Ciskei by TTRC & Rosetta Stone 'Low Cost'

Only Ornamental · Mar 20, 2014

This is going to become my first growing diary...
February 23. was when I planted some seeds in peat-rich soil for my first indoor run. In particular, two regular seeds of Ciskei P5 from The Tropical Seeds Company and one fem seed Rosetta Stone 'Low Cost' (from a Spanish Seedbank; seemingly an S1 of a cut from the original Brothers Grimm RS which was also used by Sweet Seed for their 'Wild Rose').
All three sprouted quickly in a yoghurt cup (like the one in the pic) but I had to transplant already after a week or so when the roots hit the bottom.
I keep them under a mixed light schedule:
12-14 hours under fluos, HCI 15'000K (EDIT: actually it's 8'000K, saw it when I replaced it) and self-ballasted UV-rich HQI of totally 300 W, although I simulate dawn/dusk and noon by using not all at once all the time. I know, this lighting sound strange but I've just taken the light schedule from the former 'grow room inhabitant' (a lizard in a terrarium) and added a spare aquarium light. I'm planning to change the 15'000K to a normal 4200K burner once the plants go into flower.
The night is interrupted once every 3 hours with a 10W white LED for 15 min to reduce stretch and prevent flowering.

Here a seedling pic at day 10 and the RS also at day 13 (to show the bizarre serration).

Only Ornamental · Mar 20, 2014

Update: Day 28

Update: Day 28

The 3 little fellows are doing great and are now at about one months post seeding. They're ~15 cm in height and at the third true leaf pair.

What I have observed so far:
They showed a detectable stretch after the three times I forgot to use the light interruption during the night.
The Rosetta Stone has some weird serration and already an awful but fortunately faint (for now) stench... reminds me of the Super Silver from last year *blork*...
The Ciskei on the other hand grow pretty regularly but quickly bend towards the very centre of the mixed-light HQI. One has hints of a lemony-fresh and very lovely aroma when gently rubbing the stem, the other smells just like fresh cannabis (caryophyllene?).

tebos · Mar 22, 2014

Very interested in Ciskei, good job so far.

Only Ornamental · Mar 29, 2014

Update: Day 35

Update: Day 35

We're at 5 weeks in veg and I repotted them in a slightly bigger pot; more to see how the roots do without disturbing them too much. They could have stayed a little longer in the old pots but usually, the bigger the better, right?
The two Ciskei do great. They are the two biggest plants in the pictures which were taken in the night box.
The bigger one with the broader, bigger leaves smells nice (although my wife perceives it as 'cat piss') and really accelerates its growth. The one with the smaller and narrower leave, which was taller at the beginning, shows more stretch when I forget to put them into the night box (remember, they get some light every 3 hours in there). Well, I didn't forget for some days and hence the first plant overtook in size, mass, and node number. Anyway, it's smell is rather greenish, like plants and leaves (hope you know what I mean).

The Rosetta Stone (the 3th biggest in the lot) slows down and does something weird: It looks like she's starting to grow 4 instead of 2 leaves... we'll see in a few days what it gives.
And she still shows leave deformities...

The little fellows in the box are 'Jogurt Cup Challenge' Finolas. Please see there

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Libeccio · Mar 29, 2014

this is an interesting grow indeed, some techiques i am not used to.

watching this :lurk:

Koondense · Mar 29, 2014

Good to see a Ciskei in veg, how much time until the flip? Or are they going outdoors?
That would be awesome.

I hope you don't mind me sitting here, watching

Only Ornamental · Mar 29, 2014

Koondense said:
Good to see a Ciskei in veg, how much time until the flip? Or are they going outdoors?
That would be awesome.

I hope you don't mind me sitting here, watching

Don't know when I'll flip... it's my first indoor run and I have really no clue at all

. Got any advice?
I'm not sure if I can run something outdoors this year; would be great though.
And I don't mind at all, you can sit your ass sore if you want LoL!

Only Ornamental · Apr 3, 2014

Small update, real one comes tomorrow

Small update, real one comes tomorrow

I was away for 5 days and just got home in time cause the plants were seconds before wilting... I'm tired but have to share this right away:
The Ciskei have stretched considerably whereas the RS has troubles due to leave deformations (Pictures and more is for tomorrow).
The smaller Ciskei still smells 'green' and the stretchy one has the same undefined (but stronger than before) nice cannabis smell with hints of fresh citrus fruits and conveys subtle memories of cat piss (but not the unpleasant carnivore's pen style, more like some grape varieties... kinda hard to describe).

The big change is the Rosetta Stone:
It smells like mint, pure and true mint but nothing else!
The aroma is a bit sharper and fresher than round-leafed mint, like spearmint without the sweetish nuances of caraway or peppermint without the cold, nearly stinging shade of menthol.
Very pleasant, somewhat funny, I hope that it keeps that smell cause I love mint tea as much as I love hemp tea!

Only Ornamental · Apr 4, 2014

Update: Day 41

Update: Day 41

Here's the picture update at day 41.
The first Ciskei's roots start showing at the bottom of the pots; transplanting to the final ones will be done in the days to come. I think I'm going to LST the two a bit. It's not that visible on the pics but the internodes are quite large.
The RS has developed two leaves on one side and a fused double-leaf sharing a thick petiole on the other instead of two oppositely ones. It doesn't look like it's changing to whorled growth though; the new leaves look closer to normal (but not quite).

Picture 1: Group hug
2: The smaller Ciskei, 38 cm
3: The taller Ciskei, 43 cm
4: Rosetta Stone, 27 cm
5: RS top view on leaf abnormality

Only Ornamental · Apr 11, 2014

Update: Day 47

Update: Day 47

The weekly update (part 1):
As said, I tried to tie the two Ciskei down a bit. It works pretty neat with the smaller one (which actually isn't smaller anymore) whereas the larger one really doesn't appreciate bondage, tries to 'escape' and doesn't branch out that easily.
They both smell similar now, still good cannabis-like with hints of overripe oranges.
The smaller one showed the first pre-flower two days ago; so I'm hoping the other one will turn out as male.

Only Ornamental · Apr 11, 2014

Update: Day 47

Update: Day 47

And part 2:
Mint smell is still there :dance013:

and the leaves still show an irregular double-serration and slight deformations/crinkle.
Following the whorled 3-leaves node is one which looks like the plant is going to alternated leaves/branching...
I'm wondering if it isn't going into flowering already??

Well, that's it for now; I'm thinking about two or three weeks vegetative phase before going into flowering cycle.

Only Ornamental · Apr 14, 2014

Update: Day 51

Update: Day 51

Just a small update:
Is this a male preflower on the 'tall' Ciskei? I hope so!

Apart from that, it does finally start branching and the RS really went into 'zig-zagging'.

Jack Harer · Apr 20, 2014

I'm pretty sure that it is.

Only Ornamental · Apr 20, 2014

Found two others, little balls with stalks; got to be male flowers :dance013:

.
From two seeds pooped I got an 'indica' leaning male and a 'sativa' leaning female; precisely what I was after for a seed run! If I'm no lucky bastard...

Only Ornamental · Apr 22, 2014

Update: Day 59

Update: Day 59

Here's a small picture update @ day 59 in veg...
The pictures have self-explaining names

.
I simply renamed the tall Ciskei to male and the small Ciskeit to female for obvious reasons.

Apart from more branching and nice growth (seems the 'sativa' side of the Ciskei is finally pushing through), things are the same only that the smell gets a bit stronger but not yet disturbingly intense.
Hmmm... the RS went back from alternate branching to opposite/whorled... it doesn't know what to do I guess

.

PS Sorry for the slight off-colour of the pictures but the plants are getting too laborious to replace just for a quick photo shooting.

Only Ornamental · Apr 22, 2014

Update: Day 59 part two

Update: Day 59 part two

And here two makros:
First is a leaf of the female Ciskei. Looks to me as if she needed some magnesium (gave her some magnesium chloride).
Second is the main bud of the RS. Yellowing leaf tips... calcium deficiency or to hot? She already got some calcium chloride and I put the lamp a little higher, just in case.

What do you think? Could well be because the soil is rich in peat and the inorganic part is not readily soluble...

Only Ornamental · May 19, 2014

Update: Day 86 part 1

Update: Day 86 part 1

Sorry for not posting in a while...

Now, the plants are in 12/12 (did I mention that I simply switched off the night interruption?) for 3 1/2 weeks and are starting to show more trichomes on the buds with every day that passes.
I put them outside during the sunny days. Unfortunately, they got burnt a little yesterday.

First to the Ciskei female (hadn't time for pics of the male):
She lost a bit of the unpleasant smell and develops now a nice fresh hashy aroma

. Looks like she's over the worst stretch, it was getting a bit boring to tie her down every few days. Also, the older leaves start yellowing and some fell off already. I'm not sure if it's lacking nitrogen, watering issues or just normal ageing.

Only Ornamental · May 19, 2014

Update: Day 86 part 2

Update: Day 86 part 2

I hope, the cuttings I took from all three plants a few days ago will start setting roots soon.

And now to the Rosetta Stone:
Unlike the leaves, her flowers have no mint aroma and give off some sort of cat-piss note I first thought came from the Ciskei. But it's so faint, only my wife complains about it. But all in all a rather 'low smell plant'.
What remains to be said? She doesn't really stretch and remains nicely compact but keeps the yellow leaf tips... I suspect that it's a trait and not a real deficiency.

Only Ornamental · May 23, 2014

Update: Day 92 part 1

Update: Day 92 part 1

Yesterday, the Ciskei girl had a second flowering boost and new pistils show everywhere on the bud tips

.
Here some pics and close-ups (I hope one can see the light-green new growth).
BTW The plant in the upper right corner on photos 4 & 5 is absinth

.

Only Ornamental · May 23, 2014

Update: Day 92 part 2

Update: Day 92 part 2

And a pic of a seeded Ciskei bud who's hopefully going to contribute to my seed stash.

The Rosetta Stone doesn't do much apart from packing on resin glands... Pic 3 is just a zoomed-in version of pic 2.
The pistils start turning brown on their tips; I hope that the silver nitrate starts doing its trick soon or I'll have to pollinate the cutting (given it sets roots).

Ciskei by TTRC & Rosetta Stone 'Low Cost'

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