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Hi Tinytoon,
I was considering topping my BD#3 tonight to get hands on experience with the technique. Should this be done close to flowering time, or can this be done at any time during the veg process? I plant to do LST for the next grow, but my current setup won't allow it for this grow.
Thanks!
DAY 11
I came home to some very happy ladies. BD #1, aka Mutant Plant, is exploding with foliage and so is her evil twin. BD#2 is making a swift recovery with foliage and stem growth. BD #3 is neck and neck with BD#1 in terms of height, which at 6:30pm measured 10 inches X_X. That means that the clones, which were about an inch to and inch and a half when my partner selected them, have grown 8 to 9 inches in 11 days! WOW! So far, Iâ??m extremely impressed with DWC.
Iâ??m keeping the pH at a constant rate in between 5.8 â?? 6.2. Itâ??s slightly adjusted downwards about every 6 â?? 8 hours. Iâ??ve also been easing these clones into the nutes, as I started with about ½ the nutrients on the first week, and this week we added 75% of the recommended nutes. I think the babies love the increased nutrients. We are going to add 100% nutrients for the next reservoir change.
I think it I saw in one of tinytoonâ??s grow logs that he used a tomato cage (that wire thins people use when growing tomatoes, LOL, help me out here) to use as a support structure for his plants. Iâ??m building that into my next bucket design, but for this go around Iâ??m thinking of just gluing some tall wooden pieces to act as a support. I can tie the babies to it as they grow.
I was giving some serious thought to topping my BD#3, but I decided to wait and hear some input from anyone who knows about the technique. Iâ??m going to try my hand at LTS next grow, but I donâ??t have the setup this time around. Will topping produce two colas on top? Is it dangerous for the plant?
Here is the daily update (I included two high def pics of the roots that arenâ??t included in the links below)
BD#1
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01380.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01381.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01382.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01383.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01384.jpg
BD#2
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01385.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01386.jpg
BD#3
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01387.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01388.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01389.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01390.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01391.jpg
GDP#1
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01392.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01393.jpg
GDP#2
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01394.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01395.jpg
GDP#3
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01396.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01397.jpg
Entire Crop
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01398.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01402.jpg
The attached images are of mutant BD#1 (long roots) and GDP #2 (spiny roots).
Topping is done in Veg only and the way we do it is we make sure there are a couple weeks left in veg to recover from shock before starting to flower. Then when we flower lights are shut down for min 36 straight hours before turn HPS on for 12/12. Somewhere I read that doing this dark period speeds up the process of converting from veg to flower by resetting the "internal clock" of the plants. There are some really good posts on how to fim and worst case can google it.
Tinytoon, thanks for that info on your dark cycle. I may just try that come flower time :rasta:
DAY 12
I topped BD#3 today, and I hope I did it correctly :yippee: I also switched the positions of BD#1 and GDP#3. GDP# 1 and 2 are growing fat while 3 is growing tall, as itâ??s the farthest from the light. I figured since BD#1 and 3 are doing so well, they could sit in the back while I moved my GDPâ??s to the front. BD#2 is getting healthier and healthier with no more funky leaves growing; only good green leaves.
The reservoir in my double plant bucket has dropped more than the others, and is barely touching the net pots now. However, the roots are still immersed in the water. As long as the ends of the roots are in the water, does the water level need to be raised high enough to engulf the bottom part of the net pot? Iâ??m going to top it off tonight, but Iâ??d like to know for next time.
Daily Update
BD#1
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01407.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01408.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01409.jpg
BD#2
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01414.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01415.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01416.jpg
BD#3
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01410.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01411.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01412.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01413.jpg
GDP#1
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01417.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01418.jpg
GDP#2
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01419.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01420.jpg
GDP#3
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01421.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01422.jpg
Entire Crop
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01423.jpg
When I refill mine I try to get water up to bottom of net pot.
Tinytoon, I went ahead and topped off the reservoirs so that the bottom of the net pots are immersed in water. I was surprised that my two babies gulped down so much water in such a short period of time. Thirsty girls!
DAY 13
I came home tonight to find new little branch buds emerging from my topping of BD#3. That was QUICK! My BD#3 seems completely unfazed by its little operation last night, so I went ahead and did the same to BD#1 (the taller of the two coming out of the rock wool). I was hoping this would slow their growth upwards a little bit to give the GDPâ??s a chance to catch up, but if BD#3 is any indication of what will happen with BD#1, I donâ??t think thatâ??s going to happen.
Other than that information, I adjusted the pH, which had only risen .2 - .3 during the day, to 5.8 in each reservoir. I also moved BD#2 around with GDP#2 for lighting reasons.
My BD#2 seems to have topped itself. I see two stems coming out of the main stem. I took some pics to get some feedback on that. Am I crazy?
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01488.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01489.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01490.jpg
Iâ??m loving the DWC method. I watch the pH, spray my babies with its special spray, move them around a bit, and give them some TLC and they are thriving, even in not-so-great heat conditions. And the reservoir water that I dump out is doing wonders for my lawn :P
Daily Update
BD#1
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01472.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01473.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01474.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01475.jpg
BD#2
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01479.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01480.jpg
BD#3
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01476.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01477.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01478.jpg
GDP#1
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01481.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01482.jpg
GDP#2
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01483.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01484.jpg
GDP#3
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01485.jpg
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01486.jpg
ENTIRE CROP
http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01487.jpg
I guess personally I wouldn't spend a lot of time trying to delay 2 of them for the other 3 to catch up. You have 2 dif strains running which can be a chore without same flowering times and such. You have had a few down falls but have come back real well. I would chock this up as a learning grow, let it finish and load her up and do it again.
TinyToon, I think that's what I'm going to have to do. I'm going to finish the veg stage at 4 weeks, so I have a little over 2 weeks left. I'll let the GDP's do their thing and flower when it's time, regardless of size. Then, for my next grow (which begins basically the same day I harvest lol), it's ALL BD's!