Becca Takes A Big SIP

[BeccaBuds]

6 days in and no response from the old MK seed. I'm pretty certain now it will never sprout so I dug through my seeds and found 5 Forbidden Fruit fem photoperiod seeds I got back in June, 2022 from a no-longer sponsor vendor who doesn't seem have any info about any of the seeds they sell, but I've learned it's supposed to be a cross of Cherry Pie and Tangie. If this is the same genetics as @LKABudMan recently grew and journaled, it looks pretty tasty. I picked the nicest looking one and dropped it in water while I got out another rooting cube and nuked it in the microwave until steamy to kill hitchhikers. By the time I poked a thermometer around the cube, it was down to 99F, so I gave the seed a dip in 1.75% H2O2 and put it in the rooting cube. If the MK sprouts, well, I'll deal with it. Don't think it's gonna happen though... One way or the other I'm going to get some life going in this mini-SIP!

 

[StoneOtter]

Sounds like a winner Becca! Forbidden Fruit has a nice ring to it!

 

[BeccaBuds]

It does on both counts, @StoneOtter. Looks to be a good candidate for some Purpinating, lol! Checked both FF and MK seeds, no sprouts yet... The bush in the big SIP is going Godzilla though, after blasting it with MaxiBloom. Today the res is down to 2-3/4 inches, so good to go. Flipped the light back from 14 to 12 hour days, 8:00AM to 8:00PM.

 

[BeccaBuds]

The Forbidden Fruit in the mini-SIP has sprouted! Two days, no soak. It hasn't reached the surface yet but will before the end of the day. I can see a very healthy looking fat root headed down so it will be popping up soon. I'll get a photo when it does. MK seed looks like it is deteriorating.
What can I say about the big SIP? The photos speak for themselves.

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[BeccaBuds]

Big SIP res is down to 1-3/4" this morning. The plant just keeps getting bigger and bigger and is threatening to take over the cacti garden. The little F. Fruit hasn't quite cleared the top of the soil like I thought it would by now but it's close.

 

[BeccaBuds]

The Froot is on the loose!

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Added 132mg of GH MaxiGro to 500mL of tap water (1/4 strength) and applied 5mL to the rooting cube with a graduated pipette. The rest of it will go in the mini-SIP res. She has a thick stem and lovely colors already. Got out the mycorrhizae so I'm ready to up-pot any time.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Skip a day checking the plant and it attempts a coup in the cactus garden, lol. Res is down to 1/2", time for a gallon of distilled water with 7.5mL CalMag Xtra, 1/2tsp or 2.0g GH MaxiBloom, 20mL Purpinator, 7.5mL AN Piranha, 7.5mL AN Tarantula, 7.5mL Voodoo Juice, 7.5mL Bud Candy, 7.5mL of Jones Juice and 3.0 mL of pH Up. This goop measured 2.08 mS ec, 1456ppm TDS and pH 6.4. If it don't kill the plant, it will go nutz, er, more nutz^2

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The Phorbidden Phroot is phinicky (as @Phytoplankton would put it). She is healthy now that she is potted but the little cotyledons are curled down and development of the first true leaves seems sluggish. The soil it's in is FFOF. I've heard people say it's too hot for babies, but I think that it's a little too wet, so I wadded up some paper towel and put it in the mini-SIP res where it touches the wick and can siphon off excess water. So far not much has come out. I'm pumping air at 2L/minute through the soil from the res up to help dry it out too and oxygenate the root zone. Giving it some extra red from my 660nm red LED flashlight for some extra energy for photosynthesis. It's main light source is a Cree 15W, 5000K LED bulb for the moment. Checked the MK seed again and it hasn't cracked open.

 

[Azimuth]

Probably best to remove the dome after it's broken the surface otherwise you'll grow a delicate plant you'll have to harden off later as well as it will increase the possibilities of nasties in the grow like damping off disease.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Done even as you mention it, @Azimuth. Was mainly a support for the red light.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Big SIP is getting crazy big, leaves getting torn on the cacti, etc., but continuing it's attempt to occupy the little remaining space. Res measures 3" deep this afternoon.
Almost destroyed the Forbidden Fruit last night when I accidently knocked her pot over, sending soil spilling out all over my desk, lap and floor. The plant survived undamaged because of it's rooting cube and the mini-SIP res was empty at the time so it could have been much worse. Glad I had the shop vac to clean it up the PITA mess! It's repotted and status quo.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Big-SIP res has already dropped to 2-1/4" this morning. Phenomenal growth rate continues but no flowers forming yet. Flowering may be problematic in my cacti tent as it does not block extraneous light at all. Mini-SIP will be due for some water in it's res soon. The little Forbidden Fruit looks healthy and it's leaves are praying this morning. So am I after I almost killed it!

 

[StoneOtter]

When she get her flower on she's going to really be something! Hope you have headroom!

 

[BeccaBuds]

I'm out of headroom now, @StoneOtter. The lamp is as high as it goes in cacti tent, and the cacti have almost outgrown the setup too. I've cut the hours back but it looks like it's barely getting started flowering and has been stretchy from the word "GO" so now it will probably start acting like a vine! I am in fact thinking of cutting it down as I have other things on my plate that need attention. It has done what I wanted to do, and that is validate the SIP design. I've grown this mystery seed out before (I have 4 oz in the drawer untouched) and it isn't that great. Mid-grade at best.
That said, I haven't chopped it and today the res is down to 3/4" again already so I can move it and water the plants behind it. The MK dud seed was tossed in the trash and I microwave sterilized the rooting cube for reuse later. The Forbidden Fruit is slowly gaining steam. Put a couple ounces of water in the mini-SIP res.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Big SIP Res was completely empty when I checked. Good time to move the planter to another bucket and rinse out the reservoir as I can see a lot of specks of stuff when I shine a flashlight down the fill pipe. 9 days since reducing the hours of light and still no flowers at all in sight though it looks to be getting ready? Lots of light leaks in the cactus tent so not at all good for flowering buds. Pulled it out and rotated it 180 degrees for the photos. I think it's the most growth for it's age that I've ever seen in an indoor garden in soil, and it just keeps getting bigger!

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The Forbidden Fruit is doing well. Looks like capillary action in the mini-SIP is kicking in. No doubt it, too, will quickly get gargantuan using SIP tek!

 

[BeccaBuds]

The mystery seed was just out of control so I chopped it WAY back. Had to do it, couldn't close the garden it was so big, and I needed access to care for the cacti, aloe & agave. They were all really dry. So here's a shot of the damage or "How Not to Trim a Perfectly Good Plant".

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Meanwhile, the Forbidden Fruit is doing well in the Mini-SIP. No scissor wielding lunatics have tried to trim her. Roots are starting to appear so I'll have to cover the pot with foil or something.

 

[Melville Hobbes]

Just to be clear...

The mystery seed was just out of control so I chopped it WAY back.

Meanwhile, the Forbidden Fruit is doing well in the Mini-SIP.

 

[Pondwater]

Forgive me if I missed it but howmuch water does the res hold?

 

[BeccaBuds]

Forgive me if I missed it but howmuch water does the res hold?

@Pondwater The big-SIP is just under a gallon, like 125-126 fl. ounces. I planned for 1 gallon. Close enough! Mini-SIP is like a pint, 16 oz.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Just found more roots showing so I wrapped the Forbidden Fruit mini-SIP with foil to shade the roots.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Seeing a little bit of necrotic tissue at the leaf ends of the Forbidden Fruit. Pretty sure it is because I planted it in FFOF that needs to be leached. FF in FFOF ills. Say that three times fast!

I'll post pics of the other plant later or you can see (what's left of) it here.​