KeepORgreen's Indoor Soil Grow Journal 2016

[Big Sparks]

Wassup KeepORgreen- It's been awhile..and as I knew you would...you gots them buds lookin good and green! Should be about time for a flush to get them plants to use up the stored energy in those leaves. With a little help from the cooler weather you may even end up with some nice fall colors! As for your mite problem-looks like your gettin on track. I hate putting anything on my buds. But what ever you do...maybe try "Bud Washing". I
seen Doc Bud using it along with many others and honestly once I tried it myself I bud wash every harvest now. Once you see the grime and sometimes hair in the leftover water you'll be like "damn, all that was on my buds!"
Either way, Congrats on making it so far. You still gonna get some good smoke from those plants. Just my 2 cents. Im out.
Spark

 

[KeepORgreen]

UrbanMonk - I don't know where I got the idea I could just give nutes every feeding, and never just straight water. Seems like a bad idea now, I've got more than one of my girls suffering from nute burn. I hope I don't lose these really nice colas, but some have sugar leaves looking a bit sketchy. Part of the problem, I'm sure, is that the FloraNova Bloom does not mix up very well. I paid attention to the label on the lid: "Shake vigorously" and I always did, but the bottle I finished off JUST PRIOR to them showing nute burn had a significant amount of stuff stuck in the bottom of the bottle. I'm sure this throws the NPK ratio out of whack, since there was so much of it left. I don't know if I bought a bottle left on the shelf too long or if what they mean by "vigorously" involves using a paint store shaker on them!

Anyway, flushing is all done, and the readings were freaking me out. Gotta' light up...

 

[KeepORgreen]

Big Sparks - it's like sky diving, all the crap comes rushing at you in the end. As if the mites weren't enough, now I've got nute burn to deal with. I think with all that's happened, my finish is going to be a bit delayed. I think I stressed the crap out of these ladies, but I'm sure they will still reward my hard, but sometimes misguided work!

 

[Dwight Monk]

Take a hit, it'll be fine, sure you will get some decent stuff off em (I keep aiming for something to smoke off of my plants, figure i can worry about higher yield down the road along with getting more "bang for my buck", so not sure it cheaper than buying it yet but at least I know what is in it or not in it far as chemicals go).....and you still learning as you go, so your grows will keep improving as you get more proficient at it.

 

[KeepORgreen]

Okay, so I'm flushing now (just straight water). I have flushed them all once, and I started with a second round a few days later when they were ready. According to someone on another grow website I visited, flushing soil is done at 3 times the capacity of the pots. Since I'm using 7 gallon fabric pots, that would be 21 gallons! I was only going a max of 4 gallons, so I wasn't really flushing. Now I'm not sure whether to give them all a good 21 gallon flushing (would take a long time hauling 7 gallons at a time in an 8-gallon ice chest). That would be 24 trips total for all the girls and I have steps to go up for access to the water. Can't I just do two 4-gallon flushes on each plant and then top-dress the soil with dolomite lime and call it a day (or two)? I'm in unknown territory here and obviously not keeping up on my researching.

 

[Dwight Monk]

Are you flushing due to a problem or flushing as in last two weeks before harvest just water flush? When trying to flush out soil due to problems is what I think that formula is (and like everything else folks on both sides of the fence on it I"m sure). If you doing the end of life only water "flush" then personally I would just water like you normally do but water only. IMHO soil not as critical as Hydro far as trying to flush the chemicals out (albeit depends what you using for Nutes too, whether "organic" in nature or "synthetic") and proper Drying and Curing affects the final product "taste" more than flushing at end of life. But again I'm still learning and tend to take an "average point of view" (or mean/medium) on things I read as again it is all over the place. IMHO the KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) method will have better results for new growers and you can mess around with dialing it in for "perfect" later down the road, as you start messing with the little things and can kill off plants faster with having too much of things than too little of things IMHO, not like outdoor plants in "nature" get flushed at end of cycle as plenty of plants have been grown where they got planted and person didn't go back to mess with them until harvest that came out ok (maybe not max quality/quantity, but less odds of getting in trouble or losing your crop to it being found).

The two sets I harvested I just did water only last 10-14 days and didn't notice any chemical taste to it, but I'm using GO products which are closest to being organic w/o making your own teas and mixing your own soil kind of thing for nutrients.

 

[Big Sparks]

I agree with you Urbanmonk. Once of the hardest lessons to learn during your first grow is that sometimes less is more. "Sit on your hands " if ya habe to. Lol! And you're right about the whole flush at end of life thing...I dont think he needs 3x the size of pot. Just get some run off and water only. Another 2 cents in the wall....

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[KeepORgreen]

Are you flushing due to a problem or flushing as in last two weeks before harvest just water flush? When trying to flush out soil due to problems is what I think that formula is (and like everything else folks on both sides of the fence on it I"m sure). If you doing the end of life only water "flush" then personally I would just water like you normally do but water only. IMHO soil not as critical as Hydro far as trying to flush the chemicals out (albeit depends what you using for Nutes too, whether "organic" in nature or "synthetic") and proper Drying and Curing affects the final product "taste" more than flushing at end of life. But again I'm still learning and tend to take an "average point of view" (or mean/medium) on things I read as again it is all over the place. IMHO the KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) method will have better results for new growers and you can mess around with dialing it in for "perfect" later down the road, as you start messing with the little things and can kill off plants faster with having too much of things than too little of things IMHO, not like outdoor plants in "nature" get flushed at end of cycle as plenty of plants have been grown where they got planted and person didn't go back to mess with them until harvest that came out ok (maybe not max quality/quantity, but less odds of getting in trouble or losing your crop to it being found).

The two sets I harvested I just did water only last 10-14 days and didn't notice any chemical taste to it, but I'm using GO products which are closest to being organic w/o making your own teas and mixing your own soil kind of thing for nutrients.

I'm flushing because of nute-burn. I have at least two girls with soil pH in the 4.0-5.0 range. I didn't catch this right away and the nute-burn is bad on a few colas, even up into the sugar leaves. I would prefer not to put that much water through the soil (washing all the good stuff out as well as the salts). I was going to add dolomite lime to the soil to correct the pH, but it has a tendency to stratify if not properly mixed in to the soil (meant to be mixed into the soil before planting). I will try to find hydrated lime, since it can be added to the water to neutralize the acidic buildup. It won't remove the salts, however, so flushing may still be needed. Keep in mind all this is from what I read on forums.

I did notice a difference of opinion regarding end of life flushing. I haven't decided on that, but since I'm flushing salts this close to harvest, I will probably not flush again. Some folks taper their nutes off at the end, so when I feed again, I'm thinking about less than the 1000 ppm of FloraNova bloom I've been giving them.

I have been pretty much hands off with this grow, but I've had to respond to a few emergencies. I agree with the KISS philosophy, especially for first-time growers. Nature does it best!

 

[KeepORgreen]

I agree with you Urbanmonk. Once of the hardest lessons to learn during your first grow is that sometimes less is more. "Sit on your hands " if ya habe to. Lol! And you're right about the whole flush at end of life thing...I dont think he needs 3x the size of pot. Just get some run off and water only. Another 2 cents in the wall....

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I felt so guilty about sitting on my hands and letting the mites get out of control, and now the nute-burn. I thought I could cruise all the way to harvest without doing anything, but mistakenly fed nutes every watering (along with using a bottle of FloraNova bloom which had a significant quantity of solids on the bottom when the liquid was gone). My goal is to have everything dialed in to where I'm on autopilot. The less I have to do the happier I will be! Now if I would just stop creating my own problems all would be well again!

 

[KeepORgreen]

I didn't need this. I just returned from the garden and found the mites have invaded the weakened colas (2 or 3 at present). This is on one of the nute-burned ladies. This is the first webbing I've seen in 3 months! So grotesque! I don't know how to deal with this, being on the bud and so close to harvest. I sprayed lightly with water to knock down the webbing (and hopefully some of the little monsters). I've heard they hate water. I worry about water on the buds, but what can I do?

Ironically, I saw a ladybug on a cola yesterday and knocked it off because she appeared to be eating! I'm thinking "they're not supposed to eat trichomes!" Well today I spotted a ladybug on the very same cola. It's one that had webbing on it. The ladybug must have been eating a mite or eggs. I guess I shouldn't write them off so soon, but I think I need to release all 1500 to even make a dent in this problem! I also don't think it would help much. Off to go lime shopping...

 

[KeepORgreen]

It seems that I was using the wrong terminology. Nute burn is from overfeeding, and that's not what I have, apparently. The guy at the hydro store reminded me that low pH causes nute lockout, so the girls are getting starved, not overfed. He said when I first noticed it, I should have flushed with 7.0 pH water until the pH raised into a normal range (over 6.0, I assume). He said the 3x number for flushing refers to 3 times the normal watering amount, not 3 times the pot size. Big difference. Normally I give about 2 gallons (in 7 gallon fabric pots). This means I only need to lug 6 gallons per plant, so about 18 gallons if I just flush the three (as opposed to 21 gallons per plant)! So it sounds like I've been doing the right thing just not enough of it.

As for the mites, he said just physically remove the webbing and ignore the mites (nothing I can do without damaging the bud). I hate letting them go (even though that's what I've been doing, pretty much). He said just make a judgement at harvest whether to keep or toss the buds. It seems like all I can do is hold my breath and tell the girls to hurry. Meanwhile, time to do more flushing...

 

[Dwight Monk]

Well that bites, hopefully you can get something out of it harvest time.

 

[KeepORgreen]

I'm still confident I can get substantial bud if I ever make it to harvest! About 30% of the scrog has the pH issue and only three of close to 100 colas had webbing. I'm sure they're not done. It's a race to the finish!


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[KeepORgreen]

Inspecting the damage is heartbreaking...



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[KeepORgreen]

Spent some time inspecting the damage today, and for the first time in a long time, turned the LEDs off and turned on a fluorescent. It makes a big difference using natural light. I spent an hour or so clipping leaves, cursing as I filled a gallon container with leaves fried from pH burn, as well as those infested with mites. I gotta' tell you man, this made me cry. I finally came to the stark realization that my crop might be done, as in zero yield. I will do every thing I can to save it, but I couldn't finish the job this morning and had to go take a long walk. I'm back now, and after I roll a fattie and smoke it alone pondering my weed-growing future. I'm not giving up. I just have a whole lot of work to do and a lot of decisions to make going forward. Well, this is what they call experience. Hopefully the next one will be better...

I'll keep you guys posted, all two of you. Next time I'll get established on the forums and get everything right from the beginning. Meanwhile, I'm about to test the theory that leaves aren't needed in flower... Because I know my lack of agressiveness has led me where I am today. I figure every leaf I clip makes some light for buds down below, and if the leaf is already decimated and covered with mites and eggs, why keep it around, right? I don't know if it's still possible to complete the life cycle with my girls, but I'm hoping some of them make it. I don't think I'm close enough to start cutting colas, and in their current fragile state this might finish them off. My plan was to take the mature colas and let the rest continue to grow, but it would appear all development has come to a halt. They're so stressed I'm not sure if any will survive. Now for that fattie!

 

[KeepORgreen]

Harvest nearly done. Despite problems, I should have some respectable bud. Curing began two days ago for the first plant and the last one goes in the jar today.


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[Dwight Monk]

It has a sharp learning curve for sure, or for some of us anyway Glad to hear you got some decent stuff for your time

 

[KeepORgreen]

My technical background in engineering did little to prepare me for this first effort, but will facilitate the development of a closed-loop system for future grows, now that I've gotten my feet wet. I can automate a significant part of the process with a handful of sensors, a few micro controllers, wifi circuitry, and a bit of coding. With a cloud-based app on my smartphone, I could view the garden, check the vitals, and control it remotely from anywhere in the world. It's the next best thing to being there! ...and if I should develop a marketable grow room controller on the way to producing better and better bud? Well that's just icing on the cake! Toke on...


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[Orlando Scout]

Hope all is well in your world.

Thanks for sharing this grow with us.

Please head over to the 420 Strain Reviews forum and post your smoke report there too.

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Sending you lots of love and positive energy.