[Viz]

Background.

 

My first grow was Auto plants in soil. That grow started with a few challenges, all three of the seeds germinated but due to my own inexperience with growing cannabis and the CDM lighting system I had bought, the girls all had some burn damage. I did not think they would survive. A few weeks into that first grow two of the plants had pulled through and looked very good. The third, mutant girl looked like shit. However she too pulled through as you will see. Now to cover myself I germinated the free seeds that had come with my original order as cover. The fact that they were not needed in the end is neither here nor there, I kept them going and the result is this grow diary.

 

On to the Diary.

 

The Aim: To experiment with the different techniques of plant management specifically looking at LST, Topping, Supercropping and other fun things to do to cannabis plants. 

 

What I am growing: 3 x Barney’s Farm seeds that I got for free. Pineapple Chunk, Vanilla Kush and Tangerine Dream. Plus, the mutant girl, who started out life as an Auto got pretty messed up as a seedling and ended up… well we don’t know what she is.

 

Equipment: 

120 x 120 x 180 Hydrolab grow tent.

Maxibright Ceramic Metal Halide 315W ballast 

Phillips Agro Grow lamp

Rhino Pro 125 Carbon Filter and RYK inline fan

4 x Air Pots 10l

16l dehumidifier, 3 x 6” clip on fans

120W Green house heater, and a 2Kw electric heater. 

Jacks Magic soil

Jiffy 7

Great White Shark

Rhizo

Old Timers Grow and Bloom

Epson Salts

Plant Magic Bio-silicone

MagCal

 

 

Right let jump straight in. As you will work out this grow is well underway, since they are all deemed photoperiod plants even the mutant girl, flip will happen this week.

 

In the beginning, there was not much at all. I put these seeds in to propagate because I was worried that the three Auto plants I had started would not make it. Two looked like shit, while only one was making progress. The guys here told me to persevere with them and I did. However, plan B is always a good idea and so I started these three seeds.

 

 

 

My method to germinate has improved since my first attempt. This time I kept the light away from the seedlings. My trusty old heated propagator does the business. 

 

 

Only thing I find real irritating with this unit is the top bit keeps going open. Duct tape to the rescue.

 

 

A week or so in and they are under the domes, same ones I used for the first Auto. In the top right hand corner, you can see the mutant girl trying to do something. Well she did survive of course, most of you have seen her in my first grow. She is not the same Auto any longer. 

 

First couple of weeks were painless and no hassles like with my first set of girls. One of these girls you have met too, I tried to FIM her a few weeks into her life. 

 

 

 

 

Some more of them growing up while I focused most of my efforts on the two main plants in my first grow. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the plant I tried to FIM.  She seems to have got very busy around about the place I made the cut. 

 

This is the mutant girl, she got topped. Simply because I was less sure about the FIM having worked. She was also a lot lower, and bushier as her sisters had been compared to the three Barney’s Farm seeds I had grown. 

 

 

Lots of activity with the plants once I topped them. I did three top, and one FIM.

 

 

 

Another look at the Mutant.

 

 

The growth at the FIM part has taken off now but she is so much taller than the others which were topped. Something needed to be done about that.

 

 

This will be a very handy place to break the post. Too many images I have been informed by the forum help.

[Viz]

Cont...

 

 

 

 

 

By this stage I was confident that I was going to have a harvest with my first grow, the two Autos. My two girls were looking good and the cola’s on them were thick and dense. That allowed me to experiment. Out with the wool, soft ties and after Topping LST time.

 

 

  

These Barney’s seeds make very tall plants so I simply Supercropped all of them. Gave her a squeeze and bent her over. Sounds a bit like the shit we used to do when I was young, might explain why I have five kids I guess. 

 

 

Pulled the shoots to one side and got them down low. Took a bit of time with these as I wanted to get as level a canopy as I could achieve without snapping too many stems.

 

 

Cue a week or so forward and the growth has been very positive. Took this after a quick session of continued LST.

 

 

All four plants are now sort of level, with tow needing additional work. But we got there in the end.

[Viz]

 

Three days later and there is notable growth on the girls. And more folding and bending was needed. 

 

 

As you can see they are quite long and the stems are no longer soft. Was easy enough to bend them but easier to squeeze and snap. The crown of this girl got some special attention as you will see in later updates.

 

 

Looking thirsty at this point. They were getting Old Timers Grow, Amino Acid, Rhizo and some Great White with PM Bio-Silicone added ever feed. 

 

 

Was happy with the outcome at this point.

 

 

Here we jump forward another week and the plants have been man handled a fair bit. The top sections of two of the girls have been squeezed and bent down, or bent back along the circumference of the pots.

 

 

Have had to work some at getting the new growth level with the canopy.

 

 

 

This is where they are at the minute. You can see my Pepsi girl bottom right. They have all just had a little spray of Epson salts as a precautionary move before flipping the girls. Not sure what 12/12 will do for my Pepsi entry but the four girls must come first sadly.

 

 

We are now at the midway point of the grow. The girls were flipped the following week and had the Edward treatment the week after.

 

 

[Viz]

So after having seen how the shave and a haircut worked out on my one girl. They, the other girls, complained about feeling left out. Well just before their feed yesterday I put each one on the bench and gave them a good seeing too.

 

 

Before the visit to the hairdresser.

 

 

 

After a perm and trim

 

 

 

This one is looking like she will benefit the most from the trim.

 

 

As you guys and gals can see I have one problem plant that not for love or money have I been able to get perky like the others. That is the Vanilla Kush and she was doing my head in.

[Viz]

Update Time - Day 2 since Edward Scissor Hand visited

 

Going to start by saying I am well impressed with the amount of new growth in just two days. It is too early on to say if this experiment of chopping the leaves so hectically has paid dividends or not but certainly I do not regret doing the Edward Scissor Hands thing. Once I have seen how the girls produce, assuming they will continue to be healthy of course, only then will I be able to asses if this defoliation method is worth keeping.

 

But look for yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

The new growth is simply stunning and exceeds what I was hoping for or expecting.

 

 

 

 

The entire stem is now covered in new shoots and bud nodes. That has to be good, right?  I hope so as this is the Tangerine Dream and that is one of my fav smokes.

 

 

The Pineapple Chunk has also started to push out lots of new growth and maybe will match the density of growth shown by the TD above.

 

 

 

But what has made me the happiest is the transformation of my droopy girl. Vanilla Kush. She looked like shit and I was very stressed by her appearance. She did not look healthy at all in my view. But I went in clippers blazing, and boy am I pleased that I did. She is so much happier. She has perked up and has the same upstanding and stiff leaves as the other three plants have. Well pleased by this change. Long may it last.

 

 

See what I mean?  For the first time in nearly five weeks of worrying about her she is looking healthy. She will not be as big a producer as the others I don't expect but that is less of a concern right now. The fact that she is looking happy is enough for me.

 

 

 

 

And last but not least the mutant girl that started life as an Auto and had some kind of moment early on as a seedling is now this. She was trimmed but not as brutally as the other three where, simply because I got the feeling that she did not like stress and preferred a more relaxed and gradual trim of her leave canopy. Giving her five more days then will trim a few more leaves from her rather bushy hairdo.

 

 

 

 

All in all it has been a fun few days. The feeding requirements seem to be less demanding too.  Where the girls were dry and droopy come the second day, now the pots still feel like there is mass. Not heavy but not light either. I will water/feed later tonight if needed. I was so stressed about the VK that I took some cuttings - they have now been transplanted and are having to make do with my SJ T56 LED I bought for propogation and did not like. Still do not like it as I can not get the height from the top of the plant right. Have caused some slight colour paling from being too close already.  Not an issue as I will most likely have to toss them. My tent is not big enough for them too.

[Viz]

Day four since the Scissor Hands.

 

Here we have the girls again 4 days since the scissor action. Heaps of growth and all the girls are well recovered from any stress.

 

 

 

What has suprsised me is how tall the stems have suddenly got. Seems to my uneducated eye (Blue will know how rubbish viz's eyes are ) that they have grown taller by some margin over night.

 

 

 

Droopy girl (VK) is still looking perky and that makes me happy, especially as she is putting out some nice pom poms too.

 

 

 

 

Not sure if it is evident in these top down shots just how much taller each of the stems has got. Wonder if the increase in new leaves that cover the stems is creating this but not complaining. This girl is 5 days, she was trimmed one day earlier than the others.

 

 

 

 

Not as dense as the TD but the Pineapple Chunk stems look nicely populated and she has grown the tallest of them all at the minute.

 

 

 

 

Our Mutant mystery girl showing beneath her skirts the lush growth that is enjoying the added access to light. 

 

 

 

 

Really hoping that each of those stems that are so covered in new bud sites and leaves will produce thick donkey dicks. Guess time will tell.

 

 

 

 

Certainly my grow tent is not looking as full as some of the other stunning grows by the lads here on THCtalk, however I am well pleased where they are at the minute.

 

 

 

 

 

Some more shots of the girls just because I think they are beautiful plants.

 

 

 

 

One more

 

 

 

 

No feed yesterday the temps are still within the parameters I want but edging lower than I am really happy with due to the big drops in temperature the last few days. Met forecast predicts mid teens for next week so that will be a welcome break from the cold.  Frost covered the entire area last night and I looked out over the shed where I grow. It is a big shed with two rooms, a partition down the middle. One side is grow the other is store room. Both were covered white this morning and the store room looked no different from my grow room side. So while I am having to use a touch more heat during the lights off period the CDM lamp is not causing any excessive heat that could give away my grow space by melting or preventing the frost. 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and please do chuck your suggestions or advice into the mix. Not saying I will follow all advice but certainly want to hear what folks think can be done better to improve the grow. So have at it.

 

 

Viz

[Viz]

Yesterday 7th Dec Update

 

Update time.

 

Going to mix it up a bit this time round and focus on some of the individual buds and plants. 

 

To start off a overview or the grow tent. Hope you guys can see as much new growth as I can.

 

 

 

 

Right time to look at the buds. Some Pineapple Chunk.

 

 

More Pineapple Chunk, just loving the smell of these girls.

 

 

I am just so impressed with the density of growth on the Tangerine Dream.

 

 

 

 

The mutant girl, transformed into a Photo-period plant. Smells very sweet, so maybe she is still going to be a Blue Treacle. 

 

 

 

Here is a little peek under her canopy, thinking there is going to be a tad more scissor action in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

The Vanilla Kush is not as lush as the others, but compared to where she was a week ago I am over the moon with her transformation. 

 

 

 

 

 

The bud formation is happening and looking quite promising.

 

 

 

 

 

Now compare her to the TD and the VK looks barren. The TD is a smoke I really enjoy so well pleased at the minute.

 

 

 

 

Including this image simply because it is the mutant girl and her bud sites are something I never really expected to see when she was in such dire condition a few months back.

 

 

 

 

Looking directly down it is very pleasing to see the number of pom poms. 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing all those cola's in the making is a very satisfying experience. Now my challenge is to get the girls over the line. 8 more weeks give or take a week.

 

 

 

And finally another whole tent shot. Say good night to the girls.

 

 

Have had to up the amount of watering/feed they are getting. Was giving them each 2 litres and that gave me a decent run off, not the last time. They sucked that up and I ended up having to make more to finish watering the final girl. So now I make up 12 to 16 litres at a time and get a little more run off but they seem to be enjoying the extra water. Something that I have started to do since my first grow is changed the speed that I water the plants. I want the water to get in there as quickly as possibly, my aim is to flood the soil and force a rapid run off and that way facilitate effective removal of any built up salts and promote oxygen distribution in the soil mix. 

 

 

Feed 3ml Bloom per Litre, a shot of PK13/14, teaspoon of Raw Amino and a small tot of Rhizo.  Water is warmed to 19'C before feeding.

 

 

 

There we are guys and gals. That is pretty much where I am at right now. Flowering started on the 28th November so just about 10 days of true flower. Flipped on the 18th/19th November.

 

 

There is some more trimming and levelling out of the canopy still to happen, final trim session and then focus on getting the girls over the finish line.

 

 

Thank you one and all for looking. 

Edited by Viz, 08 December 2016 - 04:54 PM.

[duke]

hi viz my 2 favorite strains are the vk then the td i not long finished both and am a big barneys fan all there strains are great so far i have grown most of there older strains and retain a couple of each for later,i not a big fan of defoliation but each to his own me i love my leaves and cherish each and every one as long as possible as you will see in my never ending diary page 60 vanilla kush needs all them leaves and prefers to keep them,the td doesnt make masses of leaves ime and is as you said lovely solid chunky buds and smell i love,not as much as vk though thats the best smelling imo anyway i got a spliff of td to destroy!peace

[2scoops]

They look grerat Viz man to be fair and i`m not a big fan of taking leaves off like your doing either. Is this first time you`ve done all this training malarky and defoliating, experimenting and such like ? I know it`s not exactly scientific but if i was gonna defoliate like this and do a bit of experimenting i`d have left one alone to do it`s own thing after suprcropping/tieing down/bending over session, just so i knew and to feed my curiosity as to which way yields most, with or without. Looking good though fella.  

[Viz]

hi viz my 2 favorite strains are the vk then the td i not long finished both and am a big barneys fan all there strains are great so far i have grown most of there older strains and retain a couple of each for later,i not a big fan of defoliation but each to his own me i love my leaves and cherish each and every one as long as possible as you will see in my never ending diary page 60 vanilla kush needs all them leaves and prefers to keep them,the td doesnt make masses of leaves ime and is as you said lovely solid chunky buds and smell i love,not as much as vk though thats the best smelling imo anyway i got a spliff of td to destroy!peace

 

 

Page 60 eh, will drop in and have a good long read.  I was like that with my first grow, every leave was precious. But these girls provided me with an opportunity with no downside to do the things I would not do normally.

 

They look grerat Viz man to be fair and i`m not a big fan of taking leaves off like your doing either. Is this first time you`ve done all this training malarky and defoliating, experimenting and such like ? I know it`s not exactly scientific but if i was gonna defoliate like this and do a bit of experimenting i`d have left one alone to do it`s own thing after suprcropping/tieing down/bending over session, just so i knew and to feed my curiosity as to which way yields most, with or without. Looking good though fella.

 

 

Yip the first time I have done any of the stuff, LST, Supercropping all of them are firsts. My first grow was very straight forward, KISS principle. My harvest exceed any reasonable expectation I had so as I said that provided me with the freedom to explore different things. My next focused grow will be coco in Jan when there are chopped. Then there will be very little experimentation, it will all be about learning how to grow in coco.