Strains- Darkstar (fem), Burmese Kush(fem), Sage n' Sour(fem), also a potential g13xhaze(reg) All from seed
Final Bucket size- 3.75 gal
Medium- organic soil blend: 1/3 each of composted alpaca manure, peat moss and perlite.
Nutrients & amendments- Espoma tomato tone and kelp meal, gardening lime and glacier rock dust.
Grow space- 4x4x6 grow tent
Lights - currently using 4ft 4bulb T5 in veg. Will switch to (2) air cooled 400w or 600w HPS for flower. (Recommendations on this please.)
My Grow Experience- 15 months of perpetual growing in a co-op with g13xhaze and a few others interspersed, all grown in promix and coco using advanced nutrients.
Current Hopes and expectations-
My hope is to simplify growing by foregoing the mixing of nutrients without sacrificing quality or quantity. I want to water the plants as needed with straight water alone. Maybe..., maybe I will use a "compost tea", but that will likely be in the future and only if the soil is lacking. (I had previously gotten to the point of taking care of 72 plants at the same time, mixing nutrients in gallon jugs. Imagine that. It took 45 minutes every other day just to water everything. Such a pain in the ass that I never plan on returning to. That high plant count also resulted in diminished yields because we just could not spend the time they required to thrive.) In addition to water only, I've decided to minimize plant count and use training techniques to increase yields instead.
After much research I found an organic soil recipe on the website "---------" by the poster who goes by the name "in the garden". *My only original alteration to the recipe I found was to use composted alpaca manure. But to be fair, I believe he or she does mention using compost. I'm just getting specific with the type of compost.
I chose organic methods for the simplicity of watering and also the supposed smell and taste supremacy of organic soil. This is my first time growing any of these strains except the G13xhaze so my expectations are minimal at the moment.
My ultimate plan and the real spice of this journal will be the taking of clones and attempting to top and supercrop them to the point where I can pull 200g per plant off 4 plants under 800w of light. I mean to take clones within the next couple of weeks as the plants are ready for it. 200g per plant is a slight stretch goal for me as the most I've currently harvested on 1 plant was about 7oz(196g), but it was off a high yield sativa that I didn't have to train that much at all. Otherwise the prime average before the decline was around 3-4oz per with 5-7 plants under 1-1000w.
For this immediate and initial grow I will be leaving the plants to their natural growth pattern to observe their tendencies. And I hope they will give me at least 3oz per, but I will be happy with 2oz per. I realize that isn't even close to my ultimate goal, but as mentioned, I've never worked with these strains or soil type. And without the regular addition of nutrients I really don't know what to expect. The only training I will likely use on these mothers is defoliation allowing light to reach side branches.
Current status- 4 weeks into veg.
What you've missed-
1.) July- I Went to a local farm and purchased composted alpaca manure that I had to shovel up myself. I got 6 large bags of varying ages of compost for $60. I then purchased peat moss, lime and perlite from Home Depot for $43. Lastly I purchased Espoma tomato tone and kelp meal along with glacier rock dust for about $40. In total I spent $143 for the equivalent of 4-5 bags of the large $60 promix bales. Easily saving myself $100-200 right off the bat on soil alone. Not to mention I won't be purchasing additional nutrients. (I had the whole line of advance. Such a waste I believe.)
2.) Sep.6, About 1 week before soaking and planting the seeds I mixed up my soil and nutrients and began to water as needed which was very little. This step is allegedly required in order to allow the nutrients to meld with the soil and be available to the plants.
3.) Sep.13, I soaked the seeds for 12 hours in bottled water then planted in solo cups filled with the same 1/3soil blend they are currently in, but did not have the tomato tone, kelp meal or rock dust added. I started with 2 seeds of each DS, SNS, and BK. Only one of each sprouted. All within the first few days.
4.) Sep 27, After about 3 weeks in solo cups I transplanted the seedlings into the nutrient amended soil in 3.75gal buckets. Before doing so, I cut the soil with more perlite and peat moss because it didn't appear to drain as well as Id like it to. Also, I didn't want to wait so long to replant but time was tight. Up until this point they had been in a closet while I waited for the grow tents. The g13 showed signs of magnesium deficiency and possible Ph issues. All others looked healthy.
5.) Oct.16, plants moved to grow tent.
6.) Oct. 20, few days ago I noticed what appears may be nitrogen toxicity on the SNS. (Fan leaf tips pointing down like claw) It is only the SNS that does this, but it lacks the dark green color I would expect with too much N.
7.) Oct 24. The dark star along with sage n sour have been the most vigorous growers. All of them stand about 1 foot tall from soil to main tip. Big fat healthy leaves on the Darkstar and SNS. All stems are very strong at this stage. I had a fan on them intermittently throughout the weeks. The Burmese kush was a slow starter, but is now starting to take off. All plants have started growing side branches recently. I expect to cut clones in 2-3 weeks. After roots have shown on clones I will throw all mothers into flower and cross my fingers for the results on those.
- Side note on the grow tent is how extremely well it holds moisture and humidity. The walls sweat.
I will not be adding any additional nutrients unless I notice a deficiency of some sort.
I have a soil test kit and will be testing for NPK and PH within the next day or two.
As soon as I learn how to add photos, I will do so.
Final Bucket size- 3.75 gal
Medium- organic soil blend: 1/3 each of composted alpaca manure, peat moss and perlite.
Nutrients & amendments- Espoma tomato tone and kelp meal, gardening lime and glacier rock dust.
Grow space- 4x4x6 grow tent
Lights - currently using 4ft 4bulb T5 in veg. Will switch to (2) air cooled 400w or 600w HPS for flower. (Recommendations on this please.)
My Grow Experience- 15 months of perpetual growing in a co-op with g13xhaze and a few others interspersed, all grown in promix and coco using advanced nutrients.
Current Hopes and expectations-
My hope is to simplify growing by foregoing the mixing of nutrients without sacrificing quality or quantity. I want to water the plants as needed with straight water alone. Maybe..., maybe I will use a "compost tea", but that will likely be in the future and only if the soil is lacking. (I had previously gotten to the point of taking care of 72 plants at the same time, mixing nutrients in gallon jugs. Imagine that. It took 45 minutes every other day just to water everything. Such a pain in the ass that I never plan on returning to. That high plant count also resulted in diminished yields because we just could not spend the time they required to thrive.) In addition to water only, I've decided to minimize plant count and use training techniques to increase yields instead.
After much research I found an organic soil recipe on the website "---------" by the poster who goes by the name "in the garden". *My only original alteration to the recipe I found was to use composted alpaca manure. But to be fair, I believe he or she does mention using compost. I'm just getting specific with the type of compost.
I chose organic methods for the simplicity of watering and also the supposed smell and taste supremacy of organic soil. This is my first time growing any of these strains except the G13xhaze so my expectations are minimal at the moment.
My ultimate plan and the real spice of this journal will be the taking of clones and attempting to top and supercrop them to the point where I can pull 200g per plant off 4 plants under 800w of light. I mean to take clones within the next couple of weeks as the plants are ready for it. 200g per plant is a slight stretch goal for me as the most I've currently harvested on 1 plant was about 7oz(196g), but it was off a high yield sativa that I didn't have to train that much at all. Otherwise the prime average before the decline was around 3-4oz per with 5-7 plants under 1-1000w.
For this immediate and initial grow I will be leaving the plants to their natural growth pattern to observe their tendencies. And I hope they will give me at least 3oz per, but I will be happy with 2oz per. I realize that isn't even close to my ultimate goal, but as mentioned, I've never worked with these strains or soil type. And without the regular addition of nutrients I really don't know what to expect. The only training I will likely use on these mothers is defoliation allowing light to reach side branches.
Current status- 4 weeks into veg.
What you've missed-
1.) July- I Went to a local farm and purchased composted alpaca manure that I had to shovel up myself. I got 6 large bags of varying ages of compost for $60. I then purchased peat moss, lime and perlite from Home Depot for $43. Lastly I purchased Espoma tomato tone and kelp meal along with glacier rock dust for about $40. In total I spent $143 for the equivalent of 4-5 bags of the large $60 promix bales. Easily saving myself $100-200 right off the bat on soil alone. Not to mention I won't be purchasing additional nutrients. (I had the whole line of advance. Such a waste I believe.)
2.) Sep.6, About 1 week before soaking and planting the seeds I mixed up my soil and nutrients and began to water as needed which was very little. This step is allegedly required in order to allow the nutrients to meld with the soil and be available to the plants.
3.) Sep.13, I soaked the seeds for 12 hours in bottled water then planted in solo cups filled with the same 1/3soil blend they are currently in, but did not have the tomato tone, kelp meal or rock dust added. I started with 2 seeds of each DS, SNS, and BK. Only one of each sprouted. All within the first few days.
4.) Sep 27, After about 3 weeks in solo cups I transplanted the seedlings into the nutrient amended soil in 3.75gal buckets. Before doing so, I cut the soil with more perlite and peat moss because it didn't appear to drain as well as Id like it to. Also, I didn't want to wait so long to replant but time was tight. Up until this point they had been in a closet while I waited for the grow tents. The g13 showed signs of magnesium deficiency and possible Ph issues. All others looked healthy.
5.) Oct.16, plants moved to grow tent.
6.) Oct. 20, few days ago I noticed what appears may be nitrogen toxicity on the SNS. (Fan leaf tips pointing down like claw) It is only the SNS that does this, but it lacks the dark green color I would expect with too much N.
7.) Oct 24. The dark star along with sage n sour have been the most vigorous growers. All of them stand about 1 foot tall from soil to main tip. Big fat healthy leaves on the Darkstar and SNS. All stems are very strong at this stage. I had a fan on them intermittently throughout the weeks. The Burmese kush was a slow starter, but is now starting to take off. All plants have started growing side branches recently. I expect to cut clones in 2-3 weeks. After roots have shown on clones I will throw all mothers into flower and cross my fingers for the results on those.
- Side note on the grow tent is how extremely well it holds moisture and humidity. The walls sweat.
I will not be adding any additional nutrients unless I notice a deficiency of some sort.
I have a soil test kit and will be testing for NPK and PH within the next day or two.
As soon as I learn how to add photos, I will do so.
