Mars II 400 AK-48 & Northern Lights

[yum000]

Bingo, that's my problem with Hydro too, soil buffers mistakes, get your nutrients or temps wrong, or a pump fails in hydro and your plants can be dead in minutes. I've found with fabric pots that keep the soil cool and oxygenated, and bubbling my nutrient solutions with an air stone and perhaps a quarter cup of Hydrogen Peroxide I get pretty close to Hydro growth & yield with superior flavor and fragrance. I minored in horticulture way back in my college days and also prefer the lower maintenance/room for error of aerated soil vs hydro.

 

[yum000]

Bloom Day 6 Update...

Girls got a feeding yesterday, I'm using reverse osmosis or RO water for short. 1/2 tsp Open Sesame/gal, 2 tsp Tiger Bloom/gal, and 2 Tbsp Big Bloom/Gal, I mixed these into the water and bubbled with air stone and fish tank bubbler for the better part of the afternoon. Last I threw in a dash of hydrogen peroxide 3%. Little problem I'm facing is the sides of the fabric pots are not being wetted and this concerns me because I don't think the outer most roots are well developed as they should be, the pots are still somewhat soft and mushy on the outside, not firmed up with a typical fabric pot root mass-that I've experienced before by this point in the grow. I think this has more to do with these new fabric pots I'm using being more stout, or in other words shorter and wider. The last grow I did was with some 3 gallon pots as well, those were the Smart Pot brand and they were taller & narrower so when I pour in liquids from the top they'd saturated out to the sides more evenly. So I figured I'd spray a light nutrient solution on the outside of the pots to help even this out.

 

[yum000]

Bloom Day 9 Update...

Flushed the girls yesterday with plain ro water. Here's some pics....

 

[Krypticphil]

I gotta say I'm really enjoying how they are coming along. How do you like using those led mars2 400?

 

[yum000]

Hey Krypt! I'm glad you're enjoying and getting something out of it. The Mars 2's are proving to be performers. I was planning on providing a photo update in the next day or two specific to that topic and the proof that I'm seeing that they were money well spent. One, they've definitely got better penetration capability than my 2011-3 watt, the many more leaves on the bottom of the ak 48's underneath them, course that could be strain, but I doubt it. The Northern Lights plant underneath the 3 watt favors the light of the nearby Mars 2's and is lopsided in that it has more branches and buds on that side of the plant. I'd provide pics to explain what I'm saying but it's dark period at the moment, I'll show you in pics in the next couple days, you'll see what I mean.

 

[blackgold]

watching your light play. I am using the same light but not sure what's up with it. Keep em green.

 

[yum000]

Bloom Day 12 Update

Getting hairy. Fed yesterday, 1 tsp/gal Tiger Bloom, 2 tsp/gal Grow Big (for the nitrogen because they're going into stretch) 1/2 tsp gal Open Sesame-last dose of this, on to Beastie Bloomz next. ph'd water back to 6.5 and bubbled overnight, re-checked ph before watering.

For those asking about the efficacy of the Mars 2, I think the picture below speaks to that, the northern lights plant underneath my old 3 watt led lamp has more blooms and favors the light coming from the Mars 2. Not paid to say this, nor was this grow sponsored, they are a good deal.

 

[archie824]

Looking mighty fine. Keep it up!

 

[yum000]

Thanks, I plan to update at least every 3 days-stay tuned

 

[Zombie Farms]

dank!

 

[Krypticphil]

Yum very great shots. Yeah i can see now how the NL are trying to get a piece of the action on the other side. Looking really good, she should be swelling up soon and getting some major trich production.

 

[yum000]

Bloom Day 13 Update...

Quick check in, when I opened the tent this morning at "sunrise" I was amazed at the amount of development in the last 24 hours. The girls are really just getting into stretching their legs...I think you'll agree, compare this against shot 5 from yesterday's update.

 

[blackgold]

Looking good for day 13

 

[yum000]

Bloom Day 15 Update...

I flushed them all yesterday, I used 2 tsp of Sledgehammer flush per gal of RO water. I neglected to PH it back to 6.5 so it was an acidic wash. Girls aren't showing any signs of anything negative-yet. To be safe I flushed them again this morning with plain RO water, ph'd this time They are in the stage where they are fully developed and need watering/feeding every 3rd day. Here's some pics, including a couple from the other side of the the tent.

 

[yum000]

Bloom Day 18 Update...

Everything is looking great. I defoliated a bit day before yesterday. I went after all the large leaves beneath the grid and some of the leaves blocking buds above the grid. I filled about half a grocery bag full of leaves, defoliating with be an ongoing chore of course.

Feeding time today, 3 gals of RO water, 2 Tbsp/gal Big Bloom, 1 tsp/gal Tiger Bloom, 1 tsp/gal Grow Big, 1/2 tsp/gal Beastie Bloomz; bubbled overnight ph'd back to 6.5 and added about 1/4-1/2 cup Hydrogen Peroxide and let mix for 5 minutes before applying. Here's some pics...

 

[yum000]

Bloom Day 21 Update....

Water time today, they got a mixture of Buffalo Loam and Molasses (4 Tbsp Buffalo Loam/3 Tbsp Molasses in 3 gal water) bubbled overnight, added 1/4 teaspoon/gal of Beastie Bloom ph'd back to 6.5. Here's some pics....

 

[Stealthboat]

These look amazing man, the only way I can think of to describe them is delicious

 

[yum000]

Thanks man, they're looking more and more so, doing really well for this stage under the Mars II.

 

[yum000]

Bloom Day 24 Update...

Already producing resin and fragrance. Feeding today, 1 Tbsp/gal Big Bloom, 1 tsp/gal Tiger Bloom, 1 tsp/gal Grow Big, 1/4 tsp/gal Beastie Bloomz ph'd to 6.5.

 

[yum000]

Bloom Day 27...

I bubbled up some Buffalo Loam Compost Tea 1 Tbsp/gal, with some Unsulphered Molasses 1 Tbsp/gal starting yesterday late afternoon and 1/2 tsp/gal Beastie Bloomz. Also had about 1 Tbsp/gal Big bloom thrown in too. Fermented really well after about 18 hrs of bubbling, gave the girls a good drenching with this mixture. flooded the floor of the tent getting up the water with a turkey baster . I figured I'd add a bit more light on the Northern Lights plant and added in one of my old busted 2011 3 watt LED's in. It's a busted panel, I troubleshot by moving power supplies around to no avail. Anyway, here's some pics, I don't know if they really do them any justice but the girls are getting fat.

Soil temps 73.5 F, ambient temps in the canopy about 85 F

I don't supplement with Co2, but I do a lot of cooking on my gas range near by.