And with that fresh seedling picture starts this journal. I have several things going on this year. Multiple strains, indoor and outdoor, potted and planted. Some will be grown for medicine, some for seeds. We will see colloidal silver in action and there will be cloning....
Welcome, 420 Magazine reader to my 2016 "little bit of everything" grow journal. Thank you for stopping by. Please feel free to ask questions, tell me I'm doing it all wrong or simply say hi.
Another thank you to 420 Magazine for providing such a great place for us all to meet, collaborate and further the cause both medicinally and as a personal freedom. Thank you sooo much for affording us this opportunity.
While I would like to be able to provide dazzling daily updates there will likely be only a couple per week. I'm not a great blogger, but I'll do my best.
Photo strain list:
BD-P1 = Blue Dream Pheno 1 — Bred by Humboldt Seed Organization. I started this plant back in October of 2015. She grows quick. I've cloned her out several times. Mom is getting set to flower in a tent. Six clones are in #1 fabric pots in another tent and will all bear 'selfed' feminized seeds by means of colloidal silver. Five more clones are in veg stasis until it's time to plant them out. One in a big in ground hole, four in #20 Root Pouch fabric pot.
BD-P2 = Blue Dream Pheno 2 — I am starting a second HSO Blue Dream seed. What can I say? I like the Blue Dream. So does everyone else. The original seed plant will be transplanted into the ground for flowers. She will give up at least two clones. One for flowers in a #20 Root Pouch fabric pot and one for feminized seed 'selfing' in a #5 fabric pot.
FP-P1 = Fruit Punch Pheno 1— By Heavyweight Seeds. I started this plant in November of 2015. It is a very Indica dominant pheno and has beautiful structure. She's very tolerant of soil conditions and quite hardy. However, in true Indica style, she does not like wet roots. She's very sensitive to over watering. Probably a great "training strain" if there ever was one.
The original seed plant is currently in one of my tents getting set to flower. I have five clones in another tent, all in #1 fabric pots that will all bear 'selfed' feminized seeds. One last clone of her is currently in a veg stasis awaiting transplant to a big hole. At some point I will clone the clone for a #20 fabric pot.
TD-P1 = Tangerine Dream Pheno 1 — First, another thank you. Thank you to sponsor Herbies for providing these free seeds. I won a Herbies sponsored competition here on 420Mag last year, and these were my prize. Be sure to watch the Vendor/Sponsor section for info, discounts and various promotions.
Barney Farm Tangerine Dream. The original seed plant will be transplanted into a big hole for flowers. She will give up at least two clones. One for flowers in a #20 Root Pouch fabric pot and one for feminized seed 'selfing' in a #5 fabric pot.
TD-P2 = Tangerine Dream Pheno 2 - The original seed plant will be transplanted into a #20 Root Pouch fabric pot and one clone will made for feminized seed 'selfing' in a #5 fabric pot.
SLH-P1 = Super Lemon Haze Pheno 1 — Bred by Green House Seeds. I have not had much luck with ANYTHING from Green House or Strain Hunters. But here I go again. If it even germinates it will ultimately end up in a big hole. Clones will (maybe) be made, one for a #20 fabric pot, one for feminized seed production.
SLH-P2 = Super Lemon Haze Pheno 2 — Same with this one, except the original seed goes in a #20 fabric and one clone for feminized seed production.
Auto flower strain list:
2x DD-A = Dark Devil Auto — Bred by Sweet Seeds. Intent is to spray colloidal silver on the bottom 1/3 of each plant and let them pollinate themselves and each other to make feminized seeds.
3x FV-A = Fast & Vast Auto — Another Heavyweight Seeds entry. Intent is to spray colloidal silver on the bottom 1/3 of each plant and let them pollinate themselves and each other to make feminized seeds. I really don't intend to harvest any buds from the autos. Well these first ones. If I get seeds in time I might be able to test germinate some for a Summer plant/Fall harvest. There will also be tents available by then.
Media and fertilizers:
I will be growing in a local commercially available garden mix in both pots and in ground holes. It consists of mushroom compost (mushroom grow media, composted), leaf mold, worm castings, sand and top soil (AKA clay). It seems loose and high on the organic material, but I'm willing to bet on it.
In the pots I will likely give regular feedings of Earth Juice starting after several weeks of veg. I have the 'Original' line up. Of course this is subject to change. I used it a little at the end of last year and I liked the results.
In three of the five in ground holes I mixed last year's soil (about 15-20 gallons) with some composted horse manure, a touch of green horse manure and a little of the new garden mix. That went in the bottom of the new much larger holes. Then I filled the rest of the way with the garden mix. Total volume for the in ground plants is 34-37 cubic feet each, or about 1.25 — 1.37 cubic yards each. Each hole has barrier fabric in an attempt to keep Mother Nature's greedy forest roots out of my root zones.
The last two in ground holes are new locations, so I mixed new garden mix and the manures in about the same amounts as the other holes, tossed in a little clay top soil and put that in the bottom.
The only other initial amendment I added was a top dress of Cascade Minerals basalt rock dust. I used that at the garden rate of 10lbs per 100 square feet, or 1lb per 10sqft. I'll be watching the in ground plants (well ALL of them obviously) carefully for signs of needs. Who knows where these plants needs will take us, but I'm prepared for it. I could list everything I have on hand, but that's a lot more typing, lol. I'll just say I'm better stocked than your local home improvement store AND hydro store, combined.
A quick word on the design of my holes: I didn't just dig holes. I dug the holes 36" in diameter and about 20" deep. I used the fill to create a raised ring/berm around the holes. The base edge of the berm is no less than 12" away from the actual hole, and about 8-10" high. This creates a minimum 8" thick by 12" wide ring of extra surface feeder root zone, plus about another 6" of outer shallower area near the berm slope. With a slight mound over the actual hole, a cross section of the available root area would look like a muffin cross section.
Total root surface diameter is about 6 feet, which is a little over 28 square feet. I'll just round to 30sqft for amendment applications. I constructed the holes this way for two reasons; optimum long term water availability with the depth of the hole, and lots of (extra) surface area for the top 8" of feeder roots. If you watch some videos of monster plants (search Jorge Cervantes 10lb) you'll notice some things if you turn off the sound and study the plants. The plants are in relatively shallow planters some custom built, some large fabrics IRRC. Anyhow, depth for water retention and surface area for feeder roots.
Here are some pics of how the holes are constructed.....
And what the garden mix dirt looks like.....
Here's a peek inside the tents
This tent has 3 mother plants and a clone from each. BD-P1, FP-P1 and a local strain I'm working on that is a blueberry x white widow. BD is front left, FP is back right, leaving BBxWW in the back left. The clones are undergoing colloidal silver treatment right now. Daily sprays on the bottom ½ of each at lights out. I just flipped the light in this tent to bloom on a 13/11 light cycle and gave them a shot of Cytoplus and foliared with Ful-Power. If you're thinking the BD looks a little rough it's because she under went a little root pruning not long ago, but has bounced back with plenty of vigor.
In this tent are more clones from the mothers above. Six BD-P1, five FP-P1 and five BBxWW. These will all bear 'selfed' feminized seeds.
And in my seeding/clone nursery I have five BD-P1 clones and one FP-P1 clone. The BD are slated for #20 fabrics and one hole. The FP in the #1 fabric will be cloned again and one will go in a hole, one in a #20 pot. You can also see Cannabis is not the only thing I cultivate.
And now we are pretty much up to date. The very first picture was taken this morning, of the FV-A and DD-A germination. They surfaced over night. They will stay in the nursery for a few days. The others seedlings should be up tomorrow, all seeds germinated. Then I'll put them in their finishing pots. I have some #5 and #7 plastics I'll be using on them. They will go out to my shop under supplemental T5 florescent and enjoy the Sun for most of their days. I'll either do 18 or 20 hours of light on them. With some luck I'll be able to start fem seeds from these plants later this year for a Fall harvest.
Time to feed the animals and have a toke....
looking forward to this Heirloom....
