Canagen's no-till second run

[canagen]

I'm back with my adventure into organics. The Punch Pies I had growing in 15G turned out alright despite the fact that both hermied on me. I wasn't surprised as it was bagseed from a feminized plant so I expected it. What I mainly wanted was to cycle my soil through at least once and see how it develops.
I wanted a simple mix that did not involve a lot of ingredients, some of which is hard to source in Canada, let alone locally. So I started off with equal parts Promix HP and worm castings for my base to which I added perlite for further drainage.
To this mix, I added per cu.ft.:
2 c kelp meal
1 c alfalfa meal
1 c oyster shell flour
1 c eggshells
1/2 c mineralized phosphate
1/2 c Dolomitic Lime
1 c blood meal
1 c bone meal.

This was then moistened with LAB and the mix stewed for about 3 weeks before I planted the PP which were about a month from sprout. Initially I had them in a 6 ft. tent which they outgrew. They went through a plain water regimen throughout with no deficiencies to speak of. If anything I detected some nitrogen toxicity with no adverse effects.

This is what I have in there now: Afghani

That stump you see at its 3 o'clock is the remnant of a failed Punch Pie that suffered a case of my own stupidity. But it would have been the same size as this, White Widow 55 days from sprout:

The mix in the WW soil is identical to what I used for the PP except I used store bought compost. And it seems to be taking off as I now notice I've had to raise my lights a little more each time I check them.

I had a Grand Daddy Purple in the other pot which damped off on me. Guess my soil was to wet then. Ah well...live and learn.

Cheers.

 

[canagen]

I thought the Afghani was going to damp off too but it finally took held and stretched out. True leaves are starting to show and I can now put her under the cooltube. I really need another light for vegging only.

The WW is doing well as well, albeit overwatered. Typical newbie mistake. I expect to flip within the next month when I can get a proper vegging light for my tent.

Cheers and have a great weekend.

 

[canagen]

I thought the tip of the WW looked off-kilter and now I noticed this:

Somehow two secondaries grew out on the same side of the node close to the tip and now the main is following its regular course. Weird! Genetics or my own screwup?

 

[canagen]

I am beginning to think the tilting tip is a visual clue to the plant's maturity. The WW nodes are beginning to alternate and the nodes that were level at first are now beginning to alternate.
I never knew that! Never grew one and observed it as close. Duh!

 

[canagen]

Week 8 WW. Have taken clones off and plan on flipping end of the month. Should be interesting. First time letting it grow naturally.

 

[canagen]

White Widow dead. Turned out male. Feminized seeds indeed!

The Afghani is doing well I think. I spread crushed egg shells on the surface and within days, gnats are done. May have found an organic alternative to sand and/or other mulch to keep the bugs away. I just crushed eggshells to a medium fine grind. I find it takes less to cover the surface.

Still a slight amount of N toxicity but I think with the third cycle it should settle down. Still on a plain water regimen boosted only with EWC tea and molasses once. Here's hoping for a female although I'd collect pollen off this and try some breeding. Cheers.

 

[canagen]

It's a girl!

Afghani Week 8:

Started tying down some branches to expose them without having to trim off any fan leaves. I did lop off the bottom 2 branches for added ventilation.

Meanwhile Punch Pie is doing good as well, starting to gather steam and get growing. I hope this doesn't hermi on me.

Punch Pie Week 3:

And finally, after several unsuccessful attempts at germinating a Grand Daddy Purp using the paper towel method, I just scuffed the seed, let it absorb water and once the shell cracked, planted into a peat pot with used soil.

GDP sprout June 23:

Today:

Cheers.

 

[Fastass419]

It look good over here I like the egg shells over the soil to keep gnats away is it still working

 

[canagen]

Yes it does. Stays put even when watering.

 

[Fastass419]

Just seen some last night when I was watering I'm going to give it a try thanks

 

[Botanical Bondage]

Food grade diatomaceous earth is a natural remedy for anything that crawls in or touches the soil. Its tiny fossils that kill bugs.

 

[canagen]

Still chugging along.

Afghani:

GDP:

Punch Pie:

Afghani is getting close to flip now that I have a TS1000 as a veg light for my tent. Cheers.

 

[canagen]

Afghani I: Week 5 Flower

The past 3 weeks have been brutal temperature wise, lights on temps hovered in the low to mid 90s. I don't know what the final effect would be on the plant. It has not shown any heat related stresses so far.

I had to jury rig 2 computer fans directly underneath the cool tube to minimize the radiated heat, which helped quite a bit.

Anyone know how badly this heat wave would affect the final product?