TheDillestPickle's First Grow Journal

[Thedillestpickle]

Just mixed up another 15gallon drum of nutes at 600ppm, I lowered it to compensate for the high runoff EC. I hope to have my runoff EC at around 10% higher than my feed water. That should also help bring the pH up from 5.7 in the runoff to 5.8
I will probably stick with this much lower ppm, its going to make life easier as I will not have to give as much runoff.

Edit: sorry that's 600 at .5 conversion, so 840ppm at .7 conversion

 

[Thedillestpickle]

Plants were just watered. 3 liters to each plant, with 3/4 liter runoff. ppm in 840, pH 5.9
ppm out 1700 pH 5.7

Going to drop the feed down to 700 tommorow, and will probably have to drop it down again to 600 for the next day based on what I'm seeing

Plant labeled #1 sucked back an entire 3 liters in the last 24 hours, and runoff was lower ppm(1400ppm) than others. #1 also has much thicker stocks and more foliage, but not taller than the other plants. I predict #1 may be the big producer out of the 7, will keep an eye on her.

Plants look very healthy
I'm seeing some pretty serious stretch happening on the second internode from the tops of each plant. I just adjusted my heater to bring night-time temps to around 82. Daytime temps are about 76. The warmer nights should keep stretch down

 

[Thedillestpickle]

I think I am having some Sulfer deficiency with my plants
If anyone can give any input as to whether they think this is or is not sulfer Deficiency please leaves some input.
Google took me to some threads that all suggest 1tsp per gallon. I did a sample test at that dosage and it ups my ppm's by 200ppm. I imagine thats a big overkill so I will do just 50ppm starting tomorrow
Hopefully I won't have to post in the plant help forum to get this fixed.
pH should not be an issue, my runoff has never been lower than 5.6 or higher than 6.

I suppose it is possible that my ppm's being so high could be causing a lockout of sulfer, though I have read nothing to indicate that could happen.
What I don't understand is if my pH is good why I should have this issue? H&G's nutrients should have plenty of sulfer.

I've also read that high day and low night temps can cause lockouts that will cause this type of growth, I keep my nights from dropping below 10degrees(F) what my day temps are. I'm also going to bring my night temps up 2 degrees higher than my day temps to ward off stretching for the next couple weeks. Hopefully that is not stressfull, I imagine the plants would in fact enjoy warmer nights

I'm not pulling hair out over this, but I will try to correct it as quickly as possible. Anyone who has an oppinion please leave a comment

The very last picture is what I want my growing shoots to look like






I don't have alot of experience growing, but my instinct tells me this is closer to what a growing shoot ought to
look like

 

[ma jigga]

They're lookin' really healthy! So green! And that last pic.. -drool-

 

[nappynate]

Looks awesome man. PM me if you wanna get rid of some of those clones

 

[ottawaliquid]

Love the looks of those four bud sites.

 

[jane's phasm]

Great grow! Would you mind me asking where you got the Kali seeds?

 

[Thedillestpickle]

Great grow! Would you mind me asking where you got the Kali seeds?

I went to Sacred Seeds a seedbank in Toronto. It was expensive, the prices listed on their website werent the same as in the store. Cost me 300$ for 11 seeds. I think it was a good investment

***I put those last pictures up to see if anyone thinks that is sulfur deficiency? Everyone thinks those yellow shoots look healthy?

 

[Thedillestpickle]

Just keeping track of something here, as I dont keep a physical journal.
Cutting # 3 is from Mother # 9
Cutting # 5 is from Mother # 10

Purpling stems seem to be coming back on plants #9 #4 and #6

I brought my temps up to 80F for the last dark period, and now the yellowing in the new growth seems to not look as bad. I will hold off on the epsom salt treatment to see if the warmer temperature brings out some more colour

 

[Thedillestpickle]

Plants watered 4 liters to each plant
3/4 liter runoff per plant
ppm in 840 pH 5.8
ppm out 1400 pH 5.7
supercropped all main shoots. I can really see the effects of my previous supercropping, and wish I had been doing it more, the lower parts of the branch are thick and gnarly due to the twisting method I use. The new growth that hadnt been supercropped for over a week and half has grown out thin and lanky. Its working.
I split plant number 2 right in half accidentally trying to spread out the 4 limbs and the main stalk split in half lol.... I think itll be ok, got some masking tape on it.
Not fun watering 28 liters of water and not having a proper method of drainage... lesson learned, gotta get on that asap
Need to get some Ona Gel asap... damn

 

[Elliesdaddy]

Do you basically let you're plant grow to 6 nodes and then cut the main stem just above the second node?
does this not risk killing the plant?
Is it the only way to get 4 main colas? it seems a bit silly to grow to 6 nodes and then cut just above the second this must add a few weeks growing time?
and is "node" 1 stem off of the main stem or is a "node" the point of the main stem where a stem grow's off at both point? So is you're 6th node the 12 proper leaf grown?
Is there definately a good yield to be gained out of this?

 

[ievolution]

How do your plants look today? I was thinking I have never used Magic green but I have heard really good things when you get a deficiency. I know it is cheap also(20 bucks I believe) so if your plants don't improve you could always try that out because foliar feeding with that will be able to fix a bigger range of problems then Epsom Salt(unless it is Sulfur like you believe). I was curious how does the light feel above your plants when you hold your hand there for awhile? Have you noticed any fringes sticking up on the top leaves?

 

[Thedillestpickle]

Do you basically let you're plant grow to 6 nodes and then cut the main stem just above the second node?
does this not risk killing the plant?
Is it the only way to get 4 main colas? it seems a bit silly to grow to 6 nodes and then cut just above the second this must add a few weeks growing time?
and is "node" 1 stem off of the main stem or is a "node" the point of the main stem where a stem grow's off at both point? So is you're 6th node the 12 proper leaf grown?
Is there definately a good yield to be gained out of this?

These are good questions, and I asked myself the same things. Each node has 2 shoots, so 6 nodes=12 shoots. Actually if you veg a plant long enough or use a cutting from a mother plant you will see that there is a tranformation in the way the plant grows as it matures, and new nodes will have 1 shoot only, but nevermind that for now.
I too felt it was a bit extreme cutting the plant down to just 2 nodes and removing such a large portion of the plant. I did it anyways, guided by the thead "Uncle Ben's topping technique". My experience with the method may be due to the strain I am using but I found only the top 2 shoots really grew very large, and the bottom two lingered behind, becoming what would inevitably become a popcorn bud. I decided to stray from Uncle Ben's technique. After about a week of letting the new shoots grow out, and watching how they developed I was convinced that the bottom 2 shoots would not amount to a dominant cola, so I removed them. I then let the upper two shoots resume growth until they reached 6 nodes each. I did exactly the same thing as before exept this time one node lower, leaving only 1 node on each of the two main branches. This left me with the 4 shoots that are now the plants I have today. As you can see they are very even in growth and I did not kill my plant.

If I were to do this again I may try topping at the 3rd or 4th node. This would presumably be less of a shock on the young plant. After a week of growth I would then remove the lower 2 or 3 nodes because they will have less growth than the upper 1 or 2 nodes. They would have been left on the plant during the initial topping solely for the purpose of lessening the shock of topping by reducing the amount of foliage being removed all at once. If you leave two nodes to grow out you can expect varying results, some plants will have 4 even colas(if your lucky), and others may only develope 2 main colas, with 2 lesser main branches reaching lower and not receiving as much light. If 4 colas is what you want, then you have two options. Leave 1 node and re-top the subesquent branches that grow from there. Or you can leave two nodes and hope for the best. You should determine which method you wish to use based on how much time you are willing to dedicate to the plants for vegging.

Although I did top the 2 dominant shoots that grew from each of my plants after topping, and had intended to remove the bottom two shoots from each as well, I did miss the bottom two shoots on one of the plants. After realizing that I had missed the two shoots on one of my plants I choose to leave them on and see what would happen, to demonstrate whether what I suspected was true. My suspicion is that the lower 2 branches on that plant will never amount to anything, and that in this particular example Uncle Ben's technique did not work. I will show that plant at harvest for comparrison

 

[Thedillestpickle]

How do your plants look today? I was thinking I have never used Magic green but I have heard really good things when you get a deficiency. I know it is cheap also(20 bucks I believe) so if your plants don't improve you could always try that out because foliar feeding with that will be able to fix a bigger range of problems then Epsom Salt(unless it is Sulfur like you believe). I was curious how does the light feel above your plants when you hold your hand there for awhile? Have you noticed any fringes sticking up on the top leaves?

They do still have a yellow look to the shoots, but I think it's getting better. I don't know if Magic Green can be purchased in Canada, but I will ask the guys at the hydro store. Sounds like a worthwhile $20 to spend.
I considered that it may be from too much heat/light, but the shoots directly under the bulb look just the same as the shoots off in the corner that are receiving much less direct light.
While the lights are very close to the plants I can hold my hand there comforably all day if I wanted to. I don't see any signs of heat stress on any leaves. I also have a string I hang from the light, when the plants get higher than the bottom of the string its time to raise the light. I've checked the temperature with a remote thermometer probe and directly under the light the canopy doesnt go above 80

I think it's getting better though, I will see what the warm nights do, as I've read that cold nights can lock out certain nurtrients. These are supposed to be very sativa in lineage and ought to enjoy it

Just bought some Ona Gel, it seems to be working quite well, with the lid only 1/4 unscrewed

Just bought a 5.5HP 8 gallon Shop Vac, It made watering a million time easier.

watered 3.5 liters per plant, water in ppm 800 pH 5.8
water out ppm 1300 didnt check pH(probably 5.7)

I need to think of a way to prop the pots up off the bottom of the trays so that roots in the bottom of the pots don't sit in any extra water If I had glass marbles that would work, I'm thinking of using lego blocks. Anyone have any ideas? Hydroton could also work, but that seems like a waste of money. I wish I had used an inch of Hydroton in the bottom of the pots, but I forgot to do that

 

[ievolution]

What are the pots in now at this point(tray small circle trays etc.) I have trays that have ridges in it but the Tray drains anyway so I never had to worry about that. Next time just put an inch of perlite in the bottom of the pots I believe it is much cheaper than Hydroton. I'm sure Magic Green is available in Canada since it seems like all other H&G products are. I never react to what looks like deficiencies because it usually sorts itself out. The biggest mistake you could make is overreact and give the plants something they don't need and just make things worse. I learned this the hard way.

When I top(clones) I will go to 2-4 nodes and when I do it I always do it from the strongest Nodes which usually isn't the 2 furthest down. Like you said I will remove those and choose the stronger nodes. If you do this next time you should only need to top once instead of it taking twice as long and topping twice. I also understand that method and have heard of people preferring that method. I have topped at least 1000 plants and have found to choose the 4 strongest nodes and go from there(they don't always have to be the 4 next to eachother). All plants react differently and you will find sometimes certain strains just don't want to have 4 colas and react much better with 2 tops and just supercropping the plant. That is why I tend to do a bunch of methods then flower the best looking veg plants. I know with plants grown from seeds this wont really work but I have seen a LOT of strains work best with 3 colas actually.

IDK if I've asked before but have you taken any branches off the bottom of your plant? Since they are grown from seeds you can use them as clones but before you flower them you will want to cut a bunch of branches off the bottom of the plant because they will just produce small undesired popcorn buds. Depending on the strain and size I cut the bottom 6-12 inches off. The light won't penetrate enough to the bottom of the plant anyway and the plant will be able to focus more on the top buds which will result in a bigger yield.

 

[Thedillestpickle]

What are the pots in now at this point(tray small circle trays etc.) I have trays that have ridges in it but the Tray drains anyway so I never had to worry about that. Next time just put an inch of perlite in the bottom of the pots I believe it is much cheaper than Hydroton. I'm sure Magic Green is available in Canada since it seems like all other H&G products are. I never react to what looks like deficiencies because it usually sorts itself out. The biggest mistake you could make is overreact and give the plants something they don't need and just make things worse. I learned this the hard way.

When I top(clones) I will go to 2-4 nodes and when I do it I always do it from the strongest Nodes which usually isn't the 2 furthest down. Like you said I will remove those and choose the stronger nodes. If you do this next time you should only need to top once instead of it taking twice as long and topping twice. I also understand that method and have heard of people preferring that method. I have topped at least 1000 plants and have found to choose the 4 strongest nodes and go from there(they don't always have to be the 4 next to eachother). All plants react differently and you will find sometimes certain strains just don't want to have 4 colas and react much better with 2 tops and just supercropping the plant. That is why I tend to do a bunch of methods then flower the best looking veg plants. I know with plants grown from seeds this wont really work but I have seen a LOT of strains work best with 3 colas actually.

IDK if I've asked before but have you taken any branches off the bottom of your plant? Since they are grown from seeds you can use them as clones but before you flower them you will want to cut a bunch of branches off the bottom of the plant because they will just produce small undesired popcorn buds. Depending on the strain and size I cut the bottom 6-12 inches off. The light won't penetrate enough to the bottom of the plant anyway and the plant will be able to focus more on the top buds which will result in a bigger yield.

Thats some good advice on topping, I now feel like I should be able to produce the results I want with much more ease next time around. The 3 cola plant sounds cool, I think I would like the look of 3 colas per plant.

Yesterday night I removed 21 cuttings for the purpose of cloning, they are under 46watts of compact flourecents right now, they bent over a little but they look ok, leaves still retaining moisture. I'm not going to rush them, I don't mind if they take their time rooting, I wont need them again for another 3 months. They are in 1 inch rockwool cubes, squeezed to about 50% soaked. and under a humidity dome. I used Root Tech cloning gel. I used tap water mixed with nutrient water to 200ppm and pH 5.8

I didnt remove all of the bottom shoots just yet, because I didnt want to cause too much stress all at once. Yesterday I removed the 21 cuttings, I also supercropped all of the main shoots and I watered them in a room 20 degrees colder than the grow room due to not having a proper drain system(Shop Vac has saved me from needing to do that again tonight). I felt that was enough punishment for one night so I am waiting until tomorrow to remove the remaining branches, I wish I had taken them off earlier as they have already wasted so much growth.

I need to find a way to dispose of the refuse, after tomorrows trimming I'm going to have a good pile of marijuana cuttings to hide. I'll probably just make a compost heap, does anyone know if composted cannabis makes a good fertilizer?

 

[ottawaliquid]

It's green matter so should be good for composting and promoting beneficial bacterial growth. Add some more complex compost (oatmeal, kelp etc) to promote some fungals.

Not a pro on composting just from what I've read.. Loving the back and forth between you and ievolution. Learning a lot

 

[Thedillestpickle]

just needed to jot down this note:

Big bomb seeds soaked on January 13th

Kish soaked on 18th

...those arent exact dates, just guesses now as I don't remember the exact date

 

[Elliesdaddy]

Do you make you're feed in 10litre containers? if so what container do you use?

 

[Thedillestpickle]

Do you make you're feed in 10litre containers? if so what container do you use?

I mix my feed up in 20 liter pales, at double dose. I fill 3 pales with the double stregth mix, and 3 pales with straight tap water. I always let me water sit for at least 24 hours(ok I forgot a few times but getting better) before mixing nutes into it. I pour liquid from both the double nutrient pale and the water pale into a plastic garbage bin until I reach my desired EC, and adjust the pH down to 5.8. I also like to adjust the pH of my tap water from 8 to 7 before adding any nutrients, just incase there could be any adverse effects from using the alkaline water. I also add my silicate addive first before adding any base nutrients. I store all of my nutrients at room temperature. I always stir the buckets before mixing anything. I let my nutrient solutions sit for a while so I always check the pH again after a while because it can change. I don't know if mixing and storing nutrients at double strength is a good idea, especially with using the A+B formula that I have, as this could cause reactions in the different ingredients and not be so good for the plants... But to be honest, it hasnt killed my plants yet and it is sooooo much easier than mixing nutrients fresh everytime I want to feed. You obviously won't need to do your mixing on such a large scale as me as I have 7 rather large plants. I would recommend 20L pales though because they are easily moved around but not small either