Emeraldo's 2017 Female Seeds Grow - Sexbud - ICE - Purple Maroc

[Emeraldo]

I am starting a second grow for 2017 in a different place than the semi-guerilla sinsemilla grow I wrote about earlier. This second grow will be on a sunny terrace where I can visit the plants every day. There is a greenhouse for hardening the seedlings up, rainwater collecting in several containers. Their final homes will be 5 gallon fabric pots. But I am getting way ahead.

I bought feminized seeds for the following strains: Sexbud, ICE, and Purple Maroc (all from Female Seeds). I pre-soaked the seeds starting April 28. Unlike the seeds in my first grow (see above), these seeds from FS were not described as "outdoor" and so they have taken longer to crack open and pop (about 4 or 5 days as opposed to 36 hours on the outdoor strains), but they are now coming along nicely. I attach a photo below.

I have 2 of each strain. One of the Purple Maroc seeds did not sprout so I have replaced it with another of the same strain (it is the only Rooter without a seedling peeking out, on the upper right side). Also, the Sexbud on the upper middle right actually has two seedlings growing from one seed! Double the fun, I guess! It'll be interesting to see how that develops...

This is also an organic grow. The soil I will use has been baking in the greenhouse since March and is nice and fluffy. Have tested soil pH several times and the soil is now reading at about 6 (rainwater going in at 6.5). For each 5 gallon container I have mixed:
3 gallons quality garden soil (pH 5.0 - 6.5)
1 gallons straight peat (pH 4)
1 gallon perlite
0.5 gallon composted horse/cow manure mix
0.5 gallons worm castings
80 gr horn shavings
55 gr rock dust
4 tbs epsom salt
30 gr PK supplement
200 gr or 3/4 cup lime
4 heaping tbs fish bone meal
Good luck everyone with your grows! I didn't find much on 420 mag about Female Seeds' strains, so maybe this will be of interest to some of you out there.

 

[Emeraldo]

I have to correct the OP lest the folks at FS will think I misrepresented their seeds -- Purple Maroc is in fact designated an "outdoor" strain, and Sexbud is said to grow just about anywhere. ICE is not strictly outdoor but can be grown outdoors if the climate is right. Btw the staff at FS were very helpful in helping me select these three strains for my terrace grow! I moved four of these seedlings into small pots with a 50/50 perlite/seedling soil mix and let them enjoy the overcast sunlight for a few hours today. More later...

 

[Emeraldo]

Today is day 9 since first pre-soaking two each of purple maroc, sexbud, and ICE. The are beautiful babes! Photos below. I couldn't be happier, despite the fact that one purple maroc seed still hasn't cracked. didn't look like a dud! well, there it is. I started a replacement for that strain (in the rooter). The other 5 (out of 6 = 83% gr. rate) popped within 3 days and have been getting bigger. Wonderful experience so far with these feminized seeds. Look just like regular. Except i already know their sex and will not get hyped up about pollen. Here's an overall view with PM in the lower right, the sexbud siamese twins in the shadow on the right, and two ICE top and bottom left side. Plus a snapshot of the latest newcomer, Li'l Sexbud, in her own pot. Got one more purple m germinatin' in the back of the tray. Will report more later! Have fun today.

 

[Emeraldo]

Today is day 12 since first soaking the initial 6 seeds (2 each of PM, SB and ICE) and day 4 since moving them into seedling pots. In the photo taken today you can see how beautiful these babes are! Out enjoying the sunshine already in about 75-80 degrees in the greenhouse! I am concerned about the sexbud siamese twins in lower right corner of photo 2 (two plants sprouting from one seed!), maybe they will not develop as expected. They look like they are really slow. Dwarfed compared to the rest. Does anyone have any experience with this? Should I plan to grow a replacement? or a back up?

Today is also day 5 since I gave up on one of the initial purple maroc seeds and soaked a replacement, which you can see (in the third photo) has come through perfectly and in good time. But the real surprise is that the old "initial" seed, the one I gave up on and just poked into a side flap on the rooter, has decided to come through after all!! This is after 12 days since soaking! For the longest time it did not crack or pop and now is creeping out of its shell! You can see it (in photo 4) peeking out of the flap on the rooter below its replacement. Ha! Fired too soon!

So now I can report that I have 100% germination rate from these female seeds...

 

[Emeraldo]

Day 18. yesterday all plants (except Straggler on the back end) got their first full watering, pH 6.3 water in, watered until there was some runoff. these were all in rooters and then potted after one week in 50/50 seedling soil/perlite with my basic organic soil in the bottom 25% of the 3-inch plastic pot. the green of the leaves has darkened a bit since yesterday, so maybe the tap root has found the nutrients!

 

[Nightmask]

Those are some healthy looking plants. Except maybe the runt. Congrats on the 100% germ rate. Sucks when a seed fails to pop, but it's great when it does after you think it's a no go.

 

[Emeraldo]

Thanks Nightmask.

The runt germinated really late, after 12 days. But she seems to be steadily catching up. Maybe she won't always be the runt, hehe.

Here's a group photo taken today. They are all greedy for sunlight and hopefully for the nutes in the bottom 25% of each seedling pot.

Let's see, from left to right: the Straggler (runt & latecomer PM), ICE No. 1, Lil' Sexbud, ICE No. 2, Big Mama PM, Sexbud Siamese Twins (now there's a runt or two), and the PM "replacement" (first soaked on what was day 5 for the rest of the group after Straggler was given up on).

 

[Emeraldo]

Day 19. Hardening off in GH, last night temps got down to 50F or so. Today at 70+, nice breeze to give the stems a workout. Still too early for a second full watering, maybe tomorrow. Wondering how the roots are doing, still no sign of them coming out the drainage holes.

 

[Emeraldo]

Day 25. Most plants have or are starting to develop their third set of fan leaves. The runts, well, not yet.

Yesterday moved ICE No. 1 and Big Mama PM into 1 L pots, roots were peeking out of the drainage holes. Now in the mildly nutritious organic soil. Today showing how they like it!

So I got all the babes together for another group photo.

On the left side, clockwise from the lower right corner ... The Straggler (12-day-late-comer PM), Big Mama PM, Li'l Sexbud (in back corner) and ICE No. 1.

In the tub on the right, clockwise from lower left corner... the stronger of the Siamese Twins is now looking better (the sibling was sickly looking and weak and I realized she would not make it long term and would only compete for nutrients, so... chop! or rather "snip"). the other PM "replacement" which is 5 days behind all the rest (but so far is still ahead of the Straggler), and finally ICE No. 2. Tomorrow or the next day will repot L'il Sexbud and ICE No. 2.

This is fun to wake up to every morning. Have a good grow everyone!

 

[Emeraldo]

I get an almost perverse pleasure from just looking at my plants!



Now definitely in vegetative mode...

 

[Emeraldo]

Some notes:

May 26: Water in for all plants was @ pH 6.2. Tested runoff @ 6.8.

I have to mention lime was added to the organic soil mix. To monitor soil pH, using two methods: 1. testing water after soaking a soil sample, and 2. testing runoff after watering.

Soil sample test. Pure drinking water going into the soil sample test was @ 7.4 straight out of bottle. An hour later, the soil-soaked water after filtering tested at 7.2, suggesting to me that my soil is at about pH 7 (consistent with the cup and half of garden lime in each 6.5 gallon tub). Maybe I should pH the water to 7 before this test to get a better reading.

Runoff. Water in @ pH 6.2, runoff tested at 6.8. Maybe means I can go even lower watering the plants, say at pH 6.0.

In view of soil pH (guess is 7 given the effect of lime), and thus the lifting effect on runoff water pH from 6.2 "in" to 6.8 "out", have added 2/3 cup cottonseed meal to my soil mix. Am using Espoma cottonseed meal because it was the only one I could find that said it was "organic" (and thus no or hopefully very little pesticides). Cottonseed meal is supposed release nitrogen gradually and also to slowly lower soil pH. In the meantime water will be pH'd down to 6.0 - 6.2 zone.

Weather has been wonderfully sunny and warm these past few days. Too hot in GH after mid-morning, I let the plants sit outside in the sun and breeze all day long.

May 27: Hot weather today and forecasted hot for the next few days at least. Will need to manage heat exposure. Keeping pots elevated, off hot surface. Shade after 2 pm as sun goes behind building. Watered all plants again today with pH 6.2 water because of expected heat, and all responded well. The big 5 (2 PM, 2 ICE, 1 SB) all showing growth. Even the 2 runts (SB twin & PM Straggler) look healthy.

 

[Emeraldo]

Another hot day, in the 90s. Full watering after only 2 days. Keeping the roots cool and off the hot tiles.

 

[Nightmask]

Nice looking plants you got growing there. I thought they looked a little stretchy as seedlings but they seem to be filling out rather nicely. They are looking nice and healthy and green. It'll be great to watch them fill out over veg, and even more so during flower.

 

[Emeraldo]

Nice looking plants you got growing there. I thought they looked a little stretchy as seedlings but they seem to be filling out rather nicely. They are looking nice and healthy and green. It'll be great to watch them fill out over veg, and even more so during flower.

Thanks again. Been noticing some yellowing in the leaves, especially in the first sets low on the plants. Not drooping, am not overwatering.

Could this be nitrogen deficiency?

Does anyone have any thoughts on what might be causing the gentle yellowing of the leaves? It's not like they are bright yellow or even completely faded. Some of the plants are not exactly dark green. I read the plants will use up nitrogen from the lower leaves when they need more and can't get it. Anyone have a comment here?

This is a question because my first tub of soil is mild and has just basics. Looks like not enough N in it for vegetative. There is N from the store bought soil as it came out of the bag (whatever that was), plus some slow release N from worm castings, horn shavings, and cottonseed meal. But given that those source of N take time to break down, it looks like the plants are craving more N. Maybe they used up all that was readily available. (Hope it's not a lockout due to soil pH, which is what the gentle soil in tub 1 was supposed to avoid). So am hoping this is N deficiency and not something else.

If am correct in this, time to move on to my tub containing "vegetative soil" (tub number 2). This tub is the second tub inside the GH door (see below). Tub 2 has, in addition to the above things, 1 cup of chicken manure pellets fermenting in it for about a month. The two larger plants in the middle of the top picture (taken today) were re-potted and both had nice roots swirling in the bottom. In their new pots, the bottom 25% of the soil is the "vegetative soil" containing chicky poo. Also sprinkled tub 2 soil over the tops of the others. The idea of separate tubs of soil made specially for the plants' life phases (initial roots, vegetative, and flowering) was not to shock the plants with too "hot" a soil in the initial phase and now to ween them off the mild organic soil by getting them used to stronger stuff. For flowering there is much less N and more PK in the other tubs for use later on.

Hopefully this yellowing was nitrogen deficiency and the plants will turn deep green again. I'll post more as soon as I see a change.

 

[Kwsmoke]

Good grow you've got going so far! The slight yellowing may be a nitrogen deficiency but it seems more likely that the chlorosis is being caused by a lack of micro-nutrients. I only say that because it would seem that your soil would have enough Nitrogen to carry you through veg. Are you going to stick with organic soil nutrients only?

Check out my outdoor grow!

 

[Emeraldo]

Good grow you've got going so far! The slight yellowing may be a nitrogen deficiency but it seems more likely that the chlorosis is being caused by a lack of micro-nutrients. I only say that because it would seem that your soil would have enough Notrogen to carry you through veg. Are you going to stick with organic soil nutrients only?

Check out my outdoor grow!

As for N, the store-bot growing soil was said to be too hot. I cut it with peat and perlite (60% bag soil, 20% peat, 20% perlite), so that's the background for maybe using up the N. We'll see in a day or so if the quick-releasing chicken poo pellets make a difference.

As for micro-nutrients, I added epsom salts, rock dust, lime with calmag, fish bone meal, and a handful of PK supplement fertilizer (not an organic source), horn shavings, worm castings, and cottonseed meal. also have used a rhizo-tonic for the roots with soil bacteria and was thinking of adding mycorhizza. did I miss one? oops, its pretty much all listed in the op.

i do intend to keep this grow 99% organic, if possible.

is your outdoor grow organic or are you using liquid nutes?

 

[Emeraldo]

It's only been about 6 hours since I took the first picture (it was posted earlier today). I will repost it below along with one I took just a few minutes ago. It seems the additional nitrogen in the veg soil was what was needed. The lower leaves of the two bigger plants in the middle are still tinged with lighter green, but the growing point on each plant has gotten darker. Those two were re-potted and given full watering today. On the other plants, the veg-soil added to the top seems to have helped there too. Look at that little one at the bottom left in each photo, gone from tinged yellow to greener! All in about 6 hours!

Amazing what a little chicky poo can do!

photo taken 6 hours ago:

photo taken 5 minutes ago:

 

[Emeraldo]

Re-potted two more today, after seeing the first two really took to the chicky-poo soil in tub 2. am also additing more chicken manure to the veg soil tubs (2 & 3) because the effect has been very good.

one thing i am learning on this grow: my initial pottlng soil in tub 1 is mild and gentle with everything in it but a minimum of N. as the plants get into vegetative, they need more N and become slightly pale, especially the lower leaves, telling you: hey! N please! at that point, either add some N-veg soil to top of pot, or transplant roots directly into new larger home with a good 25% of soil from tub 2. this way i can control N, give N when they need it, but avoid risk of overfeeding. staggered supersoil, phased organic.

see the leaves tinged with yellow, usually it's the first seedling leaves and the first set of single serrated leaves that showed a touch of yellow. you can still see them down under the new growth.

this picture was taken yesterday, one day after the two larger plants, a PM and an ICE, were transferred to new pots with the chicken manure in the mix.

 

[Emeraldo]

this picture was taken today, after transplanting two more, one SB and one ICE. seems like the N has started to work!

Will give increased amounts of tub 2 soil going forward into veg, weening off the mild stuff, soon 100% veg soil, stronger stuff!

 

[Emeraldo]

the biggest plant is the Purple Maroc in the upper left corner of the photo. she's got 5 nodes that put out fan leaves (not counting the first single-leaf node). she is only about two weeks into veg. is she ready to be topped?