Sensi Star Grow

[PotChimp]

I'm going to try bubbling this up tomorrow night:

2 gallons RO water
1/2 cup vermicompost
1/2 cup worm compost
1/2 cup mushroom compost
1/2 cup Alaskan forest humus
1 Tbsp. fish hydrolysate
1/2 Tbsp. alfalfa meal
1/2 Tbsp. Sierra Foothills mix
2 tsp. unsulfured molasses
2 tsp. kelp meal

 

[PotChimp]

Got it going

What I'm hoping with this particular mix is to get a fungally dominant aerobic tea. I'll probably use Ancient Earth with RO water and CaMg+ for one watering, and my leftover --- micronutrients with RO water and CaMg+ for the alternate watering (in other words, a compost tea feeding, the first watering recipe, another compost tea feeding, and the second watering recipe). I'll change the compost tea formula to a bacterially dominant one into and through flower, and finish out flowering with a fungally dominant compost tea (just stuff I've read and I'm experimenting with). Post more pics soon.

 

[PotChimp]

Sensi Star - 3 weeks and 4 days from germ (the bad leaf on the lower right plant and wilt from using it on other plants is why I don't like those nutes I'm switching off from). That 818 Headband x GDP is in the smart pot (upper left):

That cross will be going into another unit as soon as I chop another plant (a day or two).

 

[fghtsmallcell]

Wow. I am a new grower and am a little jealous of your beauties!! LOL I have an unknown strain and it wants to grow tall and not bushy like yours. It does not matter how close I get the lights, my plants stretch. I will have to check into getting some SS seeds. It is a beautiful plant!! My problem is I am too afraid to order seeds and I do not have a safe house to send them to. I am still working on that plan.

Looking forward to watching yours grow.

 

[PotChimp]

Wow. I am a new grower and am a little jealous of your beauties!! LOL I have an unknown strain and it wants to grow tall and not bushy like yours. It does not matter how close I get the lights, my plants stretch. I will have to check into getting some SS seeds. It is a beautiful plant!! My problem is I am too afraid to order seeds and I do not have a safe house to send them to. I am still working on that plan.

Looking forward to watching yours grow.

Thanks I hope to do good with these. I am going to try what I used outside in my garden for this next feeding:

2 gallons RO water
1 cup processed chicken manure
1 cup vermicompost
1 cup worm compost
1-1/2 Tbsp unsulfured molasses

The plants didn't seem to really respond vigorously to that last formula. Here they are at 4 weeks:

I was wondering why this one started showing under 18/6:

until I saw this (mutation I've seen far too many times from overbreeding):

That plant is the one in the upper right corner. It probably won't yield as much and I'll have to watch it to make sure it doesn't hermie. The last time I got too many of these mutants the pot was crap Oh, and that extra plant in there (bottom row middle) will be going out soon.

 

[Snaab]

You have some beauties there! Subbed.

 

[PotChimp]

You have some beauties there! Subbed.

Thanks and welcome. Yeah I just thought about it and the fact that I had to reach over my head to foliar feed the tomato plant I used that formula on this summer tells me it might work. Every plant in the yard is way bigger than it should be from it. Maybe it'll work here too.

 

[fghtsmallcell]

Potchimp, please explain what you mean about what is wrong in those pictures above and you mention over breeding and mutations. I see 2 pistils, or is it starting to flower early?? I am just a little confused and what to learn more of what to look for in my plants has I had some that hermied and have not figured out why.

 

[PotChimp]

Potchimp, please explain what you mean about what is wrong in those pictures above and you mention over breeding and mutations. I see 2 pistils, or is it starting to flower early?? I am just a little confused and what to learn more of what to look for in my plants has I had some that hermied and have not figured out why.

This strain isn't crossed with any autoflowering strain that I know of, fghtsmallcell (those are usually the only strains that can flower under these long light hours). Yet at 18 hours of light and 6 hours of dark, I see hairs. Something definitely wrong there. I'll get better pics, but see how in that last picture two leaf stems come off at about a 90 degree angle and just below it is another leaf stem on the opposite side comes off too? Instead of having opposing nodes and leaf stems, overbred junk will start throwing off these "triple nodes". It's always the second row of branches up too and one (or both) of them split on their own sometimes to form two branches. The buds are small often and the plant yields slightly less. I worry that it could hermie because it's so weirded out and screw up the rest of this mess
I've had hermies from light leaks, stressful closet and tent conditions (too hot, too close to the light, overcrowding), bad breeding, and overbreeding. I took 6 clones before I put one into flower, and after a week of flower when the 6 clones didn't take and I took 6 more it stressed out from it and hermied big time I avoid certain breeders because of rumors that their stock is hermie central. There's only one here I've seen so far, so I can't call this stock I'm doing now bad breeding. One of the famous breeders claims hermies are because Asian genetics have been bred into stuff. Oh, and my poor care and plant problem troubleshooting has caused a plant or two to hermie on me. Don't worry though, generally good growing conditions and good genetics and you won't have problems. Good luck.

 

[PotChimp]

Now I got a Purple Maroc that's doing the same thing (putting hairs out under 18/6), but it has auto in the genetics; even the breeders say to watch the light hours to keep it from flowering too soon. I expected that one to do it. I'll keep an eye on it anyway.....

 

[fghtsmallcell]

OK. I understand now what you are saying. I am going to take a look at mine now and compare. Thanks for the info

 

[fghtsmallcell]

Potchimp, If I can figure out how to upload a couple of pics will you look at them for me?? I know this is your grow thread so I thought I should get your permission before I do that.

 

[PotChimp]

Yeah sure go ahead and upload them I'll look at them and try to help if I can.
I don't feel so nice about placing blame today; every one of these friggin' plants has over breeding deformities. I didn't like the original WW IBL this company did at all, I've got 2 beans of original Cheese IBL that are going on the back burner now. But on a brighter note, here's a few more things to look out for. Odd branching of leaves:

Triple nodes:

And my personal unfavorite, the cluster and grey mold causing branch that splits in half on its own

Another bunch of junk. I'll finish this grow out if it doesn't hermie, but my hope for it is pretty much up and gone

 

[PotChimp]

Notes: I fed all five plants the compost/manure tea I was talking about today. The mix was 2 gallons RO water, 2 Tbsp. unsulfured molasses, 1 cup vermicompost, 1 cup worm castings, and 1/2 cup 5-3-2 processed chicken manure. It only took one of the gallons; I used the rest on my other grow.
The breeder puts the flowering time at 56 to 63 days. I'll be putting them under 12/12 probably over the next day or two, after I see if this tea does as well as it does on outside plants (my girlfriend calls it "superfood" but I doubt it's gonna do that good on inside plants). That will match the second recommendation by the breeder; 2 weeks of veg before flowering. Post pics soon.

 

[PotChimp]

Here's that pic. Sensi Star - 4 weeks and 4 days:

 

[stealthgrow]

Your Sensi Star looks very healthy.
Cheers.

 

[PotChimp]

Thanks stealthgrow they're so dense though. I better consider a hard defoliation before I switch the light to a 400 watt HPS and down to 12/12 in a few days. The lower branches can't even get out of under the shade leaves the way they are now.

 

[brightlight]

Thanks stealthgrow they're so dense though. I better consider a hard defoliation before I switch the light to a 400 watt HPS and down to 12/12 in a few days. The lower branches can't even get out of under the shade leaves the way they are now.

Beautiful plants PC! I was just about to ask if & when you defol. Sounds like you wait until near 12/12? I find I'm having to start in veg to try & get a more even canopy. Trying to get over 10 nodes, then 12/12. What criteria do you use?

 

[PotChimp]

I just try to not do too much defoliation at once; I really don't have any hard criteria I go by. One thing I do is pluck all the leaves growing inwards towards the center of the plant; it helps to open up the inner budsites on the main stem. Usually I do it because I look and realize either the lower branches can't get through the canopy, or the canopy's too thick for good lighting to get to the lower buds.

 

[PotChimp]

I don't like the way these plants are overbred and I know I need to work more with defoliation to get experienced at it, so I did a good defol to all 5 of the plants. I took all the leaves growing towards the center of the plant and most of the shade leaves. They really look different, but it's not overcrowded now You can also see the variations in branching more. I'll take pics when they perk back up.

The main reason I posted a note today is to let everyone watching this grow know that I put all 5 of them under a 400 watt HPS set at 12/12, and the bloom cycle is officially started; I'm just checking my new setup to see if the one 8" inline fan can cool both 400 watt bulb units.