13/11/13
FLOWER DAY 14
Konnichiwa 420, it is now 2 weeks into flower and the two plants I have in here are doing wonderful! Going back and reading the first page of my journal I pulled this quote:
Certain phenotypes will actually display a distinct pink bubblegum scent and flavor.
And jeez, I must say that I'm surely glad I got this phenotype. It is REALLY starting to give off a 'pink bubblegum' scent that is simply irresistibly bubblelicious
Here are a few shots of the canopy, and some development in the flowering department has begun to take a rapid start.
The bagseed strain is catching up quickly , and already has two main branches taking over the far left of the Bubb. The pistil development on this one is a bit slower, but it is giving off a really heavy skunk scent. I have high hopes for this one in breeding as it is a quick grower, but we will have to see what we get with a little over a month of vegetative growth
Bagseed is on the left, Bubb is on the right.
I went ahead and transitioned to a full flowering nutrient schedule. Note to self, next time I grow this strain of Bubblelicious, I will only give
1 week of transition before switching to a full flowering schedule. Reason being, I started to get Potassium and Phosphorous deficiencies towards mid last week, and raising the PPM of the transition feed did not help digress the problem until added a P & K supplement.
Also to note, I have completely removed the Ebb&Flow function from my system and hooked up a top-feed-to-waste for both plants. This is to prevent my high pH swings I have been getting in as little as 12 hours. I deduced that it was because of the bacteria (good and possibly bad) that was recirculating back into my res. THIS and the fact I use tapwater at a PPM of 170 aided to a unstable pH in my res. I was basically lowering my pH every 2 days or so back down to 5.8 after it had reached a high 6.5-6.7. I normally let the pH rise to a 6.4, which is the highest I am comfortable leaving it at for more than one day. Now my pH remains at a steady 6.0!
After reading a comment on the Capn's blog last week, he noted that there is no significant difference OVERALL when he did a side-by-side comparison of the E&F and Top-Feed.
Notes:
-4ml/g of FloraBlend
-5ml/g of CaMg (will start reducing this to 3ml/g)
Per 5 gallon
-6 Parts Bloom
-4 Parts Micro
-3 Parts Gro
-2 Parts KoolBloom
PPM:850
pH:5.9
The reason I added KoolBloom (0-10-10) to this weeks nutrient solution was to bring the plant back from its deficiency as this week the Bubb will start its rapid bud development. I plan on dropping the KoolBloom come next weeks feeding, if all signs of P & K deficiencies have receded.
NOW, it is finally here....NO not my 5 gallon transplant pot that I have been patiently awaiting in the mail...not that at all, but the experiment that I have been wanting to test out for a while now.
Putting Clones In "Stasis".
There is a lot of literature on the web about WHICH method is the best to use and what not, and after much reading I have come down to 2 methods I will be trying. As some of you know, or may not know, the method of putting clones in stasis can aide a grower in spacing out their vegetative and flowering cycles, especially when space is a concern. My main goal from this is to try and keep this specific pheno of Bubblelicious growing, as according to the strain info, not all Bubb phenotypes possess this trait of a 'bubblegum' scent!
First off, when I take cuttings I always have a container of water, a sterilizing agent, and a pair of scissors. The container of water is to submerge the cuttings immediately after to prevent minimal O2 into the the stem. And of course we all know how important it is to sterilize anything that is going to be in contact with 'internals' of your plant.
This time around I am cutting closer to the base of the stem on each clone to give me more room to work with if the stasis is successful.
I took 7 cuttings towards the lowest part of the plant, and will take some more incrementally in the next few weeks as not to put the plant in full repair mode. I have learned, whether you are trimming old leaves or taking cuttings (especially in flower) it is best to space these out into 3-4 sessions, instead of ONE big cutting frenzy. The plant tends not to even flinch when approaching it this way, I'm sure as most of you know.
Now I have divided the clones into 2x bags of 2 and 1x bag of 3. As for the 2 methods of stasis I am trying out:
The first two bags of cuttings will have about an inch of water (regular tapwater) covering the stems.
The last bag will have ONLY moisture in the bag (basically running water through the bag and letting it all drain out).
These are the 2 methods I deemed the most widespread and apparently successful amongst other growers. With both bags I have exhaled some of my breath (CO2) into the bags, giving each a slightly humid climate. I then put them all in a small container so all the stems are facing down and stay submerged in the water.
This then went into the crisper of my refrigerator, and will remain there for a little over 7 weeks. According to literature, I will open the bags up once a week to provide fresh CO2 and keep the humidity in check. Remember, the point of this is not to keep the cutting growing, but to provide it with an environment that will slow down the breakdown of cells just enough so that it still has enough healthy and functional ones to root when the time comes.
I will definitely be using the proven 'aerocloning' method to try and root these clones instead of rooting gels and rockwool, or anything similar for that matter.
(BTW, the 5 gallon pots are 100% arriving this Friday, with an extra order of Grodan Grow Cubes to replenish my supply. I realized after transplanting my bagseed into its final home in the 3.5g pot, that I wouldn't have had enough cubes anyway to transplant the Bubb into ANYTHING bigger. I will share my experience in removing my trellis and transplanting this weekend for all of your folk's amusement
)
