CoffeeShopSeeds Sponsored Grow: Emmie’s Huge 1 Month Interval Constant Harvest

[Trala]

Good morning Emmybird

I love the passion, questioning, thought and practice that goes into your grow. You grow with such curiousness. Always pushing boundaries. Putting your own spin on methods, learning through trial and error and that’s a fantastic thing.

You let your words and your plants do the talking. Because ultimately that’s what it’s all about. I see lots of walls of words in different threads. Talk talk talk. You talk and show progress. Show triumphs and tribulations. That’s what this is about. Sharing what you’ve learned. Not justify. Share.

You really have earned the super respected grow position you now sit in. And I love the way you debate. You come in like a pretty sweet smelling wrecking ball. And you make me proud. Xo

#girlpower

 

[Trala]

I'm limited by time currently so I want to take up the more important, ''ínterpersonal" aspects here, Emily, and put a pin in the technical discussion if you'll permit me. It is important to me that you hear from me that I meant those memes humorously and respectfully, I didn't mean to create an air of unknowing or angst. I laughed aloud when I read your initial entry because I had just been writing an article on how we all bring our personal expertise to new projects and so I saw you, the traditional container gardening expert, applying her traditional container gardening expertise, to a new problem and it really, really struck a funny bone because I'm always arguing a fresh approach. My "humourous" response was cartoon characters facepalming - the international symbol for "people gonna be how people gonna be". In that context then, I, and others, use cartoon facepalming as accepted internet-speak for agreeing to disagree. Maybe a bit too 'edgy' in this instance... but we underdogs gotta find one somewhere and maybe reached too far. I merely have a different solution to the problem, one I feel doesn't.. er... ''water down'' the sub-irrigation benefit or introduce potential dangers like top watering. Most importantly, I meant no disrespect.

I like this reply. A lot.

Effective communication is only ever successful when the message you put down is actually picked up.

That’s the added danger communicating without expression, tone and body language. The person picking up your words often invents it, and as Em pointed out this ends up mentally making comments you hadn't intended.

I know, coz it’s happened to me often. Lolll

 

[Emilya Green]

I still haven't top watered again since the last time I told you that I did, and I haven't seen a need for it. The plants continue to Green up and now it's obvious that they have found the water source because now they're pulling a lot more water and starting to rise their leaves up in a praying position. Keeping that original root ball wet as the plant transitions to this container seems to be the trick I was looking for. They will get fed again in 2 days and there they will receive another top watering. I would venture a guess that for the rest of this grow I will not need to top water in addition to my once a week waterings, only because I'm using a top fed nutrient. Here's the proof in the pudding and I give you individual shots of each plant. Please excuse the picture quality as this evening I took all the shots with my mobile device instead of a real camera.

 

[Emilya Green]

Candy Dawg continues to strengthen and looks to be a little hungry. I seem to be experiencing a little bit of a magnesium deficiency but I am waiting until after the next feeding in 2 days to see how bad that situation really is. For now she continues to use a lot of water and I am quite pleased with her progress. Bloom time is coming up in a week and 2 days, and I believe she will be ready.

 

[Emilya Green]

In the bloom room we're 10 days into flower and the buds are really starting to develop well. There's still been just a little bit of stretch and I was forced to super crop one branch of one plant that had almost gotten into the light. Hopefully that will be the last one and all the other plants are short enough that this is not going to be a problem.

Adding more humidity to the room has made a big difference, most notably in the smell! The plants just smell better but I don't know how to explain that in a way that makes any sense. They seem to be healthy and I seem to have gotten ahead of the spider mites and most of the mold situation. I'm still spraying SNS 203 every couple of days since I have plenty of it to spread around.

My electronic dipstick has proven to be very valuable in this room because now I can comfortably let the reservoirs go down to as low as a half an inch before refilling and this seems to have knocked back the smell that was coming out of the reservoirs previously. Keeping the reservoirs filled or topped off does not seem to give any added benefit but it really does allow growth in the reservoir that causes the smell.

Here are the pictures, mostly bud shots but a few just to show the relative size of the plants and how well the room has greened up now that they have adjusted to their new homes.

 

[StoneOtter]

I am going to continue on this theme today, mainly because of the facepalm memes from my dear friend @ReservoirDog on the main SIP thread in response to me trying to share what I am doing here, with the group. I can only assume (since there was no real explanation) that the concern is over my insistence in watering from the top in my new SIPs while they get established. Your lack of comments and my desire not to threadjack that thread, has brought the discussion here to my thread, where I enjoy a good debate. Please, let's discuss this, without silly memes that might be making comments you hadn't intended.

The last several SIPs that I transplanted to, following advice, I indeed did wait without top watering until the plants figured things out and they started to use the water from down below. In each of those cases I experienced a 2-3 week stagnation as this process sorted itself out. I am sorry to throw contrary thought into the SIP discussion, but I am of the belief that not only is a 2-3 day stagnation counter productive to my grow schedule, but I don't think it is good for the plant either.

No matter what I do, that soil is still wicking. A little bit of top watering doesn't stop the roots from having to adapt to the overly wet bottom of the container so despite what I am doing, the plant does adapt to the SIP and the moisture gradient established in the container. Once enough specialty roots have been developed down below, other than the fact that I am using top fed nutrients, I would no longer need to water from the top to keep the plant vitality where I want it. But, until those specialized roots are formed, I see nothing wrong with using what is already there (the old rootball) to keep the plant properly watered and quickly growing.

Using this strategy, for the last 10 days since transplanting to 7g containers and putting them in a SIP, I have kept my plants vigorously growing without any discernible stalling out period. Not only are they growing up top so much so that I need to keep up with my training, but they are also growing new roots. I submit that they are growing new roots a lot quicker using this keep the plant healthy strategy than they would by letting the plant stall and then in desperation sending out new roots to the bottom water source.

Does this totally and permanently screw with the moisture gradient and the plant's ability to adjust to SIP? Apparently not. I invite any of you to this discussion... please tell me exactly why what I am doing is wrong or in any way harmful. The way I look at it, I didn't just lose 2 weeks in a stalling out period as I did in my previous SIPs. My plants have been steadily growing and widening out and getting ready to be sent to bloom, and when they get fed the next time, it will be their last 2 week feeding of the VEG formula. Following the old SIP strategy, my stalled out plants would be barely bigger than when I transplanted them 10 days ago, and this time would have to have been added to the VEG period while I waited on the plants to get big enough to go to flower.

This constant top watering isn't a permanent strategy, and I have only watered 2 times from the top in addition to what I would normally have done with the top feed and then a week later to wash it in again. These two extra waterings to keep the original rootball active and happy at this critical point right after transplanting seems to have made a huge difference. As the lower roots continue to grab into the SIP, the need for top watering (except for my nutes) goes away. For 3 days now they have gone without top watering, and they are looking great. I don't think I will need to top water again until 4 days from now when they get fed again and then after that I will let the SIP take care of things, only watering from the top once a week, and only enough to wash the nutrients down into the soil.

Here are each of the plants, just as happy as they can be. I had to trim several buds this afternoon to continue with the training, and a couple of days ago, I had to spread out the training hooks a little more. They actually have not stopped growing since the transplant... no shock, lots of awe and no stall.

Hi Em, I lost the 2 or 3 weeks and didn't like it! Keeping the original rootball fed isn't such a convoluted thought. I see this as keeping a plant strong as it transitions its way of life to something new. If it keeps it on the move, I'm in. Nice work!

 

[StoneOtter]

My electronic dipstick has proven to be very valuable in this room because now I can comfortably let the reservoirs go down to as low as a half an inch before refilling and this seems to have knocked back the smell that was coming out of the reservoirs previously. Keeping the reservoirs filled or topped off does not seem to give any added benefit but it really does allow growth in the reservoir that causes the smell.

Have you tried a dose of LAB in the tank?

 

[Emilya Green]

Have you tried a dose of LAB in the tank?

No, and thank you! That is an excellent suggestion and I have no doubt that this would quickly put an end to the odor.

 

[Jon]

Hi Em, I lost the 2 or 3 weeks and didn't like it! Keeping the original rootball fed isn't such a convoluted thought. I see this as keeping a plant strong as it transitions its way of life to something new. If it keeps it on the move, I'm in. Nice work!

I will tell you that the SIP you and Emilya are doing and my bucket thing are not that different essentially. I have a whole pot full of roots - 2 1/2 gallon pot up top before they even hit the res. Now my res (12 galllon) is quickly filling up, even in late flower. But the entire thing works as a system and must be maintained as such. Imho, to ignore the top roots and only bottom feed (as I could also do if I wanted, just not water the top and top the res more often) is to only use the system at half capacity. All those bottom roots start up top. You gotta keep the top roots moist all the time. Simple as that to me. I’ve now tried it both ways in my bucket system and the same thing you described happens in my system if I only bucket feed. Slow down. Lag, So I’m basically echoing what you said albeit in a slightly different system. But one that incorporates similar principles.

 

[Emilya Green]

Thank you for the support everyone.
I just know what I saw... the plants were screaming at me to get some water.

So today is day 13 since the transplant and the last feeding. Lets compare today to what we did last time, by putting up with the stall. Remember that the "stall" was somewhere around 2-3 weeks. Today, I am approaching the 2 week point, and today is the day that I think I can officially announce that the plants are finally SIPPING. There is suddenly an amazingly huge upsurge in water uptake, as evidenced by the sudden uplift of all of the plants. Just like in the previous case, when it took just about this long (or a little longer) for the roots to specialize and start taking advantage of the water gradient, my plants are suddenly experiencing a dramatic upsurge as the roots strongly engage with the water source.

The difference between the two cases? This time, I didn't allow the plant to stall while the bottom adjustment was being made. My plants have continued to strongly grow, and they are notably larger and healthier than at this point last time where I felt I had wasted 2 weeks waiting for them to adjust. These plants each have 16 bud sites and are going to be ready to flip in 1 week and a day. Last time, I needed to veg for another month from this point.

Here is the proof... just look at the sudden lift on all of these plants. They get fed and top watered tomorrow. I expect a huge growth spurt.

 

[Emilya Green]

Oh, and you may be afraid to comment about that huge potassium deficiency that you are seeing on my plants, but its ok, I see it. I like to show you the good, the bad and the ugly. I wouldn't show you the ugly if I wasn't willing to talk about it. Many growers would be freaking out at this point, wondering what needs to be added, etc. etc. ...

I realized what I was doing wrong and have corrected it. We know that GeoFlora benefits from having Terpinator added all through the grow, as well as a PK booster in Bloom. I flat out forgot to add it to the buckets as I was watering after the transplant. They got the SNS 209 mixed in faithfully, but I forgot to add the 60ml of Terpinator to the 5 gallon bucket that I water from. I realized a couple of buckets ago why the plants were suffering and I have been adding it in since then. Since then, the green is slowly returning to all those leaves that were so stricken. If you go back in this journal and look at those leaves over the last few weeks, you will see the onset and now the reduction of the symptoms. All is well in Emmie's garden.

 

[Emilya Green]

Today was work day in the garden. Everyone got fed, water and trimmed. 45 gallons of water was hand carried into the grow rooms and pumped into the tubs with some of it going in via the top. Everyone got SNS 209 and terpinator and the six plants in bloom also got sweet candy. Everyone is looking good and I am tired.

Here's a quick shot of the bloom room and I will get more pictures tomorrow.

 

[Jon]

Oh, and you may be afraid to comment about that huge potassium deficiency that you are seeing on my plants, but its ok, I see it. I like to show you the good, the bad and the ugly. I wouldn't show you the ugly if I wasn't willing to talk about it. Many growers would be freaking out at this point, wondering what needs to be added, etc. etc. ...

I realized what I was doing wrong and have corrected it. We know that GeoFlora benefits from having Terpinator added all through the grow, as well as a PK booster in Bloom. I flat out forgot to add it to the buckets as I was watering after the transplant. They got the SNS 209 mixed in faithfully, but I forgot to add the 60ml of Terpinator to the 5 gallon bucket that I water from. I realized a couple of buckets ago why the plants were suffering and I have been adding it in since then. Since then, the green is slowly returning to all those leaves that were so stricken. If you go back in this journal and look at those leaves over the last few weeks, you will see the onset and now the reduction of the symptoms. All is well in Emmie's garden.

I wasn’t afraid to comment, just didn’t want to point out what for you is a rookie mistake.


Jk Em!

 

[Emilya Green]

There is definitely some growth spurting going on around here. Plants seem to be very happy in their situation and now with the added potassium they're getting greener every day.

 

[Emilya Green]

All in all the stretch seems to be over and the red trigger lights did their job. One plant ended up getting into the lights and had to be super cropped but all the others rose up to where they needed to be about 12 to 18 in away from the lights.

We are presently at day 106 and 14 days into the bloom. The buds look great and seem to be responding to the treatment with a good attitude. The big @Cultiuana CT-720 is doing a great job keeping them happy.

Here's a shot of the entire garden

And here are the bud shots

 

[GreenFingaz]

All in all the stretch seems to be over and the red trigger lights did their job. One plant ended up getting into the lights and had to be super cropped but all the others rose up to where they needed to be about 12 to 18 in away from the lights.

We are presently at day 106 and 14 days into the bloom. The buds look great and seem to be responding to the treatment with a good attitude. The big @Cultiuana CT-720 is doing a great job keeping them happy.

Here's a shot of the entire garden

And here are the bud shots

Lookin sweet emilya good work

 

[Emilya Green]

We are two days from the flip in veg room #2. This has been accomplished by not allowing the plants to stall out after transplant and after having been moved into the sip. The plants have continued to grow normally and the last two weeks has resulted in a doubling of their size and every active bud site has made it up to the canopy. This is going to be a high yielding run!

 

[Emilya Green]

Bloom room is coming along very nicely. We are 17 days into bloom and all traces of stretch have gone away. Now we are building buds and they are looking impressive. The last trim and repeated sprayings of SNS 203 have eliminated the mold and the bug problem and it looks like clear sailing ahead. A decent VPD is being maintained as well as the temperature near 70 and all seems to be okay in that room. They are using lots of water and building up strength in the trunks and branches and I hope that they will be able to hold up the weight of their buds as we get further into bloom.

 

[Emilya Green]

For those who are tracking my experiment in Veg, working out a way to not get a stall when moving an established plant into SIP, I owe you some more numbers.

We are flipping them in two days, when we are one week into the last feeding of @GeoFlora Nutrients VEG. On the next feeding day they will be 1 week into the transition, and they will get the BLOOM formula right at the perfect time.

They have been in the 7g soft containers and the SIP for 19 days, having been transplanted from 1 gallon hard containers. They have more than doubled their size since the transplant. Their total length of time in veg will be 73 days and for this amount of buds going to bloom, we have made good use of our training time. Instead of having the plants stall out for almost 20 days last time while they adapted into the SIPs, we stayed productive the entire time. They have gained time on the plants now in Bloom and will end up being about 3-4 weeks behind them as far as harvest time goes.

The plan is then to shut down for a month or two for cleanup and equipment adjusting, and to recoup some of the financial loss caused by wintertime and lack of solar energy input to my operation. I will have plenty of product. Totally turning off the big lights for a couple of months in the spring when the Sun and the solar panels really start producing energy is going to be like throwing $300 a month back into my budget... and it will be joyously received. This is also going to give me time to get the outside garden going, with tubs on tables to protect them from the two puppies who live there. I may wait until June or so to get going again, and I have a couple of XXL Autos that will lead the way.

So that's the long term plan. We still have at least 2 months to go on this run. We will call it Bloom x2, or Bloom in two Rooms. It should be glorious. I am glad you are here for the show.

 

[Emilya Green]

Today was day 8 in the two week GeoFlora feeding period. All of the plants got top watered with 2/3 of the amount it takes to produce runoff in the 7 gallon containers, just to water in the top fed GeoFlora once again.

Most of the SIP reservoirs are getting low. The ones in bloom are down to about an inch, and those in Veg Room #2 are at an inch and a half... except for the one tub that is holding only one plant. Predictably, that rez is around 3 inches full. I will spend some time tomorrow topping off the tubs.

The plants in Veg Room #2 are now in their second night of transition. These plants are all well trained, so I am not too worried about the lack of a far red trigger light in this room, knowing that I will experience full stretch. Even at 100% stretch, we have plenty of room vertically this time, so I am not worried.

Candy Dawg is looking a lot better after her final trim. She really was complaining about her lack of airflow around her ankles, and now is looking much better. I am now thinking that she will be fine as we move into bloom.

Lastly, let me show you the growth spurt that has happened since the last feeding. Here is the before picture:

Here is the after shot... definitely a strong growth spurt in this last 8 days.