Blue Dream'matic Comparison Auto Grow Super Soil Vs Promix+ With LSD-25 Auto On The Side

[InTheShed]

I believe it came in at 6.1.

Thanks MrS...I obv missed that!

yep, it was 6.1. Still baffled as to why the mix in the LSD plant got so high. Poor girl looks pitiful, but she’s giving what energy she can to flowers. They still look relatively ok.

It might always be a mystery since your well water didn't seem to be high on the alkalinity scale, and I haven't seen the nitrate form of N in MC to cause those kinds of issues with the substrate (or I'd probably have them with my long grows).

Let's see if the amendment helps!

 

[Rickstertp]

Day 49

Blue Dream'matic in Pro MixHP fed Megacrop continues to amaze. She's strong, her main stalk is about two inches thick, her flowers continue to bulk up and not a hint of a burnt tip. Blue Dream'matic in Super Soil is tall and has lots of pistils that are starting to turn brown but they just aren't bulking up at all like the other Blue. I've started feeding her some Iguana Juice and Mother Earths Tea. I can't see if it's making a difference yet after two feedings. One thing about those two organic nutrients that is surprising is that after I add them to a gallon of RO water, the pH is 4.4! Now I've read all about not needing to pH our nutes, but that is crazy acidic and the Super Soil instructions say to keep nutes around 6.5. I have been adding a tiny bit of Potassium Bicarbonate to get it up to around 6 and call it good.

LSD-25 in Pro Mix HP getting Megacrop also got organic calmag on her last feeding. I can't see if that's making a difference. She continues to grow nice green leaves, but then they start to turn nasty yellow then brown. It starts along the center vein and then spreads. I'm at a loss here, but her flowers continue to look ok although they're not bulking up a lot either.

Anyway, they're all still alive and sorta well.

First Blue Dream'matic:

Her Colas are fat!

Her flowers are beautiful!

Her main stem is huge:

Blue Dream'matic in Super Soil. She's a bit droopy from getting a bit too dry. This was right before she was fed:

Lots of flower on her, just not as bulky: EDIT: pic I originally posted was of the other plant. This is flower from super soil Blue:

LSD-25 in ProMix getting Megacrop and calmag:

She grows nice green leaves that turn brown:

Still has lot's of new green down on the lower part of the plant:

Happy Growing Everyone!

 

[Stunger]

Blue Dream'matic in Pro MixHP fed Megacrop continues to amaze. She's strong, her main stalk is about two inches thick, her flowers continue to bulk up and not a hint of a burnt tip.

Hey Rickster, going really well, looking great, that is an astonishing base stem!

 

[Rickstertp]

Hey Rickster, going really well, looking great, that is an astonishing base stem!

Thanks! I did just edit the post though. I put pics of the Megacrop Blues flower where I meant to put the flowers from the Super Soil plant.

 

[InTheShed]

Calcium deficiencies start at the top so that would explain the green lowers. And from that sad looking new growth it really looks like Ca.

Calcium in soil works best when the medium is around 6.5, so even with the added cal-mag I'm not sure it's going to get taken up by the plant until the pH gets lowered. Does it say on the bag of acidifier how long it takes to lower the pH? I wonder if another slurry test is in order yet.

 

[Rickstertp]

Calcium deficiencies start at the top so that would explain the green lowers. And from that sad looking new growth it really looks like Ca.

Calcium in soil works best when the medium is around 6.5, so even with the added cal-mag I'm not sure it's going to get taken up by the plant until the pH gets lowered. Does it say on the bag of acidifier how long it takes to lower the pH? I wonder if another slurry test is in order yet.

I put the acidifier pellets on top again and fed her this morning. I'll probably skip them now the next two feedings and then take a slurry test again and see what is going on. Thanks for all the help. The plant seems like it's trying it's best to survive and flower, so hopefully I can keep her on life support until the end.

Blue Dream'matic in Super Soil is still very slowly showing new spots of Ca deficiency despite getting supplements, but it's nothing like the LSD plant. I'm just hoping her colas will fatten up a bit. Fast buds states to not be stingy with nutrients with these Blue Dream'matic plants and I really believe it now. Super Soil isn't giving enough even with supplements and the one getting MC and CM and Si just takes everything and puts it into growth. Not a single burnt tip anywhere on her.

 

[Rickstertp]

I did just read that the LSD-25 plant doesn't like too much Nitrogen during flower. Does this look anything like a N toxicity? Other info from the breeder is that this is an easy plant to grow and is forgiving of pH problems. The main thing they say is to give it lots of water. I am letting it go through a wet/dry cycle, waiting until the plant gets light and checking with moisture meter. I have tried to water/feed it a little sooner than I do the other two, but not going crazy and keeping it wet all the time.

This might just have been a weak pheno. I can't keep temps under control in my room with the tent in summer with all the lights, but I may try growing another LSD plant alone with just the single light after this grow. This room is the hottest in the house, but it's my only choice. I had an A/C guy out last summer to check the HVAC and he said everything is working as it should but that room stays hot. I have a window A/C in there. I could run that continuously, but my electricity bill would probably be hit hard. We'll see.

 

[Rickstertp]

Day 51:
I'm starting to wonder if some of my issues are too much light and or heat? Even the strong plant Blue Dream'matic is showing some stress with her leaves curling up and getting a bit brittle at the ends. Blue in super soil is still battling what looks like a progressing Ca deficiency and the poor little LSD-25 plant just looks pathetic. Hard to tell if anything I'm doing is helping. All her leaves other than the ones down low and inside on the plant are yellow with brittle brown centers and spots. I feel bad for taking everyone on this ride that isn't turning out too well. I'm a bit frustrated because, while I can accept a failure, I'd like to learn from it and I'm at a loss as to exactly what is wrong with each plant. I'm sure I'll be able to milk them along to harvest and get some good bud from them, but I admit, I'm a bit bummed at how the two plants are doing.

Well, perhaps my changes in environment will help. I've also kicked on the window AC in the room. According to the in tent sensor, it was getting around 82F in there. I don't know if that's too hot. The humidity is around 52%. I have a catch-22. My dehumidifier puts out a lot of heat into the room which makes temps in the tent high, but my understanding is that temp is ok but not with that humidity.

Anyway, pics:

Blue Dream'matic in Pro Mix/MC:

You can see the leaf curling. Heat stress? Something else?

Blue Dream'matic in Super Soil (getting calmag)

She's getting more nasty looking leaves (in the tent under the LED). I'm giving the max dose of calmag

LSD-25 in Pro Mix/MC. Pitiful looking girl

I wish I had an answer for this plant. I hope she makes it to harvest

Group shot:

As always, I'm open to suggestions. Crystals? Chant at the moon? Am I over worried?

Happy Growing!

 

[InTheShed]

82º isn't too hot (and the RH seems okay) but curling leaves also means light stress. Any idea how many lux you're running at the canopy?

Have you run slurry tests on all of them?

 

[Rickstertp]

82º isn't too hot (and the RH seems okay) but curling leaves also means light stress. Any idea how many lux you're running at the canopy?

Have you run slurry tests on all of them?

I had it about 50K and have dialed it back to about 45K. Measured at the top of the highest colas. Is that too much? I haven't done a slurry test on the others or on the one that I"m trying to bring down. I'll try and do that this weekend. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[InTheShed]

Try 40k and see if the leaves look happier. Some plants are definitely more sensitive than others.

 

[Rickstertp]

Try 40k and see if the leaves look happier. Some plants are definitely more sensitive than others.

I just fed the LSD-25. I used 5g/gal which came out to 753 on my TDS meter or 1.503 EC. I skipped the organic calmag since it doesn't seem to help. I've shown how bad the top of the plant looks, but there is still new growth down low that at least starts out very green, actually perhaps too green? That's why I went down on MC and didn't add anything else. I also raised the lights as high as I could and they are right at or a bit under 40K on my hand held LUX meter.

We've all seen the horrible looking top of the plant is, here are some shots of the lower parts with a good bit of new growth:

I am trying to water all my plants like @Emilya recommends. If you look closely, you can see the ring of raised soil that I think shows that I'm doing ok in that regard. I'm most of the way through her MC journal and from all I've read and what I'm seeing is that this girl simply didn't want as much MC as I was giving her. We'll see.

I know that there are lots of opinions on this MC stuff and it got contentious at times, but I'm open to any and all suggestions and I am trying to act on them.

Thanks all!

 

[THC Onlyfans]

I just fed the LSD-25. I used 5g/gal which came out to 753 on my TDS meter or 1.503 EC. I skipped the organic calmag since it doesn't seem to help. I've shown how bad the top of the plant looks, but there is still new growth down low that at least starts out very green, actually perhaps too green? That's why I went down on MC and didn't add anything else. I also raised the lights as high as I could and they are right at or a bit under 40K on my hand held LUX meter.

We've all seen the horrible looking top of the plant is, here are some shots of the lower parts with a good bit of new growth:

I am trying to water all my plants like @Emilya recommends. If you look closely, you can see the ring of raised soil that I think shows that I'm doing ok in that regard. I'm most of the way through her MC journal and from all I've read and what I'm seeing is that this girl simply didn't want as much MC as I was giving her. We'll see.

I know that there are lots of opinions on this MC stuff and it got contentious at times, but I'm open to any and all suggestions and I am trying to act on them.

Thanks all!

Curling leaves was light distance for me, all my autos and just the ones that happen to be sativas were the ones that were more sensitive...i moved the light away and the curl stopped getting worse. It doesnt go away though so limit the damage when you can. 40k was the limit for them before they curled like that.

As for those buds, i wouldnt waste my time on that, i remove those little tiny nothing buds to be honest...waste of energy for the high buds up top.

 

[Rickstertp]

Those buds are actually the lower part of the main colas and were just shown to show the color of the lower growth. I have removed the little buds that aren't going to develop. After reading the GLN site some more, I came to the conclusion that perhaps this plant didn't like so much MC. The Blues on the other hand seem to take all you can throw at them. To that end, I just threw all caution to the wind and gave the Super Soil girl a feeding with 5g/gal of MC today. I really don't think this super soil has enough nutrients for this hungry strain and she keeps showing deficiency, so I thought what the hell.

I have raised my light as much as I can without a major rearrangement. When I upsized my tent to 2x4, I wish I had gotten a taller one. I have turned down the intensity to just below 40K LUX.

I think to be honest, the LSD plant for better or worse is within a couple of weeks of harvest. All her pistils have turned brown and next time I open the tent I'm going to get my microscope out and start looking at the trichomes of all three plants. We're pretty much right at the breeders finish time, although we all know they usually take longer. Next update I'll post some trichome shots. I have an LED loupe that I can pick out amber trichomes with, but I can't see well enough to determine clear from cloudy. For that I have to break out the USB microscope.

 

[Rickstertp]

Day 54:

Trichome pics today. I think all three plants are getting close. Blue Dream'matic in Super Soil (now getting fed MC) is the closest I think. Most of her pistils have turned brown and most of her trichomes are milky with a few still clear and perhaps even a few starting to look a bit amber when I scan around the plant. Didn't get a good pic of them though.

Next is the LSD-25 getting a lower feeding of MC only now. Getting close as well with most milky and a few clear. No sign of amber that I can see while scanning around the plant.

Healthiest looking plant has been Blue Dream'matic in ProMix getting MC. She's getting close, but still has mostly white pistils and her trichomes still have the most clear, but not by much.

Looks like I need to get my drying box out and put together since I may have to start harvesting in a week or so. I'll let the trichomes be my guide. This is the first time I have looked this closely, so I'll watch for progression. Hopefully, more amber will start showing up in the next week.

Happy growing!

 

[InTheShed]

I'd say you're calling them well.

Giving the MC to the Super Soil grow is a great idea when you see that the plant is hungry. Some growers get precious about their soil and lose sight of the fact that the plant is the most important part!

 

[Rickstertp]

Yep, reading the plant is a skill I'm still learning but have a long way to go. I think what I have decided at this point is that I overdid the nutrients on the LSD, I and the super soil underfed that Blue Dream and I had one that was just right. You can see it in the group pic with the two blues looking so different from one another and the pitiful LSD that has started popping out some new green and some new growth in the buds since I cut back the MC.

 

[Rickstertp]

Day 57:

No pics today since not much visually is going on. All three plants are now getting just Megacrop at or below 750 ppm or 1.5 EC however you like it. Just below 5 gr/gallon. The biggest girl got just 1ml of organic cal/mag since I was seeing just a spot or two on the upper growth. Nothing I could even get a pic of and I only gave a half dose. The organic one has no N in it like the botanicare Calmag has. I took some looks at the trichomes and not much change there either. We might still be a bit more than a week till harvest.

Now, if anyone is reading. I need some advice from you old timers on curing. I know there are lots of techniques out there and i DO NOT want to start any arguments. Just please let me know what technique you like and perhaps a link to a thread here or page elsewhere if you have it. I would love to do the low and slow or whatever it's called, but right now, my fridge is absolutely packed. My wife is keeping more stuff in there in case we get stuck at home for any length of time over this damn COVID-19 thing, so I don't think using the fridge is an option and I am guessing I'm going to have a lot of mason jars full.

I have a large (4' high and about 2'x2') cardboard drying box I made that has a flange on it to attach a 4" hose to and then run it into my tent so the air going into the tent is drawn through the dry box first. Despite not having anything actually blow air on the plants, they both went from too wet to too dry in just 4-5 days. I had to put fan leaves in the jars and double boveda packs since my hygrometers were reading about 50%. After a month, it they are fine and staying at 62%, but it left me wondering if there are better ways.

 

[Emilya Green]

yeah... lets start with that drying box that sucked all the moisture out of those buds way too fast... The idea is a good one so you can filter the smell and all that, but put your fan on a timer and only run it for a few minutes every half hour or so, just to clear out the smell and take out a bit of moisture. The constant sucking of air as you found is a very effective dryer. Slow that process down and gain control... try to get to a 5-7 day slow dry if possible by using that box to contain some of the humidity as the buds slowly dry out and dry it out at your chosen rate.

once you have more control, a 12 hour decision wont make the difference between too wet and way too dry, and you will want to stop this first drying process somewhere around 70% or a bit lower. If you put them in jars and overnight they go back over 70, lay them out again for a couple of hours in your drying tent and retest in the jars. Try to get a feel for how much dryer they get after a couple hours in the open, and get them down to a more or less steady 65-67 RH while in the jars. Then, start burping them in the jars for a couple of hours at a time, slowly working that RH down to 65%. Gauge the open time to how much movement you get on the meter, and slowly work them down into the 59-65 cure range. If you have really moist and dense buds, at first you will only get into this cure range for portions of the day, but keep working it, and keep burping a bit each day to let out the gasses, and a little more moisture. Once you get it steady at 64 or 65, you can now set it away and burp it once a week or so, and a bit longer if that RH creeps back up again as the cores of the buds dump out their last moisture. Once I see that I have dropped down to 63% after sitting for a while, I put a Boveda 62 in the jar to hold it right in the middle of the cure range for as long as possible, still burping every week or so at first, and then every month after it has been curing for a couple of months. If I have some that I want to store away long term, I switch out to a Boveda 58 to swing it down out of the cure range.

 

[Rickstertp]

Thank you so much! That will help me not make the same mistake again. Hope you’re fully recovered or getting close to it.