Jon's New Pared Down Setup Soil Grow: 3 Photo & 1 Auto With New Dedicated Auto Rig

[Jon]

Well, that didn't take long at all!

GROW DAY ONE
VEG DAY ONE
FRIDAY, JULY 16TH

And suddenly we have a grow going. Only took around 24 hours in the dirt before these girls broke ground. AND, the Hulkberry seed has indeed popped! My perfect streak is intact, now standing at 25 for 25 lifetime. (I know it's dumb, I just like the streak, and it's inevitable that at some point it will end. I'm riding it out til it does. Lol) So the Ghost Train Haze, Slurricane (Purple Crunch), and Chunkadelic Autoflower are all up. The Hulkberry is hitting the dirt this afternoon when her stem gets long enough. It's close now but we'll be patient and let it go another 1/4". So since 75% of this grow is up, we are going to go ahead and call today, July 16th, Day 1 of the grow and Day 1 of veg.

Welcome to Day One. My favorite day of the grow. The beginning of everything. And every time one breaks the dirt I am astounded. That little, tiny green thing is going to eventually become medicine, and huge, and full of fat buds (hopefully, lol). Just, wow. Every time. The power in that little plant is amazing.

Onwards!

 

[oldmanjj]

Looking good, along for the ride.

 

[Jon]

So about this grow, here's a question.......

Well DAMN, I just LOVE me some Hembra Genetics Collection. They sell many if not all of our sponsors seeds, as well as tons of others. SUPER high quality genetics is their thing. It's always only four or five days from order til they're in your hand. They always come with cool stickers. They always come with high quality freebies. And they stock all the finest genetics on the West Coast. Very happy to support that small private company. They even wrap your stuff in nice crepe paper with a sticker that holds it together that says "Thank you for supporting our small business." Not a lot to not dig there. So my freebies were three Humboldt Seed Company Raspberry Parfait, which is nice considering I already had two of these seeds, and now with five I can do a dedicated one strain grow of them if I like.

BUT...the GEM of GEMS...I got very lucky to get these. They were relatively limited release (600 seeds), they are legacy collectors seeds, original genetics, and a real landrace sativa. I paid $95 for these six seeds. 95/5 is as close as any of us can get to a pure sativa, and now here it is. It's also a multiple cup and award winner and one of the top 50 all time strains on every list that exists. Classic sativa. And a challenge I'm sure.

So the internal debate is, do I go with four plants and sprout one of these right now to add to the grow? I really want to do that. Badly. I am well aware that as a 95/5 sativa it will stretch WAY more than the other three plants. I know it will get taller naturally than any of the other plants. But I also know it will take well to training and I am capable of keeping it under control. At least I think I am. Likely it would be the last plant harvested and take the longest to finish flowering, but that would be fine, as I will harvest each of these plants as they become ready. The thing is that all of these plants are going to do very well in the same climate. That's concern number one. And all of them are going to do well with a lot of light. I also plan to keep this grow much drier in flower than last time, now that I have discovered the DRY setting on my large AC unit. This essentially turns the AC unit into a combo AC/dehumidifier. All of a sudden I am easily capable of getting 64-78 degrees and 35% humidity. This makes my happiness quotient rise significantly. Cuz ideally I want it fairly warm and dry for most of the grow. Dryish. Appropriately. But I couldn't get the RH as low as I wanted for budding. Now I can. Thus, much more confidence.

So do I do it and make this grow REALLY fun?

I think I'm gonna do it no matter how many of you tell me it's a dumb idea. I'm thick like that.



So here's what we're talking about, after all that suspenseful buildup................

CHOCOLOPE

 

[Jon]

Here's the skinny on Chocolope:


Chocolope weed is the brilliant genetic combination of two powerful Sativas; Chocolate Thai and Cannalope Haze, hence the representative name of joining these types together. Its genetics are pure and distinguished, with an almost 100% sativa content, sitting just 5 percent below at a 95% sativa, 5% indica ratio. Many trust the Chocolope strain to replace their morning or daily boosts of caffeinated beverage, and we can agree that this reefer is certainly energizing, motivating, focus-inducing and uplifting.
Serving as a prominent and especially popular favorite amongst cannaisseurs in the United States during the 1980s, Chocolope has only continued to gain followers, spreading across most of Europe, Canada and America as a go-to marijuana, partially for its revolutionary body and mind effects, but also because of its tasty and mouth-watering flavor profile.
Additionally, Chocolope sports as hefty THC content, ranking in at 18%-23% on average, when lab tests have been conducted. Although it may not contain an equally as heavy CBD content, that doesn’t keep Chocolope from being medicinal, with plenty of marijuana patients turning towards this weed for relief from chronic pain, anxiety, stress, depression, migraines, fatigue, and muscle spasms, as well as an immense number of other conditions and ailments.

Chocolope Aroma, Flavor and Appearance​

As we described earlier, part of what makes Chocolope just so special, is its mouth-watering flavor profile, which is heavily reminiscent of a sweet mug of morning coffee, served with a small side of rich, dark chocolate. The initial scent that impacts your senses when you open up a baggie or jar of this potent reefer, is a roasted, coffee-like scent that eventually melts into earthy and pungent undertones.

Hmmm.......

 

[Bill284]

So about this grow, here's a question.......

Well DAMN, I just LOVE me some Hembra Genetics Collection. They sell many if not all of our sponsors seeds, as well as tons of others. SUPER high quality genetics is their thing. It's always only four or five days from order til they're in your hand. They always come with cool stickers. They always come with high quality freebies. And they stock all the finest genetics on the West Coast. Very happy to support that small private company. They even wrap your stuff in nice crepe paper with a sticker that holds it together that says "Thank you for supporting our small business." Not a lot to not dig there. So my freebies were three Humboldt Seed Company Raspberry Parfait, which is nice considering I already had two of these seeds, and now with five I can do a dedicated one strain grow of them if I like.

BUT...the GEM of GEMS...I got very lucky to get these. They were relatively limited release (600 seeds), they are legacy collectors seeds, original genetics, and a real landrace sativa. I paid $95 for these six seeds. 95/5 is as close as any of us can get to a pure sativa, and now here it is. It's also a multiple cup and award winner and one of the top 50 all time strains on every list that exists. Classic sativa. And a challenge I'm sure.

So the internal debate is, do I go with four plants and sprout one of these right now to add to the grow? I really want to do that. Badly. I am well aware that as a 95/5 sativa it will stretch WAY more than the other three plants. I know it will get taller naturally than any of the other plants. But I also know it will take well to training and I am capable of keeping it under control. At least I think I am. Likely it would be the last plant harvested and take the longest to finish flowering, but that would be fine, as I will harvest each of these plants as they become ready. The thing is that all of these plants are going to do very well in the same climate. That's concern number one. And all of them are going to do well with a lot of light. I also plan to keep this grow much drier in flower than last time, now that I have discovered the DRY setting on my large AC unit. This essentially turns the AC unit into a combo AC/dehumidifier. All of a sudden I am easily capable of getting 64-78 degrees and 35% humidity. This makes my happiness quotient rise significantly. Cuz ideally I want it fairly warm and dry for most of the grow. Dryish. Appropriately. But I couldn't get the RH as low as I wanted for budding. Now I can. Thus, much more confidence.

So do I do it and make this grow REALLY fun?

I think I'm gonna do it no matter how many of you tell me it's a dumb idea. I'm thick like that.



So here's what we're talking about, after all that suspenseful buildup................

CHOCOLOPE

Go for it.
Bill

 

[Jon]

Go for it.
Bill

Lmao! You're hilarious. I knew you'd say that. I agree. But you know what? I'm gonna be smart instead. I looked last night at a ton of stuff on Chocolope. More people are growing this strain than I thought, there were tons of grow journals to check out. And one of the things I found was fairly consistent among the maybe dozen or so journals I saw of indoor grows of it was just the damn SIZE of the plant. This thing gets BIG. Like, it appears it will get as big as I let it get. I suppose most plants are like that, but I'm saying people were consistently having trouble controlling it, underestimating the stretch, letting it take over their tents, etc. It's a grower for sure, as to be expected with an almost pure sativa. And that's the other thing. An almost pure sativa. That's just GOT to be different than all these hybrids I've been growing. It has to be. And I'm already worried the Ghost Train Haze is gonna be hard to control after seeing @Virgin Ground's grow of it (wow, she did really well, I hope I get CLOSE to what she got, even though this isn't an organic grow). That strain is a grower too. And who the hell knows what's gonna happen with the Hulkberry and the Slurricane? I looked at a ton of journals of those strains too (not just here, lots of places), and they seemed to be all over the map, depending on the skill level of the grower. This question just occurred to me: would you happen to know of anyone in here who has grown either Slurricane or Hulkberry (which is essentially Bruce Banner #3, despite being technically a hybrid, if that helps, I'm sure it grows very similar to BB3)? I have VG's GTH grow for reference on that strain. She doesn't know it yet but she's my Yoda for this strain on this grow and I intend to pepper her with questions if necessary. LOL! (Hi VG!) Anyway Bill, the bottom line is that I already have more than enough unanswered questions on this grow, despite it being only three plants. It isn't as if I've ever grown any of these strains before. (Lol, that might be the only upside to the stupid new grower learning curve - everything is new all the time) And I'm also using the new nutes. PLUS, yesterday I got my first bag of Sohum living soil. Going to check that out this grow too on the transplant with a plant or two. It will be my first foray into organic/living soil growing, and it seems to be about as easy as it gets. I'm super curious to see the difference it makes. I feel the Fox Farms custom mix I use is really good, and my plants seem to love it. No burning, no nothing bad at all. And the medicine tastes great in this soil. BUT....I also don't really have any reference points to compare to. And I have to believe it gets better.

At the end of the day, there are just too many variables in play already to take on what I believe will be a significantly challenging plant to grow properly (the way I want to), and a plant that cost me $15/seed for legacy collectors seeds. I'm gonna wait on the Chocolope and give it a dedicated grow to itself. I may even sprout all six seeds and take the best four phenos and give the other two plants to another grower. That'll be then my fourth grow, and after this one I should be better positioned. I will also have the reference of the living soil cuz maybe I'll grow them all in that if it's as good as I think it's gonna be.

See? I'm not THAT dumb, and I'm not THAT much of a cowboy. Sometimes I actually err on the side of caution, squelch my more destructive natural instincts, and decide NOT to bite off more than I can chew. Lmao. This would be one of those times. Ha! Betcha someone tells me that was the right decision. Lol. Maybe even you.

 

[bluter]

So about this grow, here's a question.......

Well DAMN, I just LOVE me some Hembra Genetics Collection. They sell many if not all of our sponsors seeds, as well as tons of others. SUPER high quality genetics is their thing. It's always only four or five days from order til they're in your hand. They always come with cool stickers. They always come with high quality freebies. And they stock all the finest genetics on the West Coast. Very happy to support that small private company. They even wrap your stuff in nice crepe paper with a sticker that holds it together that says "Thank you for supporting our small business." Not a lot to not dig there. So my freebies were three Humboldt Seed Company Raspberry Parfait, which is nice considering I already had two of these seeds, and now with five I can do a dedicated one strain grow of them if I like.

BUT...the GEM of GEMS...I got very lucky to get these. They were relatively limited release (600 seeds), they are legacy collectors seeds, original genetics, and a real landrace sativa. I paid $95 for these six seeds. 95/5 is as close as any of us can get to a pure sativa, and now here it is. It's also a multiple cup and award winner and one of the top 50 all time strains on every list that exists. Classic sativa. And a challenge I'm sure.

So the internal debate is, do I go with four plants and sprout one of these right now to add to the grow? I really want to do that. Badly. I am well aware that as a 95/5 sativa it will stretch WAY more than the other three plants. I know it will get taller naturally than any of the other plants. But I also know it will take well to training and I am capable of keeping it under control. At least I think I am. Likely it would be the last plant harvested and take the longest to finish flowering, but that would be fine, as I will harvest each of these plants as they become ready. The thing is that all of these plants are going to do very well in the same climate. That's concern number one. And all of them are going to do well with a lot of light. I also plan to keep this grow much drier in flower than last time, now that I have discovered the DRY setting on my large AC unit. This essentially turns the AC unit into a combo AC/dehumidifier. All of a sudden I am easily capable of getting 64-78 degrees and 35% humidity. This makes my happiness quotient rise significantly. Cuz ideally I want it fairly warm and dry for most of the grow. Dryish. Appropriately. But I couldn't get the RH as low as I wanted for budding. Now I can. Thus, much more confidence.

So do I do it and make this grow REALLY fun?

I think I'm gonna do it no matter how many of you tell me it's a dumb idea. I'm thick like that.



So here's what we're talking about, after all that suspenseful buildup................

CHOCOLOPE

so was chocolope supposed to be the landrace they sent you ?
cause it isn't a landrace.

if you do get a real one you're in for a good 120 days plus lol

 

[Diatomacious]

I'm here now... let the grow begin.

Better late than never right.

 

[Diatomacious]

Forgot to compliment you on the speech to text software. You really know how to throw down some word with that thing.

 

[bluter]

Forgot to compliment you on the speech to text software. You really know how to throw down some word with that thing.

wondered what was going on. have adhd and the posts were a super big log to saw.
had some folk try pair me up with some of that stuff. i found editing my thoughts a bit better overall.

white space would help.

 

[Jon]

so was chocolope supposed to be the landrace they sent you ?
cause it isn't a landrace.

if you do get a real one you're in for a good 120 days plus lol

It is what they sent me, and if you google it, this is what comes up. So I thought it was safe to say it's a landrace:

• The Chocolate Thai is a landrace sativa from Thailand, and the Cannalope Haze is a near-pure sativa landrace as well. The Chocolope seeds that were produced gave rise to a stunning sativa that’s won multiple cannabis awards thanks to its electrifying properties and distinct terpene profile.

 

[Jon]

Forgot to compliment you on the speech to text software. You really know how to throw down some word with that thing.

If that comment is directed at me (not sure), I assure you I have no such software. I type. Like a man.

 

[Rexer]

Hi @Jon

Love your grow space, very well thought out...especially how you have your AC positioned...I like it.

Hope you don't mind me dropping by to read and learn. I like how detailed your posts are and really enjoyed the Rhizo knowledge drop! I tend to have a limited attention span these days, so if I get lost and don't comment much please don't take it personal.

You seem to have a really good grasp of what you're doing, so I'll just grab a chair at the back if you don't mind

 

[bluter]

It is what they sent me, and if you google it, this is what comes up. So I thought it was safe to say it's a landrace:

• The Chocolate Thai is a landrace sativa from Thailand, and the Cannalope Haze is a near-pure sativa landrace as well. The Chocolope seeds that were produced gave rise to a stunning sativa that’s won multiple cannabis awards thanks to its electrifying properties and distinct terpene profile.

a landrace is native to the area it comes from and are genetically unique.
the genetic uniqueness is a result of adapting to localized conditions over the years and not a result of inter-pollinization with other strains.

land races are becoming more and more extinct.

 

[Diatomacious]

wondered what was going on. have adhd and the posts were a super big log to saw.
had some folk try pair me up with some of that stuff. i found editing my thoughts a bit better overall.

white space would help.

Just love to give Jon shit about his encyclopedic posts.

I type. Like a man.

You definitely type like a man. LOL

 

[Jon]

Hi @Jon

Love your grow space, very well thought out...especially how you have your AC positioned...I like it.

Hope you don't mind me dropping by to read and learn. I like how detailed your posts are and really enjoyed the Rhizo knowledge drop! I tend to have a limited attention span these days, so if I get lost and don't comment much please don't take it personal.

You seem to have a really good grasp of what you're doing, so I'll just grab a chair at the back if you don't mind

Hey @Rexer - you're always welcome here man, although there are much more experienced people than myself to watch. But hey, if you like it, glad to have you, and worry not about anything you say or don't say. We have a policy in this journal, which is, say what you want, be real, and please be polite. Any commentary, criticism, information share, straight up "dude you're being dumb," etc... is welcome here. I'm here for one thing - to learn how to grow the best weed in the world. That's my goal. So I just sit back and post my shit and soak in knowledge as best I can. But thanks for the kind words, man, I appreciate it. Glad you're along for the ride. I did make a few changes to the room today - I relocated the grey drying closet to my bedroom closet. I can dry in there, with the buds inside the grey closet to block any light, and use the house AC'ed conditions to dry autos in, ie, 76-78 degrees and 60% RH, approximately. This is perfect and no issue. That allowed me the space to set up a dedicated nute station, which I like WAY better. I also took my two UFO panel lights and set them up as just a little extra side light in the auto rig station. These produce no heat and honestly not a ton of light (they're only 29 watts each), but it's a little, for the sides, and it can't hurt. So now I am 100% tweaked and in theory I don't have to make any more changes. Oh yeah, last thing is I rearranged the setup to the left of the attejiere to create space for the second AC unit. I'm going to put it there to cool it down for the auto rig. Necessary. Don't wanna deal with 86-87 degrees, and on a hot day that's where it's going. So AC to the rescue. It'll go on the black and yellow crate already set up. Should be perfect, and the heat vents to the front of the garage along the wall as I want and need it to.

a landrace is native to the area it comes from and are genetically unique.
the genetic uniqueness is a result of adapting to localized conditions over the years and not a result of inter-pollinization with other strains.

land races are becoming more and more extinct.

Ah. So if it were just straight Chocolate Thai, which is definitively a landrace strain, that would be what I thought regardless of where I grew it, but the addition of a slightly less than landrace strain of the Cannalope Haze makes it not officially a landrace strain? Or it would have to be grown in it's native land to be officially considered a landrace? Not that it matters, it's just a name that says to me it'll take a long time. Sorry, trying to learn, and as you can see there is a lot of confusing information online, it's not as if I don't know how to do my own research. I just learn more and more accurate info on here, frankly. So thanks in advance.

 

[Jon]

Hey @Rexer - you're always welcome here man, although there are much more experienced people than myself to watch. But hey, if you like it, glad to have you, and worry not about anything you say or don't say. We have a policy in this journal, which is, say what you want, be real, and please be polite. Any commentary, criticism, information share, straight up "dude you're being dumb," etc... is welcome here. I'm here for one thing - to learn how to grow the best weed in the world. That's my goal. So I just sit back and post my shit and soak in knowledge as best I can. But thanks for the kind words, man, I appreciate it. Glad you're along for the ride. I did make a few changes to the room today - I relocated the grey drying closet to my bedroom closet. I can dry in there, with the buds inside the grey closet to block any light, and use the house AC'ed conditions to dry autos in, ie, 76-78 degrees and 60% RH, approximately. This is perfect and no issue. That allowed me the space to set up a dedicated nute station, which I like WAY better. I also took my two UFO panel lights and set them up as just a little extra side light in the auto rig station. These produce no heat and honestly not a ton of light (they're only 29 watts each), but it's a little, for the sides, and it can't hurt. So now I am 100% tweaked and in theory I don't have to make any more changes. Oh yeah, last thing is I rearranged the setup to the left of the attejiere to create space for the second AC unit. I'm going to put it there to cool it down for the auto rig. Necessary. Don't wanna deal with 86-87 degrees, and on a hot day that's where it's going. So AC to the rescue. It'll go on the black and yellow crate already set up. Should be perfect, and the heat vents to the front of the garage along the wall as I want and need it to.

Ah. So if it were just straight Chocolate Thai, which is definitively a landrace strain, that would be what I thought regardless of where I grew it, but the addition of a slightly less than landrace strain of the Cannalope Haze makes it not officially a landrace strain? Or it would have to be grown in it's native land to be officially considered a landrace? Not that it matters, it's just a name that says to me it'll take a long time. Sorry, trying to learn, and as you can see there is a lot of confusing information online, it's not as if I don't know how to do my own research. I just learn more and more accurate info on here, frankly. So thanks in advance.

Sorry, forgot the pictures of the final tweaks. Just imagine the AC unit that goes in this afternoon.

 

[bluter]

Ah. So if it were just straight Chocolate Thai, which is definitively a landrace strain, that would be what I thought regardless of where I grew it, but the addition of a slightly less than landrace strain of the Cannalope Haze makes it not officially a landrace strain?

stop right there. much warmer.

you're on the right track but things like 'chocolate thai' aren't even a real landrace.
just chill and enjoy the seeds.

it's mostly marketing.

still couldn't slice through most of the rest.
it's not a knock. it really looks like you are setting up well.

 

[Jon]

stop right there. much warmer.

you're on the right track but things like 'chocolate thai' aren't even a real landrace.
just chill and enjoy the seeds.

it's mostly marketing.

still couldn't slice through most of the rest.
it's not a knock. it really looks like you are setting up well.

It's totally cool man, I get it. Didn't at all take it as a knock, just thought (and think) you are taking the time to teach me something. I appreciate it. And I did suspect that, especially with the "600 seeds only, limited release," lol, so it's not surprising what you said. That said, it's still Chocolope, it's still a badass almost all sativa or as close as I can get, it'll still definitely get as big as I want, and it should produce some very interesting buds. Marketing or no. Lol. And thanks again for the education.

 

[Jon]

Final (for real this time) Tweak Report
Grow Day 2
Veg Day 2

Don't want to belabor the infrastructure point more than I already have. Here's the final tweaks I added/subtracted, which you can see in the pictures:

- Added a 5000 btu (small) window AC unit along wall on auto rig side of tent. This allows me to make the plant space as low as 72 during the hottest part of the day and maybe as low as 64 at night. It was necessary. Hottest days were making it 85-87, and we can't have that. It works perfectly.
- Brought the dehumidifier into play and it is now running at all times
- Added my two 12"x12" UFO full spectrum 29-watt panel lights to the auto rig. It'll provide a little bit of lighting from the side. Adds zero heat. Adds next to zero power draw. Can only help.
- Subtracted the grey cloth drying station and put it in my bedroom closet, where it can be used to dry the autos at house temperature and humidity, which is around 76-78 degrees and 60-65% RH. Perfect, and the temp closet will keep it entirely dark. That opened up the space to create....
- Added dedicated nute/trim station in place of where the temp drying closet was. This is a huge improvement and I don't know why I didn't think of it before.

So there's the final tweaks. Pictures are below and they are self explanatory.

Meanwhile, the Hulkberry is up. She still has the seed coat attached and it's not yet coming off super easy so I left it, but she's up and she'll be fine. So all four plants are sprouted, thus preserving THAT now 25 for 25 lifetime record so far, lol. Oh yeah, and my Rhizotonic arrived today. I read the directions carefully and it appears I will begin using that right before I top the plants, as one of the main benefits of this product is reducing stress from things like trimming, topping, and LST/supercropping.

The final plan then is also completely crystallized, and to be brief, here it is:

- Do nothing for the next week to ten days while the four plants develop a couple sets of leaves, just keep them fed and happy and let them grow
- Then remove Sue Anne from the Gorilla tent
- Place all four new plants in Gorilla tent and adjust light and environment to veg conditions
- Finish Sue Anne (Sour Apple auto) in the auto rig station under one full spectrum and one red blurple
- When Sue Anne is harvested, replace her spot in the auto rig with the Chunkadelic Auto
- At which point the three photos have the Gorilla to themselves

So there's that.

I promise, no more tweaks. We're all set for real now.

Photographs:

- Final tweaked auto rig station, showing two new UFO panel side lights and new addition of AC unit and placement, as well as showing placement of dehumidifier
- Final computer, smoking/fun, wrapping station
- Closeup of the actual FUN part of the Fun Station
- Final dedicated nutrient and trimming station

Saturday night. I may just use some of that fun station this evening.