420's Special Queen #1 Indoor - Soil - Nutes/No Nutes - Comparative Study

[Sarma]

Hi all.

This is my first indoor grow, 2 plants, Special Queen #1 from Royal Queen Seeds. I've decided to do a, sort of, comparative study... One plant gets no nutes whatsoever, the other one is getting HESI Soil starter kit as per instructions.

This is the only difference. Besides that, both plants receive exactly the same treatment.

I was searching the site and couldn't find anything similar so, perhaps, this will be of some interest to people.

Here's some basic info:

Strain: Special Queen #1
Hybrid - 50-50
In veg - 15 days from seed
Indoor
Soil, Compo Sana, straight from the bag
Pot size: 10 liters (2.64 US gallons / 2.20 UK gallons).
Light: Sunmaster 250W, dual spectrum, 33000 lumens
Not aircooled.
Temp of Room/cab: 22C (night), 29C (day) - (71-84F)
RH of Room/cab: 48-70% (day - night)
PH of media or res: 6.2
No pests
Watering: Every other day.
Type and strength of ferts used: One plant no ferts, the other - HESI Soil starter kit

Here's some pic... Grow cabinet:


9 days from seed (7days from sprout):


12 days from seed (10 days from sprout)


15 days from seed (13 days from sprout) - Topped::


Topped both plants yesterday.

Will be updating every week. One gets HESI yummies all the way, the other one gets just plain tap water (ph adjusted). And no, I'm not telling you which is which

PS, English is not my native language, I'm just trying to use it so be gentle...

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Hi everyone

It's been 36 hours since I've topped the ladies and now I'm having second thoughts about it... The plants are not gaining much height, but they grow in width instead (30cm / 12 inches). And they are quiet voluminous for two and a half weeks. Not that my topping has anything to do with it, it's how they grow from the beginning. But, having that in mind, perhaps I shouldn't have topped them.

I'm planning SCROG so that's why I did it, perhaps LST would've been enough. Oh well, there's nothing one can do now...

Compo Sana soil is pre-fertilized so I'm not expecting to see much difference in volume between the plants in the veg stage (planning to veg them for a month).

One plant receives HESI Soil starter kit nutes - Root Complex, Super Vit, TNT Complex and Power Zyme (every other feeding) at half a strength than recommended.

The other girl gets nothing except tap water (PH balanced, room temperature, sitting for 48hrs before watering).

Both of the ladies look pretty healthy to me for now. The only difference between them is 5mm in height. The fertilized one is 5mm taller (12,5cm / a bit over 5 inches). The other one is exactly 12 cm (5 inches). Width is the same for both girls.

Distance from light is 30cm (12 inches).

Here are some photos:

Next update in a few days. Thanks for stopping by and all the best.

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Veg day 20

Both plants are recovering nicely from topping. Fertilized plant is 16,5cm (cca 6 1/2 inches) high, non-fertilized is 5mm shorter. Other than that, I can see no difference. It's still too early, I guess...

Trying to keep them low and bushy. They look healthy, lowered the light for 10cm, distance from light is now 20cm (8 inches).

Here are some photos:

Next update on Sunday. Thx for stopping by.

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Day 23

Hi all.

I've decided to flip them a bit earlier (today) because the ladies are growing fast (about 60% of grow surface is filled). Height of both plants is 24cm (cca 9,5 inches). The one with no nutes caught up (it was 5mm shorter three days ago). Space between nodes is cca 8-9mm (about one third of an inch), base stem is thick and strong (8mm) and, all in all, I see no problems with the girls. They look pretty healthy to me.

Did some LST on both plants three days ago. I was thinking of topping them once more but that would prolong veg time and I have a feeling one more week of veg would be too much. But, as I've said, it's my first indoor grow and I might be wrong.

We'll see how it goes. Here are some photos:

Thanks for stopping by and see you in a couple of days.
All the best.

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Day 30 (0ne week in flower).

Hi all

Both plants are in excellent health. The weird thing is that the left one (no nutes) is about 1.5cm higher (33cm - about a foot). I wasn't expecting that. Besides that, there's absolutely no difference between the two plants. I have managed to lower the light to about 20cm (8 inches) from the tops.

I believe that after a month, the plant has absorbed almost all the soil has to offer and that the real differences between the two will begin to show soon...

As the plants are getting bushier, I'm slowly realizing that even two plants is one too many for 0.6m2 (6 feet square). Next time I'll grow only one.

The odour is intense and strong already, I can only imagine how it's going to reek in a month or so

Next update in a week. Thanks for stopping by.

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Day 39 (day 16 in flower)

I have to say, I'm a bit surprised. By this time I would expect some difference between the two girls but - they both look exactly the same... There are, obviously, enough nutes in the soil to sustain a plant for this long.

For the one that gets nutrients, I'm using Bloom Complex (yesterday full strength for the first time - 25ml per 5l of water, before that only half-strength), Supervit as prescribed (one drop per 4.5l of water) and PowerZyme twice a week (yesterday full strength for the first time - 10ml per 5l of water, before that only half-strength).

Both plants are healthy, strong and robust. They smell like hell I started pruning fan leaves couple of days ago, only a few at the time, don't want to induce too much stress... I was counting the buds and there is about 75-80 of them, all directly exposed to light which is at the distance of 8 inches (20cm).

I'm constantly tucking in the leaves, trying to expose as much buds to the light as I possibly can.

Here are some photos:

Thanks for stopping by. Next update in about a week.

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Day 46 (day 23 in flower)

Hi all!

Entering the fourth week of flowering. I did some defoliation, especially on the lower portion of the plants (beneath the screen). Just a few leaves every day, don't want to induce too much stress. I've also removed all of the small buds below the screen hoping to divert plants energy to the buds above the mesh.

Still no difference. I have to admit, I'm a bit puzzled... I was expecting, by now, to be able to see, at least, some difference between the two plants but they look exactly the same - from color of the leaves to the appearance of the buds. That probably means either that the plant is still getting everything she needs from the soil or some sort of herbal quantum entanglement is taking place...

I've also lowered the light, now the distance from the light to the tallest buds is 18cm (cca 7 inches). Fan is blowing directly on the plants. RH is around 45-48%, temperature is 26 celsius (79F).

I've counted somewhere in the neighborhood of 150-160 buds in total. Half of those are above the mesh. Since this is my first grow, I really don't know what to expect harvestwise but I believe I'm going to achieve 0.5 gramms per watt which was my aim at the beginning. Everything above that is just gravy I still have, at least five weeks to go so I'm hoping for a bit more. Am I being unrealistic? We'll see...

Next week I'm going to start full strength nutes (with the exception of Phosphorus Plus which is now at 1.25 ml per 5 liters. Next week I'm upping it to 2.5ml per 5 liters). I also don't PH regulate my water anymore. It's not necessary. Nutes are taking care of that and balancing PH quite nicely. Runoff PH is around 7, maybe a bit less for both plants, although the other one isn't getting any nutes, only pure tap water. I guess the soil is lowering PH...

Supervit - 1drop per 4.5l (full strength)
Bloom Complex - 15ml per 5l (60% strength)
Phosphorus Plus - 1ml per 5l (50% strength)
Power Zyme - 5ml per 5l (50% strength) - every other watering.

I'm watering every other day, 1.5 liters per plant.

All in all, I'm pleased how the plants are developing. I see now that I'm not about to cover the entire mesh with buds, about 15-20% of it is still empty. I hope the plants will continue to stretch some more and fill some of that empty space, but I doubt it...



Here are some photos:

Thanks for stopping by. Next update in a week.

 

[LionoFJudah27]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Awesome setup man!!!

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Thank you! It's my first attempt at indoor growing and I like it so far We both grow the same strain and we both started it at almost the same time. I flipped my plants on 12th of may, after 23 days of veg time. So, I'm visiting your grow journal frequently, it will be interesting to compare the results.

I'm pruning them every other day, but i don't prune much in order to try and induce as less stress as possible. And they both are stretching just fine. After this week I believe stretching will stop...

The biggest puzzle for me, so far, has been the plant which gets no nutes, only tap water. It doesn't seem to lag behind at all... Not for one bit. The soil is pre-fertilized, alright, but I was expecting to see some nutes defficiency by now... I'm sure, at the end, there will be difference between the two plants, I'm just not sure what kind of difference? Perhaps the buds will be less potent? Or they are going to end up airy and fluffy? I have no idea.

I have to admit, I'm pretty curious how much I'll harvest. Grow area is 3x2 feet, hight is 7 feet. I have around 160 bud sites on both plants, all streaming towards the light, and I'm aiming at, at least, 0.5 grams per watt (250W - 125 grams) but always hoping for a bit more

Thanks for visiting and the best of luck with your grow!

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Day 57 (day 34 in flower)

Hi all!

Fourth day of the fifth week of flowering. Both plants are fine. No deficiencies or sufficiencies of any kind, I'm pleased to say. And also surprised. By this time, I was expecting some sort of deficiency from the plant which gets only water. Then i felt the buds gently...

Although, buds look the same, density isn't. The aeriness of the buds on the plant which doesn't get fed is quite noticeable. I'd say about 15% less mass. And now I can see where this is going... I was thinking even to stop the experiment, but after a bit of thinking, I've decided to continue with it when I've come this far.

Gradually, during the course of last 10 days, I've pruned around 30-35 popcorn buds which never stood the chance of reaching the net and did some last-minute defoliation. Now I'm left with, around 100-110 buds which will, hopefully, develop to their full potential.

Here are some pictures and, at the end, a selfie from the ladies

Thanks for stopping by.

 

[NOCO Farmer]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Looking good Sarma. I noticed you had some type of meters in each pot, what exactly are those?

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Hi NOCO Farmer

These are hygrometer and thermometer combined in one cheap chinese instrument - 6 euros each . And, although they are of 'el cheapo' variety, they perform quite well.

Thank you for stopping by. Buds are swelling like crazy, time for some pics tomorrow The way these are going, looks like I'm gonna have to harvest a week earlier than planned...

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Hi all!

Here's the update, as promised. It's day 65 from planting, day 41 in flower and both plants are coming along nicely. I've noticed slight yellowing of leaf tips after I've upped the nutes so I gave her only water twice in a row (I'm watering every second day).

The difference in bud density between the fed and non-fed plant is getting more noticeable every day but besides that, there is absolutely no difference between the two whatsoever. I figure I'll harvest, at least, 25% less from non-fertilized plant. Maybe even less than that.

The largest bud for now is 12cm (around 4.8 inches) and the smallest ones is 5cm (2 inches). There are many buds (over 50) which are between 8-10cm (3-4inches).

Supervit - 1drop per 4.5l (100% strength)
Bloom Complex - 25ml per 5l (100% strength)
Phosphorus Plus - 2ml per 5l (100% strength)
Power Zyme - 10ml per 5l (100% strength) - every other watering.

Humidity is between 45 and 55%, temperature is between 25 and 30 degrees celsius (77-86 Fahrenheit).

I'm going to have around 30% of the space wasted (not covered by buds) but I hope I'm going to better that in my next scrog.

Here are some photos taken yesterday:

Thanks for stopping by and see you in a week.

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Hi all!

Just a brief update - I've decided to give the girls a small haircut hoping that the buds density will increase a little (especially on non-fertilized plant) as per these instructions:

LA's Quick Guide To Simple Backbuilding Technique For Buds!

I was thinking, at first, to snip only the tops of non-fertilized plant hoping to try and compensate a bit for the aeriness of buds and also to see the difference between the two, but realized that I won't be getting accurate and comparable results because one plant is fertilized and the other one isn't.

So, I had to snip them all. We'll see what is going to happen in the next couple of weeks. And, btw, the haircut turned out to be surprisingly potent stuff... I was buzzing around for almost two hours

 

[PeeJay]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

This is nice. So, it would seem that the next time you grow in that soil you should wait about a month before starting nutes? The one that has been fed all along is showing some signs of yellowing tips. It'll be interesting to see if it runs into any lockout problems. All those nutes that were added to the soil for the first several weeks (when the plant didn't need them) may of caused some build-up. Too soon to tell, I suppose.

The difference in bud density may be because of the different ratio in the flowering nutes, hard to say. One thing is for sure the soil has quite a bit of food in it. It is easy to see why people often get into trouble by feeding too heavily in a soil that already has a lot of nutrients.

 

[NOCO Farmer]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Hi all!

Just a brief update - I've decided to give the girls a small haircut hoping that the buds density will increase a little (especially on non-fertilized plant) as per these instructions:

LA's Quick Guide To Simple Backbuilding Technique For Buds!

I was thinking, at first, to snip only the tops of non-fertilized plant hoping to try and compensate a bit for the aeriness of buds and also to see the difference between the two, but realized that I won't be getting accurate and comparable results because one plant is fertilized and the other one isn't.

So, I had to snip them all. We'll see what is going to happen in the next couple of weeks. And, btw, the haircut turned out to be surprisingly potent stuff... I was buzzing around for almost two hours

Sarma, I can tell you that you will notice a difference with back building. I noticed it had a bigger impact on small buds, I think the combination of my SCROG and back building gave me some dense colas , pretty even in size.

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

This is nice. So, it would seem that the next time you grow in that soil you should wait about a month before starting nutes? The one that has been fed all along is showing some signs of yellowing tips. It'll be interesting to see if it runs into any lockout problems. All those nutes that were added to the soil for the first several weeks (when the plant didn't need them) may of caused some build-up. Too soon to tell, I suppose.

The difference in bud density may be because of the different ratio in the flowering nutes, hard to say. One thing is for sure the soil has quite a bit of food in it. It is easy to see why people often get into trouble by feeding too heavily in a soil that already has a lot of nutrients.

It certainly looks that way. For the first six weeks (including veg stage) there was absolutely no difference between plants. So, the soil must have enough food in it. Enough to completely sustain the plant for a good month and a half, almost two months... They were both growing at the same rate, as a matter of fact, the non-fertilized one was, at one point, even taller.

In my opinion, when they really need extra boost of nutrients is when their water intake doubles (they get real thirsty around third, fourth week of flowering, in my case). Boosters like Super Vit and PowerZyme won't hurt from the very beginning. And, perhaps, Root Complex. Turns out there's really no need for extra Nitrogen in veg stage and Bloom Complex and Phosphorus untill the third week of flowering.

 

[Sarma]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

Sarma, I can tell you that you will notice a difference with back building. I noticed it had a bigger impact on small buds, I think the combination of my SCROG and back building gave me some dense colas , pretty even in size.

They are dense already on the fertilized plant, hopefully they are going to get even denser I've got 8 more seeds of Special Queen so for the next time we'll do one plant with a haircut, the other one without and we'll see the difference...

Special Queen #1 turns out to be very forgiving, not at all demanding on the grower and, with a three-month cycle one can have four harvests yearly.

 

[B A R]

Re: 420's Special Queen #1 Indoor, Soil - Nutes/No nutes- Comparative study

I was referred here by PJ & must admit I've learned a thing or two that quick Sarma.

 

[PeeJay]

How's it going, Samara? I miss the updates!