Indoor 60x60 cm: Solos, Sativas, Seedmaking

[parsing_trees]

I started this batch on Halloween, it's about 15 days from sprout. A few earlier or later, and there's one Ghost Toof tucked in the back that I started ~10 days after the others.

I'm growing in a 2x2x5'5" / 60x60x165 cm tent (Secret Jardin DR60) with two 60W 3500K autoCOBs, using 24/0 for warmth. Everything is in a solo cup. I cut drainage holes/vents in and near the bottoms, added a 1/2-3/4" layer of pre-soaked hydroton, then coco (reused and rebuffered, originally from a Canna Coco bag) with some perlite mixed in.

The cups are sitting in two trays (23.75" x 6" windowboxes), and while I top-water the seedling initially, once I see roots reach the bottom of the containers I switch to mainly bottom-feeding. I dump nutrient water in the trays each morning, they wick it up, the trays dry out before I water next time so no issues with root rot. Easy. I might top-water once every or every other week, just in case there's salt buildup. I'm using Dyna-Gro nutrients (currently Foliage-Pro, will switch to Bloom near the end of flowering stretch), and will use Pro-Tekt throughout the grow.

For this grow I wanted to do mostly sativa-leaning autos, including regs so I can make seeds on lower branches. I've used STS before, but I find growing enough regs to get a male or two a bit more convenient.

- Left: 3x Zamaldelica Express (Night Owl) regs with white markers, Auto Zamaldelica (Ace) with blue.
- Right, front to back: Hubbabubba Haze (Mephisto), Neville's Haze Ryder (World of Seeds), 2x Auto Power Plant (Dutch Passion).
- Not pictured: 2x Wild Thailand Ryder (World of Seeds) that germinated but didn't sprout, probably my fault. Bummer.
- Center: Ghost Toof F3 (Mephisto), still only a seedling, added somewhat impulsively after giving up on the WTRs.

This is probably going to get a bit tight! I've run 6 through to harvest in solos before, but depending on how many males I get there could be 7 or 8 this time.

Sprouting is the weakest link in my growing right now. Keeping the coco at the right moisture for seedlings can be a bit of a tightrope walk, sometimes during summer or winter I lose a few before they sprout. Before my next batch I'm going to experiment with using jiffy pellets and a heat mat rather than planting the germinated (soaked ~24h) seeds directly in the coco. In this case, I lost both of the WTRs (neither sprouted) and one HBH (trouble shedding the seed kept it from breaking ground in time).

The Zamaldelica Express in front is male, not sure about the other two yet. This is the soonest I've had a plant show sex, my previous record was a Blue Microverse on day 16, usually it's closer to day 20. In a couple days I'll set up a pollen isolation bin and move any males in there, but until then they can bottom-feed with the rest.

I'm seeing a few signs of deficiencies: the AZ and WTR look like they want more magnesium, the HBH more calcium. I'm still feeding pretty light, I will increase those soon so I'm not worried. One of the APPs has had some leaf discoloration from the start.

 

[parsing_trees]

Everything is working on their fifth node now (except the GT of course), so I will probably top them above the fourth in the next few days. Some of them I could do today, some will have a clearer shot at the stem below the fifth if I wait a day or two. That will probably be it for training, aside from supercropping to redirect individual branches.

ZE3 and APP2 have taproots reaching out of the cups at the bottom, everything else should have some roots down at the bottom by now too. I cut two rectangular vents (one visible on the GT in picture #1) on each, cutting two horizontal slits at the base, a couple mm apart, and then made small perpendicular cuts to pop out the plastic between them. Not big enough that the hydroton falls out (perlite would already be everywhere ), but that should allow plenty of flow in and out. There are also some holes poked through the bottom, so stagnant water shouldn't get trapped under the cups.

The GT is leaning a bit, so I added support (a loop of training wire, wrapped around the plant marker) and added more coco around the stem in the cup. I might add some more to the other cups when I take them out for topping.

 

[Olderfart]

I started this batch on Halloween, it's about 15 days from sprout. A few earlier or later, and there's one Ghost Toof tucked in the back that I started ~10 days after the others.

I'm growing in a 2x2x5'5" / 60x60x165 cm tent (Secret Jardin DR60) with two 60W 3500K autoCOBs, using 24/0 for warmth. Everything is in a solo cup. I cut drainage holes/vents in and near the bottoms, added a 1/2-3/4" layer of pre-soaked hydroton, then coco (reused and rebuffered, originally from a Canna Coco bag) with some perlite mixed in.

The cups are sitting in two trays (23.75" x 6" windowboxes), and while I top-water the seedling initially, once I see roots reach the bottom of the containers I switch to mainly bottom-feeding. I dump nutrient water in the trays each morning, they wick it up, the trays dry out before I water next time so no issues with root rot. Easy. I might top-water once every or every other week, just in case there's salt buildup. I'm using Dyna-Gro nutrients (currently Foliage-Pro, will switch to Bloom near the end of flowering stretch), and will use Pro-Tekt throughout the grow.

For this grow I wanted to do mostly sativa-leaning autos, including regs so I can make seeds on lower branches. I've used STS before, but I find growing enough regs to get a male or two a bit more convenient.

- Left: 3x Zamaldelica Express (Night Owl) regs with white markers, Auto Zamaldelica (Ace) with blue.
- Right, front to back: Hubbabubba Haze (Mephisto), Neville's Haze Ryder (World of Seeds), 2x Auto Power Plant (Dutch Passion).
- Not pictured: 2x Wild Thailand Ryder (World of Seeds) that germinated but didn't sprout, probably my fault. Bummer.
- Center: Ghost Toof F3 (Mephisto), still only a seedling, added somewhat impulsively after giving up on the WTRs.

View attachment 1388935

This is probably going to get a bit tight! I've run 6 through to harvest in solos before, but depending on how many males I get there could be 7 or 8 this time.

Sprouting is the weakest link in my growing right now. Keeping the coco at the right moisture for seedlings can be a bit of a tightrope walk, sometimes during summer or winter I lose a few before they sprout. Before my next batch I'm going to experiment with using jiffy pellets and a heat mat rather than planting the germinated (soaked ~24h) seeds directly in the coco. In this case, I lost both of the WTRs (neither sprouted) and one HBH (trouble shedding the seed kept it from breaking ground in time).

View attachment 1388936

The Zamaldelica Express in front is male, not sure about the other two yet. This is the soonest I've had a plant show sex, my previous record was a Blue Microverse on day 16, usually it's closer to day 20. In a couple days I'll set up a pollen isolation bin and move any males in there, but until then they can bottom-feed with the rest.

I'm seeing a few signs of deficiencies: the AZ and WTR look like they want more magnesium, the HBH more calcium. I'm still feeding pretty light, I will increase those soon so I'm not worried. One of the APPs has had some leaf discoloration from the start.

I've had good results with the standard Jiffy Pellets started on a thermostatically controlled heat mat. My best plants all used them initially, but I have not grown many any other way lately. I have only planted one seed direct, and it stunted badly for unknown reasons. I have been having issues with seeds of the strain involved, so the failure may have had nothing to do with the planting technique. On my first grow with them, I checked the root structure after I chopped the plants to see what effect the screen wrap on the plugs might have on root development. I found healthy roots penetrated the screen in all directions without any visible problem. As far as I could tell, the screen does not restrict root development at all. OTOH, scissoring the bottom off after expanding the plug is easy, and the rest of the screen holds things together fine, so doing this may help a bit.

Other growers go with Root Riot plugs or another competitor's brand whose name I can't recall, but I don't like the fact that they are sold moist, have limited shelf life, and have too many poor reviews regarding pests or being delivered dried out, crushed, or otherwise damaged. The Jiffy Pellets are easily available locally by the handful or bag full, and they don't go bad. I have heard others complain about them being too acid, but have never seen any sign of that when I used them.

Anyway, I would encourage you to give them a try, and set your heat pad to ~30C. Some strains are particularly fussy about temperature, my CBD strain that I am working with seems to be one. Good luck with it.

 

[parsing_trees]

I've had good results with the standard Jiffy Pellets started on a thermostatically controlled heat mat. My best plants all used them initially, but I have not grown many any other way lately. I have only planted one seed direct, and it stunted badly for unknown reasons. I have been having issues with seeds of the strain involved, so the failure may have had nothing to do with the planting technique. On my first grow with them, I checked the root structure after I chopped the plants to see what effect the screen wrap on the plugs might have on root development. I found healthy roots penetrated the screen in all directions without any visible problem. As far as I could tell, the screen does not restrict root development at all. OTOH, scissoring the bottom off after expanding the plug is easy, and the rest of the screen holds things together fine, so doing this may help a bit.

Checking the root structure afterward is a great idea, that's how I settled on my bottom-feeding approach. Good to know the screen isn't an issue, I wondered if I should cut a few slits in them to give the roots easier escapes, but I'm always happy to skip unnecessary preparation.

I have plenty of spare accidentally-mixed-up pollen chuck seeds to use for germination experiments, so I can iterate on approaches until I consistently sprout more than my current 90-95%.

 

[parsing_trees]

The Zamaldelica Express in the back (ZE2) has a few tiny stigmas forming, so now there's at least one male and female.

I just topped everything except the Ghost Toof (10 days behind), one of the Auto Power Plants (APP2), and ZE2. The latter two are still a bit tight between nodes 4 and 5, I might have a clearer shot if I wait until tomorrow for those.

I'm seeing roots at the bottom of the cups, a few reaching out and into the tray already. I will probably alternate top and bottom watering for a bit longer because they aren't drinking that much yet.

The Hubbabubbahaze is looking particularly nutrient hungry. Usually by this time I'm feeding more (~950 us/cm last time, currently only 690) so I have some catching up to do. I'll keep some of the current mix for the GT, then ease it into the same EC as the others.

 

[Olderfart]

Checking the root structure afterward is a great idea, that's how I settled on my bottom-feeding approach. Good to know the screen isn't an issue, I wondered if I should cut a few slits in them to give the roots easier escapes, but I'm always happy to skip unnecessary preparation.

I have plenty of spare accidentally-mixed-up pollen chuck seeds to use for germination experiments, so I can iterate on approaches until I consistently sprout more than my current 90-95%.

Testing with pollen chuck seeds is an excellent idea, in my opinion, almost the only use for them, but I am biased. One needs to be careful interpreting results of individual strains though. The Dinamed Auto Kush CBD seeds I made last run have been a bitch to get consistent results with. I still can't figure out what their bloody problem is, and I have been working at it. Not one other strain has given me this kind of grief.

As to the peat plug screens, I have found that cutting the entire bottom off them is really easy, and they still stay together just fine, so I do it whether or not it is needed. Just gently lift the bottom free of the peat, and scissor around the bottom corner, and job done. The key is to do it when you plant the seed in the plug, not after roots start emerging. Once the roots appear, IMO you had better leave well enough alone and get the plug planted asap.
Good luck with it.

 

[parsing_trees]

A lot of growth for just a couple days.

Many of the lower fan leaves started yellowing after the first post's picture, but I upped the nutrients and they're greening up again.

I've topped everything except the GT (probably another week for that) now. A camera in my tent takes a picture once an hour, in time-lapse I see that none of them seemed taken aback by it -- instead their side branches suddenly perked up and they started growing bushier.

They all have a bunch of roots weaving through the hydroton now, visible through the vents at the bottom of the cups. From here on I can just dump nutrient water in the tray when I feel like it, aiming for the trays to dry out once a day.

Even the Ghost Toof has roots peeking out, and it sprouted 10 days later than the others. The seedling needed a temporary support, but I can probably remove that soon.

I need to dig out my isolation bin and move the male Zamaldelica Express in front into it, it might start to drop pollen in 2-3 days. It showed sex really early, but the other clusters of pollen sacks are still forming, so I probably won't be collecting much pollen off it for a week or more.

 

[parsing_trees]

The tent is as tight as it gets now, because a couple days ago I added my isolation bin and pushed the two windowboxes together. When I'm done collecting pollen I'll remove the bin and spread them out again, and it's a little easier to train them around each other after the flowering stretch.

As of this morning, the Zamaldelica Express male has started releasing pollen. Just from the first couple pollen sacks on the stems, but there are larger clusters of pollen sacks forming. Next time I take the bin out to water the tray I'll put cupcake cups around the stems, underneath those. (Thanks to FullDuplex for that idea!) The third Zamaldelica Express has started growing stigmas, so I got two females and one male. Cool.

I moved the Ghost Toof to where the ZE was, but in a small bucket, so I can bottom-feed that one separately and ease it up to the same EC as the others. After increasing my nutrient EC they have all greened up again. There's some minor tip burn here and there, particularly on the Auto Zamaldelica. It's quite dry in the tent (around 30% RH at the canopy), so the plants are drinking up the water from the tray pretty quickly. From what I've read, I'm watering pretty similarly to how the autopot pump does -- whenever I notice the tray is dry, I dump in some more water, but only as much as the plants will be able to drink up within a day or less.

One of the two Auto Power Plants (right windowbox, second from the back) still has some leaf discoloration with curled up / damaged looking leaves. It's been that way since sprouting, it doesn't seem to be causing problems for the plant though. Since I have two APPs and the other is doing great, I might cull it later for space, particularly if I need to cull anything else. I have two female ZEs, but I'd rather keep and pollinate both to preserve a wider gene pool.

 

[parsing_trees]

Day 27. I rearranged the cups a bit, moving the Power Plant with malformed leaves in front to watch it better, and put the Hubbabubbahaze in the back so it could get more light despite being a little shorter. Here's the tent with the isolation bin pulled out.

I have the cupcake cups on the Zamaldelica Express male now. Some of those are sideways, because I just trained the branches down and to the side, but they will turn upward as the branches grow.

This morning I noticed that the male has a couple stigmas on it, though it definitely looks male to me overall. I'm not that surprised to see some intersex traits here; Zamaldelica Express is like three landraces in a trenchcoat (Zamal x (Malawi x Thai)), and Thai cannabis is particularly known for intersex traits. I'd be a lot more surprised if my Anvils had hermed. Still, I haven't seen males do this before (this is my fourth). Does this even have a common genetic basis with traits that cause intersex expression in females?

In DJ Short's Cultivating Exceptional Cannabis, he says that "backward hermaphrodites" (his words, meaning intersex males) are "genetically valuable", "almost guarantee against unwanted hermaphroditism" and increase the female-to-male ratio in the progeny (chapter 13), but he doesn't back that up with anything, and says plenty of other things that sound like speculation or intuition. In any case, it's my only male ZE, and it doesn't seem like a disastrous idea, so I still plan on collecting pollen, pollinating a lower branch or two on the others, and seeing how the seeds turn out later. If some of those show intersex traits in the females, I can be ruthless about selection once I have a lot more seeds.

It's easier to see the individual plants when the trays are apart. In a few weeks, when I'm done pollinating, the trays will have more space around them again.

The Zamaldelica Express that started pre-flowering first is growing a bunch of stigmas now (and has some tip burn), and the other female one and the Neville's Haze Ryder are close behind. The NHR has responded really well to topping, with several side braches becoming new tops. I topped the Ghost Toof today, it's 10 days behind the others but catching up quickly. I might do a time lapse video of the veg growth later on.

Here's the NHR, on its own outside the tent to show the structure:

The Hubbabubbahaze is currently shorter than the others. I wonder if it's related to being clearly more nutrient-hungry than the others before? My Hubbabubbasmelloscope before was one of the stretchiest I've grown.

 

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The male is dropping enough pollen now to collect and use it.

Everything except the GT is flowering (and stretching!), but only the two female ZEs have a decent amount of stigmas so far. I did a pass pollinating lower side branches on those, but I didn't take any pictures because I don't have several extra arms. I will probably try to take pictures of a later pass, once everything else is ready.