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Yeah, are they out there yet?? It's been absolutely brilliant weather overhere so here's to hoping you and the green ladies are enjoying the same thing!
Low
I think it's a little too sunny right now. Afraid If I put them in the full sun right away they'll burn, so I'll probably keep them in their pots the first couple of days, and then into the ground. Some cloudy weather forecast for the end of the week, so I guess I'll move them out either tomorrow or the day after for their first taste of fresh air. In the mean time I'll check out the local garden centers for some kind of screen that will partially block the sun.
After a couple of partially sunny days outside, the forecast is for a few days of overcast/raining/cool weather, so I took the plants over to the plot and transplanted them into the trenches. Hopefully they will be established by the time it gets hot again.
Blowfish
I trimmed off all the lower leaves, as this plant seemed more suitable for mounding and was smaller than I would have liked, considering its been vegging for 85 days.
This pic was taken last time I grew out some BF, almost exactly the same time of year, and the plant was bigger and in the ground 6 days earlier.
This time around It's in a sunnier spot and and a (hopefully) much better prepared hole, so it's going to be interesting to see which turns out better!
Trainwreck
I trimmed off a couple of nodes further up the stem with Trainwreck#1. The grey stuff scattered around is the mycrorhysal (I can never remember how to spell it!?) fungi
Brfore
After
Trainwreck#2, being tall and skinny was a perfect candidate for layering, so also got the same treatment as Trainwreck#1
You can see the twig I used to pin the stem in the soil before I pressed it in here.
After this I covered with a bit more soil, so that the bare nodes were under the surface. You can also see a small twig I pushed into the ground to keep the main stem pointing up, and off the soil.
Lastly, but not least, the Taskenti also got layered in the same way as the Trainwreks
It has what I think is the prime spot, where it should get the most sun out of all the plants, and it's size made it the best candidate for layering IMO. The lower branches are nicely below the surface, but big enough so that I was able to leave a fair bit of foliage above the surface.
The Task is in the same trench as Trainwreck#2, which is the bigger of the two trenches
The other trench with the Blowfish and Trainwreck#1
Apologies once again for the lack of updates. Not had anything much to report till now though, and I don't believe in posting for the sake of it.
They've all had a chance to settle into their new homes now, and were/are doing great for the most part. It's been a mixture of sunshine and overcast with a fair bit of rain thrown in for good measure, which was great for them to get settled in, but the just need some sun now I think. Unfortunately it's also been great weather for slimy critters...
I had been anticipating that slugs would be a problem, so I've been venturing out after dark armed with a long metal skewer. Last night, on my patrol I found enemy forces engaged in all out attack on my trenches, so I have been forced to declare war!
Up till now, there had only been the occasional minor incursion, with minimal casualties, which was tolerable while it lasted.
The Blowfish was an early casualty. She lost a whole limb after only a few nights out, but in spite of this, is probably doing best out of all the platoon.
I've since tied back a bush that was shading her a little. It won't make much difference when it's a clear sky and sun, but should give her an extra bit of light on overcast days.
When she gets a little bigger and her side shoots have grown a bit more I'll mound her again.
Right beside her is Trainwreck #1, which I should have planted the other way around (right now the rootball is between the BF and her), to give the BF more root space. I was just thinking about lighting when I planted, and didn't put too much thought about the roots
Trainwreck #1 took a few nibbles in the first few days, but seems to have settled in just fine. Once her main stem gets a little taller, I'll bend it down again and make another layer, which will be the last I think.
The other trench with Trainwreck #2 and the Taskenti is still looking a bit barren although I'm sure that will not be the case in a couple of months time :wink:
This trench has taken the heaviest casualties so far
Trainwreck #2 still seems the least reluctant of all the platoon to do any serious growng, and many of her small side shoots have been all but nibbled away
I think the wet overcast weather has been holding her back a bit, more so than the others. The BF seems to thrive in it, and the TW next to it doesn't mind it, but the Task doesn't like it much at all! I haven't even watered with tea it's been that wet, but I hope to give them all a foliar using EWC tea in the next couple of days.
She took the full force of the enemy assault last night. I found 5 slugs attacking her
Needless to say the slugs are now with a few hundred of their comrades... Resting In Pieces
Today I reinforced the trenches with sharp sand and slug pellets, so hopefully there won't be any repeats of last nights shenanigans
They are now impenetrable on all sides, ringed by mine fields and heavily guarded... by a one eyed frog
So any slugs out there reading this, and getting horny over those lush green shoots in the pics above, don't get any funny ideas. I don't take prisoners
To everyone else out there, until the next update (soon I promise), peace!
The slugs have been dealt with and are no longer bothering the girls! The weather has been great too, with lots of sun at the right times of day, so the plants have been growing quite nicely.
Apologies for the quality of pics this update. Darkness was fast approaching, and with the wind blowing, most of the pics were pretty blurry, so I was forced to pick from a smaller selection of shots than usual.
Blowfish
Edit: after looking at the above pic for some time, I decided the Blowfish needs to be topped, or she'll get way too tall. I wish I'd done it sooner, since a fair bit of energy went in to making the top 2/3 of the plant! Oh well, it's done now!
Trainwreck #1
Trainwreck #2
Taskenti
I've since tied the main stems down at an angle in preparation for the next round of layering. I'll be back with an update and some pics of the second layer in a few days time
Good to read the slugs have been dealt with
BLowfish looks really nice!! how tall would she get if she could grow however tall she liked?? The Task & Trainwrecks are chugging along nicely also
Low
I've never let my fishes get too tall, so I'm not exactly sure, but the fish leans to the sativa side, so I'm sure it's capable of making a good sized tree. I think if I had let that one carry on the way it wanted it would probably reach 8-10 feet. It grew about 1 foot in height over 2 weeks. I estimate there's another 8 or 9 weeks of veg time left, and the growth rate would probably go up quite a bit as the plant got bigger, not to mention a bit of stretch come flower!
I once had two 7+ foot male skunks, and that was without any amending/digging trenches, and less light. They were just left alone, apart from watering and some salt based nutes. I think the fish would have the edge under the circumstances, if I'd left her alone
Today I carried out a second round of layering on the plants. Just in time for some overcast, and hopefully rainy weather.
Running out of water fast here and may have to start using water from the mains soon
I've filled a 20 gallon bin with water and left it open to the air so that all the chlorine evaporates. Hopefully I won't be forced to use it!
Here's trench#1 with the Blowfish, and just off the left edge of the 1st pic, Trainwreck#1. Taken just after they got a little water.
Trainwreck#1
The new layer is just right of center in this pic, and the old layer is hidden by foliage at the left edge of the pic.
Trainwreck#2
From above. The first layer is just left of center, and the new layer is to the left.
First layer on the far left of the pic below. I removed the stick that was pinning down that layer, since it's well and truly rooted. Another twig is pinning down the stem at the far left, but that is also hidden by the foliage.
Another angle
Closeup of the stem/side shoots between the old and new layers.
Taskenti
Forget to get some closeups this time. I'll get a few next time
Not much to report, but I topped all the remaining girls today. We just had a little rain which is nice, but could do with a bit more!
Here are some pics I took earlier on, before it rained.
Taskenti
You can see the layers better in these shots
Trainwreck#1
Trainwreck#2
14 lobes!
I've been thinking, that as they grow, I'll carry on piling soil on to a couple of them, and see how that affects them/yeild. The only problem is that most of the trench where the soil is dug/amended is already spoken for, so I would have to dig up and amend another trench, which is going to be difficult to do properly with the amount of time left. But I suppose its worth a go. At least it wouldn't have to be a very big trench.
I'll certainly cover all of the main stems that are showing right now once there is enough foliage off the ground.
Which plants should I pick though? Ideas, suggestions, and comments welcome!
There are also some small side shoots on what used to be the bottom of TW#2 which haven't taken off, so I'm thinking about snipping those off and covering over with soil in the next day or two.
Well, a little over a week anyway, and things are going good I think. Most of the week has been good sunshine, but the last few days have been a mixture of sunshine and showers.
At least some of the bins that I'm using to store water are full, with more rain on the way. With a hot summer forecasted, storing water has become a priority, and I've collected together almost 800L (about 200 gal) of storage capacity, including the two water butts themselves. I don't think even that will last 2 weeks if it gets really hot and doesn't rain
Thanks. Been neglecting this thread a bit, and updating the other thread I have going (just put it in my sig now!). I'll update with some pics here in a bit :wink:
Marijuana Botany (which I still have somewhere, but the author's name escapes me) which must be 30 years old now had this illustration
I just had to give it a try when I saw someone on another forum post a pic of a plant grown this way a year or two back. Simple and easy to do. I can't think of any drawbacks, and why more are not doing it this way I don't know!
Hopefully the technique will become a bit more widespread now :wink:
Anyway, here it is in action. Literally! Unfortunately the light was fading a bit and the wind blowing, so slightly fuzzy pics.
Trench 1
Blowfish
Trainwreck#1
Trench 2
Trainwreck#2
Back to her old self after the previous nights drama (see other thread in sig)
Taskenti
I managed to cut off the biggest side shoot in the above shot. The stem on that shoot is already about the thickness of a pencil. One of the shoots wilted, but apart from that she seems fine!