MotaFina's Winter Garden 2019: Liberty Haze, Damnesia, Royal Cookies & Critical

[MotaFina]

A new grow for a new year! I'm doing back to back grows this fall/winter due to having some problems with heat and humidity over the summer. My fall grow just finished. This one should finish out about mid- to late April, then I'll take a break over the early summer and get started again in late July.

Like my previous grows, I'm using a single 4x4 tent in my basement with some old strains and some new.

Strains - all feminized and all purchased from Seedsman:

Strain ---- ---- ---- Breeder ---- ---- ---- -- S/I Ratio ---- ---- THC ---- Flowering
Liberty Haze ---- Barney's Farm ----- --- 60/40 ----- ----- - 25% ---- 9 weeks
Damnesia ----- -- Strain Hunters ---- --- 60/40 ----- ----- -- High --- 9-10 weeks
Royal Cookies -- Royal Queen Seeds -- Mostly Indica -- 23% ---- 8 weeks
Critical ----- ----- - Royal Queen Seeds -- 40/60 ---- ---- --- 18% ---- 7-8 weeks

Lighting:
Seedling - CFLs
Veg - 400w MH with supplemental CFLs
Flower - 1000w HPS with supplemental CFLs

Grow Media:
Supersoil mix - based on Subcools recipe, composed of about 50% recharged used soil and Coast of Maine Stonington Blend with ammendments

Pots:
7-gal fabric
10-gal fabric

Nutrients:
I'll be going through to flower with mostly just H2O, but might add some ACT or instant tea. Once into flowering, I'll be using up the last of my Nectar for the Gods bottles then possibly switching to another nutrient line.

Ventilation:
2 x 6-inch inline fans for air exchange and extraction. Carbon filter for smell will be hooked up about week 4 of flowering.

And here's a picture of the seedlings at day 19 from seed - Damnesia and Liberty Haze in front, Royal Cookies and Critical in back:

NewSeedlings.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 12, 2018

New seedlings for next grow

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

looking healthy and bright.
have a rqs critical going on and a monster liberty haze too both 2 weeks in flower but the liberty has come through a nightmare to get here. less with the critical though , she has only had short grow time ( had to flip room) so am shocked by her ability to catch up with the canopy has she has. also doing a hulkberry rqs. do like their genetics so far . good luck. will follow along for the ride
We have a thread for critical comparisons and shared info on here. you should sub yourself in and share the critical with us all.
peace

 

[MotaFina]

looking healthy and bright.
have a rqs critical going on and a monster liberty haze too both 2 weeks in flower but the liberty has come through a nightmare to get here. less with the critical though , she has only had short grow time ( had to flip room) so am shocked by her ability to catch up with the canopy has she has. also doing a hulkberry rqs. do like their genetics so far . good luck. will follow along for the ride
We have a thread for critical comparisons and shared info on here. you should sub yourself in and share the critical with us all.
peace

Thanks for checking in here Ganjagrandaddy! I posted a picture of my RQS Critical onto the comparative journal and I'll try to keep updating it over there. Got Hulkberry and Peyote Critical in reserve for next grow too.

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

Thanks for checking in here Ganjagrandaddy! I posted a picture of my RQS Critical onto the comparative journal and I'll try to keep updating it over there. Got Hulkberry and Peyote Critical in reserve for next grow too.

love the strains and cant fault the peyotes speed and response to 4 way mainline. so many bud sites forming. building a scaffold soon. lol
have 3 hulkberry ( will take cuttings of these ladies for the pots so need 8. ) and also some Barneys Farm Dr Grinspoon that i am itching to have a go at growing. supposed the best hierloom weed ever !!! so need to test that out but apparently not a good yielder or grower. we will find out. lol. great choice on your strains moto. will look out for your rqs in the critical forum too. welcome

 

[MotaFina]

Quick update - I up-potted the bigger seedlings to 1-gal pots in supersoil. Royal Cookies up front, Critical and Liberty Haze in the middle and Damnesia bringing up the rear:

P1110604.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 18, 2018

Veg day 16

 

[MotaFina]

Another quick update: I repotted Damnesia and topped the Critical and Liberty Haze. And just an observation: the Royal Cookies is showing a similar trait as the last grow. The leaf tips are beginning to show variegation. Not tip burn, just a coloration that I saw in the last grow also.

Photo:

1221181438_resized.jpg

• MotaFina
• Dec 21, 2018

update-12-21-18

 

[MotaFina]

Update - Day 36 from seed - Day 30 of Veg:

Plants are progressing rather slowly but looking quite healthy. Here's the blow by blow with photos:

Liberty Haze: This one is in the process of quadlining. It has been topped, had the two lowest branches removed and I've started to train the two uppper branches to grow more horizontal:

LibertyHaze-12-28-18.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 30, 2018

Liberty Haze - Top view

LibertyHazeSide-12-28-18.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 30, 2018

Liberty Haze - Side view

RQS Critical: Same as the Liberty Haze - quadline at the same stage of training:

RQSCritical_12-28-18.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 30, 2018

RQS Critical - top view

RQSCriticalSide-12-28-18.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 30, 2018

RQS Critical - side view

Royal Cookies: This one will not be quadlined. It has such a different branching structure that I think it would be a waste to remove the bottom branches. It's been topped. Once the branches are long enough, I'll start training them. I'm not sure why she decided to lean over, but she's solidly planted so probably not a problem. I'm starting to think the leaf tip variegation is actually nute burn, but the last plant did the same and grew out of it eventually. I'm just feeding water at this point, so there's not much else I can do.

RoyalCookies-12-28-18.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 30, 2018

Royal Cookies - top view

RoyalCookies2-12-28-18.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 30, 2018

Royal Cookies - top view 2

RoyalCookiesSide-12-28-18.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 30, 2018

Royal Cookies - Side view

Damnesia: This one is about a week behind. I just topped her and will not be quadlining her either. I'll just do basic LST like in my past grows.

Damnesia-12-28-18.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 30, 2018

Damnesia - Top view

DamnesiaSide-12-28-18.JPG

• MotaFina
• Dec 30, 2018

Damnesia - Side view

Going forward, I'll eventually top them all a second time, continue with training, and up-pot to 7-gal pots in about two weeks. Then one to two more weeks of 18/6 before the flip.

 

[MotaFina]

Update - Day 44 from seed - Day 38 of Veg:

I got the girls transplanted into 7-gallon containers - two in fabric and two in plastic. I'm still feeding primarily just water. I have been adding in a root stimulant. They're growing slow. The temps have been a little low and humidity low, so that would explain the slow growth. The Damnesia's branches seem really weak, but the others all have stout branches. Overall, they're healthy but growing slow.

Here's some pics:

P1110624.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 7, 2019

posse

Royal Cookies - showing either variegation or tip burn -- not sure which, but it looks interesting:

P1110625.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 7, 2019

Royal Cookies - 1-7-19

Damnesia - I did remove the two lowest branches:

P1110626.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 7, 2019

Damnesia - 1-7-19

Liberty Haze - almost ready for another topping:

P1110627.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 7, 2019

Liberty Haze - 1-7-19

RQS Critical:

P1110628.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 7, 2019

RQS Critical - 1-7-19

 

[MotaFina]

I'm still seeing really sluggish growth here. They're not drinking much and not growing much. They still look fairly healthy.

Liberty Haze seems to be a very sensitive plant. It will be all droopy and sad one day and look fine the next - without any intervention.

Royal Cookies - the coloration is probably nutrient burn, but otherwise it's looking healthy. There's not much I can do except maybe flush it. i think it'll outgrow the over-dosage from the supersoil and start looking better once it gets a little bigger....that's what the last one did.

Damnesia is looking good, except that the branches are pretty weak. It's still a ways out to the second topping.

And the star of the show is the RQS Critical - it's a little ahead of the others. I'll probably do the second topping on it and the LH this weekend.

I've set a target date of 12/28 for the flip to 12/12. I'll try to get some more pics up.

 

[MotaFina]

One problem I'm having on this grow is that the two plastic pots are really retaining water in the bottom half. I had planned to go all fabric this grow but never got down to the store to get two more bags. The plastic pots are staying heavy. I had to wait 9 days from transplant before they even started to feel light enough to need water. This problem should resolve once the plants gets bigger and the roots extend down into the bottom (hopefully!)

 

[MotaFina]

I topped the Liberty Haze and RQS Critical a few days ago. The other two are still not ready for their second topping.

Here's a couple pics I got this morning....lights went off just as I started taking pics:

Tent shot - Royal cookies and Damnesia in front, Liberty Haze and RQS Critical in back:

P1110629.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 16, 2019

Tent shot - 1-16-19

Royal Cookies - now I'm wondering if this coloration might actually be a deficiency! First I thought it was natural variegation. Then I thought nute burn, but I haven't added any nutes. I just thought my supersoil might be too hot for this strain. I'll have to look at a deficiencies chart and try to figure out if there's something missing.

P1110630.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 16, 2019

Royal Cookies - 1-16-19

Damnesia - a week behind the others and pitifully small for it's age. I'm hoping she'll start pumping up the volume.

P1110631.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 16, 2019

Damnesia - 1-16-19

Still about two weeks to 12/12, so there's still time for veg growth. I'll probably defoliate a bit at one week before the flip. I've also stopped using my intake fan and been keeping the door open with two circulating fans for circulation and intake. The intake was blowing cold air into the tent, so I'm trying to let it heat up from the lights.

 

[MotaFina]

Here's pics of the other two plants:

Liberty Haze:

0117190754.jpg

• MotaFina
• Jan 17, 2019

Liberty Haze - 54 days from seed

RQS Critical:

0117190754a.jpg

• MotaFina
• Jan 17, 2019

RQS Critical - 54 days from seed

And another picture of the Cookies leaves - I need to figure out what's going on here:

0117190755a.jpg

• MotaFina
• Jan 17, 2019

Deficiency or toxicity?

 

[MotaFina]

I topped the Royal Cookies second time and I've just started brewing a compost tea. The tea is just earthworm castings, kelp meal and small helpings of three different sources of michorizae. I plan to brew it for 48 hours this time, maybe even longer. It's cold in the basement, so it might take more time for the micros to multiply.

I will probably flip in a week to 10 days - once the Cookies starts showing some new growth. I'll probably do a minor defoliation in a couple of days.

 

[MotaFina]

I've got female preflowers showing on the RQS Critical and the Damnesia now. Nothing yet on Royal Cookies or Liberty Haze. I'll try to get photos later.

 

[MotaFina]

Update - Day 61 from seed - Day 55 of veg:

I fed the plants my compost tea last night. Two things of note with that: 1.) due to the low temperature in the basement, the tea was pretty cold - hopefully it didn't shock the plants. and 2.) I bubbled the tea for about 48 hours and it didn't smell foul, but I'm no expert here. I don't know if I'm doing it correctly. There was some black, slimy stuff in there, so hopefully it's getting enough oxygen to maintain aerobic activity and not turning into pond scum.

The plants are a little droopy today as seen in the photos below. Could be cold water shock or maybe the tea was off a little. At any rate, they don't look too bad and I'm sure they'll recover and be OK.

Here's photos:

Tent shot - Liberty Haze and RQS Critical in front, Royal Cookies and Damnesia in back:

Tent-1-23-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 24, 2019

Tent shot - 1-23-19

Liberty Haze:

LibertyHaze-1-23-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 24, 2019

Liberty Haze - 1-23-19

Damnesia:

Damnesia-1-23-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 24, 2019

Damnesia - 1-23-19

RQS Critical - top:

CriticalTop-1-23-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 24, 2019

Top View - RQS Critical - 1-23-19

Side:

CriticalSide-1-23-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 24, 2019

Side view - RQS Critical - 1-23-19

Royal Cookies:

Cookies-1-23-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Jan 24, 2019

Royal Cookies -1-23-19

I'm on track to flip to 12/12 in about a week. I'm thinking 2/1 now.

 

[MotaFina]

I fed the plants their first nutrients last night. I gave them a 1/2 dose of Nectar for the Gods. I'm getting low on nutrients so I need to figure out whether to stick with this line and buy more bottles, or switch to something else.

Also, I'm reconsidering when to flip. I think I'll reset the timer today, so that tomorrow will be day one of 12/12.

 

[MotaFina]

Interesting article on the future of corporate cannabis production - compounds as commodities: The Point of Diminished Returns

 

[MotaFina]

I swapped out the MH light and fired up my HPS light last night - one week into 12/12. Plants are looking awesome, but I'm not really seeing pistils yet. I'll try to post pictures after lights come on tonight.

 

[MotaFina]

Update - Day 74 - Day 9 of 12/12 - Day 1 of flower:

It might be a little early to call this 'day 1 of flower' since the Royal Cookies has still not shown any pistils, but the rest all have, so whatever.

I'm on a schedule now of Feed (NFTG)/Feed (House & Garden)/Tea/Feed (NFTG)/Feed (H&G)/Flush....so I'm alternating between two nutrient lines, with a few other things thrown in here and there (EWC, microbes, SLF-100, etc)

Here's some not-too-good pictures with the blow-by-blow:

Tent shot:

Tent-2-6-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 6, 2019

Tent shot - 2-6-19

Royal Cookies - this plant is staying SHORT. Like my last specimen, it's just a very weird phenotype - dark, leathery leaves with overlapping lobes, super-sensitive to nutrients. strong branches that don't respond much to topping. I didn't think the last one would amount to much, but it turned out a respectable yield of nearly 5 ounces.

RC-2-6-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 6, 2019

Royal Cookies - 2-6-19

RQS Critical - Still the star of this show. It's just cruising along, but looking pretty good.

Critical-2-6-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 6, 2019

RQS Critical - 2-6-19

Liberty Haze - This one is just exploding with growth. I might need to do some serious tie downs or supercropping if it continues to stretch for two more weeks.

LH-2-6-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 6, 2019

Liberty Haze - 2-6-19

Damnesia - Old reliable here...she's pretty much caught up with the others after being a week behind. She's also stretching quite a bit. I need to get some more soil into her pot, but I'm all out. Gotta get down to the garden supply store.

Dam-2-6-19.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 6, 2019

Damnesia - 2-6-19

I've been researching plant nutrition, pH and alkilinity after reading InTheShed's thread. Really interesting stuff. My water supply is municipal and their report shows alkilinity of 55 ppm, which is fairly low. So, if I'm understanding it correctly, that means my water has very little ablility to buffer pH in the substrate and I could see quick pH swings if I'm not careful about the makeup of the nutrients I use. Especially the nitrogen sources. Both the lines I'm using use either exclusively or primarily calcium nitrate for nitrogen source, so I think I'm safe.

 

[MotaFina]

Some random shots at day 6 of flowering:

DSC_0102.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 12, 2019

Royal Cookies - 2-12-19

DSC_0101.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 12, 2019

Royal Cookies - 2-12-19

DSC_0097a.jpg

• MotaFina
• Feb 12, 2019

RQS Critical - 2-12-19

DSC_0096.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 12, 2019

RQS Critical - 2-12-19

DSC_0103.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 12, 2019

Leaf - 2-12-19

DSC_0100.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 12, 2019

beginning of flowering

DSC_0104.JPG

• MotaFina
• Feb 12, 2019

Top - 2-12-19