JoJo's Hempy SCROG Bucket C99 Grow Journal - 2015

[jojo677]

Update (39 days old):

It's been a few days since the last update, but growth seems to be a bit slow for some reason. I know the little Hempy has a bit of nitrogen toxicity, and I'm beginning to see it a bit in the larger one too. I'm still feeding by the schedule, and the week 4 nutrients with my tap water is around 800 PPM. The last feeding was yesterday, and she soaked up about a gallon. All waterings are still with nutes, but I may need to flush or cut down nutrients in the next few days to see how she responds.

As for the breeding girls, everything looks great! The C99 has lots of trichomes given its circumstances.

As for the quarantined girls, some of the male flowers are starting to develop now, and I think I even have a few "nanners". The NL is pretty far behind the C99, which may just mean it is more resistant to turning herme.

 

[Tead]

I wonder if some of the slowed growth could be the result of defoliation. Perhaps the defoliation caused less need for nitrogen, so you ended up a bit to high on it.

 

[jojo677]

I wonder if some of the slowed growth could be the result of defoliation. Perhaps the defoliation caused less need for nitrogen, so you ended up a bit to high on it.

Hey Tead! It very well could be due to the defoliation, I'm not really sure. There did seem to be a noticeable boost in growth from yesterday, so maybe they're recovered? I also hadn't given fresh water/nutrients for 5 days, and I was wondering if that is part of the issue. Salt buildup, and as the water evaporates/gets sucked up, maybe the reservoir became too concentrated?

The plant even looks better today, with the new growth being a little lighter. I may have to water more often, even though the reservoir isn't empty.

What's your watering schedule like with Hempys, if you don't mind my asking? And do you still have a grow going on? I noticed your journal was abandoned...

 

[Tead]

I'm a fan of flushing. If I'm not happy with a mix in a pot for any reason, I'll flush it out with clear PH'd water. Sometimes I replace as soon as I flush with a new mix.... sometimes I let them sit in the clear water for a while... depends why I'm flushing.

I've been on a modified every other day schedule for a long time now. Feed on Mon, Wed, Fri. Start over again on Mon giving them one extra day to dry out a bit on Sun. I have the shittiest memory in the world so a normal repeating schedule works well for me. I tried daily inputs when I started out... ended up with lots of boated leaves. Every other day seems to be the most frequently I can feed without problems.

My journal had gotten well beyond it's initial grows and had become somewhat tiresome. It really was just my testing ground for hempy grows. I can't imagine I'll ever grow any other way. Even if I had a grow environment that could support an active hydro system, hempy is just so easy and simple that I couldn't imagine doing active hydro. Hempy really fits my lifestyle as well as my environment. These days I'm trying to fine tune the process and really become familiar with my strains.

Still around... chiming in when I have 2 cents to contribute. It's really the joy of being active on these forums. People come... people go... people come back. It's a bit like an ocean and I've always enjoyed swimming.

 

[Dan Ultra]

Even if I had a grow environment that could support an active hydro system, hempy is just so easy and simple that I couldn't imagine doing active hydro. Hempy really fits my lifestyle as well as my environment. These days I'm trying to fine tune the process and really become familiar with my strains.

This is it!! This is the most important thing to remember on these forums. There is no right or wrong way to grow Cannabis. LOS, High Brix, Hempy, Soil, DWC... it's all about what fits you, your environment and your growing style. Fine tuning your grow style to grow the best Cannabis you possible can.

 

[thegoofjuice]

 

[RKK420]

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[jojo677]

I'm a fan of flushing. If I'm not happy with a mix in a pot for any reason, I'll flush it out with clear PH'd water. Sometimes I replace as soon as I flush with a new mix.... sometimes I let them sit in the clear water for a while... depends why I'm flushing.

I've been on a modified every other day schedule for a long time now. Feed on Mon, Wed, Fri. Start over again on Mon giving them one extra day to dry out a bit on Sun. I have the shittiest memory in the world so a normal repeating schedule works well for me. I tried daily inputs when I started out... ended up with lots of boated leaves. Every other day seems to be the most frequently I can feed without problems.

My journal had gotten well beyond it's initial grows and had become somewhat tiresome. It really was just my testing ground for hempy grows. I can't imagine I'll ever grow any other way. Even if I had a grow environment that could support an active hydro system, hempy is just so easy and simple that I couldn't imagine doing active hydro. Hempy really fits my lifestyle as well as my environment. These days I'm trying to fine tune the process and really become familiar with my strains.

Still around... chiming in when I have 2 cents to contribute. It's really the joy of being active on these forums. People come... people go... people come back. It's a bit like an ocean and I've always enjoyed swimming.

Hey, it works for you! I like the schedule too, it's easy to remember. I know I'll have to learn a bit from how this plant reacts, but I'll hone it in! It's good to have a baseline that's worked for you though, thanks!

I kind of saw that your journal dwindled down, but I don't remember ever seeing any harvest numbers? I know you had some heat issues that hurt you a lot, but I didn't hear much more. It's too bad, but it happens and life grows on.

I completely agree about the active hydro though, too much work. I don't want to monitor pH every day!

I do like seeing you post here and there, always something useful or interesting to say. And this is a great community; better than any I've really seen. Everyone is very kind, helpful, and so much knowledge is shared. I'm sure I'll come and go, but there are few places like this.

This is it!! This is the most important thing to remember on these forums. There is no right or wrong way to grow Cannabis. LOS, High Brix, Hempy, Soil, DWC... it's all about what fits you, your environment and your growing style. Fine tuning your grow style to grow the best Cannabis you possible can.

UD, I have to completely agree with you here. People have different opinions, environments, budgets, etc. but when it comes down to it, there are unlimited ways to grow. We wouldn't have all these interesting methods to choose/learn from if people weren't interested in learning more and pushing the limit! It's not like LightAddict read about the concept of Fluxing somewhere. He had an idea he wanted to try out, and it worked out for him (and many others). The same goes for everything else, we just have to find what works for us.

Then again, I think when we all start out, we want to be successful, so we'd like to follow a "recipe" to get decent results.

 

[jojo677]

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Thanks for subbing guys. It gives me more motivation to post updates! As questions and give advice even if I don't want to hear it..

 

[jojo677]

Update (41 days old):

Well, I'm going to start feeding every 2-3 days after what happened after my last update - much growth. I started weaving tops into the screen, and she's doing a lot better. The smaller Hempy is also doing pretty well, and I'll flower her as soon as I have room. I need those hermies to drop their pollen first.

As for the flowering girls, there's a bit of progress. Some of the sacs are starting to open and the nanner things are about to open I'd guess. I haven't seen many pictures around as far as male maturation, so hopefully these pictures are useful to someone. I believe these male parts that are popping out are what people refer to as "nanners", as some of them are popping out of buds without the protective sac surrounding them. They look like they'll open and release pollen here pretty soon.

I'm also dealing with fungus gnats again. I must have tracked them in somehow. I don't mind spraying all my plants, but I'm trying to preserve the buds on the females I'll be pollinating. I may have to spray them if the gnats don't get any better.


You can see a nanner between the sacs here:

Here are the females.

Look at those week 4 trichomes. Not bad for getting maybe 10W of T5 light!

 

[Tead]

I ran across some awesome bug spray the other day. Fairly cheap. It's .50% pyrethrins which is actually quite high. A friend turned me on to it a few days ago. Seems like it would take care of any gnat problems instantly.
I gave a quick mist to 6 tomato plants my neighbor was growing. They had tobacco worms all over them with many other bugs roaming around. He had totally ignored them for a few months and they were barely still standing they had been chewed so much. After misting, everything died almost instantly. All the tobacco worms just fell to the ground an died. The plants were clear of insects within an hour.

The product is called Country Vet Farm and Dairy CV-80D. It is an aerosol, so make sure to spray away from the plants and let it drift around. The aerosol components can damage your leaves if you spray it directly on them.

I see your plant is picking up steam. Plants are like that. They "pick up steam" if you will and really start growing quickly. Defoliation can be a great thing, but removing leaves will always have an impact. The idea, of course, is that opening up the plant will allow the lower growth to catch up with the upper branches. I love a nice flat top plant.... reminds me of the buzz job I received on day1 of my military days and my spirit laughs a little.
I was comparing your day34 and day41 photos of the SCROG. I'd estimate that they gained about 1/4 mass increase between the 2 photos. Seems like you're sure doing something right. Of course, with hempy, it's kinda hard to do anything wrong. So nice.

I believe I'll be starting a grow-room style journal shortly... perhaps 1 journal a year would be the best way for me to go. My previous grows all suffer from early harvests to feed the need. My little 400W light can only really cover 2-3 plants and my daily use pretty much consumes all of those 2-3 plants. I've been slowly gaining the edge on the feed the need usage curve tho my recent overheat did set me back a bit. Before my hempy adventures, I was growing outside and suffering the vicious bug filled environment that is the Southern US. I'm getting smaller plants inside, but they have much less damage and provide more actual product. Generally I'm seeing 3-4 ounces from each plant. I'm harvesting about 1 plant a month. More grow area and a bigger light would really increase my harvest, but the current grow room is feeding my personal needs, so I'm good.
Secretly, I really want to collect one of those plant or bud of the month prizes. Perhaps this year I'll be able to get ahead of that curve and collect that trophy.

One more note... I'm pretty sure those male flowers are already dropping pollen. Probably not enough to notice with the naked eye yet, but an examination with a magnifying device should show some pollen.

Your babies are all looking quite nice. I'm too lazy to do any cross pollination... I prefer the ease of cloning.

Phew! That was a novel. I like to write while I mix my nutes... plenty of dead time while waiting for the ppm pen to settle down.

 

[Tead]

Here's shot of the tomato plants I mentioned. It's incredible. We have such vicious little beasties down here. They can strip a plant in a day or two... especially in the summer when the heat is evil.

 

[jojo677]

I appreciate the suggestion on the CV-80D. It turns out one of the farm supply stores sells it nearby. If my problem doesn't get any better in the next day or two, I may give it a try. Hopefully it kills the larvae too, as I think that's the main problem with fungus gnats - they munch on the roots! Those tomatoes do look like they got thinned out pretty badly. I also have a large outdoor vege garden, and luckily haven't had those problems with tobacco worms. Just those damn deer.

You're right, this plant has "picked up steam", but it seems to be in little growth spurts. I agree about the defoliation though, it can really only slow the plant down. I'm trying to get most of the net filled up before I do a big defol, then give it a bit to recover before flowering. I picked off a few leaves today and cut off some of the new growth, but nothing substantial. I think I'll feed them again tonight, and see how they react.

Start that journal! I'll look forward to watching it progress. 3-4 ounces per plant, with an early harvest sounds pretty awesome actually. YOU must be doing something right too!

I don't really smoke that much, I just enjoy the growing process. I figured it up the other day, I probably vape maybe 20g per year. At that rate, my first harvest(s) of ~165g should last me a few years! I guess I'll have to start smoking more, or giving it away!

On the pollen topic, I plucked off a "nanner" and dissected it, inspecting under a 60X microscope. It was still plenty "juicy/fleshy", but I didn't see any pollen inside... I'll have to keep an eye out for it, and do a little reading on the subject.

As for cloning, I completely agree, it is WAY easier. I just want to get a little stock of seeds in case it gets too hot or I decide to stop growing for awhile. It's an addictive hobby though, so I might not be stopping for awhile..

See, I can write novels too!

 

[Weaselcracker]

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[jojo677]

Edit: I think the breeding plants are getting about 20W each, not 10W...

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Oh dang, I better step up my game!

 

[Weaselcracker]

Ha ha. No need on my account. Actually I read the first three pages of your journal the other night when I was out wandering. Sorta interested in hempy. I haven't gotten around to looking seriously at it- but would like to do some version of hydro type grow. Every time I sweep and try to mop up my grow I feel more like switching away from peat moss.
Why don't more people do hempy? I seem to just see it for small grows of a few plants. Is there some sort of drawback to it?

 

[Tead]

Why don't more people do hempy? I seem to just see it for small grows of a few plants. Is there some sort of drawback to it?

I've totally been wondering the same. Perhaps it doesn't scale well. Maybe dealing with 100 individual pots is too much and you really need a centralized water system. But yeah... I'd like to hear that reasoning from someone that's been down that path.

On the pollen topic, I plucked off a "nanner" and dissected it, inspecting under a 60X microscope. It was still plenty "juicy/fleshy", but I didn't see any pollen inside... I'll have to keep an eye out for it, and do a little reading on the subject.

I never trust them. In my world, they're unwelcome guests, so I have a different viewpoint on them. It seems like in the past, by the time I see them, I usually see some seeds at the end of my grow. Of course... seeds happen, so perhaps I'm just too sensitive on the subject.

 

[jojo677]

I'm with Tead, I don't know why more people don't use Hempy. You can't overwater, the pH is much easier to control, they're light-weight, the medium is reusable, roots have plenty of room, and there are no moving parts. About 1 week into Hempy, I knew it was for me. The only thing I'd do differently is maybe not add the vermiculite, but I haven't grown without it to compare.

I suppose if you had a lot of plants, like Tead said, it may be a pain to water them all. I would assume this would be the case with any similar setup though. You could always do a modified Hempy setup too, with water lines running to each pot. Some of the 2L bottle SOG grows are pretty impressive.

Weasel - If you have some left-over pearlite, use a $1 trash can and give it a try!

On the pollen, I have several sacs opening, but still no pollen. I was reading an old thread by Granny last night, and she had a tutorial on feminized pollen gathering. I guess some of the sacs don't contain viable pollen, especially when they first start opening, so I may have to keep waiting. I'll shake the big one over some glass tonight and report the results. I'm just hoping my isolation chamber works, and I don't cover my grow room in pollen, ruining Big Hempy!

On yet another note, I opened up the canopy today. I did what I'll call "leaf training": tying the leaves to the branch from which they are growing, so they point downward. Tucking leaves doesn't seem to work for long, but this method seems to work really well, avoiding defoliation. I'll get a pic of it for the next update. I also added some wires to pull the lower branches toward the screen. It's going to start filling up fast in the next week!

 

[jojo677]

Well, I took out the hermie plants and shook the one with lots of balls over a piece of glass. I did get a little bit of pollen, but nothing worth keeping. I even picked off some of the flowers (which were basically falling off) and tried to get more pollen out. It did seem that the ones that were brown were the ones that were ripe. Maybe they'll start dropping more in the next few days.

Here's the thread I found about making feminized seeds, which actually had pictures:
Producing Feminized Seeds Using Colloidal Silver

I'm still trying to get rid of the gnats. It looks like I may have to go buy that CV-80D...

 

[jojo677]

Update (45 days old):

I've got a bit to share today. I'll start it off with a comparison between the growth of the plant over the last 4 days. You can definitely tell a difference.

That's a lot of growth in 4 days (at least to me)! I fed ALL the plants again today, and added 10-20% hydrogen peroxide to hopefully kill the gnat larvae. I'm still fighting them. I also sprayed all the folliage of every plant, along with the top of the soil and drainage holes with neem oil. I've seen fewer and fewer the last few days, so it's working. Hopefully this will do it!

Both Hempys seem to be in great health, and I'm continuing the 3-day feeding program unless something else works better. I use solid insulated copper wire for all my LST activities, and I even use it to pull branches closer to the screen. Here's the "leaf training" I was talking about.

Little Hempy:

The only real update I have for the breeding plants is... I have pollen! I tapped the stems of the "ballsy" plant over a piece of glass last night, and collected a fair amount of pollen. I'm not sure if it is viable, so I'll wait and repeat in a few more days. The sacs you see on the glass fell off while shaking, but didn't seem to have any pollen in them. I'd probably have more pollen, if I didn't have the spray the plants with neem oil 1-2 times/day.

Not much new with the other girls: