Emmie's Organic Gummy Bears In GeoFlora Nutrients: Aug 2020

[Emilya Green]

Three more Gummies have joined us, fresh out of the bubble cloner and into Happy Frog. They are in the blue cups. Our big blooming girl got a preventative layer of pine bark mulch on top of her soil today... we are trying to head off a problem. So far, all looks good.

 

[Emilya Green]

Bloom, Day 11

Gummy grew some more since the last update. She now stands 4' 3" from the soil, and she was getting too close to the light. I removed the yo-yo hangers and hung the NextLight MEGA directly by its hangers, hooked into the i-hooks screwed into the ceiling and gained 4 or 5 inches that way. Without supergluing the light to the ceiling, this is as high as it is going to get, and now Gummy has about 11 inches to play with.

She is blooming hard and is going to be a spectacular plant in a few weeks. Everyone who walks in the room says WOW when they see her. She has also taken to the tomato cage like a fish to water and she is standing tall and proud.

So far, she is an amazing color and showing extreme vigor, all thanks to the @GeoFlora Nutrients. She is due her next bloom dose on Sunday and so far is showing no deficiencies of any kind, and just a slight bit of typical organic grow tip burn, showing that she is getting just what she needs.

 

[Deketx]

Nice! I like the branching. Looks like she might be a low leaf to bud plant.

 

[Emilya Green]

Bloom, Day 15

Stretch has ended and we still have 8 inches or so before getting into the light. The new bloom room and the MEGA have met the challenge, and at just about 6 feet of headroom, we barely made it.

Gummy looks awesome and is going to really start packing on some weight. She got fed her second round of @GeoFlora Nutrients BLOOM, and I am loving how easy and effective this nutrient is. Even with 1 inch of pine bark mulch on the top of the soil, the granules just sort of melt and flow down to the soil through the mulch.

 

[Emilya Green]

Bloom, Day 20

 

[Emilya Green]

Bloom, Day 24

Bears got in trouble and has grown herself out of the best light. Deciding that she would be better served 8" away from the MEGA instead of right up on it, supercropping was our answer. Carefully squeezing just enough of the trunk to make the bend I wanted, we simply relaxed the height of the primary kola enough to angle it away from the light, yet still keep dominance. She is a monster, and only some bud shots will do her justice at this point.

 

[Emilya Green]

Bloom, Day 28

This girl is just impressive. She has taken the supercropping in stride and continues to build those buds. Today she got watered and next week she will get the next shot of BLOOM. Trichomes are building up strongly... I am starting to believe that she might indeed get gummy by the end.

 

[Emilya Green]

Today is day 40 of bloom for both our gummy bears and our deep cheese. I was not able to get pictures before the lights went out today because the room surprised me and everyone was wanting water... I simply ran out of time. I promise tomorrow some good shots of our buds that are now about 2 1/2 weeks from the harvest window.

Normally, I would have waited till tomorrow to make any updates, but something happened today that after reflection, I can't wait to tell you about.

The problem though, is that I can't just yet... I am just not sure.

But UPS showed up while I was out, and left a note on the door. They could not just leave the package without verifying who got it. Hmmm. I was not expecting anything, certainly not something requiring a signature.

But I think I know... I think I am about to make a big announcement. I suspect that may happen as soon as tomorrow, when I also give you some nice 5 week week bud shots. Stay tuned! VERY exciting things are happening here!

 

[Emilya Green]

Bloom, Day 41

Gummy Bears is looking really good as we round the bend into the last 2 weeks. I am still not convinced that she can finish up in 60 days, but we will see what happens. Her buds so far are not humongous, but there are a lot of them. She is responding well to the Nextlight Mega and the @GeoFlora Nutrients and I think she is just taking her time.

Then, to finish up my teaser from yesterday. The mysterious UPS delivery requiring a signature was indeed what I thought it was, a package from MarsHydro! Thanks to @SmokeSara, I am now an official Tester for the new SP-3000 light! This light is going to give me another 10 square feet of grow space in the big bloom room, and we are going to do some direct tests between the MEGA and the SP-3000 as we move forward with things. It won't be much of a test, but I will move two of my 4 Durbans under this light once I get it installed, and we will finish out bloom with that partial side by side. As the new run starts populating the bloom room from the veg side, we will set up several identical clones in a full bloom side by side comparison and test of this very sturdy new light. I will be setting up another thread dedicated to the testing of this light as soon as it is installed, probably first thing tomorrow morning.

 

[CADBOY]

Bloom, Day 41

Gummy Bears is looking really good as we round the bend into the last 2 weeks. I am still not convinced that she can finish up in 60 days, but we will see what happens. Her buds so far are not humongous, but there are a lot of them. She is responding well to the Nextlight Mega and the @GeoFlora Nutrients and I think she is just taking her time.

Then, to finish up my teaser from yesterday. The mysterious UPS delivery requiring a signature was indeed what I thought it was, a package from MarsHydro! Thanks to @SmokeSara, I am now an official Tester for the new SP-3000 light! This light is going to give me another 10 square feet of grow space in the big bloom room, and we are going to do some direct tests between the MEGA and the SP-3000 as we move forward with things. It won't be much of a test, but I will move two of my 4 Durbans under this light once I get it installed, and we will finish out bloom with that partial side by side. As the new run starts populating the bloom room from the veg side, we will set up several identical clones in a full bloom side by side comparison and test of this very sturdy new light. I will be setting up another thread dedicated to the testing of this light as soon as it is installed, probably first thing tomorrow morning.

Looks like a nice light. Is this your first marshydro light? I'm checking out the FC3000 and comparing it to others I'm interested in since its gonna a be around $500 cad, so I wanna do some good research on it.

 

[Emilya Green]

Yep, my first one. My only other Mars product to date has been the smell proof bag that @SmokeSara gave me one day for a well timed drum roll.

 

[CADBOY]

Yep, my first one. My only other Mars product to date has been the smell proof bag that @SmokeSara gave me one day for a well timed drum roll.

Very nice... I've only got a cool marshydro sweater I won in a contest a few years back

 

[Emilya Green]

I asked @Mr. Krip earlier if he had ever seen a phosphorus deficiency, and he said no. He was giving another supplement however, Purpinator, which is high in P and K.

I purposely have not acted yet, wanting to see how damage on one leaf on one plant started to progress around the room, and because of that patience, I think I see what is happening now.

Here is Gummy Bears, my oldest and largest plant, and the one showing the most reaction to the problem.

Next is Strawberry Cough, the second biggest plant in density.

And lastly, Deep Cheese, also one of the 2 oldest plants in the room, and now beginning to finish out as it is entering its 6th week, and just starting to see traces of a deficiency starting up.

One other plant has always exhibited a bit of a problem that looks like Phosphorus deficiency, and that has been attributed to an aphid problem that destroyed some of the roots early on. She also is having a bit of a problem getting P from what I can see, but other than a couple of crinkled but still mostly green lower fans, she is doing fine.

So, my theory is that as great as Geoflora Bloom is, there is only so much P to go around in a 2 week application. A large hungry plant under a big light could exceed the ability of the microbes to get enough P into the roots/myco so as to be available to the plant, and at this time in the grow the plant simply needs more P and K than at any other time.

While some would write this off as late season "fade", I do not accept the loss of any leaf without knowing why, and how its loss could have been avoided. I am sure that this grow would finish out just fine and the buds would still be glorious based on their present trajectory, without supplementing the base Geoflora nute in any way. That being said however, I HAVE been talked into calling another forum Sponsor's product into play to see if I can mitigate some of this minor damage. I knew that watering by hose was too easy... I am going to mix some terpinator into the next watering, and probably start giving it regularly toward the end for individual plants when I start seeing this. We grow very hungry plants here in MIssouri... it is no wonder that the microbes need a little extra food to work with here at the end.

 

[Emilya Green]

Today after reminding myself what is in Terpinator (by reading the label) I once again realized that Terpinator has nothing to do with Phosphorus.... but I added it anyway and gave it to all of the plants in the front of the room, including the 3 or 4 showing symptoms, in case I am misreading this thing. The Perpinator that @Mr. Krip gave does have some Phosphorus in it... (0-2-4) so maybe he avoided what I am seeing because of that, maybe I am way off base (it has been known to happen) and maybe, after looking at some marginal progress overnight, the GeoFlora Nutrients just needed a bit more time to catch up and possibly this thing is slowing...

I am just not sure. So today we experimented with a nice hit of extra potassium. We will see what happens. Gummy is definitely losing the big old fan leaves on the bright sides of the plant. Many would expect these leaves to start being used up by this time in the grow (6 weeks) anyway, so this certainly isn't a crisis... just a curiosity.

Overall, the plant looks fabulous! The buds are getting big and juicy looking and trichomes are everywhere. The plant definitely is not lacking for anything that it needs for the buds, and maybe what I am seeing is nothing to be alarmed about. Maybe what I am seeing has its cause in something even more basic... maybe because I failed (for the first time in a long time) to use any Mycorrhizae when packing the containers, and those important fungi could now be lacking in the numbers needed to help take up phosphorus in this organic grow, making this whole problem my fault. As with all things in the garden, time will tell.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Em, I've been thinking about this P deficiency and, I agree, it does look like one. That being said, did this soil get amended with the Vulx? If so, I'm wondering if this might be something besides a P deficiency? You did mention some root issues with one of the plants, that could account for it.

Then again, I also agree with this 420%:

A large hungry plant under a big light could exceed the ability of the microbes to get enough P into the roots/myco so as to be available to the plant, and at this time in the grow the plant simply needs more P and K than at any other time.

Eager to see if that boost of P does the trick!

 

[Emilya Green]

Em, I've been thinking about this P deficiency and, I agree, it does look like one. That being said, did this soil get amended with the Vulx? If so, I'm wondering if this might be something besides a P deficiency? You did mention some root issues with one of the plants, that could account for it.

Then again, I also agree with this 420%:



Eager to see if that boost of P does the trick!

This about the soil mix and vulx is exactly what I am waiting to find out... because these first 4 plants were layered with a bit of my old supersoil, with the vulx and anything else that might have been in there, and these may be the only ones with problems. I will know more about this as my durbans and kd's get to this stage as they all got straight foxfarm hf and of, right out of the bag.

This evening before lights out, I did not see any reaction to the K given this morning, but of course it is too early to know anything yet. I have some triple phosphate on its way to my door so we can continue this experiment later if needed. We also need to see what this recent hit of GeoFlora Bloom brings to the table, as I think that may be all the plant was wanting... just a bit earlier than the 2 weeks. I reference again the big hungry Missouri plant thing. Maybe I should have fed again as soon as I saw the first sign of yellow?

 

[Emilya Green]

As we continue to troubleshoot this thing, today brings us no change in the situation... the depletion of the already targeted leaves continues and the yellowing continues up the trunk, all the while the top leaves are showing good lift. Extra Potassium was not the answer.

Today the Gummy Bears and the Deep Cheese got their regular 2 week feed of Geoflora Bloom, and it was watered in. I suspect we will see improvement as soon as tomorrow. If the problem is deeper than that, my triphosphate has arrived, and I suspect that a topical application of this 0-46-0 will put an end to this nonsense. At that point, knowing that these particular plants are not able to get the phosphorus they need without supplementing, I will continue to suspect root and old soil problems, and probably bug problems, and I will start treating accordingly.

 

[Emilya Green]

@Mr. Krip, I just had an epiphany while answering that last geoflora question on another thread. Could it be as simple as that? Could the very large plants simply have drained the coffers near the end of the two weeks? Maybe the solution is simply to feed an extra finger's worth of Geoflora? So many variables... I need to go up and see what is happening after the feed last night. More later...

 

[Emilya Green]

Bloom, Day 45
Observations in the bloom room have confirmed a couple of things. The application of @GeoFlora Nutrients BLOOM has definitely made an improvement in the color. Some of the yellowing leaves, especially at the top, are more green than they were yesterday.

Some are just as dead as they were the day before, too.

But, I am convinced now that there is nothing wrong with the nutrient line at all, but I may not have been giving enough of it to make it through the entire two weeks, especially after noticing problems toward the end of the two week cycle on a couple of the plants a couple of times. There are still unknowns; I could have problems with the supersoil in the bottom of the first containers, and I might still have a mostly controlled bug problem in that soil too, both if present, adding to the need to supplement now. Then there is the big hungry plant thing to consider, especially here at the end, where supplementing with finishing nutes is a very common thing to do for fruit bearing plants. Lastly, there is always my tendency to freak out over less than a perfect plant.

So even with the noticeable improvement after the regular feeding, it is not enough... I am behind and need to catch up. Let me rephrase that, I don't need to catch up here at the end, as you will see in the bud shots, but I want to... just to figure this out. Without all this playing around, the plant would still happily fade and feed the buds to completion. However, being me, 3 of the plants in the room just got an application of Triple Phosphate 0-46-0 as a top dressing and it was watered in. Tomorrow we will view the results.

Tonight, let's enjoy the bud shots somewhere around 2 weeks from the end.

 

[Mr. Krip]

@Mr. Krip, I just had an epiphany while answering that last geoflora question on another thread. Could it be as simple as that? Could the very large plants simply have drained the coffers near the end of the two weeks? Maybe the solution is simply to feed an extra finger's worth of Geoflora? So many variables... I need to go up and see what is happening after the feed last night. More later...

I love the way you think, Em, and I'd bet you're on the right track with something like a bigger (or more hungry) plant especially in a smaller container.

It would make sense that you need to have both enough nutrients in the soil and a large enough microbial herd to adequately feed the plants. I would think it's likely something more than just the GeoFlora lasting only 11 days (for example) instead of the 14 since it usually takes some time before the deficiencies would show. It seems like the plant would need to be short on P for a while before that deficiency showed up which is why I'm leaning more towards the combination of plant size and container size (or, more specifically, the amount of soil/available nutrients).

For some extra info backing this...My Bonsais have all started showing some deficiencies and they're all in 4" containers with stalks close to an inch thick. I'm thinking there may not be enough nutrients/microbes to feed those more mature plants in the smaller containers.