Wanna Ask The Old Farts A Question?

HempKat · Dec 13, 2006

thecreeper said:
When i say deformed/mutated im talking about the leaves. Have you ever had a seed that maybe doesnt look mature enough or too mature and it sprouts and the plant that grows from it has pieces of the leaves missing on the edges like it just didn't grow. I can post a picture if you need me to, but i would have to obtain one first.

I figured you were talking about the leaves, I have never had a seed that looks too mature, immature looking seeds I throw away. I have had plants that sprout like you are talking about and during the first week or two the leaves don't seem right, or seem deformed (twisted, uneven edges, odd overall shape) but by week 4 the leaves are fine.

How the deformity is expressed isn't the issue for your original question though. Now that I know the deformed plants might have come from immature seed I'm more inclined to say it may not be worth growing out. Then the deciding factor would be how badly do you need what you would get if you did grow it out? If you have better genetics to work with and aren't desperately waiting for a harvest to stock your stash with, then I would say scrap it and start with good seed. If you don't have any other seed, and your stash is very low or empty then I say grow it out so that you have a chance of getting something out of it.

green_grow · Dec 15, 2006

i've started to get a good little pile of herb-ash in the little pot that i dump it into, a couple of tablespoons i guess. i believe ash is good for soil, but in what quantity ? can i safely recycle all my herb-ash back into a cabinet grow ?

HempKat · Dec 15, 2006

green_grow said:
i've started to get a good little pile of herb-ash in the little pot that i dump it into, a couple of tablespoons i guess. i believe ash is good for soil, but in what quantity ? can i safely recycle all my herb-ash back into a cabinet grow ?

Wood ash is an organic item that can be used as a nutrition source, mostly micronutrients, however it is also very high in ph which if added to a soil already at a relatively high ph it can cause nutrient lock out on the upper end which will block pretty much all nutrient uptake. Because of it's ph qualities wood ash is a supplement used more as a ph up rather then a nutrient source. I have never heard of anyone using ash from marijuana before so I can't say for sure what impact it would have. If any it would most likely act similar to wood ash. I would not add that to soil unless absolutely necessary.

macster · Dec 19, 2006

Hey Hempy
7 weeks still no sign of sex
last week went to 18/6 I'm, trying to be patient,stubborn plants (that's stubborn fucking plants)
Macster

HempKat · Dec 20, 2006

macster said:
Hey Hempy
7 weeks still no sign of sex
last week went to 18/6 I'm, trying to be patient,stubborn plants (that's stubborn fucking plants)
Macster

Yeah, some plants can be stubburn that's for sure. I remember I had one go 10 weeks in a grow not too long ago. I finally gave up and just put it in flower with the others that were already showing and it finally showed a week later. Fortunately it was a female and so all was good.

One thing I have heard of people doing and they claim it helps (I've never had to do this myself) is that you can adjust the lights on time down from 18/6 to 16/8. The idea is that the plant will see this as a signal that flowering season is fast approaching and start putting out pre-flowers.

You don't have to wait on pre-flowers though if you don't want to. Many just throw their plants into flower based on their height and then weed out (no pun intended

) any that might turn out to be male. There are really only two circumstances that make waiting for pre-flowers helpful. One is if you have limited space and resources and so you only want to put known females into your flower room. The other is if you are doing clones and you don't have any need or use for male clones. Both can still be accomplished without pre-flowers but it requires a few extra steps.

For limited space you can do this. Most people start in small pots and then transplant to larger pots just before flowering. It's usually the larger pots that take up the room, limiting people to a certain number of plants. You could put any unknown plants into the flower room while still in the smaller pots and then transplant when you know the sex. It's preferable to transplant before starting 12/12 but if you just be sure to be careful you can transplant in flower too without and real problems.

For doing clones you can do this. Take clones from each plant whether you know the sex or not. Keep the clones labeled or seperated, such that you know which plant which clone came from. Then place the plants they came from into flower. Once the plants in flower show sex then you know the sex the clones are as long as you know which plant, which clone came from.

Stibl · Dec 20, 2006

Hi, i bought a Hanna ph checker yesterday but i didnt get any calibration fluids with it so i have no idea if the readings im getting are correct, meanwhile my plants are yellowing and dying because of this fuckin ph problem. Is there any cheap fluid i can buy that has an exact ph labeled somwhere on it so i can calibrate my ph checker cuz its giving of readings like, 8+ for distiled water, bought water and tap water. Evrything i measured was above 8:/

HempKat · Dec 20, 2006

Stibl said:
Hi, i bought a Hanna ph checker yesterday but i didnt get any calibration fluids with it so i have no idea if the readings im getting are correct, meanwhile my plants are yellowing and dying because of this fuckin ph problem. Is there any cheap fluid i can buy that has an exact ph labeled somwhere on it so i can calibrate my ph checker cuz its giving of readings like, 8+ for distiled water, bought water and tap water. Evrything i measured was above 8:/

Well there are fairly cheap (under $10) liquid ph testing solutions sold a stores like Walmart, K-Mart, etc for testing aquariums. They may work but I don't know. I unfortunately am usually poor and have not been in a position to afford a ph pen. Nor have I really needed it. They may not be as precise but the testers at Walmart I mentioned work fine for me. It's been my experience in general that when using specially made items such as a ph pen for best results you want to use things designed with that item in mind. I did a google search and quickly found that these pens require a calibration solution that they sell seperately. You can see them at the link below, just scroll to the bottom of the page.

http://www.automatedaquariums.com/h_chkr.htm

Now as for your plants, you don't have to wait for you to get a calibration solution to start correcting things for your plants, unless you are unsure ph is the issue. If you are sure don't wait to measure it, start flushing now. When you have a ph problem, the typical treatment is to flush the build up out with plain water at a ph of 6.5 to 7.0. Since you can't test it currently you might want to use store bought distilled water which should be at 7.0 out of the bottle. Then you give it a few days (until the next watering) and then you gradually work them back into their food with half strength doses at first. In that scenario you don't really need the pen until you begin to feed again. So if you flushed today and ordered the calibration solution today, the plants would be treated without waiting and hopefully you would have the solution by the time you needed it. The only issue being mail delivery times during this time of year.

macster · Dec 20, 2006

Actually I use the ph tester kit and it works fine, just go for the GOLD and that should put you in the right range

Logos · Dec 21, 2006

High lumens

High lumens

Happy holidays, Hempkat:

Do you happen to know what is the most light per square foot a plant can use before anything more is just a waste?

As always, many million thanks.

Logos.

HempKat · Dec 21, 2006

Logos said:
Happy holidays, Hempkat:

Do you happen to know what is the most light per square foot a plant can use before anything more is just a waste?

As always, many million thanks.

Logos.

No, sorry, I don't. They say 50W per square foot is optimal with HIDs and it's been all I could do to afford to manage that and couldn't afford more really. Actually I could by making the grow area smaller but the reality is things like heat or cost of operation/output or harvest begin to factor in. Meaning it becomes inefficient to do that.

Now I don't know how they determined "optimal" in this case but to me optimal means to go lower or higher becomes less efficient if that is true then the answer is 50W for HIDs. Yet I know people that thru their configurations have it actually around 60 to 65W per square foot and they seem okay. I do know there is a point where a plant gets too much and becomes bleached or light stressed but heat is a big factor in that. The confusing thing is, my understanding is, that as good as we can do our stuff doesn't begin to come close to matching the sun and yet there's a point we can actually have too much light. So I'm inclined to believe if it's natural light you can't have too much but with artificial light you can and it's more related to how that light converts to radiant heat as part of it's normal operation.

Thanks for the holiday wishes, happy holidays to you and yours as well. And may Santa Clones leave some huge colas in your garden for harvest :smile:

Logos · Dec 23, 2006

HempKat said:
No, sorry, I don't. They say 50W per square foot is optimal with HIDs and it's been all I could do to afford to manage that and couldn't afford more really. Actually I could by making the grow area smaller but the reality is things like heat or cost of operation/output or harvest begin to factor in. Meaning it becomes inefficient to do that.

Now I don't know how they determined "optimal" in this case but to me optimal means to go lower or higher becomes less efficient if that is true then the answer is 50W for HIDs. Yet I know people that thru their configurations have it actually around 60 to 65W per square foot and they seem okay. I do know there is a point where a plant gets too much and becomes bleached or light stressed but heat is a big factor in that. The confusing thing is, my understanding is, that as good as we can do our stuff doesn't begin to come close to matching the sun and yet there's a point we can actually have too much light. So I'm inclined to believe if it's natural light you can't have too much but with artificial light you can and it's more related to how that light converts to radiant heat as part of it's normal operation.

Thanks for the holiday wishes, happy holidays to you and yours as well. And may Santa Clones leave some huge colas in your garden for harvest :smile:

Hey, HK:

Concerning natual light vs. manmade, I agree that there must be elements/factors in sunlight of which we know naught. I find it interesting that you cannot look at the sun but plants cannot get too much, yet you can look at say 1500 watts of 6500 K but at the same time it's too much for a plant. There is just so much about nature we really don't know.

Thanks for the holiday wish. It is the best I've gotten to date! I'm sending you the same wish, that Santa Clones bestows a windfall upon your garden of delights. Ha, Ha. You are a pleasure to talk to, my friend.

Love at this special time of year,

Logos.

green_grow · Dec 23, 2006

cola chopping ...

first a bit of background :
my first grow was nigerian nightmare by reeferman seeds. that plant got pollinated but still produced a very healthy amount of potent ganja PLUS many viable seeds. unfortunately, the herb gave more of a body stone, rather than the head stone which i prefer.

this grow is from those seeds and , judging from both my previous grow AND the current look of the trichomes, i would say that i am about 2 weeks from harvest .

here is the problem ... the colas (i am growing 2 plants) are not nearly as meaty as i think they should be, although the trichomes are telling me that harvest is near. also, i have literally DOZENS of bud sites which are still quite small . i am thinking of harvesting the top 12" of the plants (this would consist mainly of the colas), thus allowing me to give all those bud sites some more serious light AND i am thinking that the earlier harvest will give me more of the "head stone" effect that i am looking for .

i have heard of people doing partial harvests with no trouble so i am wondering if you think this will be o.k. and if there are any precautionary steps i should take before/after the cola chop.

regards, GG.

HempKat · Dec 24, 2006

Logos said:
Hey, HK:

Concerning natual light vs. manmade, I agree that there must be elements/factors in sunlight of which we know naught. I find it interesting that you cannot look at the sun but plants cannot get too much, yet you can look at say 1500 watts of 6500 K but at the same time it's too much for a plant. There is just so much about nature we really don't know.

Thanks for the holiday wish. It is the best I've gotten to date! I'm sending you the same wish, that Santa Clones bestows a windfall upon your garden of delights. Ha, Ha. You are a pleasure to talk to, my friend.

Love at this special time of year,

Logos.

Well actually we do know, and the answer is really quite simple. In the case of the light in a room the radiant heat generated by that light has a few feet at best to travel between it and the plant, thru air that has humidity and what not. In the case of the sun the light has millions of miles of the cold emptiness of space to cross first. Another thing that makes the sun so great is that the light has traveled so far that based on the inverse squared rule the light hitting anywhere in the vicinity of your plant, will be as strong at 1" from the ground, as it is 30' from the ground, relatively speaking of course. :smile:

Thank you for the compliment expressing pleasure of the interactions of another person is one of the nicest compliments one can give I think :smile: You have a great holiday. :yes:

HempKat · Dec 24, 2006

green_grow said:
cola chopping ...

first a bit of background :
my first grow was nigerian nightmare by reeferman seeds. that plant got pollinated but still produced a very healthy amount of potent ganja PLUS many viable seeds. unfortunately, the herb gave more of a body stone, rather than the head stone which i prefer.

this grow is from those seeds and , judging from both my previous grow AND the current look of the trichomes, i would say that i am about 2 weeks from harvest .

here is the problem ... the colas (i am growing 2 plants) are not nearly as meaty as i think they should be, although the trichomes are telling me that harvest is near. also, i have literally DOZENS of bud sites which are still quite small . i am thinking of harvesting the top 12" of the plants (this would consist mainly of the colas), thus allowing me to give all those bud sites some more serious light AND i am thinking that the earlier harvest will give me more of the "head stone" effect that i am looking for .

i have heard of people doing partial harvests with no trouble so i am wondering if you think this will be o.k. and if there are any precautionary steps i should take before/after the cola chop.

regards, GG.

Yeah it's okay, lots of people do that. I've done it. My guess would be you crowded your space too much which is why you plant doesn't look quite as meaty and has lots of small under developed bud. You did say though they're about two weeks from normal harvest and the last few weeks buds do tend to swell. Oh and yeah, are these seeded? Remember, part of the beefiness of that crop was the seeds. A crowded grow space can do it too though as the light doesn't penetrate as well.

The only two tips I can think of is try as much as possible to take off what you'll take off, with one clip by cutting low enough on the stalk. I figure one quick clip is the least traumatic way for the plant. The other thing is, as you are trimming think in terms of your canopy, or what it will be when you're done. You want to keep it as even as possible and such that you can move your light as close as possible to the bud you'll harvest later.

Oh and before you commit to this, you may want to clip a small sample and quick dry it on a warm tv or monitor for an hour or so. 2 weeks is alot of time, you should make sure you'll like it this way before you cut your best buds down.

green_grow · Dec 24, 2006

thanks for that info, HK ... and yes, you guessed right; i am growing 2 plants in a space where i had previously grown just one. next grow will be scrogged, i was just to chicken to try it out on only my 2nd grow, but having learned how tough these plants are i am confident that i will do it successfully .

will definitely try a sample before bringing out the axe . :joint:

buzzed day · Dec 24, 2006

hello HempKat,i hope all is well.i'm ok but could use a little help.i have t plants both in mg.time release. not the moisture controll garbage. the plants are starting there 6 wk. tomarrow. i use foxfarm tigerbloom and big bloom both were got about a month ago.i use it every 3 watering or so.2 ts.tiger and 1 tbls big along with some epson salt1/2 ts per gallon.here is a pick of purplecrush/blackdomian

this 1 the leaves[2 of them] look real light green. ph about 5.5-6.5

thanks for any ideals.peace
[edit] i'm sorry i forgot the most importent thing merry christmas,god bless

HempKat · Dec 24, 2006

buzzed day said:
hello HempKat,i hope all is well.i'm ok but could use a little help.i have t plants both in mg.time release. not the moisture controll garbage. the plants are starting there 6 wk. tomarrow. i use foxfarm tigerbloom and big bloom both were got about a month ago.i use it every 3 watering or so.2 ts.tiger and 1 tbls big along with some epson salt1/2 ts per gallon.here is a pick of purplecrush/blackdomian

this 1 the leaves[2 of them] look real light green. ph about 5.5-6.5

thanks for any ideals.peace
[edit] i'm sorry i forgot the most importent thing merry christmas,god bless

Well I'm not real good at diagnosing specific deficiencies and what not but it wounds like your feeding schedule is a bit light and you ph is a bit low. I have yet to try Foxfarm products myself but from what I hear they are good and comparable to other popular brands. That in mind, most brand call for a feeding schedule the reverse of what you are doing. That is feed it most waterings with every 3rd watering or so being plain water. The thing is with your ph low it may not matter how much you feed as a ph imbalance can block a plant from getting food. For soil you want the low side of your ph like 6.2 and on the high side 6.8 Outside that range and you plant will begin to experience various nutrient lock outs.

One way to help prevent low ph is when you mix your soil throw 1 to 2 tablespoons of dolomite lime in your soil mix for every gallon of mix you make. Dolomite lime helps buffer the soil towards nuetral which is 7.0 and you typically end up with 6.5 to 6.8. As a quick fix there is wood ash I believe, that is more fast acting but be careful, I hear it can be potent. Or you can use ph adjusters (ph up, ph down).

buzzed day · Dec 25, 2006

hello and thanks will mayby try flush next peace

fatboyOGOF · Dec 25, 2006

what hempcat said. you are definately underferting.

2 feedings then 1 with just water. feed them NOW! don't over feed them either. more is not better.

Guest · Dec 29, 2006

Lighting Question

Lighting Question

Hello HempKat, I have run into something strange during my first grow. I am 6 weeks into growing 2 plants of Oasis strain in Sta-green soil w/ perlite, Liquid Karma & Miracle grow, in 12 inch pots, and 400w MH lights. The grow area is 3x2x8. It seemed like the plants weren't growing all that fast, the leaves were curling down & the bottom leaves where turning a pale yellow with the MH lights. I started using purchased distilled water b/c I thought it could be a pH issue (measured b/t 6.1-6.3). Before I left, I put them on 2 40w 4 ft fluoro lights b/c I was a little worried about leaving them unsupervised w/ the MH Light. When I returned 5 days later, them seemed to have doubled is size and returned to nice dark green color. When I returned, I placed them back on the MH lights and the growth seemed to halt and the the very tips of 2 leaves where yellow.

Do you recommend that I keep using the fluoro's or go back to the MH light. I thought that the MH lights were supposed to have better growth. What do you think?

Also, can Tiger Bloom be used by itself or does it need to be used with Big Bloom?

Thanks so much for the help. Here is the "before and after" pic

Wanna Ask The Old Farts A Question?

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer

Active member

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer

Member

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer

New member

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer

Member

Member

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer

Member

Active member

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer

Active member

buzzed day

Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer

buzzed day

Member

Guest