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First seed was planted directly into the medium, but did not germinate (see previous diary).
Second seed placed in a glass of water Friday 2nd July, stored in a dark cupboard for 24 hours, before transfer to moist paper towels. This was left in the dark cupboard, with regular checks to ensure towel remained moist and to satisfy my curiosity/anxiety!
Sunday 4th July, after 36 hours on the towel, the tap root was showing (see photo) and I used tweezers to transfer it to the pre-dampened and fluffed-up, medium. I placed it root-down, into a small, shallow hole (see photo) before gently covering with substrate.
The pot is now in my grow cabinet, with the light at recommended height, and dimmed to 10%.
Grow space: 60 x 55 x 120cm IKEA PLATSA cabinet
Odour control: Home made filter and "silent" bathroom extractor fan (based on advice from Migro www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0OsR_w-vl8)
Medium: 50% peat, 50% vermiculite, dolominic lime 40g per 28 litres, Gypsum 10g per 28 litres (advice from Dr Bruce Bugbee, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwtkHxv_3pU)
Nutrients: 24-8-16 NPK water soluble fertiliser (closest I can find to 20-10-20 advised by Dr Bugbee)
Pots: Air-Pot as advised by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Oooh, fancy!
Minor panic about watering whilst away. The dripper system couldn't be used as intended, as would have hit or blocked the light. Some slightly messy DIY has resolved it (photo added)
I was away all week, automatic watering system failed at some point, presumably temp / humidity affected the tape I used. Fortunately she survived, despite the medium being very dry today. I suppose I dodged the "owewrwatering" bullet 😆
I've given her a healthy drink/feed today, and topped. Tomorrow will decide on leaves to remove to create airflow.
Start of week 4 and roots appearing at the bottom of the 3 litre airpot. I guess time to upgrade to a larger pot soon.
Topped her yesterday and removed a few leaves today. Going to leave any more tinkering a day or two to let her recover.
My OGiesel plant is 3 weeks old, and roots starting to appear from the base of the airpot.
Q1) Time to move her into a bigger pot?
Q2) Should I leave repotting a couple of days to let the plant recover from being topped and pruned for the first time?
Just remember, any leaves you remove will just reduce the plants capacity to make energy, and on a plant this small, a leaf or two is a big percentage of available energy making leaf cover.
You also need to invest in some dedicated cannabis nutrients, Miracle Grow is ok for Grannys' garden, but not for top quality buds. They will taste very metallic and not pleasant at all.
Yes, now that it is too late and you have attacked her with the scissors, waiting a week or two until normal growth resumes is wise if you intend potting her up into a larger one. The roots coming out is a normal feature with air/rocket pots, the roots will "air prune", which is a nice way of saying "shrivel up and die" and is exactly how air/rocket pots work.
Seeing as this is a photoperiod strain, she will need a much bigger pot to sustain her through veg and flowering, something in the region of 4-10 gallons would be more appropriate, depending on your space availability.
You also need to disconnect your "dripper system", it is far better to water deeply and until run off every few days than it is to have a constantly (over) moist substrate, which can lead to fungal problems and the death of your plant.
A thorough watering, then wait until the top 1-2 inches of the soil have dried out before watering again is the usual routine applied to soil grow cannabis. This "drying out" between waterings can take from 1-10 days, depending on temps, soil structure, plant size etc.
If space is freely available, just planting the whole rocket pot inside a larger pot can work, the roots will grow through the holes and into the new pot surrounding it, just be sure to pack some soil against the smaller pot so there is no "jump" from the small pot and into the larger pots that the roots will have to make. I have done this previously with air/rocket pots, however I have buried them in the garden and the plants grow as if there is nothing weird going on.
I have also placed smaller air/rocket pots on top of larger ones to create "double decker" pots and as long as you make sure there is soil contact between upper and lower pots, the roots from the top pot will grow down into the lower pot without even thinking about it.
If trying this technique, just be sure to carefully "attach" the upper pot to the lower pot with string/wire/pegs etc to prevent the top pot falling off.
As they say, there are many ways to flip a flapjack!
Both of these methods help avoid "transplant shock", but if you are careful and have everything prepared prior to starting, unwrapping the air/rocket pot from the root ball is fairly straight forward, just be sure to not have the soil too wet, otherwise there is a high likelihood of some of the soil falling off the root ball, causing damage to the roots and "shock" to your plant that can delay recovery for 1-2 weeks.
Hope this helps, Organoman.
took advice and ordered some upgraded nutrients, Miracle-Gro is relegated to general garden duty (aka going to sit in a cupboard and never be used lol)
Mo-Smillie will be fed with House & Garden 1-Component Aarde from this point on.
Day four of week 7 (missed two weeks somehow) and everything appears ok, at least nothing looks out of the ordinary. Mo-Mo Smillie is growing well, no ill signs from changing nutrients, she's drinking a lot more water.
Last couple of days I have noticed the odd drop of water on a leaf or two. Figured this was a sign of humidity rising / lack of air-flow so have supplemented the USB fan with a 45W tower fan, mounted on the rear wall and between the Aray light bars (handy!) It creates a lot more noise, cabinet is no longer stealthy and it will have to be switched off when I have visitors who are not 'in the know'. Fingers crossed it reduces humidity and we avoid any mould etc.
I've also hung a yellow sticky fly trap paper and there are only a handful of dead 'uns visible. Haven't noticed any flying tbh so not worried.
Let Mo-Mo Smillie get really thirsty, removed a tonne of leaves so I could see what was going on, and applied some Bendz to try to spread out her branches. Took almost 4 litres before getting run-off. 24 hours later, she's already filled out significantly and looks to be a much better shape to get light to all bud sites.
An exciting milestone for me and Mo-Mo Smillie. Her light schedule has changed from 18-6 to 12-12 making this the first week of flower. Or at least a transition week.
She's still looking the picture of health (to me) so fingers crossed she produces some decent colas.
Exciting times...
Couple of days into this week and Mo-MO-Smillie is showing signs of flowering. Everything looks well, no flies, leaves look healthy. Having to remove the odd one and tuck loads out of the way so the buds aren't covered.
Start of week 10, colas are shooting up, loving seeing Mo-Mo progress so quickly.
Definitely should have restricted height earlier in the grow, she’s getting really tall, may have to find a new way to hang the lights to maintain the correct distance. Training is definitely an area to improve on next grow.
Is it normal for the volume of water needed to increase during flower please?
I added 4 litres yesterday monring and the pot was light 24 hours later.
I guess she is a fair bit bigger and working hard so it seems logical that she would drink more.
Sunday - start of week 11. She's drinking 3.5 to 4.0 litres a day, looks healthy, colas forming, smell is definitely there, but not full-on yet. Really happy with how this is going.
Week 11 was amazing. So much change as Mo-Mo Smillie flowered. Colas shot up from the canopy, pistules started changing colour, frost became more and more evident, and she now officially smells like a cannabis plant 😁
Week 12, I imagine will be nuch less dramatic but hoping to see these buds swell and more frost appear.
Dropping nutes according to the feed calendar on the H&G website. Watering as she needs it, still drinking a fair bit although a little less than the first couple of weeks of flowering.
Most importantly, still loving watching this little lady grow.
A few of Mo-Mo's fan leaves are showing dark spots. This is the first time they have looked anything but lovely and green.
Should I be worried?
I think I may have messed up and been feeding at 1/2 strength last week and this (11 days). Could that be the cause?
I agree with Organoman with the dark green having to much nitrogen. But with the spots to me look like septoria leaf spot. Usually not see indoor as its a fungus, But the spores can make there way in. I would turn off all fans and carefully inspect and remove the infected leaves trying not to disturb the spots and spread the spores.
So week 12 turned out to be the 'unlucky' one. Spots on leaves became increasingly evident. 4 different answers to the question made it hard to know what to do. Decide not to risk it being a fungal infection, so followed the advice of that answer. Ended up removing most of her fan leaves, and several leaves from buds. No doubt this will negatively impact the yield but better I think than risking fungus taking over. Especially as OGiesel is not known to be resistant to mould/fungus. Hopefully increased airflow and the removal of infected leaves will be sufficient to solve the issue. On a plus side, boy is she sticky, removing leaves left my fingers and scissors glued together. For now, got my patient hat on and waiting for trichomes to turn amber.
Sunday is day 1 of wk 7 of flower. No ill effects visible (to me at least) following an early defoliation to manage fungal spots. A few more leaves have been removed, but the spots are well under control. Buds appear to be fattening and she's got plenty of frost. According to Cali Connection, I should be expecting her to be ready in 2 to 3 weeks. Keeping an eye on the colour of trichomes. Nutes stay at 3.0 ml per litre until flush.
Fabulous news that the fungal spots have not reappeared. No major changes to report, buds developing and ripening.
According to Cali Connection, flowering should take 53-63 days. So I am hoping she will be finished somewhere between 20 Oct and 30 Oct. The only question is whether defoliating to control the fungal spots will slow that down? Will start taking a closer look at the buds daily now. And get ready to flush for 5 days.
Another disease free week, with no stresses. I'll take that! Definite increase in smell, especially a few minutes after the lights go out. Buds have filled out nicely. Getting ready to start the flush
Cali Connection, supplier of the genetics suggest this OGiesel should be ready today. I've tried to take some photos of the trichomes. I'm not sure if ready yet. Please advise. If not ready, a guesstimate for when she might be, or give me some help with what to look for please.
That's about the ratio of cloudy to amber I shoot for. I'd stop watering, put it in dark for a couple of days and then chop it down. Looks good and a nice yield. Good job and enjoy her. :)
I chose OGiesel based on it being suited to the conditions I was creating.
I was promised an easy grow and a high yield of strong bud, with an uplifting high, for a small indoor grow.
The Cali Connection delivered on that promise IMHO, and the weed hasn't even cured yet.
Post curing edit: OGiesel is a fine fine strain. Not right for everyone of course, but for my set up, experience, medical desires etc. she was perfect.
Well this was a sweet experience for me, culminating in writing this whilst buzzing on this bright, bright high, from smoking my own weed. Haters gonna hate, so hate on. I know it is too early as it's not cured yet, but I've never tasted weed during curing, so trying today and comparing with tomorrow, seems like an obligatory and important part of my education.
First up, Stone(d) cold facts. 136g of dry and trimmed bud is curing. Google tells me that's more than half a bar. I'm absolutely jumping over that. 4.8, or 4 3/4 oz of homegrown, and 2g of kief.
Second up, she packs a punch and tastes great. If curing improves one or both, then this is a real winner. I'll update things as curing takes place.
In the meantime, I'd like to thank everyone from GD who's become part of my long overdue, cherry-popping grow. You lovely lot have been a comfort blanket throughout. A stoned version of a safety-net if you prefer? Either way I appreciate the likes, the encourgagement, the guidance and reassurance. Thank you.
Edit post curing. Smoked some of the top buds from the main cola today. I use a large, thick-walled, glass bong, that delivers smooth, clean hits. During curing the flavour hasn't changed noticeably but it's a smoother smoke. Still packing a punch, and lasting a while. Really nice weed. Give it a go
Lovely email back from Migro with power level advice and a link to the manual containing all the advice - RTFM Koto!
Power now at 20% as instructed and she appears to be straightening, and strengthening. New photo added.
Plant starting to lean towards one of the two LED bars. I've taken this as a sign it wants more light. Double checked the height is 18cm as recommended, and have turned the dimmer up to 25%. Hae emailed Shane at Migro to ask for more guidance on power levels.
More progress from my OGiesel plant. The seed casing has been shed along with any disappointment caused by my failure to germinate seed number 1. New photo attached.
not only has this one germinated, but it has broken through the substrate and is officially growing. Not much of a photo (not my forte!) but added one to the diary
new growth was evident, so no harm done with topping and pruning, took the plunge and repotted her, recently named "Mo-Mo Smillie".
Mo now resides in a 20-litre pot, and next morning still looks ok. I think the most important thing is that I am really enjoying the growing process and nurturing a plant. By golly don't they grow quickly under good lights !
no negative signs visible (to me at least) following topping and removing a couple of leaves. In fact, where she's been topped, two new sets of leaves appear to be growing.
Second set of leaves now showing and she still seems healthy.
Slight concern as I am going away for a week shortly, so will be relying on a drip watering device. Will be starting early to give myself time to fine tune it.
Last day of week 11, 4th in flower and lots of change. 4 main colas have shot up from the canopy and buds developing. Pistules are starting to turn orange in places. Frost has appeared on leaves and buds and the smell has changed from that of a plant, to that of "weed". Homemade carbon filter is doing a pretty good job, opening the cabinet is now seriously noticeable though!
I've added another photo, looks to be lots of flowers forming. Really pleased with how this is going 😁
and another added 8 hours later, this time gro-lights off and camera flash on. Better photo I think.
Mo-Mo Smillie is bushier and filling the grow space. Getting harder to keep the fan leaves from blocking light to the bud sites! Really pleased with how she looks, and how she is growing. Just a question of time and patience now....
Taken inspiration from other growers and decided to push the nutes a little. No leaf burn and Mo-Mo Smillie looks the picture of health (to me). I'm totally transfixed by the colour, texture and shape of new leaves, and continually amazed at just how quickly this amazing little plant grows. Really happy with my setup now. All that's required now I think is patience and time.
Outside influences mean I need to flip her into flower soon to have time to harvest before a deadline. I appreciate might not be ideal for yield going to early but needs must. I cannot wait to smoke my own bud.
Koto_420_UK
