First Time Grower, G13 Feminized

watered yesterday just to keep topsoil moist, w/ about 10oz/400ppm & then a tapwater spraydown. nothing new yet today; just turned on lights. probly gonna do a 40oz watering in a bit, depending on weight/dryness. lateral growth & top growth still steadyrockin... i now have 3 additional 8"x20" mirrors to figure out how to arrange.

on 2nd thought, i have a tendency to overwater, even when i know i shouldn't, so, let's have another drought day. i have not seen ill effects from underwatering so far, so we should be good2go

well i accidentally broke a leaf stem on a smaller/newer/secondary 5-blade leaf - one of the lower lateral-reach ones. i guess it's true that the plant has hundreds of leaves now, so losing one wouldn't be a big deal, but i still feel guilty as hell for hurting what i consider my baby. i sat there & held it in place by hand for half an hour, then i taped it in place. i'll know by 2moro if this helped. i highly doubt it will live. it never did line up 100% because of the leaf's weight. i just gotta redouble my effort to be freakin' careful from here on out! into day 49 now.

sure enough, the leaf died. totally my fault.

rest of plant is doing great. watered it w/ 20oz/350ppm
earlier.

ok well 2 things:

1) i am a bigtime believer in mirrors! not only does it make scientific sense that you can redirect lost light and effectively multiply light used by the plant *many* times over, but also i've had fuckin' awesome results with mirrors in the real world too, which is what counts. if you think about the fact that my only light is a 90-watt UFO light, and that this plant is thriving bigtime from it, there's just no doubt whatsoever. who the hell cares what the naysayers say? i'm using mirrors and they work. for every mirror you have, it's like adding one extra UFO light... hello? where's the downside? there isn't one, suckaz.

however,

2) i've just about had enough of regular glass mirrors, so i'm taking it to the next level with a ... carnival mirror! hahahah. for ganja growing purposes, i have noticed that regular glass mirrors have a lot of disadvantages: they're heavy, they're fragile, you can't flex them, you can't focus them, they're a pain in the ass to mount and keep stable, ... need i go on? earlier i dropped one and it shattered. fuck a bunch of that. so anyway, tonight i am ordering a jumbo 56" by 84" carnival mirror from carnivalmirror.com . you can cut it, flex it, bend it, focus it, etc. the plan is to cut out some wide cone shapes for top & bottom & some flatter longer bands for the circumference. in theory, a sphere is what i want, with the UFO at the very top. that would be like infinitely multiplying the power of the UFO. i don't expect perfection, but it should be much much brighter than a few flat glass mirrors can do.

hopefully it gets here in about a week. it might even replace the hula room alltogether if it works out well enough. more updates later.

yay, my laptop's back in action

watered g13 yesterday with 20oz/340ppm

had a drought day before that, and will have another one today, soon as i turn on the lights in a few hours and it will be veg day 52.

man, cannabis laws nationwide are taking a turn for the better...
dude, from what i heard, THE PATENT ON Marinol RUNS OUT IN 2012. big pharma companies are already runnin around like chickens w/ their heads cut off to get in line & make their own versions of it. i don't know if it'll be a pill, an under-tongue spray, a needle, or what, but that shit's gonna happen. now don't get me wrong, there's no way / no how i'm gonna be giving my money to big pharma - their greedy asses can go hang themselves for all i care - but as soon as their generic Marinol happens, there will be no excuse anymore for any government authority to tell people they can't grow their own marijuana houseplant. 2012 could well be the year for U.S. legalization across the board. and hell, even if it isn't, it makes no diff. nature's laws are what i go by...not some stupid law some stupid guy made up to satisfy their own fear.

carnival mirror just arrived

carnival mirr looks like it'll work out as close to perfect as you could hope 4. they must've made a cut error coz instead of a 56"x84" roll, i got a 57"x108" roll. thanks, suckaz. cut out a 6th of it, 19"x54", mounted on hularoom inner wall as a test run. worked out great. i'll add more next time the lights go up. 3 more pieces like that would cover the whole circumference from top to almost bottom. better yet, use the big remaining piece (38"x108") which is exactly the same surface area i'm talkin about. then i'll have 2 spare 19"x54"'s for future use.

the abberations have been few & far between, but just for documentation purposes: 2 or 3 days ago missed lights-off alarm by 15 min (12:45pm). today missed it by an hour 10min (1:40pm). also it was toughing it out at up to 34C just now, way too high, but temp back in check.

insects still come & go sometimes but i see no new insect damage. nute abberations (i think) still occasionally show on a lower/older leaf, in the form of various issues: wilting leaf tip, partly cut lookin leaf blade, lighter spots. plant is very healthy all around so i can't complain, nor can i really micromanage one area without root access

lower canopy light coverage has been sorta lacking for a few days ever since i ditched the glass mirrs. some of the widest branches down low are thicker than others. this prob should be eliminated when i finish coating inside of grow room w/ carnival mirror. the stuff really works at multiplying the light...i'm impressed

i've been going through almost non-stop experimentation from day to day, so this, my 1st grow, might be hard to follow for passersby, i don't know or care really - it's just for me to refer back to - but i think i'm doing an excellent job, honestly, and if/when i do grow #2 in the future, things will be so highly standardized that there will be almost nothing to write in a grow journal...that's a good thing, meaning these growing pains are teaching me valuable lessons!

overall height is 14" above the dirt. based on how new growth shows up in new colors under LED (see earlier post on that), i think new growth might be slower this 24 cycle due to light/temp abberations above or due to whatever else, but then again it might be totally normal, dunno. even if i was to switch to flowering right now today, my guess is that the main cola would be chunky enough to last me 6 months because that's how slow a user i am. so we're good.

side note - ok well marijuana pistils - i can only go by what i see in online pictures since i've never grown a plant before, and still no pistils as far as i can tell.
there was that false alarm a while back, but that was just a goofup on my part. the only features i can see at the main stem, where every branch branches off, is these 2 "needles" i've talked about before. every branch has 'em. they're 2 needles side by side, they point upwards, they're an inch or less depending on age, and their 2 tips almost touch each other. are those "pistils"? hell if i know. doesn't look like it. but i'm not worried in the least. the primary bud site (main cola area) and like a dozen secondary bud sites are all looking great for being in the vegging stage

maybe i'll take my time turning the lights back on tonight since i missed the lights off time by over an hour. maybe on around 7:15pm today, off around 1:00pm 2moro, and then back to normal times (6:30pm and 12:30pm)

If you get a clear picture with the lights off of the branches and node areas i will tell you if you have pistils.

ok thanks for your help dr.g. i'll post a flash pic of the "unknown pistil" area on page 16 or whatever. the next page from this page.

for now, a small update: yesterday i watered w/ 10oz/340ppm. top surface of soil still is still moist when you slightly press down on it by hand, so maybe i'll do a drought day today & check again 2moro or late 2nite.

ok some zoom shots on the needle pairs i'm talkin about. pic 1 shows 1 pair of needles. pic 2 shows 2 pair of needles.

i have had these from the start on basically every branch spot. there are no other features on the branch spots except regular ol' leaves here & there (not pictured) so, what are these needles called? are they pistils or something else?

supersymmetry said:

View attachment 1683581View attachment 1683582
ok some zoom shots on the needle pairs i'm talkin about. pic 1 shows 1 pair of needles. pic 2 shows 2 pair of needles.

i have had these from the start on basically every branch spot. there are no other features on the branch spots except regular ol' leaves here & there (not pictured) so, what are these needles called? are they pistils or something else?

Click to expand...

Not sure the name of those but they are not pistils. Get another shot up the branch a ways.

Dr Gruber said:

Not sure the name of those but they are not pistils. Get another shot up the branch a ways.

Click to expand...

ok, might do that in a bit, or tomorrow

right now i just gotta say hell yeah! my round-shaped grow room (two 32" hula hoops separated by 4ft of white curtain, all hanging from ceiling fan, and rotating w/ fan if i want) is now completely lined w/ the sheet of flex mirror which is 3ft 2 inches by 9ft circumference. it was a perfect fit because the circumference of the grow room is 9ft too or a bit less. it was just pure luck, but hey, now it's a total success. the non-mirrored bottom 10 inches or so doesn't matter because that's where the grow bucket is. canopy penetration is really improved. all leaves & branches are getting hit by direct light, no matter how deep they're covered by other leaves & branches. that's what it's all about, maximum photosynthesis. since it's LED's tuned to the exact frequencies of photosynthesis, almost 100% of the light is getting photosynthesized, compared with conventional white lights where most of the light bounces off the leaves. this little 90-watt is kicking ass bigtime right now.

ok well there is still room for improvement. a boatload more light is gettin lost further down because it's hitting the sides of the grow bucket and bouncing off. i want to capture & use all that light. i have 2 possible plans for that: the sorta-ez plan is to cut out sections from the 2 spare mirr pieces which are 19"x54" each, and make a cone shaped or curved bottom end, going diagonally from the outer walls and ending up at dirt level. the sorta-hard plan is to make about a dozen vertical cuts at the bottom of the mirror cylinder and then curl them upwards to also end up around dirt level. they would overlap some with each other but it doesn't matter.

basically i think that if you're gonna use a mirror grow room, the perfect growroom shape is shaped like a capital "U", i.e. a cylinder with a hemisphere bottom or maybe a cone bottom. the light source goes at the very top of the U, and the dirt level is at the very bottom of the U. add a flat lid, mirror that too, and basically all the light is confined so it's very efficient. still gotta leave room for venting, watering, etc. but the U is the basic perfect shape.

more later or 2moro

ok right now it's sorta hard to get up-close pics (of pistils or lack thereof) but i wanted to test laptop uploading

pic 1 - see all those extra copies of the UFO? the plant sees 'em too... cha-chinnng, free extra light, no extra wattage
pic 2 - overall shot from above with dollar bill for size reference
pic 3 - mirror-wall reflection
pic 4 - mirror-wall reflection

did about a 5oz/350ppm watering from above, between leaves, just to moisten central soil a little. it's gettin dry around the edges. tomorrow i need to hang hularoom up higher on ceiling fan blades to do full 20oz or 40oz watering from below. that's the only practical way now, coz room wall is too stiff to be collapsible ever since adding mirror surface. have 20oz/380ppm pre-mixed so i don't forget watering.

earlier i repositioned UFO pwr cord to come outta top instead of bottom coz branches are getting to be too wide. pwr cord was running into 'em down through grow room & i don't want to break any. room can only freely rotate 72 degrees with pwr cord on top & lights on (pwr cord runs into bungee cords) but it's worth it. room can still rotate full 360 if i jump the bungee cords over pwr cord manually by hand, which is good enuf. room can still rotate freely w/ light off, i.e. pwr cord disconnected alltogether

seeing many areas that i consider future bud sites. al least a dozen or more. now that there is consistent & deep penetrating light, future bud sites should only get more plentiful & more thick...from top to bottom...

Hey bro just wondering have u got a dehumidifier ? If dr grubers g13 molded up then there is every chance yours could to.Also think about a sulfur burner. Now u know there is a chance of it happening ,be prepared.

hey *buds, thanks, hope to hear more from you
i didn't know dr.g's molded up. if it did, that sucks. his pics looked pretty good up to harvest except how that first plant was a little more yellow. his plants looked better than mine does, honestly. mine has a variety of issues. the main issue is some lower leaftips wilting from the outside in. other lower leaftips develop a glossy texture w/ weird cuts, but no insect probs so i don't know what the cuts mean. maybe from prolonged low light which is less of a problem now. yesterday there was a white fly, which i haven't seen in quite a while. other tips are obviously burned from nutes. all my problems are localized so far, luckily
i don't have a dehumidifier or a sulfur burner. the humidity around here is bad in the summer. internet says 83% right now with a high of 99%, and no rain in forecast, so that's bad in my book. there is an air conditioner in the building and i run it 8-12 hours a day depending on how bad it gets. it's getting worse this week w/ highs in he mid90s, lows in the mid 70s, humidity right up there between 80%-100%.
i'm glad you reminded me of the powdery mildew threat. do you have an opinion on neem oil? i have a neem oil concentrate bottle that i haven't used yet. i'm thinking maybe it's time to try it? the description makes it sound like some kinda all-in-1 miracle cure for anything that could ever go wrong with plants... 1) insecticide (controls aphids, whitefiles, etc.), 2) fungicide (controls black spot, rust, powdery mildew), 3) miticide (controls spides mites). funny how mites get their own category... aren't they considered insects? anyway if anyone has experience w/ neem oil to prevent mold, i'd love to hear, coz i think it's time i tried it as a precaution

note 2 self, just did a quick trial run of neem oil...
- was about 20 min ago. lights goin down in 30 min ("catch-down" irregular cycle)
- mixed down neem oil w/ plain ol' tap water, appx 1/3-1/2 teaspoon for 16oz
- it dissolves pretty well in water but u do need to shake up occasionally
- smells like orange juice on steroids, haha. natural smell, not chemical smell
- sprayed down the bud site where i goofed up & lost a leaf a few days ago
- sprayed down some "glossy" leaves right next to that bud site
- mostly just the tops of leaves. didn't bother much with underside
- check in 12 or 24 hrs for leaf burn or other side effects
- if ok, go ahead & spray down whole plant lightly, check in 12-24hrs
- if still ok, spray down whole plant more thoroughly, check in 12-24hrs
- repeat every 7 days or so

watered down w/ about 40oz/370ppm

the mirror might start gettin stained sooner than later as i spray/squash bugs on it... oh well, that's life. i mean...death.

LOL... i know someone's gonna rain on my parade here but... i am now the proud new smoker of that dead leaf from recently. yes, it was unflushed. yes, it was rough. yes, i know people say there's no getting high off a leaf. but i'm here 2 tell ya it worked 4 me. i haven't smoked in months, so my tolerance is very low. it left red hash oil inside my glass tube & gave me lung mucus, so, no doubts. even though it was masked by no flush / no cure / dirty utensil, i have the lock-on on this plant's aroma. the bodily feel i would describe as having vitality, relaxation of eyes, head, & back of head & neck, chest not as much but that too, better see/hear, better imagination/creativity/reflection/optimism/intuition etc. i'm ready to start flowering. what day is this again... 55? yeah i think so. ok later