Bapple's 2015 Outdoor Grow - Autos & Photos

[Bapple]

Howdy Lord Jaga!

Glad you're back in action with your 420 brethren - I haven't been on much in the last month either; holidays, daughter, work and the non 420 gardening have kept me plenty busy.

Hope all is well with you and Lady P

 

[Curly Beaver]

Very nice plants Bapple. Looks like payday will be a good one!

 

[Bapple]

Very nice plants Bapple. Looks like payday will be a good one!

Thanks BeaverIslander (tee hee) looking forward to 'payday' myself.

Hope your weekend is going well

 

[brightlight]

Hello Ms. B. Good feeling to come home from vacation, rush out to see crop, & see all intact, healthy & into fun part of bloom! Buds are building up nicely.

 

[Jaga]

Alibongo them plants are wonderful

 

[Bapple]

Hello Ms. B. Good feeling to come home from vacation, rush out to see crop, & see all intact, healthy & into fun part of bloom! Buds are building up nicely.

Thanks Brightlight!

Any thoughts on the infuriatingly yellowing Portela? Landrace type hybrids are supposed to not need much by way of nutes. She is a cross between a Jamaican Lambsbread and Icer. Can't figure out what she needs......

 

[Bapple]

Alibongo them plants are wonderful

Ta Jaga

 

[Cruizer]

Hi bapple,
Have you given the Portela a flush yet?
Or add some N to her next feeding.

 

[Bapple]

Hey Cruizer!

I have never flushed her cos I don't ever flush my plants in the conventional way. I stop feeding about 3 weeks prior to harvest and then at each watering up till harvest, I try to achieve about a 30% runoff. I will water her liberally tomorrow as I gave them all a weak shot of Fishmix yesterday when I returned. Will see what happens over the next 5 or so days and if the yellowing does not stop I'll try a stronger dose of Fishmix and hope I don't kill her. All the info I could find on the strain says they are fussy/not for beginners, I guess this is what they meant.

I was going to email the breeder with photos and ask for some tips, just my luck that the only important language that I don't speak is Spanish and they are Spanish speakers. Guess I'll email them in English and Portuguese and hope they write back.


Thanks for looking in and the advice, I have been trawling the Internet without much success, it's a new strain and still fairly obscure so not much info about on growing them....

Hope your weekend is going well

 

[Cruizer]

Another thing you could try is dilute some epsom salt (Mag.), put in a spray bottle and spray the underside of her leaves.
Here's an article to read...I don't know if i can post the link so i copied it.

Fertilize with Epsom Salts
By: Charlie Nardozzi

After working with home gardeners for more than 10 years, I know that they love to use home remedies on their plants. From setting out beer traps for slugs to hanging bars of soap to repel deer, if the household product seems to work, gardeners try it. That's why I was intrigued by the often-mentioned idea of using Epsom salts as a fertilizer.

Gardeners apply it to tomatoes, peppers, and roses, hoping to produce more flowers, greener plants, and higher yields. You can use it to improve magnesium content if you know you have a soil that's deficient in that element, but home gardeners are most likely to apply Epsom salts to peppers, tomatoes, and roses.

I wanted to find out if it really works and learn the best ways to apply it for best growth, so last summer I asked some of our test gardeners (home gardeners who tested seeds and products for National Gardening) to test Epsom salts' effects on plant growth and vigor by applying it to pepper plants and roses. Then I talked to researchers about using the salts as fertilizer. Here's what I found out.
The History and Science of Epsom Salts

This natural mineral, discovered in the well water of Epsom, England, has been used for hundreds of years, not only to fertilize plants but to treat a range of human and animal ailments. Who hasn't soaked sore feet in it at least once?

Chemically, Epsom salts is hydrated magnesium sulfate (about 10 percent magnesium and 13 percent sulfur). Magnesium is critical for seed germination and the production of chlorophyll, fruit, and nuts. Magnesium helps strengthen cell walls and improves plants' uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.

Sulfur, a key element in plant growth, is critical to production of vitamins, amino acids (therefore protein), and enzymes. It's also the compound that gives vegetables such as broccoli and onions their flavors. Sulfur is seldom deficient in garden soils in North America because acid rain and commonly used animal manures contain sulfur, as do chemical fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate.

The causes and effects of magnesium deficiencies vary. Vegetables such as beans, peas, lettuce, and spinach can grow and produce good yields in soils with low magnesium levels, but plants such as tomatoes, peppers, and roses need high levels of magnesium for optimal growth. However, plants may not show the effects of magnesium deficiency until it's severe. Some common deficiency symptoms are yellowing of the leaves between the veins, leaf curling, stunted growth, and lack of sweetness in the fruit.

Magnesium tends to be lacking in old, weathered soils with low pH, notably in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest. Soils with a pH above 7 and soils high in calcium and potassium also generally have low magnesium levels. Calcium and potassium compete with magnesium for uptake by plant roots, and magnesium often loses. Sometimes, a soil test will show adequate magnesium levels in soil, but a plant grown in that soil may still be deficient because of that competition.

Gardeners add magnesium when they apply dolomitic lime to raise the soil's pH. However, this product (46 percent calcium carbonate, 38 percent magnesium carbonate) breaks down slowly, and the calcium can interfere with magnesium uptake. For soils with a pH above 7, many gardeners use Sul-Po-Mag (22 percent sulfur, 22 percent potassium, 11 percent magnesium) to increase magnesium. Although dolomitic lime and Sul-Po-Mag are inexpensive ways to add magnesium, Epsom salts' advantage over them is its high solubility.

When diluted with water, and especially when applied as a foliar spray, Epsom salts can be taken up quickly by plants. Epsom salts' magnesium content, high solubility, and ease of application as a foliar spray are the main reasons for the positive results many gardeners see in their plants.

To get a first-hand look at the effectiveness of Epsom salts in the garden, we asked six of our testers (in California, Colorado, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee) to try Epsom salts on peppers and roses. Testers each grew six 'Gypsy' peppers. They applied 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts mixed with a gallon of water as a foliar spray to three plants at bloom time and again 10 days later. They also selected two established rose bushes of the same variety and sprayed the same amount of Epsom salts mixed with water to one bush every 6 weeks, starting when leaves came out and continuing through the summer (about 4 applications). We asked them to record the number of pepper fruits and rose blooms, and to note any differences they saw.

Four out of the six testers reported that the Epsom salts-treated pepper plants and fruits were larger than the controls. For the treated roses, testers reported greener foliage, bushier plants, and more roses than on the control plants.

Kathy Stone Downie of Alameda, California, noticed many differences in her treated 'Gypsy' peppers. "The fruits were much bigger, almost twice the size. They were juicier, sweeter, and triple the thickness of the untreated peppers." Tommy Owen, in Rogersville, Tennessee, said that his treated roses had greener foliage and bigger flowers with deeper colors.
Recent Studies of Epsom Salts

Scientists are beginning to test its use. Although many studies confirm that magnesium sulfate is a good way to supply magnesium and sulfur to soils deficient in those elements, little research has been done on the use of Epsom salts as a supplemental fertilizer on soils with adequate levels of these nutrients.

Renee Schloupt, horticulturist at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, is testing peppers and tomatoes grown in a greenhouse environment under drought and nondrought conditions. She's comparing control plants with those watered with applications of 1, 2, and 3 tablespoons of Epsom salts mixed with 1 gallon of water and applied at planting, flowering, and fruit set. So far, she has not seen any measurable evidence of growth or yield differences in the treated tomatoes or peppers. "The peppers have greener leaves, and it seems the 1- and 2-tablespoon doses yield a better result than the 3-tablespoon dose, but I haven't seen any dramatic effects on yields so far," she says. "The magnesium in the Epsom salts applied to the soil could be getting tied up with other nutrients. We might see better results when we apply Epsom salts directly to the leaves."

At Auburn University in Alabama, plant pathologist Kira Bowen and soil scientist Beth Guertal see similar results when they apply Epsom salts directly on the soil. They are conducting a 3-year study of roses in field plots that includes applying 1 cup of Epsom salts per plant per month as one of the treatments to increase plant vigor and control black spot. "The first year, we saw reduced defoliation in the Epsom salts-treated plants, but the second year the differences weren't there," Bowen reports. "It's hard to find a direct link between a specific nutrient such as magnesium sulfate and increased yield or plant growth because of all the other variables in the soil, such as pH, calcium and potassium content, and weather, that may affect the plants."

In their studies, researchers applied Epsom salts directly to the soil. Foliar applications, such as those our test gardeners used, appear to be a better way to guarantee that the plants get the benefits of the added magnesium.

Before you try Epsom salts, test the soil to determine its magnesium content. Don't rely on Epsom salts to correct large soil magnesium deficiencies, but rather use it as a supplement to soils with adequate or slightly low magnesium levels to boost plant growth, flowering, and fruiting. For severely magnesium-deficient soils, use dolomitic lime or Sul-Po-Mag. Foliar applications of Epsom salts seem work better than adding it, dry or mixed with water, directly to the soil. Plants may not efficiently take up magnesium sulfate in granular form, especially in alkaline soils or soils that already test high in potassium, calcium, or magnesium. If you have tested your soil and know it has those qualities, a foliar application is a faster way to get the nutrients to the plant.
Roses

Many rosarians agree that Epsom salts-treated planats produce more new canes at the bottom of the plant (bottom breaks) and darker green foliage. Recommendations on how much to use vary, but generally you can apply 1/2 cup of granules in spring before buds first begin to open and 1/2 cup in fall before leaves drop. Apply a foliar spray (1 tablespoon per gallon of water per foot of shrub height) after the leaves open in spring and again at flowering.
Tomato and Peppers

Magnesium deficiency in the soil may be one reason your tomato leaves yellow between the leaf veins late in the season and fruit production slows down. Test your soil every 3 years or so to check on nutrient levels. Epsom salts can keep plants greener and bushier, enhance production of healthier fruit later in the season, and potentially help reduce blossom-end rot. Apply 1 tablespoon of granules around each transplant, or spray a solution of 1 tablespoon Epsom salts per gallon of water at transplanting, first flowering, and fruit set.

Epsom salts is available in drug and grocery stores.

Epsom salts works best on soils that are...

Slightly deficient in magnesium
Alkaline (show high pH) as in western areas
Old, "weathered," and acidic (with low pH) soils of the Southeast and Pacific Northwest
High in calcium and potassium (western soils)

Charlie Nardozzi is a senior horticulturist at National Gardening.

 

[brightlight]

Thanks Brightlight!

Any thoughts on the infuriatingly yellowing Portela? Landrace type hybrids are supposed to not need much by way of nutes. She is a cross between a Jamaican Lambsbread and Icer. Can't figure out what she needs......

Looks like normal N fade to me Ms. B. If Nov. is your target, then I'd keep giving her low dosage N through Sept. Is your fish low N...something like 2-4-1? Buds like some N too. I wouldn't use fish fert. that is high N like we use in veg. No need to worry about fade if your buds are building to your liking. Sometimes an outdoor girl will limp to the finish line with nearly no leaves left.

 

[Bapple]

Looks like normal N fade to me Ms. B. If Nov. is your target, then I'd keep giving her low dosage N through Sept. Is your fish low N...something like 2-4-1? Buds like some N too. I wouldn't use fish fert. that is high N like we use in veg. No need to worry about fade if your buds are building to your liking. Sometimes an outdoor girl will limp to the finish line with nearly no leaves left.

Ahhh, the sweet tones of experience! Thank you Brightlight would you add Epsom salts at this stage?

 

[Cruizer]

I have done the epsom salt foliar spray and know it works pretty fast. If you have some on hand, it's worth a look. 1 tablespoon per gallon of water. I believe that is why a lot of people us Cal/Mag during their grow is because the soil gets depleted of those minerals over time. For N during flower I have been using miracle grow 7-7-7, no problems.

Good Luck and thanks for checking in on my grow

 

[Bapple]

Thanks for the article Cruizer - I am already a convert where Epsom salts is concerned and they have had Magnesium Sulfate about once a month all through the grow.

 

[Cruizer]

There's a sports bar called Plan B where I live. I handle those beers and burgers pretty good

 

[brightlight]

Ahhh, the sweet tones of experience! Thank you Brightlight would you add Epsom salts at this stage?

I use langbeinite instead of epsom salts. I always add during transition/early flower....assures enough Mg until end. Too much Mg late can result in excess in plant resulting in "snap, crackle, pop" when herb is burned. Sulfur is good for ripening. So yes, still ok to add epsom salts if targeting Nov. Sounds like you have everything in order....nice growing.

 

[Bapple]

There's a sports bar called Plan B where I live. I handle those beers and burgers pretty good

LOL Cruizer thanks for all your input, I'm grateful.

I use langbeinite instead of epsom salts. I always add during transition/early flower....assures enough Mg until end. Too much Mg late can result in excess in plant resulting in "snap, crackle, pop" when herb is burned. Sulfur is good for ripening. So yes, still ok to add epsom salts if targeting Nov. Sounds like you have everything in order....nice growing.

Thanks Brightlight - you're a brick

 

[Bapple]

So another hot day here, low 30's 60% humidity.

All 3 girls were watered and the Portela was given 30g of Magnesium Sulfate in 5 litres of water all to herself.

Tidied up the Hollands Hope a bit as she had a bit of dead leaves right at the bottom.

The Blue Dream is small for 21 days but healthy and thriving after the early carry on with her first 4 leaves. I usually pot up at 3 weeks but she is small and roots have most certainly not filled the pot she is in so will wait until the pot really dries out and roots work a bit hard for water before considering repotting.

Here is the little lady chilling with one of my chilli plants.

A close up of the Portela showing pistils.

ASD looking fat and juicy - will defo grow this variety every year until I find another teachers pet.

Hollands Hope definitely will be the biggest yielder, and she has got a great structure now that flowering ihas started in earnest.

I am planning to strip the bottom straggly branches off the Hollands Hope and ASD to concentrate the plants energy on the big colas, as I don't use trimmings or popcorn buds.

So it's barbecue Sunday and I am off to cook some fried rice, make a salad and throw meat on the grill.

Happy Sunday to all my 420 Mag brethren

 

[Captainblast]

Bapple. I was wondering if you had a specific link of your own or another member on your process of drying via brown bag method.

when I was younger and growing that is all we ever did, I do plan to wash my buds and thought I would do a little test between the brown bag and hanging dry process. Thanks in advance for any help on this. It seems you are very happy with your results using the method.

 

[Bapple]

Bapple. I was wondering if you had a specific link of your own or another member on your process of drying via brown bag method.

when I was younger and growing that is all we ever did, I do plan to wash my buds and thought I would do a little test between the brown bag and hanging dry process. Thanks in advance for any help on this. It seems you are very happy with your results using the method.

Top of the Afternoon to you Cap'n!

I have no links to help you with - last year when I started growing, I spent some time on another forum and was lucky enough to be able to Pick the brains of two old timers about the paper bag drying method. I subsequently did my own due diligence and researched the bejesus out of the subject......I'll run you quickly through what I learned and that's how I have always dried my bud.

The brown paper bags and cardboard box if you decide to go that route must be untreated (no wax and or ink and other crap that stops a 2 way air exchange) I ordered mine off Amazon but understand that Home Depot carry suitable brown paper bags of all sizes and thicknesses.

After trimming my harvest, I cut the buds into golfball sized pieces. I line the bottom of my brown paper bag loosely with buds. I fold the paper bag over twice leaving leaving approximately 60% of the bag space unfolded cos the buds need air. I then staple the folded tops shut, and place my paper bags in a large untreated cardboard box and close the box (some people tape the box shut but I don't ). I leave the box in a well ventilated room, (during the day I have the windows open and overnight I leave a fan on high) with no direct sunlight .

I shake the paper bags vigorously daily, I generally only start checking the bags after day 4, cos now I know the method works, but in the early days I could not resist opening the bag and peeking everyday.

When the buds feel dry on the outside and spongy to the touch (usually at between day 5 & 7 depending on the RH where you live), I pop one of the bags of bud into a large jar and stick a hygrometer into the jar. I check the RH in the jar after a minimum of 4-6 hours, if it's showing RH of 65 or above they all go back into a fresh bag, if it's showing RH of 65 or less they go into glass jars for curing with a large bag of Boveda 62%.

I will then burp jars every couple of days or so for about an hour. I never overfill my jars and always move the buds around every week or so for the first month or thereabouts. I generally stop burping jars after about a month and rely on the Bovedas to keep the RH constant.

Please note that I have no experience of bud washing, but if the buds are wet, I would imagine you would need to hang them dry first (i.e. Let the water dry off the buds before you proceed with the paper bag drying ) otherwise you will get mould issues, as your paper bags will be soggy.

I have read of oldtimers drying whole colas in paper bags, but that is outside my experience level as I know that the larger the buds the higher the risk of mould...

Hope this has been helpful, as we all start to get excited at the prospect of harvesting, curing and smoking our respective grows. Let me know if there is any further help I can render.

Hope you had a pleasant Sunday