Blueberry Canuk & Euphoria Royal Queen - Organic Soil - CFL Only - First Grow

BluePhoric

Well-Known Member
Hi guys. Been reading and learning a lot from y'all lately. Thanks.

Just thought I would share my first grow experience (going very well thus far), and maybe ask for advice later-on.

Here is all the info I thought could be useful. Pictures of days 1 to 18 will soon follow.

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2 plants started from seeds, currently (June 5th 2017) in Veg (18th day in soil // 22 days from germination)

Strains :
Blueberry (Canuk) : Mostly Indica
Euphoria (RQ) : Mostly Indica

Indoor grow with CFL's

Soil seedling (Solo cups) :
- * Berger BM custom ( similar to Berger-BM6) BM6 All-Purpose | Berger - EN
- ~15% additional perlite

Soil in 3-Gal Smart-pots (trans-potted after 11 days in solo-cups ):
- 50% * Berger BM custom
- 30% Perlite
- 20% Shrimp compost (1-1-1)

* Approximate BM custom composition : Coarse Peat Moss, Perlite, Dolomitic and Calcitic Limestone, Non-Ionic Wetting Agent, Standard Fertilizer Starter Charge

CFL's : Philips 23W (100w equivalent) Daylight (6500K). Started with 1, then 2, 4... Currently 6x (~600w) per plant.

Grow room : Basement room (8x8), relatively open area (door on 1 side, shower curtain on the other), humidifier (60 RH), fan blowing from 6-7 feet. Temperature (21-22 Celsius // 69-72 Fahrenheit)

Scent control : Planning on 2-3 small Ona-gel dispensers in surrounding rooms. (no means of entering or exiting air to outdoors)

Watering :
- Tap water put in a reservoir for 24h or more. PH 7+ : Lowered to around 6.2 with phosphoric acid (PH- 17%)
- Frequency : 4-5 days

Pests :
- Had spider mites early on (on 1-2 of 6 Feedom Dream seedlings growing as a TEST, before moving Blueberry and Euphoria in grow room). Threw away infested plants, treated the rest with neem oil solution. Was growing 1 last Freedom dream side by side with Euphoria and Blueberry. F.D. was auto-flowering and became a Hermaphrodite (went to the trash). Haven't seen a Spider mite in 13 days. When Sp.mites appeared, it was very sudden (2 occasions) and they were already mature and laying eggs. (there were no spiders when inspected leaves with magnifying glass 1-2 hours before).

Pest control :
- Companion plants : 2 Cilantro/Coriander (unfortunately starting to flower)
- Companion plants : 1 Cilantro from seed + 1 Dill from seed, both small but growing well.
- Spraying Neem as a precaution on the surrounding surfaces, on the earth, but NOT on the leaves.
- Euphoria and Blueberry have never received any Neem on their foliage. Was scared they were too small.
- I put diatomaceous earth around the main stem.

Fertilizers : None for now. Ordered a trio (Grow + Bloom + Catalyst) from EarthJuice, for later on.

Planned Veg time : 27 to 30 days
Planned flowering time : 8-9 weeks

Topping / FIMming / LST / Defoliation :
- FIMmed already on the 17th day in soil.
- LST later on, hopefully on the 2-3-4 ? main stems.
- Defoliation : I plan to, because both plants seem extremely bushy, grow space relatively limited in height, plus I need horizontal plants with CFL's
 
Re: Blueberry (Canuk) & Euphoria (Royal Queen) || Organic soil || CFL only || First g

Here are Blue and Phoria after 7 days in soil.
It took a whole 6 days before i needed to water them.
Blueberry :
Blueberry-7.jpg


Euphoria :
Euphoria-7.jpg


After 9 days... roots were going on the sides and bottom of the solo-cups :
Euphoria_roots_Day-9.jpg


They'll go in 3 Gal smart pots on day 11.
 
Re: Blueberry (Canuk) & Euphoria (Royal Queen) || Organic soil || CFL only || First g

They were watered on day 16 (5 days after re-potting) with approx. 1.3L PH 6.x water each.
They were FIMmed on day 17 (morning after watering).

Here's Blue after fimming :
Blueberry-17_FIM3.jpg


The day after, they seem in perfect health and growing strong (on the non-fimmed parts of the plant).

Blueberry day 18 :
Blueberry-18a.jpg


Euphoria day 18 :
Euphoria-18.jpg


Euphoria is growing a paler green, with slightly longer leaves (already outside the 10" pot).
Blueberry is darker green, a little tighter.
Both are very "bushy".
 
Re: Blueberry (Canuk) & Euphoria (Royal Queen) || Organic soil || CFL only || First g

Question :

Should I cut the first true leaves, as they are touching the soil, are small, and don't receive any light ? Or wait few more days after my recent FIMming ?

THX
 
Re: Blueberry (Canuk) & Euphoria (Royal Queen) || Organic soil || CFL only || First g

Question (s) :

When should I start giving nutes (EarthJuice Grow + Bloom + Catalyst), considering plants seem to be very happy at the moment in my soil containing 20% shrimp compost ? Will the nutes in the compost be all used-up soon ?

I'm about 10-15 days away from putting the plants in 12/12 flowering (after ~1 month in Veg). I suppose I'll never get to use the "Grow" fertilizer !? Maybe I shouldn't even buy the "Grow" and only get the Bloom and Catalyst ?

THX
 
Question (s) :

Concerning PH versus my future use of Earthjuice ferts... Straight from the tap, my water is PH 7.x. I currently use PH- to drop it to around 6.2. When I will start using Earthjuice ferts : they are supposed to drop PH considerably. Some claim it drops PH from 7.x to like 4.x ! I do not wish to use a bubbler to aerate the tea for 24/48 hours, but I can do the mix and let it stand for 24h (if it helps?).
a) Should I just start very low with the ferts, and try to adjust those so they "naturally" drop my PH 7.x to around PH6 and not lower ?
b) If PH is under 6 after adding nutes, will the shrimp compost in my soil (only 20%) self adjust to the right PH ?
c) Will collecting excess water on next watering give me insight as to how well the compost adjusts PH ?

THX
 
I think all you can do is try the earthjuice and see how it affects ph. Im gussing from the look of the plants they have what they need for now. Once they start to get a lighter color start feeding small amounts of ferts. I'll have Angel come over and look at what you have, she's really good with soil type grows.
 
THANKS ! Yeah, I'm all excited about blue/phoria... looking at them for hours a day ;-)

Forgot to mention anywhere... I'm running a 20/4 light schedule. From the beginning.

Post on my journal and we'll get some more people over here.

Are you gonna post, or you want me to... and witch journal ?
Thx
 
They are looking great! You won't need nutes for awhile. You can take the leaves now, but I suggest you wait awhile. I usually don't touch mine until they are yellow. They help with growth so there isn't much point in taking them. You have enough ferts to last you a month maybe more. Good idea on the fabric pots. As they will air prune your roots. Keep up doing everything you have been. If you have any questions don't be shy. I'm subbed now so I'll be around. In soil I always try and stay ph 6.2. You can let it go up to 6.5 every so often using alkaline to eat away salt buildup. Keep an eye on ph out as well as going in.
 
Those look great!

I'm using the Earth Juice nutes too, and in a similar soil mix. I'm pretty much following their "Advanced" feeding chart. I started feeding at 1/2 strength on day 16 from seed, then went to full strength at day 26. I'm also giving them the Meta-K and Micro. I'm now in week 9 of veg. I'll be switching to 12/12 in less than a week, and my plan is to keep using Grow until the 2nd week of flowering before I begin to add the Bloom.

I'm pretty much a noob, but I used EJ years ago and had some great harvests.
 
- For PH, I only have basic testing capability (test bottle w/color chart); I try to aim for 6.2 but it will no doubt vary.

- As for feeding EJ Grow, I may buy it for nothing, since the plants may be happy the way they are, but it's only 20$ or so...

- I ordered the EJ products but I wont have those right away (a few more days probably). When I do, I'll start with maybe 1/4 dose of Grow+Catalyst and see what it does to PH and to plants. Or like PW suggested, maybe wait until I see lighter color...

Q: As I said, i was planning to keep them in 3Gal SmartPots, no more re-pots. Planned to veg until around day ~30, then flower for 8-9 weeks, wishing to harvest mid-August. Do you think they will be fine in 3gal, and will the plants (recently FIMmed) be "big enough" to put in 12/12 on ~ day 30 ? (from this day=19, so just ~11 days left !?!) Maybe stretch the veg a little more ?
 
- For PH, I only have basic testing capability (test bottle w/color chart); I try to aim for 6.2 but it will no doubt vary.

- As for feeding EJ Grow, I may buy it for nothing, since the plants may be happy the way they are, but it's only 20$ or so...

- I ordered the EJ products but I wont have those right away (a few more days probably). When I do, I'll start with maybe 1/4 dose of Grow+Catalyst and see what it does to PH and to plants. Or like PW suggested, maybe wait until I see lighter color...

Q: As I said, i was planning to keep them in 3Gal SmartPots, no more re-pots. Planned to veg until around day ~30, then flower for 8-9 weeks, wishing to harvest mid-August. Do you think they will be fine in 3gal, and will the plants (recently FIMmed) be "big enough" to put in 12/12 on ~ day 30 ? (from this day=19, so just ~11 days left !?!) Maybe stretch the veg a little more ?
They will be fine as long as you keep them watered and or fed often enough. I have also used the test bottle w/ color chart. Not always ideal but it works lol.
 
Transitioning to 12/12...

Do you recommend any form of smooth transitioning, like dropping 1 hour of light per day ?
ex: 20/4, 19/5, 18/6, 17/5... 12/12 : This would last for 8 days ;-(

And if transitioning like that, should the transition start on day 30 (if I choose to start flowering on day 30) ? I suppose the plants will not really "switch" until they "feel" 14/10 or 13/11... ?

Suggested rate of darkness period increments/duration ?

Sorry if I should have researched this topic on my own somewhere... I felt lazy and I really appreciate the direct-help !
 
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