LED Round #2 - Apollo8, T5HO, Coco

Positivity said:

I use go in coco and soil..sometimes a mix of two.

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I like the mixed approach too. I did a blend of a soil mix I get from a local greenhouse, with coco, and guano for the PB and Z7 I just added to the tent. I still have a large brick of coco left, so I'm playing around with some mixes, using the coco more as one would a peat moss in a mixture. I like not having to do much the first week or two of flowering...let them do their magic.

As I go through this process, I realize that certain strains are much more suited to LED lighting than others. Side by side, the AL (both phenos) are way out-pacing the Z7's by a good margin. Although I know that the Z7 will finish up well, its pretty noticeable for sure. I'll pull the AL phenos out of the tent next time I'm feeding them and show you all the dongs. The NL leaning pheno is especially dongalicious.

Day 33, 12/12

Is that a sticky trap full of gnats?

If so I've found a top layer of perlite kills those little bastards. They lay their eggs in the soil but they can't burrow through the perlite so the eggs get trapped under it and the remaining ones flying around just die off.

Sprinkle cinnamon on top of soil then cover with a cpl in of play sand. The cinnamon screws up the larvae and the sand keeps adults from laying new eggs.

Topdress some compost or worm castings. That will work best for getting rid of those buggers. Plus the beneficial bacteria, fungi, enzymes, chitin, and nutrients.

Thanks for the tips, all. Yes, the gnats have been pests this year...they dont seem to affect growth, but are annoying.

The sticky strips have really reduced the gnat population, but not completely eliminated them. Will definitely look into some of your solutions.

The NL-leaning pheno of my AL is displaying such interesting leaf colouring...I've had purple-hued leaves, but nothing this dramatic...with coloring from reds to purples to oranges, and everything in between. Its pretty cool. Hope to take a few photos.

I took this girl out of the tent while cleaning up a water spill, and took a quick snap of her to share. Day 42. This is the NL leaning pheno of Atomic Love strain. It has a fabulous smell, and the flower (one gigantic dong, basically) is very dense and resinous. This should finish up around the 8 week mark.

I pulled down the Z7 (day 52) today. It was the runt of the litter from the beginning, and this pheno isn't really a heavy yielder, so I'll be happy with whatever it ends up at. I also had to make some room in the tent for another Z7 and a PlushBerry that were coming up and and wanted in the LED main coverage "beam".

Both phenos of the AL have a week or so to go before they're ready, but they're fattening up nicely. They both have such different smells, each exhibiting strong traits of the opposite parent. I think the NL leaning pheno will be ready 1st.

The last picture is of one of the leaves that show the colour so intensely that it is almost black.

This is a PlushBerry that I'm trying my first time using the Main-lining technique. Just waiting for the main branches grow a bit before I start bonding them and building my "manifold". I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes. Everyone I've read that has tried this technique has said they'll always grow this way going forward.

The first AL is down and drying. Such a pretty smelling girl. I really cant wait to dig into her when she's ready. I like this strain as its not a super leafy strain, compared to others I have, it just looks like a big dong on a stick. Very little trimming needed.

The Z7 runt has begun her cure. I'm still debating letting this strain go or not, as these were from the last few seeds in the pack, and they were getting a couple of years old, so I was unsure if they'd even pop. This pheno isn't really as incredible as some of its sibling phenos were. It doesn't have a lot of taste/great smell as its siblings (its siblings had some incredible smells/tastes...), and it doesn't yield as much either. But its CBD-rich, and I still do like to get CBD's into my system daily.

Since I did a bit of staggered growing, I have a PlushBerry and another Z7 in the flowering tent that are 3-4 weeks behind this run thats finishing up. I gotta say, the PB is starting to really pack on some weight, and has a great smell! Very resinous flowers...really nice pheno of this strain! I gotta say, these SubCool seeds I got from the seed bank were the hardest to germinate I think I've ever encountered (0 of 5 TheFlav and 1 of 5 PB), but the lone PB that made it out is a beaut!

KineBoisin420 said:

I gotta say, these SubCool seeds I got from the seed bank were the hardest to germinate I think I've ever encountered (0 of 5 TheFlav and 1 of 5 PB), but the lone PB that made it out is a beaut!

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If you don't mind me asking, which seedbank did you get your TGA seeds from?
I ask because your description is the exact opposite of my experience with their genetics and I've grown multiple packs of their gear.
They have been the easiest, healthiest, most resinous, plants I've ever grown in my 10+ years.

Bad Karma said:

If you don't mind me asking, which seedbank did you get your TGA seeds from?
I ask because your description is the exact opposite of my experience with their genetics and I've grown multiple packs of their gear.
They have been the easiest, healthiest, most resinous, plants I've ever grown in my 10+ years.

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Perhaps I got older packs, or something. I got these from the GTA SB in Toronto. Although I gotta say, the lone Plushberry that sprouted has been a fantastic grower, so far. I'm pretty excited to harvest the first one, as the smells from her are pretty incredible! And this strain is perfect for my first attempts at the Main-lining technique.

So, everything is cut down from this round.

The Z7 finished up at 53 days, the one AL at 57 days, and the other one at 63 days. Both the Z7 and first AL have been dried and are in jars, curing. The last AL I just pulled down last night, so its drying away.

Being the first true round using this combo of LED + T5HO, I'm pretty pleased. I'm set to return to primarily soil mixes though, going forward. I didn't mind coco, but I think I'd use it within a custom soil/soilless mixture, including worm castings, guano, and the custom "pro-mix" I get from the local greenhouse.

I know y'all want to see finished pictures, so here are a few. The first 2 are of AL pheno #1, using an iPhone for scale. The last picture is of AL pheno #2 that has been hanging 3 days, and just before I cut her up and put her into a paper bag for the final day or two. Since neither the missus or I actually smoke (combust), we don't have any lighters around the house, so I had to use something "common-ish" for scale.

Not the best pictures in the world...thats what I get for using a phone camera, trying to do things on the quick.

Here's the Z7 curing away in a 1L jar. She only yielded 28g, but was quite a small plant, and this particular pheno isnt has heavy a yielder as other phenos of the Z7 strain I've done in the past. We'll see if I keep this pheno around or not, long term.

How does the LED do as far as vegging. Im curious to see if it will do better than cfls; as i am tired of adjusting them every other day. Will stick to HPS for flower though.