Neongreen's 2016 - Mighty Mite, Maroc, Nepali, Blowfish, Taskenti, and autos

[neongreen]

Hi all,

Last year was a bit of a failure here and I wasn't able to harvest enough to keep us smoking till the end of the next season, so this year I'm tripling my efforts!

Instead of 2 Maroc Inspiration (BlueHemp) females, I have 6 holes this year. I sowed in the holes on 25 March, without thinking, not long after they had been manured, which, along with near freezing temps resulted in the few that germinated being stunted for the past few months.

Here they are at the start of May.

I also started some extra Maroc seeds in an un-heated area behind glass at the same time - Ignore what's on the label, the other side was used last season:

From the same date, though started about 2 weeks later, these are the Mighty Mite seedlings:

TBC...............

 

[neongreen]

Nepali (BlueHemp) also behind glass:

Last year I started some Blowfish F2s and saved clones, so this year I layered one into a bed:

Here you can see 2 branches and the main stem stripped of leaves, and ready to be layered into the ground after a light dusting of rooting hormone around the stripped nodes.

And here it is in position with the rootball almost on it's side and the plant itself horizontal on the ground.

TBC...............

 

[neongreen]

The stem/branches could then be held down in the small trench I'd dug in the bed with a bamboo skewer held down at each end with sizable rocks.

Here it is all covered over.

Later on I used this Blowfish male to pollinate the female which had been layered into the bed.

TBC...............

 

[neongreen]

Last but not least, here are some Auto AK47 x LR2 which I sowed at the same time as the Mighty Mite, but the pots were left outdoors (under an old window pane).

That was the update from the start of May, and I'll be back when time allows to post pics from the start of this month.

ng

 

[neongreen]

So up till the start of May, things were not going as well as I'd hoped for, despite me having got a fairly early start. The Marocs were not germing well, and those that did were struggling. I tried to remedy the situation by making two further sowings of Maroc outdoors/on site and two more indoors. The result is that I now have 5 outdoors and 5 in small pots, so I'm still hopeful that I can get 5 or 6 females in the holes I dug this year.

Here are pics from June 6.

Hole 1 - this one came up after my second outdoor sowing (24 June) and is significantly ahead of the other outdoor sown seeds:

Hole 2 - also from my second outdoor sowing:

Hole 4 - from my third outdoor sowing:

TBC..................

 

[neongreen]

Hole 5 - this one is from my first outdoor sowing, and did nothing for a long time, but has recently started to take off after I noticed how exposed it's roots were, so I straightened it out and made a little mound of soil around its roots/stem after the pic was taken:

Hole 6 - one from my first outdoor sowing, and another from my 3rd which I sowed as insurance since the first was a bit beaten up. Both got slightly chewed, but the one from the first sowing is the only one remaining now as I added some more soil mix and covered the other which I wasn't too bothered about since the first sown seedling picked up in the last few days:

Maroc seedlings from the last germ:

And one Maroc from the first "indoor" germ:

Here's the same Maroc again with the Mighty Mites in the background:

TBC..................

 

[neongreen]

Mighty Mites:

Here are 3 Nepalis just before going into their bed:

TBC..................

 

[neongreen]

A close up of one of them:

I only have room in the bed for 3 so this 4th Nepali will go into a large (32l)tub:

Meanwhile the BF female that I layered into the bed has been doing well, and was pollinated again about a week ago to make sure I get as many F3s as possible:

TBC..................

 

[neongreen]

Here's another clone of the same plant, looking a little worse for wear after just having come out of my indoor cab, but the screwed up/verigated leaves are "normal" for this clone - they do go away once flowering starts:

Also a Taskenti clone saved from last year which will go into a container:

Here are a few pics of the Auto AK47 x LR2s 57 days after sowing:

TBC..................

 

[neongreen]

Lastly, the next batch of autos (AM x Dieselryder) just before being potted up into larger containers:

Things have really taken off since those last pics were taken, so I'll have to try and get back here with another update in the next week or two, if not sooner!

ng

 

[Highcountry]

Coming along! Thanks for sharing.

 

[plantingplants]

The layering is interesting. I'd like to see a side by side to see if the extra roots really help out. Have you noticed anything?

 

[Goyakla]

Interresting ..i Will try the same in my garden with some Afgh.strains.
Thanx for sharing.

 

[gorilla ganja]

Looks like a cold start. brrrrrrr It's difficult in the North to start to early.

This season I made a conscience decision to plant at least a couple weeks after I normally would. It was so tempting here after a early spring and warmer than average temps. But then as always, late frosts and snow.

Anyway looks like you are well on your way now. looking forward to the show.
Best of luck and may all your Buds be Huge.

Peace GG

 

[neongreen]

Thanks for the comments all

plantingplants - the layering has worked very well for me in the past (see my sig link: Blowfish/Trainwreck S1s and Taskenti)on a small scale, but I too would also like to see a properly done side by side done by someone who already grows big plants. I do think a well layered plant would do better than one grown conventionally - giving a plant a second root system (and even a 3rd) is bound to help, and you are spreading out the plant's light collecting foot print as well. I can't see how a plant that is better supplied with nutes/water/light could not do better! Getting the layers in as early as possible, and the further apart (so tall/stretchy and flexible starts are best suited for this) between root systems the better.

This time I'm not expecting a very large plant since the flowering/seed production will set it back somewhat, but hopefully it will become sizable for these parts (I'm @ 52N and summers here are often a mixed bag!). If I can get everything just right I'll try for the local record another season

Goyakla - It's worth a go. If you do try it, make sure the layers are well pinned down into the ground (they can sometimes spring back up) and the soil where the layer is does not dry out too much while the layer is taking. You can also just bury the whole plant except for leaving most branches/the main stem top sticking out of the ground.

gorilla ganja - The early start I got was somewhat experimental. I just want to see how far I can take things! It's a shame I wrecked the results by not thinking and planting into 50% manure (albeit well aged), but I'm also amazed that anything made it through freezing or near freezing temps!

At the end of the day I'm only perhaps slightly ahead of where I was last year at this time, but with more plants and a few more things learned along the way.

How have yours been doing compared to last season?

Thanks to everyone again for the kind words - hope you all have a great season this year!

ng

 

[Thule]

Yeah, interesting line up of strains! I'll be lurking around for this one.

 

[neongreen]

Glad to have you on board Thule.

I've been itching to get some more photos, but inbetween the rain we've had here I've struggled to get things done that need doing when it's dry, so not had a chance yet. Gradually getting on top of it though (famous last words lol), so I'll probably be back with something in the next week.

I did manage to get what I call my "auto plot" (that is what it was first used for, so the name has stuck even though there will be photos in there soon) extended a bit after attacking it earlier on. It's now close to 1/4 of an acre I'd estimate, but a bit sunken which means it's well hidden but also that only away from the edges do the plants get a good amount of sun. I reckon I should be able to get at least 8 good sized photos in there plus 10+ autos without it getting too cramped and keeping in the "sweet spot", and this year for the first time, I might try a few photos in the ground there rather than having them all in containers.

Hope to be back with another update soon...

 

[neongreen]

A little later than promised, but I finally had a chance to get some pics on Sunday.

Starting with the Blowfish clone which I layered... unfortunately the layer sprang back up before it had a chance to root. Serves me right for not taking my own advice and not making double sure that the layer couldn't move! However, the plant is still doing great although it looks really screwed up due to revegging and the crinkly/deformed/variegated leaves that this particular clone produces anyway!

TBC..................

 

[neongreen]

On to the Mighty Mites. They are probably not doing as well as they could be doing. With hindsight I should have treated them more like autos than like photos... I wasn't as on the ball as I should have been, and got things going a bit too late, so I think they will end up much smaller than is possible. On top of that I found that they are very nute sensitive and start to sulk at the merest hint of water. Of course we've had very wet weather, and the plants have been constantly wet.

I'm glad I only started 5 seeds to try, which gave me 3 females and at least one male which will be saved for pollen production/to make "F2s". Next time I grow these I will add extra perlite which should keep both issues in check!

The Nepalis are doing slightly better, although 2 of the 3 in the bed are looking unhappy, like this example:

The other looks fine:

Still don't know what sex they are, but I still have one backup in a pot that is looking fairly good.

TBC..................

 

[neongreen]

Marocs:


Hole 1: The largest Maroc, and it's also female!

Hole 2: Second largest and yet to declare.

Hole 3: The furthest behind and looking a bit N deficient, but have added extra potting mix around the stem (seemed to help the others) and I'm sure it'll pick up soon.

Hole 4:

Hole 5: This was the one that had half it's roots exposed last time I got a shot, and it's really picked up since I pampered it a bit.

TBC..................