2nd Grow/LST experiment/Strawberry Cough.SOMA Lavender.Burmese.Kushage

[erockebomb]

So here goes with my second grow, my first grow I used MG on half the plants and it was really more of a learning experience more than anything. (Altho I ended up with 5 zips and the quality was actually pretty good.) I still have a lot to learn and hopefully by posting this journal and the discussion that ensues we can all learn a thing or two.....

So a quick description of the setup:

3'x4'x5' Closet (I put in a piece of plywood at about 5' high in order to use the top for a veg/clone room in the future)

400w HPS

I cut a 5" hole in the wall for the intake duct and fan about 8" from the floor and I did the same for the exhaust duct about 8" from the ceiling.

For circulation I'm just using a random 10" fan (I did just order a 12" oscillating wall-mount fan that should be here in a week or so)

First Pic is the exhaust fan setup and the 2nd is just a pic of the room empty

[erockebomb]

Now let's get to the good stuff...for this grow I started with 3 clones each of 4 different strains, Strawberry Cough, Burmese, SOMA Lavender and Kushage on May 8. I have seen some amazing pics'posts using LST so I figured I would experiment w/ LST using 1 plant from each strain. I Started training some of the clones on the 12th when they were about 6" tall. I used tinsnips to cut about 6" of metal wire in the shape of a U off the ends of metal hangers, they are perfect for pinning down the plants.

Check out the bend on pic #4 don't be afraid to bend these guys, they can handle it.I'll show you what happens when you bend it too far in later pics.

[erockebomb]

These next pics were taken on 5/19 and we are starting to see some action on the 4 LST trials.....

Thefirst pic is the Burmese which was taller than the rest so I got a little bit more aggressive with the training and decided to try and train her as far around the rim of the pot as possible before I switched everything to 12/12 on the 20th. At this point i haven't added any ferts just a little bit of fresh soil(Fox Farms Ocean Harvest) every now and then.

[erockebomb]

I still have plenty more pics (including some of the rest of the crop) that I will try to get up tomorrow, since we are about 2 weeks into flowering now and starting to see some bud development. Nothing better than when you first start seeing those buds develop, well at least not until you get to see those same buds fully developed and ready to cut

[erockebomb]

Alright this next batch of pics were taken a week later on 5/25, 3 days into 12/12. You can definitely see the how the LST has created alot more grow sites than on my plants that are just growing regularly. Hopefully this translates into more yield than just focusing all that energy on one main cola. Especially that burmese(pic#1), she is getting out of control I am really curious to see how she turns out. She has a ton of growing tips but they are all pretty small and flimsy. Also you can tell by that last pic that some of the more sativa dominant strains are really outgrowing the others (esp the ones I played around w/LST on) and it makes it a pain in the ass to try and keep the light even for everybody.

Next grow I'm thinkin SCROG people are claiming 2oz/ sq ft!!! Now that is some yield!!

I've also started feeding these guys some FF Tiger Bloom about 2x week. I started out at 1/2 tsp /gallon strength and am working my way up to full strength. Anyone have any ideas on how often these girls should be fed? Some places say every other watering and some say 1x week. I water every other day or so.

Also I've noticed that with the FF Ocean harvest it seems to take ALOT of water until I see it start draining out the bottom. Is this normal? Should I be watering until it drains out everytime? Any feedback would be much appreciated....

....next post Flower pics.....

[DenialTwist]

Hey man nice grow.

Yeah I swear by LST. I started mine from day one and have them nearly parallel to the ground. I would recommend getting some wire mesh to keep on top of the pots once the plants have grown as it will allow you to space everything out nicely and maxmise the light each cola gets.

Also...be prepared for some funny looking leaves

Some will end up upside down because of all the LST. I had one lower leaf that started on one side of the pot and ended up on the other side after a few months of training.

My advice would be to really work at the LST, every couple of days check them. Train them a day after watering as well cause that's when they will be at their bendiest state.

Your LST'd plant won't be as tall as the others in your garden so you will have to raise the pot consistently for them to get their best light. Train them all, no point experimenting...LST RULES!!!

[CaliCoast]

Hey bro looking nice! Yeah I use FFOF and I love it but I've ran across minor drainage issues in the past. Nothing a little extra perlite can't fix though. I've even heard of people adding about 10% coco coir to the mix for aeration, haven't tried coco though. But looking good man, keep it up. ONe last thing man, I got my last cuts from Grass Roots. THey still open or did they get shut down? Anyways thanks man and keep up the nice work.

[erockebomb]

Thanks Twist and Cali for the comments! LST is dope, I just wish I would have given it a real legitimate try. Instead of half-assin it like I did this grow. The other plants were getting too tall and I had switch to 12/12 before the 4 LST girls had a chance to really get going. Even though I didn't give them as much time as I would have liked they definely are going to produce more colas. The burmese is growing all kinds of crazy tips. I'll try to post a side shot of her later...along with some flowering shots of the rest of my girls.

twist- I tooka peek at your grow -looks REAL nice, cant wait to read through it later

cali- Good call on the perlite for the FFOF such a simple fix but the thought never crossed my mind! Yep Grass Roots was still there last time I was in that neck o the woods. I used to live about 5 blocks from there.

[erockebomb]

Here is a quick group shot 2 weeks into 12/12... It's getting crowded in there. I've been plucking bottom leaves to keep it open down there for circulation. My first grow started getting powdery mildew towards the end and I am doing my best to avoid that this time. Anyone have any idea what causes powdery mildew?

[CaliCoast]

It's a jungle in there, nice. And thanks for the info on GR, thinking of making a trip over there.

So you had some mildew issues before, did the humidity get a little high? Seems like you doing the right thing and getting more circulation in there. Before I noticed my flowering room's humidity creeping up too high at night due to the fans being off and whatnot. So I programmed one of my timers to cycle my fan on and off throughout the night. I don't know, just a suggestion.

[DenialTwist]

Originally Posted by erockebomb

Thanks Twist and Cali for the comments! LST is dope, I just wish I would have given it a real legitimate try. Instead of half-assin it like I did this grow. The other plants were getting too tall and I had switch to 12/12 before the 4 LST girls had a chance to really get going. Even though I didn't give them as much time as I would have liked they definely are going to produce more colas. The burmese is growing all kinds of crazy tips. I'll try to post a side shot of her later...along with some flowering shots of the rest of my girls.

twist- I tooka peek at your grow -looks REAL nice, cant wait to read through it later

The difference lst makes is quite remarkable. Don't worry about the half-assin it, it's all part of the experience.

I accidentaly snapped the main stem while I was training them. Really pissed me off as well, but then I saw the growth that came from the scar and realised that what I had accidentaly done was super-cropped it. The growth that came from the snapped stem was unbelievable. By the time I realised though my girls were well into flowering.

Basically pinch the stem with your fingers...you will feel a squishy sound...then twist it. Practice it on one of your lower leaves first (not the stem!) first to get a feel for it. Top technique IMO and very easy as well.

You may want to try that to lower the height of your main plant while your lst plants benefit from some more vegging time.

MJ is a bad girl, she likes being pinched and roughed up. Actually the more you rough her up the more she seems to enjoy it.

[erockebomb]

Originally Posted by CaliCoast

It's a jungle in there, nice. And thanks for the info on GR, thinking of making a trip over there.

So you had some mildew issues before, did the humidity get a little high? Seems like you doing the right thing and getting more circulation in there. Before I noticed my flowering room's humidity creeping up too high at night due to the fans being off and whatnot. So I programmed one of my timers to cycle my fan on and off throughout the night. I don't know, just a suggestion.

Yep it's pretty crowded but there is a decent amount of room and airflow especially once that new oscillating fan gets delivered and mounted on the wall. So why do yo turn your fans off at night? Is there a reason or are you just keeping the noise down? I've been leaving mine on 24/7. It kinda pisses my roommate off at night because the intake fan is in his closet

[erockebomb]

Originally Posted by DenialTwist

The difference lst makes is quite remarkable. Don't worry about the half-assin it, it's all part of the experience.

I accidentaly snapped the main stem while I was training them. Really pissed me off as well, but then I saw the growth that came from the scar and realised that what I had accidentaly done was super-cropped it. The growth that came from the snapped stem was unbelievable. By the time I realised though my girls were well into flowering.

Basically pinch the stem with your fingers...you will feel a squishy sound...then twist it. Practice it on one of your lower leaves first (not the stem!) first to get a feel for it. Top technique IMO and very easy as well.

You may want to try that to lower the height of your main plant while your lst plants benefit from some more vegging time.

MJ is a bad girl, she likes being pinched and roughed up. Actually the more you rough her up the more she seems to enjoy it.

Funny that you mention that Twist...I just in there trying to figure out what to do about 3 of my girls(2 Kushage and 1 Burmese) that are WAAAAAAAAAAyYYYY taller than the rest of the crew and are making the light situation difficult. I was bending the tops down to see if that would work since I am 2.5 weeks into flowering now and topping is out of the question. (Right?) and I snapped the tallest one about 10 inches from the top. This thing was pretty much folded in half. I propped it back up and went back 15 mins later and thing seems all healed up and solid as a rock! WTF? Topping is definitely out of the question once you're in flowering right? If this thing doesn't heal properly I might have to just top it anyways.

So I've been thinking SCrOG for my next grow, wouldn't that be considered a form of LST???
Really what you are doing is just using a screen to train the plants horizontal.......
Anyone out there want to chime in on this one?????????

I am going to snap some flower pics this weekend but here is a shot to show how crazy that burmese, that I used a little LST on, has gotten. I counted over 15 grow tips!!!!

[CaliCoast]

Originally Posted by erockebomb

Yep it's pretty crowded but there is a decent amount of room and airflow especially once that new oscillating fan gets delivered and mounted on the wall. So why do yo turn your fans off at night? Is there a reason or are you just keeping the noise down? I've been leaving mine on 24/7. It kinda pisses my roommate off at night because the intake fan is in his closet

Good question. I ran into some problems with temps. dipping at night and with my fan on it only made the temps. lower. So I just switched it off w/out too much concern of starving my plants of air. Then I noticed the condensation and went with cycling my fan on and off at night. Maybe my thinking was fucked up at that time lol. Shoot maybe I should just leave it on 24/7.

[erockebomb]

Originally Posted by CaliCoast

Good question. I ran into some problems with temps. dipping at night and with my fan on it only made the temps. lower. So I just switched it off w/out too much concern of starving my plants of air. Then I noticed the condensation and went with cycling my fan on and off at night. Maybe my thinking was fucked up at that time lol. Shoot maybe I should just leave it on 24/7.

To be honest I haven't checked my temps or humidity at all. Everything seems to be going great at this point but I should probably pick up a thermomer/hygrometer online or the next time I'm at the hydro store so I can keep an eye on that. Did you ever go to Plant'it Earth on market st when you were living here? friendly staff there...

Day 30 (Day 18 of 12/12)

So I snapped a couple pics while I was watering today. The tall burmese that I snapped yesterday but thought was fixed fell over again so I topped her just below the break about 10" from the top.

Is it just me or does everybody end up just staring at their plants for like an hour? I just cannot get over this beautiful weed....

Pic #1-Snuck in last night right after lights out to snap this one
Pic #2-Group shout when I pulled everyone out today
Pic #3-Kushage
Pic #4-My twin SOMA Lavenders I've got a good feeling about these ones=)
Pic #5 the twins from the top
Pic #6 Strawberry Cough, mmmmm...
Pic #7 Close up of one of the Strawberry tops.