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Wet paper towel method placed in a bag and safely tucked away in a drawer. Unfortunately I didn't get photo's, but all 10 seeds popped healthy white tap roots.
All is well apart from 1 dying on day 6 after a very hot day. It must have been a bit drier than the rest. It was too late when I went in to water them that day, but oh well! This can happen if you're not careful. Nutrients next week
🦊
Now into their second week of life. Starting light on the nutrients. All was going well until something unexpected came up, meaning I had to be away from this grow for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately a few Skunks were lost due to over watering. I take full blame for not fully explaining the details to the person I left in charge, as my leave was not intended or expected. So, in a rush I obviously wasn't too clear.. But oh well, we still have 6 left and some back up bagseed that was germinated in case too many males are found. Plus, check out my other diary on the RQS Runtz, more of those survived the flood! 😂🤦♂️🦊
Not a very pretty sight 💀😂 I'm still away during this week, so the poor plants have been suffering in their solo cups, desperate for some new shoes! This results in stunted growth, smaller leaves and bigger spacing between nodes (stretchy). They've all been topped to prevent them from shooting too high and to create 2 main branches for now, until more training is done.
Hang in there boys and girls, daddy will be home soon 😘😅
I also haven't yet mentioned that my light schedule is currently at 24hr due to having flowering clones taking root. Once these show roots, have been potted into solo cups and showing normal veg growth (out of their funk phase) then the veg light schedule will be 18/6.
I'm finally back and ready to get these boys and girls back on track.
First things first: transplant them into their new shoes - 2gal root pouches - and give them some more space and a better light in the 315w CMH and 250w HPS.
Second was to up the strength of thier nutrients (not until after the first watering when being transplanted, to not burn the already shocked root tips).
Not too worried about their uneven shape/size/structure at the moment, as they can always be trained later or supercropped during flower to calm em down/even the canopy. For now I just want them to get healthy and grow as they want.
As you can see, they're showing improvements later in the week 🦊
Not much change this week apart from the nutrient strength has been increased slightly. A couple males were found, so they've been thrown in the compost bin! Unfortunately I forgot to take photo's but we're now down to 4 Skunk XL plants. Fingers crossed they're all female!
All looking healthier each day, soon to be flipped 🦊
Last week of veg before flipping to flower. All looking healthy (some plants pictured in the trays are Runtz and bagseed strains).
Still not much training other than the odd fan leaf being removed here and there, to allow the lights to penetrate deeper and uncover some side branches from the shade. The goal was to get them as big and healthy as possible before flipping to flower, after the carnage of their first weeks of life 🦊
First week of flower! They've come a long way since their troubles in early Veg.
Nutrients have been increased overall, with the addition of Remo Bloom now we've flipped to 12/12. The remo feed chart says swap remo grow for bloom right away, but I find that halving the strength I feed of each and including both gives an easier transition and healthier growth during the first week.
Some of the plants pictured have been super cropped and trained, but the Skunk XL's didn't need it. If anything, I'm hoping they get some more height to em by the end of their stretch.
🦊
Flowers starting to form towards the end of the week, but first they were lollipopped at the beginning of the week. This was just the first of 2 leaf strips from under the canopy, to allow better air flow and to remove the lower, unwanted flowering sites. These would only grow into fluffy nothingness if left throughout the whole cycle, and would probably even shoot some nuts due to stress from lack of light/airflow, especially as im not using the most powerful lights 😅
Nutes increased and a few more added to promote healthy growth now they're getting hungrier 🦊
Flowers coming along well, with frost now developing. Nutrient strength increased now they're gonna be eating more, with Remo grow reduced slightly now they're slowing their growth, but Bloom and AstroFlower have been increased to favour PK. Day 28 will be the last day feeding Growth Tech Liquid Silicone as it takes the longest to completely flush out of the plant. I never feed silicone later than this in flower otherwise you risk hard, black ash with a horrible burn in the end..
More leaves have been stripped here and there, but not too much. Just enough to allow the light to penetrate deeper and to uncover flower sites. Leaf stripping is also a great technique to stunt the growth of selected branches, allowing the others around to catch up and meet the top of the canopy more evenly. 🦊
The Skunks are smelling amazing now! Super strong burning rubber/death aroma, with a couple of them having a sweeter smell to them too. Easily the most noticeable when the door opens up.
As mentioned in the last update, the last day feeding liquid silicone was Day 28, to guarantee it'll be flushed from the plants by the time they're chopped. Day 28 was also the last feeding with Remo Grow, as they won't be needing any added N for the rest of the cycle. I only feed this in a small amount up to this point as I've found the plants sometimes start to show N deficiencies a bit too soon later on. But you've gotta be careful not to give too much, otherwise the growth can get funky and stunt flower production.
Looking very happy and healthy so far. Now they should start to bulk up more. 🦊
Now they're starting to bulk up I've increased the PK and added Vitalink Turbo+, as I was given it free with an order with one of the growshops I frequently order from (Cheers guys!)..
The smell is still insane and the first thing that hits the nose when the door is opened. Nature's candy has been increased slightly, as this helps resin production.
Day 35 was the last day feeding Magne-Cal+, to ensure it's completely flushed from the plants by the end of their cycle. 🦊
Still my favourite plants in the room. Most nutrients have been dropped apart from PK, sugars, and a weaker feed of Micro. I stopped feeding micro mid week. 🦊
Flush time!
I don't pump loads of water through each pot any more, now they're sitting on a tray without drainage. I've found feeding non ph'd water in the same amounts I've been giving them throughout still allows them to cannibalise, and also locks out any nutrients immediately now they're being given non ph'd water.
I've done this for long enough to be able to confirm no difference in the overall flush, the taste or smell, or a negative impact on the plants. Personally I find it a waste of time and ph down when the goal is to stop them feeding on the nutrients in the medium, but rather the nutrients stored in the plant.
I always feed only water for 2-3 weeks, never less. 🦊
Still only non ph'd water until normal run-off.
As you can see, they're really starting to fade and show some colour, with some leaves completely dying off. No matter what method you use to grow, this should always remain the same end. If there's still an abundance of green foliage, organic/living soil or not, there's still nutrients left in the plant that shouldn't be.
No matter the method, a plant at the end of its cycle should look like a plant at the end of its cycle. Sounds obvious but I still see many people chopping entirely green plants. 🦊
Last week (plus a couple days). The 4 Skunk XL's were chopped between days 61-65.
They all faded to satisfaction before being cut down and hung up to dry for 10-14 days.
Happy with these girls and looking forward to growing them again to decide a keeper for a while (clones were taken first week of flower). But next time they wont have the problems in veg and should be bigger going into flower! 🦊
After recovering from their struggles in early Veg they went into flower quite a bit smaller than I'd liked, but nonetheless they performed very well and grew into decent sized plants with a fair yield of highly terpy Skunk. The whole right tray yielded approx 318g dry, which the 4 Skunks contributed approx 145g to. Considering the Skunks were more affected from the early Veg fatalities and abuse, I was quite impressed. My second run of these girls have been far better, but just regarding this run, I had already come to terms that yield would be affected in the end..
#6 has a better terpene profile than #2, but didn't yield very well as it wasn't as dense. #5 & #9 both have an insanely strong smell to them, but I think #5 takes it (as you could probably tell from the pics 😅). It's also the most visually appealing too, with very vibrant purples and greens.
After running them a second time (currently a third), #5 seems certain to be the keeper. At least for a little while!
Thanks to the team at RQS for starting a regular seed line. I hope you guys continue breeding regs as I definitely prefer them over fems, as I personally think they can be superior in quality and flavour. Cheers!