H.A.F. growing stink-flowers in dirt with QB's

Might have noticed I didn't post pics of cloning the top. After finding out that I can successfully do it, I'm done for now. If I like the NL, I'll buy more seeds. Growing from seed is just more enjoyable for me. All I have been smoking for 6 months is skunk and granddaddy purple. I don't want to feel the same about the NL.

I am ordering a "mix-pack" with 5 each of Skywalker OG, Bruce Banner, and Black Widow. It has a mix of indica dominant, sativa dominant, (both 80/20) and one that is about 50/50. With my setup I can comfortably have 4 plants going at once in decent size pots. The lights in the flower room are independent for height adjustment so if I have a tall one and a shorty in flower at the same time, no problem.

So to make my life easier, once I figure out which nute to stick with, I am probably going to just drop a seed every month and harvest about once a month. I now know I have room to handle 3 if there is a long flowering one.

The GDP is browning noticeably on the lower tops since yesterday. There is a few scattered ambers, but still way more clear. Id say there's about 60% milky, 35% or more clear, and 5% or less amber. That is just checking the lower canopy, not the 4 main stems. The main stems flowers are further along, so by letting the lower ones get to about 10-15% amber, the tops will be riper, and may show signs of fattening between now and then. She's 48 days from flip.

I pruned some big fan leaves off the 5 gallon.

GDP 48 days ago

The manifold is ready for some more stretching later today.

I am keeping the 1st node shoots on each limb, and topping as soon as those sprouts get another node.

Day 121 from snip
Day 50 from flip.
And I'm harvesting as soon as she dries out. I flushed her yesterday, so in 2-3 days the pot will be light. Might wait a day longer after that.
PRO TIP - your plant will get rid of water faster when growing than when hanging and drying. An extra day in the pot might save 2 on drying.

This one is pushing the 2oz envelope of possibility and may surprise me.
Day 75 from snip
Day 30 from flip
Top pistils are browning, but very evenly. they are starting at the tips instead of random pistils going solo.

But this is the main reason to harvest. This baby needs room.
Day 75 from snip
Day 12 from flip

I may raise the wire grid up on wood to get more height, but the bucket-grids were bigger than the pots, and crowding the pots together made it unstable. They'll go back on the grids when the plants are bigger and need more room.

I'm also going to prune the seed-leaves and sprouts, and the 3-toed leaves and sprouts off the 4 skunk plants next watering, then add soil to top the pots off.

Nice manifold. How long do you usually veg those for?

Big Perm said:

Nice manifold. How long do you usually veg those for?

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I haven't done it the same twice. Still looking for that sweet spot.

I want 4 cola at a minimum, and I want to stretch either 4 or 8 cola to the pot edge before letting them go vertical. I want to get them 8-12" minimum before flip, but what I have noticed is that bud size is directly related to stem size. Fewer stems get fatter quicker. This manifold is what I have 'figgered' will be the most productive in the shortest time.

I am leaning towards just doing 4, and cleaning off lower nodes as it grows until I get it ready to head north. I snip shoots that I know I am not keeping early, but leave the leaves until they become a problem.

For the timeline so far, it took exactly 28 days from the day the seed got wet until it was ready to top. Coincidentally that is also when she was ready for her first feeding. So using a standard "4 week veg - 8 week flower" feeding schedule, it works out perfect for what I am looking for - a reliable rotation.

1 month - wet to first top/first feed
1 month - veg feed - build manifold
2 months - flower-harvest

Big Perm said:

Nice manifold. How long do you usually veg those for?

Click to expand...

I also don't like having this many plants going at once and after the 4 short-veg-small-pot skunks I will probably settle on 3 gallons, and dropping a seed or two a month.

All of my different methods have produced about 1oz/pot-gallon. So far -
1 - A 5 gallon pot gave me 4 and 6 ounces cured from a manifold and non manifold grow -result - I like manifolds.
2 - grew 2 manifolds in 3-gallon pots. One manifold I cleaned every shoot until the flip, one I left an extra shoot on the inside towards the center. Both produced 3oz. The solo-cola were large, the dual-cola were medium and small. Both weighed the same.
3 - I got off on a monster-cropped clones tangent and am glad I took notes
4 - I have 31 different bottles of nutrients, not counting the Nectar for the Gods sample that I am not even touching. *jedi speak - they are for sale if you want them..." So the contest rolled around just at the right time for me to solve the last problem with those 4 Super-skunk.
5 - The NL is using my best guess pruning/LST techniques, testing the timeframe, and using up my initial FoxFarms trio of nutes in case that is not what I decide to go with.
7 - In about 2 weeks I should have new seeds! ???

Short version - I am growing just for me (and one of my daughters occasionally) and I don't need bulk as much as I would like variety. I got a 10+10free seeds deal and worked it into what I have now, and still have 7 skunk and 3 GDP seeds to grow from that purchase. I have 15 seeds (5ea of 3 strains) coming and will grow one of each next, then set up a rotation of one seed per month.

LST on the manifold. the 4 shoots I have exposed will be the ones I am keeping - topping right about where the ties are eventually.

And I removed nodes one and two from the skunks. Next watering I'll top them off with soil.

The rotation Skunk will probably be next, then the NL manifold. But if the 5-gallon ends up dominating the room I may have to just flip the other room all at the same time and have two 12/12 rooms going for a bit.

Showing no signs of popping new pistils or fattening. Almost all the pistils have browned, so when she is dry she dies. The 4 stalks seem to have little to nothing on them bulk-wise, but all the lowers are plump. I think this will be a bowl-trimmer job for the lot, unless a few deserve a hand-manicure after I see what's in there.

BUT, the temps are better and humidity is higher, so she is drying slower, and since she's not growing she's not drinking much. So she may have another 2-3 days to save herself. If she pops pistils she gets water

Pre-feed, and post feed

I didn't mention there was about 2 hours between pics. They are like a turkey timer. When the leaves pop up, it's ready for more

Day 31
Got her 2nd veg feeding, 3/4 gal at 75%. Using the Fox Farms original trio, plus the 8-pack of additives they have on that same original feeding schedule. I have also started adding a minimum dose of Botanicare Silica Blast to all feedings and waterings along with their cal-mag +.

I am also being very careful not to reduce the % of cal-mag when I adjust the nute % of what I am adding.

I was just staring at the plant last night and debating with myself about feed-water-harvest etc. and with the two plants on either side, she definitely had a purple hue. It's not showing up well in the pics but it's almost like the trichomes themselves have a color/tint to them while clear/milky. Don't know if it is from the leaves or not, because they are either beautiful and green, ugly and yellow-brown, or have brown spots starting.

H.A.F. said:

I didn't mention there was about 2 hours between pics. They are like a turkey timer. When the leaves pop up, it's ready for more

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I think when the leaves pop up (praying) the plant is at it's happiest. Too dry and the leaves start tot wilt. After a good watering to runoff mine will droop for a while and then get back to praying. I'm assuming if I got the pot "just wet enough" the kids wouldn't droop?

led1k said:

I think when the leaves pop up (praying) the plant is at it's happiest. Too dry and the leaves start tot wilt. After a good watering to runoff mine will droop for a while and then get back to praying. I'm assuming if I got the pot "just wet enough" the kids wouldn't droop?

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Nah, from what I've seen when they pray they are due for water. Once you water they start using it and the leaves get heavy. Water weights 8'lbs per gallon. I guess if you let them go it will wilt again, but I never let it get that far. So everything you are saying is right except the "watering them just enough" part. If you just give them a little they will still droop, but for less time