I've got some pictures from the Veg area. First off, Cheesus. Purple Widow Blue Cheese Clone Group Shot Pictures from the flower room to come later on. Gotta wait a bit before the lights turn on.
Time to share the bud porn! We'll start with Mandy. I took several shots of her. Shots of Kari in the next post...
Those both look awesome. Are they both just under the 400W HPS or did you add more lights somewhere along the way?
Thanks Ock. Both are under the 400W HPS, I also have a T12 fixture that gives 80W of vertical supplemental lighting. It's focused on Kari for now. I'd love to use T5's as supplemental lighting, but I'd need to put vegging on hold or buy another T5 fixture.
I looked at some T5 fixtures the last time I was at the hydro store - wrong place to look at them $$$$$ What do you think of the whole supplemental lighting thing? Or rather, assuming a decision to add supplemental light, where should it be directed? Right along with the main light or in places that aren't getting as much? I have read cases for both and so I am left
I direct added light sources to the sides and lower areas of the plant. I have one corner of the primary corona of my HPS that really needs some extra lighting. I think if I was running higher wattage up top, there may not be much need for supplemental lighting. I guess the way each plant has branched out would play a factor as well to that theory.
I just transplanted my Kushage plant from my 6 qt. mini-bubbler to it's final 5 gallon bucket. I'm completely in awe of the root mass that came out of the bubbler. In fact, I wasn't even sure I'd be able to remove the root ball through the 2 inch hole that the netpot sits in. I've grown this particular plant for 3 weeks now in the mini-bubbler on very weak nutes. Maybe only 1/5th strength of the Seedling regimen I think. Anyways, I may use this method more often. I have noticed the mini-bubbler allows them to veg up quickly as opposed to a 5 gallon. Not only that, but the prospect of saving nutes is worth a lot to me. The only issues with this proposed method it that root balls may get to large to remove, and currently the netpot openings are too tightly packed to allow more than 2 six inch tall veggers on opposing ends. I wish the mini-bubbler could double as a bubble cloner, but after 3 successive fails, I'll be sticking to my 2 gallon bubbler for that. I'll end this ramble with a picture of the root ball from the Kushage.
I also forgot to mention I have moved the Blue Cheese clone into the flower room, and gave her the name Bonnie. I made sure to add some CalMag+ to avoid any deficiencies. Honestly, Kari looks like she may want some more CalMag+ as well. I'm posting the updated Plant Roster as well.
Now I'll take a moment to highlight the runt of this grow... the 3 week old Red Cherry Berry. I had one of these plants last grow as well. However, it turned out to be the best plant out of the two I had growing. I will say that after watching this fugly Red Cherry Berry for 3 weeks, I'm wondering what it's got up it's sleeves... I will cut it some slack from what I watched in my last grow with Holly. However, it will have to show some serious progress in the next few weeks to avoid being disposal fodder. I have a picture or two to illustrate the oddity of this particular plant.
Those Kushage pictures are amazing - not to discount the others, but those are stunning. How amazing to be able to see your whole plant! Kind of surreal too - seeing that much top of the plant coming out of something the size of a hockey puck My brain keeps saying there's supposed to be a three gallon bucket in that picture
I was just mulling over those pics again. Has the experiment been done to see if the very slight abrasion some roots would receive from being squeezed through that 2 inch hole caused them better/worse/same future growth? Take some measurements
Yeah, it's pretty awesome seeing the whole plant like that. I'm still somewhat in disbelief that the roots are so fibrous and ductile already. I'm glad you asked Ock. I do get nervous about transplanting up since I tend to try to thread some root tips through the bucket's netpot lid. It's tough to grab them and get them through though... With this particular plant, the root ball was much bigger than any other I had transplanted before, so much of the root ball it in the bottom of the netpot. I strung 4 root tips out from the sides so they can get to the water. Honestly, I think my worries are slightly unfounded as the roots seem to find water. That's their job, you know? They seek it out, and I haven't had any root growth issues in any of the transplant I've done before. So... other than the annoyance of threading roots, it will work. As for measurements, did you mean the plants? or the root ball? I'll be happy to furnish you with those.
Measurements: I'll start off by saying that root ball in the previous picture must be about 9-10 inches long. I don't have an exact measure as the ball is already buried in hydroton. 1. Mandy -- 58 inches 2. Kari -- 40 inches 3. Bonnie -- 14 inches 4. Cheesus -- 5.5 inches 5. Kushage -- 5.5 inches 6. Purple Widow -- 3 inches All others are under 3 inches tall, so they shall not yet be detailed.
Yeah, man - I probably should have explained myself better. You've read them and I've read them - all the grow techniques. (Well, haven't seen them all yet but you know). Every one I see involves somehow hurting (from the plant's perspective) the plant. Hell, I was reading somewhere where they were simulating bugs sucking on the stems and leaves with a needle in order to encourage the plant to up its defenses - aka make more THC. So I've seen lots to do with stems in this regard - bending, breaking, abusing in all manner of ways, but nothing with roots. So I'm wondering if some root abuse wouldn't promote root growth?
I will speculate that minor root damage could encourage strengthening of the root system. On the other hand, moderate to severe damage would lead to plant death I would think. If any damage was caused in today's transplant, it was only the loss of 3 root tip ends, and less than 5mm of each. I fret not over that, cause that is extremely minor. I guess I can subscribe to the school of thought that says, 'Whatever does not kill the plant, will make it stronger.' I've never experienced severe root damage other than the one BBP that exhibited slight signs of root rot. That plant went down with a quickness. So quick, in fact, that I really couldn't diagnose it. This is not a time in which I feel brave enough to experiment with root pruning/trimming/etc. Maybe in the near future...
You can always cut back the roots some to encourage lateral growth, root pruning is actually a healthy practice just do not do it in flower since it is another stressor.
I've also noticed yet another reason to keep young plants in the mini-bubbler as opposed to starting in 5 gallon buckets.... Seeds started in the 5 gallon buckets seems to always get a bit leggy and need support in the 2nd and 3rd week. Using the mini-bubbler has always gave me solid stem growth. We're talking angel hair pasta vs. udon noodles here! Since the mini-bubbler was a cheap investment, I think I shall make a revised version of the current one I have. Maybe four slots instead of six... I'm not sure yet.