Hello growers this week was a beautiful one. To find that all the plants are changing colors very nicely. This is all thanks to mother nature and the spring time shift. Being so much like fall temperatures. Next week is looking like it shall be the final week for the gelato 3 and two sunset strains for sure. Could be the other two gelato as well, we will see. The day time temps have been in 70's and low 60's at night and as low as 58°F. Just before lights on.
Another addition to help the color shift has been the UVA light. People say only UVB is viable, however this is not true. If you do the research such as studies from the university of Utah and Bruce Bugbee and his lab which is funded by NASA and the USDA. It's not so much the certain UV spectrum. Actually UVC and UVB are very dangerous and rarely found in nature
If they are it's only at high noon and honestly more common to burn your skin during the winter months. Around the first week of January when the earth itself in its ellipse is physically closer to the sun than in the summer. This is what makes the aticama desert of Australia so dangerous in the southern hemisphere. Another place to see the stars btw.
In studies from professor Bruce Bugbee's lab have shown. That the effectiveness of UV light really comes down to duration and the lack there of. Using LED lights that have UV in the spectrum are not effective. As the plants build up a tolerance early on in life. UVB and C are effective but in very small burst and very dangerous. UVA is readily available in LED light forms such as the 3D resin cure light I use only 2 hours a day. So in terms of cost and effectiveness I would highly recommend As always happy growing friends
Impressive training! I’ve been curious how ILGM zkittlez photo would turn out.. there’s plenty of autoflower examples on here, but not so much with the photo version. Also curious about the other two strains. Good luck!
@Ezzjaybruh,thank you so much and I am as well. Even when you search for ilgm zikkitels it isn't available so i am as well. I still have about a month left of veg planned. I can't wait for the results and the yield. Thanks for the love.
Ugh I need to get me some zskittles already. I started off with their SSH and Im trying my hardest to pick up tips from other growers like you. Looks gorgeous mate
@FlynnRyder, yeah I would definitely not strip all the way to the first node. However the frostyness of that sunset sherbet was due to how I mainlined and stripped up to the top 3 nodes. When you do this you have two options. One, you could flower Immediately and get however many limbs you have. That's how many single main colas you will have. Or alternatively and far more productive when it comes to yield and smoke. Leave only 3 nodes at the top and giving it two weeks on any plant. The plant will know it's potential for growth has been removed and thus greatly reduced, in case of emergency/animals feeding on it. So Immediately those nodes will be quickly recreated right at the top. Right where the light is.
Also you mentioned the phenotype differences well look at the difference between my gelato 1 and 2 compared to the gelato 3. The gelato 3 never gained any colors and honestly looked more like gorilla glue number 4. Likewise it became a hermaphrodite. Have any of yours become hermaphrodites from ilgm. Not saying it's all there fault. There is alot of speculation, but just like some frog species and fish. Male and female plants and animals can change sex in a single sex environment. Plants use pheromones to communicate which they send out and pick up on through their stomata. In a grow with 6 female's it's bound to happen. Generally speaking I would suggest that if a hermaphrodite is absolutely covered in bananas. It is a true genetic hermaphrodite. But one that has just a few, usually at the bud tip alone. Then it's one that became a hermaphrodite from a all female environment. They send our sperm/pollen to the top of the plant. Typically where the wind can carry it easily.
@michael_2r1, My goodness mate that was a lot haha. I actually love it though and I'm going to have to reread it another 500x to really get a grasp on it haha. I'm just such a kinetic learner that I have to screw something up multiple times to really get a grasp at it. training has been difficult in that aspect because I am terrible at planning ahead for a SCROG or the lighting distance required for a great flower. I'm still trying to really figure out where I am going wrong because I just don't feel the benefits of Hydro or LED. I'm certain the science is solid but I'm missing something small. I see a lot of training where it seems people are cutting all the way back to the first node but I'm gonna need a counselor before I can do that to my babies haha. Last harvest I had was my first and I botched it so bad it was a real kick in the marbles
@FlynnRyder, My biggest tip would have to be to try what I call the bush master approach. This is a process much like mainling, however you do not continually top each limb. Zikkitels will begin it's life like most hybrids of the indica dominate variety. With three nodes and 3 limbs before it puts out another 4th node in the opposite direction. I topped them all at the third node and pulled them down. But what I did with the zikkitels 1 was the bush master approach. By pulling down each limb with a piece of wire. Like that you would find in the wall outlet. Pulling them down then waiting for each limb to grow out two more nodes. Before topping each limb. All the way down to the very first node. Just keep all limbs and nodes exposed to as much light as possible. Then you will find she has become a bush in just 8 weeks. Preparing for flower for an additional 2 weeks is critical. I like to strip off all extra low fan leaves. As well as stripping all nodes from the bottom up to the top 4 nodes. This is two weeks before flower. However do not take off any larger fan leaves a third of the way up the plant. Even if some limbs or nodes are not quite exposed to light just yet. If you just let it do its thing. By tucking it under the net if needed or otherwise not at all. She will rise to the occasion and reach for the light during the stretching phase. Giving you very larger colas.
My harvest will be coming up soon. But I also have one clone and one more which I've planted from seed I'm about to feature in my next diary so stay tuned for that. Because if you have noticed they were all crammed into that small clone room for 9 weeks and given an additional week to grow and have now been in flower for a week. So progress has been made. Lol thanks for the love and happy growing friend.
@NugLife420, that's great to know. I've heard many different things on the flush. Some say flush double the container in water. Others like myself just flush normal water at every watering. I've found using this the last 2 weeks. Can often end at the 3rd week for some strains. As for my beauties. Well your exactly right. I have 3 strains and 6 plants. But the one sunset 2 has more trikes than any other. In part I believe due to the fact that I had supplemented light. Using a high powered cool white LED garage lights which is equivalent in power as the ps1500. The only draw back is the cool white/ extra blue in the spectrum. It didn't effect the size, as the other is very small as well. So if your in the market for a potent but very small plant. Ilgm sunset is the wave.
@michael_2r1, I flush the last week and a half to 2 weeks. I flush until I have about 20% run off from the pots. As for the trichomes, I just got lucky, super frosty genetics. So good genetics and TLC = great buds. 😃😎 Your ladies are looking fire though. 👍👍👍
@NugLife420, thanks man same to you. Also tell me what's your strategy for getting those tricomes to hang over like that and getting the best clean flush?
@michael_2r1, wow - I really appreciate the in depth reply. I’ve been confident that some bands of UV are helpful in flower, especially if you can get a dedicated light to hit it for a short chunk of the daily light cycle.. but I’ve never got this in depth and found what I can only assume is a fountain of useful info from this Bruce Bugbee fella. I really appreciate the tip.. I’ll dive down that YouTube rabbit hole in the morning! Thanks a bunch!
@Ezzjaybruh, I got a UVA resin cure LED light from Amazon for $30. They come in 20 and 6 watts. You can not unfortunately find any LEDS that can output a wide UVB spectrum, however the resin cure light does contain a small amount of UVB and a lot of UVA. I suggest you check out apogee instruments YouTube channel. On this channel you will find Bruce Bugbee professor of cannabis cultivation and NASA scientist. Who is funded by NASA and USDA to study the effects of different light spectrum on cannabis. The university of Utah is the only college in the country that has such licences to study cannabis growth.
There you will find a video where he shows his results for UV spectrum of light. It has been proven effective only in short bursts. UVB is effective in smaller bursts. But UVA is also effective in much longer bursts of 2 or 3 hours. Depending on how close to the light your plants are and will only be effective if you have never before exposed them to UV light.
The apogee instruments YouTube channel from the university of Utah is the best to get 100% proven evidence for growing the best cannabis. As it is clear cut unbiased information and no one is payed better to debunk the myths than him.
Also far red and blue light spectrum is a wonderful thing to check out on his channel as well. You can use blue light to create shorter bushy plants in veg. Then far deep red in flower to promote growth of flowers or make normally bushy plants taller. Blue light in flower in conjunction with UV increases terpenes and resin production as well as being 100% effective at killing small insects like thrips.
So I see you’re using the blue planet nutes, as far as going organic I was on the fence between using them or FOOP.. love to hear what you think about blue planet so far or if you’ve used it before with success.
Thanks!
@Ezzjaybruh, yes I have had great success with blue planet nutes and organic products along with it such as recharge for fungi and bacteria. Bacteria that will break down the food in a more ready and useable form found in another little known by cannabis growers but widely used Espoma plant tone for veg which is a 3-4-4 and rose tone for flower which is 2-4-5 both are completely organic which you can look online and unlike other organic sources for cannabis like big bloom and buds 3 step nutrients which are a blend of fish and kelp. Kelp is good by itself which I do use blue planet kelp. But the fish nute is high in ammonia which is incredibly acidic even when you add ph down it takes a lot to do this and do it right you really have to add it and let it sit for 15 minutes just to be sure since the fish ammonia is so acidic and fresh. The same is true of most synthetic substances like hydro nutes and even miracle grow if that's your things. Which is a OP nutrient 24-16-18 completely synthetic I don't use it. But the espoma brand organic is comparable only to gia green organic top dress amendments. Yes espoma is a top dress, however I have found the best application is to pour 1/3 cup into a gallon jug over night most will desolve and what doesn't desolve, or isn't water soluble. Will be broken down by the 6 bacteria in the espoma plant tone 3-4-4 that's even more bacteria than great white. Each type is responsible for breaking down each nutrient for the plants which are digested by the mycorrhizal fungi which is attached to the roots and form a symbiotic relationship with your plant. If your curious of fungi and bacteria and how each one works check out Earth man living soil on YouTube he breaks it down for you. But moving forward espoma actually has the bacteria in the amendment so its completely safe to use along the outside edge as a top dress, without messing with soil ph. Since it contains less than .2% ammonia nitrogen and is balanced to keep the bacteria and fungi alive. To do this the soil ph must be between 6.0 and 7.5 . So is organic better I personally think so especially since I've gotten into making my own mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria at home. The ability to do this is also on Earth man living soil on YouTube as well. So it's just my personal preference growing organic and I mean this is how nature truly feeds plant life in nature with the circle of life from the living to the dead. From worms to worm poop. To bacteria to fungi. Fungi to the roots to the plants to the air we breathe. So I would say yes go organic. But most of all just love your plants. Talk to them care about them and love them. Pay close attention to the big four mobile nutrients. Nitrogen phosphorus potassium and magnesium. Which btw espoma also contains calcium and magnesium so even that is done all in one. But with these 4 mobile nutrients being mobile, moving from old growth at the bottom to the top of the plants. You can see each day and early on if you examine them what exactly your plants need. So love your plants become deeply involved with them and get yourself a photo period and speed alot if time tracing her just the way you want and the rest will fall into place.
@HAPPY91, thank you so much I was looking at your purple kush by ilgm and it's hard to compete with such in depth photos of the plants progression. I too take a lot of photos but being my first diary I condensed all strains into one.
Ya don't sweat it about the weird baby clones. I have gone through a bunch of phenos for Super silver haze by ILGM and I'm not sure if they are even the same strain at this point haha. Im looking into the sweets mix pack though next after that last set you just checked out. I cant stand how frosty that sunset looks in the flowering weeks pics haha. ugh im so jelly.