THC Bomb & WW/Skunk - CFL Hood/Veg HPS/Flower

[Skybound]

Thanks for the feedback Jay and Backpackin! I think I will take your advice Jay and wait a while. I had another idea that would work well with waiting and also give me the foliage I want after the topping has been made. I'm now thinking to allow the plant to continue growing up to about 6-8 nodes high, then top it low. The potion that is taken off the top can be used as a clone (2 if I'm lucky) that can be rooted in a bubble cloner then quickly flowered to determine gender of this WW/Sk#1 as it was a regular freebie seed from Herbies. I also noticed that Herbies advertises the forums that he sponsors. I was disheartened when I saw that didn't make the cut. At any rate, what I am seeing in terms of rapid growth in conjunction to what donpaul.p said about his WW/sk growing in flower that the buds are forming into large single cola foot longers. This is exactly what I hope to grow from both plants. 16-18 foot long colas per plant, times 2 plants. I doubt I'll see a pound from each, especially with space restrictions and only a 400w HPS, but I'm inclined to believe that harvest of the Flux growing style coupled with The Capn's Simple Hydroponics top feed in rock wool, also using Heisenberg Tea will be very successful.

Another idea I want to bounce off you Mother Fluxers out there is to grow a plant, flux it, veg it for long periods to get a good solid base, then grow each of the branches into medium sized pre-topped plants. Me thinks it sounds logical to clone a mid vegged plant. I don't know if there would be too much foliage to support while the plant grows itself some roots to support all that, but if that detail could be worked out favorably, veg times could actually be reduced if a lot of the vegetative growth has been completed before the clone is even taken, and though time to develop a good root system would probably take longer than average, it might prove to actually shorten time spent in veg. But that's just one of many random thoughts I have.

 

[AfricanGrower]

Yea that was my initial thought, top it low and use the tops for clones. But I also agree with Jay here that you should wait a week or two more before the REAL HST begins haha.

The idea of cloning a branch that is fully developed is very interesting. I'll do some research on it. My intial thoughts are that a branch that developed with foliage would take much longer for roots to form in able to maintain steady growth.

 

[Skybound]

Yea that was my initial thought, top it low and use the tops for clones. But I also agree with Jay here that you should wait a week or two more before the REAL HST begins haha.

The idea of cloning a branch that is fully developed is very interesting. I'll do some research on it. My intial thoughts are that a branch that developed with foliage would take much longer for roots to form in able to maintain steady growth.

I will wait and take the clone early so I can know as early as possible if I got me another dude trying to hide his Adams apple. As for cloning a vegged plant, I'm think a bubble cloner would be a must have for this one. All reports I'e come across about this type of cloner is that the need for a humidity dome is not needed as the potential root area is always being contacted with droplets from popping air bubbles. However, b/c we are taking about an otherwise full grown plant, I'm thinking to also use a dome with a spray bar to occasionally mist the foliage with a mild nutrient mix would also aid in root development by removing some of the burden of supplying food. After roots begin to grow, that's when the cloning process (IMO) would get really complicated. Unless the plant is to be grown in a traditional hydro setup, the plant would likely need to be transplanted into it's mediumless environment and possibly still need a humidity dome or at least sprayers up top to foliar feed periodically. Whatever the case really is though, we have something new to play around with and mull over with hopes that our grows will be bigger, better, stronger, faster. +REPs to Kanye for giving me that line.

 

[AfricanGrower]

YES Foliar Feed would be excellent in conjunction! Why not just set aside a cloner that doubles as a bubbler ("The SkyGrower 2.0) and house the plant in there for the remainder of its life?

...and Sky, I'm pretty sure you're giving Reps to the wrong guy...Daft Punk FTW

 

[Skybound]

I never heard the Daft Punk one, but YouTube shows that Kanye jacked it from them.

In light of my last failed grow, I will stay away from traditional hydro for a while. I'm really liking this simple hydro right now anyways. So all ideas I get are to be guided to that style of growing. Ultimately, especially for gorilla outdoor grows, wouldn't it be really nice to be able to wait a while after the weather breaks to really make sure the coldness is gone to get your plants into the ground? What about being able to cheat the clock and plant your plant a tad late in the season, but due to advanced development done early in the plant's life (or former life), you can now have a more immense plant to enter into the end of the season to flower. Or for the indoor grower, maybe as much as 8 or 9 weeks of veg development could be had in maybe 5 or 6 weeks. That would make life a lot easier IMO.

 

[Jay233]

Sky on your question about cloning larger sections of a much larger plant...I find the larger the clone the longer it takes to root...sometimes much longer...you will have to decide if the time lost waiting for it to root will be worth the time saved vegging...I don't think so...plus you will have to veg the mother longer too in order to take those larger clones


This is about as big as I go with my clones...usually much smaller...this cutting has been in the cloner for 12 days and is just starting to show tiny roots today...it will need at least a few more days before it is ready to plant

 

[Jay233]

Those tiny pots make me feel like I have giant hands LOL

 

[Skybound]

Jay, that 6" net pot you are grasping does appear to be slightly smaller than your hand. (I hope you can see I was kidding). Thank you so much for sharing your cloning knowledge. Even though the cloning a plant has been debunked, the clone you have in your enormous hand is still pretty well along, wouldn't you say?

 

[TheCapn]

Sky on your question about cloning larger sections of a much larger plant...I find the larger the clone the longer it takes to root...sometimes much longer...you will have to decide if the time lost waiting for it to root will be worth the time saved vegging...I don't think so...plus you will have to veg the mother longer too in order to take those larger clones


This is about as big as I go with my clones...usually much smaller...this cutting has been in the cloner for 12 days and is just starting to show tiny roots today...it will need at least a few more days before it is ready to plant

+1. I agree. Tiny cuts are tough, large cuts are even tougher. Sky, I would wait until the plant is really starting to grow vigorously before taking a clone or topping. Also, why do you have the hydroton on top of the cubes? Is that so algae doesn't grow on the cubes?

Hey Jay, I like that cloner, but that botanicare doesn't come with a dome, does it? 12 days and only tiny roots is a little long. Do you rig something up on it to keep humidity in? Or do you keep them in a very humid room? If the clones wilt after putting them in the cloner, they need a dome and then will root faster. The clones should look happy in the cloner all the time, and should have nice roots in 10 days.

 

[Skybound]

Yeah, the hydroton is to prevent algae. It started to develop on top of one of the cubes, so I put in some rocks, the rocks also shade the roots that I was able to clearly see growing from one cube to the next.

 

[Jay233]

+1. I agree. Tiny cuts are tough, large cuts are even tougher. Sky, I would wait until the plant is really starting to grow vigorously before taking a clone or topping. Also, why do you have the hydroton on top of the cubes? Is that so algae doesn't grow on the cubes?

Hey Jay, I like that cloner, but that botanicare doesn't come with a dome, does it? 12 days and only tiny roots is a little long. Do you rig something up on it to keep humidity in? Or do you keep them in a very humid room? If the clones wilt after putting them in the cloner, they need a dome and then will root faster. The clones should look happy in the cloner all the time, and should have nice roots in 10 days.

l]

Capn to answer your question...this is my first time using this cloner ....I have always used a humidity dome in the past...the Jack Herrer clones I misted a couple times....the super Critical I did nothing to, they did not wilt at all....it took the Jack a total of 15 days to root, the critical it took 8days . Yes, the Jack took too long...I attribute it to the plant I took them from being hungry....the Jack clones greend up in the cloner, then produced roots. I used a tray cloner with a humidity dome before, I wasn't happy with it. I made a bubble cloner which I have used for the past year and a half...I used an extra large zip-lock bag for the dome LOL. I wanted to give this areoponic cloner a try...I am going to make a couple changes to it before I clone again (in 5 weeks) I got faster rooting from my homemade bubble cloner

Good weed to you Capn

 

[TheCapn]

Sounds good, Jay. I've never had luck without a dome; you must have good humidity in your veg room.

I know what you mean, there are so many variables. We switch to another cloner that seems to work better, but then we have a strain that roots faster! Or our formula is slightly different, or the room was warmer or cooler then.

I still struggle with getting plants from rooted clones, to rapid vegetative growth. It takes me 2-3 weeks before they really take off. I need to work on this. Any tips?

Sky, sorry to get off track in your journal. We want some updated pictures!

 

[Jay233]

Sounds good, Jay. I've never had luck without a dome; you must have good humidity in your veg room.

I know what you mean, there are so many variables. We switch to another cloner that seems to work better, but then we have a strain that roots faster! Or our formula is slightly different, or the room was warmer or cooler then.

I still struggle with getting plants from rooted clones, to rapid vegetative growth. It takes me 2-3 weeks before they really take off. I need to work on this. Any tips?

Sky, sorry to get off track in your journal. We want some updated pictures!

Capn...yeah I hear you on that...2-3 weeks before they start really growing sounds good to me. Other people may do much better but I'm happy with that. The first couple weeks they are growing roots...as you know...then they can take off above ground. I do not do the norm...my tent for cloning is 30-45% RH, the temp I keep at 80 ...no heating pad either....I've found my clones come out healthier this way even though they may take longer...but what do I know LOL

 

[Skybound]

No apologies needed Capn'. I wanna know the same thing. Jay would you kindly discuss some experience or anything I need to know b/c when this WW/Sk#1 is tall enough, I'm topping about the top 2/3 of the plant to prepare for Flux and I want to use the top 2/3 as either 1 or 2 clones to discover gender as this was a Reg seed. I too want to know if cloning with the bubbler would be viable for me as I'm not greatly impressed with the clone dome I have. I would use it if I didn't feel comfortable trying a bubbler, but I just need to ensure at least 1 (maybe the only) clone survives so I can flower it right away.

Update --- 11/07 Veg Week 01 (Day20)/VD06

I spent some time reconfiguring my closet to run a top feed from an under cabinet reservoir. Initially I designed and built a PVC manifold that begins on top of my 160GPH water pump, stabs through the lid, stabs through the closet floor and up to just below the Flux Rack where it connects first to 1/2" poly hose, then 1/4" poly hose to feed each site. As it turned out, my ability to only retrieve half assed measurements lead to a slightly misaligned hole which redirected the PVC and I'm sure you can imagine the result. I had a Homer Simpson "DOOOOOOPPPPPE" moment, only with more neck veins and curse words. After my body temp subsided a bit, I realized that I still had a nice length of 1/2" Poly, and how forgiving it was. Thank God it filled the gap in my poor design. Only problem that I still have to deal with that the drippers I bought from the local hydro store I guess require 25psi to begin dripping which my little 160 can't produce. I have a 550, but don't want to possibly overload the system, so I drilled a hole just under the brim of the solo cup to fit the water line through. When I activate the feeding, I will straight line the nutes over the crown with no dripper. If water flow directly on the base of the stem causes a problem, I can put Tee on the end to divert the flow left and right.

This is a copy of notes taken when mixing up the res. Currently, the PPM is higher than I want (400-500), so I am leaving the mixture to aerate for a few hours, then I will check again and also adjust PH then too. If need be, I will be adding more water to lower the PPMs by increasing the M of PPM 33%. This should drop my numbers to a more comfortable level.

I notice some light spotting on the leaves and purpling of the stem and after read an AG post either in his or someone else's journal, I gather this to be not enough CalMag in what I am feeding, so hopefully this new setup and feed recipe will satisfy all her needs. Another note, 2 days ago, I dug for and found the THC Bomb seed in the RW cube I had in a cup on heat pad and put it back in a half shot glass full of distilled water, added 6 drops of HB Tea and put it back on the heat mat for 2 days. Iput it in another RW cube again and hopefully it sprouts. The taproot doesn't appear to have grown any since I first pulled the seed from the water soak the first time. It is likely already dead, but I'm still gonna try. If it's another no show, this will be 2 failed seeds of 3 of that strain that I bought. Which really sucks b/c that was my first choice in my order. My notes from earlier, then pics;

2 gallons distilled water aerated for 20 minutes
10ml CaMg & 1.5ml GH Silica - 5.6@320PPM
5ml Flora Micro ----------------- 5.5@560PPM
5ml Flora Gro ------------------- 5.5@700PPM
2ml Flora Bloom ---------------- 5.5@725PPM

Measurements are actual, not per gallon. Before attempting to adjust PH, I will allow things to aerate thoroughly before concluding what the mixtures natural PH and PPMs are before adjusting. Also will look into circulating the pump and lines to remove any air pockets in the pump b/c I will likely have to add more water to lower the PPM value.

The black pots in the corner are what I will transplant to next

 

[Skybound]

Also forgot to mention 2 things. I plan to locate a plastic paint roller tray to use to catch water dripping from the bottom of the pots. It will be slightly angled to a corner and somehow channeled via plumbing to either a separate waste container, or back to the res, but on an almost 0 budget, finding the middle ground will be a challenge.

@ Light Addict,

I have a great logo in mind that I will be putting on the flux rack that I know you will love. I still need time to get the top painted and I will find a good letter style and color scheme to make it all look really nice. It'll be a surprise for the both of us!

 

[b.real]

nice setup! she looks healthy and happy

 

[AfricanGrower]

I see the yellow spots you are talking about, it could be due to a lack of Calcium by the looks of things, BUT I would hold off on upping the dose until you see it spread further. Right now it seems to be under control. The purpling this early, if not genetics, could be due to multiple deficiencies, not just Ca or Mg. It can include N, P, and K. Its a seedlings way of protecting itself, if I am not mistaken?

VEry nice drip rail Sky! I should have gone with the Poly instead of PVC as I had the same dumb homer simpson moments with my PVC measurements Where did you get those what look to be 1/5inch fittings that stem off of the main poly line and into the solo cups?

And yea, 725 PPMs is a bit too much THIS early in growth (I just reached 750 this week). Diluting it is a good option. Oh and please tell me if your pH changes with that airstone sitting in your res constantly? I tried to incorporate airstones in my res and ended up knocking up by .7 in less than a day! I still don't know whether to attribute it to the tapwater or the probability my airstones were made from calcium deposits.

And watch that pH meter of yours...we have the exact same TDS meter and pH meter. LAst month my pH meter went completely berserk on me, reading distilled water at a pH of 5.5

 

[Skybound]

I have a bottle of 7.0 and calibrate frequently. Unfortunately I never calibrated the TDS, so I will need to get some cal solution to see if any of my readings are even correct. I added about 7/8 of a gallon of plain distilled water and the tote began to runneth over. That got the PPM down to 500. I would've been more comfortable with 450, but I will just monitor closely. A few minutes after adding the water, I checked the PH and it was at a happy 5.6. I raised it to 5.9 and will check again before I crash for the night, then once again in the morning. I'd like to start the drip program tomorrow if at all possible. Still gotta watch your tutorial a few times to program it right. The drip rail consists of 1/2" poly stepping down to 1/4" poly, both acquired from my local hydro store. The connector pieces came with the pack of drippers I got from same store. The drippers themselves are useless to me, but the connectors came in handy.

 

[AfricanGrower]

I'd never calibrated my TDS meter neither. Let me know if yours is off...at least it will definitely let me know that my TDS meter has been off for a while. But for now, I have been getting excellent results with it!

 

[Jay233]

HEY Sky...Very nice detailed update...Nice set-up...the plants look very happy