Double Helix (spiral staircase) Cola

How can I get my buds to fatten up more? The colas would be fat if they'd fill in completely. I'm running L.A. Confidential and it's a tad leggy. I've pinched off the lower bud sites and that seems to have helped, but I still get spiral staircases to heaven.

They're getting 12-14 hours of daylight and probably have a couple weeks left. No amber trichomes yet. They're in 5 gallon smart pots with Fox Farm Ocean Forest and I'm currently feeding them:

.625 oz. / 20ml Liquinox Grow
2.5 oz. Seaweed Extract
15 oz urine
4.17 oz. / (planned to use only 50 ml.) Molasses

Per 5 gallons water.

The urine and molasses steeps in a 55gal drum with aeration. I add the rest before watering in a bucket and often use aquaponic water.

My veg and early bloom recipes include Alaska Fish emulsion.

I forget what the NPK ratio of late bloom is, but vegetative is 4-2-3 and bloom is 1.32-1-2.09. I plan on cutting back on the molasses on the next feeding.

I'm trying to keep the grow as natural as possible using what I've got, but I'm open to suggestion.

Also, my Blue Dreams tend to die off before finishing the flower period. I don't know if they're root bound or what, but they seldom make it to the finish line as I'd like. I keep everything under 3'

what kind of lighting are you using?

Sunlight for flower. I use 600W at night when it's veg time.

Lord Kanti said:

Sunlight for flower. I use 600W at night when it's veg time.

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sorry, i missed that part..

so, are you saying that you bring them in, or give them 600 watts of light, after they've had 12 / 14 hours of sunlight per day?

I brought them "in" for veg. They stay out for the flower period. I have stations set up. I don't keep them in climate controlled conditions, but I keep the electronics away from the elements for the most part.

Lord Kanti said:

I bring them "in" for veg. They stay out for the flower period. I have stations set up. I don't keep them in climate controlled conditions, but I keep the electronics away from the elements for the most part.

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ok, that'd be your problem.. once plants start to flower, a veg period is no longer needed, and if a plant gets more than say 12 or so hours of light per day, it will start to go back into veg mode, meaning flowering will stop, which would explain why your buds aren't filling in properly..

racerboy71 said:

ok, that'd be your problem.. once plants start to flower, a veg period is no longer needed, and if a plant gets more than say 12 or so hours of light per day, it will start to go back into veg mode, meaning flowering will stop, which would explain why your buds aren't filling in properly..

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When it's time to flip them, they stay out away from the artificial light. Sorry for being vague.

OP updated with picture.

Lord Kanti said:

When it's time to flip them, they stay out away from the artificial light. Sorry for being vague.

OP updated with picture.

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ahh, ok, disregard my previous comment than, lol..

chance are you need to try different genetics, or just flower for a longer period. are you aware that urine has things in it that are toxic to plants, like ammonia? maybe you're wanting a natural source of nitrogen but I don't know if urine is it. you could try a high phosphorus booster, but I don't recommend it as it could be too much. I think you would use it just once at a low amount and see what happens. I really don't think it's a good idea but you could try it.

Never seen piss in an AACT recipe, but I give you points for creativity.

Perhaps try adding:

CalMag
All purpose dry fertilizer w/ equal NPK ratios
kelp
high nitrogen bird guano
liquid fish
vermicompost/compost

Also make sure you are getting enough aeration in your tea, bubble it for 24-48 hours, and use it shortly after because the good stuff decays over time. You can also activate fungi in your tea by mixing compost with soybean meal, oatmeal, or powdered oatmeal. Mix that in well, three tablespoons per cup of compost, and ensure that there is a decent amount of moisture in the medium. Place it inside a container in a warm, dark spot, and keep it at about 80 degrees F (heat pad works well for maintaining temps) for three days. Then you should have a mass of mycelia forming on the compost for your tea. Earthworms are great for dispersing nutrients throughout soil, increasing aeration, etc.

The dutch have been using piss as fertilizer for decades, they literally call it "Liquid Gold". As long as you dilute it enough it's great, especially if you have a good diet.

Ace Yonder said:

The dutch have been using piss as fertilizer for decades, they literally call it "Liquid Gold". As long as you dilute it enough it's great, especially if you have a good diet.

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Hmm, may have to start pissing in teas now.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/using-urine-as-a-fertilizer.17800/

Do I really need calcium and magnesium? This is the average content in my water:
PPM
magnesium: 7.1
Calcium 48.8
CaCO3 150.9

PPB
Molybdenum 1.9

I was recently gifted a bottle of Flawless Finish. You use a ml or two during the last week and apparently get bigger buds. I've only used it once, so my results aren't exactly conclusive.

EDIT:

I lied, it's for flushing. Guess it's been a while since I last used it.

Lord Kanti said:

Do I really need calcium and magnesium? This is the average content in my water:
PPM
magnesium: 7.1
Calcium 48.8
CaCO3 150.9

PPB
Molybdenum 1.9

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Your cal levels are high enough you probably don't need to add any but I would add some Epsom salt for some mag to balance out the cal/mag levels, just a little bit should do the trick.

EDIT: Just read back your tea recipe, are you really using 4.12oz (8+tbls) of molasses for 5 gallons of water? If so, that's where I think your problem is, that much molasses can cause lockout of a bunch of different nutrients real quickly because it's really high in sugar and potassium. I wouldn't use more than 1tbls per gallon, and really if you're using the right molasses (must be blackstrap, not grandma's or brer rabbit or any of that bs) you really only need 1-2 tsp per gallon. With molasses, less is definitely more.

Ace Yonder said:

Your cal levels are high enough you probably don't need to add any but I would add some Epsom salt for some mag to balance out the cal/mag levels, just a little bit should do the trick.

EDIT: Just read back your tea recipe, are you really using 4.12oz (8+tbls) of molasses for 5 gallons of water? If so, that's where I think your problem is, that much molasses can cause lockout of a bunch of different nutrients real quickly because it's really high in sugar and potassium. I wouldn't use more than 1tbls per gallon, and really if you're using the right molasses (must be blackstrap, not grandma's or brer rabbit or any of that bs) you really only need 1-2 tsp per gallon. With molasses, less is definitely more.

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I usually use less, but I added more this last time mistakenly. I usually let 2.5 oz per 5 gal steep in aeration for a bit to feed my microbes. I add aquaponic water to my reservoirs to add microbes and trace nutrients to the mix.

This last time I added 50 ml of molasses to the pot on top of the 2.5 oz. ratio I added maybe a week ago.

I didn't use just pond water, so I figure the extra molasses went to feed the newly added microbes I used to seed my new 55 gallon reservoir.


The 55 gallon is aerated tap water, aquaponic / pond / fish water, urine and molasses. I transfer to a 5 gallon bucket with aerated compost and add additional nutrients in there. I figure the microbes can eat the molasses, break down the urine and multiply in the large reservoir and then I add the other stuff right before use. That way nutrients don't stagnate and I can alter ratios for the other plants not in late bloom.

Lord Kanti said:

I usually use less, but I added more this last time mistakenly. I usually let 2.5 oz per 5 gal steep in aeration for a bit to feed my microbes. I add aquaponic water to my reservoirs to add microbes and trace nutrients to the mix.

This last time I added 50 ml of molasses to the pot on top of the 2.5 oz. ratio I added maybe a week ago.

I didn't use just pond water, so I figure the extra molasses went to feed the newly added microbes I used to seed my new 55 gallon reservoir.


The 55 gallon is aerated tap water, aquaponic / pond / fish water, urine and molasses. I transfer to a 5 gallon bucket with aerated compost and add additional nutrients in there. I figure the microbes can eat the molasses, break down the urine and multiply in the large reservoir and then I add the other stuff right before use. That way nutrients don't stagnate and I can alter ratios for the other plants not in late bloom.

Click to expand...

Nice nice. Just remember that the microbes will only eat the sugar from the molasses, the other nutrients in it are already chelated and will stay that way. Molasses has 730mg of potassium per tbls, and potassium can lock out other nutrients pretty easily at high levels like that, so that's more what I would be concerned about.

I'll definitely not use that much again and check my bathroom for Epsom salts. What's a good ratio for using the salts?

Semen worKS wayyyyyy better then urine

I thought that only made women fatten up and demand your attention.