So I mixed up a gallon of 6.5pH, 1ml/l CALiMAGic + 2ml/l Big Bloom and watered the ladies. No runoff...
Split another 3 liter jug (also 6.5pH) with just the Big Bloom and watched.
Drip ... drip ...
I ended up setting the vial on the bottom of the tent, picking up the pots and dripping them into the vial.
Crap
4.5
I do expect some pH drift between input and runoff, but my poor girls are practically dipping their toes in battery acid. Seeing as they've been soaked, it will be a few days before I can water them again. The soil is still relatively new so I'd rather not flush them yet. Ugh.
Any thoughts on what's causing the very low pH? I'd love to hear some community input on this. I've been fighting low pH on a few grows now. I let my tap water sit out at least 48h before adding nutes and pH buffers. I've been really light on the nutes with these so far, so it shouldn't be overfeeding. Maybe I just need to give in and get some d lime. Tis the season of the lawn, so it should be available and hopefully on sale. Either way, I want to fix this.
In much better (yet not outstanding) news, the Blueberry Haze is dried, trimmed and starting its cure. Total dry bud weight 16.5gm. More than my initial expectations, less than my most recent guesstimate. That said, I'm still very pleased. It smells amazing. Like a juniper berry and a blueberry had an incense-filled love child. Here's some happy pics:
Just finished a little additional defoliation on the lower nodes. Nothing too aggressive, just trying to minimize the popcorn buds and the ladies don’t seem to mind. Been doing some leaf tucking too - anytime a fan leaf is shading a bud site I’ll try to tuck the fan leaf under and give the new growth priority - which is easier said than done sometimes!
The ladies are doing well. I’m seeing some minor fan leaf issues but I think I have that under control now. Haven’t been feeding them much, but they seem to be okay with it so steady as she goes. They should be finishing up the stretch soon which means it’s time to pack on some buds!
Two weeks into flower and they’re going strong. Still stretching, but budding has increased significantly too. They got a soaking last night with 6 liters each with .5ml/l GH CALiMAGic and 3ml/l FF Big Bloom. Since I mostly use 3 liter jugs, the mixes were a pH and ppm between 6.8-7.0 and 295-315, respectively. I give each plant 1/2 of each jug, so theoretically it should all even out. The runoff pH is still low at 5-5.5, but it's better than what it was a couple of weeks ago. I'll keep the h2o coming in the 7.0 range and hope it keeps creeping in the right direction. They seem quite happy at the moment, but I also don't want to run into nutrient lockout issues later into flower. Time will tell.
Pinched off a few more lower budsites too, because trimming popcorn buds is the bane of growing cannabis.
Pics from this afternoon:
She's even starting to show some sugar. And I think I see some blue/purple starting to show too
Haven't spent much time with the ladies lately. Been super busy the past few weeks, which means I've been slacking on documentation too. Thankfully it's cruise-control-flower-mode at this point in the grow. They've finished stretching and they look great so far. I've been watering them as they need it - a couple time since the last update - with plain pH'd water at 6.8-7. Temps and humidity are pretty steady at 68-70f nighttime 73-75 daytime with the occasional 79-80 late afternoon. 40-45% humidity.
Unfortunately I didn't get to the tent this evening before lights out, so pictures will have to wait. I am excited to snap some photos though.
I'm pretty sure I got my wish and ended up with two different phenos. The bud structure and smell between the two plants is noticeably different. One is more pointy cone shaped where the other is rounded and wide. The pointy structure also happens to be on the larger of the two plants. A little sativa shining through, perhaps? Oh, and she's much frostier than her sister. I have a feeling she's gonna be
Seeds seeds everywhere but not a nanner or pollen sac to be found. I thought I saw some swollen calyxes last week but I shrugged it off. Now there's no denying it...and I’m a bit perplexed.
Perhaps I didn’t clean the tent thoroughly enough after the Derpy DurP? I guess I'll break out the ozone generator next cycle; nothing organic will survive that onslaught of O3! I'll just need to be careful not to kill everything else in the room in the process
I'm a little bummed, but it's not a disaster. Obviously the 'usable' bud weight and potency will be diminished, but since I pretty much exclusively use a vaporizer, press it into wax, or make tinctures/edibles, I'm not that concerned about the surprise seed exploding in my bowl. Still, it's never what you want to see unless you're trying to make seeds.
Other than the seed surprise, they're doing well. The larger of the two is now showing more nutrient deficiencies, but the buds and new growth look good. I tend to save the lower fan leaves when removing lower bud sites for this reason - they aren't shading buds and they are a nice stash of nutes for later. Her runoff pH is still a little lower than I'd like it to be, but it's been creeping in the right direction. She was 4.5-5 a few weeks ago. Today's runoff was about 5.7 from 7.0 in. The smaller plant is doing great. Her runoff is in the low 6 range.
Speaking of runoff, it was pretty cloudy last watering so today they got some Fox Farm Sledgehammer nutrient rinse. 6 liters each at the recommended dose of 2 Tbsp/Gal so about 2.7ml/l. 6.9-7.1 pH.
They're freebies and feminized seeds, so a few nanners...eh, whatever. They're already seeded up so I don't care that much. Still, it might as well be noted for posterity:
Only one nanner has been found and plucked in the past week. I'm on the lookout for more. It's been warm. I've been holding off putting the AC in the window since temps are expected to drop again and saving electricity is good. It hit 86F in the flower tent this afternoon. They're drinking more than usual, but otherwise they seem to be indifferent to the heat. They're both yellowing on lower branches, with the larger plant showing some color along with additional yellowing up the plant. There's some dark shades of blue/purple on the smaller plant. The smell is potent and it hits you as soon as the tent is cracked open and only gets stronger when you touch a bud.
Gave them a decent dose of nutes earlier this week, (750ppm) including their first taste of Fox Farm's Cha Ching. Watered them again today with a little Tiger Bloom - just enough to buffer the pH down to 7-7.2 (.3ml/l) - and 2ml/l of Big Bloom. I didn't check the ppms, but I'd guess sub-300.
The smaller plant is looking like she'll finish early. Her top sweet leaves are already showing quite a bit of amber; I'll snip a test bud soon to take a closer look. I guess it's fitting for the more indica leaning plant to finish first. I'd love to see her bulk up more between now and then. She's frosty and dense, but also pretty small.
The larger plant is also a bit thin in the bud department, but since trics are mostly clear at the moment there's more time for her to fill out. She did throw that nanner, but it hasn't been prolific - I'll pluck em as I find em. We've been fighting with low pH for a while now and it's really starting to show. She's hungry too. I've been edging up the pH up on input, but it's still 5-5.5 out. Not ideal. But hey, I grew the Derpy DurP! That thing was a total f'n mess. It still ended up a decent harvest and it smokes fannnntastic. Perseverance and small adjustments usually do pay off!
Larger plant (on left above)
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3 (Lights went out) (w/ Flash)
Smaller plant
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Don't you just love macro shots of cannabis? I know I do!
I keep these grow journals mostly for my personal documentation. I make them public in the hopes it might help a new grower out, maybe make someone smile or give someone an ah-ha! moment. That said, I do welcome questions, comments and suggestions. Hope everyone is safe and healthy.
With about two weeks until harvest things are filling out and getting colorful. The buds are still a bit on the small side, but they are getting bigger and they're certainly getting frosty. The Cha Ching is working as expected with a very obvious difference in frostiness 48 hours after feeding.
The larger, sativa-leaning plant is a bit less frosty, showing minor N toxicity and getting a little more yellow. The smaller plant is showing lots of purple and lots of trichomes. No fancy purple or pink trichs like the Derpy DurP, but beautiful nonetheless. They're both seeded up pretty thoughoughly with big plump seeds. Not ideal, but at least they'll be easy to pick out!
I decided to shoot a video as well. I hope it's steady enough - they don't call me 'Shakes' for nothing
I'll invest in a handheld gimbal one of these days!
Every day, I open the tent and it puts a smile on my face. The buds are bigger and frostier than they were the day before...and that smell...oooh that smell. It smacks you in the face like a skunk who’s diet is nothing but fruit salad and skittles.
They’ve been putting on weight and trichomes like it’s their job lately. Needless to say things are shaping up for a decent harvest.
I spent an hour or so this afternoon trimming a bunch of fan leaves in hopes it improves airflow and light penetration for the finish. The smaller, more indica plant will be harvested first - probably in a few days. I’m hoping to push the larger plant another two weeks or so (70 days). We’ll see.
Oh yeah, and then there’s THIS glob of gooey goodness appearing from a seed pod:
Before the trim:
After the trim:
THE GREEN DRAGON
(Or long-nosed dog , perhaps)?
Smaller plant
I took a lot of pics over the past two days. It's hard to choose, but I also don't want to post 100 photos so here's a small assortment. Enjoy:
It’s early on day 60 and I should be sleeping, but I’m posting instead.
The smaller plant will probably get the axe later today. She looks fully ripened to me. Plenty of amber starting to show up amongst a sea of mostly cloudy trichomes. Good news: Her bud size has improved significantly over the past few days. It seems like she has some stored energy left. She might even have a little more bud to pack on, but she’s ripe now so…choppy chop chop!
The larger plant is about a week behind, maybe more. I’ll be taking tons of pictures of each plant at harvest with better lighting, so stay tuned for that. I’ve already taken more pictures than I’d like to admit, but getting nice shots usually involves taking mediocre ones too. A lot of them.
Pictures and video from the chop! Day 60. Indica phenotype (smaller plant).
Place your bets on weight. My estimate is 2.25oz of dried, trimmed buds. The buds are quite dense but the leaf/calyx ratio is pretty high and I tend to trim aggressively, so a lot might end up in the hash pile. We’ll see soon enough!
The other plant is now basking in the middle of the tent, getting the full glory of those LM301H diodes Another week until she's ripe, maybe less...and you can be sure there will be more pics of that one. I love photographing cannabis almost as much as growing it!
Chopped the larger plant over the course of day 64/65. It spent about 48hrs in the dark before harvest.
I didn’t realize just how bad she had hermied until I started to trim. Many, many nanners. Lots of seeds on this one too…oh well!
It’s not all bad news though. The buds have an excellent calyx/leaf ratio which will help with the total bud weight (and made the wet trim a breeze). They’re very frosty and larger than the indica’s buds too, although still somewhat skinny. The drying room smells strongly of blueberry, chopped sweet onion and skunk. I hope it keeps its fruitiness through the dry and cure. Fingers crossed!
I made another short video and took some harvest pics. It might be full of seeds and ‘nanners, but it sure does look good through a lens! Final dried weights and vape reports will be posted in the coming weeks.
Until then, Happy growing!
P.S. Seedsman ‘Diet Durban’ (1:1 THC:THCV) and G13 Labs ‘Peach Purée’ (2:1 CBD:THC) are on deck for the flower tent. They’re gonna be big. I’ll post a link once I have a new thread started.
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It’s got some cool Rasta colors going on. So pretty
It brings a wonderfully complex aroma, like an expensive cologne. Pine, red grapes, menthol and earthy musk. Grind the bud and you get the addition of apple and a hint of lemon. Throw it into the Pax and it adds some fresh cucumber and a little berry. Pleasant aftertaste and a little minty cooling action. Potency is very good, which isn't a surprise given how frosty the buds are. The initial buzz is strong; it hits fast and hard but mellows out to a relaxing/chill vibe. Seems to relieve some pain, too. Overall it's a great rainy-day-rest-and-relax herb with a pleasant flavor profile and plenty of kick.
Sativa phenotype:
Much sweeter on the nose. Lemon-lime-blueberry with some onion funk and pine. Grind it up and you get more of the same, plus some tart apple. It's delicious. Very much lemon-lime soda (think Sprite/7-Up), finishing with a lingering berry flavor. The onion is there - but more like it was cooked down and caramelized with apples - adding just the right amount of complexity and funk. Yeah, this stuff is tasty! The buzz is clear and and happy; a good anytime high. It lingers and gets mellow without being too sleepy (as long as you don't overdo it). Potency is good...not as potent as the Indica, but what little it lacks she makes up for it with flavor and buzz.
Final Thoughts:
These plants may be of the same genetic lineage and they may share some similarities, but their bud structure, aroma, flavor and overall buzz are quite different. For that reason I can't recommend this strain to any large scale growers, especially if you're looking for homogeneity. That said, I am thoroughly enjoying the buzz and flavors of both plants.
I'm sure the fact they were seeded and both went hermie doesn't help my opinion. I have a feeling it was due to external variables, but the Sativa pheno did hermie HARD. If I grew it again (this time without seeding or going hermie), she'd probably be a real gem. I may give it another try in the future (I have another pack of freebies), but given my state's plant limits and my wide selection of untapped genetics...probably not.
Overall, it was still worth the time, money and effort. But then again, growing your own usually is.
For those of you that would like to see what's next, here's a link to my new thread:
Hello my fellow growers and cannabis enthusiasts! I've been keeping grow journals/diaries for a little while now. I figured it's time to make one big thread, rather than an individual thread per grow...so, here we are! Links to my previous THCFarmer diaries: Dutch Passion Durban Poison Take...