25 replies to this topic

[HrVanker]

So I have a small stash of seeds that I've collected from medical and recreational cannabis, and started one back in Nov. I don't have any lights, and as such this is an entirely no-expectations project. It was planted in Fox Farm, then transplanted to a gallon grow bag w/ coir (ran out of soil) and is being watered w/ FF nutes.

I have it with my cacti and other plants facing S, getting full sun from morning to 1pm at the latest. With the days being shorter than 12hrs I figured there would be a chance it would flower, the primary interference being a small led porch light I can't control.

I was beginning to think it may not flower, but today I noticed what might be some pre-flowers near the top node. Can anyone tell if that's what I'm seeing? Zoom in close on the node just below center, looks like a calyx and a hair...?

Oh, and the jumping spider that's been guarding this plant for me.

Edited by HrVanker, 20 January 2022 - 04:25 PM.

[YoshiTrainer]

It is hard to tell from the pic but I think that is a male. The place where you circled, the far node looks a lot like a male. Give it a few days/week and post another pic to be sure.

[Myc]

Give it a few days.

That looks like a male flower.

[FLASHINGROOSTER]

Is that a spider in that picture or am I too high?

[HrVanker]

Is that a spider in that picture or am I too high?

Yeah, it's been hanging out in this plant for a few weeks now!

[MushLuvR]

Spiders won't hurt anything; they are your friends in Nature (Predator).  I hate to say it, but it looks like a Male Naner forming where the node meets the stem (farthest Upper Node).  You are looking for two white V's, or a Mini banana bunch which is YANK time.  You will know soon, Male flowers pop before females show, usually a few weeks earlier.  I hope I'm wrong and it isn't definitive just YET.

 

MushL

[HrVanker]

Yeah. I see what looks like a single hair on the side of the node closet to the camera, and what looks like a small calyx forming on the opposite side (circled node). But the "hair" is green (dunno if they ripen to white), and I'm inexperienced w/ early sexing.

Hopefully it's female, but I'm not holding my breath at this point. Gonna have to try again after summer, assuming this is a male.

[Coopdog]

It's a male :(

[HrVanker]

If I didn't have other things on which to spend my tax return, I would be investing in a grow setup... hmmm... do I really need a car?

[HrVanker]

Rather than start a new thread, I figured I'd update this one.

I recently turned one of my 4 closets (in a 1bd apartment lol) into a plant space. I got two different width racks from Amazon and Frankensteined them into a single unit, w/ 1ft Barrina T5 lights. It's intended for houseplants, and they seem to love it.

Now that summer is winding down, I want to try growing some bud again. The plan is to start them on this plant rack, and move them outside once the temps are low enough. I've started a bunch of seeds over the years, and I'm fairly certain that I can keep them nice and compact for the next 4-6wks.

The two pots in the rear are random bagseed (from good, possibly MMJ). And the front is a seed that I found in some Maryland MMJ, from the strain Guice.

P.S. The African Violets are looking sad after some Neem spray (thrips) and possibly some rust.

Edited by HrVanker, 11 August 2022 - 01:35 PM.

[HrVanker]

And we have lift-off! All 3 have germinated, but only two poking above the soil so far. Guice still has the shell on. They are about 4" below 3 of the 1ft, 8w, yellow T5 LEDs. The heat isn't too intense, but I'll keep my eye on them and adjust as needed.

[HrVanker]

All 3 plants now have some true leaves. The two bigger ones are starting on their second set. The seedlings have been stretching a tiny bit. But I'm pretty sure they are just doing the default stem length, not stretching for light. So I've been weighing them down to the dirt to try and keep them under control.

The smallest seedling was struggling a bit. I had to manually remove the shell, and carefully peel off that membrane by hand. They all struggled with that a bit, but the are a few years old at this point. Obviously the tiny one has struggled the most, hopefully it pulls through.

[HrVanker]

Realized that the plants were getting a little dry, so I took them off the shelf to water and snap some close up photos. They all look a little stressed, but I think it's mostly because I forgot to water and maybe the mild LST I've been doing.

Smaller one is coming along slowly, I'm hoping it pulls through.

The med sized is the Guice, looking good. Love that blue-ish hue it's got going on.

The bigger one has some interesting characteristics. The leaves have some irregular notching, and it looks like it's trying to explode w/ new growth.

[MushLuvR]

I have peeled many Helmets from seedlings over the years, as long as the shell is cracked 3/4's of the way, it's pretty easy... a light light fingernail scratch once the helmet is removed to get the "skin" off.  Try this technique too early and you will decapitate without a doubt.  Those seedlings are great, they aren't stretching from low light conditions, it's just what they Do in the early stages.  Be careful training this early, they are still youngsters developing a strong root system.  Those pots are big as well for babies and should hold water for a week so watch the overwatering (deceiving I know).  The small weaker plant with the yellow cotyledon may have been overwatered, or your soil is a bit woodsy.  The good news is, that cotyledon doesn't matter... it's only there to supply the seedling with food for the first 2 weeks of its life.  The true leaves look on point and healthy, so I hope I didn't scare or frighten you, should pull through for ya.  Good Vibes!  

 

MushL 

[HrVanker]

The watering mentioned in that post was their first "real" watering, so I gave them a good soak. During germination I was just keeping the area around the seeds damp, using a spray bottle of DI water (in lieu of a paper towel method). Generally speaking, I'm a fan of letting soil get relatively dry before watering again, depending on the look of the plants, and other factors. But I'm still pretty new to cannabis, so I'll surely make some mistakes.

The yellow cotelydons are greening up a bit, and I see a real tiny set of second leaves forming.

Soil is straight FF:OF, though it is towards the bottom of the bag, so it may be a bit woody. The training I'm doing is really just bending the soft stem down against the soil, and holding it down w/ woodchips and pebbles. But I'll be careful.

Now that the second nodes are developing, I'm much less worried that the seedlings are stretching for light. There is 0 distance between the second node and the third set of leaves.

[MushLuvR]

I do the same for young seedlings, I don't water the soil, just keep the surface from drying out for surface level humidity early on and let those roots search for moisture (You will see a slight droop in fans, perfect time).  You are on Track and as long as the true first set of real leaves is doing ok, the cotyledons wither away around week 3 anyway.  I used to use FFOF way back when and I remember it being a bit woodsy so makes sense, I used to cut it with perlite and or Verm (usually both).  I will tell you when I used to grow Outdoor, my first pounder plant was in FF (in ground NO pot... Holy Grail Kush Many Cycles Ago) with Earth Juice products for bloom.  I did a test a long time ago and that soil will run 5-6 weeks without anything added for Veg.  All the best, I preach to people about the wet/dry cycle, No need to overwater, the plant will show you when it's thirsty, NOT when you decide to give it a drink.  The color of them is vibrant, YOU Got This!  

 

MushL

[HrVanker]

So the weirdo seedling is staying weird. Not sure what to make of it, but as long as it wants to grow, I'll let it go!



There is still some odd stuff going on with the bigger plants, but they are relatively normal. The silvery areas on the leaves are strange to me. It almost looks like variegation but not quite. I don't see any critters either, so maybe a water stain? Both have of the bigger ones have it. And then there is some odd node formation with the one as well.

Edited by HrVanker, 29 August 2022 - 06:06 PM.

[HrVanker]

Just took some update pics. The two bigger ones are looking pretty good. Those lower nodes really wanted to stretch any time I gave them some extra head space, so they are looking a little lanky. Haven't seen any weird leaf stuff on either of the big ones, in the most recent nodes. And they are starting to really want the water.

The Little Aberation is still doing its thing, looking less weird as it grows, but growing very slowly. It's easily a week or two behind its siblings.

Edit: I'm also fairly certain that outside temps will start dropping in the next week or so. Once it's consistently in the mid-90s (hopefully by Oct) I'll be moving them outside for some real light.

Edited by HrVanker, 08 September 2022 - 03:44 PM.

[HrVanker]

I should have done this from the start! Forgot I had some mylar lying around, so I clipped it around the area where the plants are to maximize light. It's kind of a bitch to adjust, otherwise I'd do a before-after photo. Definitely more efficient w/ the mylar up.

[HrVanker]

Just a little update:

 

No pre-flowers spotted yet. But we're heading into the natural 12/12 as far as day/night goes. So hopefully soon.

 

The little one is still chugging along in the Fortress of Solitude, looking great. I wonder if it's just slow growing, or if the other ones would have stayed as small w/ the mylar up. They only got it for a week or two max.

 

The two bigger plants have been outside for a while. They get a little droopy w/ the heat of the day (mid-90s lately) and were drying out real fast. So I transplanted them up to gallon bags, and decided to try a little sub-irrigation. I have some orchid and african violet pots that are 'self-watering', and really just rely on a reservoir and a wick. So I took one of these wicks (just some cotton rope), poked a hole in the bottom of the bag, and jammed the bent end of the wick up into the soil.

 

First it wouldn't take any water, but I had to top water in order to get the soil to compact and make good contact w/ the wick. After that, the water level is steadily lowering and the bag feels damp near the bottom. My hope is that the heat will cause evaporation to combat things being too wet, and also keep the roots cooler.