TGA Vortex 400W Stealth Grow in Supersoil

J.W.

Well-Known Member
Well, not much new to report really. We're trucking along nicely, and right at about the halfway point with my biggest girl. She's starting to get nice and greasy, with resin forming like cake inside the buds. The sugar leaves are starting to powder up with resin, but as most that may have researched Vortex know, it's her buds that really develop the trichs, so she won't display the frosty coated leaves of a strain like JTR, for instance. I took a few more orange pics while messing around with her after watering this morning, and put the first couple stakes in there to start situating her for the home stretch. I'll take her out for a nice photo shoot around day 45. As for now, I'm pretty happy. :bigjoint:
 

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J.W.

Well-Known Member
Jw the plants are lookin good, congrats
we're jones'in for some new pics
thanks
Thanks bro, hopefully these pics will do. I took these pics a week ago, so they're not exactly up to date, but they're better shots because they're not under the HPS. She looks way better just since these pics, especially in the resin department, but I'll post up a REAL good photo shoot on day 45, in a week or so. I'm excited! Thanks again, stay tuned bongsmilie
 

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how far from the 400 watt are you keeping the pants in veg and in flower? ihave some tga qleaner and jack the ripper i wan to grow out and cant fing the right distance lol
 

J.W.

Well-Known Member
Thanks Sub! I see the resemblance in the colas for sure. I think the other smaller Vortex I have in the grow tent might be more Space Queen dom, judging by the bud shape and different smell from this one. . . V4 is looking great, and my hat's off to you for the great genetics and the badass grow info. I really appreciate it, as this has been my best grow yet. She's at day 40 in flower as of today, and she's just starting to get a fade going, so I timed it right. Day 45 pics to come!
 

J.W.

Well-Known Member
how far from the 400 watt are you keeping the pants in veg and in flower? ihave some tga qleaner and jack the ripper i wan to grow out and cant fing the right distance lol
I like to keep mine 16" from the highest cola, just to keep heat down. Some people say that's too far from the plant, but I even go so far as raising to almost 24" the last two weeks of flower. Trust me, it's worth it. You're not going to get the correct footprint from an HID if you have it kissing the top buds, and you really won't see a loss in yield if you raise a 400w to at least 16". It prevents knotty, foxtailed buds and def cuts down on heat issues, especially for summer grows like this one.
 

J.W.

Well-Known Member
Here's my best attempt at cannabis photography. . .
I took these pics yesterday and tried posting them up here on RIU, but for whatever reason I couldn't get the website to download them yesterday. Anyway, as you can see, the lowers are thick as hell, and she smells out of this world. I can only imagine what the high from the finished buds will be like -- I smoked some dried lower buds from some sucker branches that I pulled back in week four, and just those immature little buds in a joint were extreme. The high is very strange. I got pretty ripped, and at the peak of the high, my vision and depth perception started acting screwy. I would look at my arms and they would almost seem far away or some shit. It's hard to describe. It'll be interesting to compare the high from the finished meds!
Here's the pics! She's just beginning to fade, and just in time, as I believe she has a good ways to go. I love looking at this plant! Peace folks
 

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bshdctr

Well-Known Member
J.W.-
Hello! Just wanted to say I am loving this thread!! That V4 is beautiful indeed and I can't wait to see the finished plant. I run a similar set up and am doing Votex right now as well....and I like both this thread and Sub's youtube videos for getting inspiration/excitement for growing Vortex. Thanks again-great stuff.
 

J.W.

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate it. V4 is indeed a beautiful plant -- and to think, I originally only started three seeds, but my gut told me to pop a fourth bean and V4 is what I got! I have clones of all four going now as well, so I'm interested to see pheno variation when I flower those four. I'm very impressed with the Vortex, and I'm sure the smoke report will only reinforce that.
 

J.W.

Well-Known Member
Here's some updated pics of my lime green and yellow lady. She is definitely looking more and more Apollo dominant, especially with the spear-shaped, knotty dreadlock buds and extended flowering time. This is the sativa in her shining through, and the knotty buds are also due in part to my temps being a little high the last couple weeks. I'm really trying to get a hold on this as flowering comes to a close, so I'm hoping to keep temps down and build some more weight as she finishes. As you can see, she's still got quite a bit to go, as her pistils are still mostly cream-colored and the buds are getting greasier and bigger each day. I checked with a microscope all over her, and am only seeing a few amber trichs here and there. I'm happy to see the fade, as I know this is going to get those flavors I've been after. She's giving off a crazy tart lemon smell that I can't get over. Should be an exciting couple weeks! :hump:
 

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J.W.

Well-Known Member
Here's V3, one of the other original four Vortex girls. I kept her along with V4, as she was too unique to get rid of. I bought a grow tent and threw her under my 150W Hydrofarm to flower her, four days behind V4. Before flowering her, I trimmed off a bunch of lowers since I was dealing with such small wattage. She has tight little buds that look like someone dipped them in sugar. The smell kept its weird coffee/chocolate twist, although it is more floral and pungent now that she's close to finish. She matured faster than V4, and should be done in a week or so. I'm going to harvest the top of the plant, and let the lowers fatten up and mature a little more for a few extra days. I'm convinced it's a different pheno than the lemon-smelling Apollo dom V4. She has little yield to show for under the small Hydrofarm, but I'm glad I kept her and I'll be glad to harvest this little crop of goodness :grin:
 

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Freda Felcher

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Nice Vortex plants! I have three different phenos in flower at day 52. I also have a few clones going outdoor, they won't begin flowering untill mid to late August. One of my indoor phenos is starting to show cloudy trichs and a few reds, the other two are clear and have more time to go and look like they can fill in a lot more. How much longer do you plan on letting yours go?
 

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J.W.

Well-Known Member
I'm thinking I'll let V4 go over 60 days for sure. V3 may be done around day 55 or so, but like I said, I'm going to harvest the tops first and let the lowers fill out a few more days on her. V4 is going to be the late bloomer though, as she's still putting on weight daily and doesn't appear to be even close to ready.
 

bshdctr

Well-Known Member
J.W.-
Greetings! Just wanted to say I am anxious to see how your Vortex (specifically that bad-ass V4!!) plants are doing? LIke I said...I enjoy your thread and am just excited to see how they finish. I have one female that has really started to show this same Apollo13 dominant look. It looks extremely similar to your V4 in the "28 day flower" pictures, with that slight leaf droop and extreme early trichome development:) Hope your day is going well-
BshDctr
 

J.W.

Well-Known Member
V4 is looking great, although she's taking forever! She's at day 63 today, and before I watered, I checked the trichs and I'm only seeing a few errant amber resin heads here and there. Many of the pistils still have to turn as well, so she's got a few more days -- but patience is a virtue, and the buds smell like lemon and mango goodness.
 
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