70 replies to this topic

[Myc]

The addition of the mycorrhizae really helped. Afghani #1 was given a normal feeding and watering yesterday. Improvement is apparent in just 24 hours. Photos from today:

Photos from yesterday prior to water and fertilizer:

 

And here's Blue Cheese. Photos from yesterday:

 

I'm glad to be able to demonstrate that patience and taking corrective action in small measures can often obtain the best results. It is also nice to demonstrate that treating the soil as one would a fungal substrate is the best approach to plant cultivation.

 

All of the seeds I planted are up so I'll get that other thread started in the next week or so.

https://mycotopia.ne...g/#entry1496597

Edited by Myc, 25 January 2022 - 07:13 PM.

[Mycol]

Could you go through your soil mix and volume ? Aside from trimming I’m pretty much a noob on the canna front.

[Myc]

Sure thing. Soil is easy.

 

I use:

1 part - Sunshine Mix #4 OR Sunshine Advanced Mix #4

1 part - Fox Farm's Happy Frog Potting soil

1 part - Fox Farm's Ocean Forest Potting soil

 

I top-dress as the grow progresses with kelp meal, Bloom Uprising, and crushed oyster shell. Botanicare liquid organic fertilizer is used during normal feedings and watering - in accordance with the instructions on the label.
The pots are 7-gallon clothe grow bags for good aeration of the soil substrate.

Edited by Myc, 22 December 2021 - 11:41 AM.

[Myc]

It looks like Afghani #1 is back on track. Water uptake is what I consider to be normal.

Not much else to do at this point but keep up with watering and make sure the plants don't get too close to the lighting array.

 

 

Edited by Myc, 25 January 2022 - 07:12 PM.

[Myc]

This week's update.

First up is Afghani #1. Looks like she is making a great recovery and even after having a little setback, she seems to be outgrowing the Blue Cheese.

 

Next up is Blue Cheese. Trouble-free and really nothing to do but keep up with maintenance.

 

Nothing really to report here at this time. The plants are taking on 1 1/2 gallons of water every three days (or slightly more than three days). I add liquid fertilizer once a week in accordance with labeling and product guidelines.

Some of the lower leaves have begun to yellow which is expected. As the plants flower they will tend to use the food stored in lower leaves which are no longer receiving adequate light. The leaves will yellow, shrivel, and dry up. I pull them off once they're headed toward brown since the plant has effectively cut the leaf off from the vascular network once exhausted of stored food supplies.

Edited by Myc, 25 January 2022 - 07:12 PM.

[Myc]

Last week's update - in keeping up with weekly updates.

First up is Afghani #1. She has regained her vigor but you can still see irregularities in the leaf structures and general behavior of the plant. This is not a soil issue and I'm convinced that I just got a bad round of genetics. I'll still plant all of the seed I have and hope for a better phenotype. 

 

Next is Blue Cheese. She's doing fine. The shade leaves which are not receiving adequate light are beginning to yellow, shrivel, and drop off. I just gently pick them off once the plant is done with them. They generally fall off when touched.

 

The plants are taking water on normally at a rate of 1.5 gallons roughly every three days. This week the fertilizer regimen was changed-up. (remember that these are last week's photos - I'm a week behind on posting the update)

I applied half of the normal Botanicare liquid fertilizer and dissolved one teaspoon of Uprising Bloom dry fertilizer into the water. This will give the microbes in the soil some different nutrition to use as the populations age and the plant above begins to reach maturity.

 

I also set up my ghetto support frames just in case the bud begins to get too heavy for the branches to support. Afghani #1 is starting to lean to the side a little and it is a heartbreaker to find the garden all split and bent over from its own weight. I decided to begin supporting her during this watering cycle.

Edited by Myc, 25 January 2022 - 07:11 PM.

[Myc]

And now for this week's update. First up is Afghani #1. Despite the weirdness of the genetics she is certainly a grower once she gets happy. She is definitely leaning against the supports that are in place !

 

Blue Cheese appears to be a happy camper. She's getting a bit taller and has lost several of the lower shade leaves as a result. Looks like frost is beginning to form on the guard leaves. ;)

 

We're into week #5 since the introduction of 12/12 lighting and everything seems to be going along fine. The trichomes on the plant will tell us when it's harvest time - not the breeder's statements or a calendar date.

And that's the fun of gardening once you get the hang of it. Attention to detail, act in small measures, enjoy the show!

Edited by Myc, 25 January 2022 - 07:11 PM.

[Arathu]

That is so beautiful! Man I hope these idiots here wake up......

 

Awesome dude!

 

A

[Skywatcher]

They are both packing on nicely Myc !

Your photo shares make me want to do a predominant Indica strain this year............

[Mycol]

Those plants are looking nice. Would you buy those lights again ?
Looking to do an auto flower grow, I have a 2x4 tent too (I think that’s what you have?) I was seeing what lights were around since I’m pretty new to this . Yours are decently priced and have a good warranty too

[Myc]

Those plants are looking nice. Would you buy those lights again ?
Looking to do an auto flower grow, I have a 2x4 tent too (I think that’s what you have?) I was seeing what lights were around since I’m pretty new to this . Yours are decently priced and have a good warranty too

So far, these new LEDs are out-pacing my older HID setup in a number of ways.

I noticed that the plants did not get their typical stretch after moving to a 12/12 lighting cycle.

I have only raised the lights once and have kept the "dimmer" set at 80% lighting output. (Never exceeding 80% of an electrical device's stated maximum load usually increases the service life of said equipment. - as a general rule)

 

The expected life-span of a 400w hps lamp is usually around six months. So with my setup, that was 4 lamps per year at around $15 each. So $60/ year just in replacement lamps.

The energy savings compared to HID is negated due to having to add supplemental heat so I'm not sure how long it will take the fixtures to amortize.

 

All LED arrays will degrade incrementally throughout their service life. The stated service life of the fixture is 100,000 hours.

That is 24/7 for roughly ten years - always on. I have strong doubts that the array will still be viable at 100k hours.

I'm hoping for 3 good years (less than 50,000 hours).

 

In the final analysis, I would probably buy these again as they are no more or less difficult than HID. Each system comes with its caveats. The LEDs are way easier for the end-user since they're basically plug-and-play.

[Myc]

And here's the weekly update.

Leaves are beginning to noticeably yellow at this stage.

Afghani #1:

 

Blue Cheese:

 

Along with normal watering I top-dressed each pot with a teaspoon of kelp meal and a teaspoon of alfalfa meal. I did have to prop up Blue Cheese as she was beginning to sag under her own weight.

 

[YoshiTrainer]

Those ladies are looking beautiful Myc!

[FLASHINGROOSTER]

I have been happy with my led so far as well. For the price it has lasted long enough to pay for another one. I would say I did notice the light dim slightly, that or my eyes got used to the light. When I first set it up it was difficult to be in there without the shades, now I don't seem to notice. Yield seems to be holding strong at around three years now I would say, granted mine has been off for a few months now.

[Myc]

So long as the buds remain dense and aren't larfy - I would keep that light in service until the plants begin to exhibit undesirable behaviors. I figure the same thing - overall energy savings will pay for a new fixture once these are past their service life. The plants will tell us when it's time to change out the lighting.

I'm very curious to see what summertime growing is like. Ordinarily, I have to take measure to manage heat by ducting the house AC system into the grow room. That shouldn't be an issue during the summer months (I presume). Interested to find out.

[Arathu]

Those look incredible Myc.....I can smell them from here and my eyes are getting red.....  

Good info on the LED's too guy's....thanks.....

 

A

[Myc]

Well everyone, in keeping with displaying the bad along with the good, there is a lot to un-pack and a great deal learned during this first go-around with LEDs.

Blue Cheese was harvested today right at the 8-week mark - as noted in the breeder's statements.

As you can see, she is burnt to a crisp.

This is what happens when liquid fertilizer is used improperly. The scenario is simple - under normal circumstances, using my old lighting setup, I counted on the grow to last at least two weeks more than the breeder's statements. (If they say 8 weeks, I counted on going 10 weeks). That being said, I failed to stop adding liquid fertilizer to the water at week six and continued into week seven. By the time I noticed the burn and switched to plain water, the damage was done. Had I not over-fertilized, I might have been able to coax a week or two more from this grow.

 

Not to worry. This just made for an ugly plant - but the bud is f-ing spectacular. The presence of 10% mature, red trichomes on the calyx was enough to signal harvest. I managed to water with plain water several times so I'm hoping the residual fertilizer salts have dissipated. Otherwise, this batch may be a bit harsh to smoke.

 

To summarize what I've learned:

The Viparspectra XS2000 is WAY stronger than a traditional 400w HPS, This resulted in a shorter, denser plant. - I've never had plants stay this squat and stocky. It also resulted in a shorter grow than I was expecting - will be following breeder's statements of maturity (without adjustments) from now on.

 

[Myc]

And here's a quick progress report on Afghani #1:

 

She seems to be recovering well.

I made a mistake with the Blue Cheese - but this plant's lagging-behind allowed me to shift gears to plain water in time to keep from burning her to a crisp.

Sometimes, I just get lucky.

As you can see, she is starting to really beef-up and is putting on some very dense, thick colas which are dragging themselves down under their own weight. - - This is what I generally look for in my grows.

She'll be receiving plain water and a touch of blackstrap molasses (1 Tbsp/gallon) for the next week or so until the trichomes look right.

 

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[FLASHINGROOSTER]

Man I gotta get on it been slacking hard on my grows lately, I love watching those babies grow up

[Myc]

Afghani #1 was harvested yesterday.

I seem to have lost my touch and have much to learn while using these new LED lights.

 

In the interest of science, let's start again. Shall we?

 

I've got the "tricker" fixture running on a timer so as to keep these beauties in veg just a bit longer while I take clones and wait for them to root.

Here's hoping for a better run this time.

 

I changed my soil mix by adjusting the ratio of soil components.

50% - Advanced Sunshine Mix #4

25% - Fox Farm Happy Frog

25% - Fox Farm Ocean Forest

By reducing the "hotter" soils I hope to be able to realize a better grow this time around.

However, if it doesn't work out - I have more seeds and can try again until I get this process dialed-in.

 

If worse come to worst - I can simply re-install the old HID fixtures and return to my old methods.