Graytail's Cupwinners in High Brix Soil - 4x4 - 600W HPS - Perpetual

[B A R]

Congrats once again Gray...

This guy has been coming back for ears now and only pecks on 1 tree and it is one of the huge trees in the front yard and he never really hurts the tree and I have never seen one except for him.....

My guy seems to be a loner.

I think he may be Woody Wood Pecker. He's been traveling alone for decades.

 

[Shrike]

Nice job, GT!

Great looking Cola's...

 

[Graytail]

Looking very nice gray!

Thanks! ... although this one wasn't anywhere near my best - kinda half a plant. I'll do better next time.

Congrats on the killer looking harvest....

Thanks, Diva! The taste was worth it - exactly like sweet grapefruit - go figure.

Beautiful, fat, colas GT. Love the coloring, texture and density. And it's washed. Totally snob quality

I was surprised to see any color, but I got into the habit of letting them run until the bitter end, so most strains will show something. Heheh, snob quality? - I'm so far gone into snobbery I take it for granted. I honestly have no clue how my stuff rates. I've shared it a couple times with experienced smokers and it seemed to surprise 'em. I couldn't tell them where I got it but I got a kick out of that.

Congrats once again Gray...



I think he may be Woody Wood Pecker. He's been traveling alone for decades.

LOL, I never thought about that. So, Woody was a loner, eh? I don't recall any girls in his life, no.

We used to host families of several kinds of woodpeckers at our country place. Red Bellied, Downy, Hairy, and even Piliated. Some of them would return every season to raise babies. Some days, I'd go through two cakes of suet. But it's amazing to sip a cup of coffee on a dewy quiet morning and listen to the wings scrape as they swoop in from the trees to feed. Good stuff.

Nice job, GT!

Great looking Cola's...

Thanks a lot, Shrike. I see your likes and posts - hope things are going well for you!

 

[Crawdaddy]

Another batch of quality buds for you

 

[Icemud]

I chopped Grapefruit today. The four main colas were a lot denser and heavier than I thought - probably the densest I've grown yet - it'll be interesting to see what they weigh when they're dry. I don't know what to think of this one - it looks like a puny yield, but it may break 2oz - we'll see.

I think I like this strain, despite the way this one grew. I'm still smoking mostly Carnival but I'm going to enjoy getting to know Grapefruit, too. Can't beat that aroma!

Grapefruit - Chop - 136 days old - 61 days 12/12 - 50 days since pistils - brix 9/10

Beautiful!!! I was driving by and smelled it, had to stop by and say whats up!! LOL j/k Those buds look beautiful! Had to repost em again! Hope you dont mind! Great job Graytail!

 

[Graytail]

Things are looking better in the flower room! The last batch of brix readings were up across the board. I don't know what to attribute it to - I didn't do anything significant, but I'm playing out a hunch that I've been feeding too much Energy and not enough Transplant, so I doubled the Transplant dose this feeding. I always dose on the low side, so the soil may need more than it's getting.

The next one to finish will be WP2 in another 2-3 weeks, but this one looks like it may be maturing faster now that the temps are up. Should be a nice fat yield.

WP2 - 131 days old - 49 days 12/12 - 39 days since pistils - brix 11/12

SLH2 is right behind, probably a week later. I really like the way the buds develop on the SLH - compact nuggets at every node.

SLH2 - 131 days old - 42 days 12/12 - 34 days since pistils - brix 12/12

Carn1 is yellowing early like WP2 and SHL2 did, but the bud development is exceptional - better than mom.

Carn1 - 92 days old - 28 days 12/12 - 17 days since pistils - brix 14/15

Carn2 is looking better than Carn1 at this stage.

Carn2 - 92 days old - 20 days 12/12 - 13 days since pistils - brix 11/11

PanaSeed is in one of those stages where the plant just seems ectastically happy. Its color and posture are perfect. But its 9-10 brix doesn't reflect that. Go figure. I'm eager to see how this one turns out. It either self-pollinated or caught pollen from a Jamaican Dream nanner. Either way, I'll be happy. I've collected over 20 mature seeds so far and the jar is only 1/3 gone - should be a bunch in the bottom shake, too.

Panama Seed - 79 days - 21 days 12/12 - 10 days since pistils - brix 9/10

Green Love Potion has been very hardy with strong stems and insistant growth, just now showing pistils.

Green Love Potion - 63 days old - 11 days 12/12 - 1 day since pistils - brix 11/12

GF1 is lookin' fine. It was a clone, so I LST'd it a few days ago - I didn't see a good node to top at. This should get me 7 or 8 nice even tops.

GF1 - 92 days old

Carn3 and WWxSk#1 are doing well, and the Cotton Candy x Carnival seed sprouted in 2 days. That ugly thing in the background is a Panama cut that I may not be able to keep alive.

 

[sir grow alot]

The garden looks exceptional!!

I love the cola size and structure of that WP2, she looks frickin outstanding!

ive been feeding transplant 1/4oz at waterings and same in conjunction with the energy feedings. is this what you were previously doing?? ive wondering if i may need to do a transplant only drench at full strength some where to keep the soil as alive as possible...i think you have confirmed that for me though here if brix are a' rising id say its a fair assumption for sure

 

[DrZiggy]

Graytail, those are some well stacked girrrrrls!

 

[Graytail]

The garden looks exceptional!!

I love the cola size and structure of that WP2, she looks frickin outstanding!

ive been feeding transplant 1/4oz at waterings and same in conjunction with the energy feedings. is this what you were previously doing?? ive wondering if i may need to do a transplant only drench at full strength some where to keep the soil as alive as possible...i think you have confirmed that for me though here if brix are a' rising id say its a fair assumption for sure

White Panther is an outstanding strain. I just wish I liked it more than I do.

I've been doing the 1/4 strength Trans feeds, yes, so I had adjusted my feeding schedule to emphasize Energy at the flip. This would seem to fit the idea that we can use the drenches to hold the plant in growth mode and then flip strongly to bloom feedings, aka Transplant. But looking over my schedule, I think I've been light on Transplant, despite the 1/4 feedings ... I think ...

My latest brix numbers are coming back up, but that was before the extra Transplant.

Graytail, those are some well stacked girrrrrls!

Ain' they purdy? I miss the high brix effect, though. I can see the lack in the leaves - not much shine. But I may be able to get the brix back up before harvest.

 

[Doc Bud]

White Panther is an outstanding strain. I just wish I liked it more than I do.

I've been doing the 1/4 strength Trans feeds, yes, so I had adjusted my feeding schedule to emphasize Energy at the flip. This would seem to fit the idea that we can use the drenches to hold the plant in growth mode and then flip strongly to bloom feedings, aka Transplant. But looking over my schedule, I think I've been light on Transplant, despite the 1/4 feedings ... I think ...

My latest brix numbers are coming back up, but that was before the extra Transplant.



Ain' they purdy? I miss the high brix effect, though. I can see the lack in the leaves - not much shine. But I may be able to get the brix back up before harvest.

Sometimes top dressing with worm castings, and hitting them with extra Tea and Transplant helps.....but the yellowing says Growth Energy.

I might try double Tea and Growth Energy, along with EWC top dress.....but the buds are going to be fabulous no matter what.

Container growing is tricky...

 

[Graytail]

Sometimes top dressing with worm castings, and hitting them with extra Tea and Transplant helps.....but the yellowing says Growth Energy.

I might try double Tea and Growth Energy, along with EWC top dress.....but the buds are going to be fabulous no matter what.

Container growing is tricky...

Thanks for the suggestion, Doc. I think I'm probably low on EWC, so that's a good idea. The last bag I bought was odd - not heavy and granular - more light and fibrous. That may be part of my problems.

I already tried extra Tea - no difference, unless it took a week or more to take effect. We'll see what the double dose of Transplant did.

One thing I've learned about this particular soil mix is that it seems to be special whether brix is high or not.

 

[Doc Bud]

Thanks for the suggestion, Doc. I think I'm probably low on EWC, so that's a good idea. The last bag I bought was odd - not heavy and granular - more light and fibrous. That may be part of my problems.

I already tried extra Tea - no difference, unless it took a week or more to take effect. We'll see what the double dose of Transplant did.

One thing I've learned about this particular soil mix is that it seems to be special whether brix is high or not.

My poor high brix product is better than any of my old organic stuff. No comparison, with the sole exceptions of the major OG strains. Those do better in high ERG mineralized soil than in by the book High Brix.

I wouldn't call what you have right now a "problem" per se, but I know exactly how you feel. You know you can do a little bit better and you won't give up until you achieve it. That's such a great quality for someone who grows the best, most useful and most important plant on earth!

I'm working on a couple tweaks with the Re-charge to keep some of these problems from occurring, no telling when I'll have good results as I won't be putting any plants in to bloom for about a week to ten days. But I'll try a couple things with them and let everyone know what's up.

At some point, we'll end up at the end of the road with small containers. Next step indoor beds.....when that happens is anyone's guess the way life is right now!

 

[VonDankenhoek]

Damn baby like the Chelsea flower show in there.

Superb maryj

 

[Graytail]

Damn baby like the Chelsea flower show in there.

Superb maryj

Thank ya! I have 'em kinda bunched up now - they'll start finishing weekly.

My poor high brix product is better than any of my old organic stuff. No comparison, with the sole exceptions of the major OG strains. Those do better in high ERG mineralized soil than in by the book High Brix.

I wouldn't call what you have right now a "problem" per se, but I know exactly how you feel. You know you can do a little bit better and you won't give up until you achieve it. That's such a great quality for someone who grows the best, most useful and most important plant on earth!

I'm working on a couple tweaks with the Re-charge to keep some of these problems from occurring, no telling when I'll have good results as I won't be putting any plants in to bloom for about a week to ten days. But I'll try a couple things with them and let everyone know what's up.

At some point, we'll end up at the end of the road with small containers. Next step indoor beds.....when that happens is anyone's guess the way life is right now!

When you focus on the limitations of a pot size, what are the factors? I'm comfortable with my 6 gallons because I run small plants, but it occurs to me that I'm not necessarily getting "small" yield. One of the things I thought about when my brix dropped was whether i had the right amount of active useful amendment in the soil. At this stage, as near as I can calculate, I've run 120 gallons worth of amendment through about 100 gallons of soil, so I'm about right. Is it possible I'm using up more amendment than I think?

Or is it something to do with the biota population, but if so, I don't understand why the population should deplete if the soil has a good mineral supply.

And the recharge method and timing seems crude. Do we have a good idea when the minerals deplete or is it a crapshoot depending on how efficient the biota are? I thought about dividing the recharge into small pinches to sprinkle on the soil with every watering, but the mix is too diverse to divide that finely. Aha ... loadie moment ... that might be what you're working on with the recharge and the roots dressing.

Anyway, can you help me with the soil process? Why can't we just keep feeding the biota in the same soil medium? Why do we run out of soil volume?

 

[Doc Bud]

Thank ya! I have 'em kinda bunched up now - they'll start finishing weekly.



When you focus on the limitations of a pot size, what are the factors? I'm comfortable with my 6 gallons because I run small plants, but it occurs to me that I'm not necessarily getting "small" yield. One of the things I thought about when my brix dropped was whether i had the right amount of active useful amendment in the soil. At this stage, as near as I can calculate, I've run 120 gallons worth of amendment through about 100 gallons of soil, so I'm about right. Is it possible I'm using up more amendment than I think?

Or is it something to do with the biota population, but if so, I don't understand why the population should deplete if the soil has a good mineral supply.

And the recharge method and timing seems crude. Do we have a good idea when the minerals deplete or is it a crapshoot depending on how efficient the biota are? I thought about dividing the recharge into small pinches to sprinkle on the soil with every watering, but the mix is too diverse to divide that finely. Aha ... loadie moment ... that might be what you're working on with the recharge and the roots dressing.

Anyway, can you help me with the soil process? Why can't we just keep feeding the biota in the same soil medium? Why do we run out of soil volume?

Small containers aren't "natural" in that the plant's root mass is restricted and they have limited room for "shopping" for nutrition. This must be mitigated by increasing the amount of nutrition in the soil to begin with and/or adding nutrition along the way.....or by using larger containers.

I have a couple different ideas on what to do.....other than using even larger containers.....and yes, the re-charge and Roots products are part of the "mix" so to speak.

The most recent thing I'm doing is when the soil level gets a bit lower in the pot I'm adding Roots to the "old" soil surface and adding EWC on top of that and watering. The new Roots product doesn't require Transplant water, which will help keep the sodium levels lower. We still use Transplant as a drench, but not as Transplant water with the new system.....which isn't necessarily in the directions yet, as I"m still testing it out.

It seems to produce good resin. That's really the only thing I care about....but of course good resin comes from healthy plants which means higher brix....etc. We're taking something that's working really well, and trying to make it better, so at some point there will be diminishing returns, but I don't think we're there yet.

 

[sir grow alot]

great discussion guys!!

@ DOC

Holy shit man...if thats what the new kit roots and tplant are achieving then hell yeah im even more excited now! Thats a great looking glistening nug of heaven

 

[Doc Bud]

great discussion guys!!

@ DOC

Holy shit man...if thats what the new kit roots and tplant are achieving then hell yeah im even more excited now! Thats a great looking glistening nug of heaven

It's actually a shot of my helper's second grow ever....he's also a guinea pig for the new products.

 

[Graytail]

Small containers aren't "natural" in that the plant's root mass is restricted and they have limited room for "shopping" for nutrition. This must be mitigated by increasing the amount of nutrition in the soil to begin with and/or adding nutrition along the way.....or by using larger containers.

I have a couple different ideas on what to do.....other than using even larger containers.....and yes, the re-charge and Roots products are part of the "mix" so to speak.

The most recent thing I'm doing is when the soil level gets a bit lower in the pot I'm adding Roots to the "old" soil surface and adding EWC on top of that and watering. The new Roots product doesn't require Transplant water, which will help keep the sodium levels lower. We still use Transplant as a drench, but not as Transplant water with the new system.....which isn't necessarily in the directions yet, as I"m still testing it out.

It seems to produce good resin. That's really the only thing I care about....but of course good resin comes from healthy plants which means higher brix....etc. We're taking something that's working really well, and trying to make it better, so at some point there will be diminishing returns, but I don't think we're there yet.

I think I finally get it. The problem is that the soil volume isn't really large enough to support the amount of quality produce we expect from it, so we keep things going by "artificially" adding nutes with the drenches, and by loading the soil with EWC and recycled material. I've been aware that my plants are undernourished at the finish - yellowing - but it hasn't concerned me because the produce is so good. If I had more soil volume the biota could produce enough for the plants by themselves My plants are getting along primarily from the biota, or more so than a nice green plant that had its soil boosted. I get fewer trichs, but the smoke is smooth, smooth. Interesting tradeoff.

But the plants clearly prefer something more than I'm giving them. Gotta mull this over ...

 

[Doc Bud]

I think I finally get it. The problem is that the soil volume isn't really large enough to support the amount of quality produce we expect from it, so we keep things going by "artificially" adding nutes with the drenches, and by loading the soil with EWC and recycled material. I've been aware that my plants are undernourished at the finish - yellowing - but it hasn't concerned me because the produce is so good. If I had more soil volume the biota could produce enough for the plants by themselves My plants are getting along primarily from the biota, or more so than a nice green plant that had its soil boosted. I get fewer trichs, but the smoke is smooth, smooth. Interesting tradeoff.

But the plants clearly prefer something more than I'm giving them. Gotta mull this over ...

1. They're supposed to turn yellow towards the end. Not necrotic....just a fade.
2. I've seen strong evidence that a single plant's roots will grow outwards about 9 feet in each direction and about 30 inches deep. This is from greenhouse plants, so indoor plants under our puny little lights will naturally be smaller.....but 7 gallons is pushing it!

I don't think your plants "prefer" more.....you can convince yourself of this quite easily by giving them more of whatever it is and comparing them to the plants you didn't give more to.....been there, done that!

I think it has more to do with container size than anything else. Super soils, like what I used to do, had ERGS up in the 2000 range. We want literally a tenth of that in High Brix....200 is spot on.

Supersoil growers have compensated for container size by making the soil insanely hot...many times the roots only lick at the hot zone.

Such a practice will greatly lower brix and decrease the quality of the produce....so that's not the way to go! Adding small amounts of minerals, organic matter and so forth is better practice, but the best practice is to use larger containers!

But that isn't always practical and the plants get huge.....so we're workin' on it.

Even with these challenges and "problems," I am confident---not cocky or arrogant---but confident that I'm growing some of the finest product around.

My helper's first crop all went to Harborside.....20% THC in their on the spot check for the Lemon Paki. I'm still planning on getting my stuff tested, but then I'm planning on about 30 other things too.

 

[B A R]

Learning...