My Grow

[Krissi Carbone]

The group shots showed me what I wanted to see so I'll just post the updated pics of the rest. I took these yesterday on their 4 week old anniversary... lol.
So here are 3 pics of the Sativa Dominant "POP TARTS". She still looks hungry to me. I think she may be a heavy feeder & stronger nutes.

Next up are 3 pics of the "WHITE WIDOW" Her green color isn't too bad, but I think she can handle more too.
Actually, all 4 probably could as I haven't seen any burnt tips.

There is always one in the bunch!

 

[Buds Buddy]

And now we have the "OG KUSH". She sure was a pretty plant during my last grow. Hope this one looks as good.... or even better.... lol.

And last, but not least the stinky girl. "AURORA INDICA" Last time I grew this it stunk the whole house up it was so strong. I like it Yeah !

Looking like she'll be a bushy girl.

 

[InTheShed]

What lux are they getting these days?

 

[Buds Buddy]

There is always one in the bunch!

Yeah, I'm kind of worried about that one getting too tall. I don't usually grow Sativas so not a lot of experience on how they grow.

 

[Buds Buddy]

What lux are they getting these days?

At canopy of Poptarts it's 43,500 & on the other 3 it's 38,500 Lux.

 

[InTheShed]

I try to give mine less light for 3 days after transplant. They seem to recover and start growing sooner.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I try to give mine less light for 3 days after transplant. They seem to recover and start growing sooner.

Good to know. I was debating on whether or not to up-pot to 3 gal next week. What do you think ? I'm waiting till I up-pot to Top & Clone the Tops. Should be nice, healthy clones by then. But am I wasting growth energy on the branches I want to grow out by waiting that long to Top ?

 

[InTheShed]

I don't upcan until the plant needs water almost every day. And unless you're in a hurry, there's no reason to worry about wasting growth energy.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I don't upcan until the plant needs water almost every day. And unless you're in a hurry, there's no reason to worry about wasting growth energy.

I guess the "POP TARTS" is getting close then. I have to feed her every 2 days. The other 3 will last 3 days; but are pretty dry by then.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Well, I can't decide whether to up-pot the "POP TARTS". I fed her on 3-3 & by the next day her pot was light again. I'm ready to feed her again today as her leaves are drooping. She's going to 4 gr. per gal. as her leaves are still kind of light green. The other 3 all have a nice green color to them so they can stay at 3.5 gr. for the moment. I was hoping to up-pot all 4 at the same time; but the Pop Tarts is drinking much faster then the rest. Maybe it's a Sativa thing. Not sure as I don't grow many Sativa's.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I did go ahead & up-pot the "POP TARTS" yesterday. As you can see the soil was pretty dry already even though it was watered less than 36 hours prior to transplanting. I must have my 3 gal. pots buried in the shed so I used the 2 gal. pots that were handy. The root ball wasn't as good as I had hoped. Maybe the others will be better when I up-pot them next week.

Here she is in her 2 gal. pot. She's about 10" tall & will get Topped next week. I did remove the very bottom node with the single finger leaf. Also buried part of her stem.

She looks a darker green in the pics then she really is. This one is now being fed at the 4 gr. per gal. equivalent.
Took quite a bit to get run off from the 2 gal. pot. 10 of the 6 oz. glasses; so 60 oz. This morning she seems to be doing just fine. Here she is fed & back in the tent.

I'm wondering if Sativas are heavier feeders then Indicas? Or maybe their leaves just don't get as dark green as Indicas? Seems like the color stays the same no matter how strong the nutes are. But she keeps on growing & seems to be doing OK, so I guess all is good.
We sure went from 2 to 4 gr. quickly. About 2 weeks only. The Indica's are still at 3.5 gr. as they look plenty green at that level.

 

[Buds Buddy]

OK guys, I've got a plan (Uh Oh).... lol. As I said before, I plan on topping & cloning these gals for mothers to get 3-4 grows out of them. Once these clones are big enough I plan to take 3 clones from one plant. I'm going to grow these 3 different ways to compare the growth.
#1: Will be the usual way with the MC equivalents.
#2: Will be grown the usual soil way, but with Super Soil in the bottom 3rd of the pot.
#3: Will be grown in a 5 gal. Self Wicking Bucket with Super Soil in the bottom 3rd.

I see @Krissi1982 pulling 10 oz. plants with similar wicking pots so I'm going to give it a try.
She's pulling the kinds of yields that put a smile on my face !

The 3 bucket self wicking kit comes with the pieces to do 3 - 5 gal. buckets for about $47.
I'm not sure which Super Soil I'll use yet. I've only found 2 (SoHum & Coast of Maine).
SoHum is $47 & Coast is $36 for 1.5 Cu. Yds. Not sure if one is better than the other so if you know... please let me know. I'll be ordering this stuff sometime this week so hopefully I'll get some feedback on the soil before I order it.
Thanks !

Bad part of all this is.... If the wicking buckets & Super Soil work well I'll have a 25 lb. unopened bag of MC to get rid of.
I would send this to Shed as a gift for all the help he's provided & putting up with my shit. I do like the MC equivalents as far as the health of the plants. They come out looking really good. But I'm still not pulling the yields.
Not saying it has anything to do with MC as I doubt that. More like the grow method itself if anything.
Maybe I should do 4 Clones & try the MC equivalents in a Wicking Bucket too. I probably will do that .

 

[InTheShed]

Not a soil person so I don't know what would be best there. Nice roots and congrats on the upcan. I dig those big labels, as I try to squeeze everything on a strip of electrical tape!

I'm wondering if Sativas are heavier feeders then Indicas?

Sativas are usually lighter feeders than indicas!

I would send this to Shed as a gift for all the help he's provided & putting up with my shit.

I appreciate that Buds but I probably still have 18+lbs of it myself!

 

[Buds Buddy]

Not a soil person so I don't know what would be best there. Nice roots and congrats on the upcan. I dig those big labels, as I try to squeeze everything on a strip of electrical tape!

Sativas are usually lighter feeders than indicas!

I appreciate that Buds but I probably still have 18+lbs of it myself!

I really have no idea of what to expect in Super Soil either. I just see Krissi is growing kind of similar to me, but using the wicking buckets & hitting it out of the park.... so I gotta try the buckets. She doesn't use S.S. but does add worm castings to FFOF. That's why the experiment with 4 clones. In the thread I posted about pulling 8 oz. per plant, many suggested S.S. . So I thought I'd go a step further & try S.S. with Wicking Buckets & in 5 gal. bags. 2 plants get fed the MC Equivalents & the other 2 just pH'd CalMag water. I may end up with the most uneven canopy yet.... lol.

I wonder if S.S. has a shelf life & if I should wait till I'm ready to use it before buying. I ordered a set of 3 Grow Bucket Inserts to try this out. It's still a while away before I do it as I have to wait for the Aurora Indica to get big enough to take 4 clones from. Everyone loves that strain, so I chose it.

I'm also planning to but Air Stones in my Wicking Buckets to oxygenate the water / feed.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Well guys, I've been comparing my old grow to my current grow again to try to notice anything I did different. My Temps & RH are darn near identical in the 2 grows. Back then I used MC but only added CalMag. This time I'm using MC Equivalents with added "N & Si". There's one difference. I up-potted from Solo Cups to bigger pots right about the same time. But the size & type of pots were different. This is one part that has me questioning things. I think I once read that if you use shallower but wider pots your plants tend to grow wider. These pots are about 3" shorter & at least 6" wider than the pots I'm using in this grow. I'm really wondering if this plays a part in growth. Looks like my experimenting just got another twist in it to compare with clones. These plants were just under 4 weeks old.

I realize these were already being LST'd. That's because the branches were grown out enough to do so by then. The branches on my current plants are about 1" long so can't LST them yet. Big growth difference.

These are my plants this time at 4 weeks old.

This much growth difference is just not understandable. I know the answer is out there somewhere & I'm going to find it if it kills me.
So far the lighting type has been pretty much the same. The old grow was a TSW2000 & this grow a TSL2000. Same light with the boards laid out different is all. Both are running at 85%. I did have my light higher in the old grow. Not sure if that really makes a difference as it's still the same Lux.

Hope you guys aren't too bored. As you can see this journal is a quest to find answers to my questions to improve my grow & yield more. Tired of 4-6 oz. plants. That's not rewarding enough for all the time & effort that goes into them. Time to figure out how to pull 8 oz. + every time !

 

[013]

totally anecdotal but,

I’d have zero problems with plant shape being impacted by the container, I believe what we see above ground is a direct reflection of what’s going on underground….

I’ve watched dozers & trackhoes clear land by digging up trees and usually the drip line of the foliage marks the boundaries of the roots. Obviously that depends on plant species and not the same as container gardening

This link tip-toes around the subject but I’m not shy…. Outside link - plant shape

we like you Buds so don’t let it kill ya

one last idea on the road to 8+ zips per 5 gallons….. maybe cut back to less plants in the tent…. an organism (or a group of organisms) can’t exceed the size of their environment.

 

[InTheShed]

Repeatability is a lot easier with the same variety obviously!

 

[Buds Buddy]

Today, 3-10-22 my plants are 5 weeks old. I'm just going to throw up up couple of group shots to show how they're doing. I'm going to up-pot in the morning so there will be plenty of fresh pics afterward.

The "POP TARTS" is growing like crazy now. She will get Topped sometime this weekend. Digging out the cloning stuff today to clone the Tops. I'll wait to top the others for a few days after the transplant.

That's all for the moment. See you tomorrow with the up-pot pics.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I was just searching for info on "AURORA INDICA" & found this :

Aurora Indica​

Indica
2,172

THC 16% CBG 1% Myrcene
calming energizing

Aurora Indica effects are mostly calming.
high THC

Aurora Indica potency is higher THC than average.
flavor & aroma spicy/herbal
top effect sleepy
Aurora Indica, bred by Nirvana Seeds, is a 90% indica cross between Afghan and Northern Lights. This strain induces heavy full-body effects and a sedating cerebral calm. Aurora Indica is a potent strain for evening treatment of insomnia, pain, and other conditions requiring a restful night’s sleep. The short plants produce dense, bulky buds dusted in a thick layer of crystal resin. Different phenotypes emerge under different growing conditions, giving way to variable bud structures and aromas ranging from fruity to floral. Nirvana Seeds recommends a 9 to 11-week flowering time for indoor gardens, or a mid-September harvest for outdoor growers.

Strain effects​

Feelings​

sleepy
relaxed
hungry

Negatives​

paranoid
dry eyes
anxious

Strain flavors​

spicy/herbal
pine
woody

Aurora Indica helps with​

• Stress
  45% of people say it helps with stress
• Pain
  42% of people say it helps with pain
• Insomnia
  41% of people say it helps with insomnia

Aurora Indica terpenes​

Certified Strain Science

The most abundant terpene in Aurora Indica is myrcene, followed by caryophyllene and pinene.

DOMINANT TERPENE

Myrcene (herbal)
The most common terpene found in cannabis and has an earthy scent.
OTHER TERPENES

Caryophyllene (pepper)

Pinene (pine)

Aurora Indica genetics​

Northern Lights
parent

Afghani
parent

Aurora Indica

 

[Buds Buddy]

Sorry I'm a little late on the Up-Pot Pics. AC on my car went out & spent 6 hours yesterday at a shop having a new compressor installed. Suppose to be in the mid 80's this week & I don't want to be driving without AC.

I did get all 3 up-potted to 2 gal. pots. Got the pics ready this morning so I can post them now. I'll start with the
"AURORA INDICA". This is the plant I'm planning on using in my clone experiment / comparison grow in a few weeks.
I'll be using 4 clones from it to compare the 5 gal. self wicking buckets to 5 gal. grow bags using FFOF & MC. The other 2 clones will be done with a 5 gal. self wicking bucket & 5 gal. bag with SoHum Super Soil in the bottom 3rd of the pots.
They will only get water & possibly CalMag. Still debating on my water source. I keep hearing you are not suppose to use Tap Water with Super Soil. But then I've read a bunch of studies that say it does not harm the microbes. Not sure what kind of water those machines that fill 5 gal. jugs disperse; but I'm leaning in that direction.
Before the Up-Pot :

AFTER :