Hawaii Maui Waui, Hydro Flood & Drain By Gwhunran 2022

Maybe a disturbing development. I went to check on the mothers tent and what do I find. Hawaii Maui Waui plant has started flowering. I'm hoping it's the conditions and the plant is not an auto because that's what is in my flood and drain trays.
This plant sprouted on New Year's Day so it's about 4.5 months old. The light cycle has always been 16 on, 8 off. After about 60 days in relative warmth, cuttings were taken and she was moved to a mother's tent in an insulated but not heated part of the house where the temps never get below mid 40s F but heat up to the 60s when lights on. The light is a two bulb 4ft fluorescent not putting out too much light. The plant has been cut back twice in the last two months since cuttings were taken, mainly to keep it smallish in the tent.
HMW mom 4 and half months (1).JPG

HMW mother starting flower. Not on purpose
HMW mom 4 and half months (2).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui mother starting flower, not on purpose.
HMW mom 4 and half months (3).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui mother. Starting flower, not on purpose.
You sure that long in veg she’s not just showing her sex ? I had a mother white widow that did the same at 13-14 weeks .
 
You sure that long in veg she’s not just showing her sex ? I had a mother white widow that did the same at 13-14 weeks .
I've never seen one start budding like this. I have been in touch with a friend that wants my mothers. I mainly keep them in case, I have a total failure in the trays and have to start over. For example if the power goes out for too long. I don't have a good place to grow outside, lots of big hardwoods and plenty of shade.
 
Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 21 in Veg,
Start of 4th Res., using General Hydroponics 3pt liquid nutes suggested amounts between Early and Late Growth
Light power bumped up to 300w or half power, from 250w. Measured value 22" from leaf canopy, 41k lux.

HMW Day 21 Veg (1).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui Day 21 in Veg. Start of 4th Res.
HMW Day 21 Veg (2).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 21 in Veg. Start of 4th Res. with light bumped up to 300w(half power) from 250w. Light measured at canopy top, 22" from light equals 41k lux.
 
Hey gwhunran, It's amazing how much faster hydro plants can grow! Wow! Your's are steaming along!
Holy jumping stealth autos Batman. :rofl:
That's an odd one.
Is it possible that the fluorescent light is not close enough to discourage the production of the hormone that causes her to flower.
The other option is a nightmare.
If you have cloned a stealth auto, yeiks better check clones?
If the clones are pistol free then it's a light issue for sure, maby.

Stay safe
Bill
Also check the timer is actually working

 
Yeah I check the timer occasionally. It's holding steadyl It's easy to check the mother tent, but I haven't been looking closely at the tip ends. Mainly I have just been checking that the pots are not too dry and temps are okay. The room the tent is in will be colder than in the house in winter and warmer than inside the house in the summer, but still milder than outside.
 
Hi @gwhunran

Nice setup you've got going!
Sorry it took so long for me to wonder in (I tend to wonder all over- often forgetting where I've been :hmmmm:).

But that's a wonderful setup you've got going:love:, flood and drain brings back wonderful memories.
 
Hi @gwhunran

Nice setup you've got going!
Sorry it took so long for me to wonder in (I tend to wonder all over- often forgetting where I've been :hmmmm:).

But that's a wonderful setup you've got going:love:, flood and drain brings back wonderful memories.
Thanks Rexer
I'm so old I didn't even know flood and drain was old school. It's an easy way to grow automated without running too much plumbing. Most of the time all I do is check the ph, add water, and change the res once a week.
Most of the other hydro methods from what I see still feed from the same res. so the nute load is not customized for individual plants. I realize it works best using the same strain and same strain clones from the same mother works even better for uniformity filling the screen.
Why do you think the flood and drain is not used more today?
 
Hawaii Maui Day 30 in tray. Veg
I just made the first tie on these plants and it probably won't be long until I spend a lot of time tying down branches. I plan on getting most of the main limbs through the screen and tied down, then I am going to flip the light schedule. This strain is purported to be a tall plant that stretches for about a month with wide internodal spacing during the stretch. I want these nodes to become my main vertical limbs on the screen. Whether the screen spacing turns out perfect or not, I seem to always get more than enough.

I turned up the light this morning from 300w to 350w. The measured light at the screen was 41k lux at 21".

I don't know that I've mentioned the feeding routine, but I run the res pump to the tray every two hours for 15 minutes during lights on and run it once in the middle of the night just in case the roots dry out. The tray has no media in it other than my 6" net pots with clay pebbles. The white pvc tray cover keeps the roots dark while reflecting light back up. The downside is, I can't afford to lose electricity for long or their done for.

I have looked them over real good and don't see any signs of flowering like their mother.

HMW Day 30 veg (1).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui Day 30. Veg. 1st of many tie downs. Light upped to 350w@22" from screen. 41k lux
HMW Day 30 veg (3).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui Day 30. Veg. First tie down.
HMW Day 30 veg (2).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 30. Veg. top view
 
Why do you think the flood and drain is not used more today?
Thank you.

The only drawback really is the shared space with the roots. If one needs to be removed it can be difficult. Aside from that, their as good as it gets in my books..
They're not marketed enough, compared to rdwc systems. Aside from that I'm not sure why their not used more.
Their also extremely easy to make on the cheap too.
 
Thank you.

The only drawback really is the shared space with the roots. If one needs to be removed it can be difficult. Aside from that, their as good as it gets in my books..
They're not marketed enough, compared to rdwc systems. Aside from that I'm not sure why their not used more.
Their also extremely easy to make on the cheap too.
Yes, the roots do kinda intertwine don't they. :D After a harvest on a few grows, I had to trim the roots at the pot as I couldn't pull the pot out of the hole due to the massive root mass.
One reason a hole is cut close to the middle is so I can get my hand in there. On one grow while checking the plants, I noticed the tray was still full and draining slowly after the pump had been off for 15 minutes (it usually takes less than 5). The roots were following the pump fill hose towards the pump in the res and were partially blocking the tube when the water was trying to drain back into the res.:oops:
I have also tried making a smaller one out of a plastic mortar tub. It worked okay but the pre-made hydro trays are worth the cost to me.
 
Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 35 in Veg

Res. change today. Nutrient load, GH 3 part liquid 95% of recommended for Late Grow. PHed to 5.5-6.0. 40ml of Cal-mag+

Light: 350w out of 600w, 46k lux @ 21"

Flip to flowering tomorrow. I may have waited longer than I should have to flip the light schedule. These plants are bursting out everywhere. I have been trimming some leaves in hopes of keeping strong light on the developing node branching. I have also been tying down branches as seen in the photos. I plan on tying branches down until the screen is full and then letting them go vertical. From what I've read this strain will stretch and give wide node spacing.

I moved the plant in front to the Vanilla Kush tray. It's just starting to grow and will fit in nicely for a while at least.
HMW Day 35 (1).JPG
Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 35, Veg. Fresh res. change.
HMW Day 35 (3).JPG

HMW Day 35 (2).JPG


Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 35 Veg.
 
Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 35 in Veg

Res. change today. Nutrient load, GH 3 part liquid 95% of recommended for Late Grow. PHed to 5.5-6.0. 40ml of Cal-mag+

Light: 350w out of 600w, 46k lux @ 21"

Flip to flowering tomorrow. I may have waited longer than I should have to flip the light schedule. These plants are bursting out everywhere. I have been trimming some leaves in hopes of keeping strong light on the developing node branching. I have also been tying down branches as seen in the photos. I plan on tying branches down until the screen is full and then letting them go vertical. From what I've read this strain will stretch and give wide node spacing.

I moved the plant in front to the Vanilla Kush tray. It's just starting to grow and will fit in nicely for a while at least.
HMW Day 35 (1).JPG
Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 35, Veg. Fresh res. change.
HMW Day 35 (3).JPG

HMW Day 35 (2).JPG


Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 35 Veg.
Happy 420 my friend :ganjamon:
Garden is wonderful.

Stay safe
Bill
 
Happy 420 my friend :ganjamon:
Garden is wonderful.

Stay safe
Bill
Thanks Bill. Happy 420 to you too! I insulated the grow rooms so well the LEDs add as much heat to room as the HIDs did with the strong exhaust pulling or pushing the air through them. It's supposed to be mid 80sF on Sunday, so I will take the ACs out of preservation. I am going to try running it in the HMW room and keep the Vanilla Kush just on exhaust for awhile longer if possible.
 
Hawaii Maui Waui
Day 1 flower, last night 1st long night.
Spent some time trimming undergrowth. Added front firing fan that won't be in any pictures, as I have to move it to get to the plants. So now I have two fans going, one firing down from the ceiling, the other as mentioned blowing from the front. I am opening the door during lights on and running the AC in the other room for now. I will shut the door between rooms at/near lights out in the HMW room. The Vanilla Kush room will still be lights on in veg.

HMW Day 1 flip (1).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui, Day one since flip. Trimmed undergrowth
HMW Day 1 flip (2).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui, Day one since flip.
HMW Day 1 flip (3).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui, Day one since flip.
 
Hawaii Maui Waui
Res. change #7 GH 3 part liquid nutes, 100% Transition stage for 18gal., 50ml ph down, 40ml Cal-mag+
Day 6 since flip.
No change in light power or distance, 350w out of 600w equals 46k lux @20.5" from screen

I am tying the branches down if they are long enough to bend and tie. I am using the colored pipe cleaners and each plant has it's own color; orange, purple, and yellow. I was hoping to make it easier to see which plant the tied down branch belonged to, but the abundance of leaves may not lend itself to high visibility. This strain is very easy to train so far. I don't think I've damaged a branch yet and it takes some effort to reach the rear of the back plant which doesn't allow me the same motor control as working on the plants on the side ( I'm clumsy, bent over and stretching my arms to the back.)
HMW Day 6 flower (1).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 6 since flip
HMW Day 6 flower (2).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 6 since flip

HMW Day 6 flower (3).JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 6 since flip.
 
Day 7 since flip.
Plants are growing great, whether I should or not, I have been cutting leaves blocking light to the nodal growth as I tie branches to the screen. Recovery has been quick and it's hard to tell I ever cut anything. I also cleared more underneath the screen. I'm afraid the plant in the back won't get as through a pruning, because I can't reach the back of it.

This is view before the front firing fan is moved. The AC can also be seen on the right.

The lights were turned up to 400w out of 600w, 48k lux at 20.5".

HMW Day 7 flower.JPG

Hawaii Maui Waui, Day 7 since flip.
 
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