Henman's Soil Sour Diesel Grow Journal 2013

[henman]

Hold on to your hat, LA! Because here it comes!
You mean the CO2 setup? Yeah that was a nice build if I haven't said already And the same to you!

Thanks waknbak! Yeah I think it really likes its new home
As for the grow tech, I suggest a google search for 'LBHs 4-way LST'. I don't want to go too indepth on it here
But basically it involves topping, and creating four main branches and growing them out horizontally and symmetrically.

Now, time for a short update!
I got time, just about, to build a really cheap-ass reflector, before some friends arrived. Which is why this update is so late.
Either way, the build turned out pretty ok, despite the low cost. I had to be resourceful and innovative, but it was a fun process!
It really goes to show what a joint before bed can do, because I woke up with the idea for the build practically finished in my mind. I only had to polish it. The entire build is described over here.
And this is what it looks like, with a comparison of how it was before. Some improvement, I must say!

 

[henman]

Oh, and I mustn't forget; a cute pic from under the 'sun'!

 

[Light Addict]

Loving it my friend, just as much as your little plant seems to be!

 

[waknbak88]

I think that's what I did

 

[waknbak88]

Nope my bad I had 6 branches

 

[henman]

Thanks LA, but I'm a bit unsure. It did raise its branches up a bit during the night, but overall growth seems stunted. I'm guessing it's from all the stress it's been through lately.

Well wb88 the principle is still the same. It seems that you topped the main stem once at least, which is as far as I've come. Either way I don't think I will follow the 4-way LST by the book. I'm much more for experimenting and learning by myself, but I had to have something to start from

Happy grows my friends!

 

[henman]

Help please!

I fk'd up a bit. While bending down the top branches to provide light, I accidentally snapped one of them almost completely off. I've read about people taping it together or tying it together. But it's really small and I'm afraid it's going to fall off completely if I attempt it.
What do I do? Let it hang there, remove it completely?




UPDATE
Ok, so I tried some first aid, sadly without success. I first tried taping it together, using surgical tape (only kind I have) but it didn't stick to the moist branch. My second attempt involved metal wire, but it was way too thick.
So in the end, I had to cut off the branch. If anything, the lower ones get a bit more light now. Unevenly though.
RIP little branch

 

[J189RFC]

Oh Henman, you'll look back on this in a couple months and laugh. No worries here mate, she will grow around the issue. Some of us actually remove leaves on purpose. Take a look at some of the defoliation threads, it will ease your mind.

 

[Light Addict]

Looking awesome my friend. she's gonna love that pot, just don't over water now, even though its tempting to. looking forward to your reflector upgrade!

 

[KingJohnC]

if you are going to try to bend a branch I would first squeeze the place of the bend very hard between my fingers to first soften the place of the bend.

 

[henman]

Thanks for the info J189RFC, but I already know about defoliation. I'm more worried about all the stress it has been through already, with the transplant, topping and general moving about when modding the light source. And since it's still pretty young I'm afraid it will severely impact future growth.

Much appreciation, LA! I won't It's been thirsting for the past three days or so, and so far so good. Won't be watering again for the next couple of days or so. General rule of thumb is one finger knuckle of dry soil, right?
When it comes to the reflector upgrade, I'm starting to rethink. I did some freelance work today and will be receiving some extra inflow of cash this month. So I was thinking of finding a metal lampshade, or maybe a popcorn bowl that I can invert. I would think this would be way more effective than the current build!

Warm thoughts to you, my King! I will take this tip to heart when it's time for LST


As a final note, I must express how much I love to see how alive plants really are! During the night and this day, she has bent the upper internode and placed the lone leaf as a sort of umbrella right on the top! Just to maximize photosynthesis, it's just pure awesome!

 

[waknbak88]

Have you looked into the disposable tin baking dishes, I've seen some pretty awesome cfl hoods made out of them and might be a tad bit cheaper then a popcorn bowl unless you already own the bowl. Yeah I love to see those fan leaves moving around to get the most ligh they can! Peace

 

[henman]

Actually I haven't, wb88, but I sure will now! It's a good idea, because I still have the problem of making a hole in the bottom and since I lack the proper tools, tin might prove easier to penetrate.
Yeah, isn't it incredible?

As of now, pretty much everything seems to be going ok. The top leaf set has now grown out the 8th and 9th leafs, and has grown immensely!


However, I spotted a suspicious spot today, which at first struck me as light burn. Mainly due to my reflector using aluminum foil. After a quick search on the almighty search engine, it really didn't look like it to me. Maybe it's a sign of nutrient deficiency or maybe parasites or maybe even a fungus. I'll have to dig deeper.



Finally, just because I love looking at it, here's another gif I made some days ago.

 

[henman]

Weedly weekends to everyone stopping by!

The spot I talked about last time, seems to have been a water droplet that burnt a hole in the leaf. The spot never spread and if I remember correctly I did spray the soil the day before.

It's been a short while since last update and things are going as good as ever. He/she (probably a hermie) is almost getting too high for the grow space! Which I found out by two or three burnt tips at the top. I believe this is more likely from the foil reflector rather than the CFL.

I went to the flea market and found a pretty ok lampshade. It's currently way too high for the grow room, so I will have to cut it. It does require the bulb to hang vertically, but I figure it will still function way more efficient than the current one.

So because of this, I decided to start the training!
I'd like to point out that I've been greatly inspired by the works of Light Addict, a true LST guru, so a big shout out to him! Keep up the fantastic work you do!




Trying to go for a symmetrical grow. We'll see how that works out

 

[Light Addict]

Thanks for the shout out my friend and well done for taking the plunge into the world of training! Looks sweet, I'm well chuffed for ya! loving the above shot, keep it up and you will love the results!

 

[henman]

Humble thanks LA! I went over to your journal just a while ago, and damn if your monster gert isn't monstrous! Hard to believe it's only one plant, harder to believe the amount of bud sites!

Yes it is exciting times! I hope I can get this under control before I'm limited in height. I'm especially concerned about the stretch and currently I'm seriously considering switching to 12/12 already.

 

[Nerfbane]

She's looking good henman

 

[henman]

She's looking good henman

Domo danko, nerf! I must admit, she's looking quite healthy considering the nutes she's been getting

Long time no see, fellow partners in crime!
A lot of unfortunate events have unfolded in my life, which has kept me from updating. But at least not from tending to the hen! And my oh my, if a lot hasn't happened! In fact, it's such a drastic change since last update, that I decided to create another gif, showing the last couple of weeks of growth.

So, after last update, 14th october, I switched to 12/12. She's been stretching like crazy and keeping her symmetrical has proven a real challenge. But all in all I'm quite pleased with how it seems to turn out, considering how badly I planned this grow. A lesson well learnt.
Up until some days ago, maybe a week, I was able to determine the gender. At first, it looked like it was, as suspected, a hermaphrodite. My main reason for thinking this can be seen in this picture, with what looks like a male preflower. Especially considering the rather developed pistils adjacent to the "ball".



But now, I'm starting to reconsider if I've been so lucky that it actually turned out to be female. The ball seem to have disappeared and a whole lot of pistils have sprouted. I'm still very dubious about this, however, since this is a lone bag seed after all. Any thoughts on this is warmly welcome



Earlier today, she also got her first defoliation. It really exposed a lot of the lower parts, but not as much as I had hoped. A lot of the new sites are still underdeveloped, without their own set of leaves. They also probably wont amount to anything, but with this grow I consider every last bit a part of the pile. So to speak



And last, but not least, what has transpired since last time!

Good green growth to all of you!

 

[danklover79]

Looking good henman, I just picked up some sour diesel the other day, and it's some damn fine smoke!

 

[henman]

Much appreciated, danklover! Ah yes, I must concur. The bud that this seed came in, was the first time ever I smoked the sour D, and I must say I fell in love instantly! It made me even happier when I found the seed, as a nice li'l surprise. And just look what it's turning in to!