ALL ORGANIC LIVING SOIL!
(KIS Organics Water Only Soil with Biochar; so far only slight KIS Nutrient Pack amendment mixed into the bottom layer of soil, and CaMg+ each watering)
WEEK 8 RECAP (short journal comments):
Flowers are popping up all over. It smells like the aroma will be as good as the last Blueberry Kush I grew. This week was the biggest stretch week with about 6โ (15.2cm) of growth on the main cola, and around the same for the smaller branch colas (some more, some less).
I noticed a faint yellow inter-ribbing on the leaves, and I started reading up more on deficiencies. On my last two plants, the Holy Grail Kush and The Church journals, I had yellow inter-ribbing on the leaves from what I thought was a nitrogen deficiency. But after doing more reading now, I am starting to think it was both an N *and* a magnesium deficiency, even more so with the magnesium though. I also came to this conclusion because of how red/purple some of my stems get. Plants need magnesium to produce chlorophyll. So I drastically increased my CaMg+ amendments even more this week. It seems to be helping.
Target VPD 1.4kPa. VPD = Vapor Pressure Deficit, the temperature to relative humidity equation that affects plantsโ water intake and respiration rates. Average light wattage for the week is 572W.
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FULL GROW RECAP (the long boring journal comments, unless youโre a nerd like me):
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TIMELINE:
Pre-Week 1:
1. I put two seeds in peat pods in a seed dome.
2. Light set at low intensities, 142W.
Week 1:
3. Seedling โAโ popped after 3 days, and โBโ popped after 4.
4. Transplanted to 1gal pots to prevent the tap roots from getting too exposed.
5. Target VPD for the seedling cycle was 0.7kPa.
6. Second half of the week light intensity was increased to an average of 238W.
Week 2:
7. Halfway through the week changed the Kind LED XL1000 to Automatic Mode. Temps are up. The average daily wattage is now 451W.
8. Halfway through the week adjusted the target VPD to 1.0kPa.
Week 3:
9. Removed the โBโ seedling from the grow. Now only a one-plant diary.
10. Forgot to get enough soil.
11. Got my new CO2 setup going, but late because of snow.
12. Power outages due to heavy snow outside.
13. Soil farm was closed due to heavy snow.
14. Plant is rootbound and will go one week longer for veg planning.
Week 4:
15. Transplanted from a 1gal to a 10gal pot.
16. Put the pot up on a BBQ grill and 2x4s to keep the bottom off the floor.
Week 5:
17. Started LST.
18. Changed my mind about doing a SCROG because the Gorilla Grow Tent screen is a piece of crap, and I put in the bottom ring of a tomato cage instead.
Week 6:
19. Raised CaMg+ amendment to account for magnesium deficiencies shown by leaf tacoing.
Week 7:
20. Flipped to a 13/11 light schedule with a red-only-sunset program to encourage flowering. The average daily wattage is now 572W.
21. Turned heat down to 82degF and increased calmag to reduce leaf curling (high heat is okay with a full amount of CO2. It was even spiking at 84 before this).
22. Target VPD is now 1.4kPa.
Week 8:
23. See weekly recap at the top.
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FUTURE PLANS:
I will not be defoliating, unless dead or ground dragger leaves need to be removed. Leaves are both solar panels and batteries for plants, and you actually slow down the plant a tiny bit for each leaf plucked due to shock. If need be, for light or air circulation, I will tuck large leaves.
The reason why a plant seems to โboomโ after defoliation is just because the plant is trying to quickly regain the leaf power that it just lost. Even the growth of mass in flowers will slow when the plant is trying to expand existing leaves or regrow new ones. Some people deny this, but they should do a side by side clone comparison to prove that defoliation actually increases the yield of a plant.
Here are some references so you know Iโm not just being random:
https://www.cocoforcannabis.com/community/photons_corner/to-defoliate-or-not-to-defoliate/
https://www.mmjdaily.com/article/9181646/does-defoliation-really-improve-a-cannabis-crop/
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=285930&page=15
The bottom layer of the KIS Organics Water Only Soil with Biochar is amended with a dash of KIS Organics: Nutrient Pack. I miscalculated some factors on my last grow, and my flower phase suffered because of it. This time I have properly readjusted. Iโm hoping to not have to use any nutes or amendments/supplements at all, besides a small dose of the nutrient pack mixed in at the bottom of the pot, and a tiny dose of organic calmag (CaMg+) every watering. If I see any deficiencies in the flowering phase, I will add some organic nutes to finish it out.
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GROW SETUP:
GROWING MEDIUM:
- KIS Organics: Water Only Soil with Biochar (living soil)
CONTAINER:
- Vivosun Premium Fabric Pot 10gal (might not fill it all the way)
TENT:
- Gorilla Grow Tent: Lite Line, 4โx4โ (actually only using 2'x4' space, because I'm sharing the tent with @Mothra)
LIGHTING:
- Kind LED: K5 XL1000. Every light cycle stage is programmed with a sunrise and sunset mode where the light intensity starts low, increases, peaks, and then gradually dims before shut off. I use lower intensity programs for seedlings, and gradually increase the intensities through veg. I use a Kill-a-Watt meter to measure the actual wattage draw, and will post the wattages of each cycle on this page.
HUMIDIFIER (the tent usually runs dry):
- Elechomes: UC5501 Ultrasonic Humidifier (has an automatic humidistat control)
CO2:
- Autopilot APC8200 CO2 Monitor & Controller (has an automatic sensor to regulate CO2 levels, and has a photoeye sensor to keep the CO2 from turning on at night)
- DoubleSun Aquarium CO2 Regulator with Solenoid
- Two 20lb CO2 tanks (brands always change due to periodic exchanges), only one connected at a time, so that I can exchange the other at my leisure when one runs out.
VENTILATION:
- AC Infinity: Cloudline T6 (has an automatic sensor control I use to decrease temp and RH)
MONITORING:
- Pulse One Temp, RH, and VPD monitor with WiFi (I really like this. It really helps me to keep everything dialed in at all times. The graphing feature is a really great addition. VPD (Vapor Pressure Deficit) is the way of the future.
- Hydrofarm: CO2 Monitor
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STRAIN DECISION:
This time I chose to do โBlueberry Kushโ from Growers Choice Seeds again because my first plant of this strain was honestly the best weed I have ever had. Blueberry Kush is a Blueberry x OG Kush cross. It had an awesome smell, and the high was calm and relaxing. The aroma was a perfect mix of both the Blueberry and OG Kush parents without one of the flavors suppressing the other. The high doesnโt cause too much couch lock or anxiety - even while still getting you very stoned. Letโs see how well and similar this next phenotype will do.
Unfortunately, this strain isnโt listed on this site as an official strain yet, so I have to say โCustom Breeder & Strainโ. When I did this strain the first time, the siteโs user interface was different and I was able to input the correct breeder.
If youโd like to give this Blueberry Kush strain from Growers Choice Seeds a try, you can find it here (I highly recommend it):
https://www.growerschoiceseeds.com/shop/cannabis-seeds/feminized/blueberry-kush-feminized-cannabis-seeds/
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THANKS FOR READING!
I found out my double bud/wide stem mutation is called "fasciation". It can be caused by many factors. I've not found scientific evidence on whether this is bad to keep or not. Does anyone have scientific proof on whether this is safe to leave on? No opinions, just facts please.
Man I gotta tell you the plants look great and your organized and detailed explanation is on point definitely keeping a close eye and learning from your diaries
@Grey_Wolf and HighRoller909, this is actually not polyploidism. If you only have individual stalks that have this, it is called fasciation, and it is much more common than polyploidism. Poly affects the whole plant, not just individual branches. I'd post some articles on this, except I'm using my phone at the moment, and don't really want to copy/paste right now.
My main concern is the trichome count and if it can affect or infect other parts of the plant or other plants entirely. It seems many professional growers prefer to remove fasciated branches or whole plants because sometimes fasciation is caused by bacterial, viral, or fungal infections. I'm just not sure how often this is the case though, because the main causes are genetics or hormonal imbalances caused by chemicals (such as fem or insecticide chemicals). Unfortunately, this seems to be a controversial subject with the professional growing community split on if this is okay to leave or not.
Sorry, I would have clarified this in the grow question, but they limit the amount of characters you can put in the question. So I had to leave out the info about fasciation.
@TastyBudzz, Yes, I am aware of polyploidism and triploidism. In this thread I posted some articles on polyploidism, fasciation is unrelated. Fasciation is actually when the stem goes hollow. Also, poly and triploid plants are affected through the whole plant, not just one or two stems. These are the poly articles I shared before:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.00476/full
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyploidy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6503105/
@MovingOn, I remember reading about polyploid cell division. I think it's possible to happen naturally. Cells splitting more than twice increases size. So I like triploid even if it's different from polyploid. Cell mutation is how new shapes and flavours are discovered. Imagine stabilizing polyploid or triploid behavior. Many have.
Beautiful lady. Buds coming along nicely. Lovely canopy. Fantastic work my friend. Keep it up and may the ganja garden gods bless you along the way with this grow and all future endeavors as well
Dude I love your presentation.. I also love your train of thought, research and learn. This idea of mutilating and abusing plants is much too rampant in the community and it never really sat well with me. Yes your plants look bushy but they also look super healthy. Growers are people and they fall victim to the psychology behind "what I did must have made a difference" at least in my opinion. Very excited to see what's to come and I'm sure your one proud dad :). Gonna keep following along.
..... I also hope to see @GrowDiaries someday possibly make a "bio" description that we can fill out on our profiles to tell the community more about ourselves, daily lives, histories, and our methods and guidelines. It would be a great addition in our profiles for such a social community that likes to share ideas.
@@Darkwarsongs, it is a mess of notes right now, and I am also combining it with my personal growing guidelines. It isn't anything too special or large. I mainly want to share some rules I have set for myself and my thinking behind them. If I find the time, I will even try to post them in this journal once I get organized, but that is definitely not a guarantee, haha. ๐
@@Darkwarsongs, agree with both of you 100%... if people make changes to get better results theyโre gonna see what they want to see... thatโs why this diary keeping is so important, 4 months between cycles is a long time to remember small details ๐
Full disclosure, I still run a flush with my plants but like you said - there is little in the way of science based evidence to support the necessity. You canโt force feed a plant so the roots are only going to take in what they need. Through my own reading Iโve only discerned one half decent reason for it and thatโs to advance the fade and minimize the amount of chlorophyll in the leaves. You might get a smoother smoke by doing so but again - questionable.
Enjoyed the read bud and sheโs lookโn fantastic๐
@MovingOn, indeed! And with enough time, those points of view can and do change here and there. However there are certain topics (like those that are science based) which will remain constant... and fuck - Iโm philosopherizing again... ๐๐๐
@TheBudWhisperer, so far for me, the organic route has led to little to no chlorophyll left in the leaves at harvest anyway. Which I suppose is a double edged sword in itself. Although, would we rather have leaves with chlorophyll, or leaves that are rotting with possible diseases or unwanted mold/mildew/fungi? I'm not an expert though, so there's that, haha. ๐ Us closet growers can be quite the philosophers about our methods, can't we?
Thanks for the compliments! ๐
@MovingOn, lol your totally right. The small and subtle changes from day to day are not nearly as exciting. I think in general the whole process is rewarding. When your in veg and they're growing strong you can see that potential. And then in the flower when all your hard work starts to pay off. The flower can also be the most nerve wrecking, quite a few more factors that come into play in making a nice end product.
@@Darkwarsongs, ha, yes. Your opinion is probably the opinion of most people's, but I always enjoy the veg part because growth is visually faster and I enjoy the training. To me, waiting for the flowers to get bigger is like watching paint dry. ๐ด๐
@Master_weeda, no problem! I like it when people make it interesting. I think once I get more streamlined, like you, I would like to do things with my journals to make them more interesting as well. I should do more videos, and I wanted to do a time lapse on this one too, but the life timing didn't work out to start a new project like that.
I also wanted to take my plant out to take pictures in the room light instead of under the tent light, but this living soil is so heavy that it has been kind of a pain to lift, even before watering. It's not that I can't lift it though, it is just very awkward to get in and out of the tent, and the plant got so bushy that I am afraid of dropping it or breaking off branches or something. Luckily, I can put green sunglasses in front of my camera, and it makes the picture look more natural - instead of purple or red. On my next week I am going to show some pictures with the differences of the light and the lenses.
Hi and congratulation for your growth. Great results, you inspired me on growing a blueberry next.
I have one question: what's under the pot? I'm curious...
@y0shimitsu, thanks! It is a BBQ grill on a couple pieces of wood. In the past the bottom of my pots would be kind of soggy and gross, but doing this helps to keep the bottom dry.
@MovingOn,
HI mate
Thanks for the answer๐
you're right I could have seen them alone, I was probably too out of tune ๐
It is a great object I also saw one that shows urban oar in his videos, xo 'is bigger Thanks again for show it ๐
Good cultivation๐ฑ
@Belverde, thanks! Yes, that black thing is the tester. You can see some of the terps it tests for in the readout above, and in the graph in one of the pictures.
A very Impressive and wonderful Plant. I really liked to read your Diary ( or parts of it^^)
crossing Fingers.....
Keep on Growing, stay safe and healthy