Bamboo-stick clone training 13:11 IR xp

So here's a clone I took from a PowerFlower (RQS) a month ago. It took 2 weeks to root, then 3 weeks to obtain that shape. It's currently in a 1gal/3L pot in my micro veg room under a MarsHydro TS-1000, but considering the space it's gonna take, I will move that clone into the main growroom very soon 😎 Thanks for stopping-by!

I've started to guide the two main stems onto a bamboo stick, the horizontal way. Since it's a clone, the symmetry ain't gonna allow a real mainlining/fluxing approach, so my plan is to train these two main tops, up to 60cm large in total. Once she will reach this size, I will let her grow her side stems vertically.

So that lovely clone was transplanted into a 9L textile pot, it was more than time. It is growing like the mother, quickly and healthy. The bamboo stick is doing the job with the horizontal training, a few more weeks and she will be ready to flip!

The goal has been reached, that clone is now 60 cm large, the bamboo stick training was really simple and effective! Now it's going to grow vertically for a few days, before I flip the whole room into flowering stage. I'm waiting for some deep red + far red strips to improve my lighting setup and try to play with the "Emerson Effect". I plan to use the infrared strips 5 minutes before lights turn off, and 5 minutes after lights have turned off. This should allow plants to receive 13~14 hours of light during flowering stage, leading to bigger buds and better resin production. Stay tuned!!

So this was the last week into the vegetative stage, blooming was triggered by the middle of week 6. My setup was improved with two infrared strips by SecretJardin. These are placed between my three LM301B boards by InvisibleSun. These red strips are made of 126 diodes on 3 lines : 1st line 660 nm + 2nd line 730 nm + 3rd line 660 nm. Using the deep red + far red spectrum 15mins/day before darkness should trigger the emerson effect, in order to push the light schedule up to 13-11. This will lead to a faster flowering cycle, a bigger yield and a better resin production. This is highly experimental and poorly documented so I'm still digging, but so far after 3 nights all my plants seem to love it. The setup was also improved by adding Blumat irrigation carrots, these will help me not to water everyday and always make sure my babies have something to drink. I have already tested these carrots by leaving the plants alone for 3 days, you need a big water tank but wow it's really working! The clone is looking awesome, I'm glad I tried that bamboo-stick training approach, I will certainly keep that trick for future grows. Thanks for stopping-by! 😎

Sooooo the 1st week into the flowering stage is behind us, that PowerFlower clone is still fully healthy, she started to stretch and she's showing her pistils and expanding a bit more everyday. She's very quick at pre-flowering, definitely a fast flowering strain! The 1st week was under a 12/12 light schedule, with 15mins of deep red + far red before darkness (5 mins with the lights on, 10 mins once the lights are off). I want to experiment the 13-11 light schedule with infrared, but I don't want to mess with the current run, so the 13-11 schedule will start by the 2nd week of flowering. That way, I'm sure they understand the flip, we will see in a few days how plants react to the 13-11 light schedule, I'm confident this should work, and speed up the whole blooming process.

The 2nd week of blooming is now behind us, that clone is massive and still fully healthy, I have the feeling that the deep red + far red addons are really working, I see bud sites exploding everyday, much faster than usual. We are now under a 13/11 light schedule and she seems to love it so far. Thanks for stopping-by!

The 3rd week into the flowering stage went pretty well. Stretch seems to be done. I am now confident about the IR trick, it looks like the emerson effect is really working, I see buds fattening up at full speed, much faster than without the infrared strips. Would it be possible to push the light schedule up to 14:10?? I'm not sure at all, but I'd like to hear your opinions! This could be another experimentation for my next run. Thanks for stopping-by! 😎

So the 4th week into the flowering stage went pretty well, only 1 minor issue to note: some thrips managed to get into the growroom. Since the plant is already full of flowers, spraying anything is not an option. So I've released a few ladybugs into the room, they will do the job for me. For this reason, I was unable to do a proper photoshoot, didn't want to take the plants out and see all my red workers fly away. Otherwise, she's blooming at full speed, loving the IR spectrum before darkness, only a few weeks to go now! Some slight defoliation was done by the beggining of the week. Thanks for stopping-by!

I was away for 2 weeks, so my plants only had some Blumat irrigation carrots to rely on. I came back and noticed an empty reservoir. These things do work! However, I won't recommend this method for more than a few days. That PowerFlower clone was seriously underwatered, and slightly underfed. That being said, she made it through these tough conditions and produced some nice colas. This is her last week, trichomes are ready. Only 7 weeks in flower, I guess my 13-11-IR light schedule really helped speeding up the flowering cycle.