Emmie's Berry D'licious 2019 True Living Organic: No AACT, SCROG, COB, SuperSoil Production Grow & Seed Run

Emilya said:
The ability to hold minerals in the soil is why we use soil and not sand... you do not wash the minerals away with a flush. You do not wash away the big organic stuff or even the little organic stuff... just the little tiny broken down stuff that tends to compact the soil anyway. The good stuff in the soil are clumped in the humus in a tight enough bond that a little bit of water is not going to wash them away, and since most of these elements do not dissolve into the water, they just stay there. A flush does not strip a soil of its health or crops would die every time there was a heavy rain.
As far as the microlife goes, that is exactly what the FF Trio is all about. Big Bloom is pretty much all organic teeming with microbes. Every time you water you bring more of them in. Since it is not a mineralized soil however, the microlife lacking an abundant food source, does not thrive in a non mineralized soil. You can have microlife and synthetics together, but your microlife in such a grow is on life support from day one. You can make it stronger by adding other microlife products if you want, and this is what URB, Voodoo Juice and RealGrower's recharge are all about. You can have the best of both worlds, but you have to work at it.
So yes... it is extremely beneficial to do flushes periodically in a synthetic grow because all it takes out of the soil is the water soluble junk, mostly the salts that are harming your grow.
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You deserve another award for this level of knowledge and teaching!

I have not been flushing my plants because I was worried ... and so my plants have suffered!

Now I can garden better with peace of mind!
 
I've recently discovered my grow has suffered from my poor quality lighting ... and from my hanging the light too high over the canopy so I am going to ask around for suggestions before I run out and purchase one. Unfortunately, I don't have time to build one.

I really want to do my reasearch right this time!

Basically I need a nice light ... not too expensive ... for a 4x4 grow tent. In my tent, I run the exhaust fan 24-0 so heat won't be an issue.

Thanks in advance!
 
SQl2kGuy said:
I've recently discovered my grow has suffered from my poor quality lighting ... and from my hanging the light too high over the canopy so I am going to ask around for suggestions before I run out and purchase one. Unfortunately, I don't have time to build one.

I really want to do my reasearch right this time!

Basically I need a nice light ... not too expensive ... for a 4x4 grow tent. In my tent, I run the exhaust fan 24-0 so heat won't be an issue.

Thanks in advance!
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I can only suggest that you contact our sponsors and see what they have to offer. I am convinced that it is possible to fine tune your light spectrum to be exactly that of the sun, and that is what I am trying to eventually achieve with my DIY COB light array. To that end, my overall recommendation is to build your own. The tech and support is available... check out @fanleaf for his thread on how he built his super array.
 
SQl2kGuy said:
I've recently discovered my grow has suffered from my poor quality lighting ... and from my hanging the light too high over the canopy so I am going to ask around for suggestions before I run out and purchase one.
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At the low cost end I'd go for the Mars Hydro TS or SP series of lights. Look to Next, HLG, or Timber for higher end products. Intensity for the Mars Hydro products is 'Set and Forget,' while HLG, and Timber are adjustable. I don't know whether the Next products are adjustable.
 
Okay ... I will look into Mars Hydro first because they are a sponsor.
 
Just a quick followup for your readers @Emilya ... but I have been experimenting with the LUX meter and I am shocked!

I had a few plants in my grow tent getting about 12k LUX from the light.

I opened the window, put the plants on the sill, and they are getting 40k of LUX from the sun.

I can't believe how much they have grown in a day and the leaves are tilting towards the sun ... I haven't seen that in a tent!

Your work on spectrum, LUX, and light height is definitely important for indoor growers!
 
I too have been playing with the lights and have now kicked it up to 17,000 LUX. Now that the light intensity across the table has been evened out, the plants all seem to be handling it better after a full day of more intense light and I will continue to edge it up a bit over time to see where our upward limit is at this time, trying to get up into the 40k range by the end of veg.

Nan predictably needed water this evening and she was able to take the same 1/5 of a gallon as the rest of the crowd. She is obviously growing now, with good lift and color and I expect her to shorten her wet/dry cycle significantly on this round.

The older two plants are shaping up quite nicely already and are easily going to prune into multi-bud beauties in a very short time, so much so that I am considering just going vertical with this grow again so I can compare apples to apples with these COBS and the first LED's that I ran last time. We will see. A large number of females would convince me I think... I am not going to need a SCROG for good production with this variety. The new preflowers still are not throwing out any signs of sex, but it should happen soon.

Tapita and Red both got their THIRD toppings this evening, the first cuts on node 3 moving up to the canopy. If I stopped right now and went to flower I would be going with 10 kolas. Wow. Blackie got her 2nd topping, the second cut on node 4's top growth tips. M&M will be next with Nan coming up fast from behind.

Please note my aggressiveness in topping these nodes as soon as I can see that the next tip will hit the canopy. This constant pressure to determine which node is going to take dominance and not allowing nodes 3 and 4 to do it, is forcing all of the lower nodes to try to reach the canopy. Within days the top 2 plants will need a first topping on the node 2 tips, with just an inch or two remaining before they take dominance.

It is starting to seem like a shame to try to throw such beautiful plants under a screen when they are going to produce so well all on their own with such a perfect shape. These in 10 gallon containers are going to easily be 1/2 lb plants and under these highly penetrative lights, I don't think a vertical grow is going to be a problem and I think growing into a screen at this point is going to be more trouble than it is worth. Opinions?
 
Emilya said:
I too have been playing with the lights and have now kicked it up to 17,000 LUX. Now that the light intensity across the table has been evened out, the plants all seem to be handling it better after a full day of more intense light and I will continue to edge it up a bit over time to see where our upward limit is at this time, trying to get up into the 40k range by the end of veg.

Nan predictably needed water this evening and she was able to take the same 1/5 of a gallon as the rest of the crowd. She is obviously growing now, with good lift and color and I expect her to shorten her wet/dry cycle significantly on this round.

The older two plants are shaping up quite nicely already and are easily going to prune into multi-bud beauties in a very short time, so much so that I am considering just going vertical with this grow again so I can compare apples to apples with these COBS and the first LED's that I ran last time. We will see. A large number of females would convince me I think... I am not going to need a SCROG for good production with this variety. The new preflowers still are not throwing out any signs of sex, but it should happen soon.

Tapita and Red both got their THIRD toppings this evening, the first cuts on node 3 moving up to the canopy. If I stopped right now and went to flower I would be going with 10 kolas. Wow. Blackie got her 2nd topping, the second cut on node 4's top growth tips. M&M will be next with Nan coming up fast from behind.

Please note my aggressiveness in topping these nodes as soon as I can see that the next tip will hit the canopy. This constant pressure to determine which node is going to take dominance and not allowing nodes 3 and 4 to do it, is forcing all of the lower nodes to try to reach the canopy. Within days the top 2 plants will need a first topping on the node 2 tips, with just an inch or two remaining before they take dominance.

It is starting to seem like a shame to try to throw such beautiful plants under a screen when they are going to produce so well all on their own with such a perfect shape. These in 10 gallon containers are going to easily be 1/2 lb plants and under these highly penetrative lights, I don't think a vertical grow is going to be a problem and I think growing into a screen at this point is going to be more trouble than it is worth. Opinions?
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Many times I have finished grows convinced that a screen wouldn't have made much difference. Well trained and tied down branches usually make my canopy as full as I could get it with or without a screen.
I think once you are in late veg or early flower, if your lux gets high enough to equate to 800 par at bottom branches and 1100+ at the tops you will have a good harvest on the bottom half. Myself, once in flower I really dont concern myself with par numbers at the canopy because I know it will be high. My concern is instead on making sure bottom branches are at 800par minimum. My canopy is secondary in that regard but usually ends up somewhere between 1100-1400 depending on plant height.

That all said, adding a few 5000k chips makes a huge difference in par readings. Forget "facts" we may have been told because I know the facts of my grow rooms and my lights. While the more red 3000k chips may show slightly lower numbers on a meter, do not be fooled. My lights have told me over and over again that the red spectrum does as much work or more photon vs photon all the while showing lower numbers. Red light is powerful. Blue 5000k additions will show huge lux gains and give more of the missing light down low in the spectrum that we all know is important too.
MY fact and others may disagree, is that 1 photon at 3000k is more powerful to our plants than is 1 photon of blue but all colors including green are very important. Green, yes, I said it...
 
Emilya said:
I too have been playing with the lights and have now kicked it up to 17,000 LUX. Now that the light intensity across the table has been evened out, the plants all seem to be handling it better after a full day of more intense light and I will continue to edge it up a bit over time to see where our upward limit is at this time, trying to get up into the 40k range by the end of veg.

Nan predictably needed water this evening and she was able to take the same 1/5 of a gallon as the rest of the crowd. She is obviously growing now, with good lift and color and I expect her to shorten her wet/dry cycle significantly on this round.

The older two plants are shaping up quite nicely already and are easily going to prune into multi-bud beauties in a very short time, so much so that I am considering just going vertical with this grow again so I can compare apples to apples with these COBS and the first LED's that I ran last time. We will see. A large number of females would convince me I think... I am not going to need a SCROG for good production with this variety. The new preflowers still are not throwing out any signs of sex, but it should happen soon.

Tapita and Red both got their THIRD toppings this evening, the first cuts on node 3 moving up to the canopy. If I stopped right now and went to flower I would be going with 10 kolas. Wow. Blackie got her 2nd topping, the second cut on node 4's top growth tips. M&M will be next with Nan coming up fast from behind.

Please note my aggressiveness in topping these nodes as soon as I can see that the next tip will hit the canopy. This constant pressure to determine which node is going to take dominance and not allowing nodes 3 and 4 to do it, is forcing all of the lower nodes to try to reach the canopy. Within days the top 2 plants will need a first topping on the node 2 tips, with just an inch or two remaining before they take dominance.

It is starting to seem like a shame to try to throw such beautiful plants under a screen when they are going to produce so well all on their own with such a perfect shape. These in 10 gallon containers are going to easily be 1/2 lb plants and under these highly penetrative lights, I don't think a vertical grow is going to be a problem and I think growing into a screen at this point is going to be more trouble than it is worth. Opinions?
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Any method of supporting the branches that is tied to your grow space locks the plant in position in your space. If the plant is small enough, or you can still move around it for maintenance, nets and/or plant yoyos are good choices.

If your plants are going to be larger, or you need to move them around a pot based support system such as cages or sticks is better.
 
Emilya said:
I too have been playing with the lights and have now kicked it up to 17,000 LUX. Now that the light intensity across the table has been evened out, the plants all seem to be handling it better after a full day of more intense light and I will continue to edge it up a bit over time to see where our upward limit is at this time, trying to get up into the 40k range by the end of veg.

Nan predictably needed water this evening and she was able to take the same 1/5 of a gallon as the rest of the crowd. She is obviously growing now, with good lift and color and I expect her to shorten her wet/dry cycle significantly on this round.

The older two plants are shaping up quite nicely already and are easily going to prune into multi-bud beauties in a very short time, so much so that I am considering just going vertical with this grow again so I can compare apples to apples with these COBS and the first LED's that I ran last time. We will see. A large number of females would convince me I think... I am not going to need a SCROG for good production with this variety. The new preflowers still are not throwing out any signs of sex, but it should happen soon.

Tapita and Red both got their THIRD toppings this evening, the first cuts on node 3 moving up to the canopy. If I stopped right now and went to flower I would be going with 10 kolas. Wow. Blackie got her 2nd topping, the second cut on node 4's top growth tips. M&M will be next with Nan coming up fast from behind.

Please note my aggressiveness in topping these nodes as soon as I can see that the next tip will hit the canopy. This constant pressure to determine which node is going to take dominance and not allowing nodes 3 and 4 to do it, is forcing all of the lower nodes to try to reach the canopy. Within days the top 2 plants will need a first topping on the node 2 tips, with just an inch or two remaining before they take dominance.

It is starting to seem like a shame to try to throw such beautiful plants under a screen when they are going to produce so well all on their own with such a perfect shape. These in 10 gallon containers are going to easily be 1/2 lb plants and under these highly penetrative lights, I don't think a vertical grow is going to be a problem and I think growing into a screen at this point is going to be more trouble than it is worth. Opinions?
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Hi @Emilya ... another great report!

I had two quadlined plants that I was forced to put into 10 gallon pots under a ScrOG in a 2'x4'x5' tent. It was a pain because the plants already had thick hard to manage stems. Then I did a heavy defoliation to see if I could get more secondary growth. They are doing well now and I am interested to see just how much they yield in the end.

If I had started earlier I am sure my results would have been much better.

I am definitely looking forward to trying to ScrOG two more plants in 10 gallon pots in a 2'x4'x5' tent. I also plan to get a proper 4' wide light for them to veg and bloom in. This will give proper light distribution and coverage.

In the 2'x4'x5' tent everything is easily accessible and I don't have to worry about moving the plants and disturbing the roots. Those 10 gallon pots can get get pretty heavy!

I am looking forward to easily keeping the canopy even by simply tucking in stems that grow, and I heard this is great for strains with these qualities:

A high flower-to-leaf ratio means more light exposure to nuggets as there is minimal shading by excessive leaf production. Minimal leaf production also means less need for time-consuming under-shucking. Tight flower clusters form at each node, rather than forming long colas, which creates an evenly exposed canopy of homogeneous buds. Lower flowers that might otherwise be small on an untrained plant are given the opportunity for maximum growth.

My vote is to watch how you do a ScrOG ... I think you've done lots of natural grows with training.
 
Hey em I finally found it. Subbed up for this one time to get my learn on here. This is going to be a good one
 
SQl2kGuy said:
I've recently discovered my grow has suffered from my poor quality lighting ... and from my hanging the light too high over the canopy so I am going to ask around for suggestions before I run out and purchase one. Unfortunately, I don't have time to build one.

I really want to do my reasearch right this time!

Basically I need a nice light ... not too expensive ... for a 4x4 grow tent. In my tent, I run the exhaust fan 24-0 so heat won't be an issue.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Very general guidelines here.
Purple LED' go 45-50w per square foot of grow space. COB LED and quantum boards go 35-40 watts per square foot of grow space. Those are actual wattage pulled from the wall. Not advertised wattage. Read the fine print on actual power consumption. 4x4 grow area =16 square feet.
 
The plants are getting tougher... 20,000 LUX has been pounding on them all day while we have been gone. There have been no adverse effects.
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Water use has been massive. Most will need watering tonight. Still a lot of celibacy going on in there... frustratingly, there is nothing to report.

Since I am ruthlessly hindering any further vertical growth at the moment, not only are the lower nodes fighting for dominance,
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but the trunk size is expanding too. This plant is planning on carrying some weight and it is time to add some more silicate to the diet with this next watering for strength. I am going to hold off on calmag this round since I see no indications of deficiency there. There are a few hook downturned leaf tips here and there in the upper growth indicating recent complaints from a root tip that has been pruned off.
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I have now lost all of my cotyledons and a couple of the plants are threatening to lose the first true leaves. This nutritionally based cannibalization on half of the most robust plants appears to be a failure to get the microlife going fast enough at the very beginning. Note to my future self: don't be so gentle with the young plants when it comes to supplying microbes. After this last strong application of Recharge, the progression of the yellowing on those leaves has mostly stopped, and hopefully it can yet be reversed.
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Part of this might only be the plant's decision since these first true leaves don't contribute a lot as compared to the first fan leaves and all that come after, and oftentimes, especially in light that doesn't penetrate well, these leaves are the first to be cast off for their nutrients. Everything else from there on up looks good, other than the light damage that we have discussed above.
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High Emilya and all... :ciao:

Did a whirlwind catchup :nomo: looking good!

I love the bark/mix layer on top of your soil. It looks very forest-floor-ish :popcorn:
 
Wow so much knowledge. I gave everything a quick go over but I’m definitely going to have to back over it and give’er a more thorough read. My brain can only handle so much info at one time lol. Awesome looking setup you have going on. Your plants look very nice and happy. Awesome job
 
Corinne420 said:
Wow so much knowledge. I gave everything a quick go over but I’m definitely going to have to back over it and give’er a more thorough read. My brain can only handle so much info at one time lol. Awesome looking setup you have going on. Your plants look very nice and happy. Awesome job
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Thanks Corinne420, glad you are enjoying it and getting something out of it. I try to leave good enough notes so that I can go back over it later and learn something myself!
 
Veg, Day 24

Last night before bed we gave all but our new runt Nan some water. They are definitely using more water this time. All of the plants have been taking 1/5 of a gallon until now, and these 4 plants by themselves took the whole gallon, up from .2 gallons up to .25 gallons apiece. This watering was at 22:00 local and they got water/aloe mix.

This morning M&M reached the next stage and got her 2nd cut. The tallest plant, T, has now reached 12" in height. All seem to be handling the 20K LUX well. Our runt is definitely using water and growing strongly... she should need her second cut in another day too.

Still no pistils showing on the 2 biggest plants, T and R, but the calyxes that are starting to form look female to me so far... and that would be something, to have my biggest plants turn out to be female... that just usually doesn't happen.

Remaining ever hopeful... Em & J.
 
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