Diary:02/09/07: 8 Pots of Plants

Greetings one and all.

Two days ago I was debating what to do to combat the signs of deficiency that I see. I decided to give the ladies EC1.7 of Sensi Bloom 2 Part and Barricade with a dash of CarboLoad. That I did. But after I gave them each around 2-3L I shouted SHIT! a couple of times because I didn't pH. I think they are suffering from some kind of lockout at the moment. I assume this because they haven't drank very much. The pots weigh a tonne and the soil moisture meter reads WET which indicates they aren't interested in what is in the soil.

Today I have attempted to leech the soil of crap. I've given them each another 3L of pH'd water and have caught the run off in a bucket for one of them. The EC of the run off was around 2.8. Because I've never measured the run-off I'm unsure if these figures are something to worry about. Any input??

I will be flushing again in an hour or two with another 3L of pH'd water. I think the build up in the soil could be what is causing the deficiencies I see.

I'm also certain that before I flushed I could see tip-burn on numerous leaves. But since leeching just 45minutes ago, I cannot seem to find those problem leaf tips... Surely it isn't possible for a plant act so quickly? Is it? I need a big Spliffy, tune in later to find out how things are coming along!!

Greetings one and all - a salam alaikum - akwaaba

Stinkin! what else can I say. All praises to be the almighty for access to odour filtration.

The ladies are now at day 35 - week 5 - of their bloom phase. I Love It!

Since my last post I haven't given the ladies anything to nurish on. I didn't give then a second flush as anticipated on day 31. The pots have remained quite heavy and the soil moisture meter isn't informing me of much in the way of the requirement of fluid replenishment. I'm not totally alarmed because at some stage throughout the bloom phase I've notice that plants stall on nute take up for a short time, then suddenly start drinking and packing on weight.

I am somewhat concerned that the aren't drinking because of the sighted nute deficiency noted earlier. But bud development has not stopped. If growth, as well as nute take up, stalled then I'd be more concerned. The leaf symptoms have not alarmed me any further because it hasn't worsened since applying a pH'd flush. I think things are going very well in this new environment. One must bare in mind that this lil crop is the first attempt in this space and minimal refinement of operation is still required before I feel 100% total success.

Unfortunately I do not have any magnificaion equipment to monitor trychome development. I do not think my camera zoom will satisfy the situation either.

Today then, the pots still hold a bit of weight and the meter still tells me things are good in the soil. But its been a few days since last watering and I feel a need to start using Overdrive as I can visually see the plants entering that part of their life where they will give a final push and flower heavily.

I will be mixing Overdrive, Sensi Bloom and Carboload. I may add some Potassium Silicate if there is any room on the EC meter.

I shall apply 3-4L per pot and hopefully get run off. It has been stressed to me in the past how important run off is. Run off is a way of leeching the soil of nute build up. Good run off means a good rate of fluid has passed through the soil, hopefully, pulling a lot of excess minerals out of the soil.

I think I'll add a few pics of current development. My photography skills do not do this shyt justice. Time to light some incense.

15mL Overdrive
5mL Sensi A
5mL Sensi B
pH 6.63/EC1.0

now a lil Carboload, and there should be plant room for Potassium silicate...

I have 10L of water in the bucket and I've Mixed 2/3rd dose of the recommended Overdrive amendment. sensi is quite concentrated and doesn't state a dose so I just added 5mL of each to bring the EC up to 1.0

I think I'll give them this really low EC with the correct pH as I'm not 100% on what the interaction between plant and moisture content in the soil is.

plants are looking nice, bud formation has improved. im gonna give mine 56ml of overdrive when the time comes. (2 weeks bhind u). when wud u normally apply overdrive then? seen a couple red stem on your leaves, u still think its because temp is too low @ night????? i got red stems all ova plant, (things look ok apart from that)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pccdrom

plants are looking nice, bud formation has improved. im gonna give mine 56ml of overdrive when the time comes. (2 weeks bhind u). when wud u normally apply overdrive then? seen a couple red stem on your leaves, u still think its because temp is too low @ night????? i got red stems all ova plant, (things look ok apart from that)

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I used to apply Overdrive in the last 2 weeks of a 7 or 8 week bloom phase. But I'm currently experimenting with trying to identify the physical changes of the plant that indicate when Overdrive should commence.

I believe Big Bud should commence when you have a few pistils appear. Big Bud should stop when pistil formation has peaked. Overdrive should commence after pistil development. Normally once the pistils have peaked, the real bud formation begins. Some people refer to them as asparagus tips, while I compare this point with the bud developing its pop-corn features. This pop-corn feature is my physical reference to when Overdrive should commence. I think the scientific name of the pop-corn/asparagus is Calyx.

My new method

1. When the plants are switched to bloom, Calyces (plural for Calyx according to the dictionary) develop at every internode.

2. A couple of Pistils/Stigmas appear from these Calyces/Calyxes that indicate the gender of the plant.

3. Then a load of Pistils/Stigmas form and create bud sites along branch stems at each node.

4. Then once the pistils have reached a maximum, Calyces develop at every node that give us usable produce in the world of medicinal herbs.

So, once the first signs of Stage 3 appear I use Big Bud. I've noticed that the job of Big Bud helps with the development of Pistils/Stigmas and lots of healthy Trichomes. The overall appearance of what the plants' final buds will look like starts here.

Once the Pistils/Stigmas have reached a maximum I notice a slight pause in development. Then, slowly, more Calyces/Calyxes form where all the Pistil sites are. So when Stage 4 appears, I start using Overdrive until the bud looks 95% ready for harvest. The last 5% comes about during the final flush of the crop.

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Big Bud [0-1-4] - What they say:

Dr.Hornby has spent many years researching and profiling resin producing plants. His knowledge, passion and love for his work has produced unparalleled products that supercharge resin production and substantially increase yield. Big Bud has been extensively researched, developed and field tested. Big Bud is extremely plant specific - the only one of its kind in the world. During field testing, Big Bud overwhelmingly beat all of it's competitors. The reason for this is Big Bud's plant specific ratios of Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium and Amino Acids. Big Bud will dramatically increase bud growth, width, weight and resin production like no other bloom enhancing product can.

Available Phosphate (P2O5) 1.0%
Soluble Potash (K2O). 4.0%
(Soluble) Magnesium. 0.7%

Derived from:

Magnesium Phosphate, Magnesium Sulphate, Potassium Phosphate, Citric Acid, L-Alanine, L-Arginine, L-Aspartic Acid, L-Cysteine, L-Glutamic Acid, L-Glycine, L-Histidine, L-Isoleucine, L-Leucine, L-Lysine, L-Methionine, L-Phenylanlanine, L-Porline, L-Serine, L-Threonine, L-Tryptophan*, L-Tyrosine, L-Valine.

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Overdrive [1-3-4] - What they say:

Overdrive is an ultra premium flower booster with an extensive and very complex array of phosphorus and potassium sources. Overdrive is designed to pack on extra girth and weight, and to produce unparalleled flower and oil production during the critical last weeks of flowering when plants show the most sizable gains.

Total (Nitrate) Nitrogen (N). 1.00%
Available Phosphate (P2O5). 5.00%
Soluble Potash (K2O). 4.00%
Magnesium (Mg). 0.92%

Derived from:

Magnesium Phosphate, Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Phosphate, Magnesium Sulfate, Folic Acid.

0.5% Absorbic Acid
0.5% Fulvic Acid (derived from Leonardite)

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Since applying the first dose of Overdrive, the plants aroma has become somewhat supercharged. It is no longer the sweet, fruity, almost edible feminine smell of Cheese in her youth. It's now more spicy with less sweetness, like it has aged. The new aroma has that serious aspect to it that indicates a few bong hits will leave one daze for hours. The Calyxes are coming on really well and I can see this crop finishing around one week earlier than expected. The majority of buds are dense and firm. Only very few are still looking soft.

I'm going to bring the other three cheeses in to the bloom room within the next few days as to overlap slightly. The others have been vegging for around 50 days or more so I expect they will grow pretty big. That is my only concern. Will they steal the space in the bloom room and force the others to the side?

I think I've typed enough for not, time to smoke a lil medicine to ease my mind.