My Little Clever Girl

[9ski9]

Well, please say hello to my little girl Clever. Harddon lamented that a lot of good info got burried in a lot of goofy chatter in my last grow log, so I'll just be posting the bare bones of what I'm doing.

(Which reminds me to say thanks again to the coolest dude I never met...)

This grow is pretty basic and mostly on auto-pilot.
The facts:
Bag seed
9 plants sprouted in wet diaper
5'x5'x5' closet
Milar, foil, and white paint
Pro Mix soil
White rocks for light reflection
83 degree days/72 degree nights
24 hr light for veg (it's cold where I am and need the heat from the lights)
PH6.8 bottled water
Superthrive every watering
Began 10-2-1 Bat Guano tea at Day 21 for every feeding through veg
Misting 3x daily
Three small fans
10 100w CFL's for Veg
400w HPS and 250W MH for flowering
Began bending two tallest at Day 28 with white pipe cleaners
Will tie down fan leaves of the rest at Day 30
Will repot around Day 40
Plan 49 Day Veg
Plan 77 Day Flowering
Half strength Cactus Juice 1-7-6 during flowering

I got a little under 1lb from my last grow...hoping for 1.5lbs this time.

I'm 28 days into this grow...
The first pic is the room, obviously, with an inset of a few-day-old Clever. The Day 1, 7, 14, and 21...

[9ski9]

Day 28...

[skriptkiddy]

Just curious. Why the rocks on top of the medium or soil? Does it provide benefit to the plants? If so, like to know.
Thanks :D

[9ski9]

Yep, the rocks reflect the light as opposed to the dark soil absorbing the light. Every little bit counts. Use marble or granite chips, though, since they don't absorb water.

[Lady Vapor]

You've put in a great deal of work and it's proving to work well.
One thing you could do to improve your light is to do the following...
When you get time, etc. Get some cheap flat white paint - can or spray.
Paint the pots white - it reflects better than foil.
If you deside to stay with the foil do this:
Turn your foil around to make the flat side show out. It reflect better than the shinny side. I read this info in The Cannibis Bible.

Rock on!

[likemclever]

O ski Iâ??m so fucking touched I could die.


Donâ??t let HDâ??s lamenting get to you heâ??s a lamenter thatâ??s what he does :eek: that and grow nice tomatoes :thumbsup: I've been missen you guys two ;)

Make sure you sex them BEFORE you name them .....Harddona (RIP 2005)...lol..

glad you told me ablut the thread I'll be checking in.

:smokin:

[LIP]

You've put in a great deal of work and it's proving to work well.
One thing you could do to improve your light is to do the following...
When you get time, etc. Get some cheap flat white paint - can or spray.
Paint the pots white - it reflects better than foil.
If you deside to stay with the foil do this:
Turn your foil around to make the flat side show out. It reflect better than the shinny side. I read this info in The Cannibis Bible.

Rock on!


Very good advice, as the siney side doesnt reflect, it absorbs lol

[9ski9]

O ski Iâ??m so fucking touched I could die.
Donâ??t let HDâ??s lamenting get to you heâ??s a lamenter thatâ??s what he does :eek: that and grow nice tomatoes :thumbsup: I've been missen you guys two ;)
Make sure you sex them BEFORE you name them .....Harddona (RIP 2005)...lol..
glad you told me ablut the thread I'll be checking in.
:smokin:

Sex them? Ha, I'm trying to coax them all into being females. And I named Clever the day she opened up...she's funny---all her energy is in being bushy, as opposed to vertical growth. She's just 10" tall at day 29, while two of her sisters are 20". Fine by me, but kind of odd.

And foil in the grow room? I like it for pots. It wraps and holds better than mylar and according to my handheld incident light meter (Minolta Auto Meter IIIF), it's pretty close to white paint. My walls are white paint, while the doors, back wall, and floor are mylar.

[Lady Vapor]

Good for you! Don't forget to turn your foil around... If you want I'll type the info on the dull side being better out of the Grow Bible...

Have fun..

[9ski9]

... If you want I'll type the info on the dull side being better out of the Grow Bible...


Ha, no thanks LV, I've decided to just let them go ahead die with my method of light absorption.

[Lady Vapor]

Ya know what? I went to your pics and realized I should have white rocks in my buckets as well! Thanks for showing us! My dad has quite a few around his house... Guess I'm going to see mom n pop to lift some rocks:upsidedow

[Lady Vapor]

opps:confused:

[9ski9]

Ya know what? I went to your pics and realized I should have white rocks in my buckets as well! Thanks for showing us! My dad has quite a few around his house... Guess I'm going to see mom n pop to lift some rocks:upsidedow

Mine came from a garden center and were one of the cheaper things I had to buy, although a major pain in the ass...to make the bags of granite and marble look more attractive (and for cutting purposes), the mostly-white stones are coated in a white powder.

The bags say that rain will "naturally wash away the powder".

But I didn't want it to rain in my closet, so I had to scrub them handfull by handfull and it took a couple of hours.

Live and learn.

(Your girls are beautiful, btw.)

[likemclever]

Very good advice, as the siney side doesnt reflect, it absorbs lol

LIP your avatar makes me want to hurl â?¦

Actually it makes me feel like a child molester is spinning me on a merry-go-round inside a Vincent Van Gough paintingâ?¦. which makes me want to hurl. :upsidedow


...a lot of goofy chatter in my last grow log, so I'll just be posting the bare bones...

What were you thinking when you invited me here

Goofy chatter is all I got babe :stoned: :upsidedow

[9ski9]

What were you thinking when you invited me here

Goofy chatter is all I got babe :stoned: :upsidedow

Yeah, you're right. What the fuck is there to really do while you sit literally watching the grass grow? I read that LV climbs in among her plants with a bong, but I don't have the room.

See any good tornados, Clever? I saw the news and thought of you. Who the hell lives in a place where there's even a miniscule chance of a tornado? We get blizzards and hurricanes...we usually know two weeks ahead of time and can go on vacation to get out of the way.

[likemclever]

I havenâ??t seen them but they have been around the closest one this season was about 20 miles away. We get hammered here but it was worse when I lived in KS. The wizard of OZ was a true fucking story.

Weather men are followed like Godâ??s and they are pretty good at tracking them but you had better have some place to take cover when you need one. Iâ??ve been having crazy tornado dreams lately â?¦.weird.

But when we are not burning to the ground or getting blown away itâ??s not to bad, the people are nice â?¦.the fields that go on forever kinda make you feel small the way the ocean does. It was like 91 deg here yesterday if you can believe it.

You should mark my name sake if you donâ??t want me asking every five minutes which one she isâ?¦.I think she gets her bushiness from me. :o

:stoned:

[9ski9]

Clever is the 2nd from the right, in the front row.

91 sucks. Sorry to hear. My parents got old and moved to Florida and periodically call to tell me it's 91 degrees in January. As if I'm supposed to be envious. That would be like Hell for me: wake up on January 8th, open the front door, step out---and it's fucking 91 degrees. Good for your hips, or something.

Speaking of weathermen, did you see the movie Weatherman?

Bushy, Clever? IDK...I was just riding a chair lift with a friend who is single and I suggested he get a set of electric barber clippers for whatever girl he's currently dating.

[9ski9]

Just a quick day 30 update. With 19 days to go before flowering, I began repotting. I'm just taking each plant up one pot size. After creating a space in the soil of the new plant, I dusted the hole with Schultz "Take Root" rooting hormone, as well as dusting the root ball with it. It seemed to make the transition better for my last grow; no droopy period. Then instead of tamping down the dirt to get rid of air pockets, I watered fairly heavily and added a little extra soil as need.

The plant on the far left of the grow room was the first repotted. It's also tied down really hard with white pipe cleaners. I didn't have to tie down her fan leaves because her secondaries grew really strong and fast and popped right out beyond the fans. The individual shot is of Clever. She gets her new pot tomorrow.

[likemclever]

They look so happy and healthy. So am I correct in saying that this repotting should take them all the way to harvest. This reminds me so much of your last grow. I think Clever will reward you in her new room. She is very dense and I noticed you didnâ??t tie her back like some of the other girls?? Itâ??s ok sheâ??s not categorically opposed to bondage.

On another noteâ?¦I started some of my tomatoes from seed this season and Iâ??ll be dammed if a little Mary didnâ??t pop up. Donâ??t get to attached to her this is probably the last time youâ??ll see her alive. Thing is me and my daughter live with my parents while I finish college. The good news is they donâ??t know what Mary looks or smells like; the bad news is they are not complete idiots so Iâ??m going to have to move her outside pretty soon and sheâ??s not very strong. The wind here is brutal on little plants.

My folks walk by these plants about 100 times a day. How big do ya think she will get before they realize itâ??s not a mader and kick me out on my ass. Itâ??s more of a rhetorical question really.

Plants look great ski : )

[9ski9]

Yes, just one repotting...

You accidentally grew her? It's cool how similar pot looks to tomatoes, which is why I have them in my grow room. Because of my kid, I added strawberries and a Venus Flytrap this time around, as well. I think I can get away with one more full-size grow before a teacher throws a picture up in front of the class and says "this is an evil drug" to my daughter. But it's common knowledge that people can't grow veggies where we live because of the dense trees...

The wind wouldn't hurt her, Clever. You could just bend her over and tie her down. Plants adapt...some of the trees growing on the southern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii are almost horizontal. But def not worth a hassle at a turning point in your life.

I'm hoping this grow mirrors my last. I want to get it down to an easy science and continue with even smaller scale, more 'stealthy' closet grows. Just trying to keep from ever having to buy pot, you know? I vaguely recall what it was like to have sex without pot and it just wasn't the same...

[Jdog7000]

You'd be suprised what you can get away with. When you get a carbon scruber. The smell is always the big givaway.

[9ski9]

My wife makes a lot of candles at home and has hundreds of scent bottles, so smell isn't the issue. A curious little kid is. There's no way to pretend I'm not growing something, so I added cherry tomatoes to my grow room last time, then would periodically buy a pint of cherry tomatoes and scatter them among my pot plants for her to find. She would talk to her grandparents about picking and eating tomatoes from the closet and would swear she had actually picked them off the pot plants. I'd just shrug my shoulders and lament that it was a bummer we didn't have a sunny spot to grow like at our old house.

[9ski9]

Just a quick update of Clever being repotted. I normally just go up one pot size, but---for no good reason---took her from an 8" to a 15" pot and told her to grow like crazy...

This is Day 31 of veg...

[Rekap]

9ski ur back :thumbsup:

looking forward to your log :p


i figured a shark ate you and your board :D

[budbro]

you had said you bent your plants with pipe cleaners...explain how you did this bc im starting to flower and heighth could be a problem...therefore i want to bend them bc i dont have that much room. thanks for any help from anyone.

be cool...budbro

[9ski9]

Ha, thanks, Rekap! Did I mention last fall that a shark bit a kid right in front of our shore house on the US Mid-Atlantic coast and an expert down in Miami confirmed it was a Great White? I love to surf after the lifeguards leave their chairs at 5pm, then hang out until dark...but that sort of sucks 'cause it's also feeding time.

IDK how people surf in Australia. Shit happens around us once every 20 years and we're freaked out. In Australia, sharks eat people all the time.

[Rekap]

haha...yea, i just stay out of the ocean period. ill stick with hanging out in the pool with my boogie board LOL :p

[likemclever]

Just a quick update of Clever being repotted. I normally just go up one pot size, but---for no good reason---took her from an 8" to a 15" pot and told her to grow like crazy...

This is Day 31 of veg...

sweeeet...looks like shes got plenty of room to strech her toes. Now question is is she gonna use that room to get fatter or taller? My guess is fatter.

[9ski9]

Just a quick Day 33 update. 16 days left until flower. I had planned on starting to tie down Clever's fan leaves, but she's kind of odd in that her fan stems are really short. Her secondaries might just find their way to the light on their own. Everyone is still getting bat guana tea for every watering, as well as Superthrive.

[likemclever]

....rofl....man that's a big ass pot (no pun intended)

I didn't notice how big until I saw her with the rest of the girls.

She's not crowding your others is she?

Now I see what you mean she is kind of a strange bird.

[9ski9]

She's crowding the others, but that's okay. The pot is huge, but actually has quite a few red lava rocks at the bottom, so there's less soil than there appears. She's had her own 3 CFL's, yet is still the shortest of all her sisters. I just get the sense that her secondaries are about to really shoot out. IDK, she has 15 days of veg left...

[likemclever]

How is it that you named the retarded I mean "special" one after me.

Are you trying to tell me something? :D :stoned:

I'm sure she loves the extra everything. I hope you don't regret it later. :o

[MeanGreenEye420]

with all the money you could make off them invest in a MH system or and system that runs both HPS and MH i got some SWEET pics i need to upload i got 3 plants in a flower room ALL been cloned with 3 HPS lights 1 400w 2 70w on the sides for trunk and lower flowers and a clone room with a 400w MH in there SWEET shit also if u got a IM service hook it up and ill tell you how i got mine for free :) i got some threads some were dont know were. you can try and find them i do dro also:)

[9ski9]

Eh, I'm still in veg, Mean...I have a 400w HPS and a 250W MH that get turned on in two weeks when they hit flower. Plus, I don't sell...I just like to get really high with lots of friends.

She was the first one to pop and was the strongest at the start, Clever. Now she's almost soft looking with short fan stems and the more delicate secondaries. I guess I'll start referring to Clever as 'petite'....

[9ski9]

My flower lights (buds are from my last grow):

[likemclever]

I guess I'll start referring to Clever as 'petite'....

Don't you dare :mad: . I was just bustin your chops :upsidedow . I like the fact that she's different :p

[9ski9]

Ha, I wasn't changing her name...just referring to her as petite instead of retarded.

Oh, hey, the Venus Flytrap in my grow room caught a big spider today. I hate spiders. Now I really like Venus Flytraps.

I also read in another thread that someone said NOT to mist, especially with the lights on. I sometimes mist five times a day. I mist until it's almost 100% humidty and looks like a rainforest after a downpour. I had a Japanese Maple tree outside---at another house---that you weren't supposed to get it's leaves wet when watering with a hose. The fragile leaves would burn under the sun. But pot? IDK...I can see not wanting to get buds wet because they might mold, but veg is a great time for misting.

[9ski9]

you had said you bent your plants with pipe cleaners...explain how you did this bc im starting to flower and heighth could be a problem...therefore i want to bend them bc i dont have that much room. thanks for any help from anyone.


Sorry, but I missed your question and the thread jumped to a second page, budbro...

I do two things with pipe cleaners. Firstly, I tuck and tie fan leaves, allowing more light on secondaries. The best way is to take something like a coat hanger and bend it and cut it until you have a straight piece of metal. Then hook it on the pot rim so it runs across your soil, right next to the base of the plant. Then, just take white pipe cleaners and gently pull the fan leaves down and anchor them to the coathanger. It's simply pulling the fan leaves down and letting the secondaries get lots of light. This doesn't affect height.

The other thing I do, is bend the plants and use the pipe cleaners to train them. I'll bend the plant over and snap the stalk. It's pretty terrible the first time you do it, 'cause you are breaking the stem. But the stem continues to transfer nutrients and will heal itself quickly. I'll tie just below the top fan leaves, keeping the plant from making too quick of a turn back up to the lights. Have you seen some of the amazing things people on this site do with plants? You can train a plant to do anything. There was a thread where someone grew the entire plant horizontally....

[postmandave]

looking good 9ski and good idea with the rocks, best off luck with your grow.the Postman.

[9ski9]

Thanks, PostmanD, but the rocks where Harddon's idea...

Just a quick Day 39 update and....

:dance: :D :D Clever is a GIRL!:D :D :dance:

So far, two girls and now one dead male...five undetermined.

[likemclever]

woot.....:D :D :D :dance:

good news.... One day she will grow up and make you proud :thumbsup:

[9ski9]

Just a quick veg Day 42 update...and it's the last day of veg, as I set my 400w HPS and 250w MH on the timer. I plan on a 77 day flower. I removed all 10 CFL's, but may set up a few around the bottoms of the pots to keep the fan leaves green and working, until they die off naturally.

I'll be using cactus juice again for this flower, but won't feed for at least 10 days. I've continued with Superthrive and am misting three times daily. PH is right at 6.8 and temps range from around 84F in the day and down to 74F at night. Two fans will run 12 hours, while one will continue 24 hrs.

I have seven remaining plants. Two are females (inc. Clever), while five have yet to show sex. I've semi-LST'd two, while fan leaf tied another two to just help the secondaries into the light. By "semi-LST", I mean that I've tied fan leaves and tied down the main stem several weeks into the growth. I purposely snapped the main stem on these two, then tied at the break. I broke them to keep control of their vert growth.

[9ski9]

Just a quick day 7 flower update...

Two of seven grew balls and were killed today. Four out of five remaining are confirmed females. Gave them a weak drink of cactus juice today. 70 days until harvest!

[likemclever]

Well congrats ski looks like your in for a happy harvest :D .

Is it just me and my bias opinion or does Clever look happier than the others. For me itâ??s hard to tell what her growth has been like but she looks a lot bigger:dance: . It looks much better in there after getting rid of those males.

Thanks for the update :thumbsup:

[9ski9]

Yeah, Clever has been growing 1"/day and her secondaries are all over the place. She now dwarfs the other girls. I was a little gun shy about giving the majority of attention to one plant again, but it's amazing how tripling the light and extra bending and tying can make such a huge difference.

Thanks for looking, Clever...I'm content to keep this a really low key log, but I've been treating her with as much attention as Hardonna...

[u.g.u]

I didn't read the entire thread but I read your original posting and I was thinking that 49 days of veg seemed a really long time and then I relized you were using cfl's for veg I bet you could knock 20 days off your veg if you used the same lights that you use for flowering, just a thought

[9ski9]

CFL's are the only way I've ever vegged. I guess I sorta like the veg process with CFL's, too...makes you really feel like your part of the process, especially when you add some version of LST. Flowering is comparatively boring, to me. And even though buds are sexy, the plants are pretty pathetic looking as your fans die off. I know I'm not making a freaking painting, but it's also why I don't clone or do hydro.

[9ski9]

Just a quick Flower Day 14 update...

Bud sites have developed everywhere. Four big females and one little runt in the corner. I hit them all with Schultz Cactus Juice at 1/3 strength, which is 1-7-6. They've had that dilution in three straight waterings, along with SuperThrive.

This grow vegged 7 days less than my last grow, but with better everything throughout...and the plants are at least 18" taller. I've had to tie five secondaries from one plant to the wall to try to gain some vertical room.

[likemclever]

I must say I'm pleased with Clever's performance...I was a little skeptical at first.

Nice job Ski

[hahaitsdoogle]

where do you get all your nutrients from

[9ski9]

where do you get all your nutrients from

Mexican bat guano from eBay; SuperThrive and Schultz Cactus Juice from a local garden center.

[sjacobs713]

hey why do you wrap everything in aluminum, to reflect?

[9ski9]

Yep. Thick mylar on the floor, while the pots are foil wrapped. I also wrap brown CFL cords in foil during veg. Foil will wrap and hold; mylar doesn't.

[HARDDON]

9ski9...

You are doing very very well. I am so pleased to see you doing so well.

You make me proud!:thumbsup:

A couple of things...

I would lay off the superthrive from here out. In the flowering stage it can tend to make the bud tops keep growing too much and thin the caps of the buds themselves. Let them fatten out a bit.

Also, I would definatley add some of that stinking fish emulsion Home Depot sells...5-1-1 ......1 capful of fish emulsion per 2.5 gallons.

This will help stop the rapid defoilage of some undergrowth.

During flower I add it about every 7 days....just enuff to keep it green.

Also, crank up the flower period to 14 hours of light per day for increased THC content. IT WORKS!

Next feeding mix this...this will NOT hurt your plants and will please the discerning smoker...

mix the following in 2 gallons of warm water:

1 tbspn...lipton iced tea dry granules
1 tbspn...jack daniels whiskey
1 tbspn...clear corn syrup
1 tbspn...dry plain gelatin powder
1 tbspn...plain non scented ammonia

stir the shit outta it. the gelatin tends to settle at bottom so keep stirring between plant waterings.

Feed them this in lieu of the normal schedule. Feed them this 3 times in a row, with each watering. Make a fresh batch each time.

Skip the cactus juice when using this feed formula.

Dont worry either about water pH when on this feed cycle.

I also add some white eggs shells I powder up in a grinder. Great calcium additive.

Feed them this mixture each watering for the next 3 straight feedings.

I dont know why or how...yet...but it will kick the THC production into high gear really quick and when added to your increased light cycle of 14 hours instead of 12 hours, you will be pleasantly suprised when you lite up!

BTW...your foil is just fine the way it is. You aren't losing a single lumen.

Keep up the good work little brother...you are doing such a good job...

Proud of you 9ski...

Take care and good luck!

[HARDDON]

here some white russians on the mixture at 3 week flower....

will go to regular feeding (I have switched from the cactus bloom to KA-BLOOM) and then at week 6 & 7 do again feed the mixture.

no need to flush either...super smooooth.....

[9ski9]

Wow, holy shit, Bro! What an awesome surprise!

And I have a project! I'm all over it tomorrow!

Thanks, HD!

(That was 5 exclamation points! Eh, six.)

[likemclever]

No shit skiâ?¦.kinda makes you smile inside.



You knew heâ??d be paying attention...how could he not?

Nice to see you HARD your garden is wow.

[9ski9]

Just a quick Flower Day 17 update...

Switched to 14/10 light schedule...no more SuperThrive...

Hit the liquor store for a pint of JD and the grocery store for non scented ammonia (we had the rest), then mixed the following in 2 gallon jugs of generic bottled water:

1 tbspn...lipton iced tea dry granules
1 tbspn...JD whiskey
1 tbspn...clear corn syrup
1 tbspn...dry plain gelatin powder
1 tbspn...plain non scented ammonia
3 egg shells ground in a mortar and pestle

I'll be mixing this up two more times...also fed them a 5-1-1 fish emulsion that I already had.

I'm a little nervous about this, since it's the first time I've strayed from what I know...but if HD says do it, then you DO IT. And, BTW, thanks again, HD!

[HARDDON]

Oh yea, I forgot.:D

Add 1 Tbspn...Dishwashing liquid...like Dawn / Palmolive...

That will help promote beneficial bacterial growth in the soil.

It'll kick your potency into high gear.:dance:

[9ski9]

Cool, got it, HD...I'll add it to the next two batches.

[9ski9]

Just a quick Flower Day 19 update....

Added a couple of CFL's very low, not blocking any of the HPS and MH light, trying to take advantage of the added (5-1-1) fish emulsion I'm now using once a week. And here's also a pic of "Harddon's Flavor/Potency Boost Elixir" ingredients. The girls are getting their second of three applications today.

[HARDDON]

UPDATE?????

Did they survive Dr. HARD's ROOT TONIC?

[9ski9]

Sorry, HD, I went through a little paranoia period when I was reading through the Overgrow threads, then this change in ownership.

Anyway, they seem to be doing great. The fans are holding out, which I assume is the added fish emulsion and low CFL's.

The buds had a definite growth spurt after using the mixture...of course I don't know if it was coincidental. But it sure was a sign that it didn't hurt.

I'm at Day 29 of flower, now...they had their weekly 5-1-1 fish emulsion last night. I plan on an approximate 70 day flower. I had great results with cactus juice last flower and started this flower with the cactus juice. I was sort of planning on one more shot of fish emulsion in a week, then one more full strength feeding of cactus juice in 14 days. Then cutting out all nutes for the last month.

What nutes do you recommend I finish them out with?

Here's Flower Day 21 and Flower Day 28:

[sjacobs713]

hey ski,
why you switch your light to 14/0, instead of 12...
everything that i have read says that it is critical to have it 12/12..
just wondering?

by the way, your plants are looking very beautiful! very!

slim

[9ski9]

Thanks, Slim. I switched at the suggesting of Harddon. The added hours and booster tonic mixture are supposed to increase the THC production.

And I'm all for increasing THC production...

[HARDDON]

Looks like the fans are starting to get yellow.

I would:

Increase the amount of fish emulsion, not the frequency. Since you are gonna flower for 70 days, you have time to deal with it.

I forgot how much fish stuff you are using...I would double it up whatever it is. Just double the amount, not the frequency.

The cactus juice is just fine...but I prefer the Ka-Bloom I mentioned earlier.

You have a long way to go and these will be some very nice buds, I can tell.

Stick with your nute cycle on the other items. You will need to keep these getting nutes til about 18-10 days before harvest.

As far as those CFLs at the bottom..you might as well shut them off at this point. While it keeps the bottoms lit, the light is no way intense enuff to prevent major fan loss.

Its pretty much a waste of juice.

Now if you could get a MH down there, that would be perfect. But the CFL just isnt gonna do anything...your plants are too big and healthy and the added light really only is amounting to added electricty costs.

I would shut them off and save the bulbs for the next veg / birth states.

Other than that my man, you have done well and soon your tomatos should start to turn red!

Paranoia is rarely a bad thing these days.

Great job.

[9ski9]

Excellent, thanks, HD! These girls have very different personalities than my last grow. The better nutes and light through the early stages made them a foot taller with a week less veg time. And the bud sites are stretched much longer (I quit the SuperThrive at your suggestion).

The last few oz's of my last grow were amazing, HD. Better than anything I've ever bought. The extra curing I did made all the difference. I'd be psyched just to duplicate those results, but don't see why I can't turn out even better stuff.

[The Grim Reefer]

Sexcellent log.
Great plants.
Great info.

[HARDDON]

For your bottom lighting, The Home Depot now sells 60 & 75 watt HPS units that simply plug into a regular outlet.

They are designed for outdoor lighting, so they have a plastic cover on them and all you need to do is wire it with a regular lamp electrical cord.

They cost around 60.00 but they work absolutely perfect. With as long as you have to flower, it might do you wise to pick up one or two.

These new lights, since the have a cover, wont burn or add much heat and they fit perfectly in the lower corners and stuff of grow closets...and are HPS. They also have the MH for outside in 70Watts and that would be even better for the lower foilage.

Looks good my friend.

[9ski9]

This is the only 70w MH I can find at the Home Depot website; does it look like the one?

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=Products_2%2fLighting+%26+Fans%2fExterior+L ighting%2fSecurity+%26+Floods&BV_SessionID=@@@@0222771222.1148686322@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccladdhljgiedkcgelceffdfgidgkg.0&MID=9876

[busteruk7]

very nice indeed m8 looking very good
cheers all :)

[9ski9]

Hey, thanks Grim and Buster...

So I hit Home Depot before they closed and grabbed a 70w MH and a 70w HPS. I only had time to rip apart one old lamp for it's cord so far, but I got the HPS wired. I plugged it in outside my grow room to test the temp and was surprised to find that the housing remains COOL. The glass front that covers the bulb only gets moderately hot right at the bulb. I switched all my fans up one notch, so I shouldn't see a temp spike.

The box claims the HPS is the same brightness as 375w incandescent and the bulb is rated to last 24,000 hrs.

These are security lights, with photocells, so I'll have to cover the sensor with a piece of foil, I suppose.

I got it in just as the timer went OFF. This is flower day 30. Okay now for the MH....

[9ski9]

BTW, the MH runs $118 and the HPS is $70.

[HARDDON]

Shit dude you did the right thing.

Not much heat at all and just enuff light to power those lower fans to keep pumping the juice up to those tomato flowers.

You should find they produce far more light than your CFL's were and your tomatos will thank you for it.

I notice your pics have the plants in the exact same position as previous pics so I am assuming you don't rotate them around. Personally I would, but I am not sure it results in much.

At the very least, just make sure you frequently at least rotate the individual pot containers...just turn em 180 degrees every day.

It WILL help you get a 'harder, more dense' tomato bud in the end!:dance:

It really will!

Man you doing real really good. Those will result in some awesum tomatos.

[The Grim Reefer]

Ski! - Keep providing the excellent log following your advice with the help of harddon!

Harddon! - Keep providing excellent information for the log!

I've gotten quite a few tips from this log that I haven't in others.
For this, I love you both.

[9ski9]

Thanks, HD! I'm limited in movement because these girls shot up vertically. I would like to do the bowl effect, with the shortest in the middle, but I can only do 1/4 turns of the pots. Maybe I should work on that tomorrow and come up with something...

Awesome tip on the 70 watters...I appreciate the find. Can't believe I was growing without them. Temps are not an issue after adding them to the light cycle all day.

And I sure look forward to getting tips from you, Grim...tough subject you had there, too; he apparently found the only remaining female on Earth that doesn't like to be e*ten.

[bob bobbinson]

How did I miss this thread... DOH.

Anyhow just read it all. GREAT info here. And very nice looking ladies.
Hope mine turn out as nice as that.

--Tuning in to another great thread---

[9ski9]

Thanks, bob...

So as to not be a lazy ass, I went ahead and screwed around with my height problem tonight, which was keeping me from switching the pots around. I had been tying the stems to hooks on the walls. I looped short pieces of white pipe cleaner around the stems, then leaned them over. I just needed to get back a few inches, but they were critical inches under the 400w HPS.

But, tethering them to the wall made it impossible to move the pots, other than little turns.

Sooooo, instead of anchoring to the wall, they are now anchored to rocks on the floor. So even if I'm not moving the pots around daily, I can easily rotate 180 degrees.

Man, it is so important to veg for the right amount of time, considering how much they grow in the first weeks of flower. These girls were vegged a week less than my last grow, but were treated so much better early on, and were a foot taller.

This was just as the timer went off on Flower Day 31:

[Rekap]

hey nine, just stopped in to see your progress. :thumbsup:

[JakeTheCorgi]

9ski9...

You are doing very very well. I am so pleased to see you doing so well.

You make me proud!:thumbsup:

A couple of things...

I would lay off the superthrive from here out. In the flowering stage it can tend to make the bud tops keep growing too much and thin the caps of the buds themselves. Let them fatten out a bit.

Also, I would definatley add some of that stinking fish emulsion Home Depot sells...5-1-1 ......1 capful of fish emulsion per 2.5 gallons.

This will help stop the rapid defoilage of some undergrowth.

During flower I add it about every 7 days....just enuff to keep it green.

Also, crank up the flower period to 14 hours of light per day for increased THC content. IT WORKS!

Next feeding mix this...this will NOT hurt your plants and will please the discerning smoker...

mix the following in 2 gallons of warm water:

1 tbspn...lipton iced tea dry granules
1 tbspn...jack daniels whiskey
1 tbspn...clear corn syrup
1 tbspn...dry plain gelatin powder
1 tbspn...plain non scented ammonia

stir the shit outta it. the gelatin tends to settle at bottom so keep stirring between plant waterings.

Feed them this in lieu of the normal schedule. Feed them this 3 times in a row, with each watering. Make a fresh batch each time.

Skip the cactus juice when using this feed formula.

Dont worry either about water pH when on this feed cycle.

I also add some white eggs shells I powder up in a grinder. Great calcium additive.

Feed them this mixture each watering for the next 3 straight feedings.

I dont know why or how...yet...but it will kick the THC production into high gear really quick and when added to your increased light cycle of 14 hours instead of 12 hours, you will be pleasantly suprised when you lite up!

BTW...your foil is just fine the way it is. You aren't losing a single lumen.

Keep up the good work little brother...you are doing such a good job...

Proud of you 9ski...

Take care and good luck!


sort of a bump/question.....has this mix been substantiated....I favoritized it and i just came across it today....also the 14hr flower? I realize that throughout the thread Hardon is being recognized an experienced grower, i'm just wondering about the 14 and the homemade bloom mix.....i want to try both but i dont want to fuck my shit up.

[9ski9]

Here's just a quick flower day 35 update that I missed posting the other day because of other issues on the MB...

Three of my four girls used up their fans weeks earlier than my last grow. Near the bottom of the pots, I added the extra 70w MH and a 70w HPS (to go along with 400w HPS and 250w MH overhead), as well as weekly high nitrogen fish emulsion, so I'm pretty sure it's just the natural course these girls have taken. The buds are super healthy and starting to fatten up. They are twice as long as my previous grow, just not as fat, yet.

All are from a variety of bag seed.

One girl, though, is extremely compact and hasn't lost a single fan. She's a deep green and she never really developed many fan leaves or secondaries. She's basically developing into one big kola. Sort of interesting is that her newest set of leaves toward the top six inches are rounded and not jagged.

As to HD's mix, I went with blind trust, since I know he's a genius among growers. My girls were happy and had a growth spurt after three applications, but I really can't say definitively one way or another until after it's cured and burned, though the ingredients all make sense.

[9ski9]

hey nine, just stopped in to see your progress. :thumbsup:
BTW, thanks for stoppin' by, Rekap.

[JakeTheCorgi]

so you gonna let me know about the 14 and the mix.....during flower they say to get the P going and fish fert is mostly N.....either way they're yours and whats working is working.....but did you notice anything after adding hardon's mix?

[9ski9]

so you gonna let me know about the 14 and the mix.....during flower they say to get the P going and fish fert is mostly N.....either way they're yours and whats working is working.....but did you notice anything after adding hardon's mix?

Since I used the mix and bumped up the light time on all my girls, I don't have anything to compare it to---these girls have been different than my other grows from the start. I'm just going to have to wait to see the results. Again, there was a growth spurt at the bud sites after application AND no bad effects whatsoever. Every tip I've ever gotten from HD has been great, so I have no reason to doubt this mix. The spent fan leaves DO have a cool taste that is very different than the typical bitter, green taste that is normal. That's chewing them, not smoking them...

The fish emulsion is a weekly addition to my regular flowering nutes, which is 1-7-6 Schultz Cactus Juice that I use at half recommended strength.

[latewood]

9ski...great job, you learned well...keep it up. lw

[likemclever]

Hey ski you are doing a terrific job :thumbsup: . Iâ??ve been watching the whole time biting my tongue because I know of my tendency to get chatty.:glugglug:

Bang up job really.

The malady of those leaves is something else. It looks like it was crossed with one of my mothers potted plants :upsidedow . Interesting? But it looks like the new leaves coming out are a cross between the two leaves.

[HARDDON]

9ski...

Looks normal for the yellowing. Late in flower you can't stop that from happening...nor do you really want to. You want to power those fans long enuff to max the length of those buds.

Now, those flower top leaves are some funky looking leaves. Shes reverted to veg state.

I dont see a lot of trichs and you should be seeing them develop about now.

I would cut the light back to 12. She didnt like the 14 / 10...err...i mean she likes it too much. youre getting a bit of a growth spurt...although I have done this without that result.

I would take the lights back down to 12 just eliminate that possibility right away. DOnt want to delay your harvest any longer than needed.:pimp:

Anyhow to answer the questions of the formula...

The only way you will ever know is to do side by sides and test the resulting tomato strength.

Yes this has been done. With an error margin of 3%, the formula and lighting can boost the flavonids of the tomatos by up to 10 -15% in comparitive ratios.

Over the course of a couple of bags, thats a lot of bites of a tomato.:dance:

The tomato will indeed be smoother, fresher and tastier.

But...where are those glistening sugar speckles is what I am wondering...:confused:

The concoction needs to have resin glands to do its trick...I cant see any.

You might have a mute there, eh?

[HARDDON]

You have sugar crystals on the others yet???

[HARDDON]

One final thought...

SHe may be going hermie on you.

Keep an eye out for fag signs...although you may never see them.

I can assure you none of my advice caused this...sometimes plant just turn queer on us.

The rest look nice and will fatten for you now.

[9ski9]

Hey, HD, I set the timer back to 12/12. But that one girl has been odd through the entire grow; just one main stem and she never sent out any secondaries. I figured she was just a runt, but then she started to play connect the bud from just above the dirt to her top. She has only a few trichs showing at this point.

The other three girls have begun to get clusters of clear trichs...pretty much on schedule from the last grow. I'm at six weeks of flowering tomorrow and expect another five, or so. Here's a pic...

[9ski9]

Oh, and thanks, HD...I appreciate you taking the time...if she goes hermie, she goes hermie...I wouldn't blame the JD, or I'd have been hermie long ago.

[HARDDON]

Yea when you use bagseed, you never know what youre gonna get.

If she doesnt get trichs in the next week or so, i'd toss her out dude and make room for the others.

I have grown a couple of plants with beautiful tomatos that turn out to be mutants and nothing but nothing in the final end.

If you like, I can hook you up with some serious tomato seeds.

You're too good a grower to be using bag seed.

[9ski9]

Thanks...I'll try to work something out that's safe to place a seed order before my next grow for sure. And the mutant has a week to show trichs.

[postmandave]

nice grow 9ski.like the set up mate if you are on the hunt for some safe seeds give me a shout some time later the postman.

[9ski9]

Cool, thanks, Postman...

Okay, so I was grabbing quick pics last night after lights were out and didn't take the time to really lift my mutant girls skirt and take a close look. While she doesn't have many trichs toward the top, her belly is filled with trichs. All still clear, of course, but even some of the tight, gnarled leaves are lightly frosted.

I'm guessing this means all is okay? Absolutely no balls. This is 41 days into flower. It's sort of like she's built like a stretched out pineapple, with a chubby belly and then a funky mass of new foliage on top. I'd hate to lose her, 'cause if she continues to fill out, she'll have a 2+oz. kola, though not much else.

Here are a couple of pics of the same girl, mostly at the same spot on her belly...

[s12fever]

nice lookin nugs dude...lookin forward to seeing them on harvesting day :)

[SkunkMe1]

Harddon:thumbsup: 9ski:thumbsup:

Thank you


thank you


thank you


It's just, i thought i know so much about growing in the beginig, and now after growing and knowing 1000 times more and seeing you guys grow, i think i know nothing. Sorry for stealing some of your techniques but i think you are ok with that since this is for all the people here, just wanted to tell you, you helped me alot, making my plants way better than i could ever imagine. Please keep posting these wonderfull info in the future.

Thanks again :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[SkunkMe1]

Your babies look WONDERFULL omg.........nice.........nice..........nice :thumbsup:


:D :D :D

[HARDDON]

Looks salvageable.

I would keep her on going.,..hell see what happens.

Looks good the 9ski9.:thumbsup:

[Login Failed]

Well....this is my first post.. I have been reading and learning from this amazing site for the last several months. THANKS!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I read this post and incorporated it into my space, though I just happened onto an amazing product a few days later as I was walking through our local dollar store (Disposable Electric Stove Liners). They come in 2 sizes for the 2 different sizes of eyes, the small size fits perfectly into a 1 gal. nursery planter, and the bigger size fits perfectly into one of the #8 size planters (found at most home improvement stores).

I was concerned with the curvature of the dull aluminium. Do you think there could be an issue with using them??? Something that I am not thinking of...

I have a digital termometer and have not noticed any effects on temperature at the bottom of the plant; the light is up SIGNIFICANTLY from the bottom of the plants. Plus the moisture is staying in my soil!!! I added small holes to allow water and air to pass through and cut a small slit to allow the stem to pass through.

The Set of 12 6 Large/6 Small only set me back $2 (and they call themselves a dollar store)...so if they are ill advised I can actually use them for what they were designed for.... :(

[9ski9]

You should probably repost this question as a stand-alone thread, so more people will read it and offer up answers. Seems like a really good idea...

I use bat guana tea all through veg and a lot of the guana doesn't disolve and would clog up those holes, so you have to lift the liners to feed, especially since you want the guano evenly dispersed around the soil area.

I'd also want to be super careful about any possible hot spots when they are seedlings and the CFL's are an inch from the aluminum.

[Login Failed]

Well....this is my first post.. I have been reading and learning from this amazing site for the last several months. THANKS!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I read this post and incorporated it into my space, though I just happened onto an amazing product a few days later as I was walking through our local dollar store (Disposable Electric Stove Liners). They come in 2 sizes for the 2 different sizes of eyes, the small size fits perfectly into a 1 gal. nursery planter, and the bigger size fits perfectly into one of the #8 size planters (found at most home improvement stores).

I was concerned with the curvature of the dull aluminium. Do you think there could be an issue with using them??? Something that I am not thinking of...

I have a digital termometer and have not noticed any effects on temperature at the bottom of the plant; the light is up SIGNIFICANTLY from the bottom of the plants. Plus the moisture is staying in my soil!!! I added small holes to allow water and air to pass through and cut a small slit to allow the stem to pass through.

The Set of 12 6 Large/6 Small only set me back $2 (and they call themselves a dollar store)...so if they are ill advised I can actually use them for what they were designed for.... :(

[postmandave]

top thread 9ski9 sorry i dont drop in much but its meant that way as when i do this is one of the threads i enjoy reading. top thread peepo this is what they should be like .the postman.

[HARDDON]

Those aluminum trays arent a bad idea...however, you could leach aluminum into your soil when it comes in contact with pH adjusted down acid or chemical.

This is prolbably not a good idea if you are going to consume your plants.

I would stick to white marble chips for the veg stage of plant growth. They disperse minerals the plants use, they allow the soil to dry and they also protect subsurface roots from getting disturbed by soil movement if you water from the top.

I still prefer bottom watering...every single time.

[Login Failed]

Thanks Hardon, I have removed them don't want any leeching...

Yes, I am going to consume my plants!! What else would I do with them??? :stoned: :stoned:

[HARDDON]

UPDATE????

HARvestED????

PARANOID????

[likemclever]

PARANOID????

what I was thinken.



I hope Clever was good to you Ski :smokin:

[yoyohunter]

Not to change the subject but how old/big should the plants be before being able to bottom water? until the water starts dissapearing? I understand it makes the roots suck in the water and therefor makes it look for water. Thanks and Ski love ya garden :)

[HARDDON]

Bottom watering can be done as early as 3 weeks into veg. Just make sure you have plenty of the SMALL sized lava rock....red rock, not black.

And yes, bottom watering is just wonderful for these plants.

It takes a while as the rocks absorb the water then transfer to the soil. It could take as long as 2 days to fully water so the soil is dampened all the way to the top.

It is a labor of love.