Help! - AK-48 Aerogarden, Day 47 Bloom Problem/Question

[RandomRecords]

I have a 2-plant AK-48 Nirvana grow running in an Aerogarden Deluxe with 6+ 42w CFLs as supplementary lighting.

I have been using GH Flora Micro/Grow/Bloom series. I ran a veg stage for 48 days under the Aerogarden lights 24/0, and then switched to 12/12 and added the CFLs. The two plants grew as vegetation-heavy bushy plants, which were about 12" tall at the end of vegetation.

They are now in Day 47 of bloom, just finishing 7 weeks. I am getting a fairly large number of yellow and discolored fan leaves, but bud growth seems pretty strong for this small system. They were on bloom-heavy nutes until last week, when I started a drain & refill with RO only to flush.

Take a look at the pictures. Are the plants ready for harvest? I have some pictures of the trichomes, and I think that they are still clear primarily. Any idea how much more time to go?

Also, what do you think of the discolored leaves? If this a nute deficiency?

I have had some trouble through the grow with the small reservoir (1 gallon) which seems to allow pH and ppm to swing around a lot as transpiration occurs and the reservoir empties.

So, any recommendations? on what to do here?

thanks!

RandomRecords

 

[Exemplarisch]

Use a bigger resevoir and just a 2-component fertilizer.

The 3-part flora series is way to complex to use when you're don't know what you are doing.
The buds look like they don't have a lot of weight.

Why you don't just grow on soil since you got only one plant?
That's way more easy.

 

[yuyo]

im no expert but those buds are eating your leaves at this point in the girls life and thats normal, the very tops of course are ahead of the lower sections but i would say you have another week or two,they will fill out a bit more and more of your pistils will shrivel
looks like you nuted them with a stoutness,you can forget nutes from here on out and keep flushing her out the next week or 2
i know exemplarisch seemed to give a negatory but i do think his soil tip is something to consider and i think you have done a nice job especially considering you use cfl
good luck

 

[RandomRecords]

Thanks guys for responding. I started this grow as a complete newbie, trying to put to work an aerogarden that I had been given. I've learned a lot along the way, and plan to do another grow with a whole different and hopefully more efficient setup. I do like aero/hydro, so I'm planning to use a rainforest 66 next time, rather than go to soil.

Given the constraints of my grow, I am just trying now to maximize the quality and quantity of my harvest. My original goal was for 1oz, which I think I will probably exceed.

I've read that AK48 finishes in about 7 weeks of bloom, and I am there now. Perhaps the lower intensity of the CFLs has put me back a week or two. I don't really know how to judge bud and trichome development yet, so I thought I'd ask people who knew more!

Thanks again.

 

[David Bowman]

to

Check out What are Trichomes? Trichome 101. It's where I learned about trichomes and how to use them to determine the state of your grow and when to harvest. It can be found under How to Grow Marijuana - Everything You Need to Know! a very valuable source of information regarding growing this marvelous plant.

 

[yuyo]

yes ak 48 under optimum conditions is supposed to be a 7 week strain ,you are correct cfl lighting is a bit slower they prolly meant under at least a 600 watt hps, you will need a decent glass to see the trichs i believe at 100x is recommended but it can really change your end result as colorado pointed out so if you plan on keepin on you might put that on your to do list, as stated in my earlier post i am impressed for a new player you have done fine. reading and planning are great but experience is where its at =))

 

[RandomRecords]

My glass is a 20x lighted jewelers loupe. The first two pics were taken through it. Take a look. I can't see any darker color trichs yet, though maybe I don't have high enough magnification.


I'm definitely considering different lighting for the next grow. I ran about 22k-25k lumens of 2700K & 5500k CFL on two plants. I'd like to do a 400-600w MH/HPS system, but the heat would be a problem. I'm looking for a good LED solution, but I don't really feel confident of any yet.

 

[Exemplarisch]

Soil is way more easy for a "noobie".
i'm an axpicienced grower and i grow on soil from time to time.
the weed is always stronger when grown on soil.

And you get get as much yield on soil as on hydro is you know what you are doing
Spawn: my plants on soil 18L container ready at day 49 12/12 :

 

[RandomRecords]

Looks nice! What kind of lights?

 

[cherryhaze]

soil is way more easy for a "noobie".
I'm an axpicienced grower and i grow on soil from time to time.
The weed is always stronger when grown on soil.

And you get get as much yield on soil as on hydro is you know what you are doing
spawn: My plants on soil 18l container ready at day 49 12/12 :

amazing plant!

 

[Exemplarisch]

Looks nice! What kind of lights?

Gavita Pro-line 600Watt Hps

but its not only one plant