Jon’s 3 Autoflower - 3 Pounds Attempt Grow

[Emilya Green]

The way I see it @TwelveCoffee is this: let’s say you do what I always used to do, which was to wait until the cup drains in 24 hours to bone dry. Then you up pot. When you do, you have a large mass of roots all around the plant, somewhat curled up at the bottom, right? A seemingly perfect time to transplant. But here’s the rub doing it that way - you just MIGHT lose a day or two of growth, due to the time the roots need to unravel themselves and stray into the new medium. Versus doing what I did here and now generally do - do it earlier, like as soon as the root ball will hold together. Then, when you up pot there IS no unraveling that has to happen. The roots just continue to grow out and the plant literally doesn’t even know the difference. See what I mean?

This is a discussion we have had many times around the family dinner table. Exactly for the reasons you give, Dad and Gramps both were advocates of slicing the roots when they had started to wrap. Dad was banned from uppotting while I was at work for a while because he gave us pictures of him quartering the roots as he moved them to the next container... he freaking cut the rootball into quarters! It turns out that this isn't as bad as it seemed at the time. Each root that gets cut, bifurcates at the cut. The lower portion is quickly absorbed back into the soil and reused. But the plant seems to love it and the roots seem to leap out of that mess to quickly fill the next container. You would think this would stall out the plant for sure, but I didn't see it happen in my garden and I think it helps gain a couple of days of root development in the new container. Dad was forgiven and no longer gets questioned about his methods... seems he still has a few things to teach me.

 

[Jon]

Dropping the Watermelon WeddingCake and Forbidden Runtz autos this morning. Both are XXLs. The FR is the most challenging as it’s the smallest plant by nature. She’s going in the water pot. The WWC does in the pyramid pot. Cleaning the tent this morning then prepping pots.

 

[Jon]

This is a discussion we have had many times around the family dinner table. Exactly for the reasons you give, Dad and Gramps both were advocates of slicing the roots when they had started to wrap. Dad was banned from uppotting while I was at work for a while because he gave us pictures of him quartering the roots as he moved them to the next container... he freaking cut the rootball into quarters! It turns out that this isn't as bad as it seemed at the time. Each root that gets cut, bifurcates at the cut. The lower portion is quickly absorbed back into the soil and reused. But the plant seems to love it and the roots seem to leap out of that mess to quickly fill the next container. You would think this would stall out the plant for sure, but I didn't see it happen in my garden and I think it helps gain a couple of days of root development in the new container. Dad was forgiven and no longer gets questioned about his methods... seems he still has a few things to teach me.

Interesting! I didn’t slice any roots. So you’re saying let it go linger in the Solo then slice the roots at up pot? Interesting. That’s what you did? All I did was up pot a few days early.

 

[Jon]

Interesting! I didn’t slice any roots. So you’re saying let it go linger in the Solo then slice the roots at up pot? Interesting. That’s what you did? All I did was up pot a few days early.

Btw - banning your own blood? Damn. You don’t mess around in the garden, boss.

 

[Jon]

One of the things I really love about growing in coco is that the plants become so incredibly responsive to everything you do. After topping yesterday I can already see the third node branches have gotten the signal and are beginning to cruise outward. I just watered and she is visually responsive to that too - perks right up almost in real time. It’s so much fun!

 

[Jon]

Question for anyone interested

Foliar feeding. Does it make a difference if you do it when the medium is wet or dry?

My instincts say that if you do it when the medium is dry, the plant will be thirstier, and may therefore absorb the nutes more readily through the leaves. But this is conjecture.

Anyone know?

 

[Emilya Green]

Interesting! I didn’t slice any roots. So you’re saying let it go linger in the Solo then slice the roots at up pot? Interesting. That’s what you did? All I did was up pot a few days early.

If I saw severe wrapping I would slice them, but I usually catch them before that point by following my water usage rule... I'm not really into letting them linger past the point of diminishing returns.

Btw - banning your own blood? Damn. You don’t mess around in the garden, boss.

They all know... don't mess with my garden or my computers.

 

[Emilya Green]

Question for anyone interested

Foliar feeding. Does it make a difference if you do it when the medium is wet or dry?

My instincts say that if you do it when the medium is dry, the plant will be thirstier, and may therefore absorb the nutes more readily through the leaves. But this is conjecture.

Anyone know?

The best time is when the stomata are still open, but transpiration has stopped, which I think is at the end of the day, at twilight. I don't think it has anything to do with the regular water cycle or the wetness of the soil, since the plants generally are sending water up from the roots and out of the leaves, the opposite of what you want.

 

[Danishoes21]

Question for anyone interested

Foliar feeding. Does it make a difference if you do it when the medium is wet or dry?

My instincts say that if you do it when the medium is dry, the plant will be thirstier, and may therefore absorb the nutes more readily through the leaves. But this is conjecture.

Anyone know?

I Saw your question and went out looking for a possible answer. I realized I alsa had the same question.

found this...

"Photosynthesis Takes Place in the Leaves​

Plants and trees are autotrophs, living organisms that make their own food. Because they do this using the light energy from the sun, biologists call them photoautotrophs. Most plants and trees on the planet are photoautotrophs.
The conversion of sunlight into food takes place at a cellular level within the leaves of plants in an organelle found in plant cells, a structure called a chloroplast. While leaves consist of several layers, photosynthesis happens in the mesophyll, the middle layer. Small micro openings on the underside of leaves called stomata control the flow of carbon dioxide and oxygen to and from the plant, controlling the plant's gas exchange and the plant's water balance.
Stomata exist on the bottom of leaves, facing away from the sun, to minimize water loss. Little guard cells surrounding the stomata control the opening and closing of these mouth-like openings by swelling or shrinking in response to the amount of water in the atmosphere. When the stomata close, photosynthesis cannot occur, as the plant cannot take in carbon dioxide. This causes carbon dioxide levels in the plant to drop. When the daylight hours become too hot and dry, the stroma closes to conserve moisture.
As an organelle or structure at a cellular level in the plant leaves, chloroplasts have an outer and inner membrane that surrounds them. Inside these membranes are platter-shaped structures called thylakoids. The thylakoid membrane is where the plant and trees store chlorophyll, the green pigment responsible for absorbing the light energy from the sun. This is where the initial light-dependent reactions take place in which numerous proteins make up the transport chain to carry energy pulled from the sun to where it needs to go within the plant."

@Emilya Is right on the stomata, should be the ones incharge of "water" or "foliar feed" absortion/regulation. My only guess is that the best time to foliar feed is during the photosynthesis period or day time.

Many farmers like to water really early in the morning and later at sunsent, Im not sure about the reasson behind it but the sun being to hot in the middle making stomata shut to avoid loss of liquid in the plant could be a reason.

I foliar feed everytime I water the plant.

 

[Jon]

Thanks both of you so much!

 

[Braddah Waiheesohai]

"When the stomata close, photosynthesis cannot occur, as the plant cannot take in carbon dioxide. This causes carbon dioxide levels in the plant to drop. When the daylight hours become too hot and dry, the stroma closes to conserve moisture." - This is why VPD is important.

Farmers water in the morning and evening so that the water has a better chance to soak into the soil before evaporating.

Awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jon]

Banana Sherbet
Day 21
One day post topping

 

[Jon]

Banana Sherbet
Day 25

Almost to the screen!

 

[Jon]

Banana Sherbet Training

For those curious about the training, today I topped both of the branches on node 3.

 

[Jon]

Prepping our Pyramid Pot

The concept here is pretty simple. I’m betting that longer tap root = more feeder roots. More feeder roots = more feeding. More feeding = more yield. It’s really that simple I believe.

So the pyramid pot will give us a very long tap root. That much I do know. What happens from there is anyone’s guess.

Here’s the prep, step by step:

- coco

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• Jon
• Jul 17, 2022

- perlite/bokashi

00895857-A137-4535-ABFE-77A838F1F220.jpeg

• Jon
• Jul 17, 2022

- frass

C7CF21FC-A9EE-4CCA-91B3-5F68295EF08B.jpeg

• Jon
• Jul 17, 2022

Repeat to the top where it ends with a layer of coco

6B1A06B9-6A05-4E0F-95B1-D06E5269D1CA.jpeg

• Jon
• Jul 17, 2022

Insert 3 gallon air pot.
It’s “screwed in” about 3 inches to the coco below.

53CC21C4-9174-4597-9651-26936D8257F1.jpeg

• Jon
• Jul 17, 2022

- perlite

782354F4-F328-4486-B2EE-05656B9E9AFD.jpeg

• Jon
• Jul 17, 2022

Repeat bokashi/frass on the perlite then coco and repeat all the way up, ending with a layer of coco with an inch of perlite right beneath it.

87FB13F6-9027-47FF-B101-2865B95E6D25.jpeg

• Jon
• Jul 17, 2022

Done deal

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• Jon
• Jul 17, 2022

And how she is in the tent

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• Jon
• Jul 17, 2022

With plenty of space

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• Jon
• Jul 17, 2022

That’s it. It’s was activated with Fox Farms Kelp Me Kelp You. Now I drop the seeds for real and plant directly into the air pot. Start that tap root!! Thus no Solo, ie, no tap root impediment whatsoever. It can zoom all the way down.

Guess we will find out together if it works.

 

[Azimuth]

And no bottom for the air pot, or large drainage holes, something else ??

 

[Chuckeye]

Cheers

 

[Danishoes21]

Looks like a great plan.

 

[Jon]

And no bottom for the air pot, or large drainage holes, something else ??

Nope. It’s all one pot effectively. A bottom to the air pot defeats the purpose, same way a Solo does.

 

[Farmer Reading]

This looks most interesting.