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Ace rig: Mauritius x Ethiopian (4x)

Podenco

Well-known member
Note: the Arcadia cfl were a pain in the behind, one burned out in the first minutes of use and the system was heavy and hard to fit to the set up. So I got the sockets out and use a uv tube with integrated ballast and a lovely reflector. It is fixed at an angle so it is directed towards the middle of the box.
 

Podenco

Well-known member
Update.

Durban Cannabiogen.
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Ethiopa x Mauritius.
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Box overview.
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dubi

ACE Seeds Breeder
Vendor
Veteran
You are doing a wonderful job taming the sativas in such a smal indoor space Podenco :) :yes: They won't stretch much more after this point, thanks a lot for the updates!
 

Podenco

Well-known member
Thank you Dubi.

Next time I will do it a bit different. These stretchy plants are not suited for what I had in mind, a SOG with say 8-10 small pots and 1 nice cola going up. They get too big for this due to all the bending, while the pots are on the small side. Next time I will go for 3 plants in bigger pots, manicuring them to the total surface, maybe using 3 screens to fix them to.

DP Desfran and PP do make a single short stiff cola, I could fit 10 for them in my box, a sog would yield a lot of material, but I am not in it for the yield. I am just in love with the narrow leafs and hope they provide a good smoke.

Small pots with big plants have a tendency to dry out, so I tend to over water them. Big pots will be more stable for this and more nutrients will be available.

On the stretching, I think it is minimal as my lights have a lot of blue, using 4200K CMH and a tube with UVA/UVB. Only the last week or so I replaced 1 of the 4200K bulbs with a 3000K bulb.

Resin glands are starting to show on the M x E, I think there are 2 months or so to go.

P
 

Podenco

Well-known member
On light, I want to make a change. Now they are 11-13 with all lights going on at the same time. But I want to give them somewhat of a dawn/dusk, by setting the 3000K light on a different timer so it goes on before and off after the 4200K and the UV come in, give them 15 min of "soft" reddish light before the other lights come on. They are under a lot of light.

P
 

dubi

ACE Seeds Breeder
Vendor
Veteran
You are welcome Podenco,

Yep, stretchy pure sativas are not the most pragmatic choice for indoor grows with such small space, but honestly you are very skilled to keep them under control size-wise.
Mauritius x Ethiopian is really wild and hard to tame indoors, her node length is usually very long.

Strong light intensity shouldn't be a problem with this kind of sativas if you still keep the temps in the correct range. 11/13 flowering photoperiod is the right choice at this point.
 

Podenco

Well-known member
Update 25 oct.

Some tech. My carbon filter box needed extra rubber rims as it did generate a bit of vibration of the box.

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Here is the difference between 830 (3000K) and 942 (approx 4000K) cdm-t light, the 830 is in the middle of the reflector.

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The canopy. Only Durban and M x E remain, Powerplant and Desfran have been cut, they were finished enough and I needed space to put M x E in bigger pots. Plants are a bit yellowy for my liking but they grow well. Trichomes are forming on the M x E but it still needs time.

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Podenco

Well-known member
Next time plants will go into bigger pots earlier. And I will use less vermiculite, I used high vermiculite mix that I use for strawberries also for the cannabis, thinking it would keep things nicely humid. It does, but at the bottom of the pot, the top dries out strongly in my hot and windy conditions. So I tended to overwater. PP and Desfran were not affected, they were nicely green the whole time, but M x E seemed to suffer. So nice time bigger pots with a more draining mix with horticultural grit. A more mineral/stony mix might benefit the tropical sativa types.

M x E. These still smell to carrots.

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Durban, almost ready. Smells to lemon sort of.

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Rajas

Well-known member
Premium user
Very glad you're showing how small even these rather longflowering plants stay. Seems like they'll grow buds only :D
Your Durban will show more aromas after some cure and when the dominant citric smell gased of a bit! Green tea, anise, citric and some spicy notes as far as I rember...
 

Podenco

Well-known member
The little stretching is probably due to an interplay of things. The plants are not young, they are clones of moms seeded in March/April and cut back to stay small and my light is rather blue (4200K mainly) with added UVA-UVB. I had some light bleaching at first and needed to move the lights up. These lights are rather hot, so I ventilate strongly.

Durban has been cut but drying is slow, humidity has been high the last weeks.
 

dubi

ACE Seeds Breeder
Vendor
Veteran
Thanks Podenco for the update, the Mauritius x Ethiopian are progressing slowly since it is an extreme tropical sativa but hope your patience will be rewarded at the end. The Durban looks indeed yummy!
 

Podenco

Well-known member
I pollinated the M x E with itself and seeds are developing. Plants are continuing to show new pistils and lovely foxtails.

Having M x E males was part of the plan. I now have seeds of M x E crossed with Dutch Passion Powerplant and Desfran. The latter are quick flowering high yield strong smoke indoor plants. It will be interesting to grow these crosses while smoking the parents :)
 

Podenco

Well-known member
Update 12nov.

The M x E starts to change color and deteriorate a bit, more small leaves in the buds are getting yellow and some have red-brown edges. The plants still grow new flowers but I have started to cut them branch for branch, plant by plant. The buds have quite some trichomes, soon the first will be dry enough to smoke a sample. Plants could look better but for a first time I am well pleased.

Also I want to have this batch of plants finished because I want to make some changes to the box for a next run, from December to April before the high summer temperatures. I want a series of big ventilation holes in 1 side of the box that I can open and close with the movement of the lights. These lights are hot, my suction is from above and I want to have a "breeze" on the lights and not so much on the plants. The reflector needs adaptations for this too, a ridge that forces the air along/across the lamps. I am thinking as well about a different reflective material on the sides too, the white wall paint does not stick too good to the laminated wood of the inside. Maybe I change the carbon filter that has been running since April, but there's no hurry with that.

Next run will be Ethiopia x Malawi feminized, SCROG of 1 or 2 plants in big pots. I've seen what Chilliwilli did with his Kerala. Maybe I also run the Bangi Haze feminized that Ace gave me as a freebee.

I tried the Cannabiogen Durban. It is good grass. Decent high, not racy, not stoned. In higher doses it will surely have "dazed and confused" potential. Tastes like hay though, still very green. Let's see how it is after a few weeks in pots.

Last pics of M xE plants alive.

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Podenco

Well-known member
Just for fun. Playing with other plants.

Time to improve my cascade ficus. I want it root-over-rock in a decorative bowl in a few years.

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Now I have space again I can make my multispecies "spheres" again. Basically emersed aquarium plants and mosses. In the pic are 2 creeping figs. I have shelves with a 20 watt 6000K led strip for this.
 
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dubi

ACE Seeds Breeder
Vendor
Veteran
Hi Podenco,

Thanks a lot for sharing your grow diary with us, glad to see you are about to harvest them.
The lowers Mauritius x Ethiopian look ripe enough but the tops look like would benefit from a few more days of flowering.
How are her aromas in late flowering ?

Congrats for taming indoors such difficult tropical sativa genetics, beautiful gardening work. Please, keep us updated with your next growing cycle.
 

Podenco

Well-known member
Hi Dubi,

I'll leave the plants for a few days more, no hay prisa.

The smell. Hard to define but if I have to I say carrots mainly, some earth and cillantro/dishwash soap.

The yield is quite good. Way enough for me. I'll come up with a measured amount and smoke report in some time.

P
 

dubi

ACE Seeds Breeder
Vendor
Veteran
Glad to hear you can give the tops a few days more of ripening :)
Sounds like a classic African sativas terpene profile (earthy, spicy, carrots).
There's a lavender smelling pheno coming from the Mauritius that is my favorite one, terpene wise.
 
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