Beccabuds Photon Follies: An Ongoing Adventure In Tiny Closet Gardening

[BeccaBuds]

One week since germination and the 3 Do Si Dos are doing well. They should be ready to transplant in a week or two. Still keeping an eye on #4 but looks like it's a lost cause by now. The first 2 to sprout look like the best choices for the 10 gallon pots.

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Also created an initial schedule for autoflowers so I have a plan:

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[BeccaBuds]

Una the Mystery Girl is going to be harvested tomorrow so this is her final photo shoot. Trichomes have started to turn amber, she's started to foxtail a bit, and I need to get the closet ready for the Dos Si Dos Auto run so it's time. She's a beauty!

 

[BeccaBuds]

It was more work than I anticipated but Una is harvested, the cacti moved out to the patio and two 10 gallon cloth pots full of FFOF have been moved into the closet. Each of the cloth pots had a cup of Geoflora Veg blended in and was watered with a gallon of water treated with a half teaspoon of Root Magic Myco. I installed 4" pots as pre-forms to make transplanting a breeze when the plants are ready. Now the big cloth pots get to stand and cook for a week or so. Also installed the scrog net, lowered the lamps and set the timers up for 20 hour days. I had planned on replacing the reflective liner but ended up just wiping it down. Next time...

 

[BeccaBuds]

I think I'm going to start calling the new crop DSD instead of Do Si Dos. The long form is kind of a pain in the ass to type. DSD or just dsd will do just fine, lol! Speaking of dsd, it's update time. The first single blade true leaves have some necrosis at the tips and #2 is clawing a bit. The next triple blade leaves look ok, though. I wonder what the pH of these starter cubes is, a bit too acidic, maybe?
Here's a shot from yesterday, and another from a few minutes ago.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Leaf tip burn has progressed some, the seedlings are a bit stunted and none are ready for transplant yet. They were ready for water today so I mixed up a 1/4 gallon of special sauce for them. I won't be using these chemical nutrients after they go into the cloth pots. They just need a good boost now as the soil was used and must have been nutrient depleted. The mix is composed of a 1/4 gallon distilled water, 1.09g General Hydroponics MaxiGro powder, 0.34g Ammonium Nitrate and 0.625mL pH Up. The solution measures 2.00mS ec at pH 6.5. Each plant got 150mL and the excess allowed to run off. They should really perk up now, and be ready to transplant in a couple days.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Just finish trimming Una and the final tally is in: presently 135 grams or 4.77 ounces. It's still curing so it's probably more like 4.5oz. Not a great yield but better than the 4 gallon pots were doing with soil. Saw quite a few nanners while trimming and 2 mature seeds dropped out. Think I'll just toss the seeds out because of the way the breed hermies.

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[Peat Phreak]

I miss the cactus already. It was a good tent mascot and cheerleader for the weed.

 

[Peat Phreak]

One of the things I like about this closet grow is it feels naughty. Like a taboo grow.

 

[BeccaBuds]

The San Pedros are all still kicking, @Peat Phreak. I just moved them outside to the patio. Not sure they'll get enough light out there but no room anywhere else. And while cannabis is legal here now, growing it in this apartment complex is not, so you are right, the tiny closet is taboo. In my little apartment the tiny closet is the only option for growing so I work with what I have. That said, with everything optimized, I can pull 20oz a year (30 if I run 3 crops) from that tiny space.

 

[BeccaBuds]

I just did some interesting math using the numbers from past and present indoor grows. When I run 6 plants in 4-gallon pots I get 10+ ounces, or 1.67oz per plant. Now, with 10-gallon pots, I'm using 2.5x (10gallons/4gallons) more soil for each plant. So if it scales linearly I should get 1.67oz x 2.5 = 4.175oz, which is right in the ballpark with the 4.5oz yield I got.
What will I get with these autos? That's an unknown- these are my first time growing them.

 

[Phytoplankton]

The San Pedros are all still kicking, @Peat Phreak. I just moved them outside to the patio. Not sure they'll get enough light out there but no room anywhere else. And while cannabis is legal here now, growing it in this apartment complex is not, so you are right, the tiny closet is taboo. In my little apartment the tiny closet is the only option for growing so I work with what I have. That said, with everything optimized, I can pull 20oz a year (30 if I run 3 crops) from that tiny space.

The San Pedro's will do fine outside, they will get a little yellow and sucked in due to the short light period, but as spring approaches they will plump up and get their green color back. I've had my San Pedro's growing outside for over 30 years. In their natural environment they grow in the 6000 to 9000 ft. elevation in the Andes mountains. They can take very low temps (15 degrees F) and a lot of rainfall.

 

[BeccaBuds]

I'm not worried about them handling the weather here, @Phytoplankton. The problem is they won't get much light. The upstairs neighbors patio extends over mine and blocks a lot of light. My patio does face southwest, though so it will get some afternoon sun.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Here's a shot of the Do Si Dos 24 hours after fertilizing them. Looks like the fix worked.

 

[Peat Phreak]

I like to spray them with a little kelp and fulvic acid at this stage. Makes them explode.

 

[BeccaBuds]

I reasoned the Maxigro would be a good choice, @Peat Phreak, because it has all nutrients, macro and micro. Just the ticket for a quick fix of depleted soil in a temporary pot. The other possibility was the used soil needed flushing, but that's unlikely as it has only gotten geoflora veg & bloom, all organic.
I will look into getting some kelp & f.a.!

 

[Peat Phreak]

I like to use foliar as a supplement to root feeding in the beginning. Because young roots don't always want to cooperate. I spray kelp / fulvic and a light dose of a complete nute mix in between root feedings. The benefit appears to be faster growth thru early veg.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Transplant of Do Si Dos 1 & 2 into the 10-gallon cloth pots of FFOF completed today. Removed the pre-forms, sprinkled in some Root Magic Mycorrhizae and stuck them in the ground. They weren't severely root bound but the root ball didn't fall apart so they were getting there. I also decided to flush #3 to see what came out as it drained. Soaked it for 30 minutes in a sink of luke warm water filled to 1/2" below the top soil, then poured 2000mL of aqua through the pot. It only ran brownish for the first 300mL. Left it to drain in the sink for an hour and then gave it 100mL of the nutrient solution I mixed a few days ago. I'm not planning on growing it out but I did want to see what the flush looked like.

 

[BeccaBuds]

The plants are starting to take off now. Number 1 is a short dense little bush. Number 2 is taller but getting bushy as well. You can see the results of the nutrient deficiency they were all suffering but #2 got the worst of it. It appears to have been a calcium deficiency. Tomorrow is their first feeding in the big pots; they'll each get a cup of Geoflora Grow and a gallon of water with some CalMag+, Purpinator and pH Up. I think I'm going to do some LST on them, see if I can bump up the yield. Going to cut back on the Bud Candy as well and use it every other week between Geoflora feedings.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Mischief managed... And away we go! Both pots got Geoflora blended in and watered in with CalMag/Purpinator per the schedule. New growth looks really healthy.

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Una is curing nicely and has turned into a 4.6oz block of spicy, dank bud, Still needs to cure awhile in container, but the bud I sampled was very potent and tasty.

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[BeccaBuds]

I really screwed up- I thought I had nutrient solution in a spray bottle but it was in fact 3% H2O2 and I sprayed all 3 plants with it. If this isn't a strong argument against leaving unmarked containers around, I don't know what is. #3 got the worst of it, sprayed all over the leaves and poured through the soil. 1 and 2 just got light misting with 2 getting more. It killed number 3- it turned gawd-awful black & brown within minutes and I cut it down because it was basically dead. I got lucky with 1 & 2- growth slowed some and necrotic spots appeared where the hydrogen peroxide touched the leaves but they've mostly recovered. OM f'in G!!!
Here's side by side photos taken on Jan 29th and today. You can see the damage. I'm so glad it wasn't worse!