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Hello and welcome to my latest diary in this grow series. I update most of my diaries daily, so please do check back periodically for further updates.
This grow is a test of the new Epsilon F1 Auto from Royal Queen Seeds. I was offered the opportunity to choose any of the new F1 strains to grow and diarise. I selected Epsilon, because it is the fastest of the new F1 strains and I wanted to try and squeeze it into this grow series. My gratitude goes out to James for reaching out, and to him and RQS for the complementary box of RQS merch, and of course these highly novel seeds!
RQS were kind enough to send five of their specially created hybrid germination pellets, which I thought I would use with these seeds and see how they did. So I have hydrated and added the seeds, and put them in the propagator with the chilli seeds and clones. I will update with photos later today.
If you are growing this strain and doing a diary please let me know in the comments and I will certainly follow.
So the plan for these is to germinate all five (hopefully), and put them all in the same 40l fabric pot. By the time these ladies reach any sort of size, several of the plants in my tent will be finished and out, so I think I will be able to train the plants away from each other. As I understand it this is a short and narrow strain, that puts out one good main cola, and minimal secondary nodes. On that basis I am also considering forcing the plant to focus only on the main cola by removing everything else and lollipopping. Frankly I am not sure exactly what I will do, but I have various ideas I am mulling. Any thoughts or suggestions you may have would be welcome.
Five seeds sown at 12:00 9/2/23.
Photo taken at 10:00 10/2/23.
Photo taken at 0900 12/2/23. Two ladies sprouting so far.
20:00 12/2/23: Three of five ladies have sprouted so far.
22:00 13/2/23 All five girls have germinated. Very close together germination and they all look very similar. The roots are already pushing way out of the pellets so I have planted them into their final pot.
19:00 14/2/23 4/5 good 1 only has 1 cotyledon.
20:30 14/2/23 Height approx 3cm
21:00 15/2/23 So 4 of these babies are almost identical... the 5th. Well the other cotyledon has appeared.... on an entirely separate stalk!!! Two plants from 1 seed. I've not had this before. At first I thought it was a companion seedling of chamomile. However when I tried to tweeze it out... I quickly realised my mistake! How very interesting!
18:30 16/2/23 still misting with ph/calmag water only.
Their names are Ally, Normani, Lauren, Dinah, and Camila.
02:00 18/2/23 ladies coming along nicely. It is becoming increasingly difficult to tell them apart. So far they feel like F1 seedlings.
00:30 19/2/23 fertigated 3l
01:00 22/2/23 ladies coming along nicely. On reflection at this point, a little over a week since germination, Despite these being F1 seeds I am starting to note some pheno differences I believe.
22:00 22/2/23 All righty, ten days since the first broke ground 8 since the last. I'm seeing a sudden rapid uptick in growth from the oldest girl. Over the next three days I expect her to treble in size, and be mostly done with node 3. For her I think the seedling stage is probably over. I think maybe 2 more days and I'll start veg week 1.
Hello all and welcome to the much anticipated beginning of vegetation for these five Epsilon F1 Autos from Royal Queen Seeds.
Allow me to introduce Ally, Normani, Lauren, Dinah, and Camila. All five girls have pushed put their 2nd node (3 fingers) and node 3 is on the way out. I expect all five girls to take off from here, and so the next seven days are going to be big.
I will start fertigation today.
For comparison purposes the Day 1 here means Day 1 of veg. For Ally, Normani, and Lauren this is day 11 since breaking ground, for Dinah day 10, and for Camila it is day 9. For the rest of this grow I will increment days from here but it's really easy to work out days since breaking ground as it is a simple matter of day + 10, 9, or 8 respectively.
Day 1: Fertigated 2l.
Day 2: Right ok. Can you actually believe this response in 24h? The poor girls were STARVING. Wow look at the change in color! Wow look at the growth!! Ally is most advanced, Camila least. It is fascinating so see them develop! They are growing faster and faster now.
So let us talk about the elephant in the room a little bit. Phenotypes. At the moment there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that this crop will be anything other than uniform. Nevertheless there are some clear differences in some of the girls. So let's have a look shall we:
Ally (center), Normani (closest to the middle purple basil), and Lauren (opposite side to Normani): These three girls are not quite identical, but it is a pretty challenging game of spot the difference.
Dinah: Okay so Dinah is coming in noticeably darker than her sisters, with a little more tendency to claw, and with quite a bit larger and more angular serrations. Her first leaves are also a different shape.
Camila: Little Camila had a twin, but I killed her with some overzealous tweezing before I realised what I had. She came in with only one cotyledon, and she came in last. Her first leaves are quite different to the rest of Fifth Harmony. She is also showing slighty more narrow leaves. She is lastly also very slightly more pale than her sisters.
Are these phenotype differences? I mean in terms of the environment, feeding, watering, substrate, temperature, light, airflow... well these girls are all in the same pot, so unless I am particularly haphazard in my mixing and fertigation (which I can assure you I am not) I do not think it likely that these ladies have significant enough environmental difference to account for these quite clear visual differences. I am absolutely fascinated to continue to witness this, and it has only now occurred to me what a great privilege it is to be able to grow the world first F1 cannabis hybrids, and what an astounding honor to be one of the very first hobby growers to do so! The fact that RQS made this happen by not only supplying the seeds and other merch and goodies, but also sending expedited international shipping so as to fit within my arbitrary timescales is almost unbelievable. When these guys (on their website) say that it is their belief and mission to forge the path to worldwide legalisation, they are not hollow corporate whispers, it is their core of being. Cannabis everywhere is truly blessed to have such a worthy and proactive ambassador. Bravo RQS!
I have adjusted the timer such that the main tent is now getting 20/4 upped from 18/6. After monitoring DLI at 18/6 for a week I am unhappy with the overall level but because of the varying heights of the plants I am limited in what I can do in adjusting the light height. Some areas were only getting 20 DLI. So I have rearranged to have the taller plants on the edges and the lowest in the middle and doing it this way all plants are getting between 35 and 50 DLI at 20/4 - although one or two cola tips here and there are getting 55. Will monitor for a week.
Day 3: Well look at this growth again!! These ladies have responded to feeding really well. Fertigated 3l.
Day 4: Growth is accelerating fast, these ladies will be ready for their first training soon. I am starting to formulate an idea what to do. I am thinking of topping Ally and LST on the rest.
Day 6: Fertigated 3l. Ladies growing fast now. Will soon be time to start training. However! The secondary nodes are developing strongly. Hmmm
Day 7: Fertigated 3l. Defoliated the three fingered leaves from Ally and tucked the five fingered under other plants.
End if week summary: Well when they said "hybrid vigour" they were not joking. Look at day 1 and day 7 side by side after approx 6 days into veg growth. Wow.
Hello and welcome to week 2 of veg phase for these five Epsilon F1 Hybrid ladies.
Last week is now complete with daily updates and media so please check it out.
For this week well frankly I am expecting massive growth. I have taken 3 fingered leaves from Normani today and five fingered from Ally.
It takes more time to photo and diarise but it is rewarding to look back on! See you tomorrow!
Day 9: Nothing to report. Sorry for lazy photos. Oh... I joined twitter @UnorthadoxDude
Day 10: Fertigated 5l. Loving Ally's party hands 👈👉
Day 11: Normani has overtaken Ally as the tallest and largest plant. Dinah has overtaken Lauren in a similar fashion. All girls kooking good except for some odd marks here and there (see video). Today after the photos and video and when she was back in the tent. I took about 4 or 5 leaves off each girl. You'll see tomorrow.
If you're here from Twitter, where I am also @UnorthadoxDude, please say hello in the comments! I've just joined and want to gauge if it is worth the time.
Day 13: Heights: Ally 23cm Normani 28cm Lauren 24cm Dinah 19cm Camila 17cm The girls have begun stretching it seems.
Day 14: Fertigated 5l and performed LST and defoliation. Normani height was 32cm.
End of week summary: Huge week of growth and these ladies are only just getting started. The pheno difference of Dinah is stark but super interesting.
Hi! Welcome to veg week 3 for these wonderful world first F1 hybrid plants from Royal Queen Seeds. Last week was massive and is now complete so please check it out.
Day 15: Adjusted LST.
Day 16: Nothing to report
Day 17: Fertigated 5l
Hello growmies! Here we have fast forwarded 22 days as a result of my moving house. Sorry about that, the girls have been Fertigated only 3 times in the last 3 weeks. Including two 9 Day droughts where coco went totally dry and plants wilted.
However these robust girls have barely noticed. They are now 70cm tall and well into flowering. Overall average day 48 since breaking ground.
Internet and new camera coming next week, and regular daily updates will be back.
Good morning growmies! I am finally back online after moving house and being without internet for weeks.
These ladies took a battering and bruising in transit, and were left in the dark for 4 days, starved of water and food for 9 days TWICE inside 3 weeks.
Still, can you believe the progress despite all that? Wowza, when RQS say these Epsilon F1s are fast they are NOT JOKING, and OH MY the smell is soooooooooooooooooo good. It's really a complex sweet and fruity scent with delicate notes of spice and sandalwood. I am super curious now. All five plants are within a couple of inches of each other, the tallest being 72cm currently (Dinah!).
I am so very impressed with these plants that I am considering running a full tent of Epsilon F1s for my next grow! I wonder if I can get a bulk discount?! 😬😁
Day 54: Fertigated 10l
Day 56: They are not slowing down. Ally, Normani, Lauren, and Dinah are all similar size, Camila is a bit smaller but in terms of development they are all very very close to each other. I am really impressed by the uniformity here, more impressed by the speed, and most impressed by the scent. They are not strong smelling, but if you get close or have a squeeze it wafts over you like an exquisite perfume. It is the most complex cannabis scent I have experienced yet. Really really interesting, I am really excited for the eventual smoke review so that I can properly understand the complexity at play here. The breeder and sponsor of this grow Royal Queen Seeds have offered to sponsor a full tent of this strain, if that works out then I will be doing another grow series right after this one. Fingers crossed!
Hello growmies! Welcome to week 9... which is the final week for these utterly rapid F1 hybrids from Royal Queen Seeds.
Day 60: Well well well, while doing a quick loupe check I realised these ladies were about ready! So they were harvested and are currently drying! Harvest update to follow after dry.
It is sort of hard to see the amber trichs under the microscope because in the actual buds themselves is where they were most developed, but it was easy to see with the loupe, and you can see some here and there on the sugar leaves and many "on the turn" and yellowing.
Anyway they are drying now... and I have REALLY BIG NEWS.
Due to the ridiculously rapid nature of these brilliant Epsilon F1 hybrid cannabis plants, it has become technically possible for me to squeeze another grow series in before the summer break...
...so here is the very first official announcement of that:
Coming very soon! UnorthadoxDude Grow Series 3: An Epsilon Adventure!
With gratitude and warm feelings to James and the rest of the team at Royal Queen Seeds for making it possible and sponsoring a more in-depth look at the Epsilon F1. This grow series will feature TEN Epsilon F1 plants from Royal Queen Seeds. If you want to grow a plant that meets or exceeds the breeder's claims on speed, grow these! https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/uk/f1-hybrid-cannabis-seeds/620-epsilon-f1.html
This will be a perfect opportunity to test some nutrients side by side and I may well do that, the exact configuration of planting and training (if any) I have not yet decided, however I will attempt to grow all ten, and they will have the entire grow space to themselves. Any thoughts, comments, and suggestions are welcomed.
Any nutrient suppliers out there that want to get in on this grow please get in touch. I grow in coco and currently use BioBizz primarily.
In terms of the growing of this strain, it has been by far the fastest strain I've ever grown, vastly exceeding all other plants in speed. When considering the yield for these five plants remember that they were all in the same 40l pot and no training was applied to them. My next grow series will feature ten of these ladies and I am really looking forward to giving this strain the focus it deserves. The smell is extremely complex and difficult to describe. I will wait until the curing process has progressed for a few weeks before I try to do that.
They were also remarkably uniform in their height and growth pattern, focusing on one primary cola and little side branching - although what side branches there were did also have dense buds on them. There was almost no popcorn/larf whatever on these plants, nearly every bud is solid.
The total dry yield from these five plants is 140g approx 28g/1oz per plant 2 months after germination. The next grow series will allow each plant the space to flourish and I am hoping to at least double the yield per plant - I think these genetics are willing.
Harvested at the first sign of amber, could have gone longer. I will be running a full tent of these in a few weeks so look out for that grow. Considering these ladies were all five in a 40l pot, I am pretty happy with how they turned out. My intention was to LST them away from each other to give them room, but unfortunately a combination of moving house and lack of space meant that plant didn't happen, so they were certainly restricting each other light. I am really very excited to give them a proper focused grow in the upcoming series.
I will add more to this when I fill in the smoke report.
@UnorthadoxDude, i tried to buy them like 3 months ago and its RQS said they weren’t available in the US yet, I’m guessing that’s changed cuz ive seen everyone has them now
I've got an Epsilon F1 just sprouted. Low smell in flower is important to me.
What is the strength of the smell from your one? Is it as low as they they claim it is fast?
Well done, your plants look great considering they have led such a peripatetic life. 🙂
@Jungian79, difficult for me to answer, my airflow is high, and my filter is good. Still, they smell less strong than all plants except the strawnana which are more or less the same age and further behind.
For where they are in bud development I would expect the smell to be stronger, nevertheless it is an incredible scent really complex.
As for their travels, well suffice to say that I had certainly not planned to move a dozen cannabis plants in a prohibition state. With everything crossed this situation does not reoccur.
@UnorthadoxDude, Yes is cool to experiment i do this crazy thing too in past, one will become dominant and other little but i want to see what will happen
@Breadandbuds, Thank you! Yes I think most of the people looking at this agree with you. I imagine some people think I have gone crazy putting such precious seeds in together - and not only that but there are also many other plants in there germinating and growing too!
I hope my experiments allow this strain to flourish, but whatever happens it will be a documented learning experience for me and anyone else who wants to read my overly long musings.
@kohlrabi, yeah I am pretty happy. I'm going to run a full tent of them on a few weeks. I'm very excited to do side by side comparison experiments.
Thanks for the kind words Growmie.
Welcome to the world Ally, Normani, Lauren, Dinah, and Camila! Wishing these F1 hybrids a happy and healthy life, which I'm sure they will as they have a caring owner 😀
@MedicineMaker, fingers and toes all crossed! I think of all my diaries so far this is the one that will probably gain the most attention because of the novelty of the strain, and because RQS are busy marketing them all over the internet, so there is a reasonable chance this grow will get shared on social media by them at some point. I wonder if that will bring any new growers to the community.
UnorthadoxDude
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