Jon's Second Grow, First Grow Journal, Soil Grow Autos & Photoperiod

[Jon]

Auto Alley Weekend Update
Pineapple Express 1, 2 and 3
Lemon 1 and 2

This is sort of more a photographic update, and a quick one at that. Nothing really is gonna change from now til the end with any of these plants. They are all getting the same everything at this point, which is:

- 14 hours of natural sunlight a day. The PEs then retire for the night. The Lemons spend the night in the bathtub at 360 par under the UFO panels.
- A nute mix of 1 tsp. Big Bloom, 3/8 tsp. Grow Big, 1 tsp. Tiger Bloom, 1 tbsp. Blackstrap organic molasses, I tsp CalMag plus Iron.
- All of them need to be watered, a gallon per plant, every single day.
- All of them get a clean water only flush every third watering. Nute - nute - clean flush - repeat til harvest
- All of them exhibit ZERO leaves of any color but perfectly green. I note this more to indicate that none of them are really anywhere near ready yet than anything else. None of them have the slightest leaf-based indication that they are even close to be honest. PE 1 and Lemon 1 are 73 today. PE 2 and 3 and Lemon 2 are 69 today.

That's really about it. I am watching them get bigger and more crystal every day, patiently waiting. Here's a couple pics so there's a shot of each plant in as few pictures as possible.

Enjoy! Have a great weekend everyone. I got two more updates for Friday night as soon as I can get to them. A farmer's work is never done.....lol.



- Pineapple Express 1 (73)
- Pineapple Express 2 and 3 (69), Lemon 1(73), Lemon 2 (69) Group Shot

 

[Jon]

Friday Night Solo Jelly Rancher Update
Grow Day 93
Flower Day 14
The Naming

I finally have this plant pretty much where I want her. MAN have we been through a lot together already, me and her. I have a closer relationship with this plant than any of my others.

So I am pretty happy with her all around state of being. Her numbers haven't changed. After Day 21 of budding she'll get a slightly different nute mix. Her leaves show a pretty nice shade of green, one more watering and they should be as close to perfect as I am capable of making her. The buds are growing, to my eyes, something akin to EXPONENTIALLY. Maybe this is just me, I'm not very experienced. But this sure seems to my eyes to be going fricking gangbusters on the budding and the health.

I'm still budding this girl at 1300+ par. The top of her highest point is now at 1360. And I'm really not trying to prove a point, or win an argument, but relative to those watching this plant due to the intentionally very high budding par numbers (for not having a CO2 system, just two Exhale bags) - I think there were a few people I discussed this with which is why I consistently mention it. So guys, seriously, tell me....do you see the slightest sign on this plant anywhere that says she wants LESS light? Do the buds seem at all compromised to you? Does the health of the plant look like if the numbers were lower she'd be growing MORE vigorously? Cuz sorry, if you see that you're seeing something I am not seeing. All I see is a light whore, like every plant. She is, to my eyes, LOVING budding at these numbers. Just sayin.

I finally deem this plant worthy of a closeup or two, so there are four closeups and the plant as a whole. I am also tired of referring to her as "Solo Jelly Rancher." It's too long, and she's obviously solo. It was time to name her. I don't normally name my plants, but I don't normally grow a fairly large-ish plant solo in a tent either. So her name is Sadie. As in Sexy Sadie. And yes, the reference is intentional. That song is pure genius.

In fact, I think my plants will enjoy the White Album this evening. That ought to get their attention. This plant makes Jon smile real big going into the weekend. Lol.

 

[Emilya Green]

Lookin fine... very very fine!

 

[Jon]

Friday Night SCROG Update
Grow Day 93
Flower Day 19

I'm gonna go ahead and say that the stretch is pretty much over. These guys now seem to be starting to focus on making buds. Nothing has changed in this tent, other than that I cleaned up underneath the canopy, clipped a few upper leaves that were blocking bud sites, and kept them fed. Nutes at this point are the same for all four plants, and consist of 1 tsp. Big Bloom, 1/4 tsp. Grow Big, 1 tsp. Tiger Bloom, 1 tsp. CalMag plus Iron. Every second watering I add 1 tbsp. of blackstrap organic molasses to the nute mix. And every third watering is a clean water plus CalMag watering, and that watering they get an extra gallon through them to kick out the extra molasses in the soil. Since I've been doing that the plants are much improved and all signs of deficiency have stopped. All their Ph's are in the 6.7- 6.9 range, and the temperature and humidity hasn't changed since the last post. They are getting hit with approximately 1180 to 1220 across the footprint in terms of light. I actually had the forethought to turn of the reds of the flower booster for these pictures cuz it makes the photos appear off. This is much closer to the actual colors. And the Blueberry Muffin in the back left just got watered, so she's not quite as perky as the other three, that's why. To my inexperienced eyes this scrog appears to be in fairly good shape. If anyone sees something I need to or should attend to PLEASE let me know. At this point my knowledge base pretty much runs dry. I'm giving it everything I have but MAN is any constructive commentary and/or help and/or suggestions appreciated.

So here's a top view and side view to complete my Friday night postings. Thanks for tuning in as always, guys. Enjoy the weekend.

 

[Jon]

I think I've come up with an actual invention I wanna share with you guys for feedback. Maybe this already exists but if it does I can't find a single example of it anywhere. If anyone has heard of such a thing as this, please let me know where I can check it out.

So in growing the Jelly Rancher solo in a 5x5 I have her on
1. A drip tray support tray
2. A tray under the drip tray to catch the runoff
3. The above two and the plant are all on a plant support stand that has wheels

None of that is probably any different than many of us do or have done before. Not suggesting it's rocket science or anything special. And it works EXTREMELY well if you ever wanna grow one plant in a large space without the use of a screen. Wheels allow you to bring the plant close to inspect it, to water it properly, to trim it, and anything else you need to do. They also allow you to ROTATE the plant. I have a trillion tons of light coming down on this girl. But by no means does that mean each and every spot is getting hit with the same amount of light no matter how well spread out she is. The buds are not EXACTLY at the same height. So by rotating the plant several times a day I try to make it so that the entire plant is getting time in wherever those sweet spots happen to be. In theory it should make the buds grow more evenly. And THAT (and a bong hit of my best sativa, this Sour Jack at 28% from the dispensary that's almost too strong to smoke) got me thinking.

It's really cool, and apparently extremely productive, to grow one large plant in a large space. It's so much easier to work ONE plant, and if you do the appropriate job in veg and however you train it, I see now you can EASILY fill a 5x5 with one plant. I obviously haven't done that here, but this was a late development. She's still pretty big though. And with all that space and air flow and light, she is going nuts. I believe any strain you grew in this manner would come out just as well as this plant is so far (KNOCK ON WOOD). So it's something I'll do again and something I can greatly improve upon if I know from day one that this is the plan.

It occurs to me that AUTOMATING the rotation of the plant would be a best case scenario. It also occurred to me that a larger drip tray to catch runoff, along with better support for the initial drip tray, would also be an improvement. I'm not trying to get into irrigation runoff lines and all that....the idea of this invention is to keep it simple. I think maybe the perfect pot to grow one large plant in would look like this:

1. Good, solid, white plastic wheels on the bottom
2. The wheels support a base that is open like a sieve so water can run through it if necessary, also white, and big enough to support a five gallon pot, with extra switch out bases that are bigger if using a seven or ten gallon pot. So the thing comes with three bases that "pop" on and off, solidly, maybe with some kind of heavy clip, and can be switched/adjusted based on the size pot you're using or as you up-pot.
3. That base is extremely well supported and will hold a full grown man standing on it, thus it will also support the weight of any plant you would grow
4. HOWEVER, attached underneath that base, in a WATERPROOF housing, is a small motor attached to a set of rotating gears or whatever you would use so that the base rotates on the wheels/support, but only from there up. The wheels/base never moves. Like an oscillating fan, only 360 degrees of constant rotation. This may be battery operated or better yet would have a power cord
5. There is a controller, external, that controls the speed of the rotation and controls timed cycles if you wish

That's really about it. Not any great genius or anything, just a simple idea that I haven't seen anywhere. Anyone else seen something like this? What do you think? Dumb? Or no?

 

[Bill284]

I think I've come up with an actual invention I wanna share with you guys for feedback. Maybe this already exists but if it does I can't find a single example of it anywhere. If anyone has heard of such a thing as this, please let me know where I can check it out.

So in growing the Jelly Rancher solo in a 5x5 I have her on
1. A drip tray support tray
2. A tray under the drip tray to catch the runoff
3. The above two and the plant are all on a plant support stand that has wheels

None of that is probably any different than many of us do or have done before. Not suggesting it's rocket science or anything special. And it works EXTREMELY well if you ever wanna grow one plant in a large space without the use of a screen. Wheels allow you to bring the plant close to inspect it, to water it properly, to trim it, and anything else you need to do. They also allow you to ROTATE the plant. I have a trillion tons of light coming down on this girl. But by no means does that mean each and every spot is getting hit with the same amount of light no matter how well spread out she is. The buds are not EXACTLY at the same height. So by rotating the plant several times a day I try to make it so that the entire plant is getting time in wherever those sweet spots happen to be. In theory it should make the buds grow more evenly. And THAT (and a bong hit of my best sativa, this Sour Jack at 28% from the dispensary that's almost too strong to smoke) got me thinking.

It's really cool, and apparently extremely productive, to grow one large plant in a large space. It's so much easier to work ONE plant, and if you do the appropriate job in veg and however you train it, I see now you can EASILY fill a 5x5 with one plant. I obviously haven't done that here, but this was a late development. She's still pretty big though. And with all that space and air flow and light, she is going nuts. I believe any strain you grew in this manner would come out just as well as this plant is so far (KNOCK ON WOOD). So it's something I'll do again and something I can greatly improve upon if I know from day one that this is the plan.

It occurs to me that AUTOMATING the rotation of the plant would be a best case scenario. It also occurred to me that a larger drip tray to catch runoff, along with better support for the initial drip tray, would also be an improvement. I'm not trying to get into irrigation runoff lines and all that....the idea of this invention is to keep it simple. I think maybe the perfect pot to grow one large plant in would look like this:

1. Good, solid, white plastic wheels on the bottom
2. The wheels support a base that is open like a sieve so water can run through it if necessary, also white, and big enough to support a five gallon pot, with extra switch out bases that are bigger if using a seven or ten gallon pot. So the thing comes with three bases that "pop" on and off, solidly, maybe with some kind of heavy clip, and can be switched/adjusted based on the size pot you're using or as you up-pot.
3. That base is extremely well supported and will hold a full grown man standing on it, thus it will also support the weight of any plant you would grow
4. HOWEVER, attached underneath that base, in a WATERPROOF housing, is a small motor attached to a set of rotating gears or whatever you would use so that the base rotates on the wheels/support, but only from there up. The wheels/base never moves. Like an oscillating fan, only 360 degrees of constant rotation. This may be battery operated or better yet would have a power cord
5. There is a controller, external, that controls the speed of the rotation and controls timed cycles if you wish

That's really about it. Not any great genius or anything, just a simple idea that I haven't seen anywhere. Anyone else seen something like this? What do you think? Dumb? Or no?

I'm having trouble picturing it. Might be a great idea just my slow uptake not quite getting it.
Diagram Might help us without imagination.
Bill

 

[Jon]

I'm having trouble picturing it. Might be a great idea just my slow uptake not quite getting it.
Diagram Might help us without imagination.
Bill

Just a really well made base for a pot that rotates 360 degrees all the time at whatever speed you want and has great support and drip catch. That's all. I'll draw something and post it.

 

[Bill284]

Just a really well made base for a pot that rotates 360 degrees all the time at whatever speed you want and has great support and drip catch. That's all. I'll draw something and post it.

Ok that makes sense. Sorry.
Not enough coffee yet.
Bill

 

[Jon]

Ok that makes sense. Sorry.
Not enough coffee yet.
Bill

Lol. Obviously I've had too much.

 

[Bill284]

Lol. Obviously I've had too much.

Never hehe.
Your always on the ball my friend.
Bill

 

[Jon]

Ok that makes sense. Sorry.
Not enough coffee yet.
Bill

My first thought was, good, you get it, cuz I can't even draw a stick figure. Take a ruler out of my hand and I'm as useless as a one-legged fireman trying to kick down a barn door. Lol.

 

[Bill284]

Far from it my friend.
Bill

 

[Jon]

Solo Jelly Rancher, aka Sadie, Update
Grow Day 96
Flower Day 17

 

[Jon]

Lemon Skunk 1 Autoflower Update
Day 77

My girl is 77 today and she has a smattering, maybe 3%, of amber trichomes. At the same time, her every leaf is vibrantly green, and despite her age she is honestly showing me no signs of slowing down. If what I'm witnessing is the fattening up the buds do at the end and this is just what it looks like on this plant, then great, get fat. Cuz based on this that'll make her pretty damn fat, when she wasn't all that skinny to begin with. I guess that's what this must be cuz it's WAY too late in their lifecycle for them to be developing brand new buds coming out of buds, right? I'm not talking foxtails. This is how this plant has grown all along. But THIS is kind of an explosion. That's putting it mildly. At no point in this plant's growth did I see THIS kind of new growth bud explosion out of nowhere. Completely unexpected. SO....screw the trichomes. The tops of these buds are still putting out new sugar leaves, little teeny ones like they always start out at the top. It is as if this plant has found some second gear. The other Lemon, only four days younger at 73 today, is not displaying this kind of growth on the buds. They are just gradually getting fatter as a whole. Not gigantic shoots out of bud like this. I just don't know what to say really, cuz I never grew them. Is this normal? Should I always let my autos go beyond the manufacturer's (lol) numbers? Or is this plant a freak?

All I did was include several closeups of the sides of buds where new growth is coming out like nuts. I tried to angle the shots to get the size of them in there and apparent. And also check out how the calyx's are all just swollen as hell (not sure calyx is the right word, but those popcorny little balls that become bud when they open, you can see tons of them in the pictures, it seems to be how these buds grow). They are shooting red hairs out of the ends right before they open as you can see in some of the pictures, and you can also find some actual big wads of white hairs in small bundles shooting out in a few spots. It's remarkable.

Please share any knowledge or enlightenment you may have if you're so inclined? Thank you!

Sorry about the blurry picture, but the non-blurry part of that one, the third picture down, shows the red hairs popping out of the popcorn as described earlier really well.

 

[Michael Hunt]

Dont have any knowledge to add to explain what she might be doing internally but she looks damn good

She's definitely got some foxtails but they dont have any white pistils on the ends. Maybe she's just opening up in a last ditch attempt to catch pollen at the end of her life cycle?

 

[Jon]

Dont have any knowledge to add to explain what she might be doing internally but she looks damn good

She's definitely got some foxtails but they dont have any white pistils on the ends. Maybe she's just opening up in a last ditch attempt to catch pollen at the end of her life cycle?

I know you call them foxtails but that's how she's grown since she was just a budling. I don't think of them as foxtails, besides, the sun is so even I highly doubt it would create them. I think it's the bud fattening up at the end. We'll see. Interesting, eh?

 

[Michael Hunt]

Maybe i should have said, She's got what looks to be foxtails but they don't look like they are getting any longer. Which is what real foxtails do. I love it. Foxtailing or faux-tailing makes for some of the most alien looking, beautiful buds in my mind.

 

[Jon]

Maybe i should have said, She's got what looks to be foxtails but they don't look like they are getting any longer. Which is what real foxtails do. I love it. Foxtailing or faux-tailing makes for some of the most alien looking, beautiful buds in my mind.

Ah....faux tailing. I love it. I just never had a plant with buds that grew that way before. I see what you mean. I wasn't trying to correct you so much as seek clarity, so thanks. Yeah she's a pretty one. Guess I got two different Lemon Skunk phenos cuz the other one is growing perfectly straight, perfectly even all around buds. Classic looking to me. This one looks so badass. I just looked at those same red hairs that shoot out first from the swollen parts and now hours later they are already curled in and look like a part of the overall bud. Just so cool to watch. Autos definitely afford a new level of scrutiny which I really like. A plant you can pretty much hold on your lap that gives you two to four ounces if you grow it right in 90 days or less? What's the downside? Lol.

 

[Jon]

Sadie Update
Grow Day 98
Flower Day 19

BEAST.

 

[Jon]

Scrog Update
Grow Day 98
Flower Day 24

I honestly don't know what to say about this. I have no personal reference point whatsoever. All I know is the difference between a healthy plant and one that needs something, and I'm fairly decent at fixing whatever needs fixed. And to me, all these guys look healthy. The few lower yellowish leaves on the Blueberry are just pre-flush and pre-CalMag supplement, and her new growth looks great. The Pineapple Upside Down Cake looks like the lightest green-leaved plant of all of them. Not sure why that is in the picture, you can tell all of their truer colors in the group shot from far away showing the whole thing. I love seeing the different colors of the different strains and how they bud and such. The Pineapple runt, the smallest, bushiest plant the whole grow and definitely a different pheno than the other Pineapple, is bringing up the rear relative to the size of her buds so far too. The Blueberry Muffin and Jelly Rancher, along with the larger Pineapple Upside Down Cake, are all relatively similar in size and developmental pattern. I'm pretty happy with the stacking I have going on. The bud formation is not as fast or as developed as the Jelly Rancher who is solo, not if I compare the two JRs or any other bud in the scrog. At LESS time than the 24 days of flower this scrog is on, the solo Jelly Rancher destroys all of these plants. And these plants are pretty damn sweet. Anyway, all stats are being maintained as is since last posted. Regarding nutes I am barely using any of the Grow Big at this point. Just Big Bloom and Tiger Bloom mostly with a touch of the Grow Big, plus molasses and calmag plus iron. I've decided the Blueberry doesn't like the molasses as much as the other plants, so with her I am alternating adding molasses to her water versus doing it every time for the other three plants. So much for one nute mix. The Blueberry also likes the light to be farther away from her tops than the other plants do, so I had to move the light up to accommodate her. The plants are now starting to pray so I suppose I found a sweeter spot overall for the light. Other than that nothing's changed. I'm just emptying the dehumidifier daily, maintaining a super consistent environment, and keeping them fed. Haven't touched a leaf since the last post. Just watching buds grow hoping someone that knows what they're talking about tells me I'm either doing this okay or I have something to attend to here that I am not capable of seeing. Ha.

Anyway, on to the pics. There is the group shot, then left to right closeups of the scrog, then bud closeups of each strain. The photos are accurately labeled for a change. What do you guys think?