Medical Grow

[IrishBoy]

The funny thing is, I have hardly any stretching at all. In fact, they are kind of close together, I was going to top 4 of them but I am lost at exactly where (never had them this tight! Hard to tell exactly where to cut and still be able to get roots on the cuttings, trying not to waste one iota!)

you cut above 1 node and get to colas, cut above the 2nd node and get 4 colas and so on. IMO above the 2nd true node is the way to go, get 4 fat all colas.

it must be the leds and the extra blue thats helping them not stretch, if CFL or HID they should be pretty lanky. also strain matters.

 

[lbezphil2005]

I'm a noob, but how high is your light above the canopy? How tall is your grow space?

8 feet 8 inches high, 8 feet long, 2.5 ft wide. My light is about 28 inches, maybe 30 from the canopy. its a 700 watt led. at the light the temps are 101 but thats right at the light. at the canopy, now that I have my pots up off the floor (bottom temps were getting to 63 at bottom of pot) I have a temp/rh meter at canopy, rh between 35 and 60 (right after I water) temps now with doors left cracked slightly and 2 fans running high was 84 lows 71. I think for now leaving the doors cracked is going to be my best option. I found a thru the wall fan, moves air from one room to another. I am going to mount this in the closet thru to the dining room, it will go inside an unused cabinet which I will rig with mesh on top to breath. I think after that I can shut the doors and everything will be okay. In the winter our house is around 66, summer is 71, so if I just get extra air inside I think that will do it. As far as having a perfect environment, i figure natures not perfect, plus the face that I am tired of paying 60 an eight for crap that lasts me a day or two, I know good and well I can do better than that cause I've done it before (18 years of raising kids, both are off to college now!! WAHOO!!) Anyway, after todays experiment, I feel a little more comfortable, the temps were way more stable and low with the doors cracked and 2 fans, one directed up at the light and one blowing across the canopy. Nothing above 84 and nothing below 71.

 

[HorseBadoritz]

This may be a long post......

Every substrate smaller than 1/4" diameter has a wicking action that will work against gravity, to wick moisture up the medium to a given height, depending on the substrate. This is the Perched Water Table.

In soil, this wicking action may be 2-5 inches, depending on the soil. In a densely packed medium, like soil, this is simply too much water for healthy roots to grow in, so some of them grow and die and grow again....most of the root growth occurs when the medium is relatively dry. This goes on in starts and fits until the plant is so large it can drink away the PWT before the roots are killed.

So, you really don't want a PWT! You want that water outa there, especially when the plants are smaller, which is when it counts most. Just think of all the energy the plant wasted trying to heal damaged roots when it could be getting fatter and stronger!

So you can rid yourself of this problem by installing a wick, which will drain the PWT. Even if the wick is dangling in a pot of water, it will still drain the PWT and wick moisture back into the substrate at the same time!

Containers stop draining when the force of gravity pulling down on the water in the container is equal to the upward capillary pull of the soil. Every soil with small particles will support a PWT of a given depth. It doesn't matter if a container is 12 inches deep, or 12 feet deep, 12 inches or twelve feet in diameter; the depth of the PWT will be the same for that soil.

So, if the given depth of the PWT of Soil X is 4 inches.....and you fill the bottom of the pot with 2 inches of perlite, the PWT remains 4 inches, but is now 2 inches higher in the pot. Useless! Unless it was your goal to decrease the size of the container.

On the other hand, if you add a wick, a small pot becomes "larger," and that, coupled with the fact that roots aren't struggling all the time results in a larger, healthier plant.

Try googling: Perched Water Table Container Gardening.

Thanks for that, Doc. I was thinking in terms of perched water tables that I have to deal with that are related to natural springs and artesian wells. Turns out to be a whole different animal. Container was the missing link

Google took me here:

Container Soils - Water Movement & Retention IV - Container Gardening Forum - GardenWeb

and along with what you wrote, very enlightening.

Something I don't quite get, though, is that tapla adds perlite to his mixture, yet says that adding coarser stuff to finer medium can increase the capillary action, keeping the water table perched. Is that where drain (wick) is useful?

Do you think there's a point of diminishing return in going over chunky in perlite hempies? I've only finished a grow with #4, and the most (and most of the) roots were near the bottom of the bucket. Would seem that filling the pot with roots would be a good objective. Would smaller particles help that?

Thanks again for taking the time to explain that... should become a sticky since it's not exactly intuitive.

 

[Doc Bud]

Thanks for that, Doc. I was thinking in terms of perched water tables that I have to deal with that are related to natural springs and artesian wells. Turns out to be a whole different animal. Container was the missing link

Google took me here:

Container Soils - Water Movement & Retention IV - Container Gardening Forum - GardenWeb

and along with what you wrote, very enlightening.

Something I don't quite get, though, is that tapla adds perlite to his mixture, yet says that adding coarser stuff to finer medium can increase the capillary action, keeping the water table perched. Is that where drain (wick) is useful?

Do you think there's a point of diminishing return in going over chunky in perlite hempies? I've only finished a grow with #4, and the most (and most of the) roots were near the bottom of the bucket. Would seem that filling the pot with roots would be a good objective. Would smaller particles help that?

Thanks again for taking the time to explain that... should become a sticky since it's not exactly intuitive.

I think a smaller perlite is better for hempys. The chunky stuff is chunkier than it used to be, according to my hydro shop owner buddy. The smaller stuff will still get plenty of oxygen, and it will wick better.

Most good potting soil doesn't need much perlite added. It's ok to add a bit...but stuff like Fox Farms and Roots don't need it. But the little dangling wick....that's the stuff!

Try it, you'll like it!

 

[HorseBadoritz]

I think a smaller perlite is better for hempys. The chunky stuff is chunkier than it used to be, according to my hydro shop owner buddy. The smaller stuff will still get plenty of oxygen, and it will wick better.

Most good potting soil doesn't need much perlite added. It's ok to add a bit...but stuff like Fox Farms and Roots don't need it. But the little dangling wick....that's the stuff!

Try it, you'll like it!

Wickie...leaks! Ha

 

[Barry Manilow]

Wickie...leaks! Ha

 

[Munki]

Sounds wonderful Doc. Nice description. Got me tempted to get dirty some day. +rep if I can,

 

[Hash Hound]

Doc
I am 13+ weeks of flowering and this NL plant will not stop growing. She has fox tailed almost every bud and it seems like the buds are opening up like pine cones not getting tighter. Its like the buds are growing more buds. However, she is getting frostier. I have been keeping the temps down and giving her nothing but water. You can pick a bud off of her and its smoke-able in 2 days. Sampling her every few days and the buzz has gone from uppy/short lasting to a little stonier and longer lasting. I have no problem waiting her out, but when do I reach the point that I have to say enough is enough and yank her? Will she keep growing and maturing? Still not an over abundance of amber tirs yet. Looks like under 50% to me.
Would this be considered a phenotype? Like this plant is leaning towards the sativa side? She never had the broad wide dark leaves I was expecting. More like thin bladed ones. (dont wanna blame Nirvana, but could it be the genetics?)

PS (not sure of your religious affiliation, but) a Merry Christmas to you Doc and ty for all the advice you have given me this grow.

 

[Doc Bud]

Doc
I am 13+ weeks of flowering and this NL plant will not stop growing. She has fox tailed almost every bud and it seems like the buds are opening up like pine cones not getting tighter. Its like the buds are growing more buds. However, she is getting frostier. I have been keeping the temps down and giving her nothing but water. You can pick a bud off of her and its smoke-able in 2 days. Sampling her every few days and the buzz has gone from uppy/short lasting to a little stonier and longer lasting. I have no problem waiting her out, but when do I reach the point that I have to say enough is enough and yank her? Will she keep growing and maturing? Still not an over abundance of amber tirs yet. Looks like under 50% to me.
Would this be considered a phenotype? Like this plant is leaning towards the sativa side? She never had the broad wide dark leaves I was expecting. More like thin bladed ones. (dont wanna blame Nirvana, but could it be the genetics?)

PS (not sure of your religious affiliation, but) a Merry Christmas to you Doc and ty for all the advice you have given me this grow.

My personal preference is to harvest with cloudy triches....very few amber. I think I'd harvest!

 

[placerville]

My personal preference is to harvest with cloudy triches....very few amber. I think I'd harvest!

My last grow went the same way with a long duration of flowering (13 weeks) and then the appearance of the white hairs. I had around 10% amber. I felt that it might try to go hermie on me so I pulled and processed.

 

[Purple Goose]

But what do you do when your at day 84 of flower the buds are wispy but are continuing to grow new calyx's and sprout tons of new white hairs every day and while not getting dense fast they are getting thicker and thicker. But how long should I let them go before saying the hell with it?

 

[Doc Bud]

But what do you do when your at day 84 of flower the buds are wispy but are continuing to grow new calyx's and sprout tons of new white hairs every day and while not getting dense fast they are getting thicker and thicker. But how long should I let them go before saying the hell with it?

I dunno....what does the breeder say about the strain, if anything? If it's not ready to be chopped.....keep growing!

 

[lbezphil2005]

Doc, i'd rep you again if I could for these posts! Damn, just when you think you've spread yourself around enough!

A quick note: I'm getting ready to start flowering, but I am going to try it slowly, more like nature. I figure slowly decreasing my lights on time, 15 min a day for the next couple weeks till I get down to where I think it should be. Just got my latitude/longitude straightened out, so I am going to try and keep to natures schedule (somewhat!) and see what happens. Also, my temps have evened out, 91 is as hot as it gets, supplementing with co2, fans moving, 91 is at canopy bottom of pots are 71, rest of room is pretty good. Hopefully this will keep stress to a minimum (now!)

 

[Doc Bud]

Doc, i'd rep you again if I could for these posts! Damn, just when you think you've spread yourself around enough!

A quick note: I'm getting ready to start flowering, but I am going to try it slowly, more like nature. I figure slowly decreasing my lights on time, 15 min a day for the next couple weeks till I get down to where I think it should be. Just got my latitude/longitude straightened out, so I am going to try and keep to natures schedule (somewhat!) and see what happens. Also, my temps have evened out, 91 is as hot as it gets, supplementing with co2, fans moving, 91 is at canopy bottom of pots are 71, rest of room is pretty good. Hopefully this will keep stress to a minimum (now!)

I did the gradual flower thing....it worked pretty well! I think I did it on the MK Ultra grow....maybe it was the Un Lucky Queen.....but it works!

Those temps sound pretty good with the C02.....should have a really nice yield!

 

[Hydrogrown]

Awesome grow man thanks for all the great info, This will help me grow my blackberries proper!

 

[Purple Goose]

I think I kinda mis phrased that last question what I meant was when would you call the flowering time of a strain as impractical and have to pull it? I mean are 14-16 week strains actually practical for a medicinal garden ?

 

[BuddhaThaiMan]

14-16 is long especially for the first time growing it, but once you have a perpetual grow going, doesn't really make much difference.

 

[Hash Hound]

Need help drying

Doc,

I have been picking samples, (one lower branch and one large upper bud) hanging them and they are dry enough to smoke in 2 days. As a matter of fact, they almost crumble to powder. Temp in room is not to high between 65-68.

A few weeks ago, experimented by putting a bud directly into a jar and it hasn't dried much in 2 weeks, burping it a few times a day. So that's not the answer.

Question I have is how do I avoid over drying so fast? Hang a day and bag the next? You ever have this problem?

I will be picking the whole plant any day now and do not want to ruin it. Today is the end of week 15 flowering and it still seems to be growing, but we will pick her very soon and get ready for the next batch.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[BuddhaThaiMan]

What's the relative humidity % in your drying area? I would guess it's pretty low.
For drying I prefer RH% between 45-55%, though in my area it's usually 25-35%. Herb dries very quick and can overdry very easily. I would also bet that just the outside is really crispy. With the bud you already dried, put it in a jar, and check it the next day. Jarring it should help bring out the rest of the moisture (in your case, it'll help moisten the outer part).
I could go on, but this is Doc's thread.

 

[Setting Sun]

popcorn buds and small samples dry very quickly, so don't worry about it, your larger buds won't dry in two days unless your RH is really low.