1st Micro/Stealth Grow - Vanilla Kush & Lowryder #2

[Dragonfly2921]

like i said dont grow lowryders so couldnt tell you on height on t hem but they might work out for you if starting to flower now, i had grown poison dwarf from G13 and the grew about 6 inches when they where flowering

as for the kush, is it 30days since the seed went into the ground or 30 days since it has sprouted? trying to force flower it before its ready will just cause it to stretch even more (something you dont want) i would wait till it has alternating nodes and preflowers on the main stem before trying to flower, thatll help keep the plant more compact and will start to flower quicker with less stretching after the flip. to me it dont look ready.

I will take your advice and hold-off a few days on going to 12/12 with the Kush.

If my LR2 goes another 6 inches in flowering I'd be happy and have plenty of space. But right now she's so darn ugly and beat up from the soil PH problem, it seems, I am just trying to salvage what I can out of her. I'm pretty sure I have a major lock out going on at the moment. And I'm pretty sure it'll take another 2 weeks for the lime to really raise that PH and a couple of waterings/feedings...and by then I'll only have maybe 2-3 weeks left til harvest.

I was given bad/conflicting advice about PH levels, that's for sure.

My soil is completely acidic at 5.5 right now and has been for the last 2 weeks at least - thankfully the VK has not reacted as badly to it as the LR2, which again looks like crap right now. Frustrating. I have to believe this is my problem.

 

[PuffinNugs]

I like soil Ph around 6.5. Nothing over 7 or under 6

 

[Dragonfly2921]

That's what I'm shooting for...thanks much for the help/mentoring, again.

Have already noticed some improvement since this AM in the color of the leaves (healthier green, better texture in some, haven't seen that since it started frankly) but the damage is fairly extensive and my soil is smelly and water-logged. Gave her a light flush tonight to get the lime going and need that stuff to dry out thoroughly, trying to avoid a transplant later this week.

Operation save my baby continues...

 

[Dragonfly2921]

Eh, so much for that. The Lowryder #2 looks like it's on the brink of death, deformed/underformed leaves with bright-green edges, darkly colored fan leaves, hasn't grown much in a few days now, new flowers are bright green, but stunted and shriveled-looking.

I put her in a new, slightly bigger pot, on top of some perlite, got rid of as much of the old soil as I could, kept what the roots were clinging to. They looked like they had balled-up some where the drainage holes were on the bottom of pot, but, I didn't see any glaring problems with them, nor did I smell any rot etc..., but they were pretty stringy and not overly abundant.

I think it was a bad mixing job by me with the soil (not enough perlite for one) and I probably over-watered/fed her and of course the acidic PH.

If anyone is even reading all of this crap, I put some Happy Frog around her root base/old FFOF soil, with more perlite and about 1.5 tbsp's of dolomite lime (Epsoma) then spray watered the top of the soil some to get the Happy Frog ferts working a bit.

If she doesn't noticeably improve or show signs of coming around or growing in the next 3-5 days, may ditch her and concentrate on my VK and new NL auto fem.

The VK is looking pretty healthy and bushy, minimal damage to her leaves - want to keep it that way now. I'm concerned about her small pot and really am testing my patience to start flowering her, as I approach 30 days of veg.

 

[Dragonfly2921]

Sooo, after all this time I realize I should have never been using PH Up/Down liquid solutions and preferably an organic-based soil (like Happy Frog) with the GO Organic Nute Box line.

My PUR tap water has a 6.8 PH after sitting out for the day and adding some Chlorine remover - but am now wondering if the damn Chlora-X is harming things as well, no answers there, but that shouldn't affect PH or make it acidic?

Any ways, on the right track I think, time for patience, let 'em dry out completely, hope the lime works, maybe get some Earth Juice PH Up tomorrow, and feed normally, without the PH solution/adjustment to the water, later this week.

 

[Dragonfly2921]

Here is the Vanilla Kush, bushy as hell. I have 2700k flowering lights (3) on her now, temps are up there with the 3 23w bulbs (5800 lumens for one plant).

I am planning on starting 12/12 tonight at midnight on her, she is just getting too big already, and I'll keep the lights fairly close, plus we'll be at 30 days from seed tonight at midnight.

Any objections/words of advice about doing that? She has a looong flowering period of 9-10 weeks. I am going to do auto's from here on out.

Think I have the nute/ph thing down now, surprised the VK has survived my ignorance, and this small pot and this crappy soil mix so far, hope she makes it. Fed her early this AM on her first bloom/flowering schedule to get it going, with "proper" non-PH'd adjusted water this time.

 

[Dragonfly2921]

Final update for a few days...barring new developments...the Nirvana Northern Lights Auto Fem popped-up this morning, after planting in the pot (not germinated) on Monday afternoon (not even 2 days) in the Happy Frog soil with some extra lime and lots of perlite in a smart pot.

The Lowryder #2 horror is also below. I fed her this morning (bloom/bud feed) with the GO's organic nutes I've been using, as I hadn't since transplanting, and felt she needed a boost to get right with the new Happy Frog soil/lime added. As you can see, under/ill-formed leaves, discoloring, and the flowers/bud sites look dried-up a bit. It's a train wreck right now. Upsetting and I've lost some sleep over it. (was counting on having some nice kind to smoke in early April, I have NONE now and won't!)

The reason I want to try and save her is, one, to see if I can do it, and two, there must be at least 8-10 bud/flowering sites (can't see them all here) all over this thing, the GO's nutes really do wonders if applied correctly I imagine. Crossing my fingers there's enough time for her to recover, only have about 4-5 weeks left on her. I have 3 flowering 2700k CFL's on her now also, and fans blowing directly on her (hot temps in low 80's usually, and the RH is too low for my tastes - 27-35% normally). I have to learn how to grow in those conditions. I have no other choice.

 

[Dragonfly2921]

Right now, the Vanilla Kush is my pride and joy, I hope she makes it and fits inside this 2ft. case - about 9 weeks left of flowering (lol) to go - going on her 3rd day of FL at midnight tonight.

These are supposed to be "short" plants - but I need her to come-in around 20" tops (typically 21-24") to make it - I am not LSt'ing in this little pot. The CFL's have kept her short and bushy - the General Organics nutes have been incredible considering this crappy soil mix job I did.

Can't wait to see/smell her buds in a few weeks hopefully.

 

[Roddy]

Just jumped in and wanted to mention about the 2 plants/one pot deal...this might hurt you more than help. I understand you're looking to keep the gals short as to height limitations, but this likely will only rob one of the gals of root room while making both gals fight for room, meaning both will suffer.

Vanilla kush was a good grow! Watch her for stretch and lankiness, I think most kush pants like to stretch a bit, as has been my experience so far!

 

[Dragonfly2921]

Just jumped in and wanted to mention about the 2 plants/one pot deal...this might hurt you more than help. I understand you're looking to keep the gals short as to height limitations, but this likely will only rob one of the gals of root room while making both gals fight for room, meaning both will suffer.

Vanilla kush was a good grow! Watch her for stretch and lankiness, I think most kush pants like to stretch a bit, as has been my experience so far!

Hey Roddy - haha - thanks for the comment - yes she stretched quite a bit for what was "supposed" to be a short plant - that I had to kill her off - sucked. That was actually one plant with two big nodes - I could've managed the height but couldn't deal with the 60+ day flowering period and smell here - live and learn.

 

[Dragonfly2921]

Long time since I revisited this thread, but the Lowryder 2 is about 2 weeks from harvest I think - I had all kinds of ph issues as mentioned above - learned from it - but she's hitting the home stretch now and if I get a half oz or less, that's fine. Only 9" tall, lots of thick buds all over, but, nothing impressive - it's my first grow under difficult conditions, should be successful.

So, here's the update, will check in after harvest early April - can't wait.

Oh yeah I upgraded to a UFO Blackstar 100W 6-band LED and have a veg box and flowering box (PC Case) now - which has really helped with the flowering. She is ugly. I have 2 Cream caramel's that just sprouted in my 2 ft veg box, will see how I do with those the next 60-65 days.

 

[Dragonfly2921]

Gettin' fat - maybe a week or so away from harvest.

Looks like i'll be your first PC grow to finish Puffin'. It can be done!