Motherlode Gardens 2020

[gsxr97]

I'm with everyone else. Wow. Your garden gets better every here.

Thanks for all the tips and pictures.

 

[MCGold]

Have you tried predator insects? Seems they make gardening much easier for Cannabis farmers. Cheers on the update and really glad everything is working out beside those nasty Cannabis Aphids!

 

[Ibechillin]

I got fired recently from a Tier 3 Cookies Co indoor grow facility in WA for explaining they had a root aphid infestation from overwatering in veg, that brown roots and mold growing overtop algae so thick you cant see grow media any longer is not normal and that properly aerated compost tea doesnt smell like hobo piss evaporating in the hot sun lol.

These should help prevent/eradicate them in the future:

Botaniguard Maxx (fungal spore)
BTI (bacteria)
Stratiolaelaps predatory mites (lives in soil)

Cant wait for those Ancient OG F5!

 

[CrushnYuba]

The aphids are crazy this year. Everyone in norcal had them. Pyrethrin seemed to work the best on them. won't burn like sulphur.

What kind of moisture meter are you using? The little ones with the metal probe just don't work. It's not operator error. Only the fancy tensiometer ones work. I think the water mark ones work also. There are ones that are like blumates that work. Anything that depends on electrical conductivity to test moisture just really doesn't work. I should really get a good moisture meter. I just stick my finger in and i can tell, but my workers don't really get it. It would be nice to have an actual meter and definitive numbers for them to tell me and go off of.

 

[calisun]

Looks great Shcrews, Over watering is one of the biggest problems I see late in grows. I got a Reotemp moisture meter. It's pretty good It has a 15" stem and easy to calibrate to what moisture your medium prefers. Keep up the good work.
Crushn, I had aphids last year. I'm using predator bugs for them this year but may grab some pyrethrins just in case. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Ur Humbl Nr8tor]

Shcrews...all I can really say in a single sentence is...Wow! Read a lot of threads and this one is quite inspiring atm. I’d love to pick your brain as I’m going relatively big with a few plants this year but I didn’t put the prep in like you and your gal have and I can see I’m going to have to step up my game to create these 10+ pounders. Great job to all three of you as I know your dog’s job is very important too.

 

[trippn]

Watering: . It seems we are always trying to dial in our watering regimen. It might be one of the hardest aspects of growing big plants.

I saved this from Big plants outdoor thread where tom hill was answering questions, and this ratio has done well for me:

"As a rule of thumb I calculate a water volume of around 10% of soil volume per "maintenance" (normal) watering. Occasionally I'll do a light watering (5%) or a more thorough soaking (15%) but 10% is the "normal" watering once we are in maintenance mode.
So that would be 1/2 gallon water for a 5 gallon container. These 6 foot containers are up around 50 cubic feet or something over 300 gallons. This requires about 30 gallons per cycle. -Tom

 

[Shcrews]

The aphids are crazy this year. Everyone in norcal had them. Pyrethrin seemed to work the best on them. won't burn like sulphur.

What kind of moisture meter are you using? The little ones with the metal probe just don't work. It's not operator error. Only the fancy tensiometer ones work. I think the water mark ones work also. There are ones that are like blumates that work. Anything that depends on electrical conductivity to test moisture just really doesn't work. I should really get a good moisture meter. I just stick my finger in and i can tell, but my workers don't really get it. It would be nice to have an actual meter and definitive numbers for them to tell me and go off of.

I ordered pyganic for the aphids but by the time it arrived the sulfur had already done the job. The plant that had aphids is now completely clean. it was slightly burned but the newly forming flowers look just fine.

We have a reotemp moisture meter but i havent been using it lately. Since we are here all the time because of the lockdown I have been constantly monitoring the plants and feeling the soil to tell when they are thirsty. We have been watering as little as possible this year and have had good results so far. We are at about 50 gallons per plant per day, at the moment, and i might increase it a bit soon. I would rather underwater than overwater, it can take a long time for plants to bounce back if they get too wet for too long, and I can always water more if I need to.

I saved this from Big plants outdoor thread where tom hill was answering questions, and this ratio has done well for me:

"As a rule of thumb I calculate a water volume of around 10% of soil volume per "maintenance" (normal) watering. Occasionally I'll do a light watering (5%) or a more thorough soaking (15%) but 10% is the "normal" watering once we are in maintenance mode.
So that would be 1/2 gallon water for a 5 gallon container. These 6 foot containers are up around 50 cubic feet or something over 300 gallons. This requires about 30 gallons per cycle. -Tom

I'd say in our 5yd mounds a regular watering is more like 5 or 6 percent of the total soil volume, which equates to 50 or 60 gallons per plant. Only when the plants are fully flowering do i begin to give them more than that on a regular basis.

Tom was growing 10-pound monsters in relatively small containers which may explain why they would need more water in relation to the soil volume as compared to 10-pounders in large mounds or holes. Of course if we had plants in our 5yd mounds that were proportionally larger than Tom's plants in his 300gal pots, we would be dealing with 25-30lb plants, and i could see how something like that would need 100+gallons per plant on a regular basis.

 

[Shcrews]

Hey Schrews,
congratulations, l personally feel like you made it a long time ago.
It would be fantastic for me if you considered Seedbay as an option for your genetics. My geographical location prevents me from accessing a lot of the breeders I’d like to run; l have bought seeds from Seedbay without loosing my purchase, several times in the past.
Good luck for the next couple of months and know that I’m sending you, your wife, Bud-e(vil) and his new girlfriend, all my best wishes.
Cheers,
40.

I'll definitely look into it. We are new to the seed business and this is all very exciting. I think our upcoming drop will be a very positive contribution to the cannabis gene pool. Hopefully it will be the first of many, with at least one more to come in the next few months. We already have some fun breeding projects in the works including some f2's of our own crosses, and some really exciting Ancient OG line work. Anyway I hope you will be able to get ahold of our gear at some point. thanks a lot and have a good one!

Shcrews...all I can really say in a single sentence is...Wow! Read a lot of threads and this one is quite inspiring atm. I’d love to pick your brain as I’m going relatively big with a few plants this year but I didn’t put the prep in like you and your gal have and I can see I’m going to have to step up my game to create these 10+ pounders. Great job to all three of you as I know your dog’s job is very important too.

Thanks a lot, I've really been trying to step my game up every year at least a little bit. It's taken several years of hard work and lots of money invested to get to this point with my garden and of course there's still lots of room to improve. Just make it your goal to grow bigger plants every year than you did the year before, you'll have 10 pounders in no time. Thanks for stopping by, and stick around cuz the best part (flowering) is right around the corner!

Have you tried predator insects? Seems they make gardening much easier for Cannabis farmers. Cheers on the update and really glad everything is working out beside those nasty Cannabis Aphids!

In the past we have used predator mites against russets, but they didn't work very well, considering how expensive they were. Instead of predators I got rid of our aphids this time with a $10 bag of sulfur dust, so I can't complain.

 

[Shcrews]

I'm not sure if I ever posted a list of the strains we are growing this season, but just in case, here it is:


our own stuff from Motherlode Seeds:

-"Ancient OG f4"

-"Ancient OG f2" (from a different f1 female than the one our f4 line was bred from)

-"Purple Sprite" - (Sprite x Ancient OG)

-"Yosemite Glue" - (GG4 x Ancient OG)

-"Lava Flow" - (Strawberry Milk x Ancient OG)

-"Ancient Orange" - (Ancient OG x Mandarina)

-"Fanta" - (Sprite x Mandarina)



from other breeders:

- Bodhi Seeds - "Space Monkey" - (GG4 x Wookie)

- Relentless Genetics - "Gluefire OG" - (GG4 x Fire OG)

- Strayfox Genetics - "Sour Blue Haze" - (GG4 x Blueberry Temple)

- Mendo Seeds - "Skywalker OG"

- South Fork Seeds - "Timberwolf" - (Animal Cookies x Chem4 bx)

- Bradley Danks - "JagerSchnitzel" - (Jager x Mickey Kush x G13)

- Bradley Danks - "Jagerschnitzel x Purple Punch"

 

[gsxr97]

Hi Schrews,

Guessing to late to spray sulfur now ? I need to use it earlier for a knockout . Have a bag of microthiol wettable sulfur, but don’t know the right ratio . Burned the plants one time in spring with it .

Any advice on how long into flower for spraying sulfur, if can at all?

I’ve noticed aphids on my plants too . Just want to get thru harvest. I’d loved to get some of your seeds for next year. Have a great day !

 

[Shcrews]

Hi Schrews,

Guessing to late to spray sulfur now ? I need to use it earlier for a knockout . Have a bag of microthiol wettable sulfur, but don’t know the right ratio . Burned the plants one time in spring with it .

Any advice on how long into flower for spraying sulfur, if can at all?

I’ve noticed aphids on my plants too . Just want to get thru harvest. I’d loved to get some of your seeds for next year. Have a great day !

dont use sulfur during flowering! since it’s still early in flowering though i think pyrethrum is worth a try.

 

[gsxr97]

Thanks !

dont use sulfur during flowering! since it’s still early in flowering though i think pyrethrum is worth a try.

 

[pipeline]

Love the picture with the deer. My dogs have been hunting at the patch with me and the pests have been gone for a while now!


Thanks for sharing! I am well into flowering especially with the indica strains, but I have a very shady spot with mostly filtered light. I am following your watering guidelines and it has been helpful. Watering is tricky this time of year, but they are really sucking it down now! I apply 44 gal per day if possible in natural soil, but if they are dry, they get 88-132 gal. on a 100 sq ft natural soil area. 4 inches of compost was applyed as mulch and that helps water holding capacity. I recommend trying that next year.


It takes a lot of water to saturate the soil like it was earlier in the summer when plants were small. I watered the most this week with 4 days of watering , 44, 88, 44, 44. Trying to tune it in, but everyone needs to know

It make a difference if you are groing in soil-less media or natural soil. I also run about 25 plants across the are to equal 1 big one


Gonna grow out your Ancient OG next year to mix into my Deep Chunk Afghan breeding project. It has recently segregated into sativa and medicinal indica, so there is some work to be done! Fun stuff! Thank You Schrews! Looking forward to flowering! Plants are nearing potential there! Congratulations!

 

[CrushnYuba]

Damn. I'm not even close to that. I wonder if I'm under watering

 

[gsxr97]

Are you having any issues from fires around ?

 

[MCGold]

The race for harvest is on for a lot of the Country especially with all the fires going on. Hope everything is going well with you Shcrews!

 

[_stix_]

love the motherlode thread!!!

 

[TychoMonolyth]

Hi Schrews,
You must spend all your time during veg just topping those. Do you do it by hand or hedge trimmers? lol

Damn fine grow.

 

[_stix_]

looking awesome! keep on keeping on!