Organic Indica Grow

[stellis0358]

I am growing out a few indica crosses I did a few months ago and thought I would share the progress of my grow here. After 5 weeks in veg I was able to determine sex and transplanted from the nursery into my veg/flower tent. I will probably flip to flower at 10 weeks. I'm pretty confident of the sex of the back 3 as they have visible hairs, but I'm not 100% confident yet the 2 in the front are definitely female. I think they are from what I'm seeing but we'll see. I have others to use in the nursery should 1 or both of those turn out male, I will just swap them out if need be. I made the move with those 2 as they were outgrowing the pots they were in and needed transplanting.

I am doing an organic grow using 2 earth boxes and (3)-7 gal fabric pots in a Vivosun 4x4 tent.

Light
Spider Farmer SE7000 18x6
PAR - 525
DLI - 34

Environment
I am maintaining temperatures in the 70's and humidity levels anywhere from 70%-80%. I was having trouble with high temps at first so I eventually dimmed my light and lowered it closer to the plants. This reduced the amount of heat being generated by my light.

Soil
For my soil I ammended used potting soil (FF Ocean Forest and Happy Frog) with a 1/2c per cubic ft of the following:

Alfalfa meal
Fishbone meal
Kelp meal
Karanja Cake
Crustacean meal
1c per cubic ft of sprouted barley, lentil and corn

For mineral inputs I used 2 parts Basalt, 1 part gypsum and 1 part oyster flour and applied at a rate of 4c per cubic ft.

Pre-charged Bio-Char at 3% total volume of soil



Strains - each one topped at the 6th node.
2 in the back corners-
Pakistani Chitral Kush x Maruf Black

Center
Pakistani Chitral Kush x Tajikistani Hash Plant

2 in the front corners
Purple Afghan Kush (MZ Jill) x Peanut Butter Breath

After transplant I sprinkled 1tsp Great White and 1/2 tbs of Opti-Veg around the base of the plant and scratched into the soil. I then topdressed with a 1in layer of fish compost. I then added 1/2c Craft Blend (Build-a-Soil) and 1/2c Bokashi and worked it into the soil. I then topdressed with a 1in layer of worm castings. Watered in with yucca, molasses, Big 6 micro nutrients (BAS), Bio-Phos (BAS) and Mycrobe Complete (BAS) in 2 gals water.

Worms
Added several red wigglers to each pot.

We'll see how it goes and I'll try to keep up with the progress pics.

For any critics out there go easy on me please, I'm not a pro - yet anyway

 

[Creeperpark]

Thanks for sharing your grow with us friend. I love Indicas too and look forward to seeing how these turn out. I am a little concerned about all the amendments you added to FF Ocean Forest and Happy Frog. However, I'm here to learn from you so, I'm going to ride with you for a while, thanks and keep us posted.

 

[stellis0358]

I'm not afraid of the inputs. This soil has been used a couple of times now without ever being re-ammended before so should be pretty dead. I've never done this before re-ammending potting soil with organic inputs so I'm always up for a good experiment. Its not like i dont have more seeds. I've always used synthetic nutes so this will be my first full blown organic grow. I also added a couple of bags of black cow to the potting soil. On top of that it will be a while before those inputs are available to the plants. I'm expecting close to water only here but the girls in those 7 gal pots will probably need a little boost once I get into flower. Maintenance will probably only include pure protein foliar twice a week and teas. I'm actually expecting this soil will be even better in my next grow. I will probably send in a soil sample after this grow to see where I am and to see what if anything the soil needs.

 

[stellis0358]

These girls have been in their permanent pots for a week. Today I removed the plastic covers on both earth boxes and dropped down a cover crop on all 5 containers, a clover mix, watered in then mulched with straw.

As I mentioned previously I am applying a foliar spray twice per week of Pure Protein Dry (applied this morning). Let me say this is a pretty stinky endeavor. But - lots of beneficial amino acids and enzymes and aside from that 1lb of this product supposedly replaces 5-7 gals of liquid fish.

These indicas are pretty tight and compact so far so I will probably start some LST training soon. I like these fabric pots with the holes at the top. Nice for tying down branches. I will probably wait at least another week to let them recover from topping and transplant first.

So far I would say they look pretty happy.

 

[stellis0358]

The girls at 6 weeks. Did the first soil drench of compost tea this morning consisting of fish compost, worm castings, kelp meal, pure protein dry and molasses - aerated overnight. Hopefully this will help get things ramped up in the soil. The girls look happy in their permanent home and are thriving so far.

I discovered yesterday that it looks like I might have a critter or critters eating my leaves. I only see it on one plant on a couple of leaves. I have a cat that likes to nibble on my leaves when I walk away for a minute so it could have been him. So out of caution I applied a foliar spray of Athena IPM. I normally don't have any issues with bugs indoors but if i do, I want to nip it in the bud - ha, no pun intended. Whenever there is organic matter introduced into the soil it's only going to increase the chances of having to eventually deal with these issues.

 

[stellis0358]

Today I decided to do a little early pruning. I opened up the canopy by removing some of the larger fan leaves. This will allow more light to penetrate other areas of the plants that were being shaded.

I also did a light watering to apply a weekly dosage of Mycrobe Complete, Big 6 Micros and Rootwise Bio-Catalyst Enzyme Elixer. These will be applied weekly through week 8 of flower. And to also give my cover crop a little water. The cover crop is coming up nicely.

I slipped with my scissors while trimming leaves and snipped halfway through a main stem at the top of one plant from a topping. I applied some tape and hopefully it will heal.

 

[stellis0358]

Week 7 - these girls have rebounded nicely from the light defoliation I did last week. And cover crop has come up. Just teas, Rootwise Mycrobe Complete and Big 6 Micros once per week soil drench and Pure Protein Dry foliar sprays twice per week - that's it since initial transplant.

I feel I lost a couple of weeks of good growth due to having to keep these in quart containers while sexing. I am still leaning towards flipping to flower around week 10 but I'll be keeping an eye on them in the next 3 weeks - it may come a little sooner

I'm really liking the PCK X Maruf Black cross (back 2). They are thriving in those earth boxes.

 

[stellis0358]

Getting close to flipping to flower - I'm looking at probably 10-14 more days in veg. I've done a majority of the pruning/defoliation and I also did some minor LST on the 3 plants in the grow pots by tying down branches, opening up the canopy. I will reassess each as flowering approaches and will most likely have to do some additional pruning and lollipoping.

I have used a scrog net before and I understand the benefits, but I only grow for myself and I don't grow for yield, so Im not going to scrog this grow. Aside from that one of the biggest drawbacks for me when scrogging is I like to take my plants out to my island in the kitchen to work on them and I can't do that if they are in a scrog net. I only end up with 2-3 ounces per plant and that is plenty for myself. I usually have to give some away.

To prepare for flowering I removed a majority of the straw leaving a little behind - it will eventually break down. I did a chop and drop on the cover crop. I wished it had more time to fill in more but I supplemented with chopped leaves from the trimmings. On top of that I added to each 1/8c Craft Blend, 1/4c sprouted barley/corn/lentils, 2tbs Bokashi and 1/4tsp Build a Bloom. I lightly scratched all of this into the surface.

I then covered all of that with a 1/2in layer of compost blend that consists of 3 parts Black Gold, 3 parts Lobster compost and 1 part worm castings. I then spread another planting of cover crop, covered back up with straw and lightly watered everything in.

 

[stellis0358]

Day 1 Flower - I've seen enough growth in the past week and decided it's time to flip to flower. I don't think the 100% indicas will stretch much but I'm not sure about the Purple Afghan Kush x Peanut Butter Breath so I decided to flip.

Switched lights to 12/12
PAR: 1000
DLI: 43

I set PAR at 1000 to start. As the stretch occurs PAR should increase in the next couple of weeks. My flowering PAR target will be somewhere between 1200-1400 by the end of week 2 and I will adjust accordingly as I go through flowering.

The girls have bounced back from the pruning/lollipopping/defoliation I did last week. I will have some additional defoliation to do.

 

[stellis0358]

Sprinkled 1/8 cup Craft Blend per plant (last time), 2 tbs of Kashi (last time), and 1/2 tbs Opti-Veg. Watered that in with 1/4 tsp Big 6 Micros, 1 tsp Pure Protein, 1/2 tsp Rootwise Bio-Phos and 1/2 tsp BuildABloom per gal of water and a couple tbs of molasses.

This is what the weekly feeding schedule going forward will consist of with the exception of the Craft Blend and Kashi. Pure Protein will only be applied as a soil drench going forward.

Maintaining temps 70°- 80°, relative humidity 57%-65%

I'm seeing an uptick in fungus gnats since applying my second top dress. I applied Athena IPM 120ml/gal water directly to the soil surface. I'm hoping this will knock them back if not eradicate them altogether.

 

[stellis0358]

3 weeks into flower. l still have some light defoliation to do which I've been doing a little at a time. Fungus gnat population was starting to be a problem. The light Athena IPM applications werent doing the trick so I ended up resorting to diatomaceous earth, fly strips and a vinegar trap. I'm not seeing any fungus gnats at all now in the tent. I'll be posting another update in a couple of weeks.

 

[oldmaninbc]

3 weeks into flower. l still have some light defoliation to do which I've been doing a little at a time. Fungus gnat population was starting to be a problem. The light Athena IPM applications werent doing the trick so I ended up resorting to diatomaceous earth, fly strips and a vinegar trap. I'm not seeing any fungus gnats at all now in the tent. I'll be posting another update in a couple of weeks.

Good you got the gnat problem under control. Where I live gnats are here year round. What worked the best for me was nematodes, they killed the gnats. I had so many gnats I could use the vacuum cleaner to suck them up. The nematodes were expensive and the eggs only last for so long before they are no longer viable.
I would only use them again if the infestation was out of control. I see a number of people use Mosquito Dunks(BTI).

Your plants are looking very healthy, good work.

 

[stellis0358]

Thanks oldmaninbc. Yea so far so good I think. It's flower building time so we'll see how things go in the next few weeks. Flowers are starting to stack nicely.

I never had much of an issue with gnats when I wasn't growing organically. This was probably the biggest infestation I've ever had but that DE along with a vinegar trap and fly strips seems to have done the trick. I've read a little about nematodes. If the DE didn't do the trick I was going to go down that route. Never heard of using the skeeter bits.

 

[oldmaninbc]

Thanks oldmaninbc. Yea so far so good I think. It's flower building time so we'll see how things go in the next few weeks. Flowers are starting to stack nicely.

I never had much of an issue with gnats when I wasn't growing organically. This was probably the biggest infestation I've ever had but that DE along with a vinegar trap and fly strips seems to have done the trick. I've read a little about nematodes. If the DE didn't do the trick I was going to go down that route. Never heard of using the skeeter bits.

The one person I talked with here puts the Mosquito Dunks(BTI) or similar BTI product into his soil at the start before he even has a problem.
The nematodes really did work and they worked well, I was amazed at how quickly they killed off all stages of the gnat cycle. It takes a bit of time for the nematode eggs to hatch but once they do I wouldn't want to be a gnat/larva/egg as they kill all stages of the gnat life cycle. The End!

I'll be looking forward to your next update.

 

[stellis0358]

Looks like I have a purple pheno brewing on my PCK X Taj Hashplant. Wished I had grown out more but I only planted 1 and wished I had kept a clone. I also have a Original Haze seed run going so just for shits and giggles I pollinated a couple branches with some Haze pollen - why not.

 

[stellis0358]

Day 31 Flower - just a few progress pics to share

 

[stellis0358]

Day 46 of flower. Started hitting the plants with UVB light in 30 min increments, 4 times per day.

I am just days away from harvesting 3 of these girls - my guess is between 4-7 more days but trichomes will dictate harvest day. I am already seeing amber trichomes appearing. I have 2 that will be taking just a little bit longer.

For the 3 that are close i have stopped feeding and I will see those through with water only for the next week or until harvest.

Just a few pics to share. Of course the ultimate test is the smoke test but I'm encouraged by the progress so far.

 

[oldmaninbc]

Day 46 of flower. Started hitting the plants with UVB light in 30 min increments, 4 times per day.

I am just days away from harvesting 3 of these girls - my guess is between 4-7 more days but trichomes will dictate harvest day. I am already seeing amber trichomes appearing. I have 2 that will be taking just a little bit longer.

For the 3 that are close i have stopped feeding and I will see those through with water only for the next week or until harvest.

Just a few pics to share. Of course the ultimate test is the smoke test but I'm encouraged by the progress so far.

You got your growing act together, that is fine looking crop.

 

[stellis0358]

You got your growing act together, that is fine looking crop.

Thanks. I have a lot to learn still. I've only been growing for 2 years and I'm transitioning over to organic, so I was curious how this grow was going to turn out. I see a good amount of frost on these flowers so hopefully that translates into some decent smoke.

 

[oldmaninbc]

Thanks. I have a lot to learn still. I've only been growing for 2 years and I'm transitioning over to organic, so I was curious how this grow was going to turn out. I see a good amount of frost on these flowers so hopefully that translates into some decent smoke.

I prefer organic myself, my grandfather taught me about gardening when I was 12, he was an organic gardener. His lessons have carried over into my old age.

Some people take to things quickly, you seem to have taken to growing well and quickly. Of course that doesn't mean you won't be challenged at some time.

I have tried very frosty flowers that looked better than the effects and have also tried less sparkly but high quality.

If your flowers were mine I would feel accomplished.