* LST Demo * 3x BS - U B TheJudge

[__black_water__]

Here's the first half of the grow...

http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-jour...ml#post3578400

The main theme here is judging which will yield more, a straight plant with no topping (1 main cola) or either of 2 LST plants (bent and topped, with several smaller colas).


...and 2 1/2 months later

I'm back. I finally got all the light parts and built the damn thing. The BlueStar reflector arrived, everything is hung and setup, and the plants (all 3 of which turned female, btw) are in day 6 of flowering, and showing nice hairs all over.

The next few posts will be chronological, showing the different dates at which I took pictures from the last couple months. Until 6 days ago, these plants were grown under a 64w 4' T8 fluorescent light. The setup was not ideal, and they did veg for 3 months, but I am still pleased with the results. If only they were under a MH for those 3 months.....

On with the pictures!


the last post in the link above was from Dec. 30. this post will serve as a reintroduction and shows..

Jan. 3 - Jan. 7

[__black_water__]

..and Jan. 16 - Jan. 24








jan. 24 showing PREFLOWERS!!!
first one is LST1 (the bigger one)

and the second is the 'mother', which i am actually budding right now




This is the last we see of the plants for nearly a month, until.......

[Creeps]

Nicely done

[__black_water__]

... Feb. 19. A friend from work wanted to buy some clones, and funding for the HPS light was much needed so I cut a few for him. I couldn't give them the light they needed, as they were competing for height with the other plants, so a couple died. It also didn't help that I was underwatering them (oops!). Here's the pics..

(this lighting setup was $30 CDN with bulbs and tax included, if anyone is looking for budget growing)

Feb. 19

[__black_water__]

Originally Posted by Creeps

Nicely done

thank ya thank ya but the flowering pics are still coming, they're the nicest of course!

[__black_water__]

here's the raw ballast, and some other supplies i used. to hang the reflector (BlueStar Chrome, $79 + Tax/S&H, EXCELLENT!!) i bought some aircraft cable and adjustable cable clamps to easily adjust the light according to the height of the plants. The air pump shown is a Whisper 10Gal, and is much much MUCH quieter than the Elite801 i am also using. The bulb is a common Philips Alto 400w ($26 ++). Building my own ballast was fun but i don't think it saved much money. The cool part about it was finding an old .50 Cal ammo box at a local hardware store for the housing case. Here's a breakdown of the homemade ballast (all prices include tax/s&h):

Ballast kit - $125
Mogul socket - $15
Ammo box - $8
Ext. cord - $15
Asst. hardware - $10

Total: $173

Brand new/pre-assembled: $180 + Tax/S&H

Savings: ~$27 (and getting all the supplies was a real pain in the ass so in the end i think i lost!)



Again, I highly recommend the BlueStar Chrome reflector (in Canada: www.canadianwholesalehydroponics.com)

Also of interest is the 50 seeds pictured below, a homebred strain called Cali Tripp (comes from a NLxSkunk mother and some 'outdoor strain' i was unable to track down.) Both the NLxSkunk and the Cali Tripp will be growing in my next grow, and possibly this bagseed if it's worth keeping.






Next post is the flowering pics under the big light!!

[D.A.R.E. Grad]

I definitely want to see the outcome of this one. Those girls are looking very nice.

[__black_water__]

alright I'll make this one short and sweet. Today is flowering Day 7, pics are of Day 6. they are coming along very nicely! I can't wait! Estimated smoke date is around Mother's Day... reflectors on walls are made as sun reflectors for windshields ($5/each), but I don't know how well they work compared to something like Mylar. Anyone know..?

[__black_water__]

Originally Posted by D.A.R.E. Grad

I definitely want to see the outcome of this one. Those girls are looking very nice.

thanks me too, 60 days left but it should be a pleasant 60 days....

[Creeps]

Nicely Done....again...lol Looks real good..I like your difusers.

[__black_water__]

Originally Posted by Creeps

Nicely Done....again...lol Looks real good..I like your difusers.

and thanks...again..haha but if you are referring to the marbles + 2 layers of holes as the diffusers, then yes, the plants respond well to them compared to what i've grown in the past.

i have been comparing pictures of my last grows with this one, and to be honest, the old ones are a little embarrassing. these plants are so much farther along at day 11....

i took 17 clones from the 3 plants (mostly from LST2, or the 'smaller' one). the plant looked a little suffocated so i cleared about 10-12 little chutes from the innards of the plant. these plants will be going outdoors for the season. friends can maintain them and i will get a free pound or whatever come harvest time. i soaked 17 rockwool cubes overnight in a solution of:

-Water
-B vitamins
-humic acid
-enzyme supplement
-carbohydrates

all adjusted to a pH of 5.6 to "neutralize the alkaline nature of rockwool"

question: will the clones be able to revert to vegetative growth and root at the same time, or will this stress them to death?

heres some pics:

March 11 (Flowering Day 8)










March 14 (Flowering Day 11)
it is kinda hard to see the bud growth in these pictures (a tripod would be nice), but seeing them up close it is crazy. there should be some pretty big solid buds on this, again compared to what i've seen in the past.

for the first 10 days of flowering, i was using the liquid KoolBloom booster (10-10-10), but today is the first day they got fed with the KoolBloom powder (2-45-28). i got this technique from another grower on GrassCity (can't remember name), and it sounded good since i had both KoolBlooms and needed to find a use for the liquid.

pics..:









next picture update will be Flowering Day 15

[__black_water__]

pics were taken for Flowering Day 15. I have been sticking to a very strict watering/feeding/foliar feed schedule, and growth is coming along nicely. If anything, I am noticing some slight deficiencies, which are hopefully on the way to correction after todays boost watering (water + 'Sweet' + cal-mag). foliar feeding consists of an F-1 spray 3 times a week, and a B-52 spray mixes in once every 2 weeks ('one time' is equal to 500ml for all 3 plants throughout the day).

pics:

March 18 (Flowering Day 15)





in the next pics you can see the 6 main colas that are forming. the untopped one is gonna be a beast!





day 20 for the next one..? sure

[provwise]

Awesome idea, black_water. Im gonna keep checking in on this for sure, Im really interested to see what kind of results you get with a side by side comparison. They look super healthy so far. Good luck with the rest of your flowering, I hope they turn out!

Ill keep my eyes on your grow,


provwise

[VicRattlehead]

just stopping in now...looking good so far...ill read up on what youve all been doing for them later...im subscribed.