Xlr8's Quest For The Best - 2012

[donpaul.p]

i have been doing some lst to open my plants up to let light in, now the buds on the end of the lower branches are the biggest on that branch, so i used pipe cleaners and pulled the branch down so it was growing out to the side instead of upwards towards the light, on one of the branches i must of pulled it down to far, anyway the bud on the end of the branch was lower than the other buds on the branch, the plant then focussed the growth onto the buds that was higher up, so it sort of slowed the growth in the bud at the end of the branch due to it been lower down than the others, seems like the smaller buds further down this branch are not putting on weight faster than they was before,

 

[Vapedogg223]

i have been doing some lst to open my plants up to let light in, now the buds on the end of the lower branches are the biggest on that branch, so i used pipe cleaners and pulled the branch down so it was growing out to the side instead of upwards towards the light, on one of the branches i must of pulled it down to far, anyway the bud on the end of the branch was lower than the other buds on the branch, the plant then focussed the growth onto the buds that was higher up, so it sort of slowed the growth in the bud at the end of the branch due to it been lower down than the others, seems like the smaller buds further down this branch are not putting on weight faster than they was before,

Sounds about right...the plant focuses its energy on the bud-sites that get the most light...just like LSTing, you pull the growing tip down past the secondary branches and they take off.

 

[Xlr8]

Hi X,


Yes, she has recovered well, considering where it split. It may have repaired itself a little better if I hadn't kept pulling those two main branchs apart. The only thing I think I'd do differently if it happens again is to use floral tape...ya know, the green stuff. It stretches when pulled, and sticks to itself really well. I need to find some and keep it on hand.

I'm thinking the same thing about the salts build up...only like you said, there is no "burn", that's the only reason I haven't flushed yet, well that and the fact that they are soo big now I'll have trouble doing it alone. I appreciate all the info on flushing...I've gone thru this (salt buildup) a few times and I also prefer the Low nute solution for this, for all the reasons you gave. They seem to respond better to it. The thing I've noticed while flushing is...the lower the ppm's go the higher the pH goes. I take readings with each flush thru. I don't know how to make sense of this. After flush (usually several days later) when they dry out, I go back to feeding regular doses and the ppm's gradually climb and the pH gradually falls again.

Sounds like you made a good decision with the PE...and now I get why you think you have two different phenos. I'll be interested in the harvest results. I only popped one and it turned out female, the mom gave me a bunch of problems and I culled her for space reasons...I regret that decision, only because I really liked her smoke...I have a few more of her beans and I'll grow another one of these days, I just hope it's as nice as the first one.

super cropping...my mother always said I had the "patience of Job". Frankly I don't really agree, but some things do require a slow approach, and bending stems is one. I did take a few pics today while doing it, I'll post them in my journal update next Monday. To be honest, I think it's the Wonder Woman...she is soft and compliant. Very easy to manipulate. I've actually broken both the NLxBB and the BW a few times in the past. But I keep practicing, I think I'm getting better at it, I haven't done it lately.

I don't have anywhere near the experience as most here, but I think the "kink" puts undo stress on the plant and should be avoided if possible and I do think waiting after watering helps...JMHO
Currently I'm trying bassman's defoliating method on my smallest Wonder Woman clone. Gonna see how she responds to that.

Let us know what you think about the new BPN V-B



Sq

Hi Sqwheels!

That green floral tape sounds like a great idea. I'd like to get some of that to have on hand, too. Might be good for that branch, though it seems to be doing well on it's own.

Yes, what you say is true on the relationship between ph and ppms - someone shared this with me once, and I found it valuable:

PPMs go down, PH goes up = plants are hungry, depleting nutrients from the mix
PPMs go up, PH goes down = plants are thirsty, and they are drinking more water than taking in nutrients
PPMs stay level, ph stays level = equilibrium (ideal)

I really like that Wonder Woman plant of yours, she's a beauty! Sounds easy to work with, too. I need to be more patient with my super cropping/bending. I'm getting better though, and the last few looked much better. The watering thing before bending was what my instincts told me too, but I actually read a tutorial somewhere that suggested the opposite. I tend to agree with you, though, but I believe it may also depend on the branch thickness as well.

I've been defoliating quite a bit the last few grows, and I like the results. I may be even more aggressive this time around. Bassman did a great job on that tutorial.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

 

[Xlr8]

Hey X

I'm a little behind on my readings and I read a few pages back about you wanting to supercrop during flowering.

I do it all the time. The thing I have learned is to really roll the stem between your fingers a lot to get the branch soft as not to snap and crack. Which by the way as long as it is still connected, they survive anyway.

You almost have to wait until they stop stretching, so doing it during flowering is no problem.

My plants are really thick too. My brixperiment is growing some healthy strong plants and the stems that need bent are as thick as a pencil. I rolled one yesterday a good bit until it almost bent by itself. then I bent it precisely where I wanted it. Problem is they turn back up a lot they are so healthy. I have to use a pipe cleaner to tie it to stay down. It really makes the lower branches take off too.

here is a branch I supercropped from the last grow

Great looking plant Hash Hound!!

I'm getting better (more patient) with my bending. Some of the taller branches of mine are thick like that too, and it's tough to bend them without a kink, but my last couple look much better and are popping themselves back up like ou mention. At least the ones that didn't bend as smoothly are staying bent a little better, though they are straightening up, too (just not as quickly). I'm very happy with the results so far, and have definitely seen more bud development along the horizontal section, as well as more secondary branch growth.

Thanks for sharing the pic and your real-world experience on it. I appreciate it a ton! and +rep

 

[Xlr8]

This is exactly correct thinking. This is seen all over nature both in plants and animals. When we break a bone, the body's natural response is to knit/mend, then reinforce that area to prevent breaks there again. Likewise when plants are damaged, the "scar" is much stronger than the original state of that area, and further, the plant responds by making everything around, and above that site of damage stronger and more resilient to that same stimulus.

Great point, Jandre!

 

[Xlr8]

Nice job on that Hash Hound! A textbook example of how that should look if done properly!

And XL... I am just fascinated by what you are doing with those branch junctions or whatever the proper name for that part of the plant is! LOL!

I just don't have the patience for this level of work that you guys are doing here, but I am still intrigued and love seeing these photos each time you piost a new batch!

Thanks Goose, though not sure if you might be referring to Sqwheels's last pics? She had some great photos of a split that she taped up, and it healed really well, and kinda cool looking... I'll try to get some new pics of my own up soon, too.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend buddy!

 

[Xlr8]

i have been doing some lst to open my plants up to let light in, now the buds on the end of the lower branches are the biggest on that branch, so i used pipe cleaners and pulled the branch down so it was growing out to the side instead of upwards towards the light, on one of the branches i must of pulled it down to far, anyway the bud on the end of the branch was lower than the other buds on the branch, the plant then focussed the growth onto the buds that was higher up, so it sort of slowed the growth in the bud at the end of the branch due to it been lower down than the others, seems like the smaller buds further down this branch are not putting on weight faster than they was before,

Sounds about right...the plant focuses its energy on the bud-sites that get the most light...just like LSTing, you pull the growing tip down past the secondary branches and they take off.

Agreed, I've done that too. I have always bent plants quite a bit in veg, and continued LST into bloom - sometimes bending the tip lower like that. This is the first time I've super cropped in bloom, though, and honestly the results are just like I'd hoped for so far and doesn't seem to be setting the development back at all - not much different than LST despite the greater stress applied. At this point, I foresee doing the bloom super cropping in all my grows from here on out as its a great aid in keeping the canopy even.

 

[BigIrishDoode]

i am also really just now getting into supercropping, it always just seemed to stressful to the plant and my nerves! lol but ive gotten much more rough with them and they do seem to like it, i have a tt-kush (a cross i made) that was strecthing way to much since i have like 300 beans of that i was not afraid to bend it and it has like a crown/pitch fork of colas now and it also seemed to really kick start the slow to flower thing it was doing, we'll see how it goes, but so ar im pretty impressed with what im seeing!

 

[Xlr8]

Quick mini update - 28 days bloom (4 weeks bloom phase completed):

Thursday, I started using the newest Blue Planet Nutrients additives along with the 3-part base nutes and Liquid Blue bloom booster. I applied them all per the instructions on the BPN website. Here's are the new additives as of this last res. change:

BPN "Early Bloomer" (new with last res change)
BPN Vita Blue (new with last res change)
BPN Liquid Seaweed (new with last res change - it sure smells like the ocean!)
BPN Root Magic (mycorrhizae) *would have ideally been applied in veg, but am still hoping to get some innoculation/benefit for remainder of this grow.

It's only been a couple of days, but the plants have really accelerated bud development and trichome production these last couple of days too. Seems to good to be true, and maybe just a coincidence, but they sure seem to be responding positively. I was honestly shocked at how much bud swelling has taken place even in the last day, but maybe it's just the stage/timing as this is typically the timing for this behavior too. Hopefully, pics tomorrow - they are getting very frosty.

Oh, and I wanted to (reluctantly) share that I'm struggling a bit with how I'm feeling and may not get around as much as I'd like for a couple of days. I want to apologize in advance if I am not keeping up on everyone's journals while I try to get my pain managed a little better... Today was worst day in a long long time - but hopefully this will be short lived.

Much love to you all!

 

[Xlr8]

Here's a link to the Blue Planet Nutrients 3-part nutrients application guide with the new products included:

Blue Planet Nutrients Application Guide

 

[Fluffy Haze]

Just a quick hello Xlr8, hope that's OK

 

[Xlr8]

i am also really just now getting into supercropping, it always just seemed to stressful to the plant and my nerves! lol but ive gotten much more rough with them and they do seem to like it, i have a tt-kush (a cross i made) that was strecthing way to much since i have like 300 beans of that i was not afraid to bend it and it has like a crown/pitch fork of colas now and it also seemed to really kick start the slow to flower thing it was doing, we'll see how it goes, but so ar im pretty impressed with what im seeing!

Hi BID -

I've been comfortable doing just about anything to them in veg, but have been hesitant to go as far as supercropping in bloom. Not so much afraid of herm's as much as worried about affecting yield negatively. But, I'm already seeing evidence from my own plants and the pics being shared by others that yield is going to be just fine - if anything the advantages of the even canopy will be a boon to my yield (at least that's my current expectation).

I've seen your Trailer Trash cross before (T.T.)... What a great name, btw! It's fun making your own crosses, huh? This is my first grow with seeds from my own crosses, and I'm having more fun than ever, mostly due to the mystery of it all!

 

[Xlr8]

Just a quick hello Xlr8, hope that's OK

Okay?!? I love having you around Fluffster, even if it's just for a quick hello! Thank you for dropping by - never ever is it NOT okay!

 

[donpaul.p]

i take it all them products are out to buy now or are they still in testing stage, its going to work out expensive for me with shipping as well,
can all these products be used for both soil and hydro like the 3 part plus bloom booster, so now their is an extra 4 products, id like to use them all if its going to make a huge difference, ill be following along this journal to see how it goes, the problems is delivery costs more than the goods to where i am, but i will be placing an order for the 3part n bloom booster around xmas, so if this other adds benefits then ill be ordering them as well,
fingers crossed its going to be as good as i think it is,

 

[Vick074]

Hope you're doing ok XLr8!!!
read you were feeling rough lately..hopefully you got the pain under control.
Can't wait to see your pic update, You're grow with the new BPN nutes is making me think I'm gunna switch to BPN on the next go.

positive vibes coming yer way
take care bro!

 

[Xlr8]

i take it all them products are out to buy now or are they still in testing stage, its going to work out expensive for me with shipping as well,
can all these products be used for both soil and hydro like the 3 part plus bloom booster, so now their is an extra 4 products, id like to use them all if its going to make a huge difference, ill be following along this journal to see how it goes, the problems is delivery costs more than the goods to where i am, but i will be placing an order for the 3part n bloom booster around xmas, so if this other adds benefits then ill be ordering them as well,
fingers crossed its going to be as good as i think it is,

Looks like these products are for sale now - some it appears as of very recently (Corey from BPN could probably answer that better, but i didn't notice some of them until just this past week or two).

I think it would bore people to death getting into all the specific ingredients and formulations, but they seem to be packed with good stuff, and very well formulated: just check out the "Liquid Seaweed" description to see what I mean - then look at the price - ridiculously good value for what you are getting IMO!!:

Blue Planet Nutrients - Liquid Seaweed

But, the proof is in the pudding, so I'm going to work hard on keeping things dialed in to hopefully give us all a good idea of what sort of benefit can be had from these new products. I'm already more than sold on the 3-part nutes, and Liquid Blue.

Oh, and maybe Corey can answer the soil vs hydro question, but as far as I know they could all be used with soil, too.

 

[Xlr8]

Hope you're doing ok XLr8!!!
read you were feeling rough lately..hopefully you got the pain under control.
Can't wait to see your pic update, You're grow with the new BPN nutes is making me think I'm gunna switch to BPN on the next go.

positive vibes coming yer way
take care bro!

Hi Vick -

The product is great, and the price/value is phenomenal for what you get. Add to that the fact that he participates in the community here, answering questions, helping people succeed with their grows... what more can you ask for? I doubt you'd regret making the switch - I know I haven't.

for the positive vibes! I'm feeling a bit better today, but still a little rough. Things had been going a bit better with the pain lately, so this set-back has been frustrating. Hopefully, things get back on track again soon. Thanks again for your concern, truly.

 

[Xlr8]

A few pics from a couple of days ago - October 12 (Day 27 bloom)

I didn't manage to get these up right away, and haven't been able to take any new ones since. I may have another picture update again soon if I manage to get some taken tonight. They seem to have really swollen and frosted up even more since these were taken, so hopefully I can illustrate that soon. Here's a few in the meantime!

Deadhead Ripper:

OG Ripper

 

[OG13]

Hey X, hope you are feeling better. That Deadhead Ripper ought to get you feeling better.

 

[Goldengoose7]

I liked your latest photo update XL! Looking great as usual!

I'm coming down to the wire with my own harvests now with only a couple more plants to go before "I'M DONE FOR THE SEASON!"

Looking forward to having more time to hang around your journal (s) as well as my other 420 friends! I hope to have the last of my buds jarred up and curing by the end of this week!

These latest strains you are working on sound interesting! Looking forward to seeing how they mature!

Talk to ya soon!