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Going fine. My indoor setup is pretty iffy but it’s only to germinate seeds and get them started. Nice weather this spring but it was cold today, about -20 C with the wind chill. Here, if you wait til it’s nice enough to start seeds outdoors you’re waiting until late May.
Small humidifier arrived today so the seedlings now don’t have to suffer through 30-35%RH at this time of year.
April 12 Day 23
Watered with 2 g (1 tsp) of barley sprouts dissolved in 1 L of water. This increased water TDS from 134 ppm to 190 ppm. Barley sprouts have a high nitrogen content (13-15%) so this might represent about 10 mg/L N dissolved in water.
LAB are lactic acid bacteria, and these are being used at 1:250 dilution as a spray on plant and soil surface.
April 13: first day in greenhouse for WP1. Warm enough to have in greenhouse for the afternoon.
April 14: another nice day in greenhouse. Applied barley sprouts again and sprayed LAB on plant and soil at lights out. Plants have perked up after transplanting and look appropriately green so they’re likely getting enough N from the barley sprouts.
April 15: more afternoon sun and applied first barley SST.
April 17: LAB dilution changed to 1:100 and sprayed on leaves and soil at lights out.
April 19: watered with barley sprouts and Nature’s Source. Sprayed soil and leaves at lights out with LAB, and potassium silicate.
4/20 😎.
April 22: morning water with barley sprouts, molasses, and vinegar to get pH near 6. Sprout solids applied as top dressing on soil. Plants looked good this morning.
April 23: topped WP1 and applied some barley SST with some solids as top dressing. Still too cold to be put outside so I’ll delay transplanting a bit longer.
April 25: looks good but yellowing on new growth later in day indicates magnesium deficiency. Pinch of Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) in spray bottle fixed that amazingly quickly. As a deficiency that might be due to the cold. It was nicely sunny today but ground is still cool and I noticed the chlorosis after she had been sitting on the ground for a while. Also another foliar spray at lights out (LAB @ 1:50 dilution, KSiO4 at 1:2000 dilution, and another pinch of MgSO4).
April 26: yellowing indicates a magnesium deficiency and I suspect that is due to the high sodium levels in the well water and the relatively cool temperatures. Sprayed with some Epsom salts and calcium citrate in water which seems to help but the real problem is the cation ratio in the source water (95% sodium).
The SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) for this water is super high at 20 which is the worst category where >15 is “unacceptable do not use”. Yikes.
So, the garden soil needs gypsum, and the water needs to be hardened by exchanging sodium for calcium and magnesium.
April 26: yellowing (chlorosis) indicates magnesium deficiency. This is due to a combination of cold temps and high sodium content in the water here. This creates a high SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) so this water needs to be re-balanced by exchanging Na for Ca/Mg.
Foliar spray with Epsom salts and a crushed calcium citrate pill in 1 L of water as a temporary fix for the plants.
Keep spraying with Epsom salts as it seems to fix the deficiency. So, likely magnesium due to cold and high sodium in source water.
April 28: first fermentation of dandelion greens seems to have worked well. Used at 1.5 mL/L for first try as a foliar spray but will normally be at 2 mL/L. Lights out foliar spray of LAB, FPJ, and potassium silicate.
April 29: transplanted into 7 gallon bags. Too much N by the look of things. FPJ and Barley sprouts are both pretty potent and likely lots of potassium which will also mess with cation exchange. Combined with high SAR water this is tough to keep balanced. Easy on the nutes for a while I think, and need to fix water supply chemistry.
April 30: nice in afternoon second day in a row. 😎
May 2: only 2C last night. Plants were left out with a plastic cover due to space constraints inside the warm room. Brought inside this morning to stay under lights today.
May 3: foliar spray (12 mL/L LAB, 2 mL/L FPJ, two drops Dr Bonners Peppermint soap as a surfactant) at lights out. Plants look good the next morning.
May5: nice outside today and overnight low is not great but good enough (4C) to leave outside. That should be it for spring frost risk this year. 🤞
WP2 was badly burned by early cation imbalance in the water and I think this was exacerbated by high K in the barley sprouts. Removed a couple of badly damaged fan leaves.
May 6: looking better today. Watered in late morning with barley sprouts. WP2 is looking much better. Lights out foliar spray (LAB, FPJ, apple cider vinegar, peppermint soap).
May 8: looking okay but it’s definitely a bit too cool and rainy today. These plants are outside full time now and overnight low tonight is forecast at 0 C again. Gave FPJ, LAB, vinegar and soap foliar spray in evening. FPJ likely has lots of Phosphorus which is supposedly good for dealing with low temperatures.
Barley sprouts seem quite potent with lots of N, P and K. I need to cut way back on these until I get the excess sodium in the water sorted out.
May 9: cold again last night (+1C) and zero forecast for tonight. Plant is still doing okay despite low overnight temps.
May 14: looking good after Cal-Mag boost and barley SST last night.
May 15: topped in morning. Four main cola growth tips were removed. This is the second time topping this plant.
May 16: bit of LST to open it up to the sun.
Everybody got sprayed with dilute FPJ and calnesium and then they all got a bit of a flush with low sodium water and 3 mL/L of calnesium. Looks good.
May 18: start of 3 days of cold and rain.
May 19: about 0 C last night but plants seem okay as they were covered. Foliar spray at 11 am.
May 20: watered last night and this morning using warmed water. Was about 0 C overnight. Foliar spray at 7 pm and then warmed water at 9:30 before being covered for the night.
May 22: weed FPJ at 1 mL/L.
May 23: LAB only foliar at 20 mL/L.
May 25: released the LST tie downs leaving the south facing one in place.
June 2: sunny and hot again 31 C.
It was at or below zero for five nights ending about 12 days ago. Now it’s peak summer sort of hot. Overnight temps are now about 12-15 C.
June 3: run of hot sunny weather and now WP1 is looking really good. There is at least another month of veg before I start force flowering so this one could get pretty huge.
June 5: LAB silicate and soap foliar this afternoon. Small hail storm but no plant damage.
June 8: fish fertilizer foliar for N in afternoon. LAB foliar at dusk. Cooler today only about 17 C.
June 16: looks like WP1 is starting to flower.
This is an interesting plant cuz it seems to autoflower later than regular autos. It’s not to the solstice yet, with 18+ h days here, and yet it’s starting to flower. I noticed this last year when DaleMac’s plants started flowering early.
So here in Alberta it started flowering in mid-June after 12 weeks of veg this year, and last year with a later start it was in early August after 10 weeks of veg. DaleMac’s started flowering after 9 weeks in California last year. That means it’s kind of an auto despite being a photoperiod, or vice versa. Seems like a nice trait for outdoor growing this far North.
June 20 and 22: full foliar at dusk.
June 22: new growth was a bit yellow this afternoon, so she got an Epsom salts and fish fertilizer foliar in the afternoon. Noticeably greener in the evening.
June 25: heat wave starting...about a week of 30 + C is forecast. Used FFJ and WSC for first time as part of the foliar at dusk.
June 29: still in heat wave although it’s now cooled to only 35 C. Yesterday was 36 C, and tomorrow should be the last really hot day. Normal here at this time of year is about 23 C and all time records are being broken.
Yesterday a village in BC that is always the hottest spot in the province hit 49.5 C (121 F) which is the highest temperature ever in Canada.
Anyway the plants are mostly okay with regular misting, some shade, and foliar sprays with kelp and cal-mag. We’ll all be happier once it cools down a bit.
July 16: started force flowering of photoperiods in the grow area. Plan to continue 9 pm to 9 am covering until the end of July (two weeks).
July 19: fish dose back up to 4 mL/L as the plants are too yellow.
I just found out Frenchy Cannoli died a couple of days ago (18 July 2021). He was ‘the’ master hash maker (hashinin) and anyone wanting to learn how make hash should check him out on YouTube. Thanks Frenchy.
July 22: cutting back on LAB (20 mL/L) just because I’m running low and the next batch will be another week.
Looking pretty good if not optimally pruned.
All plants got a few rounds of Mega Crop to get enough N. Also doing some targeted sprays for yellowy plants using fish fertilizer, Epsom salts and water soluble calcium (WCS). Many plants need more N so I’ve been trying to add more.
Sep 29: still going in Week 27 so now past six months. Sheesh. Flowers are finally starting to pack on some weight. My grow area is getting shaded now so the lack of direct sun is likely not good.
Starting these earlier didn’t get them much bigger compared to last year, but still one of my favourite plants.
Oct 3: grow area is now mostly shaded.
Nice cherry like smell I remember from last year.
Oct 4: harvested top colas from both plants. The buds are not as good as last year likely because of lack of direct sun in the grow area starting in mid-September.
Oct 7: hit -5 C and was below 0 C for about 12 hours. Frost on buds in morning so harvesting final plants.
Nice plants were force flowered for the last two weeks in July. Should have been forced two weeks earlier as the buds needed stronger sunlight to develop fully. Last year’s buds were better because of a lack of direct sunlight in my licensed grow area this year starting in early September.
Nice plants were grown using KNF methods. There was a lack of sunlight during late flower so the final buds were not as good as last year but still pretty good.
Nice flavour and smoke. Always a favourite.
@Ferenc, thanks. I like these Wonder Pies for outdoor, and one last year was very beautifully coloured so I’m looking forward to seeing that again. Cheers.
@SegaYGriega, for a beautiful plant you should check out my Desconocida Kush diary. And my Zkittlez OG looks really good too. One advantage of growing outdoors in a climate with cool nights is the great colours you get.
Thanks @Northern_Ent, there is a story behind that. Due to the fact that I am quite energetic, I have military service behind me, so I approach problems in a quite original and direct way. For example, at work, I like to ask uncomfortable questions to managers and deal with them, that is in place where the problems arise. It caused my colleagues at work to start calling me the "Crazy Horse" . Finally even the deputy manager started calling me like that 😎😇💪
"April 26: yellowing (chlorosis) indicates magnesium deficiency. This is due to a combination of cold temps and high sodium content in the water here. This creates a high SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) so this water needs to be re-balanced by exchanging Na for Ca/Mg."
You maybe got a little bit of chloramine and fluorine in water? I mean there are a lot of possible issues, so I'm just speculating.
First thing though, the cover there might create lighting hotspots at places, I can understand why you use it, just saying though..
I would definitely recommend mulch or such (basically just deeper roots. more heat).
Maybe some carbs/sugars and phosphorus (that shit is gold in cold, cellular energy).
Oh right, and if it's cold if air humidity is low or you're in a dry area/season, definitely some extra water (mostly for heat).
Cheers and good luck dude.
@sir_isO, hey I got some lab results showing my water hardener wasn’t as effective as I had hoped. Now using feed grade limestone dissolving in vinegar to make a calcium acetate solution that is then added to the irrigation water. Works great and plants don’t seem to have excess sodium issues any more.
I still get holes in some of the young leaves when the plant is vegging fast. I’ve been upping the calcium in the water but it still seems to be happening (gumberry GDP for example). I thought yellow new growth indicated lack of magnesium but I saw something the other day saying Mg deficiency is a long term problem and wouldn’t develop that quickly. So I guess that means I’m shorting on N which has been apparent for a while now. Any other explanations? I’m pretty sure it’s not a pest but it could be.
@Northern_Ent,
The metals and contaminants to be concerned about would typically depend on the source of the lime....fluorine might be present, sometimes even shit like boron might be excessive.
But yeah, the feed grade lime (it's crushed limestone) I mention is also CaCO3 mainly (the rest mostly magnesium and sulphur). Yes, horses eat that. Also, it'actually a decent alternative for bulk calmag sort of supplementation (as in, if I need calmag, myself).
@sir_isO, limestone (CaCO3) is not lime (Ca(OH)2) or quicklime (CaO). Normally it would be pretty inert for cation exchange but I ‘activate’ it with vinegar first to release CO2 leaving exchangeable calcium.
It’s not feed grade lime but rather crushed limestone that is sold as bedding material for paving stones. What metals would you be concerned about? I could switch out this limestone easy enough and I hadn’t considered the metals risk.
Northern_Ent
