420's Sherlock Holmes' FFOF Soil, Bakerstreet C.R.E.A.M. Cheese Autoflower, Grow Journal 2019

[SQl2kGuy]

Everything looking very good squeak. Mine are doing well too. Day 38 of flower what’s supposed to be a 9 week flower period.

Looking good @WilliamJBud ... and over half way there!

My autoflowers just got their pistels!

I'm actually wondering if I am going to have enough space for the Bakerstreet photoperiods ... and how big they are actually going to be after 9 weeks!

TTYL

 

[SQl2kGuy]

July 10 2019 - Update​

Images:

Bakerstreet #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Bakerstreet #2 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

C.R.E.A.M. #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Cheese #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.


Growth Stage:

2 Bakerstreets: Day 3/ Week 7 ... Day 45 ... week 6 veg.
1 Cream Caramel CBD ... Day 5 ... Germination ... in soil.
1 Red Mandarine ... Day 5 ... Germination ... in soil.

*** Photoperiod Stages: 5 days Germination, 1 week seedling, 2-8 weeks veg, 6-12 weeks flower, 4-12 weeks cure
*** Allow 1 to 3 days of dark before switching to 12-12
*** Pistels show up about 14 days (2 weeks) after switching to 12-12


1 C.R.E.A.M.: Day 3/ Week 6 ... Day 38 ... mid pre-flower.
1 Cheese: Day 3/ Week 6 ... Day 38 ... mid pre-flower.

*** Autoflower Stages: 5 days Germination, 1 week seedling, 3 weeks veg, 3 weeks pre-flower, 3-6 weeks flower, 4-12 weeks cure
*** Pistels show up about 35 days (5 weeks) after Germination
*** Flowering takes about 56 days (8 weeks) after Pistels show up


Environment:

RH is running steady around 65%.

Canopy temperature is running between 23°C (73°F) and 25°C (77°F) lights on, and 23°C (73°F) lights off.

CO2 is refreshed frequently when the exhaust fan turns on.

The light is running 3 cycles of "6 hours lights-on and 2 hours lights-off".

The light is 53 cm (21") above canopy centered over the 4 plants.


Watering and Feeding:

Bakerstreets, C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese:

pH: 6.48
ppm: 618

Foliar feeding at 19:00.

I will stop foliar feeding the C.R.E.A.M. and Cheese autoflowers two weeks into flower, on Sunday, August 21, 2019.


Cream Caramel CBD & Red Mandarine:

pH: 6.48
ppm: 671

100 ml to each beer cup ... Voodoo Juice was added.


*** For details on my feeding schedule refer to here: The Different Feeds I need For This Grow


Activities:

Cleaned the humidifier.

Refilled the humidifier with water.

LST on all plants.
I am checking the plants twice each day and adjusting the LST because the plants are growing quicker now.
My priority is to expose the growth nodes to light and air because they are going to become colas.


Notes:

The priority has to be to expose the growth nodes and keep the canopy even.

I am letting all of the plants grow upwards while bending the inner (taller) growth nodes to slow their growth. I want the outer (shorter) growth nodes to catch up in growing.

I will flip the lights to 12-12 on Monday, August 05, 2019. For a detailed discussion, please refer to here: My Thoughts On Having Fun With Photoperiods In This Grow

I will try to keep the Bakerstreet canopy height below 36 cm (14"). For detailed calculations on how I determined the canopy height, please refer to the ... June 30, 2019 - Update ... Lessons Learned section here: How long to Veg Photoperiods

I set the InkBird Temperature Controller to run the exhaust fan from between 23°C (73°F) and 25°C (77°F) because the fan leaves' stomata tend to close above 26°C (79°F). With the stomata open, foliar feeding is effective.


Lessons Learned:

CF, EC, PPM 500, PPM 700, TDS… WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

By GoodEarthOrganics

As plants continue to feed on organic nutrients from soil amendments, there is often room for supplemental liquid feeding. Some gardeners feed lightly with organic liquid nutrients, fish emulsion, liquid kelp and compost teas to foster live microbial activity in their soil, while others aggressively feed with synthetic nutrient solutions. Whatever your method may be, an important factor to consider is the parts per million or PPM of your feeding solution. This is a fancy way of referring to the concentration of your feed solution, water, nutrient concentrates, and supplements. In general, feeding solutions for clones or seed starts measure low in PPM (100-250 ppm) and steadily increase with the growth and size of plant through bloom (up to 1600-2000 ppm).

It is always recommended to start light, and steadily increase the ppm of your solution over time. During this process, “reading” your plants nutrient needs along the way is important. Why does PPM matter? As a point of reference, PPM allows a grower a greater awareness of the plant’s nutrient needs as it matures. Measuring PPM also serves as a safety measure, mainly when using strong synthetic fertilizers. An abrupt feed of strong nutrient solution has the potential to burn or even kill a plant! This can be prevented by checking the feed solution with a PPM measurement first.

PPM MEASURES PARTS PER MILLION

PPM is known as dimensionless quantities; that is, they are pure numbers with no associated units of measurement. A mass concentration of 2mg/kg – 2 parts per million – 2ppm – 2 x 10-6.

There are many different scales used for different industries around the world and for many different reasons! Did you know there are more than two scales? The most widely used scales in Hydroponics are the 500 scale, 650 scale and the 700 scale.

CF AND EC ARE MEASURES OF ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED NUTRIENT IONS IN A SOLUTION

Pure water will not conduct electricity. Water usually conducts electricity because it is full of impurities (in our case, electrically charged nutrient ions). The two black dots on the end of Bluelab nutrient probes are called electrodes. When they are placed in a solution, an electrical current passes from one electrode to the other, counting the number of electrically charged ions present. This represents the units measured – CF or EC.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

The ppm 700 scale is based on measuring the KCl or potassium chloride content of a solution. The ppm 500 is based on measuring the NaCl or sodium chloride content of a solution and is also referred to as TDS – total dissolved solids. Individual nutrient ions have different electrical effects! The true ppm of a solution can only be determined by a chemical analysis. ppm cannot be accurately measured by a CF or EC meter. They are present on Bluelab products as a conversion guide only. The conversion is the following:

2.4EC x 500 = 1200ppm (500 scale) or 1200ppm / 500 = 2.4EC

2.4EC x 700 = 1680ppm (700 scale) or 1680ppm / 700 = 2.4EC

If written instructions say you should grow your crop at 1100 ppm – how do you know which scale the author is referring to? Is the scale on your ppm meter right for the job? If the contents were compiled in the USA, it could be the 650 or 500 scale. If the book is written in the UK, it could be the 700 scale. If it was from Australia, it could be any of the three!

If you grow using ppm, you will need to know the following:

• What ppm scale is the book referring to?
• What ppm scale is your meter using?
• Which standard or calibration solution should you use for your meter?
• What ppm scale is the nutrient formula referring to?

We have a conductivity converter that can help determine what type of ppm. If we start with a general idea of where certain crops should be grown using EC or CF as a guide, this can help determine what ppm the instructions are referring to. If you need help determining what conductivity your crop should be grown at we have a nominal value chart that may help.

WHAT PPM SCALE IS YOUR NUTRIENT FORMULA REFERRING TO?

Manufacturer Scale

Advanced Nutrients 700 scale

Botanicare 700 scale

Cutting Edge Solutions 500 scale

Dutch Master 500 scale

Dyna-Gro 500 scale

FoxFarm 700 scale using dechlorinated tap water

General Hydroponics 500 scale using reverse osmosis water

General Organics 500 scale using reverse osmosis water

House & Garden 700 scale

Humboldt Nutrients 500 scale

Hydro Organics/ Earth Juice 500 scale

Miller Chemical & Fertilizer

Nectar for the Gods 700 scale

Rock Nutrients 700 scale

Roots Organics 500 scale

Soul Synthetics 500 scale

Technaflora 500 scale


ToDo:

Learn more about pests and nutrient deficiencies.

Learn more about growing during flower and the stretching of colas.

 

[irie lion]

You're still doing a killer job on the training of those girls bro, and it's gonna pay off in flower that's for sure! Looking healthy and happy! I love that you are collecting all your data, it will surely help you in future looking back on it - and it will help others passing by too - thanks for that!

 

[DreamingTrees7]

Girls look good! Awesome journal! Thanks for following mine as well

 

[SQl2kGuy]

July 11 2019 - Update​

Images:

Bakerstreet #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Bakerstreet #2 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

C.R.E.A.M. #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Cheese #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Cream Caramel CBD & Red Mandarine - Seedlings Day1 - Happy Birthday!!!



Growth Stage:

2 Bakerstreets: Day 4/ Week 7 ... Day 46 ... week 6 veg.
1 Cream Caramel CBD ... Day 1/ Week 1 ... Day 1 ... seedling.
1 Red Mandarine ... Day 1/ Week 1 ... Day 1 ... seedling.

*** Photoperiod Stages: 5 days Germination, 1 week seedling, 2-8 weeks veg, 6-12 weeks flower, 4-12 weeks cure
*** Allow 1 to 3 days of dark before switching to 12-12
*** Pistels show up about 14 days (2 weeks) after switching to 12-12


1 C.R.E.A.M.: Day 4/ Week 6 ... Day 39 ... mid pre-flower.
1 Cheese: Day 4/ Week 6 ... Day 39 ... mid pre-flower.

*** Autoflower Stages: 5 days Germination, 1 week seedling, 3 weeks veg, 3 weeks pre-flower, 3-6 weeks flower, 4-12 weeks cure
*** Pistels show up about 35 days (5 weeks) after Germination
*** Flowering takes about 56 days (8 weeks) after Pistels show up


Environment:

RH is running steady around 65%.

Canopy temperature is running between 23°C (73°F) and 28°C (82°F) lights on, and 23°C (73°F) lights off.

CO2 is refreshed frequently when the exhaust fan turns on.

The light is running 3 cycles of "6 hours lights-on and 2 hours lights-off".

The light is 53 cm (21") above canopy centered over the 4 plants.


Watering and Feeding:

Bakerstreets, C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese, Cream Caramel CBD & Red Mandarine:

pH: 6.48
ppm: 618

Foliar feeding at 19:00.

I will stop foliar feeding the C.R.E.A.M. and Cheese autoflowers two weeks into flower, on Sunday, August 21, 2019.


*** For details on my feeding schedule refer to here: The Different Feeds I need For This Grow


Activities:

Refilled the humidifier with water.

LST on all plants.
I am checking the plants twice each day and adjusting the LST because the plants are growing quicker now.
My priority is to expose the growth nodes to light and air because they are going to become colas.


Notes:

The priority has to be to expose the growth nodes and keep the canopy even.

I am letting all of the plants grow upwards while bending the inner (taller) growth nodes to slow their growth. I want the outer (shorter) growth nodes to catch up in growing.

I will flip the lights to 12-12 on Monday, August 05, 2019. For a detailed discussion, please refer to here: My Thoughts On Having Fun With Photoperiods In This Grow

I will try to keep the Bakerstreet canopy height below 36 cm (14"). For detailed calculations on how I determined the canopy height, please refer to the ... June 30, 2019 - Update ... Lessons Learned section here: How long to Veg Photoperiods

I am going to research what to do with these trimmed fan leaves:

Fan leaves from pruning.​

Lessons Learned:

Back To Basics With Fox Farm

Why use synthetic ingredients?
A synthesized or mineral fertilizer can offer just the right support when your plants need it the most. Think of the last time you took vitamin C for a cold. A synthetic fertilizer can offer the same targeted benefit, and it’s fast-acting, too. Tiger Bloom®, Grow Big®, American Pride®, and Marine Cuisine® are examples of FoxFarm products that include synthetic ingredients.

Some fertilizers are naturally-occurring minerals that have been treated to make them easier for plants to use. Others may be manufactured in a laboratory. Examples include ammonium sulfate, potassium chloride, and iron sucrate. Each of these are specific nutrients is designed to address a plant’s individual needs.

When it comes to synthetic fertilizers, quality matters. FoxFarm chooses only the finest ingredients for its family of fertilizers that deliver optimal nutrition for each stage of a plant’s growth. We will never use cheap fillers or low-grade industrial chemicals in our products.

Do my plants know the difference between natural and synthetic fertilizers?
Some people say that plants cannot tell the difference between natural and synthetic fertilizers, but the soil can. Remember, soil is alive. It’s teeming with microbes, decaying leaves, and tiny insects—all the very life that make plants grow. Natural and organic fertilizers add food to that rich mix. On the other hand, a synthetic mineral fertilizer can give your garden a boost in the same way that a concentrated multivitamin can give you the extra nutrition you need. What matters most is that everything you feed your garden must be carefully balanced to deliver the nutrition plants need while avoiding the buildup of salts and other toxins.

What’s the big deal about salt?
Think about the last time you walked through a forest. It was probably cool and damp, no matter what the weather was like when you left the house. That’s because trees and other plants are giant water pumps. Water moves in through the roots, travels through the stems and leaves, and gets released into the air through a remarkable process known as transpiration. A single maple tree can transpire up to 58 gallons of water per hour. Even an ordinary tomato plant transpires 30 gallons during a growing season.

Water is critical to a plant’s well-being. Too much salt in the soil is known to inhibit what we call a plant’s “osmotic potential”—its ability to take up water. Just as salty food can make a person thirsty, salty soil can dehydrate a plant. Cheap, poor-quality synthetic fertilizers can create salt build-up in the soil that will cause your garden more harm than good.


ToDo:

Learn more about pests and nutrient deficiencies.

Learn more about growing during flower and the stretching of colas.

 

[SQl2kGuy]

July 12 2019 - Update​

Images:

Bakerstreet #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Bakerstreet #2 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

C.R.E.A.M. #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Cheese #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Cream Caramel CBD & Red Mandarine - Looks healthy so far.



Growth Stage:

2 Bakerstreets: Day 5/ Week 7 ... Day 47 ... week 6 veg.
1 Cream Caramel CBD ... Day 2/ Week 1 ... Day 2 ... seedling.
1 Red Mandarine ... Day 2/ Week 1 ... Day 2 ... seedling.

*** Photoperiod Stages: 5 days Germination, 1 week seedling, 2-8 weeks veg, 6-12 weeks flower, 4-12 weeks cure
*** Allow 1 to 3 days of dark before switching to 12-12
*** Pistels show up about 14 days (2 weeks) after switching to 12-12


1 C.R.E.A.M.: Day 5/ Week 6 ... Day 40 ... mid pre-flower.
1 Cheese: Day 5/ Week 6 ... Day 40 ... mid pre-flower.

*** Autoflower Stages: 5 days Germination, 1 week seedling, 3 weeks veg, 3 weeks pre-flower, 3-6 weeks flower, 4-12 weeks cure
*** Pistels show up about 35 days (5 weeks) after Germination
*** Flowering takes about 56 days (8 weeks) after Pistels show up


Environment:

RH is running steady around 65%.

Canopy temperature is running between 23°C (73°F) and 27°C (80°F) lights on, and 23°C (73°F) lights off.

CO2 is refreshed frequently when the exhaust fan turns on.

The light is running 3 cycles of "6 hours lights-on and 2 hours lights-off".

The light is 53 cm (21") above canopy centered over the 4 plants.


Watering and Feeding:

Bakerstreet , C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese:

pH: 6.66
ppm: 1183

Bakerstreet # 1: 1.5 litres (0.40 gallons)
Bakerstreet # 2: 1.5 litres (0.40 gallons)
C.R.E.A.M. # 1: 1.5 litres (0.40 gallons)
Cheese # 1: 1.5 litres (0.40 gallons)

I used a full dose of the Week 4 Canada Gringo Rasta Soil Schedule ... Open Sesame was added ... Voodoo Juice was added.


Cream Caramel CBD & Red Mandarine:

pH: 6.78
ppm: 330

Cream Caramel CBD # 1: 0.125 litres (0.50 cups)
Red Mandarine # 1: 0.125 litres (0.50 cups)

I used a full dose of the Seedling Canada Gringo Rasta Soil Schedule ... Open Sesame was not added ... Voodoo Juice was added.


*** Watering and feeding is done 1 hour after the lights turn on ... so the roots have been stimulated to draw nutrients up.


Mixed up the foliar feeding for the next few days:

pH: 6.70
ppm: 478

I used a half dose of the Week 4 Canada Gringo Rasta Soil Schedule ... Open Sesame was not added ... Voodoo Juice was not added.

*** I will stop foliar feeding the C.R.E.A.M. and Cheese autoflowers two weeks into flower, on Sunday, August 21, 2019.


*** For details on my feeding schedule refer to here: The Different Feeds I need For This Grow


Activities:

Refilled the humidifier with water.

LST on all plants.
I am checking the plants twice each day and adjusting the LST because the plants are growing quicker now.
My priority is to expose the growth nodes to light and air because they are going to become colas.


Notes:

The priority has to be to expose the growth nodes and keep the canopy even.

I am letting all of the plants grow upwards while bending the inner (taller) growth nodes to slow their growth. I want the outer (shorter) growth nodes to catch up in growing.

I will flip the lights to 12-12 on Monday, August 05, 2019. For a detailed discussion, please refer to here: My Thoughts On Having Fun With Photoperiods In This Grow

I will try to keep the Bakerstreet canopy height below 36 cm (14"). For detailed calculations on how I determined the canopy height, please refer to the ... June 30, 2019 - Update ... Lessons Learned section here: How long to Veg Photoperiods



Lessons Learned:

I am currently using Fox Farm nutrients, but I am becoming more and more interested in organic nutrients: Advanced Nutrients "Iguana Juice Organic Grow" nutrients and BioBizz nutrients.


I found the following article while researching Fox Farm nutrients:

Intense Study Of Nutrients And Additives For Cannabis

By Vutra

Test 4 Fox Farm Full line = Grow Big (6-4-4)- Tiger Bloom (2-8-4)- Big Bloom (0.01-0.3-0.7)- Open Sesame (5-45-19)- Beastie Bloomz (0-50-30) – Cha-ching (9-50-10)

I’ve been eager to write about Fox farm for some time. It’s an extremely popular and effective chemical based product. If you’ve read the above information than you understand the importance of a “living” substrate. A diverse and rich bacterial and fungal balanced medium contains enough beneficial organisms to out compete pathogens and disease causing bacteria and creates accessible stored nutrient content. Chemical fertilizers kill off much of the microbial life and allow for limited forms of absorption and resistance to disease. When some microbial life dies off the fragile “circle of life” follows. If for example we eliminated bacterial life, this will lead to an abundance of fungus. Enzymes produced from fungus are acidic. This drives the pH down creating nutrient lock-up and unattractive environments for life, specifically bacteria. Fox farm definitely suffers from this chemical kill off scenario. Two major things exposed this to me even before applications. First, all the micro-nutrients are applied through chemical composition with-in the primary grow and bloom products and they are also in Big Bloom. As microbial life is imperative in organic micro-nutrient absorption and chemicals kill microbial life we can infer that Big Bloom under these conditions produces minimal nutrient effectiveness hence most micro-nutrients must be applied chemically. Second, if we refer to the recommended feeding schedule posted on the companies web-site you’ll see in week 7 and 8, they call for additional Grow Big. Remember that the majority of bacteria we’re interested in are nitrogen loving and retain that specific nute for lengthy periods of time. This is exactly why many organic programs can eliminate nitrogen all together later in flowering. Here, the chemicals have eradicated these bacteria and hence eliminated nitrogen storage capacity requiring an extra dosage. This led me to restructure the schedule. I feel if your going to use chemicals you should apply them as such. Less over more applications. I treated this test as if no soil life was present. I decreased initial nitrogen and then divided it among vegetative and early flowering applications. My primary nitrogen weeks are 2 through 8. This also fell into my “curve” scenario of nutes – building to a maximum and then tapering off towards harvest. In no way do I want to discourage those of you who use Foxfarm, as far as chemical fertilizers go it’s extremely effective. I think it’s important to understand how your feeding your plants however.
Big Bloom is the all organic additive Fox farm uses. Early applications, with-out chemical additions, promote soil health and lush, consistent growth. After the additions of Grow Big and Tiger Bloom it’s effectiveness tapers off. Although some positive effects are noticed the majority of organic nutrients are unavailable and bacterial and fungal life struggles to maintain populations, unable to react with the nutes. I lowered the overall applied amount and it had little impact. The solution is made of effective ingredients. Bat guano, earth worm castings and enzymes. These enzymes are this products saving grace in fact and are the primary reason I continued applying it with the chemicals.
Both Grow Big and Tiger Bloom are highly effective synthetic/chemical compositions. Lacking in diversity really is not an issue here, especially with faster flowering strains like this Skywalker for example. It’s extremely predictable and easy to apply. Grow Big produced very rigid, similarly structured plants. Fan leaves were minimal but large and efficient. This is a general theme with this product. Stalk circumference and stem width was smaller and woodier but seemed efficient at transporting fluids and therefore nutes. Tiger Bloom promoted dense, sticky and heavy nuggets. The leaf to bud ratio was very low. Plants seemed to concentrate on building buds when they were suppose to. This resulted in solid harvests and heavy production. The marijuana was less pungent than organic application and the flavor was not as “sweet” but still impressive.
The “solubles” Open Sesame, Beastie Bloomz and Cha-ching are all chemical based nutrient boosts designed to add necessary nutrients during the usual growth surges flowering cycles endure. They are all mildly effective. I tried some plants with-out these “solubles” and had very similar results. Buds did however, grow more compact with use and had improved trichrome growth. Harvest was improved from applications of Hygrozyme, I’d imagine any enzyme based formula would be effective. This happens because it improves uptake of Big Bloom associated ingredients and organic matter. I’m convinced the microbial life struggles in this program. Added enzymes did improve nutrient diversity with-out relying on a “living” substrate. Foxfarm generally has low Brix levels.
I’ve always looked at Fox Farm as junk food for plants. But I even have Twinkies and Doritos in my cabinet. Who’s really to say this junk food is not exactly what marijuana likes. This product is sure proof when applied correctly and results in formidable harvests. It did not create stand out numbers but was above average with minimal effort and low cost. I highly recommend it if chemical blends are what your into although highly recommend looking onto organics.


Back To Basics With Fox Farm

Can I mix your liquid and soluble fertilizers with other manufacturer’s products?
Using FoxFarm fertilizers with products made by other companies could result in burning or nutrient lockout. For best results we recommend that you Keep the Family TogetherTM. Our products are designed to work together and complement one another, so our research and development team has created feeding schedules for a variety of growing environments. These feeding schedules will give you clear instructions about how and when to use FoxFarm fertilizers together for outstanding results.

Should I follow the directions on the bottle or the feeding schedule?
The directions on the bottle are designed for stand-alone use. If you’re new to our products and want to experiment, the directions on the bottle are fine. We have also developed FoxFarm feeding schedules with more precise details for maximum yields. Try one of our feeding schedules for an entire grow cycle and you’ll see extraordinary results.

What do I do if my veg cycle is longer than your feeding schedule?
Continue to use the feeding directions for Week 4 until bloom, then start Week 5.

What do I do if my veg cycle is shorter than your feeding schedule?
Start to use the feeding directions for Week 5.

What do I do if my bloom cycle is longer than your feeding schedule?
Continue to use the feeding directions for Week 12 until harvest.

Can I use your feeding schedules for my outdoor plants?
Our feeding schedules are designed for use in a controlled indoor environment to achieve optimal results. Because outdoor environments are highly variable and uncontrollable, it is inappropriate to use our feeding schedule as is. Many factors, including weather, sunlight, water, drainage, and the quality of your soil will impact growth and the success of the feeding schedule plan. You should always adjust fertilization according to plant response.


ToDo:

Learn what to do with fan leaf trimmings.

Learn more about different organic nutrients and feeding schedules for soil.

Learn more about pests and nutrient deficiencies.

Learn more about growing during flower and the stretching of colas.

 

[WilliamJBud]

Looking good guys

 

[SQl2kGuy]

You're still doing a killer job on the training of those girls bro, and it's gonna pay off in flower that's for sure! Looking healthy and happy! I love that you are collecting all your data, it will surely help you in future looking back on it - and it will help others passing by too - thanks for that!

Thanks @irie lion ... the training I am focusing on now is to let all the plants stretch up and to try and keep the canopy even. Height is not my priority though, a wide plant is okay as long as the canopy is even ... actually like a manual ScrOG I guess.

My experiment to clone the "tops" I took didn't work ... so I will try and take a few clones of the Bakerstreets and try to grow single colas in a few 2l pop bottles.

However, with 6 plants, I'm not sure how much room I will have left over for the clones.

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Girls look good! Awesome journal! Thanks for following mine as well

Hi @DreamingTrees7 ... thanks for the kudos ... I'm having fun growing and learning!

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Looking good guys

Thanks @WilliamJBud ... I am having fun trying different things ... I just wish I had more space!

 

[SQl2kGuy]

The Different Feeds I need For This Grow (Version 2)
​

*** Canada Gringo Rasta Soil Feeding Schedule = CGRSFS
*** Every Other Feed = EOF

*** The autoflowers got their pistels on July 09, 2019 ... Day 2/ Week 6 ... Day 37 ... mid pre-flower.
*** Week 4 of the CGRSFS is repeated for extended veg.
*** The autoflowers Week 5 used Week 4 of the CGRSFS. I will count this as Week 5 of the CGRSFS.
*** The autoflowers Week 6 used Week 4 of the CGRSFS. I will count this as Week 6 of the CGRSFS.
*** Fortunately, Week 4 of the CGRSFS and Week 5 of the CGRSFS are the same.
*** Week 6 of the CGRSFS is effectively a transition from Veg to Bloom, where the level of Lickety Split is decreased.
*** I am going to skip Week 6 of the CGRSFS and just move to Week 7 of the CGRSFS.

*** Reviews on the C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese indicate they both matured from seed to harvest in 75 days (10 weeks).
*** This means getting the autoflowers back onto the 10 week CGRSFS makes good sense.
*** So, as of July 15, 2019 ... the autoflowers will be on Week 7 of the CGRSFS.

*** I am expecting the Great White Mycorrhizae sometime between July 16, 2019 and July 26, 2019.


July 08, 2019 - July 14, 2019

Cream Caramel & Red Mandarine: Full Dose - Seedlings - CGRSFS (Voodoo Juice and Great White Mycorrhizae EOF)
Bakerstreets: Full Dose - Week 4 - CGRSFS (Voodoo Juice and Open Sesame EOF)
C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese: Full Dose - Week 4 - CGRSFS (Voodoo Juice and Open Sesame EOF)

July 15, 2019 - July 21, 2019

Cream Caramel & Red Mandarine: Full Dose - Week 1 - CGRSFS (Voodoo Juice and Great White Mycorrhizae EOF)
Bakerstreets: Full Dose - Week 4 - CGRSFS (Voodoo Juice, Great White Mycorrhizae and Open Sesame EOF)
C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese: Full Dose - Week 7 - CGRSFS (Sensizyme, Voodoo Juice, Great White Mycorrhizae and Beastie Bloomz EOF)

July 22, 2019 - July 28, 2019

Cream Caramel & Red Mandarine: Full Dose - Week 2 - CGRSFS (Voodoo Juice and Great White Mycorrhizae EOF)
Bakerstreets: Full Dose - Week 4 - CGRSFS (Voodoo Juice, Great White Mycorrhizae and Open Sesame EOF)
C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese: Full Dose - Week 8 - CGRSFS (Sensizyme, Voodoo Juice, Great White Mycorrhizae and Beastie Bloomz EOF)

July 29, 2019 - Aug 04, 2019

Cream Caramel & Red Mandarine: Full Dose - Week 3 - CGRSFS (Voodoo Juice and Great White Mycorrhizae EOF)
Bakerstreets: Full Dose - Week 4 - CGRSFS (Voodoo Juice, Great White Mycorrhizae and Open Sesame EOF)
C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese: Full Dose - Week 9 - CGRSFS (Sensizyme, Voodoo Juice, Great White Mycorrhizae and Cha Ching EOF)

August 05, 2019 - August 11, 2019

Bakerstreets, Cream Caramel & Red Mandarine: Full Dose - Week 4 - CGRSFS (Sensizyme and Open Sesame EOF)
C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese: Full Dose - Week 10 - CGRSFS (Sensizyme and Cha Ching EOF)

*** At this point, the Cream Caramel & Red Mandarine have vegged long enough for the "12-12 from seed".
*** At this point, the C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese should almost be ready for harvest ... so just let them finish.

August 12, 2019 - August 17, 2019

Bakerstreets, Cream Caramel & Red Mandarine: Full Dose - Week 4 - CGRSFS (Sensizyme and Open Sesame EOF)
C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese: Full Dose - Week 11 - CGRSFS (Sensizyme and Cha Ching EOF)

*** At this point, the C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese should be finished and harvested.

August 18, 2019

*** 24 hour Dark Period before Flipping to 12-12

August 19, 2019 - August 25, 2019

*** Flip to 12-12

Bakerstreets, Cream Caramel & Red Mandarine: Full Dose - Week 5 - CGRSFS (Sensizyme, Voodoo Juice and Open Sesame EOF)

August 26, 2019 - September 01, 2019

Bakerstreets, Cream Caramel & Red Mandarine: Full Dose - Week 6 - CGRSFS (Sensizyme, Voodoo Juice and Open Sesame EOF)

 

[WilliamJBud]

How’s it going SQI2 Have a question. How many autos can I fit in a 4x4x7 tent. I just plan on topping them. I don’t have the time right now to do the exquisite job your doing

 

[SQl2kGuy]

How’s it going SQI2 Have a question. How many autos can I fit in a 4x4x7 tent. I just plan on topping them. I don’t have the time right now to do the exquisite job your doing

Hey @WilliamJBud,

I will assume you will let them grow up more than out, ... so 46 cm (18") diameter in a 31 cm (12") 5 gallon pot is reasonable. Each pot will take up 2.25 square feet. The tent is 16 square feet. So you you should be able to fit in 6 plants with some equipment on the floor.

If you go with 23 cm (9") 3 gallon pots, and narrower plants, you could likely fit in 8 or 9 nicely.

You will also need about 400 true watts for your light.

Hope that helps, ttyl

 

[SQl2kGuy]

July 13 2019 - Update​

Images:

Bakerstreet #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Bakerstreet #2 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

C.R.E.A.M. #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Cheese #1 - Looks healthy so far - growth nodes are exposed to light and air.

Cream Caramel CBD & Red Mandarine - Looks healthy so far.



Growth Stage:

2 Bakerstreets: Day 5/ Week 7 ... Day 48 ... week 6 veg.
1 Cream Caramel CBD ... Day 3/ Week 1 ... Day 3 ... seedling.
1 Red Mandarine ... Day 3/ Week 1 ... Day 3 ... seedling.

*** Photoperiod Stages: 5 days Germination, 1 week seedling, 2-8 weeks veg, 6-12 weeks flower, 4-12 weeks cure
*** Allow 1 to 3 days of dark before switching to 12-12
*** Pistels show up about 14 days (2 weeks) after switching to 12-12


1 C.R.E.A.M.: Day 6/ Week 6 ... Day 41 ... mid pre-flower.
1 Cheese: Day 6/ Week 6 ... Day 41 ... mid pre-flower.

*** Autoflower Stages: 5 days Germination, 1 week seedling, 3 weeks veg, 3 weeks pre-flower, 3-6 weeks flower, 4-12 weeks cure
*** Pistels show up about 35 days (5 weeks) after Germination
*** Flowering takes about 56 days (8 weeks) after Pistels show up


Environment:

RH is running steady around 65%.

Canopy temperature is running between 23°C (73°F) and 28°C (82°F) lights on, and 23°C (73°F) lights off.

CO2 is refreshed frequently when the exhaust fan turns on.

The light is running 3 cycles of "6 hours lights-on and 2 hours lights-off".

The light is 53 cm (21") above canopy centered over the 4 plants.


Watering and Feeding:

Bakerstreets, C.R.E.A.M. & Cheese:

pH: 6.70
ppm: 478

I used a half dose of the Week 4 Canada Gringo Rasta Soil Schedule ... Open Sesame was not added ... Voodoo Juice was not added.

Foliar feeding at 19:00 just after lights-out.

*** I will stop foliar feeding the C.R.E.A.M. and Cheese autoflowers two weeks into flower, on Sunday, August 21, 2019.


Cream Caramel CBD & Red Mandarine:

pH: 6.78
ppm: 330

Cream Caramel CBD # 1: 0.125 litres (0.50 cups)
Red Mandarine # 1: 0.125 litres (0.50 cups)

I used a full dose of the Seedling Canada Gringo Rasta Soil Schedule ... Open Sesame was not added ... Voodoo Juice was added.


*** For details on my feeding schedule refer to here: The Different Feeds I need For This Grow (Version 2)


Activities:

Refilled the humidifier with water.

LST on all plants.
I am checking the plants twice each day and adjusting the LST because the plants are growing quicker now.
My priority is to expose the growth nodes to light and air because they are going to become colas.

I figured out what to do with the fan leaf trimming:

Cooked the fan leaf trimmings over low-medium (3) heat for 40 minutes.

​

When it was dry, I crushed it into a powder:

I got 6 tablespoons of dried fan leaf powder.
​

I plan to boil 1 litre (0.26 gallons) of water, then add 1 tablespoon of the fan leaf powder to make a tea. After the tea sits overnight, I will add it as feed to the plants.

I think of this as rapid recycling and composting

I wonder what the chemical analysis would show?

I wonder what the pH and ppm will be?


Notes:

The priority has to be to expose the growth nodes and keep the canopy even.

I am letting all of the plants grow upwards while bending the inner (taller) growth nodes to slow their growth. I want the outer (shorter) growth nodes to catch up in growing.

I will flip the lights to 12-12 on Monday, August 05, 2019. For a detailed discussion, please refer to here: My Thoughts On Having Fun With Photoperiods In This Grow

I will try to keep the Bakerstreet canopy height below 36 cm (14"). For detailed calculations on how I determined the canopy height, please refer to the ... June 30, 2019 - Update ... Lessons Learned section here: How long to Veg Photoperiods


Lessons Learned:

I am starting to like Advanced Nutrients products more and more!!!

Intense Study Of Nutrients And Additives For Cannabis

By Vutra

Test 5 – Advanced nutrients Sensi line = Sensi grow 2 part (3.7-0-0) + (2.5-2.2-5.7) – Sensi bloom 2 part (4.3-0-3.1) + (1.5-6.1-5.7) – Sensizyme – Bud blood (0-39-25)- Carboload – Voodoo juice – Overdrive (1-5-4) – B-52 (2-1-4) – Final phase
Advanced Nutrients is a cannabis specific nutrient designed to enhance growth and flowering production. These products were applied strictly through the companies recommended schedule. They work excellent. This Nute cycle is a blend of organic and synthetic elements. It’s a relatively complex make up. Although these items do contain synthetically derived nutes they do not eradicate all soil life. Advanced Nutrients creates a large number of additives also giving specific control in various growth stages. It is truly advanced in composition and results. They’re claim to fame is the intense research into the relationship of micro and macro nutrients. In most cases your macro nutes rely on a specific micro nute to properly be absorbed by the plant. Advanced Nutrients have identified these specific combinations and ensured the proper ratio is included in the solution.
The Sensi grow 2-part is two formulas hence the “2 part” description. Part A is primarily nitrogen, with calcium, iron, manganese and molybdenum. Part B also has nitrogen but contains the other vital micro-nutrients. These 2 parts are mixed together to form a rich vegetative solution. Separating these items allows for more control when applying, Blending more A than B naturally would lead to a nitrogen strong solution. The opposite would be micro-nutrient rich. Nitrogen is readily available in ammonium and nitrate form producing lush growth with superior branching. Plants had a beautiful green color to them and leaves were full and almost more serrated than normal.
Voodoo juice was added to the “veg” cycle and promotes heavy beneficial bacterial growth, specifically Paenibacillus microbes. This is a prolific bacteria specialized in breaking down mineral compounds in acidic conditions – specifically nitrogen. Perfect for marijuana. This product is highly effective promoting efficient nitrogen absorption. It is stage appropriate. Advanced Nutrients does this frequently with it’s many additives and beneficials. Learning how these organisms work and what they primarily decompose is important to proper application with these nutes. Voodoo Juice for example will help eliminate adding Nitrogen later in flowering as many growers like to do. The nitrogen is still available for plants – it’s just temporarily locked in the microbial life. B-52, a vitamin boost was also added at earlier stages. It’s composed primarily of kelp and humic acid. Both are important microbial building ingredients and the kelp contains a vast amount of chelated minerals, nutrients and growth hormones. Humic acid has numerous plant energizing effects helping in microbial resistance and energy production. Root systems were large and created a healthy, full plant as a result.
Sensi Bloom 2-part is set up in a similar manner as the grow. Part A contains nitrogen, calcium, iron, manganese and molybdenum but with less nitrogen intensity. Part B is phosphorus and potassium strong with additional nitrogen and all the necessary micro nutrients. Again, this gives us more control over nute intensity with the two parts. With proper application these plants had steady, consistent growth maintaining even internode spacing and compact bud sites. Crystallization was incredible and buds were heavy with resin.
In the transitional period of vegetative to flowering Bud Blood was added. This is a flower boosting formula consisting of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and sulphur. It is a soluble chemical fertilizer and works incredibly. It initiates early flowering in plants and buds are compact from the beginning of growth. Total flowering time is shortened from the earlier flower initiation and plants maintain production levels. I continue to use this product today particularly on longer flowering sativas.
Carboload is another additive. It’s designed with multiple types of carbohydrates and the ever beneficial fulvic acid. This product is an advertised food for microbial bacterial and fungal life who then help release residual nutrients in the substrate and rhizophere. It should be quickly noted that Carboload is plant available. It is easily absorbed with minimal assistance from microbial life. Carbohydrates are important building blocks for Fungi and bacteria. They get many of these carbs through plant exudate’s. Therefore it does “feed” microbial life although indirectly. ( Many of you are familiar with Bud Candy, which is a similar product, however it directly feeds microbiology which then breaks the available sugars into absorbable forms. ) This product dramatically raises Brix levels and resin production flourishes. There is also silicon included which promotes cellular wall growth creating strong, thick skinned plants. This is a noticeable addition. Plants are full and lush and buds take on the swollen, usually all organic look. Results are not necessarily instant but in an over-all scale it provides much needed nutrition for plant growth. The added Fulvic acid has numerous positive effects on substrate health promoting various microbiological activity. Fulvic acid essentially re-energizes your plant on a cellular level. Microbial life uses tremendous amounts of acid’s to break material down in the form of enzymes. Replenishing this acids substantially increases absorption rates of various minerals and vitamins. Healthy substrates typically lead to healthy roots and plants. Most of the obvious growth produced from this solution are primarily the cause of this added acid – not the carbs and sugars. Added carbs, sugars and products like black strap molasses usually don’t have an instant effect. Ultimately, they absolutely help with plant size, strength and resistance to disease and pathogens. They also make for a sweeter flavor and better tasting smoke. This is a wonderful addition to this and many programs.

Overdrive is a bloom booster. It has various forms of available phosphorus and potassium. There is also ample magnesium and ascorbic acid. The primary ingredients are designed to help build bud growth and enhance additional resin production. Various nutrient companies call for bloom boosting agents later in flowering cycles and this is simply Advanced Nutrient’s version. The ascorbic acid however, is worth briefly discussing. It is an important ingredient although I think it would be more effective in earlier applications. It helps in many components of a plants life. The plants immune system gets stronger and they become more disease resistant with applications of ascorbic acid. It’s an anti-oxidant of sorts in regards to the soil and will break down any negative atmospheric gases produced from anaerobic organic material decay. Studies have even shown it’s importance in photosynthesis and in growth regulation on a cellular division level. It’s a complex ingredient but does deserve attention.
Final phase is simply a flushing agent that assists in clearing out salt build up caused from primarily chemical based nutrient solutions. I noticed no real difference between simply using pH balanced water. Many people flush at the end of a flowering cycle and with chemicals it’s important to do so. Salt based nutrients accumulate within the substrate and plant tissue. Flushing with pH balanced water or with the addition of Final Phase dilutes these salts and lowers the overall ppm count within the medium. The plant will continue it’s normal uptake but the solution is so diluted that deficiencies will occur. In turn, the plant draws nutrients from fan leaves and distributes them as needed. This process will eventually lower nutrient content within the plant material itself and create better tasting, smoother smoke. Flushing for the last 2 feedings is my regular practice. Twice in 8 or 10 days.
Sensizyme was the final product I used in this cycle. It’s an extremely effective enzyme based solution. Enzymes in soil are typically produced by bacteria and/or fungal activity. These enzymes are responsible for organic decomposition and hence nutrient availability. In environments hostile to rich organic microbial life there sometimes are not enough produced enzymes to properly decompose the available nutrients within your medium. This is where adding enzyme based formulas are most noticeable – as in the case with Advanced Nutrients. It should be noted however, I’ve had incredible results with enzyme additives in 100% organic situations as well. Sensizyme preforms incredibly and is added throughout most of the schedule. It’s a highly recommended addition. I’ll discuss enzymes in the additive section further.
Final product here was fantastic. The buds smelled nice and resin production was incredible. This schedule had the heaviest yield at harvest. The buds were sticky and potent. If you have the money, as it is pricey, I’d suggest trying it out. It is a specialized formula and requires time and experience to properly apply. With many different additives and the 2 – part primary solutions this schedule offers the most control over specific nutrient levels. So much control in-fact that adjusting minor things here or there really helps expose how nutes react with plants. This cycle is not only effective but educational. I did not include a schedule here as I strictly followed manufacturers recommendations.


ToDo:

Learn more about pests and nutrient deficiencies.

Learn more about growing during flower and the stretching of colas.

 

[WilliamJBud]

Thanks bro. Your girls are beautiful. Keep up the good work. Nice tea recipe. I plan and making some butter and oil with my trimmings

 

[irie lion]

Hey SQ! Looking so good, those plants are impressive! So many tops to work with! If you are flipping to 12/12 on the 5th of August, these girls are going to be monsters!
I like your tea, and I’m sure your plants are going to love it too

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Thanks bro. Your girls are beautiful. Keep up the good work. Nice tea recipe. I plan and making some butter and oil with my trimmings

I've heard of the butter thing ... you mean oil you spread on papers to smoke? ... I totally forgot to put that on my list of things to read about.

Actually, I'll scrounge around for cool recipes this week ... I heard about the gummy bears last week.

Alright ... thanks for the reminder ... ttyl

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Hey SQ! Looking so good, those plants are impressive! So many tops to work with! If you are flipping to 12/12 on the 5th of August, these girls are going to be monsters!
I like your tea, and I’m sure your plants are going to love it too

Thanks for popping in ... I always appreciate the compliments

I'm hoping all the tops will bud nicely. I still need to research the primary apical bud ... I know there is always one ... and I'm not sure yet how it will affect the other tops.

So far, the plants are okay with the tea ... I'll try it again in a few more days.

 

[WilliamJBud]

Canna butter my friend. Easy to make. Use for cookies or brownies or whatever

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Canna butter my friend. Easy to make. Use for cookies or brownies or whatever

I just read this out loud ... and she says "Yep ... she has a recipe ... that's why I bought the cheesecloth." Ans I say ... "Yes dear" ... lol

I'm gonna ask for chocolate chip cookies!