IlovePlants: Welcome to my garden

Hello all! I am IlovePlants and it's true I love them. After a couple years away I've moved back to lovely Colorado with every intention of starting a wonderful garden that I can share with my community. Though I've been away for a while I have been lurking for the last two years and I see and hope that this forum and community can become as strong as it has ever been. There are a few people who exposed us to the realm of custom led,and you know who you are, but now it's possible for almost anyone to get extremely high quality on a decent budget with enough elbow grease and know how.

I will be documenting all of my process throughout this run to make it easier for anyone starting out to get the gist of what it takes to care for our favorite girls, if you want any more information ask politely. If you are here to call me out on my "shit" or because I'm a "big fat phony" do it somewhere else. No trolling please.

The Garden:
-6 clones of a local Neon Kush; a indica dominant hybrid with a supposed flowering time of 8-9 weeks
-Custom soil and "super" soil
-Water and tea only(ph'd between 6.3-6.8 depending on life cycle stage)

Lights and Action:
400w 6500k T-5 for early staging, I may end up using this in flower with bloom boosters
64w max Custom bloom booster running at 20w
20w cheapo fan
10w cheap air pump for reservoir

Bloom Booster: 4-6500k 10w cheap led cob 2-630nm 10w cheap cob


Garden Shot: 400w of T-5 and 20w of bloom booster


Neon Kush: 4 days after switching from hydro clones to soil plants. I gave them tea 2 days in to stabilize the root zone and promote proper growth


Until my babies are ready I'm puffing on some Jillybean wax Stay tuned, on the next post I will be building my CXA modules and I may gloss over my theoretical light that I'm working on. Picture posts will come about once a week, I will do my best to respond to any questions or comments throughout the week. I may have weeks with almost nothing to report and sometimes I will be posting multiple times a day. Again stay tuned...

Sincerely,
IlovePlants

P.S. Thanks for stopping by

Welcome back ILP...........nice garden

Will follow.......still using the stem twisting technique?

Glad to see you are around and doing well. I'll be following along. And give me the Classics all day.

PSUAGRO. said:

Welcome back ILP...........nice garden

Will follow.......still using the stem twisting technique?

Click to expand...

Kinda, depending on how rigid the stem is, I try to bruise the stem enough to give without losing all support. The younger the growth the less likely I twist, not enough rigid tissue to hold up after the twist, but too old and it may snap. I just don't top/fim anymore due to time constraints, if it were about ease of technique I would top/fim all day, but I notice a 3-7 day delay in growth. Usually I do the stem twist until I have my selected shoots take dominance, at that point twisting is strain specific. Normally kushy plants get too woody after a while and any twist becomes a snap. My master kush was terrible with hands on training, but all of my cheddarwurst crosses took to it well.

This plant grows like a weed but it can be trained to act like a tree if you know what you're doing. This training makes the most of an energy storage system in the stems' cells as well as a way to achieve vascular cambium gains. The vascular cambium is a region in the stems of woody dicots, but it is also found in abundance in our favorite plants as well. More VC= higher growth rate, growth support, and closer to the "genetic ideal" for what a plant can produce under ideal conditions. Ideally in some areas of the world, and now in our grow rooms, some cannabis can reach 15ft or more into the air, and the width of the stem must grow throughout the life of the plant to support this additional top weight. In my opinion too many people support the plant too soon which leads you to support the plant for almost all of its life. This is fast for flowering, but inefficient because they introduce a plant into flower that lacks the stored energy necessary to tackle the challenge of flowering with ease and because of all the additional time that the human involved will have to waste tying branches in flowering, a time when you do not want to disturb the plant anyway due to its delicate nature. Any training, LST, FIM, Topping, Mainlining; will only "slow you down" in the literal sense but it doesn't make logical sense to dismiss training because yield and plant health depend on the plant having energy reserves to carry out its natural life.


ANYWAY pictures.

This little neon kush needs some love. She's six days into her new soil and ready for her first lesson in discipline.


Next we look at the stem of one of our leading shoots. Notice the internodal stems attempting to grow? These are what we refer to in the tomato business as suckers. Time to preen. The smaller the growth of these suckers the less damage and exposure they will inflict onto your plant. I try to get to them before they are the size of my pinky nail, but that isn't always possible. Since this was a recent transplant I allowed this internodal growth because I didn't want to mess with the top of the plant while the roots were still getting adjusted. Now that we are nearly a week in I shouldn't have any trouble growth wise by nipping these suckers in the bud.

It's as easy as 1

2

3


And now the finished branch, I went ahead and used a scissor to remove the larger sucker at the base of the branch in the next picture.


As you can see I didn't chop off a lot of green, all I did was maximize the potential of the lead cola on that branch. The less green material you take from a plant during vegetation the quicker your plants will get to their peak potential. In my opinion you want to keep as many leaves on the plant at all times, there is almost no reason to ever trim a fully developed leaf off of a plant before it shrivels up. Move, and tuck leaves that interrupt light from budsites, but never cut them off unless you want to slow yourself down. I know that there are hydro guys who swear by defoliation during flowering, but I don't deal with hydro, I deal with organic plants. I have never heard of a plant that grows faster once you cut off its power source. Just sayin...

Till Next Time,
IlovePlants

Sneak peak of next post

My horribly built but functional led lights. Stay frosty friends.

Got crazy sick, the Mrs. is a nanny so my body just got rocked by some next generation crazy flumonia broncholdus, aka I've been half dead for about 5 days or so now. Anyway I meant to post pictures last week, but I was emailing them from my phone to my email and it was taking forever. She let me use her camera, so pictures. Sorry about the state of the garden, I'm working on building the cabinets currently so each of the larger plants will get their own home shortly but I haven't given them my usual care. Normally the two larger plants would have been transplanted into their new 13 gallon homes but I haven't been well enough to get it done. I have however been keeping up with netflix, soup, and copious amounts of pills sprays and liquids.
By the way, I checked my phone and I picked up these plants on the 6th so my dates may be off. I think in the last post I thought they were at day 6 but really they were finishing day 4.
Day 18 of Veg


The plants are chugging along. If I didn't have the red heavy leds I would have bought some 2700k T-5 bulbs, right now they are almost too compact with internodal spacing of <1". I had a deformity occurring from the light density, some of the tops stopped growing up, and stopped making leaves only making more tops. It used to only happen when my cheddarwurst were a lot closer to the lights, but I think that all the blue is keeping them short. I'll remedy that once the new cabinets are finished being constructed. I'll snap a few more photos because I'm doing alright and show you what I mean by "deformity". If I can recreate this effect with additional strains I will do a new thread about it. You basically FIM without cutting, and then you lollypop to the top. It may be strain specific as I only have had 2 strains do this over my 3 years and 10 strain experience. It may be a "squat sativa" phenotypical expression, this plant looks and acts like a slightly more sativa version of my former cheddar wurst. Pics to follow. Squat sativa + Stretch indica = My mission. I will be purchasing new genetics after this run to try and find almost the same phenotypical expressions that led to my Paradox. I guess it's paradox resolved as I will never see her again

Sincerely,
IlovePlants
P.S. More to follow

Sorry to hear man but I feel you on the stacking.. sometimes it's too much. Don't get me wrong I love using nitrozyme/fulpower foliars and softening the tops and then it's just stack... on the right stuff......... I'm terrified to try it on these ssdd I have going. They'll stop fucking growing.

Yeah they're acting like I'm trying to flower them, but I'm guessing that they may just be aging, plus the blue heavy light, plus the roots reaching the super soil. The guy I got these from only grew this strain, but his buds looked and smelled great. Plus he wasn't exactly pampering his plants like I do, and he was still getting great results.

Here are a couple pictures of the no leaf only stem nodes I was talking about. Some have begun shooting out single leaflets and leaves where there were none, others just said "fuck leaves, I'm gonna be all stem and bud."


I'm coughing a lot so it was hard to get the camera steady, the second pic would have been my best, but it is blurry as fuck, but basically these plants topped themselves in a couple of places. I cut off a few leaves that were shading out lower growth, but that's just a necessity if you want an even canopy with a clone and you don't want to veg for 30+ days. I have to get them into larger containers pronto if I want them to remain on schedule. I can't wait to see these girls at their peak!

Next update will likely include; new cabinets, more light, transplanting, etc...

Sincerely,
IlovePlants

Day 21: Tomorrow I build a cab and repot the largest of my ladies into the 15 gallon pots. Lets take a peak.

They're all looking great, I will be giving them 7-10 days in the new pots before flipping to 12/12. As you can see the newest sets of fan leaves are exceeding 5" in length. I will be doing a bit of lolly popping of lower shaded leaves. By the time I switch my plants into flowering they will only have leaves 5" or larger to promote vigor in bloom. I can't wait to see what she does in flowering, by my memory of the garden I got these they should stretch up about a foot. It's a good time to be cannabis in this garden.

Peace,
IlovePlants

The first room is up, I'll be wrapping it once the panda film arrives. In a few days they will be getting a plywood exterior with doors. Still a lot of work to do, I figured I would snap a quick picture of the progress. It feels great getting these girls transplanted and ready for a fantastic harvest.
Strain: Neon Kush ~14 gallon container Age: 25 days Schedule: 20/4 Lighting: 2 120w Spectra's and 1 58W CXA 5000k

I'm quite busy for the time being, but I'll try to get more pictures up soon!
Sincerely,
IlovePlants

IlovePlants said:

They're all looking great, I will be giving them 7-10 days in the new pots before flipping to 12/12. As you can see the newest sets of fan leaves are exceeding 5" in length. I will be doing a bit of lolly popping of lower shaded leaves. By the time I switch my plants into flowering they will only have leaves 5" or larger to promote vigor in bloom. I can't wait to see what she does in flowering, by my memory of the garden I got these they should stretch up about a foot. It's a good time to be cannabis in this garden.

Peace,
IlovePlants
View attachment 3488482

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Do you enjoy eating watermelon in your grow room and thats just a convenient place to set it down or are you trying to attract fungus gnats? lol

OneHitDone said:

Do you enjoy eating watermelon in your grow room and thats just a convenient place to set it down or are you trying to attract fungus gnats? lol

Click to expand...

You found the water melon eh? Yeah I was having lunch at the time of the photo. I noticed it but didn't want to retake the picture. I don't get fungus gnats because I compost in my room, and my compost contains nematodes and soil mites which kill the gnats before they ever hatch once eggs are laid. Occasionally I will get one or two adults flying around but they die in a day. If you keep the fungus gnats natural habitat within range you seldom ever get any problems, in fact it speeds up the decomposition of the compost. lol

Hey ILP glad to see ya around still. You know they do make 80mm AC fans though if that CXA likes a bigger fan, well who am I to say .

Anyway let me ask you something. A little while ago some guy posted that you don't need to cure weed if you know what you're doing growing it. Of course that led to a typical Rollitup conversation but once I saw your poll something made me think of that and come to a hypothesis. Now I grew out some World of Seeds Special Afghan Kush recently and didn't really think much of it after smoking some 2 to 3 week cured buds. I got to tell ya, I'm smoking the last of it after another 2 months of it sitting around and I gotta say it's some of my favorite smoke ever. Citrus and hash flavor and the worst I can say about it if you smoke too much it's nap time. So my question is to you after all that is, do you think the older strains need to be cured while the newer strains based on Skunk#1 and NL#? and the like are so modernized they don't "need" a cure or have a better fresh from the dry room taste? I grew some Barney's Farm Blue Cheese once and I basically "distributed" it after 2 weeks from harvest. People still talk about that smoke and how blueberry it was. What's your opinion? Do you think curing some weed is not particularly necessary? I know you like your strains and I'm very interested in what you have to say about that.

Good Luck with those plants bra'!

IlovePlants said:

You found the water melon eh? Yeah I was having lunch at the time of the photo. I noticed it but didn't want to retake the picture. I don't get fungus gnats because I compost in my room, and my compost contains nematodes and soil mites which kill the gnats before they ever hatch once eggs are laid. Occasionally I will get one or two adults flying around but they die in a day. If you keep the fungus gnats natural habitat within range you seldom ever get any problems, in fact it speeds up the decomposition of the compost. lol

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I keep debating going back to coco but fungus gnats are a major problem here.
Nematodes are what I was planning if I do give it another go

FranJan said:

Hey ILP glad to see ya around still. You know they do make 80mm AC fans though if that CXA likes a bigger fan, well who am I to say .

Anyway let me ask you something. A little while ago some guy posted that you don't need to cure weed if you know what you're doing growing it. Of course that led to a typical Rollitup conversation but once I saw your poll something made me think of that and come to a hypothesis. Now I grew out some World of Seeds Special Afghan Kush recently and didn't really think much of it after smoking some 2 to 3 week cured buds. I got to tell ya, I'm smoking the last of it after another 2 months of it sitting around and I gotta say it's some of my favorite smoke ever. Citrus and hash flavor and the worst I can say about it if you smoke too much it's nap time. So my question is to you after all that is, do you think the older strains need to be cured while the newer strains based on Skunk#1 and NL#? and the like are so modernized they don't "need" a cure or have a better fresh from the dry room taste? I grew some Barney's Farm Blue Cheese once and I basically "distributed" it after 2 weeks from harvest. People still talk about that smoke and how blueberry it was. What's your opinion? Do you think curing some weed is not particularly necessary? I know you like your strains and I'm very interested in what you have to say about that.

Good Luck with those plants bra'!

Click to expand...

This has always been a great topic and I think the answer lies in; genetics, environment, and soil conditions. From my knowledge, I think that there are some strains you can smoke almost immediately and there are some you should cure longer, from my experience strains with a high leaf to bud ratio, or extremely green calayxes need additional cure time which makes sense since more leaves=more chloroplasts filled with chlorphyll to oxidize and break down. There are exceptions, and I would assume in these cases there could be biological factors keeping the chlorophyll locked up and out of harms way. My understanding of it is that the mesophyll/ cutin arrangement could inhibit chlorophyll degradation. Hypothetically a plant with a thicker cutin layer ( a layer of waxy cells which protect the leaf from sun damage) would keep chlorophyll and moisture locked in the leaves and out of harms way. In terms of environment or soil conditions, they could effect the plant either way depending on the genetic process and potential of the plant. Excess nitrates, phosphates and metals are often present in unflushed bud. From my experience the resin is the true factor for taste. So too little light or too many nutrients could cause excess salts and minerals to be present at harvest, but generally the "tastier" or frostier a strain is the less likely you need a cure. So to sum it up I have experienced the need to cure based off trichome density, and bud attributes. If I have a super frosty strain I generally only need 2 weeks of dry/cure time to make the bud taste nearly optimal. I've had my own strains grown and smoked at different curing times, the flavor gets better with time but the untrained palette will not be able to distinguish long vs short term cured product, only growers and aficionados will be able to notice the difference. I find that after 2 months of cure time you can't tell the difference. With that being said I haven't looked deep into terpinoid degradation, it may positively effect the flavor of some strains based off what I've heard. That I have yet to look into with as much gusto as general botany. Thanks for supporting the thread!
Sincerely,
IlovePlants

OneHitDone said:

I keep debating going back to coco but fungus gnats are a major problem here.
Nematodes are what I was planning if I do give it another go

Click to expand...

I use neem seed meal in my mix, that and I haven't had a real bad outburst in years since I started my compost. My predatory mite family was picked up by accident when I was adding forest litter into my compost to diversify biological agents. At first I freaked out and thought I had spider mites, but after some research I discovered I had hypsosis miles and a couple other beneficial mites which have kept my garden defended. I liked coco, but I don't like mixing up nutrients and it always feels too sterile whenever I try nonorganics. I'm just hooked on growing the soil. Thanks for the comments!
Sincerely,
IlovePlants

Birthday of the Mark 1 Mobile Photon Cannon AKA MPC1
4 x CXA3070 5000k at 1.4amps=235watts on a light mover in my 4x8 space. Walls will be going up in the next few days. Using the fan gives the light dual utility as it blows down large leaves exposing lower growth and foliage to light. I know that I have a rats' nest above my light and I will be taking the light down tomorrow to clean her up a bit. In a few days I will be building a my second cannon to add into the room and I will outfit these lights with some DIY reflectors. These lights are lite as hell from the plastic and pc heatsinks, but eventually I plan on re-mounting the whole thing on rigid plastic and aluminum sheeting so that I can ditch the fans and use an inline cooling system.

Total wattage of light in the 4x8=~675.2watts There is a lot more wattage being used by the room ~10w per Spectra, the light rail is 5.5w, and about 23w for the photon cannon fan, so a total of 68.5 extra watts. The room is running at 743.7 but I will run just over 1100w by the end of flowering. I will probably add my two bloom boosters and some small T-5 UVA bulbs near the end of flowering for at least 75 more watts but a majority of the grow will be less than 1000w. I may build a 730nm flowering initiator for the room as well. I would like to get the early yields that some people have been claiming on this forum.

Here she is in action, it's mesmerizing to watch.The light only bounces back and forth in the 5 feet at the center of the room.


I have had excellent results with my light mover in the past in the veg room, and I think that it will work out splendidly in the flowering cabinet. I think that this may be an opportunity to really stretch the limits of how close you run your lights, I think that if I can keep the lights fairly low but with enough spread to cover 3/4th of the room I will be able to push huge light intensity without burning out the chloroplasts. We'll see, maybe my plants will just freak out. The real trick is never having the lights go all the way into the corner of your room, but you have to keep the light high enough to cover over half of the room. Always move the stoppers inwards about 1.5 to 2 feet depending on your space. I will probably tighten up the move distance to about 3 feet once that second cannon is in place. I hope you guys are having an awesome day. I'm gonna go pass out as I've been working for far too long, my mother in law is visiting and the Mrs. is freaking out a little, so much cleaning, organizing and rearranging.

Sincerely,
IlovePlants

The day after tomorrow:

The plant on the right side of the tent is ecstatic to be in her new home. I'm going to give her about 5 more days of 20/4 before I flip the 4x8 to 12/12. I have some pre and post training shots, I tied a few of the biggest branches down to the pot as they are beyond the point of the twist and shout technique. The MPC1 is doing some serious work on these girls. It's official, I love 5000k with old red heavy blurples.

Lefty pre training:

Lefty post training:


Righty pre training:


Righty post training:


The 4x8 is chugging along, these plants are setting up exactly the way I want them to. I feel like a lot of people over fill their tents because they don't realize the full glory of massive pots Anyway I'll see you guys in a few days. I think that I'm going to start taking pictures every 3 days. That way I won't bore you guys too much. Thanks for tuning in, if you have any questions or comments feel free to let me know. How do you guys think the 4x8 will turn out with about 1100w by the end of it? What do you guys think of my set up? Thanks for reading guys, and have a great day!

Sincerely,
IlovePlants

very clever and well executed use of a light rail. You don't see a lot of light movers in these parts.
Your training skills are excellent!