Blue Star OG pheno hunt winner in a PPK system

[greyfader]

i recently conducted a pheno hunt of BlueStarSeedco's cross of Blue Star x Triangle Kush. This consisted of 50 seeds of which 48 popped within 2 days. 36 were selected and of these 12 were flowered.

they all had good potency but this one has great potency and the strongest flavor profile. citrus fuel up front with a floral perfume back.

they were transplanted from 2.5 quart passive wick-fed containers into an active powered ppk system yesterday morning.

i hope you enjoy the show!

 

[Creeperpark]

i recently conducted a pheno hunt of BlueStarSeedco's cross of Blue Star x Triangle Kush. This consisted of 50 seeds of which 48 popped within 2 days. 36 were selected and of these 12 were flowered.

they all had good potency but this one has great potency and the strongest flavor profile. citrus fuel up front with a floral perfume back.

they were transplanted from 2.5 quart passive wick-fed containers into an active powered ppk system yesterday morning.

i hope you enjoy the show!

This is going to be fun to watch. Thanks for sharing your work friend.

 

[greyfader]

today marks 2 weeks since the transplant so i thought i would show the progress.

both plants, then i have the reflectix covers off of the pots to check root growth.

then two of the sophisticated control module consisting of 2 of these.



these have repeat cycle capability and have been quite reliable. best of all, they are cheap.

one fires 2 eco 185 pumps connected to the 2 halos. they deliver 1/2 gal in 15 seconds every 2 hours. total run time 3 minutes per day.

the other fires 2 magdrive 700's one in each pool crossing over to the other pool. they exchange 1/2 the solution in each pool every 2 hours in one minute for a total run time of 12 minutes per day. the hoses are submerged at both ends maintaining a siphon that equalizes the solution level at 3". These are 5 ft kiddie pools from walmart.

the medium is #2 perlite and has been used several times. i float it in a pool to clean it and eliminate fines.

these are 7 gal feed tubs from tractor supply.

there is approximately 6 gals of perlite and 3 lbs of worm castings in each. there is also an 18 oz solo cup full of diatomaceous earth mixed into the medium. diatomaceous earth is amorphous silicon dioxide and is plant-available and taken up by the roots.

perlite alone has no cec but these two substances provide a substantial cec so the solution is well buffered.

the mix comes out to about 30% air-filled porosity and is free-flowing yet retains water well.

there is a float valve in each pool being fed by an elevated 30-gallon Rubbermaid brute trash can.

the first 12 days i used a 1.4 ec nutrient solution and about 700 umols of light then brought the ec up to 1.8 and the light to 1000 umols. i'm giving them 6 hours on and 6 hours off around the clock but alternating so only one is on at a time but the room is never dark.

the pots are 7 inches above the bottom of the pools and with a 3" solution level there is maintained a 4" air gap between the bottom of the pots and the solution. there is a 3" diameter tube extending from the pot into the solution below. this tube is also filled with perlite and draws solution upward between top watering events. the tube positively drains the perched water table immediately after each pulsed delivery of solution leaving no standing water in the pot.

the top of the medium is 13" above the floor.

the next 3 pics show how the pots are built.

i use Jack's 3-2-1 formula as a base with 1 ml gal of mr fulvic and a heaping tsp of kelp powder per each 30 gals. ph down is 85% phosphoric acid. ph and ec are extremely stable throughout the grow.

i do not dump any solution during a grow. it is all input only. a recirculating, closed, soilless system known as the PPK.

the lights are 1008 watts each made from household light bulbs with the diffusers cut off. in veg i run 5000k only through stretch up to the end of the third week of flower.

i then use all 2700k warm whites with incandescent bulbs to supply more dark red, far-red, and some infrared.

the last pic shows the approximate spectral distribution of the combined warm whites and the incandescents.

that's all folks!

 

[Miraculous Meds]

Excellent start as always my friend. Looking forward to how you dial her in. Im running 2 of my bsog keepers back indoors and out.

 

[greyfader]

Excellent start as always my friend. Looking forward to how you dial her in. Im running 2 of my bsog keepers back indoors and out.

it is an aggressive plant and responds well to being pushed. after experiencing the stretch with the seedlings i decided to top early. i left 6 strong branches and they are spreading out instead of going up. i left the inner shoots on and they have responded by going upward and filling in the canopy.

since applying 1000 umols of light using 6 on and 6 off they are getting a DLI of approximately 43-44 moles per day. feeding ec 2 or 1000 ppm at the .5 conversion. using 5000k light only right now and producing a compact structure with tight node spacing.

delivering 1/2 gal of solution every 2 hours with a 4" air gap seems to be the sweet spot when using perlite with worm castings and DE. not a spot on them or any nutrient disorders, just lush, green growth.

this one was born to run. and it is an excellent smoke! thank you!

 

[greyfader]

today is 3 weeks since the transplant from the 2.5-quart containers to these 7-gal ones.

i'm going to flower them now. i was going to wait another week but i will be moving out of this house by the 1st of december so i need them done by then.

i've decided to use the 12/12 schedule this time instead of the 8/16 that i used in the pheno hunt.

just a few pics to show the progress. they are visually perfect. no spots or yellowing or signs of any nutrient disorders.

i've taken 12 clones, 6 from each plant, from the bottom branches. they have been fed 1000 ppm or ec2 and given 1000 umols of light for the last 9 days.

they are strong, vigorous plants.

 

[Rocket Soul]

Pulling up a seat.

 

[Gato420]

Interesting setup.

 

[growsjoe1]

grayfader - delta9nxs
Always killin' it with the PPK...a pleasure to watch this unfold.

respect

 

[greyfader]

someone has asked for comparison pics to illustrate growth rate. 3 weeks from the transplant.

 

[Rocket Soul]

Hey Greyfader.
Have you got any advice on what nutes to use in a ppk if Jacks is not available (like here in euro)? Is there anything that runs stable enough in a recirculating system and also cost effective (if possible)?

 

[greyfader]

Haifa Fertilizers is based in Israel and has dealers throughout Europe. their Poly-Feed line of fertilizers is water soluble greenhouse grade. greenhouse grade just means that it is designed to be used in drip irrigation schemes and won't cake or clog injectors or drip lines.

on this page, they show several formulas for soilless.

Poly-Feed GG – Water soluble fertilizer - Haifa Group

Poly-Feed GG is a range of fertilizers for soil and soilless greenhouse crops, enriched with micronutrients, that provide complete plant nutrition

www.haifa-group.com

Formulae for soilless media:​

��

0.5 g/l	1 g/l	1.5 g/l	2 g/l	3 g/l	1 g/l
Formula	K2O/N ratio	N-NO3 (%)	N-NH4 (%)	SO3 (%)	EC (mS/cm)	pH
18-18-18	1.0	10.2	7.8	-	0.78	1.16	1.72	2.26	3.30	5.9
20-9-20	1.0	12	8	-	0.72	1.16	1.69	2.16	3.12	5.3
17-10-27	1.6	11.3	5.7	-	0.72	1.16	1.70	2.25	3.29	5.6
16-8-32	2.0	11.7	4.3	-	0.78	1.17	1.70	2.26	3.33	5.9
14-10-34	2.4	10.8	3.2	-	0.58	1.07	1.61	2.14	3.12	5.8
11-12-33+2MgO	3.0	9	2	3.9	0.60	1.12	1.65	2.20	3.10	5.7
11-8-34+2MgO	3.1	9.5	1.5	3.9	0.66	1.10	1.60	2.10	3.10	5.7
9-12-36+3MgO	4.0	9.0	-	5.8	0.60	1.10	1.60	2.10	3.05	5.3
9-10-38+3MgO	4.4	9.0	-	3.9	0.62	1.12	1.60	2.10	3.05	5.6

Additional formulae are available upon order of minimum quantity

the last 2 entries show no nh4. one of these 2 should work in conjunction with calcium nitrate. you want to get the version of calcium nitrate known as calcinit which is totally water soluble. the base formulas do not contain any calcium. they do contain the micronutrients.

the calcinit adds calcium and a small amount of ammonium nitrate nh4 but is predominantly the nitrate no3 form. this allows you to add to the base formula nitrate level to fine-tune the total amount of nitrogen.

i use Yara Liva calcinit with Jack's. It is also available in Europe. but Haifa sells a version too. you may have to add magnesium sulfate as well but that is commonly found in most drugstores and supermarkets.

always mix the base formula into the solution first, then any additional mag sulfate, if needed, and last the calcinit to avoid nutrient precipitation.

because Haifa is based in Israel they have cannabis experience. i could not find out which formula they recommend from their website but you may be able to contact them to get a recommendation.

on this page, there is a dealer locator.

this link discusses cannabis but does not recommend any specific formula.

The science of medical cannabis nutrition | Haifa Group

www.haifa-group.com

 

[growsjoe1]

Ah...hell. The above post shows how informative, and detailed and and thread is going to be. I'm in. I'll be gathering up supplies and will be setting up a run. My first with ppk so the questions will be coming.

 

[greyfader]

well, it's time for the weekend update. my, how time flies!

this is 4 weeks from the transplant from 2.5 quart to 7 gal containers. in flower one week.

the conditions are;

light 1450-1500 umols for 12 hours = 62+ moles, no co2. all 5000k

950 ppm or ec1.9 in the reservoirs

ph 6.2

air temperature 82-84f lights on 75F lights off. RH 60-70%.

if you look closely you can see some slight leaf variegation. Josh from BlueStarSeedCo says the original blueberry displayed this.

this was the only plant to display variegation out of the 12 i flowered in the pheno hunt.

 

[Miraculous Meds]

Looking perfect in there!

 

[growsjoe1]

The plants look great.
I'm curious about how they look now with two weeks' stretch.

What kind of LEDs and PPFD, PAR, and Watts are the plants under?

 

[greyfader]

The plants look great.
I'm curious about how they look now with two weeks' stretch.

What kind of LEDs and PPFD, PAR, and Watts are the plants under?

i'll put up pics again tonight. i'm using household 14-watt led bulbs with the diffusers cut off.

each fixture has 72 5000k bulbs for a total of 1008 watts each. this color temp keeps the nodes tight and creates a more compact plant. defoliating a little each day increases ramification and creates more bud sites.

i run the 5000k bulbs up to the end of the stretch and then switch them out with all 2700k bulbs. and add some incandescent bulbs for some dark red, far red, and a little infrared.

i have a par meter and right now i have them around 1300 to 1500 umols ppfd depending on what part of the plant i measure.

they are getting this level of light for 12 hours for a total of about 60-62 mols per period.

below are the approx spectral distributions of various led color temps.

 

[greyfader]

here are the pics for this week. this is the end of week 5 since transplanting and the end of week two of flower.

i've just finished a training session for the day and they have not turned toward the light yet.

this is a 9-10 week strain so i have at least another 1.5 weeks of stretch left. reservoir conditions are ec1.9 or 950 ppm, ph 6.3, temperature 78f

 

[greyfader]

it's interesting to note that Advanced Nutrients gets their raw chemicals from Haifa fertilizers.

Healthy, Potent Cannabis That Passes Heavy Metal Testing Every Time

See how to cultivate large yields of potent, high-quality cannabis that passes heavy metal testing every time

www.advancednutrients.com

 

[greyfader]

today is the end of week 3 of flower and 6 weeks from the transplant into the system.

reservoir condidtions are 1000ppm or ec2 and ph is 6.2. water temp is 73f.

i've done most of the training and thinning. tomorrow i'll change the bulbs from 5000k to 2700k and add 6 25 watt incandescents.