Couldn't Resist A Christmas Auto Grow

[Carmen Ray]

Wednesday 22nd Feb Update
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At 69 days from sprout, and 38 days in flower, the Red Russian XXL Auto is nearing the finish line. It looks like the white pistils may be coming to an end and are curling in caramel coloured. The buds seem to be taking on that pointy top shape.

Observation:
The way that the buds sprouted out of the branches of this plant is unusual to me. I am used to having multiple branches with buds on the tops, but this has turned into an agglomeration of bud sites that have kind of fused together to form a club like shape. How, why, what?

Could I do a hex next run, or is it better for bud production to shape into a canopy? I can say I have better bud production off this quad than I had last grow, but that could be attributed to a number of factors, including low temps and heavy handed inexperience.

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A reminder of what Victory Seeds say about the RR XXL Auto

"Sex: feminized autoflowering
Genotype: Sativa/Indica/Lowryder#2 (I think this is meant to say sativa/indica/ruderalis)
Cross: Red Russian XXL x Lowryder#2
Indoor flowering period: 7-8 weeks
Outdoor harvest time: 10-11 weeks
Indoor yield: 400-450 g/m2
Outdoor yield: 50-200 g/plant
Height: 75-180 cm
THC: Very high (err)
CBD: Medium (umm)

Auto Red Russian XXL is available as photoperiod and autoflowering seed. Both versions are feminized, just like all of our other seeds, meaning there is 99.99 % of a chance, they will develop into a female plant. Because this version is autoflowering, it will automatically begin flowering phase, based on its age. Therefore, no lighting schedule adjustments are needed.

It is a mixture of sativa, indica and ruderalis. The ruderalis genetics gave this strain the ability to switch to the flowering phase by itself. Red Russian XXL has a huge family tree. Some of the ancient ancestors are Brazil, Mexican, Thai and Colombian sativa, and of course, Afghani indica, that made this strain mostly indica. Some other famous ancestors are White Russian, White Widow, AK-47, our AK-77V, Northern Lights, #1 Skunk, Mexican Haze, Mexican ruderalis, Silver Pearl and many many more. In the final mixture, that resulted in this autoflowering strain, were our Red Russian XXL and Lowryder #2.

This strain thrives indoors and outdoors. Indoors, the flowering period ends after 7 to 8 weeks. In that time, the plants usually produce around 400 to 450 grams per square meter. Outdoors, the flowering period ends 10 to 11 weeks after planting the seed. A single plant can produce 50 and up to 200 grams. It can reach from 75 to 180 centimeters in heights.

Auto Red Russian XXL is a very strong autoflower, easy to grow and with one of the biggest yields. It produces very resinous buds, that can contain very high amounts of THC – around 21 % and a medium amount of CBD. The aroma of the buds is earthy and pungent and reminds of diesel."
So far, the buds don't look quite as resinous as I'd like them to. Hopefully they will develop more in the next week or so.

I'm not sure I'm mad about the info provided by the breeder. Anyway, it give an idea of what the genetics are. I don't know what a "medium amount of CBD" means. I selected it for the names dropped in the line of genetics, and for high THC potential.

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Thanks for the support Growmies.
I have noticed that the bud structure has changed overnight. I may continue to post regular bud dev. shots.

 

[Carmen Ray]

You can also make a pretty effective poison with boric acid and pancake syrup. They take it back to the nest and it kills the queen . CL

Thank you Cap, the boric acid is the borax am I right? I should get around to experimenting. We have such a mad ant problem here and the good thing about the enclosed traps is that you can accidentally kick them across the room and they don't spill. They are hideously expensive which is motivation to try the borax method. I used the borax method very successfully against roaches.

 

[CaptainLucky]

Thank you Cap, the boric acid is the borax am I right? I should get around to experimenting. We have such a mad ant problem here and the good thing about the enclosed traps is that you can accidentally kick them across the room and they don't spill. They are hideously expensive which is motivation to try the borax method. I used the borax method very successfully against roaches.

The boric acid I used was for . It’s not the same as the 20 mule team borax I don’t think. CL

 

[Carmen Ray]

The boric acid I used was for . It’s not the same as the 20 mule team borax I don’t think. CL

I'll do some further research! Perhaps I can even recycle my shop bought traps! I could rinse and refill.

 

[Nev]

This is the boric acid powder I use for ant traps. It can be added to pretty much anything sweet like a syrup or powdered or granulated sugars. Use 1 part boric and 2 parts sugar add a li water to make a slurry. You can try using different measurements but something close to that works well.

The way that the buds sprouted out of the branches of this plant is unusual to me. I am used to having multiple branches with buds on the tops, but this has turned into an agglomeration of bud sites that have kind of fused together to form a club like shape. How, why, what.

That would be what is called “Fox Tail”
It could be genetic or possibly caused by stress Im not totally sure but I get them on my plants occasionally.
You have a beautiful plant there Im sure your going to enjoy right down to the last little fleck.

 

[Carmen Ray]

This is the boric acid powder I use for ant traps. It can be added to pretty much anything sweet like a syrup or powdered or granulated sugars. Use 1 part boric and 2 parts sugar add a li water to make a slurry. You can try using different measurements but something close to that works well.

Thank you. I will look for this Boric Acid.

That would be what is called “Fox Tail”

Oh no, that's not good at all Should there have been branches where the flowers grew? I don't know what is normal and what is foxtail. Is the whole plant foxtailing? What is going to happen with the flowers as they mature?

It could be genetic or possibly caused by stress Im not totally sure but I get them on my plants occasionally.
You have a beautiful plant there Im sure your going to enjoy right down to the last little fleck.

Could the on and off lighting situation cause this? It has been ridiculous the past few weeks with intensive loadshedding everyday.

 

[Grand Daddy Black]

Fox tails are nothing to fret about Carmen, at least until it's time to trim them (and then only sometimes).

 

[Carmen Ray]

Fox tails are nothing to fret about Carmen, at least until it's time to trim them (and then only sometimes).

Thanks GDB, yet still I fret

 

[Carmen Ray]

That would be what is called “Fox Tail”
It could be genetic or possibly caused by stress Im not totally sure but I get them on my plants occasionally.
You have a beautiful plant there Im sure your going to enjoy right down to the last little fleck.

I have just read that light stress can be the cause of foxtailing. I am wondering if my light may be too close, or whether the loadshedding could cause this. It's at about 700 PPD at 9 inches away from the tallest flower.

I have had a good look at the way that the branches and buds formed. It appears that there was no branching and that the buds came straight out of the nodes on the main 4 branches. So it is confusing for me to figure out what is bud and what is foxtail.

How should I trim this? Should I treat it as one branch or should I snip the buds and foxtails off the main branches?
Here are some pics to show you up close.

The underneath of the main branches, showing bunching of the buds

Bud formation

Right, so there is precious little I can do to change the course of things now, but what do I do differently in the next auto grow to prevent this from recurring? I was hoping to do a hex-line next time but I want to avoid the bud bunching. Do you think that the quad stunted the growth?

 

[Chuckeye]

I don't see a problem here....

The buds are "stacking" which is normal. I much prefer a long/full bud compared to much smaller individual buds.

I do see some light foxtails but that's a good thing, more bud

Could be environmental or genetic.

If you have everything dialed in as well as you can I wouldn't worry about it...

Cheers

 

[InTheShed]

Because this version is autoflowering, it will automatically begin flowering phase, based on its age whim

FTFThem

a medium amount of CBD.

They either couldn't be bothered to test it or the results were completely different from one test to the next (my guess).

How should I trim this? Should I treat it as one branch or should I snip the buds and foxtails off the main branches?

Trim it like every other flower but avoid cutting off the foxtails. They're just more calyxes for you to enjoy!

Right, so there is precious little I can do to change the course of things now, but what do I do differently in the next auto grow to prevent this from recurring? I was hoping to do a hex-line next time but I want to avoid the bud bunching. Do you think that the quad stunted the growth?

Like Chuckeye said, could be environmental or genetic. And the fact that it's an auto makes it even less predictable for next time.

If you get a long veg, a hex is fine. If you don't the flowers on a hex will be smaller than a quad because the plant hasn't had a chance to develop the roots to support a lot of tops.

 

[Carmen Ray]

I don't see a problem here....

The buds are "stacking" which is normal. I much prefer a long/full bud compared to much smaller individual buds.

I do see some light foxtails but that's a good thing, more bud

Could be environmental or genetic.

If you have everything dialed in as well as you can I wouldn't worry about it...

Cheers

Hello chuckeye, nice to see you and thank you for the encouraging observations! I'm "dialed in" as best as I can be and so I suppose I should be grateful that this bud is rock hard and smells so awesome, given it is in a pot on my dining room table. I will no longer worry about the foxtails as ev1 has said not to. There are not a lot of trichomes yet but maybe more will come. I got spoilt by looking at the flowers of the Skywalker Kush that appeared dusted with snow.

FTFThem

They either couldn't be bothered to test it or the results were completely different from one test to the next (my guess).

Yes, that makes sense.

Trim it like every other flower but avoid cutting off the foxtails. They're just more calyxes for you to enjoy!

This is going to be interesting. I am so not used to bud like this. Yummy calyxes, more more.

Like Chuckeye said, could be environmental or genetic. And the fact that it's an auto makes it even less predictable for next time.

If you get a long veg, a hex is fine. If you don't the flowers on a hex will be smaller than a quad because the plant hasn't had a chance to develop the roots to support a lot of tops.

Maybe I will leave the hex for a photoperiod grow then. Maybe I will try another quad? What do you think? I am looking at the RR XXL Auto and thinking the yield is significantly greater than the first three I've harvested while attempting to create flat canopies. In theory, which training should yield more? I should persevere with the one most likely to yield the most bud.

Some trichome pics. I'm guessing a week to go.

 

[Azimuth]

Foxtails are part of the bud but it's where the bud itself starts growing out on the individual nodes. Could be caused by light stress, could be genetic.

The challenge with harvesting is that the trichomes and pistils on that new growth will mature at a slower pace so it can be hard to tell when the plant is generally finished.

 

[StoneOtter]

Perfectly nice just will have you looking at trichomes at non foxtailing spots when looking for ripeness of the whole plant. Now the topic of cannabis that never turns amber comes up. Some won't go amber for us and we have to just ring the bell and pull the rope on the guillotine. At that point the plant will have been in flower usually longer than published time and will be safe to take. Hense no worries.

 

[InTheShed]

In theory, which training should yield more? I should persevere with the one most likely to yield the most bud.

In theory, a photoperiod hex with a long enough veg will give you more bud than a photoperiod quad, but since you have no idea how long an auto will give you it's a tough call.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Congrats on the harvest, Carment! Nice work!

Foxtailing is usually caused by heat stress which can be caused by the lights being too close. It's similar to when lettuce bolts in the summer heat.

 

[Carmen Ray]

Congrats on the harvest, Carment! Nice work!

Foxtailing is usually caused by heat stress which can be caused by the lights being too close. It's similar to when lettuce bolts in the summer heat.

Hi Mr Krip! It's nice to see you and thank you. We've had some pretty hot days too. I don't know how to prevent it next time around because it could be any combination of heat and light couldn't it? That light does give off some heat. Maybe I could start with keeping the light higher up and see how that goes. My next grow will take place in colder months, so heating of the room will be necessary.

 

[Carmen Ray]

I have put this in Shed's thread too, hoping to get a quick response. I suspect my plant is infected with wpm. Please take a close look at this photo and tell me if that looks like white powdery mildew starting to form?

 

[Joe Brewster]

I have put this in Shed's thread too, hoping to get a quick response. I suspect my plant is infected with wpm. Please take a close look at this photo and tell me if that looks like white powdery mildew starting to form?

Sorry, looks to be the start of bud rot, bend open the spot to take a better look,

 

[Carmen Ray]

Sorry, looks to be the start of bud rot, bend open the spot to take a better look,

I don't know which part of the plant the photo was taken.