Pac's 1st Grow - Organic - Casey Jones + God Bud - 2011

Wally Water

New Member
Hi! Welcome to my first journal! This is actually my first attempt to cultivate any plant, ever! Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! So without further adieu...





What strain is it? 3 Plants are God Bud. 2 are Casey Jones

Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? GB is 75% Indica. CJ is 80% Sativa.
Is it in Veg or Flower stage? Both flowering.

If in Flower stage... For how long? GB is in week 4. CJ just started week 1.

Indoor or outdoor? Indoor

Soil or Hydro? Organic soil

If soil... what is in your mix? Fox Farm Ocean Forrest + earthworm castings + perlite + dolomite lime. Recipe called for "powdered, not pelleted" dolomite lime. I couldn't find powdered, so I went with pelleted. After soil was mixed, I filled pots then added ferts to each pot. I used Peruvian seabird guano, Jamacian bat guano and kelp meal. Here is the recipe I used to make the soil mix/fert copypasta'd from another website:

LC's Soiless Mix #2:

6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up) / Fox Farm Ocean Forest or Light Warrior
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered (NOT PELLETED) dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
If you use a 3 qt. saucepan as “parts” in the amounts given above, it equals about 1 cu. ft. of soiless mix and you can just dump in a cup of powdered dolomite lime. The dolomite lime is for Ca. and Mg. not just to adjust the PH of the soil.

FERT RECIPE #2

If you want to use guano in your soil mix...
Bongaloid's Guano Mix.
Use all these items combined with one gallon of soil mix.

1/3C hi N Guano Mexican Bat Guano or Peruvian Seabird Guano (PSG)
1/2C hi P Guano (Jamaican or Indonesian Bat Guano)
1TBS Kelp Meal
(OPTIONAL) 1TBS Jersey Greensand Or Azomite




If soil... What size pot? 3gal.

Size of light? 400W HPS

Is it aircooled? Yes

Temp of Room/cab? 84-86 daytime, ~76 nighttime

RH of Room/cab? ~55

PH of media or res? ~6.7

Any Pests ? Not that I can tell

How often are you watering? About 2x per week

Type and strength of ferts used? I just started adding ferts to the GB this week. I used General Organics BioThrive Grow + CaMg + BioBud. My intent was to use them at 1/2 strength for the first feeding, but I got overly excited and ended up giving them a full strength feeding.

More Background Info

The God Bud came from some clones that a friend gave me when I told him I was moving to a state where I could get a medical card. Until this week I had them under 200 watts of CFL bulbs, which might explain why they don't seem very thick/dense. It's taken me a little while to get the hang of proper watering technique, but I think I'm getting it down now. For some reason, I've been having problems with the bottom fan leaves on these plants. The stems turn purple, then leaves droop down and eventually die.

The Casey Jones plants were picked up from a medicinal clone supplier earlier this week. I was told that they were 4 weeks old, and ready to go right into flowering. It was at this point that I decided to set up the grow room with a 400w HPS light and proper ventilation.

Pics


IMG_10718.JPG



IMG_10728.JPG

God Bud


IMG_10734.JPG

This is what I was talking about with the bottom leaves drooping and dying


IMG_10755.JPG

:)

IMG_10768.JPG

Casey Jones


IMG_10798.JPG

They're not in the greatest shape, but the not bad either. I checked them well for bugs, and to the best of my knowledge they're clean


I noticed very early on with the GB that I was getting a slight downward curl on the tips of the fan leaves. The very very tips would have a brownish dried out look, and just a little downward curl. It didn't seem to be affecting the leaves too much so I didn't do anything to fix it. But almost immediately after transplanting my Casey Jones plants into my soil mix, the tips of the leaves have started to curl downwards. This tells me something is definitely off. After some research my best hypothesis is a slight calcium deficiency due to using pelleted dolomite lime instead of powdered. I haven't done anything to correct it yet because I wanted to get some opinions first.

If calcium deficiency is my problem, will the CaMg+ that I've recently started adding take care of it?

I'll try to keep this journal updated a few times a week. Thanks in advance to anyone that takes the time to offer their advice!

:peace:
 
Re: Pac's 1st Grow - Organic/Casey Jones + God Bud/2011

The Casey Jones has started to show it's first signs of flowering, only 8 days into the 12/12 cycle
IMG_10876.JPG


The God Bud gets a little bigger and a little more frosty every day. Today marks the 5th week of flowering. According to the strain guide, I should have another 3 to 5 weeks to go.
IMG_109412.JPG
 
Re: Pac's 1st Grow - Organic/Casey Jones + God Bud/2011

hey Pac
lookin good
great job so far on your first plant ever!
the drooping leaves on the Gb yo can just pull better to have the plant put the power to new growth than to suport and rebuild damaged or old fan leaves i skirt the bottom third of all my plants at 2 weeks flower
 
Re: Pac's 1st Grow - Organic/Casey Jones + God Bud/2011

I was feeding my God Bud today and I discovered something terrible... my plants are going hermie =/

When I was feeding the smallest of the 3 plants I noticed what I thought looked like some seed pods. I got on the internet and did some quick research on hermies, then went over the plant with a fine tooth comb and discovered 10-20 seed pods and a few "bananas".

I'm not exactly sure what caused this. I've read that light leaks are the most common cause of hermies. I grow in a closet with the door kept shut. It's certainly possible for light to leak in from the cracks in the closet door, but I've covered the windows in the room the closet is in with light blocking curtains, and it's very dark in the room when the lights are off.

Are there other factors that could cause plants to go hermie? Could nutrient deficiencies or Ph issues cause this? I'm still in the stage of learning about Ph. From what I understand, it doesn't have as much impact on organic soil as hydro or regular soil, but I've measured the Ph of my runoff of my last 2 feedings, and it has been pretty 5.0, which to me seems very low. But overall, the plants have seemed pretty healthy.

I need some advice on what to do moving forward... I've already pulled the plant from the grow room, but I'm concerned about the other plants that remain. How likely is it that this plant has already pollinated my other plants? Do I need to pull everything out and clean or sterilize my grow room? Any tips on how to avoid this in the future are greatly appreciated.

This is a shitty feeling. I've worked on these plants for about 2 1/2 months, they're starting to really show the fruits of my labor, and the finish line was almost in sight....

I've been treating this as a learning experience all along, so if I loose my God Bud, but can learn to prevent my plants going hermie in the future, I won't consider it a total loss. But if these things pollinate my newly acquired Casey Jones plants, I'm gonna be pissed!
 
Re: Pac's 1st Grow - Organic/Casey Jones + God Bud/2011

Hermie-nation..welcome haha .its just happened to me bro, ive only found 1 bannana but its was dry , so the pollen was released a while ago , i could get a load of bad seed....

It could be so many things causing it, ill just have to go over all the basics and get them sorted out, i think light leaks and over-feeding were my main cause but at the end of the day i could just have a very hermie prone plant that would sprout a nanner no matter how well i treated it.
 
Re: Pac's 1st Grow - Organic/Casey Jones + God Bud/2011

some times plants just hermie.... they can still be damn good smoke in my opinion and if by chance it did ferment the other girls ( which if you caught it early enough it probly did not)
the seeds that will come out will be slightly feminized.

any stress can make it hermie if there is to much of it. so Ph, light variance, heat stress, getting damaged, environmental etc.
and again some times it just happens..... some strains are well know for it ie. Train wreak.
dont stress over it dry the heshe and enjoy the smoke while you continue your grow!:thumb:
 
Re: Pac's 1st Grow - Organic/Casey Jones + God Bud/2011

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. So from what you guys are saying, a lot of different stressing factors can cause hermies. So the first thing I think I need to do to eliminate stress is figure out what's causing my leaves to droop and die. I'm pretty sure that I've got it pinned down to a Ph issue, I'm just not sure about the course of action to take to correct it.

With the God Bud plants, they've been showing symptoms since about 3 weeks into the veg stage. It starts with the very tips of the leaves drying out/burning and curling downwards. Since the plant has been in flowering, the leaves at the bottom have started to droop, turn yellow, and die at an increasing rate.

I've only had the Casey Jones plants for about 2 weeks, but they're quickly showing the same symptoms. The bottom leaves are very quickly yellowing and dying, and the top leaves are showing some "twisting and taco-ing".

I said in my previous post that when I last fed the GB my runoff measured around 5.0. Today I fed the CJ, and the runoff measured 8.2! Clearly I need to get my Ph under control. I use tap water that has been sitting out for a few days, which usually measures between 7.8-8.3. When I add nutrients to a gallon of that, it usually brings it to around 6.0-6.3.

I've read multiple sources that stated that Ph levels aren't crucial in organic soil so while I have been measuring my Ph to get an idea of how it works, I haven't done anything to adjust it. I guess I'm going to have to get some Ph up/down and start balancing the Ph before I feed and water.

A question though... If my runoff Ph is 8.0+ and my feeding mix is ~6, how low do I need to bring the Ph of my feeding mix to bring my soil down to the 6.5-6.8 range? Do I bring the Ph in the water way low, like 3.5-4.0, or is it more like steady feedings of ~5.5 and will eventually bring it down? About how long should it take to get my Ph back to the right level? Also, do I wait until my next water/feed to take action, or do I need to do something about this right away?

Thanks again for all your help guys.


"Taco-ing" on the top leaves of the Casey Jones
IMG_11098.JPG



New growth looks a lighter shade of green than normal. Flowers are growing quickly though
IMG_11126.JPG



Bottom leaves on the CJ aren't looking too hot. Research leads me to believe this is being caused by potassium deficiency, mostly like from lockout due to high Ph
IMG_11148.JPG



Notice how the tips of the leaves at the top of the God Bud are still green. The next set down, they're starting to turn brown, then the next set down they're brown and burnt. If I could get another set in frame, they're turning yellow and dying.
IMG_11189.JPG



More leaf tips on the GB
IMG_11209.JPG
 
Re: Pac's 1st Grow - Organic/Casey Jones + God Bud/2011

Ok lets pause for a second and relax;)
for the most part from what i can see in the pictures.. they look happy
how does the new growth look?
when did the leaves that are now falling off first show signs of stress?
if these are older leaves that showed signs of stress a while back but your new growth is fast and healthy than id say you might have already fixed the problem...
the pic you posted looks like classic over watering, (a past stress?).

now on ph... this is ALWAYS important. Even with General Organics who says that its not needed.... it is Still important to Ph in these cases Before adding the Fert. this is because the fert is built with a "buffer" to help Keep the Ph in an "optimal range"
this is Greatly assisted by doing this from the start!
and easy way to do this is R/O water from Safway etc. they add the important trace minerals that are ok back in too. the problem with tap water is that there are alot of other things in it as well.... and not always at good levels.

to bring the Ph of your substrate down, you "flush" with 3x amount of Phed water( 6.2)
this should help to adjust your soil ph....

my sugjestions...
first relax dont make any rash decisions.
i would pull the damaged leaf.... no use in letting the plant waste energy trying to repair.
if NEW growth starts growing crazy than look at it...
i think that if you start to pay attention to your Ph a little more that your soil will begin to fix.... remember when watering to go from wet to dry and Always water so there is a good amount of runoff
other than that they are nice and green new growth looks normal to me
 
First_Harvest.JPG

Behold my bountiful first harvest! 2g of prematurely harvested, poorly manicured, dried but not yet cured hermi-God Bud!

IMG_112714.JPG

The other 2 GB plants are filling out nicely

IMG_112911.JPG


IMG_11324.JPG

GB plant #2

IMG_11337.JPG


IMG_11359.JPG

The 1st Casey Jones plant isn't looking too bad...

IMG_11387.JPG

but CJ plant #2 is looking pretty sad

IMG_11407.JPG



I tried out a nug of the GB that I harvested, and while it gave me a nice buzz... it tastes like complete shit. Is this something that will get better after curing, or could it be because I picked it without leaching the nutes left in the plant? I'm sure my poor trim job doesn't help the taste, but I picked up a nice pair of snips so that shouldn't be a problem in the future.

At this point I'm pretty sure I've burnt my Casey Jones plants. I started with a soil mix that included FFOF then I added dry ferts to that mix. I didn't realize how hot that mix would be, and I started feeding with 1/2 strength nutes from week 1 and moved to full strength by week 2. The first CJ plant doesn't seem to be in too bad of shape, but the high pH really wreaked havoc on the 2nd plant. So much so that I decided to give it a flush about 3 days ago. I'm not sure if it will help or not, but at this point I don't think it could hurt.
 
the GB looks good!
casy looks like u just need to make sure you have your PH right, the nutes should be fine.... a flush wont hurt them. i watter on a feed, feed, feed, feed, water cycle this way the girls are alowed to use all the food your giving them.

the taste of the preme is to be expected in will mellow after some cure but might just be joint material! many reasons... not flushed, premature, leafy not cured or fully dried.
other than than they look good bro just remember to breath and they will to :)
 
IMG_11438.JPG

GB Plant 1

IMG_11478.JPG

GB #2

IMG_11557.JPG

CJ #1

IMG_11528.JPG

CJ #2

According to the strain guide, the GB should be ready for harvest in about 16 days. I'm going to give them one final feeding tomorrow, then flush them later this week and give them just plain water for the rest of the time.

I wish I would have taken some cuttings of the GB before I put it into flowering. It's a small plant but it's got quite a bit of bud on it. I think it would be a nice strain to grow SoG style.

The Casey definitely got some burn, but I'm hoping I've got it under control. Both plants have been flushed, and I've given them just plain water for the last 2 feedings. The new growth looks pretty healthy so I'll keep giving them plain water for another week or so, then I'll slowly giving them nutes again.
 
Final pics of God Bud before harvest:

IMG_115810.JPG
IMG_116010.JPG
IMG_11629.JPG


I'm stoked, this way exceeded my expectations for my first grow! I trimmed it up and hung it to dry 2 days ago. I can't wait to taste it!
 
Thanks for sharing your grow with us!

Don't forget to head over to the 420 Strain Reviews forum and post your smoke report there too! :cheer:

I’m moving this to completed journals now.

Have you started a new grow you would like to share with us?

If so, please start one here:
Journals in Progress

Hope all is well in your world.

Love and respect from all of us here at 420 Magazine!
 
Back
Top Bottom