Thanks, @Jpaul ! Always appreciate the kind words. Thanks for dropping by and keeping up with it.
I’ll do my best not to let the bastards grind me down, you do the same
Stay up
Coffin_Dodger
6 Likes
Rainbow Kush-Off 2024 - Lone Star Edition 
Day : 54
HAHA!!! it’s a friggin beast strain!!! grow up into that light! FORCE the supercrop and then watch the mutated buds this thing throws on in compensation.
cleared out space so RK has all the blessed blurple to itself.
and now got some MIGHTY buds forming.
every internode is an angry yeti puffball all the way up the branches
it’s already stanking up this room. no, i don’t have carbon filters. you walk in and all you can smell is this plant. lol. it smells nice. but it’s very strong. the one outside has a zone of stank that surrounds it. it snap kicks you in the face when you get close to it. shooo… going to have to chop that sucker soon. some mighty buds on that one too…
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Heyhey, y’all!
Happy Weednesday! Smoke 'em if you-
… nevermind.
The heat broke over the Big River Valley this past week, which is nice. Been catching some rain here and there, but not like we need it. Should be a pretty mild week. Hopefully it stands to cool some folks down. I know they’re out there testin’ me… 
… 
meanwhile, things are just heatin’ up in the garden, so come on in and take a look- but be quick- these girls’ll shoot up another few inches when your back’s turned.
The work week was steady, with everything in the garden cruising along well enough, if a little grumpy after feeding.
They perked right back up over the next couple of days, and got right back to stretching and stacking.
We started our week/end with a quickness, needing to pull RK #KJ away from the light. That HLG 600 R-Spec is at over 50% output now, and she just could not give a single f#$k about it.
She grew a good couple of inches above the board, so we raised the board another 6" or so, before carefully dialing it up to deliver about 450-460 ppfd or 29 DLI at the height of the WWxBB canopies. This balancing actually seems to have relieved all of the plants a bit, as some slight light-stress reactions from both WWxBB were immediately reversed, and the mid-level trained canopies of the RK plants exploded even further, finally overtaking the center-tent hotspot.
Over the next couple of days, we worked periodically to defoliate and remove/replace LST Clips as needed. The WWxBB seem very happy with their new hair-cuts, and both RK are truly remarkable for the abuse they can handle. any branch laid flat is back up and popping new nodes in under 6 hours. At this point, Low-stress might be a misnomer for how we’ve bent these plants. This week will see the last of that, as we let the girls settle in for an undisturbed blooming, though we may yet have to prune some lowers/inners, and still have supercropping those meristems in case of emergency. As it stands, we’re BIG fans of these clips.
Feed this week was uneventful, though I really should find a smaller pump. We still need something that fits through those access ports on the Current Culture lids. It’d be nice if they were just about an inch or two wider. 
The reservoir was trending down in temp all week, at 74 * F by the night after feed and sliding all the way down to a very comfortable sweet-spot of 72 * F by the last couple days before the oil change.
BAREBONES STATS
-
58/51 Days from Seed 49/44 Days in RDWC Plant Sites
-
Plants are all happy and healthy, solidly into blooming. The RK stretch is slowing, but may still require supercropping the meristems. All LST Clips have been replaced for the last round of training. WWxBB are responding well to defoliations, and have stretched some, keeping up with the bulk of the RK (less main colas) well. RK is remarkably resilient, and resistant to negative effects of high intensity light in average-CO2 concentrations. -
Lights have been raised this week and dialed slightly up, as both RK plants continued to push toward the fixture, with RK #KJ passing it by an inch and a half mid-week. Currently dialed in to deliver a DLI of ~29 (450-460 ppfd) at WWxBB canopy height. -
LIGHT Feed Schedule per General Hydroponics. Results this week at pH 6.3 77.9 * F and 880ppm or ~1.77 EC. -
The under-canopy thermo-hygrometer was repositioned a couple of days ago, and probes move with the lights, then are adjusted. We have also adjusted the VPD target for flowering as of Monday setting it for 1.0 kPa, averages of 77.85 * F, 70.9% RH, and 0.625 kPa VPD Leaf surface temperatures taken at -3 * F.
Tent 
(Hey, look, new ACI Interface…)
Feed Chart and Lung Room
Water and Solution Conditions
That’s a wrap on this week, but thanks again and as always for dropping by. Always a pleasure to walk you fine folks through our little happy-space, and I hope y’all are tending healthy gardens all the same, or enjoying full jars of the fruits of your labor. 'til next week!
Stay up
Coffin_Dodger
19 Likes
Looking 
good bro 
, very nice grow you got going! 
4 Likes
Keep up the great work! 
Your grows are outstanding and documentation is first rate.
Always a pleasure reading your diary.
4 Likes
Rainbow Kush-Off 2024 - Lone Star Edition 
Day : 62
fully into flower now. no more stretch. puffballs packing it on. plant stanks pretty hard. that’s all you smell when you walk in the room. broke a branch moving the pot around. still seems alive. trying to prop it up/hook it onto one of the adjoining branches. hopefully it stays alive. that would be a fair amount of weight lost.
Til next time
12 Likes
Aci has some pretty small submersible pumps
4 Likes
Hey, y’all!
Hope all’s well on this Weednesday. We’re getting a random sneak preview of fall 
here in the Big River Valley, with a nice reprieve from the heat for good behavior. Or successful threats to the warden. Either way, it should be a welcomed break, and might even bring some rain. Humidity is crazy out there, anyway.
Light one up and let’s roll through the garden!
Not much work done in there this week, as we tried our best just to keep the babies from sticking their fingers in any power sockets or the like, and intended to give them all a bit of a break from any major stresses. No big defoliation or pruning, no major environmental changes planned.
…but the gods laugh at the best laid plans of mice and men, they say. Despite continuing to clip down- or out- every node as they kept reaching and stretching back toward the light, both Rainbow Kush plants kept at it. We’re easily looking at some 2.5-3x stretch on these girls since pre-flowering started. We kept a close eye on them through my work week, as they seemed content to soak up a truly unnatural amount of light. I settled into the idea of supercropping the meristems over the “weekend.” By the second day of my work-week, I’d ratcheted the light just about to the max that our head-room allows, and dialed the output up a hair to account for the inches gained.
Before heading back to work for the week, I had put an order in for a Sicce MicraPlus mini submersible pump with dimensions that would have to fit the access ports on the Current Culture lids. When it arrived mid-week, (package beat to hell and back) I was glad to find that it definitely would (the thing’s tiny) and that it did fit the hoses we have on hand (iffy dimensions listed by EU manufacturer.) At the cost of some time, I was pretty sure we’d ironed out a good chunk of the weekly drain/fill process.
Cut to the “Week/end,” and both RK are tickling the light, with Kushoff Contender RK #SL fully touching. More clip replacing, and just as I was about to supercrop the meristems, I realized how much corner space we had, talked it over with @JustTieflingThings , and we decided to try to give them one more chance to slow down and stop stretching. Using plant ties, we bound them both back and away from center-tent. They’ve taken this well, and it has relieved some of the pressure of possible choke-out from the WWxBB half of the tent.
I feel like we’ve made the most of the delay these girls have it us with, and they certainly aren’t stunted. We’ll be trying again this week to keep things as low-stress as we can on them, and let them cruise into proper mid-bloom before we hit them with another, much heavier defoliation preempting the ripening weeks.
BAREBONES STATS
65/58 Days from Seed 56/51 Days in RDWC Plant Sites
Plants are all happy and healthy, solidly into blooming. The WWxBB are both dense little bushes, now between 24"-28" with a notably sweeter, lighter smell than the RK. RK stretch has continued, with both plants reaching over 5.5 feet tall so both have had their meristems tied back in a last ditch effort to avoid supercropping the meristem directly. Training has continued at each new node in an effort to slow them down, as well. Trained branches are racked out and starting to stack with budlets. A difficult to place, strong floral and spice bouquet on these so far.
Lights have been raised (essentially to max height) this week and dialed slightly up, as both RK plants continued to push toward the fixture, with RK #SL hitting it right at week’s end, before being bent back. Currently dialed in to deliver a DLI of ~29-31.5 (450-490 ppfd) at WWxBB canopy height.
LIGHT Feed Schedule per General Hydroponics. Results this week at pH 6.3 77.5 * F and 830ppm or ~1.68 EC.
Probes move with the lights, then are adjusted. More wrestling probes out of foliage this week, skewing data. Averages of 76 * F, 67.3% RH, and 0.735 kPa VPD Leaf surface temperatures taken at -3 * F.
Tent
Feed Chart and Lung Room
Water and Solution Conditions
(Excuse the glare. That’s 6.3 pH and 1.68 EC)
In other news, besides the new pump, Jessicat the Girl the Mail-Cat dragged in a couple of letters from generous OG’s, containing seeds from @SubzeroIceKold and those reclaimed and distributed for the community by @Wizdom . Thanks to you both for the chance to grow them out, and the hard work you put into getting them out to us and many, many other fine growers. 
That just about wraps us up for this week, y’all. Here’s hoping the coming week brings you something special.
Stay up
Coffin_Dodger
21 Likes
I was looking at those, too. Might wind up with one down the road, but I wasn’t positive theirs would fit the bill. Went with a Sicce MicraPlus, having never heard of the brand. Italian made, it seems. The thing is tiny, for sure. Cost a bit of time in the draining, but that’s to be expected. So far the only problem with it is the looseness of the fitting to the exhaust. We’re gonna see what some hose clamps and a little DIY can’t do there. Do you have any of the ACI Submersibles, @BudLarfy ?
Who has two thumbs and is jealous?
Ooof. You hate to see it. I got a little too rough with one of the fresh ones near the top of our contender’s meristem this past week, too. It was hanging on by a thread of fiber for a few days. Been used to this girl correcting in a matter of hours, so I was a little worried we’d lose that node. After about 72 hours or so, though, it started right back at it at that site. Hope yours mends!
She’s looking great!
Thanks, John! We do what we can. Definitely still learning and finding our footing with every grow- hell, every day of each run! That’s a big part of the recording and documentation. Gotta remember what we’re doing right, and what we’ve done wrong, eh? Thanks for keeping up with it
Thanks, @OhNo555 . Always a pleasure, and appreciated to have your positivity comin’ through.
Stay up
Coffin_Dodger
10 Likes
I have a TINY one. It is submersible only. Meaning you can’t put it inline as an option like other pumps. Only has an exhaust barb no intake barb. Just a grille. I use it to mix fertilizer teas in a Homer bucket over night. They have another size bigger that may be dual use.
7 Likes
Steinbeck had a way with words, didn’t he. You want to make God laugh? Make plans lol. Looking good boss!
5 Likes
Hey CD, looking great bro
Can I ask why you don’t add any cal mag?
In the past I’ve just added epsom and no cal. Until I grew the tomatoes and noticed early on they were getting bum rot from lack of calcium. Started adding the cal mag and they ended up being beauties.
So continuing to add it with the weed. 
3 Likes
That’s all we need(ed). Looks like that might actually work, too. Is the power cord mounting coming out of the same side as the exhaust on that little guy? That’s one thing I couldn’t tell from ACIs specs and one thing that made the ActiveAqua we use in the res draining step not fit through the corner access panel Current Culture gives you. Always wind up with back-ups and new toys around here- might have to grab one of those either way. Thanks for the details and picture, dude
A favorite, for sure.
Thanks, man. We’ll get these girls to harvest, yet. Appreciate the kind words. Damn fine doodling you’ve been doin. And that garden is no joke
Of course you can, @LzBoy ! We stopped using CalMag (in the form of CaliMagic) about two runs or so back, after some deliberation over our municipal water reports. Seemed like both were readily present in the tap water, maybe not in the most readily plant available forms, but there none the less. With our PPM being on the high(er) side, we figure it’s best to cut what we can and reduce the risk of toxicity or lockouts. We haven’t seen too much to indicate it was a bad choice, other than some twisting on the Scarlet Grapes leaves.
Granted I’ve seen much harder tap water readings than ours, but we don’t have any plans for RO or anything like that anytime soon. Epsom has definitely been in the back of my head for a possible additive, though.
Hope all’s well with the Mrs and little Mad Max!
Stay up
Coffin_Dodger
9 Likes
Power cord comes out the back(opposite surface from the front grille). Lmk if you want another pic
3 Likes
Thanks mang! My favorite time of year indoors and out. My indoor is loving the cooler weather, and outdoor is starting to beef up and perfume the neighborhood!
6 Likes
Rainbow Kush-Off 2024 - Lone Star Edition
Day : 69
unwanted roommates in with Rainbow Kush-Off contender again. they should be out next week and flowering in zone1.
colas continue to fatten up and STANK up the room. everything still healthy. looks like the snapped branch is going to make it, but it’s not super happy…
that’s all for now city-slicker…
9 Likes
Heyhey, y’all!
Happy Weednesday!
Hope everyone’s well and had a great week, or at least started this one off better than last. Been a more successful week of letting these girls go and let off some steam, so not too much to report, but here’s the week’s walkthrough, anyway. Hope someone brought a machete. Welcome to the jungle.
The good news is, we survived another stretch. With the WWxBB already more than half way through their two-week tantrum, they’re topping out around 3 feet tall give or take an inch, having stretched around 1.5-1.75x or so. Our RK have both hit 6 feet with the Kushoff Contender, #SL easily taller than me even discounting the 18" bucket she stands on. Bowing the meristems averted running into the light fixture and opened the mid-canopy, which has developed a wall of stag-horned branches, covered in budlets that are quickly maturing on Rainbow Kush #KJ and still multiplying some (though this is slowing) on RK #SL. This has proven difficult to get good pictures of, but I’m trying. RK#SL got a couple of tightening sessions to her binding, while her sister only needed one additional round.
Obviously, a major defoliation and pruning is on deck for this week’s garden-work, and it’ll be the most aggressive round before we let them relax. @JustTieflingThings favorite time of a run! Plenty of fresh greens to munch on, so much hands on fun, and I’m looking forward to getting more acquainted with the nose on both these cultivars. The RK is definitely more pungent, if only by quantity, with a strong, still hard to place funk. Mixes well in the fan currents with the sweet undertones of the WWxBB which are heavily floral.
These girls are not quite so hungry as the Scarlet Grapes, as we’ve seen a very steady, predictable cycle to the last few feeds, with little spiking in any of the vitals. We were able to forego using any pH Adjusters this last feed cycle. Root balls are filling the buckets fairly solidly, and root temps have averaged in the 71-73 * F range for the week.
Rainbow Kush #KJ
Rainbow Kush #SLKUSHOFF 2024 CONTENDER
BAREBONES STATS
- 72/65 Days from Seed 63/58 Days in RDWC Plant Sites
- Plants are all healthily chugging along, with RK #KJ now in a solid lead, trailed closely by her sister and our Contender, RK #SL, now well over 6’ tall having averted the light and finally stopped stretching. The WWxBB are keeping time, but will definitely give us space to stagger the pulls on harvests this run. Both are between 35-37" tall.
- Lights have not been changed this week. Delivering a DLI of 38 at the canopies of the WWxBB, ~600ppfd
- No change in LIGHT Feed Schedule per General Hydroponics this week. Results at pH 6.2 74.8 * F and ~800ppm or ~1.62 EC.
- More wrestling probes out of foliage this week, skewing data. Averages of 76.1 * F, 66.6% RH, and 0.72 kPa VPD Leaf surface temperatures taken at -3 * F.
Tent
Feed Chart and Lung Room
Water and Solution Contitions
In other garden related news, Jessi the Girl the Mail Cat was happy to drag in a couple of letters this week, one with good tidings for the Overgrow 8 Year Celebration with a killer slap from @Heliosphear and another with a speedy, seed filled missive to grow on from @Foreigner . 
A great thank you from our garden to y’alls.
Time to start getting ready to wind the week/end down and slide back into the work week groove, but there’ll be plenty of good work for us here to distract me from that poorly work for them there, and that’s a fine thing in my eyes. I hope you find your own escapes and maybe even an escapade or two this week. Keep it light and keep 'em lit. 
Stay up
Coffin_Dodger
14 Likes
The level of detail and care you put into your updates is inspirational. Can we award a best grow log organization award or something? Plants are also looking great!! “Watching” your thread now :).
Breathe Deep Seek Peace — and don’t forget to bring a towel!
5 Likes
Right on. All the same, it looks small enough to dangle in that way and still clear the exhaust. Yep. Might need one for back-up. Thanks again for the suggestion and all the details, man
I bet! That outdoor situation is definitely enviable. Then again, all the sun-grown grass is greener when you’re confined to the inside, I guess. I love watching those outdoor plants eat up that yellow sun like Kal-El. Speaking of killer outdoor…
@Til_Valhalla ! That outdoor girl is looking stellar, sir. What day is she on about, if you recall?
Hell yeah! Tank genetics.
Our other RK is making up lost time, but our contender has a lot to work with. I’m hoping to get some better shots as we clean her up over the next few days and get her ready to turn that corner.
Aw, hell. Thanks, man. We appreciate that, and you keeping up with it! We’re still learning so much every time we go in there, or cruise by other journals and dive through all the great discussions here on OG.
For now, as it goes, one of the things we can do to give back is give a detailed account of what we do in the garden, share our techniques and ideas or trials and tribulations so anyone else can take what knowledge they might be able to gleam from any of this mess, like, and run with it.
Thanks for dropping by, as always, and for all the encouragement, y’all!
Stay up
Coffin_Dodger
9 Likes
right? i can’t seem to define the stank either. it’s not unpleasant even though it clearly has a bit of skunk somewhere in the genetics… very subtle, but still there.
this is where you’re going to catch me up and pass. you will outweigh me by a large margin. being forced to supercrop early on was not helpful to my cause.
i do not. off the top of my head.
… scrolls back thru apothecarium thread …
looks like it did it’s dirtburst on 20 May.
that being the case we are well over 100 days… 108 now?
clearly putting it out in the sun changed some things.
4 Likes