Brightlight's Strain Fest: Organics & LED

[drcannabi]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

Hey there Brightlight. Love the strain selection. Lots of great info in here as always. How are they doing? I've been spending a little time looking at these new breeders and all the genetics they have in their stables. Incredible. I keep telling myself I'm going to find a keeper and grow from clones but with the gigantic seed hoard I have going on I get excited at the prospect of finding Gold in them there beans lol! The Blueberry headband I grew from HSO is one I will surely grow again. That is a very interesting up high that just keeps going with more tokes and the flavor is AMAZING!

 

[brightlight]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

Hey there Brightlight. Love the strain selection. Lots of great info in here as always. How are they doing? I've been spending a little time looking at these new breeders and all the genetics they have in their stables. Incredible. I keep telling myself I'm going to find a keeper and grow from clones but with the gigantic seed hoard I have going on I get excited at the prospect of finding Gold in them there beans lol! The Blueberry headband I grew from HSO is one I will surely grow again. That is a very interesting up high that just keeps going with more tokes and the flavor is AMAZING!

Hey doc....current batch doing pretty well. New soil mix seems good except for that pesky pH related Fe deficiency that just showed up again. Thought I was the problem but seems it is common w/ coco growers, organic & even those using synthetic coco specific nutrients. Going very low feeding this time...as minimal as I've done indoors. Must control the Dr. Strangelove hand from wanting to increase feeding in flower. Trying to mimic the 2014 low feed outdoor grow that produced some great plants.

That sale I mentioned helped me expand seed buying to more of the new breeders. At full price I probably could have passed on everything I bought but w/ sale helped me get into some genetics I've been interested in. Good excuse anyway. I have a HSO BB HB that I'd definitely planned to grow so thanks for info. Eyeing the HSO 707 HB freebie I have too. If I had more room, I'd keep a couple moms of favorites but too much trouble unless I was going to market clones from them. Not only space but electricity. Some lost extreme keeper plants but overshadowed by buying seeds & growing strains I love or want to try.

 

[drcannabi]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

I hear you Brightlight! So many seeds to explore and I have yet to be able to keep a mother from growing out of my veg cab lol. It's good to know Fe def is connected to growing in Coco. The soil I'm using uses peat and Coco. I didn't see any deficiencies last grow so maybe the peat balances the PH well enough to stop that from happening? The last pics you posted the plants looked awesome. So you've definitely showed your grow skills with overcoming any issues. The 707 HB does look like a winner to me as well. For now, I'm going to keep from dropping more coin until I grow out a few more varieties. KIG brother!

 

[brightlight]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

I'd like to try that SoHum you're using, but the shipping on heavy & bulky soil has held me back. You're right....think coco & peat together makes life easier. Went w/ 15-20% peat, but coco pH needs still caused the Fe trouble. 6.5 to 7.0 has always worked very well until i started using all coco indoors. Everything ok except for the Fe (might also be Mn & Zn too since all 3 go hand in hand), which like clockwork for me shows up in late veg if pH not kept ~6.0 to no more than 6.2. Royal Gold just put out their 1st mix w/ peat in it....called King's Mix. Closer to 50-50 w/ still a slight % more coco. Might try it as base in future....or just combine a peat mix w/ a coco mix myself. Next batch already cooking so one after that will be closer to 50-50. I even cut out my outdoor staples of bone meal & dolomite lime using more gypsum for primary Ca source. Plus I increased the Bu's Compost & threw in good amt. of Ancient Forest Humus that should have all made soil more acidic. I both filter & treat tap for chlorine & chloramine but not using RO & I do have pretty hard tap. But soil has resulted in shortest veg period yet as I'm at ~10 nodes & ready to go to 12/12. So on the right track w/ soil overall.

 

[4Dutchess]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

Yes Dark heart clones Brightlight.
I was told you have to go to Harborside in Oakland Ca. for decent clones and theres a store here that has them. I need to write down the other providers you suggest and pull up their website and see where available. Great info. Brightlight!!
Im confused on when to start my yard harvest!! Im told HB dosent get amber trics? whats HB? I still have white hairs and some clear trics so Im waiting. Maybe pull some before Fri rain. Im taking off a whole bud to check trics instead of a partial bud. I figure white hairs means its still trying to make babies?
Namaste

 

[drcannabi]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

I stopped using dolomite lime too. I use calcium carbonate derived from limestone now. Gypsum and soft rock phosphate as well. With the SoHum, I just worked some into the top layer of soil with EWC and watered in. Worked great.

It costs 38 bucks for shipping 3 bags of SoHum. Those are 1.5 cubic ft power bag. That's pretty spendy for sure. Luckily there are some grow stores here carrying it now. It's hard to tell you're having any issues at all. Your plants always look great.

 

[Duggan]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

 

[brightlight]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

I stopped using dolomite lime too. I use calcium carbonate derived from limestone now. Gypsum and soft rock phosphate as well. With the SoHum, I just worked some into the top layer of soil with EWC and watered in. Worked great.

It costs 38 bucks for shipping 3 bags of SoHum. Those are 1.5 cubic ft power bag. That's pretty spendy for sure. Luckily there are some grow stores here carrying it now. It's hard to tell you're having any issues at all. Your plants always look great.

Calcitic lime is calcium carbonate without the Mg that dolomite has. How do you supply your Mg? I used only Gypsum this batch since it tends to keep pH lower rather than raising like the calcitic or dolomite. I've always used soft rock phosphate but been tapering down to very little indoors since it takes awhile to become available...maybe as long as an indoor grow. But still throw a little in.

Based on your recommendation I'll try the SoHum when it hits local grow stores. Meanwhile I'll up my peat content vs coco. My small band of experienced local organic outdoor growers laugh at me for trying to mix all the organics for indoors. They say just use good liquids in pure coco. Grew the autos half organic & half liquids & got higher yield. Surprisingly much higher yield. Smelled great but no where near the great tastes of full organic weed. Not even close. Funny thing this wk. when at grow store owner hands me sampler box of liquids from Nectar of the Gods, which he says is blowing up at his store. Omen? Organic & natural where not organic but w/ liquids come chelates like EDTA etc. Complicated w/ 6 or more parts.

Here's pic of Loud Headband w/ Fe problem....pale green at younger growth. Getting better at 6.0 - 6.2 pH. Interesting that Loud corrected info on this strain. Turns out not ECSD but rather Chemdog. Ok w/ me. Appreciate their honesty as could have left as is & who'd ever know.

 

[CareStaker]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

She's nice and thick though. ^^

I liked the 707, great taste on my pheno. I think Chem makes better crosses, even though I'm very partial to ECSD. Nice grab on the Fe, hope you get her sorted. She's got a '91-esque look to her, she's got legs too. Interesting plant, she was on my watch list, very happy to see her here.

 

[Duggan]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

good morning Bright....have an awesome day my friend!

 

[Conradino23]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

Calcitic lime is calcium carbonate without the Mg that dolomite has. How do you supply your Mg? I used only Gypsum this batch since it tends to keep pH lower rather than raising like the calcitic or dolomite. I've always used soft rock phosphate but been tapering down to very little indoors since it takes awhile to become available...maybe as long as an indoor grow. But still throw a little in.

Based on your recommendation I'll try the SoHum when it hits local grow stores. Meanwhile I'll up my peat content vs coco. My small band of experienced local organic outdoor growers laugh at me for trying to mix all the organics for indoors. They say just use good liquids in pure coco. Grew the autos half organic & half liquids & got higher yield. Surprisingly much higher yield. Smelled great but no where near the great tastes of full organic weed. Not even close. Funny thing this wk. when at grow store owner hands me sampler box of liquids from Nectar of the Gods, which he says is blowing up at his store. Omen? Organic & natural where not organic but w/ liquids come chelates like EDTA etc. Complicated w/ 6 or more parts.

Here's pic of Loud Headband w/ Fe problem....pale green at younger growth. Getting better at 6.0 - 6.2 pH. Interesting that Loud corrected info on this strain. Turns out not ECSD but rather Chemdog. Ok w/ me. Appreciate their honesty as could have left as is & who'd ever know.

Yeah I hear you, man. There is BIG difference with high quality organic produce or High Brix produce and easier ways to grind it. With organics you either go with the method or you get there after many yrs of experimenting, but smell and taste are hard to beat. I actually prefer to get less but with better terpene profile and high, it's usually the same with strains too. The less they produce the better it usually is.

 

[brightlight]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

She's nice and thick though. ^^

I liked the 707, great taste on my pheno. I think Chem makes better crosses, even though I'm very partial to ECSD. Nice grab on the Fe, hope you get her sorted. She's got a '91-esque look to her, she's got legs too. Interesting plant, she was on my watch list, very happy to see her here.

Loud's Headband was supposed to be original ECSD selfed. Description when I bought it:

Arguably one of the top strains of our generation and the winner of the 2013 San Francisco High Times Medical Cup Hybrid category. Loud Seeds family acquired the Headband several years ago and our cut never left the family. Many companies have a Headband that is made from a Sour Diesel crossed with a reversed OG Kush. The original clone only East Coast Headband is Chem 91 x Mass Super Skunk x Sensi Seed Northern Lights. The clone only Headband was actually one of the easier strains to self and is extremely stable.

Loud found out that the presumed ECSD is actually a straight Chem that they pollinated w/ their Loud OG, a SFV from Sonoma held since 2007. Here's the updated description:

Originally we were told that the clone only East Coast Headband passed on by a dude named Headband Dave was Chem 91 x Mass Super Skunk x Sensi Seed Northern Lights when in all actuality it was a bag seed from a 91 Chem Dog plant that was hand selected by one of our boys in the Nectar crew. We used the original Headband with a Loud OG male pollinator and did vigorous selection to get a strain that is almost identical to the original.

Would have liked to grow a real deal ECSD but completely ok w/ another good Chem Dog. Did you see where D. Danko in recent HT Chem Dog story says that ECSD & Orig. Sour Diesel are the same?

Yeah I hear you, man. There is BIG difference with high quality organic produce or High Brix produce and easier ways to grind it. With organics you either go with the method or you get there after many yrs of experimenting, but smell and taste are hard to beat. I actually prefer to get less but with better terpene profile and high, it's usually the same with strains too. The less they produce the better it usually is.

I hear you right back brother. Wrestling w/ a couple of issues now but not going to jump off the organic ship. In my world the best plants I've ever grown were organic. And yes agree that many of the top notch/current attention grabbing strains are or are described to be paltry yielders, which doesn't faze me either. My 1x/year auto run is my chance to dabble in non organics.

 

[brightlight]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

Luther Dogman x Trainwreck at start of 12/12. 1st CH9 strain & liking it. Pretty plant, stayed in uniform Christmas tree shape even after 2 fims. Started 9 bladed leaves at 4th node.

Partial Group at 4 days 12/12. Headband at right in improved condition...note newer greener leaves above the Fe/Zinc discolored leaves.

The Do Si Do Girls. The tall Gelato DSD cross has caught up in height w/ the tallest plants despite being 2 wks. younger. The Double Purple Doja DSD cross is a runt but a survivor. She's doing fine in her 1 gal. pot. Short but grew lower fan w/ a 2" wide finger.

pH Problem
I determined this to be the main culprit in my micronutrient deficiencies. My tap runs aver. between 7 to 8.5. Tap TDS is ~400, which is considered "good" for tap but not so much for growing. The tap Ca & Mg content is pretty high & leads to pH & other related problems. Today I watered with store bought distilled H2O & added citric acid. pH going in 6.2, run off 6.8....so getting there. Laughing at myself....hell I'm an organic guy & sounding like a hydro grower.....TDS, pH. My low nutrient mix & ongoing fertilization help me pinpoint pH & tap TDS as the problem source. Only feeding to a light mix has been a couple shots of frass at 2-2-2 & fish fertilizer at 2-4-0 so knew I wasn't stuffing them w/ nutrients. Read where coco's high cation exchange of Ca & Mg that gets released later on. This plus the high mineral tap input caused my pH problem by ~3-4th wk. of veg. Live & learn. Hope this info interesting to some.

The alkaline water was never a problem over years of outdoor growing. In fact the plants loved all the free Ca & Mg. But indoors using coco & small 2 gal. pots was a different situation. But I'm learning. Been Ca based growing for a long time like the HB gang but I use more K than they like.

Ongoing.....cut down even more on all Ca sources, use peat together w/ coco, decided to add RO, which will help immensely. Never needed RO outdoors but it's time to do it.

 

[Radogast]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

Luther Dogman x Trainwreck at start of 12/12. 1st CH9 strain & liking it. Pretty plant, stayed in uniform Christmas tree shape even after 2 fims. Started 9 bladed leaves at 4th node.

Partial Group at 4 days 12/12. Headband at right in improved condition...note newer greener leaves above the Fe/Zinc discolored leaves.

The Do Si Do Girls. The tall Gelato DSD cross has caught up in height w/ the tallest plants despite being 2 wks. younger. The Double Purple Doja DSD cross is a runt but a survivor. She's doing fine in her 1 gal. pot. Short but grew lower fan w/ a 2" wide finger.

pH Problem
I determined this to be the main culprit in my micronutrient deficiencies. My tap runs aver. between 7 to 8.5. Tap TDS is ~400, which is considered "good" for tap but not so much for growing. The tap Ca & Mg content is pretty high & leads to pH & other related problems. Today I watered with store bought distilled H2O & added citric acid. pH going in 6.2, run off 6.8....so getting there. Laughing at myself....hell I'm an organic guy & sounding like a hydro grower.....TDS, pH. My low nutrient mix & ongoing fertilization help me pinpoint pH & tap TDS as the problem source. Only feeding to a light mix has been a couple shots of frass at 2-2-2 & fish fertilizer at 2-4-0 so knew I wasn't stuffing them w/ nutrients. Read where coco's high cation exchange of Ca & Mg that gets released later on. This plus the high mineral tap input caused my pH problem by ~3-4th wk. of veg. Live & learn. Hope this info interesting to some.

The alkaline water was never a problem over years of outdoor growing. In fact the plants loved all the free Ca & Mg. But indoors using coco & small 2 gal. pots was a different situation. But I'm learning. Been Ca based growing for a long time like the HB gang but I use more K than they like.

Ongoing.....cut down even more on all Ca sources, use peat together w/ coco, decided to add RO, which will help immensely. Never needed RO outdoors but it's time to do it.

High PH in an organic grow kept my veg plants in limbo for months - so yeah, this info is of interest.

If you go RO, I suggest your system include a permeate pump. It bumps up the pressure going towards the storage tank which: reduces water use, reduces time to replace used RO, and possibly increases the flow rate when using the water.

I am very happy with the Home Master system I custom ordered from "Advanced Water Filters" - for less than a kit from Amazon and other vendors. Amazon 'details' did a great job graphing the differences between and features of various models, but Advanced Water Filters allowed me to upgrade tank size, add a valve for the refrigerator, and blend the features of the different models/kits for sale everywhere else.

Mounting an under-the-sink RO system to a solid wall is important - the flimsy modern cabinet 'walls' don't hold screws well. You tube had great instructional videos for my system and the plumbing was mostly pre-connected, so after I finally got things mounted, installation was straightforward and hard to mess up. Can you tell I'm a satisfied customer?

 

[Graytail]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

High TDS water screwed my soil's pooch, too. R/O really isn't that expensive, all things considered. I'm really pleased with mine.

I wish the water reports detailed the mineral content. It's most likely Cal and Mag, but in what ratios?, etc. After awhile it overcomes what the biota are doing and lot of things get out of whack.

 

[Conradino23]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

Hmmm when I grow in pots I use spring and tap water, but never RO, which gave me issues once. However my water is extremely different from water in Cali, which is purified, desalinated and stuff. But if you say its ppm is still too high for coco you're probably right. I know there are a lot of issues with this medium, and you should really head for the hydro approach as absorption of everything is much different than in soil.

 

[4Dutchess]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

You people sure do know your stuff! And as they say in Hawaii..... I like learn!
All the stuff I read on different mediums, nutes, growing in general is incredible!
At my stage thank God for Fox Farm and making this complicated craft easy for me to get great results.
Checking Trics..........Ive only done this 2 yrs now so Im a greenhorn but I read lots and read on THIS site that you check trics when buds dry? First one that said this. If so, and i believe this site, so that tells me that while growing if you see any amber trics its done or VERY close to it??? I want to perfect this step so your experts opinions are much appreciated. I say this because Ive got clear, cloudy and amber trics on the same bud on my yard grow.
Namaste

 

[Radogast]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

You people sure do know your stuff! And as they say in Hawaii..... I like learn!
All the stuff I read on different mediums, nutes, growing in general is incredible!
At my stage thank God for Fox Farm and making this complicated craft easy for me to get great results.
Checking Trics..........Ive only done this 2 yrs now so Im a greenhorn but I read lots and read on THIS site that you check trics when buds dry? First one that said this. If so, and i believe this site, so that tells me that while growing if you see any amber trics its done or VERY close to it??? I want to perfect this step so your experts opinions are much appreciated. I say this because Ive got clear, cloudy and amber trics on the same bud on my yard grow.
Namaste

Clear, cloudy, and amber on the same bud is time to chop for the strains I have grown BUT I also check for ripe trichomes on the lower buds as well as the top buds. Some people harvest the top buds followed by the lower buds but I prefer to harvest 2-5 oz at a time, which is 1 or 2 plants for me.

My wife is the medical smoker in the family. She prefers mostly cloudy - no amber. (I have snuck sprinkles of amber in on her, she likes it, but those jar last longer than the mostly cloudy jars )

2 yrs isn't a greenhorn - it's just someone still busy learning from mistakes

 

[brightlight]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

High PH in an organic grow kept my veg plants in limbo for months - so yeah, this info is of interest.

If you go RO, I suggest your system include a permeate pump. It bumps up the pressure going towards the storage tank which: reduces water use, reduces time to replace used RO, and possibly increases the flow rate when using the water.

I am very happy with the Home Master system I custom ordered from "Advanced Water Filters" - for less than a kit from Amazon and other vendors. Amazon 'details' did a great job graphing the differences between and features of various models, but Advanced Water Filters allowed me to upgrade tank size, add a valve for the refrigerator, and blend the features of the different models/kits for sale everywhere else.

Mounting an under-the-sink RO system to a solid wall is important - the flimsy modern cabinet 'walls' don't hold screws well. You tube had great instructional videos for my system and the plumbing was mostly pre-connected, so after I finally got things mounted, installation was straightforward and hard to mess up. Can you tell I'm a satisfied customer?

Thank you Rad for taking time to give me all the useful info. Read on RO most of rainy weekend (we got ~3"!!) & my head was swimming...so much info & choices. Ended up going w/ my soft water company who also mfg., sell, install its own RO systems. It's Ecowater owned by Warren Buffett, which if nothing else told me it was a good company. Got a decent deal since I've been their customer for ~29 yrs. Asked about permeate pump....told not needed on its system. Seems very fast refill rate....I had wondered if I had to fill jugs in advance of watering days but won't have to after hearing how fast it regenerates supply. 17 gal./day capacity, which should be plenty for grow & regular usage. Thanks again brother.

High TDS water screwed my soil's pooch, too. R/O really isn't that expensive, all things considered. I'm really pleased with mine.

I wish the water reports detailed the mineral content. It's most likely Cal and Mag, but in what ratios?, etc. After awhile it overcomes what the biota are doing and lot of things get out of whack.

The more I read about H2O & growing learned that our problems are very common. Believe me GT I'm excited about getting RO! Hahaha...the things that excite growers. Others probably think we're nuts. The city water report drove me crazy as we get surface & ground water from multiple sources...not an easy read. RO rep gave me averages since he said he has to test for customers all the time. Way too alkaline for our main purpose. I get loads of Ca, plenty Mg too but not terrible. Guess outdoor plants could handle more maybe due to drainage. IDK.

I saw this great quote from a grower, "Anyone who says pot is easy to grow hasn't grown it indoors to its potential."

Hmmm when I grow in pots I use spring and tap water, but never RO, which gave me issues once. However my water is extremely different from water in Cali, which is purified, desalinated and stuff. But if you say its ppm is still too high for coco you're probably right. I know there are a lot of issues with this medium, and you should really head for the hydro approach as absorption of everything is much different than in soil.

An organic brother telling me to go hydro!! Hahaha....I'm going to keep dabbling w/ hydro but married to organics & no plans to leave it. My auto run used almost straight coco w/ organics & liquids....passive hydro. My photo grows use coco, now w/ some peat, but transformed into soil/dirt after all the minerals & organics added to it. Pure water should help elevate my grows....control over such a vital factor.

You people sure do know your stuff! And as they say in Hawaii..... I like learn!
All the stuff I read on different mediums, nutes, growing in general is incredible!
At my stage thank God for Fox Farm and making this complicated craft easy for me to get great results.
Checking Trics..........Ive only done this 2 yrs now so Im a greenhorn but I read lots and read on THIS site that you check trics when buds dry? First one that said this. If so, and i believe this site, so that tells me that while growing if you see any amber trics its done or VERY close to it??? I want to perfect this step so your experts opinions are much appreciated. I say this because Ive got clear, cloudy and amber trics on the same bud on my yard grow.
Namaste

Nothing wrong w/ FF, but many leave it after using it in the beginning or after exploring other soils & nutrient lines. Hell man you might even join us & try some organics. About checking trichs on dry bud. ??? Most check trichs to gauge ripeness & decide when to harvest. That would be moot if you've already chopped, right? Suggest you don't get hung up on trichome colors. Once in the right trichome "range" look at bud appearance & check out smell. Those 2 will help you decide.

I have a very hard time reaching any amber whatsoever. Have heard High Brix growers say that's due to high mineral content of soil. IDK but that's been the case for me for years. In fact I'll pick sativa types any time after 50-50 clear & cloudy. Have even picked sativas at majority clear & effect was still strong & also psychedelic. Indicas at more cloudy but still quite a bit of clear. Amber means past ripeness. No use to do that unless you like the druggy couch lock effect. No problem with that effect preference either but then better to pick a strain that naturally does that at peak ripeness.

 

[brightlight]

re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED

Clear, cloudy, and amber on the same bud is time to chop for the strains I have grown BUT I also check for ripe trichomes on the lower buds as well as the top buds. Some people harvest the top buds followed by the lower buds but I prefer to harvest 2-5 oz at a time, which is 1 or 2 plants for me.

My wife is the medical smoker in the family. She prefers mostly cloudy - no amber. (I have snuck sprinkles of amber in on her, she likes it, but those jar last longer than the mostly cloudy jars )

2 yrs isn't a greenhorn - it's just someone still busy learning from mistakes

For all the years I've been at it, I still make a shitload of mistakes. The major ones fade away but the little ones continue to buzz around. Sorta like fungus gnats.