Auto's from Herbies Seeds - 3 SIP's, a hempy bucket and a fabric pot

[Chuckeye]

Greetings,

I've decided to do a "quick" Herbies Seeds Auto run after my last Six Month Long Sativa grow

And wanted to try two new to me systems, SIP's and Hempy bucket.

The SIP's are five gallon pails with store bought GroBucket Self-Watering Inserts.

Medium is ProMix HP, one of the pails has the perlite content upped to 50% from 30%.

The Hempy bucket is a 5 gallon Cdn Tire pail painted black, just in case.

I cut a 3" thick plug of styrofoam to reduce the capacity of the perlite medium to roughly the same as the SIP's.

SIP's will be fed Mega Crop one part and the Hempy GH MaxiGro/Bloom (and the fabric bag).

Light is a 600w MH/HPS in a 42" parabolic reflector, ~ 5' x 5' x 4' high enclosure in a 10' x 10' x 8' high room.

Seeds are....

A rather disappointing start, soaked four seeds. All germinated but one failed to grow (CBD Lemon) and the Wedding Cheesecake was stunted.

My fault, the medium for the CBD Lemon was wet, not moist and I thought it would be a good idea to use a spoon to transfer the Wedding Cheesecake seed into it's solo SIP cup. Stupid move, sigh.

I was sure I had the spoon Under the seed but in fact when I went to capture it I crushed it against the side of the shot glass, sigh.

Poured it and the remaining seeds into the finger nail deep holes I made in the solo SIP cups medium.

Mycorrhizal Inoculant by Dynomyco C in the solo cup medium and in the bottoms of the prepared holes in their final pots.

So I started two more seeds, another CBD Lemon and a Gorilla Punch which is supposed to be a beautiful purple color !

Both seeds germinated and grew. The Gorilla Punch took off, the CBD Lemon is a slow poke but appears perfectly healthy !

Not sure if it will amount to much but I don't really care, just want a taste of 17% each of THC/CBD

Amazingly enough the Wedding Cheesecake looks to be a week behind but has almost caught up in size !

A SIP solo cup....

I'll spare you the weeks of seedling pictures

Three were transplanted yesterday....

I hadn't counted on an extra seedling so I put the CBD Lemon in a 3 gallon fabric pot with ProMix HP !

This is a day later ...

Some more details, the solo cups were fed with 1g/gallon of MC and increased to 1.9g/gallon about week two.

SIP's were filled with 2g/gallon of MC 24 hours before transplant. At transplant the bottom of the prepared holes were barely moist so I refilled the reservoirs.

24 hours later a wood skewer shows moisture three inches below the surface. So the seedlings have ~ two inches of available moisture at the bottom of their plugs. And most of the roots were at the bottom of the solo cups.

Dipstick shows half full.

The ProMix HP in the fabric pot was quite dry so I charged it with a half gallon, same with the Hempy Bucket.

The mix was 2g/gallon of MaxiGro.

Not sure about the Hempy bucket as to watering but I'll keep a close eye on her....

Light is now @ 75% and 24". Temp is 83F and rh is 36%.

All the girls appear happy and Praying morning till night, I'm a happy camper, so far

Be interesting to see which if any have been stunted ?

Cheers, eh ?

 

[Chuckeye]

This is three days post transplant and although they are a week behind my last auto grow I think I have three viable ladies.

The other two have been slow starters but I will grow them out, just because

My wood skewers show moisture 2" below the surface on the SIP's, fabric pot shows moisture in the 3 - 6" range and the hempy bucket shows moisture only around the original ProMix HP solo cup.

CBD Lemon

Wedding Cheesecake.

The Girls

A day later the Hempy bucket was light. Watered with 2.7g/gallon of MaxGro, run off was 2 cups or 1/2L.

Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

I think we are Finally off to the races

First off I have to say I'm Loving knowing my girls have just the right amount of water

No more lifting pots, he, he..

Best I can tell we are a good week behind my last auto grow. All different strains but.....

The only difference I can think of is using SIP solo cups ? Aside from wetting the medium before planting the germinated seeds they were never watered from the top.

At transplant they did have roots circling the bottom but next to nothing from the middle of the cup to the top. Pretty well a cone of roots at the bottom of the cup.

Was that not the target ? Developing the "water" roots early ?

I did not keep the reservoirs full daily but didn't wait until they fully dry, maybe 25%..

Thoughts ?

The first CBD Lemon seed could have been in too moist medium, hadn't had time to drain enough yet. I watered the solo cup to drain at transplant. Usually do that a day before...

The second seed was in a properly moistened medium and is at least alive

And a small Cause for celebration, she is looking healthy and grew 1/2" in 24 hours ! IF she doesn't flower too early there is a good chance of harvesting enough to confirm if I want More !

Wedding Cheesecake has over come her rough treatment and grew an inch And appears much wider.

California Snow grew 1 1/2 !

I made a clumsy attempt at fimming her, thinking I cut too low but no biggee. It's above the fifth node where I normally top.

Gorilla Punch was Not in a SIP solo cup and is a week younger that the Six Shooter but almost as tall







Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

Seeing steady progress !

Filled the reservoirs to 50% and turned the lights up to 100%.

They seem to like it, temp is now 86F...

CBD Lemon...



California Snow...



Gorilla Punch....



Six Shooter....



Wedding Cheesecake....



Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

Two girls started training this evening !





Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

Couple days later but some thoughts and pic's

You may remember I started my germinated seeds in SIP solo cups and only watered from the top.

Didn't work that well for me...

If I'm super critical the medium could have been on the wet side of moist and a day to dry to "moist" might have been enough to stunt growth ?

For the final pots I watered from the bottom Only 24 hours before transplant and then filled the reservoir to 50% on transplant day.

Anywho, they are a good week behind my last auto grow at week 3 starting in "normal solo cups" and top watering lightly.

I've been filling their reservoirs the past week but at 2 weeks post transplant the top 3 - 4" of the medium is bone dry.

And two of my girls are starting to Lean

All three got a gallon each from the Top !

BTW > Drain hole is in the correct position but full reservoir only shows five holes/tear drop shapes ?

IIRC the rational behind only watering from the bottom is to develop the water roots.

Well, at 2 weeks after transplant the roots have got to be developed and the plant could use some feeder roots higher up to help support the plants.

I don't see how this will defeat the purpose of the bottom watering.

The medium will dry from the top down and continue to feed from the reservoir.

Makes no difference to me if I water from the top or fill the reservoir, for a short period ?

Hopefully I have enough veg time left for this to happen and a larger root ball has to be a Good thing !

CBD Lemon keeps trucking @ day 28



Gorilla Punch is a week younger and now taller than her older sister the Six Shooter !



Six Shooter is the one with 50% perlite and the only one with slightly droopy leaves from a top watering and a 75% full reservoir. Checked on her eight hours later and she's back to perky !



I'm impressed the Wedding Cheesecake is doing as well as she is !



3g/gallon of MC/MaxiGro, temp is 87F, rh is 40%.

Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

A quickie update

Two days growth on the California Snow since last training !



After More Torture

She was getting a crick in her neck so I added some support....



My "enclosure"......



Moving the narrower panels out a foot still gives me the reflective properties but allows for a lower air temp !
Now running @ 86F, about four degrees cooler.

She was watered From the Top to run off two days ago. Gauge was 1 today !

Topped her off, the two smaller ladies were topped off to 3, maybe next watering will fill...

I think you get a more accurate Visual dip stick reading with the top holder thingee off !

Already used to that and give it a poke to see how far it goes down anyway

Feed is increased to 3.5g/gallon of their respective feeds !

Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

Various stages of flowering !

California Snow has grown two inches in the last four days for a total of 21" high, she is now 39 days old.

Those tops are 4" long !



CBD Lemon has grown 2 1/2" for a Grand Total of 8"

She is also 39 days old...



Gorilla Punch has grown 6" for a total of 19", she is 32 days old.



Six Shooter has grown 3 1/2" for a total of 16". She is 39 days old.



Wedding Cheesecake has grown 3 1/2" for a total of 12". She is 39 days old....

Darn Lambs Bread forgot to get a picture of her last night

Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

BTW > the SIP's received their first top watering a little over a week ago.

Two days later filled the rez. Two days later filled the rez again.

Two days later watered from the top to ~ 1L run off !

The 14" saucer was almost overflowing...

It may be a coincidence but it seems to have kicked them off !

Sure didn't hurt

This is roughly when I start training..





Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

The Girls tonight...



Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

Day 41

The California Snow is turning out to be an excellent student for training

And she also ate three quarters of her reservoir in two days !

Of my other two contenders, Gorilla Punch and Six Shooter I thought the were already a bit too far into flower to top...

But they are only a couple of inches shorter so should produce nice Xmas Trees

Thinking about manipulating the tops to break their dominance, tying the fans over the apical buds for a short period, a small cup over it, etc... ???





BTW > still @ 3.5g/gallon of Mega Crop one part and not a blemish anywhere !

Cheers

 

[Ca++]

Herbies was an annual pilgrimage, when he was in King Lynn. It's a shame he left the corner of the hocus pocus head shop, and started sending out from Spain. Sending cash had already proven unreliable with him, and seeds having to clear customs, meant he was no longer a UK supplier. I do like how his site categorises seeds though. It's all about the characteristics you expect, such as speed. I have not seen another site with such a useful search filter set. Others should take note.

 

[Chuckeye]

California Snow auto, less than 24 hours and it's time to adjust the tie downs again



Before and after side by each....



Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

This is one of the most Exciting times in the garden !

The stretch is on in earnest

California Snow seems to have slowed down, finally....

Enough for my style/goals. Less than 36" would be Just Fine

She is now 22" high and the training has keep her down to One inch of growth in three days !

And the tie downs didn't need adjusting since yesterday !

Gorilla Punch is turning out to be my Over Achiever !

A week younger and now the tallest tree in the forest at 26"

Seven inches of growth in three days !

Her sister the Six Shooter is a week older and Only 22" But Six inches of growth !

My last two girls could be a feel good, don't give up story, he, he...

CBD Lemon was stunted and slow growing but I didn't give up on her and she slowly started to put on some weight.

She always looked perfectly healthy but small.

Well she seems to have found her legs and grew Five inches for a total of 13" !

Just started to show her sex so Lots of stretch to come at this rate, eh ?

Wedding Cheesecake also had a slow start, my fault, sigh...

But she keep on trucking and has also started to pick up, Four inches growth for a total of 16".

And also just starting to show her sex



Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

Day 45

The SIP girls are drinking a half gallon a day. Continuing to water from the top to run off, two days later fill the reservoir, two days later fill the reservoir again, two days later water from the top to run off.

Praying all day, everyday !

Still @ 3.6g/gallon of Mega Crop one part and nothing else....

And finally, we have our first yellow leaf on the California Snow

Not a single blemish anywhere else !



The little CBD Lemon is now 17 1/2", three days growth of 4 1/2" !



Her top...



California Snow is 25" tall, three days growth of 3".



One of her tops...



Gorilla Punch is 32", three days growth of 6"

Really want to see what kind of main apical bud she can produce so I'll raise the rest of the girls up to get an even(ish) canopy.



Six Shooter is 26 1/2", three days growth of 4 1/2".



Her top...



Wedding Cheesecake is still coming on strong, she's 21 1/2". Three days growth of 5 1/2".



Her top....



I've been holding off on changing from the MH bulb to the HPS bulb until the Wedding Cheesecake and CBD Lemon get farther into flowering but I might make the change today. Majority rules, the rest of the girls are ready !

These girls are growing in such a way that no trimming is necessary. I usually lollipop the bottoms and clean off any lower side branches but there appears to be enough light reaching the bottoms I am going to leave them be.

One thing I need to do on my next run to town day is look for some way to connect a short hose to the drain holes.

Lifting the whole pot off the saucer to dispose of the run off is getting to be a PITA

Cheers

 

[Chuckeye]

Group shot...

Cheers

 

[Cuddles]

Herbies was an annual pilgrimage, when he was in King Lynn. It's a shame he left the corner of the hocus pocus head shop, and started sending out from Spain. Sending cash had already proven unreliable with him, and seeds having to clear customs, meant he was no longer a UK supplier. I do like how his site categorises seeds though. It's all about the characteristics you expect, such as speed. I have not seen another site with such a useful search filter set. Others should take note.

I must admit that I didn´t even know about this seed bank. And I love the idea that the plants are sorted by effects/benefits too!
But unreliable sounds rather unappealing
Maybe I´ll pass interms of ordering from them. Thanks for pointing these things out

 

[Ca++]

I must admit that I didn´t even know about this seed bank. And I love the idea that the plants are sorted by effects/benefits too!
But unreliable sounds rather unappealing
Maybe I´ll pass interms of ordering from them. Thanks for pointing these things out

I wouldn't send cash, but you may be able to purchase what the UK calls a postal order, or in the US a money order. It's like buying a cheque, anonymously. With a traceable receipt, and they can be crossed so that only the recipient can cash them.
Or, you can just use their search engine, then buy from elsewhere. Which is what I do.


When I sent cash, they didn't process the order until we called them. They didn't send them, as we had not printed off the official order form. Instead, we had wrote out a till receipt. No complex letter, just a list like any shop hands you. So they didn't deny having the money, they just claimed that they didn't know what to do. We suggested sending the seeds, in an 'oh so polite' manner.

We had also included a self addressed and postage paid package, so they really had no problem returning our letter, or any problem reading the order. They just kept the cash. Which they had signed for upon delivery. Had they not had to sign, the story might of been different.


It's a good search engine though. I'm glad you had a look, and hope it's useful. Even if ultimately, you buy locally.


Plants are looking healthy chuckeye. You could probably push them with a bit more light.

 

[Chuckeye]

I wouldn't send cash, but you may be able to purchase what the UK calls a postal order, or in the US a money order. It's like buying a cheque, anonymously. With a traceable receipt, and they can be crossed so that only the recipient can cash them.
Or, you can just use their search engine, then buy from elsewhere. Which is what I do.

From Spain to Canada, paid by Visa. No issues, yet

But they do encourage stealth shipping....

It's a good search engine though. I'm glad you had a look, and hope it's useful. Even if ultimately, you buy locally.

They have spoiled me with their strain info. Don't shop anywhere else that doesn't list full stain info.

Plants are looking healthy chuckeye. You could probably push them with a bit more light.

Thanks...

Depending on the plants positions, the light is anywhere from 12" - 18" @ 100% and 90 F.

Cheers

 

[Ca++]

Have you switched the the HPS now?

The HPS could give you 50% more light. It's also a softer light for them. They will grow larger leaves with thinner surfaces, more able to catch the light available.

Given a few years, most growers abandoned the MH. Choosing to instead suffer the quicker stretch of HPS, knowing to was ultimately filling the canopy quicker, an growth below might be cut off anyway. You are not trying for a canopy here though, so certainly while they were grouped, in veg, the MH is useful. 4 foot enclosure height? you could stack two crops to reach your ceiling. Easily done with LED, but commendable with HID