My Return to Growing by BudRanger!

[BudRanger1919]

you will be able to tell a difference in a day or two

I appreciate the help friend, I was hoping I could tuck my way to success, but no matter what they just popped right back up lol. Now all the tops are in the light, so I will post updates in a few days when they have perked up.

 

[budsofgeorgia]

I appreciate the help friend, I was hoping I could tuck my way to success, but no matter what they just popped right back up lol. Now all the tops are in the light, so I will post updates in a few days when they have perked up.

at one point they just get to big lol

 

[budsofgeorgia]

Hey bro could you tell any difference after the trim

 

[BudRanger1919]

Hey bro could you tell any difference after the trim

Hey man! Big difference! As I am sure you saw and pointed out, no matter how I tucked it wasn't good enough, they indeed just get too big eventually. Here is a canopy shot of how the branches are catching up now that they aren't being shaded.

I have already had to tie down my first branch on 1 plant, the other 2 aren't far behind now, its happening pretty quickly. I have also readjusted the plant tie to the new tops of the plants as well. I am going to let the branches take over for a day or so until I tie them down, but it has happened! Even the very smallest of all the branches are now 2/3 on their way to the top, they are loving it in the light.

Appreciate all the help @budsofgeorgia

 

[Sunin]

Hobbies are fortunately easy to get back to. And this one is moving along nicely I see
RIP Hermie I would also wait or pluck and wait as twice I had big bad ass girls from plants that looked like a male (her/him/they) lol
Greetings

 

[Eledin]

Nice! They are looking healthy, but they seem to be a bit over/under watered by watching the leaves. What pots, how much water and how often do you water? Its not a big deal, once they get back on track the leaves return to their original state, I cant see any permanent damage. Maybe Im wrong but when I see them like that I know that, in my case, I overwatered them and it looks more like overwatering than underwatering but it can be pretty similar.

 

[BudRanger1919]

Hobbies are fortunately easy to get back to. And this one is moving along nicely I see
RIP Hermie I would also wait or pluck and wait as twice I had big bad ass girls from plants that looked like a male (her/him/they) lol
Greetings

Hey there! Yeah I will wait next time to see how they go, I am so used to culling I didn't think twice, but I will next time I promise. My next run is going to be a 10 seed run, not entirely sure what it will be yet I have to make that decision (but I THINK "Bella Vista"), but as soon as these girls leave this tent they are going to be replaced with 10 more.

Nice! They are looking healthy, but they seem to be a bit over/under watered by watching the leaves. What pots, how much water and how often do you water? Its not a big deal, once they get back on track the leaves return to their original state, I cant see any permanent damage. Maybe Im wrong but when I see them like that I know that, in my case, I overwatered them and it looks more like overwatering than underwatering but it can be pretty similar.

You are correct, I have very recently changed my watering practices as I think I was drowning them, as did another user much like yourself. Living Soil is harder than coco, and thank you for dropping by and letting me know <3 I am greener than my grass on living soil and that is just a fact and will be a fact until I get a few grows under my belt with this stuff. I refuse to go back to H&G nutrients with coco. I run 3 tents when I get going and I refuse to mix nutrients up daily again >.< .

VERY recently (past few days) I decided to swap to wet-dry cycles instead of feeding them 5-10% of their soil capacity every day after a few people (and now yourself technically) suggested I not water them so much, and I am waiting for them to dry out well before I water them again. It has been almost 2 weeks since I transplanted them into 1 gallon pots, so it wont be long before they want another transplant as well, and I am keeping an eye on the roots at the bottom of the pot

I was told that swapping to LEDs and living soil would be a hard swap, but it was harder than I anticipated. I remember LEDs as being blurple and pretty chill, I even have some old pictures from WAY BACK of my first 2 grows where I used LED lights I got free with my tent. I swapped to MH and HPS pretty quickly when I started seeing my buddies results with 400w MH and 600w HPS for flower. I had no idea LEDs had come so far, sometimes it appears as if they are a little TOO powerful now which is a nice change.

Spoiler: My VERY old grow

My first REAL light that started giving me weight to my buds

 

[Sunin]

You and me in similar boat I see. I also find my way around LEDs :D Slowly I don't miss atomic reactor sun
And very good advice taken due watering. I dry out to the point that when I lift them they feel like pots filled with dry perlite and medium only. They love it in the soil. From what I noticed so far on LED there's less watering than HPS so we got to be careful

 

[BudRanger1919]

You and me in similar boat I see. I also find my way around LEDs :D Slowly I don't miss atomic reactor sun

It has been quite the change, I had no idea how far LED had come, but it has been a long time since I had an LED light. I'm very happy with its performance, and the lack of heat coming from it is so surprising. My globes were also atomic reactors lol.

And very good advice taken due watering. I dry out to the point that when I lift them they feel like pots filled with dry perlite and medium only. They love it in the soil. From what I noticed so far on LED there's less watering than HPS so we got to be careful

Yes I am finding that too, the hard way sadly, but they are happy right now which is good and lesson has been learnt. They are almost dry now thank God.

 

[HerbalEdu]

Exactly. Maybe if I had planted all my 10 pack of my seeds I would have had 5 good choices right now instead of just deciding to plant 4 and hope for the best and end up with 3 lol. Next time I am planting every seed in the pack.

a good rule is to germinate 20%-25% more seeds than you need to fill the space in your tent.

and even like that, a bad batch of seeds can happen once in while.

i need 8 plants to fill my tent so i always germinate 10-11 seeds in case something goes wrong early on.

Now that i have hundreds of seeds from a previous grow where i missed to remove all the males preflowers bottom of the canopy with one phenotype that pollinated the others i also launch some of thoose seeds each time in case i need some replacement.

 

[BudRanger1919]

a good rule is to germinate 15%-20% more seeds than you need to fill the space in your tent.

and even like that, a bad batch of seeds can happen once in while.

i need 8 plants to fill my tent so i always germinate 10-11 seeds in case something goes wrong early on.

Now that i have hundreds of seeds from a previous grow where i missed to remove all the males preflowers bottom of the canopy with one phenotype that pollinated the others i also launch some of thoose seeds each time in case i need some replacement.

That is a very good rule to stick by, my next run I will be busting all 10 seeds out. I have lots of fem packs now, as well as almost twice as many regular strains so I can work on male-female breeding (opposed to STS spray for eg) when I am back in the swing of things.

I have only ever done pheno hunts and kept clones of my favourite, and getting seeds for me was NOT easy this time. I have them in their original packets, and inside 2 mason jars with a cup of dry rice in each, but all the seeds also have their own plastic packets inside a mylar baggie. I am considering buying a small freezer to keep 1/2 or 2/3 of them in for long term storage.

Do you do anything special for seeds you might not pop for 3-4 years? Before now I was able to just order seeds whenever I wanted them, but that is not the case anymore so I bought what I could, and cant make another order.

 

[HerbalEdu]

That is a very good rule to stick by, my next run I will be busting all 10 seeds out. I have lots of fem packs now, as well as almost twice as many regular strains so I can work on male-female breeding (opposed to STS spray for eg) when I am back in the swing of things.

I have only ever done pheno hunts and kept clones of my favourite, and getting seeds for me was NOT easy this time. I have them in their original packets, and inside 2 mason jars with a cup of dry rice in each, but all the seeds also have their own plastic packets inside a mylar baggie. I am considering buying a small freezer to keep 1/2 or 2/3 of them in for long term storage.

Do you do anything special for seeds you might not pop for 3-4 years? Before now I was able to just order seeds whenever I wanted them, but that is not the case anymore so I bought what I could, and cant make another order.

i had two batch of seeds, i kept the first300 400 seeds batch i had in normal environnemental condition it's roughly 2 years old, i germinate roughly 20 each grow each two month and i m currently monitoring when the germination rate will start to drop , i have a second batch of 200 seeds 1 year old that i put in the fridge at 4°C i will start to germinate those seeds whenever i run out with the previous batch or if the germination rate drop significantly with them

 

[BudRanger1919]

i have a second batch of 200 seeds 1 year old that i put in the fridge at 4°C i will start to germinate those seeds whenever i run out with the previous batch of if the germination rate drop significantly with them

This was the number I heard for long term storage, 4°C. Everywhere I looked said something around that number for storage, thank you!. I also read about protocols for retrieving them from the fridge, letting them cool down to room temperature etc.

Problem is I cant lose these seeds, and I know I wont be using them for years. I have 12 different regular strains, all have 20 seeds each, and it would be an awful waste if I tried to pop them in 4 years and they didn't pop. So I think I am going to buy a small fridge for them so I can keep them at that temperature.

 

[HerbalEdu]

here's a good article about storing cannabis seeds that cover the most important points:

How to store cannabis seeds the right way

Storing cannabis seeds in the right conditions allows you to preserve your favourite cannabis genetics for many years. Store your seed collection safely!

dutch-passion.com

 

[BudRanger1919]

here's a good article about storing cannabis seeds that cover the most important points:

Thank you! I have saved that link and text now.

 

[BudRanger1919]

Well this just goes to show just how off I can be with my predictions. The girls were still drying out until now. The top soil is dry but there is still slight weight so it is not time yet. Over watering no doubt! Living soil is so different, but I will remember that lesson.

I had to do some more LST today, very light though. All 3 girls are a little more spread out now as you can see and far less crowded and more open for air. The 2 in back were a LITTLE behind on branching but they caught up. The tying down was very easy because these are just side branches, and only needed to be restrained by 2 inches max due to being so close to the rim of the pot anyway. I have kept the temp/humidity perfect. Growth has been slow, for obvious reasons, but the growth didn't stop thank God, just stunted.

My pots are a little over 1 gallon (4.2 litres), not sure how much to water them when its time? Would half a litre be too little/much? I fear giving them a full litre will drown them again. 1 litre of water filled the pot on transplant BTW. So I am considering half a litre instead, and waiting for it to fully dry out instead of topping it up 2-3 days later like I stupidly did before.

 

[BudRanger1919]

After allowing the soil to dry out for 7 days they were ready, and I gave 3/4 of a litre, wasn't entirely sure about giving them so much again so I held off on a full litre.

5 days later they fully dried out again and clearly ready for their first veg feed, being over week 3 of being in veg. The left and the front plant were lightening in colour, so I gave them all the recommended dose of top dressing. I then covered it in a hand full of soil, and watered them 1 litre each. I clearly waited too long, and the left and middle plant were left hungry until they were ready for their water. Some lower leaves were showing signs of deficiencies, which isn't surprising considering I was late feeding them. The plant on the right handled everything a lot better.

2 days later the 2 girls who were losing colour started getting it back and all of their leaves were looking better.

Some of the tops also needed tying down.

Not a perfect run but on its way to being "maybe okay" one day soon.

 

[Sunin]

Good that they picked up I load in 1galon over 1,3L now, last time getting too little of run off and mine are think half size of yours But I always try to dry more or less fast.
My way of having nice and proper dry/wet cycles in soil is raising the pots - using hot pot mats from kitchen for bigger capacity plants or small legged transition pots that don't touch the ground for starters.
Then I have always small fan in rotation blowing gently on half of floor/pots and halfish on lower canopy.
Gives nice Bahama vibes in tent, moves all unwanted humidity up, disturbs the bugs in case, I am pumping the air into pots and roots- we drying as we should
Couldn't live without clip on there.
Someone here had golf balls under big material pots- genius
Got to work their room on the bottom and you will be drying and draining nicer in case

Are you upsizing them soon? I think they deserve it. Nice, strong plants you have there
greetings

 

[BudRanger1919]

My way of having nice and proper dry/wet cycles in soil is raising the pots - using hot pot mats from kitchen for bigger capacity plants or small legged transition pots that don't touch the ground for starters.

Hey there thank you for joining in! Haha this is something I will have to do, raising the pots off the ground. The heater is working, yes, but I think the ground may be too cold which the heater wont help being outside the tent, so I am going to take that advice. 5 days ago I flipped my saucers upside down so the bottom of the pots were in air circulation and not on the floor, but getting them off the floor all together and above the vents might be better for dealing with my current weather. My inlets bring in warm air, but the ground is cold >.< so I will address this properly.

Are you upsizing them soon? I think they deserve it. Nice, strong plants you have there

You know it! Yes, we are in week 3 of being in their veg pots, so they are 1 week away from going to their new pots, and their flower tent shortly after. I have a Gorilla 5x5 that is like 8 years old but it is in perfect condition and I love it so I didn't replace it, a lot of memories with that tent. I have a large fan for above canopy that attaches to a tent wall rack, and I have clip fans for below.

I am unsure of whether I will use 20L pots or 28 litre pots I have for flower though. I only have 3 plants so I am considering 28 litres instead of 20.

 

[Eledin]

Hey there thank you for joining in! Haha this is something I will have to do, raising the pots off the ground. The heater is working, yes, but I think the ground may be too cold which the heater wont help being outside the tent, so I am going to take that advice. 5 days ago I flipped my saucers upside down so the bottom of the pots were in air circulation and not on the floor, but getting them off the floor all together and above the vents might be better for dealing with my current weather. My inlets bring in warm air, but the ground is cold >.< so I will address this properly.

You know it! Yes, we are in week 3 of being in their veg pots, so they are 1 week away from going to their new pots, and their flower tent shortly after. I have a Gorilla 5x5 that is like 8 years old but it is in perfect condition and I love it so I didn't replace it, a lot of memories with that tent. I have a large fan for above canopy that attaches to a tent wall rack, and I have clip fans for below.

I am unsure of whether I will use 20L pots or 28 litre pots I have for flower though. I only have 3 plants so I am considering 28 litres instead of 20.

I went from 20 liters regular textile pots and this last grow I changed to 25L TUBULAR textile pots. Not only I have more space in the tent now but they grow way better and bigger! I have a leaf that is as big as my head hahaha. Consider that too, the bigger the pot the bigger the plants, and tubular pots are great, roots love growin downwards more than they do horizontally.
Check them out, theyre in day 4 or 5 of 12-12 by now, I have 4 big pots in the middle and 4 small pots on the sides, the 4 big pots took over the tent, you cant even see the ones on the sides.

Melonade Runtz and Wedding Cake

Here we go again! 5 Melonade Runtz from Dutch Passion, in the big 4 pots (26,6 liters-7 gallons) plus the small pot on the top left (11,4 liters-3 gallons), and 3 Wedding Cake from Eurogrow (my grow of choice brand, aka random seeds, we will see how they turn out, 1,80 euros per seed cant be too...

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