Bringing Sexing Back

[ledzepp]

Forgive the terribly lame title. I know, 2007 called they want their shitty puns back. Ha

Jokes aside, I was hoping you all could help me figure out the sex of a few of my (hopefully) girls. The first pic was taken from my main girl who's still in the veg tent at the moment. The rest of the pictures are of 2 clones that have been in 12/12 for 8 days. They are throw aways so I put them in 12/12 2 days after taking the clones.

More pics to come but these are the closest to being able to sex I think! Fingers crossed for baby girls...


M1.)

M3c.)

M3c.)

 

[ledzepp]

As a side note, i'm having a hard time telling if what I'm looking at on my clones is a new node or a pre flower... I can't remember if they had them when I cloned or not.

If a clone was taken before sexual maturity and put basically directly into 12/12, would it continue developing nodes or begin working on flowers?

 

[JuanCarlos]

New nodes. No matter if it's in flower or veg it will continue to make new nodes. I am not seeing anything that helps me determine sex.

 

[Major PITA]

Not sexy ... yet.

 

[ledzepp]

Damn it.. None of my clones are showing roots yet. How long should I expect to 12/12 until I can determine sex?

My girls are just dying to be transplanted and only have space for three 5 gallon pots.


Sent from my iPhone using 420

 

[Major PITA]

Damn it.. None of my clones are showing roots yet. How long should I expect to 12/12 until I can determine sex?

My girls are just dying to be transplanted and only have space for three 5 gallon pots.


Sent from my iPhone using 420

On a mature plant you can see sex before the flip. On a veg'd plant, it takes 1-2 weeks. On a "no mercy" grow it can take a month (or more?). I've never tried to sex a new-ish clone, but some cuttings do show sex. It's like a last ditch effort to reproduce after being cut off the plant.

 

[ledzepp]

On a mature plant you can see sex before the flip. On a veg'd plant, it takes 1-2 weeks. On a "no mercy" grow it can take a month (or more?). I've never tried to sex a new-ish clone, but some cuttings do show sex. It's like a last ditch effort to reproduce after being cut off the plant.

Thx for the info.

Yeah I was hoping I could see sex here in a couple weeks on the big girls but I cloned into a dwc setup to hopefully figure out sooner so I can transplant into their final homes.

Now it's looking like it's going to be a two month veg. Though I'm starting to worry about final size.

I only have 60" and 400 true watts of LEDs.

So

1.) Is that much light overkill for a 5 sq ft area?

2.) assuming 10-15 inches between lights and the canopy, what's the maximum safe height to flip?

3.) I'm on week 5 from seed. When will they be mature enough to show sex in veg?

 

[Major PITA]

Thx for the info.

Yeah I was hoping I could see sex here in a couple weeks on the big girls but I cloned into a dwc setup to hopefully figure out sooner so I can transplant into their final homes.

Now it's looking like it's going to be a two month veg. Though I'm starting to worry about final size.

I only have 60" and 400 true watts of LEDs.

So

1.) Is that much light overkill for a 5 sq ft area?

2.) assuming 10-15 inches between lights and the canopy, what's the maximum safe height to flip?

3.) I'm on week 5 from seed. When will they be mature enough to show sex in veg?

I only use LEDs as supplemental lighting (270W draw) so...

1. It doesn't seem like too much as long as you can control heat and not burn/bleach the top of the plants. I use the LEDs + 600W HPS in about 9 sq-ft.

2. I try to stay about 18" away from the canopy. It seems like LEDs need at least that much space to blend the different spectrums. YMMV.

3. It varies by strain. Are the seeds starting under 12/12? I have some quick finishing indica-dominant plants now that were started under 18/6 for about two weeks and then flipped to 12/12 for another two weeks. No sex yet...

If your seeds are going into 5 gal. pots, that is about 12" for the pot + another 18" above the canopy = 30". If you have a full 60", then you can grow a 30" plant. If needed, supercrop them or top them to add more bud sights and keep them shorter. 30" will be good for many strains but could be a problem with a lanky sativa.

 

[ledzepp]

I only use LEDs as supplemental lighting (270W draw) so...

1. It doesn't seem like too much as long as you can control heat and not burn/bleach the top of the plants. I use the LEDs + 600W HPS in about 9 sq-ft.

2. I try to stay about 18" away from the canopy. It seems like LEDs need at least that much space to blend the different spectrums. YMMV.

3. It varies by strain. Are the seeds starting under 12/12? I have some quick finishing indica-dominant plants now that were started under 18/6 for about two weeks and then flipped to 12/12 for another two weeks. No sex yet...

If your seeds are going into 5 gal. pots, that is about 12" for the pot + another 18" above the canopy = 30". If you have a full 60", then you can grow a 30" plant. If needed, supercrop them or top them to add more bud sights and keep them shorter. 30" will be good for many strains but could be a problem with a lanky sativa.

1. Perfect I just bought that 270 watt panel and remembered reading somewhere above 50 w/sqft was territory of diminishing returns. But if you're just using that for side lighting, I think I'll keep it.

2. What do mean starting under 12/12? I'm open to advice on this one... I've taken them from 22/2 to 18/6 over the past few weeks but wanted to wait to transplant before I flipped to flower.

I'm definitely flowering my two indica dominants since they're feminized but was going to pick one more plant out of my mystery seeds to flower as well. The one i've got my eye on is the fastest grower, smells strongly of skunk and is getting lankier every day but I'm just hoping it ends up being a female.

Should I pick a shorter mystery plant to flower? All of my plants are topped and I've been LSTing to get them to spread out and work the internodes. Currently my tallest girl is 9 inches and my shortest (indica) is 6.

So that was a long rant but basically.

A. When should I flip? Does it matter if I transplant during flower?
B. Bad idea to flip with my tent completely full? Ultimately I want to keep only half of the plants.
C. Should I prefer to take a shorter mystery plant?

Also thanks for all your help the past few weeks Pita. You're a weedcyclopedia!

 

[ledzepp]

Also from an LED standpoint is there a hue you think plants like better? I ask because I have 2 MarsHydro 5w diode lights which have a slightly pink but mostly white hue and then I have another GalaxyHydro 3w diode panel that is much more vibrant pink/purple.

Is more spectrum better? e.g. should I use one of each or just go with the MarsHydro? Both panels are around 140 true watt.

When I had both 140 true watt panels in the tent, the plants in the middle seemed to want to grow towards the 5w/whiter light... but I'm wondering if the purple/pink will be a better hue for flower if added.

 

[ledzepp]

A

 

[Major PITA]

IMO, as long as you can control heat, more light is always better.

Plants in veg supposedly stretch less with more blue (white) spectrum. Blooming plants like more of the red end of the spectrum. Personally, I give all the light I've got at all times once the plants are big enough to take it.

A 12/12 grow is a way to get a quicker turnover of the grow space. The plant grows under 12/12 right from seed. Much smaller plants, but you can fit more in the room and finish quicker = more variety, more crops harvested per year and no need for separate veg and bloom rooms. You can add or chop a plant at any time.

I prefer to transplant a little BEFORE the flip to let the plant get established. Some growers flip and transplant on the same day. I do not think it is good to transplant after bloom is under way, but growers do it when necessary.
I can't tell you which plant(s) to keep. I go by what strains I want and then by their health and shape. With mystery plants, go by how healthy they are. If they aren't fem's, I'd flip them all. You never know who the winners will be. Remember, sometimes males are the tallest, so a lush closely-spaced-nodes plant is my preference.

 

[ledzepp]

IMO, as long as you can control heat, more light is always better.

Plants in veg supposedly stretch less with more blue (white) spectrum. Blooming plants like more of the red end of the spectrum. Personally, I give all the light I've got at all times once the plants are big enough to take it.

A 12/12 grow is a way to get a quicker turnover of the grow space. The plant grows under 12/12 right from seed. Much smaller plants, but you can fit more in the room and finish quicker = more variety, more crops harvested per year and no need for separate veg and bloom rooms. You can add or chop a plant at any time.

I prefer to transplant a little BEFORE the flip to let the plant get established. Some growers flip and transplant on the same day. I do not think it is good to transplant after bloom is under way, but growers do it when necessary.
I can't tell you which plant(s) to keep. I go by what strains I want and then by their health and shape. With mystery plants, go by how healthy they are. If they aren't fem's, I'd flip them all. You never know who the winners will be. Remember, sometimes males are the tallest, so a lush closely-spaced-nodes plant is my preference.

Thx pita. Now I am considering just not waiting to flip until the clones to show sex to flower especially if it will be several more weeks and I am constrained to a 30" max plant height without supercropping...

So just a couple more qs before I pull the trigger:

1.) how important is transplanting to a 5 gallon before flower for a height constrained plant? (In 3 gallon smart pots now)

2.) would it suffice to add some soil to the bottom of the smart pots? Currently like 1-2 inches of space on top.

3.) On the heat/light thread - after adding the second light my highs went up to about 79-81... is it better to have 75-78 temp and less light or 81 and more light?

First grow, I just want to flower .

Here's a group shot for context. Would you flip these?

 

[Major PITA]

I would flip them, but IDK what strain(s) you are growing.
I would NOT move them to 5 gal. Too little too late, IMO.
I'd add a little soil to the top of each pot - not the bottom.
You are pushing the top of the temp's that are considered optimum. I think they are fine but RH comes into the equation, as well. I'd keep the extra light, especially when flipping to 12/12.

 

[ledzepp]

I would flip them, but IDK what strain(s) you are growing.
I would NOT move them to 5 gal. Too little too late, IMO.
I'd add a little soil to the top of each pot - not the bottom.
You are pushing the top of the temp's that are considered optimum. I think they are fine but RH comes into the equation, as well. I'd keep the extra light, especially when flipping to 12/12.

Funny story - I don't really know what strains I'm growing either except for the two short indicas on the right (Papaya). I bought from Nirvana and planted a few mystery seeds.

I'm going to flip today after adding a little soil.

On the temps/RH - I know higher temps means you have to watch the RH but I've been in the 40's range since I removed the dehumidifier and was planning on getting a small dehumidifier sometime in flower.

On the transplant - how long ago would you have transplanted those girls?

 

[Major PITA]

IDK how long they have been in the current pots.
In my grows, a plant usually last two to three weeks in a pot before up-canning. But my sizes are different: solo cup > 1 gal. > 7 gal.
From three to five is OK but not a huge increase in the amount of soil. I like to transplant prior to flipping - like two weeks before. You could certainly up-pot them now and flip them. Dealer's choice. I do not like to transplant after the flip, but growers do it.