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[Grow Thread]

ahhhhhh they look much happier

[THC-Farmer]

I thought I had a nitro deficiency problem over 3 weeks ago so I had some high nitro concentrate lawn food. 36-6-6 I gave a light dose to them once but didn't get any response, and was afraid of screwing up the flavor of the bud, or burning them since they were flowering. Should I give them a bit more, or what should I do?I was unsure about that but I thought I remembered something about nitrogen making more chlorophyll and causing a harsh flavor in the final product. I have been using Humboldt big up powder as a suppliment to Sensi Bloom A & B . Thanks for your reply

 

Sorry for the late response.

 

I'de have to agree with BG on this one brotha. I've never used lawn fertilizer on Cannabis before. I think that may actually have been a bad idea... 36-6-6 seems awefully strong if you ask me. Definitely do not give them any more of that. You may end up locking up the nutrients in the container by overfertilizing...

 

What I would recommend is that you don't give them anything for the rest of thier bloom phase. I would just let them finish out. Trying to change anything at this point could be seriously detrimental to your overall yield. I wish the best for your ladies!

 

Next time around, I would recommend that you don't use the lawn fertilizer for your ladies. Cannabis is an annual flowering plant, 'tis not grass my friend. You should pick up something like Fox Farms Grow Big or something else along those lines that is organic and designed for flowering and fruiting plants.

 

From my understanding of the way the Cannabis plant grows it's actually impossible to change the chloraphyll content of the buds by adding more nitrogen. In this aspect it is controlled by the plant and it's genetics. The entire chemical compound of what is inside the plant matter of the buds is determined genetically. We cannot change any of it...

 

I actually don't even flush my plants like most people do because of this. I have come to realize that there is actually no difference between flushing and not flushing. I have done side by sides on this as well. Flushing is just an unnecessary extra messy step according to the science and my experience.

 

Because of the fact that the plants genetics determine the chemical compound of the flowers, no matter what you do the flowers are going to grow the way they have been developed to grow. The idea with flushing is to deprivve the plant of nutrients completely; which is intended to clean the left over fertilizer deposits out of the plant.

 

I hate to break it to anyone who believes this but this is simply not possible. With Cannabis being an annual plant this means 2 things. A- It's genetically designed to grow as fast as it can; and B- Because of that it doesn't have the capability to store the nutrients we feed it, in any way.

 

The way a Cannabis plant utilizes the nutrients we feed it is quite different from that of fruiting plants. Annual plants don't store nutrients to build up or grow the flowers later like fruiting plants do. They utilize the nutrients right away and convert everything to "sugary building blocks" and just build build build, grow grow grow. Cannabis is a very efficient plant. There is nothing left over from the nutrients it absorbs and converts. It only uses what it needs.

 

When the photoperiod changes, the plant actually senses this and switches it's metabolic rate AND it's metabolic requirements. It does this because it doesn't have any nutrients stored up to start building the flowers (buds). So it has to change it's growth pattern to suit the needs of growing the buds. Knowing this, one can make the connection that because of this type of growth no matter what you do at the end of the bloom cycle, the chemical compounds within the cells of the plant matter of the buds can not and will not change once they have already grown because all the nutrients that are required for the buds to grow have already been converted into those "sugary building blocks" to construct the flowers/buds that we adore so much.

 

So the notion that the fertilizers we use will leave a strange taste or aroma in the buds or that the chlorophyll will make the bud more harsh if there's too much nitrogen in the soil is acctually a placebo myth. Based on the way the plant grows, this is impossible. Cannabis plants are VERY efficient organisms. They utilize the nutrients quickly and effectively. They don't leave behind deposits within the plant matter.

 

By flushing out the medium and stripping the nutrients away from the roots, the only effective thing this accomplishes is it stops the growth of the plant. No nutrients, no growth. That's about the extent of flushing...

[Grow Thread]

Sorry for the late response......................................................

 

+rep for the time, effort, and as always............................. the facts.

[Grow Thread]

AEROCLONERS AND WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR CLONES

 

 

ok, i have been hit with this misconception more than twice over the last week, so im gonna correct it right now

 

when cloning with an aerocloner, you DO NOT go into rockwool after they are rooted.

 

ok, here's a daisy cloner (aerocloner):

 

after 4-15 days depending on strain and what stage of life the "mother" was in, you will see roots like these:

 

 

 

once they have a good root showing its time to do something about it. normally, if i am going straight into a 5" net pot and into a bubbletote i will let the clone go another day or 2 past the pics above.............. but to conserve space, i have a "junior high school" for them to visit first sometimes. if they are going to junior high, this is the time to do it.

 

in junior high i line a 3" net pot with a single layer of pebbles, and then put the clone in gently. stand her straight up and fill the pebbles in around the edges. here is the junior high tote with 1/2 strength nutes in it for our lil' babies:

 

after a few days in junior high, our plants begin to grow some roots. notice i use the net pots and not the mesh pots for this stage. if you use the net pots, the holes in the sides are much larger, and you will have the ability to retrieve your plant much easier. if you use a mesh pot, or if you get to your net pot too late and the roots have already secured themselves to the pot, i just plant the whole 3" pot inside the 5" pot and fill around the edges with hydroton.

 

but if you do it right, you will catch your junior high plant at just about this stage:

 

from here you can dump out the pebbles, retrieve your clone, and transplant into a 5" mesh pot in a regular bubblebucket or bubbletote:

 

and with the right strain, nutes, and attention, after another 16 days you will have this:

[Grow Thread]

when you use this method:

i typed this up for the grow journal, but i figure i might as well post it here and link to it in the table of contents so i can find it in the future

 

ROCKWOOL CLONING

 

well, since we have the whole budget theme going already, let's take some clones without the use of a fancy machine.

 

i use rockwool cubes. the last time i went to the hydro store to buy some they were out of stock so i purchased one of the big 6" x 6" x 6" cubes and cut it up myself. i think i ended up getting 48 cubes out of that $4 block so thats like 8 cents a clone or something. thats budget. i am using r.o. water just because i have it, but tapwater would work just fine here as long as you set it set out overnight in an open container to let chlorine evaporate.

 

 

some cubes:

 

 

many people say to soak them for 24 hours or whatever, but this isnt necessary IMO. i do soak them for about an hour though. no need to do anything crazy with the ph. 7.0 is fine. if using tapwater, assuming its not nuclear waste, your ph will probably be in the mid 7's. this will work as well. remember, this is budget cloning and will take an extra couple days compared to an expensive aerocloner. we are cutting corners, and saving tons of money, but at the expensive of a little time. this strain will show roots in 9-11 days using this method.

 

1/2 hour soak:

 

 

 

obviously, the bowl has been cleaned and so have your scissors right?

 

ok, our journal plant. im taking the bottom set of branches off again:

 

 

 

i make the cut with scissors right at the main stem and put the cutting into a cup of water (r.o., or day-old tapwater again).

once we have both the bottom branches we are ready to get to work:

 

 

 

both of these branches are pretty good sized with thick strong stems so i am going to take 2 clones off of each one. i could take more probably, but they would have thin stems and would take longer to catch up to the others in growth. as far as prepping the rockwool, just take it out of the bowl and let it drip/drain. if you have pre-packaged cubes they will have a hole already in them. i find this hole is usually too small so i widen it a little. since i cut my own cubes off of one huge one, i dont have any holes. this isnt rocket science. i just take the scissors and stab them about 3/4 of the way through the cube. a hole that is a little too big is better than too small. ok, lets cut up the branch.

 

you can see where i cut this one:

 

 

 

cut off/strip any fan leaves or extra branches that are not needed. then we are ready to take the actual clone. make those cuts (above) at a 45 degree angle with the sharpest, cleanest scissors or razor knife you can find. after making the cut, i take the edge of the scissors and scrape at the flesh over the entire bottom 1/2 inch or so of the stem. this can be a little scary, but once again, it isnt rocket science, and less is better. i just scrape the very top layer of flesh off. scraping too much will do too much damage and cause the stem to become limp and unusable.

 

very difficult to get a picture but just a light scraping is all you need:

 

 

 

 

ok, we are just about there now. insert into the rockwool cube.

 

 

repeat, and with less than a dollar you have a little family of clones ready to root.

 

 

 

 

 

i have an empty corner in my veg room where this little tray will go. no need for special lighting. they will grow roots under the same light that mom(journal plant) is growing under....... just way further away.

 

watering............... here is where an expensive aerocloner is nice. plug it in and check back later.

not in our case. for our 8 cent clones we must be very avid about keeping an eye on them until they root. letting the rockwool dry out completely will kill the cuttings very quickly. keeping it sopping wet will not allow the necessary air in for forming roots. moist is what you are looking for. there is no "rule of thumb" as to when to water because every room runs at a different temp/humidity and therefore mine may dry out twice as fast as yours. just make sure they stay moist

 

in my room, i usually need to water them once a day. same type of water we have been using all along. r.o. or day old tapwater at 7.0 or whatever is fine.

 

in 9-11 days we will see roots coming out the sides of the rockwool. at this time they are ready for planting. if you are planting into bubblebuckets you will need to start them off on half strength nutes right away for a couple days. if you grow in soil, your dirt should have enough nutrients in it already to sustain them for a period of time. once they are planted, you can then move them closer to the light and once they grow the first set of new leaves the veg period is on!!

 

 

your success rate is going to depend on your ability to keep the rockwool moist and clean. in an open bowl like this, the cubes are prone to "catching" things out of the air that can be harmful. with a little practice you will be cloning on the cheap without any problem. if you are afraid you will forget to water them, you may want to try this:

 

 

CLONING WITH THE BUBBLEBUCKET/TOTE

 

 

 

a bubblebucket is a cloner as well. it's that simple. it is an all-in-one machine

here is a very crude and undesirable sketch of our bubblebucket. we see the plant, rooted in a yellow rockwool cube, surrounded by hydroton clay pebbles. the cube and hydroton are sitting in the net pot, and you can see the air stone/bubbles (in red) and the proper level at which to keep your nutrient/water solution.

 

ok, stop laughing.

 

 

so we have our cutting planted in the rockwool cube. drop it in the netpot and cover with clay pebbles and get the whole setup into your bubblebucket. at this point the bucket should have clean water only in it.

 

if you keep the water level about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch below the bottom of the net pot, you have reached the sweet spot. the air stone in the bottom of the bubblebucket will shoot air bubbles upwards through the water. when these bubbles reach the surface they pop. the goal is to find the perfect level to where the net pot is not sitting in the water, but actually the bubbles are popping on the surface and just getting the bottom of the net pot wet. once the bottom of the net pot gets wet, it will transfer that moisture to the bottom layer of hydroton pebbles. the pebbles then transfer the perfect amount of water/air between themselves and eventually to the rockwool cube. the cube will stay damp, but not "soaked". depending on strain, humidity, and temp, the roots will begin to form in 4 days to 2 weeks.

 

once the roots form and grow through the rockwool cube, they will continue growing through the clay pebbles, and then through the sides of the net pot, and ultimately down to thrive in the nute/air filled goodness of the solution. once they get through the sides of the net pot and become visible for the first time, i change from clean water to veg nutes at 1/2 strength for a couple days, and then bump to regular strength.

 

 

hope this helps a little. just trying to show that there is no need for a cloning machine or anything else to take up space or money. if you use the bubblebucket, it is the only thing you need from the day you cut the clone to the day you cut the whole thing down.

 

you end up with this:

 

and at this point you want to put them into the 5" pot and into the bubblebucket or bubbletote at 1/2 strength nutes for a few days and then to full strength.

[TajMahal]

Thank you so kindly for the last two posts, was currently trying to figure out the method of the cut off small net pots, because of a situation with an aro cloner, that had the holes in the lid cut too big (not by me). Hope to find 1.75 neoprene inserts to go in 2.00

net pots.

 

Cheers BG!

[Grow Thread]

just trying to keep patients alive and not kill them

[Brandan]

So I think I have thrips small yellowish work looking things on bottom abs top of leaves I killed all of tgem I could find, about 10 total... What can I do???

[Grow Thread]

wanted to make my 2000th post in the help thread

 

where it belongs.

 

thanks to everyone. honestly, thank you. and it has been a pleasure helping.

[+RevThad]

wanted to make my 2000th post in the help thread

 

where it belongs.

 

thanks to everyone. honestly, thank you. and it has been a pleasure helping.

Congrats.

[Grow Thread]

oh im gonna get booted for speaking the truth

[TajMahal]

oh im gonna get booted for speaking the truth

 

That would be seriously stupid of them to do, if they do let me know where you are going to hang your hat.

[RexNeffect]

Ummmm.........What is the shortest time at which you would visibly see a nute deficency in the plants? Also, what is the proper procedure to supplement the water with the needed nute and conversely how fast could you potentially see an increase in said plants health? Probably posting in wrong place, but considered a this grow question. Thx in advance.

 

12 plant System in 80 gal. RDWC under 650w worth of 4 ft cfl SC strain showing stress

[TajMahal]

Ummmm.........What is the shortest time at which you would visibly see a nute deficency in the plants? Also, what is the proper procedure to supplement the water with the needed nute and conversely how fast could you potentially see an increase in said plants health? Probably posting in wrong place, but considered a this grow question. Thx in advance.

 

12 plant System in 80 gal. RDWC under 650w worth of 4 ft cfl SC strain showing stress

 

Could someone who knows hydro add some thoughts to these questions?

[stopmypain]

Got a dumb question, I might of missed the answer. Can mirrors be used as a reflective? Like mylar?

[______]

Got a dumb question, I might of missed the answer. Can mirrors be used as a reflective? Like mylar?

 

From what I have read ( I'm no grow guru) mirrors absorb light and reflect heat.

[stopmypain]

that would suck! Bubble grower is this true?

[Guest Wayne]

Need some input on the optimum size greenhouse to construct for 12 plants. This will be a full summer season grow in soil. Suggestions for strains most suitable for maximum yield under these conditions would also be welcome.

[TajMahal]

Have seen the effects of giving them plenty of room (floor space), they love it! do not have numbers but, space enough that a fully mature plant in a 3gal or a 5gal does not come close to touching it's neighbor, getting good air flow.

 

free Leonard should do well, but you probably already know that.

[+RevThad]

Got a dumb question, I might of missed the answer. Can mirrors be used as a reflective? Like mylar?

Somebody told me awhile ago:

 

Mirrors only reflect back a portion of light visible to us... other wavelegnths are actually absorbed by it--and it effects the plants-- they ALSO do not reflect evenly--- where they reflect the focal center of the light, you get hot spots reflected onto the plants that can toast them afte a while...

verry pretty, and looks like would work great--- but won't help your grow due to absorbed light -- may even harm them.

 

The glass in the mirror is the reason for it being so ineffective for the grow portions of the light. Mylar is the way to go, depending on the source Mylar reflects up to 98% of the light that hits it, and because there is no glass filtering, it is an accurate (full wavelenghts) reflection of the type of light.

[RexNeffect]

I'm reposting this because I think it was a good question and thought may be someone overlooked it because of my newb status.

 

Ummmm.........What is the shortest time at which you would visibly see a nute deficency in the plants? Also, what is the proper procedure to supplement the water with the needed nute and conversely how fast could you potentially see an increase in said plants health? Probably posting in wrong place, but considered a this grow question. Thx in advance.

 

 

 

12 plant System in 80 gal. RDWC under 650w worth of 4 ft cfl SC strain showing stress

[ToadInCan]

BG! You are large! I'm a newbie, starting my first grow in not-dirt dirt, and I am so impressed! I am shopping for supplies in the morning. Round two will be in a bubbletote. I hope to make you proud. Thanks for providing a budget friendly alternative.

[Grow Thread]

just want to make a few things clear for the benefit of the patients.

 

i resigned as a "mod".

 

i no longer wish to be a part of the politics on this site. and by "politics", i mean the day-to-day operations as well as the general direction that the movement is going.

 

it is not that i do not care...................

 

trust me, i do.

 

the fact of the matter is that there was a difference in opinion. there are tons of those on this site every single day and this one was no different.

 

i have a grow room, patients, children, wife, parents, and grandparents to take care of.......... in no particular order.

 

that is my main concern. in my free time i like to help newer growers get their feet wet. thats all i want to do.

 

as much as i care, i simply do not have the time to contribute in any other way.

 

i will continue to contribute to this site as a member and that is all for now. trust me, for a newer grower out there, this is better for you as well.

 

no longer will i have to waste my precious time playing the "he said-she said" game. thats not me. there are others in the game who enjoy that conflict and can resolve it themselves. let the drama queens have their fun too. i just do not wish to be a part of it.

 

if allowed, i will be sticking to the grow room............... and thats it all. please do not private message or e-mail me with anything other than grow related issues. there are mods and admin here to take care of everything else.

[Grow Thread]

DOUBLE BUDGET BUBBLE BUCKET

here we go. i'm using some extra parts around the grow room for pics, but the majority of the equipment was bought in bulk, so i used what i had

 

here's what we are starting with:

 

 

and also a 5" mesh pot. not sure how i left that out of the photos

 

 

anyhow, here's your parts list:

 

5 gallon bucket

5 gallon bucket lid

20-60 gallon wal-mart air pump $8.99

4 feet of 1/4" aquarium air line

one 6" air stone

one 2" mesh pot

one 2" mesh pot insert

one 5" mesh pot

1/4" airline tee

 

 

lets start with the lid:

 

you see 3 holes in the lid.

 

a 4 3/4" hole in the dead-center for the 5" mesh pot.

a 1/4" tiny hole in the very edge for the airline to pass through.

a 1 7/8" hole for our "lookout" hole

 

now lets grab our air pump and attach about 4-5" of airline to each port:

 

and then you want to connect those 2 ends of the airline to your 1/4" tee:.... (a little more secure than in the picture is preferred as i just threw it together for picture purposes ) :

 

 

then attach the rest of your airline (about 3 feet) to the open end of the tee. run this line through the 1/4" hole into and through the lid.

 

 

after the line is run from the tee, through the lid, and into the bucket, attach the 6" air stone to the end of the line. the 6" airstone has enough weight to itself that it will stay at the bottom of the bucket.

 

now let's get your 2" mesh pot and 2" insert together. these were leftovers in the grow room as i had bought mad bulk of each for various aerocloners. they are about 20 cents each for the 2" pot and the 2" insert:

 

these work as a GREAT airtight "plug" for the lid of the bucket. insert the set-up into the 1 7/8" hole in the lid and then put your 5" mesh pot in the big hole, and you should be somewhere about here:

 

the particular brand of buckets that i have here gives me exactly 4 gallons of water to reach a level that is 1/8" below the net pot. after plugging in the water pump and pulling the 5" mesh pot, i can see some action

 

 

 

ok, now here is where our 2" hole comes into play remove the little meshpot and we have an access hole:

 

from that access hole we can see the 5" mesh (growing) pot. we can also see what the water level is, and where we need to be.

also, we can use a 99 cent turkey baster to retrieve some water/nutes from that holefor testing:

 

 

 

so we fill/check/add, WHATEVER we need to do through the little hole and when we arent playing around in there, the 2" meshpot with the 2" insert inside plugs the hole for us and keeps bad crap out.

 

WE GOOD?

 

 

of course now we need a plant here's a newly rooted clone from the aerocloner:

 

and twinkle twinkle, click your heels together, and here she is after 20 days in veg:

 

i will leave the flower and harvest pics up to you guys

[Grow Thread]

did anyone/everyone have pics disappear on monday/tuesday???

 

i do not surf the site as i used to.

 

i have tried to re-upload the pictures for the DIY tutorial above and it will not let me load those pics again??