KingstonRabbi - Mendo Madness - Outdoor - 1st Grow

[KingstonRabbi]

A couple quick updates.
Here is MM#4, 32" tall from soil, untrained except for single topping.

And MM#1, almost as tall after breaking loose from wires while I was on vacation. I've started re-training her into even spread I had before but gonna take a couple more days at least to get there.

And the newest addition to the outdoor grow is White Widow #3, transferred from the indoor grow after I snapped stem trying to train her for scrog screen. Detail of partially healed break below. Potted her up to 3 gal to finish outside/greenhouse.

 

[KingstonRabbi]

Found a new light source problem that almost certainly will mess up flowering. There is an upstairs hall light that shines on the one area that was protected from porch lights but still received direct sun. It's not very light but I think it's enough. Light reaches all the way to fence where I have plants. I have another spot that I could shield from neighbor's light, but most likely I will have to cover them with plastic at night. I have black plastic and greenhouse frames, I'll figure it out. But suggestions would be welcome.

 

[SweetSue]

And today we start putting the plants back in bondage. In the last group picture they are as tall as I can let them get during veg to stay below fence during flower. I have to get them bent back down and spreading sideways.
The trunk bender below is from my bonsai tools. The stem on #1 restraightened quite a bit while I had it untied. Other plant stems still flexible, but this one is more woody. A few days of constant pressure should get it back to where I want it without risk of breaking.

Another bonsai technique I'm using is branch wiring. When I used ties to hold branches down they tended to also twist to one side. On a bonsai tree I would coil the wire directly on branch tight against bark. Here I pre-coiled the wire around pen at 45 degree angle, then 'screwed' it onto branch with gap between wire and branch to allow for growth. With wire in place I can bend and hold it any direction I want without having to secure it to anything, and I can reposition it anytime. I just have to remember to remove wire before branch out grows it.

Good afternoon KR. I'm still back on page three - at least I think that's where I am - but I got really excited about this. I inherited my husband's bonsai tools, just rudimentary ones. His health took a nosedive right after he started getting serious about it, poor guy, so he didn't get much time in. It just tickled me to read you're also a lover of bonsai. You also reminded me to make my daughter find that wire. I loaned it to her two years ago and she can't seem to find the time to locate it in her domestically-challenged apartment. I've been thinking from the beginning that the wire was the way to go. Then I get to more finely control placement.

Ok, I'm going back in. Long bus ride at the moment, so I may be all caught up by the time I get to my destination.

 

[SweetSue]

Found a new light source problem that almost certainly will mess up flowering. There is an upstairs hall light that shines on the one area that was protected from porch lights but still received direct sun. It's not very light but I think it's enough. Light reaches all the way to fence where I have plants. I have another spot that I could shield from neighbor's light, but most likely I will have to cover them with plastic at night. I have black plastic and greenhouse frames, I'll figure it out. But suggestions would be welcome.

Will this really be a problem Rabbit? They get moonlight. I know nothing about outdoor growing, so I'm mostly curious.

That was a fun read. I was getting concerned there in the beginning when we didn't take notice of you and answer your questions, but thank goodness we have unforgiven wandering the halls, eh? You've picked up a few of my favorite cultivator's along the way. I hope you don't mind if I stake out a slice of yard real estate and watch you grow.

 

[KingstonRabbi]

Welcome aboard Sue!

Bonsai skills have definitely come in handy. Wish I had more time to spend on each plant to do it right. Also wishing I had started wire training earlier because wiring established branches is tough with all the other branches in the way.

I haven't used it as much as I thought I would because of the time issue, but for some branches there really is no other way.

Final note, leave extra wire extending beyond branch tip to avoid having to re-wire whole branch for new growth. And thanks for the hug. Back at ya!

 

[SweetSue]

Thanks for the tip. I wouldn't have thought of that. While he was playing with bonsai I was running a household and our tattoo studio, making his life easier by doing the lion's share of the work, so I wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing with the trees. I still have an entire tote full of pots that still need another home. I'd forgotten about them. They're out on the balcony, out of sight and out of mind.

 

[Mr. Krip]

OK...since we're talking about Bonsai...I was maintaining Bonsai moms when I was doing the SOG and plan on turning three of the four plants currently in my veg tote into Bonsai mom's.

I'm not great at it, but I dug a few old pics out of the gallery.

You can see these are only about 6" tall!

Two pics of my Pineapple Express...this was an awesome pheno and was heartbroken when I lost it!

Check out her structure:

FYI...there's a good old thread on Bonsai here:

Bonsai Mothers

And, I always recommend checking out the "Bonsai Sultan Method" link in my sig, especially for anyone interested in breeding. That's what I will be doing, eventually!

 

[unforgiven]

well holy crap mr krip!!! thanks for pointing out that bonsai sultan in your sig. it's an excellent read and i have no clue how long it is yet. only up to chapter 5 lol. it's going in fav's for sure to be studied when i have more time lol.

OK...since we're talking about Bonsai...I was maintaining Bonsai moms when I was doing the SOG and plan on turning three of the four plants currently in my veg tote into Bonsai mom's.

I'm not great at it, but I dug a few old pics out of the gallery.

You can see these are only about 6" tall!

Two pics of my Pineapple Express...this was an awesome pheno and was heartbroken when I lost it!

Check out her structure:

FYI...there's a good old thread on Bonsai here:

Bonsai Mothers

And, I always recommend checking out the "Bonsai Sultan Method" link in my sig, especially for anyone interested in breeding. That's what I will be doing, eventually!

 

[unforgiven]

ok mr krip, now i got into reading the other bonsai thread......you suck lol

kept me awake at least an extra hour with those 2 threads and nowhere near finished them.

super information, the wife and i were just discussing clones vs autos tonight in the car otw home. lol

thank you again mr.krip

+ reps to you buddy

 

[KingstonRabbi]

Thanks Krip!

I'd already checked out both threads plus a few others. That's one reason I'm so far behind on just about everything around here!

When I'm working on a bonsai I want it to tell a story. It can be simple like 'grew big, strong and really old' or more involved like 'clung to side of eroding cliff for dear life while many generations of eagles made nests in its single bough." I've spent months staring at same tree night after night wondering what each cut or bend would mean. That's the entire life cycle of some cannabis plants. Just think where my grows would be if started doing that again.

 

[Mars Hydro]

 

[KingstonRabbi]

Worked on the Mendocino Madness plants tonight. Found good news and bad news.

This is MM#4, now 36" tall. And showing something new. Flowering has FINALLY begun!

And here's a close up of MM#3. DAMN IT!

 

[Mars Hydro]

She is really tall,i think she is taller than me.

 

[KingstonRabbi]

Very somber mood in the garden tonight inspite of the perfect weather for working outside. Discovered what look like very small bananas on MM#1 and #2, the two biggest and two I spent most time training. Frustrating beyond words. #5 isn't showing yet, but either way a disappointment in size, branching. MM#4 is about the only bright spot in this grow right now. Next week I'll be ecstatic over how well she's doing, but tonight I grieve the dreams that will never be.

I've been ignoring the autos, almost forgot about them. Auto White LSD is on about day 21 of flower. I'm actually grateful that I'll be getting anything from the autos because of the long delay I had getting anything to start growing. Small as they are they stretched to over double height from start of flower. AWLSD is about 18" with 2 colas. Don't remember topping so not sure how that happened.

SAD auto 2 is about 20", about day 26 of flower. SAD Auto #1 & 3 maybe 15" with almost no side development. Moved all of them to basement veg room for 24 hour light. Will bring them back up tomorrow for more sun, then back. I should have been taking advantage of 24 hour light all along. If I do autos again I'll know better.

 

[Amadeus Forzin]

Everything seems to be progressing well over here.

 

[SweetSue]

Rabbit, autos do best with 20/4 lighting. They need that four hours of darkness. But to get the better yield and stronger potency you want 20 hours of light in them from seed to harvest, if you can get it.

So sorry to hear of the nanners. Grrrr..... Do you suspect it was the training, or some other factor?

People don't usually recommend autos for oil production, but last year Cajun did a run with some of the newer autos we're all playing with and he was much impressed. He told me himself that I shouldn't hesitate to try a good auto or two for oil. You should be looking for a 1:1 or 2:1 CBD:THC anyway to help with inflammation and there are some new auto strains that'd fit the bill and give you a faster turnaround.

Sorry, I'm getting awfully pushy about that lately, aren't I? It's just that I'm seeing dramatic response from more than my own family and I'd like to see you get some of that benefit.

Can't you simply pick the nanners off and keep a close watch on them from this point out?

 

[KingstonRabbi]

I probably won't be growing any more autos for a while. My original plan was that they would finish earlier that my photos and I could start harvesting a couple week earlier. I hadn't thought about oil back then, just juice. I will be switching to 20/4 cycle soon as I get another timer, for the autos and my vegging clones.

Nothing I can do about the nanners. they are males, not hermies. Thought they were feminized seeds, but I bought package at dispensary before I new what feminized seeds were. I vaguely recall knowing they were regular seeds at some point but I just forgot along the way.

I will be adding a CBD dominant strain or possibly all CBD strain to mix in my indoor grow. I'm shooting for an overall ratio of 2:1 THC:CBD ratio, but that's changed a couple times already and will keep changing as more info comes available. So please keep being pushy. I like that in a woman.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Your wish will come true.

 

[KingstonRabbi]

No pics tonight. I keep checking MM#1 and #2 to confirm gender. MM#3 is in full male bloom leaving no doubt, but the buds on 1&2 are still too tiny to be sure. Starting to get some hope from the fact that they are not showing like #3 that they might actually turn out to be females. #4 the confirmed female still isn't showing besides the single pistil I found. Took time to restore the ties to maintain spread on 1&2 just in case. Slow development right now is driving me nuts.

 

[Mr. Krip]

No pics tonight. I keep checking MM#1 and #2 to confirm gender. MM#3 is in full male bloom leaving no doubt, but the buds on 1&2 are still too tiny to be sure. Starting to get some hope from the fact that they are not showing like #3 that they might actually turn out to be females. #4 the confirmed female still isn't showing besides the single pistil I found. Took time to restore the ties to maintain spread on 1&2 just in case. Slow development right now is driving me nuts.

How come you don't pull the male??? Are you hoping to produce seeds?

FYI, since you're growing for some serious medical use, I would try to find the right strain(s) for your condition and keep moms and take clones.

I'd encourage you to also play with crosses, but you don't know what you're going to get on a cross and it takes a long time to stabilize a new strain. Even from a reputable breeder, you can still get five different phenos in a single 5-pack of seeds of a single strain.

It's part of the fun (sometimes!) for us hobbyists, but when it comes to your medicine I'd opt for less of a "crap shoot".