Grow Dots and Recharge for the Real Growers Challenge 2022

[ExNavyInSTL]

This journal follows my inputs for this year's Real Growers Challenge 2022.

Prizes are nice, but I do these Grow Journals/Diaries/Logs to keep my photography-itch well scratched.

So, the question is, "can you really just throw some slow release 'dots' into a container and give water ... and an occassional bit of Recharge with few biostimulants ... and still grow the dank?

Let's start with a confession, I am in my first year as a grower and I have yet to get a plant over 20 inchs. I used LST early on so there may have been slightly taller, but they all looked like Bonzai trees. So, if this grow follows suit, let's not blame the nutrient delivery. I'll own it and keep practicing.

Here's the set up for this year.

Strains:
(1) Super Skunk Auto (Seedstockers)
(2) Double Grape Auto (Mephisto)

Container: Fabric pots in the AutoPot system (bottom watering)

Container Add Ons:
(1) AirBase (new product from them that replace need for pebbles, etc.)
(2) AirDomes to bring O2 to the Root Zone

Media:
(1) Cana Coco (60%),
(2) 20% Perlite
(3) 20% Vermiculite

Water Source:
(1) R/O Water in 12 gallon reservoir (AutoPot standard)

Nutrients:
(1) Grow Dots (required) - Mixed evenly throughout the coco mix before planting

Supplements Throughout Grow:
(2) Recharge (required) - Used to moisten coco initially - will supplement once a week
(3) Front Row Si (mono-silicic acid) - mixed directly into RO Reservoir
(4) Mr. Fulvic - mixed directly into RO Reservoir
(5) 5:2 ratio of Fulvic & Seaweed (foliar until flowers develop)
(6) Ca/Mg for the Coco (foliar early - add to valve area later)
(7) MicroGenics 0.75% (foliar early until roots settle in and begin using Grow Dot's Nutrients)
( SLF-100 Enzymes - mixed directly into the reservoir

Supplements Beginnng of Grow (solo cup phase):
(1) Prime Superior - Proprietary Friendly Bacteria (during germination and solo cup phase)
(2) Rhizotonic - Rooting Hormones (during germination and solo cup phase)

The timing of these plants are all separated by almost a week. I started out with a Black Domina XL Auto from Oaseeds, but it dampened off, and I then replaced it with the Super Skunk Auto from Seedstockers.

Then, a day or so later, I decided to add in a Mephisto Double Grape. As of 07/14/22, I put a DG into a solo cup with a 1/2" long taproot.

For convenience, I will split the difference and come up with a germination day the averages them all together.

Today I am calling Day 11 for both strains (11 is real for SS and Day 6 for Double Grape). In time, the 5 day gap will be a non-sequitor.

I'll catch up below with my pictures taken so far. And after that, I'll post like a normal Journal.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 5 Photos:

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 8 Photos:

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 11 Photos:

 

[rkymtnman]

i'm confused. you say the test is to see if you can grow dank with just grow dots and recharge. but your supplement list is a mile long. how does that work?

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 11 Notes:

I'm impressed with the Rhiztonic. The roots on the Super Skunk took off after using it. They raced right to the bottom of the cup.

When I water them now, I use a 5 ml syringe of the growth hormone and then add to the bottom of double layered cups. I'm trying to not water from the top to help dry the coco some.

I still have them in a high temperature / high humidity environment in my seedling tent. Meaning the soil, although not dripping wet, needs to dry more.

The Double Grape is not showing signs of roots yet.

I'll start tracking data once they are in the 4 x 4 tent.

Feel Free to Comment on This Journal from Beggining to End
​

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Thanks for catching that. I have corrected the sentence to model the way I am approaching this grow.

I apologize if I gave the impression this was a Grow Dot and Recharge only grow. Not at all, but they are the only sources for fertilizer and microbial stiumlants (except Ca/Mg, which I don't count in coco). I thought by listing out everything that would have made it clear what this grow was going to look like.

Having said that: to better clarify, they are only getting their nutrients from Grow Dots and the Microbial stimulation from only from Recharge.

The above part meets the minimum for the challenge.

My supplements are more to ensure the plant takes up those nutrients and bonds with the microbials efficiently.

For example, I would normally have more overlap on microbials with Tribus, Great White and Photosynthesis Plus. Not all at once, but layered.

My normal nutrients are Jack's 3-2-1 through Veg and then a modified Jacks in Flower that introduces an M-K-P compenent.

For this grow, I do not add any more nutrients or microbials directly, except for the Ca/Mg and the Microgenics. The MicroG stops once the roots are feeding on the Grow Dots.

After that, it is just a few biostimulants and enzymes. The foliars cease once flowering is well established.

(3) Front Row Si (mono-silicic acid) - mixed directly into RO Reservoir - enhance nutrient uptake and structure biomass creation
(4) Mr. Fulvic - mixed directly into RO Reservoir - I can't grow without this - it's my crutch
(5) 5:2 ratio of Humic & Seaweed (foliar until flowers develop) - some overlap with Recharge Humic, but stops in Flower
(6) Ca/Mg for the Coco (foliar early - add to valve area later) - My Coco Crutch, even if I buffer
(7) MicroGenics 0.75% (foliar early until roots settle in and begin using Grow Dot's Nutrients)
( SLF-100 Enzymes - mixed directly into the reservoir - because of bottom watering (enzyme for salts)

Thanks again for stopping by. It's good to be challenged.

i'm confused. you say the test is to see if you can grow dank with just grow dots and recharge. but your supplement list is a mile long. how does that work?

 

[pahpah-cee]

Nice photography!

this is the DGC challenge. For those confused You must use recharge and grow dots, however to keep it interesting they want you to add whatever the hell you want to get the upper hand on the competition. Just a friendly competition.

 

[pahpah-cee]

I haven’t used either product but I recall them saying they corrected the grow dots to have 5x the calcium. I’d be curious if you will need to dip into that calmag bottle later or not.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

That's great hear. I'll hold out Ca/Mg after the first couple weeks.

I'll give a little until they get through that phase where the roots need to break out of the solo cup soil and start using the nutrients.

Also, as you said in your other post, they encourage a little freelancing to get the best representation out there.

I'm pretty sure most people realize these "challenges" are designed ways to get positive photographs (representation) of their products out on the interwebz.

Heck, I even paid for the products myself to help with the publicity. But like I said, I like the medicine and I love taking pictures of cannabis plants.

Win/Win

I haven’t used either product but I recall them saying they corrected the grow dots to have 5x the calcium. I’d be curious if you will need to dip into that calmag bottle later or not.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 20 (07/26/22) - And I've got problems

Let's start with the obvious problem.



As you can see, there are some pretty ugly brown tips going on with my Double Grape. My guess, the discoloring is because of way too much light. Even though I was being careful with checking PPFD, etc. When I went to check my equipment at the back of the tent, I realized my light-timer was set to 24/0. Not 18/6 as I thought.

This picture was taken today, 15 days after the germination. I've made corrections, and I hope this stunting lightens up, since it is so early.

I'm keeping them both at a low 14 DLI for a few days to allow for some growth. I'll run them at 20/4 once they look healthier. Since it could go either way, I repotted to the final pot and will just give them time to relax. I soaked the area around the hole with Rhizatonic and Recharge to ease transfer stress.

My intended light schedule for this grow now that things are back on track:

AUTO FLOWER LED LIGHT INTENSITY

Recommended LED PPF/PAR Values / DLI Based on 20 hrs. of light.

Seedlings 150 - 200 umol / DLI 10.80 - 14.4 moles per day
Veg up to 9" 450 umol / DLI 32.40 moles per day
Early bloom 500 umol / DLI 36.00 moles per day
Mid bloom 650 umol / DLI 46.80 moles per day
Late bloom 750 umol / DLI 54.00 moles per day

I missed this memo below:
*** Use extreme caution going 700 umol or higher @ 20 hrs/day this could cause leaf burn***

This can also explain the stunting in the Super Skunk seedling as well (Below):




It's Day 20 for the Super Skunk. No happy cannabis plant is this small at 20 days. I started having issues with this one when I noticed it was turning light (lime) green. I've since treated with some very light nutrients, Rhizatonic and Recharge. They have each received a light foliar of mono-silicic acid.

There is some good news. They are both in their new homes.

Since this is a Grow Dot and Recharge based grow. I started letting the reservoir's water mix begin entering from the bottom. There's no electrical charge to speak of in the mix (0.079 EC). The tank on has RO water, Mono-Silicic Acid, Mr. Fulvic and SLF-100 (enzymes).

I'll add Recharge manually once a week or so in the coco.




This is my first time to use the AirBase/AirDome set up. They say to wait a couple of weeks before pumping air up into the root zone. Considering my rocky start I'll follow those instructions.



The rest are just some other pot porn pics for your enjoyments.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 22 - Photos & Notes:

• Added Mosquito Bits as a "Cover" to Fend Off Future Fungus Gnats.

• Re-Calibrated my Apera pH pen and set the Reservoir to 5.8 pH.

• Used a 20 ml Syringe and gave each plant some very light nutrients and other bio-stimulants to encourage growth into the Grow Dot zone.

 

[ProPheT 216]

After all that I just wanna know what you use for a camera op?

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Thanks for asking. Get Ready for a TLDR post. This is a subject I love.

Before equipment, let me tell you about the man behind the camera. I think it all started in the early 1970s, when mom gave me one of those 110 cameras with the rotating flash cubes that were micro explosions on every shot.

Then I begged for a real camera and they gave me a Pentax K1000 in about 1978. It was a barebones manual camera, but I thought I was ready to shoot Playboy centerfolds when I got it.

Then when high school started I joined the yearbook staff as a writer/photog, learned darkroom techniques and it was on from there.

After high school I shot bands in night clubs, and even had did some work for a Tecate-poster girl (not for the poster). After K-1000 I think I had a Minolta XG-1. That one was stolen in a night club one night and I replaced it with a Pentax MX. Did some work for some local music rags in Houston. Somehow, I convince the great Taj Mahal to get into my 1975 green Ford Pinto and drive about 20 minutes to shoot him in front of a Taj Mahal sign for an Indian restaurant. I still can't believe he got into my fire trap.

In late 1990, I joined the Navy as a Journalist, but I also trained in broadcasting and advanced photography. I got out at the end of 1999 and lost interest for a while. Then in about 2008, I went balls deep into scuba diving and underwater photography. I also started doing CrossFit in 2009, and volunteered to shoot all the tournaments. Nothing better than shooting fit women getting fitter. I stopped diving around 2014 (as well as CrossFit) and have been looking for a photo calling since.

In 2018, we moved up to the Midwest for my retirement years and I was contemplating doing this portfolio of classic-looking barns. I live in farm-country and there are a shit-ton of barns from the likes on the show Yellowstone, to others that look like one good wind would put them on the ground.

Thank goodness last Fall I decided to get my medical card. Because when I saw those flowers and the shots out on the internet I knew I wanted to see if I could get close to some of these cannabis photographers. Think, Ethos Genetics or Greengene's Garden (there are more).

So, here we are to answer your question. I'll do some explaining to help non-photo types understand the lingo.

I was shooting a reduced format (APC) Canon, a T2i or something like that for the last 10 years. While I was sleeping, full-frame cameras had become gold-plated or something. But, I saw the trend for mirror-less cameras were catching on and Canon introduced an “intro” version to the market that was pocket-book-palatable at $1000, and like $1300 with a "kit" lens (24-105mm).

These new R cameras have a new-style mount for their lenses, but you can still use the Canon EF mounts with a converter. My problem is I had invested in APC (reduced frame) lenses and they won't work on full-frame. To top it off, RF mount glass was crazy expensive to start. They were pumping out top-end shit, and there was no way I was going to drop $2000 (or way more) on an L-grade lens. Thankfully, since then they have started coming out with consumer-grade glass and I have jumped on a few of them.

As of now: I shoot

Camera: Canon RP (entry-level full frame mirrorless)

Lenses: (I'll just list the ones I use for cannabis)

Canon 24-105 Zoom (not work a crap in low light if zoomed)
Canon 50 mm (2. RF mount
Canon 35 mm (2.8 macro) RF mount

However, I just ordered:

Venus Laowa 90 mm (2.8 macro)

This lens is all manual, no auto focus, nothing. But, it is made for the RF type cameras. Plus, it is 2X magnification and focus as close as 6 or 8 inches. I don't mind because a grow tent is lit up like the sun. So, I use a tripod for both my camera and my flash. I also have a focus bracket that lets you really dial in your focus. The plant isn't moving, so you can really take your time for focusing.

I got this Chinese lens, because of the 2X and this is the lens that will really let me get in close for Trichome shots. My 35 macro is awesome for buds. But, my trichome shots are really just blown up flow shots that are cropped tightly. I want the real thing.

If you are into photography, check out this YouTube on this 90mm:

Speaking of Flash: Canon 430EXII (or something like that)

It's a mid-grade decent flash. Although I have special diffusers that you need for macro shooting.

If you are still reading (I know TLDR is my middle name), now we get to the good stuff.

The Secret Sauce: Photo Processing

The real fun for me in photography is in the processing. To me it’s like being back in the dark room. I never shoot in JPEG or TIFF. I always shoot in RAW format. I want all the data that camera sensor records. I then take that data and I begin to shape the pictures within the confines of that data.

My Processor: DxO PhotoLab 5

I haven't touched Photoshop since I was in the Navy back in 1999. I've never used Light Room (another Adobe product).

When I first started shooting in RAW was when I was doing underwater photography and I was using Apple Aperture. When they discontinued the program I was lost. A friend of mine told me about a company out of France that was trying hard to break into the market with innovative ideas about matching camera bodies and camera lenses individually within their algorithm. I bought their program on the ground floor and have been upgrading since.

I can spend countless hours on a photo, walk away and come back and start working on it again. I just like it. Sometimes I rush crap out because it is a mediocre shot and no one but me will give a damn unless it is one of those 1 in 1000 shots that come along.

I go first from RAW to TIFF (if I am doing special manipulation), and then upon my final edits I convert to JPEG for size friendly platforms.

I’ll go one more layer if I am adding word or graphics on top of the pictures.

A lot to digest here, but the bottom line is I could lean into my grow tent and use my iPhone, not give a damn about white balancing, or bringing up the lights in the shaded area, etc. and that would be fine.

Having said that, now that you know my background, hopefully you can understand why I go deep into weeds just to get a picture of a seedling I am just about to kill out on to the internet for all the world to see.

After all that I just wanna know what you use for a camera op?

 

[ProPheT 216]

Thanks for asking. Get Ready for a TLDR post. This is a subject I love.

Before equipment, let me tell you about the man behind the camera. I think it all started in the early 1970s, when mom gave me one of those 110 cameras with the rotating flash cubes that were micro explosions on every shot.

Then I begged for a real camera and they gave me a Pentax K1000 in about 1978. It was a barebones manual camera, but I thought I was ready to shoot Playboy centerfolds when I got it.

Then when high school started I joined the yearbook staff as a writer/photog, learned darkroom techniques and it was on from there.

After high school I shot bands in night clubs, and even had did some work for a Tecate-poster girl (not for the poster). After K-1000 I think I had a Minolta XG-1. That one was stolen in a night club one night and I replaced it with a Pentax MX. Did some work for some local music rags in Houston. Somehow, I convince the great Taj Mahal to get into my 1975 green Ford Pinto and drive about 20 minutes to shoot him in front of a Taj Mahal sign for an Indian restaurant. I still can't believe he got into my fire trap.

In late 1990, I joined the Navy as a Journalist, but I also trained in broadcasting and advanced photography. I got out at the end of 1999 and lost interest for a while. Then in about 2008, I went balls deep into scuba diving and underwater photography. I also started doing CrossFit in 2009, and volunteered to shoot all the tournaments. Nothing better than shooting fit women getting fitter. I stopped diving around 2014 (as well as CrossFit) and have been looking for a photo calling since.

In 2018, we moved up to the Midwest for my retirement years and I was contemplating doing this portfolio of classic-looking barns. I live in farm-country and there are a shit-ton of barns from the likes on the show Yellowstone, to others that look like one good wind would put them on the ground.

Thank goodness last Fall I decided to get my medical card. Because when I saw those flowers and the shots out on the internet I knew I wanted to see if I could get close to some of these cannabis photographers. Think, Ethos Genetics or Greengene's Garden (there are more).

So, here we are to answer your question. I'll do some explaining to help non-photo types understand the lingo.

I was shooting a reduced format (APC) Canon, a T2i or something like that for the last 10 years. While I was sleeping, full-frame cameras had become gold-plated or something. But, I saw the trend for mirror-less cameras were catching on and Canon introduced an “intro” version to the market that was pocket-book-palatable at $1000, and like $1300 with a "kit" lens (24-105mm).

These new R cameras have a new-style mount for their lenses, but you can still use the Canon EF mounts with a converter. My problem is I had invested in APC (reduced frame) lenses and they won't work on full-frame. To top it off, RF mount glass was crazy expensive to start. They were pumping out top-end shit, and there was no way I was going to drop $2000 (or way more) on an L-grade lens. Thankfully, since then they have started coming out with consumer-grade glass and I have jumped on a few of them.

As of now: I shoot

Camera: Canon RP (entry-level full frame mirrorless)

Lenses: (I'll just list the ones I use for cannabis)

Canon 24-105 Zoom (not work a crap in low light if zoomed)
Canon 50 mm (2. RF mount
Canon 35 mm (2.8 macro) RF mount

However, I just ordered:

Venus Laowa 90 mm (2.8 macro)

This lens is all manual, no auto focus, nothing. But, it is made for the RF type cameras. Plus, it is 2X magnification and focus as close as 6 or 8 inches. I don't mind because a grow tent is lit up like the sun. So, I use a tripod for both my camera and my flash. I also have a focus bracket that lets you really dial in your focus. The plant isn't moving, so you can really take your time for focusing.

I got this Chinese lens, because of the 2X and this is the lens that will really let me get in close for Trichome shots. My 35 macro is awesome for buds. But, my trichome shots are really just blown up flow shots that are cropped tightly. I want the real thing.

If you are into photography, check out this YouTube on this 90mm:

Speaking of Flash: Canon 430EXII (or something like that)

It's a mid-grade decent flash. Although I have special diffusers that you need for macro shooting.

If you are still reading (I know TLDR is my middle name), now we get to the good stuff.

The Secret Sauce: Photo Processing

The real fun for me in photography is in the processing. To me it’s like being back in the dark room. I never shoot in JPEG or TIFF. I always shoot in RAW format. I want all the data that camera sensor records. I then take that data and I begin to shape the pictures within the confines of that data.

My Processor: DxO PhotoLab 5

I haven't touched Photoshop since I was in the Navy back in 1999. I've never used Light Room (another Adobe product).

When I first started shooting in RAW was when I was doing underwater photography and I was using Apple Aperture. When they discontinued the program I was lost. A friend of mine told me about a company out of France that was trying hard to break into the market with innovative ideas about matching camera bodies and camera lenses individually within their algorithm. I bought their program on the ground floor and have been upgrading since.

I can spend countless hours on a photo, walk away and come back and start working on it again. I just like it. Sometimes I rush crap out because it is a mediocre shot and no one but me will give a damn unless it is one of those 1 in 1000 shots that come along.

I go first from RAW to TIFF (if I am doing special manipulation), and then upon my final edits I convert to JPEG for size friendly platforms.

I’ll go one more layer if I am adding word or graphics on top of the pictures.

A lot to digest here, but the bottom line is I could lean into my grow tent and use my iPhone, not give a damn about white balancing, or bringing up the lights in the shaded area, etc. and that would be fine.

Having said that, now that you know my background, hopefully you can understand why I go deep into weeds just to get a picture of a seedling I am just about to kill out on to the internet for all the world to see.

I love cameras, and I've been looking at the Sony mirrorless models.

 

[Hiphophippo]

Bud I’m sorry you’re having some bad luck with the recharge. I think the dots are a waste of time imo the recharge itself does wonders and never lets me down. Nvm I reread stuff in-depth this mostly about the cameras and taking pictures sorry they’re not being more photogenic for you

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

No bad luck with Recharge.

My issues were with too much light, and probably keeping the roots zone too damp.

They are both looking better. I think things have turned around. Once I moved them into their final pot they seem to be acclimating well.

TIme will tell on the Grow Dots. I decided to use 3 packets between the two pots.

They'll be ready for their close-ups in no time.

Bud I’m sorry you’re having some bad luck with the recharge. I think the dots are a waste of time imo the recharge itself does wonders and never lets me down. Nvm I reread stuff in-depth this mostly about the cameras and taking pictures sorry they’re not being more photogenic for you

 

[Hiphophippo]

That’ll happen good luck they’re still nice and dark green. I personally love the recharge and use it in every watering. The dots are a great idea just don’t carry enough nitrogen for the three week stretch into flower

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

The nitrogen thing is good to know.

I normally use Jacks and once I asked them what recipe with they recommend to make a Calcium Buffer for coco (if needed) and they sent back 1.2 grams per gallon of their Cal/Nit (Part B).

I know that's Apples and Oranges. However, maybe if I do a folliar of that as part of my Calcium insurance that coco can sometimes need, the "Nit" part in Part B will help with the Nitrogen needs.

Or better yet, maybe since I used three packets for 2 plants I might slip through.

I'm still at that point (2 days in the final pots) where I am not sure the roots have found the Grow Dot soil yet, so I am feeding a ring around each seedling about 3 inches away from the stem until I get so hint they are on their own in there.

BTW, the only reason I used 3 packets is because I was only going to grow one plant in the beginning. So, I set up the bottom watering homemade 5-gal bucket, trying to time the seedlings growth. That seedling dampened off. So, by the time I got more plants going the Grow Dots had already been in wet soil about two weeks. I wasn't sure if taking that and mixing with a dry bucket, plus one new packet for 2 plants would translate to success. So, I just mixed the damp coco with my now 2nd pot + plus the 2 packets. I ditched the 5-gallon grow bucket went with my AutoPots.

I think the fun of growing is all the things that can go wrong and the science and logic we have to come up with to correct.

Crop Steering should be an Olympic Event. : )




/Mg using their Cal/Nit and they gave the following:

That’ll happen good luck they’re still nice and dark green. I personally love the recharge and use it in every watering. The dots are a great idea just don’t carry enough nitrogen for the three week stretch into flower

 

[Hiphophippo]

The nitrogen thing is good to know.

I normally use Jacks and once I asked them what recipe with they recommend to make a Calcium Buffer for coco (if needed) and they sent back 1.2 grams per gallon of their Cal/Nit (Part B).

I know that's Apples and Oranges. However, maybe if I do a folliar of that as part of my Calcium insurance that coco can sometimes need, the "Nit" part in Part B will help with the Nitrogen needs.

Or better yet, maybe since I used three packets for 2 plants I might slip through.

I'm still at that point (2 days in the final pots) where I am not sure the roots have found the Grow Dot soil yet, so I am feeding a ring around each seedling about 3 inches away from the stem until I get so hint they are on their own in there.

BTW, the only reason I used 3 packets is because I was only going to grow one plant in the beginning. So, I set up the bottom watering homemade 5-gal bucket, trying to time the seedlings growth. That seedling dampened off. So, by the time I got more plants going the Grow Dots had already been in wet soil about two weeks. I wasn't sure if taking that and mixing with a dry bucket, plus one new packet for 2 plants would translate to success. So, I just mixed the damp coco with my now 2nd pot + plus the 2 packets. I ditched the 5-gallon grow bucket went with my AutoPots.

I think the fun of growing is all the things that can go wrong and the science and logic we have to come up with to correct.

Crop Steering should be an Olympic Event. : )




/Mg using their Cal/Nit and they gave the following:

You might be okay if anything just pick up basically any food with a little extra nitrogen and introduce it for those first three weeks of stretch after that ease back on it and let the dots take over for flower if I where you though too If you take your plants to weeks 13/14 of flower start looking for potassium and phosphorus issues because the dots aren’t meant to go that long the concept of the dot is really good but it’s not really practical with weed yet and will definitely need some fine tuning for those longer running plants but running these experiments is how you figure that out I think you’ll be alright running the jacks part b to cover your nitrogen issues when stretching sorry for the run on sentence I’m driving using voice to text