Emmie's LSD Grow Log

[Emilya Green]

It seemed silly to be snapping pictures and bothering you with nothing happening for the last few days, but tonight as I watered everyone with another round of water with Liquid Karma (a vitamin, hormone, mineral, amino acid, supercharge your microlife and kick start the bud sites, drench) that I believe I have seen benefit in doing a couple of times during the grow. I used to use Foxfarm's Open Sesame at this point in the grow and was impressed with what it did to the plants compared to those who didn't get it. Upon reading the science behind Liquid Karma, it made sense to me that this concoction was designed to flip some switch in the plants at key times too, much like the solubles did in a FoxFarm grow. I have been applying Liquid Karma for several grows now at the key switching points in the grow, pretty much as I learned in the FoxFarm system. I am seeing similar results, with this natural product. Giving the plants the right tools at the right times, seems to really make a difference.

Here is our girl, pretty as ever, stretching out very nicely and giving dominance to one central kola. This is going to be a pretty flowering plant. So far, LSD has been one of the better behaved girls in the tent. Two of the others have been complaining a bit as they grow into the smart pots, but LSD had not even thrown off more than a leaf or two. She knows exactly what she wants to do, and she is going for it. Here she is in all of her splendor:

Lastly, we have been playing with the flip... trying to figure out if 36 hours of darkness changes anything. At this point I am leaning toward a resounding NO. As of these pictures, we are just starting the 7th morning after the flip. Add 36 hours and you can see that we are getting really close to the 10 days that it usually takes around here to get to full flowering. The only thing that I am impressed with so far about the 36 hours of darkness, is that I saved $3.78 on my power bill.

 

[420Amard]

Looks awesome I've still got another lsd seed so my first run when i get my new led will be another LSD and possible a sweet purple (paradise seeds). And thanks for the small info on the Liquid Karma might have to get some to replace the Alg-a-mic. Not knocking the alg-a-mic but I'm kinda cautions of using it as a foliage spray.

 

[fopho]

You know I've been very skeptical myself about putting them in darkness before flip. I've read that it speeds it up, and some have reported instant pistols right after the 36hr of darkness. Its either just a fluke or only happens on certain strains

 

[ShiggityFlip]

Looking great Em. I have never been one for the preflowering period darkness or the end of flowering darkness. I worry that it is a stress the plants are not designed to handle.

 

[DrZiggy]

I found a 24-36 hrs period of darkness is good to reset a light schedule if a lighting issue arises..

looking great Emm..

 

[OlderGrower]

As always "your garden looks FABULOUS"
(in my best Billy Crystal impersonation)

great job Emmy

 

[fopho]

I found a 24-36 hrs period of darkness is good to reset a light schedule if a lighting issue arises..

looking great Emm..

There's easier and faster ways to achieve this. Far red @730nm infrared. If you hit your plant with it for about 30 secs after lights out it'll instantly put them to sleep so to speak. It negates the 2 hours it takes for them to wined down after lights out. Essentially this can be used to fix any light issue. It'll take seconds instead of days. I have a write up I'll post in my journal after I get home.

 

[Emilya Green]

There's easier and faster ways to achieve this. Far red @720nm infrared. If you hit your plant with it for about 30 secs after lights out it'll instantly put them to sleep so to speak. It negates the 2 hours it takes for them to wined down after lights out. Essentially this can be used to fix any light issue. It'll take seconds instead of days. I have a write up I'll post in my journal after I get home.

trigger lights.... I would love to hear your thoughts on this. I used to run a halogen floodlamp in my tent for 20 min sunrise and sunset. It is also supposed to help keep internodal lengths short. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[Emilya Green]

Looks awesome. I've still got another lsd seed so my first run when i get my new led will be another LSD and possible a sweet purple (paradise seeds). And thanks for the small info on the Liquid Karma might have to get some to replace the Alg-a-mic. Not knocking the alg-a-mic but I'm kinda cautions of using it as a foliage spray.

this moving over to organic has been good for me, and has made me rethink all of the products I use in the grow room. I have used Liquid Karma before, but never like this, as a deliberate trigger. I guess by foliar spraying I am also increasing the Brix level of my plants... new concepts to me, but yeah... it makes sense.

You know I've been very skeptical myself about putting them in darkness before flip. I've read that it speeds it up, and some have reported instant pistols right after the 36hr of darkness. Its either just a fluke or only happens on certain strains

I noticed the sudden pistils too... but pistils showing up all over the plant is not yet full flowering mode. I wait for that sudden explosion of pistils from all the sites... probably going to happen right on schedule here today... 10 days into the flipping process (excuse that pun please) and with no apparent effect from the 36 hours of darkness.

Looking great Em. I have never been one for the preflowering period darkness or the end of flowering darkness. I worry that it is a stress the plants are not designed to handle.

I am not so sure that the darkness at the end should be discounted yet... I have been doing a lot of reading about capitated, torn and otherwise damaged trichomes and the damage that light can cause at the end. It may well turn out that going to dark mode at the end and staying there during harvest and drying and curing, really makes a difference. I need a good microscope. I would be so much more effective with a good lab scope... nothing fancy... 500x would be nice.

I found a 24-36 hrs period of darkness is good to reset a light schedule if a lighting issue arises...

That is very good information DrZiggy and I am going to file that away for later use. Also the bit about using trigger lights to do the same thing. You never know when a good spring storm might mess up your lighting schedule.

 

[millertm]

I love your twin lights, I'm wanting to run 1k day eye MH, 600 watt eye SHPS. I see those

 

[millertm]

Wrong button, sorry. Plants love your twin light. I'm jealous.

Love the garden.

Cheers

 

[Emilya Green]

Re: Trigger light

Having read the science and finding it logical, it makes no sense not to add such a simple and economic tweak in our quest to supercharge our plants. Shutting the plants down immediately upon lights out means that the processing of the energy gathered through the day has to be that much more efficient, and as all things in our gardens, over time it has to make a noticeable difference in output.

A quick trip to the hardware store, and for $7 in parts and a $3 halogen light, I had a quick and dirty far red floodlamp. It comes on a minute before lights out and stays on for 5 minutes.

 

[millertm]

Very nice, great idea.

Cheers

 

[NuttyProfessor]

good plan you know i was thinking i have 4 and now another led light coming to make 5, my plans where to time them off ten mins between each other and the same coming on , was thinking that last summer funny enough when i watched the sun set lol

 

[Emilya Green]

(flower, day 1)

Here it is!!

It is the official start of flower in Emmie's garden! These pictures were taken a couple of hours into their day, and by my morning (their evening) the pistils had exploded even more. So lets do the math. This was exactly 1 week into the flip. Add 36 hours. The official flip is usually 10 days for me, this time it was 8 1/2 days. I take it back. Two days of darkness does make a difference, and I saved $3.78. Win-Win in my book!

 

[NuttyProfessor]

 

[Emilya Green]

(flower, day 1)

Here is the official update on our star, our very pretty LSD plant. She is still doing very well and last night she got her final late veg trimming and clearing out of the center. She has been stretching and now with it clear what will rise to canopy level and what will not, her undersides got a trim and wax job. This removal of all the lower and center growth trying to become significant allows her to breathe better and get more light. There is always a growth spurt when this happens.

Here is our girl from the top, showing us her full potential. Her color is great and her branches are strong.

A strong flowering tea is brewing right now and will be ready in one more day. The Liquid Karma did it's work and bud sites have sprung up everywhere. We are in the stretch, and water use is off the scale all throughout the tent. The aggressive LST and pinching the growth tips has seemed to accomplish the goals of getting the stretch worked out of them a bit before flower. Everyone is indeed getting taller, but no one is doing it excessively. I see a nice even canopy starting here... this is good... very good.

 

[NuttyProfessor]

as you can tell i dont type much lol , but i do my best t keep up

 

[DrZiggy]

Emmie, would you please share your bloom tea recipe? TYIA

 

[Emilya Green]

Emmie, would you please share your bloom tea recipe? TYIA

Happy to... In this tea I used per gallon:

1 tbl molasses
1 tbl happy frog all purpose 5-5-5 organic fertilizer
1 tbl kelp meal
1 tsp high N bat guano
1 tsp high P bat guano
1 tsp bone meal
1 handful ancient forest compost
a 2 inch section of aloe vera, pureed

Bubble this for 24 hours and then add 3/4 cup of earthworm castings and bubble for another 24 hours.

When I water, I am going to try very hard to get as much of the solids in the containers as I can... good stuff. Adding the EWC on the last day hopefully will peak the herd out, right at the point of watering.