MissingCow wrote:SME, if I keep the temp at 90 with CO2, that's not too high is it?

They should be fine but, as I've said, it's strain dependent so just keep an eye on them and see how they like it.

rkymtnman wrote:hey MC,
3 observations:
the pic of the PC1 coloring is a bit strange. have you checked the link to pics of plant issues that SME put up?

Jorge Cervantes "Marijuana Horticulture The Indoor / Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible" and on page 319 he mentions that "under normal conditions, the ideal temperature range for indoor growth is 72 - 76 F (22- 24 C)". I have been trying to keep the temp to that level, but a friend of mine (more experienced) suggested to let them go up to 32 C. Now, Cervantes says that "daytime temperatures above 85 F (29 C) or below 55 F (13 C) will slow / stop growth

Also be sure that pH is OK before changing nutrient strengths. In soil it takes longer for plants to recover or show problems than it does in hydroponics so give them a little time between changes.

With CO2 enrichment, the plants can take usually more heat and nutrients and there's a *theory* that increased temps (in flower or the whole cycle) can help with LED yields.

MissingCow wrote:However, when looking at SME's pH chart, it looks like it's only absorbed @ 9.5 pH and up. Since my pH was lower than that, and was just at the last feeding raised to 6.5, that perhaps caused the problem.

I know, weird. Maybe there was some built up salts in there? I have no idea since my last watering was the flush with only CalMg+.

I hate looking at burned tips. But since she's going to be defoliated soon, I'll be watching the new growth to see how she is doing and hoping that my changes will help.

You're misreading the chart. It's absorbed between 6.5 and 9.5 not above or below.

Could be that it needed more of a flush. Several times the amount of the pot size for a real flush. As the get bigger they'll be able to handle more food.

I'm not a fan of defoliation and we've debated the pros and cons before. That said, they are your plants.

Growing Consensus Synopsis Paper: Should Fan Leaves be Trimmed?

MissingCow wrote:Coming up next: I feel a transplant on the very near horizon. Like tomorrow probably for the big girls. I'd love to hear from the experienced soil farmers about this process. I've read that rooting hormone powder is good to sprinkle in the hole of the new pot before inserting the root ball. This seems a little unnecessary to me, but surely wouldn't hurt. I only have gel, so I'm thinking this step won't be crucial. Thoughts?

I'm familiar with the process of turning the pot upside down with the plant between my middle fingers, but the plants I've done it with were in moist potting soil, and the containers are very thin plastic. Root ball easily stayed together using that method. But transplanting these will be slightly different because the substrate is a different texture, it's more fluffy and light (hence no need for perlite), and blows around easily when dry. I think the two big girls have a great root ball going, but if anyone has tips on what transplanting looks like with firm plastic pots and dry/airy medium I'd really appreciate them.

Finally, I'm wanting to transplant all 4 of my final girls at the same time. I haven't seen roots poking out of MM2, and PC 1&2 yet, but surely they're not too far behind the big girls. If you had to pick today, which 1 plant would you get rid of? My thoughts are to get rid of PC 1, but I can't decide between her or PC 2.

Yes, usually the day after watering is best, while the soil is moist.

Same thing, you can use a knife around the edges to loosen the pot from the medium if need, just have the new pot ready for the plant before removing the old pot. You can use the old pot inside the new pot to form the perfect sized hole for the root mass. Then remove the old pot and put the plant in the new hole. If it crumbles in your hand it may have been transplanted to early.

The bigger ones may get root bound (which will slow growth and let the smaller ones catch up) if you wait to do them all at the same time. They're generally close/ready when there are a lot of roots sticking out of ALL of the bottom drain holes. Use new pots that are at least double the old ones. so from 1gal to 2 and/or 2gal to 5 depending on how big you're letting them get before flower. 3-5 will be plenty if you flower while short...and you should with LED.

SisterMaryElephant wrote:Could be that it needed more of a flush. Several times the amount of the pot size for a real flush. As the get bigger they'll be able to handle more food.

I'm not a fan of defoliation and we've debated the pros and cons before. That said, they are your plants.

Growing Consensus Synopsis Paper: Should Fan Leaves be Trimmed?

Hi SME,

Thank you very much for your advice and suggestions on transplanting. I am waiting a little longer until they all even out, which they are doing nicely.

I also very much appreciate, and respect your opinion on defoliation. I read the synopsis, and I really enjoyed it. I've gone back and forth on this in my head, and I finally decided to pursue defoliation, at least during veg and on an experimental basis to see how it goes. I will say that my previous technique involved moderate to heavy defoliation during flowering. I was impressed with the results, but I'll also say that it's all I know. Maybe my next grow will be defoliation free, or mainlined entirely... I'm excited to see how this one goes, so I can read through my posts and try to figure out what can be improved for next time.

I watered with nutrients yesterday on the Incredible Bulk, and the 2 Money Makers (they go dry faster than the others) and the Incredible Bulk looks to be nutrient burning again. This is halfway surprising to me, because, "it can take a huge range of nutrient fluctuations, withstands extremes in heat and moisture, and joyfully devours any CO2 enhancement" so says the sales blurb.

Today I'm going to keep my observations to a minimum. The height of all the plants has evened out a little, and the pineapple chunks are coming along nicely.











And... for those of you who are against defoliation, you may want to avert your eyes.



I feel bad. I always do pulling leaves, but especially when they're small. I've seen this widen plants out before though, and that's the desired result of my defoliation at this phase, as well as shortening internodal distances. Again, as controversial as defoliation is, these benefits are anecdotal and not scientific. Scientifically, defoliation doesn't make sense. I've seen it work though, so color me impressed and confused.

What's that SME says... YMMV

MissingCow wrote:I also very much appreciate, and respect your opinion on defoliation. I read the synopsis, and I really enjoyed it. I've gone back and forth on this in my head, and I finally decided to pursue defoliation, at least during veg and on an experimental basis to see how it goes. I will say that my previous technique involved moderate to heavy defoliation during flowering. I was impressed with the results, but I'll also say that it's all I know. Maybe my next grow will be defoliation free, or mainlined entirely... I'm excited to see how this one goes, so I can read through my posts and try to figure out what can be improved for next time.

I watered with nutrients yesterday on the Incredible Bulk, and the 2 Money Makers (they go dry faster than the others) and the Incredible Bulk looks to be nutrient burning again. This is halfway surprising to me, because, "it can take a huge range of nutrient fluctuations, withstands extremes in heat and moisture, and joyfully devours any CO2 enhancement" so says the sales blurb.

I feel bad. I always do pulling leaves, but especially when they're small. I've seen this widen plants out before though, and that's the desired result of my defoliation at this phase, as well as shortening internodal distances. Again, as controversial as defoliation is, these benefits are anecdotal and not scientific. Scientifically, defoliation doesn't make sense. I've seen it work though, so color me impressed and confused.

What's that SME says... YMMV

Growing is part science and part art. If it was pure science everyone would grow exactly the same.

You have to watch out for internet and marketing claims; some might not be accurate.

Don't feel bad, they're plants. By all means, experiment. It doesn't make sense to me, with few exceptions, either and I wonder, when it does work, if it's not a panacea for other problems that could have been avoided other ways. For example, letting them get too big or not using enough or a different light. The worse thing that could happen is a plant dies or goes hermaphroditic. You can always grow more and that's what I love about it.

Hey MC,

I just opened up the C-Vault that was curing my Pineapple Chunk from last harvest...about 80 days now...I know you are growing it, so thought I would share!

I did not prune or trim it all, and it was the 6th plant I was growing, so it was on the fringe of the light's reach for most of it's flowering life..
Here is the main cola, note the yellow hairs! Amazing that it literally is the exact color of pineapple!



And here is the entire bounty from the plant..a meager 41 grams, but very tasty with an incredible citrus/pineapple bouquet!!


Just thought you may be interested!

Continued best of luck!
Peace
ICB

ItsCurtisBaby wrote:Hey MC,

I just opened up the C-Vault that was curing my Pineapple Chunk from last harvest...about 80 days now...I know you are growing it, so thought I would share!

I did not prune or trim it all, and it was the 6th plant I was growing, so it was on the fringe of the light's reach for most of it's flowering life..
Here is the main cola, note the yellow hairs! Amazing that it literally is the exact color of pineapple!

Pineapple Chunk.jpg

And here is the entire bounty from the plant..a meager 41 grams, but very tasty with an incredible citrus/pineapple bouquet!!

Pinapple bounty.jpg

Just thought you may be interested!

Continued best of luck!
Peace
ICB

THANK YOU ICB!! Those look amazing, I'm salivating a little right now. Actually a lot, just thinking about the citrusy goodness and looking at your buds. Jeez. This is not a good time for my jar to run completely dry...

They look so amazing. Look at all those pineapple colored pistils! Wow. I'm seriously in so much awe right now. An ounce and a half is not bad for fringe lighting! How long did you let your plant go in flowering before harvest?

How's the high? Is it as stoney as I've read?

Respect brother! Great work!

ItsCurtisBaby wrote:Hey MC,

I just opened up the C-Vault that was curing my Pineapple Chunk from last harvest...about 80 days now...I know you are growing it, so thought I would share!

I love those CVaults and Boveda packs.

Nice meds...

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for all the interaction here. I really enjoy seeing everyone else's work, and looking forward to gathering advice and knowledge here.

Today is 2 days after defoliation, and today I topped 3 plants: Incredible Bulk, Money Maker #1, and Pineapple Chunk #2. I was going to do it when I defoliated, but I wanted to let the tops grow out a bit more. This is-believe it or not-my first time topping. As I may have mentioned before, I'm familiar with flowering, but not veg. So the opportunity to top has never presented itself before now. I think it went swimmingly.

The only photos I have are from before topping. I'll upload the topped plant photos in a couple days. Here we have the garden view, with the height of the SS880 noted at 25" above the tops of the tallest plants.


In this photo, you can see that most of the plants are the same height at this point. Pineapple Chunk #1 is shorter than the others, but I am still planning to give her away. I thought I had a home for her, but I don't.... so I'll be trying again to find her a new caregiver! RKY, you live in the state, do you want her?


The girls look quite healthy overall, except for the slight nutrient burn I've noted on the Incredible Bulk.



Money Makers #1 and #2 look great.



The Pineapple Chunks are really starting to catch up to the other plants. Even the strange coloration on #1 seems to be disappearing.



Today they were all quite dry, so I watered them all. I did not include nutrients except for CalMg+ and Superthrive.

Feeding:
3 gal water
CalMg+ @ 2 tsp/gal
Superthrive @ 1 tsp/gal (transplant imminent)
TDS: 555 ppm
pH: 6.5

Runoff:
TDS: 742
pH: 6.4
So not quite a complete flush, but less nutrients than before. I am planning to transplant - for real this time - sometime between Friday and Sunday after they have recovered a couple days from the topping and defoliation.

Environment:
Temp: steady 87-88*F
Humidity 44%-50%
CO2: optimal ... but the tank is dry again. I'll have to refill it tomorrow.

Thanks for watching everyone. I hope you have an excellent day!
MC

Little much on the superthrive (1 drop/gallon - .25 tsp/gallon) and you might need less calmag if your tap water has some in it too. Something to think about...

SisterMaryElephant wrote:Little much on the superthrive (1 drop/gallon - .25 tsp/gallon) and you might need less calmag if your tap water has some in it too. Something to think about...

Good call on the CalMg.

Did the old dude on the bottle lie to me about the dosage of super thrive?


He told me 1 tsp/gal for transplanting... Is it harmful to have too much? Do you recommend a flush?

Thank you!
MC

You didn't transplant though; you said you topped. I wouldn't worry about it THIS time but it might be bad to use a lot all of the time. I'd also stop after 2-3 weeks of 12/12; it works better for veg than flower.