Off topic! I’m sorry In my head, Destro is talking to Max Headroom and it’s psychedelic.
That’s what that avatar was!!
Thanks, that was bugging me. I couldn’t place it.
Cheers
G
June 18
It looks like the plants are ready to launch.
Micro clover is looking frisky
NL 1
NL 2
NL 3
June 19
The girls are working hard to produce node 5
This is what thirsty clover looks like
June 20
I haven’t grown this time of year so I’ve been reacting to temperature shifts etc. So after a little surgery to the back wall of the closet to add an air return. I managed to get the lung room under nominal control. Well, that and re-balancing all of the air vents.
June 20
Happy Summer Solstice!
(yeah,early this year)
Spotted a preflower on NL 1, node 6
playing around with blurple photos
June 21
That micro clover isn’t so micro anymore
NL 1
NL 2
NL 3
And the family shot!
Looking good so far. Sending positive vibes your way. This one is looking about ready after about 13 weeks.
Thanx ReikoX. That ol’ girl is looking great.
I was surprised to see fem pre-flowers popping out up the stems as they were hitting node 6~7. As if they couldn’t get into flower fast enough. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, RQS said flowering 5 to 7 weeks and harvest as 9 to 10 weeks after sprouting so 3 weeks of veg is reasonable (just seems rather quick).
I learned something cool in regards to RQS packaging. There is a hidden date-code!
check out the “13/18” printed in the pressure sensitive adhesive.
Cheers
G
Hi @Old-Ron, thanks for checking it out!
be sure to check out @ReikoX s Northern Lights grow too. He’s just about finishing and had a couple different strains going too.
Northern Lights Auto "Stay at Home" Grow
Cheers
G
awesome recipe - some crab meal in there would help to eliminate those pesky fungus gnats you mentioned. Also, in case you find you are infested with gnats down the road, some neem or karanja seed cake helps - it contain a secondary metabolite called azadirachtin which has been found to act as an antifeedant and growth disruptor for insects. Add a couple cups of either neem or karanja seed meal to a 5 gallon bucket and then stir vigorously or aerate for a period of 24-48 hours, then water the surface or any exposed surfaces of the soil. This treatment will kill most larvae, however a few applications, 3-4 days apart is recommended for breaking the life cycle. I know you have dealt with fungus gnats before, so I apologize if any of this is old news to you, but perhaps it might help if the mosquito dunks don’t work as advertised. Thanks for posting your grow log, I am interested to see how those autos work out for you. I have never grown any autoflower seeds.
No apologies! That is solid advice! Thanks!
I went looking for neem and karanja cake a couple years ago and couldn’t find anything local (Toronto), time to look again.
The Mosquito Dunk seems to work but is not persistent in the soil (so reapply) I’ll sum up that side project later.
Fungus Gnats seem to infest the Canadian compost supplies (ask Shadey!) , I got to the point where I’m buying next year’s supplies now so they can age (cook and freeze) in the garage.
Any that survive that are really enfeebled and die easily after changing into adults.
I’ll look into the crab meal too.
Thanx & Cheers
G
We have the same problem here in Michigan also - any bag of soil purchased at big box stores is bound to have gnats living in it. I have begun sterilizing all the soil that I use for that very reason, as well as the crab meal, and neem - so far so good (knock wood) - I hate those fungus gnats more than I do mites
IME fungus gnats are just ubiquitous. I was out in the forest last summer and there were swarms of them everywhere. A healthy living soil has room for a few gnats, as well as a few predators to eat them.
They are part of the ecosystem, I sure an argument could be made that they help keep the balance between fungus and virus in the soil.
I just don’t want them stuck to my trichomes!
I had a light bulb moment tending the girls earlier “I need worms in these pots”
The clover is getting thick! I’m going to “plow them under” soon, worms would be perfect. I’m going to see if I can raid some from the garden.
Cheers
G
Took your advice and visited his grow.
Well thanks for the nudge…
So I went out looking for neem oil and karanja cake (in Canada) and… I found what appears to be a local? compassion society well stocked in soil amendments and SEEDS
I posted this in the Canadian Contingent thread to see if anybody had heard of them.
(edit) Too bad, looks like they have gone dormant…
Cheers
G
June 22
Everything is looking good. Starting to leaf fold on NL 2
They are getting a 1/2 strength dose of Wegener’s 8-6-6 today
June 23
They are growing like weeds!
NL 1
NL 2
NL 3 Closeup of bud sites - throwing pistils every which way
June 24
Group shot
Before and after on the leaf tuck trick… This helps develop stronger bud sites on the laterals
and again
A comparison of NL 1 and NL2 showing the differences
(NL 3 is a weaker version of NL 2)
June 25
One week of flower. Bud sites are showing on all three plants now.
I removed lowest bud sites (and branches) from NL 1 and 3 as they were not going to contribute anything useful.
NL 2, lowest laterals (node 1 are above the 1/2 way mark so they stay)
NL 1
NL 2
NL 3
Group shot
more leaf tucking
again
Sometimes takes repeated efforts before they go along with it.
Stem diameters
NL 1 = 7mm
NL 2 = 7mm
NL 3 = 6.5mm
I’ll publish the growth table when this growth spurt is slowing down.
Basically NL 1 has been growing 1.5" to 2" per day and NL 2 and NL 3 are about 1" to 1.5" per day.
Those are some strong looking stalks there. Thick and sturdy.
Thanks Solo!
That has been a steady feature on all my grows. I’m ‘chalking that up’ to the circulation fan. I think the little giggling and twisting they get from the air currents in the first couple weeks stimulates the stem development
(or maybe it’s my dirt )
Cheers
G
…well, the stretch is just about done.
I’ll get a couple more data points and then publish a growth table.
I was reviewing the data presented on the RQS page on this plant and came to the conclusion that yeah, maybe you can hit those numbers…
…if you are manually goosing your plants 5 times a day with an open feeder line from your res.
There really should be a separate data set for growing in soil so regular folks know what to expect.
Preliminary thoughts of Royal Queen Seeds Northern Lights autos.
Low Odour, these plants should be considered as a stealth grow candidate.
Fast switch from veg to flower (lights on 20/4 cycle). This plant needs to be tested outdoors to see how well it stands up to the ‘vagaries of the wild’ (bugs, mould etc). if it can handle that then this would be an excellent outdoor northern grow option.
They are closely timed, it’s like the plants are synchronized
Medium feeder, seems like a good option for a patio plant.
Some variance plant to plant, suggesting that in an outdoor grow, perhaps you might loose a couple but there should be some good winners too.
NL #1 is the tallest
a little close up on her bud sites
Here’s a side by side comparison of NL #1 and NL #2
The not so micro clover is happy
lots of bud sites coming around
Stem Rub
NL 1 Celery!, sour rubber (low strength)
NL 2 almost nothing!
NL 3 creamy-sour, tangy, hint of metallic
I was planning on plowing the clover under with a top dressing but it is evident that these plants really didn’t need it. That and I was kind of grooving on the clover and the plants like a developing ecosystem.
Which got me thinking about What Next? question…
The priority project I’m trying to execute is a worm farm.
That will give fresh worm castings for a small bioreactor. That will ensure living soil. So… I need an apex predator to release in the new biosphere … Red Wigglers!! they will cruse through keeping both the fungal and microbic factions in check and like the sand worms of Dune they will rule!!
(It works better if you read that with your maniacal ‘The Brain’ voice)
With worms (mobile poop factories) in the pot, chopping up and plowing under the clover makes much more sense!
That organic soil setup should be the next level.
They look great. I like the idea of low odor and stealth grow option. Especially for my deck next time. Thanks.
Autos in soil are dead easy, they are the perfect deck plant (if the bugs leave them alone). Minimal fuss, predictable harvest date.
Cheers
G
I dropped some last week that are slow rising but still alive. Glad to know they will be good on the deck.