After six years, it begins again... My second grow

[cyclepipe]

This is what I was going to post originally - "Well, it seems like only yesterday that I planted these seeds but they've actually been under the lamp for 26 days now. The growth continues to be quite vigorous and I'm pretty happy with the veg production of this strain. The next step will be choosing when to begin flowering. I'm trying to wait as long as possible for preflowers but I find myself remembering what Dr. Dog advised about flowering height reaching 2-3 times what was seen during veg. Is that range to accommodate the growth patterns of indicas and sativas? I would expect and have been told by others that the plant should only double in size. Any clarification that can be offered would be appreciated. The plant in the picture below is approximately..."

I stopped to go check the exact height of my plant, which is just shy of 12", and found a lovely little female preflower at the fifth node! Should I start flowering these now or do I wait? I don't want to lose too much of the lamp's intensity but I don't want to rob myself of a reasonable yield. I'm at another fork in the road. lol Help, anyone? Anyone?

Btw, here is how the better plant looks right now.



I found this shot to be interesting because you get to see all of the underpinnings of the canopy.

 

[cyclepipe]

Doth my eyes deceive me or is the encircled growth a preflower?

 

[tariq]

preflower

preflower

Every time I check on my (non-confirmed gender) plant I try to find any signs of flowering. XD! I have it on 12/12 so every day I take it to a magnifying glass.

 

[resinryder]

Plants are looking great. I'd trim off some of those lower branches at the bottom if they were mine tho. This will focus the plants energy on the upper branches and give you room to work underneath the plant later on.

 

[VirginHarvester]

Grow cyclepipe, grow like the wind.

 

[cyclepipe]

Every time I check on my (non-confirmed gender) plant I try to find any signs of flowering. XD! I have it on 12/12 so every day I take it to a magnifying glass.

I'm trying not to let any obsessive compulsive tendencies get the better of me but every time I look at the plant something seems to have changed. lol

Plants are looking great. I'd trim off some of those lower branches at the bottom if they were mine tho. This will focus the plants energy on the upper branches and give you room to work underneath the plant later on.

Trim? So, just cut some of the three-leafed branches off? I'm doubting that you're referring to the branches that grow out of the space directly on top of the three-leafed branches or are you? Thanks for the suggestion.

Grow cyclepipe, grow like the wind.

Thank you for that gift of energy through words, I'll make sure to pass on your thoughts to the lady under the lamp.

 

[resin_lung]

Thats a preflower. They look great.

 

[Dr Dog]

but I find myself remembering what Dr. Dog advised about flowering height reaching 2-3 times what was seen during veg. Is that range to accommodate the growth patterns of indicas and sativas? I would expect and have been told by others that the plant should only double in size. Any clarification that can be offered would be appreciated. The plant in the picture below is approximately..."

I stopped to go check the exact height of my plant, which is just shy of 12", and found a lovely little female preflower at the fifth node! Should I start flowering these now or do I wait? I don't want to lose too much of the lamp's intensity but I don't want to rob myself of a reasonable yield. I'm at another fork in the road. lol Help, anyone? Anyone?

Well that is what experience will tell you. As you grow a strain, you will see how much it stretches.

Sativas tend to stretch more, but they also take double or more on flowering time.

But plant will stretch anywhere from 2 to 3 times its size during the first few weeks of flower.

I do agree with the removal of the lower growth, I like to use those areas as clone areas, great success rate from the lower branches.

 

[cyclepipe]

Thats a preflower. They look great.

I'm very happy with their progress, if for no other reason than getting to enjoy the beauty of watching a plant grow completely under my care.

I do agree with the removal of the lower growth, I like to use those areas as clone areas, great success rate from the lower branches.

How many of the lower branches would be safe to remove without having a significantly negative impact on the overall yield?

 

[resinryder]

I'd remove 3 or 4 of the bottom branches. Understand, it won't "having a significantly negative impact on the overall yield". You get the small stuff out of the way so that the energy will be focused on the branches you have left and usually generate a larger harvest.
Before you go into bloom, you'll want to remove the small bud sites on the lower portions of the remaining branches. This gets rid of the "popcorn" buds that rob the larger buds of their true potential. Cutting off branches and stuff is a real hard thing to do the first time. But what you can do is leave the branches and all on 1 plant and trim the other. Put them into bloom and you'll see which on you get the better yield off of. It's be the trimmed plant every time!
Also, during the first 2 weeks into bloom as the plant stretches, I remove all the sucker looking whispy branches. They don't yeild much and they also rob the the energy from the remaining buds. If you look at the last pic you posted, you'll see the small whispy looking branch on the bottom right. That's the kind of stuff I remove. It's just a waste of plant matter. Great for clones tho.

 

[cyclepipe]

I watered the plants last night as the soil was dry and they were staring to droop a little. This morning they both looked nearly perfect, leaves were perky and perpendicular to the stalk. The only problem is that the newest growth is distinctly lighter in color and also looks to be twisting. I adjusted the water's pH to 6.7 just as I have every other time. I'm wondering if they actually need to be fed. I haven't included any more nutes since I last tried around two weeks ago. Does new growth get lighter and twist as a result of nute deficiency? I didn't have a chance to review the grow bible before heading out today, can anyone lend some perspective? I'll post pics later to help develop a diagnosis.

 

[cyclepipe]

I stared at this picture for longer than a moment just before uploading and realized I should just stfu and keep watering these plants. Nevertheless, my curiosity begs me to ask the question if there's something I'm not doing.

The circle in the upper left highlights a change in leaf color to a more olive shade. I've noticed this on the lower leaves of both plants.

The center circle shows an example of the lighter new growth but I recall someone mentioning less pigment being less available to those areas.

 

[Dr Dog]

LOL

bro relax

that is just new growth, that plant looks fantastic man, just let her do its thing

just talk to them, dont touch them LOL

 

[cyclepipe]

LOL

bro relax

that is just new growth, that plant looks fantastic man, just let her do its thing

just talk to them, dont touch them LOL

I've been diagnosed as having ADHD and bipolar disorder but I think I'm just neurotic.

 

[cyclepipe]

I let the plants go one day too many without watering. Forgot they're getting bigger and are drinking more water. Trying to smile. I came home to my pride and joy looking limp and sad. Hopefully the recovery is quick but the soil was bone dry. Anyone thinking root damage?

Today has been very educational.

 

[toastfighter2]

I wouldn't worry about them drying out too much, but it is a surprise coming from you(at least with as much love as you were giving them up til now). I would suggest setting them in a bigger bigger bucket and filling it up almost to the top with water and letting it soak in for a few minutes(at least until the bubbles stop coming up). Every now and again I forget to water one of my mother plants(it is its own separate compartment in my cab from the rest of them because it is just huge) and it has been super wilty before. You may loss a couple sets of leaves, but that won't be a big deal really.

 

[cyclepipe]

I wouldn't worry about them drying out too much, but it is a surprise coming from you(at least with as much love as you were giving them up til now). I would suggest setting them in a bigger bigger bucket and filling it up almost to the top with water and letting it soak in for a few minutes(at least until the bubbles stop coming up). Every now and again I forget to water one of my mother plants(it is its own separate compartment in my cab from the rest of them because it is just huge) and it has been super wilty before. You may loss a couple sets of leaves, but that won't be a big deal really.

Yeah, I've tried to put the brakes on the overlove and it appears I've let the pendulum swing too far in the other direction. I gave them both a serious watering and they looked to have improved only a few hours later; lesson learned. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I remember reading a quote from someone's signature that went something like this: "It's a fine line between, 'Maybe I should water later today.' and 'Shit, I should've watered them yesterday.'" I now understand fully understand this knowledge.

 

[Lightning Bug]

Much better to underwater than over IMO. I usually look for a little droop myself before I water, you are doing great bro keep it up.

 

[cyclepipe]

Flowering time is drawing nigh, my main plant is well over a foot tall and I really wanted to start them on 12/12 tonight but I'm exercising patience and keeping my chi centered. I'm waiting because after having hung ecru blackout fabric over the windows in my basement, I want the chance to look for light leaks. I'm pretty sure that there won't be any light getting through but I'm not willing to risk it without testing it during the daytime. Consequently, it will be at least Wednesday morning before I know if there are any kinks yet left to work out.

Now comes the hardest part, right? Watching these flowers grow and having to wait until harvest? I'm ready for the challenge and omg taking photos of these beauties is going to be such a joy. I've long watched others perform magic with their gardening alchemy and now it's my turn. My hope is that I'll be able to get a few of your to be like "DAMN!" lol

Anyway, I view this is as a turning point because I didn't make it this far last time. You have all been wonderfully supportive and it's cool to have my IC fam with whom I can reflect on this wonderful art of growing. I'll turn the sap off now but I just wanted to take a second and express my thanks.

 

[resin_lung]

congrats cycle. I'm looking forward to seeing those beauties fatten up!

PS- Family's a beautiful thing!