RK's Radical - Soil - White Widow - CFL - 12-1 Lighting - Grow Journal - 2016

[SweeetExide]

To try to answer your first question, as I've had no experience with that exact light routine I'll start by saying in my experience genetics alone play a bigger role.
That said I would not be surprised if you could adjust that natural stretch given the right circumstances.

I am interested in this light regime you speak of and it's results. Would be interesting to have a comparison to a normal light schedule.


Sent from my HTC One_M8 using 420 Magazine Mobile App

 

[Regnad Kcin]

Here we are at the beginning of week 2 of flower. I shifted the lighting from the 12-5-1-5 cycle to the 11-13 cycle a week ago. Up to this point, I had not introduced any nutrients to the soil since most people who have commented on using it suggest that additional nutes aren’t really necessary for the first 4 weeks or so. Three days ago at the last watering I added the first nutes using The Fox Farm organic soil Trio of Big Bloom, Grow Big, and Tiger Bloom at only ½ the flowering stage strength suggested on their “Soil Feeding Schedule”. Today’s watering consisted of only tap water with added unsulphured molasses at a dilution of 1 tablespoon per gallon of water.

Today I also knocked off 15 minutes of light down to a 10.75 -13.25 cycle. I plan to drop 15 minutes of light off each subsequent week of flower until either I harvest (if before week 8 of flower) or until I reach a 9-15 cycle which I will then hold until harvest (whenever that actually happens based on trichome inspection.

I also defoliated all 8 plants and removed approximately 4 oz of fan leaf material from the top and middle of the plants to open up the interior to more light from the CFLs. If I had more experience, I may likely have defoliated even more, but as with all things on this first grow, I’m progressing with a very conservative approach. I’m creating a grow using a significant number of advanced and controversial techniques so I’m carefully documenting each and every step. So far the plants look very healthy with no apparent distress.

Here is a shot of the canopy before defoliation

And again after defoliation:

 

[AussieBlueTHC]

I am enjoying your post if no one else so don't give up. Takes years to get a following. There a zillion journals people are trying to keep up with:

I would have hung out and filled the screen a little more, but it's a guessing game till you know what your strain/growing style does. I think it's looking great. Healthy. Which is the main thing you want.

 

[AussieBlueTHC]

Oh and there was absolutely no reason for you to defoliate, just tuck. It's going to turn out ok still tho.

 

[Regnad Kcin]

Thanks Aussie!
Actually there is one significant reason to defoliate and it is a somewhat controversial subject that long time growers have been debating for a quite a while. The primary reason to defoliate is to remove the shade on the lower bud sites of a particular plant in order to allow them to develop into much more mature buds.

As one proponent of the radical defoliator camp is fond of saying, he is growing bud, not leaves. I’m skeptical of a lot of information on forums such as this one, but when someone goes to the trouble of documenting and writing extensively about a particular growing technique as this person has, I tend to pay a bit more attention. Here is a link to an article of his that describes the growing methods he has been using for a long time now.

(I guess you can't post links to other sites here) Try Googling: (Experienced Growers Only) Controversial Defoliation Increases Marijuana Yields

Link should be at or near the top of the list

 

[SweeetExide]

Was worried you had given up ! Glad to see your persistence is paying off! They look very very happy

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using 420 Magazine Mobile App

 

[Regnad Kcin]

Was worried you had given up ! Glad to see your persistence is paying off! They look very very happy

Hey Sweet...

I haven't given up as much as settled into a routine. It seems that daily postings don't make a whole lot of sense. I tend to the ladies every day, but it takes a week to see a significant change overall.

I am curious about anyone else's experience with extreme defoliation techniques. So far, I wouldn't say I'm being extreme with it (as in removing ALL fan leaves), though I'm certainly at the high end of moderate. Basically, every time I go around tucking the stems below the mesh scrog, I watch for fan leaves that cover up nodes below them. These I pluck off at that time. It's an ongoing process and when I post new pictures at the middle of this week, most viewers will probably be able to identify bud sites that probably would not have developed had I not begun a defoliaton routine.

I've really piled the cart high with all the advanced and controversial growing techniques, in this my first cannabis grow. However, as I said at the very top, I've been an outdoor gardener of all things flower and food for over 30 years, so I have a bit of experience watching how plants respond to my hand. I have to chuckle when I read so many people so overly worried about "stressing the plants". Those folks should talk to those who grow grapes for wine. A struggle is what makes a great grape for wine.

I am puzzled by the cannabis grower's culture that talks about the weight of a harvest. When a person says that they harvest 1 gram per watt of light, are they speaking of "wet weight" or dried weight? Same for ANY reference to weight. An oz. of freshly harvested bud is going to be lighter after drying.

Can everyone chime in as to what the custom is when it comes to reporting weight?

 

[hawtway]

The current photos are shown with all my reflective material temporarily removed so that everyone can see the structure. I didn't invest in a professional "grow tent" since I found a source to buy "Emergency Space Thermal Blankets" that are 52" x 84" and only cost $0.98 each! That makes them almost disposable and you'll probably see them hanging in my future grow photos.[/QUOTE]

Great grow going there RK. I started a grow I call Kushy Bag Weed. Yes, first there's a need for "Geeze, these little ladies have to move away from the picture window" Then pots and soil and nutes and lights and a tent?? Hey yes, space blankets. They look great from the outside but so much light was penetrating the mylar that I could read a book while inside my "tent" with my grow lights turned off. One more trip to the grow shop came home with a 3x3x6 tent creating perfect lights-out darkness. The test on the bag weed of course morphed into a purchase of White Widow seeds from King Crop (now 2 weeks in bloom) who are having a more productive life than the bag ladies did.
Happy Growing.

 

[SweeetExide]

Hey RK, agreed weekly updates are more sane haha.

As for heavy defoliation keep in mind cannabis is a flowering foliage annual. Myself I tend to tuck n pluck strictly in veg cycle.

In my humble opinion a stress free flower cycle is key. That said almost anything goes in veg.

Yes fresh harvested buds lose weight when drying, as such most advertise dry weight.




Sent from my HTC One_M8 using 420 Magazine Mobile App

 

[hawtway]

I'm not sure how to get this thread on the radar. I can't even seem to find my way back here. Can anyone tell me how I can flag this thread so that I don't have to spend huge amounts of time trying to find it again?

Yes nicK, Go way up the top to <settings> and click on your <subscribed > link. And please keep posting, fans are watching.
Happy Growing

 

[Regnad Kcin]

Day 14 of Flower

Ever since the first major defoliation last week, I've been removing a few fans each day as I'm tucking. When I find a fan that is blocking lower bud sites it gets pinched off. It's only amounting to a couple handfuls a day at this point, but I'm seeing a substantial amount of development in the middle zones of the plant that would have been in shade had I not defoliated. It will be interesting to see in a couple more weeks what sort of development these lower sites will take on now that they are open to the light.

I seem to have made it to this point with no major problems so far. The plants all look completely healthy (if only a bit "airy" to those not accustomed to seeing plants under a defoliation routine). This first attempt has taught me a whole bag load of stuff.
The biggest thing is that I likely could have vegged a bit longer before the flip. I'm not certain that these eight plants will fill this screen, and they certainly could have had I vegged longer. In fact, I likely could have filled this screen with just 4 plants instead of 8. But I made the mistake of attempting to germinate all 10 seeds from the original purchase not knowing that I would get a 100% germination rate! Even after sacrificing two obviously inferior seedlings to the compost gods, I was left with 8 very healthy plants and figured to press on anyway.

It also might be kind of lucky that I made the flip early since I think for my first grow it will be less stressful on me to tend a slightly under filled Scrog, than worry about one that is overloaded. Thinking about yields will come later after I have harvested this lot and see what the results are.

At the moment, the overall height of the canopy is approximately 13" for the tallest colas, though I still have room to tuck some more as the stretch continues. When not working on my crop or photographing it, My CFL light bank is lowered to within about 1"- 2" of the tallest colas.



As for the defoliation routine, you can see from a comparison of last week's photo after the first defoliation and todays image of the same area, that there has been a substantial bounce-back of growth as well as a whole host of newly growing bud that hadn't yet begun to emerge last week.

DAY 8


DAY 14


Lots and lots of bud sites!!!

 

[SweeetExide]

Great pictures
Helpful arrows too!
Loving how these CFL's are treating you
keep it up !

 

[Regnad Kcin]

Great pictures
Helpful arrows too!

Thanks Sweet...

I seem to be having some trouble with the image display. When I click on one of my images in the post it is supposed to show a full size version of the file that I uploaded (bigger than what appears in the post). But actually what happens is I get almost the same down-sized version that appears in the post.

The uploaded files were 1000 pixels tall but the system only is displaying them as 682 pixels high. Bigger is better when trying to see what the arrows are pointing at.

Strangely some of the newer threads have no problem displaying images that are more than 1000 pixels tall.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[SweeetExide]

Thanks Sweet...

I seem to be having some trouble with the image display. When I click on one of my images in the post it is supposed to show a full size version of the file that I uploaded (bigger than what appears in the post). But actually what happens is I get almost the same down-sized version that appears in the post.

The uploaded files were 1000 pixels tall but the system only is displaying them as 682 pixels high. Bigger is better when trying to see what the arrows are pointing at.

Strangely some of the newer threads have no problem displaying images that are more than 1000 pixels tall.

What am I doing wrong?

Not sure :O
Ive been using my phone to upload to a post directly instead of uploading to member galleries.
Just inspecting your last photo and

<img style="user-select: none; cursor: zoom-in;" src="https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/Flower_Day_14_4323.JPG" width="722" height="480">

before zoom

<img style="user-select: none; cursor: zoom-out;" src="https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/Flower_Day_14_4323.JPG" width="1024" height="682">

after i clicked the photo to zoom in, height of 682.

I suspect if you are uploading your pictures to the member gallery it's resizing them :O

 

[nivek]

Heya danger, lookin good friend, real good even. Nice job with all the construction

I am a bit of a CFL lover, just cuz near no one else does. There is plenty of proof positive in here about the value of using cfls to grow. I have a two tier flower room,, tiny, top has a led, 300w, bottom has all cfls, all cfls in my veg room too. I am convinced that the cfl flower level performs at least as well as the led flower level.

You are the first I have seen who realizes the need to put the cfls close,, i always post this pic for those less aware,,

Just to show how close one can be,, even closer than that, as you know,, my teeniest babies are never more than an inch away

As for defol,, i am a big defoliater, well, I, personally, am not big, but i defoliate a lot,, especially under the canopy,, being a photog, you know the inverse square law,, aint none a that cfl light gettin down there. Couple other reasons for defol as well,, open up for better air circulation, important for pest and mold control and inspection, light penetration as stated, and i also use the leaves for in my daily smoothie

The plants do not need to dry out beyween waterings quite as much when in flower, not sure why i typed that, no worries

Best karma sent friend,, cheers

Btw, one more point,, an absolute journal killer is talkin about why no one contributes to this journal,, as stated, a following takes time and patience, gee, what else do we have in common that takes time and patience?? Haha

 

[nivek]

I poste this just to show about pics being able to show bigger, think I read here someone confused about it,, in this chat box, look lower left, my photos, when that opens, look up top, maybe says, original only,,? Drop down and I changed this to,, medium, link to original,

Another thing,, to find yer thread,, look first page upper menu for,, user cp,,, that is your stuff

One more,, you need a, siggy, a signature for your journal, so other folks can find it when they see your posts,, i am on my tab and may not be able to link it here, hang on, brb.

Aw shuks, not workin,, click on my lowest link in, my, siggy, member resources or whatevet it says,, couple posts down, how to add a siggy

 

[Regnad Kcin]

I poste this just to show about pics being able to show bigger, think I read here someone confused about it,, in this chat box, look lower left, my photos, when that opens, look up top, maybe says, original only,,? Drop down and I changed this to,, medium, link to original,

I've done that last thing and still no joy. I can find the large size image in the gallery, but I can't seem to get it to display when you click on the image in my posts. I'll try something new on Wednesday which starts Week 4 of flower and is "photo day"

One more,, you need a, siggy, a signature for your journal, so other folks can find it when they see your posts...<snip>

Nice tip...I'm trying out one with this post. Let's see how it looks.

Happy Day!

 

[Regnad Kcin]

Heya danger, lookin good friend, real good even...<Snip>...The plants do not need to dry out beyween waterings quite as much when in flower, not sure why i typed that, no worries

Do you think it might have had anything to do with reading Emilya's topic on how to water plants? She mentioned in great detail how a well developed root system can almost not ever be "overwatered".

That lady is brilliant! I've learned a lot from reading her stuff, and the thoughtful discussions she engenders.

 

[Radogast]

Subscribed to your thread!

Great idea about the “lift method” for determining watering time!! I also have a small glass rod that I’ve begun to use inserting it all the way to the bottom of the pots and removing it. It’s similar to the way one tests if a cake is done by inserting a toothpick into the batter. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. I’m finding it similar with the glass rod. I can tell if the soil is still wet if the rod comes out clean vs. coming out with soil attached.

Yup about the reflectors and CFL light mounting…thought about that and tested it. As I’m a photographer, I’ve used a light meter to test light output. I first thought about mounting the bulbs laterally, but the building logistics didn’t warrant the effort. The light output was virtually identical mounting laterally vs mounting vertically, plus it was a ton easier to just mount them this way. I’m sure I’ll probably regret that once the ladies enter flowering, but hey…one has to start somewhere~ LOL.

The current photos are shown with all my reflective material temporarily removed so that everyone can see the structure. I didn’t invest in a professional “grow tent” since I found a source to buy “Emergency Space Thermal Blankets” that are 52” x 84” and only cost $0.98 each! That makes them almost disposable and you’ll probably see them hanging in my future grow photos.

reps for actually testing your CFL ouyput with a light meter

Has anyone here done the 12-1 Gaslight routine who can speak to the stretch when moving from veg to flower? There seems to be some conflicting testimony. Some say there is little if any stretch in flower when moving from veg lighting to flower lighthing....others say otherwise. Any help here would be very appreciated.

How much stretch should I anticipate when I move from Veg to Flower?

RK

Stretch seems to vary quite a bit from grow to grow.

Plants that are growing quickly with robust root systems seem to stretch more.

Some strains stretch ore than others, but I have had clones that stretched 12" , their daughters stretched 2: and their grandaughters stretched 14".

No need to worry much about stretch, here is always room to LSTor supercrop.

Expecially since you have CFL and can grow 2" away from the lights

No comments, observations, or opinions of any kind? How is this conversation not on anyone's radar?

RK

Adding your signature (as you have done) and posting interesting thinga in other people's journals are the besy way to get noticed.

Do you think it might have had anything to do with reading Emilya's topic on how to water plants? She mentioned in great detail how a well developed root system can almost not ever be "overwatered".

That lady is brilliant! I've learned a lot from reading her stuff, and the thoughtful discussions she engenders.

You posted under Emilya's thread and I came here to look !


See you around

 

[Regnad Kcin]

Flower Day 25

My first noticed triches coming in. I can imagine another 4-6 weeks to so these are really juvenile buds. Hmmm..could I get busted not only for the contraband plants, but also for child-bud pornography?

Click to see big: