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Popping my cherry with ACE 100% Sativas in Coco (2x Zamaldelica, 2x Malawi)

mjlifestyle

mjlifestyle

Member
Hello everyone,

As it's the case with a lot of 1st time growers, I've been lurking around for quite some time, gathering info, poundering options etc etc etc, you know the drill. Finally I've made the step of putting it all together and starting my own grow and break free from the "dubious dealer-bad indica weed-pissed of customer" trinity that I've been indulging for too many years now.

I'll be attempting to grow 4 plants with a fairly typical setup:

  • 3x4x6 Homebox Evolution grow tent
  • 600W MH/HPS lights
  • 18 L pots with coco coir + perlite mix
I won't bore you with pics just yet as I'm sure you've seen it all over and over.

This morning I put 4 feminized seeds of Zamaldelica and Malawi in a glass of water and just 8 hours later they all sank to the bottom (no cracks on any of them, as expected after such a short time). [On a side note I really want to thank Dubi from Ace (if he's the same person I dealt with by email while ordering). Without giving too many details I can say he went the extra mile and then some with my order, in a way that I really didn't expect, especially in a business where there are so many scammers around. I'd recommend ACE wholeheartedly to anyone, so shout-out to you! End of derail] I picked them out and put each one in a Root Riot cube (pointy end up) and now they are all sitting in a covered up tray, doing their seedy business. Hopefully they will all sprout and give this first entry a meaning :)

Sorry I don't have anything interesting to post just yet, I just wanted to get this started right from the beginning. Will update as soon as anything changes.

I'll end this post saying that I'm more than happy to listen to any tips, advice and critisism you guys and gals have. As I said, this is my 1st grow and while information helps you get the ball rolling, there's nothing like true experience and I have exactly zero of that. But also, please don't take it personally if, for whatever reason, I decide to do some things "my" way :)

Thank you all in advance for any feedback!

Happy :rasta: everyone!
 
mjlifestyle

mjlifestyle

Member
Thanks for the welcome and stopping by, Herb! I have to be honest, I got a bit overly excited (that could be good or bad) about the ACE genetics after reading loads and loads of other people's experience. Originally I just wanted to grow a couple of Malawi, then just Zamaldelica, then back to Malawi, then.. fuck it, I'll try both at the same time :)

Two things I forgot to mention about the grow:
  • I'll be attempting a SCROG setup. I realize this may be a stretch for a complete rookie, but I'll give my best shot and I have where to come back for advice :)
  • I plan on vegging them on 20/4. I know there are a lot of opinions about what's "better" (24/0, 18/6 etc). If anyone has any experience with this particular strains in terms of light cycle and think a different one is better, please feel free to slap me over the face :)

Cheers!
 
X

Xray Kimono

6' ceiling height? You are going to run out of room. Those stretch like CRAZY.
 
mjlifestyle

mjlifestyle

Member
@ Herb - thank you, tbh I didn't hear about this till now. Any particular reason for that (stress factors and such) or is it just.. random? I was never too interested into autoflowering strains, although I know they are theoretically most suited for a beginner.

Hi Xray, I know 6' is kinda on the low end, but I was very limited in terms of height, the room I have the grow tent in (some closet space) can't accommodate a bigger tent (it has some obstruction right in the middle). That's why I want to SCROG it intensively and, also, that's one of the reasons I intend to veg it @ 20/4. From what I've read, shorter dark hours means plants stretch a bit less towards the ceiling, looking for that precious light. But yeah, even with that and SCROG, I know things might get complicated towards the end, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there :)

Cheers!
 
X

Xray Kimono

Nice. Be sure to top multiple times to keep that height down... If they get too close to the light they will just be puff.. you are looking at about 3-4x stretch on those genes so flipping at 1-1 1/2' is going to be necessary....

Just a heads up....

Im subbed though... Cant wait to see these babies get big...


Peace!
Xray
 
mjlifestyle

mjlifestyle

Member
Thanks for the input, Xray. I'm definitely gonna top them a few times, although, to be honest, I imagine I'll be scared shitless the first time I do it :) But I'll update here every step of the way and gulp in as many tips and advices as I can from you guys. And fwiw, I have a cooled light reflector in there, with ducting that's separate from the normal ventilation, so that should give me a bit more space than a regular un-cooled HID lamp.

Thanks for subbing!

Cheers!
 
HerBnGorE(illa)

HerBnGorE(illa)

Member
Mj. I would ask dubi about the auto tendencies of zamaldelica. I'm pretty sure It gets induced by root restriction. I think it just makes it hard to keep a mother plant.

I see a lot of people on here who won't grow a sativa like malawi because they are worried about height restrictions and such. I just finished a Malawi from seed in a pc case with 10 other plants in it. If it will work in there then I'd figure u have PLENTY of space.
 
mjlifestyle

mjlifestyle

Member
Thank you for the suggestion, Herb. I'll drop by the dedicated ACE section and post a question about that roots restrictions thingy. As a side note, I don't have any plans to keep a mother or anything, as I just grow for personal use and if all goes semi-decent I should be set for the next year at least.

Now, speaking of roots... I just noticed both Malawi seeds have "somewhat" sprouted, and by "somewhat" I mean there's a little root coming out of the bottom (you can imagine the smile from your first sprouted seed), but no sign whatsoever of the top of the plant yet (see blue blob in the pic). I think I may have dug them a tad too deep in there, but I guess they will surface at some point.

However, since I don't have a tray for the cubes and I don't wanna leave them with the roots exposed like that, I'm gonna put the Malawi cubes into coco cups right away. Here we go then :)

Cheers all and happy :rasta:!
 
mjlifestyle

mjlifestyle

Member
P.S. I'm not sure I'm doing it right with posting them pics. I created a new album in My IC and uploaded the pic there and then added it to this post. Is that the way it should be done or is there some other (better) way?

Thanks!
 
B

Baron Greenback

You'll have fun first up. Ace is a great choice to go with, I like the way you have decided to get stuck straight into the long flowering sativas instead of quick finishing indicas.
The Malawi gets huge - it'll stretch at least 3 times its height from when you start flowering. Don't be afraid of the long veg time though - this will give you a chance to get them trained and prepared for the flowering stretch, lots of pinching and the suchlike.
Check out the "mainlining" tutorial on growweedeasy.com and that should give you some confidence to grow some monsters.
Don't worry about the Zamaldelica "autoflowering" thing - all it means is it finishes in 10 weeks; it's still really good weed. If you get normal phenos, it'll blow your mind.
You'll end up just working your way through the whole catalogue, everything Ace does is excellent and the support from dubi is great (plus all the people who post on Ace forums seem to be really nice and encouraging).
Good luck, will be following this one with interest - if you get into problems, dubi is usually active and knows his strains inside and out, the breeders' description is pretty much what you get :)
 
mjlifestyle

mjlifestyle

Member
Thanks for stopping by and for the encouragement, Baron! I totally agree about the ACE forum and Dubi, that's one of the reasons I made this choice and I doubt I'll regret it.

As for the mainlining tutorial you referenced - that's exactly what I've been reading, double reading and triple reading in preparation for this. That mainlining and the SCROG tutorial from the same site. From a total rookie's point of view, that one was a gem for me.

And a small update - the 2 Zamaldelica seeds have caught up to the Malawis and shown their tiny root through the bottom of the cubes, so all 4 have germinated. That speaks about the genetics way more than about my ability. No green stuff showing just yet, but I've transplanted them all into plastic cups with coco+perlite and leave them be, for now, until their beautiful heads start showing :)

Cheers all!
 
mjlifestyle

mjlifestyle

Member
All 4 girls have surfaced. I know this is practically no news, but bare with me, I'm sure you remember your first time :)

So they got their first true watering. I'm using HESI for coco nutrients & boosters and I prepared the water with slightly less than the recommended dosage from their schedule card (about 75%) - 4 ml Root Complex, 1.5 ml PowerZyme and 1.5 ml TNT for 1 L of water, with pH ~6. If you guys have any recommendations and tips about the feeding schedule & dosage, please share, as at the moment I am kinda blindly following the HESI card, with slightly lower %.

Consequently, I've put them under the MH bulb, with 20/4 as light cycle and here are 2 pics with all of them - not the most exciting thing to say the least, but I try to document every step along the way :)



Cheers everyone!
 
B

Baron Greenback

Keep a close eye now, they are especially vulnerable to nutrient burn - if in doubt, just flush them for a while. Maybe lower the concentration of your nutrient for a week or so, you can probably get away with nothing for the first week or so then perhaps a quarter strength.
Your only trouble is going to be that you've set the bar so high with this Ace grow, most other things will be a let down :)
 
Holeshot

Holeshot

Member
ACE

ACE

Great going bro. I'm doing the same with ACE. Would love to see some pics . As my Fem seeds were mixed up. I now have some reg seeds!! Malawi, Zamaldelica , Golden Tiger , Guawi, Congo, Laos Luang Prabang. This pic if it shows up is Ace 1 Unknown.
 

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mjlifestyle

mjlifestyle

Member
Hello everyone,

Unfortunately this is not a happy post. The little girls are well so far, showing their first true leaves, but I just got news that I might have to move. And it's not the kind of move that can accommodate me taking the plants with me, that's simply impossible.. At the moment I'm still hoping this will not be the case, but things are not looking good. I will know more in the following days.

I'll continue to take care of them, of course, but I feel like in some weird indie movie, where I still nurture my babies knowing I will probably have to kill them in a week.. Yikes..

At least I can take comfort in the fact that I didn't have to do this 2 months from now, when they were in the middle of flowering. That's some fucked up "comfort".

Cheers everyone!
 
V

vinrusso

Active member
Remember the good thing about the long flowering sativa's, is that you don't have to veg them, unless your growing a huge plant. I've grown some pretty big plants with very little veg.
 
mjlifestyle

mjlifestyle

Member
And I'm back!

And I'm back!

Greetings, everyone!

Unfortunately I had to kill my girls a few months back. I had to move to another city and carrying them along was not an option for a few reasons, some of which are obvious. So my first attempt at popping my cherry didn't go as planned.

But now I'm back at it again. Same setup, same seeds (2x Zamaldelica, 2x Malawi, all feminized, courtesy of Ace Seeds). At the moment all 4 are in their temporary Coco cups - 2 have sprouted and have already shot for the ceiling (cause I couldn't give them the MH light right away and they were apparently hungry for it), while the other 2 have germinated, but are yet to show their heads through the Root Riot cubes I have them in).

I will update this as I go along and ask a shameless amount of questions, starting with the very next post, as I'm sure there are a lot of ways I can fuck it up :)

Cheers!
 
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