AKGramma Grows Autos: Current

[AKgramma]

9 weeks tomorrow (from seed), Eve is showing pistils from her growing tips, at and below the canopy. She is only 9 inches tall, so I guess I won't be filling the grow unit with her.

Eve at 9 wks, Top View.jpg

• AKgramma
• Apr 16, 2019

EDIT: I just checked my seed stash, and I have 8 AUTOBERRY Fem seeds left! I'll take chance that the Autoberry will also come in short and plant 2 to each 3-gallon tall kitchen trash bin.

I have decided not to breed Eve, and let the Jock Horror line go, since no one in the family is coming to Gramma for goodies any more. :-(

I have over a thousand seeds from 13 hybrid strains, INCLUDING Harlequin x Afhani (Harleghani). to choose from, and share. With my small grow, I will NEVER be able to pop them all. I must downsize before they get too old.

Seeds.JPG

• AKgramma
• Jan 23, 2019

My oldest buds in cold storage are 2 years old. So I probably will grind them up as cooking herbs soon. There is only so much spare room in the main fridge, and any new harvest will need someplace to cure and be stored. The oldest buds will have to go.

Problem is, I have enough ground herbs now to last the rest of my life, unless I seriously cook up and freeze some edibles (Main dishes, as well as desserts). Unlike the rest of the family, I don't strain out the green stuff, because I approach cannabis as a medicine, not as a recreational treat.

 

[AKgramma]

Last night I put all 8 Autoberrys in a wet paper towel, in a zip-lock baggie, and set it on my cable box. It is just barely warm and will encourage the seeds to sprout. I've had them for well over a year, possibly two, so they aren't all that fresh,

I can hold the package up to the lamp and clearly see the outline of the seeds. root tips don't show up all that well with this method, but I don't want to unwrap them every day to check on them.

I will leave the lights on a 16/8 schedule. The light bill has gone down a lot with only one MARS 300 panel and 2 pairs of CFL's. That is half of the installed lights in the grow unit. Eve seems to like it, so will leave it at that level for now. Once I plant the spouts, I'll turn on 2 more pairs of CFL's, but leave the second MARS 300 panel off. If the plants don't start stretching out for the light, then I'll know it's just right.

The LEDs are mounted permanently 60" from the floor, but the CFL's are on clippie utility lamps, so I can move them closer or further from the ladies as needed.

Meanwhile, I'll prep the bins with a thorough watering, so they'll be ready for the sprouts in a few days.

 

[AKgramma]

This afternoon, I looked in on Eve. There is a noticeable difference.

I count 6 growing tips at the canopy and 10 more just an inch below that. The tips have lightened up with more pistils coming in, a promise that more will come, and relatively soon!

Eve has perked up, like she's getting ready to stretch. Definitely building up to a new phase in her life!

This is what the Autoberry seeds look like when I hold the packet up to the light.

AB seeds.jpg

• AKgramma
• Apr 17, 2019

 

[dynamo1]

I just put some fresh seeds a few days ago on a paper towel. They were on the table under my grow manual in a tray, -out of sight out of mind-your post reminded me to look. Good thing because a couple tap roots are 3/4". They only took a few days however they were very fresh seed I had just made.

 

[AKgramma]

What are you sprouting?

 

[dynamo1]

What are you sprouting?

I am sprouting crosses between Grays Devil Carnival and my Nice Devil, Devils Carnival is Dark Devil Auto crossed with Carnival and Nice Devil is Dark Devil crossed with Mr. Nice/Blue Dream/Candy Cane.- It is anybodies guess as to how good it will beor what

 

[SweetSue]

I wonder: what is the advantage of bottom feeding (as in Octopots and hempy) over top watering and leaving the runoff in the catch pan under the pot? My plants eventually suck up the overflow, anyway, so standing water is not an issue.

The advantage of the reservoir over the saucer is just a matter of concentration. Your soil will disperse the nutrient components through a much finer medium. My perlite makes the nutrients more easily accessible for the roots, and then that reservoir is full of a steady supply of food. There’s no down time at all.

Over the years I have read a lot about the two, and even tried a hempy grow, with the result of 1/3 smaller plants and less yield.

And here I am, growing the biggest plants of my life in hempy. Go figure. Lol!

My first hempy was a disaster. As I recall, my first three or four were frightening. I just kept at it because I knew it had potential. I’ll get over 6 oz from my latest Carnival.

The irony....now that I know how to make hempy sing I have to silence my drive to grow for a short time while I get acclimated into my senior high rise and work out a stealthy plan.

I think Jock Horror cast her spell on Merlin. He can't keep away from her! Does this mean JH is good sh**?

Yes. Yes it does. I don’t know how much you’ll get from it, but it’s fire, no matter how much she offers. That was one of the prettiest plants I grew too.

I am sprouting crosses between Grays Devil Carnival and my Nice Devil, Devils Carnival is Dark Devil Auto crossed with Carnival and Nice Devil is Dark Devil crossed with Mr. Nice/Blue Dream/Candy Cane.- It is anybodies guess as to how good it will beor what

It sounds like a dessert item.

I have decided not to breed Eve, and let the Jock Horror line go, since no one in the family is coming to Gramma for goodies any more. :-(

This is just wrong.

I have over a thousand seeds from 13 hybrid strains, INCLUDING Harlequin x Afhani (Harleghani). to choose from, and share. With my small grow, I will NEVER be able to pop them all. I must downsize before they get too old.

Seeds.JPG

• AKgramma
• Jan 23, 2019

 

[SweetSue]

The platform refuses to let me edit that previous post. What an irritation.

 

[SweetSue]

Well dammit! I’ll just lift it out and put it here. What an irritating first-world problem.

Unlike the rest of the family, I don't strain out the green stuff, because I approach cannabis as a medicine, not as a recreational treat.

You and Oldbear have been my major influence to incorporate raw bud into my daily life. I’m still not up to the levels I know I’ll settle into, but in the same way I trained myself to replenish water after eliminating urine I’m learning to chew a little bud before I smoke any.

The closer I look the more cannabis like like food. I’m convinced that if we started eating more we’d have less disease to create regimens for.

I wander through your room and it reinforces the idea that I will find a way to make my grow stealthy enough for this new building.

 

[AKgramma]

Well dammit! I’ll just lift it out and put it here. What an irritating first-world problem.



You and Oldbear have been my major influence to incorporate raw bud into my daily life. I’m still not up to the levels I know I’ll settle into, but in the same way I trained myself to replenish water after eliminating urine I’m learning to chew a little bud before I smoke any.

The closer I look the more cannabis like like food. I’m convinced that if we started eating more we’d have less disease to create regimens for.

I wander through your room and it reinforces the idea that I will find a way to make my grow stealthy enough for this new building.

I hope you get a corner unit, so you share fewer walls with the other tenants. The potent stuff YOU grow is hard to mask, even with the filters. Are you going to be living in a legal state?

Depending on which way the wind is blowing any particular day, your neighbors are going to catch the scent.

 

[AKgramma]

3 days later, here is what I found in the packet! Even though over 1 year old, they all sprouted. Each tap root is 1 inch long and somewhat embedded into the paper towel. Too early for root hairs, so they are very delicate.

AutoBerry sprouts 3 days old..JPG

• AKgramma
• Apr 19, 2019

I gently cut around each root, and folded the paper around the exposed root, keeping it very wet by spraying with a water bottle.

I planted two in each bin, at opposite corners and set a cut plastic soda bottle over each sprout to keep the moisture in. I will take another pic of the unit when the cotyledons adjust to the light and are peeking above the soil, probably tomorrow.

Judging from the rapid growth already, they def are autos, as labelled.

 

[AKgramma]

Funny thing happened yesterday. I switched from Triscuit roasted garlic crackers to Triscuit Garden Herb. After a while, I thought WTH????? I taste CANNABIS! So i keep searching the ingredients list, and rather than listing all the seasonings, it says spices and natural flavor. I wonder what's IN that"natural flavor?"

 

[dynamo1]

Funny thing happened yesterday. I switched from Triscuit roasted garlic crackers to Triscuit Garden Herb. After a while, I thought WTH????? I taste CANNABIS! So i keep searching the ingredients list, and rather than listing all the seasonings, it says spices and natural flavor. I wonder what's in that"natural flavor?"

That is anybodies guess, I don't think that gets regulated too much.

 

[AKgramma]

Eve is really showing this Easter morning! Still can't get my camera to focus in one the front-most flowers, but you can see how big the pistils are in the background.

Over all view

JH 9-12 wks fr seed.JPG

• AKgramma
• Apr 21, 2019

a little closer

Close-up JH at 9-12 wks.JPG

• AKgramma
• Apr 21, 2019

Close-up

Close-up #2.JPG

• AKgramma
• Apr 21, 2019

Newly-planted Autoberries not ready for pictures yet.

 

[AKgramma]

After a couple days, four of the 8 Autoberry seedlings did not survive the transplant into their Big Girl bins.
Two of the remaining are vigorous. The other two are iffy, having trouble growing out those first two cotyledons. Nothing I can do to help them. They left their seed coats in the wet paper towel, so were nekkid when I transplanted them.

Looking back on my seed stash, the only other possible seeds with auto ancestry are the Polar Express x White Castle. The Polar Express mother did not grow at all like an Auto, having gotten 4 feet tall. I had to force her to flower under 12/12, so obviously her Ruderalis genes didn't kick in.

This is going to be a short and boring journal, I'm afraid.

Next grow is going to have to be the Harleghani, since they are the last cross I tried (Harlequin x Afghani). If memory serves, the Harleghani's ancestors are landrace, or very close to it, so they should grow out well. Since I have a LOT of these seeds, I'll double them up, 2 to each bin, and let them grow without training. I might switch them at 2 months instead of 3, since waiting the extra month hasn't made much difference the last few crops. Since these are photos, I can give them some veg time in solo cups before their final placement in the 3 gal bins.

I just don't have the energy or the extra $ to go with the super nutes, the teas, the flushes, or the high-powered lights. Most of the plants get ground up into cooking herbs, anyway, so big beautiful buds and high yield isn't a goal for me anymore.

It so sux getting old....

 

[TorturedSoul]

Merlin was a very, very bad cat 2 days ago! He got into the grow unit and tipped over Eve's bin, spilling the top 1/3 of the soil all over the bedroom rug.

That's merely a cat. A very, very bad cat would surely have shat in it.

I think that scared him enough not to eat Eve any further.

White vinegar in a spray bottle, lol (don't spray pet in the face! Body shots only, please.). Have to catch it in the act doing something, somewhere, that is verboten. Then, afterwards, spray your cannabis planters (you can dilute it for this part, as their sense of smell is much better than ours). That works. Usually . Perfectly harmless, of course; they just can't stand the smell and taste (which they'll experience when cleaning their fur).

Look on the bright side - the worst cat in the world is still a better pet/companion than the best ferret.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Time for a beauty shot of "Eve", my sole surviving Jock Horror Auto Fem.

I hope it survives the wildlife and you have an enjoyable harvest.

If you have room, you could try planting some "cat grass" and catnip. The former is useful in digestion, IIRC, and the latter a treat and source of entertainment to both cat and adoptive parent. And it's been my experience that cats don't exactly demolish catnip plants, tends to be more like a regular snack than a one-time gluttony (so to speak). Although I cannot say for sure that mine weren't simply waiting for me to cut it, dry it, box it up and hide it in a high cupboard for them to ransack later (as has happened ).

BtW, I have a Jack Horror Auto x White Widow Auto cross seed soaking now.

 

[TorturedSoul]

It's Merlins fault it won't get big enough.

What doesn't kill us... still hurts like a <BLEEP>.

 

[AKgramma]

I have the grow blocked off with a large piece of cardboard, lightly attached to the front curtain. It is very un-sturdy, and Merlin prefers a good solid footing, when climbing. So no further pillaging from the cat.

Merlin has a soft bath mat near his scratching post, where I periodically leave a small pile of his own dope (catnip). We have a ritual. I shake the jar of catnip and say "Drugs, Merlin! Drugs!" And he heads right for the mat to get his fix.

 

[AKgramma]

Beauty shot of "Eve" Jock Horror Auto Fem, 10 weeks and 2 days from seed.

JH AF 10 Wks fr seed.jpg

• AKgramma
• Apr 26, 2019

She reminds me of a bouquet of sparklers. Tiny buds, tho. I still have time to dust one or two of the lower buds with Afghani pollen. "JHorrorghani" Maybe?

It looks like one of the remaining 4 Autoberrys isn't going to make it. I think I made a mistake leaving bits of paper towel around the sprouts. I lost all of those, but those I planted bare root, survived.

It's not easy separating 1 inch long roots from a paper towel, even soaking wet!

Pic of the babies. The overturned soda bottom is nursing the weekling. I managed to remove the paper towel from its root.

Autoberry seedlings.jpg

• AKgramma
• Apr 26, 2019