The Mother Hunt - Strain Search - Part 1

[PurpleGunRack]

The Mother Hunt - Strain Search, Part 1:
Northern Lights, THC Bomb, Berry Bomb, Orange Bud

06MAY2016


Hi 420 friends and welcome to my 5th indoor journal
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I decided to take my growing in another direction and not just grow ''random'' strain I find interesting, as the title indicates I'm trying out strains to find suitable mother plants.

I also upped the ante and got a second tent

This first post is gonna be a bit text and picture heavy as I'm well into this grow by now and finally found some time to get this journal going at day 62...

First I'll be growing select strains in feminized form to get a feel of the strain and phenotypes before deciding if it should be grown from regular seeds and then do a pheno/mother hunt.
This is so I won't ''waste'' space/time/electricity on males if it turns out to be a strain I don't want to keep, and to build up a stash so I'll be ready for growing regs.
Sadly many strains are not available as feminised and some only as regular, and an extensive recon has been carried out to put my wishlist together.

My intention is to find 2-3 mothers, the most important being the night time Indica, the second in line is something that will get me s**tfaced, the third is something fruity and colourful or some sativa/daytime smoke. All of which is represented in this grow so I'll get a good mixed stash, Part 2 is probably gonna be an all night time Indica search.


On another note I'm planning to build 3 DIY stealth cabinets, each capable of holding 3 big plants, one of which will be dedicated to mothers. I'm also thinking about building clone and drying cabinets or integrate them with the other cabinets somehow.

But as we all know; plans are meant to be changed



Now lets get the show started.

Setup A


Light:
2 x Mars Hydro Reflector 144x5w, combined draw ~600w at 230v

Tent:
Homebox Q120 (120cm x 120cm x 200cm)

Extration:
S&P TD350/125 Silent, 125 mm carbon filter from PrimaKlima, mini silencer. acoustic ducting, 2-step speed switch for the fan

Pots:
1, 3 and 7 gallon Smart Pots

Medium:
BioBizz Light-Mix with a generous amount of rinsed perlite added

Fertilizer:
Full BioBizz regime

Other:
Circulation fan, humidifier

Setup B


Light:
2 x Mars Hydro Reflector 48x5w and a Mars Hydro old style 60x3 UFO, combined draw ~280w at 230v

Tent:
Mars Hydro (100cm x 100cm x 180cm)

Extration:
S&P TD350/125 Silent, 125 mm carbon filter from PrimaKlima, mini silencer. acoustic ducting

Pots:
3,5 L square pots, 15 L Air-Pots

Medium:
BioBizz Light-Mix with a generous amount of rinsed perlite added

Fertilizer:
Full BioBizz regime

Other:
Circulation fan

I just got the 2 reflectors 48x5 in the tent today, switched from the old style Mars Hydro 100x3 panel, it was a bit noisy and I now have 280 drawn watts instead of 210 and a better spectrum

The Strains:


Setup A:

2 x Northern Lights - Sensi Seeds
2 x THC Bomb - Bomb Seeds
1 x Berry Bomb - Bomb Seeds
1 x Orange Bud - Dutch Passion


Setup B:

1 x Northern Lights - Sensi Seeds
2 x THC Bomb - Bomb Seeds
1 x Orange Bud - Dutch Passion



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My original plan was to have 2 Berry Bomb, but my second seed didn't germinate and I started a spare THC Bomb seed 7 days after the others.
I also have 3 autos in 3,5L square pots, a Malana Bomb , an Auto Night Queen and a Think Different as a little side test to hopefully get a little early bud


For veg I'm using the Gas Lantern Routine (Link in my signature)

I started the seeds well before I had the equipment for Setup B, and because they sent my the wrong fan I had to return it and wait for a new one...

I was busy at the time and didn't get around to LST the girls when they were young and before I knew it they were to big for LST in one tent and I had to wait until I got Setup B going.

So the LST was started pretty late and I had to do some hard bondage on the girls and was able to bend and twist them pretty well without snapping any stems this time
Luckily this, a couple of diodes dying and the Berry Bomb that didn't sprout, has been my only problems so far.

A quick time line:
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Day 1(06MAY2016) - Seeds set to ge rminate
Day 5 - All has broken soil, except Berry Bomb #1
Day 7 - Berry Bomb #1 removed -> Spare THC Bomb seed set to germinate
Day11 - Spare THC Bomb broke soil
Day 31 - Transplant
Day 44 - First LST
Day 48 - Second LST
Day 52 - Third LST + defoliation
Day 53 - Setup B flipped to 12/12
Day 55 - Setup A switched ON full spectrum, still running GLR
Day 62(Today) - New Lights in Setup B

Day 13

Day 22

Day 31 Before Transplant

Day 31 After Transplant

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Day 44 The Divide, First LST, Setup B Power ON


Before

Setup A

Setup B

Day 48, Second LST


Setup A

THC Bomb

Setup B

Northern Lights

​

Day 62 (Today)​

Setup A
The small autos are slightly visible here in the middle of the main characters

Setup B Flowering Day 10, noticed pistils a couple of days ago

If you made it this far


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Comments, questions and suggestions are most welcome


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[Stage]

Aww yeah..... page 1

Nice setup you have there. I'm subbed

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Aww yeah..... page 1

Nice setup you have there. I'm subbed

Glad you could make it mate I'll blaze one for ya

 

[Stage]

PGR....have u grown these strains before? Any expectations?

 

[veinz]

 

[PurpleGunRack]

PGR....have u grown these strains before? Any expectations?

I've grown the auto version of THC Bomb outdoors and it was killer and I've been smoking NL since the late 90's but never grown it.
Most strains I'm looking at are strains I've never smoked or grown, that's why I wanna try the feminised version first so I can get a feel of the strain grow and smoke vise.

 

[Islandfarmer]

That's a great setup and and great looking girls also! And I'm first page hell yea!

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Always welcome man

That's a great setup and and great looking girls also! And I'm first page hell yea!

Thanks! Welcome to the show, hope you enjoy

 

[Canna Montana]

Count me in guys! I don't want to miss this journal!

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Count me in guys! I don't want to miss this journal!

Welcome Canna, good to see you here

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Update Day 83 from seed​

I finally found some time to update this journal, being busy with work, the outdoor grow and life in general, I've been neglecting both this grow and journal...
The last 3 weeks I've been consistently watering a day or 2 too late, luckily these plants are hardy and everything is looking fine.

Setup A:
​

Still vegging, I haven't found time to transplant from the 3 gal. smart pots to the 7 gal. ones yet, and I want to give them at least 2 weeks after that before flipping and also do some more LST.

Setup B (Flowering Day 30)
​

These ladies have stretched a bit and is totally filling out the 1mx1m floor space, they're looking good and the Orange Bud seems to be the fastest at this point.

The THC Bomb that was started a week later than the others(replacing a dud Berry Bomb) has some very fat and sticky buds, I like to think it killed the soul of the Berry Bomb in the great beyond, knowing I would chose it as replacement and is now rewarding me with exceptional growth

I went to remove some dead leaves yesterday, but ended up going crazy and pruning the crap outta these ladies and doing some additional LST, hopefully the buds will get some more light now and fatten up nicely

Before pruning

After pruning and some LST

Leaves trimmed off

​

 

[PurpleGunRack]

A little update on the mini autos


​

I chopped the small autos around 80 days from seed and ended up with a small amount of nice bud.
The Auto Night Queen hermied, but pretty late in its life so it didn't pollinate the other autos.


Dry weight

Auto Night Queen: 4,5g
Think Different: 4,5g
Malana Bomb: 7,9g

Total: 16,9g


The smoke is very nice and on par with autos/photos in bigger pots.
I spend less than 45 USD / 40 EUR on seeds, soil(leftover from mixing for the photos) and nutes combined.
They were in 3,5L square pots under Gas Lantern Routine, lights running veg spectrum only most of their lives which they spend in the shade of photoperiod plants vegging.

So certainly worth doing if there is space, and they can be optimised with some LST and no LECA in the bottom of the pots so there's more room for roots.
I have some 1L and 3L Air-Pots, and I'm probably gonna try this again at some point using those.

Before Harvest

Hermie Auto Night Queen

After Bud Wash

Dry Malana Bomb

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​

 

[Canna Montana]

Congratulations on your harvest!

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Congratulations on your harvest!

With this and the outdoor plants coming in, I hope I won't have to buy any commercial stuff before the next harvest.

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Day 93 from seed
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A little update on the grow.
​

Setup B (Flowering Day 41)
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Things are doing ok even with my lack of attention and love, but the flowering Orange Bud hermied, it's the furthest developed of the flowering plants, I don't know if I'm gonna chop it or just try to cut the main bud off and see if the rest stays female
Same thing happened to my mate who grew from the same seed pack, so I'm worried about the one I still have in veg.

The others are doing fine, the flowers on the Northern Lights are small, but hopefully they'll take off soon. The THC Bombs are nice and sticky, the younger one looks like it's gonna get some fat buds

Setup A
​

I transplanted the girls in setup A from 3 gal. to 7 gal. smart pots, and gave them a good feeding after a couple of days in their new pots, and my have they grown it looks like the morphed into one plant,
I call her Many-as-One

Six 7 gal. smart pots are a bit too big for 120cm x 120cm, and I have to squeeze them in there, four of them would have been perfect.
I predict I'll have some serious space issues when I flip to flower in a week or so Luckily Setup B will begin to empty and I'll be able to move one or two plants in there.

​

 

[PurpleGunRack]

I just did some LST on 3 of the plants in Setup A today, and the remaining 3 will get some soon.
The hermie Orange Bud is gonna get chopped soon, so there'll be some more room for the big plants.

 

[wwhateley]

That's a really good looking setup, very clean. And your plants look very healthy!
Good job!

 

[Canna Montana]

It looks great, minus the nanners!

 

[DankestBuds42]

PurpleGunRack, you have one sick garden my friend. Much respect. I've seen a lot of debate between HPS and LED on this site. Do you have a preference between the two?

 

[PurpleGunRack]

That's a really good looking setup, very clean. And your plants look very healthy!
Good job!

Thanks man, I try to stay on top of things, but usually find myself not following a plan and just reacting to whatever happens and winging it along the ride. Luckily this plant is doing its thing anyway

It looks great, minus the nanners!

Thank you Canna, I chopped the hermie Orange Bud today, after three days of darkness which the buds ultra sticky

PurpleGunRack, you have one sick garden my friend. Much respect. I've seen a lot of debate between HPS and LED on this site. Do you have a preference between the two?

Thanks DB42!

I did 2 autoflower grows with a 250w HPS before switching to LED, so I don't have much to compare with.

However I prefer the LED's because they are easier to work with, no cooled hood and ducting, no problem flicking them off and on again seconds later.
There's no doubt in my mind that LED is the very near future in growlights, with better technology and lower prices to come.
Both types of light grows nice plants, and quality and yield is much more affected by genetics and care.