Stunger's Organic Soil Stealth Balcony: Landrace Mulanje & Other Sativas

Update - a game of Musical chairs on the Balcony and unfortunately the Mulanje lost out

Greetings 420 enthusiasts!

It's been quite a week, my pride and joy the Mulanje completely rooted (Downunder vernacular) but thankfully the remaining 3 plants appear quite fine. Plus our whole family got Covid this past week, but we're pretty much all good now thankfully. I was wondering how I would cope at the thought of losing all my energy but didn't happen for me, just the headache, altho it did happen for my wife and daughter who got the aches and sore throats too.

For this update I will start with the surviving lineup!

Mango Sherbert



Honduras/Panama x Purple Honduras



Malawi/Ethiopian x Mulanje




Mulanje

Her demise is a real disappointment. I have thought back, and looked back over my pics, to try and get some understanding as to what went wrong. After losing her it would be really great to understand why, for future grows.

Post flush

I am pleased I tried this as I've never carried out a flush before, but ultimately it didn't help. The plant seemed to continue to collapse even more. Initially I kept it on the balcony, hoping that at least some of her growth would survive because she smelt lovely and gave a nice finger stickiness, it is quite gutting to lose her. Since I gave the flush we had some major downpours of rain that probably knocked her around even further.





But late afternoon today I noticed mites crawling all over her, so that was it, I didn't want her being a pest magnet for the other plants, she had to go. So I undid her ties and chopped her and threw her over the balcony.

Top dressing

Last year I didn't top dress until the first signs of lower yellowing showed, and then I applied 1 single large top dressing. This year I decided to top dress prior to first yellowing, and only then very lightly, every 2 weeks. The Mulanje was showing some very minor early yellowing that I put down to being a sativa thing. But now on reflection I recall how some stems were only showing sparse growth, I checked under the canopy thinking this was because these were thin weak stems but some were actually strong stems, strong stems should not be pushing out weak growth. It was these stems that first started showing sparse weak growth followed by yellowing.

Now when I reflect back, I surmise that the plant was already at the stage of being under stress, and I feel by that point she had already decided to push her resources to a subset of her stems. So if the top dressing was the fault I feel she was going south very early on in the top dressing. And sure, in the end I erroneously chased the yellowing with yet more top dressing, but if the fault was top dressing then I feel I should never have given her any.

The other 3 plants all appear to me to be growing uniformly in spite of their top dressings, including the Malawi/Ethiopian cross, which is half Mulanje. I mean uniform in the sense that they are without the sparse growth that some of the Mulanje stems showed.

Did damage from the storm winds, or overly aggressively plastic coated garden wire contribute?

The storm period in early February really did throw the plants around, especially the Mulanje who was in the prime sun shine position but also was positioned for the most wind when it was getting up around 120kph which was really beating her around. Did the plant suffer some wind damage?

The plastic coated garden wire that I bought between lockdowns last year was not my first choice, in fact it was the only offering left in the shop, so given the circumstances it was all I had to use. But I found it was so strong that even if applied 'loosely', the plant tissue would envelope and grow around the wire instead of pushing it open. Did that cause/allow damage and infection to occur to the plant?

Do these pics offer any clues?




I've lost buds to bud rot before, and limbs to stem rot, fusarium wilt, and accidental breakage, but I have never lost a whole plant, so it would nice to establish the cause.

Anyway I've left her resting under cover, and probably tomorrow I will see if there is any immature buds on her that I can try as an early vape, or maybe use for an edible, such a freaking shame to lose/waste her. Funnily enough, as I was looking at the immature budding on her, I noticed some bracts that looked rather swollen, and I squeezed one and found it to be quite hard. It contained a seed. I think probably too immature altho it is a good size, but hey, I'll let it cure for a bit and save it anyway. I'll look a bit more closely for more tomorrow.


So that's it. If these pics help anyone spot something, please chime in and we can all learn from it. In the meantime I need to focus on my remaining 3 girls and hope they get to harvest ok. I definitely will review my garden tie approach for future grows in case the wire damage had anything to do with it. In future I will probably get some of the expensive soft coated plastic wire and make collars of that and then connect ties to them.
A bit of a sad update, but onward and upward! Thanks for dropping in, and I hope your gardens are going great! :ganjamon:
 
Aw man I was really hoping for some good news Brother.

Its a real pity, as she was such a beautiful girl, to see it end like this seems wholly unfair.

I take it though the other girls are fine? It seems so given what youve said, but what a d**k punch as its expressed at my work.

May we remember her in her glory before a tragic and premature death.
Thanks DV8! It's a right Gary, as my London Cockney mates would say. Rhyming slang for Gary Glitter, shitter. It'd be nice to have some clarity on what went wrong for future grows.
Hey fella, I use electrical wire. Copper inner, plastic outer coat.

For me its free, but its not that costly new. You can form it, shape it, twist it, tie it, comes in any colour you like, and length.

I reckon it ticks every box, other than if you use black it might heat up a bit in the full on sun. Just a suggestion.
Good suggestion. Altho since the next grow won't start until Spring I got some time to prepare. I can see the advantage of indoor growing, no need to wait before starting the next.
Damn that is a shitty demise. But lucky the other 3 are going strong .
Thanks Zeb! Yep that's one of many descriptions that come to mind. From here, I just gotta hope the remaining 3 hit it out of the park!
 
Wow sorry to see this mate. I've also had all of what you mentioned above. This is truly a strange one.
What did the roots look like??
When it started to look sad did it totally stop taking up any moisture??
Thanks Porky! I haven't delved into the roots yet, it was too late tonight. I will loosen them out tomorrow and take a look, altho I am not sure on what I expect to see. I wasn't aware of her stopping drinking. Those bigger pots can be really heavy, I can lift them but I am currently nursing a hernia, and at the same time I am trying to avoid overdoing the lifting in case I make it worse.
 
Thanks Porky! I haven't delved into the roots yet, it was too late tonight. I will loosen them out tomorrow and take a look, altho I am not sure on what I expect to see. I wasn't aware of her stopping drinking. Those bigger pots can be really heavy, I can lift them but I am currently nursing a hernia, and at the same time I am trying to avoid overdoing the lifting in case I make it worse.
Yeah fair enough. When entire plants of almost all types start to die and there is no evidence of pest of environmental damage its almost always the root system dies first then the plant above.
I'd been keen to see the roots.
Does the media smell??
 
I think the roots will tell the tale brother. I have lost plants like that myself from burning the roots with too much fertilizer.
although i am using coco and hydro nutes. I always use a maximum of half the recommended nutes on sativas and sativa hybrids.
Its like adding salt to food when cooking you can always add more if needed but once you add to much the meals cactus.
 
So sorry to hear about the Covid Stunger. :( I hope your family is on the mend and that your only lingering effect is the hernia (who knew? ;) ).

I don't think the plant tie did the damage unless it allowed a pathogen in before it callused (and that ant really wants to be in every pic doesn't it). I would think that the roots could be more telling than that stem pics, though the brown in the cross section shouldn't be there (unless it's from the saw like mine leaves behind).

And don't sell the seed short. I had ones more immature looking than that from my Candida and a lot of them are viable, so keep checking when you go downstairs and go through the carcass (sorry Carcass!).
 
I'm out of my league, but I do notice a very close similarity between this ring like growth on your Mulanje to the ring like growth @Emilya got on her one plant if you saw that. That's all I got but it looks very similar.

The rest of them are rocking!!!
 
Yeah fair enough. When entire plants of almost all types start to die and there is no evidence of pest of environmental damage its almost always the root system dies first then the plant above.
I'd been keen to see the roots.
Does the media smell??
Cheers Porky! It's been blowing a bit of gale at the balcony today so I haven't got out there. But no, I didn't notice any unexpected smell.
I think the roots will tell the tale brother. I have lost plants like that myself from burning the roots with too much fertilizer.
although i am using coco and hydro nutes. I always use a maximum of half the recommended nutes on sativas and sativa hybrids.
Thanks Tang! I'd have to agree that it's most likely what's happening below the soil line.
I don't think the plant tie did the damage unless it allowed a pathogen in before it callused (and that ant really wants to be in every pic doesn't it). I would think that the roots could be more telling than that stem pics, though the brown in the cross section shouldn't be there (unless it's from the saw like mine leaves behind).
Cheers Shed! Altho the plant received some wounds from the ties, I didn't think it really looks to have caused any issues. They seem reasonably well healed to me.
I cut the stem with 'loppers', I think that brown in from the stem wood not the loppers, but I should have cut thru a second time just to check the cut appearance was the same.
And don't sell the seed short. I had ones more immature looking than that from my Candida and a lot of them are viable, so keep checking when you go downstairs and go through the carcass (sorry Carcass!).
I will definitely keep and cure any more I find as there is a good chance they may be big enough to be viable.

BTW, if I had Carcass here to help, I am sure I would never have had a carcass in front of me at this stage, not after the magic he wrought on that Blueberry Hill!
'm out of my league, but I do notice a very close similarity between this ring like growth on your Mulanje to the ring like growth @Emilya got on her one plant if you saw that. That's all I got but it looks very similar.

The rest of them are rocking!!!
Thanks Jon! If I am referencing the same thing, the healed damage in the photo closeup was from one of the plastic coated wire ties. It seems to me to have healed ok, cheers.
 
Update - Mulanje pollen collection and storage

Greetings 420 enthusiasts! Today I completed my collection of Mulanje pollen from the stems I dried off the male plant. I then filtered it by shaking it through a sieve to collect in a bowl. Once done, it did look quite an impressive amount of the light gold powder! I folded it in baking paper and then into several zip lock bags, each with a desiccant sachet and now in cold storage, that way I don't need to introduce condensation by opening and closing a single zip lock bag.


Thanks for dropping by, be well, and may your gardens be blooming. :ganjamon:
 
Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear about both the Mulanje and the Covid. I'm glad you and the family got it mildly and are ok.
I'm curious about how the roots look like on the Mulanje. The way it died so quickly was quite shocking. I've never seen that before.
 
Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear about both the Mulanje and the Covid. I'm glad you and the family got it mildly and are ok.
I'm curious about how the roots look like on the Mulanje. The way it died so quickly was quite shocking. I've never seen that before.
Thanks Nick!
The best thing I could do is lug the 50L container that the Mulanje was in, and take it outside and tip it out where I can get a good look at all the roots, but aside from blowing a gale out there, that pot is heavy! A shocker all right, but never mind, live and learn, I'll be growing her again so I'll hope for a better result then. Cheers.
 
Hey Stunger
Sorry about your lady Mulanje.
Curious to see if I am wrong but I suspect you will find the pot very root bound. I don't think the stalk was the issue it looks perfectly normally calloused to me, with good tissue above andbelow the tie line. My guess would still be under potted for the time of flowering, nutrient lock up and the added stress from being so wind beat, while under other stressors. I wish I could give you some seeds.
 
Hey Stunger
Sorry about your lady Mulanje.
Curious to see if I am wrong but I suspect you will find the pot very root bound. I don't think the stalk was the issue it looks perfectly normally calloused to me, with good tissue above andbelow the tie line. My guess would still be under potted for the time of flowering, nutrient lock up and the added stress from being so wind beat, while under other stressors. I wish I could give you some seeds.
Cheers tropics! It is a bummer that's for sure. Given that I am growing outdoors and just once a year, I can see that having a big plant in the same pot for 7 months is potentially going to cause some root bound issues. Your earlier suggestion to up pot it, I feel was a good one, and something I'd love to do with all the plants, but it was already in my biggest pot (what's the next size up from 50L?) and carrying that out on my own would be a bit of challenge.

But seed wise, she does have some seeds, they might be too immature but they are quite large so could be viable, so I will collect them today and see what I get.
Great idea, :thanks:
Thanks Shed!
 
Oh man...I got so behind brotha. Sucks to have to read about the quick decline. I was selecting and quoting a bunch of folks' responses to help out. Seems I should have skipped ahead. As an open discussion to the ROOT cause...she died underground first. That's my take. I think there is a very real chance that something took your root structure out.

Those landrace genetics need some further investigation on how they prefer their soil. Cannot give them the same across the board and expect them to react/grow the same way. Hybrids, sure. That's an easier expectation to come to fruition. You already alluded to something along those lines. Could have been too rich of a soil. I don't think it wad moisture. As you mentioned already, it's a porous medium right? So it's unlikely to be root rot in the sense of moisture.

Those bigger pots can be really heavy, I can lift them but I am currently nursing a hernia, and at the same time I am trying to avoid overdoing the lifting in case I make it worse.
I would think about using some thinner bamboo or longer BBQ skewers to use as moisture meters of sorts. Especially with heavy pots, that is a helpful tactic. Maybe she did have too much moisture for a root structure not able to tolerate or uptake the amount of moisture.

Lots of ideas thrown around already. Hopefully you can figure it out soon. The sooner you can check the roots and medium, the closer you'll get to an answer. If you're concerned at all about the soil, then throw it out after you're done inspecting. Otherwise, just throw it into your compost bin and let the microbes get it balanced out. Take care man!
 
Oh man...I got so behind brotha. Sucks to have to read about the quick decline. I was selecting and quoting a bunch of folks' responses to help out. Seems I should have skipped ahead. As an open discussion to the ROOT cause...she died underground first. That's my take. I think there is a very real chance that something took your root structure out.

Those landrace genetics need some further investigation on how they prefer their soil. Cannot give them the same across the board and expect them to react/grow the same way. Hybrids, sure. That's an easier expectation to come to fruition. You already alluded to something along those lines. Could have been too rich of a soil. I don't think it wad moisture. As you mentioned already, it's a porous medium right? So it's unlikely to be root rot in the sense of moisture.


I would think about using some thinner bamboo or longer BBQ skewers to use as moisture meters of sorts. Especially with heavy pots, that is a helpful tactic. Maybe she did have too much moisture for a root structure not able to tolerate or uptake the amount of moisture.

Lots of ideas thrown around already. Hopefully you can figure it out soon. The sooner you can check the roots and medium, the closer you'll get to an answer. If you're concerned at all about the soil, then throw it out after you're done inspecting. Otherwise, just throw it into your compost bin and let the microbes get it balanced out. Take care man!
Thanks BA! We live and learn, and then try to adjust for next time to hopefully go one better!
Good point you make about the moisture, a change I'd like to do for next time is get hold of some Yucca to use as a surfactant for more even water penetration. The pot was heavily drilled with at least over 50 extra holes drilled into the base and sides, so it should have been fairly quick draining, the other 3 plants are in same soil and pots and seemingly doing fine. I'll try work out what happened at the root level. Cheers!
 
Oh Stunger, has to be a pest if some kind! I don't see anything crazy! I'm thinking maybe a small break that healed but let something in before it closed up??

Love your positivity and outlook, makes me smile.

As for the others, your charm with them is palpable
 
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