The Joy Of Growing - SweetSue Goes Perpetual

[SweetSue]

Yes. That natural sense of confusion, rambling thoughts and actions... There is a reason I chose Radogast as a screen name
Some of my older posts were poetic - then they were pompous - who knows what the future will bring?
All I know is those smiles at the end of my sentences are real word smiles


You like to voice your opinions, but you also encourage others to let their opinions and achievements shine ... tha's a good combination !

Thank you Rad. That's a sweet thing to say. I had to laugh, because I use this emoticon so often because I'm laughing with gusto in real time every time I use it. See? Hahaha! I really do laugh that much. Maybe that was one of those reasons Dale decided to share 35 years with me?

 

[SweetSue]

Now that everyone has made an appearance we can take a closer look at just what we have growing in this run of the new cycle.

THE STRAINS JUST PLANTED

In Living Organic Soil (LOS)

Afghani Regular
Afghani is a heavy indica strain named after its geographic origin, where the earliest varieties of cannabis are believed to have grown. Breeders worldwide have come to treasure Afghani for its heavy resin production which is passed on genetically. With a sweet, earthy aroma, Afghani delivers a deep, sedating relaxation and euphoria. Patients most commonly turn to this potent indica to treat insomnia, pain, and stress disorders.
Sensi Afghani #1 Seeds Specs
Flowering: 45 days.
Height: 100-130 cm.
Yield: up to 125 gr.

Anyone looking for a fast, easy-growing indoor strain capable of copious yields and almost-frightening resin production need look no further. Whether growers want uniform crops from seed or outstanding pure Indica mother plants to fill their flowering space with dynamic dark green clones, Afghani #1 has it covered.

Even first-timers find it hard not to succeed with this strain, and growers who bring out the full potential of Afghani #1 rank her among the finest original Indicas to be found anywhere


Strawberry Blue
World of Seeds Strawberry Blue Feminised Seeds Specs
Sex: Female Pure Strawberry
Stabilized male hybrid: New Blue Line
Genotipe: 75% Sativa, 25% Indica
Harvest time: 9 weeks indoors / middle of October outdoor
Yield: 50-450gr/m2 indoors 350-500gr per plant outdoor
Medicinal value: Average
THC Level: < 20%

More strain info : Sweet fruity strain with high THC content.



Buddha Tahoe OG
OG Kush Tahoe cut (Reversed)
Genetics: 100% Indica
Flowering time: Indoors = 8.5-9 wks / Outdoors = End of October
Sensory experience: Super strong, the Don Corleone of highs!
Smell: Real USA high grade Kush, unique dankness.
Taste: Sublime lemon, sharp kush hash taste.
OG kush (Tahoe cut) AKA Tahoe OG 'Reversed' - NOW FEMINISED !
Winner of the High Times Cannabis Cup 2011
3rd Place Overall Winner
OG kush (Tahoe cut) AKA Tahoe OG reversed
In Big Buddha Seeds' extensive research into the world of American Kush strains, we are pleased to introduce the 'Buddha Tahoe'. The Tahoe OG Kush cutting was acquired from our good friends at the famous 'Cali Connection' Crew from California via one of our European associates.
The Tahoe OG Kush was chosen because of its extremely potent, strong, sharp taste synonymous with the many Kush varieties available in the United States today. Our 'Buddha Tahoe' feminised seed is a great representation of the 'new wave' of kush strains.With its magnificent lush growth the 'Buddha Tahoe' finishes with extremely potent buds, a unique lemon zest, kushy hash flavour and a 'high' which is truly why it became a Cannabis Cup winning strain & out of this world!!!


We also have one Bag Seed from New Year's 2015, an unknown.


In Kit Soil

Carnival
Strain: Carnival
Breeder: M.O.C.
Location: indoor, outdoor
Type: mostly sativa
Flowering: ~63 days
Normal or female seeds. Ministry of Cannabis - Carnival
Carnival: there is no name that can better represent the effect of this plant in your mind. The word carnival reminds you of a happy atmosphere all around, to Venice and the thousands of people dressed like centuries ago, or to Rio, Brazil, where millions of people go crazy just for a few days a year.

This strain has been designed to bring the carnival into your mind. The entire process of selection and crossing has been made in Spain. This is a cross between a Haze mother and a particular individual mostly sativa as father.

Carnival has an extremely high content of thc: the laboratory test on our sample has shown an amazing 23,2%. This is not the only good note, the flowering time is really short for a plant that is 80% sativa.

Flowering time: 9 weeks
Yield Indoor: 400-450 g/m²
Flowering Time Indoor: 45 - 51 days (~48 days)
Yield / Quantity Indoor: The crop of this strain is ordinary.
Strength / Lasting Effect: The weed is very strong and long lasting.
Votings of our users: Carnival gets 7.00 of 10 possible Points in the average!


Auto Jack Herer
Flowering time 10-12 weeks
CBD Average
Genetics Ruderalis x Jack Herer
THC Average
Effect Stoned
Height 40-90 cm
Yield Large
If you ask a grower what he expects from a plant, the answer is probably - "All". So why chose the Jack Herer Auto? Like many other autoflowering strains, the Jack Herer Auto needs a few more days to finish, but the reward is outstanding! Jack Herer is the most awarded cannabis strain known today - and for good reasons. While it's THC and CBD levels are average, it's not the quantity that makes Jack Herer such a success. The combination of sativa high and indica resinproduction make Jack Herer Auto a top choice for the connoisseur of fine weed.

Powered by the genetics of sativa (20%), ruderails (30%) and indica (50%), Jack Herer Auto grows up to an average height of 40-90cm and rewards the grower with 30-80gr of the finest weed imaginable. In full flowering, the buds are covered with trichomes and are totally smothered with "dew". The layer of resin makes them look as if they are coated with sugar. Because of it's complex background, Jack Herer Auto
plants show distinctive enhanced characteristics of both families, sativa and indica. This special feauture allows breeders to pick motherplants with different genetical combinations for making clones.

Jack Herer Auto is perfect for beginners because it is an easily maintainable plant and suitable for both indoor and outdoor growing and takes about 90 days from seed to flowering. The smoke of the Jack Herer Auto is extremely effective and kicks in (almost instantly) with a strong body buzz that might make one think it's an earthquake hitting - but with your head up high in the clouds you won't care, but rather enjoy the flight. You must feel it to believe it!

While the original Jack Herer may seem unbeatable when it comes to strength and power of medicinal cannabis, is Jack Herer Auto all that - and enhanced! Everything you love about Jack Herer is now available as autoflowering feminized seeds.


Auto Jock Horror x Auto Amnesia (a private breeding attempt by a 420 admirer)
Sativa Seedbank Jock Horror
- ruderalis/indica/sativa
- Jock Horror is a three-way marijuana hybrid of Northern Light, Skunk and Haze
- ~ 70 days
- This marijuana variety has a unique fresh flavour and packs a strong "up" buzz.
- resinous to the extreme

Bulk Seed Bank's Auto Amnesia
- sativa predominance
- ~ 80 days
- 75-150 cm
- high THC, medium CBD


Bag Seed from New Year's 2015
- just damn good stuff


Whew! Quite an undertaking. Bring it on!!! I'm so ready to get this rolling. The seedling stage drives me a little nuts. I like watching the tight nodes coming in, but I always feel like they're never going to start taking off. Then one day you look in and they've spring up overnight.

Time to get the next seed grouping lined up. Only two weeks from the next planting. A few from the reserves and a few new additions. A little dream time before placing the order. Multiple Dark Devil Auto seeds. Something for the daughter's bedtime without nightmares meds. Another delicious Sativa (or two, or three...) for SweetSue for the third batch.

 

[SweetSue]

Daily Update: Perpetual Tent - Week 12, Day 2

Another glorious morning. Life is sweet.

What a relief! I'm a happy camper.

There was no maintenance necessary today. I neglected to mention that yesterday Cheese Candy got a mild drench of aloe vera juice and coconut water with a splash of Agsil.

The LOS seedlings. The Strawberry Blue is really starting to get busy coming up on two weeks.

The Kit seedlings.

African Buzz (Day 75) still about a month from finish I think. Surprisingly, she's still packing on the blossoms under there. She shows no signs of losing that spiky look either. For as nasty as the big fan leaves look the rest of her is healthy and happy-looking. Can't complain here.

My lovely Cheese Candy at Day 76. She sacrificed another small bud and I promised her I'd buy bag weed before I hit her again. She said "thanks". I don't know if she believes me. I don't know if I believe me, but I'll try.

Just looking at this cola gets me excited. Packed in there tight! These are rock hard colas all over her. And the smell - oh man - she drives me to distraction when I'm anywhere near her.

Auto Destroyer, also Day 76. She's not pushing out many new pistils, but there are a smattering of them and they're scattered all over the plant, so no talking about taking her until it's been a week of no new pistils. Does that sound right to everyone?

The view from my bed. It's a bit odd sharing your bedroom with a garden, but I like it. It helps that it's only me here, but it'd still be workable with two.

The Tiny Closet

Afghani #1, #3.

Afghani #2, Carnival.

My worksheet for the grow. I need to redesign this sheet soon, or come up with one for each element of the grow, and that's too crazy to even type with a straight face. Keep it simple Susan. This was a good start, but it's not really meeting my needs. I love creating these things. I mean I really love it. My heart beats faster, my respiration ticks up, I'm sure I get an excited flush just thinking about it.

I'm off to drop some necessary paperwork off downtown. I should walk down to the confluence of the rivers while I'm there and sit on the edge where the Allegheny and Mongahela form the Ohio. There's a particular energy you pick up from there that I haven't experienced for too many years. I have no schedule to follow or responsibilities to answer for, so maybe a ride up an incline while I'm so close. This suddenly became a day loaded with joyful potential.

See how easy that was? Make your own magic. Spread that joy.

As an aside, I discovered that my best friend's precocious 15 year-old grandson has a fascination for magic illusion. I'll be passing Dale's Linking Rings on to him, which pleases me to no end, because it means it stays in the family. Now I really have to do something about his trains.

Have a wonderful joy-filled day. I'll be stopping in the threads as the day goes on, so I'll be seeing you.

 

[SweetSue]

Ooooooo....... New toy, just in time for tomorrow's foliars.

Any pointers anyone wants to share with me?? Huh? Huh??

Like a kid in a candy store.

 

[DrZiggy]

looks like a Duck Cyclops!!

 

[DrZiggy]

you have your auto JH x auto Amnesia in kit soil?

 

[SweetSue]

looks like a Duck Cyclops!!

Hahaha!!! I thought the same thing.

you have your auto JH x auto Amnesia in kit soil?

Absolutely. That tiny plant I harvested that probably gave me less than 5 grams dry carried me a full 11 days. I'm certainly not going to mess with that level of success.

Now I can get it right and see the real potential of the Kit.

 

[GhettoGro]

looks like a Duck Cyclops!!

Looks like it might vibrate a little too?

Couldn't resist that one, Sue...lol

 

[B A R]

Thank you Rad. That's a sweet thing to say. I had to laugh, because I use this emoticon so often because I'm laughing with gusto in real time every time I use it. See? Hahaha! I really do laugh that much. Maybe that was one of those reasons Dale decided to share 35 years with me?

That and the sheer elegance of the way you express yourself.
Happy to see your germination rate improving, those babies look happy no matter what Duggan says... JUST PULLING HIS LEG A LITTLE .

 

[SweetSue]

That and the sheer elegance of the way you express yourself.
Happy to see your germination rate improving, those babies look happy no matter what Duggan says... JUST PULLING HIS LEG A LITTLE .

It's going to take me a while to adjust to letting the tiny pot plants have nasty-looking leaves. It's going to happen while I work out dosing on them with drenches and foliars, but it makes me feel like a bad mom. I have to tell myself that we're not growing them to be pretty. They're my sampler set. They just need to grow and be harvested.

If I want pretty leaves I have other specimens to pursue that goal with. I have Carnival, with Jamaican Dream coming up behind. I type those words and my brain goes into joyful fits. I really want to see how pretty I can get Carnival to look. You can't tell I'm excited, can you?

And thank you BAR, for that lovely compliment. My mother would be proud.

 

[ClosedCircuit]

Its interesting the rates at which each seedling develops. Mine have been in the soil (after germinating them) since the 7th and are not as developed as some of yours you put in a week later. I think my c'99 might actually be light stressed (24hours)...im basing that on some discoloration on the tips of some of the leaves. I may have to jump to 18/6 sooner than I thought.

 

[SweetSue]

random smoking thoughts: fresh cannabis

I'm working on the redesign of the grow record, smoking from the bud I snipped off Cheese Candy earlier. I've had 4....5? hits (lost count, pretty buzzed). You know, when you tell people you snipped a fresh bud and flash dried it you usually have to answer that crazy "What were you thinking?" question. Yeah. So helpful.

I think we're missing something here. There is no denying I am high. Very high. High enough that I need to wait to have any more and typing is a methodical challenge at this point.

Fresh cut, immature, quick-dried in the oven for 30 minutes. I haven't smoked any more than I would have smoked were this dried and cured. No more, no less. So I ask myself, what's wrong with fresh cannabis? Is not the intent to get beyond the here and now, be it pain, sleeplessness, lagging creativity, coming down off a long and demanding day, whatever reason we have for growing and utilizing this marvelously beneficial plant? If I can achieve that by snipping an almost-done bud and get through another two or more days while the plant works toward maturity, isn't that something to be applauded and even encouraged?

If directly after harvest I begin to use the plant as it dries and keep myself and my family funds out of the street market, this is a good thing isn't it? I think we've locked ourselves into a mentality that says it MUST be grown to full maturity and then it must be dried and cured to be properly appreciated. I've done that with two plants and the high I'm feeling now is very similar. Surprisingly so, yes, but similar nonetheless.

This plant is in LOS. There's none of the grassy taste one expects when smoking fresh cannabis. The smoke was smooth, no harshness to speak of. The ash at this point is darker, but there's a lot of leaf material. I don't mind leaf material. It has trichomes too. The taste is indiscernible right now, but I take teeny-tiny hits, so taste is a stretch for me on a good day. Putting it into the oven it smelled like Jolly Ranchers. Yum! I just checked and it still smells like that.

I think the next time I need a tiny bit I won't hesitate to snip off another bud, and I'm gonna feel proud that I can grow such kickin' weed that this tiny amount I'm asking her to sacrifice will carry me for days.

Let me take another hit and get this paper done. Where's that pipe?

 

[UncleCannabis]

Careful with that new toy Sue. Batteries could get expensive.

 

[SweetSue]

Careful with that new toy Sue. Batteries could get expensive.

 

[SweetSue]

garden to do

- redesign flow sheet
- ACT for Reserve LOS
- get tote and mix seedling soil
- stir the soils
- seedling cups
- 5 more tiny pots
- new seed order sent by next Monday
- buy one more T8
- install T8s


I think that's all. Now, finish the flow sheet

 

[Scarfinger68]

I started a new grow journal Sue. Got my organic soil going. It has that white/grey moldy stuff on top

Your welcome to stop in and give me pointers or scold me if I don't keep it 100% organic

 

[SweetSue]

Daily Update: Perpetual Tent: Week 12, Day 3

On my way to a lunch date, trying to balance my real world with my virtual world. I'm doing this update on a bouncy bus. Its a challenge all its own, greatly overcome by sliding your thumb along the bottom of the iPad for stability as the index finger hits the keys. Makes me feel like I'm part machine. I do love a challenge. The bouncy part adds its own excitement of unexpected punctuation and page changes. Find your joy where you can guys.

Maintenance notes:
- Auto Destroyer and African Buzz got their weekly DeStress foliar.
- Filled both SWICK reservoirs under 7 gallon pots.

I'm good with this.

Auto Destroyer, at Day 77. I'm partial to the number 7. It stems from all that fundamental Christian upbringing. Somehow the idea of 7 being a perfect number stuck in my brain and associated all kinds of warm and fuzzy positive feelings to it. Having it come up in doubles almost makes me giggle. Sorry, ramble. Buzzed. You understand.

After much thought, I filled the SWICK reservoir under this girl. She has such a pitiable disposition that I can't judge when she's thirsty. She gets an Energy drench soon, but how do I gauge that? Look at the poor thing! She's breaking my heart. I gave her access to water.

Shes still pushing out new pistils all over, so I feel confident in giving her more time. She and I can make this work. Her buds are rocks! That should be obvious from the pictures, but to see them up close is to be impressed. I know, imagine her 10 times bigger! Hahaha!

African Buzz, Day 76. Plugging away like a real trooper.

I used that nifty Flairosol sprayer this morning. That marvelous tool made spraying these tight leaves a breeze. I'll have to do a post.

Ahhh, Cheese Candy, Day 77. As you can imagine, I'm growing fond of her. She taught me that there's something to be said for fresh produce. She's getting me through a couple more days as she continues her March to maturity. I appreciate that.

There's much going on under here!

All all those little bud balls you see under there look just like this:

Oh yeah!

Back on the shelves we have the LOS seedlings...

..... and the High BrixBlend babies.

The Tiny Closet

Afghani #2 and Carnival, at 14 and 13 days respectively.

Afghani #3 (Day 14) and Afghani #1 (Day 15).

Carnival has that curious twist to the leaves. I'm not concerned, just inquisitive. Any observations on this occurrence anyone cares to share?

Afghani #1 is just exploding. I need to measure the stature, but this one's already got the 4th node working.

#2 looking for all the world like a joyful child, eh? These Afghanis are eager little ones.

#3 is trying to catch up.

I've finished my delightful luncheon date and am heading home now. Another bumpy bus. LOL! I almost have my flow sheet design worked out. There's been a flurry of distracting music videos popping up lately and I have no resistance against them. This afternoon I think I'll sit in air-conditioned comfort and sew some tiny pots as I listen to some I've not had time for. There's some really good blues guitar waiting for me at the Spot. Sounds like a plan. May this post find you setting your own joyful activities into motion.

Have a a wonderful day everyone.

 

[Heirloom]

Hmm. Interesting stuff in this thread, I'm gonna have to read it all. All 161 pages in....wait...less than 3 months?

Someone has admirers


Sue

 

[SweetSue]

PeeJay has been running a side-by-side of root development using a SWICK vs the traditional wet/dry cycling. The results are startling and I wanted to share it here as part of our ongoing discussion on roots. I can tell you that seeing these results and reading his take on the soil biota that I'll drop in after this have me rethinking my use of the SWICK. I still believe it has value - after all I've a very productive LOS community thriving on one in my own tent, and I don't plan to move it off. There's more going on here than the chemistry suggests, and until we figure it out I'm not messing with that pot. I believe the nature of the no-till soil community may have an effect we're not taking into consideration.

But for future grows, you can be certain I'm going to make sure I have a mass of fine root hairs before I put another plant onto a SWICK. Most particularly the High BrixBlend plants, which require those fine roots to work the magic.

The SWICK side-by-side has come to an end. This has nothing to do with deciding that SWICK is no good. It has to do with space! The DarkStar and Sage'n Sour are going crazy in stretch. The idea of getting in there to check on 16 plants was kind of scary. I culled the four weakest Panama and Chitral. Now there are 8 in 2 gallon cans of PJ v2.01. You can see from this picture how tight space is getting. I had to up-can. The plants are ready for food. There is no way I was fitting 16 2 gallon pots in there. In fact, there was no way I was fitting 4 of the 8 that remain in SWICK trays. Oh well...

Even though conditions in the greenhouse have been rough (temps well over 100 in there for a couple of hours a day and RH in the teens) growth all around is not bad for 19-22 days. If anything I would say the SWICK slightly outperformed traditional water. Four Chitral on the left, four Panama on the right.

Looking at roots during transplant was as expected. Roots in the SWICK pots were bunched at the bottom and were not well distributed compared to the traditionally watered pots.

SWICK from the bottom:

SWICK side:

More SWICK

Bottom

Side

Traditionally watered:

Those aren't great pictures. Juggling root balls and the camera is not easy. Anyway there is a much more developed web of fine roots; hence a better soil/plant interface in the traditionally watered plants. I have no idea if this even matters moving forward and we are never going to know.

 

[SweetSue]

The ensuing discussion between Graytail and PeeJay.

Thanks for the documented side-by-side, PeeJay!


It's startling how educational a simple experiment can be. I never really thought about incremental root development - the hourly/daily growth - before. Seeing examples of that growth is So instructive! Since we're feeding from the soil biota and not directly, we want lots of surface area, lots of fine roots. To get that, we have to have more uniformity in soil moisture than the Swick provides. It would seem that Swick has the advantage there, but unfortunately the lowest soil layer stays wet, encouraging roots to settle in and grow, impeding lateral growth. Foliage does better at the expense of root development.


Very interesting.


I'm also curious about aeration, a subject that almost never comes up in the forums. I've always erred to the dry side when caring for potted plants and even those in beds, because it's fairly easy to add more water, and hard to take it out, AND because while you wait for the soil to dry, the roots are choking to death - double trouble. I've never killed a plant by parching it, but many houseplants have died from soggy soil. So ... what about the role of aeration? Our lil soil beasties thrive on it, don't they? They don't really love water - it's a thick humid soil atmosphere that they love. The chemical reactions require available gasses, so they need to be able to freely burble and osmose throughout the soil.


Parch-and-Drench watering allows portions of the soil to get mortally dry, so it definitely has its downside, but it seems like Swick has one, too. Actually ... Swick would be better for bloom, when the roots are already established and the plant simply needs a steady source of water ...

I don't have any definitive answers, Gray. I perceive a general lack of understanding about soil biota hereabouts. One of the things that happens in waterlogged soil is denitrification.

Basically as microbial action breaks down organic material it deaminates protiens removing the amino groups and converting them to ammonia (NH3). NH3 is a gas and will dissipate from dry soil in a hurry and out into the atmosphere. However, in moist or wet soil it becomes solubalized and makes ammonium ions (NH4+). NH3 + H2O -> NH4+ + OH- .

Next, organisms like Nitrosomas convert the NH4+ to NO2- (nitrite). Organisms like Nitrobacter convert NO2- into NO3- (nitrate) . These microorganisms get their energy from oxidizing the nitrogenous compounds.

The plant would love to be able to use NH4+ to create build it's proteins but the ions are typically tightly bound to negative charges in the soil. NO3-, however, with it's negative charge is easily transported across the cell membrane and into the plant. Nitrate is fully oxidized and is really the only form of nitrogen that plants take up in appreciable amounts.

In order for the oxidation reactions to take place there needs to be an electron acceptor and in this case it is oxgen. Waterlogged soils contain little or no free oxygen. When there is no oxygen then the pathway from NH3+ to the NO3- is disrupted. To make matters worse there are anerobic bacteria in the soil that like to use NO3- as an electron acceptor. They take the NO3- -> NO2- -> N2O ->N2 and it is lost from the soil and into the atmosphere. When you let the soil dry appreciably it is hell on the anaerobes that do this reaction. In a continuously wet environment they thrive.

The nitrogen cycle from organic material requires both a wet and dry conditions. Wet conditions to solubalize the NH3 and dry conditions to facilitate the oxidation into usable NH3-. When a plant gets at least a modest wet dry cycle the correct conditions are available for both sets of reactions to take place as the soil slowly dries out from the bottom to the top.