The Munki's Playground

[Xlr8]

Glad all is well naphtali! Honestly I don't know much more about it, I've been using it this grow & haven't noticed anything different, but my clones are so small it's probably not a good test.

I think it's mostly used by hydro guys, but maybe Munki or someone else has better info for you.

Take care

I've been using Silica now for a while, and all I can say for sure is that I've always been happy with nice thick stems and branches - sturdy plants. I'm not saying my plants are all that, because there are so many better growers than me here, but I do see differences in stem girth and sturdiness compared to many other plants I come across despite the fact that I don't usually have a lot of air movement on them. It also doesn't add much to the PPM's and seems pretty user friendly. (I use the Dutch Master Silica in Hydro). I did one grow without Silica, and I didn't feel like they were as sturdy - they seemed a bit spindlier. Just my hack observations, nothing scientific!

Munki - I'm a huge fan of your plants and approach, man. You are one of those growers who grow plants that inspire me. I feel pretty humble when I stop by your thread!

 

[naphtali5725]

thanks for the info Xlr8

 

[Munki]

High Munki, looks like the plants are still doing well, despite the speedbumps

What do you use for pH up? I've been using GH maxi dry nutes. In rain water they drop the pH to 4.3-4.6. I've tried the hydro store house brand, but it seemed it just took too much for any heathful activity going on in the buckets.

Baking Soda, lime, and/or wood ashes just didn't get the pH high enough (6.2- 6.5) no matter how much I added.

I just picked up some Earth Juice crystals that seem to do the trick with a small amount, and the pH stays stable.

I'm doing coco/dirt hempies, so I may not need to be as concerned with the pH, but after some previous issues, I just don't want to take a chance

Here is what I've been using...

 

[Munki]

Flower day 51 (morning). Snapped off a bunch of pics to share; some with the LEDs on and some with them off and using a flash.

Temperature and humidity ranges have improved with the Santa Ana winds subsiding...

Found the pH to be low again. Added a total of 21 ml pH up.

 

[lbezphil2005]

So the little crisping on your plants didn't happen until after you had loaded the nutrient res with the doses of silica? I've noticed some spots on the leaves on some of my plants and was wondering why that was happening, I had been feeding silica every water, guess I will back off now, especially because I've heard in flower if you use it too long it will cause your smoke to not burn clean. I was told to stop using it after 2 weeks into flower, not by the company, botanicare, but by docbud.

 

[Munki]

So the little crisping on your plants didn't happen until after you had loaded the nutrient res with the doses of silica? I've noticed some spots on the leaves on some of my plants and was wondering why that was happening, I had been feeding silica every water, guess I will back off now, especially because I've heard in flower if you use it too long it will cause your smoke to not burn clean. I was told to stop using it after 2 weeks into flower, not by the company, botanicare, but by docbud.

He has good experience, so his argument could hold weight. Thing is that all the bud mass happens at the end of the grow and if the stems are not strong enough, you'll need to support them with sticks and twist ties. It is my first try with the silica, so I cannot speak from experience. My thoughts come from nature where the silica would be present in the surrounding soil for the entire grow. Do buds grown in natural settings have problems with not burning clean? Something to ponder.

 

[Munki]

Found pH to be at 5.4 so I added 14 ml of pH up. Current reading now back to 5.8.

 

[zzoomm100]

So maybe your colas don't look as fat as others but you can sure see the quality of them-- really covered with trichs. I bet those buds will produce some really quality smoke. Nice grow Munki.

 

[Munki]

So maybe your colas don't look as fat as others but you can sure see the quality of them-- really covered with trichs. I bet those buds will produce some really quality smoke. Nice grow Munki.

Thanks zzoomm100 ... the crystals are poppin' for sure!

 

[Munki]

Flower day 53. pH is OK at 5.7 presently. Will be spraying down the plants for PM. I've had a few spots of it, but now one area that gets poor airflow has a moderate case now so I cannot put off the treatment any longer.

 

[Xlr8]

Love this picture, I'm thinking it would make a great desktop picture on my laptop - unless you have it copyrighted. :

 

[Munki]

Love this picture, I'm thinking it would make a great desktop picture on my laptop - unless you have it copyrighted. :

I don't mind at all, my friend. I like to share!

 

[Munki]

I cut off a small sugar leaf to try and take some macro shots. I'm no expert yet and could use a better tripod, but after some cropping, I think they are fun to look at. Check 'em out and don't forget to click on the pics to enlarge them. Enjoy!

 

[TheRockGrower]

WOW some nice pictures the close ups are off the hook.

 

[Munki]

WOW some nice pictures the close ups are off the hook.

Thanks. A few were done with my 100mm macro lens, but the real closeups were done with a telephoto lens coupled to a reversed 50mm lens. With the telephoto extended to its maximum 300mm focal length, this results in a 6x magnification of the image. Downsides is the lighting becomes dim and focus range becomes razor thin, but I compensated with a tiny aperture (f/22) and used a powerful flash unit. I also used a remote trigger on the camera which was mounted on a tripod to eliminate shaking.

Got a bit nerdy with the photographic details for those who care.

 

[Vapedogg223]

Hey Munki,

I'm a former "photo-nerd" myself! got out of it, and sold all my stuff when digital started getting big. I promised myself I'd get back into it at some point, I just haven't bitten the bullet yet. Still keep wishing for my old macro lens though!

Great pics! they look awesome.

Looks like you're starting to get quite a few amber trics... How muck longer are you planning on letting them go?

 

[Barry Manilow]

Great trich pics Munki! Really crisp and clear

 

[Munki]

Hey Munki,

I'm a former "photo-nerd" myself! got out of it, and sold all my stuff when digital started getting big. I promised myself I'd get back into it at some point, I just haven't bitten the bullet yet. Still keep wishing for my old macro lens though!

Great pics! they look awesome.

Looks like you're starting to get quite a few amber trics... How muck longer are you planning on letting them go?

I'll need to look at other areas to confirm that they are really changing from age alone. I was going to go a couple more weeks at least, but I'll begin evaluating them for cloudy trichs. I did not see very many cloudy ones so far.

Great trich pics Munki! Really crisp and clear

Thanks BD!

 

[Munki]

I looked at some of the buds under the hand microscope. I do see areas where the trichs are brown, but the others tend to be clear/slightly cloudy. Not too many cloudy ones. Guessing some sort of stressor caused it. Thinking it could have been the high concentration of silica that browned the leaf edges also hastened some of the trichome aging. Just a guess. Planning now on harvesting on 5/20 - 5/21 range which is 9 week flower (actually 65 days).

 

[Munki]

Cut off another sugar leaf but this one was very near the top of a bud that got direct light. 8 weeks flowering completed.