DonBrennons 'Unconventional' organic gardens

DonBrennon · Apr 8, 2016

calliandra said:
Wow cool -- the ones in the 1st 2 vids, looks like they're bacterial feeders? They look like they're vacuuming haha
Where are the thrips eggs? I couldn't distinguish them

Sorry for the late reply..........been a shit week and I'm now looking for a new job pmsl.................I'm fairly certain all the lighter colour spheres on the leaves are the thrip eggs.

After the nematode applications (3 in total), I put sachets of predator mite in the flowering rooms and seriously intensified my IPM regime with my seedlings and mother plants.......................they seem to be under control for now and my existing hypoaspis miles population is back up to healthy numbers, hopefully killing all the thrips in their pupal stages, in the soil.

DonBrennon · Apr 8, 2016

These are turning out better than I thought they would. They had the largest infestation of thrip and as well as losing a lot of fan leaves, all the remaining leaves have some sort of thrip damage. They've been foliared 5 times during flower(3 x nematode & 2 x my own insect reppelant), which I'd normally never do, but in this case it was unavoidable. I had to be quite rough with the foliars to make sure I was getting total coverage so I did get quite a lot of premature orange pistels, but they've got around 2 weeks to go and have started to guzzle up water again so I'm hoping they're gonna fatten up a bit more.

They're my own accidental cross of hermied bubblegum pollenating a quality blueberry plant, the smells coming off them are amazing, strong citrus and pine aroma's at the moment. The blueberry mother is very citrussy until it's cured, then it's sweet berry aroma's come through, I hope this is the same

DonBrennon · Apr 8, 2016

A good article I found about thrip
https://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?app=tutorials&article=21

calliandra · Apr 9, 2016

DonBrennon said:
Sorry for the late reply..........been a shit week and I'm now looking for a new job pmsl.................I'm fairly certain all the lighter colour spheres on the leaves are the thrip eggs.

After the nematode applications (3 in total), I put sachets of predator mite in the flowering rooms and seriously intensified my IPM regime with my seedlings and mother plants.......................they seem to be under control for now and my existing hypoaspis miles population is back up to healthy numbers, hopefully killing all the thrips in their pupal stages, in the soil.

Oh sorry to read that -- who knows maybe you just needed to make some space for something new to come along

Good luck!

I do see one sphere on the 2nd vid, below the nematode that could be an egg... I was thinking the little ones are bacteria.

But gosh, the smells of your plants sound heavenly! I love it when they keep surprising us with changing aromas like that -- mMmm!
And by the way they look, all that "don't foliar during flower" is rubbish hey :bigjoint:

DonBrennon · Apr 9, 2016

I quit of my own accord, the particular job I was on is horrendous and has 3 months left to run, I'd honestly rather go to prison for 3 months LOL. The construction industry in general is totally fucked here now though, too much red tape and health and safety policy, which isn't actually designed to care for our health or safety, rather cover the companies arse so you can't sue them if you do actually have an accident.

It's time for a new direction................onwards and upwards :hump:

calliandra · Apr 9, 2016

DonBrennon said:
I quit of my own accord, the particular job I was on is horrendous and has 3 months left to run, I'd honestly rather go to prison for 3 months LOL. The construction industry in general is totally fucked here now though, too much red tape and health and safety policy, which isn't actually designed to care for our health or safety, rather cover the companies arse so you can't sue them if you do actually have an accident.

It's time for a new direction................onwards and upwards

Indeed! New horizons! Hope you find something to your taste :bigjoint:

DonBrennon · Apr 12, 2016

Time for a spliff and coffee break, been a busy morning but I'll soon have a small chamber for flowering out some males

Still a work in progress, gotta provide some ventilation and not sure whether to paint it white or dig some mylar out of the attic.

I've only got 15w lamps in it at the moment, cos I had them lying around, I suppose I could easily swap them out with brighter one's if I need to use the chamber for some early vegging.

DonBrennon · Apr 16, 2016

So.............it turns out I can't go to the garden centre for my outdoor gardening supplies without buying a load of new exotic indoor plants LOL. (Edit 1, I did resist buying some much larger pitcher plants in hanging baskets.................but only cos I had no idea how to get them home, or where to hang them)

There's 2 new Drosera Capensis Alba (Albino's), 2 Drosera Aliciae (Alice) and unidentified VFT, pitcher and various forms of Aloe

Edit 2, looking at these pictures, everything apart from the VFT needs re-potting or dividing up

I've built another bargain diy light as well, 50w 4000k/3950Lm, should be just right for clones and young seedlings, most of the stuff I had lying around, just had to buy a few extra lamps..............the benefits of being an electrician I suppose.

DonBrennon · Apr 16, 2016

DonBrennon said:
I quit of my own accord, the particular job I was on is horrendous and has 3 months left to run, I'd honestly rather go to prison for 3 months LOL. The construction industry in general is totally fucked here now though, too much red tape and health and safety policy, which isn't actually designed to care for our health or safety, rather cover the companies arse so you can't sue them if you do actually have an accident.

It's time for a new direction................onwards and upwards

Oh..................I've gone back, LOL, but I'm now working 3 miles from home, instead of 43 and the job is much better, I don't have to climb 8-14 floors of stairs before I start work. It gives me an extra 2 hours a day at home, £50 a week saved in fuel and I don't feel like hitting the bottle every night when I get home.

DonBrennon · Apr 17, 2016

It seems there was an albino in with the original D. Capensis I bought.

DonBrennon · Apr 17, 2016

Been checking on these every couple of hours or so but not sure if I've missed the flower opening, apparently it can be quite brief if they open at all

DonBrennon · Apr 17, 2016

The Bubbleberry's started buckling under their own weight, probably a week early, but the one on the left copped for it last night

calliandra · May 5, 2016

DonBrennon said:
Oh..................I've gone back, LOL, but I'm now working 3 miles from home, instead of 43 and the job is much better, I don't have to climb 8-14 floors of stairs before I start work. It gives me an extra 2 hours a day at home, £50 a week saved in fuel and I don't feel like hitting the bottle every night when I get home.

Oh that's great news! Congrats on the change

I've been a bit absent myself due to a new job, not sure yet if it's a good thing or if it'll kill me haha!

I just spent the better part of an hour enjoying the lovely views in your gardens, very relaxing!
Seriously, I love your infrastructure, probably has a lot to do with your beautiful biodiversity - the new 2nd tier in your seedling tent looks to be great too!

I am also thinking of evolving my lighting towards LED, but I regularly fail in understanding exactly what I would need (and especially what that translates to in available products lol). So I'm really interested in your experimental 9er setup, doubly so since with your electrician-background I imagine you have a much better grasp on the subject than I!
Looks like your plants approved it? :mrgreen:

What's your take on it now?

DonBrennon · May 5, 2016

Thanks and I hope you're enjoying your new job.

Glad you like the gardens, I've got a lot going on at the mo, as you know, so I've not been updating much recently.

I am loving the experimental led light, but do think there are now better, more cost effective designs out there now. Mine is a little bulky and awkward to move so I'd go for a more modular system next time. Plus, I didn't really do the full number crunching deal because I didn't have the full information on my heat sinks, so wouldn't like to pass an unverified design on, if you understand what I mean.

They ARE an expensive investment whether you go the DIY route or manufactured(the cheap one's are just that......cheap), but if you're planning to grow for the foreseeable future, then the savings in electricity and replacing hid lamps will make it well worth it IMHO

I believe you'll get a far superior light for your money with a DIY LED COB, but they could be tricky to build if your not good at that sort of thing. Here is a fantastic link that gives you all you need to know about building 'probably' the best lights about, yourself.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/cutter-electronics-complete-diy-cob-kits.902453/

His youtube videos are phenominal, you could build a light just by ordering the kit and following the correct video, @Growmau5 really does deserve a lot of credit for what he's doing.

calliandra · May 5, 2016

DonBrennon said:
Thanks and I hope you're enjoying your new job.

Glad you like the gardens, I've got a lot going on at the mo, as you know, so I've not been updating much recently.

I am loving the experimental led light, but do think there are now better, more cost effective designs out there now. Mine is a little bulky and awkward to move so I'd go for a more modular system next time. Plus, I didn't really do the full number crunching deal because I didn't have the full information on my heat sinks, so wouldn't like to pass an unverified design on, if you understand what I mean.

They ARE an expensive investment whether you go the DIY route or manufactured(the cheap one's are just that......cheap), but if you're planning to grow for the foreseeable future, then the savings in electricity and replacing hid lamps will make it well worth it IMHO

I believe you'll get a far superior light for your money with a DIY LED COB, but they could be tricky to build if your not good at that sort of thing. Here is a fantastic link that gives you all you need to know about building 'probably' the best lights about, yourself.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/cutter-electronics-complete-diy-cob-kits.902453/

His youtube videos are phenominal, you could build a light just by ordering the kit and following the correct video, @Growmau5 really does deserve a lot of credit for what he's doing.

oh wow yes looks like an awesome thread to delve into - I just skipped ahead to the installation vid and I'm game with all but the welding bit at the end lol - so maybe there is diy hope of a brighter future ahead after all!
However, I also see my girls will have to earn that light themselves with what they have now haha :mrgreen:

Cheers!

DonBrennon · May 30, 2016

Waiting for various plants to show sex...............Bodhi mix, Clusterfunk, Afghan Haze bastards', Wild Thai and a single Paki valley, which is definitely a female.

Dependent on numbers, a select 3-4 males will be flowered out in a separate room. I've already collected pollen from a paki valley male, I've found that both male and female of this strain start flowering under normal veg cycle lighting, ie 18-6

calliandra · May 31, 2016

DonBrennon said:
Waiting for various plants to show sex...............Bodhi mix, Clusterfunk, Afghan Haze bastards', Wild Thai and a single Paki valley, which is definitely a female.
View attachment 3695202 View attachment 3695203 View attachment 3695204 View attachment 3695205

Dependent on numbers, a select 3-4 males will be flowered out in a separate room. I've already collected pollen from a paki valley male, I've found that both male and female of this strain start flowering under normal veg cycle lighting, ie 18-6

Oh, lovely abundance!
Interesting about the Paki Valley being kind of automatic flowering - checked it out on seedfinder and while this isn't mentioned there, they do recommend "not to be more than 3 weeks in growing time" LOL
Do you think this is because it's pretty much a pure landrace?

DonBrennon · May 31, 2016

calliandra said:
Oh, lovely abundance!
Interesting about the Paki Valley being kind of automatic flowering - checked it out on seedfinder and while this isn't mentioned there, they do recommend "not to be more than 3 weeks in growing time" LOL
Do you think this is because it's pretty much a pure landrace?

Yup, , must have a very short season to flower in it's natural habitat

DonBrennon · Jul 26, 2016

Some photo's of remaining females, I've had to kull a few sativa's already and there's another wild thai that's gonna hit the compost pile soon too. She's outgrowing the tent, is very slow flowering and the extra space will benefit the rest of the plants much better.

GGG-Afghan Haze Bastard

WOS-Pakistan Valley

Bodhi - Clusterfunk

Mystery Bodhi 1

WOS - Wild thai 1

Mystery Bodhi 2

Wild thai 2, this is the one getting culled, no bud formation at all after over 3 weeks flowering

Mystery Bodhi 3

calliandra · Jul 28, 2016

Ah thanks for the lovely views into your garden, so lush and vibrant!
I reeaallly like the look of that Paki Valley, and the Bodhi look like they're going to put on quite some weight too

Bracing myself for a stunning sea of bud there in a few weeks! :bigjoint:

Looks like you didn't have to remove all that many males?
Thats a good thing about having a bigger setup -- you can cull the retards and still have a flourishing garden!
Cheers!

DonBrennons 'Unconventional' organic gardens

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