About to start flower and want any ideas about process

[lyricbaritone]

So for stats...
4'x33"x~5' grow tent, 22 3 gallon grow bags filled with about two gallons of a mix of 707 aurora and fox farm coco loco, mars hydro 192 x 5w reflector and 300w galaxyhydro dimmable "seven band" led fixtures.

Girls are about 8" to 18" tall. The taller ones are under the Marshydro and generally have an even canopy. I have trimmed the bottoms below the canopy. My idea is to environmental scrog by packing them in so tight. I amended the the soil for one gallon bags with an even 3-3-3 general organic dry nutrient and then amended the transplant soil into the 3 gal grow bag with 2-4-3 dry organic nutrient.

At the moment I have a compost tea brewing for when the lights go up that has organic unsulfured molasses, alaska fish fert 5-1-1 and 0-10-10, fox farm microbe brew slightly expired, and earth juice micro nuts.

I used up some of a sampler pack of david's grow(humic acid, fulvic acid, soluble silicate, root roids are gone) and I have the 3 part salt fert left. I was going to add the bloom combo to the tea right before I feed when the lights go up.

I also have some old age organics kelp solution I was thinking for foliar feed. before buds really set in.

Already have a system for co2 saturation using cheap sugar and cheap bakers yeast.

So with all that said, I'm working out the bugs of my setup with the regular old Afghani strain and my musings are as follows...

1. Is there a better nutrient(preferably dry, bio-available, organic, and water soluble) to pack on bud weight?
2. Is pinching the taller growing tops gonna be the best way to keep the canopy even?
3. Is pinching the bud sites going to be the best way to increase weight? Where should I pinch? When should I pinch them?
4. I was using yellow sticky paper to catch fungus gnats but now I'm moving to coating coated paper with mineral oil and covering the sides of the bags and the top of the soil to catch those m-efers That seems to work, but now I'm concerned about white fly larvae and white fly's laying their shit on my leaves. Other than brushing off the leaves once or twice a week, is there any passive method to stopping these damn things? I have read about neem oil in the watering and when I foliar feed having a positive effect.
5. When I hit about 10 days into flower, I'm gonna take all tops that are not getting light, is that a good time since the first tow weeks are generally the stretch period? and when would be the best time(light/dark cyle) to take those tops for cloning success? Also wondering about the environment for those clones. I have a humidy dome for a 72 cell seed tray. Gonna use rooting gel. Should I just let them sit for a week under the dome with a heat mat under the tray. Should I feed with the kelp solution? What about light/dark cycles?
6. Does taking 3rd generation clones affect anything about the tops that are cloned?

Thanks for the input. I must admit the girls are looking fkin sweet!

 

[lyricbaritone]

 

[TanR]

Hi lyricbaratone,

I'd like to welcome you to the 420 Magazine site and community of members that gathers here.

You have a lot of questions and I don't feel I'm qualified to respond to all, but will start by commenting that your girls are just beautiful so your obviously doing a lot right!

I can't speak to your first question re: nutrients as there are just so many products out there to choose from. I'm a firm believer that each strain (heck down to each plant perhaps) has unique needs, growth pattern and cycles. From reading journals and posts by growers with far more experience, I've learned differences in needs and responses can appear from something as simple as choice of light source (i.e LED vs. HID). This leads me to be dubious of claims that the addition of this or that ammendment to a grow has an empirically provable positive effect and is therefore the "holy grail" solution to age old questions of improved yield. I know agricultural farmers face these same questions/issues and experience the same variables effecting results. I think we all are aware of the different basic elements used by the plant between it's vegatative or flowering state, so if those are present I think you have the basics covered. I've used molasses in bloom and honestly couldn't tell a difference in weight/yeild or taste.

2). I guess I always thought one of the purposes/benefits of a scrog was to assist in keeping the canopy even. When I've run one, anytime one branch grew taller, I bent under another square in the screen so that it was more in line with the rest and thus opened sites below to more light. Pinching (supercroping) the stems is reported to improve yield, but I've simply never tried it intentionally. I've damaged a few stems along the way accidentally but didn't really see a dramatic "OMG" change. I know some absolutely swear by it, but my needs just don't warrant it.

3. Never heard of pinching the bud sites themselves, only the stems so I'll let others address.

4. Best passive method to address white flyers might be the introduction of lady bugs. There are other natural products out there as well and one I have seen mentioned positively is a site sponser. They make a product called SNS - something (like SNS-237 or 329?). You might glance at the site sponsor list for more info or use the search feature in upper right corner and type "white flies" or something general like that.

5. As for cloning; I've always followed some early learned advice to take clones from low on the plant. Can't remember why right at the moment but something to do with rooting hormones being more prevelent lower in the plant I beleive. I have trimmed plants in early flower with no ill effects but more out of necessity than as part of a plan. I think your seed tray/humidity dome somes like a fine environment and would give the clones at least 14 plus hours of light as you want to the mimic the vegatative state and focus energy on root development. Depending on your light source, perhaps even more hours per day.

6. I have specifically read more experienced growers indicate that no difference exists between 1st, 3rd or even 30th generation clones. Logically, a clone is actually a continuation of the same plant, not an off spring, so no difference would be likely with the exception of one brought on by environmental change. I don't suggest feeding them anything at first, although once rooted and established in their grow medium, I think they will respond positively to a light feeding of veg nutrients.

Two final thoughts; I'm hesitant to mix even organic prepackaged nutrients into my soil as I feel this could remove some of the control (or perception of control) I have to respond to the plant's needs. Once it's "baked in" to the soil, if the plant doesn't like it there isn't a lot I can do other than flush. I do add some ammendments to my soil and allow it to sit (cook) for a signaficant amount of time prior to use, but these are individual organic ammendments like soft rock phosphate, gypsum, etc...

Please be extra careful to provide plenty of circulation if your packing your scrog tight. It's imperative that the plants have the air circulation necessary to allow easy transpiration of the water carrying the nutrients throughout. In adaquate air flow can also lead to mold and mildew that could threaten the entire grow.

I'd love to follow along if you decide to start a grow journal. Just update us here and we'll subscribe.

Be well and happy growing.