Grow log #2!

[Pedro de Pacas]

I'm glad to say that my idea of using the grow closet as a storage cabinet while not growing was a wonderful idea: my visitors from out of town weren't the wiser! ;)

Well, the last grow resulted in seeds all over the place (I still kept the crop, but my pollinating technique leaves a lot to be desired :( ) so this time I definitely will discard the males (if any).

I soaked the remaining 5 Oasis seeds in pre-boiled water overnight, and planted them today, 1/2 cm deep in foam cups filled with organic potting soil.

What else am I doing this time around:


To save time I decided to use a 12/12 light schedule throughout.
To keep things simple, I decided to rely on my 150 watt HPS light from start to end.
I'm using the 90 CFM exhaust fan - it has the best "air transfer ratio" for the size of cab I'm using.


I used the 12/12 from start to finish once before, so I'm curious to see how well this will work using the HPS kit (I was using all CFL then).

For sakes of economics I might resort to Mango seeds for my future grows...but this time around it's all Oasis. I forget how long a full grow takes on a 12/12 schedule (96 days? 120?) But it will be interesting to find out!

:rastasmoke:

[denialisback]

I'm glad to say that my idea of using the grow closet as a storage cabinet while not growing was a wonderful idea: my visitors from out of town weren't the wiser! ;)

Well, the last grow resulted in seeds all over the place (I still kept the crop, but my pollinating technique leaves a lot to be desired :( ) so this time I definitely will discard the males (if any).

I soaked the remaining 5 Oasis seeds in pre-boiled water overnight, and planted them today, 1/2 cm deep in foam cups filled with organic potting soil.

What else am I doing this time around:


To save time I decided to use a 12/12 light schedule throughout.
To keep things simple, I decided to rely on my 150 watt HPS light from start to end.
I'm using the 90 CFM exhaust fan - it has the best "air transfer ratio" for the size of cab I'm using.


I used the 12/12 from start to finish once before, so I'm curious to see how well this will work using the HPS kit (I was using all CFL then).

For sakes of economics I might resort to Mango seeds for my future grows...but this time around it's all Oasis. I forget how long a full grow takes on a 12/12 schedule (96 days? 120?) But it will be interesting to find out!

:rastasmoke:

hell yeah dude, good start. I'm running a 125w2700k CFL, 125w7200 CFL + a 24W 4000K CFL in this grow. I attatch a picture so far.. (cannabis.com wouldnt let me sigh at you :D )

I was using a 400 watt hid/hps grolux before, so I can tell you the HPS lumens make the difference, but surprisingly even with a low wattage these plants seem healthier due to the more stabler tempeartures! (I was having craploads of problems with temps with the HID!)

flowering is usually 12-14 weeks , 8-10 if its hydro? You could flower for longer though, depends on the genetics of Oasis I think :)

Good luck with your grow dude.

Peace,
denial

[Pedro de Pacas]

Not much to say.

I remoistened the soil and took a pic. Experienced growers may look into this grow and shake their heads, but it's a grow I need to try: now that I have the appropriate "stealth cabinet" with the appropriate lighting and ventilation, I like the simplicity of a 12/12 grow from seed...

The setup looks like this so far!

[Pedro de Pacas]

Again I re moistened the soil. Checked the thermometer, under the current conditions the cabinet temperature tops out at 80F. What concerns me is the air humidity - 38% :eek:

That's the inconvenience of growing during the cold months of winter I guess...the apartment's heating makes the air very dry. Hopefully it doesn't impair seedling growth, I'm already taking chances by using a 12/12 cycle from seed.

Time will tell!

[Puffzter]

Hey Pedro. :) Nice to see you starting up again and good luck.I'll be here for the ride. Hope you cleaned out your growroom very well so there isn't pollen flying about still. ;)Puffzter

[bigtopsfinn]

Hey Pedro. :) Nice to see you starting up again and good luck.I'll be here for the ride. Hope you cleaned out your growroom very well so there isn't pollen flying about still. ;)Puffzter

Thats good advice, plain water will kill the pollen.

I don't know how 12/12 affects the flowering cycle if you start from seed, but I wouldn't get hung up on a set time. Check those trichs and when they turn your pref. amber/cloudy, then chop em. If you flower for too long, thc levels begin to drop. good luck:jointsmile:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Sigh...must be patient...perhaps the Dutch Passion seeds have a thicker shell and need more time?

Or perhaps the overnight soak didn't have the appropriate conditions (warm, dark place - the apartment was pretty cool due to the cold weather in spite of the electrical heating) so the seeds need more time to sprout?

I don't want to jump to the conclusion that the seeds are non viable just yet...

[Pedro de Pacas]

Sweet, one of the seedlings is showing sign of life! I'll check on them again tomorrow morning, but things are starting to move! :thumbsup:

Thought for the day...my cabinet fits 4 square pots (8.5" X 8.5" X about 8" tall) ... should all 5 seedlings sprout I'll need to figure out a way to fit them all in there... maybe something small on the horizontal plane but tall to allow proper rooting?

[Pedro de Pacas]

Re moistened the soil (due to the extreme dyness in the wardrobe) and took a few pics. We now have 2 sprouts! :hippy:

[FourTwenty4Life]

So far so good. I have a friend who did 18/6 for 6 weeks then 12/12 and he had his 2nd highest yield ever but other factors play a part besides light. 12/12 the whole time should be interesting... Good luck, I'll be watching.:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

:thumbsup: I took a closer look, it's now 3 out of 5 sprouting out! :thumbsup:

[theeviltrees]

Yeah i am quite intreagued too, if your 12/12 start to finish works, that would save a lot of electricty!

Are you using the 150 HPS throughout without adding any more light? if so how are you positioning it for the 5 plants?

Good luck though, gonna be watching! :cool:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Are you using the 150 HPS throughout without adding any more light?

That's the plan, 150 watts is close to optimal for the wardrobe size I use :hippy:


if so how are you positioning it for the 5 plants?

Right now it's about 1.5' - 2' right above the seedlings


Good luck though, gonna be watching! :cool:

Thanks, :) though I'm hardly the first to grow 12/12 from seed:

12/12 From Seed: A Different Way To Grow - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums (http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=51760)

[Pedro de Pacas]

And we have 3! :thumbsup: moistened the soil and lowered the light a bit more, I don't like the babies to be too leggy from the get go. Hopefully the lower HPS will help the remaining two seedlings to pop out of the soil.

[Pedro de Pacas]

Raised the HPS a rung or two - the hot spot it made on one of the foam cups was making me uncomfortable. Foam cups 4 and 5 still aren't showing sign of life...but if my last grow is any indication, 2 seeds I believed dead sprouted late in the vegging cycle, so I'm not discarding them yet.

I still have my old "popcorn pots", but since I have 5 seeds in the works I needed 5 pots that would fit at the botom of the wardrobe.

I think I found something suitable (another save from the Dollar Store!). On a side note, the sprouts are looking a bit leggy for my liking, but for all I know, that might be normal for a 12/12 grow from seed using a HPS fixture...

It's only day 7 so I'm sticking to plan A. Just in case, I did get me a pack of KC Brains Afghani Special I'm keeping on standby. If the (current grow) Oasis turns out well, I'll use the new seeds for my next grow.

[Pedro de Pacas]

This is called lessons in growing with HPS lights folks - what happened is entirely my fault. I commented earlier that the sprouts are a bit leggier than I'd like.

Well, to be precise, one of the three (the first one to pop out of the soil in fact) was, looked long and frail even.

My idea of lowering the lights to avoid legginess backfired, like, bad... sprouts #2 and #3 are ok, but #1 has all but shriveled up from the heat and dry soil (yet I've been punctual at keeping the soil moist) ... :(

So I've raised the HPS fixture back to a safe distance (about 1.5 -2' above the foam cups), made sure all 5 foam cups have been properly watered and decided not to discard #1 yet...it may be futile but if the roots are still in good condition there is perhaps a chance to salvage that leggy one?

And still no sign of life out of seedlings #4 and #5 ... here again I hesitate to discard them: during my last grow, 2 seedlings I believed dead sprouted after a week or two as the other plants were already tall and strong (one turned male, the other was a girl) ... so... if I've learned one thing from my micro grows is that patience is key.

Keeping my fingers crossed!:hippy:

[bigtopsfinn]

Tough luck Pedro.

Personally, I would not turn on that hps until the babies were about a week old. From the time you plant your seeds until one week old, you waste a lot of electricity for nothing. You might look into getting a couple cfl's just for the first week or two, the hps is notorious for killing seedlings...

Good luck!:jointsmile:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Tough luck Pedro.

Personally, I would not turn on that hps until the babies were about a week old. From the time you plant your seeds until one week old, you waste a lot of electricity for nothing. You might look into getting a couple cfl's just for the first week or two, the hps is notorious for killing seedlings...

Good luck!:jointsmile:


That's the thing: I have CFL's coming out the yin-yang from previous grows, I wanted (as an experiment) to do 12/12 from seed using the same lights...I have read about growers using HPS throughout rather than switching from Fluo or MH during vegetative to HPS for flowering...

Not having a proper light fixture for my 125 watt CFL doesn't help matters either. But...given the shaky start this grow is having, perhaps switching to CFL until sexing would be the right thing to do? :wtf:

[bigtopsfinn]

That's the thing: I have CFL's coming out the yin-yang from previous grows, I wanted (as an experiment) to do 12/12 from seed using the same lights...I have read about growers using HPS throughout rather than switching from Fluo or MH during vegetative to HPS for flowering...

Not having a proper light fixture for my 125 watt CFL doesn't help matters either. But...given the shaky start this grow is having, perhaps switching to CFL until sexing would be the right thing to do? :wtf:

No I don't think you have to wait that long. My first grow I used a 21w flouro for less than a week just until it the new leaves came in a little, then put it under the hps and double the normal height. Technically, you could sprout them with the hps, but they should be pretty far away, I'd say at least 2-3x farther than normal. Then, gradually, lower the light. It's not very efficient, but it should only take a couple weeks until you get the light to the final 50cm mark (less if you have a cooltube, of course). The 50cm is just a recommendation from a friend. Without the cooltube I kept it at 40cm from the light, max.

[Pedro de Pacas]

Well...reviving that shriveled sprout may be a waste of time...ditto with keeping the two foam cups awaiting for a late awakening of seeds 4 and 5 ... a second set of leaves is showing on sprouts 2 and 3 so that's a good thing.

What I may end up doing is repot seeds 2 & 3 but leave the foam cups 4 and 5 in the grow cab anyway just in case; I've had late sprouters before. Sprout #1 ... if t's a lost cause that was entirely my fault.

But if seeds 4 and 5 are non viable...I'd expect better than a 60% germination rate from Dutch Passion and their boasted "superior genetics". For that rate I might as well save my cash and stick with KC Brains seeds (with whom by the way I had a 70-80% germination rate) ... just sayin'...

[Pedro de Pacas]

Well...still no sign of life out pof seeds 4 and 5, sprout 1 seems to be nothing than a shrivelled twig in spite of my efforts...

sprout 3 is showing signs of stunted growth and on the verge of shrivelling up like sprout 1, sprout 2 is growing its second set of leaves!

I'll try to save sprout 3 (it's not completely dried up yet)...I raised the HPS fixture a good 2.5 feet above the foam cups and watered them.

Many lessons learned in this grow...seedlings/sprouts/plants directly beneath the HPS bulb are more prone to heat damage so don't get any closer to the plant's tops than 2'; that's what happened to #1 and #3. #2 was within the arc of light but not directly beneath the bulb so it's doing well...

Sigh with my luck neither plant with turn out female ;) No biggie, I do have the Afghani Special seeds on standby.

[Pedro de Pacas]

Looked over my post and saw I missed stuff...exceeded the 10 minute limit to edit, so my apologies for the double post :stoned:

Well...still no sign of life out of seeds 4 and 5, sprout 1 seems to be nothing than a shrivelled twig in spite of my efforts...I should know better too: even if the roots are okay, the plant needs leaves for photosynthesis, so that one's a gonner. :(

sprout 3 is showing signs of stunted growth and on the verge of shrivelling up like sprout 1, :(

sprout 2 is growing its second set of leaves!:thumbsup:

I'll try to save sprout 3 (it's not completely dried up yet)...I raised the HPS fixture a good 2.5 feet above the foam cups and watered them.

Many lessons learned in this grow...seedlings/sprouts/plants directly beneath the HPS bulb are more prone to heat damage so don't get any closer to the plant's tops than 2'; that's what happened to #1 and #3. #2 was within the arc of light but not directly beneath the bulb so it's doing well...

Seeds #$4 and #5...as I said before, I've had seeds pop out of the soil a few weeks after the first ones came out so I'll keep those in the grow cab...I'm stubborn! ;)

Sigh with my luck neither plant with turn out female :wtf: No biggie, I do have the Afghani Special seeds on standby.

[Pedro de Pacas]

It still kind of burns me that my ratio should be 3 out of 5 but the HPS proximity killed one of my sprouts...oh well. My remaining two seem to be doing well at least, and the other two...after 12 days is it safe to say they're non viable? :(

[Pedro de Pacas]

Well, I should be repotting my two babies soon, my two remaining plants seem to be thriving since I raised the HPS light. :thumbsup:

Still nothing from foam cups 4 and 5 ... I'm probably nuts for not discarding them but...if I still see nothing once the two plants show sign of sex (hopefully both girls) I'll discard them then and focus on my two good plants. :hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Doesn't look much different from the last picture, but in my mind the leaves look larger...:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

The plant on the right is growing larger, fatter Indica-like leaves, (try to say that three times fast?) and looks quite healthy. The one on the left (please refer to the above photo) looks like a miniature version of the one on the right.

I forget when the appropriate time to repot should be, perhaps I should wait until the stem starts thickening? At any rate, in spite of the mistakes I've made, the few successful plants I do have look healthy. Keeping my fingers crossed they both turn out girls!:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Rather than repeat the same old routine I figured I'd just add Day 15 pics!

[Pedro de Pacas]

Sigh...I guess I knew deep inside that the two unsprouted seeds would get tossed no matter how optimistic I tried to be. :( High time to repot too...one of my plants sports a root braid!

Transplant complete, here are a few before and after pics!:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Checked up on the plants, watered their soil (the dry air and HPS light dries up the soil very fast) and I can gladly say the transplant agrees with them. Some experienced growers who use the 12/12 from seed schedule state they could see signs of sex within 14-15 days, I wish I knew their secret.

I've been sitting on my hands not to get a UFO from ebay, to supplement the 150 watt HPS as that would defeat the purpose of this experiment.

The report card for Dutch Passion Oasis seeds: 3 of 5 sprouted, one died (my fault). Let's hope the two survivors are girls!:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

One more pic for good measure! :thumbsup: I look at the fat leaves on the plant on the right and I'm reminded of Cheech & Chong's movie, Still Smokin'.

They're in Amsterdam and they have a hemp salad..."I dunno man, I keep eating but I'm still hungry!"

:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Things seem to be progressing well since the repot, both plants are growing larger, but not much taller (I was worried a 12/12 schedule from seed would make them stretch more than is healthy).

It's pretty amazing to see the gradual differences between pictures at various stages of the grow! :hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Lefty seems to be catching up in growth with righty but still looks like a runt in comparison. The added vermiculite and perlite to the potting soil seems to help preserve moisture as I watered 2 days ago and the top soil still feels moist.

I might just do the pot weighing thing and make sure the soil ain't bone dry at the bottom...;)

[Pedro de Pacas]

Desperately awaiting signs of sex...that's the thing about 12/12 from seed: you're never quite sure when veggin ends and flowering starts! Plants growing larger and stronger, gave them a good watering today.

:hippy:

[bigtopsfinn]

That sucks about the seeds, Pedro :( Sorry to hear that.

Everything else looks good :thumbsup:

I'm guessing you have some extra room in your flower chamber now... planning on filling it again?

[Pedro de Pacas]

That sucks about the seeds, Pedro :( Sorry to hear that.

Everything else looks good :thumbsup:

I'm guessing you have some extra room in your flower chamber now... planning on filling it again?

I've actually debated whether or not I should germinate 2 Afghan Special's and create an ad hoc vegging chamber using my CFL's, and add them to the flowering room to see if they progress faster than the 12/12 from seed, but in Chong's words "That'd be a hassle man!" ;)

[bigtopsfinn]

I've actually debated whether or not I should germinate 2 Afghan Special's and create an ad hoc vegging chamber using my CFL's, and add them to the flowering room to see if they progress faster than the 12/12 from seed, but in Chong's words "That'd be a hassle man!" ;)

How about just one of them? I think the problem with 12/12 from seed is that the roots don't have a chance to develop... and the root system is directly related to yield. What were you expecting to yield from those??? The ones I've seen couldn't be more than 20g dried. It sucks to run out of bud between grows... just happened to me :mad:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Got me a few of these:

» Wormie the water sensor (http://www.modernflat.com/house-plants/wormie-the-water-sensor/)

They look simple enough and they're inexpensive. I originally wanted one of the metal staff/dial hygrometers...couldn't find them, and seeing that I've gone through 4 or 5 already (they'd invariably fail on me) but those look simple and pretty much fool-proof (dark means there's enough water, pale means time to water).

:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

:pimp: Put in a wormie water sensor in each pot and waited a bit. as moist as the top soil seems to be on top the bottom must be dryer as both wormies look pale. Hm, just watered the plants...the change in color ain't that drastic, can you tell which is before and which is after?

417 is before and 418 is after...perhaps the HPS light generates enough heat to dry up the wormie's surface? :wtf:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Found a supply of organic ferts: a vegging mix and a blooming mix of worm castings and bat guano. Don't ask me how one mix differs from the other...but tomorrow once the lights are on in the cab I'll sprinkle a bit of the vegging mix on the topsoil.

This way, the nutes will be gradually fed to the plants.:thumbsup:

[BigLeagueJew]

I'm curious to see how the organic fertilizer works out. I just purchased some today for my plant. What was the name of the brands you got?

[Pedro de Pacas]

I'm curious to see how the organic fertilizer works out. I just purchased some today for my plant. What was the name of the brands you got?

LOL, "The Shitz" Grwoth blend and Bloom blend! :D

[Pedro de Pacas]

Sweet, yesterday's watering seems to have agreed with both plants: they both grew taller and bushier. I added 3-4 pinches of the Shitz Growth formula to the top soil. I also raised the HPS a few more inches to avoid heat stress.

The next waterings will gradually release nutrients to the plants...knock on wood they're both girls! :hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Watered the plants a bit to give them a bit of nutrition from the ferts I'd sprinkled on the top soil yesterday; I took a closer look...pistil located on tall and bushy (the one on the right)! :thumbsup:

Okay, one source claimed that on their 12/12 from seed grow, signs of sex appeared in 14-15 days. In my case, 25, 10 days later. Now I fully realize the actual strain may affect this...but using their stats as a general rule of thumb:

Theirs: 14-15 days to sexing , 52 to 58 days to harvest
Mine: 25 days to sexing...so I'll extrapolate that harvest should be 62 - 68 days...

AND...I couldn't help myself, found me a LED UFO grow light (hopefully better quality than the panel I bought last year) which boasts 90 1 watt LED's, 80 red and 10 blue.

HPS is tried, tested and true, I don't regret getting the HPS kit. But I cling to the notion that LED's are more energy efficient (a good 90W UFO or 100w Procyon are supposed to be the equivalent of a 400w and 600W HID respectively) and generate less heat ...perfect for a stealth grow.

The UFO I got listed for $499.99 I got it at an auction for a fraction of the cost...we'll see, on my next grow!:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

And the babies are growing steady! :hippy:

More pistils showing on rightie...I think I'm seeing signs of balls on leftie though...I've been wrong before, so I'm going to give leftie some more time. I thought one plant would turn out male during my last grow, only to have it turn out to be my most productive female so...I'll keep my eyes open! :thumbsup:

[FourTwenty4Life]

Just a suggestion...maybe just update your log once, twice, or even 3 times a week. 7 days a week for a full grow is a lot of pages and reading. Plus it's easier for a reader to see growth changes when the pics arent day after day. It's your log so your choice but if you read many other logs, you will see most do it how I'm suggesting. Good job so far and GL.:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Well...the tally so far: out of 5 seeds, 3 popped out of the soil, 2 never gave sign of life. Of the three, one shrivelled up and died. I was quick to say it was my mistake, however...the conditions were identical for all three plants, why that one only and not the three?

And out of the two remaining, Murphy's Law: one girl one boy, and then there was one. :(

I guess any packet of seeds can have equal odds of great seeds and duds no matter who the distributor is. Based on the online description of Dutch Passion's Oasis seeds, I thought they were worth the extra money...but one successful female out of five seeds is hardly impressive.

Agreed I may have equal chances of the same thing happening with KC Brains seeds, but at least I won't have paid as much ,so it won't feel like I've been ripped off as badly. ;)

End rant...I had a feeling I'd need the Afghani Special seeds before my next grow, sure enough that day is today. I've prepared three new pots, and I'm soaking three A.S. seeds in preboiled water, only this time I've placed the jar in a small cardboard box on top of my Digital Cable box for increased warmth.

This time I want to be damned sure the seeds have split open and show a bit of tap root before placing them in the soil. The 12/12 from seed schedule does seem to agree with my remaining Oasis girl...can't wait to see what kind of yield I get!

[Italiano715]

can't wait to see how she looks on the straight 12/12......:thumbsup:

And out of the two remaining, Murphy's Law: one girl one boy, and then there was one.
That sucks, I guess some ya win and some ya lose.....My recent grow I probably had about 14 plants to start and ended up with only 4 that were females :wtf: So I suppose it's luck of the draw sometimes, even though it blows how that is how it happens sometimes! Besides that good luck with the next set of seedlings and I will be keeping up with the log :hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

And this is where K.I.S.S. becomes a tad more complex: The Oasis girl has a 30 day head start on the Afghani special seedlings, the HPS is at a safe distance from the Oasis girl but may be too high for the Afghani's to sprout out from the soil...so until they're out of the soil and have grown their second set of leaves, here's my solution... :cool:

The CFL is cool white, 13 watts and located at close distance to the soil. I'm not really concerned with lost lumens as it's only there to supplement the HPS until the seedlings have turned to healthy sprouts. This is where the UFO would have come in handy I think - good light intensity and no added heat.

Though the weather's been rather cool so I guess the extra heat in the cab won't go amiss, current temp: 80 F, humidity 49%

Photo!:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Well, too tall's a big girl, tall and strong. As expected the AS seedlings seem to be working in slow-mo...I'm replacing the 13 watt CFL by a LED panel I got off ebay last grow...need more blues to help the seedlings.

Still very curious about the UFO light and whether or not it will be effective...

[Buckten]

looking good
i was tinking about doing 12/12 from start to finish but ill see how ur works out
good luck:thumbsup:




check http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/169591-my-grow-story.html:rastasmoke:

[Pedro de Pacas]

And the tally this Monday: one big healthy girl and three sprouts! I've replaced the CFL with the blue LED panel I used during my last grow (still awaiting delivery of the UFO) to provide the sprouts with more blue spectrum.

Very odd how one pot needed no water when the other three did... but no matter, I watered the three pots needing water. This is becoming interesting!

[Pedro de Pacas]

So this is what my setup looks like as of today (Day 38?)

Not perfect but...it'll do!

[Pedro de Pacas]

No pics today...this grow has turned into an oddball mixed HPS/LED grow...HPS for the flowering Oasis female and LED for the Afghani Special sprouts...

Give the Oasis girl her first haircut (some of the larger fan leaves were feeling dry to the touch and hogging most of the HPS light as well as obstructing airflow), treated her to a few pinches of the Shitz bloom ferts, rearranged the lights.

Today I checked on the sprouts; they are developping nicely if a bit scrawny (I know, they have plenty of time to grow yet) and I watered all of them. The watering should distribute some ferts to the Oasis girl...plenty of pistils and bud sites, not enough trichomes...ah the waiting game!

Average cabinet temps: 84F, humidity 42% ...

[Pedro de Pacas]

Okay...so we got HPS level pictures (Oasis girl) and LED level pictures (Afghani sprouts)...the LED sprouts look awfully leggy, but so did the Oasis ones so I'm not going to worry about that. So far, out of 5 Dutch Passion Oasis seeds, 3 sprouted, one died and one turned out male leaving me with only one female.

So far, out of the 3 KC Brains Afghani Special seeds, 3 sprouted...I'll reserve final judgement until they show signs of sex, but it's a better start than the Dutch Passion seeds and they (the KC Brains seeds) are a good $40.00 cheaper...you do the math! ;)

[Pedro de Pacas]

Has it been that long? Man! :wtf:

The Oasis girl seems to need more water than the Afghani's -the afghani's soil still feels damp to the touch, the Oasis' is bone dry...also, the lack of trichomes worries me, so I gave the Oasis another pinch of Shitz bloom mix along with a good watering.

The Afghani special babies seem to be reacting well to the UFO, the leggy stems are thickening nicely...pics coming up! :thumbsup:

[Pedro de Pacas]

The pics!

[Pedro de Pacas]

Very very odd: the Oasis is showing more trichomes as you move lower; the cola has some but not as many as there were during the last grow...the Afghani Specials seem to be responding well to the LED UFO...

[jakezking]

Vote for Pedro! Your Oasis is looking splendid, and I was not expecting the size of the AS to be so big. Dude, you've got big AS on your hands!

Sweet grow so far - looks like the 12/12 grow will be a success for certain! I'm looking forward to following along with you.

[Pedro de Pacas]

Vote for Pedro! Your Oasis is looking splendid, and I was not expecting the size of the AS to be so big. Dude, you've got big AS on your hands!

Sweet grow so far - looks like the 12/12 grow will be a success for certain! I'm looking forward to following along with you.

Thx bro! As usual I'm not just experimenting with 12/12, but also with the LED UFO which provides light to the AS...so far so good!

I did have a bit of a glitch though...my timer malfunctioned so I had to get a replacement pronto...so Saturday and Sunday got about 8 hours of light (chit meng :mad: ) but things should be back to normal tomorrow - I relpaced the timer earlier today.

To take the guessing out of watering I installed one water globe per pot (it auto dispenses water to the soil)...

I also gave the plants a trim. I've had 0 incidences of hermies from pruning thus far, and the foliage was interfering with the air exchange so some fan leaves had to go!

[bigtopsfinn]

Must say they are looking very nice already :jointsmile:

[Pedro de Pacas]

All right, lesson learned for a cabinet grow: the Oasis strain grows very tall...that was one of the reasons I'd chosen KC-36 a few grows ago since it doesn't grow much taller than 2' tall... pistil alert on one of the AS...more blooms! :D

[Pedro de Pacas]

I was a bit skeptical about LED, but thus far that was the best Ebay score ever! ;)

[jakezking]

Those LEDs make it look like there is some serious AS shakin' on the disco dance floor! If you don't mind me askin' - how much did you get the UFO for on Ebay? Was it a buy-it-now price or an auction where you had to win it? I've read the 90W UFO is equivalent to a 400W HID - what's your take on its impact? From the pictures it looks like it's got a pretty powerful punch!

[Shovelhandle]

looks great... gosh.

ND

[Mr. Clandestine]

Heh... I gotta admit, those 'Aqua Globes' look pretty damn cool underneath the LED lighting. :cool:

Aesthetics aside, how well do they work?

[aceanihilator]

Haha... I use the same cups. I get them free from work.

[Pedro de Pacas]

Those LEDs make it look like there is some serious AS shakin' on the disco dance floor! If you don't mind me askin' - how much did you get the UFO for on Ebay? Was it a buy-it-now price or an auction where you had to win it? I've read the 90W UFO is equivalent to a 400W HID - what's your take on its impact? From the pictures it looks like it's got a pretty powerful punch!

$137.52 and another $25.00 for shipping, then another what...$15.00 for Customs fee? Agreed it was an auction, I took a chance and got a good price! :thumbsup: :D

The verdict's still pending as far as equivalences go - some sources claim 400 watts MH/600 watt HPS for 90 watts of LED UFO...how true that statement is and how effective the UFO actually is on its own remains to be seen. :hippy:

I might try an all UFO grow with the remaining AS seeds once this grow is ready (12/12 from seed too) and see how that goes...though I admit it's pretty impressive so far! :thumbsup:


Aesthetics aside, how well do they work?

Hm, infomecial stuff has a tendency to work best in infomercials, but...I check on the fill level once every morning and the water does seem to be absorbed gradually by the soil. :hippy:

I'm not sure I buy the "As the soil becomes dry, it releases oxygen into the globe, which in turn releases the exact amount of water your plant needs" explanation; but I am testing them out (like the 12/12 schedule from seed and the UFO LED light) and so far it seems to be working!

[Pedro de Pacas]

I lost count! 75 sounds right...

Pulled a switcheroo on Sunday with the lights: The Oasis was getting serious heat burn from the HPS...so I gave all plants a good watering, topped the plant to get rid of the burned pieces and put the UFO above the Oasis and the HPS above the Afghani Specials (which are still short).

Seems to be working fine so far: The Oasis has stopped growing taller and is "ripening" nicely, and the AS' are evening up height-wise, I beleive I have two confirmed female Afghanis and one possible male...I'm keeping track every morning!:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Pics of the current setup!

[Pedro de Pacas]

Hm...12/12 from seed is taking longer than anticipated, but well worth it, great learning experience! :thumbsup:

The Oasis isn't ready for harvest yet, the trichomes are still clear. Good news about the Afghani Special: out of 3 seeds, 3 sprouted, all 3 are girls! :D:hippy::thumbsup:

I must say I'm happy with the UFO, it took good care of the AS as it tried to catch up with the Oasis and provided the Oasis with light when it was too tall and getting burned by the HPS.

The HPS really got the AS moving when I did the switcharoo; they are now taller and sport pistils.

Conclusions:


While KC Brains seeds' genetics have been questioned by other growers, they have proven to be more reliable than the more expensive Dutch Passion seeds: 3 seeds, all sprouted, all female...and they're cheaper.
the 150 watt HPS and the LED UFO compliment each other nicely, I know the HPS can carry a grow from seed to harvest, that remains to be proven with the UFO...though it has impressed me so far.
The Oasis grows much too tall for a stealth cabinet grow
The organic Shitz nutes seem to agree with the girls, though a little goes a long way
I must remember to clean the inside of the cabinet before my next grow...there was still left-over pollen from the prior grow and I've spotted seed pods on the Oasis :(
The local water is "hard"...a lot of calcium, lime and rust in there, even while using a Britta filter; I'm noy sure what else to do...:wtf:

[Shovelhandle]

:thumbsup:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Last night (under a green CFL light) I pruned yellowing leaves, gave the girls a good watering and gave them a feeding.

I might be put in a position where I use the UFO only to complete the flowering cycle...the Afghanis are growing pretty freaking tall too! :wtf:

[Pedro de Pacas]

And one AS has turned hermie on me...:( tossed it today. One AS has yellowing leaves...I'll keep an eye on it. The Oasis is nearing harvest time, and the third AS looks to be in good health...knock on wood!

[Pedro de Pacas]

Hm...that yellowing AS has me worried...very few bud sites, no "balls" at least, and pistils, so I know it's a girl. Her sister's a bit shorter and has more bud sites.

I've been wondering if the yellowing plant was having nute burn, or if it was over watered or something...form my search it would seem that it's quite the opposite: insufficient water and lack of nutes! Gave all 3 plants a few pinches of Schitz bloom mix nutes and a good watering.

I was hoping to harvest the Oasis today, but a look at the trichs under my pocker microscope show a mix of clear and milky trichomes, no amber ones...so it ain't ready yet.

I took a pic of the Oasis' cola...bearing in mind that it's grown under 12/12 lighting from seed and that I've pruned it several timed during flowering; that's one massive cola/bud there! :hippy::thumbsup:

[Shovelhandle]

The yellow is normal part of the bloom cycle. How mature is that plant?

[Pedro de Pacas]

The yellow is normal part of the bloom cycle. How mature is that plant?

About 30 days younger than the Oasis, the other Afghani and the Oasis are a lot greener.

[Pedro de Pacas]

My fingers are sticky and smell green! Since my AS were reponding well to the LED treatment, I've made the remainder of the grow (for the Afghani) LED only. This way I save on hydro and the cab temperatures are easier to control. How they'll turn out...remains to be seen! :hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Okay...so the one that turned yellow turned hermie...just dumped that one. Okay, so out of 3 Afghani Special, 3 sprouted 1 girl 2 hermies. While it's disappointing, at least I only paid $50.00 for a packet of 10 seeds rather than the $90 -something I'd paid for the Oasis; so the loss isn;t as bad!