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Beginning my third grow: Using FoxFarm Happy Frog soil, supplemented w/ Coast of Maine earthworm castings (1/2 Cup topsoil dress every 2-4 weeks) and fish bone meal (1/4 Cup topsoil dress every 2-3 weeks).
Week 6 and both plants are looking strong and healthy. Playing around w/ defoliation this run to experiment/better understand impact on autos -- selected large fan leaves blocking light and removed bottom 1/3rd bud sites (would-be popcorn). Have also begun supplementing organic Cal-Mag (1ml/gal) to every watering, IOT get ahead of expected strain deficiencies which occurred in prior runs. We'll see how they respond this week.
Thai basil seedings coming in -- Cute little guys, no? No Queen, no curry :)
Plants are growing strong, but I believe I STILL don't have a solid grasp of LED lighting. I will post a grow question for more direct support, but these are the variables/thoughts I'm grappling w/:
Mars LED TS1000 (150W x 2), set to 75% at 12-14". "Photone" PPFD app on my iPhone (yes, not as good as a PAR reader) reads 580-700 PPFD, so I sense these girls aren't getting as much light as they could be. I've read that pushing 900 PPFD is desired (CO2 bags); however, top-site fan leaves are curling (see photos). Temp/humidity spot-on; not an issue. How should I be thinking about this? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated :)
TS1000 (150W x 2), set to 75% at 12-14". "Photone" app (yes, not as good as a PAR reader) reads 580-700 PPFD, so I sense these girls aren't getting as much light as they could. I've read that pushing 900 PPFD is desired (CO2 bags);fan leaves curled. How should I think about this?
Focus too much on any 1 area and you will overlook the other 8. All 9 cardinal rules of plant growth must run in perfect balance. If any 1 single rule is working at 10% efficiency then it all runs at the10% bottleneck. Cannabis is a "weed" until it flowers. It will grow in almost any condition. What we aim for is optimal conditions for photosynthesis and equilibrium across the board. Light saturation is not the only determining factor in photosynthesis throughput. Temperature or LST leaf surface temperature, studies have shown optimal photosynthesis occurs at 86-87. But be careful as trichomes degrade at 87 and above. Also to note terpenes and flavinoids will start to degrade above 67 so keep that in mind after ripening stage. I personally run ambient 84 with lights on get it as close to your plants until top of canopy sits around 86.
Leaf structure and formation look crisp and clean, colors look nice. Try hitting the sweetspot for her Temps, screw manufacturers recommended they just wanna cover their asses from liability. Most distance measures for lights are based off of hid with most guides telling you 77 is best but that's playing it safe. The plant is not here for a long time but she does want a good time. Warm her up and watch those droopy depressed leaves dance.
Increase air circulation if you can, extra heat will really push up perspiration, increase water as needed.
Both plants are developing beautifully -- I included organic cal-mag in my line-up this pump and have yet to see any of the rust spotting that arose during the past two pumps. I guess that means it's working! :)
Current Issue: My plants have almost ZERO scent at 8 weeks (very minimal scent when open the tent). What the hell is going on?! Super strange. Please comment on the following notes, if you have any thoughts as to what's going on; any advice/problem-solving suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Variables:
**No signs of deficiencies, pests, mold -- Plants look extremely healthy, from what I can see.**
- Water. I use well-water (softened) and while I don't have a full water report, I can't imagine there's anything wrong w/ the water. I grow several other herbs in the house and don't have any issues.
- Soil: Coast of Maine (Stonington mix).
- Amendments: Fish bone meal, earthworm castings, Recharge, and organic cal-mag.
- Lighting: 650-800 PPFD. Leaves are showings signs of slight light stress (curled up), but I've been tweaking LED distance and intensity.
- Air Flow: Plenty of it. AC Infinity inline fan + oscillating fan.
- CO2: ExHale CO2 bag.
- Temp: Max 80F, min 66F, but typically @ ~75F.
- Humidity: 40-50% RH.
- Water PH: 6.5-6.8
I bring this concern up now due to the unfortunate aromatic situation regarding my second grow. My second pump produced beautiful flowers (Amnesia Express - take a look!), albeit not as dense as I would have liked, BUT they still smell like hay after a 7 week cure (62% RH). This was very confusing because I dried full plants at 60% RH (~68F) for two weeks + oscillating fan -- Constant monitoring. The flowers started drying out a bit too much, although the branches didn't quite snap when I bent them, so I took them down, trimmed, and began cure. Ground-up flower isn't very sticky; dryish. The hay smell has gone down considerably, but the aromatics just aren't there. Smoke flavor isn't there either. Does the trick, but obviously I expect the whole package from my grows. While I chalked up the last run to a failed drying process, the more I think about it, the more I realize the open-tent smell wasn't too strong either (although they smelled nice while initially hanging/drying). Now that I've realized this pump also doesn't carry a strong smell, I'm beginning to get worried. I'd appreciate any and all OG guidance/thoughts! Hit me up w/ your thoughts, questions, problem-solving suggestions :) What's going on here?!
So, I freaked out a little last week because there was almost zero aroma coming from these two -- Luckily, w/ increased trichome production came the sweet stank. If I'm being honest, nothing too impressive, but they're coming along. Jock Horror is pretty squatty, as compared to the legs she had during my first run w/ her, but is growing in thick. Hopefully she really packs on rock over the next few weeks -- Excited for this one. The Lemon Auto is BUSHY; she's completely taken over the right side of the tent and filled out the space nicely. I should never have tried to fit three plants in a 2x4...Two plants (w/ a scrog net next run) are perfect. Although she's really spreading her wings, I'm a little concerned at the lack of true lemon/piney scent coming from her (she was pretty stinky last pump) and her flowers look a little on the light/fluffy side. Fingers crosses she enjoys the earthworm casting and fish bone meal I just top-dressed her w/ this week. Another month to go :)
Another week in the books -- JH beefing up nicely and the LA is coming around to a mature flower state. Heading out on vacation for a week, so fingers crossed my auto-system holds down the fort :)
Being VERY critical (top-notch cannabis in-mind), how do my plants look? Looking for constructive criticism! Any signs of stress/deficiencies? Week 8 flower, trichs transitioning clear to cloudy (40:60%). I don't want to grow "good" cannabis; I want the best! :)
Definitely have some chlorosis on the margins. Probably a some micro deficiency. Also looks like potassium.
If you want the very best possible bud start growing photoperiod plants. Autos just aren’t there yet IMO
Bud looks great tho.
I’m not a soil grower so can’t comment much on what you have going for feeds at this point.. but I don’t think castings, meal, n calmag are quite a well rounded feed.
Clear deficiency ("Fall colors") -- P or K def? Looking for future advice.
Happy Frog soil 5gal, Coast of ME amendments (fish bone meal 1/4cup every 2 wks, EW castings 1/2 cup 3 times), recharge (every water), organic cal-mag (1/2ml every water).1st run-off pH check on 01APR: 8.5
This maybe the end of its life cycle. Its an auto and suggested harvest time is 10 weeks. Your diary is 8 weeks long and only covers when it started to bloom.
guessing there is 2-3 weeks unaccounted for, bring you to a total of 11weeks.
Check the trichomes on the plant and determine if its ready for harvest. This maybe natural cause of age and it being an auto.
I don't know if their is anything you would have been able to do.
Nitrogen would affect the lowest growth first and works its way up the plant. Potassium can show in tips of upper growth as well.
Good Luck!
Nothing but pH'd water. Trichomes shifting cloudy to amber, albeit slowly...Resisting the urge to chop! Shooting for 70/30.
04APR22 -- JH: 90% Cloudy, 10% Clear. 07APR Chop.
04APR22 -- LA: 50% Cloudy, 10%, Clear, 30% Amber. 05APR Chop.
In preparation for my next pump, I've been researching exactly where I'm falling short in this run. Although they're in the "Fall colors" phase, I also sense there are some underlying issues. There is leaf discoloration at top-sites, which would make me think nutrient burn, but I used the Coast of Maine advised amounts...Didn't think dry organic amendments could cause nute burn. My initial thinking was P or K def, but I've gathered mixed assessments from other growers. Importantly, I checked my pH run-off for the first time this pump and it measured 8.5!!! Holy hell! I'm sure that hasn't been too helpful to these gals. Genuinely surprised though, as I've been feeding at 6.5-6.9 the ENTIRE run. If you read this, please shoot me your thoughts! More eyes-on the better -- Constructive criticism is always welcome :)
This is my second round w/ Seedsman Auto Lemon and I can tell ya that each run produced a significantly different product. The bud I harvested from my first pump was SUPER piney - almost overwhelmingly so - and frankly wasn't my favorite, whereas this harvest carries subtle pine, w/ a strong note of licorice, and notes of lemon/citrus. Small buds, but hey, it was a freebie! 😁
I couldn't wait for a full two weeks of cure because I wanted to share these gnarly aromatics a couple days early!
Results: 85g premium flower, 105g trim (infused w/ coconut oil), 18.6% THC (TCheck). Didn't wet weigh, so reported wet figures aren't accurate.
Bud Structure: A little fluffy, but all good. Definitely hardened up during the cure. Good trichome dev; medium stickiness. Super hairy.
Smell/Taste: After sampling the mess, I was taken away by her smell. Hits the nose w/ a light pine, then transitions to a *heavy* licorice, w/ a touch of lemon/citrus, and a slightly skunky finish. Complex and beautiful! Love it.
Ash: White and light, baby!
Full grow break-down below:
*A touch of Recharge w/ every watering after Week 3.*
*Active LST from Week 3 onward.*
Week 1: Distilled water.
Week 2: pH'd water.
Week 3: pH'd water, 1/4 Cup fish bone meal and 1/2 Cup worm casting top-dress.
Week 4: Begin Cal-Mag (1 ml/g) every watering.
Week 5: 1/4 Cup fish bone meal top-dress.
Week 6: pH'd water.
Week 7: 1/4 Cup fish bone meal top-dress.
Week 8: 1/2 Cup worm casting top-dress.
Week 9: 1/4 Cup fish bone meal top-dress.
Week 10: pH'd water.
Week 11: pH'd water.
Week 12: pH'd water/chop.
Dry: 60% RH @ 60F for two weeks.
I learned that I should use a fan while drying only if *absolutely necessary*, as top buds can dry out before the rest of the plant. I was extremely concerned about her lack of smell during the dry, but she came around beautifully while curing.
As a beginner grower, I'm still dialing in my grow routine. This being my second organic grow, I wanted to keep things super simple and see how things went. As you can see, I didn't employ a smorgasbord of amendments, just stuck to a low-key line-up through Coast of Maine. The only thing missing is potassium, as shown in her flower dev. I purchased Angel's Touch to amend more K during my next grow.
All in all, I'm happy where I'm at and looking forward to growing some premo bud w/ Square One Genetics. Will include compost teas as part of my feed line-up.
My first JH grow didn't go so well -- First grow and missing many essentials. She grew short and squatty (due to LST) w/ thick buds. Probably won't grow again, but that's just because I want to explore other strains. Recommended strain.
I couldn't wait for a full two weeks of cure because I wanted to share these gnarly aromatics a couple days early!
Results: 101g premium flower, 72g trim (infused w/ coconut oil), 27.3% THC (Wow! I used TCheck, so I'm a little skeptical, but my other flower registered in the high teens...Still highly doubtful I grew 27%). Didn't wet weigh, so reported wet figures aren't accurate.
Bud Structure: A little fluffy (along w/ the auto lemon), but all good. Definitely hardened up during the cure. Good trichome dev; medium stickiness. Super hairy.
Smell/Taste: Very pleasant and balanced aroma, coming all at once, but a bit hard to describe. I'll try my best. She carries an earthy profile, w/ an even weight of both diesel and citrus. Very very solid flower.
Ash: White and light :)
Full grow break-down below:
*A touch of Recharge w/ every watering after Week 3.*
*Active LST from Week 3 onward.*
Week 1: Distilled water.
Week 2: pH'd water.
Week 3: pH'd water, 1/4 Cup fish bone meal and 1/2 Cup worm casting top-dress.
Week 4: Begin Cal-Mag (1 ml/g) every watering.1
Week 5: 1/4 Cup fish bone meal top-dress.
Week 6: pH'd water.
Week 7: 1/4 Cup fish bone meal top-dress.
Week 8: 1/2 Cup worm casting top-dress.
Week 9: 1/4 Cup fish bone meal top-dress.
Week 10: pH'd water.
Week 11: pH'd water.
Week 12: pH'd water/chop.
Dry: 60% RH @ 60F for two weeks.
I learned that I should use a fan while drying only if *absolutely necessary*, as top buds can dry out before the rest of the plant. I was extremely concerned about her lack of smell during the dry, but she came around beautifully while curing.
As a beginner grower, I'm still dialing in my grow routine. This being my second organic grow, I wanted to keep things super simple and see how things went. As you can see, I didn't employ a smorgasbord of amendments, just stuck to a low-key line-up through Coast of Maine. The only thing missing is potassium, as shown in her flower dev. I purchased Angel's Touch to amend more K during my next grow.
All in all, I'm happy where I'm at and looking forward to growing some premo bud w/ Square One Genetics. Will include compost teas as part of my feed line-up.
How accurate do you think the TCheck device is? My Lemon tested 18.6%, BUT my Jock Horror tested 27.3%!!! 😯 JH advertises @ 15-20% on Seedsman. What is your best guess at what's going on here? I ran two (2) samples for a total of four (4) testing runs.
this is probably some shitty correlation used to guesstiate THC%.
unless you weigh original mass of plant material, than extract and isolate thc, weigh it and divide by original mass, there's no device that can skip these steps to determing % THC accurately...
Just as your phone can't be more than a cheap, suspect lux meter no matter what any app says otherwise...
@Cannabeast40, Hey! I just took a look at some of your diaries -- VERY impressive :) I'm having some concerning issues w/ aromatics that I map out in my Week 4 entry. If you have a moment, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
TCH0808
