Champagne + purple, medical, 1st grow

I have been posting under several sections of the site, so I thought I would go ahead and start a grow journal.

This is my first legal, medical, indoor USA grow.

I have 5 Champagne clones and 1 Purple kush clone. The 5 champagne clones were sick when I got them from a friend two and a half weeks ago and have made a substantial comeback. Here is what the sick champagne clones looked like 2.5 weeks ago with heat stress and spidermites:

This is not a mirror reflection, its 5 plants in two identical clear rubbermade containers side by side.


The purple kush clone is not shown in these pics as it is newer than the photos, and from a different grower. Ill take photos once the lights come on..

The plants are under a air cooled hydrofarm 250W hps with a 4" 165cfm inline fan sucking through a carbon filter above the space.

I'm using 149w in CFL's to supplement light in the space. The space is 2'x3.5' and 8' high. The total wattage is 399w / 7'sq = 57w per foot. The CFL's can all be repositioned to give light as need be which is nice. It is dark cycle right now or I would post pics of the whole setup.

I was using a cold mist humidifier in the space to help cool things down, but leaving it on 24/7 gave rise to some powdery mildew on a few plants so I've increased airflow through the space and removed the humidifier all together. With the humidifier the space was 78F 56rh day max, now the space is 80F 40rh day max, but co2 is being added so the higher temps should be ok (right or no??) So now I am saving for an AC unit to keep the space at 76F (thoughts?).

I went from 18/6 into 12/12 two weeks ago, after transplanting the 16" champagne clones into 3 gallon pots full of fox farm ocean forest, pearlite, vermiculite, peat moss, and some hydroton clay balls on top to promote healthy aeration and diffusing of water across soil surface. Soil PH is 6.3, and I'm working to get it down to 6.2 but this should happen naturally as the organic ferts are used in the soil. I transplanted the Purple Kush clone today into the same mixture.

As for nutes, I have the Botanicare line up, gro, bloom, grape sweet, hydroguard, cal mag plus, and liquid karma. I have a botanicare chart to use for the nute ratios for what week of flower or bloom.. I am having good results, but am only using 50% strength because I planted in FFOF and its fairly nute rich. Should I add molasses to this line up? And how much have folks had success with using for watering?

As for water... I mix 3/4 distilled water with 1/4 tap water and let it sit for at least 24 hrs before watering, in a 5 gal bucket with air stones from a fish tank to add extra oxygen. I use mad farmer ph up and down to balance things after I add nutes.
I use a soil mositure/ph probe meter from a hydroponics shop that was 10$ until I can afford the 150$ hanna one.. I water when it gets down to the transition into red (meaning dry), but not the 0 water red level...

lookin nice and neat my dude! how does champagne taste,smell,yield,etc? i heard of it a month or 2 ago but dont know the info on it

Ok reading through all this the only picture looks really wimpy compared to whats actually flowering now, so I James Bond'ed a night vision pic in the grow room for you to see the plants are dense, healthy, and flowering!



Sorry for the poor quality, its some ghetto night vision. This is one of the Champagne clones, which was severely light burned and had a spider mite problem just 2.5 weeks ago.

Hey thanks for checking in Warisnottheanswer, war really is not the answer after all, but thats a whole nother thread. Instead of paraphrasing this, I'll just list the source, which is: IC Strain Guide.

"""" Breeder's Description - 'Reefermans Champagne'

Reeferman’s version of the Champagne cutting that was in vogue throughout PNW in the late 90’s. The Champagne is a Hashplant/Kush Hybrid and we crossed it lightly with the pollen from a super sweet Burmese male. This one smells of sweet sparkly champagne with dank hashy undertones. A good producer of 50% indica/50% sativa herb that is very relaxing. Makes nice hash.

Sativa/Indica: 50/50."""""

From what I've read it is also bred by BC seeds as a 70% indica 30% sativa hashplant x hindu kush varient. I am unsure which breeders champagne I have, as they were gifts from someone who couldn't bring them back to health.

It is supposedly, and I'm sayin that because I actually haven't smoked champagne yet, up to 22% thc (thanks hashplant!)

Here is another breeders description:
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Champagne marijuana is mid green with orange hairs. It's like tasting indoor skunk weed. Resinous buds are the order of the day. Yield will be high when grown, even if the pot plant is small. Great to hide in the bush outdoors. Probably an exclusive to Canadian growers.[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]
Indoor or Outdoor
Type : Indica Hybrid
Yield : up to 300 gram / square meter
Height : 40-55 cm
Climate : indoor/outdoor/mountainous
Flowering period of 8/9 weeks[/FONT]

And a couple pictures used in these descriptions:

thats whats up ill be ridin with u!

I have been unable to find much other info on the strain, so anyone with information please feel free to share it here. It seems folks are pretty tight lipped when it comes to this particular varient and I am aiming to find out why B.C. won't share more champagne seeds with the USA jk jk.. No geographical hate, only love for creating the strain!!

And good looks Warisnottheanswer! Pass it left

I am adding co2 to the space using Green Pads, but it looks like homemade packaging so the brand probably doesnt matter. Basically, you hang the pad, spray it with water, and the humidity in the room keeps it activated and releasing co2 for two weeks. I added these 2 weeks ago when I went into flower and the growth has exploded since then. It also should help the plants deal with higher temps.. Pretty sweet co2 system for a small space, I tried yeast and sugar to no avail, If anyone has suggestions on other cost effective co2 let me know, I am all ears...

One strange thing that has happened during this grow that I have not seen before (my other grows never made it to flowering, or had a hps and ph tester) is the sideways twisting of a couple leaves on a couple different plants. I posted about it in sick plants and have a variety of responses but one bloak said it happened to every jacky white he'd ever grown, so maybe its genetic, but I've read about a couple pest and toxicities and deficiencies that can cause 'distortions' in the leaves which I suspect this is. Perhaps a micro nutrient problem, pest or mold that has infiltrated the plants defenses? Any ideas on this? The lightening of the leaf on the side of the curl is what gets me....

Here is a pic of one the effected leaves. The tips on the affected leaves never point down, only curl sideways... Any suggestions or thoughts? Could this be aftermath from spidermite treatment and my friends excessive heat stress? The heat stress damage is still visible lower right in photo. The leaf twisting seems more recent though.... Nonetheless, here is the photo.

Current Flowering Room Conditions:

Light: Dark as the devils heart is black (night)
Temp: 68F with 45rh, was 80F 43rh Day Max
Ph: 6.3
Days into flowering: 16
Days left of flowering: 42
Wattage: 57w/sq foot, on 12/12 cycle
Male/Female: All female flowers showing
Strains Growing: 5 Champagne, 1 Purple Kush
Exhaust Fan: on 24/7
Oscilating Fan: on 24/7
Humidifier: Removed from room (mold)
Music for plants: on 24/7
Air filter with negative ion generator: on 24/7
Water Reservoir air stone pump (not hydroponic grow, just for watering): on 24/7
Co2 enrichment: on, activated in the mornings..
Nutes: 50% botanicare line-up
Medium: FFOF base

that is all I can think of right now......

The more I feel like the more I just need to

While I am at it, I thought I would mention the little girls room, (veg chamber) that has 3 Northern Lights and 7 Top 44s BURSTING up towards the light.



I made the lights with one Y socket adapter and 2 x 42w cfl's per reflector, so 4 x 42w cfls = 168w for veg. the lights were clamp lights but made reflectors by chopping white oval trashcans in half and remounting the light sockets inside with L brackets. Cost $3.50 for the trashcan, $10 clamp lights, $35 bulbs, $2 L brackets, $5 pulleys, and $2 rope.

I wont go into the conditions and progress of this room as much as I don't want to confuse the two grows too much. But once the champagne and purps are ready to harvest these will be ready to flower.

I treated for powdery mildew / gray mold earlier today and removed the humidifier from the room. Anyone else have any suggestions on combating this as things go on?
Thanks green thumbs!

Ganja Gold, or Kief, is amazing for instant pain relief. Medical practitioners and dispensaries both need to take note..



PUFF PUFF PASS

Ok folks, It is morning again and the lights are on.
Here is the official update for the grow journal.

Day of Flowering: 17
Days left of flowering: 41
Strains: 5 Champagne, 1 Purple Kush

Here is the purple kush clone, previously unseen-


Here are the champagne girls:


And its a room with a view:


The hps makes all the champagne leaves look very yellow, this is not the case at all!
I'll post some better pictures soon.

Here is a better photo of the nice and dark Purple Kush clone, which is the runt of the litter, about 2-3 weeks younger than the champagne clones in the background of the picture

Looking really good man, I will be following this grow.

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My new bible (finally) arrived today by Mr Jorge Cervantes... So much reading to do now!



Reading that my powdery mildew / mold problem is caused by low temps at night, the plants too close together, and high humidity. Since I don't have space to spread the girls out any more, I have removed the humidifier from the space and am keeping it warmer at night. Thinking about picking up an ac unit that also has a heater and a thermostat so I can keep the space at 76F all day and night... For those that missed the specifics, I am flowering 6 plants in a 2' x 3.5' space and they're rubbing elbows (major fan leaves) pretty regularly... The only benefit of the tight sea of green is that I can naturally ScrOG the bud sites by tucking fan leaves under fan leaves on the neighboring plants...

Thanks WonderWhatsNext, good to see some more heads dropping in to peep this hashplant variant get covered in trichomes, or die trying..
Pass it left

Current Flowering Room Conditions:

Light: Dark as the devils heart is black (night)
Temp: 76F with 40rh, was 80F 50rh Day Max
Ph: 6.3
Days into flowering: 18
Days left of flowering: 40
Wattage: 57w/sq foot, on 12/12 cycle
Exhaust Fan: on 24/7
Oscilating Fan: on 24/7
Humidifier: Removed from room (mold)
Heater: added to room for nights to reduce mold
Music for plants: on 24/7
Air filter with negative ion generator: on 24/7
Water Reservoir air stone pump (not hydroponic grow, just for watering): on 24/7
Co2 enrichment: on, activated in the mornings..
Nutes: 50% botanicare line-up
Medium: FFOF base
___________________

Rearranged the entire space today so the girls would have a little more leg room and hopefully increase airflow. Added a heater fan for nights to attempt keeping the room above 76 all day (fighting downy mildew). I appear to be winning the mold battle right now, but watching for the comeback..

Here are some pictures from today, day 18 of flowering. This is the runt of the Champagne clones, who was hit hard by sun damage and mites early on..

Champagne runt shown in the yellow HPS light -


Champagne runt shown in natural lighting -


40 more days to go..

lookin good my dude pop champagne hoooooo!