By continuing to use the website or clicking Accept you consent to our cookies and personal data policy and confirm that you are at least 18 year old. For details please see Privacy Policy and Terms
First off, I am excited to try a seed from a new distributor, and I appreciate Original Sensible Seeds’ dealings with me. Lets go with a totally new strain for me with many unknowns - Black Destroyer. The genetics are Black Domina x AK 47. I’m pumped! But.....
.... I’m a noob and there is always a story. I decided to germinate the seed in my DIY clone box which was using a 19Watt LED on blue spectrum only (so likely half). I used my typical peat pod method, in a cup with VPW20 soil and Myka microculture. However, this time when i watered before leaving, I did notice the seed float to the surface out of the peat pod! When I returned and saw it popped three days later, the entire thing was on the surface of the soil. I sort of covered it with loose soil, generally not wanting to tamper.
Upon return the tap root was sticking straight out, and the cotyledon leaves were obscured in soil! Wtf! I used a tool to reorient the seedling. I haven’t had an issue with the peat pod germination yet, and so this is a sloppy outlier on my part.
My next silly mistake: I should have immediately moved the seedling to my veg. tent once reoriented. I let it hang around for a day or two, and I sense it was desperate for real light. I did then move it, it has vegged under medium light as it had mature plants towering over it.
It has slowly recovered and seems to be growing new, green leaves. It may be a bit stunted. I top dressed with worm castings to help keep some moisture in. Rough start so far. I need some luck here!
Just a reminder: this is supposed to be Black Domina and AK47. With the noobfest last week and handling of the first seed, I was hopeful for recovery. The seedling has been stagnant so far. Nothing really happening. I don’t want to wait: I planted another Black Destroyer seed. I have changed the name of the diary to include (I & II). When this second one pops, and quickly passes the first, I will likely trash the runt and go with number two. Its a harsh world and I only have so much room in my tents.
For Black Destroyer (I) - Day 13 from seed.
Okay, so as predicted the new Black Destroyer seedling quickly caught and surpassed the stunted one. Black Destroyer (I) shriveled and got worse, and I only left it to take pictures as comparison - it will be trashed. Black Destroyer (II) is the winning horse and this is reflected by editing the diary title. Swerve storyline so far ...
Day 5 from seed. No issues. A tad hot and dry in the tent but no concern. Exciting! I hope this Original Sensible seed destroys.
Day 12 from seed for what is now the sole Black Destroyer. A recent explosion of growth suggested to me it was time to transplant out of the beginning cup. I used a mixture of VPW20 soil, sheep manure compost, worm castings, and blood and bone meal. I expect a quick turn around in this container. I’m liking the vigor.
Day 20 from seed. This plant is exploding and I love it! I went away for a couple days so I overwatered it a bit, but otherwise it looks great. The leaves look thin and a bit unique and unlike the other in its generation of plants. I am looking forward to repotting soon. No liquid food so far...
Day 26 from seed. It was time to transplant and perform some LST, so radical change for this plant. I transplanted using VPW20 soil, sheep manure compost, worm castings, Myka microculture, and a light mix of blood and bone meal, alfalfa meal compost, used coffee grounds, and pulverized egg shells. I then severely tied the plant over and did a little trimming. Be patient.
Day 32 from seed.
When I built my current setup I built two tents, one that is 6’x4’ and one that is 4’x4’. The available electrical hardware, and timer situation, and my thought process on working with clones made me choose the larger tent for veg. Since then, I realize clones need much less light, the rest of the tent has sat empty, and I’ve been heating my larger tent with two sets of CFLs. But now I’ve upgraded my timer and power bar, and have flexibility, ...
I’ve switched my two tents. The 6’X4’ tent is now my flowering tent, and my 4’x4’ is now my veg. tent. As you can see, I don’t need any extra room. The veg. tent is now run off of one main LED that is standard to both tents.
Black Destroyer has been fairly healthy. The leaves have been nice and waxy, lots of green. No issues so far. I’d like to take some more clones and won’t be pressed to put it into flowering for another few weeks.
Day 39 from seed. Everything is looking great. Nice, pronounced branches, and I’ve been able to take some clones. I was a bit paranoid about phosphorous levels based on my other plants, and really monitoring the stems and stem colours. I decided to give a bit of food prematurely. I gave 18-18-21 Miracle Grow Tomato food which is usually my first step flowering food, but this plant is close to flowering anyway. I can’t wait to get the show on the road and grow some brand new buds, I’ve never experienced the Black Destroyer strain before!
Day 46 from seed.
Okay, the positives: the plant has steadily grown. The canopy is somewhat even (somewhat). There is no major damage or dying leaves.
The negatives: I have been dealing with my first ever pest problem - fungus gnats - and Black Destroyer took it the worst. The flies absolutely infested the soil of this plant, and their activity have caused the pot to not drain properly causing a weird divide of bone dry on top and water logged on bottom. If you think the leaves look dehydrated they are, I have to let the soil dry out. I did water today after the photos but not very much.
My pest control does seem to be working although it has taken a week and there are still some flies. I have had sticky traps up all week and have regularly changed them. This is just raw passive population control. Observing the traps indicates there are less gnats. I have also recently been using near 99% ethanol as a tent sanitizing and plant spray. I have read online on many threads about pest control with peroxide or alcohol, and many threads with bad results directly on plants. All these scenarios use a dilute mixture. I am curious if the mixture of water leads to residue or damaged leaves/plants. My buddy, a former GrowDiaries user, has used pure ethanol or moonshine for weeks without damage. The moonshine was made in a still for use with THC extract and edibles, it doubles for this. I am a few applications in without damage. Pure ethanol sprayed through a bottle easily coats the surfaces, pots, tent, leaves, soil, and seems to kill pests directly. I am not saturating the soil, but I am making sure I lightly spray everything! At room temperature, ethanol evaporates. It evaporates more quickly than water. Diluting alcohol in water would effect evaporation. So in general the tent is cleared and dry very quickly. This has killed many adult flies and likely much microscopic life.
I will look to flower Black Destroyer in a week when my tent clears. If I do transfer some fungus gnats, the flowering fan is so strong and direct they are a non factor.
Day 51 from seed. Guess what: one week of flowering complete, six to go. After conquering the fungus gnats, and finding mold on another plant, I had space to move Black Destroyer to the flowering immediately after last week’s update. Just keep the rotation going! I’m hoping to get a clone from earlier, and I took some monster cropped clones after this week’s photos. I wanted to clean up the canopy and so I took some clones, it has been awhile since I monster cropped. The only problem right now is that I’m waiting for Crop King’s White Widow to finish (another diary) and so this plant is deprived of the main LED. Also, Crop King’s Black Indica (another diary) is crowding her out. Black Destroyer is directly under the yellow LEDs which tend to bring stretch so perhaps not a big deal. With such a quick flowering time she has blossomed quickly. Last feeding was 18-18-21 Miracle Grow Tomato plant food with a popsicle stick dip of blackstrap molasses.
Day 58 from seed. Two weeks of flowering complete, five weeks to go. The story of this plant has been its smaller, more compact size compared to the rest as I transition to a smaller standard sized grow. The taller plants haven’t produced much more and add humidity and hassle. This plant has been getting overcrowded so I am happy it hasn’t stretched in too bad a way (considering the circumstances). Now that I’ve tied some other plants its going to have much more light. The last two shots illustrate the before and after of this point. Last feeding was 18-18-21 Miracle Grow Tomato food with a popsicle stick dip of blackstrap molasses.
Day 65 from seed. Three weeks of flowering complete, four weeks to go. The plant is for sure putting its energy into the buds now. Most recent feeding was 2-7-7 Shultz Cactus plant food with a popsicle stick dip of blackstrap molasses. The nugs are very small so far and I am excited limited yield. To be fair to this plant I am trying to scale back the size (height) of my grows and this plant was sort of crowded and much smaller than usual. We will see what happens. So far I have been unsuccessful with all the clone attempts. Based on the size I am preparing to let this plant go past the projected timeline.
Day 71 from seed. Four weeks of flowering complete, three weeks remaining. I’m projecting an extra week anyway at this point. Next feeding comes tomorrow. Ugh, I feel like I’ve shortchanged this plant so much. First, by allowing it to get fungus gnats earlier on, and then being crowded out by larger plants. Someone has to be the first when scaling down - Black Destroyer is a squat little plant. I thought I was getting phosphorous deficiency or other: grey, blotched, curling/dying leaves on the lower canopy. But I don’t see any other signs, no streaking or purple stems. The colour of the canopy looks great, actually. I think I am surprisingly getting wind damage from the fan breeze. I had it set on 3/4, and have since turned it down to 2/4. I say this because the symptoms weren’t through the entire plant, an adjacent plant mysteriously had the same thing on the under canopy, and the inner plants not experiencing direct fan didn’t have it at all.
Day 78 from seed. Five weeks of flowering complete, two weeks to go. I am likely keeping Black Destroyer in the tent for another week to allow a bit more swell and bulk. I gave 2-7-7 Shultz cactus food, and blackstrap molasses, last week after the update. Only water since then. Next irrigation I am transitioning to the last food. Finally, this plant is starting to get a faint smell - a light, sweet dank. The buds are getting bigger too. It reminds me of the patience required with White Widow (Crop King), as I wasn’t sure the buds would ever get dense.
I mentioned wind damage from the fan in earlier updates, I kept turning the fan down. (Pictures 4&5) Now, I just put the fan back to laying horizontal and blowing flat underneath the canopy. I wasn’t seeing benefits to having the fan as the designed vertical on oscillation, it was blowing everything around and a hassle. You can see what I am suspecting is damage. Its mixed in with some nute burn/deficiency I’m sure, but the reason I blame the fan is because its only on the area where the fan blows. The rest of the plant is fine, as it other plants.
Last thing to note, power company sucks and I lost power for eight hours yesterday - on November 1st. I’m not concerned but if I were the tenants in my cannabis tents I’d be complaining to the landlord. The light came on for four hours, interrupted for eight, and then on for 30-45 minutes before a regular dark period. Weird.
Day 85 from seed. Six weeks of flowering complete, one more projected to go. I will be keeping it for an eighth week so plenty of time left. Next irrigation is the last of the plant food. Black Destroyer is in the middle of the 0-10-10 Alaskan Morbloom and blackstrap molasses cycle. The buds are starting to bulk a bit. I did short change Destroyer by rushing it and crowding it with other plants. Somebody had to start the wave of downsizing. Now the much bullied Black Destroyer is one of the larger in the tent. Right now I’m waiting for a new furnace and heating system, but its another nine days to go. Its November 9th and there is snow on the ground, I have no heat and my house is freezing. My basement is getting especially bad. I’m trying to be optimistic these days and on the positive my flowering tent loves these developments. Its cold and this is causing the buds to be nice and frosty. What isn’t apparent with the tininess of the flowers, is that the leaves are coated in sticky trichomes. This plant reminds me alot of White Widow with spotted bunches of bud that are wet with resin. I don’t need a ton of yield, I just want a few prize nugs.
Day 92 from seed. Seven weeks of flowering complete. This is the early window for flower but it is clear that this Black Destroyer plant needs a bit more time. I’ll commit to keeping it in flower for at least one more week, maybe two if it really swells. The buds have grown, and it has gained some density, but I’ll be looking to improve on future Black Destroyer runs. It got the last of its food earlier this week, 0-10-10 Alaskan Morbloom with a popsicle stick dip of blackstrap molasses. Water for the rest and it will get a flush before harvest. I still am waiting on my furnace so my house is freezing, outdoors it is below zero celsius. My basement is getting cold but at least this helps the flowering plants. I increased the ventilation to try to warm my other tent, connected via outflow, and its a cool 15 degrees in flower. The flowering plants don’t mind this. Black Destroyer really responded and laid on the trichomes.
I am trying out ten hours of light as a result of good discussions on this site, and at suggestion of MUDBUG. I don’t expect it to effect Black Destroyer much as I am nearing the end anyway.
Day 99 from seed for Black Destroyer. Eight weeks of flowering complete. I saw a 7-9 projected window. I was expecting closer to seven weeks but it looks like nine weeks. I will keep it in flower one more week. Waiting was worth it as I noticed considerable swell this past week. Just water and allowing the buds to finish up. I don’t expect a huge yield, but I expect the buds to be nice quality. Sort of a sweet, dank, musk. Kind of like White Widow maybe. Not super unique, but very pleasant.
Day 105 from seed for Black Destroyer. Nine weeks of flowering complete. This was projected as a 7-9 week flowering period, I’ve taken it to nine weeks. This is a sneak peek before I give it approx. 24 hours in the dark and then harvest. I gave it a nice flush of water. As you can see, not a massive plant. I am already bracing myself for a low yield. The combination of factors and story contributed.
The advancement of orange was quick and sudden this week. The smell reminds me of White Widow mixed with Black Indica, two other strains by other providers I have grown. Its a dank, musty, with a hint of sour sort of smell. Pungent!
Original Sensible Seeds presents Black Destroyer. I’ll be upfront and say I quite like this strain, but follow along for details.
A few issues getting started in seedling stage, and I had a point where I was infested with fungus gnats. There were many learning experiences that coincided with Black Destroyer’s run.
The elephant in the room is an absolutely pitiful yield. In my small setup I’m content working with smaller numbers but all three stars missing from the rating are related to yield, I had other strains badly outperform in identical circumstances. This being said, there were points where Destroyer was a bit overcrowded, and the experience has prompted me to add more wattage to the setup. I kept it in flower to the back end of the 7-9 week projection so the buds did mature nicely, but it didn’t make up much yield.
Just not much bud, very airy, whispy, but very frosty. External trichome production was really, really nice. So conversely for the reader, this strain would be good with a better environment. Good aesthetics, good smell growing, nice material with no issue trimming.
The strain reminded me of White Widow or Black Indica, a sort of pungent dank, must, skunk, not really possessing any sweet or citrus or anything. Sort of classic herb but a really strong first whiff of sour or diesel, probably closer to skunk, that just stays neutral in taste and doesn’t stray.
The effects are strong! I didn’t get much bud, but it packs a serious punch. As an indica lover I don’t use hyperbole with effects. This hits both the body and mind, with a definite indica weight. Just overall strong effects - the description did not lie. My love has caused me to blow through the small yield.
I have one Black Destroyer seed remaining so I have extra considerations, but I would be ready to grow this again immediately. I really feel maybe a better run with no hiccups, thorough and total illumination, a good “game-script,” and it would be a beast. I desire more of the effects of Black Destroyer.
I stretched it to nine weeks flowering trying to extend swell but the progression of orange really reveals that it probably needed more than seven weeks anyway. I was unsuccessful with clones unfortunately and so only one seed remains... very tempted. I want to be clear the strain seems to have potential. I always like effects #1 and this has flashed, I’m intrigued.
BeanswithPork
