Indica Rescue: an open grow journal

crittertime

Active Member
Back in mid-March, I inherited some plants in the wake of my friend's breakup. The plants were gnatty, spindly, and stretched as all get-out. I gladly took them in as a quarantine project. I’m a novice gardener, and this is my first cannabis grow.

They were germinated in late-January in 1.75 gal pots in a mixture of Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Potting Mix and something else we can’t remember (in a white bag, peat moss based, maybe EarthGro). Under previous care, they were getting ~1cup of regular tap water once or twice a day in a humid house, sitting six feet beneath a 45w LED. They are believed to be King Louis or Cotton Candy Cane, or KingLouis x CottonCandyCane.

For the first two watering's, I added Miracid 30-10-10 at the full 1.5tbsp/gallon dose because the leaves were yellow and it was what I had. I actually think it did some good. Then I did all this research, got all sorts of supplies, tossed the unsuccessful plants, and babied the survivors. I aimed to build their weak, flimsy stems into strong stalks using an oscillating stand-up fan and a newly purchased 1200w LED light (Exlenvce brand) on an 18/6 schedule. My room was pretty humid at this time, ~60-70% humidity. I had fungus gnat problems for a long time, which I remedied with diatomaceous earth, fans, and yellow sticky cards. The soil was compact with poor drainage. I think I watered every 5-10 days, 1 gallon per pot, using Fox Farm Big Bloom and Grow Big at 25%-50% recommended doses. They grew strong, and I LST’d and supercropped them into an even canopy. It was so rewarding to see them go from pitiful to thriving. Last week’s watering, I used the FF and added 50% recommended dose of Cal-Mag to the water in an effort to remedy what I suspected to be a calcium deficiency.

I transplanted on April 15th. After taking them out, it was apparent that they were moderately root bound in their old plastic pots. There were still some fertilizer balls left from the Miracle-Gro soil. So I tapped off the bottom hunks of soil (maybe 40%) until the lowest two inches of roots were visible, before transplanting into 5 gallon Vivosun fabric pots with a new amended soil:
- 45% Recipe 420 Potting Soil
- 33% Perlite
- 20% Earthworm Castings
- 2% Bone Meal 4-12-0

After transplanting, I gave each plant 4 gallons of plain water at 5.8-6.5pH. I collected some runoff in jars, and then used that to water too. I meant to flush out nutrients. One of them, which received the most runoff of the 4, was drooping today from overwatering. Looking back now, I figure it's better not to re-water with runoff when trying to flush, as it kinda defeats the purpose. Ah well, hindsight is 20/20.

On April 16th, the grow tent came in the mail! I also found a house dehumidifier in my garage -- a god-send. The next day, I switched to a 12/12 light schedule out of fear the plants would outgrow the tent if left in veg for too long. Now the canopy is an even 16 inches, and the plants are straight chilling in their 5x2.5ft Plant House, at a stable 78F and 50% humidity. :D The nighttime temperature I've seen has been 68F, so hopefully I can get the nugs to be a pretty purple.

Today, I have identified signs of fungus gnats and other unknown pest damage. I used the garden hose to spray off whatever I could. Read: https://www.rollitup.org/t/identify-this-bug.1013167/ I have also taken off the plant ties to reduce stress after transplant + shifting to the 12/12 light schedule.

As it stands, I'm not sure how "hot" or nutrient dense my new soil really is, so I plan to play it by ear. I’ll water normally at 6.5pH and I think I won’t add nutrients until I see symptoms of deficiency...

I'm super excited to see how my hard work will turn out! Open to all comments, advice etc!
<3 crittertime
 
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crittertime

Active Member
STRAIN King Louis x Cotton Candycane (supposedly)
SEED/CLONE seed
PLANT AGE germinated late January
PHASE Flowering, week 1
TECHNIQUE LST + supercropping, now SCROG
POTS 5 gallon fabric pots
ORIGINAL SUBSTRATE Germinated in Miracle-Gro. Transplanted plastic 1.5gal pots 50/50 mix of Miracle-Gro and GreenAll Planting Mix.
CURRENT SUBSTRATE Amended soil, transplanted April 15th followed by a flush
- 45% Recipe 420 Potting Soil
- 33% Perlite
- 20% Earthworm Castings
- 2% Bone Meal 4-12-0
LIGHT Since March 20, 1200w LED that consumes 235w (https://www.amazon.com/Exlenvce-Spectrum-Fixtures-Function-Triple-Chips/dp/B07QY16YRD)
RH FACTOR Was 60-80%, now (as of a week ago) 40-50%
DAY/NIGHT TEMP Day 75-80 F, Night 65-70 F
AIR FLOW Medium Oscillating fan inside 2.5' x 5' x 72'' grow tent (Plant House), oscillates in a figure 8
VENTILATION Active Air 4 inch 165 CFM Inline Duct Fan with Growers House 4" Carbon Filter, runs constantly
RECENT STRESSORS Transplanted April 15, supercropped April 26th, SCROG set up April 27th
PESTS fungus gnats for sure, now mostly eradicated using diatomaceous earth and sticky cards -- no chemicals used.

WATER FREQUENCY Twice weekly
RUN-OFF pH ~6.5 pH
pH TESTING METHOD Liquid indicator
pH TESTING FREQUENCY Give properly pH'd water every watering
NUTRIENT TDS/EC/PPM Still getting the hang of this.
 

crittertime

Active Member
Watered on Wednesday April 22nd with intent to improve root condition.
- Plant Success Organics Soluble Mycorrhizae; 1 tsp per gallon
- Fox Farm Bushdoctor Boomerang; 2 tsp per gallon
- Botanicare Cal-Mag Plus; 1 tsp per gallon
A two gallon watering can of this mixture at pH 6.5 was given to 4 of the 5 plants, so each plant got about half a gallon (no runoff). The plant seeming most droopy from the flush received no water this day.
 
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crittertime

Active Member
The plants looked much better after the April 22 root recovery solution. No more rapidly dying lower leaves. I guess that's the power of the beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizal supplement.

...And today I read the bottle and learned that liquid nutrients must be shaken before use :lol: It blew my mind to think about how I've been feeding the top water of a suspension all this time! The color and consistency of the Fox Farm was so different after shaking, and my feeding solution was a murky color rather than the transparency I was used to. Can't make that mistake again.

Todays watering: in a two gallon watering can, using SHAKEN bottles,
-3 tsp of Fox Farm Big Bloom (1.5 tsp/gal)
-2 tsp of Fox Farm Tiger Bloom (1tsp/gal)
The mixture was about 6.5 pH and 300ppm. Each plant got about one gallon.

I aimed for minimal runoff, just enough to test the pH and ppm. All of the plants had balanced pH runoff.

But the runoff ppm varied drastically! I didn't record the values as I don't know what they mean. From my memory, there were values of 600, 800, 1700, and 3600. The 3600 value is from my smallest plant's runoff. I'm still getting the hang of ppm, what it means, and how to adjust etc.
 

Merkn4aSquirtn

Well-Known Member
You have the exlenvce 1200 right? How’s that light going for you? I have the “1200” (235w) light as well but haven’t seen it on anything older than 1 1/2 week. Think it would grow two plants in a 3x3 tent?
 

crittertime

Active Member
You have the exlenvce 1200 right? How’s that light going for you? I have the “1200” (235w) light as well but haven’t seen it on anything older than 1 1/2 week. Think it would grow two plants in a 3x3 tent?
Yoooo, someone replied!! Yeah, same light. It's great in my opinion. I'm growing 4 plants in a 2.5ft x 5ft x 73" tent. In there it keeps the perfect temperature -- daytime temps at 75-80, nighttime temps at 70-75.

It would grow your plants for sure.
 
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crittertime

Active Member
Today, May 9
Yesterday, each plant got 1 quart. But the soil felt dry just now. The moisture meter read dry no matter where I placed it in the soil. So I gave 2 gallons split between them. Used Big Bloom organic, 4 Tbsp/gallon, to refresh the soil microbes after the heavy nute concentration given yesterday. pH 6.5.

The leaves falling today felt like they had water left in them, whereas the ~20 before them were dry and crispy. I think my watering schedule (twice a week / whenever the soil feels dry all over) has been insufficient in these weeks of flowering, leading to moderately thirsty and hungry plants. Failure to provide for the flowering stage would explain their slowed growth. I'm thinking I should start giving 2 gallons every three days, alternating between Tiger Bloom and natural teas
 
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crittertime

Active Member
May 11, Day 25 of Flower
Soil was dry, leaves still falling... I gave 1 gallon with 1 tsp Cal-Mag Plus 2-0-0. pH 6.5 ... That should be the last time I give any Cal-Mag.
Next time should be just water.
 

crittertime

Active Member
Wow, thanks for checking in. Long story short: another Rollitup user claimed to know my location by tracing the metadata on my photos, so I deleted all of them. :( I'm in the process of learning how to remove metadata from my photos before uploading them...
 
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