Quest for mold-resistant strains, Hawaii outdoor greenhouse grow

[cbdhemp808]

I'm will be growing 4 Blueberry by seedsman (two different sets of freebies)

The Blueberry freebie I recently grew as a trial run was a great plant... vigorous growth, deep green leaves, and very good bud production. She did have a lot of bud rot, but she was stressed somewhat in a small pot, and she was an over-winter plant. I'm definitely going to grow out a clone in a bigger pot, and give more attention including anti-fungal treatments. I have been vaping the buds... the high is very nice... clear-headed with strong body effects.

 

[cbdhemp808]

How long do you typically leave them on for?

I usually leave the domes on until I see roots coming out the bottom of the pots, but this time I have taken the domes off after about 1 week. I'll need to keep an eye on the pots now and water them as needed. I am also still misting them. They're still on the cloning table, in the shade, with 2 x 23 watt LEDs on them, and night interruption lighting, 2 x 13 watt LEDs.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Emojis are fixed! Thank you @Marc Ocean! And for updates, @Teddy Edwards.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Today in the flower house...

Grape Ape after tying down the main stem yesterday. Bud sites already bending upward. Fan leaves haven't adjusted yet.

This poor, over-winter Blue Widow didn't do very well in a 5 gal pot. She's still not finished, and showing leaf mold and senescence. Photo was taken after I plucked a lot of affected leaves. I'm still debating whether to try again with one of her clones – I probably will, with a bigger pot, topping in veg, and less time in veg.

Blue Widow top bud. Colas are very small, and trichome production is low.

Blue Widow, trichomes on the bracts and sugar leaves.

Blue Widow, trichomes on the bracts.

 

[cbdhemp808]

As we say here in Hawaii, this plant was pau today... done, kaput, garbagio.

I started harvesting, but soon found that virtually all buds contained dead bracts. Definite bud rot resistance, but a lot of the dead bracts also had bud rot. I just tossed it all – not worth trimming. I've decided not to grow the clone. This by the way is not the Dinafem Blue Widow; it's something I got from Canuk. I've also decided not to pursue the Dinafem version. I'm more interested in Super Skunk (65% indica), Wonder Woman (50/50), and Trainwreck (sativa).

Blue Widow (50/50, indica pheno)

category	score
Leaf mold resistance (low, med, high): low	1
Bud rot resistance (low, med, high): low+	1.5
Bug resistance (low, med, high): high	3
Resin production (low, med, high): low-	0.5
Fragrance: minimal	--
Harvest status (minus, neutral, plus): minus premature senescence	0.5
Yield (low, med, high): low-	0.5
Overall rating:	7/18 = 39%

 

[Wastei]

Greetings Growmies,

Regarding mold-resistant strains... I've done a bunch of research over the past few days, looking for available seed for strains with the following qualities:

high levels of myrcene (or already known to have high mold-resistance)
have blueberry or white widow genetics (both have high myrcene)
heavy resin production (also implies strong odor)
sweet, fruity odor
not a long flowering time
good yield
euphoric/happy effect
high THC

I looked for seed in each of the classifications: sativa, indica, 50/50 hybrid, and CBD. (For CBD I'm going for 20:1 more than the above criteria.)

I found 7 strains: 2 sativas, 1 indica, 2 50/50 hybrids, and 2 CBDs. All photos. All fem except for one of the sativas. I'll be ordering from 5 different seed banks, all in N. America. (I actually found some other really good ones, too, but decided on the 7 for now.)

The 7 all have the green check mark qualities, and one or both of the purple check marks (above). Of the 5 THC strains, 3 are advertised to produce at least 20% THC, one can reach 20%, and the last one 12-17%.

I'll spill the beans once I have ordered the beans, received the beans, germinated them, and get some weedlings... a lot has to happen... you know how it is! I'm gonna order them probably in 3 batches, starting with 3 strains from True North.

wish me luck!

Plants high in Myrcene are typically not euphoric or uplifting. More stoney and sedative. And sweet fruity odour doesn't often come in combination with Myrcene, Myrcene is more commonly found in gassy and breathy strains.

A 50/50 strains will never be as mold resistant as a sativa dominant plant. If you want mold resistant strains, look for plants bred for that purpose? It's not adviceable to specifically look for Myrcene strains, it's better to look for the breeding purpose. Then you have to pheno hunt to find what you want in that mix.

Serious 6

 

[cbdhemp808]

Plants high in Myrcene are typically not euphoric or uplifting. More stoney and sedative. And sweet fruity odour doesn't often come in combination with Myrcene, Myrcene is more commonly found in gassy and breathy strains.

Myrcene is the mango terpene, and in combination with other terpenes, I believe it does contribute to a fruity, sweet scent. But thanks for your input... I will investigate further.

A 50/50 strains will never be as mold resistant as a sativa dominant plant.

Not what I have found...

If you want mold resistant strains, look for plants bred for that purpose?

Yes, I have realized that... I just replied to your thread re: a 50/50 hybrid that is my clear winner for bud rot resistance. Bred by a very experienced breeder.

It's not adviceable to specifically look for Myrcene strains, it's better to look for the breeding purpose. Then you have to pheno hunt to find what you want in that mix.

I will stick by my research that shows that myrcene dominant is common among SOME strains that are known to be mold resistant. It turns out that Humboldt Dream is high in myrcene – I grew it, and it is my 2nd place plant for bud rot resistence, behind HI-BISCUS.

What I want are stable seed lines with low pheno variability, that are bred specifically for traits, and among those traits, high bud rot resistance.

thanks for your input.

 

[Wastei]

Myrcene is the mango terpene, and in combination with other terpenes, I believe it does contribute to a fruity, sweet scent. But thanks for your input... I will investigate further.

Not what I have found...

Yes, I have realized that... I just replied to your thread re: a 50/50 hybrid that is my clear winner for bud rot resistance. Bred by a very experienced breeder.

I will stick by my research that shows that myrcene dominant is common among SOME strains that are known to be mold resistant. It turns out that Humboldt Dream is high in myrcene – I grew it, and it is my 2nd place plant for bud rot resistence, behind HI-BISCUS.

What I want are stable seed lines with low pheno variability, that are bred specifically for traits, and among those traits, high bud rot resistance.

thanks for your input.

And I would argue the complete other way around. I never had as much mold problems as with Cookie strains high in Myrcene? A lot has to do with bud density but it's a problem you hardly saw as prominent back in the day.

Again terpenes has very little to do with mold resistance since you will find examples of mold resistance in strains with a completely different terpenoid profile.

 

[cbdhemp808]

And I would argue the complete other way around. I never had as much mold problems as with Cookie strains high in Myrcene? A lot has to do with bud density but it's a problem you hardly saw as prominent back in the day.

I'm not talking about high in myrcene, I'm talking about myrcene dominant. I'm talking about particularly high terpene levels, of one, two, or maybe three terpenes. But go ahead and read the rest of my thread, and you'll see that I am also aware that known mold resistant strains have other dominant terpenes beside myrcene. For example, terpinolene.

Again terpenes has very little to do with mold resistance since you will find examples of mold resistance in strains with a completely different terpenoid profile.

I have a theory that some dominant terpenes are associated with mold resistance. It's not a blanket guarantee... I think there's something there, however. Another factor is high resin production. Trainwreck is well known for mold resistance, and the two dominant terpenes are myrcene and terpinolene. It's also known to be a very potent strain, as is Durban Poison which is another one that's terpinolene dominant (both terpinolene and myrcene). High potency is associated with high resin production.

I grew a Cookies Kush and it didn't perform well for bud rot resistance. It's high in myrcene, but not myrcene dominant. The resin production was middle of the road.

Thanks for your input.

 

[cbdhemp808]

The dominant terpenes in HI-BISCUS are terpinolene, myrcene, and pinene.

The dominant terpenes in Humboldt Dream are myrcene and pinene.

 

[cbdhemp808]

 

[cbdhemp808]

Greetings Growmies,

Late afternoon in the greenhouses today...

In the veg house... pots on the ground, starting with the foreground little one and going clockwise:
HI-BISCUS clone just getting started in 7 gal; Seedsman 30:1 CBD clone in 5 gal; Sweet Critical CBD clone in 5 gal; legacy #18 CBD clone in 5 gal.

All the horsetail cuttings have developed lots of roots and new shoots.

Horsetail new shoots. Equisetum hyemale.

A couple fast-growing clones in 1 gal pots. The one on the left is Green Mountain Grape, green pheno. The one on the right is Grape Ape. I decided to re-clone them both tonight, along with a few others – 10 clone cuttings total, into the dome. The GMG I might keep around for a while... dunno if I want to grow again. The Grape Ape I took 3 cuttings of, and will make a decision on growing again based on the results from the mom currently in flower (see below).

The flower house, loaded again... clockwise from foreground, center: DBL CBG seedling, Humboldt Dream clone, Blueberry clone, legacy CBG clone, and Grape Ape seedling (the tall one).

Grape Ape from seed in 7 gal, 3 weeks in flower. She's starting to get hit with leaf mold... I need to make a batch of aerated worm compost tea w/ horsetail and white willow, for a foliar spray. I've already given her a couple treatments of peroxide solution.

Blueberry clone in 5 gal.

My legacy CBG clone in 5 gal.

DBL CBG from seed, in 5 gal. She's a beautiful, strong plant. A little droopy here... just fertigated.

Humboldt Dream clone in 5 gal.

 

[Azimuth]

She's starting to get hit with leaf mold... I need to make a batch of aerated worm compost tea w/ horsetail and white willow, for a foliar spray. I've already given her a couple treatments of peroxide solution.

Looking forward to seeing if you get the same results @danishoes21 got in his grow last year.

 

[cbdhemp808]

RECHARGE vs MIKROBS COMPARISON

These are both water-in products, intended to treat problems in the root zone (the rhizosphere). They contain mycorrhizal fungi, beneficial bacteria, and trichoderma species, in a dry powder. I have used Mikrobs recently, to successfully treat what seemed like a possible fungal pathogen in the roots. I also encountered Recharge the other day, at the grow shop, and found that it's very similar to Mikrobs – or I should probably say, to my knowledge, Recharge was first on the scene, and Mikrobs is very similar.

Here's a side-by-side comparison...

First, here's what the 8oz bags look like:

Next, the list of ingredients on the back:

Mikrobs

Recharge

COMPARISON OF INGREDIENTS:

Mycorrhizae (fungi) - same species; Mikrobs: 28 CFU/g total; Recharge: 25.6 CFU/g total.

Bacteria - same species; Mikrobs: 480 million CFU/g total; Recharge: 400 million CFU/g total.

Trichoderma (fungi) - species are different... Mikrobs: harzianum, viridae, longibrachiatum; Recharge: harzianum, reesei.
amounts are different... Mikrobs: 1.5 million CFU/g total; Recharge: 500,000 CFU/g total.

Both contain: kelp, molasses, humic acid, fulvic acid, and aminos

NOTE: Mikrobs does not list the amounts of individual microbes, only the total. Mikrobs also doesn't list the percent of each of the other non-microbe ingredients. Curiously, Recharge's non-microbe ingredients add up to 100%, while Mikrobs add up to 77.9% – my guess is that Mikrobs has an error on their label, and they mean 22.1% nutrients and 77.9% other ingredients. Recharge contains 29% nutrients, and 71% other ingredients.

APPLICATION RATE:

Mikrobs - 1 tsp per gallon of water every 7-10 days.
Recharge - 1/2 tsp per gallon of water every 7-10 days. For "high performance applications" use double strength.

PRICE:

Mikrobs 8oz - $24.90 on Amazon. Out of stock in the company's online store.
Mikrobs 3oz - $15.90 (currently not available on Amazon). Out of stock in the company's online store.
Mikrobs 1lb - $43.90

Recharge 8oz - $34.95 on Amazon. Also available on the company's online store.
Recharge 2oz - $9.95 (called "Instant Compost Tea")
Recharge 1lb - $57.95

OTHER INFO:

Mikrobs may not be available in all U.S. states (Amazon or other sellers may not ship to your state). Mikrobs is OMRI listed while Recharge is not. Recharge appears to be available in all U.S. states.

RESULTS:

I haven't tried Recharge, but here are the results of using Mikrobs:

Grape Ape clone in 7 gal pot, in veg – pale color, droop, and clawing leaves. Not responding to being watered, and definitely not over-watered. I gave her 2 treatments of Mikrobs (1 tsp. in 1 gal water each treatment).

After treatment, in flower, distinct improvement in leaf color and vigor; she quickly grew to the height of the roof and I had to tie her over.

Blueberry clone in 5 gal, in veg, pale color and stunted growth (LEFT), just prior to treatment with Mikrobs. Three days later (RIGHT) after one treatment of Mikrobs, gaining good leaf color and vitality

Blueberry clone after 2 treatments of Mikrobs – color is fully back and she's growing well. In veg (LEFT), and in flower (RIGHT).

 

[cbdhemp808]

Greetings Growmies,

I started a batch of aerated worm compost tea Monday night, with infusions of horsetail and white willow bark added. I'll let the tea bubble until Wednesday morning, then filter it twice through pantyhose. The resultant concentrated tea will then be ready for foliar spraying on my plants in veg and flower. I'll measure ppm and pH at that time, and dilute accordingly for foliar application. I'm guessing pH will be acceptable without adjusting.

What I'm going for with this tea: a beneficial microbe brew with significant amounts of salicylic acid and orthosilicic acid (silica), to be used as a foliar spray to help prevent fungus and mold on leaves and buds. Horsetail is high in silica and also contains some salicylic acid. White willow bark is high in salicylic acid.

I don't think silica will harm microbes, but there is some evidence that salicylic acid at high enough concentration will kill bacteria. So the question is, have I used too much willow bark? Perhaps not, because my infusion measured only 164 ppm.

Here are my herbal infusions at full strength. They were brewed in 1/2 gal jars. On the left, horsetail, brewed by pouring boiling water on about 3.5 cups of dried, chopped horsetail. This made a bit more than 4 cups of concentrate. On the right, white willow bark, brewed by pouring boiling water on about 2 cups of white willow bark powder. This made 4.5 cups of concentrate. The infusions set for a few days at room temperature with the lids on tight. I gave them a good shake once a day, and opened them up a couple times. When I strained them today, they were slightly probiotic. Horsetail concentrate: 1,730 ppm, 5.8 pH. Willow bark concentrate: 164 ppm, 6.4 pH.

Here's my aeration setup. I used 10 cups of fresh worm castings, the above infusions, 1 tsp of fulvic acid, in about 4.5 gal of rainwater. I also added some sugar... 2 tsp cane sugar mixed in a little pear juice and water to dissolve (I just happened to have some pear juice handy). The pump is set to high and both output ports are connected to one line using a T-fitting. I used a pre-soaked 2x2 inch airstone, suspended in the bucket using a stick and plastic clothes pin. The stone is suspended about 4-5 inches above the bottom of the bucket.

This is a China-produced, 2x2 inch airstone I bought and then added a layer of aquarium-safe silicone sealant to the surface where the nipple comes out, to prevent air leaks. With this tweak, and the 2-port air flow coming in, it works great... strong stream of tiny bubbles. Very important to pre-soak the stone. I left mine in water for days, but overnight should work just fine, or even a couple hours.

The air pump. 64 GPH, 4 watts. From China by way of Jeff Bezos.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Here's some pics from Monday late afternoon in the veg house and flower house...

In the veg house... 3 pots on the ground, starting with the foreground and going clockwise:
HI-BISCUS clone in 7 gal; Seedsman 30:1 CBD clone in 5 gal; Sweet Critical CBD clone in 5 gal. These were all from root bound plants in small pots – not sure how well they'll do. The HI-BISCUS isn't doing great – I might just re-clone her and try again.

A new batch of clones (RIGHT), and horsetail clones (LEFT). The horsetail was very easy to root from cuttings that came in the mail.

6 plants now in the flower house. Clockwise from foreground, center: DBL CBG seedling, Humboldt Dream clone, Blueberry clone, legacy CBG clone (hidden in the back), legacy CBD #18 clone, and Grape Ape seedling (the tall one).

Blueberry clone, not showing any flowers yet.

Foreground is Humboldt Dream clone, background is DBL CBG seedling.

Grape Ape clone, almost 4 weeks in flower. This is the main stem, tied over with some cord. Buds have a wonderful sweet smell. She's had some leaf mold... we have a lot of septoria here, as well as downy mildew.

The wide canopy of the Grape Ape, main stem and large side branch held down with cord (purple lines). Green tape is supporting the whole plant, tied to the rafters.

My legacy CBG clone (LEFT), and legacy CBD #18 clone (RIGHT). I'll be pruning the CBD probably tomorrow and will post an AFTER shot.

 

[Danishoes21]

That’s a complete and very detailed post. Awesome teas I bet you will get some great results.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Recharge/Mikrobs post had a missing image... now fixed.

 

[Azimuth]

Very important to pre-soak the stone. I left mine in water for days, but overnight should work just fine, or even a couple hours.

I've always seen that on the air stone packages, but they don't say why. Seems odd that it would make that significant a difference dry vs wet.

Why do you think it's important?

 

[cbdhemp808]

I've always seen that on the air stone packages, but they don't say why. Seems odd that it would make that significant a difference dry vs wet.

Why do you think it's important?

Just from experience. I don't know the mechanics behind it, but...

Perhaps there's a lubricating effect on the air molecules. Possibly also some pressure dynamics.

Imagine an unsoaked stone... hook it up to the air flow and the air creates an outward pressure that may keep the stone from getting wet on the inside. The air molecules are passing through a dry stone. And, the water is trying to get into the stone at the same time. The result is less bubbles produced.

With a soaked stone, the air molecules are passing through microscopic pores that are lined with "slippery" and moveable water molecules, which may allow more air to pass, and hence more bubbles produced. And, there is no external pressure of water trying to get into the stone.