The Doc's TriStrain adventure: (White Widow, Bubblelicious and Amnesia) Waterfarmed and SCROGed

chained said:

Hey, Dr, on the lights; Bro, you told me before about keeping the MH in to reduce the stretch, but I don't exactly follow... As it's the branch (veg growth?) that will stretch up, and the MH is used during the veg phase, won't that assist it stretch instead of reduce it?

Good luck with the clone! My attempt at cloning, when I broke one of the two main tops off, didn't work out. I did learn how far I need to keep my T5's away to get keep the temperapte where I want, I did find out I needed a heat mat because the medium was just staying cold, I got pretty close to keeping a good humidity in there, too, and I figured out the dome I was using was rubbish and got a new one... So although the cutting(breaking) died, it was a success. When I take actual cuttings to clone all those mistakes don't have to be made

I'm a bit chatty, ha ha, I just smoked a nice Super Lemon Haze grown by a mate...

Click to expand...

Whats up Chained and cheers on the SLH
Yeah im trying this to see if it works to just clip a clone n stick in the hydroton with its mother. Just for future reference i guess ... I love to have little science experiments with different things in the grow tent as long as it doesn't interfere with the main project
Now about the lighting thing ..... fyi I had some liberty haze earlier so I hope I dont ramble on and on.
See ... we use artificial lighting and we have choices: MH (with its spectrum more towards the blue) HPS with its spectrum more towards the red. CFLs with different colors like daylight cool warm etc .... the question we should first ask ourselves, when I select one light with its limited spectrum over another, what lights does it emit? What can the plant use this type of light for (packing on denser buds vs building on more structure and folliage)? And most importantly, when I deprive the plant of a certain light color, would that cause side effects? What are they? .....all these questions n more had to be asked since we are artificially supplying the energy needed for the plant to do its basic metaboloc/catabolic activities.
Now, (based on my research in the forums and not reading scientific articles), experimenting with different lights have lead to realizing that during the stretch phase of early flowering, adding the blue spectrum will reduce that stretch. MH reduced the stretch and even when the different spectrums of a certain LED were tried from start to finish, it was found that the bluer color (4000 vs 3000) ended up with less stretch.
So maybe we should infer from this that the plant (which is stretching regardless during that phase ... maybe looking for more light since its on 6hours less than used to) is stretching less with the blue, because its giving her the spectrum needed during this growth-enhanced phase. And the redder HPS is lacking what the plant needs which is why they stretch more 'reaching' or looking for it, like seedlings do when the light is far away. Plants not just look for intensity but also look for usefull photons that they want and look for and able to absorb and utilize!
Thank god the app didnt crash hah

Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

Hey Dr!

Good post, mate, what you said about it reaching for what it needs makes absolute sense to me. I was looking at it from the wrong angle.

Also ,when you flip it, keeping the MH in, will you change your nutrients to flower or .. keep the veg nutes in a bit?

Cheers Dr

chained said:

Hey Dr!

Good post, mate, what you said about it reaching for what it needs makes absolute sense to me. I was looking at it from the wrong angle.

Also ,when you flip it, keeping the MH in, will you change your nutrients to flower or .. keep the veg nutes in a bit?

Cheers Dr

Click to expand...

Glad I could help ... I was worried about keeping my train of thought straight after toking hahah
Actually I usually keep it veg nutes until the stretch stops. During that accelerated growth phase, the plants need well balanced and comprehensive nutrients to support that much growth. Also it doesnt have to be this way. Different nute lines are different in their contents. And differwnt plants require different diet. .. just like us! You can Evaluate your nutes and know their contents .... Read your plants and try to figure out what they tell you they need. Then alter your nutes balance accordingly ; -)

Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

whats up @chained .... see my original plan was to do this entire grow with one bottle of nutrients and that is GH's FloraNova Bloom. Flora nova comes with 2 parts a grow and a bloom. Ive seen many runs using the bloom only as it actually has plenty of what the plant needs including enough nitrogen to sustain it through out. ..... well then why did I start with the grow and why was I going to keep it grow nute then switch to bloom? Simply, because I had it laying around from previous grows and wanted to finish it and it still has enough for another run during the veg time haha. A small bottle of this concentrated nutrients goes a long way. Anyway so where am I going with this? .... see its always better to keep an eye on the girls and listen to what they tell ya and try to react accorsingly. My girls are showing mild signs of calmag dif still ..... the bloom has much more cal and mg than the grow does. So i think ill be switching to bloom soon to supplement more mg and cal even though i am already giving them lots of calimagic added to my RO. I doubt its the pH because i make sure it drifts from 5.7-6.1 with it mainly staying around 5.8.
If i notice that the girls are asking for more nitrogen, well thats simple to fix. Ill just add little grow to the bloom mix (for example if im giving 10mls bloom, ill make it 8 bloom and 2 grow or 7/3 or any combo based on how much N dif theyre showing) ..... i thought this will help more understanding this whole keeping the nutes grow during the stretch phase of flowering

Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

Today, and after vegging the girls for 5.5 (7.5 weeks total), I switched the lights to 12/12.
17.5L were removed from the bottom main res (out of about 25) and replaced with fresh mix of RO water with GH's Calimagic, Diamond Nectar and B Essentials at their recommended dose, and 24 mls of FloraNova BLOOM. The final ppm and pH are 1100 and 5.8 respectively. The topoff ppm and pH are1000 and 5.8 respectively.
I raised the MH light up to be at the same level as the Optic CXB3070 350W LED which is raised to the top. Both lights are in the center of the tent and both lights are fired up adding up to a total of 950. WOW its bright in there. Because the back of the screen is almost compeletely full and im worried about running out of space in the back with the stretch, thats why I decided to flip today. Also I decided to keep the MH light for now for the sake of reducing the stretch as much as possible during the next couple of weeks. I turned up the extraction fan to about half the speed now and I'll be observing the temperature. My worries are when I hook up the carbon filter!.
The 2 pics below show the screen getting full at the back and one shows boths lights fired up! Have a nice weekend everyone and as usual, feel free to comment, share an idea, ask a question or even criticize


Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

Very useful journal. I read with pleasure.

Captain Adrian said:

Very useful journal. I read with pleasure.

Click to expand...

Thanks a bunch, cap

Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

Quick update. I managed to break a branch off of the ww yesterday and you can see that hole in the canopy (back left). The girl is still growing and going strong and filling the hole. Today, I saw a noticeably fuller canopy compared to 2 days ago even with bothering the ww a little. The Am is also filling her front side of the tent. Im trying to also resirect and train the back plants branches to slowly fill the front aspect of the screen.
They're drinking and eating a lot. The ppm is gradually decreasing. I may raise the ppm slowly to 1200 from 1100 by the end of the week!


Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

Wow, not much room in there Dr, looking great!

I'm laughing at you breaking your plants all the time, I don't feel so back when I do!

chained said:

Wow, not much room in there Dr, looking great!

I'm laughing at you breaking your plants all the time, I don't feel so back when I do!

Click to expand...

Lol I know ... constantly MANhandling those young girls
Dude im loving the growth so far .... new light green shoots all over ... and the lower thinner branches and reaching up and through the canopy to expose themselves to more light. The light penetration after firing both lights is unbelievable. And i think ill be getting good amount of buds below the screen haha which will go with the sugar leaves to make bubble hash and BHO

Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

DrCannaPath said:

Lol I know ... constantly MANhandling those young girls
Dude im loving the growth so far .... new light green shoots all over ... and the lower thinner branches and reaching up and through the canopy to expose themselves to more light. The light penetration after firing both lights is unbelievable. And i think ill be getting good amount of buds below the screen haha which will go with the sugar leaves to make bubble hash and BHO

Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

Click to expand...

Yeah, well, it's fortunate we met when we did because I'm far less worried about breaking something. It's seems like a pretty sturdy plant...

Hey, Dr, can you put up a photo of how they look underneath? I want to check that out

Well, speaking of... I think I'll try my hand at making some BHO or bubble hash, I've never made either but fingers crossed in a few months I might have a bit of extra weed to use for that!

chained said:

Yeah, well, it's fortunate we met when we did because I'm far less worried about breaking something. It's seems like a pretty sturdy plant...

Hey, Dr, can you put up a photo of how they look underneath? I want to check that out

Well, speaking of... I think I'll try my hand at making some BHO or bubble hash, I've never made either but fingers crossed in a few months I might have a bit of extra weed to use for that!

Click to expand...

Lol I'm glad ya learned something good from me
For sure man ... when lights on, ill take a shot n post it
Ah its fun to make (for both) and very rewarding. .. plus why not go after every bit o trichome or drop of oil or medicine or whatever. .... ya spent all that time and effort caring for and pampering them .... what for? plus it tasyes sooooo much bettter and the effect is different and somewhat cleaner .... for both ... when compared to bud. Then ya van also use some for making oil or butter for edibles. .. topicals .... I want to one day use the roots in a balm recipe. .. its supposed to be great for arthritis and muscle aches. Also its fun learning then trying to modify or perfect the technique. .... im rambling on n on ... blame on the h hhhaze hah

Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

@chained whats up bro ... heres the pic ya asked for. As you can see I didnt clean below the screen like I usually do. The more I removed the more new growth I got. So I figured Id stop where I am and also with the good light penetration I may get extra popcorn buds for bubble hash


Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

Thanks Dr looks good under there, maybe I cut too much out of mine? :\

Nice one, I hope to do something similar with the lesser-weed

chained said:

Thanks Dr looks good under there, maybe I cut too much out of mine? :\

Nice one, I hope to do something similar with the lesser-weed

Click to expand...

You're most likely fine .... dont stress about it. Less folliage under is better. Utll be a waste of energy for the plant to sustain what isnt producing as much due to lack of light (theoretically speaking)

Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

A quick update.
Today is day 2 of week 2 of flowering (since the flip).
The ppm in the main res is still at 1200 (350 of which is calimagic and B Essentials micro and submicro elements) and pH is 6. The top off res got topped off with with a 17.5L bottle of water (reclaimed from the dehumidifier and tested at 0ppm) with 15mls calimagic and enough FloraNova BLOOM to raise the topoff ppm to 1100.
The girls are doing great with no signs of nute burn. In fact the ppm keeps going down and I keep having to raise it back to 1200. The girs are definitely eating more than the topoff ppm of 1100 if the main res ppm is going down! Anyway, ill keep the ppm at this now and slowly raise it later.
As you can see in the pic below, the screen is turning into a green carpet that I want to fly on ... like Aladdin I bet his flying carpet is made of weed scrog screen hah
I feel the plants are slowing down their upward stretch and starting to shoot more pistils. Also the new growth above the screen shows minimal internodal spacing! I will wait a couple days to confirm before I change the MH light to HPS. I didnt have to train any branch this AM.





Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

Haze and a movie to end the week .... have a nice weekend everyone!


Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

I keep saying quick uodate but it's usually a lengthy and chatty one hah .. this time its quick for realz
The canopy is looking beautiful and the stretch is really down to minimum now. And, as you can probably see in the pics, the tips are becoming lighter green (more flower production) and the internodal spaces above the canopy is super minimal. When the lights are off tonight, I will change the MH bulb to an HPS bulb.
The most exciting countdown begins!


Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

They look amazing, bro!

chained said:

They look amazing, bro!

Click to expand...

Thanks dude .... its all a waiting game now

Check out my current TriStrain grow:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/