Jack Herer Auto Seeds Mafia competition grow diary

[Cougar672]

Got some free seeds from Seeds Mafia as part of their competition (details here). I selected Jack Herer Auto and Black Cookies photoperiod from their list. The seeds (3 of each strain) arrived well packaged and in good condition. I was planning on an auto run next, so when my tent was available I planted the 3 Jack Herer auto seeds on 9-3-3023, directly into their final pots. My tent is 3 feet x 4 feet, so I had plenty of room for more plants, and I planted an additional 8 autos. They've all sprouted and are looking good.
This grow journal will focus on the Jack Herer autos, but will include some other plants when there is something noteworthy.

I have completed 4 grows, but still have a lot to learn. I am running some comparisons this grow to help me tune my autoflower growing process. All plants are in Promix HP, with15-20% additional perlite and Dynomyco mixed in.

Jack #1 is in a 3 gallon fabric pot. Jack #2 is in a 2 gallon plastic pot, and Jack #3 is in a 3 gallon plastic pot.

Other plants in this grow- all autoflowers:
Manhattan by Twenty20 Mendocino. 2 plants, each in a 2 gallon plastic pot
Poison OG by Cali Connection. 2 plants: #1 in a 3 gallon plastic pot and #2 in a 2 gallon plastic pot
Durban Sunrise by Twenty20 Mendocino: #1 in a 3 gallon plastic pot, #2 in 3 gallon fabric pot, #3 in 2 gallon plastic pot
Lilac Diesel x Zweet (unknown breeder) in a 2 gallon plastic pot

The plastic pots I'm using are Plant Warrior Pots. I have used these before and am happy with the results.

I'll be growing under a Vivosun VS200 (200w LED) on one side and a Vipar Spectra VA1200 (250w Blurple) on the other side, and I will be using FoxFarm nutrients and supplements.
BTW- In addition to the free seeds from Seeds Mafia for this competition, all other seeds in this run were also free from a seed bank and/or breeder promo when making previous purchases.
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Good luck to all participating in this competition and thank you Seeds Mafia!

 

[Kree73]

Got some free seeds from Seeds Mafia as part of their competition (details here). I selected Jack Herer Auto and Black Cookies photoperiod from their list. The seeds (3 of each strain) arrived well packaged and in good condition. I was planning on an auto run next, so when my tent was available I planted the 3 Jack Herer auto seeds on 9-3-3023, directly into their final pots. My tent is 3 feet x 4 feet, so I had plenty of room for more plants, and I planted an additional 8 autos. They've all sprouted and are looking good.
This grow journal will focus on the Jack Herer autos, but will include some other plants when there is something noteworthy.

I have completed 4 grows, but still have a lot to learn. I am running some comparisons this grow to help me tune my autoflower growing process. All plants are in Promix HP, with15-20% additional perlite and Dynomyco mixed in.

Jack #1 is in a 3 gallon fabric pot. Jack #2 is in a 2 gallon plastic pot, and Jack #3 is in a 3 gallon plastic pot.
View attachment 18888694 View attachment 18888695 View attachment 18888696 View attachment 18888700
Other plants in this grow- all autoflowers:
Manhattan by Twenty20 Mendocino. 2 plants, each in a 2 gallon plastic pot
Poison OG by Cali Connection. 2 plants: #1 in a 3 gallon plastic pot and #2 in a 2 gallon plastic pot
Durban Sunrise by Twenty20 Mendocino: #1 in a 3 gallon plastic pot, #2 in 3 gallon fabric pot, #3 in 2 gallon plastic pot
Lilac Diesel x Zweet (unknown breeder) in a 2 gallon plastic pot

The plastic pots I'm using are Plant Warrior Pots. I have used these before and am happy with the results. View attachment 18888698
I'll be growing under a Vivosun VS200 (200w LED) on one side and a Vipar Spectra VA1200 (250w Blurple) on the other side, and I will be using FoxFarm nutrients and supplements.
BTW- In addition to the free seeds from Seeds Mafia for this competition, all other seeds in this run were also free from a seed bank and/or breeder promo when making previous purchases.
.
Good luck to all participating in this competition and thank you Seeds Mafia!

Happy growing .
You have your hands full there .

 

[spigolaro]

Beautiful bro, you have a lot of meat in the smoke, an explosion of green promises ahahahaha.

 

[Cougar672]

The 3 Jack Herer autos are growing well so far. All three are 14 post days sprouting (all pants are 13-15 days post-sprout). All Jack Herers are growing their second nodes, and are holding themselves up well. The largest leaves are on Jack #1, followed by Jack #2 then Jack #3. Interestingly, even though the leaf size varies amongst the 3 plants, they are all are about the same height at 1 7/8 inches tall. The Seeds Mafia plants are growing most consistently when compared to the varieties I am growing from other breeders. While 2 Durban Poison are doing well, one has needed support to stay upright all week. Poison OG #2 is a good amount larger than #1. Manhattan #2 is the largest plant, but (excluding the runt) Manhattan #1 is the smallest plant, and has barely started her second node. Speaking of the runt, the Lilac Diesel Zweet is actually growing her second node, but is only about ½ in tall and about an inch across her gnarly leaf span. I thought I had a runt before, but I have never before seen such a sad specimen. Going to keep her going for at least a bit longer to see what happens.

They were each watered with about a cup (240ml) of tap water on Sep 12, 15. I wasn’t giving nutrients, and there’s really no nutrients in the medium, so I did not pH adjust. On Sep 17 I gave 2 cups water with some added nutes, so I started pH adjusting to about 6.0. I give this in a circular pattern around the drip line of each plant. I follow the Fox Farm nutrient schedule for soil found here. For Autos, I start with a little less than ½ strength, and gradually increase to about ¾ strength over the course of 5 or 6 weeks as long as the plants tolerate.

Today I installed the lights I will use for this grow. I was using a Mars Hydro FCE-3000 until today. I love this light for my 3x3 foot tent, but it doesn’t give me full coverage in this 3x4 foot tent. I moved a Vivosun VS200 (200w LED full spectrum) into one side and a Vipar Spectra VA1200 (250w Blurple) on the other side of the tent, for a total of 450 W. I have not tried this before, so I am interested in how the plants do directly under Blurple vs those directly under the full spectrum vs those in the overlap area.

I have been running the lights for 16 hours a day since sprouting, moved to 18 hours a day Sep 16. Not sure how long I’ll leave the lights on for this grow. I did my last run of autos at 20 hours a day until the last few weeks, during which I gradually decreased to 16 hours. I don’t know if 20 hours instead of 18 mattered, but I was very happy with that harvest: 4 autos in 12 weeks sprout to harvest= 7.82oz (219g).
Any recommendations?

Thanks for following along.

 

[Cougar672]

I forgot to mention temp/humidity.
With the lights on the temp has been running about 77-78 F, with 42-43% humidity. With lights out, the temp has been about 73-74 F and 45-46% humidity.

 

[Cougar672]

Sorry for the delayed update. On Sep 24 I took pictures and measured the plants, but was never able to get an update posted. Since that was a few days ago I got new measurements and pictures.

On Sep 22 I discovered that the light on the right (blurple) had been running 24 hours a day since I installed it 5 days ago. It is running at 18 hours now; the other light has always been on 18/6 since installed last weekend.
The 3 JH are growing fine, but are lagging behind the other strains (all are autos) I am growing as far as height, leaf size and canopy size. Glad to say they still have the same number of nodes as most of the others (5), and I’m hoping they will catch up because they seem somewhat small for being 19 days old. Unfortunately, JH #1 is showing some leaf discoloration, not sure what the issue is. All are planted in the same medium and are receiving the same pH’d water and nutes, so I don’t think the problem is that. Pic is below. Any ideas?

The girls received about 2 cups water each Sep 20 and 3 cups each Sep 25; pH adjusted to about 6.0. My pH pen hasn’t been working so I am currently use pH test strips. They are from a reputable company and were recommended by another cannabis grower, so I’m sure they are pretty accurate. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how accurate my eyes are. On Sep 23 they received week 2 nutes at about ½ strength, except Cal-Mag, which was given full strength. pH was again adjusted to about 6.0, and with no pH pen, no way to report ppm. Temps have been in the mid to high 70s F with humidity mid 40s while the light is on. With the light off, temp is high 60s F and mid 50s for humidity.

Jack #1 is 4.75 inches across the canopy and 2.75 inches tall; #2 is 5.5 inches across and 2 inches tall; #3 4.75 in across and 2.5 in tall. Interesting that the largest canopy is on the shortest plant. #2 is completely under the full spectrum, while #1 is under the blurple, and #3 gets a mix. I am going to keep watching for a pattern to see if this is consistent among the strains.

 

[Cougar672]

I wanted to get back to weekend updates this past Sunday, but I was busy drying my basement after we got 4.5 inches of rain. Then an extensive dentist appointment and some trim that was overdue for a date with dry ice, and I am finally getting an update done.

Over the last week I worked up to 20/4 lighting. The girls got a week 4 feeding, about 2/3 strength, pH 6.0 on 9/30. Watered with a quart 6.0 pH water on 10/4. Soil hasn’t been drying out as quickly as usual, and I wonder if that is at least partially due to the increased humidity from the flooding in my basement where I grow.

All the autos I am growing have started flowering, including the Jack Herer’s from Seeds Mafia. While JH is a good amount larger than the last update, they are lagging behind the others. And while most of my plants have started the flowering stretch, no stretch yet for the JH. If they don’t start stretching soon they will be very small come harvest. Jack #1 had been showing some leaf discoloration, but that has not advanced and has not appeared on any of the other plants.

 

[Cougar672]

Another inch of rain this weekend but none of it in my basement! I was able to spend some time doing LST on 3 plants, only the tallest ones for Poison, Manhattan, Durban Sunrise and of course Jack Herer (#)3. I am interested to compare the plants with LST vs natural growth for each type.
At my last update, Jack had been flowering for about 2 weeks, but had not started showing much stretch yet. About 5 days later and she has considerable stretching, adding at least 1/3 of their height. Of course, I previously mentioned that they were comparatively small for their age prior to stretching, and they remain comparatively small, so wasn’t much opportunity for LST on her.
Got some yellowing of the lower fan leaves on Jack 2 and 3 (and a couple other plants), but Jack 1 still looks good.
I also received 3 Black cookies photo seeds from Seeds Mafia, and my other tent is soon available so I started those seeds, and a grow diary to go with it. Check it out here.

 

[Cougar672]

Since the last update Jack #2's stretch has caught up to most of the other plants in my tent. #1 &2 haven't shown any more stretching since last week. They are also the ones who were showing some foliage issues, so probably were stunted by whatever issue that was. All are showing pretty good bud development, but not much aroma yet. Branches are relatively flexible but still pretty sturdy for their size.
Temps have been running mid to high 60s F with humidity low 60% with lights off, and low to mid 70s F, humidity around 55% during lights on; running lights at 20 hours/day.
Fed on Oct 15 and water only Oct 18. All solutions pH'd to about 6.0.
The girls will be 6 weeks old on Oct 20- Seeds Mafia states 9-10 week lifecycle. In my somewhat limited experience, I find I go a week or two past the breeder estimate and base my harvest on trichome color.
Either way, should be at least 1/2 way done at this point.

 

[spigolaro]

Very nice to see all these plants, well done and I recommend you start sharpening your scissors hahaha.

 

[Cougar672]

Much too long since my last update...guess I'm not gonna win best grow diary! Been a lot going on in my life, but I think most of us have that so no excuse there. Could be that I spend too much time admiring my plants, or that I too much and forget, but likely it's my procrastination.
The girls turned 9 weeks on Nov 11. Seedsmafia estimates their lifecycle at 9-10 weeks. Buds are filling in fairly well on all but the smallest plant, which is not showing much bud growth at all. The trichomes are still pretty clear on all plants, and I expect they will need a couple weeks past the 9-10 before they are ready for harvest. This is consistent with my experience with other breeders estimated time as well. Since it's been so long since my last update, I won't bore you with the specific watering and feeding schedule, but they are generally watered every 3 days, every other watering includes flowering nutes, which are tapering down.
In the pics you can see there is quite a bit of yellow and brown crispiness on the leaves. My pH pen was not working so I have been using some strips, which I have had trouble matching the colors. Not sure that is my issue, but it seems likely the pH has been off of my goal of 6.0 +/- 0.3. I just got a new Apera pH60, so shouldn't have pH issues in the future, but the damage is already done here.

 

[Cougar672]

Turns out I suck at this grow diary thing. I'm pretty good at documenting what I do and when (watering, feeding, light changes, training, etc.), taking pictures, and intending to update this grow diary, but by the time I sit down at the end of the day I have forgotten or I procrastinate. Sorry Seeds Mafia.
Either way, I am finishing this journal tonight. I will update my other grow journal for the Seeds Mafia contest (Check it out here.) later this week.
Harvested Nov 23, 11 weeks after the appearance of the cotyledons. Trichomes were mostly cloudy with a few still clear and some starting to go amber. I struggle with low humidity during the winter months and the dry was a little faster than I would have liked. Jarred on days 5-6, but probably could have gone in days 4-5. After a month of curing, the total was 58g dry. A little less than I expect from 3 autos, but 2 were smaller than I'm used to.
The 3 of us who have smoked this are all very happy with it as a daytime smoke. Good headed high that leaves you clear-minded and ready to conquer the day. Buds smell and the smoke taste kind of fruity, which I was not expecting as I have not heard this about Jack Herer before. Either way very enjoyable and wish I had more! I will definitely grow again, though would probably go with photo period.
Thanks Seeds Mafia!