Heraldo's Outdoor Journal - 2016

[Heraldo]

Day 49 in the life of Buddy:

It was probably a bad call, but yesterday I decided to do a bit of lollipopping. Today I saw the first pistils. Don't think I caught them in the pics. They must've popped up today or yesterday because they're 1mm or less. I'm really doubting if I should've lollipopped her or not. The damage is already done, so I'll just have to move on. Hopefully she's not in too much of a hurry to flower and gets some decent growth going...

No pics of the afghan because it hasn't budged in a week. I'm thinking about giving it the boot or at least getting a substitute ready.

 

[CareStaker]

She's looking small, but stout, and I like your optimism. I'll grab a seat to see what happens.

The afghan may have 'damped off' due to a cold and wet environment.

 

[Heraldo]

Day 51 update:
Not much growth to show off. I tried to get a pic of the pistils, but it didn't really work out. You can kinda tell they're there...

Decided to get a little greenhouse to keep my seeds, seedlings and veggies protected. Nature decided to put it to the test, so it's getting slapped around by the wind... wouldn't be surprised if it topples over while I'm at work.
I decided to get a replacement for the afghan going: Easy Ryder. It's been sitting around a couple of years, waiting for it's time to shine, so it'll probably be at least a couple of days until I see that taproot. Didn't have the heart to throw afghan out yet... and... that's all that's going on around here.

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Looks great, man! Stem is looking fat.

 

[Heraldo]

Day 55:
Wanted to make a quick update before I started buzzing around town. Sorry about the bad pics.

 

[spacef]

yes, the soil of the afgan looks a bit too wet. I only had problems in such a case. it should not be dry, but it looks a bit too soaked. Some strains are very sensitive to this and will not grow properly. May be you should continue watering with a spray or something that allows small quantities around the young plant, while you let the rest of the soil dry a bit ?

 

[Heraldo]

yes, the soil of the afgan looks a bit too wet. I only had problems in such a case. it should not be dry, but it looks a bit too soaked. Some strains are very sensitive to this and will not grow properly. May be you should continue watering with a spray or something that allows small quantities around the young plant, while you let the rest of the soil dry a bit ?

Yeah, it didn't make it. Roots rotted. Hopefully Easy Ryder pops soon... I went paper towel this time. It's been about a week, the shell is slightly cracked, but no tap root...

 

[spacef]

do they sprout outdoor ?

In that case, you need to do this to rise chances of success:
- take an empty plastic bottle, cut the upper third (bottle neck + a few inches)
- put this new mini-greenhouse around the seed, (not more than an inch deep into the soil) , water around the bottle, a little bit inside (with spray), then close the cap, and let nature do it's thing.

What you get is:
- a mini system that will proect the sprout from rain, wind, insects etc.
- watering can be done much less often due to the micro-climate inside the bottle. As long as you see drops inside the plastic bottle, there is enough water.
- By watering outside of the bottle, you minimize the risk of soaking the roots. If inside the bottle is very dry, then you just pour a little quantity of water in it.
- it keeps heat inside the bottle, which is nice if you got cold nights.

- the sprout will begin to grow protected from wind, weather, insects etc : when it is time, after a few days, remove the cap of the bottle to let the sunshine inside (unfiltered by the bottle) : the sprout will direct itlsef through that hole and will grow above it. If the 1st pair of leaves is growing inside the bottle, then, remove the bottle, and may be make a shorter one.

- You can let the bottle "as is" during the whole growth, but you can remove it after a while if the main stem is becoming too large. (to remove the bottle you should simply vut one side: i do this at the begining, then tape it with scotch tape, so removing the bottle is much easier and completely stress free for the plant (whereas trying to cut it after two month can be quite difficult and stressful + you risk to harm the plant).

It is a bit what you have done with your cover, but a bit more technical.

I hope it helps.

 

[Hozona]

Hey Heraldo! Just thought I would look in. Sometimes seeds look like they are ready to take off and stall out! some times it's the environment, the medium, or sometime they aren't what I call "viable" seeds. Since my friend BID gifted me with some good strains I have had both good and bad germinating experience. The ideal situation is to get a healthy mother plant going and keep her in vegging mode. Clone away...I kept one strain going for 6 generations. A note on your babies, if you don't want lanky tall plants, top the plant above the third major leaf set and then every two after that. You'll get a bonsai looking bush. Here's an example

I took a lot of clones from her...good luck and good growing

 

[Heraldo]

do they sprout outdoor ?

Plan A is to sprout in a small pot in a greenhouse I've got and then transplant her. The problem with the greenhouse is that it gets a bit too hot in there with good weather, so I need to check temps and if they're too high she'll go directly into a big pot with a minigreenhouse.

The ideal situation is to get a healthy mother plant going and keep her in vegging mode. Clone away...I kept one strain going for 6 generations. A note on your babies, if you don't want lanky tall plants, top the plant above the third major leaf set and then every two after that.

My situation is far from ideal LOL. Indoor is a big nono I'm afraid...
I'm hesitant about topping the plant I've got going now because she should be kicking into flower soon. I'll be putting a photoperiod in later on that will be getting a few haircuts for sure.

Thanks for all the help. Hope it doesn't sound like I'm blowing you off. I'm just trying to find the right time to put this info into practice.
Plus my greenthumb has been hibernating all winter and now I need to reveg it and remember basic stuff like how not to screw up a germination

 

[Heraldo]

Day 59 for Buddy:
A lot of pistils popping up and growth seems to be stopping, so it looks like I'm gonna be stuck with a tiny plant with 1 nug. I'll be out of town for a couple of days. When I get back I plan on starting to feed her flower nutes (BAC organic)

As far as the seed goes, I'm not sure if it just stalled out or I cooked it. Temps in the greenhouse were averaging around 30ºC, highest I saw 40ºC. Now I leave it open during the day and they stay around mid-high 20s.
If nothing's happend by the time I'm back from my trip I'm doing the minigreenhouse thing.

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Looking good and healthy!

 

[Heraldo]

Well, it's been 10 days since my last update. Been out of town and busy being a family man and whatnot. Buddy has streched a bit and I believe she's now in flower mode. Can kinda tell the new growth is zigzagging if you know what mean. After a whopping 69 days she's a pretty sad sight to see, but at least she'll keep me busy until I get some new seeds going.

As expected, the easy ryder seed I have hasn't budged. Don't want to throw it out just yet, but I put an auto critical + seed in dirt with a minidome a couple of days ago. I couldn't help poking around this morning and it looks like it might've cracked already. We'll know for sure soon enough.

 

[Heraldo]

Day 73

So buddy still isn't looking great, but getting a few nice buds off her is beginning to seem more plausible.

And we had a birth in the family today. It's a girl! A cute little critical + auto. I've gotta start thinking about naming.

That's all.

 

[Heraldo]

I'm a happy boy. Caramelo sprouted this evening. I've been wanting to grow it for a long time, but every time I planted one some BS happend where I had to shut the grow down. Hopefully this time it's different. I'll be posting pics tomorrow.

 

[Heraldo]

Update:
day 80 for Buddy. Buds are starting to look more like buds. I just recently noticed how very purple the stems and the bottom sides of the leaves are.

day 8 for Critical +.

day 1 for Caramelo. Shell might've come off a bit early. It's hard to see but there are 2 tiny tiny leaves there. Think I might name her Skittle...

Afghan kush is just about ready to join the party too.

 

[CMJJMC2000]

Solid progress, I bet you'll get some big buds judging by the fat stem. Any idea what causes the undersides of the leaves to purple up like that? Is it nute related or a trait of the genetics? Also, very exciting about the new plants breaking ground - should be fun to watch!

 

[Heraldo]

My guess is the purple leaf thing is genetic. it's only happening on the newer leaves, so I'm gonna see if I can figure out if it's because it's flowering or the leaves just lose their purpleyness when they get bigger.

I've been really busy and the weather hasn't been very good, so I don't have new pics, but I've named almost all my plants

We all know Buddy the mystery auto that might be Purple kush
Skittle is the Caramelo girl
Critical + is named Beyonce because she's a survivor. This weekend someone might've gotten tipsy and accidentally knocked her over... twice...
Afghan kush is named Sam because it works for boys and girls.
And Vertigo hasn't been born or named yet. We're open to suggestions.
Meanwhile, I've got a lot of unread posts to get to.

 

[Heraldo]

It's a sunny day and I'm back with pics!

Buddy day 86

Beyonce day 14

Skittle day 7

Sam day 6 (Sorry about the blurry pic)

No pic of Vertigo. She's playing hard to get and hasn't sprouted yet.

Anyone know why my pics get turned sideways when I upload them?

 

[Bapple]

Hey Heraldo!

Isn't Buddy the little fighter - my stunted BPK went over 100 days before I harvestEd her.

Good job, keep on keeping on