Indoor ACE run - multiple strains

[Range]

This week I have been working on top dressing the plants in flower as I could tell they and the soil needed some feeding. I made a top dress mixture based on a recommendation from the BuildASoil website, slightly modified to suit what deficiencies I was noticing in my plants. It is (per 5 gallon pot):

- 1 tablespoon kelp meal
- 4 tablespoons gypsum
- 1/4 cup seabird guano (0-11-0)
- 1/4 cup "Power Pellets" (pelleted alfalfa and other goodies)

I worked this mixture lightly into the top of each pot, and then added a huge helping of home made worm castings, probably equivalent to about 3 or 4 cups per plant. Watered in with liquid seaweed and molasses, and topped with organic sugar cane mulch which I pre-soaked in water with added molasses.

All plants have stopped stretching, the Panama and Tikal being the last to finish. They were about the same height when I flipped them and finished roughly the same height after the stretch, with the Tikal about 4 inches higher than the Panama. It is 5 weeks exactly since the flip to 12/12.

Flowering the plants has really made the different structures of each plant obvious. The Panama has very thick and sturdy stems and is quite columnar in it's growth. The leaves on the Panama also seems to have changed from being quite wide and resembling more of an indica than a sativa, to being much thinner. The Tikal ended up quite lanky with long lengths between the nodes. The Snow Moon is very stout and columnar, as is the Violeta. The Bubba Hash got taller than I thought it would, and also filled out nicely. Finally, the PCK didn't stretch all that much but appears to be setting the groundwork for some chunky buds. We shall see.

In the veg tent are the Congo, Orient Express and Kali China. I noticed what appear to be male preflowers on the Orient Express this morning (9 weeks from seed) so it appears that the end will soon be near for that plant, but I may even leave it until flower just to confirm, because the suspected male preflowers were TINY and I'd like to confirm my suspicions before I do away with that plant. It was grown from a regular seed.

The Congo and Kali China are both feminised, fingers crossed there are no surprises there.

Panama and Tikal

Snow Moon and Violeta

Bubba Hash and PCK

Orient Express

Congo

 

[Range]

Kali China

I did a pic of the flower tent last week so here is the veg tent for this week:

 

[DNM1]

Kali China
View Image

I did a pic of the flower tent last week so here is the veg tent for this week:
View Image

Fantastic stuff Range.May I ask a technical question, twice stopped myself acquiring a 1.2x1.2x2.0m tent for the same reasoning(veg).Is there a cool tube involved for the lamp in your veg tent(if used with the 600W) ? or are you just with CFL in there?
Thanks

 

[Range]

Fantastic stuff Range.May I ask a technical question, twice stopped myself acquiring a 1.2x1.2x2.0m tent for the same reasoning(veg).Is there a cool tube involved for the lamp in your veg tent(if used with the 600W) ? or are you just with CFL in there?
Thanks

Thanks for the question. In that tent I am running two 130W CFL lamps with generic aluminium reflectors. They cost me about $100 each.

 

[DNM1]

Thanks for the question. In that tent I am running two 130W CFL lamps with generic aluminium reflectors. They cost me about $100 each.

Twice,(Cannabis Expo recently),came close to buying that size tent.Came out with a 250W CFL bulb with a generic aluminium reflector.....instead
Thanks R.

 

[Paddi]

Hi Range

Really nice work you are doing
Your Violeta is very beautiful


P

 

[Range]

Twice,(Cannabis Expo recently),came close to buying that size tent.Came out with a 250W CFL bulb with a generic aluminium reflector.....instead
Thanks R.

I've actually been considering buying 2x 250w or 300w CFLs to replace the 2x 130w that I'm currently running. Give them a little more light, make them grow a bit faster. They are growing well but I'm really noticing they take their time in getting big enough to be put into flower, even compared to my Mars Hydro Reflector that I used to veg under.

Hi Range

Really nice work you are doing
Your Violeta is very beautiful


P

Thank you for the kind words Paddi. Yes the Violeta is certainly the jewel in the crown at this stage. I was struck by how early the purple colour showed up, and by her very strong sweet incense terpenes that she currently has. I'm interested to see how the terpenes change with the latter stages of flowering and drying/curing.

 

[covert]

The PCK seedling pics have a variegation and twisted leaflet appearance that I have seen on a Sensi Hindu Kush in the past.

Research suggested it was TMV tobacco mosaic virus and from what I understand it is heritable in germlines.

 

[DNM1]

I've actually been considering buying 2x 250w or 300w CFLs to replace the 2x 130w that I'm currently running. Give them a little more light, make them grow a bit faster. They are growing well but I'm really noticing they take their time in getting big enough to be put into flower, even compared to my Mars Hydro Reflector that I used to veg under.




Thank you for the kind words Paddi. Yes the Violeta is certainly the jewel in the crown at this stage. I was struck by how early the purple colour showed up, and by her very strong sweet incense terpenes that she currently has. I'm interested to see how the terpenes change with the latter stages of flowering and drying/curing.

I have a small ceramic heater fan directed to the rooting system, keeping it warm(two to three hours in the 12/12 cycle).Seems to assist plant's growth when using the 250W CFL which has pleasantly surprised me since I first use yesterday

 

[Range]

The PCK seedling pics have a variegation and twisted leaflet appearance that I have seen on a Sensi Hindu Kush in the past.

Research suggested it was TMV tobacco mosaic virus and from what I understand it is heritable in germlines.

I initially thought it was a pH issue, but the plant still hasn't seemed to grow out of it yet and it is well into flower, so perhaps this is the case.

I have a small ceramic heater fan directed to the rooting system, keeping it warm(two to three hours in the 12/12 cycle).Seems to assist plant's growth when using the 250W CFL which has pleasantly surprised me since I first use yesterday

Just a couple of degrees extra can make all the difference, can't it? I notice the plants growing much faster on the days where it gets to 26 - 28 celcius in the tent.

 

[Range]

Things are continuing to tick along nicely in the flower tent. The only exception is that the Panama and Tikal both appear to be fading fast, although they are approaching 6 weeks in flower now.

I have been feeding them to the point where the top leaves are looking quite lush - deep green and shiny, even with a tiny bit of clawing, but nothing is stopping the fade from the bottom up, so I am going with the assumption it is natural senescence. Certainly there doesn't appear to be any deficiencies and it presents as a gradual, even yellowing of the leaves. So I will continue to feed as I see they need it and otherwise let them do their thing!

All the plants are stacking up now, the Violeta and Snow Moon have filled out a little bit, as has the Bubba Hash. The PCK is a little behind as it was put into flower later, but it is still developing okay considering it a little undersized (because I didn't veg it for as long as I could have). The Panama and Tikal are starting to fluff up a bit and develop their bud sites more now that they have finished stretching.

All plants except the Tikal have trichomes now and the smells are amazing, and in fact some are quite similar to one another. I find the Panama and Violeta to be very close in smell at this stage, a nice lemony/incense aroma. I try not to get too excited early on in flower though, as I've had some plants smell amazing at week 5 only to change quite dramatically and turn out pretty average by the time it comes to harvest them.

I'll be flipping the Orient Express and the Congo tonight, as well as the rest of the plants in that room (Dutch Passion Skunk #11, Karma Tha Melon, Bodhi Lazy Lightning, Karma Cookie Crash, CBD Crew Therapy, DNA Kosher Tangie, Karma Road Dawg). The exception is the Kali China (and Dinafem Blue Cheese) as they need a little longer in veg and I have a nice sized clone tent I will run them in for 2 - 3 weeks longer.

Watering has been either full or half strength liquid seaweed and liquid guano with molasses for the flower tent, and simply molasses for the veg tent. Temps have been favourable at between 20 - 30 degrees depending on outside conditions and whether the lights are on or off. Humidity has been higher this past week, between about 50 - 75%.

Congo, Kali China and Orient Express

Panama

Tikal

Snow Moon and Violeta

PCK

 

[Range]

Bubba Hash

Bonus picture for this week - Bodhi's Angelica. It's Hells Angels OG x ('88 G13 x Hash Plant). I popped 1x regular seed and late in veg it looked to be very OG leaning, and my suspicions were confirmed when I put it into flower. Now at almost six weeks it has that classic "hand grenades on sticks" type structure, with those lovely leathery-looking shiny dark green leaves. More subtle smell than I expected though, hints of lemon and hash.

 

[DNM1]

I initially thought it was a pH issue, but the plant still hasn't seemed to grow out of it yet and it is well into flower, so perhaps this is the case.




Just a couple of degrees extra can make all the difference, can't it? I notice the plants growing much faster on the days where it gets to 26 - 28 celcius in the tent.

They seem to thrive at a constant 25/26C.Once or twice a week,I myself let them have 28C for a couple of hours here and there.Same with night temps.Normally around 17/19C,will sometimes go up to 20/21C.Minute clicks
It's observations I'm sharing my friend,but,yes they seem to love that extra heat, but not prolonged.It might stress upper part of plant,not allowing, especially after watering,for rooting system to catch up and work in sync with the rest
Just saw photos.Beautiful

 

[dubi]

Lovely updates Range

Enjoying a lot watching your show! You got really classic phenos of each strain, the Violeta with its unmistakable intense colors, fast flowering, good yield and easiness of growing, the Snow Moon white Orient Express hashplant indica pheno, very fast flowering too and resinous, Bubba Hash with its consistent afghani expression of very dense resinous buds, the pure PCK with its exotic and coloful structure and delicate juicy flowers, and the more sativa strains Panama and Tikal which will start to show better their potential and qualities of their flowers from now onwards.

Wish you are enjoying so far!

 

[Range]

Lovely updates Range

Enjoying a lot watching your show! You got really classic phenos of each strain, the Violeta with its unmistakable intense colors, fast flowering, good yield and easiness of growing, the Snow Moon white Orient Express hashplant indica pheno, very fast flowering too and resinous, Bubba Hash with its consistent afghani expression of very dense resinous buds, the pure PCK with its exotic and coloful structure and delicate juicy flowers, and the more sativa strains Panama and Tikal which will start to show better their potential and qualities of their flowers from now onwards.

Wish you are enjoying so far!

Thanks for your insight dubi, I enjoyed reading your expert opinion on the different phenos that I have. The exciting thing for me is that this is only the first time I have run ACE genetics, there are still many more seeds in the fridge which I am looking forward to trying in subsequent grows!

 

[Range]

Seven weeks into flowering for the Panama, Tikal and Violeta. The Bubba Hash and PCK are about a week behind. All plants are really starting to chunk up now, and Dubi was spot-on when he commented last week that the Panama and Tikal will start to fill out as that's exactly what has happened this past week.

Temperatures have been a little hotter than ideal, but it's the middle of summer here, so that's to be expected.

Still battling pH issues that are plaguing the Panama. It's strange as the Panama, Tikal, and Angelica are all showing phosphorous deficiencies, whereas the rest of the plants aren't, however they are in the exact same soil mix and get the exact same pH'd water. I guess some plants handle it better than others. Nevertheless, I do the best I can and look to improve every grow.

All of the plants that were in veg up until last week have now been flipped to 12/12. The Orient Express was definitely a male so that's been pulled, which means the Congo (feminised) and the Kali China (feminised) are the last two remaining ACE plants that I'll be running this season. The Kali China is in a smaller clone tent just vegging out for a bit longer as that seed was planted a few weeks behind the Congo.

Also, it looks as though apart from the Orient Express, all the rest of the regulars are male. That means 5 out of 5 males in that tent. Mixed feelings on that, but every grower knows there's a chance something like that could happen with regular seeds. Plus, I can't complain as this season I've planted 11 regular seeds and ended up with 6 males and 5 females, pretty close to what probability would dictate. Further, the whole reason I planted the Kali China and a Dinafem Blue Cheese (also feminised) was just in case something like this happened, so I'm pleased I planned for that contingency.

I took some closer shots of the buds for this weeks photos.

Panama

Tikal

Snow Moon (L) and Violeta (R)

PCK (Note the "frost taco" sugar leaves)

 

[Range]

Bubba Hash

Congo

No pic of the Kali China for this week, I just tied her down with some LST today and will post an updated pic next week.

The whole gang in flowering tent number 1:

 

[Cakeboy]

Looking good man!

 

[Range]

Eight weeks in to flower for the Panama, Tikal and Violeta. A week or two behind for the Snow Moon, PCK and Bubba Hash. Everything is continuing to pack on the mass right now, buds getting bigger and fatter.

I've been feeding them at nearly every water, with liquid seaweed, guano and molasses.

The Violeta has just this week started to develop a nice fade and some slight foxtailing on the bids. Such a beautiful deep rich colour.

The terpenes are amazing on all plants. A combination of great genetics and organic soil, in my opinion. I can't stop myself from rubbing the sugar leaves of each plant and pausing to smell their intoxicating aromas every time I'm working in the tent.

The Congo was flipped two weeks ago and looks to be stacking up nicely. The Kali China I've started training to bush out a bit more, I'll run that on a bit longer to make up for the 5/5 males I had in that tent.

Congo

Snow Moon and Violeta

Panama and Tikal

PCK

Bubba Hash

 

[Range]

Kali China