2nd Grow - Exotic Genetics Citrus Berry, Organic, Mainlined, 300W CXB3590

slow_grow

Well-Known Member
Ok I transplanted them into their 5G RootTrapper II final homes yesterday. I originally planned on waiting until after I topped them but started to get anxious. With the exception of the one that is 4 days behind (lower right in the photo of them all) they are at their 6th node. I figured I'd transplant them just prior to topping to give them a few days to settle before actually topping them.

It happened to be watering time so I watered them and waited a few hours and then began. I remember reading something about it being easier to transplant if the soil is somewhat moist. I used an extra pot that I had lying around as a pilot hole guide so the plants would just slip right in like a glove. I was surprised to see such a concentration of roots at the bottoms of these 1G starter pots given the fact that the plants are only about 25 days old.

The shot of them all was from an hour or so ago, immediately after the transplanting they seemed to droop a tad but this morning they seemed to be back to being perky and happy about things. I'll probably top them either later today or tomorrow. I'll replace the straw mulch and spread some of the clover based cover crop mix in. I've got some tomato cages that I need to modify a bit to better suite the space. Anyhow, I'm pretty excited and thankful that the plants were cool w/ the transplant.

Holy shit man, that comfrey is bananas. If you scroll up to my post on Thursday you'll see how the comfrey had a mere 2 little leaves. The layout that you see isn't long term, after topping I'll move them so they are a straight line of 4 plants. I was kind of hoping that the comfrey could chill out in the corner but I can already tell that this beast is going to get big so I think I'll pull it out and place it by our largest window until spring hits. I've already got a place in mind outside for it. The leaf structure is fascinating, very thick and full of texture.
 

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slow_grow

Well-Known Member
Ok so they've been topped, bound, mulched and the rings have been added. I left the third node's fan leaves on to give them a boost, I'll trim them when the second topping occurs. Once they reach the ring I'll remove that stem based binding. I made sure there was plenty of play yet enough rigidity to hold them in place. The one that is 4 or 5 days behind (lower right in photo) is just bound at the fan leaves for now. Comfrey is still going nuts. It has such a presence, I have to think of a name for it. I also added some of the clover based cover crop before mulching, should be interesting here soon.
 

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Lordhooha

Well-Known Member
Ok so they've been topped, bound, mulched and the rings have been added. I left the third node's fan leaves on to give them a boost, I'll trim them when the second topping occurs. Once they reach the ring I'll remove that stem based binding. I made sure there was plenty of play yet enough rigidity to hold them in place. The one that is 4 or 5 days behind (lower right in photo) is just bound at the fan leaves for now. Comfrey is still going nuts. It has such a presence, I have to think of a name for it. I also added some of the clover based cover crop before mulching, should be interesting here soon.
Looking good man. I just picked up shrieker today from exotic! I'm waiting on labyrinth to release too.
 

Aruanda

Well-Known Member
Sweet sounds good I think I'm gonna get some of this as well.

I had some Kosher Tangie a few months back while out in Oregon. That stuff blew my mind away with the smells coming from it. I think you'll be pleased with the Tangie for sure. Would love to get some of these seeds too.

The plants are looking good Slow_grow! Your comfrey doesn't look too big just yet, imho.
 

slow_grow

Well-Known Member
Plants seem to be doing great, this is my first mainline attempt and it's neat to see how these plants react to the topping(s). It's like they spend about 24-48 hours regrouping and thinking about things and then boom, explosive growth resumes with their newly formed game plan strengthening potential weak spots here and there as they go. I managed to snap a branch and promptly duct taped it together nearly perfectly aligned and relieved the bindings on it. It kept shedding the tape after half a day, so I ended up just leaving it off. It wasn't a full snap but I kind of thought the whole branch was a loss. It seems to be bulking up the surrounding area and there hasn't been an apparent loss of growth beyond the break so I'm pretty stoked.

This all organic re-used/re-amended soil approach is cool in that I have yet to apply a single nute and from what I can tell, the plants aren't showing any signs of deficiencies. Things just seem to be very stable. It is boring though. I find myself wanting to do something, the mainline tending helps keep my anxiousness at bay to a degree but so far it has basically just been a matter of watering and tweaking my little tie-downs. I guess I should be thankful though with a baby only one month away haha.

The clover is starting to pop up and the comfrey is rocking along. I'm thinking about chopping the comfrey back down to the crown to prepare a small batch of tea concentrate for later when I go into flower.

They should be ready for their second and final topping in the next day or so!
 

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MGrow2016

Member
Lol! Yeah my wife would be pissed to. She already gets jealous that I spend so much time with the plants, giving them attention, studying up on different things for their care, etc.

I'm going thru that Exotic Genetix thread. May inquire about Spirit in the Sky.

Let me know if you run the Black Mamba. Wanna see how that one turns out...

Just browsing through..Who else is having issues with the wife. Same lmao
 

Lordhooha

Well-Known Member
Plants seem to be doing great, this is my first mainline attempt and it's neat to see how these plants react to the topping(s). It's like they spend about 24-48 hours regrouping and thinking about things and then boom, explosive growth resumes with their newly formed game plan strengthening potential weak spots here and there as they go. I managed to snap a branch and promptly duct taped it together nearly perfectly aligned and relieved the bindings on it. It kept shedding the tape after half a day, so I ended up just leaving it off. It wasn't a full snap but I kind of thought the whole branch was a loss. It seems to be bulking up the surrounding area and there hasn't been an apparent loss of growth beyond the break so I'm pretty stoked.

This all organic re-used/re-amended soil approach is cool in that I have yet to apply a single nute and from what I can tell, the plants aren't showing any signs of deficiencies. Things just seem to be very stable. It is boring though. I find myself wanting to do something, the mainline tending helps keep my anxiousness at bay to a degree but so far it has basically just been a matter of watering and tweaking my little tie-downs. I guess I should be thankful though with a baby only one month away haha.

The clover is starting to pop up and the comfrey is rocking along. I'm thinking about chopping the comfrey back down to the crown to prepare a small batch of tea concentrate for later when I go into flower.

They should be ready for their second and final topping in the next day or so!
Looking good! I harvested the pink last night turn out very nice
 

slow_grow

Well-Known Member
How are the plants lookin slow grow? You waiting on a bit longer interval to make an update?
They are doing great, all of them have had their second topping and all but one of them is finally at a point where the resulting 8 colas have reached (and are tucked under) the first ring in their tomato cages. Lights are off right now but I'll be sure to post up some pics either this evening or tomorrow.
 

slow_grow

Well-Known Member
Plants seem to be doing well after their second topping. Almost all of the resulting 8 colas on each plant are close to (if not already tucking under) the first ring in the cut-in-half tomato cages. Watering with the 5G pots is about once a week and I'm contemplating on throwing in one or two of the organic fertilizer stakes. My newbie eyes aren't detecting any deficiencies, maybe I'm just bored not sure, but my thought is to get the stakes in the ground so the plants are aware of them if needed later. I don't want to go jabbing stakes into established root balls later.
 

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Aruanda

Well-Known Member
Interesting training method!

Would there be any way to cover the metal with a coating of something on the tomato trellis? It's stuck right in the soil right?
 

slow_grow

Well-Known Member
Interesting training method!

Would there be any way to cover the metal with a coating of something on the tomato trellis? It's stuck right in the soil right?
Thanks, yeah the tomato cages are stuck down about 10" below the surface. They offer vinyl coated ones but these are what we happened to have out back but now that you mention it, it never occurred to me that the plants might not like making contact with the bare metal. Maybe once they are fully routed up I'll wrap the contact points with tape so they aren't actually touching metal.

This technique is basically right off the nebula mainline/manifold tutorial found here: http://www.growweedeasy.com/manifold along with a ton of helpful insight from @Six9. The goal being to end up with 8 main colas of equal length & density.
 

Six9

Well-Known Member
Interesting training method!

Would there be any way to cover the metal with a coating of something on the tomato trellis? It's stuck right in the soil right?
Looking good @slow_grow ,

This method is great once the colas are under the 1st ring, essentially done training after that.

I have the painted cages, but I'd not worry about unpainted. They're galvanized (zinc coated). Your plants or you will not suffer from zinc poisoning. I imagine any levels are so low they're not even measurable.
 

Six9

Well-Known Member
Almost all of the resulting 8 colas on each plant are close to (if not already tucking under) the first ring in the cut-in-half tomato cages
Nice work! The one manifold is quite flat wow. I like how you used the wire to form an additional point of contact to jeep things held down. Good thinking :)
 
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