1st Grow In 40 Years

[Snub Knows]

Thanks for reading and the fantastic comments all the way through this grow Snub Knows!!! I have learned alot from you!

Thanks, glad you've found some useful info from me. Not that ya need any help, though. The 40 year absence from growing doesn't show at all, the girls ya have look great!
Good to hear that the two late transplants are already bouncing back. Definitely not so great to transplant during flowering, but it's not too bad as long as ya do it before they really start stretchin. One of my favorite things about growing is that no two grows go the same way. Not for me, anyway. I'm constantly having to analyze potential problems, and then adapting my methods accordingly. It seems like that is something you excel at. Keep up the great work!

 

[1970s Grower]

Thanks, glad you've found some useful info from me. Not that ya need any help, though. The 40 year absence from growing doesn't show at all, the girls ya have look great!
Good to hear that the two late transplants are already bouncing back. Definitely not so great to transplant during flowering, but it's not too bad as long as ya do it before they really start stretchin. One of my favorite things about growing is that no two grows go the same way. Not for me, anyway. I'm constantly having to analyze potential problems, and then adapting my methods accordingly. It seems like that is something you excel at. Keep up the great work!

Ya know... your right about transplanting during flowering. It should not be done. I knew I was playing with fire. My issue was space. Of the 4 plants left at the time, I wasn't positive about the sex. As soon as I found out that 2 were female I transplanted them to 3 gal containers. This filled the cablinet shelf completely.

9/21... Lowered the shelf another 3 inches today. I was burning tips on the lights. Watered today with 6ml/gal of Hygrozyme to cleanup any dead root from transplanting. I will be using Hygrozyme every time I water without nutes.

 

[1970s Grower]

9/22... I can hardly beleive how well these girls are doing. 1 week ago, I was spending hours looking for pistils on these plants to determine thier sex. 1 week later there are buds and thousands of albino sex hairs poking out of multiple buds. The last 3 days have been significant in Pistil production. Today was the most change I have seen in one day. It just blows me away that this happens. Only a God could create something this remarkable and beautiful yet so complex. I am not preaching here, but I am thankful none the less that things are going well so far.

I will get some pics up on the weekend.

THe Hygrozyme I added to the water yesterday at 6ml/gal has done no harm. In fact it seems that these plants love everything I throw at them. I don't go overboard and keep dosage conservative. I still have not needed to flush. I don't wnat to stress the plants with a flush if I don't need to.

Any thoughts on flushing for the sake of flushing or just keep watering/feeding/watering as usual? What is your approach to flushing?? I would like to know from as many people as possible. Thanks in advance.

 

[Twelve12]

Plants looks great 1970s Grower! The bud candy is for flower enhancement, best after 4th week in bloom as right now there isn't any flower to enhance and you could save some of the juice.

Some thoughts on flushing. When using non-organic nutrients it's best to flush the medium once a month to wash out salts contents that may cause root lockout later down the road. Fox Farm nutes has a lot of salts especially their solubles trio; Open Sesame, Beastie Bloomz, and Cha-Ching. The bloom is organic, while Grow and Tiger also contain salts. You can see them built up around the cap so imagine that around the root zone. Once the medium is flushed add in 1/2 strength nute right away so the girls don't starve themselves. Then resume the dosage on the chart for the next feeding.

 

[1970s Grower]

Plants looks great 1970s Grower! The bud candy is for flower enhancement, best after 4th week in bloom as right now there isn't any flower to enhance and you could save some of the juice.

Some thoughts on flushing. When using non-organic nutrients it's best to flush the medium once a month to wash out salts contents that may cause root lockout later down the road. Fox Farm nutes has a lot of salts especially their solubles trio; Open Sesame, Beastie Bloomz, and Cha-Ching. The bloom is organic, while Grow and Tiger also contain salts. You can see them built up around the cap so imagine that around the root zone. Once the medium is flushed add in 1/2 strength nute right away so the girls don't starve themselves. Then resume the dosage on the chart for the next feeding.

Thanks for jumping in when some great advice! I will definitely do as you suggest.


Since I just transplanted from 1-3 gallon pots my logic was that since 2/3 of the soil was new that I was buying some time on the flush. The original root ball obvious has some salt in it as you suggest. The heavy watering of the transplant was focused on the center of the plant, in other words the original salted root ball. I watered heavy to the point of run off out the bottom wholes. My thought was that I had washed away most salt to the bottom and out. Surely not as good as a flush, but maybe a temporary stay from performing the flush.

I am not questioning the value of a flush. You convinced me that I need to do it, but is my thinking sound on delaying one with a transplant and heavy watering? A flush scares me. I have never done one, even on my grows from the 70s. I guess once I do one I won't be so apprehensive about it.

I appreciate an experienced grower such as yourself leading me down the right path letting me know when my thinking is suspect.

 

[Twelve12]

Cool, the transplant will provide more time, like another month. Flushing will deprive the plant from all nutrients and salts, and a replacement of fresh nute mix should be added in right away after the flush. Unless the plants are in the final 1-2 weeks in flower which they do not get any nutrients. To get rid of the PPM/Nute for smooth smoke and flavors. More on flushing in a beginner's guide to harvesting (when you get to the final few weeks). I review this every time before harvesting tend to forget lol. Good luck my friend.

 

[1970s Grower]

Cool, the transplant will provide more time, like another month. Flushing will deprive the plant from all nutrients and salts, and a replacement of fresh nute mix should be added in right away after the flush. Unless the plants are in the final 1-2 weeks in flower which they do not get any nutrients. To get rid of the PPM/Nute for smooth smoke and flavors. More on flushing in a beginner's guide to harvesting (when you get to the final few weeks). I review this every time before harvesting tend to forget lol. Good luck my friend.

Funny how I just read your blog flushing, harverst, and curing on this a few minutes before getting this message. Great read... it should be read by all.

 

[Twelve12]

I noticed that too after seeing your comment. For a moment there we had the exact same thought.

 

[gittergreen]

Hey man your plants look great! you have done great, i ended up moving all of mine except one i cloned outside it just was a lot cheaper this way and they were not so picky outside. good luck with the rest of your flowering i will pop in to check it out when time permits. I have one clone left inside and will flower her under cfls and tigerbloom so im along for the rest of your grow.

 

[1970s Grower]

I haven't posted in a week as I have been on Holiday.
First of all heres some pics from Day 10 of 12/12 taken on on 9/21

Things are looking fair to good.

9/24...
I am getting ready to leave for 5 days. My plants will need watered in 3. I have a trusted friend educated in PHing the water and adding Hygrozyme. I hope he gets it right.

I gave the plants their feeding today.

Today I went with.
3tsp BiG Bloom
2tsp Tiger Bloom
1tsp Grow Big
¼ tsp Open Sesame
1tsp Kangaroots
2tsp Cal/Mag-Plus (Iron)
3tsp Bud Candy
2tsp Nirvana

I am pushing a pretty high PPM with this mix of nutes at 1700. Hope they don't burn while I am gone.

I also got rid of the shelf and cut up some 2x4s to use to raise lower the plants in the cabinet. I want to make it easy for my friend to adjust the plant height while I am gone.

9/28.... back from vacation and the plants look great. Other than crowding the lights a little they survived my vacation well.

The struggle right now is my Sativa dominant... She is so lanky. I have her tied down and she is almost 3 feet wide now. Keeping 4 plants in a 4'x1' cab is struggle with this girl sprawed out over all the other plants.

I am convinced that each of these plants looks and acts as a different strain. Growth is different, flowering is different, water consumption is different. Nothing is similar. It is supposed to be 2 strains of 2 plants each. The seeds came from known buds... not much better than bag seed I know. THe problem with this kind of seed is you never know who the daddy was.

I will post up pics of Day 20 of flowering in my next post.

 

[ImmortalCulti]

Hey 70's grower...

These ladies have really progressed,

do you plan on full flowering in their current set up?



Immortal Cultivations' Indoor Coco Garden PK - Strawberry Cough - Lemon Haze & Others



StayTrue:.
ImmortalCultivation:.

 

[1970s Grower]

10/1... Day 20 of 12/12

Today is Saturday and I have alot to do. Water to PH, Nutes to Mix, Plants need fed. I need to adjust the height and also take some pics to post in the journal. This hobby takes more time than I remember it taking in the 70s.

I mixed up 2 gallons of the following nutes today. All measures below are per gallon.
3tsp BiG Bloom
2tsp Tiger Bloom
2tsp Grow Big
¼ tsp Beasty Bloomz
2tsp Cal/Mag-Plus (Iron)
3tsp Bud Candy
2tsp Nirvana

I asjusted PH to 6.30
My meter won't even read the PPM... it maxes out at 2000. I am probably playing with fire but I think the plants will take it ok. I plan to flush in 3 days. I have an analysis of the PPM increase of each nutrient which I will post up later today. My water has a PPM of just 11.

THere has got to be an easier way to mix nutes. I am using 2 one gallon milk jugs. The opening is too small and I always get a few drops of nutes down the side using a measuring spoon. I have a syringe but its too big arround for Fox Farm bottles. I would like to mix in a 2 gallon container with a wide mouth. It sure would make things easier and cleaner. I am going to see what I can find at Walmart.

Time to start feeding the mix to the plants. I pull my plants out of the cab to feed/water them. I put them on a scale and fill them until they weigh 12 pounds. Water just starts to trickle out the bottom at 12 to 13 pounds depending on the plant.

Heres a pic of my lanky Sative dominant. She is such a space pig...
The Marshall speaker is 34" wide and she is wider as you can see..

She is in a 3 gallon pot that is 10.5 inches wide.

Heres one of her colas. Not bad for 20 days.

Here are some pics under the lights...

Here are some pics of the girls in the cabinet. Not much room left.

 

[1970s Grower]

Re: Hey 70's grower...

These ladies have really progressed,

do you plan on full flowering in their current set up?



Immortal Cultivations' Indoor Coco Garden PK - Strawberry Cough - Lemon Haze & Others



StayTrue:.
ImmortalCultivation:.

Yes this is my only way to finish these out. Its not going to be easy in this space. I am contantly tying and retying branches to keep everything fitting. See my Day 20 pics above...

 

[1970s Grower]

PPM Test of Nutrients.

As I added nutes to my water for the 10/1 feeding, I took PPM measurements after adding each nute. I figure this would tell me how much of a PPM hit each nutes was giving.

Each time I added a nute, I thoroughly mixed the brew. I used 2 one gallon jugs and I measured the PPM of each jug to assure a consitant result.

I started with RO water at 11PPM
The table below shows each measurement

3tsp Fox Farm BiG Bloom
plus
2tsp Advanced Nutrients Nirvana
Jug 1 - 189 PPM
Jug 2 - 203 PPM
Result - These two nutrients TOGETHER account for a 178 - 182 increase in PPM

2tsp Fox Farm Grow Big
Jug 1 - 808 PPM
Jug 2 - 847 PPM
Result - 2tsp Fox Farm Grow Big accounts for 619 to 644 PPM increase

2tsp Botanicare Cal/Mag-Plus (Iron)
Jug 1 - 1140 PPM
Jug 2- 1198 PPM
Result - 2tsp Botanicare Cal/Mag Plus accounts for 332 -352 PPP increase

2tsp Fox Farm Tiger Bloom
Jug 1 - 1630 PPM
Jug 2 - 1720 PPM
Result - 2tsp Fox Farm Tiger BLoom is strong shit accounting for 490-522 PPM increase

3tsp Advance Nutrients Bud Candy
Jug 1 - 1820
Jug 2 - 1880
Result 3tsp Advance Nutrients Bud Cany accounted for 160 - 190 PPM increase

1/4 tsp Fox Farm Beastie Bloomz
Jug 1 - Off the F'ing scale of the meter (More than 2000 PPM)
Jug 2 - Off the F'ing scale of the meter (More than 2000 PPM)
Result Fox Farm Beastie Bloomz increased PPM MORE THAN 180 PPM. Next time I will add the Beastie Bloom to the mix sooner to find out its PPM hit.

So there you have it. I applied this feed yesterday and the plants show no ill effects today at a PPM level higher than 2000. I am going to flush on Tuesday.

Final average tally....
180 PPm -3tsp Fox Farm BiG Bloom plus 2tsp Advanced Nutrients Nirvana
632 PPM - 2tsp Fox Farm Grow Big
506 PPM - 2tsp Fox Farm Tiger Bloom
342 PPM - 2tsp Botanicare Cal/Mag-Plus (Iron)
175 PPM - 3tsp Advance Nutrients Bud Candy
180+ PPM - 1/4 tsp Fox Farm Beastie Bloomz
11 PPM - RO water.

That comes up to a total of 2026+ PPM

I may try to find an organic Cal/Mag/Iron. I didn't realize the PPM were so high from the Botonicare CAL/Mag Plus.

My hunch is the that FOx Farm Beastie Bloomz is going to come in at over 500 PPM. This would have put this feed at about 2400 PPM.

I have used my last Grow Big. Way too much hit. I needed it for the sulpher which is Fox Farms only way to give. I now have some Humbolt Duece Duece that has potassium sulfphate to get me the sulpher. Its time to increase the Potash anyway.

Any help thinking through this stuff would be be appreciated. Any one else measure the PPM hit on their nutes?

 

[greenhouse2]

good man its never too late!!!good luck!!

 

[1970s Grower]

Finally some bad news. I have a Hermies in the cabinet. I picked 20 or so balls of 1 plant and 3-5 off the other 3 plants.

3 balls spewed thier yellow jiz and of course I have a fan to blow it all arround. I am kind of screwed here but its all I got and I don't have any smoke Havn't even had a dime bag since 1986. So I have to move forward with what I have. I am going to be checking for sacs daily for at least a month. Dayum.

These seeds came from 2 seperate sources of fantastic smoke. Of course they must have came from Hermies too. I don't have light issues and I only FIMed once on each plant. I did LST one palnt, but I don't think its due to stress. The smoke should be good but just not as much as if they were chicks without any balls.

I am planning my next grow as I finish this one out. I have some Green House Seeds Super Lemon Haze Feminized, some Underground Originals SmellyBerry feminised, some Barney's Vanilla Kush feminised, and few free oddballs.

I have no idea how I want to start this grow setup. I have another cab the same size, or do I buy a tent, HID lights, ventilation etc. I need to start asking the correct questions of myself and others to figure out what to do.

 

[Twelve12]

You'll love the Super Lemon Haze. I enjoyed growing it, friend and patients enjoy smoking it. This strain is now part of the permanent collection and always in the garden. Sorry to hear about our hermie. They'll still give you some great buds to smoke regardless of having seeds.

How big the space do you have for growing? HID will help with growth and yield, and lots of ventilation to keep them cool.

 

[1970s Grower]

You'll love the Super Lemon Haze. I enjoyed growing it, friend and patients enjoy smoking it. This strain is now part of the permanent collection and always in the garden. Sorry to hear about our hermie. They'll still give you some great buds to smoke regardless of having seeds.

How big the space do you have for growing? HID will help with growth and yield, and lots of ventilation to keep them cool.

Thats good to hear. Thanks for the positive note. I look forward to it.

Also, I am in awe of your grow and your tenacity to get outside the box. The stuff you are doing with water curing is fantastic. Thanks for sharing that with us.

As always, I appreciate an experienced grower such as yourself weighing in on what I am doing. Thanks!

My second grow space is still yet undetermined. I have the funds to do what I want. I have to get the spouse to approve. She will approve of a second cab just like the first one because its right next to the current one already built.

WHat I want is some real space to do this right. I have a home and I could find a place for a tent but its gonna cause issues with my wife. I am not sure if I want to open that can of worms. She smokes and approves of my current cabinet, but moving a tent in the basement or taking over a walkin closet may not fly with her.

For now a CFL cabinet has worked well except for the hermies. Another 4 weeks and I should know for sure how well the 1' x 4' x 42" high cabinet has worked out.

If anyone reading has not seen Twelve12 s grow, by all mean give it a visit. It is full of valuable info.

 

[Twelve12]

Have you talk to your wife about wanting to expand the grow operation by adding the tent? Talk to her during a good mood, like taking her out in town for dinner one day somewhere special and slip in the question. Maybe she'll reconsider and give you a small space somewhere in the house. If not, suggest growing in the backyard in a shack (the ones you put tools in) which can get from local hardware store. Also instead of using another cab along with the current one, get a tent instead of using two cabs. If all failed you have to go with what she agreed to. Some herbs better than none.

Thanks for the kind words. I've only been growing for about a year and still have lots to learn. Often make mistakes, so by helping others I remind myself too.

Keep us updated on your wife's verdict.

 

[1970s Grower]

10/4.... Day 23 of Flowering. I picked a few ball off my hermie yesterday... I could only find 4 or 5 and I think those were missed on Sunday as they were higher up the plant. They had not yet opened. I had an awesome grow going until the Hermie spoiled it all. Dayum Freek screwing up the neighborhood girls. Wheres Darwin when ya need him?

I am not even sure what a growing seeded bud looks like as I have never had hermies in my grows from the 70s. I guess I am gonna find out. I have a few pistols here and there that are brown... maybe 10 pair total in the garden are brown. I assume these brown pistils wlll show seed soon.

Well I am no longer a virgin when it comes to flushing. It seems like such a drastic measure that adds stress and washes your medium clean the good and the bad. I can see a flush a week before harvest (In the 70s we watered heavy before harvest with brown sugar water but never flushed) but I still am not 100% convinced that a flush at certain intervals is the best thing. I am 90% convinced, and if my plants look thriving tomorrow I may be totally convinced it was the right thing to do. Every one here does it and it seems to work for them.

Today I flushed as follows.

Each plant was fed:
1 gallon of RO with
2 tsp of Fox Farm Sledghammer
PH'd to 6.4-6.6.

I then added:
a second gallon of RO with
2 tsp FoX Farm Big Bloom (a safe organic nute to hold them over till next feeding)
2 tsp Fox Farm Sledgehammer.
PH'd to 6.3-6.5

Thats 2 gallons per plant in a 3 gallon container.

After about 3/4 gallon, water started dripping out the bottom. I hope 2 gallons per plant is enough to wash the salts. After the two gallons I let them drain and then put them back in the cabinet. Completely saturated, these plants weigh about 14 lbs. Originally when I transplanted to the 3 gallon containers they weighed 12 lbs. The plants are bigger and the root system is bigger bigger so I assume that accounts for the extra 2 lbs. I took my time let things settle for a while between each gallon.

Now I worry about the extra humidity from saturation rotting my bud. I am goin to leave the doors open until the lights go out tonight

Did I do this right guys/gals?