Jon's First Outdoor Grow: Sugar Breath Photoperiod & Strawberry Banana Autoflower

[Bill284]

Lol. Actually Bill, I understand your concern, but the taping to the wall of the power strip is to keep it out of the way of the wheelchair. All my cables are taped to the wall in that fashion. No fire risk. And the power strip is fully trip proof and all that, it's not a cheapie as it may look like in the picture. Same one I have used forever, it works fine. It's sitting on concrete. The walls are stucco. Nothing is going to burn, I promise. You gotta take into account that I do my setups first and foremost to accommodate the wheelchair and being able to move around safely without bashing stuff. So cords on the floor NOT taped to the wall get caught in the wheels and the next thing you know I pulled my light down inside the tent. See what I mean? The chair changes every aspect of infrastructure setup. Even my floor cords are well taped to the concrete floor so I can run over them without grabbing them. It's simply a necessity. Those few pieces of tape are not going to catch on fire, nor is the power strip. And when I break down the outdoor rig, just for you, I'll even replace that power strip with a top of the line one I used for the MH light. Will that make you feel better? Lol. Thanks for the concern, I totally get it. But I'm being as safe as I can possibly be, trust me. All my power cables are thick, high end power cables, all my strips are solid, all my connectors are solid. Most of it is new or only one grow old. I have no flammable anything anywhere in a tent and no heat sources near anything flammable in the room. There ARE no heat sources anyway. I promise I'm being good dad.

Ok if your sure.
I understand, just didn't want a bad outcome.
As long as there isn't going to be a problem mucker.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Jon]

That light is the one I'm having an affair with in my mind! It's perfect for my 3 x 3 which is 40 inches square. My other @NextLight 's have been flawless! I hope to put one in there one day.

Yeah mine's only an actual 36" x 36". The light fills it so sweetly. Just can't crank it. Lol. I feel like the neighbors told me to turn the music down. Heh.

 

[Jon]

Ok if your sure.
I understand, just didn't want a bad outcome.
As long as there isn't going to be a problem mucker.

Stay safe
Bill

I promise Bill. And of anyone here, with you, we all get the concern. I'm far from the only person to whom you express it, and it's a great one to have. Everyone should be aware.

 

[StoneOtter]

Do you use that light in the 4x4? Is it perfect for that size?

The Mega yes. It rocks in there!

 

[cjsbabygirl313]

@Jon - what’s a good ppfd for a plant in my stage of development? The light is currently about 16” above the canopy and the simmer is set to about 70%. I only recently downloaded the Photone app, so I don’t know much about it, - like what’s a good ppfd.

 

[Jon]

The Mega yes. It rocks in there!

Oh you're rocking the Mega! Nice. I checked it out - it's basically the same light as the 420h just bigger with bigger balls. That thing must just crush the 4x4. In a good way!

 

[Jon]

@Jon - what’s a good ppfd for a plant in my stage of development? The light is currently about 16” above the canopy and the simmer is set to about 70%. I only recently downloaded the Photone app, so I don’t know much about it, - like what’s a good ppfd.

Ha. You had to ask that question. Lol. I am very hesitant to recommend any numbers to you or anyone, cuz everyone truly feels differently about this, and I am not an expert. I only know what works well for me. But for me, speaking generally, I kind of use this:

Seedling/early veg (first 2/3 weeks) - 200 - 400 ppfd
Veg (up to the flip) - I gradually work it up, but the CJS AB is over a month old and can take higher numbers. I start at the 400 from seedling/early veg and work up to around 850 - 900. Basically I raise the ppfd around 100 points a week during veg till they get to around 900. I set the plant at 850 or so currently. She'll stay there basically til she goes outside.
Flip through mid budding: This is when I want to start maxing it out. Again I raise it over the time of flower, but starting at that 900 from veg I'll go up as high as 1350 depending on the plants. The sweeties I just harvested were at 1300 or so when I harvested them. I had reached max ppfd numbers by mid budding and they finished there for their last four weeks or so.

That's how I do it sort of generally. It varies depending on what light, what space, and what strains, for example, I have found that sativas like more light than indicas. And another example, the same NextLight that I have to use the dimmer on in a 3x3 I did NOT have to in the 5x5 space. So I find the app is a tool I cannot do without. There's not one person in this forum who could consistently accurately estimate their ppfd numbers based on their eyes only, despite what they may say. Light is everything, and for me, it's way too important to guess. Just wrap a piece of regular notebook paper around the top of the phone to cover the lenses. That's the diffuser. Then pick the correct setting, ie, full spectrum, red/blue, MPH, for whatever light you're measuring. Hold the phone flat under the light at the height you want to check, and I use the ppfd measurements instead of Lux cuz I find it easier to process. That's it, it's pretty easy. If I suggest one thing to you directly, it would be to spend the time figuring that out. You'll be happy you did.

 

[cjsbabygirl313]

Ha. You had to ask that question. Lol. I am very hesitant to recommend any numbers to you or anyone, cuz everyone truly feels differently about this, and I am not an expert. I only know what works well for me. But for me, speaking generally, I kind of use this:

Seedling/early veg (first 2/3 weeks) - 200 - 400 ppfd
Veg (up to the flip) - I gradually work it up, but the CJS AB is over a month old and can take higher numbers. I start at the 400 from seedling/early veg and work up to around 850 - 900. Basically I raise the ppfd around 100 points a week during veg till they get to around 900. I set the plant at 850 or so currently. She'll stay there basically til she goes outside.
Flip through mid budding: This is when I want to start maxing it out. Again I raise it over the time of flower, but starting at that 900 from veg I'll go up as high as 1350 depending on the plants. The sweeties I just harvested were at 1300 or so when I harvested them. I had reached max ppfd numbers by mid budding and they finished there for their last four weeks or so.

That's how I do it sort of generally. It varies depending on what light, what space, and what strains, for example, I have found that sativas like more light than indicas. And another example, the same NextLight that I have to use the dimmer on in a 3x3 I did NOT have to in the 5x5 space. So I find the app is a tool I cannot do without. There's not one person in this forum who could consistently accurately estimate their ppfd numbers based on their eyes only, despite what they may say. Light is everything, and for me, it's way too important to guess. Just wrap a piece of regular notebook paper around the top of the phone to cover the lenses. That's the diffuser. Then pick the correct setting, ie, full spectrum, red/blue, MPH, for whatever light you're measuring. Hold the phone flat under the light at the height you want to check, and I use the ppfd measurements instead of Lux cuz I find it easier to process. That's it, it's pretty easy. If I suggest one thing to you directly, it would be to spend the time figuring that out. You'll be happy you did.

Thank you Jon! I’ll play with that Photone app today; my workload this week for my day job has been dismally low so God knows I have plenty of time to play around (yay for 100% telework!)

 

[StoneOtter]

Oh you're rocking the Mega! Nice. I checked it out - it's basically the same light as the 420h just bigger with bigger balls. That thing must just crush the 4x4. In a good way!

They love it! corner to corner solid bud! You'll see!

 

[Jon]

Hey @Bill284, question for you sensei:

I know I'm not adding any molasses to any of this grow on the coco girls, we've established that. But what about Terpinator? They are at the point in flower when I believe it's a good time to begin to add that to the mix. I have never read or found anything like I have on molasses saying to not use it with coco. Think it would be okay? Maybe try it one time and see if they respond negatively? Or should I just blow it off? (I'd rather not, I think the stuff works).

 

[Bill284]

Hey @Bill284, question for you sensei:

I know I'm not adding any molasses to any of this grow on the coco girls, we've established that. But what about Terpinator? They are at the point in flower when I believe it's a good time to begin to add that to the mix. I have never read or found anything like I have on molasses saying to not use it with coco. Think it would be okay? Maybe try it one time and see if they respond negatively? Or should I just blow it off? (I'd rather not, I think the stuff works).

I don't see any problem there.
It's very popular and has great reviews.
You could throw the kitchen sink in there, they are doing so well they would eat that too.
What ever you would normally use works in coco aswell.
Feed those babies, they just keep getting bigger.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[cjsbabygirl313]

Ha. You had to ask that question. Lol. I am very hesitant to recommend any numbers to you or anyone, cuz everyone truly feels differently about this, and I am not an expert. I only know what works well for me. But for me, speaking generally, I kind of use this:

Seedling/early veg (first 2/3 weeks) - 200 - 400 ppfd
Veg (up to the flip) - I gradually work it up, but the CJS AB is over a month old and can take higher numbers. I start at the 400 from seedling/early veg and work up to around 850 - 900. Basically I raise the ppfd around 100 points a week during veg till they get to around 900. I set the plant at 850 or so currently. She'll stay there basically til she goes outside.
Flip through mid budding: This is when I want to start maxing it out. Again I raise it over the time of flower, but starting at that 900 from veg I'll go up as high as 1350 depending on the plants. The sweeties I just harvested were at 1300 or so when I harvested them. I had reached max ppfd numbers by mid budding and they finished there for their last four weeks or so.

That's how I do it sort of generally. It varies depending on what light, what space, and what strains, for example, I have found that sativas like more light than indicas. And another example, the same NextLight that I have to use the dimmer on in a 3x3 I did NOT have to in the 5x5 space. So I find the app is a tool I cannot do without. There's not one person in this forum who could consistently accurately estimate their ppfd numbers based on their eyes only, despite what they may say. Light is everything, and for me, it's way too important to guess. Just wrap a piece of regular notebook paper around the top of the phone to cover the lenses. That's the diffuser. Then pick the correct setting, ie, full spectrum, red/blue, MPH, for whatever light you're measuring. Hold the phone flat under the light at the height you want to check, and I use the ppfd measurements instead of Lux cuz I find it easier to process. That's it, it's pretty easy. If I suggest one thing to you directly, it would be to spend the time figuring that out. You'll be happy you did.

Done! Showing up just around 1000 ppfd - I’ll go with that for now

 

[Jon]

Another Harvest Day!!
Final Dos Si Dos Chopped
Dos Si Dos #3
Day 68

So now the third and final DSD got the chop. The first is in the jar. The second is drying on her third day. This is the third of this strain, and I've learned a few things.

The buds are big, and incredibly dense and hold a lot of moisture - you can especially see it in the stems of the small fan leaves you trim off the buds. After losing a third of the plant on #1 to bud rot, and having not found any yet in #2 as it's drying, I decided to do the semi-wet trim thing. So the picture shows you significantly more sugar leaf than I would normally remove for drying. I did this to try and mitigate the buds molding while they dry. I am forced to dry this plant in the drying closet in my room closet, which is fine - it gives me a nice slow dry, and with no fan, they dry almost perfectly there. But the first two or three days worry me with this strain as I've already seen justified on #1. Thus this level of trim to hang. Of course it's not a trim trim, but it's a lot more than normal for me.

So here's a pretty good first cut - all the branches are like these two. Very very large yielding plant, can't wait to see what she comes out to.

This leaves the Gorilla Zkittlez all alone in the outdoor rig. She has four or five days left to go yet. Then that rig will be dismantled, packaged, and saved for the future.

Enjoy the pic. Happy New Year's everyone!!

 

[Jon]

Done! Showing up just around 1000 ppfd - I’ll go with that for now

Your plant should be good there. Just watch her leaves. If she prays properly, you are great at 1000. If she doesn't quite seem to want to, but all else is good, it's likely a little too much, so maybe try backing it off 10% or whatever you need to go down to like 900. But praying is an excellent guide. You want a 45 degree angle or so ideally on the pray. And if you see the leaves start to curl oddly down, that is often a sign that they are trying to shy away from the light - again, back it off. But seeing your girl, I don't believe you'll have the slightest issue. How close to this 1000 were you before you measured? If you were right on, you have a pretty good eye!

 

[cjsbabygirl313]

Your plant should be good there. Just watch her leaves. If she prays properly, you are great at 1000. If she doesn't quite seem to want to, but all else is good, it's likely a little too much, so maybe try backing it off 10% or whatever you need to go down to like 900. But praying is an excellent guide. You want a 45 degree angle or so ideally on the pray. And if you see the leaves start to curl oddly down, that is often a sign that they are trying to shy away from the light - again, back it off. But seeing your girl, I don't believe you'll have the slightest issue. How close to this 1000 were you before you measured? If you were right on, you have a pretty good eye!

The light was actually closer the day before she went into the new tent at that height

 

[Jon]

New Year's Eve Cocotown Update
@Bill284, I Owe You This Post From Yesterday
Flower Day 28
GOODBYE TO 2021 FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm finding it hard to believe we're only on day 28 of flower. In soil on day 28 of flower I rarely if ever have had this level of bud development. It's insane in my experience. I love coco so much. I may never use soil again. Just gotta do less than 18 plants at a time to keep it manageable. Lol.

So here's the closest I could get to a full plant shot of each girl, then a branch closeup, then a bud closeup. There's an extra branch of the Strawberry Lemonade pictured cuz I had one photo left.

By the way, this tent STINKS. I mean STINKS. It already smells stronger than the three sweeties did at harvest time!! No exaggeration. A lot of it is the Blueberry, she is a stinker and is living up to her reputation as such. But the other two are no joke in the odor department either, and the Strawberry Lemonade, my crap shoot plant selection for this grow, is turning out to be an awesome plant with a very citrusy odor. She may rival the Blueberry on yield, although based on what I'm seeing so far, I wouldn't bet against the BB. She's making tennis balls for god's sake.

I wish everyone in the 420 family, including our sponsors, moderators and founder, a happy and safe New Year's Eve. I sincerely hope we all have a better 2022 than we did in 21. 2021 can forever fade into the rearview as far as I'm concerned. The only thing that went really well for me this year was growing. Go figure. All of us lost a lot last year regardless of what or who it was. So let's all stay safe, Covid-free, out of jail, healthy, and have a banging 2022. My first resolution is to get back to practicing my bass an hour every single day as I was before I started this (for me) epic grow. On a personal level, my first goal of the new year is to try and listen to people better and more closely. You can never have enough listening skills. Oh, the other thing that went really well for me this year was the successful relationships I have developed with real folks on this site, many of whom I now call friends. Thanks to all for your help with my grows this year, your input has been invaluable and greatly appreciated. Thanks especially to @GeoFlora Nutrients for your sponsorship of this grow and journal and for the incredible awesomeness of your product - the OTHER thing that went well for me in 2021!

Please enjoy this pretty decent bud porn as you prepare for you NYE celebrations. Party responsibly now, kids.

1-3: Blueberry
4-6: Dos Si Dos Fast Flowering
7-10: Strawberry Lemonade

 

[StoneOtter]

You're knocking em out of the park dude! Don't drop that Dosi cola you might break something with it! Solid huh?

 

[Bill284]

New Year's Eve Cocotown Update
@Bill284, I Owe You This Post From Yesterday
Flower Day 28
GOODBYE TO 2021 FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm finding it hard to believe we're only on day 28 of flower. In soil on day 28 of flower I rarely if ever have had this level of bud development. It's insane in my experience. I love coco so much. I may never use soil again. Just gotta do less than 18 plants at a time to keep it manageable. Lol.

So here's the closest I could get to a full plant shot of each girl, then a branch closeup, then a bud closeup. There's an extra branch of the Strawberry Lemonade pictured cuz I had one photo left.

By the way, this tent STINKS. I mean STINKS. It already smells stronger than the three sweeties did at harvest time!! No exaggeration. A lot of it is the Blueberry, she is a stinker and is living up to her reputation as such. But the other two are no joke in the odor department either, and the Strawberry Lemonade, my crap shoot plant selection for this grow, is turning out to be an awesome plant with a very citrusy odor. She may rival the Blueberry on yield, although based on what I'm seeing so far, I wouldn't bet against the BB. She's making tennis balls for god's sake.

I wish everyone in the 420 family, including our sponsors, moderators and founder, a happy and safe New Year's Eve. I sincerely hope we all have a better 2022 than we did in 21. 2021 can forever fade into the rearview as far as I'm concerned. The only thing that went really well for me this year was growing. Go figure. All of us lost a lot last year regardless of what or who it was. So let's all stay safe, Covid-free, out of jail, healthy, and have a banging 2022. My first resolution is to get back to practicing my bass an hour every single day as I was before I started this (for me) epic grow. On a personal level, my first goal of the new year is to try and listen to people better and more closely. You can never have enough listening skills. Oh, the other thing that went really well for me this year was the successful relationships I have developed with real folks on this site, many of whom I now call friends. Thanks to all for your help with my grows this year, your input has been invaluable and greatly appreciated. Thanks especially to @GeoFlora Nutrients for your sponsorship of this grow and journal and for the incredible awesomeness of your product - the OTHER thing that went well for me in 2021!

Please enjoy this pretty decent bud porn as you prepare for you NYE celebrations. Party responsibly now, kids.

1-3: Blueberry
4-6: Dos Si Dos Fast Flowering
7-10: Strawberry Lemonade

Hey Jon great post.
Farwell 21 for sure.
Hope everything goes great for you this year my friend.
I have a feeling it's going to be Stellar.
Coco forever.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Rexer]

Hey Jon,

2021 was definitely your Year for grow development. You can see the difference, but I love how the enthusiasm and pure joy hasn't diminished.

And don't listen to Bill on the coco forever . Now that you're getting a taste of hydro we need to get you to really play in the water with a rdwc (I got a single/two bucket design for ya)

Seriously though, I wish you the best in 2022, and it's going to be spectacular.

 

[Jon]

You're knocking em out of the park dude! Don't drop that Dosi cola you might break something with it! Solid huh?

Lol! Hey SO - yeah it's pretty damn solid. Solid enough that I trimmed all the branches like that one before I hung them. I probably could have waited another day or two, but I was starting to get worried about bud rot even with major fan action in the outdoor rig. So far it appears I got away with it. I didn't find any in this plant at all. I will check again tomorrow, sometimes I miss, it's easy to. I have no idea when that crap stops progressing, maybe never, but I cut it out like cancer when I find it. Immediately. She smells so strong my whole room is a dank pit. The guest room where the other DSD is drying also smells like a dank pit. Lol. Loves me some stink!!

Happy New Year Otter. Have a blast tonight and be safe. Btw - I thought that plant was the sativa strain, but it appears from how the buds finished to be a bit more of a hybrid, don't you think? I think they look somewhere between the indica buds of DSD #1 and what I thought these sativa buds would turn out like. But they fattened up like you see, with big, bulbous rounded tops instead of points. Interesting. All I know is I can't wait to try it. Lol!!!