Radogast 2016 - The Neverending Growing

[Radogast]

Hi, Radogast the Green!

Loved this. Thank you for writing it and sharing it. I'm subbed in and eager to learn more about LOS, perpetual growing and, well ... everything

Perpetual growing is something you might find yourself fall into if you keep growing autos. That's how SweetSue found herself assimilated into the borg world of perpetual growing.

Since I reuse the same soil and the same pots, for me it is all about pot space planning and guessing how fast a plant is growing. After checking the dates in the flowering room, I make a guess at when I will have big pots (7-gal and 10-gal) come available due to harvest.


Step1: Looking at the tape on the flowering room door, I guess the harvests at 10 days (2 pots), 30 days (1 pot), and 40 days (2 pots). Ghita doesn't count. She is in a 5-gal, single use bucket.

Step2: Looking at the plants in small pots (4" square plastic,) I try to match the plants with the dates. I have 5 active small pots.

10 days - Seedlings White Widow Ava and Caramelicious Latrice Royal will be ready for transplant in 10 days (2 pots)

30 days - Rooted Caramelicious Clones Quiffa and Sassy will be ready to transplant in 30 days (1 pot.)
- I choose Quiffa she is bigger in flower and she had the better smoke the first time I grew their grandmother and great grandmother.


40 days - ??? - This is where it gets tricky.

Sassy in the 4" pot probably won't be grown again - She will not use a big pot.
Caramelcious Quiffa and Sassy are in a head to head battle, only one will continue to be grown to make room for new strains. In 30 days if I quick dry, or 45 days if I normal dry, there will be a smoke off between the mothers of Quiffa and Sassy, grown side-by-side in the same pot. The odds favor Quiffa, at which point the Sassy clone in the small pot and the Sassy clone still in the daisy cloner will probaby become worm food. I'm waiting for the smoke report, but I if Sassy beats the odds and defeats Quiffa, Quiffa will be removed from her pot and Sassy will take it over. In unlikely case of a tie, they will grow side-by-side again. In all cases, no new big pot.

In the final 4" pot, Hawaiian Skunk Seedling Flower may or may not be ready in 40 days. She has not been thriving but she has had promising growth in the last 3 days. I am allocating one 40 day pots for HWS Flower.

I am saving the final 40 day big pot, for a high-CBD sativa seed, Royal Highness, still in the mail. This seed will be planted in a 4" pot as part of the memorial grow for MOTOCO 420 Motoco Memorial Grow - Community Journal - Tribute.

If I did not have a seed, I would wait until I had a pot to fill in 20-30 days and plant a rooted clone from the daisy cloner in a 4" pot. The clones seem happy to simmer in the daisy cloner for 30-90 days waiting for a pot to become available. It is better for the plant health to wait in the cloner than to wait in a 4" pot. The 4" pots become root bound, the stalks grow thin and woody. After transplant the final plant is less robust. The yield is presumably smaller, I am testing that out with a pair of Snowcap clones in a shared pot. They will go into the flowering room in 20-40 days.


STEP 3: Recalculate the allocation of big pots once or twice a week. Things change. These are small seedlings and clones.


Step X: Everything else in the middle of the perpetual grow happens at it's own pace. I don't try to time anything. I have elbow room in the veg and flowering areas for 'baby booms' of plants.

- - -

This 3 step timing process for the flow of a perpetual grow works for me because I am pot limitted - I only use 11 large pots for the perpetual. If I use a 5-gal bucket, it is one time use soil that I don't count as part of the perpetual.

The other perpetual grows I have seen on 420 magazine are limitted by space in the flowering room or tent. Timing that seems more difficult to me.

Because my flower room is limitted by the light coverage area rather than the 4 walls, I have more of a fudge factor if I need to add more plants in flower than 'fit.' At one point last year, I squeezed a plant into the center of the room between the two lights and hung a 100x3W LED for supplemental top lighting. At another point, when I went down to 4 plants in the flowering room, they all 'fit' under one light, so I I turned off the second light for about 6 weeks and saved on electricity.

I would have more yield if I always kept the flowering room full. I would have more yield if I were a better grower with a 'dialed in' grow routine. I might get there I can be patient, so far the supply keeps up with the demand

- -

Thanks for subscribing, GlimmerG. Your grows are one of the many, many that I am tempted to follow, but don't because .. so many grows, so little time. If I had a seed budget, I'd definitely be growing the Dark Devil Auto and Blue Dream Auto.

We know that you have a real choice when subbing to 420 grow journals. We'd like to thank you for subbing with us

 

[OlderGrower]

Hey Radogast

Sorry to hear you got a visit from the lil SOB SM's Though better to get a handle on them now as opposed to while in flower. Give em hell and show no mercy on them.

 

[Radogast]

I took a look at the photos on my camera and saw there was one I missed.

Sunday morning after our bacon and eggs, the family sat around the table chatting and watching the birds at the bird feeders. I decided to keep my hands busy and remove the buds from the stems of Northern Lights Stella who had been hangng in the flower room. My wife having medical marijuana paraphenalia sitting on the table, bud removal soon led to bud sampling. 1 gram was good for two bowls passed around.

Stella was our first run of our first Northern Lights (sold as Northern Lights Extreme with no claim of actual genetic heritage.) The smoke itself was extra dense. The high was extra strong, causing an almost immediate tightening of the upper face and relaxing of the shoulders. Lots of euphoria and focussed attention. Mental clarity was great. Speaking clearly was a challenge, but the sentences and ideas were well connected. Overall first impression, the best quality bud we have grown. Only 33g. My wife is keeping a tight watch on the jar.

Jarring buds at the kitchen table.

Today, I started a worm lasagna in the top worm tray (after removing the old worm soil.) The layers were cannabis leaves, dried cannabis branches, chopped banana peels, crushed eggshells and basalt rock dust - all organic ingredients except for the rock dust which is OMRI certiied. The layers are thick enough they will block the light, encouraging worms back to the top of the second to top worm tray. Even with the lid on, the worms tend to avoid the top tray. All this food may entice them up.

I have used coco coir and seedling mix soil to start the previous trays. The worms eat it, but it makes it hard to tell when the worms have fully replaced the medium with worm castings. With clearly non-soil leaves, sticks, banana peels and eggshells, it should be obvious when the worms have processed them into worm castings. I expect to layer more ingredients before worms fully move in, which is why I'm calling it a worm lasagna. If it starts to smell, I will cover the worm food with a thin layer of seedling mix soil or wom soil from a lower tray.

Sorry, no photos. They came out blurry.

 

[Radogast]

This afternoon, while my muscles were all limbered up from snow shoveling, I rearranged the pots in the garden room. My goal was to make space on the early veg table for two large pots which will host two seedlings after I harvest the girls currently living in the pots.


Early Veg before:

Early Veg after:

Although the plants are shorter than usual, the Late Veg SWICK is now full again.

Notice how Lachesis (in the red 5-gal bucket) has very few leaves. The 7% and 4% neem oil sprayings did more leaf damage than the spider mites. Now that I believe the round eggs are spider mite eggs rather than something new, I am going back to 1% neem oil spray to control spider mites while I contemplate and prepare for a more complete IPM foliar as suggested by Bobrown. He has given me reliably excellent grow advice in the past.

 

[FeralA9X]

Looking good in there Rad
I agree with going back to 1% neem, it was doing the job before, just need to keep going till all the eggs have hatched and there are no suckers left to lay new ones

 

[Radogast]

Some flowering room photos after spraying.

I went back to the 1% neem spray. The higher dose was more destructive than the mites.


Giselle blurry under the neem shower. After 8 weeks under 12/12, she has about a week to go.
I forgot that she doesn't stretch much. If we run her again, I will veg her longer.

Girl Scout Cookies Annabelle, also at 8 weeks, she will be ready in 3-4 days. I might hold her until Giselle is ready too. The trichomes will tell.

GSC Monique, 4 weeks under 12/12. She has the worst spider mite infestation. They aren't hurting her much.

Tamgerine Dream Ghita, 10 days under 12/12. 90% certain a boy. Ghita really hated the 7% and 4% neem sprayings.
White Widow Bellatrix behind her, 4 weeks under 12/12.

Caramelicious Quiffa, 5 1/2 weeks under 12/12. She always yellows and drops leaves early. I gave most of her buds a tiny little snip off the tip on sunday. It should help buds stay shorter and grow fatter. I left a couple of 'control' buds to compare.

 

[Radogast]

A first attempt at Grafting

I was chatting with Cannafan in another thread and she mentioned she might try her hand at grafting,
It was an idea worth stealing !
muah

I loved the fast happy growth of both tangerines, although the first was a boy. If the second tangerine turns out to be a boy, I am planning to use it's clone as a rootstock. According to the genius of the internet, male/female grafting should be OK. I chose the clone of Ghita because he/she is still in veg. Feeding a new graft while revegging from flowering hormones seems like too much to ask of rootstock.


Tangerine Dream Ghita C1, prospective rootstock. I'm thinking of repacing the leader. After the graft starts growing stong, I can gradually trim off the boy branches below.

Snowcap Snow Queen C1, prospective scion. She was the top removed from my old clone vs new clone experiment.

As you can see, the prospective scion is too short next to her mother and sister to get much light in the flower room. I was saving her to clone or to transplant as the next generation, but I think she would be happier grafted onto fresh rootstock.

I have ZERO experience grafting except for attending a garden club lecture and demonstration.

To hold the grafted slices together, I was thinking of Glad Press'n Seal. It's a version of plastic wrap that clings to itself with a force somewhere between plastic tape and post it notes, yet unwraps easily. It is moisture-proof and air-proof, which might or might not be a good thing. For structural support, I was planning on a splint made with a stick extendig down into the soil.

Please give me advice if you have it. It's not like I know what I am doing here

Thanks again for the idea Cannafan !

 

[FeralA9X]

Back when i was a young fella just starting out in work i had a job on a fruit farm, I really wish i paid more attention to the grafting, they did it on every apple tree they had but the one thing i do remember is they used glad wrap to hold the buds into the graft, exactly as you are describing never tried it myself though so may be better waiting for someone with some more experience lol
I wouldnt mind giving this a go myself at some point, i might just watch and see how everything turns out

 

[Radogast]

Back when i was a young fella just starting out in work i had a job on a fruit farm, I really wish i paid more attention to the grafting, they did it on every apple tree they had but the one thing i do remember is they used glad wrap to hold the buds into the graft, exactly as you are describing never tried it myself though so may be better waiting for someone with some more experience lol
I wouldnt mind giving this a go myself at some point, i might just watch and see how everything turns out

Thanks a lot.

If it turns out poor, you'll probably be the second person to know

It's a pleasure to be followed on your iPad.

 

[CareStaker]

Keep safe this weekend.

 

[Radogast]

Keep safe this weekend.

Winter Storm Jonas looks to pass mostly south of my town. Current predictions have been reduced to 0-6 inches of snow.

Since my wife chose the biggest 4-wheel drive Jeep ever made, we don't even bother getting the driveway plowed for under 2 feet of snow.

Thanks for the warm thoughts

 

[SweetSue]

I kept wondering why I wasn't getting notifications from you Rad. Turns out I missed this new journal. Well, all caught up. No one covers the intricacies of worm farming and the local bird stories better than you, my friend. I greatly appreciated the run down on perpetual gardening too. You have this way of making the complex easier to digest.

I'm here, at long last. I'll take a spot out if the way and try to listen more than talk. You know my penchant for being loquacious.

Good to be here Rad.

 

[Radogast]

I kept wondering why I wasn't getting notifications from you Rad. Turns out I missed this new journal. Well, all caught up. No one covers the intricacies of worm farming and the local bird stories better than you, my friend. I greatly appreciated the run down on perpetual gardening too. You have this way of making the complex easier to digest.

I'm here, at long last. I'll take a spot out if the way and try to listen more than talk. You know my penchant for being loquacious.

Good to be here Rad.

You know I love having you here.
Fortunately, I don't get the fast talking crowds you get so we have time for a virtual hug as you settle in


I made 10 quarts of chili for dinner yesterday. It came out well enough that everyone was happy with chili nachos and chili cheesdogs for dinner tonight. My wife and I each had a cup of chili for an after dinner snack


The two girls with 59 days in the flowering room won't be harvested this weekend. They just aren't ripe yet.

The two seedlings, WW Ava and Car Latrice Royal, have air pruned their roots at the holes in the bottoms of their pots - they are ready for transplant whenever Giselle and GSC Annabelle are harvested.


Ghita has not fully convinced me that he/she is a boy, so no grafting will happen tomorrow.


My weekend agenda is down to tracking my seed shipment on the USPS website and puttering with the vegging plants while seated in my little red cushioned chair. Maybe I'll spice it up and do laundry

 

[OEF Vet 11B]

Caught up and sub'd. Looks like you have great things to expect in your future.

 

[Radogast]

Caught up and sub'd. Looks like you have great things to expect in your future.

Thanks LegalizeNY. Your thread title Beginners Perpetual-My First Journal is calling me... I'll have to head over there after I get some sleep.

 

[Chinnubie]

Hey Rad, isn't 3 or more a murder of crows? Been a while since I've been on 420, had some life changes to take care of, but I was able to get my flower room built in our basement after we moved last June. On the 2nd grow now in veg with some white widow. Bad genetics but making it work.

 

[Radogast]

Hey Rad, isn't 3 or more a murder of crows? Been a while since I've been on 420, had some life changes to take care of, but I was able to get my flower room built in our basement after we moved last June. On the 2nd grow now in veg with some white widow. Bad genetics but making it work.

Great to see you again, Chinnubie.

No murder of crows in the yard today, but they were around. We had one stomping around the back yard for about 20 minutes this morning. I think it was sulking or throwing a tantrum. Then another crow came and walked beside it for 5 minutes. They both flew off west and 15 seconds later there was all forms of cawing and squawking from the local murder. I don't know whether it was scolding, or apologizing or telling stories. The murder seemed to work it out with the loner.

After growing in a basement, I wouldn't consider anyplace else except in a greenhouse.

I know what you mean about bad White Widow genetics - I believe mine are. I'm looking forward to my CBD Shark seed arriving tuesday or wednesday. The Black Widow and Skunk #1 in the Shark Shock half is real Shantibaba genetics. This should be a step up in my game. I only ordered one seed each so I best not mess up.

Speaking of messing up, I am losing both my Hawaiian Skunk 3rd generation clone and Caramelicious Quiffa 4th generation clone after they went into the ground. I understand what happened with Quiffa, she tried to go into flower in the cloner and then reveg in the soil. The other Quiffa clone refused to even root in the cloner. I don't see how that was my fault. The Hawaiian Skunk was my fault as I tried to go directly from the cloner to a large pot without time in a small pot of soil. Neither one is fully dead, but I don't like messing up and losing genetics. I like cloning from my seedlings and getting to know each plant on several runs.

The Hawaiian Skunk is pretty good seeming genetics, but not documented by the Amsterdam breeder and hasn't cloned well. The Caramelicious is lesser quality genetics seemingly bred from lesser quality White Widow genetics, again not documented by the breeder. My Snowcap clones, created by a local grower from undisclosed breeding , are more impressive than what I purchased from the Amsterdam breeder. That same breeder delivered very impressive Northern Lights, AK47, and Borderliner genetics, but I think they are reselling rather than breeding those genetics. They aren't saying on their website. I want to be done with them and buy future seeds from other breeders. My new order has 1 seed each from Royal Queen, CBD Crew and Humboldt Seed Org. This should test my theory about whether better breeders sell seeds that I grow better in my basement.

 

[Radogast]

As the last thing before bed, I checked online to see if my seed shipment from the UK would arrive Monday or Tuesday.

To my surprise, the website reported delivery at noon.

Rather than leave my girl seeds shivering in the mailbox, I donned farmer boots, top hat, mitten capped pickpocket gloves, and a retro edwardian wizard's cloak for another 3AM trek to the mailbox. Despite the Full Snow Moon, todays snowfall was a mere 1/2", drastically reducing my journey from an epic trek to a casual stroll. It was all so civilized, I could have carried a cane and opera gloves Still, I noted 2 planets in the 5 planet syzygy, so there was consolation. Also the preparatory shot of rum warmed me on my return journey.


My 'souvenir phonecase' of seeds from the land of henges.

Her Royal Highness Fauna bathing after the rigors of her winter journey across the wild Atlantic.

For added blessings, I took HRH Fauna and her bath outside in my bare feet and formally presented her to the Full Snow Moon.

 

[Radogast]

My first true medical seed has sprouted.
Royal Highness(Rhl) Fauna seed coat has cracked, tomorrow she goes into soil.


Training a mature clone

I've been playing with training clones of mature, alternating node, plants.


At first GSC Annabelle C1 grew tall and thin, so I lopped off the top 2/3. At 27 days she had multiple thin branches.

At 32 days, 3 days after tranplanting to a larger pot, I started gently spreading those branches sideways - Low Stress Training to grow low and spreading.

Today, at 47 days, Annabelle C1 is spreading out nicely.

Wthout training, she would have grown more like the Snowcap clones below (which I finally topped at 24".)

Sexing Ghita

Tnd Ghita is the strangest plant in flower.


There are pistil-free calyxes or nodes which appear pre-male - only a few.

There are also short pistilled flower clusters on top.

I've gone from suspecting a male to suspecting an intersexual.



Waiting for transplant

I was expecting to harvest Giselle C1 and GSC Annabelle by now. It may be another week or so.


White Widow(WW) Ava is ready to transplant today.

Caramelicious(Car) Latrice Royale is like "Bitch, I need a large pot to grow beautiful."

 

[FeralA9X]

Congrats on the new birth mate
LST on Annabelle C1 has filled her out real nicely, looking gooood