Problem...

[Mojave Dave]

Hi all,

I won't go into explanations about how I ended up with so many, except to say I wanted to make sure I got a female to work with from each strain, so I completely over did it. But I need to know what to do with these extras now.

I have in my nursery, 24 "babies" that ain't such babies anymore. They have all grown in theere under perfect conditions and are now ready to veg for a couple weeks and then flower. I don';t have the facilities to keep them all, so they must go.: either to someohne who can use them, through ideras I get here in this forum, or the bin. *GASP!*

What would you guys do with these plants, given that you only have space to keep fourof them? *sigh*? I have all the lights I need, butes, additives, everything.

I have five Silver Haze, five Northern Lights, three Vietnamese Dalat X Couchlock, three White Widoe X Coucxhlock, Three C-99, and 4 Godbud (my mate also brought me four lovely long buds of Godbud...incredible high!!!) clones that don't figure into this situation. Those are just tiny now and I'll be making a mother out of the healthiest.

But what to do with the remainder? Should I try splicing just for grins? Pollenating (provided I could acquire some healthy and viable pollen) selected branches and see what happens? I mean, I have never been in this situatuion before and I am at a loss. Surely I won't be forced to throw them in the composter!!!

Thanks in advance for any ideas you can come up with! By the way...these babies (not the Godbud clones) ahave only been in there for less than three weeks!!! I love that new aeroponics system the babies are in!

 

[Dr. D]

Just flower em all out as they are u will have smaller plants but more of em and no loss of yield

 

[Alex-F]

What he said :wink:

Switch to 12/12 now or in the next few days.

 

[Mojave Dave]

Well, that would be a fine idea were it not for ther fact that they are all in little 1 1/2 inch net pots, five to a bucket. Will they just go ahead and grow in there in those tiny pots, five to a bucket?? If so, that GREAT NEWS!!! But I always thought they had to be in larger net pots in order to grow to maturity...Please tell me I'm wrong!

Thank to both of you for replying...

 

[DrLongbottom]

why not transfer the excess plants into grow bags and manicure the plants for colas. you can fit alot of plants in a small area somewhere in the area of 42 per square meter. Isnt that dalat gonna take like a year to bloom!! good luck peace.D.L.

 

[Guest]

I'd say if you start them now, you could keep 2-3 per bucket. They might get a bit crowded, but if you cut off lower branches & grow them SOG style it should work. Concentrate the growth to the top cola instead of spreading it out. It can be tough to cut off all those potential bud sites, but not as tough as killing the entire plant!

You have a mix of sativa & indica so the plants will grow to different heights - I'd arrange them so the taller plants are on the outside & the shorter to the center for the most effective use of light.

If you can find a few smaller containers, you could set up a few extra bubblers that might fit between your current buckets to hold a few more of the clones. I don't think you'll be able to keep 5 per bucket to maturity, but you could delay the culling until you see which plants are the strongest and then cull the weak ones. If you haven't sexed them yet, this would be a good way to sex them and cull the males.

 

[Mojave Dave]

Hi ya,

(Ambre) I think your suggestions are the best route to take here. I didn't mind mixing the long-flowering strains with the others because I am disabled and grow just for me and one mate. So time is not a problem at all. Having said that, I wonder how long it should be until I am able to sex most of them.

As it turns out I can indeed fit two three gallon bubbles in the rear of the big nursey box, so that takes care of two of them. Whatever is left over I'll just have to have to put in the composter and least get some good out of them.

Thanks forall the advice people. I'l go ahead and take a couple of days deciding which ones look the best, and start rearranging things to accommodate two pants per bucket in the Aeroponics system. With the additional two buckets I can keep a total of eight, hopefuly all female!

Thanks again...problem solved, or at least turned in teh correct direction.

All the best!

 

[Guest]

Mine showed sex at 6-9 days after flipping to 12/12. It depends partially on how old the seedlings are, variety, and whether you are currently running 24/0 or 18/6 - they will tend to start flowering quicker from 18/6 than from 24/0.

I wouldn't throw any away yet - give them time to sex so you know for sure the ones you keep are female.

 

[Guest]

If you can you should make a small veg room or cab and start a perpetual harvest. Putting 1 or 2 plants into flower every week or 2. Just a suggestion. Goodluck with whatever you do. Peace and *bong* :friends:

 

[Mojave Dave]

(Ambre)
Well I should actually put them on 12/12 now then so they won't get too tall grow into each other. I'll also prune them well and get some light to the lower areas.

Does that sound about right to you?

And thanks to everyone else who is offering advice. I love this place!

 

[Guest]

Yep, that sounds right!

Ain't this place great? I love it!

 

[Mojave Dave]

Then it's settled. Pictures and some reports to come as they progress. I sure hope I get enough females to keep me in meds until the next crop. I should get a couple of ounces I should think.

Thanks again to all!

 

[Mojave Dave]

Wow! Was that ever a good idea!

Wow! Was that ever a good idea!

Well...I went ahead left all the babies in their respective Aeroponics pots (a four-pod Aeroponics system from Esoteric Hydroponics) after taking advice from Ambre (Thanks sweetie!). I was going to give them away to makwe room for more because I had no available flowering space for them all, and then I though I would just have to rip them all out and start over. But I am certainly glad I didn't! I really thought they would just sort of sit there and produce a few tiny buds, but I had no idea!

I'll harvest in about two weeks, so I'll start my flush soon. I expect to get about four or five ounces out of these lovely midget plants.

Any tips on the best way to flush these little girls? I have already added PK 13-14 about a week ago and I've been including Bud-XL in every solution change. They get 25 mils of Liquid Oxygen each day, as well as a couple of good shots of Co2 into the grow box. I used Superthrive with these as well. Any advice on making the flushing process a success would be appreciated! Thanks!!

 

[Guest]

Dave:

I'm glad it worked out for you! Cutting off the lower branches lets the plant concentrate on budding the main cola, so you end up with some nice big ones. Good show!

 

[Guest]

Dave:

I'm glad it worked out for you! Cutting off the lower branches lets the plant concentrate on budding the main cola, so you end up with some nice big ones. Good show!

This really works?

Agnes

 

[Mojave Dave]

Methods

Methods

This really works?

Agnes

Well, pretty much anything Ambre (and so many others here) suggests works. I'd have lost that crop if it weren't for her jumping in and telling me to rethink my next move.
And now I have this gorgeous crop of smallish-- due to the resrictied root growth area that the pots allow them-- but heavily-flowered ladies that sparkle under the 600w HPS lamp every time I open the grow box door like someone sprinkled silver glitter all over them!

My dog, Zeke, who looks like he's been nosing around in daddy's stash box again, thanks you too, sweetheart...ya saved this old cowboy's bacon!

 

[Guest]

Sea of Green

Sea of Green

This really works?
Agnes

Sure - it's commonly known as "Sea of Green". Lots of small plants squeezed into tight space grown as single colas. Commercial growers use this technique a lot.

Advantages: You don't need to veg them for long (primarily just long enough to get the clones rooted), so there isn't a lot of wasted time between crops. Harvesting is easier because there isn't all the popcorn sized junk to worry about, just one big cola per plant. The technique usually works best when using clones of a single variety so they all grow to approximately the same height because it is more efficient use of lighting.

Disadvantages: If you live where the number of plants determines the penalty (assuming growing is illegal where you are), the large number of plants in SOG is a problem. SOG works best with HID (HPS) lighting; fluoros don't have the intensity to penetrate the canopy to light the buds enough.

 

[Mojave Dave]

Sure - it's commonly known as "Sea of Green". Lots of small plants squeezed into tight space grown as single colas. Commercial growers use this technique a lot.

Advantages: You don't need to veg them for long (primarily just long enough to get the clones rooted), so there isn't a lot of wasted time between crops. Harvesting is easier because there isn't all the popcorn sized junk to worry about, just one big cola per plant. The technique usually works best when using clones of a single variety so they all grow to approximately the same height because it is more efficient use of lighting.

Disadvantages: If you live where the number of plants determines the penalty (assuming growing is illegal where you are), the large number of plants in SOG is a problem. SOG works best with HID (HPS) lighting; fluoros don't have the intensity to penetrate the canopy to light the buds enough.

Ambre,

If I could ever get a solid answer regarding this SOG method, I might give it a try. But no one seems sure either way whether that would net me a bigger yeild than I can achieve with more "normal" methods.

I have one six-pod Ebb and Flow system and one four-pod (both from Esoteric Hydroponics). This gives me ten pots total, but they are in different grow units...one in a Homebox 1.2 meter tent (first image) and the smaller four-pod system is in my grow box.

Do you thionk an SOG grow done in both grow rooms would net a bigger final yield than a regular-type of grow?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer, Ambre...or anyone else for that matter!

 

[Guest]

Dave:

The yield in most grow areas is limited by the amount of light available. I don't think you'll get a whole lot more per harvest, but you will be able to get harvests more often because you don't need much (if any) veg time.

How big are those grow buckets? I know of people who grow SOG using 2-liter soda bottles all the way to maturity (ebb & flow or passive hydro).

 

[Mojave Dave]

Dave:

The yield in most grow areas is limited by the amount of light available. I don't think you'll get a whole lot more per harvest, but you will be able to get harvests more often because you don't need much (if any) veg time.

How big are those grow buckets? I know of people who grow SOG using 2-liter soda bottles all the way to maturity (ebb & flow or passive hydro).

That would be superb if I could at least match the current yeilds I am getting. If I'm working with rooted clones (I have access to White Russin clones pretty much any time I want them)...what sort of time-frame are we talking about with regard to total time flowering (with little or no veg time)?

Oh...the grow buckets are about 3 gallon.

I have any kind of lighting I want here. I have a 250 HPS, a 400w HPS, a 400w MH, a 600w HPS, and 1000w HPS and a 1000w MH that I am using in my tent at the moment. So sufficient lighting of the correct types is no problem. I also am equipped to monitor everything in the growth environment, digital meters everywhere for water temp, room temp, humidty, etc. I have all the correct ventilation. I use Canna nutrients, and have all the proper additives. I have a couple of gallons of Liquid Oxygen as well, so I am keen on keeping the water as ogygenated as possible throughout my plant's life-cycles.

SO...whatcha think? Should I go with an SOG grow next time? I am desperate to grow enough each crop that I have plenty to address my pain and appetite issues. I also share my crops with other people who are in need, so the maximum yeild...or a faster turn-around...would certainly be a good thing around here!

Thanks!