NorthernCosmos' First Indoor Soil Auto Grow: 2019

[CraZysWeeD]

I'm adamant to let it cure properly first.

I love perfectly cured and preserved weed but always nice to get a appetizer of what is to come when pulling those lower nodes for a quick calming fix for a hungry mind wondering how she tastes.

With yet another chop I've got yet more sugary trim that goes into the freezer. I have a mix of trim from 12 plants and 5 strains in there now. The plan is to get a set of bubble hash filter bags. Or make some edibles, or...

I would just shake that kief of the leafs, love edibles as well but they quick stack up if all is used for this purpose. I had to throw out some of my coco oil I cooked up this winter due to mold infestation in the bottom of the jars?!

So yeah, I have more than enough in the jars already, and it keeps building up - and yes, it's an awesome feeling!

Don't think you have any difficulty in letting loose some of it to other hungry people in this country, problem is only 1% of them is trustworthy....

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Say hi to Bela and Bohdana, the Babushka Black Auto sisters. They broke soil after 3 and 2 days respectively. I'm growing these in yet another winging-it soil mix:

Garden soil (Peat/sand/lime with NPK nutes)
Previous plants' soil, with a little mycelium in it (from garden soil, compost, perlite)
Compost from my garden (cooked in microwave oven to kill pests)
Perlite
Banana peel bits/water
Coffe grounds
White ashes from the BBQ
Molasses
Earthworms (from the compost, washed to not bring across pests)

The Stardawg that was so super tiny and crinkly and strange has now clearly overtaken the Blackberry Gum. It's crazy bushy, low and shadowy, which makes it hard to water. I have tucked away lots of leaves in the picture. I'm thinking that some defoliation may be in order soon:

 

[StoneOtter]

The stardog blasted! Looking great!

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Yes, that was totally unexpected. And to think that I even was considering pulling it...

So glad that I kept it and got to see it change course completely. I'd class racing past the Blackberry, which was several times its size in the beginning, as positively thriving

 

[StoneOtter]

Yes, that was totally unexpected. And to think that I even was considering pulling it...

So glad that I kept it and got to see it change course completely. I'd class racing past the Blackberry, which was several times its size in the beginning, as positively thriving

Weird how that happens. I have one now that I thought was stunted and with a little time, came around and is happy as it gets. No clue why but I'll take it. Amazing creatures!

 

[NorthernCosmos]

I have a new favourite mutation on the Stardawg, the half lime, half basil leaves . You can also see one top that is half-lime, while all other tops are darker. I like it - it's pretty

 

[CraZysWeeD]

(cooked in microwave oven to kill pests)
(from the compost, washed to not bring across pests)

Methodical Cosmos!

I have a new favourite mutation on the Stardawg, the half lime, half basil leaves . You can also see one top that is half-lime, while all other tops are darker. I like it - it's pretty

She's got one foot in a parallel universe NC for sure, she will bring back some super psychedelic smoke for you.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Today I chopped the two remaining Northern Lights, at day 100. I think they could easily gone a week more. It looks like a decent yield, quite a bit more than the two short northern Lights. There was surprisingly little trim though. Anyway, I should have enough NL for a while now

On the drying rack - the biggest colas that have ever hung in there :

 

[CraZysWeeD]

On the drying rack - the biggest colas that have ever hung in there :

They look awesome! Remember growing NL in my pc tower living at home 20 years ago, fantastic strain.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

They look awesome! Remember growing NL in my pc tower living at home 20 years ago, fantastic strain.

Of course you did! There was no way that could not have happened

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Yesterday was day 50 and feeding for Sophia the Stardawg and Bianca the Blackberry. I held off the picture until today so you can see them in their post feeding perky mood

These are looking like they'll break all records in my tent. Quite wide and with even top heights and a good cola-count. There may be three factors contributing to this:
1 - genetics, but I don't think that's the main thing
2 - strict LST, careful positioning of each branch every 3rd day
3 - enriched soil, peat/sand/lime/NPK base with additives I've mentioned a few postings back

You can also see the seedling watering, following Emilya's modified watering method :
The Proper Way To Water A Seedling In A Large, Final, Container

 

[Mars Hydro]

Congratulations on your harvest

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Thanks, SmokeSara!

As you may have seen, it's all grown under a TSL 2000 in a 2 x 4 tent.

 

[CraZysWeeD]

These are looking like they'll break all records in my tent. Quite wide and with even top heights and a good cola-count. There may be three factors contributing to this:
1 - genetics, but I don't think that's the main thing
2 - strict LST, careful positioning of each branch every 3rd day
3 - enriched soil, peat/sand/lime/NPK base with additives I've mentioned a few postings back

You for got one thing on this list....

4 - You, NothernCosmos

You learned a lot about growing cannabis now since you started some months ago...!

 

[NorthernCosmos]

It's day 56 for the Stardawg and the Blackberry, and day 13 for the two babushka Blacks.

Bela and Bohdana the Babushka Blacks - day 13 is from seed, day 10 from breaking soil :

Sophia the Stardawg and Bianca the Blackberry Gum with slight droopiness, will perk up again in a few hours since they just got fed. The jars with my full Northern Lights harvest is also on display here (the big jars are 2 liters):

Feeding these is actually a bit tricky; they're so low and bushy that I have to lift the leaves up as I go round the bucket and water, and then some of the water hits sloping leaves and spills. And yes, I have removed quite a few lower leaves already... :

I'm not kidding when I say the plants are low, look at those branches - bottom set almost touching the ground. I'm starting to get slightly desperate for a little taller and feeding/LST friendly plants. I'm trying to raise the lights a bit more now to create a slightly greater distance to the seedlings to make them stretch, and then raise the older plants to get them close enough for the bud-boosting.

Such a perfect mutation on that Stardawg :

 

[CraZysWeeD]

It's day 56 for the Stardawg and the Blackberry, and day 13 for the two babushka Blacks.

Bela and Bohdana the Babushka Blacks - day 13 is from seed, day 10 from breaking soil :

Look energized and ready to amaze

Sophia the Stardawg and Bianca the Blackberry Gum with slight droopiness, will perk up again in a few hours since they just got fed. The jars with my full Northern Lights harvest is also on display here (the big jars are 2 liters):

Heat will also make them look like this, remember summer 2018 when that mega heat wave hit us and I had the whole closet full of plants with 400hps running like craZy. Won't be doing that operation one more time during summer that's for sure.

I'm trying to raise the lights a bit more now to create a slightly greater distance to the seedlings to make them stretch, and then raise the older plants to get them close enough for the bud-boosting.

Think you are really keen on a veg tent now So hard to keep seedlings and blooming plants in the same tent but you are doing great with them Cosmos, better than I did with both seedlings and bloomers.

Such a perfect mutation on that Stardawg

Very beautiful, Schrödingers Plant...

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Heat will also make them look like this, remember summer 2018 when that mega heat wave hit us and I had the whole closet full of plants with 400hps running like craZy. Won't be doing that operation one more time during summer that's for sure.

Yes, it's been upwards to 32C in the tent. I've just learnt about Vapor Pressure Deficit. Even though I can't make a measurement of the leaf temps yet, the charts are good helpers in indicating what your temperature and humidity combo should be. Now the game is on to try keeping the plants closer to the good VPD band - not so easy when you have little control over the environment, but the awareness is there and I'll do the little things that I can. It's a good read:

Vapor Pressure Deficit & What It Means To You!

VPD - Overview Until the last couple years, Vapor Pressure Deficit, was measured mostly by research universities and agricultural laboratories. The tech available to growers these days has enabled us to dial a grow room in very accurately with regards to heat and RH. We all know that cannabis...

www.420magazine.com

But yeah - depending on how the tent environment fares during the summer, I might be inclined to take a pause. But then again, I'm already committed with flowers and seedlings in the tent, so that's another 80-100 days by which it'll be autumn again... At least I can gather environmental data to help me decide what to do next summer.

 

[CraZysWeeD]

Love your commitment to the growing Nc, but things I learned during my growing is its not worth the trouble... but sure its much easier now with leds than those super hot hids and the heat radiation from just the light was so intense you could get a tan under them... just ..:CraZy:..

Hope you can keep it in check without needing to pump any refrigerant coolant in the process. LoL

 

[CraZysWeeD]

So Spanish heat have hit us now and I'm curious how things are going in your tent with the heat now... Hope nothing is burnt.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

It's hot enough alright! Ca. 31C and 40% RH in the tent right now, and there's nothing I can do about it. It could be worse seeing as the ambient temp is 28, so the extractor at max blast with disconnected filter seems to be able to move most of the heat from the light. I've tried cooling the room with a huge fan, but it's basically just blowing hot air around There's a bit of canoeing leaves, but otherwise the plants seems to handle it. From what I read though, these conditions seriously stunt the growth and bud density of the flowering plants...

The datasheets for the LED power supplies says they have efficiency of 0.9 or better, so there'd only be 30W of heat to be saved by moving them outside the tent, and then they would heat the room a little anyway.

Edit: tried the big fan in the room again in a different spot and with an open tent - it got hotter by more than 1C at canopy level, so not a good idea. The extractor fan alone does better job with a closed tent.

The plants may seem to cope better with the heat than me - I'm pretty much knocked out. The greenhouse is too hot as well, and I have chillis that has burns. I'm about to cut the grass now - have mounted a drink holder on the lawn tractor, only missing a huge sombrero...

The first summer grow is a lesson in heat management, or rather the lack thereof... I really need an AC for the room/tent, but the price of buying and running one is out of the question for now (not being cheap, simply don't have the money). When one has a decent stash, a growing pause at summertime seem the right way to go. Pulling the brakes on the overlapping grow is kind of inconvenient though; I'd have to throw away healthy plants, and I can't bring myself to do that. Well, this is purely a luxury problem - no complaints, just observations