Blue Cheese, PPP, Thai SS...Jerry's Second Grow

Hi Jerry,

This learning to grow thing is interesting because much of what we learn will apply to future crops but not necessarily to the present ones. Babs gave me good advice regarding bending. I'm not going to prune during flowering - sounds too risky - so next grow I won't be so greedy by trying to put too many plants into a small space! 3 of my 10 cheeses are stretching so those are candidates for bending. I may put some of the shorter ones up on blocks so as to keep as even a canopy as possible. Last night I added a couple of cfls to side fill some areas with more light. Hopefully I can build a flowering box for next grow and get an HPS set up for that. They are developing flowers at a rapid rate now. I'll put up some pictures of the growing tips soon. I cant wait to see your next posting!

All the best,
H

Well HH, looks like you won't have to wait long for that update my friend.

We'll start with a bit of bad news. It appears both of the blue cheese tops I attempted to clone failed. For whatever reason they didn't want to root. I think it was because the tops were fairly well established with pretty solid/woody stems, which I've heard is bad for cloning. Oh well. The PPP has been moved to the veg shelf and the 2 Thai clones are in the flower room--I've decided it's time to find out if they are male or female. As a result, the clone room is currently unoccupied.

The larger plants in flower are doing fine. Temps are in the low 90's even with the a/c running. I'm in the process of constructing a new venting system up through my ceiling, but it's a little more difficult than I initially planned.

The vegging plants are looking great. After careful consideration, I've decided to grow them organically. This poses a bit of a problem, in that I already have a mostly full bottle of Grow Big and mostly full bottle of Tiger Bloom...both of which are inorganic fertilizers. So I've been using some 5-1-1 fish emulsion, FF Big Bloom, some high P bat guano, and some Botanicare Cal-Mag Plus. I'm going to pick up some high-nitrogen Peruvian seabird guano in the next few days, along with some earthworm castings. I've been considering constructing a worm box too...

Here's Blue Cheese B. Tips are still curling under because of the heat. I try to raise the lights, but it just encourages them to grow faster towards them. So I'm living with this condition for now.


Another view...


Blue Cheese A. Aside from that lower yellowing and tip curl, doing good. Hopefully the emulsion has enough N to stop that yellowing...


Here are the two main colas, alternating nodes and all. Looks good up here...


PPP. Still looking great.


A view from the top...


In a bit of breaking news, the PPP has preflowers! And it confirms what I already hoped/knew...it's a girl!


Here's one of the Thai Super Skunks. I released the ties to keep them a little more upright--I don't have the space to let them stretch out as far horizontally as I would like.


Here's the other Thai SS.


My PPP clone. Pushing out some new growth.


Here she is in her new home!

Jerry Garcia said:

Well HH, looks like you won't have to wait long for that update my friend.

We'll start with a bit of bad news. It appears both of the blue cheese tops I attempted to clone failed. For whatever reason they didn't want to root. I think it was because the tops were fairly well established with pretty solid/woody stems, which I've heard is bad for cloning. Oh well. The PPP has been moved to the veg shelf and the 2 Thai clones are in the flower room--I've decided it's time to find out if they are male or female. As a result, the clone room is currently unoccupied.

The larger plants in flower are doing fine. Temps are in the low 90's even with the a/c running. I'm in the process of constructing a new venting system up through my ceiling, but it's a little more difficult than I initially planned.

The vegging plants are looking great. After careful consideration, I've decided to grow them organically. This poses a bit of a problem, in that I already have a mostly full bottle of Grow Big and mostly full bottle of Tiger Bloom...both of which are inorganic fertilizers. So I've been using some 5-1-1 fish emulsion, FF Big Bloom, some high P bat guano, and some Botanicare Cal-Mag Plus. I'm going to pick up some high-nitrogen Peruvian seabird guano in the next few days, along with some earthworm castings. I've been considering constructing a worm box too...

Here's Blue Cheese B. Tips are still curling under because of the heat. I try to raise the lights, but it just encourages them to grow faster towards them. So I'm living with this condition for now.

Another view...

Blue Cheese A. Aside from that lower yellowing and tip curl, doing good. Hopefully the emulsion has enough N to stop that yellowing...

Here are the two main colas, alternating nodes and all. Looks good up here...

PPP. Still looking great.

A view from the top...

In a bit of breaking news, the PPP has preflowers! And it confirms what I already hoped/knew...it's a girl!

Here's one of the Thai Super Skunks. I released the ties to keep them a little more upright--I don't have the space to let them stretch out as far horizontally as I would like.

Here's the other Thai SS.

My PPP clone. Pushing out some new growth.

Here she is in her new home!

Click to expand...

They are looking really strong. The Cheese show really strong stalks and the alternating nodes bode well for great bud production. Have they been under HID light? I know you've mentioned that earier in this thread. You've got a terriffic grow underway mu friend. A pleasure to see.

H

Nope, just 26 watt cfl's. Mostly 6500k, but a couple 2700k just to get that warmer spectrum.

I'm liking the alternating nodes too. I figure I'll probably let these girls veg for a while before throwing them into flower...I've thought of keeping a few for mothers, but my flower space is so small it probably isn't practical. I can just take clones from vegging plants as I need them.

Which reminds me, I'm going to be taking one clone from each blue cheese in the next few days to make up for the failed top clones.

Hi Jerry,

Here's tonight's pics of my blue cheese. Pistil growth is accelerating. I set up a CO2 boost bucket with feed lines right into the canopy. Fans are set to 30 min on 30 min off. That has boosted my operating temp range - 95 as a high down to low to mid 80's as a low. Hopefully they won't be stressed by the temp swing but it least it's got rhythm. I'm starting to bend the tall ones. Those 3 were, i think, the first to germinate. They have really stretched.

Damn Jerry, that PPP looks like it will be one massive cola. Hopefully you can get the HPS going to really fatten her up good. That sucks about the clones dying. Do try to take as many as you can this time. It would be a shame to do all the work of growing out seeds to find out what you have and then losing it. Growing from seed leaves too much mystery for me.

hi they are fungus gnats. i used neem oil and yellow strips did the trick

mared juwan said:

Damn Jerry, that PPP looks like it will be one massive cola. Hopefully you can get the HPS going to really fatten her up good. That sucks about the clones dying. Do try to take as many as you can this time. It would be a shame to do all the work of growing out seeds to find out what you have and then losing it. Growing from seed leaves too much mystery for me.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the cola looks pretty nice so far. Lots of nice branching going on...I wish I had topped her. Oh well, I've got a healthy and happy clone of her so no worries.

I wasn't really that surprised the tops of the blue cheeses didn't make it...though I've managed to root all the other tops I've attempted (including the two Thai Super Skunk tops). I just think the stems were too "woody" for it to properly root. But I will be taking a few clones from each just to be sure I at least get one going.

I rigged up a 250cfm 6" inline duct fan to my flower room, venting it into the space above the ceiling. It only dropped the temp by a couple degrees, if that. I mean, I can feel the air moving and all, but the room isn't sealed so I'm not sure it's operating as efficiently as it could. Plus the intake air is already around 80, so not too much I can do about that. I think the high temps are taking their toll on the plants in there too, which is unfortunate. They're still budding, but I just can't help but think the quality of finished product will be negatively affected.

I still have the a/c unit in there, and I've been running it until the last couple days, but it is such a major draw on power I want to avoid it whenever possible.

Growing in the summer is quite a challenge...and it isn't even August yet...

Jerry, you need to go look for some flesh there from your blue cheese before flowering. It would be a shame not to have at least a couple clones from that. And that PPP...tons and tons of places to take some clones....and in taking them, you will only be encouraging it to become a FAT(er) bud.
That thai is supposed to get really tall, yes? I'm sure I read somewhere that they are a pain in the butt to grow, but I don't remember why.
Hehe....wouldn't you know that I closely inspected your close up shots for gnats? LOL
Plants are looking SWEET.

hemphopper said:

Hi Jerry,

Here's tonight's pics of my blue cheese. Pistil growth is accelerating. I set up a CO2 boost bucket with feed lines right into the canopy. Fans are set to 30 min on 30 min off. That has boosted my operating temp range - 95 as a high down to low to mid 80's as a low. Hopefully they won't be stressed by the temp swing but it least it's got rhythm. I'm starting to bend the tall ones. Those 3 were, i think, the first to germinate. They have really stretched.

Click to expand...

What kind of space are you working with there Hemp?

Hey Babs - Space, my final frontier, is a plywood box - 2.5' X 4.5' X 6' that i built to do a fluorescent grow. I know i should use HID light but maybe next grow. I have 2 4 foot 4 tube T5 fixtures in there, carbon filtered inline fan exhausting through the top right wall and passive inlet ducts on the bottom of both side walls. I have a clip on fan inside the box to keep my ladies exercised, probly should be playing them some music too - actually I do do that sometimes, Live music though. I did a couple of grows in the mid 70's using fluoro's based on Murphy Steven's book "How to Grow MJ Indoors Under Lights" and again in the mid 80's when I learned that one can flower plants much earlier than after 3 months of veg. Anyhow that's what I have at present. I shoulda been less greedy and done fewer plants. How we learn. So far so good though. I bought the Farm - Fox Farm that is. Using their nutes per their schedule but going lightly. I mix 3 gallons but ony add nutes for 2 gallons. Plants seem healthy but the fluoro stretch is evident. I'll get buds but they wont be the macho looking nug muffins that become centerfolds. I think they'll be ok in the bowl though.
Cheers

H

Babs34 said:

What kind of space are you working with there Hemp?

Click to expand...

hemphopper said:

Hey Babs - Space, my final frontier, is a plywood box - 2.5' X 4.5' X 6' that i built to do a fluorescent grow. I know i should use HID light but maybe next grow. I have 2 4 foot 4 tube T5 fixtures in there, carbon filtered inline fan exhausting through the top right wall and passive inlet ducts on the bottom of both side walls. I have a clip on fan inside the box to keep my ladies exercised, probly should be playing them some music too - actually I do do that sometimes, Live music though. I did a couple of grows in the mid 70's using fluoro's based on Murphy Steven's book "How to Grow MJ Indoors Under Lights" and again in the mid 80's when I learned that one can flower plants much earlier than after 3 months of veg. Anyhow that's what I have at present. I shoulda been less greedy and done fewer plants. How we learn. So far so good though. I bought the Farm - Fox Farm that is. Using their nutes per their schedule but going lightly. I mix 3 gallons but ony add nutes for 2 gallons. Plants seem healthy but the fluoro stretch is evident. I'll get buds but they wont be the macho looking nug muffins that become centerfolds. I think they'll be ok in the bowl though.
Cheers

H

Click to expand...

You're setup seems fine. I personally like t5's a lot...do you have 6500k or 2700k? The 6500's (blue) are good for vegging, while the 2700's (red) are good for flower. But with your 2 4-tube fixtures you could add 1 or 2 red ones during veg and 1 or 2 blue ones during flower just to get a more complete spectrum on your girls.

The fox farm nutrients are good. I've used them successfully and have been happy with the results. I was a little disappointed to learn the only organic one of the trio is the Big Bloom. But they work well in light doses (as seem to be administering).

Which reminds me...I just purchased 4 bottles of Blue Mountain organic fertilizers on ebay for $25! I'm stoked!

Hello all, time for another update. Things have been going fine back at Jerry's farm. Let's take a peek at the progress, shall we?

Here's Blue Cheese B. A little yellow at the bottom and curly at the tips, but doing well.


Blue Cheese A. She needs a booster seat as she is short. This pheno is much slower in its development, but is maintaining a compact size. I'm going to take a couple clones of her anyway, but I'll probably stick with Blue Cheese B as my mum. It's still too early to tell.


PPP. Looking excellent as ever.


Another view of PPP.


PPP Jr.


One of the Thai Super Skunks. This little sucker is tall and leggy. The top has been in flower for almost a week now, so I recon we'll see some sexual development on that in a few days.


Same deal here. Tall, leggy, and awaiting results from the top in the flower room.

Oh, and I should mention those pics are from a day and a half ago. I fed them this morning, so I'm sure they'll look pretty different in a few days.

Jerry Garcia said:

Oh, and I should mention those pics are from a day and a half ago. I fed them this morning, so I'm sure they'll look pretty different in a few days.

Click to expand...

lookin sweet, i want some of that ppp

Hi Jerry,

Farmer J!! Lookin very beautiful on this summer early afternoon!! Very good indeed. I have noticed that roughly 40% of my Blue Cheese show lengthening and the others remain short and compact after close to 4 weeks of 12 12. Interesting that the stretching ones are not bulking the buds up as well as the shorter ones are. It's a living process so each day is new and hopefully exciting. The topping you did on your Blue Cheese did result in 2 nice looking tops. You're gonna get some serious buddage I think. Do you have your HPS light going now? How's the ventilation set up?

Best,
H

Looking sweet, Jerry. Keep your options open with the mothers. You never know how different the final product will be. The temps don't seem to be bothering them much. Doing great!

hemphopper said:

Hi Jerry,

Farmer J!! Lookin very beautiful on this summer early afternoon!! Very good indeed. I have noticed that roughly 40% of my Blue Cheese show lengthening and the others remain short and compact after close to 4 weeks of 12 12. Interesting that the stretching ones are not bulking the buds up as well as the shorter ones are. It's a living process so each day is new and hopefully exciting. The topping you did on your Blue Cheese did result in 2 nice looking tops. You're gonna get some serious buddage I think. Do you have your HPS light going now? How's the ventilation set up?

Best,
H

Click to expand...

Thanks HH. I think the topping worked OK, though I would have rather done it above the 2nd true node when they were younger to get 4 colas, but what can you do. The ones I have going now look quite nice--lots of potential clone sites too. We'll just see how the two pheno's compare. It's nice to have options and be picky

The HPS is running in the flower room...currently budding 4 topped bagseed plants. I always forget to take pics of them (or they're always sleeping when I'm taking pics), so I'll do it tonight. I rigged up a 6" semi-rigid duct to a 250cfm 6" in-line fan, pulling air from directly beneath the light and venting it above the false ceiling (of sheet rock? or whatever you call those white panel things that create a false ceiling). Unfortunately, the thing doesn't really help. At all. I leave it running because it HAS to be doing SOMETHING...I mean, I can feel a nice pull of air, but it's just not enough. Bottom line...I NEED A COOL TUBE/AIR COOLED REFLECTOR! And I'm going to get one soon. I've been shopping around trying to get a good deal.

To make a long story short, it's too bloody hot for me to subject my PPP or Blue Cheeses to those 93+ temps. I suppose I could begin flowering under cfl's until I get my cool tube (or until winter comes) but for now I figure just let them keep vegging. By the end of August I expect to have a functioning cool tube and hopefully some reasonable temps!

Edit: I do have an A/C in the room that has been working well until the last month or so. It turns out speaker grill cloth is not very breathable...so trying to vent the exhaust from the portable a/c through it results in heat build-up and eventually a thermal termination of the condenser...meaning it shoots out HOT air. I've repositioned the stuff 1000 times but can't seem to get a consistent setup. When it works though, it works well...it just uses lots of electricity--loads more than a 6" exhaust fan!

I'd love to know what you find out re cool tubes. I haven't gotten a HPS yet due to heat concerns. I know that cooling will be an issue and I have to stay on the stealth course for a while. HTG Supply has been my source for stuff as their prices are good and I've been fortunate so far. Their T5 4 tube fixture seems a good deal. You have a good grow goin on for sure

Hey Jerry, looking good man.