1st Grow - Kovenant's story

[kovenant]

so the seeds i planted got ****ed off. not sure if it was the 'shot glass' method of germinating or what. i soaked them for 1-3 days until they got tap roots, and then dropped into pH'ed soaked Oasis cubes. I had soaked them in pH'ed RO water with a bit of root excellerator and a couple drops of liquid karma (couple drops of both into the gallon of pH'ed RO water.) i let them sit in grow domes under my floros. 4 of the 5 Pure Power Plant sprouted, and 1 of the White Widow... but due to neglect the white widow and 2 of the PPP wilted. (i had gone on my trip a day after dropping them in the Oasis cubes.)

anyway - i picked up some cuttings for my next grow which should begin in just over 2 weeks. hopefully i have enough time to get roots on these guys and veg them for a week or two. i saved 2 of the PPP to sex and keep a mother of (and possibly pollen from a male.)

here's a pic of the clones. i ended up scoring 10 clones of blue cheese, 10 clones of blue goo, 4 clones of the same trainwreck (i never got a mom off my last batch - and i didnt want to loose out.... may grow 2 of them out again, depending on how dank it is.)

blue goo & trainwreck


blue cheese & pure power plant



about 2 weeks left till harvest. ill snag some more pics in a week to show the progress. they arent pulling up much nutes now. im using overdrive from AN during the final weeks (this will be the last week until i flush with final phase.) im running at 800 ppm... but may drop it tonight by flushing 1/4 of my res and adding RO water back.

 

[plumpm0nkey]

hey what was your veg time? and light time? then whats your flower time and light time?

 

[kovenant]

hi plumpm0nkey - mmmm... well, when i started this grow i was still building my flower room, so i vegged logger than intended. however, i did not veg quite the same as i will be vegging this time either. i used an ebb & flow tray in rockwool cubes and im not sure exactly without looking (though im sure you could scroll to the beginning of this thread and figure it out too) but i vegged for about 1 month, give or take.

for this upcoming next grow i will be pre-vegging in the ebb & flow tray, but will be using 6' net pots with hydroton and vegging for 1-2 weeks... then just popping them into the buckets for another week or so. i used and will use 18/6 light cycle for veg.

my TW is currently at day 52 or 53... going another week and a half (so taking it it 60-65 days) 12/12 light cycle.

 

[plumpm0nkey]

well then i shouldnt be vegn long then. i finally posted new pics of my babies

 

[kovenant]

day 57 here. took 2 pics from my camera phone yesterday for an update. ive decided im taking these girls to the 69 day mark. gives me 4 more days of nutes/overdrive, then a good week flush with final phase.

trainwreck - day 56 of flower:

also took a sample 3 days ago. i clipped one of those tiny stems near the bottom that just kinda hang down... seemed like it was calling me - so i took it. ill smoke it in another day or two and give a report. granted - still havent given the system a final flush, so flavor and taste wont be the greatest, but the high will be a good indicator

i just got off a 10 day cleanse/fast... and yup, didnt smoke. i actually quit cigarette smoking while on this fast, and was the easiest way ive ever imagined quiting. i didnt want a cigarette my first day on it. i could smoke tonight, but havent... and it's late. so i probably wont. maybe ill make this sample my first puff in 11 days ill let ya know!

 

[NZjay]

Looking great Kovenant!

 

[kovenant]

thanks NZ!

here's some updated pics. im not sure if 1 of the girls is getting covered in a powdery mold... or if it just got a huge burst in resin production. the leaves/plant shows scars of nute-burn and light bleach... but look on the leaves. posted a pic of the underside of a leaf so you can see what it looks like there too.

not sure if thats a powdery mildew or just high resin /shrug


took some nice budshots and macros with my camera-phone tonight. thought you all would enjoy Day 60 bud porn of the trainwreck ladies. let me know what you think.

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/24279201023101_667910246_0-med.jpeg[img]
[img]http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/24279201023699_667912412_0-med.jpeg

grand finale!

also wanted to try and show what im seeing under the loupe (sp?)... well, under the microscope lol. i had to turn the light down to let the pic turn out better... but under the light - and to the eye - you can get a clear picture of the 70-75% cloudy trichs... about 15-20% amber... with about 10% clear.

word.

oh yeah. drained the res and began to flush tonight. im flushing with RO water, AN Final Phase, and Black Strap Molasses (1 tsp per gallon.) i know of two schools of thought on flushing. one is to flush with just water (and a flushing agent) and the other entertains the idea of continuing to use molasses (or a sweetening agent) through the final flush. my reasoning is that there are not enough 'nutrients' in the molasses alone to make a negative impact on taste or smoke... in fact, the small amount of nutrients will probably give the plant just enough so that it isnt starving... while the system if flushed of everything else. also - the carbs should help continue to push yield during the last days. and... sweetener.

/shrugs

ill let you know my results in the end sorry i cant make a control group - or id totally do 1/2 and 1/2 and really have a story to tell

thnx for tuning in guys

 

[Guest]

Love that trainwreck look, Yummy, looks similer to my casey's

 

[kovenant]

looking righteous Slips

cant wait to sample the finished product and see how nice she truely smokes. bet you feel the same about yours -> she sure is pretty

funny side note: i just visited Blazeoneup's "Back in the dirt" thread showing his current indoor soil grow. makes me want to pull the AC and water chiller from my room... plop down 36 bags of soil and let them take care of themselves! i loved this hydro grow though. ill be pullin them down soon!

 

[rounders02]

nice i have some rom coming in my next batch its great

 

[plumpm0nkey]

so what should i do to switch over my grow? shoudl i flush the water or keep adding fresh water before i add flower nute . any advice is soo welcome

 

[kovenant]

was waiting on pics to update - but instead i will copy from another thread i had started to get some quick questions answered. long story short... been busy harvesting the past 4 days. after 2 days of hanging in 72F, 40% RH, the buds over-dried. over-dried? yes, over-dried.

i couldnt believe it either... trust me. i hoped that if i dropped them in paper bags over night that some moisture would come back to them (from within.) No go. i filled up 10 qt size mason jars with 80-90% buds (i went over the recommended because I wanted to draw moisture quicker than usual) and still... no moistening.

by the way, by the time (2 days after hanging) we clipped the buds from the stems into the paper bags... we didnt even have to clip the buds. the fell off by touch (yes, that brittle!) which, of course, means that weight is absolutely gone as well.

so... we had 2 paper bags 1/4 filled with over-dried buds. we also have 2 paper bags with semi-dry buds (just under 1/4 filled on the semi-dry.)

so yesterday i filled up 10 quart size mason jars with 80-90% bud. bought 12 more jars (i had run out... but got all the over-dry bud bottled.) today, once i get home i am going to spread the over-dried up out into more jars - until i have about 40% of the jars filled... then going to add about 30% of the semi-dry (about the wetness that would usually go into jars). hopefully the moisture from the semi-dry will carry over to the over-dried and balance things out.

if not... i will add back some fan leaves (clipped a couple days ago) and lemon peels. hopefully all works out fine!

ill also be updating with pics (maybe tonight.)

 

[kovenant]

ahhhhh - so here it is. the post many have been waiting for


here are some pics taken during the harvest!

sorry, but i just couldnt leave these thumbnails.

now. what i did when i got home was pull out all the paper bags (4 paper bags 1/4 filled.... 2 with super-dry buds, and 2 with slightly moist buds.)

i opened all my jars and began filling them 40-50% with the super-dry stuff. once i had filled 16 jars i had run out of the over-dried buds. then, i began to measure out 25-30% of the semi-dried buds... and added them to the jars with the dry stuff. i did this until all 16 jars were 75-80% full... there was enough bud left to fill up 4 more jars.

end result. 20 quart size jars - all containing just over 1 oz. so the current weight (dont think they will loose much, but who knows - they are just so dry already) is 1 1/4 lb!

here's some pics

well, i hope you enjoyed the show. i feel very good about it - especially for my 1st grow! thank everyone for the help, advice, guiding, support. it wouldnt have been possible without you.

 

[plumpm0nkey]

OMG !!! ****in awsome show! i wonder what fat bushy girls will produce. DO you find yourself thinking about them all day when your away? i do. Its a love thing i think. but yeah kovenant when we going hang out

 

[NZjay]

sexy jars!

over a pound? great job for a first grow!

 

[kovenant]

actually just bagged it all today into food-savers. not only did i get the 1.25 lbs i thought i did... i got an extra 1.5 oz

im super stoked

 

[DrHydro]

You have spider mites all over your bud... I would take care of that before your next grow..

 

[lighterfuel]

Yea - That is a major Spider Mite Infestation.... Nasty Little ****ers, Lol. But you made it through and bud looks great!

 

[clark420]

Tarsonemid Mites

Tarsonemid Mites

Dude you prolly got that disease from sr-71!! Hard to get rid of!!

okay, so im going to guess that my problem is Phosphorus (P) deficiency. i was just looking through the Complete Guide to Sick Plants located here on IC and the description of Phosphorus deficiency really caught my attention. then when i looked at the pictures - i felt it looked dead on to the ones i just posted this morning.

first look at this chart ive been using:



the chart shows that Phosphorus (in hydro) is absorbed in the range of 5.8 - 6.2pH

ive been pH'ing at 5.6 - so ive (more than likely) been causing the deficiency through low pH.

the Sick Guide also states that in hydro grows the best pH for absorbtion is 5.8 - 9.0 (though would not recommend above 6.5pH)... and that it gets locked-out at 2.0 - 5.7pH (where ive been.)

also, Mg cannot be absorbed below 5.8pH (by the chart) as well, which also browns on the tips and moves to the sides. also, the leaves fall off without wilting (which was happening before and may happen to the new burnt leaves.)

it all kind of pieces together...


i am experiencing... alkaline pH spikes (its been raising alot every day), its affecting the older bottom leavesand the petioles which are all dried up (not sure if the sex should still be showing... but i see none of the 2 female pistols i saw before i transplanted to the buckets.) i've been trying to stablize pH at 5.6 which - if the chart is correct - would indicate Phosphorus is NOT being absorbed as the pH would be just under where it can absorb. it also would explain the slow growth rate of the plants and roots (compared to normal growth rate in this type system.) the only thing i havent noticed is the glassy, waxy, dark green leaves with any red or purple coloring... but the burns look the same.


so, im planning on flushing the system when i get home and pH'ing RO water to run for a few days (going to 5.8pH and try to sit it between 5.8 and 6.0 through my next nute solution too.) plan on running just the RO water for 24-48 hours and then mixing only Connoisseur a & b - going to see if there is any Mg in the connoisseur, and if not i may get the Sensi Bloom Cal Mg to add in.

im finely having a feeling about what it is and how to help my little girls... so unless i hear otherwise - thats my plan!


-edit-

funny thing is... i was pH'ing at 5.8 in my veg ebb&flow tray - and the plants never had a burn. was told i should lower my pH in hydro to 5.6... did so, then got the burn. im almost certain this is the problem... also, the new growth while i was gone was probably inspired by the big spikes upward in pH... letting the plants get what they needed when in the 5.8 - mid 6s range.


please give any other input you guys!

 

[plumpm0nkey]

wher you at? hows the crop