Mephisto Canna-Cheese 1:1 auto and Sebrings Waterstone 10:1 CBD auto in aero

[anon32470837]

This thread is mostly just going to be progress pics of the plants and roots. Details about the growing environment in my Air Atomized Aeroponic (AAA) setup will be in my other general discussion thread.

Aeroponics discussion thread for HPA/AAA and maybe another grow

Im not quite ready to start another grow thread, so I decided to open this up for some general discussion on advanced aero techniques, equipment, design, testing, nozzles, or what ever. Ive been having some PM discussions with various folks, but I think it would help more people if we have these talks where others can participate and share their ideas, ask questions etc. So - feel free to jump in with any questions, comments, tips, etc etc. @heathen @Yawningtears @VandalBee @No_Body I know I …

I managed to snag 3ea canna-cheese seeds and started them soaking in water yesterday. Tonight, I put them into the aero system. They have not popped yet. My system is only set up to grow two seeds at a time, so Im going to choose the best two of three after they pop. The criteria at this point is speed of root growth.

In the past, I have always started my seeds in mini dixie cup hempy buckets, then put them in the system when they got to be about 2"-3" tall. I have started several test seeds this way over the last couple of weeks with good results so far. Starting them directly in the system should eliminate any transplant shock in going from the perlite to the aero environment - at least thats the theory

Mephisto Canna-Cheese 1:1

Type: F5 Feminized Automatic

Introduction/Overview:

We have long desired to blend our passion for incredible tasting and flavorful autoflowers with a CBD autoflower strain. Cannatonic was an obvious starting point, having been gifted a cutting from the mother plant by Resin Seeds. The buds of Cannatonic are beautiful and big, yet compact, and with an aroma that is completely different from modern flavors: savory, meaty with red wine. Perfect for a more mature and grown-up palate. Testing on the photo-period strain gave us a CBD:THC of 1:1, a perfect starting point for our first foray into the world of CBD.

We picked out several strains from our catalogue to pair with Cannatonic, trying to retain the CBD:THC ratio whilst injecting the strain with a punch of Mephisto-brand taste and flavor. We eventually settled on Northern Cheese Haze as both mother plants share similar traits, and would complement, enhance and elevate the strain far beyond the starting point for each; it’s a perfect combination.

After each breeding round, all samples from each plant were sent to Canna for testing. 90% of testers returned with the 1:1 split intact, with 10% showing slightly higher levels of THC. Now in F5, we have retained stability of the 1:1 ratio, plant structure and taste, flavor and aroma.

It has not been an easy road to bring this strain to fruition, but now we have finally reached a point where we are confident to share this great medical variety.

Strain behavior/structure:

This is a dominant Sativa plant and shows in its structure. Christmas tree style with large fan leaves. Be careful with nighttime temperatures, dropping below 25°c can lead to the buds darkening.

1:1 CBD:THC ratio

Size – 80cm to 110cm

Structure – Classic Christmas-tree Sativa style

Indica/Sativa – 20/80

Cycle Time – 75 days

Yield – 50g – 80g

Aroma – Weedy, black coffee

Taste – Roast beef and red wine

EDIT: Two of the Canna-cheese did not make it so I have added two of @Sebring’s Waterstone CBD

Water Stone F3

CBD to THC: 2:1, 8% CBD, 4% or less THC
Profile: fruity flavor with undertones of pine & fuel
Maturity: 80 days
Yield: Moderate to High
Quantity: 1/8 teaspoon (about 15-20 seeds)

[Joker]

Pulling up a chair. I love experiments!!

[Howard.Crane]

Ooh, neat. I’ll follow along, too

[2K19Starter]

Nice, best of luck.

I’ve been thinking about buying the Canna-Cheese too.

[anon32470837]

Thanks for dropping in folks!

Ive been hearing raves about Mephisto for a long time now, but Ive always written all the hype off as just the result of a good marketing campaign by Mephisto.

I mean, bean are beans. Some times you get lucky and sometimes you dont.

Mark up the prices, tell everyone you have something special, make sure its scarce, and a certain number of people will believe you. Like opening a store in downtown Beverly Hills - that only carries limited editions that you can only get if you are lucky - automatically means its exclusive and special. Therefore, you can charge through the a$$ for what would other wise be cheap imports

But, they - and all their sometimes rabid fans - have finally worn me down. I have succumbed to the allure of ‘special beans’ at what I think of as premium prices for me. Im now very excited to see how these turn out. We will see!

[BarefootAndBlazed]

I’ll definitely follow along on this adventure! I have a few already on hand but just purchased another pack of CannaCheese seeds while Mephisto’s US store was open on Friday (they sold out of everything within an hour, iirc). My buddy grew one from my initial purchase and we both LOVE the flowers it produced. They look and smell great, plus that 1:1 CBD:THC ratio is right up my alley!

[beacher]

The mephistos I grew were easily some of the best weed I’ve grown in years. I was really impressed, they’re like next level autos. They should go crazy in the aero system!

[anon32470837]

@BarefootAndBlazed

My buddy grew one from my initial purchase and we both LOVE the flowers it produced. They look and smell great, plus that 1:1 CBD:THC ratio is right up my alley!

@beacher

The mephistos I grew were easily some of the best weed I’ve grown in years. I was really impressed, they’re like next level autos. They should go crazy in the aero system!

LOL Those are exactly the kinds of comments that broke down my reluctance

This afternoon two of the seeds had popped, so I took the slow baby out and set it aside. I think I will let it dry out, then maybe try sprouting it again at some point down the road. It was the runt of the three so maybe it’s just a little slow. If it looks cracked after it dries out, I will just toss it.

So here is my new idea to help the seeds sprout properly and have the roots grow into the fabric. Im going to simulate the seeds being just below the surface of some dirt. I have some flat cotton swabs I borrowed from my wifes makup cabinet. I cut an X in the center, then put them over the seeds. Im hoping the wet swabs will have enough weight - but not toooo much weight - so the seeds can force themselves up through the slit while at the same time having enough weight on top so it can drive the root down into the lower layer of fabric. When the sprout gets tall enough, I will remove the entire net pot out. Then carefully cut off all the fabric I can, and put the sprout into a foam puck, then back into the net pot.

Im keeping the net pots covered with some mason jar lids. They fit the 3" net pots perfectly.

[anon32470837]

This quote from the Mephisto description of canna-cheese has me wondering what it means.

@anon32470837

This is a dominant Sativa plant and shows in its structure. Christmas tree style with large fan leaves. Be careful with nighttime temperatures, dropping below 25°c can lead to the buds darkening.

Is “bud darkening” just a cosmetic thing or is it actually bad in some other way? If so, how?

Im going to ask over on the Autoflower network and see what I can find out, but if anyone here knows, Im all ears.

[Tejas]

Looking forward to following your grow!

[anon32470837]

Thanks!

The new tap roots are growing, but very slowly it seems. It occurred to me that maybe the reason is that my root chamber is held at 69 deg F even when the tent temps are much higher.

So I just pulled both net pots out and placed them inside a small cardboard box and set it on top of my lights. Temps there are in the low 80’s. That should speed things up. I will need to check in a few hours to be sure the fabric hasnt dried out. Im going to have to dig through the kitchen junk cabinet to see if I have a tupperware container the right size to seal them up a bit.

[anon32470837]

@anon32470837

This quote from the Mephisto description of canna-cheese has me wondering what it means.

@anon32470837

This is a dominant Sativa plant and shows in its structure. Christmas tree style with large fan leaves. Be careful with nighttime temperatures, dropping below 25°c can lead to the buds darkening.

Is “bud darkening” just a cosmetic thing or is it actually bad in some other way? If so, how?

Im going to ask over on the Autoflower network and see what I can find out, but if anyone here knows, Im all ears.

I got a reply back from Stan Mephisto.

It is mostly a cosmetic thing. We do have some evidence from our farm grows that suggest that our purple plants are less potent then the green varieties. This is from the 24 carat, sour crack, and other purple auto stock we use, so I am not sure if that carries over to the Canna.

[anon32470837]

Time for a minor up-date.

Its been 6 days since I started soaking the seeds. I took them out of the hot box and put them back in the system two days ago.

In my previous grows, its taken anywhere from 2 to 4 days soaking and sitting in paper towels before they pop and get put in mini hempy dixie cups with perlite. Then it usually takes another 4 to 7 days before they are tall enough (2" to 3") for me to put them in foam pucks and into the system. So any where from 1 to two weeks between first soak and being put into the system.

Id say they need at least another two to 4 days before they are big enough to put into the pucks, so this seems to be going about average speed. As usual, one baby is well ahead of the other.

Oh - it turned out my slit fabric covering was too heavy for the babies to push through. The lower layer of cotton fabric was too thin and didnt give enough support. The roots went down just fine, but it was into open air with nothing to push against, so I made some changes.

Some progress pics over the last few days.

![20201030_111041|343x500]

My humidity domes

[anon32470837]

I decided to try to take a peak at the roots and I already have fuzzy hairs!! This new technique of starting the seeds in the system requires a lot of extra babysitting compared to my normal methods, but this makes it worth it. Ive never had fuzzy hairs this soon.

[anon32470837]

Small up-date for small babies

Both plants are now out of the cotton diapers and into the foam pucks and fully in the system. One is still way out performing the other.

You can see in the pics in the previous post that both plants had started developing fuzzy hairs. Unfortunately, during all the mucking around I had to do to get them into the pucks, I managed to wipe out all the fuzzy hairs on both. Even the slightest touch is enough to flatten them down and they dont just stand right back up

After one day in the system, the larger baby has started to grow new side shoots and develop new fuzzies. The smaller baby seems stunted. Its not growing up top and the root has not grown. I just took a close look at it and it seems I may have pinched the root too tightly in the foam puck. I repositioned it, and am hoping that will let it perk up.

[anon32470837]

Time for an up-date.

Last night I culled the runt. It had not grown one millimeter in the last 3 days - roots or leaves or stem.

I hate to say this, but I am not real happy with my decision to go with Mephisto beans. Its a matter of money to a large degree, but also apparent quality of the seeds.

Out of the three seeds I started with, which cost me $55 delivered, one of them was DOA and didnt pop. Of the other two, one was a runt from day one, and one seems to be going more or less normally.

So that means Im now growing a single $55 seed. The last time I bought seeds from a name brand seller I got 7 seeds for that much. This baby had better be dam good and way over perform as far as yield or Mephisto is just not worth the hype as far as Im concerned. We will see. Just to be fair, I am not feeling especially well, so that may be part of my outlook at the moment.

The big girl today

The runt today:

The runt yesterday:

and three days ago:

[GnomeyByNature]

Ah man, sorry to hear that… you didn’t want to just let the runt go further to see what if anything could have still come from it?

[anon32470837]

I considered that, but the bigger baby will soon be needing changes to the misting cycle as its roots continue to grow. Plus, before too long, its likely going to want higher EC levels, more light, etc.

If it had been showing even a little bit of growth I would have waited, but it was just stopped. Since the very beginning it has been drastically slower than its sister, and drastically slower than any other plant I have started, so I saw no real hope.

My plan is to start another seed soaking - which I have already done. It will be lagging behind the bigger baby, but if it grows at a normal rate, it wont be too far out of sync with its bigger sister. If it turns out it is too far out of sync, thats ok. It will be another data point. More importantly, I have a new idea for how to start seeds in the system, and this will give me a chance to try it out before the next grow down the line. I’ll outline that in the other thread since it has nothing to do with the Mephisto grow.

[anon32470837]

I am so disappointed in these seeds. I am just about to decide to cull this last baby.

This is what it looks like today - 21 days from seed. Thats a 3" net pot and the leaves are not even that wide yet.

In contrast, this is one of @ReikoX Ghost Toof x SBR at the same age. Also in a 3" net pot. Its easily 3 times the size.

[nefrella]

Ugh, thats a bummer