Graytail's Cupwinners in High Brix Soil - 4x4 - 600W HPS - Perpetual

[Doc Bud]

Looking good!

Please consider the following:

1. trim all leaves, small branches, etc.....starting from the bottom of the plant, trim it all off except the top 4 nodes. You've got way too much leaf on those girls

2. Consider dunking the pots and giving them a deep soaking in veg. Let them nearly dry out and droop between soakings.

You're using the Stress spray 1 or 2 times a week, correct? Keep doing that! Brix once a week.
Also, what's your water situation? If you're on a well, I suspect you've got nitrates...not a bad thing, just cut back on the Energy feedings and lean towards Transplant. You're alternating them anyways. If you're on RO, the soil just had too nitrates.....not a big deal, just fine tuning.
They look really nice! What I've suggested above will turn good into great....especially the pruning/trimming.

 

[Graytail]

Now for the Jamaican Dream harvest! This is my best plant of the 5 strains I've grown so far. It hung in there despite all my mistakes, sporting firm shiny leaves and sparkling trichs, doing exactly what she was supposed to do. The heat finally did her in, but she was gonna get chopped in another week anyway. I've never handled a plant so sticky! I have a feeling this one will yield like the SLH did, at least 2 z's and maybe close to 3. The buds were very heavy.

Jamaican Dream - 93 Days - 63 Days 12/12 - 56 since pistils - Chop

I took the tray outside for some nice pics in the sun. They feel like edibles after the wash, all plump and crunchy like sweet freshly washed lettuce. The photos almost capture that.

And here's the produce, hangin' to dry:

 

[Graytail]

Looking good!

Please consider the following:

1. trim all leaves, small branches, etc.....starting from the bottom of the plant, trim it all off except the top 4 nodes. You've got way too much leaf on those girls

2. Consider dunking the pots and giving them a deep soaking in veg. Let them nearly dry out and droop between soakings.

You're using the Stress spray 1 or 2 times a week, correct? Keep doing that! Brix once a week.
Also, what's your water situation? If you're on a well, I suspect you've got nitrates...not a bad thing, just cut back on the Energy feedings and lean towards Transplant. You're alternating them anyways. If you're on RO, the soil just had too nitrates.....not a big deal, just fine tuning.
They look really nice! What I've suggested above will turn good into great....especially the pruning/trimming.

Strip them this early in 12/12? I don't have humidity issues, and more leaf should produce faster growth. Why trim 'em?

Good suggestion on the immersion. I let them dry out completely before the last watering, but I just slow-watered from the top over a 10 minute period, so they probably didn't get fully saturated. I'll soak 'em good the next time.

I'm still mulling over the water situation. I have Total Alkalinity of 280, so it's pretty hard water. I even wondered if that might have helped throw off the soil balance in the 6-5-3 plants. I also don't fully trust the chlorine situation. I fill buckets with fast running hot water and let them sit for a week before using, but I don't know what that leaves in the water - I start with 2.9 ppm chloramine. I've been considering getting a hose cartridge sold for garden watering - supposedly removes chlorine. I might just break down and get a small RO system.

 

[Doc Bud]

Strip them this early in 12/12? I don't have humidity issues, and more leaf should produce faster growth. Why trim 'em?

Good suggestion on the immersion. I let them dry out completely before the last watering, but I just slow-watered from the top over a 10 minute period, so they probably didn't get fully saturated. I'll soak 'em good the next time.

I'll still mulling over the water situation. I have Total Alkalinity of 280, so it's pretty hard water. I even wondered if that might have helped throw off the soil balance in the 6-5-3 plants. I also don't fully trust the chlorine situation. I fill buckets with fast running hot water and let them sit for a week before using, but I don't know what that leaves in the water - I start with 2.9 ppm chloramine. I've been considering getting a hose cartridge sold for garden watering - supposedly removes chlorine. I might just break down and get a small RO system.

I'm not talking about stripping them....I'm talking about compressing the canopy. Trimming them up in late veg/early bloom is a great practice, especially if you've got a 600 watt light.

More leaf does not equal more bud or faster growth. Roots are the determining factor. The abundance of leaves on your girls suggests nitrate in the water. Again, not a problem....just adjust down on the Energy a bit, and adjust UP on the Transplant.

The TA of your water isn't a problem in good soil....but nitrates might be an issue. RO will fix both.

Try the pruning on one plant and see if I'm right!

 

[Graytail]

I checked my water report and it's excellent for nitrates/nitrites at 0.1 ppm - 10 ppm is allowable - so that's not an issue. Maybe I'll trim up one, like you say.

I think my Transplant went bad, Doc. The bottle swelled up and I see a piece of something like white mold floating on top. Should it be refrigerated? I should get another bottle from you.

Also, keep in mind that these are very old girls, so they have a different habit than usual.

 

[Doc Bud]

I checked my water report and it's excellent for nitrates/nitrites at 0.1 ppm - 10 ppm is allowable - so that's not an issue. Maybe I'll trim up one, like you say.

I think my Transplant went bad, Doc. The bottle swelled up and I see a piece of something like white mold floating on top. Should it be refrigerated? I should get another bottle from you.

Also, keep in mind that these are very old girls, so they have a different habit than usual.

I don't refrigerate it....but it's kept in a cool, dark room. It would be safer in the fridge.

Get rid of that moldy stuff. Brix will do the same thing. I store Stress in the fridge for a couple days....but Brix must be used the same day it's mixed up.

 

[Graytail]

I've been thinking about what Doc said about my leafy bushy plants, and noticing what others' look like at that age, and yep, I see the difference.

But I can't think of any reason my growing conditions would be different. The only thing that comes to mind is that I veg under 140 watts of CFLs per plant, which produces very tight internodes. When I look at other plants this age, I often see far fewer nodes. My 11 inch plant has over a dozen nodes, for instance. I've always looked at that as a good thing. I get many branches low on the main stem without having to deal with height. Frankly, I'm often surprised at the long nodes I see on other vegging plants.

What do y'all think about that? Is it typical of CFLs, and is it a good thing or a bad thing? I could get them to stretch more by lowering the wattage or raising the lights.

 

[Graytail]

The Jamaican Dream harvest is dried and jarred!

I smoked a few grams, so I'm calling it 52 grams total. I'm just a little disappointed, but I'm new to estimating yield - it looked like more than 2 z's to me. I put this one into 12/12 a little early, so I expect the next two plants to yield higher, especially in the high brix soil. It's sparkly though!

I really like this strain - my favorite so far. It's good for wake n bake - zippy yet calming - not racy - no anxiety. But it also has a nice punch to it, so if you overdo it you can squash any ambition you might have had. The aroma is fruity/skunky, with a hint of pepper and citrus. In comparison with the SLH, I can feel the absence of the haze buzz - the SLH has a really bright immediate rush that the Jamaican lacks. On the other hand, the Jamaican's buzz is much steadier. The SLH tends to be stronger - a bit more of a ride, too, I think. I find I can keep on hitting the Jamaican Dream, while the quality of the SLH buzz tends to peak early.

I recommend this strain. It was a joy to grow!

 

[Jay233]

Beautiful buds greytail

 

[Graytail]

Weekly update time.

I've been enjoying my SLH and Jamaican Dream while I wait for the Keralas to finish, and I'm not sure I really care how they turn out. At this point it's mostly curiosity. They've both begun growing sugar leaves and calyxes again after the heat shock of the previous week. Kerala2 has some frost on it, but Kerala1 looks pretty pitiful, and I can barely see the calyxes - no sign of swelling. This strain, Indian Skunk (Kerala x Skunk#1), is 85% sativa, so I was hoping it'd turn out well. We'll see. I've been thinking about harvesting the kief from Kerala1 and dusting Kerala2 with it. If it's a good buzz, I might just make kief out of both - top off a bowl with it. I wouldn't mind having something to boost the sativa buzz with.

I put in another seed order and will be starting them in three weeks. The first ones will be - Ace Seeds Panama - World of Seeds Willd Thailand - Barney's Tangerine Dream - and I'll be taking cuts from my revegged SLH and the White Panther. I have Barney's Utopia Haze and Female Seeds Grapefruit scheduled a few weeks after that.

Here are the weekly pics - first the remaining plants in mineralized soil:

Kerala1 - 100 days - 84 Days 12/12 - 63 since pistils, poor homely thing:

Kerala2 - 98 Days - 70 Days 12/12 - 62 days since pistils

The Hawaiian is still a little yellow and I'm not sure what to do about it - I estimate it still has another 5-6 weeks to go. I may just give it some azomite and a good dose of fish fert.

Hawaiian Snow - 100 Days old - 84 Days 12/12 - 50 since pistils

The plants in Doc's high brix soil continue to look really good. The two Jamaican Dream cuts and Kerala3 have started their stretch, growing 4 inches this past week - they're all shiny and happy looking - not a flaw on 'em. The Jamaicans joined Kerala3 in full bloom.

The White Panther and Caramelo seedlings got transplanted out of their solos into 3 quart pots. I don't really have room to veg them in 6 gallon pots so I'm hoping I can buy a week or two with the 3 quarts. They got a thorough dusting of root zone and a watering of Transplant water. If necessary I can fire up another CFL rig.

The SLH reveg is coming along nicely. This week she started growing leaves again, right on schedule, 2nd week of reveg.

And the cuts I took from the high brix Jamaicans were amazing! Not one of the four showed any sign of stress. All the leaves remained firm and erect - no sign of wilt, even in the apical leaves, which continued to slowly unfold over the last 12 days. I took the first one to show visible roots and popped it into a solo. The only sign of stress the others show is a slight dryout of the leaf tips and edges.

The 3 big girls:

JD1 - 71 Days - 11 Days 12/12 - 3 days since pistils

JD2 - 71 Days - 11 Days 12/12 - 3 Days since pistils

Kerala3 - 95 Days - 29 days 12/12 - 10 since pistils

SLH reveg:

Here's an example of an unfortunate insect with a bad choice of landing sites - glued tight!

White Panther and Caramelo in their new homes:

White Panther - 20 Days

Caramelo - 18 Days

New pots

JD3 cut - 12 days old

Here's what cuts from my high brix plants look like 12 days later

 

[Doc Bud]

Thin those bitches out a bit! They look great, but cut off some leaves and branches, starting from the bottom up. Leave maybe the top 5 nodes intact.

 

[Graytail]

Thin those bitches out a bit! They look great, but cut off some leaves and branches, starting from the bottom up. Leave maybe the top 5 nodes intact.

LOL, I have been thinking it over, Doc -in fact, after I posted the pics I thought "yeah, Doc is going to mutter and roll his eyes".

It's just so counter-intuitive. But I know how annoyed I am when I suggest that people are over-watering and they don't take my advice, so Ima gonna listen to you on this one. It occured to me that if I'm going to thin 'em, it's probably less stressful early in stretch - is that the idea?

I still don't understand the goal though.

 

[Doc Bud]

LOL, I have been thinking it over, Doc -in fact, after I posted the pics I thought "yeah, Doc is going to mutter and roll his eyes".

It's just so counter-intuitive. But I know how annoyed I am when I suggest that people are over-watering and they don't take my advice, so Ima gonna listen to you on this one. It occured to me that if I'm going to thin 'em, it's probably less stressful early in stretch - is that the idea?

I still don't understand the goal though.

You could wait a few days....just cut off all those suckers down low. They never get enough light, and often cause more stress to the plant than if a deer came by and ate them.....

It will focus energy to the tops, where the light and hormones are. Try it! But since you're in early stretch how about we leave the top 6 nodes intact? I usually do this the last few days of veg, and then once more after stretch.

 

[Slim420]

nice job here....my eye caught Carmelo...I have one going right now. Some really nice plants coming and going in here

 

[Graytail]

Thanks Slim!

This'll be my first experience with Caramelo. Was yours purple-fringed at the seedling stage like mine? That surprised me. And mine has a really odd growth habit - very squat with tight tight nodes. I thought it would be a tallish plant but my White Panther (Smurf) is growing twice as fast, so who knows. It probably has a few phenos - it's a cross between a sativa dom Lavender and an indica dom Lavender.

 

[stealthgrow]

Hi Gray,
Congrats on the harvest man + reps, the Jamaican Dream looks great. Plants are looking very good also.
Good luck with the grows.

 

[Graytail]

Thanks for the reps, stealthgrow!

 

[Graytail]

Ok, Doc, I trimmed up the girls - tell me what you think.

JD1 before

JD1 after

JD2 before

Kerala3 before

Kerala3 after

What I took off

I was startled when I measured the Jamaican Dreams today - they both grew 4 inches in 3 days! The Kerala, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry - she's growing at half the pace her two sisters did, and may even be slowing - maybe a slow pheno.

 

[stealthgrow]

I like the new Haircuts. Good work in my opinion.

 

[Graytail]

Thanks Stealth, it jus' felt so ... wrong.

But I also know that the lower growth was never going to amount to anything, and I agree this will force development into the upper growth, as well as discourage some possible bug and fungus problems in the future. It's just that I hate the very idea of removing perfectly healthy leaves.