Colorado High - Soilless - LED/CFL - Skunk Red Hair - 2014

[Mike Wright]

Great update CH. My fungus gnats got sneaky this grow and stopped flying around. I just realized they are approaching problem levels and dunked em. You're right about the nanners too. I tore apart a whole plant in Feb to get a good look at them but if I didn't know for sure they were there I still might not find them

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks Pantagruel!

 

[Pittbull72]

I have a plant that is starting to do the same thing. The gnat theory would explain allot. During my autoflower grow I added a layer of sand to the top of the pots and right away the gnats disappeared. I read that the gnat larvae don't like to crawl through the rough sand so it detours them from making their homes there. I started to notice a few crawling in the soil of my photos so I guess its off to get more sand!

 

[Antics]

Great update CH. My fungus gnats got sneaky this grow and stopped flying around. I just realized they are approaching problem levels and dunked em. You're right about the nanners too. I tore apart a whole plant in Feb to get a good look at them but if I didn't know for sure they were there I still might not find them

I find that blowing directly onto the soil of each pot will flush them out if they're hiding down there. Otherwise, they're almost impossible to see.

 

[B A R]

Great info on how gnats become root destructive Slim...

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks B A R!

 

[GardenFaerie]

Fungus Gnats

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks for the information GF!

 

[KingJohnC]

The fungus gnats may be responsible for root damage and what appears to be a phosphorous and possibly a potassium deficiency.

For soil insects I use diatomaceous earth on top of the soil as a barrier, it cuts them as they move through it. I bought my diatomaceous earth from an animal feed store, do not use the type meant for pool filters. Mosquito dunks can also be used as a soil drench for fungus gnats. Sierra Natural Sciences also makes a soil drench called SNS-203 for fungus gnats and other soil insects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous earth

https://www.homedepot.com Mosquito Dunks 6 Pack

https://sierranaturalscience.com natural pesticides sns-203

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks KJC!

 

[k0ncept]

Great to know!!! Good info on rooting terrorist..

 

[David Bowman]

Day 53 of flowering and not much has changed since the last update 8 days ago. The left lady is still doing well and the right lady's P-deficiency symptoms have slowed, mostly due to the fact that she lost all of her mid-to-upper level large fans leaves. This issue is still not impacting the lower or smaller leaves very much yet and since they both are so close to harvest, I'm just going to let them finish up as usual.

The grow environment remains stable with temperatures between 70° and 85° with RH between 30% and 70%. I see fewer dead fungus gnats and hardly any live ones anymore so I think letting the medium fully dry out has been most helpful. I've not found any more nanners on the right lady and the calyxes are swelling on both ladies, although slightly more so on the left lady compared to the right lady. I would say that ~50% of the pistils have dried/changed color with still more being produced, although at a slower rate. The aromas are increasing in both strength and intensity and both plants are quite sticky to the touch.

Two shot of the ladies on day 53 of flowering -

Single shot of the left lady on day 53 of flowering -

Close-up shot of a cola on the left lady on day 53 of flowering -

Single shot of the right lady on day 53 of flowering -

Close-up shot of a cola on the right lady on day 53 of flowering -

Within the next few days or so, I will perform a trichome inspection and that should tell me if it is time to start the 2-week pre-harvest flush of molasses water at 1 Tbsp/gallon. I expect to harvest by the end of the month. I hope all is green and well with everyone's grows!

 

[PeytonManning]

Damn those look great. Starting to fill in and fatten up nicely

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks Peyton!

 

[grannyT]

​Hey CH ,, they are looking great ! Happy and a beautiful green. How do you judge the pistils on whether or not to begin flushing....are they all amber and dry and are the trichomes Amber????..just curious on how you do it.

 

[PeytonManning]

It's all in the trichomes grannyT. Don't worry about pistil color, just keep an eye on trichs, and harvest based on the kinda high you want

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks grannyT! I start checking trichomes right around the time that the majority of pistils have dried/turned color. That's typically right around the time that the trichomes start to mature.

 

[stealthgrow]

Your plants are looking nice CH, your getting close to harvest time.

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks stealthgrow!

 

[David Bowman]

Day 56 of flowering and today I performed a cursory trichome check on my ladies. Both plants appear to be around 50% cloudy with no amber trichomes as of yet. The left lady, with 40%-50% cloudy trichomes, is slightly behind the right lady, which has 50%-60% cloudy trichomes. Deficiencies are evident on both ladies now, as expected in this late stage of flowering, but otherwise they both appear to be doing fine. The colas are smaller than previous grows, due to double topping, and it will be interesting to see if I will achieve my goal of at least one ounce per plant.

Topside and underside of sugar leaf from left lady on day 56 of flowering -

Topside and underside of sugar leaf from right lady on day 56 of flowering -

Based on these findings, I have decided to start the final flush of my ladies. To that end, I gave each lady one half gallon of molasses water. Based on previous grows, I should expect to harvest around the 22nd, give or take a few days. I will attempt to post more frequently as harvest nears to better show the final maturation of the ladies.