Growing for a mother: 2nd soil grow

[koudakat]

So, I have 3 plants started in 1/2 gallon containers. The soil is a local organic blend mixed with perlite. The lighting is a 4 foot fluorescent bar with two 40w T-8s (one is 6500k, the other is 2700k). The schedule is 24/0, soon to be 18/6.
The seeds were gifted to me by a neighbor, said they were "Nutmeg" strain. Never really heard of it, and I can't find anything online about it, but what the hey, ganja is hard to come by in the desert, so why not.
I haven't started using nutrients yet, I'm trying to wait until the little ones are older (the pics are Plant 1: 16 days old; Plant 2: 9 days old; and Plant 3: 7 days old.
When the plants get bigger, I'll make some cuttings to determine sex. Well, wish me luck, and any feedback, critique, or help would be appreciated!! Thanks...

[koudakat]

Plant 1 is now 24 days old; Plant 2 is 17 days; and Plant 3 is 15 days. I have also started a new one, (she) is 4 days old, a little slow on growth, but its ok.

I started Plant 1 on an LST regimen a few days ago, and the undergrowth is exploding with new growth, I'm so excited! I topped Plant 2 tonight, so we'll see how that goes. On a weird note, Plant one has already shown one pre-flower. It's a little early to tell if it's male or female, but I'll keep my fingers crossed and my vaporizer ready, lol.

I took the light off my old aerogarden and added another CFL to it by screwing a socket of an old light onto it. Ill post a pic of it tomorrow. Extra light is always welcome. Well, thats it for now, thanks for tuning in GC!!

[koudakat]

Ok, here's the pre-flower at day 25 of veg. It is starting to lean off the plant. Any thoughts as to male or female yet? The second picture is the plant itself. Getting really fat leaves, smells like a skunk already. The third pic is the pre-flower circled, if you can't see it in the first. Thanks gc.

[koudakat]

Here's a few shots of Plant 2, day 18 veg.

[koudakat]

So, time for an update...I have Plant 1 and Plant 2 on LST, the undergrowth and secondary shoots are expanding and exploding with new growth. Plant 3 is going to be kept the way (she) is, just one main cola. Plant 4 is still growing a little slow, but the first leaves are getting so big, I am interested to see what she looks like mature. The ages are: Plant1: 28 days, Plant 2: 21 days, Plant 3: 19 days, Plant 4: 8 days. Plant 1's pre-flowers are looking female . I think that is a strong candidate for mother-hood...Let me know what you think, GC..... Pics are: First and second; Plant 1, third is Plant 2, fourth is Plant 3, fifth is Plant 4....

[koudakat]

Bad news, the biggest, stongest plant, Plant 1, has turned hermi. So, I chopped it, I was really hoping that I could make it a mother. Now the second candidate is Plant 2, because Plant 3 is just growing really slow with virtually no undergrowth, I'm putting it outside. Plant 4 is probably going outside as well, so in essence, I only have one more indoor plant, Plant 2, which when it starts showing preflowers, I hope is female. I'll post pics later this afternoon of (her). Oh, her LST is working great, the secondaries are really filling out with veg growth. She looks to be almost nothing but Indica. Ok, I'm out, thanks GC

[koudakat]

Here are the pics I promised, the new growth isn't yellow, I think the flash on the camera does it. (she) is moving right along, really smelling, but I live in the middle of the desert, so smell isn't a big problem.

[koudakat]

Hey GC, time for another update. Now my garden holds only Plant 2 and Plant 4, hereafter referred to as P2 and P4. P2 is getting hella bushy, and smelling so good...P4 is still small but the first set of leaves are continuously getting bigger, they are bigger than my fingers! Never really seen one do that.

I have P2 under my "upgraded" Aerogarden light. I took my AG apart just for the light, haha, what a waste. I installed a porcelain socket to hold a 13w 6500k CFL. The lights on the AG hood are 2 full spectrum 26w CFLs, giving the plant a total of 65 watts @ 3600 lumens.

On another not, I used a fellow GCer's advice about putting PV cells on either side of the stalk to provide electrical stimulation to the roots. We'll see how that turns out, it really makes sense, though.

The ages are P2: 25 days
P4: 12 days

Pic 1 and 2 are P2 LSTed and bushy, lol.
Pic 3 is one of the PV cells
Pic 4 is a side shot of P2
Pic 5 is P4
and Pic 6 and 7 are the light used for P2

Thanks GC....

[FlowerSermon]

You say your plants are really smelling, which obviously MJ smells strong, but does it really smell so much outside of the grow area? I'm planning on growing 3 plants, and while I'm planning to get an ONA bucket for odor control, I am only 50% able to get ONA, so I may have to use other options......what's your setup like, and have you done anything about odor control?

[koudakat]

For the (hopefully) mother, P2, I am using a locally blended soil mix; about 50% Perlite, 25% mushroom compost, and 25% Peat, in a 5 gallon planter. P4 is in the same mix in a 6" planter. The lighting is a "hacked" aerogarden light with an extra 65K CFL. I haven't done anything about the smell, because I live in the middle of the desert, its no big deal, and I love waking up to the smell of fresh ganja, lol. So yea it smells outside the closet. On warm nights, I can smell it in the kitchen.

I have a HPS (250w) for when flowering, but I want to take clones and not waste a mother, but I might just flower it anyways and start fresh because I have to move soon. Ill post some more pics this afternoon.

If smell is a problem for you, ONA is great, in the past, I have used a cheap (wally world) IONizer, with plug in air fresheners, and it worked pretty good until the last couple of weeks until harvest.

Hope thats good enough, thanks for stopping by.....*bong-rip*

[koudakat]

Here's the pics of P2 I promised, enjoy....

[koudakat]

Finally, the pre-flowers appear on P2. (she's) 29 days old. Can anybody recognize if they are male or female yet? If you can't see it good enough, I'll take another macro for ya. Thanks, GC....

[koudakat]

Hers a couple of pics of my girls. P2's pre-flowers are extending little white hairs.....I have a daughter!! P4 is looking really good, thick waxy leaves and good stature. The ages are P2-29 days, P4-16 days. I am about to move back home to Texas, so I probably will end up flowering instead of keeping a mother. I'll start again when I get settled in. Thanks for everything GC...

P.S. I might not be on here for a couple of months because of settling in, I cant wait to get back here already...Much love...Kouda

[FlowerSermon]

Congrats on getting a girl my friend! Goodluck settling in, can't wait to see how your plants turn out.