New Grower First Journal: This is how we grow Moonijuana

[TimeTraveler]

Yeah, I've tried to be careful with them: got a slightly larger gauge so they wouldn't cut into the stem, I pull the stem down first then gently loop the wire over it (so it won't bruise or be too tight against the stem), and I check them at least every other day, if not every day, to make sure the stem is loose under it. Basically, I got wires that are thick enough and sturdy enough that, once secured, they won't move; that way I can just have a nice, gentle loop that the stem is forced to stay under, rather than a wire lasso pulling it down. It's working well, but I'll keep an eye on them. If the stems grow around them it would cause some severe damage if I pulled the wire by accident during an inspection one day.

 

[elsamurai]

cool. I used a paper clip once and didn't keep an eye on it. grew right around it. looked like just a straight wire coming out of the stalk. didn't seem to hurt it too much, but I freaked out a little.....ok a lot LOL

 

[Wienerwoods]

looking good TT. I do think that the airpots are designed to dry out faster. you get more wet/dry cycles=good.keep an eye on those wires. they will grow around it and the wire will be inside the stem.

Some dude was just talking about squeezing the most out of plants in air-pots by watering as frequently as they allow which will supposedly give better yield. It was a really interesting theory and it sounded legit.

EDIT: Here it is
https://www.autoflower.org/f5/air-pot-question-41760-5.html#post804864

 

[Corgy]

Some dude was just talking about squeezing the most out of plants in air-pots by watering as frequently as they allow which will supposedly give better yield. It was a really interesting theory and it sounded legit.

Suppose the constant contact with water and what it contains could be one reason why hydro growers are often pleased with their results......

 

[TimeTraveler]

So, just a quick update this morning; the plants are doing amazing. The Sour Crack is stout and bushy, growing upwards slowly but definitely getting denser and greener. Found my first pistils today, so looks like I've got a girl; happy day! I'll still be checking for bananas to see if either hermie'd, but I think I'm in the clear. The Fantasmo is branching, growing, and stretching like made. That Sativa dominance is showing through with her incredible branch growth. I've got her trained as much as I can, but she's threatening to invade the Sour Crack's space if she keeps growing, as training her just makes her spread ACROSS the damn thing instead of upwards. I'm really glad I decided against trying to plant three in this run; I figured it might be too greedy, and it appears I was right! Here's a pic of the girls:

So, first off you'll probably notice what I'm hoping will be several colas on the Fantasmo Express: stalks that end in hairy, spiky-looking protrusions every which where. If I'm correct in that thinking, that could mean a fairly generous harvest off this plant. Now, I'm trying to avoid falling victim to New Grower Syndrome where you feel like your first plant will be the God-Plant to rule them all and will yield ounces if not pounds after chopping, but I'm cautiously hopeful for an ounce or two of dried weight from this and Sour Crack combined (I'd be STOKED if I got over an ounce on each, but I'm assuming that will be unlikely).

Note the nice, green leaves and healthy look: that's all organic, K.I.S.S. soil right there. I took pop22's advice about a simpler organic setup, and I've done nothing but water them since planting (with ONE exception where I mixed in some liquid kelp). They're doing AWESOME and haven't been fed yet, just water, myco, and biological inoculate. I may add some all-purpose organic ferts in the near future, but I want to avoid burning them now that they're doing so well. I guess it's off to read up on when plants look hungry, and go from there. It's getting exciting!

 

[TimeTraveler]

Today's update starts on a sadder note: the Fantasmo Express, like Icarus of old, flew to close to the BlackStar and has burned. I opened the case this morning to find, despite my furious training over the weekend, several branches (including the main stem) had literally grown until they were pressed against the LED and a circle of yellowed, crumbly burnt leave and pistils were left from the exposure.

I'm very concerned about what this will mean for the plant's eventual growth and harvest, but it's thriving otherwise. The Sour Crack has started to shoot upwards now, making the concern even worse. I'm counting the days and hoping I'm nearing the end of the vegetative phase, but no idea for certain. I trained the Sour Crack a bit to the side, but it was harder as I only have the main stem to really train and it's quite thick and I didn't want to break it. Here's some shots of the ladies, post training and watering this morning:

Here's a top down shot: as you can see, numerous side branches and potential future colas (if I'm not mistaken) on the F.E. give me hope that this morning's burning isn't the end of the world, but every gram lost is a tragedy in such a small grow. Here's a side shot to give some perspective:

This gives a much better view of the burnt leaves and tips; aside from that misfortune, they both seem quite healthy and strong. The leaves are good and evenly green, and plenty of them. Only time will tell how bad this was. Regardless, this just shows that I'll need to stick to my plan to do plugs in the soil instead of tiers: I just don't have the vertical space to handle it in this box. I'm glad I stuck with my original plan to use LEDs after seeing this; CFLs would have roasted the plants alive by now in such a tiny area.

 

[greenjeans]

That sucks. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Wienerwoods]

Doesn't look too bad to me! I didn't even know the Blackstar could burn plants like that...

Really nice growth so far!

 

[TimeTraveler]

They're growing, but I keep having some minor issues with discoloration. I'm assuming it's still light related, as both plants are now well into their rapid growth stage of vegetation. The small size of the box is definitely causing issues that tiered planting has only exacerbated. It seems no amount of training is enough, though it's definitely not as bad as it was over the weekend.

Here's today's shots. In both photos the Fantasmo Express is on the left, the Sour Crack on the right. First, a side view:

And next a top down view:

Right away I'm sure you'll notice the discolored leaves; I don't think it's a nutrition issue, since they only appear to be around the areas that were light burned; it looks like in some cases they've partially healed, while in others they are truly dead and starting to fall off.

The Sour Crack is, as expected, bushy and dense. She seems to be healthy and hearty, but I'm actually more worried about her now than the Fantasmo. As wildly as it's growing, it should be done stretching soon, and it's Sativa-like long branches are much easier to train. The Sour crack is dense and stout, and training her is a much greater challenge. If I can't reign her in, I'm afraid she'll simply grow right into the light and my only options will be to let her die or snap her stalks.

The Fantasmo appears to be responding to the training well; numerous potential cola sites springing up everywhere as a result. However, tragedy struck again today: the main cola branch somehow snapped ITSELF off. I trained it down two days ago and it was nice and level. Today I noticed it had curved sharply upwards against the training wire and somehow broke itself right off. The end of the branch had fallen into the soil, and a dried end is all that remains of the central stalk. The others are doing fine, or at least it seems so.

I've officially gone from excited to nervous. There's a solid week to week and a half of growing left before it hits flowering, and I'm already reaching the limits of what I feel I can train and do in this box. I"m not sure what else to do at this point but LST as best as I can and hope and pray they both survive and thrive enough to put out some decent buds in the flowering stage. Wish me luck, AFN.

 

[TimeTraveler]

No pics this update; not much has changed physically, though the bleaching seems to be spreading a bit. I'm not really sure what to do at this point, honestly; no matter how much I tie the plants down it doesn't seem to be enough. I'm hoping the plants themselves are healthy and strong enough to survive losing a few fan leaves here and there to this. Overall it's mostly green, and there's a lot of cola sites showing up, so I'm trying to stay optimistic that I'll still get a decent yield after this.

So, it's clear that for my next grow I'll definitely be doing a SCROG, probably with just one plant. The grow after that I might do two if doing it with one leaves enough room for that.

Next issue is buying some silica gel packs (or saving some from food) and using them to help preserve my seeds; I've got over a dozen left, and at one to two plants per grow that will keep me set up for a long while.