Emeraldo's 2019 Semi-Guerilla Balcony Grow: Jack F1, G-13 x Haze, Critical Mass, White Widow, White Strawberry Skunk

[irie lion]

Hey Irie congrats on being elected MOTM!

Thank you bro!

Probably would consider trimming a bit more leaf material below the stabilizer-screen, the best bud will all be above that. The main stems will be naked poles (sort of like manifolding/mainlining), but my guess is the leaves above the wire fencing will be enough to support the plants going forward. Any thoughts?

I think you're on the right track with that! Even if the leaves are not enough to support the plant, you will be able to tie some stems to the fencing too if you want to make sure she's well supported.

Droopy was new. I arrived on Thursday night and on Friday morning saw the plants were happy. They got the set 15 minutes of water again on Sunday, happy. But... four days later, on a Thursday morning in a week where 100 F is expected on Friday, all the plants -- cannabis and marigolds -- looked dry. The marigolds I thought were beyond help.

So I've upped the watering to 20 minutes 3 times a week: Sun, Tues, Thurs. That's twice the amount they got in May and June. I think it is about 1 generous gallon 3 times a week. I'll be back to check on them in August.

It seems the girls are getting hungry! no doubt they'll love the increased watering schedule.

 

[Emeraldo]

Yeah, as it turns out: Raggedy = underwatered.
...I guess

 

[Emeraldo]

Below the direct sunlight at 1 pm and another photo taken at 3 pm today. The plants at the railing are in full sun by about 12 pm, but the back row is not in full sun until after 2 pm. Sun until about 9 pm. The plants at the railing were more potent than the back row last year, expect the same. Downside for those plants can be the intense heat, though there is a breeze off the SF Bay that comes along every day around 3 pm.

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• Emeraldo
• Jul 16, 2019

Photo taken at 1 pm.

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• Emeraldo
• Jul 16, 2019

Photo taken at 3 pm

Here a shot taken today of the big White Strawberry Skunk (aka "Erdbeer"). See how she has stretched in the last 10 days. The canopy has evened off since I topped her a week ago. Below another shot today of the space below the screen. I've worked some flowering food into the soil today, flowering will start soon...

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• Emeraldo
• Jul 16, 2019

That WSS (right front) has really stretched in the past 10 days

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• Emeraldo
• Jul 16, 2019

 

[irie lion]

They're looking great bro!

 

[Emeraldo]

The plants are mostly in preflower. Difficult to see in the photos, but up close there are pistils forming at nodes. I have a couple of praying mantis guarding the bud and eating the pests! Am hoping the marigolds will like the new watering schedule, it is pretty hot now for them, but with water they will survive I hope and keep the white butterfly away.

Here's a shot of the Jack F-1 indica-looking pheno, reaching up to the light. Photo taken at 12:30 this afternoon. At the moment this plant gets direct sunlight starting around 1 pm, full sun after 2 pm. The roof above blocks the sun coming from the East until it gets high enough in the sky. Eventually this plant's growing tip will reach high enough to get sunlight in the early morning, like the WSS next to the railing. At least on the apical growing point.

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• Emeraldo
• Jul 17, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Jul 17, 2019

Here the Jack F-1 (indica pheno) on the right and, just to the left of that, the sativa-looking Jack F-1. Both are about the same height, but the leaf width is different. That's the Spliff's White Widow on the left, much wider leaves and a shorter plant.

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• Emeraldo
• Jul 17, 2019
• 1

 

[Emeraldo]

Am back again to visit after about three weeks away. The plants have stretched a lot, a good 18 inches higher. Most are now higher than the raingutter and get sunlight from about 8:30 a.m. The White Strawberry Skunk is huge, but so are most of the others, about 8 feet. I've sprayed/drenched the leaves with neem oil to keep the white flies away and pruned to clear and thin out some of the density in the leaf growth. Enjoy reading your comments, this grow is going very well, the indicas (WSK, White Widow, and Critical Mass) have started flowering!

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 5, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 5, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 5, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 5, 2019

JackF1 (indica looking pheno) on left, WSK on right

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 5, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 5, 2019

G13 x Haze

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 5, 2019

White Widow on right, JackF1 (sativa-pheno) on upper left

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 5, 2019

After pruning, light- and air-flow much improved.

 

[irie lion]

Hey Emeraldo! Looking really good on the balcony there. Those are happy & healthy plants! They're big girls. Obvious to see who's getting more sunlight time. Iv'e got a balcony similarly sized to yours that i'll be having some fun with when my outdoor season comes in September - i'll give you a heads up when it's going.

You got any pistils pushing or are these girls still in full veg?

 

[Emeraldo]

Hey Emeraldo! Looking really good on the balcony there. Those are happy & healthy plants! They're big girls. Obvious to see who's getting more sunlight time. Iv'e got a balcony similarly sized to yours that i'll be having some fun with when my outdoor season comes in September - i'll give you a heads up when it's going.

You got any pistils pushing or are these girls still in full veg?

Hey fellow balcony grower, yes happy and healthy, in this heat (often over 100 F), the plants really responded to the increased amount of water. During May and June, I only gave them 15 minutes (1 gal) of drip twice a week. Now that is up to 30 minutes 4 times a week.

Yes, pistils are forming since around August 1. Below some photos I took yesterday, close up enough to see the pistils.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 7, 2019
• 1

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 7, 2019

And you are right it is obvious from the earlier photos that, say, my White Widow (middle position in the "back row" away from the railing) was getting less light. So what I did yesterday was, after pruning away some branches that blocked light from getting to her buds, I actually bent the tall Critical Mass (she's in the back row at the west end of the balcony, where the sun goes down and was tall enough to block light from the White Widow). I bent her away from the WW to give the WW more light as this picture shows. I used a velcro strip to LST the Critrical Mass, bending her stem slightly against the wire screen and holding her down a bit. You can see the White Widow on the right side of the picture.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 7, 2019

As a result of bending Critical Mass toward the sun, more light reaches the White Widow.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 7, 2019

Here a shot of the west end: G13xHaze is on the left, Critical Mass on the right (White Widow is behind her, at the far right side of the picture).

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 7, 2019

Finally, here is how the plants look below the screen. Almost no leaves because they were not getting the light and cramping the airflow. Those stems are as thick as my thumb.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 7, 2019

 

[irie lion]

Nice stalks on all of the plants! Always exciting to see pistils pushing, we'll be seeing some flowers real soon

 

[Emeraldo]

Pistils are forming very rapidly now. I'll post more pics of pistils in the next day or two. Am looking forward to seeing the JackF1's main cola in about two months!

I added a second, vertical velcro tie to the Critical Mass to hold her down better. Basically I've just bent the Critical Mass over, towards the afternoon sun. The additional exposure to direct sunlight will benefit the White Widow.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

Vertical and diagonal velcro ties attach easily to horsefencing screen, holding Critical Mass...

The G13 x Haze in the outside corner has also gotten tall enough to block light to the middle branches of the next plant over, the JackF1 (sativa looking pheno), as well as to the White Widow. Hence am using LST on the G13 x Haze as well, here the first photo of G13 x Haze before tying here down.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

Here G13 x Haze has reached a height and leaf density that requires LST-ing here to allow more...

Here the G13 x Haze has been bent to a 45-degree angle and tied with a velcro strip.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

G13 x Haze has been bent forward, towards the sun, to allow sunlight to pass over her to middle...

This photo from the bathroom window gives a side view of the additional space and light for the plants in the second row from the west end of the balcony. That's the White Widow on the right side, and just to the left of her the huge JackF1 plant with its incredible 8-foot tall cola!

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

On left, both Critical Mass and G13 x Haze have been bent and held lower; on right, JackF1 and...

Finally, the view from the front. The front row is tied down and will flower perfectly without blocking the light for the others. It's the best I can do with the plants all situated in a 5 x 3 foot condenser pan, but I think it will work out fine.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

Frontal view of West-end: LST of the front two is a win-win for all the plants.

 

[Emeraldo]

Pistils are booming!

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

It occurred to me that this kind of balcony grow -- plants in a confined space about 2 feet apart from each other -- needs the same kind of training as I've heard indoor growers do, i.e., bending one plant out of the way so that the next one gets more light. I've used that technique to improve light to lower branches on the same plant. I never really thought that practice applied outdoors, but in my particular setup this year it does.

The plants in my grow were trained to compete for light from the beginning. The taller they got, the more light they received. Now the tallest plants are those farthest away from the light source: the WSS and "Jack 2" (the indica-looking Jack F-1 pheno). The next lower rung is the sativa-looking JackF1 ("Jack 1") and the White Widow. The plants in the front row were hogging the sunlight and have been forced to lie down so the buds in the middle row can also ripen.

Here's the sunlight cascade: White Strawberry Skunk is the tallest, back left.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

Cascade of afternoon sunlight exposure: The 4 plants behind the front row, the farthest away are...

Here's the afternoon sun on some of the other plants today: Individual plant portraits.

White Widow

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

White Widow enjoying the increased afternoon sunlight.

"Jack 1"

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

Jack F-1 ("Jack 1" -- the sativa-looking pheno) gets more light too.

G-13 x Haze

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

G-13 x Haze now bent at 45-degree angle going into flowering

"Jack 2"

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

Jack F-1 ("Jack 2") is almost the tallest, second only to White Strawberry Skunk.

 

[Emeraldo]

Nice stalks on all of the plants! Always exciting to see pistils pushing, we'll be seeing some flowers real soon

It is amazing how quickly the flowering has progressed. A week ago, the first few pistils were starting to push out. Now the plants have gone into full flowering mode. I've added some flowering food to the soil and poured water (pH 6) to help get the nutrients into the soil.

I wonder how much more stretching these plants will do. The White Widow, an indica, is already in flowering but was not as filled out as some of the others. With the additional light she'll now get going forward (due to the LST'ing of the front row), I'd expect her to fill out more in the middle branches during flowering.

 

[irie lion]

Hey Emeraldo, nice to see her developing flowers now!

 

[Emeraldo]

Some photos taken in mid-August, just catching up.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

Jack F-1 ("Jack 2") is almost the tallest, second only to White Strawberry Skunk.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

G-13 x Haze now bent at 45-degree angle going into flowering

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

Jack F-1 ("Jack 1" -- the sativa-looking pheno) gets more light too.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

White Widow enjoying the increased afternoon sunlight.

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• Emeraldo
• Aug 9, 2019

Frontal view of West-end: LST of the front two is a win-win for all the plants.

 

[Emeraldo]

Oops maybe some of those are re-posts.

 

[Emeraldo]

Initial impressions after harvest (October 15):
White Strawberry Skunk (GHS's version of a Swiss indica-leaning strain called Erdbeer) is definitely one of the best plants I grew this summer. Huge plant, fluffy buds. Strong fruity aroma (I guess "strawberry" is about right), nice light smoke, at first a stimulating head high followed by relaxing calming sleepy-time... bye bye! Obviously great for evening use. First time I smoked it, the euphoric spine-tingling high hit me waves, like about 5 minutes apart, over the first half hour. Not your wimpy weed!
G13-Haze (Barney's) is also a winner, very potent head high here, long lasting.
Jack F-1 (Spliff's): two plants, one harvested a bit earlier with more clear trichomes. The second, harvested a week later, was in the row next to the railing and got more sun and had cloudy and amber as well as clear. Am going to let these cure for a time before commenting.
Critical Mass: This was a nice relaxing indica. Will comment more later maybe.
White Widow: Haven't really had a chance to try her yet.

 

[Emeraldo]

Picking up here where I left off...
G13-Haze is curing nicely, but it's strong clear head high is amazing. Like in another world...
Jack F-1 is a nicely balanced blend of haze head high and indica body buzz. Truly Jack... When harvesting, got about 8 jars of the sativa-looker and 6 jars from the indica pheno. Spicy, cinnamon and fruit aromas.
More later...

 

[Emeraldo]

Spliff's White Widow cured nicely, somewhat compact buds. The aroma is sweetnsour and mint. Last night the rolled joint was lying on the table, and from several feet off I could take in the mint. Very relaxing before sleep...
More later...