@Frogbutt I just chopped my ILGM Dosi at day 114.
Here is a top flower.
@Autos-only Thanks for the kind words! It’s been a busy few days and to top it off I got a stomach bug that was thankfully short lived.
I haven’t had a good chance to look over your soil ingredients a lot. I did visit the build a soil site and looked around a bit. I also was able to view the Bruce Bugbee video where he talks about soil, which was interesting.
My ph meter arrived and I got it calibrated and took some readings. My ph from the tap is 7.88. This is after bubbling to get rid of chlorine. Adding cal mag and ph down drops it to around 6.65. The runoff for the GC critical is 7.08 and the Northern Lights is 6.84. I
I also measured EC but I think I messed that up so I will be doing that over tomorrow. Maybe I should increase cal mag for the GC Critical?
It seems they are looking a bit better. It doesn’t come across too well in photos, but you can tell in person. It may also be wishful thinking on my part. They are definitely lighter color that I think they should be.
This is week 6 as of today 05/05. I’ll post again when I’m not worn out and when I get the EC meter reading figured out.
I wouldn’t worry to much about your Ec of runoff, you have been using only organics correct?
Testing organics ppm doesn’t really tell you much and can be misleading.
Proper soil analysis is the only way to get accurate data and data is key.
This was my most recent test after a harvest.
@Autos-only Correct, I’ve only used organics. Well, not worrying about EC runoff is a relief. There’s so much to keep track of already!
Your test results for several nutrients are higher than the range the test thinks is optimal. I’d assume this is because the test isn’t cannabis-needs specific and/or you’re pushing the plants.
I forgot to mention earlier the NL took about a quart and a half of water before seeing runoff, while the GC took a little over 1/2 gallon. Total runoff for both was maybe a pint.
Humidity here (outside) has generally been in the teens or low 20s the past few days. Humidity in the tent has been higher since fully watering this week and I haven’t had to run the humidifier to keep levels up. I did increase fan speed a notch during lights on and a few notches during lights off to compensate for the higher levels (currently 67% after watering, lights on). I may bump up fan speed another notch during lights on. I just want to keep good airflow during flowering.
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience. If you don’t mind, what ratios of Gaia green and other nutes are you using in your soil mix?
The high readings listed are caused from magnesium sulfate(epsom salt) most of which are hard to overdo. Not impossible.
Calcium is high because Gaia green is 16% calcium.
The test is for container cannabis but that doesn’t mean it’s 100%, iv seen so many conflicting information out there.
@Autos-only Agreed, there is a lot of conflicting info out there for everything grow related!
The plants seem to have perked up a bit since I’ve been watering daily. Had a bit more runoff last watering, I stop watering as soon as I see runoff appear since I know it will continue for a bit. Then the drain pans get emptied.
I increased my light intensity and raised the light yesterday. I was getting high humidity and raising fan speed didn’t seem to help much. The higher light intensity is putting off a bit more heat which is helping with humidity levels (now 50% or so).
I also noticed some rust colored spots on the NL. I was thinking it may be magnesium deficiency? Perhaps I should decrease use of cal mag and use some Epsom salts for a bit.
@Frogbutt whats your temp and humidity been? Have you tested for DLI?
@Autos-only Before the lighting change, it was 69-73F and between 61-67%. Higher humidity just after watering (always lights on) and drops lower a few hours later especially when the humidity outside is fairly low. Some days it just stays around 65-67%.
Since I changed the lighting, it has been around 75-78F with 51-53% humidity - lights on. Watering raises it to 65%, but it drops off and stays steady in low 50% a few hours later. Lights off is 65F and 62-63% or so both before and after light change.
My DLI is 45 right now. I mentioned a 35 DLI my first post when they were shorter. DLI is measured with Photone app.
They’ll be 7 weeks this coming week. The GC has more flower development than the NL. (NL sprouted two days after GC).
Everything sounds and looks good to me man!
Thanks! I appreciate your guidance.
@Autos-only Some updated pictures. Week 7 this week. Northern Lights is well behind the Critical as far as flower development. I did notice trichomes forming on the Critical and that is nice to see.
I add Epsom salt when I water to address possible Magnesium deficiency. I think some of what I’m seeing is because I only learned of charging the coir after I had seeds going. That and not great quality generic brick coir.
Looking forward to the next run so I can make improvements!
Hey man that looks great!!
It’s normal for autos to be at different points in flower, they just have a mind of their own. It’s what makes autos challenging and reason I love them lol.
Really are looking great! Gonna have a good grow man!
Cheap Brick coco is fine. You have to rinse most of the peat out of it by hosing it through a strainer And buffer it with Cal Mag. But if you have more time than money it’s worth it.
@Autos-only Thanks man! I’m super excited. It’s hard to believe there’s still many weeks to go
@Adt187 That’s the thing: I didn’t do either of those, but I sure will next time. Right now I’m just trying to compensate as best I can for missteps when I started.
@Autos-only This is week 8, so a small update. I’ve been giving them Epsom salts when I water and the Northern Lights seems happier and the Critical is about the same, which was totally fine anyway. I’m still giving calmag. NL is only taking about 1.25 quarts before runoff, usually more with the Critical, closer to 2 quarts.
I ended up moving the light back to where it was as the NL seemed stressed after I moved it, and I also tried after giving them a few days with the Epsom . The Critical seemed to enjoy it, so I may see about putting it on a little riser to get it a bit closer. DLI is 35 measuring from the top of the NL, which is a few inches taller than the Critical. It’s definitely going to take longer for it to be ready, the flowers are a couple weeks behind the Critical. .
Humidity was been up here in general, and the levels in the tent are at least 65% with lights on and 70% with lights off. I’ve increased my exhaust fan speed to keep air moving through and bumped up the oscillating one too.
I’m thinking about putting a small heater in the tent next grow to raise temps a bit. Currently it doesn’t really get above 75F with lights at max and they’re now at 75% because of the NL. That’s with lower humidity, if humidity goes up the temps drop a few degrees. It is usually always 65% lights off. The heater should also drop the humidity some, so may get double benefit. The climate here is variable and unpredictable and I’m still getting used to it from a growing perspective. But I’m enjoying the experience.
Updated pics:
Looks really good man! Super healthy big fat leaves! It’s why I love Gaia green!
You shouldn’t need to supplement calcium too much, Gaia 284 has 16% calcium and that’s another reason I love it!
Have you been using any molasses?
I would try to find a way to slowly lower humidity, as those buds are starting to bulk in size.
75 degrees is a good temp to be at, cannabis does increase growth rate all the way up to 86 degrees but they also become more temperamental. Honestly iv never found a ruderalis strain to enjoy anything over 80 but that just me.
When is your next feeding going to be?
I’m glad you got this soilless organic to work for you! Can’t wait to see what you do in promix HP or living soil.
@Autos-only Thanks, the Critical is very happy. I’m liking the Gaia Green too. I knew I forgot to mention something! Last week I noticed some roots on top of the coir on both plants so I covered the surfaces with some leftover amended coir I had from the start of the grow and added some more mycorrhizae to it. I’m still using calmag since that coir wasn’t charged and I didn’t want it to keep anything from the plants. I then watered with molasses water for two days. I’ll probably hit them with another molasses water soon.
Previously my last top dress (amendments only) was week 5. I did some molasses water then too.
We’re getting into the rainy season so it seems humidity will be a challenge. The humidity is around 65% for the entire floor the grow tent is on. It’s a pretty large space overall so I don’t think a dehumidifier will help and shutting the door to the room the tent is in will likely raise humidity or at least keep it too high. I checked after watering and temps dropped to 67F(!) so I decided to order a small space heater to put in the tent. I will hook it up to the AC Infinity controller and have it maintain some higher temps which should dry out the air a bit too. If the humidity drops a bit, I can turn down the exhaust fans some which should also help retain a bit more heat and help with the humidity. I’m checking things more frequently since it seems more adjustments are needed with the changing weather outside. If the NL liked the higher light intensity, this wouldn’t be an issue!
@ChittyChittyBangin Those plants are huge! Looking nice. Next grow I think I’ll attempt some defoliation. Right now I’m just tucking larger fans leaves that are blocking upper buds. Mostly on the Critical since the NL isn’t quite there yet. This is an addictive hobby, I’m ready for the next grow so I can made some improvements!
@Autos-only Update time! I missed last week as I was away from home due to having the boiler replaced. I watered a bit extra before I left and was also able to come back once during that week to water again. They don’t look worse for wear.
Before I left, I opened up another vent hole in the tent which helped to drop the humidity a bit. I also put the small space heater I bought in the tent. It is set to 76°F during lights on with a 2° buffer so it wasn’t turning on and off so much. This helped to get the humidity down to mid to low 50s lights on. I have it set to 73° lights off with 3° buffer. This brought the humidity down to mid 40s with lights off. I did decrease the exhaust fan speed a bit otherwise the heat didn’t stay in the tent and humidity was unchanged. But with the fan speed lowered a bit, it seems to be pretty stable. I do check it often as rainy season is here and.temps outside haven’t started to climb much yet. The oscillating fan speed was bumped up too. I’ll made adjustments as needed.
I also adjusted the lights again. They’re now at 100% but raised a bit higher than I tried before. The plants are taking it well. I need to measure the DLI again, I think it was 35-40 last I measured it (at least for the taller Northern Lights).
Plants are looking good, a little tip burn I think due to the feeding I did a few weeks back. But it doesn’t seem to have progressed. I think that’ll be the last feeding. I did remove some yellowed or yellowing fan leaves, mostly from the lower part of each plant. I also looked up into the plants from below which let me see several leaves that needed to be removed. Next grow I’ll be trying my hand at leaf removal to expose more bud sites and also to thin out the plant a bit. That may also help some with humidity levels.
The Northern Lights has really put on some height (about 6-8 inches taller than the Critical) and the buds are starting to bulk up. It seems it will take a few weeks longer than the Critical to reach maturity. I have a digital scope coming early next week so I can start to monitor trichomes. I was planning to dry the harvest in the grow tent, but since it seems the Northern Lights won’t be ready at the same time I’ll have to come up with something else.
I know circulating air in the drying space is needed, but how important is exhausting air during drying (as long as proper humidity is maintained)? I would like to minimize smell as much as possible.