IGT's 2000w+ Perpetual Hydro Garden

[HAPPYTREE]

thanks sacred breh thats an awesome way of going about it for the hobby grower/breeder. WHAt up IGT im sending you good energy so you can get as many ladies in your stables as possible. dont worry about the ratio you know you will be up to your eyes in buds b4 you know it.

GROW SAFE
HT

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Hey guys, thanks for swinging by. I was really bummed about the all males but things are looking up I guess.

SB, good idea about how to handle males. I was wondering the best way to collect pollen and your idea seems the best. How long does it, on average, take for pollen sacks to be close to bursting? Hashberry is a 65 day strain and I dont want to choke the plant of light too early. Feel free to post some pics of your method!

S2D, glad to hear Im not the only unlucky SOB around here. Im seeing some things around about how to raise the ratio for females and Ill try some of them in the future. I couldnt help but think I was doing something wrong and maybe I was? Your right, she is a nice plant tho. A little indica leaning for my tastes but I hope I can get some decent clonage off her soon.

HT, haha always an optimist! I think I need some good energy after the last month of disappointment. The NFT/top feed is still sitting there over 2 months after I built it without a plant in it. Im dying to dial this thing in.

Be safe all!

 

[SacredBreh]

Hello Everyone.....

Hello Everyone.....

Thanks for the kind words about my method. I never thought much about it. I included it in a thread a long time ago and didn't seem to get much interest, so thanks to you all.

Nite Tiger-- Yes I did have a problem once.... A thermometer dropped down on the bag and squashed the air out..... with the air came pollen but that is the only time. You have to make sure not to force the air out or rip open the bag.

IGT-- I usually leave it in place for about 3-4 weeks. In the picture below you can see the plant is just ready to let go the first of the pollen. Since I am
wanting a sizable amount, I let it go for a good period so that the pollen builds up.

Just a quick review with pics:

A plant that is of course ready but has not contaminated the ladies. I always opt for sooner than later but this is a trial run in a new room so not too worried about the end results.--


Here is the top before the branches are removed--


Here we removed all the branches but keep the fan leaves to power further pollen development. Make sure to rub off all the pollen sacs at the nodes and check every few days to make sure none have grown back. Keep the top cola and short branches.--


Here is the same plant with the bag secured in place--

Here is a larger plant with the branches removed and the fan leaves left.--


Larger plant with bag in place--


Couple of pearls:
- use a thin bag like from a liquor store they put 40s in This allows the plant's top to breath and continue to develop and grow. I have never used the thicker ones like you can buy for lunches due to worries about, mold, heat, and air circulation.
-of course, secure it tightly at the bottom of the bag. I use duct tape and continue it on down onto the actual stem of the plant.
-don't bend the top over, I use to do this.....thinking it would be better but the top developed less and produced less pollen.
-cut the whole plant down at the base and remove to the work area before cutting closer to the bag. This allows you to move it like a lollipop and not compress the bag.

IGT you are always a gracious host... thanks for letting me chime in. Hope this helps.

Peace

 

[ItsGrowTime]

No problem SB, your description and pics totally helped. I am still unclear as to WHEN to trim the branches and put the bag on? I currently have my HB males at day 10 of 12/12 (on a 65 day strain in female terms), so when should I do the bag trick as you demonstrated?

EDIT: as the pics above show, the sacks are developing quickly!

 

[SacredBreh]

When........?

When........?

Well, its definitely a timing issue. Never want to wait too late if you have ladies in the room. I just make sure there are a nice clump of pollen sacs on the meri-stem. They continue to grow and develop inside the bag so there isn't an issue of too early I would suppose. Main thing is to get them bagged up before the first release, even in an empty room, it could cause issues if you didn't completely sterilize the room before you grew some ladies out in there.

If you bag a little sooner than the first top I had up above, and left it for 3-4 weeks you would get 10-20 portions of pollen. The reason I say portions is because I separate out in different film containers, small amounts (the size of an eraser on a pencil) in different containers. When you take and open the container it allows moisture back into the pollen because of the cold and condensation. If you were to leave it all in one container, this moisture would freeze when placed back in the freezer. Freezing pollen with moisture in it can damage the cell walls due to expansion and crystallization.
So I only remove one canister at a time when needed and leave the others in.

Hope this helps.

Peace

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Well, it looks like Day 14 of 12/12 was too long as some males have already started popping and dropping. There's some of the sacks on the floor of the room. Its just the start so hopefully not too much has been distributed around the room (no females in there tho). Ill start the bagging later tonite. Thanks for the idea SB.
Waiting is not a good idea if females are present though since it seems like the males can be unpredictable.

EDIT: Bagging is complete. I culled all of them except the one I want the pollen from and it looks funny with just the bag on it, just like SB's pics. I guess after I get this pollen Ill have to do a good cleaning of the room to get out any released pollen, which I know will be a pain in the ass. All I can say is if you do grow out males PAY ATTENTION to them b/c they might start popping sooner than you expected.

 

[DrHydro]

Its good to clean the grow room every once in a wile anyways...

 

[Guest]

Good luck with the bagged males. I might have to try this. I've heard of bagging a branch on a female for seeds, but this is surely interesting too. I haven't messed with males too much because of the issue of collecting pollen without goofing all my ladies.

 

[ItsGrowTime]

The bagging worked great! I ended up getting about 2grams worth of Hashberry pollen. Try it!

 

[HAPPYTREE]

cool igt I see some breeding experiments in your future.
I to am going to use this same technique to harvest some pollen in the future.

Grow safe
HT

 

[SacredBreh]

Cool IGT...... glad it worked for you.

Cool IGT...... glad it worked for you.

I even number my vials and keep a picture of the male for future reference. Seeds I do the same but I keep a picture of the female and male. It is kind of fun to mix and match. The F2s and F3s and so on have some definite differences from the original stabilized F1 seeds bought from a supplier but that can be good and bad. They are not as near uniform but if you come out with a special one you just make her a Clone mom. I have one that has great smell and potency but the leaves are shaped very differently. Hardly any serrated edges to the leaves. Would be very hard to pick it out as MJ just walking by it. The clones have the same thing. I keep my tried and trues but like to have a few surprises.



Peace

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Hey yall
Here's an update on the garden. Ill have more pics to follow in a few days too.
The NFT setup with top feed manifold. The top feed works but its not great so Im working on a better solution for vegging plants separately before installing them in the NFT. I have some clones in there right now and will post pics after have grown a bit.

In the aero I have 6 Mandala #1 clones (females finally) and 2 NLxBB. They like similar light feeding so Im ok with mixing them. Hell, Im just happy to have all ladies in my garden again! The entire room will go to 12/12 in a day or two.

The Mandala #1 mom from a few days ago. These are great plants and shes already in flower with a 14/10 light cycle. I pollenated a branch with the Hashberry pollen. Shes flowering out under some CFLs like I did with the NLxBB mom before. Id like to get her under my 400w but dont really have the space .


Anyway, things are coming along and Im back to all girls finally. Ill post some more update pics in a few days after the new clones have started vertical growth.

 

[TBug]

High IGT! Damn...I was startin' to give up on ya bro...lol. where ya been? things look great, awsomes work bro!
peace, bugout

 

[SacredBreh]

Lookin' Good IGT

Lookin' Good IGT

We always have to **** with something. LOL

Never an end to how we set it all up. Fun to look at your first setup (can still see it inside the new) and how it all progresses. Remember when mmmmm. Japan something or other was giving you crap about those delivery pipes being so high.... several excellent grows ago...... hehehehe

Nice work.

Peace

 

[patternagainst]

Wow that was a fantastic read! Was a little surprised you didn't pull more but it was very well done none-the-less. You ought to post a link to your next diary when it begins...

 

[hazy]

i've been using a plastic shoebox to contain the whole male plant, but i might bag the next one.
can't wait to see the new clones. prolly gettin big

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Hey guys! Ive been slacking on updates but Ive been busy dialing in this NFT/top feed system. Im kinda undecided on whether I like it or not. The top feed manifold worked for a couple weeks to get roots started but I wasnt thrilled with the root mass it created. Less downward growth and more bushy growth. I guess it makes sense considering where the water is coming from (top instead of bottom). I have since removed the top feed and switched to the regular NFT now and the plants are happy. Some pics!

Im only using 2 of the 3 NFT posts while I get it dialed in. Honestly theres a possibility I might try a bucket system in the near future for ease.


Here's the aero system around day 21 of flower, 6x Mandala #1 2x NLxBB. I did 14/10 for veg and I really like the results. The stretch just stopped and reminded me again why not to intermingle strains


Here's the Mandala #1 mother plant. I have her flowering under 4x43w CFLs...around day 35? Lost count. I can't see any seed formation on the pollinated branch yet but I dont even know what Im looking for lol. This is a great strain btw. Give it a shot sometime.



I started a thread on 14/10 vegging here:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=72105

Stay safe yall!

 

[Guest]

I hear ya on the bucket system. I don't know if I'll ever give up my mediumless DWC, but I really enjoy growing less plants VERY large, lol!

 

[ItsGrowTime]

What a crappy sunday! First my Redskins get their ass handed to them by the Pats then I walk into the growroom and one of my bulbs has burned out! Its def. the bulb since its got a black burned look with some purple (?!?) coloration inside the bulb cylinder. I priced some replacement 600W HPS bulbs online but with overnight shipping it would set me back $120! Guess Ill just hit the local hydro shop and pay the same $120 and get a new bulb immediately. Crap.

 

[ItsGrowTime]

I got lucky today. My local hydro shop was selling the bulbs for half price so I picked up two for the price I thought I would have to pay for one. Now I have a backup too
Just goes to show to check local shops (even if you know the price will be much higher than online) before you shell out cash over the net. You might get lucky!

The #1 mother plant is starting to stink