~Soulfly's Grow Spot~

[soulfly22583]

Update - August 17, 2008

Day 54 of veg period

So I have let the plants go a week with straight water and a little bit of separation between lights in addition to a tighter packing of the soil. As I stated in my last update I did end up losing one plant so we are down to 17 Master Kush plants! I took some pictures tonight of the plants. I wanted to point out the burn points of where the plant grew a bit to close to my DIY light fixture.















As you can see in the last two pictures I have two distinct groups of plants - the taller group to the left and the smaller group to the right. Im excited to see where these all go!

I was going to take these plants to only 50 days of veg but due to the weirdness of last week after the transplanting I have decided to do my transplant this coming Saturday (a ripe 60 days of veg period!) They will be going into their final resting homes of 5 gal. buckets of straight soil and perlite! I will be giving them their 48 hour dark period before the 12/12 switch on Thursday and then doing my switch Saturday.

Why do you think your soil is draining too well? Are you saying that when you water, they stand in water afterwards?

How frequently are you watering? Remind me what you're using for nutes.

I felt the water was draining to quickly because I was using 1 gal. spread between 3 plants (remember - all in 1 gal. bag's) My drain dishes were filling and over flowing in some cases - then they would still have water after a good 2 days with the room at 84 degree's! I don't want to get pests or allow for any kind of fungal growth due to excessive standing water.

I had read in another thread where a person was using 3 gal. bags and someone asked if he was experience quick drain and he responded no because he had packed the bags very tightly with soil.

I went in tonight and packed down the plants and re-added soil all around the plants. Went and fed the plants and of course the first 6 over flowed (not surprised, I didn't pack those down as hard as the last one's!) Going to see how they respond to this!

The nutrients are Botanicare Pure Blend Pro and Pure Blend Grow. I was feeding every 3rd day following the Botanicare feeding schedule.

 

[Bigtimer7]

very nice man!

Looks like some killer plants man! keep up the good work +++

 

[thatguy]

Well, IMHO, those plants have so much water coming out because there's still plenty there! I noticed that some of the smaller ones are a paler green, and in the 4th pic, the one in the back, in the middle, is curling a little.

I think you're overwatering them. You should let them dry out until the leaves point up, as if they're praying.

Also, are you watering them all at the same time? If so, give the smaller ones longer between waterings! Remember, you recently transplanted them, which means they won't need water as frequently just yet.

BTW, NEVER heard of soil draining TOO well (except for pure sand!). If anything, soil that drains "too fast" will hold optimal quantities of air!

All the best,
TG

 

[thatguy]

Also, if you're switching to 12/12 in a week, stay in the 1 gal. They are WAY too small for 5 gal.

 

[Grow Tech]

I tend to agree that you may be overwatering. I try to water the plants I have in soil before the dirt is dry / hard at the top but almost to that point. As long as you can look in on them once or twice a day, you can let them get pretty dry without having to worry about death drought. Even plants that have wilted visibly usually will snap back....but try to water them before that point.
Having a plant sitting in a water filled drain tray is bad. If the plant has shot roots to the bottom of your bag, they will rot.....Remember I told you about getting root rot right after my last trip to Louisiana? That happened because my pots were sitting in water while i was gone....the hot temps really accelerate rot too.

Peace & No Root Rot!

 

[soulfly22583]

Update - August 24, 2008

Day 61 of veg period

Well I took the advice of Grow Tech and thatguy and let my plants dry out, so to speak. I gave them a feeding at my last update (last Sunday) and did not let them have anything to drink all week. Kept waiting for them to dip over but as was suggested, they had plenty of water and kept vigorous till Friday evening. I went in this morning and looked over all the plants to see what our M:F ratio was looking like. Still very good in my opinion - we have 11 females we are sure about and have 3 males we are not 100% sure about just yet. I took pictures of what I feel are ball sacks - was hoping you all would chime in and let me know what you think.







After this was done I took the confirmed males "out behind the shed" and let them return to the earth that had born them =P. I did take a moment to snap a few pictures of what my soil mixture looks like and the root growth I am seeing already. Please - any feedback is much appreciated!





Lastly we have our group shot's to let you all get a general idea of how they are doing now. I had just watered them and already was seeing a bit more lift in them. Note - the first photo in the black tray is my 3 suspected males. If I see a noticeable ball sack on one then its out "behind the shed" haha.









So that is about it for this week's update. Much respect to both Grow Tech and thatguy for the thoughts/input on the watering issue. Also - as a tease of what may be coming in the future with soulfly....

 

[Grow Tech]

Looking Good Soulfly! I think you'll be less prone to problems if you continue to let your ladies dry out before watering. You dont want them to wilt...but getting close to that point is good. I think you're finding that balancing point

Regarding sexing... I cant tell anything for sure from your pics. Since the real problem with males only comes when they shoot their load, I usually wait till I have a clear ( albeit tiny ) pollen sack formed. Maybe I'm missing detail in the pic but I wouldnt axe any of the plants yet based on what I'm seeing there.

So...what flavor is that Rez pack

Peace

 

[Pirate138]

Nice to see another southern grower. Lookin good.

 

[soulfly22583]

Hey everyone - the plants are looking GREAT! Since I calmed down on my water regiment they have all evened out and are now slowly inching their way up. I will take pictures tomorrow when I water again.


Was curious - what kind of mathematical equation can I use for watering in the future. Is there any I can apply?

 

[Grow Tech]

Hey Amigo,
If you wanted to get deep into math, you might be able to come up with a formula...here's some of the variables

Room temp, soil temp, strain, plant size, relative humidity, exact soil composition, plant maturity, etc etc...

Instead of Higher ( heh heh...I said Higher )math, I rely on touch & sight. I look for a change in the color of the top of the soil, I lift my pots to determine if they are substantially lighter in weight, I scratch at the top surface with my finger to detect if the soil feels moist.

Unfortunately, not all plants in any particular grow will necessarily be ready for water at the same time. Unless all plants are very homogeneous in size , age, planting mix, planter size etc, you may be best watering each individual when needed vs trying to hit them all at once. Kinda a pain in the arss but if the goal is to give each girl exactly what they want...you gotta listen to the individual.

Peace & Individuality

 

[soulfly22583]

This definitely makes sense man.. I just was hoping that something would suffice. I just feel like the nutrient to water to plant ratio's could be figured out. I hate not being a math person! haha

Thanks for the response, ill try to get photo's and an update soon!

Hey Amigo,
If you wanted to get deep into math, you might be able to come up with a formula...here's some of the variables

Room temp, soil temp, strain, plant size, relative humidity, exact soil composition, plant maturity, etc etc...

Instead of Higher ( heh heh...I said Higher )math, I rely on touch & sight. I look for a change in the color of the top of the soil, I lift my pots to determine if they are substantially lighter in weight, I scratch at the top surface with my finger to detect if the soil feels moist.

Unfortunately, not all plants in any particular grow will necessarily be ready for water at the same time. Unless all plants are very homogeneous in size , age, planting mix, planter size etc, you may be best watering each individual when needed vs trying to hit them all at once. Kinda a pain in the arss but if the goal is to give each girl exactly what they want...you gotta listen to the individual.

Peace & Individuality

 

[thatguy]

Where you been, man? You got an empty ass thread over at PG!

All the best,
TG

 

[soulfly22583]

Update - September 19, 2008

Day 87 of veg period

Update time. So I kind of up and disappeared for a while on you all, sorry about that. Was a tad bit frustrated with the garden and my watering schedule. I think I FINALLY have it figured out. Last night I got off my ass and got the plants moved from their bags to their 5 gal. buckets. Gave them a good watering and am hoping to switch them to 12/12 this weekend.

I have found 4 confirmed males in the group so far - I added in a picture of one of the culprits. So without much more wasting of time - here are the pictures:


















A picture of the root system. Some of the plants didn't have as strong a root structure as I would have liked during transplant.

 

[soulfly22583]

Update - September 25, 2008

Day 93 of veg period

So I have finally grown tired of letting these plants veg (as I am sure you are all too!) Saturday they will awake to a 12/12 cycle after 95 long days since they broke their shell.

As you can see we have 11 plants at this point. 2 are somewhat smaller than the other 9. I am assuming this is potentially a varying pheno but knowing my luck, probably not.

Here are the pictures everyone! Any comments, feedback, criticism you have - please share! I cant learn if I don't know what I am screwing up!



















Hope you and your gardens are all doing well

 

[soulfly22583]

Update - October 7, 2008

Day 11 of flower period

So the plants have been adjusting and getting settled into their 12/12 schedule now. I had a few issues at first with timers and the such so I am hoping that everything pulls through okay.

The pictures arnt the best bu, I have found one plant that I feel is a male but want to get some input from you all. If I dont hear anything back by tonight im going to pull this plant out. I will not risk this grow!

Hope your all doing well =)

 

[gdawg]

hey soul ya that looks like a male to me bro. hope you rock some coco on the next run....root growth will triple bro

 

[soulfly22583]

hey soul ya that looks like a male to me bro. hope you rock some coco on the next run....root growth will triple bro

Thanks man, i figured as much but wanted to get another growers opinion. I will look at Coco in the future when I have a much more stable grow environment. This is my 3rd grow and im continually learning so hopefully I can step up to Coco soon =)

 

[HempKat]

Looks like a male to me too, take him out behind the shed and.....well you know what to do. :smile:

 

[soulfly22583]

Looks like a male to me too, take him out behind the shed and.....well you know what to do. :smile:

haha, funny you say that.. i actually kill all the males behind our shed, haha.

 

[soulfly22583]

Update - October 11, 2008

Day 15 of flower period

So the plants are looking great! I have 9 so far and have questions on one more possible male. The more I look at him and turn him around I think it is for sure a male. Going to give it a day or two more and see how things keep developing before he gets axed (possibly)

Im excited, a majority of the plants are showing female pistils =)

Here are some pics for those that have been watching!








Some pictures of the possible male culprit!





The only change I have really administered lately is the addition of the 600w in a burst method. I let it go for 3.5 hours every night during my 12 hours of light that the t5 is still pumping out. I am eager to see how these crazy concoction of tools ends up producing =)

A huge thanks to EVERYONE that has given me some kind of feedback through out this project, I truly appreciate it!