Winter Is Coming! The Quest For The Iron Throne! A High Brix Quadline Breeding Project!

Mr. Magoo

Mr. Magoo

Well-Known Member
Member of the Month
September 2018 Nug of the Month
October 2019 2 Plant of the Month
August 2020
Hello folks! Welcome to the new journal. As you can tell from the title....big Game of Thrones fan! So what better way to show support than to start this one today, which is also the premier of the final season of the show! Excited to see it but sad it’s coming to an end. :(
For those of you who aren’t familiar with GOT, that won’t be the focus of this journal! But for the fans, I hope it makes it even better.

So....
The goal of this grow is to try my hand at some breeding. I tried to pick a couple strains with excellent terpenes and a high probability for super frosty trichomes....after all “Winter is Coming!”

Marching under the sigil of house Stark

is Pugsbreath bred by Thug Pug Genetics! This is a cross of Mendobreath f2 ultraviolet and Mendobreath f2!

Marching under the sigil of house Lannister
is Black Cherry O’s bred By In-house Genetics. It is a cross of Black Cherry Punch and Dosidos!
 
No, No, NO!

My back still hurts from the last time I shoveled that horrid white stuff on Tuesday. Summer hasn't arrived yet and you want to talk WINTER ??? No way!


:thedoubletake: :cheesygrinsmiley: :laugh: :rofl: :laugh::rofl::laugh:
 
As always......there will be some surprise drops along the way! So I hope you guys will hang out for a bit! I’ll need help along the way as usual! Lol.
 
THE QUADLINE METHOD!
So the quadline is the method I use for training my plants. It allows me to keep the height of my canopy under control, which is necessary in my 2x4x5 tent. But beyond that I really enjoy the hands on time with the plants during the veg stage of life. The way we manipulate the direction they grow allows us to use some of growth hormones within the plants to our advantage. Specifically the auxins, which are present in the stems (among other places). This hormone promotes elongation of the shoots. Gravity and light both play a role in how the auxins function in the plant. When we top above the 4th node, the hormones no longer focus on the main stem and are distributed into the branches below the topping. By removing the lower 2 nodes, we again manipulate the growth hormones into the branches that will have the strength to support the growth of the plant throughout its life. We are left with 4 mains to channel energy into! As we train the 4 branches out, we can remove any shoots that come from the bottom of these branches to allow for further channeling of energy where we want it! As we train out toward the edge of the pot, we want to keep a slight upward angle to the main branches. If we let them be too flat(I’m guilty of this) then the plant becomes confused and will allow the inner shoots to outgrow the ends of the main branches. This is the effect gravity has on the auxins. So we want them to have an upward angle as in nature but we want to control this so that we end up with an even canopy with lots of strong branches to hold up a lot of produce. As I do some training along the way, I’ll highlight each step so that anyone interested can see what I’ve just described. Hopefully the end result is something like this...
F47E652E-854C-40E6-8251-6B5F3194CD3F.jpeg

F47E652E-854C-40E6-8251-6B5F3194CD3F.jpeg

Special shoutout to @Asesino85 for teaching me this method!
 
Mr. Magoo said:
THE QUADLINE METHOD!
So the quadline is the method I use for training my plants. It allows me to keep the height of my canopy under control, which is necessary in my 2x4x5 tent. But beyond that I really enjoy the hands on time with the plants during the veg stage of life. The way we manipulate the direction they grow allows us to use some of growth hormones within the plants to our advantage. Specifically the auxins, which are present in the stems (among other places). This hormone promotes elongation of the shoots. Gravity and light both play a role in how the auxins function in the plant. When we top above the 4th node, the hormones no longer focus on the main stem and are distributed into the branches below the topping. By removing the lower 2 nodes, we again manipulate the growth hormones into the branches that will have the strength to support the growth of the plant throughout its life. We are left with 4 mains to channel energy into! As we train the 4 branches out, we can remove any shoots that come from the bottom of these branches to allow for further channeling of energy where we want it! As we train out toward the edge of the pot, we want to keep a slight upward angle to the main branches. If we let them be too flat(I’m guilty of this) then the plant becomes confused and will allow the inner shoots to outgrow the ends of the main branches. This is the effect gravity has on the auxins. So we want them to have an upward angle as in nature but we want to control this so that we end up with an even canopy with lots of strong branches to hold up a lot of produce. As I do some training along the way, I’ll highlight each step so that anyone interested can see what I’ve just described. Hopefully the end result is something like this...
F47E652E-854C-40E6-8251-6B5F3194CD3F.jpeg

F47E652E-854C-40E6-8251-6B5F3194CD3F.jpeg

Special shoutout to @Asesino85 for teaching me this method!
Click to expand...


That's a nice concise explanation of quadlining. It has saved me a lot of reading. :)
 
High Brix Cannabis

I grow in Doc Bud’s High Brix Blend living organic soil. And after just 1 grow season with it, I doubt I ever change!
When we talk about Brix we are actually talking about a refractometer reading that tells us the amount of dissolved solids within a sample of our plant material. The higher the reading the higher the sugars, mineral levels, specific gravity and true protein levels are in the plant. This adds up to sweeter tasting, more minerally-nutritious produce.

There are 4 foundations to growing High Brix Cannabis. This info comes from Doc Bud’s website.

1. Mineralize the Soil
By now, we all know about how corporate farming and sterile soils have ruined our food supply. We all know that organic, living soil is the way to go for healthy, delicious produce. With High-Brix growing, we not only want living soil with organic ingredients as opposed to chemicals, but we want the maximum amount of life from the soil we can possibly get.

Research has shown that a large amount of calcium in the soil, with the right ratio of calcium-to-magnesium and a relatively low amount of organic matter (less than 8%) will allow the microbial life in the soil to thrive.
Think of volcanic soil, full of minerals. Minerals are where it's at--this is what we're after in High-Brix. Our amendments are designed to bring every mineral into the right ratio in the soil, making the microbes hyperactive and happy. Calcium is king here. No other mineral is as important in the soil as calcium and we've yet to find a commercial potting soil with even close to the optimal amount of calcium in it.
Doc Bud’s High-Brix soil is unlike any other super soil, or potting soil out there. We have WAY MORE calcium than they do. First time kit users are often surprised most by how strong their stems are and how little support they need. Thank calcium for that!

2. Microbiology
Rock-based calciforous and phosphate minerals are great, but often not readily available to the plant's roots without mycorrhiza--the symbiotic, beneficial fungi and bacteria that live in the soil. Good products contain specific microbes that will make our herbaceous plants thrive. As in a state of nature, these microbes should be born and raised eating rocks....not molasses, like most other products lazily include! Sugar won't keep your soil heathy any better than a steady diet of sugar will keep your body healthy. Minerals, on the other hand are what the plants need, and they get them via microbial action, or at least they should.
Proper microbes will be happy to break down rocks and feed the byproducts to the plant, which is why any good fertilizer package should include finely ground rock powder. Under the right conditions, microbes act as an army of micro-cultivators that help make nutrients and minerals available to the plant that would otherwise go undigested. Unlocking these soil components is part of what sets High-Brix produce apart, and why High-Brix gardening is massively fixated on the microbial health of the soil.

3. Major and Minor Elements
We're concerned with balance. We need Nitrogetn (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) as well as Magnesium (Mg), Sulfur (S), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), and several other micronutrients, but to ensure the best produce we need them all in the right balance. For example, we always aim for 18 times more calcium than potassium and the same for phosphorus, and we also always want between 6 and 10 times more calcium than magnesium. Once we get all those down, we then want those trace elements present in the right (trace) amounts. This meticulous fine-tuning, which takes many months of lab testing is the secret behind the effectiveness of Doc Bud's products, and you simply won't find the same thing anywhere else!
It’s common to think that providing a plant with a buffet of everything will result in the plant never lacking in any one thing, but this type of approach only works well in salt based or sterile farming methods. In living soil, we want to maximize microbial action--and having too much salt in the soil decreases this microbial action. Having too much potassium or not enough phosphorus will suppress your microbes as well. So instead of over-abundance of everything, we've found balance is best. We're not worried about feeding the plant because we feed the soil, and let the microbes take care of the plants! They're far better at it than we are.
When everything is balanced and delivered in the right ratios, the plants get everything they could ever wish for and in the most efficient manner possible; via microbial action in the soil. This is how nature designed to plants to grow, and we believe it is unequivocally the best way to grow them.

4. Soil Energy
Sure, most of us are familiar with the idea that our bodies are electric. Would you believe it if we told you soil also carries an electric charge?

Not only can we measure voltage in soil, it turns out that this electric charge plays a crucial role in making plants grow. If the soil goes 'flat', with no measurable voltage, plants will not grow. If on the other hand, the soil is massively over-fertilized and carrying a super high voltage, plants will not grow, they’ll “burn.” However, with proper voltage the plants spring to life and grow like crazy.
Soil energy is increased through
root drenching and foliar feeding
Root drenches directly increase the conductivity in the soil. Depending on the type of ionic charge in a drench, we can stimulate the vegetative or reproductive processes in the plant. An example of this can be seen in two of our drenches: Growth Ionic Drench and Cationic Drench.
Growth Ionic Drench is primarily supplying the Nitrate form of nitrogen, which has a negative ionic charge. When applied to the soil, this product stimulates growth of leaves and stems, bulking up fruits and flowers nicely. At the other end of the spectrum is Cat Drench, short for Cationic root drench. Cat Drench features "cations" or positively charged ions. This positive charge makes the plants grow, but instead of growing leaves and stems, they grow reproductive structures: calyxes, pistils, etc.
When we understand the natural cycle of plant growth we can time the application of these drenches to enhance nature, improve yield, and most of all, improve quality.
Using root drenches is just one way of increasing soil energy. The other way is via Foliar Feeding which is feeding the soil via feeding the leaves. We can look at soil as the engine that grows the plant. However, we must also realize that photosynthesis feeds the soil! In this way, it's good to look at foliar feeding like a turbo charger on that soil engine.
When the soil is dialed in and the microbes are happily chomping away at rocks and delivering them to the plant as food, the plant produces sugars and other compounds in the leaves and sends them down to the roots in the form of Root Exudates. The microbes crave these sweet exudates and will work day and night eating rocks for a sweet hit of that sugar! Even more, the plant customizes root exudates to actually communicate and signal the soil microbes to deliver certain types of nutrition.

By using a properly designed foliar spray (which is itself a dilute nutrient solution), we can increase the plant's ability to photosynthesize more energy from the sun or indoor lighting as the case may be. This increased photosynthesis results in increased root exudates, which increases microbial activity, which increases plant growth/vigor/vegetation/reproduction....which increases photosynthesis, and around and around.
Foliar feeding speeds up a plant’s metabolism, increasing nutrient density, brix readings, plant health, and terpene and essential oil production.

Here is a pic of my Chemdog 91 S1 bred by Humboldt CSI which is an example of a high Brix plant. The shiny leaves are one of the signs we look for!
7DA781A1-8513-4B99-920C-0B7EE6AD1F39.jpeg

7DA781A1-8513-4B99-920C-0B7EE6AD1F39.jpeg

 
Here sir! Glad to see a new journal up and running.
 
Eirohir said:
Just because you're bloody mad, I'm in.

Also no GoT spoilers without explicit warnings!

I'm saving them up to binge when the last is released hehe.

How hard was quadlining the first time you tried it? Might be interested in giving it a go.
Click to expand...
No spoilers here! We’re making our own narrative! Lol.
As far as quadlining the first time...I knew I had to do some kind of training. A google search of training methods led me to Asesino’s thread on his quadlining method, and to 420mag for the first time! It’s really not difficult, but having guidance along the way made it fun and less stressful. There are quite a few using this method now and with great success! If you decide to give it a try let us know and we will be glad to follow along and answer questions along the way if you have any. And welcome!!!
 
2018-09-05-06-28-22.jpg
 
Pennywise said:
Looking forward to this one Magoo!
Click to expand...
I am too! Gonna be a lot of new stuff for me to learn along the way! So glad you will be here!
 
... :popcorn:...:thumb::high-five:...cheerz...h00k...:hookah:...
 

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