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Hello GD Crew!!!
I’m glad to finally be back with a new diary. A LOT has happened since my last diary. The large room I was using back then got infested with spider mites. For a while I thought I had them beat, but they came back with a vengeance. So I thoroughly cleaned my 2x4 tent and set it up in the opposite side of the house. However, that part of the house is also now my new man cave and was under construction until a few months ago (its still not completely done yet, but close enough).
I have also switched back to LED lighting. I’m using a pair of Spider Farmer SF1000’s (100w) LED’s. I was using a 315w CMH fixture but felt I was getting better results with my old blurple ViparSpectra’s (both of which have died). Also, it was getting too hot in the tent with the CMH. To be completely honest the best weed I’ve ever grown was using a 1000w HPS, but that could possible melt a 2x4 tent and I’d be tripping circuit breakers all the time again. After a lot of research it looked like the Spider Farmer SF1000’s were the best bang for the buck in the LED market these days. They have the right components (Samsung LM301B diodes and MeanWell drivers) and have great specs. I was able to purchase them on Amazon Prime Day for $129/each (USD).
For soil I’m using Coast of Main Stonington Blend Grower’s Mix. I had been previously trying to amend and reuse old soil or mix old soil 50/50 with new soil and in retrospect that was a mistake. The PH was totally unpredictable as were what nutrients were available or deficient. I felt like I was always trying to fix soil problems and one thing would lead to another. So, from now on its fresh soil in every pot. I’m using 3 gallon pots with self watering reservoirs at the bottom. In addition to the Coast of Main Stonington Blend I’m also using Sungro Black Gold Seedling Mix. I filled the 3 gallon pots with the Coast of Main Stonington Blend first, then dig out a hole in the middle about the size of a grapefruit and filled that hole with the Sungro Black Gold Seedling Mix. Then I planted the seeds about knuckle deep in the middle of the Seedling Mix. This seemed to work great, both pots had small seedlings appear in 5 days.
This diary will focus primarily on FastBuds BlackBerry, but I am also growing a DinaFem Critical+ Auto at the same time. I’ve grown both of these strains a few times in the past with mixed results. But, I’m hoping this grow will be far greater than those in the past. My plan is to allow the Coast of Main Stonington Blend act as the ‘super soil’ it is supposed to be and not add any additional nutrients. I will however be adding RealGrowers Recharge on a regular basis (I love that stuff, it really makes a difference) and will probably also add some CalMag once in a while. But that’s all.
Additionally, I do not plan on doing much training with these girls. I will LST bend them over at a 45 degree angle around the time they hit their flowering stretch, but that’s all. Bending at a 45 degree angle gives better exposure to lower branches and allows those lower branches to produce larger tops.
Hoping for the best!!! Please feel free to comment and follow. I’ll be updating this diary weekly and will be doing videos in the future.
Here’s a breakdown of the equipment:
1 - 2x4x6 tent
2- Spider Farmer SF1000 LED fixtures (100w/ea)
1- Carbon filter
2- 3 gallon pots w/self watering reservoirs
Coast of Main Stonington Blend Grower’s Mix
Sungro Black Gold Seedling Mix
RealGrowers Recharge
Also, here’s what Coast of Main says about their Stonington Blend:
“Coast of Maine Organic Products Stonington Blend Grower’s Mix is a complex “super soil” designed for high performance container growing. It works well with tomatoes, and, where growing cannabis and medical marijuana is legal, growers have reported tremendous results. This soil incorporates mycorrhizal fungi, kelp, fish bone and alfalfa meal, as well as worm castings, peat, coir and lobster compost.”
Here are the specs on the Spider Farmer SF1000’s:
Materials: Samsung LM301B diodes and MeanWell Drivers
Power Draw: 100w
PPFD: 922 umols/s @ 12”
PPF: 250 umol/m2/s
PPE: 2.5 umol/J
Yield: 2.5g/W
Spectrum: 660-665nm,3000K,5000K, IR 760nm
LED: 218 pcs
Nice growth out of these girls in their first 9 days above soil. The Dinafem Critical+ is larger out of the gate, but the Blackberry is showing signs of catching up towards the end of the week. I also notice twisted/wrinkled looking leaves on the Blackberry, but that seems to be common with purple strains at this age. They did need a little water near the end of the week, I added some Recharge to the water and the next day I saw noticeable growth in both girls. It could be coincidence since rapid growth at this age is expected, but I've never had any bad experiences with Recharge. Looking forward to the progress this upcoming week!
Keep on growing!!!
September 16, 2021 - Everything is chugging along nicely. Both girls are growing at a nice pace. I noticed a couple of fungus gnats earlier this week (I suspect they came in with the cheap soil I'm using with the herb garden). I've been letting the soil dry out and also put out new yellow sticky tape. I'm also spraying the plants with a rotating regimen of Neem Oil, Dr. Zymes and diluted Peppermint essential oils. I rotate spraying with a different solution every 3 days. I'll keep this up until flowering starts. I'll also be dropping new seeds next weekend. I'm going for a perpetual harvest with 2 plants starting every 4 weeks. 👍
Cya next week!!!
September 25, 2021
Tons of growth this week. Its fun looking back at the pictures from a week ago compared to today, what a good week for these girls! They tripped in size in just a few days. The main stem on both plants is thick and strong. And I'm seeing significant signs of pre-flowering, especially with the Dinafem Critical+. That's super fast IMO. 4 weeks from seed to the start of flowering, 3 weeks from seedling. 👊
Fast Buds Blackberry is shorter but much stockier, with nice fat leaves. Definitely indica dominant. She hasn't started showing any purple yet, but that should start to develop in the flowering phase. I'm starting to see some pistols develop, but not as many as the Critical+. Its going to be exciting to watch both of these ladies through the flowering process.
The Coast of Maine Stonington Blend is treating the girls very well, I'm very happy with the results so far. It is a little hot, I do see slight signs of nutrient burn on some leaf tips and also notice what looks like nitrogen toxicity on the tops. Nothing major, but it shows me there is still plenty of nutrition available in the soil. So far, this has been a water only grow, with a little Recharge once in a while. If they do start showing signs of nutrient deficiencies I'll start feeding them, but I'm very curious if they can make it from seed to harvest with only the nutrients available in the soil.
Catch you next week!
October 1, 2021:
Looks like I overwatered a bit last weekend. Still trying to get used to these SIP Pots. I'll probably switch to a SIP system using 5 gallon buckets in the near future. I like the concept of SIP systems so I purchased these pots. But I don't like that these pots still require top dress watering instead of filling the reservoir at the bottom directly. On to the ladies...
Fast Buds Blackberry- She jumped in height and started pushing out bud sites this week. She's up to 13" tall, which is kinda short, but she has very tightly packed node spacing and is very bushy. Or she was very bushy before I did some defoliation. I did a light defoliation on her this week mainly so I could see what I was doing when giving her a LST bend. I like to bend plants over at a 45 degree angle I find this allows the lower branches to have better access to the lighting and produce better buds all around.
Dinafem Critical+- She grew about an inch this week and is up to 20" now. I did some heavy defoliation on her, I got a little carried away once I got started. She is still showing signs of nutrient burn and is also telling me she was overwatered (see above). However the bud sites look great! So I'm not too worried at this point.
I also posted a few pics of the plant I grew outdoors this summer. I just cut her down yesterday. I had to harvest a week or two early because we get very damp and cool falls here in New England. I've been going out every morning to shake the moisture off her and look her over closely. Yesterday I found 2 small patches of bud rot on 2 of the larger colas. I cut the bud rot out first, then chopped her down and brought her in for hang drying. I'll be doing another close inspection once she's dried out to make sure there is no bud rot on the remaining buds.
Cya next week!
October 9, 2021:
Everything is moving right along. Flowering in full effect! Still showing signs of overwatering, but getting better. I haven't watered them at all this week. They are almost dried out enough to start watering again. I'm learning these 'self watering' pots I purchased basically suck and should be treated the same as any other 3 gallon pot. Lesson learned. I still like the concept of Sub Irrigation Planter (SIP) pots. I'll be building some SIP pots of my own with 5 gallon buckets in the future.
Blackberry is 14" tall and has nice purple colors coming in. I did some additional defoliation on her this week and really like the way she is looking now (minus the overwatering)
Critical+ is 22" tall and has good bud development. Her leaves are more yellowed, but that hasn't seemed to affect her bud development.
I'm guessing we have 4-5 weeks to go until harvest time. I have planted 4 new photo period seeds (new journal up - check it out). I'll be flipping this tent to 12-12 as soon as these two girls have harvested. Until next week... Happy Growing!!! ✊
October 16, 2021
Both girls looking yellow and burnt. Overwatered and possibly underfed. I did let the soil dry out then added a 1/2 gallon of water that was mixed with Neptune's Harvest Fish and Seaweed (this stuff smells awful). Let's see what happens. I also think my Recharge has gone bad - its not bailing me out like it usually does. I contacted Real Growers and they are sending me a replacement. Awesome customer service!!!
October 22, 2021
I think they are finally starting to look a little better. I have been pulling off any leaves that were showing too much damage. I'm finally starting to see less damage. I didn't feed any Recharge this week. My Recharge has gotten old and I don't think its working like it should. I contacted Real Growers and they are sending out some replacement Recharge for me. I'll definitely add Recharge back into the feeding schedule once the new bag arrives. I gave Neptunes Harvest Fish and Seaweed at full strength, but only 1/2 gallon to each plant. Then a few days later I watered into the reservoir directly, instead of trying to water through. I purchased a funnel with a flexible hose from one of the local auto part stores and I'm able to place the hose directly into the reservoir. I was honestly shocked how the water from the reservoir was completely wicked up into the soil by the next day. I hope this is the way to make these 3 gallon SIP pots work without overwatering.🙏
Cya next week!
October 28, 2021
Doing my weekly diary updates a couple days early this week. This weekend I'm doing some work on the basement to finally finish the last of the construction projects for the Dude Cave!!! Once finished, I have a new 2x3 tent and a Viparspectra XS2000 (240w LED) that will be set up next week. Then I'll run the 2x3 for veg/autos and the 2x4 for photos.
I spoke with Dylan from Coast of Maine today about my experience and issues with these girls. He said with a 3 gallon pot the Stonington Blend would only feed for around 3 weeks and additional nutrition should be fed starting around the 3rd week. He recommended the Stonington Blend Organic Plant Food as a top dress and then also adding Fish Bone Meal around week 6 (assuming autoflower and 10-12 weeks seed to harvest). He also said to go seed to harvest with the Stonington Blend adding water only would require at least 7-10 gallon pots for autos.
Well, I already knew they were malnourished/underfed and I have been feeding Fox Farm Big Bloom and Neptunes Harvest Fish and Seaweed. I'm not sure how much these nutes may help at this point, but they can't hurt. I really have nothing to lose here, so let's see what they look like next week.
November 6, 2021
They are both still going. The Blackberry is starting to foxtail. I still don't see any amber trichomes and I have not seen the calyx's swell yet. These plants have 2 more weeks max. As soon as the photos are ready to flip to flower, I'm harvesting these autos - ready or not.
HIIIIIIIII, nice you are back! Missed you!😘
and nice to hear about your consttuction of new rooms ( mancave)
looking forward for some chatting about lights n soil n grows
DudeGrowsWeed
