The Liberty Haze are absolutely beautiful plants, so many growth tops coming through! Both plants are beautifully symmetrical. The Kush are both smaller and grew less vigorously than the Haze girls, but I think they will still do ok in flower, they have looked so much better the last 3 weeks than they did the first 3!
Plants are looking great. Your plants are about two weeks behind mine. I would only feed veg nutes for a watering or two after flipping. Nitrogen will affect it from beginning to flower and will make the end product harsh. Ideally come harvest you want the leaves to be yellowed and falling off. The less green means the lack of Chlorophyll resulting in a smoother smoke. Plus your plant look a nice dark green so you should be just fine. Keep up the good work.
Have you lollipoped the plants yet. Lollipopping is removing the lower branches along with small and spindly branches. The benefits are it forces the plant to focus on developing larger colas and allowed for airflow under the canopy. It will result in less popcorn buds and the larger branches will produce larger buds.
Thanks for the good words man! They will only get two actual feedings in the ten days I was referring, the other waterings in that time are just water, just to clarify Have removed a couple of dead/dying leaves that cleared some space under the canopy and I am watching out for others to take, but I am wary of defoliating too much
Just read that now that I have switched to 12/12 I should wait til day 21 to do any more lollipopping? I should have done it in a more major way a week ago, in order to let the ladies recover. Should I just wait now til week 3 then do a proper defoliation of the bottom 1/3?
So I just picked up PK 13/14 and Boost, both Canna products. I have been reading a LOT about when is the best time to use each product, and there are so many contrasting views out there I dunno wtf to think...especially regarding the PK 13/14...Some advocate using it all the way through flowering from the first calyx development, some recommend 3 weeks from calyx, and some only for one week around 3 weeks from harvest (which is the [outdated] instructions on the labels). Have any of you guys used either product?
I have no experience with either product, but I'm going to take on my Organic Nay-Sayer role for a bit lol. I couldn't find an official ingredient list for either product, though I did find discussion of the ingredients, so maybe you should double check that my research turned up the right ingredients by checking the bottles....... Canna Boost's active ingredients are: Triacontanol, Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP-6), and B Vitamins. Triacontanol is in fact a tremendous plant growth stimulant. In fact, I used it on my plants last night..... I sprayed them with Alfalfa tea. Yes, Triacontanol is naturally-occuring, and alfalfa is the best source of it. Cheap as hell, too. And contains dozens of other beneficial compounds, as well as amino acids, enzymes, and nutrients. IBA is also a tremendous additive.... this one is a plant hormone that stimulated root growth by encouraging roots to grow longer. It has a cousin, Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) that encourages development of more root sites. In fact, I applied both IAA and IBA to my plants last night. Because I added some Kelp to that alfalfa tea. Kelp contains IAA, IBA, gibberellins, cytokinins, brassinosteroids, and every single nutrient used by plants. BAP-6 is a synthetic cytokinin. Pure and simple. And like I said, Kelp contains natural cytokinins. Vitamin B1.... also called Thiamine.... total and complete hoax. Does not stimulate root growth. Here are some excerpts from websites: Colorado State University: http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Garden/beware.htm A good example is vitamin B1 (thiamine), often sold to "prevent transplant shock" and "stimulate new root growth" when planting trees, shrubs, roses and other plants. A study in the 1930's provided the basis for such claims. Pea roots cut off from the plant were placed in a culture medium in the laboratory. Planting trees in a soil environment, however, is vastly different from a laboratory culture. Most important, gardeners aren't in the habit of cutting off the root system when planting. Several studies using intact mums, apple trees, orange trees, pine, tomato, beans, pepper, corn, pear, watermelon and squash have failed to demonstrate that vitamin B1 treatments provide any type of growth response. The bottom line: The vitamin B1 is for marketing purposes rather than actual effect. Washington State University: http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Vitamin%20B1.pdf Applying vitamin B-1, or thiamine, to root systems of whole plants does not stimulate root growth. This is a myth that refuses to die, though it has been repeatedly refuted in the scientific literature. University of California Davis: http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/repositoryfiles/ca3809p15-70969.pdf We concluded from these tests that thiamine hydrochloride, alone or in combination with iron, manganese, and zinc, as applied here, did not benefit development of the plants tested. University of Arizona: https://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/vitaminb1androotstimulators.html Application of vitamin B-1 (thiamine) to root systems of whole plants does not stimulate root growth. This myth arose from early work on plant growth regulators, called auxins, which were mixed with vitamin B-1. Advanced Nutrients: http://www.advancednutrients.com/hydroponics/products/b-52/b-52_product_information.php B1 assists in root development so your plants intake more nutrients faster, and are more resistant to shock, transplanting, and cloning. So!! Who do you believe?? lol Several peer-reviewed studies from universities.... or the companies who want to sell you their products? lol
And now we come to Canna's PK 13-14..... Again I couldn't find the official ingredients, only word of mouth.... apparently it is Monopotassium Phospate, and Soluble Potash. Monopotassium Phosphate is a synthetic fertilizer produced by a reaction between Phosphoric Acid and Potassium Carbonate. It is also a fungicide, which is probably none-too-healthy for your mycorrhizae and other beneficial fungi. Soluble Potash...... I think there's an LD post that best summarizes it: Then about 5 years ago the indoor garden 'nute' scene discovered a cheap form of 'soluble potash' (Potassium) that is in this case is industrial waste. It comes out China and India and a barrel sells for <$75.00 - about $1.50 per gallon and this is at 66% strength. What you find in the 'K' products is usually something like this: 'Soluble Potash (K2O) - 3% And the band played on.................... LD
Hmmmm...plenty of food for thought, thanks for putting the time into the research man! I appreciate your continual prodding in the organic direction too Gonna do some more reading, I'm definitely going to use both now that I have them, just need to work on the timing
Well.... the PK 13-14 is just a potassium and phosphorus boost. This is most useful during flower..... I guess I'd use it about once every other week during flower. Doesn't the bottle have any directions? The CannaBoost... like I said Vitamin B is bunk. Cytokinins are always useful (good sources for cytokinins include kelp, coconut water, and Sprouted Seeds Teas). IBA and other rooting hormones are most useful when the clone or seed is just starting to root, but can also give a boost throughout the grow. Triacontanol is the primary active ingredient in CannaBoost. I have some info on when it is most useful to apply it, but it's not my info.... it was given to me in private by someone with access to proprietary research on Triacontanol and I'm not sure he would like if i posted it publicly..... I'll PM you the info, but keep it under wraps lol
Was going to PM this to you, but thought other UK growers might come through here.... In the UK, Alfalfa is called Lucerne. There could be even better deals available at farm / horse feed stores, but this is the best deal I could find online: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eviales-Lucerne-Bird-Feed-Bag/dp/B00HT1TD24/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1397675970&sr=1-2&keywords=lucerne 25kg of Lucerne pellets for 17 pounds.... however you do that symbol.... BSP lol.... it's considered "bird feed" lol However...... I found a post from about a year ago where Chunk mentioned this product.... and.... WOW..... great product that has no equivalent in the US. http://www.organiccatalogue.com/Soil-Preparation-and-Feeding-Fertilisers/c60_167/p2460/ALFALFA-PLUS-FERTILISER/product_info.html Alfalfa, comfrey, and kelp, pressed into pellets together. 4.4kg for 15 BSP. I highly recommend you try to get your hands on this product. Great source of Triacontanol, and an even better source of practically every single nutrient, mineral, phytohormone and compound for plant growth that you could want.
Here's a report from Virginia Tech on the growth stimulating effects of Triacontanol: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JARS/v36n3/v36n3-hinerman.htm
Day 20 flower (but only 10 days really since flowers showed) Just a fairly crappy pic update! My camera and shooting skills are both lacking somewhat, there isn't as big a difference in the height of the various tops as appears in the shots, and there are also more tops and growth shoots than you can see. There are like 50 between the 4 plants. One thing I have come to suspect, is that I mis-labelled the plants from the beginning, as the 2 ladies I thought are Crit Kush are most likely Liberty Haze and vice-verse!! I have come to suspect this because of the 3 other seeds I sprouted (in my head 2 x liberty haze and 1x critical kush, but actually also the other way around!), and because of the crazy stretching of what I thought were the kush. It is the stretching of what are now in my head Hazes, and early differences in the 3 new seedlings that has caused me to believe they are mislabelled. SO if you got all that, the tall weird plants are haze, and the two beautiful crazy-amount-of-tops plants are critical kush! I'm certain that I am the only one this made sense to! ETA I can't get my RH below 45-50%, peaks in 70s if I don't leave tent open a little. I bought a dehumidifier and still it doesnt help enough, so I have to leave the tent doors open a little during lights on and completely during lights off. I had similarly high RH throughout the 1st grow though, and a fan constantly circulating so hoping I will be OK
Welcome aboard man! Hope my last post made some sense to you...Anyway I was thinking about the RH problem, I guess in theory if I add a small heater to the room to bring up the lights-out temps, that in conjunction with the dehumidifier should help keep the RH low in the dark hours shouldn't it?
Boom! So I added a heater to the tent, lights off 4 hours now and the temps are holding around 72 with 50% RH! Delighted! Lights on temps are around 75-80 with RH 45 so I think everything is good!
gday gonzorelli777 my critical kush babies are at the start of there 5th week of flower and are looking gorgeous. What are your goals on final yield weight?
Honestly have no idea! I'm still very new to this game, I think if I got 2 zips per plant I'd be pretty happy. I dunno what is possible with a 400w light but I would def be pleased with 2. There are like 50 colas growing through! Have you grown them before/what is your anticipated yield?
I am growing under a 600 watt and hoping for 2 zips per plant also. I was very suprised as to how many tops there are... they are all massive as well. This is my first grow ever so i am very pleased at the moment with the way it is going. Almost at week 6 and they are starting to fatten up.. alot