Last year was a tough and disappointing season. I started late but I had multiples plants that ended up getting inundated with mold/mildew and pests. It was a worthless endeavor trying to kill them off. Bottomline is I was too late in catching the issues and was not proactive enough. Got lazy/complacent and before I knew all the plants were infested. Lesson learned...

For this year's grow, I will be trying a few different strains from Dark Heart Nursery.
Do-Sa-Do - Clone
Strawberry Banana - Clone
Purple Punch - Seedling
Romulan - Clone
GG4 - Clone

I will be transplanting these into 1 gallon containers. I will then transplant into either 5 or 7 gallon containers. I could use some advice on which strain should go into the smaller or larger container. I will be comparing 5 & 7 gallon SmartPots and GroPro bags. I will also be trying 7 gallon plastic containers. I would like to see the differences for myself.

Growing them outdoors but will bring them into my TINY greenhouse if needed (weather, privacy, etc.). This little greenhouse simply gets too hot and humidity is unpredictable. I would prefer to keep them outside as much as possible. Growing zone 9B (Salinas Valley).

I made some big changes to my greenhouse. I added a few inches of mulch and then put landscape above that. Last year I had the containers on bare dirt and grass. I think this was mainly a mistake because it made it easy for pests and other insects to access the plants. I included some pics for reference. I could use advice for preventative and safe pest control.

I can not remember if it is frowned upon to reference product brands used. If not allowed I will edit and remove all brands.

1st Transplant Soil
1 part - Sphagnum peat moss
1 part - Mother Earth coco coir
1 part - pure worm castings
1/2 part - perlite
2 cups - composted chicken manure
Mycorrhizal as listed (roots & transplant hole)
Azos as listed (roots & transplant hole)

Final Container Soil (DIY Soil Base)
2 parts - Peat
2 parts - Coco Coir
1 part - Perlite
1 part - Vital Garden - Organic Vitality Compost
1/2 part - all purpose sand (corse)

Amendments per container
1 cup per gallon - Pure Worm castings (mixed)
1/2 cup per gallon - Stutzman Farms - Sup'rGreen - Composted Chicken Manure (top dress)
1-2 TB per gallon container - Azomite (mixed)
Mycorrhizal as listed (roots & transplant hole)
Azos as listed (roots & transplant hole)

If there is anything missing, I will update as needed. I look forward to gardening this season and learning to be more attentive. Thanks for the support and follow! Have a blessed day and stay healthy fam.
 

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I can not remember if it is frowned upon to reference product brands used.
Just don't link to them (unless they're a sponsor) , and you're fine...

I'm in!:popcorn:
Sounds like a good plan, Baked!
Lets do this!
 
I transplanted them all on Monday! They went into 1 gallon pots. Here are some individual pics of each plant for reference. A couple look a little stressed but I'm confident my soil will make them happy in no time!

I also posted some pics of the concerned/damaged areas. Would appreciate your wisdom. I know the cut leaves are from the cloning process. But is the yellowing normal or is that nutrient burn?


Also...quick question from you grow journal veterans. Is it better to update the original post with updates or to do it on new replies?

Romulan
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Do-Sa-Do
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Do-Sa-Do
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GG4
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Purple Punch
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Strawberry Banana - a couple curled up leaves? Thoughts?
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A few questions...what am I seeing here? Nutrient burn?
20200323_180510.jpg

Scarring from cloning leaf cutting process?
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Also...quick question from you grow journal veterans. Is it better to update the original post with updates or to do it on new replies?
Not exactly sure what you mean- I just update my journal once a week or
so with progress pics of the plants.
I can't help you with the clone leaves-I've only done 2 successful clones.
Both of them did look worse before they looked better though.
 
Not exactly sure what you mean- I just update my journal once a week or
so with progress pics of the plants.
I can't help you with the clone leaves-I've only done 2 successful clones.
Both of them did look worse before they looked better though.
What I mean is should I post updates in the original post I created or in a new reply like this one? Ehhh... I'm overthinking it...I think :laughtwo:
 
I see- just post updates as a reply- you can't add anything to the
original post after the first few hours anyway (the "edit" button goes away after 2 hours or so)
 
It has been a couple days. The clones seem to be in shock. They don't look too happy at this point. The seedlings (GG4 & Purple Punch) seem to be dealing with the transplant better. I am a little confused though because why would they cut the leaves on seedlings? They still look a droopy but not as much in my opinion.

Soil is still damp so I shouldn't need to water again for what I am thinking 3 or 4 days. From what I have read, when they are drooping like they are, many threads indicate they need more water.

Any thoughts out there on how they are looking?

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I noticed the same thing when I had my pots in a large bucket like that. I believe your issue, as was mine at the time was the roots can’t get any air flow and they are sitting in a bed of carbon dioxide because the CO2 is heavier than O2. When I moved them out of the large bucket and put a fan oscillating around the bottom, that corrected the droopy leaves because more airflow was getting to the roots.

try that maybe? I also noticed your leaf tips are burnt a bit, maybe add a bit more nitrogen Nutes? Just a tiny bit cuz they look a little yellow. My plants were a bit darker in the beginning no burnt tips etc.

Good luck!!
 
Absolutely makes logical sense to me! Thank you. I will get them out of there immediately and see how that goes. I gave them a light nute drink yesterday thinking they might want some water. I'll have them moved out of the tub and see how they look at the end of the day.
 
How often are you watering? Don’t let past the first half in of soil go dry in a small pot like those, could hurt the roots early on in development. Good luck!

I initially made the transplant soil quite moist. I decided to take a more conservative approach and did not water them until yesterday. Only the top couple inches seemed a little dry but it was still moist underneath. The pots still had some water weight to them. I figured a small drink with some nutes would help.
 
A good rule of thumb i learned is to always have 5-10% runoff out the bottom every time you water to ensure you saturate the medium. You really don’t want it to go dry past ur first knuckle on ur finger.
 
When I pulled them out, the plants went nuclear with growth
It really does make sense! I have a fan on them in the greenhouse I have them in during the evenings to give them extra light. But that fan barely moves the tops so it is likely not doing much to circulate the bottom 1/3 of that tub. I have been pulling them outside during the day to soak up some straight sun but even then, I think it is unlikely to be moving enough air. I'll keep you posted on their reaction.
 
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Let's see how they respond. Thanks again for the suggestion @The Physicist

Also, to address the burnt tips. Yes, they already had a little damage when I got them initially from the dispensary. I think the transplant soil may have been a little too rich. Not sure honestly.

How old do you think they are at this point? I would like to track the weeks as best as possible. Not sure it matters until they switch to flowering right?
 
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Let's see how they respond. Thanks again for the suggestion @The Physicist

Also, to address the burnt tips. Yes, they already had a little damage when I got them initially from the dispensary. I think the transplant soil may have been a little too rich. Not sure honestly.

How old do you think they are at this point? I would like to track the weeks as best as possible. Not sure it matters until they switch to flowering right?

They look about a week and half old post first visible root out of the rockwool clone cube. At least thats how mine looked.
I flipped to flowering when I was done growing them outwards to flatten out the canopy, and once they reached half the maximum height I wanted.
The plant will double its height on average when you flip to flower so thats usually the rule of thumb I’ve followed.

good luck hope this helps!!:Namaste::goodjob:
 
@The Physicist Sorry I missed your response. Thank you! That helps a lot. Getting them out of the tote definitely helped too BTW!

I will be limited on space. So getting a better understanding of the growth patterns is a big help. With each new variety, I'm sure those tendencies will differ. Also, maximum yield is not my intention at the moment. I want to see them healthy and thriving with my every decision and action. When I have begun to get comfortable and confident with the growing process of this plant, is when I intend to just keep learning!

They are sprucing up a little. I still feel they are struggling with something. The only thing I can think of is maybe the soil was too fertile? How long can transplant shock last?

The Purple Punch has sprung back the best so far and some new growth! Can I go ahead and clip those ugly cut fan leaves yet? If anyone sees any signs of concern, I would appreciate the wisdom.
20200401_163328.jpg

The Do-Sa-Do looks better but those leaves are still folded and droopy.
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She's looking a little perkier too!
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They will be transplanted into these pots. If anybody has an opinion on which variety should go into which pot, please share. I am also researching average growth patterns for each variety. Their typical size, etc. After I transplant them, I will probably only have 2 or 3 in this pan. I would like to get another one so they can all be in a pan. I feel like I can control crawling insects better this way.
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If it doesn't bother you too much, I would leave those leaves on until they fall off naturally. Since the plants are still relatively small, I would think that any of those big fan leaves would be good to leave on there until the plant gets much bigger. Don't worry about aesthetics, just grow some massive bushes! I think they are going to fill out those 5 and 7 gallon pots massively if you are growing outdoors this season. Good luck with your grow!

-Vape
 
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