Damn, I hadn’t even really looked into him other than to figure out whether his seedbank was legit - I picked up a pack of Duckfoot from Annunaki, his site had the cheapest ones around and offered a pack of feminized freebies to boot. I wasn’t expecting much from them, but I figured I’d rather get 25 unlabeled feminized pollen chucks than 10 labeled ones. He’s apparently not only a joint roller, but really must be pretty connected like you said… he was in a movie with Jack Black and Joaquin Phoenix? I’d never even heard of him before a few months ago. 
Then again, I’m not on Facebook or Instagram, so I’m pretty much living under a rock by 2021 standards, and damn well like it that way.
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Hey @Cormoran i use the COM Stonington blend almost exclusively, it’s great stuff. Comes with a pre charge of nutrients, in smaller containers though you’ll need to supplement, but the claim is that in a larger container it’s enough for a full cycle plant. In reality it’s not quite enough, I grew my outdoors in 20gal fabric pots with just the stonington blend and did pretty well but supplemented with a couple teas and a couple too dresses, probably could do more if you push the nutrients harder. Either way I’d totally recommend COM stuff, love their dry amendments too!
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Damn, 20gal and you still needed to supplement, ok… that’s definitely a downer, though the simple fact that it has enough magnesium in it not to require epsom salt is enough of a reason to upgrade since I’m out of their Bumper Crop anyway - already using COM, the grow shop near me recommends their stuff and so did my friend who (tried to) teach me how to grow. I say tried to not because his knowledge was lacking, though he wasn’t 100%, but because I mostly failed to learn at first.
I’ll still probably spring for a bag of the BAS 3.0 mix, just to compare them; though if the Stonington didn’t last a full grow in a 20gal pot, I expect neither the Stonington nor BAS would last in my 7gal. We shall see. For now, I have to get through this grow first… always another adventure.
Tonight I discovered I have uninvited guests in the tent - the Blueberry clones were slightly infested with spider mites. I started to be suspicious yesterday when I thought I saw webs on them, but wasn’t certain that’s what it was. Today I saw them moving on the leaves, so now I’m certain. Obviously I should’ve isolated them first, but didn’t have the space and figured they’d be safe. They weren’t, but I still don’t know where I could’ve put them without putting up another light for them - oh well, c’est la vie. I’ve sprayed everyone down with neem oil, which I’ll be repeating weekly through veg and into week 2 of flower, and will be foliar spraying with water several times a day to try and keep the eggs off the leaves. Hopefully this’ll be enough. 
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Nothing much going on in the tent. Temperature and humidity are pretty well dialed-in at 80F room temp and 63% RH, though I don’t think it’ll stay that way through the summer. That’s months away and there’s time still, but I’ve already noticed the temp drifting up to 83 in the afternoon and evening so I’ve been pushing the lights-on/off times ahead an hour a day until I get to 20/4 with lights out in the afternoon through evening. We’ll see how it holds up in summer. Probably not well, I might need to set up a small ac unit… or just run the central air, if it’s too hot for me in the rest of the house as well.
Otherwise, the plants continue to grow. So do the spider mites, I assume; I haven’t seen any more yet, but the eggs should be hatching now or soon. I’ll spray again in another 4 or 5 days.
The MWCBxC99 seedling started having trouble holding itself up, so I’m supporting it for now. Hopefully in a few days the stem starts to firm up. The lower leaves on the Valley GHash and the larger Foxtail Skunk are starting to droop and the pots are getting light, so I’ll water them tomorrow just after lights-on; the leaves are starting to boat on top so I’ll give them a bit of epsom salt as well.
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The Valley Ghash x Cake Fighter and the larger Foxtail Skunk were starting to outgrow their pots, so I transplanted them to 7g fabric pots. It’s old re-used soil, but I top-fed a gallon of Alaskan Fish Fertilizer for each to compact the soil around them and they’re happy enough now, two days later. My soil test strips are here as well, so I’ll actually be doing at least the rudimentary testing for N/P/K/pH like last grow while they’re in their bigger pots.
I’ll need more fertilizer soon anyway, since I’ll be taking clones of quite a few of these before flipping to flower and the clones will want somewhere to live after they get out of the bubble cloner. I’ve liked the smell on the Valley GHash x Cake Fighter during veg quite a bit so I want to have at least one clone in case it’s female and flowers out equally well; the Gorilla Bubble, being a bx5s1, should breed fairly true so I’ll be trying a reversal and making s2’s if all goes as planned; the Spirit Train F2 and Blueberry are all I have of those lines, and the MWCBxC99 I’ll take a clone of in case it turns out fully female. The MWCB in the cross was a herm, so if it turns out fully female I’ll keep it around to play with as well, pending a smoke test. Anyway, I’ll be mixing up a bunch more fabric pots with old re-used soil for the other plants but I’ll mix up at least one with the Stonington blend and one with the BAS mix once I get around to ordering them. I’m going to see how they play out in an actual grow before springing for a soil test that’ll cost me as much as a few crops’ worth of fertilizer.
Anyway, everyone is fairly happy again. The two random fems, the Gorilla Bubble and the Durban Freeze are all looking a little pale and getting canoed leaves after I gave them plain water last time, so in a few days when I water them again they’ll get a booster of epsom since magnesium seems to be the main deficiency of this soil mix. I know, I know, say cal/mag again… it really is though! 
Looking at these again, I have to assume the spider mites got to the leftmost Blueberry first and that’s where they did most damage; it’s barely starting to show the signs of the first two branches, while the other Blueberry is already looking a little bushy and the Spirit Train is already almost twice as tall as it started. They’d already shrug off being cloned themselves if I wanted to, while the left Blueberry might not even survive it. They’ll still have a few more weeks in the 1g pots before they’ll need transplants, hopefully, and that might even give me time to have the basement ready for them first.
I’ll be spraying them down with a neem oil and H2O2 mix in the morning at lights-out; that should leave time for it to evaporate before they come back on and start getting bleached spots from the lights. I haven’t seen any sign of more spider mites yet, but just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get me. I’ll keep spraying them until 2nd week of flower, then switch to just H2O2 because I’d rather not be smoking neem oil. The tent and the basement are both sealed, so hopefully once they’re gone they’re gone. Speaking of, what are some good options for CO2? Preferably something more reasonable than an $800 LNG burner that I’d need more ductwork for in order to vent the exhaust… 'tis the season to be broke, and that’s a bit pricey and permanent anyway.
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Clones are looking good… Seems like they’ve gotten some roots down now, the next month you should see an explosion of growth.
Curious if your blueberry clones will have those knobby nodes like my clones did. Mom didn’t, only the clones did.
Everybody is looking pretty happy though…
I think you saw I use the exhale CO2 bag in a tent. Does work with a sealed tent for sure, can see measureable increases on my monitor. Usually boosts from somwhere in the 400ppm ambient, to upwards of 800ppm at its best (though 700’s is more common).
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Yep, I’m giving them about another month in these pots before I transplant, and hopefully move them all downstairs. The two in the 7g pots will be fun to move once they’ve had another month to grow… worst case there’s the damn handtruck I guess. Annoying on the stairs, but it’s possible.
That’s kind of what I was afraid of. $30 each for those, and it sounds like I’d need 4 for the tent and 12 for the basement… and they last a few months, so one set per grow probably, or two for a sativa. I’d be paying more for those than my full electric bill for the house, fertilizer, soil, and for that matter water… combined. How much does it help? Does it double the growth rate doubling the ppm, or not quite that effective?
I think I need to up my lights for it to really be effective. For what you would spend, I would consider a CO2 tank, solenoid and valve and inject it. CO2 fills are much cheaper, and will last much longer. Anywhere you can get welding gas, or most fire suppression companies can refill a CO2 tank as well. Initial investment is what gets ya then…
wow, the first creditable person on OG (i’ve read) that backs exhale bags. although not a shining review, pretty dam good to basically double the ppm.
that said, when i have the flow for a sealed room, i’ll also pony up for a real co2 system.
but just wondering - any one else have success with exhale co2 bags?
Do keep in mind, thats in a 3x3 tent. Ventilation controlled by temperature / humidity triggers, so not always on. Measured with an ESP32 board and a MH-Z19 sensor and logged thru Home Assistant…
Also, to note… Prior to using the bag, just opening the tent and working on plants, and closing the tent would raise CO2 from 400 to 450 / 470ish. I assumed based on my own breathing (pretty repeatable results).
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Ok, a tank does seem like it might be the simplest and cheapest; the initial investment would be less than buying 16 mushroom bags, certainly, though I guess at that point I’d need 2-3 of them and frequent refills… ugh. I think for now I’ll just watch them grow, at any rate. Maybe in a few months, but I’ve probably spent enough for this year.
Tanks come in all sizes… 20-40lb tanks will last a while. And you can get a 120lb if ya need it (or a 200lb). You can even rent tanks from places like Airgas. Just need your regulator / solenoid, and a diffuser then. A 20 lb tank would run a calcium reactor 24x7 on a reef tank for 6 months on avg. If you rented a 120 and needed to fill it often, you are losing CO2 somewhere, venting too often, something. Cause thats a LOT of gas!
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Hmm, ok, maybe only two of them then - a 20 should do it for the tent, and a 120 for the basement if there isn’t an 80. 120 sounds like it would be a little bit of a pain to get around. Either way, for now I’m still gonna watch them grow, if only to know what my baseline is before putting in CO2… and for right now, I think it’s time for bed. It’s almost midnight, and I’m out of gas myself.
When I went in this morning to spray them, I noticed it, but the lights went out while I was spraying as planned and I couldn’t get a picture. No sign of further spider mites, which is good, but this doesn’t look entirely right…
Is this a calcium deficiency or a potassium deficiency? It doesn’t look like magnesium, which is the only thing the others seem to be lacking in… or is this what magnesium looks like when it’s more advanced? I could also just put a little fish fertilizer in with the next watering, I guess, which would cover all of the above. I haven’t needed to feed any of the others, but maybe the Gorilla Bubble likes hotter soil since she’s reacting this way? Certainly she doesn’t seem very happy with life.
Just to summarize, it’s been 26 days since I put the seed into a rooting cube; kept it there for 6 days, put the seedling into some overwatered soil that I replaced with drier soil after about 12 hours, which she’s liked just fine until recently. I’ve watered twice since then, about a pint at a time each time. The soil is 4 parts Bumper Crop (similar to Happy Frog), 1 part peat, 1 part sand, 1 part growstone. Anyone have any ideas?
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I’d top dress with a spoonful or two of EWC & a little water.
They look hungry to me…
Cheers
G
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Ok, thanks… my mind is still boggling a bit at the fact that I’m seeing what seems like multiple nutrient deficiencies after 3 weeks in soil, but that’s the conclusion I came to as well. I’ll be using the fish fertilizer instead, but it’s fairly similar nutrient profiles to average store-bought EWC, so pretty much six of one vs half a dozen of the other. I guess the Gorilla Bubble just likes more nutrients than the others, but with the way she’s growing that’s ok. I do remember reading in another thread that the GG4 RIL was a particularly heavy eater as well, so I guess seeing a similar appetite in their parents would make sense at that point. The Durban Freeze is also looking a little pale, so it might as well get a top-off too. Maybe I’ll give the others a pint at half strength as well; after a few weeks in soil, half strength of my weakest fertilizer shouldn’t be burning them, if they’re eating even half as much as the Gorilla Bubble they’ll be able to use it. Glad to get at least one answer that I’m not crazy and looking for problems where there aren’t any again.
Quick update: fed everyone yesterday, as planned. I gave the Gorilla Bubble a pint and a half, most of the rest a pint and the clones/smaller Foxtail a pint at half strength. The pictures are terrible since I took them blind with the lights out, apparently my timer is set 9 minutes early. Doesn’t matter, other than for me to know when they trigger, so I’m not bothering to change it. I’ll be leaving them for a few days, traveling for Thanksgiving, so I also put two quarts of water each in the bottom of the reservoir for the Valley GHash x Cake Fighter and Foxtail Skunk, and a cup of water for the MWCBxC99 seedling - a strain which I’ve decided to dub “Hawaiian Princess,” btw, unless @Donnie tells me otherwise. Seems unlikely, but who knows… he could be back. Anyway, pictures:
The Blueberrys are sagging a little, after 18 hours of light, but everyone else seems pretty happy now that they’ve been fed. Hopefully they stay that way while I’m gone, I’ll be back Sunday or Monday evening. I usually water them once a week, so they should be fine.
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I guess I’m due for an update. They did just fine while I was gone, other than the Foxtail Skunk which continued to be stunted. It didn’t go downhill or anything, just didn’t grow at all by the look of things. Fed them again yesterday, despite thinking that I know why the Foxtail Skunk is stunted and that feeding might not really help things. We shall see… in the meantime, here’s a bird’s-eye of the whole tent. Starting to get slightly busier. 
After the group shot, of course, we have to do individual portraits… here’s the Blueberry clones. They were sagging quite a bit yesterday after drinking most of a quart each, so I top-watered about another pint each. They seem happier now, though they’re growing wildly differently. One seems to be growing more like a sativa, the other more indica-leaning, despite being clones of the same plant. Probably something to do with which leaves in particular died of malnutrition or were eaten by the spider mites, before I got them taken care of. 
Next up, the Durban Freeze and Gorilla Bubble. Hopefully putting them together in the same reservoir has made the Durban Freeze female by association. That’s how it works, right?
Still some damage from nutrient deficiency on the Gorilla Bubble, but now it looks like they might’ve swung the other direction a bit. Leaf tips starting to claw downwards and sagging leaves are probably due to some slight overwatering and/or nitrogen excess. I suspect the solution is LITFA for slightly longer than the others, which fits perfectly since I’m planning on transplanting them next weekend anyway. Basically the same situation with the random fems, except no nutrient deficiencies on them in the first place, just overwatering and/or overfeeding. Oops. Kinda suspected this would happen, but I did it anyway and now I know… and knowing is half the battle. Go Joe! 
Last of the small reservoirs, the Foxtail Skunk and Hawaiian Princess. The Hawaiian Princess is great, looking quite happy to be a seedling. The Foxtail Skunk, not so much. Again, overfeeding. Probably the magnesium I thought I was helpfully adding a while back, since the symptoms (stunted growth, dark green foliage, appearances of salt toxicity) exactly fit magnesium excess and that’s the only difference between it and everyone else. I gave it a quart of water and a half-strength feeding of fish emulsion a few days ago, hoping that’ll help smooth out imbalances while diluting everything a bit. Either that, or it’ll stunt it worse, seems equally likely right now. Oh well, c’est la vie. I’m 99% certain the other Foxtail is a girl, so I’ll have at least one in this grow.
The Valley GHash is also growing slow, but it’s pretty heavily indica so I expected it to be bushier rather than taller. Not sure yet, but I think it’s a boy. I don’t want to use my microscope or switch to 12/12 to find out for sure, this way there’s still hope… but the preflowers are looking suspiciously round compared to the other two that are starting to show.
The Foxtail Skunk, neck-and-neck with the Spirit Train for tallest. I think it’s a sativa, not very bushy and already taller than the Valley GHash. It’s almost certainly a girl, too lazy for a closeup though to show the pistils though.
The Spirit Train was unhappy for about a day after the transplant, but I top-watered a bit to compact the soil and it’s happier now. Lots of water in the reservoir, I don’t think I’ll be feeding it for a while. Hopefully I didn’t overdo it, ideally we’ll be trying to carry this thing downstairs soon… having three extra gallons of water in there isn’t going to make it any easier. Also showing pistils, again too lazy for a closeup. As bud porn goes, it’s not much anyway…
I had to do a closeup of this though, already starting to turn into a bit of a monster. It’s wider than my hand now, at under 2’, I wonder what it’ll look like at 4-5’ tall…
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Looks like your starting to get your setup dialed in plants are looking much better!
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It’s Friday, looks like time for another update. Starting off with the group shot again; I’ve rearranged the three 10gal pots and their reservoirs because I’m fairly sure the Valley GHash x Cake Fighter is, after all this, a male. 
The lights are pushed all the way over towards the far wall of the tent for right now, concentrating the intensity on the females over there. I downloaded a lux meter and discovered that it’s only about 15k at the canopy - clearly it’s time to lower the lights a bit, but it’s also time to move them out of the tent as soon as the basement’s even close to ready. Hoping that’ll be this weekend, we shall see how the time works out. I fed them all yesterday, but only gave the bigger ones 2 quarts so they’ll be a bit lighter and less of a chore to carry. I’ll mix up some more food tomorrow afternoon and feed them Sunday afternoon, hopefully once they’re downstairs. If not, they’ll survive another week, it’ll just get a bit more crowded.
The Blueberry clones are both still growing in odd shapes, but they seem happy enough. I sprayed them, and everyone else in the tent, with a neem and hydrogen peroxide foliar a few days ago - still haven’t seen any spider mites since that first sighting, but I’ll just keep spraying until they’re two weeks into flower anyway. Not hurting them any, and better safe than sorry. Their reservoir only got 2 quarts of fish fertilizer, so I’ll probably give them more in a few days if they haven’t been transplanted by then.
The leaves are blocking the name tags, but these are Tony Greenhand’s random fems - they’re both mutants, but both getting big now, so that’s good. The one on the left has a few nodes with triple branches, and more recently has topped itself; the one on the right has one node that grew a single sun leaf and two branches on one side of the stem, and nothing on the other. Pollen-chucking FTW? Anyway, as long as they’re both female I guess I can’t complain that much.
The Gorilla Bubble probably didn’t have a nutrient excess last week, just an excess of worrying on my part - but I didn’t do anything, and she remains happy. Growing a little weird still with that hunchback, but otherwise everything seems normal. There’s a 4-fingered leaf or two, maybe, but any weirdness can probably be attributed to almost damping off early, since the early weirdness has settled to an entirely normal structure as the environment has gotten more normal. Hopefully she’ll be ok for a clone & reversal down the road, with only 4 more S1s I’m gonna want to make S2s eventually. I fed her at 1.5x strength, gonna keep on doing that unless I actually start seeing nutrient burn.
The Durban Freeze is showing a little nutrient deficiency, probably should’ve fed it at 1.5x strength too… might also be a moot point, if it ends up transplanted. Preflowers are just starting to show, still not sure what they are though - probably a few more weeks.
The Foxtail Skunk and Hawaiian Princess are both fairly happy; the Foxtail’s shaken off the earlier nutrient excess, clearly. I fed them both again yesterday, this time full strength. They’re both still way behind everyone else, but I’ve got another month or two of veg planned and that should give them time to catch up at least a little bit.
The bigger Foxtail Skunk, starting to get unruly in this small a space… luckily everyone else is still small enough that they’re not bumping into each other yet. Once I get everyone downstairs I’ll put a tomato cage in there for some mild training.
She’s definitely a girl.
The Spirit Train F2 clone, still keeping pace with the Foxtail Skunk on height and starting to expand its branching. It’s gonna end up a big one too, I think. Also a female, but since it was a clone that wasn’t much of a surprise. 
The Valley GHash x Cake Fighter looks happy enough, at least for now. I haven’t done anything yet, but not sure if I’m even going to bother growing it out to flower; see below.
Those look like big balls, and I cannot lie.
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