Red Dragon & Magic Bud - First CFL grow using "Buds for Less" light set-up

13th October 2010 (Day 35 from seed packet)

Well I expected to be fitting the screen on Day 35 and the plant is just reaching the height of the screen, so in the words of Bruce Buffer …. “IT’S TIME”.

I removed the lower EIGHT “branches” to be used as clones, half for producing feminised seeds and I will probably give the others away.
I don’t have the space and I don’t want to grow the same strain all the time, so keeping mother plants alive for future cloning is not going to happen. I will be very happy to have a handful of feminised seeds from every strain that I grow.
When it is time to produce the seeds I will document the process so everyone can see just how simple it is.

With the bottom of the plant cleared of branches it now has just four branches to be trained under the screen.

Roots are coming out of the bottom of the pot already so I think that the plant is ready for some serious growing – the energy that was sustaining 12 growth points now has only 4 to feed.

So I'm subscribed, but I just have to ask, this isn't really anything about following the Seemore Buds plan anymore, right?

Looking forward to your pollination / seed production technique.

Maximus cannabis said:

So I'm subscribed, but I just have to ask, this isn't really anything about following the Seemore Buds plan anymore, right?

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Nope, not at all.
It is strange that quite a few people start with the Seemore Buds plan and go off on a tangent.

My "Buds for Less" light rig was sucking about 200W, now I am using a mere 36W ... but the CFL rig is being recycled in my cloning/vegging chamber, it's a very versatile light rig as I can use as many or as few bulbs as I need at any time.

fictionalgrower said:

Looking forward to your pollination / seed production technique.

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So am I, I already have the Colloidal Silver generator which works a treat ... just need to get the clones rooted and I'll make the seeds.

I'll probably save some of the pollen for a bit of cross pollinating with the next strain that I grow.

Looking good dude. Is there enough room between the pot and screen to get your hand in there? That LED is INTENSE!

Grumpy Old Dreamer said:

Nope, not at all.
It is strange that quite a few people start with the Seemore Buds plan and go off on a tangent.

My "Buds for Less" light rig was sucking about 200W, now I am using a mere 36W ... but the CFL rig is being recycled in my cloning/vegging chamber, it's a very versatile light rig as I can use as many or as few bulbs as I need at any time.

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I would be one of those people lol

Serapis said:

Looking good dude. Is there enough room between the pot and screen to get your hand in there? That LED is INTENSE!

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Yes, and the screen is attached to the pot so I can lift the pot with the screen attached to gain easier access if needed. Until I allow the plant to come through the screen I can remove and reattach the screen in a matter of a few seconds.

Grumpy Old Dreamer said:

Yes, and the screen is attached to the pot so I can lift the pot with the screen attached to gain easier access if needed. Until I allow the plant to come through the screen I can remove and reattach the screen in a matter of a few seconds.

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Nice. I have my scrog plants vegging now. I have a 2" square mesh plastic for my net. Going to stretch it out 4.5'x2'

Grumpy Old Dreamer said:

So am I, I already have the Colloidal Silver generator which works a treat ... just need to get the clones rooted and I'll make the seeds.

I'll probably save some of the pollen for a bit of cross pollinating with the next strain that I grow.

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im very interested in seeing the collodial silver technique ive been researching it for myself and have already started to gather silver coins etc will be watching in fascination how late are you gonna leave it until you start treating the plant in the solution? or are these plants sacraficial?

steve6green said:

im very interested in seeing the collodial silver technique ive been researching it for myself and have already started to gather silver coins etc will be watching in fascination how late are you gonna leave it until you start treating the plant in the solution? or are these plants sacraficial?

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I have taken clones (8 of them), once they have rooted 4 will be put into 12/12 as females (to be pollinated) , 2 will be treated with Colloidal Silver to become males and 2 will be given to a good home ... so my timeline is dependant on how quickly they send out roots.
I won't be growing large plants to develop seeds, as soon as I have several flower clusters developing I will hit them with pollen and throw them back into my vegging chamber to develop the seeds.
They won't need to stay in 12/12 once I have hit them with pollen and I'd rather they keep away from my main scrogged plant.

Grumpy Old Dreamer said:

I have taken clones (8 of them), once they have rootbed 4 will be put into 12/12 as females (to be pollinated) , 2 will be treated with Colloidal Silver to become males and 2 will be given to a good home ... so my timeline is dependant on how quickly they send out roots.
I won't be growing large plants to develop seeds, as soon as I have several flower clusters developing I will hit them with pollen and throw them back into my vegging chamber to develop the seeds.
They won't need to stay in 12/12 once I have hit them with pollen and I'd rather they keep away from my main scrogged plant.

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dont blame you by keeping it away (the males) ive also heard when you polinate your females to turn off all fans otherwise the pollen particles can be blown under doors or onto you then piggyback into the female chamber.... back to your LED globe where did you source it from? thinking about investing in one for the next grow

steve6green said:

.... back to your LED globe where did you source it from? thinking about investing in one for the next grow

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I bought it on ebay ... link

They come in purple or magenta, the purple one is good for the whole grow while the magenta is focussed on the flowering phase. As I have CFL's for vegging I decided to go with the magenta.

I haven't switched to 12/12 yet so technically I am still vegging the plant under the magenta light, and it seems to be doing fine.

I'm still fine tuning my set up and future grows will be vegged for longer under the CFLs while the previous grow is finishing under the magenta light - future plants will be more advanced when I put them under the LED.

It is way too early to recommend that people buy these (expensive) lights but I am seriously considering doubling my flowering space in the future by getting a second light.

I can't believe just how little power it sucks, the two 24W CFLs I am using over my clones are sucking more juice.

I've heard that if you just hit your pollinated plants with a quick shower, the water deactivates the pollen? I would probabaly move them anyway, but you should be safe.

I won't let any pollen anywhere near my main plant, but then again if a stray pollen spore found its way there, all that would happen is I get an extra seed or two.

The pollen plants will be removed well before the pollen balls mature and the pollen will be collected and applied to the seed plants outside of my grow room.

After a couple of days and a hosing down, the seed plants will be put back in the vegging room and the pollen plants will be trashed.

Yeah I'm looking forward to the silver method documentary, too. I have a clone only strain that I would love to get back to seeds!

Grumpy Old Dreamer said:

I won't let any pollen anywhere near my main plant, but then again if a stray pollen spore found its way there, all that would happen is I get an extra seed or two.

The pollen plants will be removed well before the pollen balls mature and the pollen will be collected and applied to the seed plants outside of my grow room.

After a couple of days and a hosing down, the seed plants will be put back in the vegging room and the pollen plants will be trashed.

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The plant still produces seeds even though it goes back into veg state? that makes for an interesting life cycle for that plant. So you could get seeds say from the lower branches, reveg & keep the female to flower later (after removing the seeded branches) with no seeds? do I have that right?

I see absolutely no reason why that wouldn't work.

The plant won't "continue to produce seeds" as in create new seeds when it is reverted, but any previously pollinated seeds will continue to mature into viable seeds.
Putting the plant back on a vegging light cycle should reveg the plant.
I had not considered the implications of revegging once the plant has been pollinated, as all I want to do is allow the seeds to mature and there is no room in my flowering chamber.
Once I harvest the seeds the plant will be trashed (or more accurately ... hashed) as I simply don't have the room.

If it takes 4 or 5 weeks to produce mature viable seeds, you will have a decent sized revegged plant waiting to be flowered again.

It will be interesting to see how large the plant is by the time the seeds are ready, this will depend on how many seed sites get pollinated and how many seeds the small plant is having to produce.
Seed production will get priority over fresh growth and if there are a lot of seeds, the new growth may just have to wait its turn.

I don't expect to have too many seeds per plant, that is why I will be using about 4 clones for seed production - if I get a dozen seeds per clone then I will be happy.

Also by keeping the seed count low, the plant should produce nice fat healthy seeds quickly.

Grumpy Old Dreamer said:

It is way too early to recommend that people buy these (expensive) lights but I am seriously considering doubling my flowering space in the future by getting a second light.

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Well ... it's only money, I just bought my second Kessil H150 Magenta so once I get my staggered grows going I should now be able to harvest every 5 to 6 weeks.

Decision time ... which strain to plant.

What seeds did you have in reserve?