Amstrons grow log: Big bud x Northern lights

[amstron]

right, Ive finnaly got round to preparing my next grow. Im plantin 12 seeds, taking one female to be a mother plant. Im growing in a cheap grow tent, 1m x 1m x 1.8m. Im using a 250 m2h extractor fan (my attic is extremely well ventilated and is almost like outside so air will just come in from the room), a 400 watt MH/HPS (MH for veg, HPS flower), soil grow, liquinure veg fert, bio bloom flower fert. I will have pics up soon when I start germinating. I plan to germinate 12 seeds (2 are hollands hope). If I have a 90% germination rate or more then I will kill the hollands hope plants as they are not as strong and will be a waste of room. In general I plan to grow sog, but that is with clones and dont have enough seeds to do a sog grow yet. depending on how many females I get, I will decide on when to induce flowering, if i have 6 females or more I will induce flowering at 12 inches. less than that then it will be 15 inches. i still decidin whether to train or top them or not anything (if anyone knows how this strain reacts to topping or trainig please tell me). hope this grow goes as well as my last one. Any suggestions of improvement will be appreciated greatly and advice also.

[MarijuanaMike]

I wouldn't kill hollands hope - sounds nice! Northern Lights isn't well known for its strength - infact proabably the opposite with its low odor.

But then again a cross between Big Bud an NL could be a nice cross - still variety is a nice option to have - i'd just kill off the 2 weakest plants rather than by the strain.

[amstron]

well nirvana says northern lights x big bud(according to nirvana-reliable resource) has 8% to 15% THC level, Hollands hope is 5-10%. also, its a suggested outdoor strain

[BukDatAss]

Thats what I'm growing you should look at my thread to see it .."MY SET UP 1st TRY" I topped 3 one was a male, so I have 2 and they react really well to topping as for training I havent tried it. Its only my 1st grow and its almost done everything went well this strain is very tough, good for beginers like me. The odor is Yummy not strong at all but when you get close its smells somewhat fruity, I love it and I wouldnt mind growing it again... OH and the buds are HUGE LOL

[stickygreenlightsabr]

I've grown NLBB and it was nice and stoney with a sweet tangy smell.

[amstron]

right, theres been a delay, due to my light being completely un assembled. I bought off ebay knowing this but thinking that it would be just as easy as setting up a house light, i was wrong. im not expecting it, but if any1 does know how to setup a grow light, that would be great. By the way, I dont need to make the ballast. Im trying to get friends to help me at the moment

[BukDatAss]

put more detail its not that hard

[amstron]

right, Ive done it now. The seeds have been germinating in soil for 1 day. I have the light hooked up to the tent (slightly bent but that can be fixed). I haven't bought the fan yet so I cant put that up yet, but I should have it within the next week.

[amstron]

oh, by the way. i know mylar is better than white, but Its all going to be enclosed so there will be very little light loss and also thats how it came. I suppose I could line all the insides with mylar, but to be honest with you I'm busy, lazy and have had trouble starting this grow so just want to get on with it

[amstron]

Right, I was going to wait for a week to update but something strange has occured that has not happened to me before. 9 seeds have sprouted so far and are under the MH with a temp of around 70 F. all is as normal apart from 1 plant, the first 1 to sprout and the biggest has grown another shoot right next to it and it appears to be growing from the same plant, I know its a weed plant and not some randomn weed. Look at the pics, Im not sure which order they go in but youl know which one it is

[amstron]

has this happened to anyone, or is anyone aware of what it is

[UMrocksmysocks]

woah that weird, never seen that before....

[amstron]

thought it was a bit strange, never seen anything like it, wonder what will happen

[mand]

Hello Amstron :) No I've never seen that before :confused:

Do you think it might be some kinda of "twin", a seed that contains two plants ?????

Have you ever had a Chicken egg that has two seperate yolks in it ;) ..................... I wonder if it's something along those sort of lines :o

Just let it grow and see what happens ;)



love mand xxx:)

[amstron]

thanks mand, could be. I looked under the soil and couldnt see a join between the shoots, but i didnt look far down as i didnt want to damage it, im looking forward to seeing what will happen, i like it when something new happens

[UMrocksmysocks]

it could be a real bitch to keep alive, but if your gonna put forth the effort, ill be watching with open eyes :)

[amstron]

this is just a guess, but if its the same plant then I was thinkin it might be some kind of very early natural split of the stem, it may just turn out to be a plant with 2 top colas

[the image reaper]

hmmmmm ... if this grows into adulthood with good looks, might be a good one to take to seed ... ?? .. :smokin:

[amstron]

would like to, Ive always wondered about breeding, but have been too scared to do it. il see how things go

[amstron]

It seems to be growing into two different plants, Im a bit stuck what to do, Im going to leave it for the time being. Seperating those seems practically impossible, but a main rule is one plant per pot. so you can see my problem

[Rekap]

this is just a guess, but if its the same plant then I was thinkin it might be some kind of very early natural split of the stem, it may just turn out to be a plant with 2 top colas

exactly... its been posted b4...try searching. good luck.

[amstron]

I know the stem can split naturally, but i didnt know it happened this early. also its grown a bit and doesnt sem to be attached

[BukDatAss]

You Better clone that bad girl, Yeah hopefully its a girl

If you were to top both you would have at least 4 colas DAAMN

[amstron]

sadly, i came home today after being out all day and one plant was dead, this came as a surprise but i have started to germinate 3 other hollands hope seeds and hope that they dont take too long as i dont want a big age gap

[amstron]

right, my hollands hopes that I germinated have sprouted roots and have been placed in soil ready to sprout. I have lost 2 seedlings to what I suspect is stem rot, I think another one might be dying aswell, Im pissed off and am not sure how to solve the problem. The stem goes really week at the very bottom and the plant keels over. does anyone know what I could do.

[amstron]

I will update with pics tommorow.

[dopehouse]

whoa that at weird plant but i might look bad ass when they grow combined two plants in one

[BukDatAss]

yeah I'm having the same problem with the week stem. For some reason I think its my light, its not strong enough last time I was using MH this time I'm using CFLs. Plant a stick then tie a string to together with the plant stem for support. BE VERY VERY gentle I tried to do it not realizing how week they were and bent the the stem bad, but I was able to fix it. Also have a gentle fan blowing on them cause that will give strength up the stem

[Kush Over]

The grow's looking good, Amstron.

Stems becoming weak, plants keeling over as a result? Hm, I've never experienced this before. How long are the stems getting before this occurs? And, is that the 400 watt MH lamp in that fixture you've got lighting your plants? That's pretty close. If that is the 400, I'd raise it a bit and throw a small fan in there for the plants.

Holland's Hope is a hearty, resistant strain. Truly intended for growing anywhere near environmentally challenged areas -- those with an over abundance of pests and excessively moist, mold promoting areas.

Hope everything goes all right, bud. Take care of those plants and keep us updated.

[amstron]

ye, thats the 400, ive raised it a little, the temps fine and theres a fan on the. the stem problem isn't really to do with thin weedy stem, part of it seems to be going almost hollow and flaccid causing the plant to collapse. my new hollands hope have sprouted and the other 7 that are a week old are seem okay but are growing slow. pics tonight

[amstron]

o, by the way, the stems are only like 2 inches long, its not a stretching problem

[Kush Over]

Hm, not a stretching problem at all. What kind of soil are they in if you don't mind my asking?

[amstron]

they are just in some randomn soil from a garden center, I used it on my last grow and all was fine. Here are some pics Ive taken at 1 week. The one in the silver pot is at 1 day. They're going slow but seem healthy, sadly I only have 7:sadcrying now but seem to have eliminated the stem problem. I am reconsidering at what stage to switch to 12/12 (any suggestions?) im not sure if I have enough plants to get a nice yield seeing as I wanted to take 1 as a mother.
I have determined the double plant is 2 plants and am just going to give it a bigger pot than the others. Im transplanting soon and will mix sand in the soil to help drainage, or i might buy some perlite or vermiculite.

[amstron]

pics

[amstron]

well, luckily another plant sprouted, and I now have 8. by the way, Kush over, I forgot to add ive had a fan on them frm the start

[amstron]

ha, I was looking through my cupboards and i found one of the seeds i germinated at the start, assumed had failed and left it. it had sprouted but has stretched seriously as it is already 2 and a half inches and the round like leaves are not even fully out yet. i have a stick next to it and it is closest to the fan, it should be fine if the stem doesnt snap. just letting you know so that if you see it in the next update you don't laugh at it, as its pretty feeble

[amstron]

okay, ive been away on holiday. before i left, i transplanted to bigger pots and finished setup. just my luck that when i was away my extractor fan broke and the 2 hollands hope plants got fried. i now only have 6 plants, or seven if you count the double plant as 2. im ging to update tonight with pics of week 3. there going pretty damn slow

[amstron]

right, here are some pics, the small stretched 1 is the feeble plant I found in my cupboard. its at 2 weeks which is very slow, but i think its a miracle its still alive. the stem is damaged so it cant support itself, but its still growing and healing. the others seem to be doing okay apart from growing slow. I'm going to top when the plants have 5 nodes and am starting 1/3 strength ferts on the next watering, I will build up from there.

[amstron]

okay, the stretched plant died sadly, but it wasnt looking good anyway. the others are doing really well and have improved loads, finnaly things are looking up. I hope I get a good male to female ratio. I have topped 1 of the double plants, and will top the rest probably tommorow.

[amstron]

here are pics

[amstron]

people haven't posted on this thread in a while so I'm going to end the log as I'm not getting any response

[BukDatAss]

Dont end it:sadcrying

The plants are looking good, come on man I wanna see these ladies buds. dont end the thread. I'm here I just been busy but I'll make sure to drop by more often:thumbsup:

Looking good by the way :dance:

[HungryMcNasty]

Yah amstron DO NOT END i would have been on this thread evryday. But for some odd reason i didnt see it. By the way those are some of my favorites strains. I will most definately be here. they are lookin really damn good keep up the excellent work. Much love.....nasty

[BukDatAss]

UPDATE:what:

[Kush Over]

Yeah, updates.

[amstron]

I'm off to amsterdam for a few days and am leaving in a sec. I'll update on tuesday, which will be 1 day after week 5.

[amstron]

well, ive just come back from holland, the best country on this earth. wow, it is amazing. anyway, I came back to the UK to my plants at 5 weeks, theyre doing okay, but were a little underwatered so I sorted that out. I'm looking forward to flowering them. they've been healing from the topping

[amstron]

pics

[BukDatAss]

Damn there Bushy, so when are you gonna flower?

Lookin really good... So what did you smoke over there?:thumbsup:

[amstron]

I havent measured them, but I'm planning to flower at around 18 inches now. I had some northern lights over there, morning glory (nice), white widow, and a few other strains I have forgotten

[Kush Over]

How goes it, Amstron? Try any hash while you were in the 'Dam? I knew my aunt that went there last year said she tried some White Widow and then some hash almost immediately after wards -- basically she could hardly feel the effects of the Widow after the hash overshadowed it. LoL?

Anyway, the plants are doing great, much bushier than my plant was at that age [ maybe due to the predominance of sativa genetics in my own gene pool? ] Doesn't look like that minor under watering did them any harm, though. I say a little stress is good for them, but then that's only my opinion in regards to Natural Selection and it's influence in nature.

As far as the flowering goes you could also try to aim for when it begins producing alternating nodes. That's typically what I use as a reference to it's maturity if preflowers haven't shown yet, and even if they have.

[amstron]

thanks for the tips, sadly, I didn't try any hash, only skunk. I'll try some next time I go

[amstron]

well, I've done LST on two plants and tried LST'ing the double plant in opposite directions as to make a bush and hopefully create a nice yield. one plant stem cracked a tiny bit in this process, so I have bound it up with horticultural string untill it heals

[amstron]

pics

[mand]

Hello amstron :). There coming along very nicely ;).

It's intresting you're trying the LST method, I've never tried it but have seen some good results on here from it;).

Super job amstron ............................... love mand xxx :)

[amstron]

right, just an update, the Lst is coming along nicely. I am hoping that the double plant will be female, although it may be male as it is growing faster than the others. Some of my leaf tips are curling down, you can see in one of the pics i'll upload. I haven't seen this before on my plants, it doesn't seem to be affecting the plants health though. The tallest of the plants is 17 inches and the smallest is 12 inches

[busteruk7]

they look very healthy and good looking plants
good job m8
cheers all :)

[amstron]

I could flower the plants now as they have alternating nodes. but I'm gonna wait

[the image reaper]

wow! ... youre growing little yuppie girls (note the designer L.L. Bean thermometer) .. they'll probably grow up to be spoiled, little Paris Hilton plants ... :D

[Kush Over]

Ah, they're looking beautiful, Amstron!

About that one plant growing faster than the others. While it may be male, you can't accurately determine a plant's sex from it's growth rate. I've had males that have grown slow and showed their sex last, and I've had females that have grown fast and showed their gender quick. It's all in the genetics.

It's good that they're showing alternating nodes, that's a sign they'll be showing genders within the month, or even sooner if you decide to throw on an extended night schedule. Keep in mind, though; they're going to stretch a bit, and they will put on extra nodes so that will add to their height as well.

Can't wait to see them when they've got buds.

Keep up the great work, Amstron.

[amstron]

thanks guys, We grow cannabis plants for there short lives so we can kill them and burn them so they deserve to have nice time whilst there alive, lol. I wasn't planning to determine the sex when I said that plant was growing fast, it was an observation. I'm really enjoying this grow at the moment. I'm going to switch to 12/12 on monday, as that is week 7 and I think they are big enough. so next photos you see will be under a HPS. at the moment the smallest plant is about 16 inches now. the largest is 19.5 inches

[amstron]

I measured my plants today and miraculously, the smallest plant is now 20 inches! The minute I found this out I switched to 12/12 so they are now under the HPS. I'm going to take clones off the females for an outdoor grow.

[amstron]

okay, update at week 7, day 3 of 12/12. 1 plant has shown that it is male and I have killed it, 1 plant has shown female preflowers and I think I can see the start of female preflowers on another. the double plant and 1 other havn't showed sex yet. pictures below are without the male

[BukDatAss]

Nice and bushy... Keep up the good work

[postmandave]

nice lookin plants bro.The Postman

[amstron]

right, all the pants left in the picture are female. i luckily only got 1 male. i'm a little worried about space, but it should be okay if i find another way of keeping the thermometer at the height of the canopy, any ideas?

[amstron]

its been hot in the UK recently. today temps went to 25 C. my grow room has been getting really hot recently and there is no way to stop it. temps went as high as 95 F today with the door of the grow room and a window nearby open. they are not generally this high, but there will be days like this again. what are the chances of these temps giving me hermies? i've never had a hermie before, but i used to work with a 250hps so my temps never got this high, i wont be able to control a hermie if i get one either as i wont be around to keep a constant check.

[amstron]

okay then, 1 week 12/12. buds are starting to form, I've succesfully rooted clones for my outdoor grow. the tallest plant is 33 inches. I've transplanted to bigger pots now. Its getting a bit tight and there still going to bush out quite a bit, but im not too worried

[amstron]

what I've just realised looking back at this thread. two weeks ago 1 of the plants was 12 inches, now its 32!

[amstron]

plants are looking really nice and buds are growing, im hoping weather stays fairly cool as its been perfect at the moment. plants are 2 weeks of 12/12 and 9 weeks above the ground. tallest is 3ft 5 inches

[amstron]

pics

[amstron]

it's 3 weeks and 2 days of 12/12. plants are developing nice looking buds now and are starting to get some trichs, smelling very nice. I'm going away for a week on saturday so hopefully my carer will have looked after them well, so next pics will be at week 5

[amstron]

let me know what you think

[BukDatAss]

looks damn good:thumbsup:

[Clubber Lang]

looking sweet amstron just wondering does a metal halide give off much heat as opposed to a hps?? im looking at getting mh for my next crop and my vegging box is only about 2 foot high so the light would be pretty close to my babies :) as i said crops looking great

[bob bobbinson]

wow man. impressed i am.