Skywalker F7 autos in a tub

Just started four Skywalker F7s in my indoor grow, in a tub/shower enclosure. I’ve spent a fair amount of time, brain cells, and money to optimize this grow space and it works very well. I’ll hang a six fixture 4 foot T5 light on the front of the grow space pointing in today, and turn on the four fixture 4 foot T5 light that is hanging on the back wall. They will be getting LED lighting from above and T5 lighting from both long sides of the enclosure. once they get larger, I’ll add in the pair of two fixture 2 foot T5 lights that will add in light at a 45 degree angle from the narrow sides of the tub enclosure. I’ll have every possible axis of light covered then (including what ever reflection I get upwards from the Mylar covered platform on which they stand). I’ve done this on past grows and the results were really outstanding. Electric bill took a hit, but what they heck...

I'm using cloth pots, so my usual attempt to get the plants to grow beyond the limits of their containers (aka my milk crate solution) prolly not gonna happen this time. I’ll bend them over to the limits of the cloth pot and then they’ll go au natural after that.

these were germinated on the last full moon (23 Oct), and sprouted in a couple days. Advertised time from seedling to harvest is 65 to 70 days, so I’m expecting 85 days. Puts me into mid Jan 2022, which will give me time to squeeze in one more indoor grow before the outdoor season begins. Ya gotta have a plan.

in the meantime, a friend’s recent harvest is in the dry/cure cabinet, and doing well. They were pretty wet when I put them in there, and have lost some moisture but not too much volume. Still off gassing the chlorophyll, but a gentle squeeze reveals what i hope will be the final aroma - it is decidely damned dank, definitely.

I'm loving the grow space. Once again you look like an alien overlord with all the mylar and wires. Very sci-fi looking space, I like the look of it. The girls are looking off to a good start. If you are going to top two I would do it as soon as you see the fourth or fifth node at the latest and no later than day 15 -16 hopefully. I've topped a ton of autos and it's worked more often than not but when it has caused stunting it was later in veg or with quicker vegging strains. I'm excited to see how they do side by side for you. Good luck with this run!!

The grow space was first devised/assembled in a third floor bathroom; worked well, but was tough to control temps in the summer, so it sits on the main level now. Fewer stairs to climb too...

all seems to be going well; great symmetry in the growth (important to a retired engineer), good color and i can see some lesser bud sites forming down near the bases of the first set of true leaves, so it is starting to branch out. I’m gonna try a spiral arrangement on at least one of them. Cannabis bonsai to pass the days...

The cabinet just switched over to the cure cycle (68 wet bulb/52 dew point) and will be finished with that in a couple days. It is a mystery photo so anxious to see/smell how it comes out for my friend...I’ll save back a sample or two...

They look great! I knew you would be twisting at least one of them. Might be able to top one this week when they get going just a little more.

I've been eyeballing that cannatrol. How has it been working out for you?

FirstCavApache64 said:

They look great! I knew you would be twisting at least one of them. Might be able to top one this week when they get going just a little more.

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Still a couple weeks away from the great contortion...slow and steady...

Dank Bongula said:

I've been eyeballing that cannatrol. How has it been working out for you?

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I love it - I could never slow down the dry/cure enuff in my house to let the chlorophyll off gas and not lose terpenes in the process. I’m finishing up the cure cycle tomorrow on some frosty bud from a friend’s grow and will post pictures tomorrow...

Was it a self-indulgent extravagance? Probably, but I’m known for that...

Retired engineer said:

I love it - I could never slow down the dry/cure enuff in my house to let the chlorophyll off gas and not lose terpenes in the process. I’m finishing up the cure cycle tomorrow on some frosty bud from a friend’s grow and will post pictures tomorrow...

Was it a self-indulgent extravagance? Probably, but I’m known for that...

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I'm no different in that regard. Pretty user friendly/easy to figure out?

Retired engineer said:

Still a couple weeks away from the great contortion...slow and steady...

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Mine are moving so slow it's killing me. I'm not sure if it's me, the switch to organics or the strain but I just want to see more progress. They've starting to get going in the last few days so I feel a little better. I don't think I'm going to be able to top any of them though. They're going to be too old by the time they get their fourth node. I'm going to have to do some serious training, the bubba trouble autos like to get tall. I might be needing help from the horizontal guru to keep me out of my lights depending on how the one in the 5 gallon pot does compared to it's sisters in 3 gallons.

Dank Bongula said:

I'm no different in that regard. Pretty user friendly/easy to figure out?

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Yes, thorough manual is included, and they are happy to help ya out over the phone too...I saw someone using a commercial wine fridge for the same purpose. That‘d control the temp, not sure how you’d control the dew point. According to the manufacturer, managing the dew point is critical to set right conditions for chlorophyll to off gas and retain the terpenes.

all the settings (length of dry/cure cycles, temp, dew point) are user changeable, so you can set for slow dry/cure if ya want. I used the default values (4 days each cycle) at 68 degrees wet bulb/54 degree dew point for dry and 68 degrees wet bulb/52 degree dew point for cure. Worked like a charm.

the manufacturer got his start building industrial size curing cabinets for artisanal cheeses and charcuterie aged meats, and has a good deal of R&D invested in the Coolcure cabinet. He also builds industrial size cabinets for commercial cannabis farmers too. Hand built in my home state no less...

ive often been accused of being decadently self-indulgent, but I think I’m really self-indulgently decadent.

FirstCavApache64 said:

Mine are moving so slow it's killing me. I'm not sure if it's me, the switch to organics or the strain but I just want to see more progress. They've starting to get going in the last few days so I feel a little better. I don't think I'm going to be able to top any of them though. They're going to be too old by the time they get their fourth node. I'm going to have to do some serious training, the bubba trouble autos like to get tall. I might be needing help from the horizontal guru to keep me out of my lights depending on how the one in the 5 gallon pot does compared to it's sisters in 3 gallons.

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Mine are not going at a break neck speed either...we’ll figure out height control as we go along...

I bought all the PVC for a SCROG but have not yet built it - might be time to give that a try too...

FirstCavApache64 said:

Mine are moving so slow it's killing me. I'm not sure if it's me, the switch to organics or the strain but I just want to see more progress. They've starting to get going in the last few days so I feel a little better. I don't think I'm going to be able to top any of them though. They're going to be too old by the time they get their fourth node. I'm going to have to do some serious training, the bubba trouble autos like to get tall. I might be needing help from the horizontal guru to keep me out of my lights depending on how the one in the 5 gallon pot does compared to it's sisters in 3 gallons.

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Organics are pretty slow...I make it worse by mainlining but the quality is worth it.

I'm hoping for health benefits ultimately and the taste benefits are for sure a big part of the attraction. Mainlining...you and Engineer will get along just great. The two plant sadists twisting plants into all kinds of unnatural shapes and forms. I really appreciate the dedication it takes to shape a plant that carefully through training. My hands are too messed up to let me do that kind of intricate work but it's cool as hell to follow in grow diaries. I try to top and do some basic lst to my autos and multiple top my photos usually but the bonsai I leave up to the pros.

FirstCavApache64 said:

I'm hoping for health benefits ultimately and the taste benefits are for sure a big part of the attraction. Mainlining...you and Engineer will get along just great. The two plant sadists twisting plants into all kinds of unnatural shapes and forms. I really appreciate the dedication it takes to shape a plant that carefully through training. My hands are too messed up to let me do that kind of intricate work but it's cool as hell to follow in grow diaries. I try to top and do some basic lst to my autos and multiple top my photos usually but the bonsai I leave up to the pros.

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Haha I dig what you're saying... hopefully you find something to help keep you feeling better. I don't get too crazy with the mainline...just a few tie downs here and there and honestly I do it because I work hard enough at work. When I get home and fart around with my plants I don't want more work. It's literally a few snips here and there and few bends of a wire and a binder clip to set them up then I let them go. It's way less to trim in the end, I am left with fat colas and there's no maintenance after the flip.

The broken one on the left is the most work I've ever had to do.

That looks so clean. I am sure it makes it a ton easier during trim. I lollipop real heavy after stretch during the first week of flower and then after week three I take a hard look at the branches and buds to decide what is going to be worth growing out and what has to go, I don't like messing around with larf so I just get rid of it up front as much as possible. Your way is much easier but my hands shake so bad I make Michael J Fox seem steady . It has good days and bad but i just hate doing delicate things with the girls, more often than not stuff gets broken. Basic LST isn't too bad because I can plan it out and hit it on a good day to bend a top or the bigger satellites over or something but manifolding takes such daily dedication it's something I just appreciate for the art. Engineer did his outdoor grow as a tied over horizontal grow and it worked out really well.

I keep my plants pretty clean/clear all thru flowering. Lots of leaf tucking and defoliation as a last resort. Still too early to start the bending, but I push them over gently with no restraint a couple times a day to get them used to the forthcoming bondage.

the Dry/cure cabinet switched to the hold settings, and I’ll let the weed stay in there for another couple of days until my friend can come retrieve it. Still has the smell of chlorophyll, but that is diminishing and the smell of weed is coming thru...It’ll be out of operation after that, until the current tub crop is ready around mid Jan.

They're really taking off. They're loving that light spectrum for this stage for sure. What is the breeders harvest window on this strain, and the genetics of it?

FirstCavApache64 said:

They're really taking off. They're loving that light spectrum for this stage for sure. What is the breeders harvest window on this strain, and the genetics of it?

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they are Skywalker F7 from DC Seed Exchange, advertised time is 65 - 70 days from sprout.


they are pretty stocky, with not a good deal of internodal spacing so opportunity for some horizontal training is limited...I might just let all 4 go natural. Normally, the bud sites on the interior and lower parts of the plant suffer from lack of light if ya let them go vertical and don’t develop too much. The side lighting I have from the two T5 fixtures coming in at 90 degrees to the plant help them fill out in these regions. All I have to do is keep the foliage tucked in, and remove damaged leaves thru the grow. advertised height is 90 cm so I have the head space as they sit now and if I need to I can take the platform out and place them directly in the tub.

your young ones are looking awesome too...it’ll be a blast to keep track of them since they started the same time as mine, and the Double Grape my buddy is growing...I’ll try to get some pics of them this weekend...

Retired engineer said:

Yes, thorough manual is included, and they are happy to help ya out over the phone too...I saw someone using a commercial wine fridge for the same purpose. That‘d control the temp, not sure how you’d control the dew point. According to the manufacturer, managing the dew point is critical to set right conditions for chlorophyll to off gas and retain the terpenes.

all the settings (length of dry/cure cycles, temp, dew point) are user changeable, so you can set for slow dry/cure if ya want. I used the default values (4 days each cycle) at 68 degrees wet bulb/54 degree dew point for dry and 68 degrees wet bulb/52 degree dew point for cure. Worked like a charm.

the manufacturer got his start building industrial size curing cabinets for artisanal cheeses and charcuterie aged meats, and has a good deal of R&D invested in the Coolcure cabinet. He also builds industrial size cabinets for commercial cannabis farmers too. Hand built in my home state no less...

ive often been accused of being decadently self-indulgent, but I think I’m really self-indulgently decadent.

Click to expand...

I just bucked down to final bud size (nothing bigger than my thumb) the mystery weed I had in my cabinet for a friend. It went thru both the dry and cure cycles, and I had it a couple extra days on the hold settings (68/54). After I bucked them down, put in a paper bag and back in the cabinet until I can get it to my friend.

The smaller buds I left on larger stalks snapped off cleanly, and the larger buds still had a bit of “springiness” to them. if ya squeeze the bigger ones, you get the strong dank smell, and the bud springs back and leaves no indentation from the squeeze. So what does that mean? Below is a picture from a page in the users manual that explains water loss in the dry cycle. Works for me...

if you are thinking about one of these I’d say go for it!

Phun with Fotoshop sky replacement...creative while im baked...