Sorenna's - 2015 - Strawberry Blue Reveg in Soil under Mars LED

[Sorenna]

Re: Light is like a shower head...

Can't get bored with something that's constantly changing. I'm a fan of the feeding weak plant/soil food everytime. Since I run a SWICK, I feed my ladies about twice a week. If you're running organics, remember that you're feeding the soil and its microbes as well as the plant. A little food every watering isn't gonna hurt the plants. The thing I think that plagues most new growers is caring too much. Constant worry over a plant can cause stress by doing too many things to help the plant. It's like looking over a childs shoulder when he/she is solving a problem; you may think you're helping by making sure they're doing every step right, but in reality stressing them out by giving them no space.

Remember that it's called "weed" for a reason.

And I'm glad to hear you're super cropping, as it accomplishes the same goal as tying branches down. I hadn't read back that far.

To throw a little knowledge your way, think about light like a showerhead - water is really hot and powerful close to the showerhead and gets drastically cooler and with less pressure by the time it reaches your feet. Buds grows best when they're all closer to the showerhead. A bud that grows where the plants feet are will only get that luke warm light and won't get as big as the bud closer to the light source. LEDs are fantastic technology and work well, but light strength drops off drastically as compared to HPS and LEC, which means its more important to utilize the light spread by growing horizontally as opposed tk vertically. That's why ScrOGs work well with LEDs.

All of that said, you're doing a great job and your methods

Well, I am certainly guilty of caring too much. lol I worry about every little thing, but I am aware of my inclination to mother them to death, so I try really hard not to react until Ive had time to seek advice or think about it a bit. For example, her yellowing leaves of the last couple of days. I literally could not sleep last night, at first, because I wondered if she was being mischievous in the tent just a few feet away. I nearly had to restrain myself from taking a peek during her dark period because I was so anxious to see what she had done to herself overnight. All I did when I saw them was take them off so I could tell if any more would turn yellow. None did, thankfully. I really wanted to scour the net and pester yall to tell me what was wrong with her, but I refrained and waited instead. Yes, Im patting myself on the back. haha

Im really liking the super cropping, despite my reluctance to "hurt" her. Shes not that even, but I think its pretty decent for my first time with the technique. As for feeding, Im feeding her Fox Farms again, like I did last time. She didnt like it last time, so I really trying to find her happy place. When shes happy, Im happy. Ridiculous, I know, but there it is. lol What are LEC lights? Ive never heard of them before. And you never did really give me your take on distances for a flowering plant. How close is too close? I dont want albino buds at the end. I know that can happen when the lights are too close and it apparently affects the potency of the bud.

Also, I know its only been two weeks for her flowers, but now you have me wondering if her flowers are not developing correctly, ie not big enough. I want nuggets, not kernels. lol

Thanks for taking the time.

 

[MysterySeeds]

Re: Light is like a shower head...

At this point in time, she is just stretching to make room for bigger buds. My thoughts on light distances are varied: the further a light gets away the larger the light coverage but the less intense the light. For example let us assume your Mars Hydro covers 1sq ft of space at 6" away, at 12" away it would cover 4sq ft of space but light would be a 1/4 of the intensity it was at 6". To take that a step further, 24" away would give you 16sqft of coverage but only 1/16 of the light intensity at 6".

So... bud that grows at the top of the plant 12" away from the light gets 4 times as much light as a bud lower down that is 24" from the light. My rudimentary tests with a cheap light meter show that the Mars Hydro is as intense as the sun when it's 4-6" away from the plants, but best indoor practices call for 12-16" away durig flower. It's best if you can keep as many buds as close as possible to the light without burning or bleahing the leaves, which is why I subscribe to the ScrOG method. It helps even the caopy allowing me to keep my light 12-16" away from most of the buds maximizing the light coverage in my tiny space. Super cropping helps achieve a similar end, but less equipment.

You have the hang of this growing thing, so don't doubt yourself. Every grow you will learn more and more until it becomes second nature. You will know what the plant needs before it needs it.

Oh, and LEC stands for "Light Emitting Ceramic" which is similar to a HPS/MH light except it runs electricity through ceramic instead of metal to create light. They are twice as efficient as HPS meaning a 315w LEC can produce as much light as a 600w HPS. A 300w LED (actual wattage) produces half as much light as a 600w HPS, but focuses that light in the red and blue spectrums which the plants use to complete photosynthesis so it doesn't waste light on spectrums the plant can't use like green.

LECs are newer technology but you'll start seeing more and more growers using them in the future. We already use them at work and the bud is od the finest quality I have ever laid eyes upon.

Anyway, I ramble. It is always a pleasure to stop by and do some edumacating. Until next time, may the Krebs cycle be strong within you and Louise.

 

[MysterySeeds]

See the even canopy of budsites in my tent? That's why I ScrOG. In the second photo (of my other tent), notice how I pick clean the lower branches? That keeps the plant from wasting precious resources growing popcorn so it can instead put that energy into growing big, dense top colas.

Be well.

 

[Sorenna]

I just finished reading a completed journal featuring my next photo strain, Kali Mist, and a scrog, but it was done under CFLs. It was beautiful and the guy did an excellent job of it. So, Ill think about this scrogging thing. Ill have some time to think about it first. Still going to do one more auto grow which will be next to use up the seeds I already bought. Waste not, want not, they say. Kali Mist is evidently a good candidate for the technique. I dont know if Im up to building one of those screens though. lol I dont have a DIY bone in my body.

Ive heard of taking the lower foliage and flowers off so the plant can concentrate on the big buds upstairs. I even did it to a lesser degree on Louise a few weeks ago. I didnt strip her down there completely though. The reason I did it was because when she re-vegged most of the new growth came from pretty much the same node. There were a couple of other sites, but that one was the main spot. All of the growth down there was very small but also very profuse.

Tomorrow Im going to get out the tape measure and measure the exact distance from top flower to light. By eye, its approximately 12".

 

[Sorenna]

WooHoo! Im so excited! I found my old camera, the one I thought I lost years ago. I lost my car keys and I did a top to bottom house search. I found them inside (like inside inside where all the stuffing and springs are) my loveseat right next to my long lost camera. But...theres always a but... I thought I lost it long ago, so I tossed its USB cord. I can get another, but itll be a minute before it gets here. But man, how exciting! Its a good camera and now weve recovered some pictures that we took when we took the kidlets to see WWE.

Better pictures coming in the near future. (maybe close ups too!) *happy dances*

 

[SweetSue]

You watched me recently do my first topping and defoliation of the under carriage. Get under there and clean it out. You know enough about what you're doing now to be able to determine what will produce under there and what won't. I realized it's all about preparing for the flip. Leave only what you want to flower. It was a revelation to me and I found myself mercilessly cutting out lower branches and pulling off all the tiny trim up about three to four nodes from the bottom.

You can do it Sorenna. You've come so far in such a short time. Can't you feel all these guys beaming with pride every time they stop here to check on you? I'm proud of you myself.

 

[Sorenna]

You watched me recently do my first topping and defoliation of the under carriage. Get under there and clean it out. You know enough about what you're doing now to be able to determine what will produce under there and what won't. I realized it's all about preparing for the flip. Leave only what you want to flower. It was a revelation to me and I found myself mercilessly cutting out lower branches and pulling off all the tiny trim up about three to four nodes from the bottom.

You can do it Sorenna. You've come so far in such a short time. Can't you feel all these guys beaming with pride every time they stop here to check on you? I'm proud of you myself.

Honestly...after 2 bouts with yellowing leaves plus the light defoliation I did down there awhile back, she really doesnt have a lot left to clean out. I will remember that "Leave only what you want to flower" the next time I do a flip. Ill get in there tomorrow and see what she has to give me down below.

I am my own worst critic. I always have been and I always will be, but I am proud of my plant and me too, a little bit. Thank you. I am learning this stuff slowly but surely.

 

[SweetSue]

I was really impressed by your comparison shots posted earlier. It's starting to get really exciting now. You deserve this reward. You put up with so much crap over the past couple years, this is good karma circling back.

I need to lie down for a while. I'll see you later.

 

[Sorenna]

Thank you, SweetSue. I was a little bit surprised. I remembered her shape from before, but I didnt quite remember her size. She is just BIGGER this time. haha Im lovin it!

Have a great visit to Sleepytown!

 

[Pigeons420]

You watched me recently do my first topping and defoliation of the under carriage.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but are we confusing the term "defoliation" with the term "lollipopping". It's actually happening a lot and I'm starting to think I've got a skewed idea of which is which.

 

[MysterySeeds]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but are we confusing the term "defoliation" with the term "lollipopping". It's actually happening a lot and I'm starting to think I've got a skewed idea of which is which.

I would say lollipopping and topping are specific forms of defoliation, which is the act of removing leaves and branches.

 

[Pigeons420]

I get it! So defoliation is a general term that includes these forms of leaf removal. That makes perfect sense!

 

[Sorenna]

MysterySeeds helps make us all smarter.

 

[Pigeons420]

That's the truth!

 

[Sorenna]

So this is what focus looks like....

Im ever so pleased! My hubby is a genius. The card from the camera fits directly into a slot in his laptop, so I dont need the cord. Woot! The camera takes nice pictures. Im gonna be playing with the settings in the next little while. Fun! Fun!

 

[Sorenna]

UPDATE: Louise ~ Day 58 (18 days from flip)

Hi yall. Im pleased to say that Mizz Louise seems to be happy for the moment. I can tell that her flowers are definitely getting a little bit bigger, day by day. Im going to give feed her again soon. Her pot is still a bit heavy..itll be a day or two longer. Not much else to report. Im just watching her and encouraging her and thats about all I can do. She fascinates me. And takes up a lot of my thoughts. haha. Anyway...I hope yall have a great day or evening, depending on where you are.

Louise ~ Strawberry Blue

 

[SweetSue]

Gosh Sorenna, she's breathtaking! Isn't it exciting how the flowers start and you look at them and think "yeah, maybe they'll get bigger" and then they do. And they keep it up. You have no idea what she's going to end up like, do you? Hahaha! You collecting jars for the harvest?

 

[Sorenna]

Gosh Sorenna, she's breathtaking! Isn't it exciting how the flowers start and you look at them and think "yeah, maybe they'll get bigger" and then they do. And they keep it up. You have no idea what she's going to end up like, do you? Hahaha! You collecting jars for the harvest?

This made me grin. lol You know, Ive lost track of the jars and lids that I had. I can get some at the grocery store here or at walmart. Im very excited to see how she turns out. Gives me goosebumps almost. Im already having so much fun just watching her grow. The harvest almost seems like the pot at the end of the rainbow.

 

[Sorenna]

I might have to start brainstorming on ways to support the branches with buds if they start to fill out and get really fat. Her main stem is split, held together with tape.

 

[SweetSue]

I might have to start brainstorming on ways to support the branches with buds if they start to fill out and get really fat. Her main stem is split, held together with tape.

Did you see what Duggan did with his monster Desfrans? Bamboo poles around the perimeter, I think he ran a rope or wire around the top of all that, and then used pipe cleaners from the craft store or dollar store to attach. Bamboo has those nice nodal points that give you attachment anchors. There are many options available. Bamboo poles come in handy. Your local big-box hardware store should have some.