Outdoor Organic Balcony Stealth Quadlining: White Widow/Gorgonzola

[GardeningGnome]

Must be useful as soaps are often mentioned, and easy to find at hand if needed quickly. I have read good things about milk which altho sounded surprising apparently can work great too. Altho someone mentioned the milk had contributed to a mold problem. Avoiding the flowers seems pretty hard to do with a sprayer, or mine at least, of course you would try to avoid blasting them but I'd imagine they would still get sprayed - but I guess as long as the intention is there, haha.

Wet napkins, qtips and time.... lots of time

There are milk-based soaps? Anyways...

At first thought, I was doubtful of using milk as a pesticide. My logics-tree started with "it goes sour quickly", and then branched out. Then.. My logical paths continued to fire...... In Sweden, we have something that can only be translated to "sour milk", it is called "filmjölk" here. ( Filmjölk - Wikipedia )
It is a thick thick version of milk, fermented milk. Which is absolutely booming with good bacteria. Bacteria...Yeah..
After a bit of research.. .Milk, or types of it, might not be such a bad idea!

Hope all is well with you this weekend!

 

[Stunger]

An update with some pics

The 2 Quadlined girls continue to go well. They are thirsty wenches at this stage in their growth. I am generally giving each plant 5 or 6 liters a day of water, sometimes a liter more, and if I do it carefully I get zero run off. By the next morning when I go to water again, the pots are once again light to lift, and when the water is poured lots of bubbles of air rush out as the water sinks in. That's how quickly they drink and how aerated their pots are due to all the holes I drilled into the sides and bottoms. I should add, I almost alway add half a liter or so of 'worm wee' to the watering can on each and every watering, too much? I don't know but they seem happy and developing well so I have continued adding a little each time.

You can see the buds starting to develop on the Quad girls now.

3-WWG

• Stunger
• Feb 25, 2020

2-WW

• Stunger
• Feb 25, 2020

 

[Emeraldo]

Looking very good! Wonderful bud forming! You are going to have your best harvest ever... How is the aroma?

 

[Stunger]

The aroma is subtle, but there are some moments when the breeze is just so, and the aroma pervades inside the house. Soon of course I would expect it to increase. The best I can do is hope for a slow and steady buildup so hopefully it goes unnoticed, or by the time it becomes pungent it is time to harvest.

 

[Emeraldo]

I once quite naively grew a skunk strain. Whew it was like a stinky cheese and the neighbors were noticing something, they just weren't quite sure what it was. I saw them once out my window, they were sniffing in the air with a quizzical look. I learned from that and now I try to grow only low aroma plants there. But that isn't your situation. Maybe no one will notice a thing. You've done a great deal to keep the plants out of sight. Unless they are superstink, and unless the folks outside stand around right below your balcony, all of which is unlikely, you won't have any problem there. It's good that you're worried, though. Remember to stay worried... it helps. It's when you stop worrying... that's when you should worry!

 

[Stunger]

I once quite naively grew a skunk strain. Whew it was like a stinky cheese and the neighbors were noticing something, they just weren't quite sure what it was. I learned from that and try to grow only low aroma plants there. But that isn't your situation. Maybe no one will notice a thing.

Well, if I can be hopeful in that regard, last year's 2 Fluxed girls were the mothers of this year's 2 Quadlined girls. So on that basis the 'smell' factor should be no surprise. However, the trouble and the joy is, that this years girl's bud production could be 4 times last year's, maybe more. Like you had said before, I'm hoping the breeze/wind will help carry the aroma high up and out into the sky where is will be of no offense to anybody.

Actually the progress of this year's girls, have put me off kicking off further auto's which I would have done by now, but I feel that would add further to the potential smell

 

[Emeraldo]

I once quite naively grew a skunk strain. Whew it was like a stinky cheese and the neighbors were noticing something, they just weren't quite sure what it was. I saw them once out my window, they were sniffing in the air with a quizzical look. I learned from that and now I try to grow only low aroma plants there. But that isn't your situation. Maybe no one will notice a thing. You've done a great deal to keep the plants out of sight. Unless they are superstink, and unless the folks outside stand around right below your balcony, all of which is unlikely, you won't have any problem there. It's good that you're worried, though. Remember to stay worried... it helps. It's when you stop worrying... that's when you should worry!

...Like you had said before, I'm hoping the breeze/wind will help carry the aroma high up and out into the sky where is will be of no offense to anybody.

Actually the progress of this year's girls, have put me off kicking off further auto's which I would have done by now, but I feel that would add further to the potential smell

Kicking off some more auto's wouldn't contribute to any "aroma" until after the Quad is harvested, right?

 

[Stunger]

Kicking off some more auto's wouldn't contribute to any "aroma" until after the Quad is harvested, right?

With my Gorilla Glue auto, I noticed that it was showing pistils somewhere around day 24, but I suspect it was even earlier, as due to it's position on the balcony being blocked by the 2 Quad girls I wasn't paying much close up attention to it. But back a month ago when I was thinking about germinating 2 more I thought maybe it was not wise to push it, given the 2 girls this year could quadruple last year's harvest, and if so, the smell. Otherwise, I would have kicked them off earlier and made as much use as possible of the sunshine months. Now, some mornings when the temperature is fresher you can tell that Autumn is coming.

I don't know what sort of harvest I will get off this Gorilla Glue, but growing it will provide me with more variety (3) to have on hand. So far in my limited experience of growing, I feel mostly the only differences that I have noticed in weed, is more or less potency, but I like the thought that different well grown genetics can presumably provide good potencies with an assortment of experiences. Whereas thus far, pot to me, has been pretty much classified as either good shit or crap. It would be great to have a selection on hand, whether something to mellow to, or concentrate with, or just go off on an astral travel, it sure would be nice to have on hand a selection to offer such choices.

So now I am not so much bothered with making more bud this season, but instead it is the thought of making some pollen and seeds, feminized in this case. I have not tried to reverse gender a female to make feminized pollen before, but I thought if doing so it might be useful to kick off one plant 2 or 3 weeks ahead of a second one, so there is time to force one to make pollen and have the second one coming in flower after the pollen is made, to pollinate and allow enough time to make the seeds. So yes I still might kick further autos off. As you point out, the current plants will be harvested before anything germinated now. Altho I am mindful that I might well be hosting a bit of a stink fest from my balcony in the coming weeks which is tempering my desire somewhat to get more plants going!

 

[Emeraldo]

How is the mood about the covid in NZ? My sister returned from NZ yesterday and said there was quite a bit of prevention going on...

 

[Stunger]

Well, the news came out on Friday that the first confirmed case was found, someone who had flown from Iran. Up until that point no cases had been found. After that news there was a 'run' on the supermarkets, quite unbelievable really long queues of people lined up with trolleys just waiting to get inside, altho from the photos I saw in the media it was almost entirely made up of Asian NZ'ers, I guess that subset of the population are especially panicked. I cannot envision how the virus will stopped, I can only imagine it will spread everywhere within the next year or two. I also don't understand how the numbers relate to the panic. China's population is nearly 300 times the size of NZ and so far the deaths are around 3000 which means even if it was rife in NZ there would be proportionally 10 deaths which seems way lower than many other, e.g. road deaths, drowning deaths etc etc. Even the flu is estimated to kill 200k+ - 600k+ of people worldwide each year. So on the numbers, perhaps I don't get it, but it seems the panicking is out of proportion. I think also that the media unfortunately flames up the panic a lot too. Anyway I hope your sister was able to enjoy her visit.

 

[Emeraldo]

She said it was an incredibly beautiful country, and enjoyed her month traveling around.

Here in the US the number of cases is climbing. Quarantine doesn't work any more when a case cannot be tracked to a person who had contact with China or someone who went there. We now have "community spread" -- cases where a known contact is not known.

Unlike China, however, where the government went into denial at first, the medical community is probably going to respond quickly (even if the government has bungled it). Hopefully we can all get through this, but I do worry about older people who are apparently most vulnerable.

Would cannabis help? Saw this today here on 420: Weed Has A ‘Hidden Antibiotic Potential’ And Can Defeat Feared Superbugs | 420 MAGAZINE ®

 

[Stunger]

She said it was an incredibly beautiful country, and enjoyed her month traveling around.

Here in the US the number of cases is climbing. Quarantine doesn't work any more when a case cannot be tracked to a person who had contact with China or someone who went there. We now have "community spread" -- cases where a known contact is not known.

Unlike China, however, where the government went into denial at first, the medical community is probably going to respond quickly (even if the government has bungled it). Hopefully we can all get through this, but I do worry about older people who are apparently most vulnerable.

Would cannabis help? Saw this today here on 420: Weed Has A ‘Hidden Antibiotic Potential’ And Can Defeat Feared Superbugs | 420 MAGAZINE ®

It is of course concerning, hopefully the reality will be that it doesn't amount to anything like all the various panic mongering that is going on currently.

Interesting article you linked to. I am in favor of all such positive discoveries of our favorite weed!

 

[GardeningGnome]

Sweet development buddy! Looking bushy and nice!

 

[Stunger]

Pollen Chucking on the Gorilla Glue Auto who is on day 62 since sprouting

Today I dust with pollen and 'bagged' up a branch of the Gorilla Glue Auto, the branch splits into 2 colas so we'll see how that goes. This is the first time I have grown an Auto and I am guessing about when to pollinate, so there has been no science with choosing today to do so. It was done roughly but within a few days I'll also be pollinating with the same pollen a cola or two of the 2 Quadlined girls.

The pollen I am using is White Widow, from a male I grew out last year. The pollen has been sitting high on a shelf in the lounge for a year, the hot days of Summer have got up to 30C inside. However, the pollen remains dry and dusty, so it's an experiment in older pollen that I am giving a go.

I am not sure when to remove the bag and spray with water to neutralize any pollen on the leaves and bud that could blow around. If anyone has any experience on that let me know, I have read as little as 20-30 minutes, to an hour, to 24 hours.

Some pics below.

1 year old White Widow pollen still dry, never been in the fridge.

• Stunger
• Mar 2, 2020

Gorilla Glue Auto for selective pollination of 2 colas

• Stunger
• Mar 2, 2020

Gorilla Glue Auto pollination sites

• Stunger
• Mar 2, 2020

Gorilla Glue Auto after pollination and water spray of the surrounding buds

• Stunger
• Mar 2, 2020

 

[InTheShed]

Did you spray the rest of the plant first? That's supposed to stop the pollen that drifts from being active when it lands on other pistils.

I am not sure when to remove the bag and spray with water to neutralize any pollen on the leaves and bud that could blow around.

Six hours according to the man who makes tons of seeds!

 

[Stunger]

Did you spray the rest of the plant first? That's supposed to stop the pollen that drifts from being active when it lands on other pistils.

I did spray all the buds around the pollination sites immediately after pollinating

Six hours according to the man who makes tons of seeds!

I just took a look and saw the bag was getting condensation on the inside as it was plastic. It would have been better if I'd had long paper bag of the type used to bag up a stick of french bread - they would be great I think. I had used a paper bag before but for this time the branch I chose was too long for what I had. So, after near 2 hours, on seeing the condensation developing on the inside of the plastic bag I removed it and sprayed water over the (hopefully now) pollinated colas as well as the surrounding ones. Anyway, we'll see what happens, on whether it was a long enough time before water spraying and whether the pollen is still viable, and of course whether there is still enough time left on this auto's life cycle to make some seeds.

Thanks for that link, I'll go look at it.

 

[Stunger]

It's been a week since posting pics of the Quadlined girls, so here's an update. All going well as far as I can tell. The weather has cooled off a little, and they are not drinking as fast as they were but I am still silently wishing them on to increased bud development. C'mon you can do it! Probably just 5 or 6 weeks left to go. This coming weekend I will probably do some selective pollen chucking on 1 or 2 of their colas with some White Widow pollen saved from last year.

2-WW - White Widow

• Stunger
• Mar 3, 2020

3-WWG - White Widow/Gorgonzola

• Stunger
• Mar 3, 2020

 

[McRib]

Just stumbled on your journal. Looking good. Loving the quadlined plants. Good luck with the seed production. I'm interested to hear how you go.

 

[InTheShed]

The plants look beautiful Stunger! How did the pollination work? Have the pistils turned brown and receded where you put the pollen?

 

[Stunger]

Just stumbled on your journal. Looking good. Loving the quadlined plants. Good luck with the seed production. I'm interested to hear how you go.

Thanks McRib, I'll keep you posted, but now I have spotted another issue, read on...

The plants look beautiful Stunger! How did the pollination work? Have the pistils turned brown and receded where you put the pollen?

Thanks Shed, there is a quick answer and a longer one. The quick answer, yep those 2 colas are showing browning pistils compared to the rest of the plant where they are still white, so I think that is looking positive that pollination has occurred and if so, the jar of 1 year old WW pollen that's been sitting on a shelf in the lounge amid some 30C days, it looks promising that the pollen is viable. Hopefully I will see confirmation of that at harvest!

The longer reply, on checking the Gorilla Glue's pistils and confirming that they were browning off, I noticed a few small caterpillars on the WW - a few choice swear words were uttered at that! I immediately filled the sprayer with caterpillar bacteria BT solution and sprayed all 3 plants.

Last year, the use of BT worked really well and seemed to knock out all caterpillars once it was applied, however visible damage was done by then from the late stage it was picked up. This year's incidence has been found earlier when the buds are not so developed and when the caterpillars are relatively still quite small, and so far I can't see any visible damage like last year, but obviously some will have occurred as these little feckers have nonetheless been chomping on the WW!

So I was understandably disturbed by this and then looked more closely at the WW/Gorgonzola cross which is the bigger of the 2 Quad girls but I couldn't see any sign of caterpillars on her, which of course doesn't mean that they are not there also. But I did find lots of tiny specks on it's leaves like dust but I think it is actually the specks were tiny leaf damage where insects have sucked some sap out because on the undersides there were very tiny little brown bugs that I assume are the culprits. Does anyone recognise this, just out of interest as I am going to spray them anyway, probably tomorrow, hopefully there is some good sunshine so they don't stay damp longer than necessary.

unknown bug has causes tiny speck marks on leaves like dust

• Stunger
• Mar 4, 2020

I need to go back and find the posts by @Emeraldo and @InTheShed regarding spraying for bugs and how late in the shooting match you can still successfully do it. I am passing by the organic produce shop tomorrow which has the Dr Bronner's range as Shed mentioned the Castille liquid soap, so it is probably good to at least have a bottle on hand should it ever be needed. Emeraldo reported good results from his combined Neem & Potassium soap. And full marks to Emeraldo who tried to warn me early on in this grow that preemptively spraying saved him any pest problems on his latest grow, anyway you live and learn, I will do that next year, since this has occurred now 2 years in a row, so I am buggered if I want to open the door to this again when I can pre-emptively prevent it. Hopefully by now Emeraldo has enjoyed some of his cured harvest and found it good. My 2 quadlined girls should still have at least 5 weeks to go, probably not much more, but that is probably still plenty for it to clear these bugs off and still allow the spray to dissipate and wash away with rain as harvest gets closer.

When I was moving about the branches while trying to comprehensively spray the BT on the plants, I couldn't help thinking that there are a lot of colas developing in the canopy which from previously 'looking but not touching' I didn't fully appreciate the hidden amount. Both Quad girls are looking really good in spite of this just realized infestation of bugs. This whole thing makes me realize how crap my eyesight is these days compared to a few years ago, aging does suck.