New Grower Candy Cane Auto - Mega Crop - Promix HP

[BCBUDY]

Looks great! I had a couple on my last grow that had the bottom shoots taller than the top of the plant after LST.
Im starting next week an OF and MC grow. Cant wait to see how the MC works. I'm just going to follow their directions and see how it goes.

I'm really liking how things are going so far. MC's been so trouble free and easy to use, the plants have been doing awesome, however at the start of pre-flower, they started to run into a bit of a cal/mag issue.

I tried raising the MC dose to counter the cal/mag, but nitrogen toxicity started to show and leaf tips got burnt, so I had to back off on the MC and instead supplement with a bottle of cal/mag I had laying around. Since adding the extra cal/mag, there hasn't been any more cal/mag issues and things are moving along nicely...so far.

I am however a little curious to see what the resin production's going to look like. I have a feeling adding the same brands bloom nutes would make a nice difference, but I just really want to see what a simple and straight forward grow with just MC would look like.

I guess we'll see, lol.

 

[Deke]

I think others have mentioned that they'd maybe keep some calmag on hand just in case an issue like the one you encountered pops up. From reading about calmag issues, it seems that LED's tend to cause more issues with that, and I'm guessing some strains are more susceptible to calmag issues as well. I'm really excited to do a Mega Crop grow starting next week. Especially after this last grow and having all my nutes in the water only soil get used up around week 5, and I wasn't prepared for it. That cost me yield for sure. I learned from it though, one important thing...they need N throughout the whole grow. The myth that only "bloom " nutes should be used is just that, a myth. The MC should take care of both issues for me this time, fingers crossed, lol.

 

[BCBUDY]

Day 52:

Yet again slow on the updates due to work but I'm determined to finish out this journal for my own notes and also to hopefully help others.

So since my last update, where I had fed at 850PPM, I did start to notice the nitrogen clawing increasing and leaves getting a bit too green, so I wanted to pull back a bit on the Mega Crop but wanted to wait and see if everything straightened itself out. It didn't. Started seeing some leaf tip burn, so I pulled back again to 750 PPM for a little over a week, then upped it to 800PPM, the plants were ready for that dose by then and the leaf tip burning had stopped, same with the nitrogen clawing. This told me I was at the sweet spot for Mega Crop for this grow at that particular time.

However, around that time, I noticed a cal/mag issue starting to get a little worse. I thought maybe it's time to raise the Mega Crop does again, so I did, up to 850PPM again and got leaf tip burn and nitrogen clawing... again.

This told me that while I was at the right PPM dose for MC, either my LED light was burning the plant through it's cal/mag or this particular strain just needed a bit more supplemented.

So... I decided to pull back on the MC to 750 this time and introduce some cal/mag from a bottle I've had lying around. I started small and noticed the issue subsiding a bit but then it hit me...should I be mixing in the cal/mag before or after mixing in my base nutes (Mega Crop) I did a bit of searching...I'm good at searching, obsessive almost..scratch that....I am obsessive in my research...it's part of my actual job.

Apparently, and I can't remember the exact scientific reason, but it has something to do with molecular bonding or some shit, the cal/mag is SUPPOSED to be added before the base nutes otherwise the reaction of adding it after doesn't let the molecules attach or bond which causes the cal/mag to evaporate or something like that. It'll still have an effect, but not nearly as potent and you have to use your solution before all the cal/mag disappears or whatever.

Anyways, I wanted to get Greenleaf's take on it.

This is where it gets fun (sarcasm)

So I reached out to Greenleaf Nutrients on facebook. Asked if, with Mega Crop, it's best to mix cal/mag before or after mixing in Mega Crop. Here's how the conversation went:

ME: "Hey there! So I've been really enjoying using Mega Crop, I've never had a better grow, sincerely. But I had one quick question because I'm a total noob. If my plants need a little extra CalMag, should I mix in the CalMag before or after mixing in the Mega Crop?"

Greenleaf: "I would just raise the Mega Crop dosage"

ME: "raising the MC dosage gave a tiny bit of nitrogen toxicity and burnt tips, so I need to dial back on the MC and supplement with a bit of CalMag"

Greenleaf: "OK, do you have any pictures you sound send showing your problem?"

ME: "sent pictures"

ME: "So should I mix in the CalMag before or after mixing Mega Crop?"

Greenleaf: "hi, that does look like possible Calmag issue, or also possibly P. You could add extra Mega Crop (that would help with P also), or you could also add in some extra Calmag as well. Either or both should help"

ME: "Great thanks for the tips, much appreciated, but I was still hoping you could tell me if you recommend mixing in the CalMag before or after mixing in the Mega Crop to the water"

Greenleaf: "doesn't matter"

End of conversation.

Now, I am absolutely loving using Mega Crop. It's been fantastic and easy to dial in while providing explosive, trouble free growth...however

I'm a bit taken back by this level of customer service over such an extremely simple request. "Do I mix in the cal/mag before or after mixing in Mega Crop"

A simple before, after or even the SUPER helpful "doesn't matter" response would've sufficed. Instead, I had to repeat myself twice, explaining that raising the Mega Crop is burning leaf tips and causing nitrogen toxicity as well as repeat my question 3 times before getting a 2 word response.

And for the record, according to what seemed like scientists or biologists answering this question on multiple forums, it DOES matter and the definitive answer is, before the base nutes.

Maybe it doesn't matter as much as the science nerds said it does, but I like science and facts, and even if it only makes a tiny bit of difference, I like to go by the book...the book of science.

Now that said, this isn't the first time I've questioned their customer service abilities. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that they even replied same day, most companies wouldn't, but in the past, while iquireing about re-stocking here in Canada, it was one delay and excuse after the other.

Regardless, they always replied and always provided. At the end of the day, I still have a product I'm just over the moon happy with, but I mean, come on, anyone would've been frustrated with that type of a customer service experience, especially one that could've been so simple, lol.


AAAANYWAYS, after mixing in the cal/mag before the MC and 2 more feedings, the cal/mag issue completely stopped.

Since then, due to the health and stage of the plants, I have continued the MC does at 750PPM with 125PPM of cal/mag. I did get a bit of tip burn, but the plants quickly adjusted, I'm thinking due to timing of full on flowering stage, the plants were right around the corner of needing this much. I've also stopped adjusting the PH.

The reason I've done this is because cal/mag is BEST absorbed at around 6.3 to 6.5 PH and with my city water, after mixing in the MC, the solution is brought down to 6.3. So I figured I'd let it go for a bit and see what happens.

What's happened is no more tip burn, no more cal/mag issues, no more nitrogen toxicity. In fact I''m tempted to stop giving them extra cal/mag and just leave the PH at 6.3 but I'm afraid of experimenting this late in the game. I don't wan't to bolster growth and flower production. Everything is smooth sailing right now and I don't wanna rock the boat.

Anyways, looks like at this stage, mid-flower, for Candy Cane Auto, 850-875PPM is the max. At least for me in this grow.

Over the past couple weeks I've kept up with the low stress training by holding down branches, but at this point, the plants have taken their shape and not much maintenance has been needed.

I did end up doing what some might consider heavy defoliation. I didn't go nearly as hard as I've gone on past grows, but it needed to be done due to humidity concerns....and then I remembered I had another ventilation flap on the tent I could've opened and tried first but by that point it was too late. Either way, I opened the flap, the plants of been pruned and defoliated and the humidity has gone down to exactly where I want it - 50%

I'm feeding/watering every 2 days, when the pots get dry but not light as a feather dry. I've noticed there's dry, where the soil is the light brown colour and the pot is light weight, but then there's next level, light as a feather dry. I've only let them get there once, since then I check twice a day.

The LST was the key here though, both for creating more colas but also for height management. I'm going to have several large colas. The node structure is just tight enough that many of these colas should be as long as my forearm, hopefully they get as thick too!

The smell is sweet, very, very sweet. I don't know about "candy cane" but I sure can smell the candy! My god is it sweet smelling.

The plant on the right is still doing better than the one on the left but oddly enough, while the one on the right is already showing signs and promise of heavy resin production, the plant on the left is barely showing any resin production but on the other hand is already producing larger buds than the one on the right!

Weird genetics obviously, but either way, it'll be good.

Anyways, looks like I won't be testing the smoke before Christmas, which is what I was going for, but I guess I fucked up the timing. At least I'll get to start off the new year with some quality cannabis!

Anyways that's it for this update. It'll probably be another 2 weeks until I update again. I have a ton of video production planning work to do, which is beyond time consuming and at times..... nose bleed inducing frustrating. So I'll try my best to check in and reply to comments and or questions if there are any.

Thanks for stopping by!

Here's some nice update pics, enjoy!

This is the plant on the left with minimal resin production

The is the plant on the right with much higher resin production

 

[Kyote]

Glad I found this thread. Just went and got 500g sample of Mega Crop ordered. Will give it a try next grow. This indoor stuff is new to me and its a struggle compared to outdoor. Your gurls look great and and thanks for the thoroughness of your journal. i got the free sample here https://greenleafnutrients.com/

 

[BCBUDY]

Day 77:

Right, Christmas day! Merry whatever floats your boat, everyone!

So quite a bit has happened since last update.

I ran into an over feeding issue. I haven't been testing my run-off PPM this entire time, nor have I been watering till run-off.

The consequence of this was that there was a massive buildup of...salts, I guess? I reason why I'm unsure is because Mega Crop isn't a liquid chemical fert. And since Mega Crop claims itself as "vegan", in my head I thought maybe treat it the same as organic, where you don't need to water till run off otherwise you're flushing out all the good stuff.

Anyways, maybe I still don't need to water till run off every time, just once and A while to check on the PPMs, but recently I've been checking quite often after doing a massive flush and correcting the over-feed. PPMs are where I want them and I'm already start to taper off the feed amount because the plants are so close to harvest.

I'm at about 500PPM of Mega Crop now. I've stopped PHing the solution several weeks ago because once Mega Crop is added to my city water, it seems to drop the PH and stabilize it at 6.1 - 6.3.

Anyways, due to the over feed issue, many of the leaves went yellow and some turned purple after the massive flush. Bud production slowed down during that period and so did resin production. Several days after "the great flushing" the bud production picked back up again and so has the resin production.

I would say that I fucked myself for at least 25% bud production. I can see where some of the colas volume is missing on what would've been MASSIVE colas. So I'm pretty upset about that.

All that being said, I'm still confident I'm going to make out like a bandit on both quality and weight. The smell is so extremely sweet and strong, gives me goose bumps every time I open the tent. Clearly need a new carbon filter.

I've learned a ton this grow on how to use Mega Crop with ProMix HP. I'm positive my next grow, with the same train is going to be so much better now that I have a much better idea of what I'm doing.

All I'm doing these days is just watering with Mega Crop at a declining rate and checking trichs daily with intense impatience. Still not sure If I want to do a "final flush" or just feed until harvest. Any thoughts?

Anyways, here's some pictures on how they're doing. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[St. Tom]

Day 77:

Right, Christmas day! Merry whatever floats your boat, everyone!

So quite a bit has happened since last update.

I ran into an over feeding issue. I haven't been testing my run-off PPM this entire time, nor have I been watering till run-off.

The consequence of this was that there was a massive buildup of...salts, I guess? I reason why I'm unsure is because Mega Crop isn't a liquid chemical fert. And since Mega Crop claims itself as "vegan", in my head I thought maybe treat it the same as organic, where you don't need to water till run off otherwise you're flushing out all the good stuff.

Anyways, maybe I still don't need to water till run off every time, just once and A while to check on the PPMs, but recently I've been checking quite often after doing a massive flush and correcting the over-feed. PPMs are where I want them and I'm already start to taper off the feed amount because the plants are so close to harvest.

I'm at about 500PPM of Mega Crop now. I've stopped PHing the solution several weeks ago because once Mega Crop is added to my city water, it seems to drop the PH and stabilize it at 6.1 - 6.3.

Anyways, due to the over feed issue, many of the leaves went yellow and some turned purple after the massive flush. Bud production slowed down during that period and so did resin production. Several days after "the great flushing" the bud production picked back up again and so has the resin production.

I would say that I fucked myself for at least 25% bud production. I can see where some of the colas volume is missing on what would've been MASSIVE colas. So I'm pretty upset about that.

All that being said, I'm still confident I'm going to make out like a bandit on both quality and weight. The smell is so extremely sweet and strong, gives me goose bumps every time I open the tent. Clearly need a new carbon filter.

I've learned a ton this grow on how to use Mega Crop with ProMix HP. I'm positive my next grow, with the same train is going to be so much better now that I have a much better idea of what I'm doing.

All I'm doing these days is just watering with Mega Crop at a declining rate and checking trichs daily with intense impatience. Still not sure If I want to do a "final flush" or just feed until harvest. Any thoughts?

Anyways, here's some pictures on how they're doing. Thanks for stopping by!


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hi grow bro you have smashed it out of the park don't be so critical of your self if i had grown them plants i would be buzzing plus there not far off cooked by the looks of them and sometimes i flush other times i just lower my dose and ec gradually till im ready to chop as i feel if you properly cure it doesn't make much difference taste or smoke wise anyhow enjoy your harvest and have a great Xmas

 

[Kyote]

Ya looking good looking good.

I don't know if there is such a thing as the perfect grow, indoors or out. We do the best we can with what we have and the knowledge to apply it. And shit still happens. I know this first indoor grow for me has been a huge learning curve. My three gurls are pitiful yet they have taught me a lot about lighting, nutes, watering, RH, temperature, etc. So I thank them for teaching me and showing me what I need to learn and pay attention to.

What I like about good grow journals is the mistakes are documented and the corrective measures are also documented for anyone to use. That helps others on there growing journey. So you have contributed to that knowledge base.

Your girls have taught you a few things and will also reward you nicely for months to come. And beautiful colors coming out on the one on the right. Again, good 1 and happy growing to ya.

 

[BCBUDY]

Day 89:

Well, we're now at 12 weeks from seed, getting SUPER close to harvest day and I need some advice.

The leaves on the top half of the plants are starting to dry up and die off. I'll be posting pictures in this post, I've removed that vast majority of dried up/dead leaves from the top half of both plants.

The colas have been growing new foxtails at a rate of what feels like daily, so some of the colas look kinda mutated.

I've been checking the trichomes probably 2 to 3 times a day...getting impatient and paranoid that I'll let em go for too long.

That being said, I use one of those handy 60x pocket micro scopes with built in LED lights. Here's where I need help...

I don't know what the hell's going on because I'll check the trichs on the central branches (in the middle of the plant) as well as the top colas (is it cola or kola?) and on some of the central branches I'm seeing buds with like 90-95% milky trichomes and on the colas I'm seeing like a 50/50% clear to milky with a few amber scattered here and there.

The plants "look" ready to me with 98% of the hairs orange and receded, with the only white hairs coming from the new foxtails (fox-tails?)

I usually check the trichs when the grow light is on but thought the light be messing with my trichome inspection, so I checked this morning before the light came on and saw mixed results again.

I went over to growdiaries.com and referenced completed diaries with the same strain and noticed the vast majority of them were harvested at around 10 - 12 weeks with trichomes having already turned all milky or milky and amber.

So based on the average maturation rate from other Candy Cane auto growers, I'm at the harvest point, but examining the trichomes, it looks like I;m at least another week or two off, maybe more.

Reason I say maybe more is, the fucking trichomes have been at this exact same stage of clear to milky for the last 2 weeks...at least. They don't seem to be changing anymore.

So I'm wondering if I should just chop em now or continue to wait. Like maybe the LED lights on the pocket microscope is messing with the how I'm perceiving the trichome colouring? What if they never fully go all milky and I'm just wasting time while the THC is degrading?

Just feeling like at this rate, I'll have the longest going Candy Cane auto grow recorded.

Any opinions or advice?

Here's some pictures:

 

[Machamillion]

I would harvest if me. It looks great. enjoy.

 

[BCBUDY]

I would harvest if me. It looks great. enjoy.

Mach! Thanks for weighing in.

So the bud lover in me likes your opinion, the grower in me is wondering "should I cut because it looks ready on the surface or hold off because there's still plenty of clear trichs?" lol