Organic Orange

[tricome]

Well I'm finally getting around to starting this new journal. I have 2 Cali. Orange from seed vegging in FFOF soil. I have been giving them plain unpHed water. I was a little late with the water a couple of times, and the plants suffered some. Nothing major; just lost a few leaves. It looks like I have 2 different phenos; one bushy and one lanky. When I flower, I will start feeding them Earth Juice 4 part: grow, bloom, micro, and catalyst. I will not be pHing, as I have had 2 organic grows before; one with pHing and one without. The one without being the successful one. I think the organic balances itself out?
I almost let them dry out again today. These are a couple of the thirstiest plants I've grown. They are in 1 quart size pots, and go from standing water in the drip saucers to bone dry in 3 days. I need to get a thermometer/humidity gauge for the veg room. I'm sure it's hot and dry. I topped the lanky one, and now they are both 9" tall. I think I'll transplant tomorrow.

Here are some pics of the progress so far.

Today: You can see there are still some damaged leaves from the droughts.

 

[tricome]

I transplanted the other day into larger pots than what I've been using. The tall pheno shot up past the short one again, so; I topped it again. I also trimmed off the remaining bad leaves from the previous droughts. They are looking good now and will be going into flower in a week. I may take clones, also.

Today: before topping

after topping

These two are so different that I think the stocky one may be an unknown seed that got mixed in with my C.O. seeds. Looks good though!

 

[KannabisKid]

Looking good so far bro. So you're just giving straight water? Is it just tap water or is it RO or filtered? I've been wondering how important it is to have the water ph'd to spec. I know there are scientific charts for optimum intake of nutrients, but what happened to the old days of just growing the plant without a plethora of different solutions to mix and feed with. I'm not a big fan of having to maintain consistent ph levels and worrying about the adverse effects. It sometimes seems like an excessive amount of work. I like to keep things simple. The last time I tried to correct the ph, it did more harm than good trying to get her in range. If I would have left her be, I think she would have done better. I have, on the other hand, found that Mandala's 8 Miles High is a very light feeder, which kicks butt. She's only been fed nutes about 3 times, and she's rockin . I won't go so far as to say she's perfect, but she's filling out nicely. Sorry about the long post. I'm hopping on board. I'm interested in the methods to your madness. No offense, not saying your mad, just a term I've used for a long time.

 

[gittergreen]

great looking plants. I might have to try that soil next time. what kind of lights are you using in veg and bloom.

 

[tricome]

Thanx, Kid! I'm using tap water set out for 24+ hrs. About every 3rd watering I add a humic and microbe additive, and every once in a while Superthrive. I don't even check pH; with or without additives. I've found; through previous experience; that when using soil and organic nutes, it's best not to mess with pH. I think I read somewhere that the soil and humic help to buffer pH. The FFOF soil has a good amount of nutes, and is sustaining the plants nicely. I'll start feeding when I finally get the flower room in order and get them in there. Even then I won't mess with pH.

Thanx and , gitergreen! Fox Farm Ocean Forest and Happy Frog are two good soil mixes. I add a little more perlite for extra air and drainage for the roots. I'm using a 2' 8 bulb T5 light for veg, and one 250W HPS for flower. Git-R-Done!

 

[tricome]

Wow! Every time I come on here there's more members and more journals. When I first joined you could keep up with most of the journals, but now; no way! Way to go 420 Mag!

OVERDUE UPDATE
The two are doing well; even though I let them drought again today. I opened the door and they looked very sad. I gave them water, and they perked back up. I will give them a trim, and put them into flower soon. I think the stocky one is an Afgani that got mixed in with my C O seeds.
Pics before the drought.

I took clones last weekend; 4 from each. Some of these clones have been through drought, too. It turns out that a 66gph pump is too weak for my homemade cloner setup. Some of the stems weren't getting wet. So, I found a low profile 130gph pump that works great. Despite the pump failure, I got roots at 5 days! I use Clonex gel on the stems, and Clonex solution in the res. I do pH this solution to 6. I showed how I built my cloner in a previous journal. I can't remember which one. Just use at least a 100gph pump.
8-6-11

8-11-11

Today

Here's what I'm smoking in the meantime; got a mixed bag.
L to R: Crippy Lemon Skunk, Haze, Mango (something), Orange (something), and The Beast.

The (something) means I can't remember. I'm not sure if The Beast is Beasters or something else. It has a hashy lemon taste. I heard they had something called "Garbage" that was great, but it was all out this time.
I'm transplanting the rooted clones now, and will have pics soon. Man, I'm so ripped, I was staring at the smilies for a min. Ha Ha! I think this Beast is a nighttime smoke. I better switch up. LOL!

 

[greenadvocate]

Damn i wish i had a selection like that to smoke... there aint no dispensaries in the UK sadly. Fair play though, growing some cali myself, keep it up my friend.

 

[tricome]

Thanx, and welcome, greenadvocate! Sadly, my "dispensary" is the same as yours. Hopefully, that will change in the not too distant future. I just lucked out and got a good mixed bag.
on your Cali grow!

I transplanted most of the clones a couple of days ago. I left one in the cloner to get more roots.
Clones from "Alpha"; the suspected Afgani.

Clones from"Beta"; the known C.O.

I left the one on the right in the cloner, and will transplant tomorrow.

All 8 clones rooted, but I'm not keeping them all. I plan on only flowering 4 max, and maybe make one a mother.

If I have time to get everything together tomorrow, I'll put the 2 big ones into flower. Then, it's feeding time!

 

[Twelve12]

Plants looking great. I might have missed it but are these regular seeds or fem? I'm searching your previous journal for the DIY cloner, I'm in the process of making one myself. Saving cash and grow more stash. Those T5 are kicking ass in veg!

Have you thought about DIY automatic watering system to feed your plants to eliminate drought?

 

[tricome]

Thanx, and welcome Twelve! The cloner pics are in Northern Lights in the South, page 1. I haven't even thought of an automatic watering system; and I have one on my outdoor veggie garden! But, thinking about it now, it would be difficult with my limited space an access. Thanx for the idea! I may try it in the future, when I feel less lazy. lol

 

[tricome]

Sorry it's been so long, gang. I had a connection problem and was offline. It's all fixed now.
I transplanted the 8 clones and put them in the veg room. The two big'uns got a trim and went into the flower room.
Clones

After trim

After trim

Looks good doesn't it?

Now for the bad news.

I guess this answers your other question, Twelve.
Also the clones are suffering.

It looks like a micro nutrient deficiency. I didn't have this problem with the seeds.

So, this is the plan now. I'm starting over with my two last C O seeds. Since I'm out of those beans, I'll try to make more. I'm trying to decide if I want to use the big plants. I've had bad luck trying to use older pollen. Does anyone know how to store pollen and keep it viable, and for how long? I'm probably going to use the clones to pollinate the hopefully female seed plants. I was only successful with breeding when I ttook pollen directly from the male to the female. They were in separate rooms, of course. this plan would save me electricity, too.
Cross you fingers for my restart seeds. they are in paper towels now.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Tricome!!! Great to see you back with another grow! I didn't even realize you had a new journal going, or I would have been here sooner! I just noticed the new link in your sig on OMM's journal!

BTW...This is a VERY cool pic!

As far as storing pollen, I've heard some mixed things, so someone with more experience should comment, since I only know what I've read. Pollen is supposed to remain viable if stored in a cool, dark place (like a refridgerator) for 4-5 days. BUT, I've heard people say they store it in a freezer and it's remained viable for up to two years.

Good luck with the grow & sub'd for the rest!

 

[KannabisKid]

I still have some leftover in the freezer. I'm going to try it on the next plant I start just to see for myself how long it lasts.

 

[tricome]

Thanx for the info guys!
I'll try the freezer.

My two seeds both germinated. I use wet paper towels in a bowl with a plate on top. the bowl and plate are both white, so some light can get through. The first seed popped a root after a couple of days, and I put it in soil.

The other one got left in the bowl for another 2 days, and this is what I found.

It's hard to see in the pic, but the end of the root looked like the end of a Q-tip.

Also hard to see; this is the other side of the paper towel, where the root grew through.

I had to tear the paper towel away and bury a piece of it with the roots. Not a very gentle process.

I had a little accident with the first seedling. It got bumped and dropped when I was moving it. It lost some soil on top, and got flopped over. So, I had to give it the paper clip support. Despite this rough treatment, both are doing well.

the plants in the back are the two male clones I'll use to make more seeds. the one in the square pot is from the "A" male; (the suspected Afgani). The round pot is from "B" male; (the known California Orange). The former for breeding, the latter for C.O. seed propagation.

I kept the big males in the flower room. They aren't getting the HPS, though. Not burning that electricity for males! They are under the floros I added in a previous grow when a plant shot up past the HPS.

They lost a lot of lower leaves after this switch. I just trimmed off the lower and small branches to concentrate pollen production in the tops.
"A"

"B"

I try to freeze the pollen from these to see if it's still good when the ladies are ready.

 

[Twelve12]

That's one beautiful male plant. Yes freezing will keep the pollen longer. Layer the storage and keep humidity really low inside the container. Don't forget to label them. If you have some extra grow space, keep a male clone going just in case the freeze pollen lost vital. Then, you can put the cloned male into flower for fresh pollen.

 

[papatater]

Good lookin grow and pics got any more seats left im in

 

[tricome]

Thanx for the good advice, 12! I'll put it to use.

Pull up a chair, tater! There are plenty left, and a spot for you up front!

 

[tricome]

I went ahead and terminated my big males. They were shooting blanks! Sacs were opening, but no pollen. I hope it's just due to insufficient light and nutes, and the clones don't do the same.
Some quick pics from 2 days ago.
Male Clones

Seedlings - about a week old

I would have posted this Sunday, but I got too caught up in the 9/11 documentaries. Did y'all see the unedited one about the firefighters?
My thoughts go out to those who lived through it, and those who lost loved ones on that terrible day.

I transplanted the seedlings today, and will have pics tomorrow.

 

[tricome]

I'm seeing problems with both the clones and seedlings. The clones look nitrogen deficient, and the seedlings look like they have a micronutrient deficiency. Could they have used up my FFOF soil already? The previous plants went into flower with no nutes and no problems.
Here they are today.
Seed

Clone

 

[Twelve12]

Plants looking healthy. Was wondering where you were. How's everything?