MotaFina - 2nd Indoor Grow - Damnesia & Special Kush - Supersoil - HID

[BluePhoric]

We went to Shelburne Museum a few weeks ago to see Elvis Costello in concert. They have outdoor concerts in the summer. Great venue. The museum itself has a lot of outdoor exhibits and grounds, so might be better visited on a nice day.

Yeah, I remember there are several buildings... it's true it'd be better on a nice day. But you know, when we visit VT in summer, we are more inclined to go to the beach than to a museum if it's sunny. That's why we always plan to go in late fall, exclusively for the museum.

 

[BluePhoric]

Nice plants Mota. How long do you plan to Veg them ?

 

[MotaFina]

Nice plants Mota. How long do you plan to Veg them ?

I'll probably go 4 more weeks in veg. Unless the Damnesia stretch out a lot. Then I might flip a little sooner.

 

[BluePhoric]

I'll probably go 4 more weeks in veg. Unless the Damnesia stretch out a lot. Then I might flip a little sooner.

For the Damnesia... Why not do LST right now, or maybe do some more topping (I already see 2 main tops that could be targetted) or even supercropping ? to get them real large and short ;-)

 

[MotaFina]

For the Damnesia... Why not do LST right now, or maybe do some more topping (I already see 2 main tops that could be targetted) or even supercropping ? to get them real large and short ;-)

Yep! That's the plan! I'm going to transplant today to #3 pots. I'm waiting for a clear 3rd node on the branches, then I'll top those. That should turn these babies into full on bushes.

I'm not sure yet how to do LST on this crop. The Special Kush is looking like it'll be much shorter, so I'll probably need to pull down the Damnesia branches to keep the canopy even.

 

[BluePhoric]

Yep! That's the plan! I'm going to transplant today to #3 pots. I'm waiting for a clear 3rd node on the branches, then I'll top those. That should turn these babies into full on bushes.

I'm not sure yet how to do LST on this crop. The Special Kush is looking like it'll be much shorter, so I'll probably need to pull down the Damnesia branches to keep the canopy even.

Yeah, training looks easy in theory... but with those dense, short, bushy indicas, branches shoot from everywhere and it's hard to not just let them do what they want ;-)

On my next grow... possibly top twice... or/and if possible, LST the branches to the side, and then supercrop at the edge of the pot, and try to circle around without going higher... I don't know if it's feasible.

 

[BluePhoric]

A week without picture ? ;-)

 

[MotaFina]

A week without picture ? ;-)

Sorry about that. They're just cruising along at this point, but here's an update: Day 36 from seed:

Since my last update, I've up-potted to #3 pots, which I believe are 3-gallon pots. I've just recently topped all plants for the second time, and I'm doing minimal LST - just pulling the upper branches down to get an even canopy.

Here's my pics from this morning:

Current setup - 400 watt metal halide sitting about 12 inches above the canopy:

All the girls:

Damnesia 1 - 3-gallon mixture of Coast of Maine potting soil and my own Supersoil mix

Damnesia 2 - I'm starting to supplement lighting with CFLs, but it's hard to get them situated with the hood so close. I ended up burning a few leaves.

Damnesia 3 - Fully caught up after a slow start:

Special Kush #1 - I'm loving the looks of this Indica-dominant bush. After a slow start due to seedling problems, she's starting to really catch up with the others.

And here's a look at my new project: Bubble Dude bags!

I'm going to try my hand at making some hash. I'm going to use about 1/3 of the first harvest (about 4 ounces of buds) plus the trim (another 1.5 ounce). Since it'll be my first time doing this, I expect to have some challenges, but we'll see how it goes.

 

[MotaFina]

Update - Day 41 from seed:

I've started seeing what might be a deficiency. Here's a photo of a lower leaf on Damnesia 1:

I'm guessing either nitrogen deficiency or maybe magnesium.

They needed water yesterday, so after seeing that leaf pictured above, I gave them their first nutrients. I'm using the Nectar for the Gods sample kit, from Oregon's Only. I gave them a 1/2 strength dose. I'm quite happy with the way these nutrients work compared to the Earth Juice from my last grow. With EJ, after adding the nutes to water, the pH drops below 4 and needs to be adjusted way up. With these nutes, I checked pH after adding them to the water and it was sitting right at around 6 - no adjustment needed. Brilliant! Now we'll have to see how the plants like them.

Here are some pics:

Special Kush #1:

Special K profile:

Damnesia 3:

Damnesia 3 profile:

Damnesia 2:

Damnesia 2 profile:

Damnesia 1:

Damnesia 1 profile:

They're growing slower than I expected, but probably due to having been topped a second time. I think I'll see significant growth over the next two weeks. I plan to up-pot again in another week or so, then once they're recovered from the transplant, I'll flip to 12/12.

Thanks for watching!

 

[BluePhoric]

Hey MF, good looking plants !

I'd think more N deficiency. Lower leaves, yellow from the tip + stunned growth...

It would explain maybe why you feel they're not growing as fast as they could. Maybe they want to, but lack in N to do so. Maybe their pots are already too small, in regards to availability of soil/compost/nutes.

40 days without supplementing with nutes, yeah, it's time. The compost will be used-up faster in smaller pots too. If you re-pot soon, go low on the nutes, because you'll be adding more fresh compost.

I don't think topping those kind of robust bushy plants really stun their growth much. Anyway my Blueberry and Euphoria, witch fall in that category, bounced really fast (almost immediately) and grew faster elsewhere when I stressed them (top/fim/bend).

12/12... Will you wait until you see the new tops have developed enough and your training produces the structure you want, or will you go by a determined number of days ?

 

[MotaFina]

Hey MF, good looking plants !

12/12... Will you wait until you see the new tops have developed enough and your training produces the structure you want, or will you go by a determined number of days ?

Thanks Blue!

For the switch to flower, my main concern now is the roots. I want the plants to be in bigger containers, but I don't think they're ready to transplant just yet - maybe another week. After I transplant, I want the roots to fill out the new pots for two weeks before I switch to 12/12. So that means about 3 more weeks of veg. That will make a full 8 weeks in veg - 9 weeks from seed. Hopefully the Special K will be ready for Christmas!

It's been two days since I gave them their first nutes and it looks like they're really taking off! The sativa-dominant Damnesia are really stretching. The Special Kush is staying low and compact, so I'll probably have some challenges keeping the canopy even. I just pulled down the Damnesia branches a bit more and raised the lights a little.

 

[MotaFina]

I was still seeing some yellowing on lower leaves, with the veins remaining green. I'm thinking Mg. So I added 1 tsp Epsom to a pint of water and I'm foliar spraying. I also added a dose of EJ Cal'n Mag to the last feeding of 1/2 strength NFTG nutes. The yellowing seems to be tapering off, so I think I'm on the right track.

Today, I'll be up-potting. I have one 10-gal, two 7-gal, and one 5-gal pots. I'm thinking of running down to Lowes to get two more 7-gal so they'll all be in the same size pots. We'll see....

 

[BluePhoric]

When you prepared your soil mix, did you add any lime in there ?

If yes, what could be the cause of the Mg deficiency ?

While re-potting, maybe you could add some lime, if you didn't before, (like standard in many pro mixes) ?
I think in granular form it should slowly release over time. No idea about the quantity though.

on the 7 gal pots

 

[MotaFina]

When you prepared your soil mix, did you add any lime in there ?

If yes, what could be the cause of the Mg deficiency ?

While re-potting, maybe you could add some lime, if you didn't before, (like standard in many pro mixes) ?
I think in granular form it should slowly release over time. No idea about the quantity though.

on the 7 gal pots

I added Garden lime, which is pelletized (slow release) dolomite limestone. Maybe I didn't add enough, or it's really slow to release. At any rate the problem seems to be abating.

I ended up using the mix of pots. The 10-gal is BIG, but they all fit in the tent, so that's good. I'll post a pic later.

 

[MotaFina]

Update - day 48 from seed:

Pics of the adolescents in their new and final homes:

They seem to be very healthy at this point...fingers crossed.

 

[BluePhoric]

Nice healthy plants. I hope you found the perfect lime dosage and have no more worries with Mg.

12 days short of 60 days ? Curious to see how much they'll grow in size during those 12 days...

Q: Looking at some photos, it seems like you planted the plant close to the side of the pot. It seems several growers do that. I suppose it allows to do LST on the main stem(s) towards the other side ? What are the advantages/disadvantages ? My plants made so much sides branches in all directions, it seems to me it would have made things more difficult if the plants was not centered...

 

[MotaFina]

Nice healthy plants. I hope you found the perfect lime dosage and have no more worries with Mg.

12 days short of 60 days ? Curious to see how much they'll grow in size during those 12 days...

Q: Looking at some photos, it seems like you planted the plant close to the side of the pot. It seems several growers do that. I suppose it allows to do LST on the main stem(s) towards the other side ? What are the advantages/disadvantages ? My plants made so much sides branches in all directions, it seems to me it would have made things more difficult if the plants was not centered...

The Special K plant is definitely off-center, but it wasn't by plan. I try to work fast when I'm transplanting and just don't always get them centered like I'd like. That said, it hasn't seemed to make much difference for LST...at least not yet. In my last grow, being off-center would have been an advantage because I had to pull the entire plant down due to their height. These ones are squat, so I'd prefer to have gotten 'em centered better.

 

[MotaFina]

Quick update - day 49 from seed - I'm so happy to report that I'm seeing female pre-flowers on all four plants!! This is my first time ever using feminized seeds, so this is very exciting to me.

The plants are looking great after the transplant....I'll try to get a picture of the pre-flowers and post later.

 

[BluePhoric]

Quick update - day 49 from seed - I'm so happy to report that I'm seeing female pre-flowers on all four plants!! This is my first time ever using feminized seeds, so this is very exciting to me.

The plants are looking great after the transplant....I'll try to get a picture of the pre-flowers and post later.

Cool, this is a much happier grow than last time ! I'm sure it wont be your last grow with feminized seeds ;-)

Grrrrrr !

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[MotaFina]

Cool, this is a much happier grow than last time ! I'm sure it wont be your last grow with feminized seeds ;-)

Grrrrrr !

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I hate this reload message that I get all the time.

lol...I get that a lot too. It always seems to happen when you're trying to post. Now I try to remember to copy my posts to the clipboard before I click 'Submit', just in case I lose it all.