Usul's #3: Quest for the Ultimate Closet Grow

[usul]

Thanks for the lead Ultra - I'll see if I can track down Roseman's pruning info.

Quick update on the grow: the plants are looking fabulous, the buds are really starting to plump up and trichome production is coming on strong.

Inexplicably, Uma's soil has almost completely dried out while Beatrix has another two or three days to go. Uma is the smaller plant but is drinking much faster. The plants are overdue for a flush so I gave Uma a good one tonight - just Hygrozyme and CalMag+. Beatrix will get the same treatment when she's ready then I'll be back to the full-strength bud-building formula.

I'll get some pics posted this weekend - things should be nice and frosty by then

 

[Stealthy1]

Hey Ultra are you referring to where he says that he doesnt pull off any leaves that are less than 50% dead and generally doesnt prune per say? or was it another post?

My thoughts are if you have a small space and you have enormous indica leaves crowding everything else out and have no room to tuck then for me they come off what options do you have at that point besides leaving buds in the dark...

Thats what Im dealing with in my grow. Before I flipped I pruned all the massive leaves and some that just couldnt be tucked so hopefully they wont be an issue in flowering when Im afraid to cut anything.

 

[usul]

I'm being very aggressive with the pruning of fan leaves - 3 weeks in to flowering I'm still removing leaves that get in the way. So far, the number of buds is nearly double the last grow (where I did virtually no pruning) and the size of the buds is equal or perhaps slightly better.

After the lights come on tonight I'll reposition one or two of the T5 side lights, placing it below the screen so I can get more light on six sub-canopy colas that show promise. There are three or four more that aren't going to get enough light and I'll remove those branches entirely. Pruning shall continue...

Final yield will be the ultimate measure but results to date indicate that, in my environment, more pruning is better than less.

Once stretch is done I'll post some side-by-side pics comparing this grow to the previous one then come to some conclusions about the pruning question. Stay tuned....

 

[ultrasonic]

Yes thats the post I was speaking of: not removing any leaves. And It makes sense. On top of that, If you're doing a SCROG, light penetration is less of a concern, so that helps a bit.

I removed a lot of branches as well: branches are a different story altogether: you're forcing the plant to go into a survival phase to seal itself off. There are products that are designed to seal these wounds off, and the plant will move right on like nothing happened: it allows you to remove a large branch with no problems.

It's hard to judge this grow when comparing it to your last grow usul: you need to consider the extra time you had when it was growing in rockwool your first time. I think a third grow will be when you can start to notice some real consistancies (assuming you don't just start growin ww )

Speaking of that, what strain are thinking of starting up next? you gonna start those seedlings up sometime in the next 2-4weeks?

YAWN
peace man

I'm just smoking the last of the approx 1/2lb I got off my last batch. Really primo stuff, but the next stuff will be even better

 

[usul]

Yes thats the post I was speaking of: not removing any leaves. And It makes sense. On top of that, If you're doing a SCROG, light penetration is less of a concern, so that helps a bit.

I removed a lot of branches as well: branches are a different story altogether: you're forcing the plant to go into a survival phase to seal itself off. There are products that are designed to seal these wounds off, and the plant will move right on like nothing happened: it allows you to remove a large branch with no problems.

It's hard to judge this grow when comparing it to your last grow usul: you need to consider the extra time you had when it was growing in rockwool your first time. I think a third grow will be when you can start to notice some real consistancies (assuming you don't just start growin ww )

Speaking of that, what strain are thinking of starting up next? you gonna start those seedlings up sometime in the next 2-4weeks?

YAWN
peace man

I'm just smoking the last of the approx 1/2lb I got off my last batch. Really primo stuff, but the next stuff will be even better

Hi Ultra, I appreciate the feedback! It could well be that I've pruned too many leaves, but I firmly believe I'm much farther along than if I hadn't pruned any. And, when ScrOGing, isn't it normal to remove all the undergrowth? I've done more than that, of course, but it was all aimed at getting more light on more colas and I think it was the only way to get many of them grown up to the top of the canopy. Hard to say for sure without doing a side-by-side. I think it was worth it for this grow - a bit more info for the data banks if nothing else...

Once this grow is done I'll have to shut down the garden for a month or two as I'll be traveling for business most of August and September. Once I return in mid-Sept I'm planning to grow one or two big sativas: Brainstorm Haze - mostly because I have those seeds on hand and I need to use 'em soon. That grow will be more for curiosity sake than anything else. After that, I'll focus on WW. Man, pulling 8oz out of my tent on every grow would be great and given the wattage I'm running it should be possible. Really looking forward to seeing what this grow will yield.

Grow on brother ganja farmer

 

[usul]

And here's a weekend update at day 25 flower:

The canopy is starting to fill in a bit more. There's still evidence of some stretch but it's slowing down. Both plants have now been flushed and are ready for a blast of bud-building nutes at the next watering.

I decided to keep the side lights where they are and will prune off the lower branches that are staying below the canopy and out of the light. I'll be doing that gradually so as not to shock the plants too much and so I'll have a little something to test smoke along the way

Just a few other things to mention: The plants are super stinky - much more so than I remember this strain being on the last grow. I'll take that as a good sign. Man, if my ventilation system failed the whole house would reek to high heaven. The unwelcome guests I mentioned previously are no where is sight. Haven't seen a fungus gnat in about a week though I've noticed many dead ones on the back side of the T5s. They seem to like the light and the bulbs are apparently hot enough to roast 'em. And there's no sign of any more male flowers, which is what I expected. I also expect the plant to try again at week 7 or 8 of flowering.

Signing off, here's some close up bud shots. Getting frosty...

 

[ultrasonic]

mmm those girls are looking tasty.

good show usul

 

[Stealthy1]

Yes indeed they are starting to look the part. getting frosty to...

 

[usul]

Weekly update - we're now at day 28 of flowering and here's a shot of the canopy:

Things are cruising along nicely and it looks like stretch is done. The girls are healthy as can be, buds are swelling and trichomes are coming on strong. The plants smell like crazy and I haven't seen a fungus gnat or male flower in weeks. Color me a very happy ganja farmer

Here's a pic of the best bud in the tent:

Six weeks to harvest, and counting...

 

[Reefa Cheefa]

Is it snowing or is it just me?

 

[usul]

Hahahahah! Thanks for stopping by Reefa! Yea, we're having a snowstorm in the tent right now. Way more pungent and way more frosty than the last grow.

Have to admit I plucked one of the little popcorn buds last night, did a quick dry, dusted off the 9mm medical glassware and gave it a test smoke. Man O Man, what a rip! Made the mistake of smoking it right before bedtime and ended up laying there with my mind racing thinking happy thoughts for a couple hours. Bodes very well for the finished product. The additional lights and the FF flowering suppliments seem to be doing their job.

Should be very interesting to see how things turn out over the next six weeks

 

[usul]

A brief side note: I may have stumbled across a simple way to control fungus gnats. Fungus gnats are the size of fruit flies and are built like a mosquito. The adult flies are harmless but the larva hatch in the soil and can eat roots. I had them in my last grow - not very many, I only saw one or two a day, but they were always around. They reappeared on this grow, hung around for a week or two then completely disappeared - haven't seen a single one in weeks. The new thing in this grow are the T5HO side lights. Just took a close look at them and there are an amazing number of dead gnats stuck between the back of the bulbs and the relfector.

I'm using 24" Sunblaster fixtures - 24 watts and about $30 a piece. If you've got fungus gnats give 'em a try. The plants certainly won't mind the extra light

 

[HorseBadoritz]

High Usul, late to the party, but great, informative journaling. Reps + credits.

 

[usul]

Thanks for stopping by Horse (and for the reps and credits!). I'm hoping for a good show as we approach the big finish.

I fed Uma last night with a full-strength bud-building formula:

per gallon...

5ml Hygrozyme
5ml CalMag+
10ml Grow Big
10ml Tiger Bloom
15ml Big Bloom
1/2 tsp Beastie Bloomz

pHed to 6.5, TDS = 2230ppm. Runoff was pH 6.5 and TDS 2700ppm. Measurements for the nute mix and runoff are getting closer which means the soil is becoming more neutral. That's a good thing. Beatrix will be ready for her feeding on Friday or Saturday.

Full speed ahead!

 

[Stealthy1]

By neutral you mean the plant ate most of the soils nutes?... still learning the dirt thing..

Oh I just noticed they're not credits anymore now there 420 points lol!

 

[usul]

By neutral you mean the plant ate most of the soils nutes?... still learning the dirt thing..

Oh I just noticed they're not credits anymore now there 420 points lol!

Yes, the plants have now consumed most of whatever was in the soil, and a few good flushes have helped as well. On my next grow I'm going to use either a more neutral soil like Sunshine Mix or perhaps totally neutral coco. Still researching that one...

And, yea, 420 points - what are they and how are they used??

 

[Stealthy1]

I dunno but im hoping someone will trade me a bag'O'homegrown for some 420 points been dry for bout 2 weeks now lol.

 

[usul]

I dunno but im hoping someone will trade me a bag'O'homegrown for some 420 points been dry for bout 2 weeks now lol.

Amen! I've been without for almost two months - gotta get this operation producing more meds... I'm trying to keep my fingers off those popcorn buds but they're looking pretty tempting right about now...

 

[HorseBadoritz]

Amen! I've been without for almost two months - gotta get this operation producing more meds... I'm trying to keep my fingers off those popcorn buds but they're looking pretty tempting right about now...

Man, I'm from the need a pinch, take a smaller pinch school, bud in the hand is worth two on the bush... ya never know what's gonna happen

 

[usul]

Thanks Horse - that's all the encouragement I needed. Just snipped a few of the popcorn buds and they're drying right now. I will sleep well tonight