Indoor ACE run - multiple strains

[Common Sense]

Incredible lineup, Range. I am following your grow closely, thought it would be about the time for your weekly report yesterday evening - and here it is
Your plants are looking very healthy and you managed to fill out the space of your tent perfectly. I will be interested in the smoke reports of all the different strains, especially in the Kali China later on. Your Kali China seems to be a slightly different pheno than mine, but I did no early lst. I am definitely planning to grow more Kali China and with a much longer veg than the two weeks. After all, all I have used so far are the bonus seeds from the 5pack.

 

[Range]

Incredible lineup, Range. I am following your grow closely, thought it would be about the time for your weekly report yesterday evening - and here it is
Your plants are looking very healthy and you managed to fill out the space of your tent perfectly. I will be interested in the smoke reports of all the different strains, especially in the Kali China later on. Your Kali China seems to be a slightly different pheno than mine, but I did no early lst. I am definitely planning to grow more Kali China and with a much longer veg than the two weeks. After all, all I have used so far are the bonus seeds from the 5pack.

I did go pretty all-out with what I selected to grow this time around, but it's paid off so far, and I'm enjoying updating the grow report each week and chronicling the journey.

I just checked the Kali China before, and she'll be ready to flower in about 1.5 weeks, which makes her probably about 11 weeks from seed. Uncharacteristically of me, I forgot to note when I planted the seed, but I worked out a rough date based on how far behind she was from the first lot of seeds I put in.

Small leaves and lots of branching would describe her. Is this the Chinese Yunnan coming through?

 

[Range]

Things are cruising along in the final few weeks for many of the plants. I'm noticing a decent fade on the Violeta, and some of the hashplants have started to lighten up now as well.

I think I have addressed the issue with the Panama cannabilising herself, she seems to be a bit happier and I haven't noticed any advance on the deficiencies in the past week or so.

The Violeta and Bubba Hash are looking close to ready, they have some amber trichomes on the sugar leaves but still too many half-clear half-cloudy ones on the buds for my liking. The Bubba Hash has hardly any white pistils which of course is a sign that she is getting close but she's not quite done yet.

I should also mention - it's challenging to check the trichomes on the Violeta due to the lack of contrast between them and the leaf colour!

I checked my dates, and they are as follows:

9 weeks - Panama, Tikal, Violeta
8 weeks - Bubba Hash
7 weeks - PCK, Snow Moon
3 weeks - Congo
12-13ish weeks of veg - Kali China

So I have been feeding the more advanced ones everything they need, most waterings have still been pH'd to around 6.5 with molasses, liquid seaweed and (liquid guano if required). We've had some really hot and humid weather here this past week, and I have not put a dehumidifier into the space where I am growing, so as far as mould prevention goes, I am relying on air flow and the fact that all plants have smaller main colas as they were topped multiple times before going into flower. So far I haven't noticed any sign of rot.

Pics of everything but the Kali China this week which is still in veg.

Congo - stacking up and up and up

Violeta

Snow Moon

PCK - nice purple hues

Tikal - a little overfed but otherwise going okay

 

[Range]

Bubba Hash

Panama - buds definitely fattening in size in the last week

 

[Range]

The Violeta has been harvested at 10 weeks. She is such a deep rich purple colour, very nice indeed, looking forward to tasting her when she is fully cured.

I also harvested the Bubba Hash, which was taken at 9 weeks. She started showing a few amber trichomes this past week and with the pistils all but browned off, I felt she was ready.

The rest of the plants continue to bulk up, except for the PCK which I think is nearing harvest time. Hasn't filled out much and yield will be very small, but I'm hoping the quality will make up for the lack of quantity.

The Snow Moon will be ready very soon, just running her out a little more as she's still putting on a little mass, but has pretty much stopped drinking water and will likely be harvested within the next 10 - 14 days.

Yesterday I also flipped the Kali China into flower, I don't have a pic of her this week either but will have one for next week. I trained her a bit more heavily than the others, hoping for many tops and a larger bush.

Violeta

Violeta bud

Bubba Hash

Bubba Hash bud

Congo

 

[Range]

Snow Moon

Panama foreground, Tikal at the back

PCK

 

[dubi]

Amazing job Range

Congrats on your first ACE Seeds harvest. Glad you are close to finally experience the finished product of our genetics.

Love the outcome of Snow Moon, Violeta and Bubba Hash.
Excellent phenos and results, you can be proud!

The pure PCK is really resinous Really nice female, and it's very interesting to be able to compare pure PCK with her hybrids (Violeta and Snow Moon) in the same growing cycle.

Panama and Tikal seem to be catching up very well too.

Sorry to hear you have only found males in the latest regular seeds you have germinated. The high indoor summer temps most of the times produce a higher male ratio than expected.

Wish you the best with the Congo and Kali China that are just starting the flowering!

 

[Range]

Amazing job Range

Congrats on your first ACE Seeds harvest. Glad you are close to finally experience the finished product of our genetics.

Love the outcome of Snow Moon, Violeta and Bubba Hash.
Excellent phenos and results, you can be proud!

The pure PCK is really resinous Really nice female, and it's very interesting to be able to compare pure PCK with her hybrids (Violeta and Snow Moon) in the same growing cycle.

Panama and Tikal seem to be catching up very well too.

Sorry to hear you have only found males in the latest regular seeds you have germinated. The high indoor summer temps most of the times produce a higher male ratio than expected.

Wish you the best with the Congo and Kali China that are just starting the flowering!

Thanks Dubi, everything is still curing but I am very much looking forward to trying it, as you can imagine!

 

[Range]

About time for another update.

The Snow Moon and PCK were both harvested a few days ago which is 9 weeks total flowering (from when the lights were flipped).

The PCK, as already stated, is a fairly low yielder but smells really good. Sort of like a creamy, berry aroma. The Snow Moon had some really nice fat colas and solid smaller nugs all the way to the bottom. I normally lollipop the plants around week 3 of flower but this time I let them do their own thing, just to get a feel for the structure of the plants, and in the case of the Snow Moon I'm glad I left her alone, as it would have been a shame to miss out on the extra nugs down the bottom.

The Congo and Kali China are coming along nicely in flower. It seems as though the Congo likes to be fed, I've fed her pretty hard and haven't noticed any burnt tips but have backed off the feeding now due to the stage she's at in flower, and I'm giving her simply molasses and a little bit of liquid guano (up until now I was also giving her fish emulsion and liquid seaweed).

The Panama and Tikal are still continuing to chunk up. They are losing leaves and look a little ragged, but I've just left them on the plant at this point, I'm not too worried about the aesthetics. The Tikal was definitely overfed at some point and shows clear evidence in the burnt tips, but I've been feeding her nothing at all for the last 3 or 4 weeks and the overfeeding symptoms appear to have slowed right down.

The Violeta and Bubba Hash continue to cure in the jar, I think they are just under 70 percent humidity at the moment. I like to cure down to around 62 percent stable at approx 20 degrees, and then put a 62% Boveda pack in the jar for the long term.

Tikal and Panama

Congo

Kali China

PCK

 

[Range]

Snow Moon

 

[vcasqui]

wow, very pretty flowers you have there Range. Nice job indeed.

I look forward to read the smoke reports!

 

[Range]

Been a while since I last posted an update. Things are pretty busy right now, but I want to see this out.

The Bubba Hash, Violeta, PCK and Snow Moon are all curing nicely.

I wanted to touch on the Violeta, as I have been vaping some lately. That is the only one I've sampled so far. The taste is very smooth, not as "sweet" as other strains, but much smoother and mellower than I was expecting with a nice "rounded" and pleasant floral vibe.

The high is very nice. I use it for the afternoon. It's good for this time of day, because it is extremely clear and kind, but quite relaxing. Initially it comes on without any "jitteryness" like some strains. It hits one very pleasantly, lifting you up and relaxing you at the same time. After about an hour or so it settles into a comfortable warmth that for the next three hours or so is extremely effective for stilling an over-active mind if you are experiencing some anxieties or worries. It allows you to focus on your day and relax, but without it being debilitating and nailing you to the couch or limiting motivation. So in my opinion it's what a good hybrid should be, you can have this any time of day and it would work in with whatever you are doing. The other nice aspect is that when it wears off, you do not feel sleepy or lethargic. Definitely something I will keep on hand because to me it's the definition of a gentle and very "caring" strain, enhancing your daily activities. Well done to Ace, I really can't wait to try some of the other strains.

The Panama will be harvested this week sometime, and possibly the Tikal. I think they are about 14 or 15 weeks. Night temperatures have been dropping to 11 degrees at the lowest, and so this has meant the plants are finishing slower than they could be. Both have faded pretty nicely and dropped most of their fan leaves. Trichs are looking good, the Panama has a couple of amber here and there, the Tikal looks to be about 1 to 1.5 weeks behind with some half-clear half-cloudy trichs still, but I may err on the side of picking her slightly earlier. She looks to be a big yielder with a very different smell to her, a strong "savoury" character to the terpenes.

The Kali China I have been picking ball sacks off every day when I check the plants. I've found quite a few and I'm not sure what is causing it, but I think if I keep checking each day I should be able to get it over the line to harvest time. It's frosting up nicely and seems to have taken on a classic Indica look to the buds, with a leafy structure. I think from the look of it the yield will be decent, provided it doesn't blow up with many more ball sacks and I have to discard it.

The Congo is foxtailing all over the place and has popped one "nanner" within one of the buds, but other than that seems to be going pretty well. It still looks to have at least 3 or 4 weeks to go, possibly longer as the temperatures cool down.

I'll try and get some shots of the plants up soon, as well as some shots of the buds from the earlier ones once they are cured.

 

[Range]

Harvested the Panama last night. She still has a couple of white pistils, mainly on the top third of the buds, but most of the pistils have died off, especially on the lower buds. The majority of the trichomes are cloudy, with a couple of amber here and there.

Anyone care to guess which pheno I might have? Either way, she yielded extremely well, considering the cooler lights out temperatures lately. Smells nice, a sort of subtle lemonade aroma. Can't wait to try it in a few weeks!

Here is the Tikal, at 15 weeks. Still needs another 5 - 7 days but is fading nicely and the buds are huge and very dense.

The Congo is coming along, also fading but still pushing out masses of pistils, which interestingly many of the pistils are a similar washed-out purple colour to the pistils on the PCK and I am assuming that's because it has some PCK in it.

Finally the Kali China, looking to keep picking the pollen sacs off and get her over the finish line!

 

[Range]

Tikal has been harvested, 15 weeks from when flipped to 12/12. She has an amazing peach incense smell which from what I read is characteristic of this strain. Very good yield, only slightly smaller than the Panama, but not by much. Currently curing in jars after drying for a week, and I'm trying to wait until at least another week or two before I sample some. No pics as she looked pretty similar to the previous photo from harvest time.

Congo was harvested last night. She went 11 weeks and really purpled out during the last week. Good yielder with buds all the way top to bottom. The topmost buds have some foxtailing which gives them a very different and intricate look. Will be interested to try some in a few weeks time.

Lastly, the Kali China continues towards harvest time. Smells incency, yield won't be massive but I only grow for me personally so that's no problem. She does look very frosty and is starting to fade and purple with the cooler temperatures too.

Congo

Kali China

 

[mcoocoo]

Low outside temperatures continued for the past week, our maximum daytime temperatures have been over 6 degrees below average and our nighttime temperatures over 4 degrees below average for this time of year. Despite that, I've managed to keep the room between 17 and 21 degrees throughout the day and night which is mostly thanks to the 600w HPS running in the flower tent alongside this one. The warmth from the HPS can be very useful at times.

I went ahead and topped everything a second time at the top branches (except for the PCK which I have left for now). The slower than expected growth in veg (simply because of the lower temperatures) means that I have more time to consider how I want to grow them and decided that I would like a few more tops and slightly bushier plants.

The Panama and Tikal are both around 20-25cm tall, I expect I'll let them veg for another week or two then flip them. I'll let the more indica-dominant plants veg so that there are a few more nodes developed and probably flip just after Christmas but we'll see, it depends if they start growing a bit faster, as temperatures here are forecast to heat up a little next week.

As far as the PCK is concerned, I really do think it's the pH of my soil (and water) that is causing the issues. Instead of using vinegar to pH the water I have switched to phosphoric acid, which seems to hold the pH of the water down better. I am pH'ing it to about 5.5 - 6 at the moment, and it slowly drifts up by about 0.5 pH each day. As the water comes out of the tap it is well over 8.0 - very high!

I also tested the pH of my soil, which is around 7.5 and so that is not ideal either. Most of the plants look happy but I conclude at this stage that the PCK is simply more sensitive to the high pH / pH swings.

Interestingly, I noticed that another ACE grower on here, chiesesganja, has a plant that looks extremely similar to my stunded PCK. It shows the same issue with the leaves. The plant is the one in the bottom left of the photo in this post:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=8702997&postcount=63

I took some closeup pics this week for a change. The Violeta in particular is doing so well, such a vigorous and aesthetic plant in veg, I am excited to see what it does in flower. It could well be a male, but either way I am pleased to see such nice growth. The Bubba Hash, Snow Moon, Panama and Tikal are all doing great, as are the non-ACE strains (Bodhi's Angelica, Mandala's Hashberry and Rishi Kush).

As far as watering goes, nothing too fancy, just pH'd water with a little molasses for now.

I also planted seeds for my second run recently. I put in a Congo (fem), Orient Express (reg) and also Kali China (fem). I had some issues with the Kali China germinating but I am going to buy some more and try again with them, I've heard too many great things to miss out on growing the Kali China. The Congo and Orient Express are doing great and are about 2 weeks from sprout (no pictures as there's not much to see yet).

Here are some pictures:

Snow Moon
View Image

Bubba Hash (L) & Panama (R)
View Image

Tikal
View Image

Violeta
View Image

Pakistan Chitral Kush
View Image

How do you test the pH of your soil? I do it by making a slurry of water/soil? Also, how did that Bubba Hash turn out? I have a couple of 3 packs of them as well. Thanks

 

[Range]

How do you test the pH of your soil? I do it by making a slurry of water/soil? Also, how did that Bubba Hash turn out? I have a couple of 3 packs of them as well. Thanks

I use a soil pH test kit, you can get them for under $20 and they have enough solution for a great many test per kit. It's simple, easy, and as accurate as I need it to be. The brand of kit I have is Manutec and I brought it from the local hardware store, most nurseries sell them also.

The Bubba Hash turned out very nice. Yield was about average, but the buds were rock hard as you'd expect, and it has a nice strong relaxing effect. I've grown out Karma's White Beelze Bubba a couple of times and compared to that the Bubba Hash pheno that I grew was more hashplant-leaning, but it did still have some characteristics of the Bubba Kush in the smell and shape of the buds.

Some of the other similar plants I grew alongside the Bubba Hash this season were Snow Moon, PCK, Mandala's Hashberry, Bodhi's Angelica, and Nirvana's Aurora Indica. So far for me the standouts are the Bubba Kush, the Hashberry (absolutely AMAZING smell, and the taste when vaped is incredible), and Angelica (great for night time and sleeping).

Overall I will be growing the Bubba Hash again.

 

[dubi]

Thanks a lot for the updates and for your insights Range
It has been a pleasure to follow your progresses with the different genetics and to see your grow come to a good end

I really like the expressions of your more sativa strains. The Panama with her huge colas of great flower/leaf ratio and signature lemony terpenes.
Very happy you also found the peach incensey pheno in your Tikal Those are classic and very desirable phenos from these 2 Central American sativa strains.

Your Congo has also shown a very sativa longer flowering and foxtailed expression (with the obvious PCK touch).
Phenos like yours are my favorite regarding terpenes, effects and sativa qualities in the finished product from this Congo hybrid, and are usually the better yieldings too.

Sorry to hear the Kali China threw some male flowers (please send me a pm or email and i will send you a replacement).
Glad to see you managed to keep under control the problem. How is the nose on her in late flowering ?
You said incensey, is fruity creamy incensey or dark meaty organic incensey ?

Wish you enjoy a with your well deserved harvest.
To experience such different strains for the first time should be a really pleasant amusement during these days of forced confinement.

 

[Range]

Thanks a lot for the updates and for your insights Range
It has been a pleasure to follow your progresses with the different genetics and to see your grow come to a good end

I really like the expressions of your more sativa strains. The Panama with her huge colas of great flower/leaf ratio and signature lemony terpenes.
Very happy you also found the peach incensey pheno in your Tikal Those are classic and very desirable phenos from these 2 Central American sativa strains.

Your Congo has also shown a very sativa longer flowering and foxtailed expression (with the obvious PCK touch).
Phenos like yours are my favorite regarding terpenes, effects and sativa qualities in the finished product from this Congo hybrid, and are usually the better yieldings too.

Sorry to hear the Kali China threw some male flowers (please send me a pm or email and i will send you a replacement).
Glad to see you managed to keep under control the problem. How is the nose on her in late flowering ?
You said incensey, is fruity creamy incensey or dark meaty organic incensey ?

Wish you enjoy a with your well deserved harvest.
To experience such different strains for the first time should be a really pleasant amusement during these days of forced confinement.

Thanks Dubi. The Kali China is definitely the darky meaty organic incency type. It is just about done too, I will harvest within the next few days. I rubbed one of the sugar leaves the other day and it was very obvious to me why it was described (I think on your website) as having a "grill meats" smell! Yes, very organic and rich smelling, hard for me to think of a similar strain it resembles that I have grown before.

It has been a pleasure to grow so many ACE varieties for the first time this season. As far as the sativa varieties go, the Congo continues to cure (I have not tried it yet) and the Tikal and Panama are wonderful. The Panama is so strong, such a dense and heavy effect although not too debilitating (at least not in the quantities I am consuming it), and the Tikal has an incredible taste and very friendly effect. I'm already considering which varieties to plant for next season!

 

[Range]

Everything is all wrapped up for this season now, with the exception of the Kali China curing at the moment. It's about 67% humidity in the jar and burping once a day for about an hour in order to lower the humidity to around 62%, at which point I'll drop a Boveda pack in and put it in my esky for storage (after splitting some into a wide mouth half pint for the daily stash).

I am still in the process of trying each one, in either a joint or with my Sticky Brick Runt vaporiser (highly recommended by the way). I aim over the next short while to post some bud shots and thoughts on each strain.

Kali China at harvest time, which was pretty much 9 weeks. Super tight nuggets, amazing smell.

 

[dubi]

Congrats on your harvests Range

Looking forward to know your opinion on the different tastes and effects you are getting from your flowers!