Colombian Andes Greenhouse SIP CBD Auto Grow

[CBDMed]

The NPK test kit is here! So maybe next week I can test the soil, remix the subcool's and cook.
Then hopefully the next generations can start with much better soil!

I also have two half-spent SIPs to do autopsies on. Then we can see how much the rice hulls broke down. (I did a little spoon digging already, and I don't think they broke down that much. But maybe they broke down more, lower in the SIP?).
Got to run. Shabbat shalom!

 

[CBDMed]

@cbdhemp808 , for the NPK test kits, is there any special amount of soil to test? Or is there any special way to soak it?
Or not really, just follow the simple directions?

"...All you do is take a sample of soil, mix with water, transfer some of the solution to the color comparator, add powder from capsule, shake and watch the color develop. Then, note your test results..."

(I just wanna make sure I do it right...)

And thanks everyone for helping me so much with all of the growing tips!
(It is getting scary, because I don' have room for 20 plants in my grow room anymore... they are getting too big!!)
(@Azimuth, I am holding YOU personally responsible for suggesting SIPs! Hahaha!)

 

[Azimuth]

(It is getting scary, because I don' have room for 20 plants in my grow room anymore... they are getting too big!!)
(@Azimuth, I am holding YOU personally responsible for suggesting SIPs! Hahaha!

Better plants from better growers...

 

[CBDMed]

(Only better 'cuz I'm following the directions from you pros, including SIPs!)

 

[Azimuth]

(Only better 'cuz I'm following the directions from you pros, including SIPs!)

Well, that's how it's generally done. Nobody's born with the specialized knowledge on how to grow our favorite plant, so we mostly learn from others who have figured it out before us.

 

[CBDMed]

Ok, I went up to the roof, uncovered the black garbage can, and scraped away the top of the "Supersoil Modificado Formula 1", and it looked like this. (I think it is fairly consistent throughout.)

I took this much as a sample:

Now it looks like this, and I am letting it soak.

Back later! Haha!

 

[CBDMed]

Well, I read the instructions, and it said to add more water (1 part soil, 5 parts water), so I did.
Then I let it settle.
Now it says to check it in the daylight, so I will wait.

 

[CBDMed]

Ok, while we wait for daylight, I have the 2 Phoenix CBD Autos that are worth keeping (of 10).
This first one was originally the strongest looking plant.
It does not have any spikes.
This is a top view. The canopy is not exactly flat, but this plant seems to have grown kind of lopsided, and I am repositioning plants to give her the correct lighting. Not exactly even, but not too bad.

And from the side, not exactly even, but not too bad considering these two remaining plants were kinda lopsided to start with. (I hope you can see it well enough.)

And here is the second Phoenix CBD Auto, but I dug four pits, and put big dollops of GeoFlora Veg as a sort of a quick spike (or four "repositories", in this case, hahaha!)
Originally it was a bit shorter, now it seems quite a bit bigger. I have no idea if that is correlated with the "dollop-repositories" or anything else, but it seemed worth mentioning.
Top view:

Side view. (I am not sure why the camera striates the lights like that.)
She is taller than the first girl. And leggy!

At this point, my understanding is that at least ideally, I want a flat canopy.
In practice it won't be completely flat, but the flatter, the better.
I only got so many limbs to work with on this one, and I am trying to even things up, but it seems awkward and lopsided.
They are just now starting to flower, so with an auto, this would be the time to make any cuts, right? (Similar to just before you start to go into flower, except I am maybe two weeks later? Haha.)
Thanks! Please let me know if any other pictures are needed.
I am not sure if she is still stretching (like maybe she is a full-sized sativa?) or what, but that is a lot more growth more quickly than even on the Afghan Mass XXLs, and the nodes seem way far apart, so something seems way different to what this 1:1 indica-dominant user is used to seeing.

Just to say it, if she gets too big I can take her to the rooftop greenhouse, and then hope she is mold resistant (which a sativa might be).

Would anyone please care to comment? Thank you.

 

[CBDMed]

Also, one of the colas was getting buried under the nearby fans, so I cut that stem.
Next time I will try to leave fewer cola-stems (to keep things maintenance-free).

 

[Azimuth]

I have the 2 Phoenix CBD Autos that are worth keeping (of 10).

They are just now starting to flower, so with an auto, this would be the time to make any cuts, right?

Are these two comments related? Meaning are you saying you want to make clones to keep it around, or rather that you like the strain and want to grow it again from seed and your 'cut' question is more related to topping?

At this point, my understanding is that at least ideally, I want a flat canopy.

That's really more dependent on your light as the reason for a flat canopy has much to do with keeping as many tops at the same height and distance from the light to get even spread of hormones. With indoor lights sometimes the light penetration is not great so with an even canopy you can maximize the number of bud sites that are the correct distance from the light. Outdoors with the big light in the sky that doesn't matter as much since light penetration is pretty good.

 

[CBDMed]

Are these two comments related? Meaning are you saying you want to make clones to keep it around, or rather that you like the strain and want to grow it again from seed and your 'cut' question is more related to topping?

Oh, hahaha! Clear as mud, eh? Lol!
Sorry about that! I have been mulling lollipopping, especially the correct spacing of cola buds inside the rim of the canopy (i.e., trimming).
As I understand it, the goal is to get a flattish canopy (the flatter the better, but no biggie), and let the colas all grow up together. This minimizes the amount of work per plant, because with photoperiods you trim it up a week before you flip it, and then she just grows up on her own and is healthy and good.
So to convert that to an auto, basically you can tell about when they are going to go into flower (i.e., you start to see single pistils) and that is the time to start trimming.
So now that the SIP is aerating the grow, I am trying to figure out how to trim autos early on, to minimize the number of overall cuts (minimize wasted energy) and end up with a healthy and elegant plant that requires a minimum amount of trimming and time, and still throws max frosty buds. And I think @Krissi Carbone maybe has the plan, and I just need to learn how to execute it with autos for as long as I am still here in this (cold!) rental house that needs an LED indoor "perfume room" to heat and aromatherapy the house.
Most of the strains play fair. With Purple Kush, Auto Blue Ace, Delicious Cheese/Candy, Afghan Mass XXL, etc., you top it, and then the side branches branch out, and sort of "catch up" with the center of the plant (especially if you take some of the center leaves as well). So it forms a nice flat canopy, more or less.

Enter Phoenix CBD Auto:
Only 6 of 10 came up.
Only 2 of 10 are worth keeping.
The two are even taking on a pretty good size, but they are not responding to the same kinds of training. I top the canopy but the plant grows stronger on one side, than on the other.
And neither one of them looks anything like their advertising stock images.
Stock image courtesy of the sponsor where I bought it:

Plant #1 (without GeoFlora Veg Dollop):

Plant #2 (with GeoFlora Veg Dollop):

Is it just me, or do those look like different plants?
These here look way more sativa to me than the plant in the picture, and they look way more sativa (or perhaps way more photo) than anything else in the grow room, and they are still growing.
We should all have such problems, right?? hahaha! But my point is that at least to me, they don't look anything like the stock photo (am I wrong??), and they are not behaving as any of the rest of my 1:1 indica dominant plants.
If they keep getting bigger, I may need to move them to a different grow room.
Ordinarily I am fine with that, but what is going on here???

I like sativa, but I am also mostly a noob to sativa because I need CBD--and so outside of Harlequin, I have not a clue.
I have also heard that sometimes certain autos are not exactly stable, and will "go photo" on you.
If that is what is happening, a full size photo sativa will be bigger than what I was planning for in this grow room.

That's really more dependent on your light as the reason for a flat canopy has much to do with keeping as many tops at the same height and distance from the light to get even spread of hormones.

Yeah, ok. Thanks!
To me it looked like my choice was either to trim away fans so the lagging cola could get light (and not turn into larf), or else cut that particular stem. So I cut it.
And I plan to leave more space between stems in the future. However, that is a question of making the correct cuts as the plant develops, to minimize the amount of cutting required.

With indoor lights sometimes the light penetration is not great so with an even canopy you can maximize the number of bud sites that are the correct distance from the light.

Yeah.

Outdoors with the big light in the sky that doesn't matter as much since light penetration is pretty good.

Yeah.
Thanks, Azi!
I am not sorry I was so stoned last time, but I hope I answered your questions this time! Haha!

 

[CBDMed]

Ok, I let the liquid from the SuperRiceHullSoil soak settle all night.
I added the corresponding capsule to the corresponding NPK container, shook, and then after 10 minutes, gave it another good shake. And here they are in natural daylight.
Sorry if the photos aren't the best. I think I know how to take them better next time. (And please let me know if I need to take them again.)

Nitrogen portrait: I am not sure, but does it look like N1 deficient?

Phosphorus portrait: is it P1 Deficient?

And Potassium portrait: is it also K1 deficient?

If so, maybe what @cbdhemp808 said is true, that when I cut it 50-50 with rice hulls, I effectively diluted its strength by 50% also?
Or is this different than that?

Also, how do I doctor my remaining SuperRiceHull soil?
Thanks.

 

[CBDMed]

Hi Azi.
I guess what I want to say is that I am trying to figure out the trimming principles and strategies for lollipopping.
I think maybe each strain branches differently, so each needs a different strategy, but there should be some common principles.

This is Afghan Mass XXL (3% CBD).
In the foreground is a shorter cola with a bunch of shoots coming off if it.
This plant seems to have a lot more sub-branching and shoots.
I hesitate to trim the stem in the foreground, because in the background I have a stem where I trimmed up too much, and the stem is now defoliated, with no bud sites growing on it (background).

Maybe I don't understand how Afghan Mass XXL works??
If I cut the sub-branches there is no bud (background stem).
But if I don't cut the sub-branches, it will become a huge foliated mess.
What should I do? There is a lot of side-branching, and that is where all the bud lives.

Do I need to leave even MORE room in between stems?
Or tip the side-branches?
Or has anyone grown this strain before in a SIP? ('cause she's a pretty rowdy little girl!).

 

[Azimuth]

I don't grow autos so maybe @Krissi Carbone can weigh in with her defol technique, but looks to me like you've got a ton of bud sites that should produce a good harvest for you.

As far as maximizing each plant? I don't know as I use the quadlining technique, and then trim out the lower third, and then just deal with smaller buds if/when I get them. The medicine's all the same and my plants are small so trimming them up isn't much of an issue.

 

[CBDMed]

I don't grow autos so maybe @Krissi Carbone can weigh in with her defol technique, but looks to me like you've got a ton of bud sites that should produce a good harvest for you.

Yeah, thanks! @InTheShed said he also lollipops, so maybe he will know what to do. (There are a LOT more sub-branches than I am used to!)

As far as maximizing each plant? I don't know as I use the quadlining technique, and then trim out the lower third, and then just deal with smaller buds if/when I get them. The medicine's all the same and my plants are small so trimming them up isn't much of an issue.

Yeah, I understand. This plant behaves differently than any I have had before, and want to try to figure out the best strategy. Hopefully Krissi or Shed will know.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Ok, I let the liquid from the SuperRiceHullSoil soak settle all night.
I added the corresponding capsule to the corresponding NPK container, shook, and then after 10 minutes, gave it another good shake. And here they are in natural daylight.

All appear very deficient. N - no color, depleted. P - slight color, deficient. K - color, but deficient.

Assuming the tests are accurate...

This is unused super soil with your rice hulls added? How long has it been sitting around, rice hulls breaking down? Has it been kept moist, or is it completely dry? What quantity do you have? I'd say it could be used as a base for a soil mixture, but you'd have to add everything to it... NPK and micro-nutrients. See my custom soil mix for more info, link in my signature.

Did you follow these instructions to the T?

 

[Azimuth]

Man, those results seem highly improbable for super soil. Something don't add up.

 

[CBDMed]

All appear very deficient. N - no color, depleted. P - slight color, deficient. K - color, but deficient.

Assuming the tests are accurate...

Right!

This is unused super soil with your rice hulls added?

To the best of my knowledge.

How long has it been sitting around, rice hulls breaking down?

Well, long story but I made a big batch maybe a year ago.
I added rice hulls maybe 4 months ago at this point (total guess).

Has it been kept moist, or is it completely dry?

Moist.
Maybe the top 2" got dry.
Other than that, it has just been sitting in a trash can on the roof.

What quantity do you have?

About 50 gallons / 200 liters left.

I'd say it could be used as a base for a soil mixture, but you'd have to add everything to it... NPK and micro-nutrients. See my custom soil mix for more info, link in my signature.

Big sigh....

Did you follow these instructions to the T?

I made a 1/3 batch, but yes.

I dug down 4-5" to take my sample.
I used maybe 1/3 cup, but then I used 5 times as much water as soil (one-third batch).
I mixed it in an old juice container.
Here is the leftover water, 24 hours later. You can see how much soil vs. how much water.

I can try a second sample, if you want.
Or I can send it out for analysis (although I am not sure how long that will take).

 

[CBDMed]

Man, those results seem highly improbable for super soil. Something don't add up.

Yeah, I have lots of questions also!
This is "super" soil, right? So even if we mix it 50-50 with rice hulls or perlite or whatever, you would think that it would no longer register hypothetically 200% of normal (or whatever), and now it would only register 100% of normal (or whatever)?
So how come it registers nada to muy poco, even for regular garden soil??

I can take a second sample with a larger sample, and test again tomorrow.
I can hypothetically send it out to the university for analysis, and we might see results in a few weeks.
But for supersoil to have NO nitrogen???
(Does not compute!)

 

[CBDMed]

Ok I just started a new batch, and we can test tomorrow.

But just as a thought, and maybe this is really reaching, but is it possible that the activated carbon ate everything when I mixed the soil with water, to put it into solution? (Or is that ridiculous?)
(How much activated carbon would it take to eat up a whole big batch of Subcool's Supersoil???)