I wanted to get a grow journal going with this plant, but I didn’t get my act together and forgot to take any early pics.
Long time photo grower on my 5th auto cycle, only growing Mephisto so far. I did 2 rounds of Skywalker and 2 rounds of Double grape. With the second round of double grape I have things pretty well dialed in, and so far this SS x FS is doing extremely well. I found getting the optimal start a little more challenging with auto, partly because I was used to working mostly with clones in the past with photos. No adding an extra week or two of veg if things get a little off the rails with an auto.
I usually have 3-4 plants in 3 or 5 gallon pots in my 3 ft x 3 ft tents. I have a 10 gallon self watering planter I have been wanting to try out and the SS x FS should be a bigger plant so I though I would give it a try. It’s a similar design to the Earthbox.
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I am also trying out some new nutrients, using Growdots with Recharge, medium dose - 10 grams per gallon/100 grams total, adding recharge about once a week. Also supplementing with Canna Bio Rhizo and will add Canna Bio Boost once flowering starts.
Medium is Canna Coco 50% and Grow it! Coco Croutons 50%. In the past I used the expanded clay pellets with coco or peat, but I think the coco croutons are a big improvement. They are lighter and also hold a little bit of water while still keeping lots of air in the soil. It’s hard to say for sure but I feel like I am getting better root development than with the expanded clay pellets. Using this mix for my medium I find it’s basically impossible to over water even seedlings. Also added light doses of EWC, greensand and Mycos.
Light is Sun System 315 CMH with Philips 4200k bulb. I will switch to the 3100k after stretch is finished. I keep airflow high and place my light about 15 inches from the canopy. This gives me a PPFD of 750-850, and with 24 hours of light a DLI between 60-70. There have been no issues with light stress and overall growth has been impressive. I use to keep my lights a bit further away 18-24 inches, but after watching this video by Dr. Bruce Bugbee it made me rethink what I thought I knew about lights.
Soaked seed in a cup of RO water till I saw her crack open, about 36 hours then straight into the 10 gallon pot and sprouted within 24 hours. Plant took off fast and has never slowed down. Hand watered RO with 200ppm calmag and 10ml/gal Canna Bio Rhizo using recharge about once a week. Topped at day 15 above the 5th node. Placed plant on reservoir on day 20 and filled with RO with 200ppm calmag.
Here she is at day 22:
I would call it an almost perfect start! So far I am super happy with the grow dots. I plan on pulling it off the reservoir every couple weeks to check runoff PPM and PH so I can get a better feel for how the Growdots release their nutrients and effect the PH of the medium.
And here she just a few days later on day 25 after some light defoliation and LST:
Showing pre-flowers but still in veg, if I can get one more week before she flips, I think she will end up mostly filling the tent. If I can follow through on this post, maybe I’ll get a proper grow journal started for an upcoming cycle.
Happy Growing!
Long time photo grower on my 5th auto cycle, only growing Mephisto so far. I did 2 rounds of Skywalker and 2 rounds of Double grape. With the second round of double grape I have things pretty well dialed in, and so far this SS x FS is doing extremely well. I found getting the optimal start a little more challenging with auto, partly because I was used to working mostly with clones in the past with photos. No adding an extra week or two of veg if things get a little off the rails with an auto.
I usually have 3-4 plants in 3 or 5 gallon pots in my 3 ft x 3 ft tents. I have a 10 gallon self watering planter I have been wanting to try out and the SS x FS should be a bigger plant so I though I would give it a try. It’s a similar design to the Earthbox.
Gardener's Victory Self-Watering Patio Planter | Gardener's Supply
Although we designed it for tomato-growing success, we discovered our newest self-watering planter is actually awesome for flowers and trailing vines too.
I am also trying out some new nutrients, using Growdots with Recharge, medium dose - 10 grams per gallon/100 grams total, adding recharge about once a week. Also supplementing with Canna Bio Rhizo and will add Canna Bio Boost once flowering starts.
Medium is Canna Coco 50% and Grow it! Coco Croutons 50%. In the past I used the expanded clay pellets with coco or peat, but I think the coco croutons are a big improvement. They are lighter and also hold a little bit of water while still keeping lots of air in the soil. It’s hard to say for sure but I feel like I am getting better root development than with the expanded clay pellets. Using this mix for my medium I find it’s basically impossible to over water even seedlings. Also added light doses of EWC, greensand and Mycos.
Light is Sun System 315 CMH with Philips 4200k bulb. I will switch to the 3100k after stretch is finished. I keep airflow high and place my light about 15 inches from the canopy. This gives me a PPFD of 750-850, and with 24 hours of light a DLI between 60-70. There have been no issues with light stress and overall growth has been impressive. I use to keep my lights a bit further away 18-24 inches, but after watching this video by Dr. Bruce Bugbee it made me rethink what I thought I knew about lights.
Soaked seed in a cup of RO water till I saw her crack open, about 36 hours then straight into the 10 gallon pot and sprouted within 24 hours. Plant took off fast and has never slowed down. Hand watered RO with 200ppm calmag and 10ml/gal Canna Bio Rhizo using recharge about once a week. Topped at day 15 above the 5th node. Placed plant on reservoir on day 20 and filled with RO with 200ppm calmag.
Here she is at day 22:
I would call it an almost perfect start! So far I am super happy with the grow dots. I plan on pulling it off the reservoir every couple weeks to check runoff PPM and PH so I can get a better feel for how the Growdots release their nutrients and effect the PH of the medium.
And here she just a few days later on day 25 after some light defoliation and LST:
Showing pre-flowers but still in veg, if I can get one more week before she flips, I think she will end up mostly filling the tent. If I can follow through on this post, maybe I’ll get a proper grow journal started for an upcoming cycle.
Happy Growing!
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