Aspen's Alaskan Purple In Soil - 2022

I know this thread is a few months old, but it is close to what I am looking for. I'm using Fox Farm nutes. just the trio and some CalMag. When looking at the feeding chart, I just assumed that the different color sections were an either/or products. Now that I see that Fox Farms makes all of the products, I wonder if I should be using all of them. Like in week 5, should I just be using the trio, (green section), or should I be using all 3 sections (green, orange, and purple) which would be 7 products?

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Hey Sleepy! I've read that other people have success with just the trio of Fox Farms. I just decided to do the dirty dozen as a matter of convenience. But you don't "have" to have all of them.
 
The blueberries definitely needed water this morning, and maybe could have used it last night. They received full strength fox farms seedling 'week', plus cal/mag. Altho the schedule Sleepy posted above is different from the schedule that was in the box. as an example my version has kangaroots on seedling week.

PH: 6.3
PPM: 657

I feel like it's a pretty high dose, but I'm also seeing the same pale green in the new growth that I saw on the purples and want to correct it now as opposed to later. The roots for #1 are just bursting, every 24 hours they're getting bigger and bigger. #2 now has roots coming into the res, and no roots on #3 yet.



#2 is starting to develop a sort of twist to her leaves. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this? Even the new growth is twisting as well.


So these things are 10 days old now and their res watering schedule has been every two days. I'm hoping either tomorrow or the next day they'll be needing watered once a day, which will show me they're really working to drink everything they have in the cups.

Alaskan Purple Day 42
It's been 4 days since she was watered and today would be on track to give her more, however she's still perking towards the light and the cup could dry another day. So I didn't do anything to her, and she'll get watered tomorrow morning.



Thanks for stopping in!

Oh and I'm pleased to say there isn't a single gnat in the tent now. I'm going to continue to use the mosquito bits soaked water for another week or so and then we should be good.
 
Hey everyone! Another standard update incoming. I guess it's a good thing to have standard updates every now and again, keeps the stress low!

First up let's talk Alaskan Purple. Today is day 44 for her, and she is really starting to pack on the growth. She seems to have hit her overdrive button because I can visually see a difference every day, which is cool. She puts me in a predicament though because I want two plants in SIP containers that are the same age. I think the plan right now is to upcan the Purple into a 1 gal and put 2 blueberries in the sips and flower all 3 together. I'm not sure how the timing is going to work for that, but that's the direction we'll go.

Yes, she's droopy and sad. This morning she received water, finally. She was on track to be watered at day 42 (which would be 4 days since feed) but she was still praying to the light and the cup seemed to have moisture. So I waited an additional 2 days. She only got PHed 6.3 water, mosquito bits, PPM 158.



Notice she's working on her 7th node now. The first two nodes have taken it upon themselves to shrivel up and die, so I removed them and in a couple days will top above the 4th node. I can't tell you how satisfying it was to cut those nodes off. After 44 days I can finally do something to this plant!


Blueberry Day 12
First off, the difference in how these 3 are growing when you compare them to the alaskan purples is just bonkers to see. I don't know if I can attribute it to the seed, the sip solo cups, feeding at day 6 as opposed to day 20...who knows. Point is, we have some quick growers here and it should only be a matter of short time (hopefully, knock on wood) before they're uppotted into their 5 gallon sip containers.

I'm noticing all 3 are on the precipice of needing watered every day, as opposed to every other day. I may just start topping them up once a day and be done with it. We'll see how they look tomorrow. They got 6.3, 158ppm from the bottom. Nothing from the top.



The roots for #1 and #2 are looking excellent. Every day there's more and more at the bottom of these two cups. Still no roots for #3 though.



The 'twist' this one had going on just 2 days ago has worked itself out and she seems to be just as on track as #1.


And finally we have #3 who's technically a day behind #1 and #2, but I call it the same. Because of this I'm still not seeing any roots into the perlite at all. I'm only running 2 sip containers, so right now #1 and #2 are the favorites.

Pretty standard watering update as you can see. Other than cutting the bottom two nodes from the Purple. Here's a group show to show how big the blueberries are starting to get compared to the Purple. I just have to remind everyone here...that Purple is literally 44 days from popping out of the soil. The blueberries are 12 days. That really puts it into perspective that the purple is just...funky...but does seem to be growing rather nicely now.


I appreciate everyone reading through my rambling on a mundane watering update. But some cool things are starting to happen so I'm just hoping it stays that way and we continue to make some good progress with the blueberries.
 
Hi everyone! This is going to be an action packed update! I hope, anyway. I checked the tent before lights out and saw the blueberries were more or less out of water in their cups so we've gone from 48 hours between waterings down to 36. So far they've been on a feed, water, feed, water schedule but this time I just gave them PH 6.3 water, calmag (1/2 strength), PPM 168. Each cup was dipped into my pitcher up to the air gap and placed back into their red solo cups.

The growth is simply stunning...I honestly don't have words for blueberry #1 and #2. These pictures are 18 hours after the last, and those pics are on this page, so I encourage you to scroll up and see the difference! Compared to the alaskan purple, it's incredibly refreshing to see this.




#3 has roots suddenly all over the air gap, but the top is quite small compared. If she's on track like #1 and #2, being a day late out of the soil, we should see some explosive growth in a few days. However, as I'm only keeping 2 of the 3 of these, #1 and #2 are clearly favorites.

Alaskan Purple Day 46

Every time I open the tent I'm greeted with berry scents and straight weed, and for the last week it's gotten stronger. My wife didn't believe me so I had her open the tent and she looked at me thinking I was hitting the cart pen. Nope, it's this tiny ass purple. It's wild how mature she smells but how small indeed she is.


Like I mentioned an update or two ago she seems to have found her stride and is really packing on the nodes. There's some extreme growth going on and honestly...I want to stop it. As weird as that sounds I really do want to flower this at the same time as the blueberries so I decided not to wait a couple days (it's been 18 hours...that's kind of like a couple, right?) to top her and just get on with it. If she stunts, fine. I've waited 46 days to this moment so what's some more while we're letting the blueberries get on with it.

I said last update I wanted to quadline and stripped the bottom two nodes. When I went in to top her and saw her development I decided to strip node #3, and top above node #5. So we'll now be working with nodes #4 and #5.



And that's it! I mainly throw out all this info so I have something to reference in the future if need be. I appreciate anyone and everyone sticking around and seeing this through with me!
 
Hey everyone. Easy update today. The blueberries have been 36 hours without water and the res' were needing more. Soaked some mosquito bits for 30 mins then added full strength seedling week nutes and phed to 6.3. PPM 494.

I'm seeing some yellowing tips on #2 so I decided not to increase the feed to week 1 veg yet. This is the third feed at day 15 so seedling week will be fine.

For some reason I lost the pic of #3, but it doesn't matter. She's getting her second nodes. That's about it.



#1 is working on her third node set, same as #2. Once they get started on their 4th node they'll be transplanted into their sips. Maybe another 5-7 days or so, we'll see.

The Alaskan Purple has recovered well from the topping and is sending all her auxin to her remaining two nodes. She's been 3 days from water and 9 days from feed. On the next feed she'll either get what she got last time or I may go a little lighter as she's also starting to show a little tip burn.



Thanks for stopping by!
 
Hi everyone! This is going to be an action packed update! I hope, anyway. I checked the tent before lights out and saw the blueberries were more or less out of water in their cups so we've gone from 48 hours between waterings down to 36. So far they've been on a feed, water, feed, water schedule but this time I just gave them PH 6.3 water, calmag (1/2 strength), PPM 168. Each cup was dipped into my pitcher up to the air gap and placed back into their red solo cups.

The growth is simply stunning...I honestly don't have words for blueberry #1 and #2. These pictures are 18 hours after the last, and those pics are on this page, so I encourage you to scroll up and see the difference! Compared to the alaskan purple, it's incredibly refreshing to see this.




#3 has roots suddenly all over the air gap, but the top is quite small compared. If she's on track like #1 and #2, being a day late out of the soil, we should see some explosive growth in a few days. However, as I'm only keeping 2 of the 3 of these, #1 and #2 are clearly favorites.

Alaskan Purple Day 46

Every time I open the tent I'm greeted with berry scents and straight weed, and for the last week it's gotten stronger. My wife didn't believe me so I had her open the tent and she looked at me thinking I was hitting the cart pen. Nope, it's this tiny ass purple. It's wild how mature she smells but how small indeed she is.


Like I mentioned an update or two ago she seems to have found her stride and is really packing on the nodes. There's some extreme growth going on and honestly...I want to stop it. As weird as that sounds I really do want to flower this at the same time as the blueberries so I decided not to wait a couple days (it's been 18 hours...that's kind of like a couple, right?) to top her and just get on with it. If she stunts, fine. I've waited 46 days to this moment so what's some more while we're letting the blueberries get on with it.

I said last update I wanted to quadline and stripped the bottom two nodes. When I went in to top her and saw her development I decided to strip node #3, and top above node #5. So we'll now be working with nodes #4 and #5.



And that's it! I mainly throw out all this info so I have something to reference in the future if need be. I appreciate anyone and everyone sticking around and seeing this through with me!
I been pulling for A. P since day one. 👍👍💚💚
 
Happy Sunday everyone! Hope it was a great week for everybody.

The alaskan purple made it 6 days with no water, and today she was eagerly wanting it. Because of the slight burning of her tips and the fact she's now 50 days old from seed I backed off her feed level. The last feed (12 days ago) was week 3 veg on the FF nute schedule, so this morning she received full strength week 2.

She's definitely working on her 4 growth tips so she seems to be chillin and just taking whatever time she wants.


Blueberries Day 15
All 3 blueberries are emptying their cups at less than 30 hours now, approaching needing to be watered every 24 hours. #1 and #2 now have the beginnings of their 4th node as well. @Azimuth I'm going to go back through the SIP club thread as I'm sure this question has been answered, but do you think they're ready to go into their 5 gallon sips? @Buds Buddy mentioned when they start on their 4th nodes he up pots them...so looking at them, should I up-pot today?

There's a new development on #1 as well in the form of taco leaves on the new growth. This can indicate light stress, so I raised my light 2 inches. It can also indicate a VPD issue but with my environmental setup that's not an issue. Any other ideas on what can be causing the taco?



I'm mainly seeing it on #1 but am also seeing the beginnings of it on #2 as well, but not as much.



And here we have #3. Still behind the other two, but getting to a point where I'm not going to want to throw her away either. It's possible I'll put her in a 1 gallon like I plan for the AP and flower out that way.



You can see the blueberries are definitely passing up the AP at this stage, which is what I wanted to see. Thanks for coming in and I appreciate anyone's advice on up potting into the sips!
 
All 3 blueberries are emptying their cups at less than 30 hours now, approaching needing to be watered every 24 hours. #1 and #2 now have the beginnings of their 4th node as well. @Azimuth I'm going to go back through the SIP club thread as I'm sure this question has been answered, but do you think they're ready to go into their 5 gallon sips? @Buds Buddy mentioned when they start on their 4th nodes he up pots them...so looking at them, should I up-pot today?
I would. There doesn't seem to be any advantage to multiple uppottings before moving to SIP so for me, both seeds and newly rooted cuts go directly to my final container. In a normal wet/dry cycle the plants will grow roots it doesn't much need in a SIP and will have to convert over to the fine feeder roots it will use going forward.

The downside to that strategy for me is that my organic soil seems to last only about 6 weeks before running out of gas, so I have to supplement it later on, but I like to get the roots transitioned as early as possible.
 
I've been in the SIP Club thread and came across this absolutely amazing post from @ReservoirDog so I want to tag them and say thank you! It answered every pre-transplant step (and post transplant) questions I had. I'm now off to fill the sips and get the reservoirs filled. I'll check the reservoirs in 24 hours to see if the media has been properly pre-soaked.

As for media I planned on a 20% perlite to Happy Frog in top 1/3rd, then Ocean Forest in bottom 2/3rds again at 20%. Based on the post I linked I'm going to up that now to 40% perlite and not bother with the ocean forest. So we'll have 40% perlite and FF happy frog.

I would. There doesn't seem to be any advantage to multiple uppottings before moving to SIP so for me, both seeds and newly rooted cuts go directly to my final container. In a normal wet/dry cycle the plants will grow roots it doesn't much need in a SIP and will have to convert over to the fine feeder roots it will use going forward.

The downside to that strategy for me is that my organic soil seems to last only about 6 weeks before running out of gas, so I have to supplement it later on, but I like to get the roots transitioned as early as possible.

Thanks Azi!
 
Alrighty this turned out to be more of a task than I thought because the big box stores near me don't really stock perlite (since going to 40% I needed more) but luckily I have a nursery literally 7 minutes away I didn't know about that stocks anything and everything I'd ever need. Super cool people and I'm definitely going there for everything from now on.

Got the perlite and came on home and mixed up a 40% ratio of perlite to Fox Farms Happy Frog soil. This ended up being 4 gallons of perlite and 6 gallons of soil, for 10 gallons total. I have a 1 gallon res in each bucket so they both took 4 gallons of soil.

The buckets were prepared by dumping the mixed soil between the res and the 5 gal bucket, but NOT in front of the overflow hole. This area got straight perlite. I then compacted the soil around the res, including the perlite, up to the top of the res. The rest of the bucket was then filled and I gave the top a very small pat all over, but not compacting it. I filled both reservoirs and ran my dipstick down to get the full reading. I put a piece of tape on my stick just above the full mark so I'll know when I measure from now on whether the buckets are half full, 3/4, etc. Now we just wait until tomorrow when blueberry #1 and #2 receive their new homes!

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The tower fan was rotated so it's not blowing directly on the leaves and the light was raised to accommodate the new height. Right now it's 21" above them at 50% power.

Things are moving right along now and I'm super excited for what we're going to see once they get into their containers. Thanks for reading!
 
Stepping into the sip league huh?

Maybe when I'm really high later I'll go back and count all the times @Azimuth suggested it to me in this journal...but for now I'm gonna guess anywhere from 3-5 lol! He's persistent! Plus I've seen the results people are getting and it's truly incredible compared to the amount of work it takes in a standard soil grow. My first grow was a recirculating deep water culture and I found it incredibly hands off and satisfying. SIPs seems to be a happy medium between hydro and soil, and I love learning about and trying new things, so it was the only logical step forward!
 
Well, in my defense, these things have been such a game changer for me and many others that I think everyone should try it at least once. They make almost everyone a better grower simply because of the pot design, even if you change nothing else about your grow like grow mix or nutrients.

Because of the constant availability of water, the plant never has a growing pause like it would with the wet/dry cycle so you get growth like you would in coco or hydro, but in a soil based environment.

I've yet to hear of anyone who tried it and regretted the decision. You get much healthier and larger plants so you may have to adjust things a bit if you're space challenged like I am, but it's well worth it whether you buy a commercial unit or build your own.
 
I would. There doesn't seem to be any advantage to multiple uppottings before moving to SIP so for me, both seeds and newly rooted cuts go directly to my final container. In a normal wet/dry cycle the plants will grow roots it doesn't much need in a SIP and will have to convert over to the fine feeder roots it will use going forward.

The downside to that strategy for me is that my organic soil seems to last only about 6 weeks before running out of gas, so I have to supplement it later on, but I like to get the roots transitioned as early as possible.
Yea I agree.
I go directly into the SIP and the growth is immediate!
I have never put a plant that was already established into a sip.
seedling and clone directly after root they don’t stop slow or stall.

Im sure this is the way to do them…

2D9AADFF-4728-4C1F-A1AB-5D2AA429FEB3.jpeg

Day 18 from roots I believe I have to double check the age but it’s definitely less than 3 weeks old from getting roots to show
 
I hear ya. I'm watching. I've heard the chatter. I've seen the pictures. Am I ready to take on a challenge?! Most of the time. Maybe I will set up one bucket next run as a trial.

You definitely should, if for any other reason so you can see the difference yourself. Pics don't do it justice when it's right in front of you lol.

Well, in my defense, these things have been such a game changer for me and many others that I think everyone should try it at least once. They make almost everyone a better grower simply because of the pot design, even if you change nothing else about your grow like grow mix or nutrients.

Because of the constant availability of water, the plant never has a growing pause like it does with the wet/dry cycle so you get growth like you would in coco or hydro, but in a soil based environment.

I've yet to hear of anyone who tried it and regretted the decision. You get much healthier and larger plants so you may have to adjust things a bit if you're space challenged like I am, but it's well worth it whether you buy a commercial unit or build your own.

You're absolutely right! I'm all for giving stuff like this a try (which is why my first grow was rdwc; jumped in the deep end) and I'm stoked to finally be in a position to have some plants to actually do stuff with. Up potting included. I really do appreciate your advice and suggestions, thank you!

Yea I agree.
I go directly into the SIP and the growth is immediate!
I have never put a plant that was already established into a sip.
seedling and clone directly after root they don’t stop slow or stall.

Im sure this is the way to do them…

2D9AADFF-4728-4C1F-A1AB-5D2AA429FEB3.jpeg

Day 18 from roots I believe I have to double check the age but it’s definitely less than 3 weeks old from getting roots to show

Some day I'm going to get into cloning and have something perpetual. That's really cool that you were able to find out that straight from RR into SIP doesn't have the transition time. Is that PBK1 in a 5 gallon bucket? Damn, the foliage is awesome at that age. Since my blueberries are already in their solo sips I'm hoping there won't be any transition time at all and they'll immediately start drilling down. Having the empty cup in the sips right now should make it super simple to spread around some myco and just pop 'em in. Shouldn't be any transplant shock at all.
 
Some day I'm going to get into cloning and have something perpetual. That's really cool that you were able to find out that straight from RR into SIP doesn't have the transition time. Is that PBK1 in a 5 gallon bucket? Damn, the foliage is awesome at that age. Since my blueberries are already in their solo sips I'm hoping there won't be any transition time at all and they'll immediately start drilling down. Having the empty cup in the sips right now should make it super simple to spread around some myco and just pop 'em in. Shouldn't be any transplant shock at all.

I have a couple more I’d like to see results from first before I say it’s 100 percent but it sure does look like starting in a RR skips any downtime and accelerates thing’s quite a bit.

Also when I set up my sips I go crazy on the myco I can’t say how much except it’s overboard at every stage of filling the bucket and putting the clone in myco myco myco everywhere!

I’ve put enough to question if it was too much and it wasn’t 😂
 
I have a couple more I’d like to see results from first before I say it’s 100 percent but it sure does look like starting in a RR skips any downtime and accelerates thing’s quite a bit.

Also when I set up my sips I go crazy on the myco I can’t say how much except it’s overboard at every stage of filling the bucket and putting the clone in myco myco myco everywhere!

I’ve put enough to question if it was too much and it wasn’t 😂

Ugh see I was a bit flustered earlier having to do the mix in the rain I grabbed the bag of myco and checked the directions and started mixing everything else. Never put the little devils in the mix. I didn't realize until I started adding water to the fill tube and saw the damn bag there. So now I have to do it in the holes lol. All well, it'll still work.
 
Hey everyone! Some good updates coming this evening so I'll get right into it.

I measured the res' 24 hours after filling them and noted both of them are just at the half way mark. I removed the clear cups and sprayed PH 6.3 water in the hole and all over the walls so the myco can stick. Then I poured in a lot of myco. I didn't measure, it doesn't matter, there's a lot in there.


Transplanting wasn't as easy as I had hoped. Because they were all watered yesterday the soil was moist enough to fall apart and be ridiculous. I did the best I could to minimize any shock but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a bit of a stunt in the next few days. #1 went really smooth if I'm being honest, but it was #2 that decided to explode as soon as I inverted her cup and remove it. All well, they'll be fine.



The myco was spread all along the walls of the void and whatever didn't stick fell to the bottom. If I were to guess, there's 4-6 tbsp per hole in total. But that's a really uneducated guess.



Then I PHed a quart of water to 6.3 and top watered both plants a single pint each, that's it. It's only done to close in any gaps from the transplant, of course referred to as watering in. This is the only water they're going to receive from the top of their pots unless there's a crazy issue and we need to target a certain supplement.

And here we have blueberry #1 and #2 in their new homes! I'll be keeping the reservoirs at half full for the next week or so to help encourage a larger moisture gradient for the roots to drill down in. Around that time I'd assume the roots should be reaching the res so I'll start filling it the entire way.

I decided to hang my temp/humidity sensor in a 3D printed case using a 3D printed clip. Yes, the clip looks like a dragon, and it's cool as heck! The sensor is hanging exactly 18" below the lights (from the top of the sensor, not the bottom) so now I'll know without a doubt the height of the lights at all time without measuring it. And, because I'm using chain and that sweet dragon clip, I can move the sensor to 12" below the light later in flower once the plants are ready for it.

To hang the sensor from the lights I used light garden chain secured with velcro on each side. The chain allows me to pick up the clip and move it anywhere I want to accommodate for later growth, ensuring I'm always measuring temp and humidity from the canopy.


And now a group shot of the current state of the tent.


So here we are! A really good day in my book considering I've been baby sitting solo cups for the last 50 something days. We have actual progress now, and once they get over whatever shock they may have received from their transplant I'm expecting some major growth to happen. Thanks for reading my updates, and being here to answer any questions!
 
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