A Particular Orion F1

drakkon This particular Orion F1 is off to a decent start in the Pro-Mix. I've been watering the medium lightly in expanding circles, and have begun feeding with dilute base nutrients (FloraMicro, FloraBloom) plus a root enhancer (RapidStart). The plant appears healthy overall and I'm satisfied with its early growth. It has outgrown its humidity dome and resides in the open air now. The humidity is lower than I'd like for its stage of growth, but I have other plants in full flower in the same area, so I'm not humidifying the air at this time.

drakkon The Orion F1 is doing well as of day 21. During the past week, I increased the nutrient concentration a little, continued administering a root enhancer, and topped the plant above the 4th node (on day 19). The 1st-node branches were removed the previous week, so it now has six branches, two each sprouting from nodes #2-4. I decided to go with six branches to comport with the number of grommets on the fabric pot the Orion is growing in. I typically aim for eight branches, but let's see what happens with six. Up until now, the self-watering tray the plant rests on serves only to catch run-off during top watering. Going by the above-ground growth, some roots should be starting to reach the bottom portion of the fabric pot, meaning it's ready for sub-irrigation. I'll fill the reservoir and set up the wicks in the next day or two.

drakkon As of day 28, the Orion F1 continues to grow and sprout new branches. It receives nutrients via top-watering, and has just recently begun to absorb plain water from the self-watering tray on which it rests. There are no signs of flowering yet, so I will continue fertilizing with base nutrients and a root enhancer. Training-wise, all 6 branches (nodes 2-4) are routinely tied down in a horizontal position in an attempt to increase branching. I removed the ties for today's photos since the ties were due for adjustment anyway. The internode span on the plant's main stem is somewhat spacious, so achieving a perfectly even canopy height will be challenging. If it turns out to be not-so-even, I'll still be satisfied as long as there are a decent number of nice branches.

drakkon The Orion F1 looks stellar on day 35. Growth is accelerating, and though a few stigmas have appeared, I'll call this the last week of the vegetative stage. I'm almost certain it will be flowering in full by next week. The environment is drier than I'd like for this plant (~37% RH), but some other plants in the same area have sizable buds and are close to finishing, so I will not intervene by humidifying. Every now and then, the plant gets 6-8 hours of sun instead of the LED lamp. I put a large (flat) furniture slider under the self-watering tray and plant, so I can just slide it across the room to the windows without having to lift the pot and tray (separately or as one). All six of its main branches have been trained to varying degrees by pulling them down and securing them with flex-ties. As a result, many secondary branches have grown substantially. The plant receives nutrients (base + root enhancer) and water via top-watering, and it also takes up plain water via the wicks in the self-watering tray. A few roots have pushed through the bottom of the fabric pot, but they have not attached themselves to the wicks since I rotate the pot occasionally to address just that issue. So far, so good, with my first time using ProMix HP.

drakkon As of day 42, the Orion F1 looks good and is just starting to bloom. Some leaf-tips exhibit a little burn or discoloration, but not much so I'm not too concerned. The plant absorbs plain water via the wicks in the self-watering tray, plus nutrients and additional water via manual top-watering. On sunny days, I slide the plant across the room, where it gets anywhere from 4 to 8 hours of sunlight before going back to its usual location under my under-desk LED lamp. This week's photos include the usual documentary snapshots taken on day 42, plus a few side-shots taken in sunshine in an otherwise darkened room, on day 37.

drakkon It's day 49 for the Orion F1 and all is well. It gained around 1.5" in height over the last week and many flowers are beginning to form. It has no noticeable odor yet. I increased the concentration of base nutrients it receives via top-watering, and it also absorbs quite a bit of plain water from its self-watering tray. This is my first time using Pro-Mix HP, and so far, I have no complaints.

drakkon The Orion F1 continues to grow and bloom as of day 56. The flowers are still relatively immature, and there is no noticeable odor yet. I removed some leaves, just a few at a time, to help increase light penetration. On sunny days, when I'm available to do so, I move the plant near a south-facing window to let it enjoy some sunshine for around 4-8 hours. The plant is really thirsty lately, and absorbs plenty of water from its self-watering tray in addition to the water and nutrients it receives via top-watering. This Orion F1 is noticeably larger than its Hyperion F1 neighbor, despite being about 27 days younger. The Hyperion is in Happy Frog potting soil and underwent some trauma in its early days, including a fall, transplanting, and topping. This Orion is in Pro-Mix, was started in its final container, and the only trauma it underwent was topping and a little LST.

drakkon The Orion F1 is cruising along on day 63. Flowers are beginning to stack and fill in, and trichomes are spreading over the young buds and out onto nearby leaves. As of a few days ago, the plant is starting to smell of citrus and pine, especially when disturbed. During the past week, I skipped one "dose" of bloom booster and replaced it with cal-mag, and will go back to the bloom booster the next time I fertilize. I see no issues, and am happy with how this grow is going. This week's photos include a few closeups, some taken in natural light near a window sill on which a refracting prism rests. When working in my office, I like to see the beam from the prism pass over my cannabis plants as the sun transits the sky. The plants are usually under my desk under an LED, but when I'm around and able to do so, I slide them over to the windows for some sunshine.

drakkon As of day 70, the Orion F1 continues to flower and appears healthy overall. The buds still have a long way to go before harvest, but they are already looking very attractive, at least to my eye. The plant's smell has recently become strong enough to notice without even disturbing it. Besides the typical skunky smell, there are notes of pine and citrus. The odor doesn't reach all corners of the building, but you can smell it immediately upon entering the room. The Orion continues to absorb quite a bit of plain water via the wicks in its self-watering tray, and I continue to feed it via top watering. This week's photos include phone snapshots and a few glamour shots taken with an SLR.

drakkon : As it hits day seventy-seven My Orion F1 looks a lot like heaven Its frosty buds are so sweet-smelling And every day, they keep on swelling Not quite yet, but someday soon It's a very safe bet, I'll go to the moon The Orion continues to absorb plenty of water from its self-watering tray, and shows no signs of slowing down. In my estimation, it needs a couple more weeks, but I don't think it will go as long the Hyperion I just harvested (day 105). Last week, the Orion received base nutrients and a bloom booster via top watering every few days. I plan on giving it more of the same for about another week or so before discontinuing the bloom booster and switching to a ripening agent. For most of the Orion's flowering phase, the LED lamp has been set to 60-70 percent of maximum (with brief periods at 80-90 percent). Occasionally, for periods of a few hours, I slide the plant over to get some sunlight through a south-facing window. This week's photos include documentary snapshots and bud close-ups.

drakkon As of day 84, the Orion F1 is doing well and oh what a smell. It's a good smell, a little piney, but strong in the "obviously cannabis" sense. It's just this one Orion, and my other plants are younger and don't smell at all, so it's not a nuisance in the area or anything like that. I think if I had 4 or more of these, or two big ones in 5- or 7- gallon containers, I'd probably have to address the odor somehow. Last week, I reduced base nutrients and introduced a ripening agent (KoolBloom dry). From now until harvest, the Orion will receive water only (or plus cleanser). It's getting close to harvest time, but it's not quite ready yet. The buds look like they're beginning to ripen and harden a little, and the leaves are starting to fade and change color. In the center of its canopy, which receives a little more light than the perimeter, the fading is more pronounced. Trichome coverage is excellent, with some sugar leaves appearing like a leaf "sandwich" on trichome "bread." One thing suggesting that harvest might be a little farther off is how much the plant is drinking of late. It took up a lot of water via the self-watering wicks last week, even more than the previous several weeks. As a guess, I think I'll harvest in 7-10 days (days 91-94).

drakkon The Orion F1 was harvested on day 91. I forgot to measure a wet weight at the exact time of harvest, but a day later, the branches and buds weighed 276 grams. I suspect the buds lost 10 percent or more of their weight during that time, which means they might have weighed over 300 grams had I weighed them immediately. Overall, it was a great grow. I'm happy with the strain, lamp, medium, pots, trays, nutes, and everything else that was part of this grow. The buds will be dried and cured enough to sample in a couple weeks, at which time I'll return to post a smoke report. I look forward to trying my first toke of Orion F1. Photos include the plant before harvest, harvested buds laying out and on the scale, and some bud close-ups taken during the week prior to harvest. SMOKE REPORT UPDATE After drying and curing for a couple weeks, and then dry-trimming, the buds from this Orion F1 weighed 64 grams. They have a pleasant aroma, but it's hard to identify exactly. I would describe it as mixed herbs plus a little pine and musk. Another person mentioned a slight citrus aroma, but I did not detect that myself. The smoke is smooth and bears similar pleasant odors. Besides harvesting 64 grams of dried buds, I also collected a nice bonus of exactly 2 grams of kief by sifting the trimmed sugar leaves. The effects of the smoke are very potent and long-lasting, but not overly sedative. In small to medium amounts, it induces relaxation without sleepiness or lethargy. I also had a sample lab tested, with the following results: Total THC: 24.8% Total Cannabinoids: 30.2% CBG-A: 2.0% THC-A: 27.5% ∆9-THC: 0.69% Terpenes: High