Stunger's Organic Balcony: Growing Daughters Of Mulanje: Watering Via Root Aeration Chambers

[Stunger]

Update - Some early morning flash pics

Greetings 420 enthusiasts! First thing in the morning there is not much light for taking pictures and I wanted to take a pic of Mulanje HP because she is always 'praying' nicely in the morning but tends to droop once the sun comes out. I am not usually so keen on using the flash but for something different.

Mulanje HP

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• Stunger
• Mar 28, 2023

2

• Stunger
• Mar 28, 2023

Mulanje Sherbert

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• Stunger
• Mar 28, 2023

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• Stunger
• Mar 28, 2023

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• Stunger
• Mar 28, 2023

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• Stunger
• Mar 28, 2023
• 1

Together

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• Stunger
• Mar 28, 2023

Cheers for dropping in, I hope you and your gardens are going great!

 

[Trala]

Thanks, I did have that thought if I wanted to go indoor, we'll see.

I love the mix of both.

You have a good one, whether you decided on eggs, or wine and cheese!

Omg best night! I decided on wine and cheese while floating around in the pool on the back of Percy Peacock under the stars pondering life while listening to the tunes that feed my soul love.

Solitude can be a beautiful thing.

 

[Stunger]

Update - a couple of late afternoon pics

Greetings 420 enthusiasts! This morning I posted some flash assisted pics. This evening I'm posting a couple of pics taken late in the afternoon sunshine to compare. These girls are now in their 7th month.

1 plant prays all day and the other prays half the day and then droops the rest

Of the 2 plants, the Mulanje Sherbert is in late flowering and her leaves are praying all day long. Even though she is the smallest plant and in the smaller pot, at this stage I am guessing that she will yield a heavier harvest than any plant I've grown before which was the White Widow/Gorgonzola that yielded just shy of 12oz. Hard to guess of course, but the Mulanje Sherbert just looks to me to have even more cola weight on her.

Whereas the Mulanje HP begins the day praying, and then once the sun comes out she goes into a collapse/droop mode. I have taken off quite a few leaves that were blocking buds sites, and at this stage I am more concerned with growing buds than leaves. I thought perhaps her container still had a bit of excess moisture in, so today I didn't water either plant. I wanted to see if she is back to praying again tomorrow morning, which I imagine she will be. I am probably going to water her tomorrow, but the Mulanje Sherbert I might drought for a little bit before giving her another water, maybe.

Mulanje HP

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• Stunger
• Mar 29, 2023

Mulanje Sherbert

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• Stunger
• Mar 29, 2023

Cheers for stopping by, keep well, and may your gardens be lush and beautiful!

 

[Azimuth]

Looks like the HP is droughting herself.

 

[Stunger]

Looks like the HP is droughting herself.

Yeah, if you compare the morning pic with the afternoon sun pic, it looks like that. I am hoping that she'll just get on with bud building!

 

[StoneOtter]

Interesting they get their DLI and shut down?

 

[Emeraldo]

Looks like the HP is droughting herself.

HP also looks like over watering. Under watering and over watering can look similar.

 

[Trala]

I can’t wait to see how she looks today!

 

[ThirdUncle]

HP also looks like over watering. Under watering and over watering can look similar.

you"re right emeraldo , though over night the leaves pick up & then when the day warms up she starts to droop, i"m going with azimuths theory, droughting, but not from under watering ,she can"t supply enough water to the top , something is wrong with the roots, maybe grubs ,or root rot ,but maybe she"s sensitive to having a tight root ball combinded with the root warming up , just a thought take care

 

[Carcass]

Could it be that the roots are getting too hot in that dark pot?
I doubt it, since it looks like the pots don't get a lot of sun on them on the balcony...
Or do they?

 

[Stunger]

Interesting they get their DLI and shut down?

What's DLI again?

HP also looks like over watering. Under watering and over watering can look similar.

Yes it does

I can’t wait to see how she looks today!

Much the same Tra, she seems to have cycle of perky but not fully in the morning then droop in the afternoon.

you"re right emeraldo , though over night the leaves pick up & then when the day warms up she starts to droop, i"m going with azimuths theory, droughting, but not from under watering ,she can"t supply enough water to the top , something is wrong with the roots, maybe grubs ,or root rot ,but maybe she"s sensitive to having a tight root ball combinded with the root warming up , just a thought take care

I think you sum what is happening, one way or another.

Could it be that the roots are getting too hot in that dark pot?
I doubt it, since it looks like the pots don't get a lot of sun on them on the balcony...
Or do they?

There is certainly heat from the sun to the plastic of the pots, but generally I feel the plant canopies probably take a lot of direct sun away from the pots. And too, the pots are ones I've used each year.

Thanks guys for the thoughts.

I think in hindsight it was poor watering that started this, and @ThirdUncle summed it well with suggesting the plant can't supply enough water to the top.

I think this is what also munted the Mulanje last year. I unwisely repeated the mistake for this grow because I was thinking that now my pots have 'air gaps' like the SIPS growers, that it will be ok to give an additional watering or two each day, that I could get away with it. There's nothing like real experience to give a great lesson! I'm taking it on board.

It will be interesting at this point how the Mulanje HP will progress from this current early stage of flowering. She does have a lot of bud sites. But she still presumably has at least 6-8 weeks to go until harvest time. If she gets there, then I should still be in for a decent amount of bud from her. And there's no harm either in wishing that if she is harmed that she may try harder to push her buds out, sometimes adversity can help potency, one of my best plants ever was beaten by the sun and wind and drooped every hot day, she produced barely 1.5 oz but each bud was primo top shelf.

I'll pop up some pics before too long to show her at different times of the day.

 

[Valleygrown]

Sorry about the plant stunger,but your positive attitude despite what's going on is very inspiring. I hope you can find a way to get her to harvest, I got my fingers and toes crossed for you

 

[Emeraldo]

you"re right emeraldo , though over night the leaves pick up & then when the day warms up she starts to droop, i"m going with azimuths theory, droughting, but not from under watering ,she can"t supply enough water to the top , something is wrong with the roots, maybe grubs ,or root rot ,but maybe she"s sensitive to having a tight root ball combinded with the root warming up , just a thought take care

@Stunger -- I agree with @ThirdUncle's @Azimuth's theory that it seems your HP's roots are unable to function after the temperature warms up during the day. Since the roots are unable to function properly, the plant looks a bit like droughting. Only problem with that is, you are not droughting the plant.

In the past you've said you have about 50 or 60 L of soil in that pot. That's a good amount of soil. And with waterings happening twice a day, an over-watering scenario is not far fetched here, while under-watering just sounds wrong to me. A large amount of soil like that will retain moisture for a long time, and by constantly giving more water, the plant could be "drowning" in the accumulation of water.

If she were mine, I'd let her roots dry out. Twice a day could be too much. Cut back on water. I'd give days between waterings, not hours. Roots need oxygen, and maybe they're not getting it. Just another thought, hope you can solve the issue.

 

[Stunger]

@Stunger -- I agree with @ThirdUncle's @Azimuth's theory that it seems your HP's roots are unable to function after the temperature warms up during the day. Since the roots are unable to function properly, the plant looks a bit like droughting. Only problem with that is, you are not droughting the plant.

In the past you've said you have about 50 or 60 L of soil in that pot. That's a good amount of soil. And with waterings happening twice a day, an over-watering scenario is not far fetched here, while under-watering just sounds wrong to me. A large amount of soil like that will retain moisture for a long time, and by constantly giving more water, the plant could be "drowning" in the accumulation of water.

If she were mine, I'd let her roots dry out. Twice a day could be too much. Cut back on water. I'd give days between waterings, not hours. Roots need oxygen, and maybe they're not getting it. Just another thought, hope you can solve the issue.

I agree with your thoughts Emeraldo. Since the collapse a few weeks ago I have only been watering once a day. And yesterday I didn't water either plant. But going forward I will perhaps just water every 2nd day until something tells otherwise and hope for the best. Unless there is a progressive decline I would like to think she'll get to the finish line ok.

But going forward I probably change to being more spartan with watering, and maybe doing so with some Yucca extract to ensure a nice even soak when I do water.

 

[Hombre del Monte]

Great looking plants @Stunger despite the wilting.

I have to say that it looks very much like overwatering to me also. I'd be tempted to go for a longer dry spell between waterings.

Best of luck with the rest of the grow.

 

[Stunger]

Great looking plants @Stunger despite the wilting.

I have to say that it looks very much like overwatering to me also. I'd be tempted to go for a longer dry spell between waterings.

Best of luck with the rest of the grow.

Thanks Hombre! I will go to alternate watering days or more, and try to judge when from the appearance. Previously I have always simply watered daily, but after stressing the roots with the over watering multi-per-day period that I did, I'll now have to be much more careful. She is still a good colour, I will just have to see how she progresses from here and hope for the best.

 

[StoneOtter]

Sounds like you have it nailed down. Here's DLI, Daily Light Integral for your information.

 

[CaptainLucky]

Could it be that the roots are getting too hot in that dark pot?
I doubt it, since it looks like the pots don't get a lot of sun on them on the balcony...
Or do they?

I would think that the sun shining down on the deck would heat it up a bit. Any ez fix would be a garden hose and water down at intervals through out the day. Or raise them up.my 2 cts. CL

 

[Hombre del Monte]

Thanks Hombre! I will go to alternate watering days or more, and try to judge when from the appearance. Previously I have always simply watered daily, but after stressing the roots with the over watering multi-per-day period that I did, I'll now have to be much more careful. She is still a good colour, I will just have to see how she progresses from here and hope for the best.

I'm pretty sure you'll see a big difference.

 

[ThirdUncle]

I'm pretty sure you'll see a big difference.