Jon's Final Florida Journal For Real

[Jon]

@Gee64 , John's meter has a computer. There's no line to get fuzzy. However, I am going to require an explanation on the matter of a fuzzy line and a requirement for more calcium.

I mean, the answer, no, the question.....

is clearly evergreen. Yes?

Cool I have a computer in mine? I thought it was just a bunch of bamboo and duct tape inside. Sweet.

 

[Jon]

@Gee64 - about your watering method…

I really like the concept. You seem to be one of the few who do it like you do. Seems most do the wet/dry thing in veg and keep it moist in flower. That’s what I did with these too (still didn’t build out the roots as well as I’d like - these crappy tall thin AirPots are messing with my watering technique).

Anyway I’m in flower now so I want to keep the pots moist. My question is, how specifically do you do the actual pouring of water into the soil? I need detail beyond the word “slowly.” Do you start in the middle and just let it run over the whole thing? Or do the edges then the middle? And how do you know how far down or not the pot is wet? Are you using a soil hydrometer?

See where I’m coming from? I don’t know from keeping a soil pot wet all the time. Coco no problem. It’s impossible to overwater coco. Not so with soil.

 

[Jon]

@Gee64 - about your watering method…

I really like the concept. You seem to be one of the few who do it like you do. Seems most do the wet/dry thing in veg and keep it moist in flower. That’s what I did with these too (still didn’t build out the roots as well as I’d like - these crappy tall thin AirPots are messing with my watering technique).

Anyway I’m in flower now so I want to keep the pots moist. My question is, how specifically do you do the actual pouring of water into the soil? I need detail beyond the word “slowly.” Do you start in the middle and just let it run over the whole thing? Or do the edges then the middle? And how do you know how far down or not the pot is wet? Are you using a soil hydrometer?

See where I’m coming from? I don’t know from keeping a soil pot wet all the time. Coco no problem. It’s impossible to overwater coco. Not so with soil.

Caveat: assume I have no dripper thingies like you.

 

[Jon]

Cherry Pie Auto
Day 52

52 days and still no budlets. Incredible. You could train this plant however you wanted to literally. Not kind of like a photo - exactly like a photo. You could even manifold this plant - a training technique one would never use on an auto. Pretty sure one can set up a manifold for flower in 52 days - hell Gee does it in soil, you could definitely do it in coco. While she is most definitely an auto, but she may as well be a work free photo who saves you the hassle of flipping her and changing light hours. 52 days is unbelievable. In a best case scenario I veg my photos exactly 60 days. If I were Blimburn and they’re all like this, I would be putting the super long veg time in the marketing. I can’t imagine a better selling point. She also has triple the bud sites of the Double Grape. I’ll have to cull them if she ever shows me what’s what. Incredible genetics. The only downside I can find to this plant is that she is definitely a Nitrogen hog, beginning as early as mid veg like mine did. But that’s minor and way worth the rest of her reality. Blimburn has yet to let me down on an auto. For some reason their auto genetics seem to get bigger than many other breeders’ autos do, at least it seems that way to me. I’ve grown maybe 10 Blimburn strains and all have been solid, many very large. The Apple Fritter was Blimburn most recently. Growers Choice has also never let me down yet. They make the Watermelon Wedding Cake and Platinum Mimosa Cookies, and have an amazing XXL selection. Neither one is first thought of as an auto Mecca, I know, but I’m either getting way lucky or they’re massively underrated.

Blimburn: please see email for address to send the check for free marketing to.

 

[Gee64]

@Gee64 - about your watering method…

I really like the concept. You seem to be one of the few who do it like you do. Seems most do the wet/dry thing in veg and keep it moist in flower. That’s what I did with these too (still didn’t build out the roots as well as I’d like - these crappy tall thin AirPots are messing with my watering technique).

Anyway I’m in flower now so I want to keep the pots moist. My question is, how specifically do you do the actual pouring of water into the soil? I need detail beyond the word “slowly.” Do you start in the middle and just let it run over the whole thing? Or do the edges then the middle? And how do you know how far down or not the pot is wet? Are you using a soil hydrometer?

See where I’m coming from? I don’t know from keeping a soil pot wet all the time. Coco no problem. It’s impossible to overwater coco. Not so with soil.

Without drippers, I use a fish pond pump in my RO tank hooked to a watering wand set on shower. My pump moves 1 litre every 30 seconds so I water how much I feel I need by timing it. I try to water evenly across the whole pot. I use cloth pots and with the right amount of perlite its pretty much impossible to over water as it runs out freely. I try to avoid too much runoff as food washes out so I will gently water in, then wait, do the other 3, and come back to the 1st and gently water a bit more. It takes time so I figured I may as well hook up drippers instead of the wand. Any shower-headed watering can will work good. Try not to bore a big divot in the soil with a deluge of water, you want it to percolate, not gush. It shouldn't pool on the soil as you water.

 

[Jon]

Without drippers, I use a fish pond pump in my RO tank hooked to a watering wand set on shower. My pump moves 1 litre every 30 seconds so I water how much I feel I need by timing it. I try to water evenly across the whole pot. I use cloth pots and with the right amount of perlite it’s pretty much impossible to over water as it runs out freely. I try to avoid too much runoff as foid washes out so I will gently water in, then wait, do the other 3, and come back to the 1st and gently water a bit more. It takes time so I figured I may as well hook up drippers instead of the wand. Any shower-headed watering can will work good. Try not to bore a big divot in the soil with a deluge of water, you want it to percolate, not gush. It shouldn't pool on the soil as you water.

Ah. Thanks! That’s exactly what I was looking for. I’ve been using a 2liter pitcher to water these with, but it sounds like something with a spout that diffuses the water would be better.

What do you think is the right amount of perlite compared to the rest of the medium? I usually take four gallons of soil and add one gallon of perlite to it. That’s 80/20, plus the existing perlite in the soil and I figure I’m okay? Or more would be better? Also, I like the big chunky stuff so i use #3. #4 seems too big. What # (size) perlite do you use?

 

[Gee64]

Ah. Thanks! That’s exactly what I was looking for. I’ve been using a 2liter pitcher to water these with, but it sounds like something with a spout that diffuses the water would be better.

What do you think is the right amount of perlite compared to the rest of the medium? I usually take four gallons of soil and add one gallon of perlite to it. That’s 80/20, plus the existing perlite in the soil and I figure I’m okay? Or more would be better? Also, I like the big chunky stuff so i use #3. #4 seems too big. What # (size) perlite do you use?

I will have to check the bag when I get home for a #, but it is considered coarse grade. I usually just add it and mix until I like the texture. Probably 25-30%.

 

[Jon]

I will have to check the bag when I get home for a #, but it is considered coarse grade. I usually just add it and mix until I like the texture. Probably 25-30%.

Is there any point in the process of making and aging the soil when you add straight myco like Great White or Dynomoco or something? Something to jump start the colony or support it during development maybe? Or does that defeat the point and purpose of making your own?

 

[Gee64]

Is there any point in the process of making and aging the soil when you add straight myco like Great White or Dynomoco or something? Something to jump start the colony or support it during development maybe? Or does that defeat the point and purpose of making your own?

I only add myco when I am planting a seed (I mix it into a solo-cup of soil, about a teaspoon, and put that in the pot where the seed will go, the soil, not the solo cup), or when I have bare roots exposed, like at uppotting. I spray the roots and dust with myco, or when things arent going well I mix a tablespoon into 2 litres of water and slowly pour it in right over the rootball to revitalize soil myco.

 

[Jon]

I only add myco when I am planting a seed (I mix it into a solo-cup of soil, about a teaspoon, and put that in the pot where the seed will go, the soil, not the solo cup), or when I have bare roots exposed, like at uppotting. I spray the roots and dust with myco, or when things arent going well I mix a tablespoon into 2 litres of water and slowly pour it in right over the rootball to revitalize soil myco.

And is soil like curing weed in terms of how long you percolate it? Longer is always better? I’m hoping to mix a batch as soon as I’m home and let it percolate while I do my last coco grow. Will say, five months be long enough for it to work effectively? I know many age less and use, so I guess I know it’ll be okay to use at that point but what’s a perfect world in this regard? And would using it earlier vs later affect the use of or non use of spikes?

 

[Gee64]

And is soil like curing weed in terms of how long you percolate it? Longer is always better? I’m hoping to mix a batch as soon as I’m home and let it percolate while I do my last coco grow. Will say, five months be long enough for it to work effectively? I know many age less and use, so I guess I know it’ll be okay to use at that point but what’s a perfect world in this regard? And would using it earlier vs later affect the use of or non use of spikes?

I usually go about 70 days, because I chop, then sit the pots for 2 months so the myco spores out, then cook for about 70 days as my next flower run goes. Same time frame as the soil thats currently growing.

I have gone as little as 3 weeks and didn't notice any detriment, but I'm totally comfortable with 2 months of cooking time.

So when I flip I usually start the cooking, then 70 days later I harvest and plant the next grow. Its important to set your used pots in a dark cool spot for 8 weeks to let the rootballs die and myco spore out, if your plan is to re-use that soil. It indigenizes myco and microbes if you give them time to go dormant.

 

[Jon]

Cool Leaf Tucking Trick

I take the fans that are dead center in the inside of my rings to expose the main colas and unblock what’s below. But how do you keep the others from blocking without cutting or tucking down into a mash zone? Creative tucking and physics is the answer.

Check these pictures out and see how I have used the directional tension on the leaves to then use the leaves themselves where it works to tuck with other leaves and get two out of the way for the price of one. Silly little trick but I hate tucking leaves on top of other leaves.

 

[Jon]

I usually go about 70 days, because I chop, then sit the pots for 2 months so the myco spores out, then cook for about 70 days as my next flower run goes. Same time frame as the soil thats currently growing.

I have gone as little as 3 weeks and didn't notice any detriment, but I'm totally comfortable with 2 months of cooking time.

So when I flip I usually start the cooking, then 70 days later I harvest and plant the next grow. Its important to set your used pots in a dark cool spot for 8 weeks to let the rootballs die and myco spore out, if your plan is to re-use that soil. It indigenizes myco and microbes if you give them time to go dormant.

Perfect. Thanks. One grow’s time worth of cooking will work fine then.

 

[Jon]

Blackberry Moonrocks
Defoliation

It feels so odd to me to let a plant go untrained. Then I see pictures of her like this and it just gets worse, and all I want to do is create order from that chaos. It would be so damn easy and take five minutes. Lmao. But I won’t. Lol. I said untrained and untrained she will be.

Here’s a before and after shot.

 

[con]

Blackberry Moonrocks
Defoliation

It feels so odd to me to let a plant go untrained. Then I see pictures of her like this and it just gets worse, and all I want to do is create order from that chaos. It would be so damn easy and take five minutes. Lmao. But I won’t. Lol. I said untrained and untrained she will be.

Here’s a before and after shot.

big deference between the 2 pics, have you ever watched on you tube that Bill Ward vids & how he defoliates ? i didn't think a auto flower could survive that i don't know how long it sets them back but he removes a shit load in one shot

 

[Jon]

big deference between the 2 pics, have you ever watched on you tube that Bill Ward vids & how he defoliates ? i didn't think a auto flower could survive that i don't know how long it sets them back but he removes a shit load in one shot

Never saw that particular one but I have watched others, and of course we have seen hundreds of folks do it on here. From everything I have gathered, there is no right way to do it, and the only wrong way is to leave the plant with not enough leaves to finish. I’ve seen folks do stuff I’d never do on both ends of the spectrum. Just take my before picture above. There are plenty of people watching your thread and mine who would look at that and do nothing. The keep every leaf til the end folks. I figure I should just try to find a formula that seems to work for me and stick with it. The defol tonight illustrates on thing I deviate from many on. I see no reason to wait til flower week three to expose all those sites I just exposed. They grow better when they see light just as developing buds do. And I also know that when she starts to stretch she’s going to leaf up again. So to take what I took now (pretty much the same thing you did the other day to your girls) allows those shoots to grow out better. The plant in the after picture is still completely full of leaves. Anyway, I can’t make heads or tails of it, lol. Seems to be the ultimate “to each their own” thing about growing.

 

[Jon]

420h Closet
Time to go to War
Strawberry Gorilla Auto
Blackberry Moonrocks Auto

It’s on. We are showing the very beginning of budlets on the BM. Which is a little odd. Usually you don’t see this until the end of the stretch. If that’s the case here we had very close to zero stretch, literally zero. I’m not sure I’m buying that. I think we will begin to see her stretch now despite the emerging budlets. But I honestly don’t know. A bit puzzled, but that’s part of the fun with autos.

Regardless, we are on week four of flower with the SG. And it’s fair enough to say the very beginning of flower week one on the BM. So next feeding the BM will begin flower week one feed on the Remo chart. And….drumroll please….today I am engaging the reds! I generally don’t this early regarding the BM but she’ll be okay. Let’s see what happens to her.

To do this correctly (I *think* correctly) relative to ppfd, it is necessary to measure each light separately with the other one off. The Blurple measures using the red/blue spectrum on the app, and the 420h measures using the full spectrum on the app. Since I do not have a dimmer on the Blurple and cannot affect its output, I measure that first, with the plants placed in their ideal positions relative to the overhead light. See what the ppfd is on the side of the plants facing the reds (obviously we will rotate them 180 degrees daily). Then we measure the 420h and set it at what I approximate the end ppfd will be based on the output of the Blurple. This will get tweaked. Then both lights go on and we take overhead (center plant, high point of plant) readings and Blurple-side readings (high point of plant and lower on that side) and see where we’re at. The 420h then gets tweaked to where I want it.

That’s how I do it if anyone is curious. So where do I want it is the question, keeping in mind we know the Blurple side will always be higher. I basically want the tops of the SG to be at around 1200 ppfd. There is no more vertical growth on her and that’s where I think she’ll be comfortable and I’ll be psyched. We have to see what that makes the Blurple side reading and if it’s possible. The BM will be lower ppfd just because it’s shorter at the moment. We’re gonna leave her where she is until we see if she’s going to stretch. If not she’ll get lifted to match canopy height of the SG and vice versa if she stretches taller. If the Blurple makes it impossible we tweak until we get as close as we can. This will take a little while, so when it’s done I’ll post a report and pictures. This post was longish enough and it serves to explain the methodology.

 

[Jon]

@ViparSpectra Tent
VS XS 1500 Pros and @Remo Nutrients
Cherry Pie Auto
Double Grape Auto
Day 53

I took this shot with the phone resting on the edge of the lights. So this is as close to what the XS 1500 Pros are seeing and working with as I can show you. I guess I got pretty close to filling the whole space after all.

 

[Kanno26]

@ViparSpectra Tent
VS XS 1500 Pros and @Remo Nutrients
Cherry Pie Auto
Double Grape Auto
Day 53

I took this shot with the phone resting on the edge of the lights. So this is as close to what the XS 1500 Pros are seeing and working with as I can show you. I guess I got pretty close to filling the whole space after all.

Looks good there @Jon how high is your @ViparSpectra XS1500 PRO? This seems high to me, but what percentage of the power is running?

 

[Jon]

Looks good there @Jon how high is your @ViparSpectra XS1500 PRO? This seems high to me, but what percentage of the power is running?

Hey @Kanno26 - both lights are at 75%. The Double Grape is at 1150-1200 and the Cherry Pie is at about 1050 ppfd. That’s where I want it all around. Is it high? Idk. It’s what I do. The lights will not hit 100% on this grow.