Un-Lucky Queen 12/12 Hempy

Update:

4 out of 5 confirmed males from the Un-Lucky Queen.......do we have an angry emoticon? When seeds are old and rotten, like the ones No Mercy sold me, they are far more likely to be males.

I have learned something on this grow:

When growing from 12/12 the nodes begin to alternate at about week 3 and that's when sex can be determined best. The males seem to hit alternating nodes first. I still needed a magnifying glass, but the primordial pollen sacs were unmistakable.

I still can't get really awesome macro pics....dunno why. Here's a male Un-Lucky Queen:
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Here's the whole garden. I've only got one droopy plant, but it's not doing bad....growing like crazy. Of course, the only plant that has any sort of leaf discoloration is one of the Un-lucky Queens.....and it's a male, so no loss there. So, hopefully, there won't be too many more boring updates. I hope to have the males all sorted out in 3 days and then get them into their final pots and start growing.
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Finally, I am getting a custom built watering system for each 2x4 tray, that will have 10 drip lines per tray. The main reason I'm doing that is so that I can go away for a week at a time if needed.

I am lucky to have the best hydro shop in the state in my little town....I went in there, explained my situation and was told:

"I'll build you a PVC watering system....it'll be ready in a couple days." He custom built it for my trays, with quick connect fittings....perfect. So, with the help of a digital timer, I'll be able to mix up a batch of nutes....and program it to water for 10 minutes whenever I want. So, I can go on vacation!
 
DocBud said:
Update:

4 out of 5 confirmed males from the Un-Lucky Queen.......do we have an angry emoticon? When seeds are old and rotten, like the ones No Mercy sold me, they are far more likely to be males.

I have learned something on this grow:

When growing from 12/12 the nodes begin to alternate at about week 3 and that's when sex can be determined best. The males seem to hit alternating nodes first. I still needed a magnifying glass, but the primordial pollen sacs were unmistakable.

I still can't get really awesome macro pics....dunno why. Here's a male Un-Lucky Queen:
IMG_07224.JPG


Here's the whole garden. I've only got one droopy plant, but it's not doing bad....growing like crazy. Of course, the only plant that has any sort of leaf discoloration is one of the Un-lucky Queens.....and it's a male, so no loss there. So, hopefully, there won't be too many more boring updates. I hope to have the males all sorted out in 3 days and then get them into their final pots and start growing.
IMG_07215.JPG


Finally, I am getting a custom built watering system for each 2x4 tray, that will have 10 drip lines per tray. The main reason I'm doing that is so that I can go away for a week at a time if needed.

I am lucky to have the best hydro shop in the state in my little town....I went in there, explained my situation and was told:

"I'll build you a PVC watering system....it'll be ready in a couple days." He custom built it for my trays, with quick connect fittings....perfect. So, with the help of a digital timer, I'll be able to mix up a batch of nutes....and program it to water for 10 minutes whenever I want. So, I can go on vacation!
Click to expand...

:bravo: Good for You :bravo:
With little help of a timer, you can go wherever you like without worries that your plants will die from missing of water or nutes. I have timer in my set-up and there is no need to keep looking every some time if everything is ok, I just check my babies at morning and evening and that's it (O yeah and I like to talk to them sometimes :rasta:)

:peacetwo:
 
thanks for the update doc!

Three weeks to sex isn't bad. That's about the same as the autos, and then have the option to reveg them or keep on keepin' on.

That sucks about the unlucky Queens.

On your macros, it looks like the camera is focusing in the far field. If you have an option to change to "spot" focus under the macro option, that may help.

Sometimes on macros, the camera is bouncing the focus beam over the head of your subject because you're up close, so pointing the camera down a bit and pressing the shutter halfway to compose the shot and get clear focus, and then moving it up and centering the subject to finish the shot can help too.
 
heyo doc
Regarding the time release nutes; the idea of using osmotic pressure to release nutes sounds like a cool idea. You really theoretically cant burn your plants with them, although I suppose maybe if you watered with straight RO if you might cause too high of a nute release....? I wonder if any build up in a soil medium (fert byproducts, plant wastes etc...stuff you flush for) would cause the gradient to equal out while there are still nutes in the beads?
cant wait to see the skunks grow up, good luck.

p.s. like the change in your title hahah
 
Thanks to all those following my journal!

Update:

I have now confirmed one sole UNlucky Queen as a female. To go with her, we have 6 confirmed females from the skunk.....interestingly, no confirmed males from the skunk/diesel yet.

I transplanted 4 females into 50/50 FFOF/Perlite with Osmocote fertilizer.
The rest of the females will go into Hempy buckets, with one more going to soil without Osmocote. All except one Hempy will use Osmocote.

So, I'll have a single soil and a single hempy that will be fed AN...connoisseur line....their flagship product, along with Big Bud, Hammerhead, Hygrozyme, Sweet, CalMag and other doodads as needed.
Here they are early this morning, right before transplant:
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Unlucky Queen
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2 Skunk/sourdiesel
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Skunk/Diesel side by side with Unlucky Queen. The Ripoff Seed company (No Mercy) seeds were sown a week sooner than the skunk. The Skunk/Diesel is on the left. Same potting mix, same nutes, same environment.....hell the Skunk/Diesel was germed in a pot that still had a useless No Mercy seed in it.
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The watering system.
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I need to plug the small hole
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The two trays will lie side by side, and will be linked together with a "T" fitting to a single 800gph pump. They will drain back into a waste reservoir. I will not be recycling nutes on this grow, as they will only need to be watered every other day at the most.

I may disconnect the soil side of things if they require less water. I will have to hand water the AN control group.....because the other plants are only getting straight water with Hygrozyme. By the time I go on vacation, I'll be flushing the AN plants, so I'll hook them up to the automated system when the time comes.

More pics tonite of the whole thing....and hopefully I'll know about more females.

I was informed that the best males for breeding are the ones that flower latest....and of those choose the ones that have the strongest high when smoked.
 
Alright then:

We've got 8 confirmed females, with more to come. Interestingly, I have zero confirmed males among the Skunk/Diesel, but have discovered 4 females. One or two more days should tell the tale.

I now have 4 soil/Osmocote and 4 Hempy/Osmocote.
The transplant into Hempy went like this:

1.)wind sifted perlite
2.)Put it in large tub
3.)Watered/wetted the perlite with 3 gallons of PH'd nute water, AN Sensi grow A, B, Hygrozyme, and 10 drops of Superthrive per gallon.
4.) put 1/2 charge Osmocote at bottom of bucket, 1/2 charge at transplant rootball level, scooped in perlite.
5.)watered with plain water till runoff.

I'll probably water the Hempy's daily for a few days. There are no visible signs of transplant shock, in fact the plants seem healthier, perkier, etc.

I hope to have everyone in their final pots and under the HPS in a day or two.
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HI DOC,
Been a while since I commented, always reading though. I am sorry to hear about the bad seeds, I had a bad run with Seedmadness. My plan for the future, is simply to drive to Oakland and buy seeds from a large collective. I truly never liked the idea of mailing anyways. Your girls look mighty happy, your leaves look perky, and a healthy green.
On a side note, I am very happy you put so much info about your soil mixes. I am gearing up for my outdoor adventure, and I am totally going to use your soil formulas. Keep up the good work, and enjoy the good life down on the central coast.
:rollit:
 
Thanks for detailing your potting method.

Your plants are looking great!

The hempy plants with the TR nutes are really going to give us a good idea of how good these nutes are since they're the only source.

If they work well in soil-less, they will definitely work well in soil.

Love your new watering system, very cool!
 
slosmokin said:
HI DOC,
Been a while since I commented, always reading though. I am sorry to hear about the bad seeds, I had a bad run with Seedmadness. My plan for the future, is simply to drive to Oakland and buy seeds from a large collective. I truly never liked the idea of mailing anyways. Your girls look mighty happy, your leaves look perky, and a healthy green.
On a side note, I am very happy you put so much info about your soil mixes. I am gearing up for my outdoor adventure, and I am totally going to use your soil formulas. Keep up the good work, and enjoy the good life down on the central coast.
:rollit:
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thanks SLO! I hope you put up a few pics of your outdoor madness. That sounds pretty cool.

Setting Sun said:
Thanks for detailing your potting method.

Your plants are looking great!

The hempy plants with the TR nutes are really going to give us a good idea of how good these nutes are since they're the only source.

If they work well in soil-less, they will definitely work well in soil.

Love your new watering system, very cool!
Click to expand...

Thanks SS.....I've got to get a couple saw horses to raise the trays up a bit, so I can fit a reservoir under them, then I can hook up the watering system. It's really quite simple....tap water in the tub. I'll PH it is all, once I get that figured out I'll just put PH down into a measuring cup and pour it in.

I can predict one thing about this grow:

the TR nutes are going to kick ass in soil. I put them in a bit heavy....they're going to be a tad hot, but I don't think they'll burn at all. My reasoning is that the soil has excellent drainage. In thicker soil, I would have used fewer prills.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the Osmocote is going to beat the AN control.

I don't know how they are going to work in Hempy buckets....but I suspect they'll do very well, because these plants have been getting Osmocote as food and they've been in perlite so far. Will they beat AN?

I certainly hope not!! The products I have from Advanced Nutrients are worth just under 1000 bucks.....they better at least triple the yield of the Osmocote, which I have nearly 20 bucks invested in! :smokin:

The other interesting things will be to measure the TR soil vs the AN soil, and the soil vs the Hempys.

Taste and smell will be another, interesting comparison.

If there is no appreciable difference between the soil and the Hempy, it will be a tough call as to which is easier.
 
I think TR nutes are going to do well. I have a couple of hempy style buckets, soilless medium, with Osmocote in the bottom that I am running as an experiement. The roots are built out and the seedlings are just beginning to take off. Not a hint of nute burn.
 
I grow my vegetables in containers, and I'm thinking of growing them in hempy buckets with TR nutes this year, just to gain some experience with hempies, and out of curiosity to see how they do. I'm going to wrap heavy duty foil around the pots to help keep them cool. I have a friend who grows carrots in a big tub full of pure perlite and they are excellent.
 
DocBud gave me the idea to try them. If successful we will be able to use these as the base nutrients and use amendments to handle pest, diseases, improve quality and yield.
 
Setting Sun said:
I still have some bags of soil in my shed, so if the TR nutes work well, I'll just use them up with that combination.

I glad you're running some TR ferts slimm, so we can get more data points.
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Totally agree. ;)

slimm said:
DocBud gave me the idea to try them. If successful we will be able to use these as the base nutrients and use amendments to handle pest, diseases, improve quality and yield.
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Yep. The worst thing that can happen is that something like Osmocote or Dynamite will be the base nutes and we'll supplement as needed.

However, I predict these will work as well or better than the very expensive nutes that are sold.

My only question is regarding how they do in soiless mixes.....like perlite. I already know they do phenomenally well in soil.
 
DocBud said:
Totally agree. ;)



Yep. The worst thing that can happen is that something like Osmocote or Dynamite will be the base nutes and we'll supplement as needed.

However, I predict these will work as well or better than the very expensive nutes that are sold.
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They probably will work as good or better than the expensive base nutes. Things like silicate, calcium, soil cultures, humics, fulvics, rooting hormones, and possibly bloom and resin enhancers will still be needed with the TR nutes.

Of course it will be important to research the sources of nutrients used in the TR nutes - some source materials are better than others.

DocBud said:
My only question is regarding how they do in soiless mixes.....like perlite. I already know they do phenomenally well in soil.
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From what I am seeing so far they work really well in a perlite / coco mix. One of mine just hit the bottom of the bucket and it is just taking off.

Doc, do you think that the TR nutes will obviate the need for high P and K "bloom boosters" since the plant will be able to take as much P and K as it needs due to the osmotic action of the TR nutes. This would be really good since there is anecdotal evidence suggesting that excess P may not be good for human consumption.
 
slimm said:
They probably will work as good or better than the expensive base nutes. Things like silicate, calcium, soil cultures, humics, fulvics, rooting hormones, and possibly bloom and resin enhancers will still be needed with the TR nutes.

Of course it will be important to research the sources of nutrients used in the TR nutes - some source materials are better than others.



From what I am seeing so far they work really well in a perlite / coco mix. One of mine just hit the bottom of the bucket and it is just taking off.

Doc, do you think that the TR nutes will obviate the need for high P and K "bloom boosters" since the plant will be able to take as much P and K as it needs due to the osmotic action of the TR nutes. This would be really good since there is anecdotal evidence suggesting that excess P may not be good for human consumption.
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I'm still not convinced that PK "bloom boosters" are really necessary. Like you said, the plant is gonna take as much P and K as it needs.

I think a casual grower could grow some top shelf buds using only Osmocote/dynamite/Nutricote/harrels. A really tuned in, skilled grower could take a TR nute and supplement it with certain things and grow some phenomenal product.

Hell, if you just don't stress and burn your plants with excess, or hold them back with deficiencies you're already in the top tier of growers.

I'm thinking a good soil, with good TR nutes and some fulvic/humic tweaks, along with a good kelp extract, like snowstorm, would pretty much kill.

In perlite, it doesn't make sense to use fulvic/humic acid because there's no organic material. At least that's my understanding.

What we really need is for the Osmocote folks (or one of the other companies that make time released ferts) to formulate a cannabis specific prill.

Right now, we're focused on healthy growth and yield. If those two things were to become a foregone conclusion, due to "stoner proof" nutes....we could begin to experiment with subtle changes in soil make up, PH and such in order to get a certain outcome....like taste, potency....whatever.

Seriously, we're still in the shallow end of the pool. Our beloved plant has far more potential than we realize.
 
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