AKGramma's Perpetual Grow

[AKgramma]

Well, hell! Two CBD Yummy's, same size pot, same mix of soil, same feeding and same water and light schedule (12/12). One dried to a crisp and one is healthy enough to continue on to flower. So far I am not impressed with the hardiness of the Yummys.

The Little Auto That Could (the 7" Cream caramel) is stretching! She might get all of 14 " by the time her buds show! I just might get 10 buds out of her!

I thawed the rest of my cocobudder and filled more capsules. I added more powdered herb to sop up the separated oil, and carefully filled them, pulp and all. I don't strain my budder, but prefer to keep the small leaves, buds, and pods whole during the infusion process.

I ordered a capsule holder. Up to now, I've been filling them one at a time. Enough of that! :icon_roll

 

[AKgramma]

One of my 5 Jock Horror Autos is twice as tall as her sister, approx 8" tall x 8" wide. The other four are only 4" tall, but well filled out.

The last two AK48 clones are growing full and steady. I hope they remain healthy!

I cut down the dried out CBD Yummy just now. Her sister got a heavy pruning and a spray-down of NEEM. I trimmed to the healthy leaves at the tips, because I suspect that the heavily spotted and useless fan leaves have mites. I only spotted a few crawling about, but I see eggs covering the undersides.

The Little Cream Caramel continues to stretch and her flowers are nearing full bloom. She will finish first, a couple months earlier than the other autos.

And that is all there is to nurse along (8 in veg and 1 in flower.)

It is so tempting to go back to my old habits and start more seeds now. But, there is no place to raise them, and I can't keep up with a perpetual grow anymore. I MUST be patient.

The JH Autos are supposed to finish 9 - 11 weeks from seed. ETA late March - mid April
The Yummy in flower, which I switched after New Years, is not auto, so she will probably take 9 - 10 weeks under 12/12. ETA April
The regular AK 48s in veg, will be 3 months old before the switch, so will harvest approx 9 weeks after switch. so also April.

My new strategy is to acquire regular photoperiod seeds, (or cross a desirable fem or auto) so I can create crops of seeds, and plant and grow at my own speed. Also will share, because these experiments tend to give me a whole lot more than expected! ;-)

Yes, I know the result wont give me any fems or autos. Will deal with that when its time.

I have more than enough ground herbs and cured buds to last me through the next few grows.

 

[SweetSue]

Glad to hear you ordered a capsule jig. They make life much easier. What do you use to fill?

That's disheartening about the Yummies. I've yet to grow one. I can't imagine not running perpetual. Start to finish grows means everything is ready to harvest together. Ugg! I wish you luck with the breeding, another project I've yet to try. I played incompetently with nanners this grow, but that's as far as I've ventured.

 

[AKgramma]

Glad to hear you ordered a capsule jig. They make life much easier. What do you use to fill?

That's disheartening about the Yummies. I've yet to grow one. I can't imagine not running perpetual. Start to finish grows means everything is ready to harvest together. Ugg! I wish you luck with the breeding, another project I've yet to try. I played incompetently with nanners this grow, but that's as far as I've ventured.

I use a plastic straw to feed the mash into the capsules. I trim off one end at a very sharp angle, then shape the leading edge kinda spoon-like. Some of the carrier will siphon up the straw a little bit, as you scoop out the mash. It all goes in with careful tapping on the side of the straw.

Now if you are using strained, infused oil, an eyedropper will do just fine. you might have to warm it up to make it liquid. Cannabudder needs some warming up to make it liquid, but cocobudder liquefies at room temp. To solidify them quicker, you can set the jig on an icepack, and the oil will thicken while you work.

As for harvesting, I don't try to do it all in one sitting. Two at a time is about all my arthritic shoulders and fingers can handle.

 

[SweetSue]

I've played with a lot of different drying techniques, and I find myself drawn to the simple but effective method of cutting and hanging, then trimming as you can. The longer I do this the more I see the value in simplicity. It's easy to get caught up in shiny and improved, but I think with cannabis it doesn't matter as much as we want to believe it does.

I'm beginning to think that it takes much less cannabis than we thought to get a body into positive healing mode again. I become more convinced every day that juicing and what you do make so much sense that I wonder when I'll start myself. Eating the plant raw is what the body uses to best effect. Makes prohibition even worse, doesn't it?

 

[AKgramma]

I'm beginning to think that it takes much less cannabis than we thought to get a body into positive healing mode again. I become more convinced every day that juicing and what you do make so much sense that I wonder when I'll start myself. Eating the plant raw is what the body uses to best effect. Makes prohibition even worse, doesn't it?

I agree with you. Since I don't smoke, I ingest. And a couple pinches of ground herb in each of my cooked meals keeps a certain level of healing cannabinoids in my body. Then there's the capsules of unstrained cocobudder around bedtime, that help me sleep through the night without arthritis pain waking me up. Again, the goal is pain relief without getting stoned.

 

[Oldbear]

Hi AK Ive become a 'cannavor' as well and a member of the esteemed 'No cannabinoid left behind' club.

I'm also a big fan of simple and basic tools and methods. There are so many easy ways to take small doses keeping my ECS tuned up.

I wish you well on your path to simplify your growing.

I'm starting to get ready for spring. Ive started a little thread that is about extending the outdoor growing season by using a mini greenhouse. Link in signature.

The plan in part involves growing some autos and photos outside in a meadow. I'm going for a 'let mother nature grow them' low maintenance garden.

Have you ever considered letting the plants go to seed and then eating the seeds? Hemp hearts - shelled hemp seeds - are supposed to be very good.

 

[AKgramma]

Hi AK Ive become a 'cannavor' as well and a member of the esteemed 'No cannabinoid left behind' club.

I'm also a big fan of simple and basic tools and methods. There are so many easy ways to take small doses keeping my ECS tuned up.

I wish you well on your path to simplify your growing.

I'm starting to get ready for spring. Ive started a little thread that is about extending the outdoor growing season by using a mini greenhouse. Link in signature.

The plan in part involves growing some autos and photos outside in a meadow. I'm going for a 'let mother nature grow them' low maintenance garden.

Have you ever considered letting the plants go to seed and then eating the seeds? Hemp hearts - shelled hemp seeds - are supposed to be very good.

I hadn't thought of eating the seeds. They are so small, that shelling them and eating them seems like a lot of work. However, I DO plan one or more grows just to produce seeds.

 

[AKgramma]

Time for an updated photo shoot of the Veg unit.

Left and right views of the Veg tent. The only photos are the two AK48 clones in 1 gallon pots. The rest are Autos in 3 gallon trash bins and are approx 6 weeks old.
from seed.

Now, for the star of the grow: The Little Cream Caramel who could! Her topmost flower is at 6.5" tall at present, and a total of 5 pairs of flowers. She is slightly bent over, so would be a full 7" if she were upright. And Merlin the cat munched on a couple of the fan leaves.

And a closeup of her terminal bud. I could not see the trics on the upper leaves with just my eyes, but this digital camera picks them up. So she is heading around the last turn to the home stretch.

All plants got a feeding yesterday, including the one AK48 in flower.

Edited about 6 times for typos. ;-)

 

[AKgramma]

I figured, since Cream Caramel decided to go right to flower from seed, she is going to be ready in a couple weeks, the earliest date of harvest reported by seedbanks.

No sign of flowers on the AK 48 under 11/13 (yes, I lowered her daytime). But she's looking better after a good pruning and a heavy nute feed. She's got a delicate phenotype and narrower leaves than the AK 48's in veg. Odd that a clone would look different than her sisters.

 

[AKgramma]

39 days from seed (today) the Jock Horror Autos are putting out large pairs of hairs!

Sprouted on 12-2-2017, the JH's harvest period is between 63 and 77 days from seed, which gives me a finish date between Feb 28 and March 10. Unless they do one helluva stretch, these are going to be small plants with small harvests.

This will clear them out before Spring, and I can tuck a few seedlings in veg for the next grow, which is going to be one strain of regulars for the purpose of restocking my seed supply. Growing one strain only will prevent unwanted crosses. I don't have the room to isolate several breeding pairs.

I guess old habits die hard. Technically, having more than one phase of plants going at one time means a perpetual grow. But I don't want to wait 6 months between harvests just to make seeds. I have plenty of good stuff in the fridge, so can afford to grow seeds instead of buds for a while.

The goal is to eliminate buying seeds (with all the precautions involved in that) or waiting for the seeds I want to become available locally. There isn't much to choose from locally, and they are not always available. The growers and distributors here concentrate on the buds, extracts, and edibles. Seeds are an afterthought.

So plans change, according to what feels right at the time!

 

[AKgramma]

duplicate deleted

 

[AKgramma]

I figured, since Cream Caramel decided to go right to flower from seed, she is going to be ready in a couple weeks, the earliest date of harvest reported by seedbanks.

No sign of flowers on the AK 48 under 11/13 (yes, I lowered her daytime). But she's looking better after a good pruning and a heavy nute feed. She's got a delicate phenotype and narrower leaves than the AK 48's in veg. Odd that a clone would look different than her sisters.

Error in this post. There is no AK 48 under flower. It is the last CBD Yummy.

 

[AKgramma]

All the ladies in veg greened up nicely after the last feeding. The AK 48's greened up but still have brown edges. Not going to stress over that, however. I have seeds from the last cross.

The CBD Yummy in 12/12, even though fed exactly the same formula as those in veg, is loosing leaves every day. They just yellow and dry up. Not much left except growing tips, and no sign of flowers yet, 12 days into flower. I don't hold out much hope for the Yummy, and will terminate her when I see growing tips start to dry up (like the last one).

Yummy is the only one in the flower unit, so when she is terminated, Ill start the first strain I want to breed in that unit. I will feel much more comfortable if I have lots of seeds to experiment with, and a supply to share with friends and family.

 

[AKgramma]

I remembered to feed the ladies today. It's been 8 days since the last one.

I divided up 2 gallons of mixed nutes among all 8 (excluding the Cream Caramel who is finishing up) and added enough clear water to produce runoff. After an hour or so, I siphoned the runoff (with a turkey baster) so they would not be standing in water.

I realize that the runoff contains more salts than is healthy. The runoff is brown due to the addition of seaweed extract and molasses to the nute mix, so I wonder if it's worth saving for next week's feeding and diluted. If not, then I'll dump it. Most likely it will sour. Not sure if they would like sour nute water.

 

[AKgramma]

The autos and photos in the veg unit have bright green growing tips in response to the feeding I gave them yesterday. The auto tips are condensing into floral bunches, as the hairs continue to emerge.

The little Cream Caramel's buds have gotten very sticky, like glue was dumped on them. I don't see a color change towards amber yet, but the hairs are getting mashed down by the weight of the resin. Will watch her very carefully for the color change in pistols. She got only a smidgen of nutes followed by enough clear water for runoff yesterday. But it DID result in production of all the resin overnight.

The poor CBD yummy's growing tips are in a race against the rapidly drying leaves, and I think the desiccation process is going to win. Still holding out hope, however, but I see no way for her to live long enough to develop flowers. :-(

Tomorrow is the beginning of the New Moon, a perfect time to sprout some seeds for the breeding project. I should see define development as the moon waxes over the next 2 weeks.

Sue: I think I will start the AK47xDP regulars and restock my seed supply. I only have seeds that were cross-pollinated with the White Castle. And I want a stock of AK47XDP by themselves.

 

[AKgramma]

Here is the Bad and the Ugly. Pics of the dying CBD Yummy. I raised her and her sister the same way as all the rest. Apparently I could not give them what they needed. :-(

Should I just put her out of her misery?

 

[AKgramma]

One worry off my mind: We called the police (APD) last evening because we seemed to have interrupted a burglary in progress. Apparently they had just gotten in and had prepared the TV for a quick departure, but heard the car and fled out a side door before they could take anything.

We didn't know if the thieves were still in the house, so the APD told us to stay in our cars while they sent 6 officers into the house with tasers drawn and cleared the place. Then they allowed me in to check. Other than a few things out of place, nothing was taken.

The point I wanted to make is that the ADP saw my little grow and mentioned that it didn't look like they bothered it. I gave them a big grin and said, well I am TRYING to keep it legal, and they assured me that even tho my plant count was a couple above the limit, that it was perfectly legal.



Apparently the burglars were after electronics that they could sell off quickly for drug money. None of these low-lifes have enough work ethic to steal plants and raise them to maturity. That takes real work, and time.

Crime is a real problem here right now, including nearly daily burglaries, shootings and stabbings. But now they know what we have in our home and I'm going to have to beef up security on the place and get me some personal protection. I won't elaborate here, since we probably have unregistered lurkers who are shopping around for likely residences to rob.

 

[TheMadDabber]

Well if the lurkers give you any more fuss arctic and I can come down and take care of business! We both had our mailboxes robbed by drug addicts this holiday season. It is so sad.

I am just relieved to hear you are safe! And I agree some personal protection in one form or another is a must, even if only bear spray. It is good to know your PD was understanding! I have no doubt that they view you as a kind upstanding citizen, grow room or not. That's the thing I love about it here! I've never liked or trusted police or authority but our troopers are some of the best people around!

Sorry to see the CBD yummy is having some issues.... are the rest of them doing okay?

 

[AKgramma]

TMD, TY for the encouraging post! The ladies in veg look so GREEN and healthy, and the autos are putting out promising pistils. I spotted some new growth on the dying CDB YUmmy, so switched the lighting back to 16/8. She has till I need the room for the new seedlings to recover, before I have to chop her.

Yesterday, three AK47xDP seeds had sprouted. The biggest and best fell out of the tweezers when I glanced away to reach for a stick to make a hole with. I looked for a good half-hour, with flashlight in hand, on the floor, on the table, in nearby nooks and crannies to find it. But, I couldn't find it. Good thing I have 9 more seeds in the damp paper towel! So two got planted so far.

After trying various methods of sprouting seed, I prefer the simplicity of the wet paper towel method. I put the packet right up close and personal under a 16W CFL for warmth, next to the PC where I spend most my time, and am able to check it every 12 hours. I like being able to verify that the seed is good before putting it in soil.

Re: the APD:

I watch PD Live whenever I get the chance, and so knew what to expect when our APD entered the place, giving the "speech" they do when entering under unknown conditions. It was rather kewl seeing it in person. Everything was handled in a calm, well-controlled manner.

No hysterical gramma here! Just obeyed all commands and answered all questions, stayed positive and thanked them for helping me out. ;-)

I will PM you.