Grow #3 - The Grow Under the Stairs - CKS WW & SD

[David Bowman]

Hope all is well in your world.

Is this grow still alive?

We would love to be updated with some pictures and info.

How about posting a 420 Strain Review?

If you need any help with posting photos, please read our Photo Gallery Tutorial.

I am moving this to Abandoned Journals until we get updates.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.

 

[daverabbit]

Hope all is well in your world.

Is this grow still alive?

We would love to be updated with some pictures and info.

How about posting a 420 Strain Review?

If you need any help with posting photos, please read our Photo Gallery Tutorial.

I am moving this to Abandoned Journals until we get updates.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.

OK you convinced me. Time to bring the community up to speed.

I've been stockpiling pictures of the grow for weeks, slacking on my journal updates...

Stand by.

 

[daverabbit]

Hey all,

The grow is still alive and producing that sweet, sticky bud. We are coming up on 5 weeks in to flower. Take a walk with me down memory lane and see what has transpired since last time...

October 10



October 15



October 17



October 18



Yesterday



As you can see, the fan leaves had all turned yellow which is typical in flower. However, the fan leaves have mostly fallen off from nutrient depletion and others were removed as part of normal trimming/shaping. For the most part, the plants have several smaller fan leaves powering each branch. The palm-sized leaves are basically done for.

As time goes on, it looks to me like all the leaves are slowly fading away. I'm worried about a nutrient deficiency in my soil...the plants are definitely lacking something or many somethings. Is it normal to have to amend organic soil halfway through the grow? So far all I've done is water with molasses a few times (great for the microbes, I hear,) but otherwise it's just been filtered water. The last time I watered I topped up each pot with some of the soil I've been cooking for my next grow. My thinking was to wash the fresh soil nutes down into the pots.

Either way, the Sour Diesel's have another 4 weeks to go and the White Widow will probably be done shortly before that. Exciting!

Thanks for hanging in there, guys. Let me know what you think about deficiencies...

 

[daverabbit]

October 30th, 2016

My first impression after opening the tent today was that all the ladies were "happier". The sugar leaves are perky, the buds are noticeably thicker, the pistils are standing up...

I watered the plants a few days ago after topdressing with already cooked, fresh organic soil. Either some unknown Ph problem has begun to resolve itself, or the plants are benefiting from the fresh soil nutes. Can Cannabis use up all the available soil nutrients that quickly? It's been 5 weeks of flower so they have been in these pots a total of 9 weeks. I took these pics 15 min. ago.

It's hard to see subtle changes through pictures alone and the lighting doesn't help. You have to take my word for it that the flowers have grown

Sour Diesel undergrowth



I will leave it for a few days and see what happens. I'm trying hard to read the plants but I don't fully understand the language yet. For the record, by week 5 in my last grow none of the plants had any fan leaves left. They were just flowers on sticks and the bud was fluffy.
This is what the road to mastery looks like. One step at a time.

 

[daverabbit]

November 8th, 2016

Not being satisfied with a mere top-dressing, I decided to try my hand at teas. Rumour has it that teas are the secret weapon of the organic gardener. So I grabbed a 5 gallon bucket and an old fish tank pump to use as my air-stone. (I'll be damned if I'm buying yet more equipment to supplement my equipment.)

Having never done this before, I started simple.
1 cup quality EWC
1 cup quality molasses
Simmer for several days



Wouldn't you know it, by day 3 I was getting foam! Foam = good, from what I've read. Microbes are processing the sugars and Science is happening.



The crop a day after drinking tea:



We are ~3 weeks from harvest. The buds are getting dense and I'm clipping undergrowth and dead leaves as we go along. HOWEVER - the plants are neither large nor particularly vibrant looking.

Up until now, I've been suspecting a nutrient deficiency. Hence the tea and the top dressing. There is one culprit that is semi-related that I have overlooked until now. That culprit is pot size.

My grows thus far have been finished in 2 gallon pots. The reason for this is maximizing the floor space in my small grow tent. 4 2-gallon pots fit in there nice and snug. The problem, as I'm beginning to realize, is that Cannabis wants more space. Could you grow to harvest in a 2 gallon pot? Sure - I've done it personally. I think I even saw a grow journal here where the plants are grown out in just solo cups. It can be done, but I don't think that translates to a large yield. Especially if they become root bound, which I'm suspecting. All the signs of nute deficiency, stunted growth, Ph problems, etc. but without being any of those problems.

So for my next grow, I'm going with bigger containers and fewer plants. I have 2 Sour Diesel seeds remaining from my 5-pack and those will be my focus. 2 plants, not 4. There are 2 fabric 5 gallon containers in the mail - I've read some good things about fabric pots and how they prevent roots from getting bound. A 5 gallon container should allow me to grow a bigger, healthier plant as the final up-pot to 5 gallons from 2 should allow plenty of new grow space in flower.

I'm very excited as I believe container size may be the last piece of the puzzle. I have the soil, I have the watering techniques, I know how to make teas, I know when to up-pot. I can prune and I can train plants. Let's make it happen, cap'n.

 

[daverabbit]

November 17, 2016

Just a quick update. Harvest time is near...~2 weeks to go. Not bothering with a flush. I'm going to concentrate on getting the curing right.

 

[David Bowman]

Hope all is well in your world.

Is this grow still alive?

We would love to be updated with some pictures and info.

How about posting a 420 Strain Review?

If you need any help with posting photos, please read our Photo Gallery Tutorial.

I am moving this to Abandoned Journals until we get updates.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.