulations on your new baby girl LOL.

The new pots look nice and roomy and your plants look very happy and healthy. The root structure is HUGE too! Amazing how fast this stuff grows isn't it. It looks like you have everything sorted and running very nicely for this grow. I am green with envy LOL

If you have time would you mind swinging by my journal and looking at my last post please? My largest seedling is yellow and developing pinpoint brown dots. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.

Anyway keep up the great work. Your grow is really picking up steam now.

 

[cannabineer]

Thank you for all the kind words, Annie!!
Wow. The tent's humidity went up quite a bit after the repotting. I'm glad for the cloth pots which will let the sodden soil dry out faster. I don't know if it's the "watering in" which necessarily left the dearies overwatered, or if it's ordinary root shock, but they didn't grow much. Here are some photos taken yesterday morning.
I don't like the way Halle seems more yellow than green. I wonder if it's overwatering, magnesium hunger, or just the pheno. I'll feed her once the soil gets drier.

I had a bizarre experience on the night of the 2nd. I'd just resurfaced my cortex with a lung-straining dab of extract, and i went into the warm tent to commune with my pretties. I looked at Halle's growth tips ... and hallucinated a mass of calyxes and pistils! I was certain that somehow, under a big MH running 20/4, that she'd decided to flower!! I was quite upset ... "you can't even grow plants any more, you big wastrel!" I was stonedly coming up with weirder&weirder thread titles for the inevitable Plant Problems post I'd have to compose, as I drifted into fitful sleep.
In the morning I looked again, hard, and was relieved that I'd faked myself out.
So ... should I feed Halle? And what? cn

 

[curious2garden]

I had a bizarre experience on the night of the 2nd. I'd just resurfaced my cortex with a lung-straining dab of extract, and i went into the warm tent to commune with my pretties. I looked at Halle's growth tips ... and hallucinated a nass of calyxes and pistils!

Well if one decides to hallucinate this would certainly be good stuff to see mwahahahahaaaaaaa and better living through chemistry, Monsanto eh? Sometime you'll have to tell me how you prepare it. I am such a newbie but a nosey newb.

I was certain that somehow, under a big MH running 20/4, that she'd decided to flower!! I was quite upset ... "you can't even grow plants any more, you big wastrel!" I was stonedly coming up with weirder&weirder thread titles for the inevitable Plant Problems post I'd have to compose, as I drifted into fitful sleep.
In the morning I looked again, hard, and was relieved that I'd faked myself out.
So ... should I feed Halle? And what? cn

Hopefully someone that has a clue will be around soon but my new best friend is epsom salts. I was panicking over yellowing with tiny brown punctate spots and I fed them epsom salts 7.5 grams/2 liters (just easier to do this metrically), and they are looking wonderful, just as they should. Surprisingly even the lightly yellowed foliage is turning green again so I am happy.

Problem with that is if you've overwatered should you feed? Hmmm maybe if you do add some H2O2 to the water and really cool off the soil? I don't know and if it's soil I promise you I can kill it. So whatever I say it's probably best to do the exact opposite!

 

[cannabineer]

Annie, I would be a bit wary about adding H2O2 to soil ... it'll play absolute hob with the soil's microecology.
I did try both epsom and a feeding with the GH 3-part Flora mixed to "intermediate veg" proportions, but didn't get any positive effects. In fact a couple of Halle's leaves developed mild nitrogen claw, so i won't be feeding for a while yet. Either Happy Frog is good stuff, or these two phenos are just not big nute piggies.
What I did do was research optimal spacing between plant and light. For a 600 MH the recommendations range from 16 to 24 inches 9one site) and four feet (another site). Halle's tops were maybe 12 inches from the MH lam's capsule, so i figured "maybe this slow growth and weird coloration has to do with too much light". I have moved the plants lower, so now there are a true 24 inches between the plants' tops and the capsule. Halle responded favorably at once, with new growth and a darkening of the new leaves' green color. The very tips are a bit bleached however.

Since the site has been having conniptions, and also since I've been under the weather with a cold, I've been slow to post updates. Here they are two days ago, on Dec 08. cn

 

[cannabineer]

Here they are just minutes ago ... notice the dark green appearing on halle's upper fans. Alice seems to like it as well ... her leaf "canoeing" issues are getting steadily less apparent.

I also got my clip-on fan in the mail from Amazon! Unfortunately the oscillating feature does not work in the tent's edge ... not enough room. The fan head is stopped by either the walls or the clip's weird little articulations. So i've simply set it on single-direction. But after two days and a night, the plants seem to like it. cn

 

[upthearsenal]

Just read your whole thread, and they really have improved considerably! They are looking beautiful now.

 

[cannabineer]

Thank you, upthearsenal!! If all goes well, my plans are to switch to 12/12 sometime around year's end. It's a horrific waste of power, but perhaps will repay me in experience.
Halle has the most wonderful smell when i touch her leaves! First note is pine and lemon ... then a big thick Mentho-Lyptus cough drop smell, and cherry cand y on the finish.
Alice just smells indica earth hashy ... with a subtle, coquettish hint of polecat. cn

 

[GODSROCK]

great story ! your a beast!

 

[overTHEman]

Thanks again for swingin by my journal cn.

DWC mishaps cost money, been there. Back to soil - don't be ashamed, plants were meant to grow in it. How do you like the happy frog? Though you're on the GH three part, have you given any thought to AACT? Also, have you looked into any beneficial/myco products since the hygrozyme incident?

 

[cannabineer]

GODSROCK, cheers at'cha!

oTm, I really like the Happy Frog. It has a wonderful texture and smell ... reminds me of the compost I used to lovingly make back in the day.
I have not needed to nute-supplement either plant yet. I did so after misdiagnosing a mild case of overlighting ... but they didn't need it, and because i was gentle I didn't do harm. Don't let them tell you that there is no such thing as too much light!!

For me soil is very much a plan B. My hobby was and would be compounding my own salt ferts ... i have over 200 pounds of components! But until i am out of this renter and in a house to truly call my own (if only a good property would become available!!) I will stick with what's simple and fairly portable. I feel a bit spanked after the DWC failure!!
My earlier succes was with ebb&flow, then NFT. I will probably DIY an appropriate setup once I have zero worries about moving heavy awkward weird fabrications. One day, I would like a setup that is as clean and spare as your microgrow! I admire your setup, oTm.

The Happy Frog appears to have provided the microbes my roots craved ... which is comforting since I was fighting serious root slime at the end. I don't know which commercial prep would duplicate the results of, say, Heisenberg's microbe tea. I also don't have a source of good reliable compost, so no AACT for this grow. When i return to hydro ... I don't know which commercial bennies product would be the right one. Any insights appreciated.

Here are the kiddies as of minutes ago. I have begun a sort of LST, hoping to fill in my grow space a little. I would try ScrOG, but I don't want to bodge up a screen for a single grow. next soil grow will be with a higher plant count. If the White Widow disappoints, i'll commit my four remaining Raspberry Cough beanettes. I have high high hopes for this strain ... I hope the flowers will be frosty. cn

 

[overTHEman]

GODSROCK, cheers at'cha!

oTm, I really like the Happy Frog. It has a wonderful texture and smell ... reminds me of the compost I used to lovingly make back in the day.
I have not needed to nute-supplement either plant yet. I did so after misdiagnosing a mild case of overlighting ... but they didn't need it, and because i was gentle I didn't do harm. Don't let them tell you that there is no such thing as too much light!!

For me soil is very much a plan B. My hobby was and would be compounding my own salt ferts ... i have over 200 pounds of components! But until i am out of this renter and in a house to truly call my own (if only a good property would become available!!) I will stick with what's simple and fairly portable. I feel a bit spanked after the DWC failure!!
My earlier succes was with ebb&flow, then NFT. I will probably DIY an appropriate setup once I have zero worries about moving heavy awkward weird fabrications. One day, I would like a setup that is as clean and spare as your microgrow! I admire your setup, oTm.

The Happy Frog appears to have provided the microbes my roots craved ... which is comforting since I was fighting serious root slime at the end. I don't know which commercial prep would duplicate the results of, say, Heisenberg's microbe tea. I also don't have a source of good reliable compost, so no AACT for this grow. When i return to hydro ... I don't know which commercial bennies product would be the right one. Any insights appreciated.

Here are the kiddies as of minutes ago. I have begun a sort of LST, hoping to fill in my grow space a little. I would try ScrOG, but I don't want to bodge up a screen for a single grow. next soil grow will be with a higher plant count. If the White Widow disappoints, i'll commit my four remaining Raspberry Cough beanettes. I have high high hopes for this strain ... I hope the flowers will be frosty. cn
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Overlighting exists +1. And isn't renting just awesome? HA.

You've got pictures of pretty girls, you're on the right track.

Grow on, cannabineer - i'll be following and learning. Thank you again for the warm welcome.

 

[cannabineer]

Thank you, oTm!! Hoooo yah renting is awesome, and so is Dremel dentistry.

The kids are growing oh so very slowly, and the big fan leaves are yellowing a bit ... but by the rich green color of the new growth I can't honestly diagnose a condition that shouts "feed me!". With my overfert experiences, I am a little shy about just pouring in the nutes.
I have also been trying to see if I could let the plants drink up all the water until they began to wilt a bit, but with cloth pots I am questioning the goodness of that approach. The outer portion of the soil had become bone-dry, and cracks were appearing. Not wanting my precious root system to wither, I watered each bag to the tune of about two liters ... no harm but no hoped-for surge in growth either. There is barely a change since two days ago ... I've settled on a two-day interval for the "photodocumentation" portion of this journal.
It is cold tonight in rednekistan. I don't like cold. cn

 

[upthearsenal]

You could check out bioag.com for bennies, fulvic acid, and other humic products. I use their endo-mix throughout and really like it, simple and probably the cheapest you can find. You have to brew it with molasses (and kelp if you'd like, it's best to keep it simple) but it's fine if you don't mind that part.

 

[cannabineer]

Upthearsenal ... my ambition is to grow hydroponically, and I don't think kelp or molasses would be something I'd want in the reservoir. I would look for "hydro-ready" bennies if there is such a product.

Girls update -
Alice is catching up to halle! Alice is growing visibly each two-day photo interval ... but Halle seems to have stalled. I am not sure why. cn

 

[cannabineer]

Halle is nowhere near as green as Alice. Alice has just been getting water, but Halle's fan leaves are yellowing ... and her growth is practically stalled. Nitrogen? I asked myself, so I mixed a liter of ammonium nitrate (nowt but N there) to a strength of 470 ppm measured. that should be a stout dose of N. After 2 days ... pretty much no change. Not greener, not yellower, not growing, not showing signs of tox or identifiable deficiency. It is to scratch the head.
I really wanted these plants to gain some mass over these last 2 weeks. Why they are not going at it ... I do not know.cn