The great RIU Conquistador grow '08!

So, what's up with my cab plants? Suddenly they're massively amber! I thought they were burned when I first looked at them today. I've been waiting for the buds to really fill out but I'm wondering if maybe I did something wrong along the way and stunted them. Are these actually close to harvest already, even though they're small? They're still really sparse!

I was looking at pics of Sub's friend's cab grow and the buds were huge and dense. I can't figure out how to best train them in the aero system and am seriously considering doing the next cab grow in soil. Anyway, what are your opinions here??

You don't have a hermie that pollinated them... do you? Those shots look a lot like my hermie in the closet. That bud formation doesn't quite look right.. I'd say wait and watch.

No, they're not hermies, as far as I can see! And they haven't been around one. I'm pretty sure I'm doing my next cab grow in soil, I'm not convinced hydro is worth it.

WOW! THose dont look amber from the pics but they look dark green. A few questions: Is your pH in range? Is temp OK? TDS of your solution? How often do you change it? Last changed? What nutes are you using and are they old? How do the roots look?

I want to say its nute related but I cant pinpoint it. When you said amber did you mean the top leaves, middle leaves or bottom leaves? What bloom formula are you using? N:K ratio?

Those are definately not well formed buds at this stage. It almost looks like they have too much N but I need more info and if your using just bloom formula that shouldnt be.

Puzzled

they arent ready girl...they should be bigger....I think it is your light...looks too white to me from the pics....look at the color coming from my hps...i ust dont think the light in that cab is strong enough

All they're getting is FloraNova Bloom, 4-8-7. I give them two tablespoons every time I change the res.

That said, they could be nute-deficient. Two weeks ago I started a new job, and it's been so crazy that I've forgotten to change the res. Not that I haven't changed it for two weeks, but normally I change it 2x/week and I've only done is 1x/week. They go through a lot of nute solution in bloom, and I may not have given them enough.

Now for the horrible admission: I use plain tap water. The pH is between 6.5 and 7. Then I add the nute solution, which is dark brown and looks like mud. Because my pH kit uses the color of the water, I can't read it once I've added the solution. As such, I've just sort of been hoping the nute solution doesn't change the pH -- it says it's "buffered," so it shouldn't, right? The hydro store guy recommended it for a first grow because he said it was "very forgiving." Same with the veg nutes I used, the Supernatural.

What do you think of the buds on my outdoor plant? Go soil go! I gave 'em some apple juice today.

Wait..! So, you got the job and you didn't tell us? I feel so forsaken and forlorn.

What's wrong with using plain tap water if it's within parameters? People don't realize how closely regulated our tap water is.

It's 2 gal and I've been giving it 2 tbsp, is that too much? Also, I figured since the pH of my tap water is usually 6.5 (but sometimes goes up to 7), that was okay too. I've been using it straight out of the tap. Should I change to distilled? Will it shock them too much if I do it right away? Or should I just use a drop of lemon juice to lower the pH of my tap water a bit?

And yes, I got the job, I'm sorry I didn't think to say anything here! It's been a very hectic few weeks. Then last night I had a bike wreck -- someone opened a cab door into me -- and today my left eye is black and swollen shut, plus there's a gash on my forehead. Right now I just feel kinda beat to shit!!

Oh Jesus... here's a big soft hug from a big-chested gal for you (we go 'cush').

pH can jump around for a few reasons, my experience with fish tell me to leave it be unless the organism tells you it's a problem. I don't see that with your cab girls. pH bounce can kill fish very quickly, I wouldn't be surprised if it can stress the plants a great deal. Dissolved oxygen/carbon dioxide levels can affect pH levels a great deal.

Chances are that your local tap water is not just chlorinated, as this has been found by the EPA to promote the formation of other carcinogenic compounds. However, chloramine, a combination of chlorine and ammonia, is both much more stable (less subject to breakdown by exposure to air and light) and does not produce the same compounds. If you're worried about chloramine in the water, use an agent to break the bond (as that's the only way). Sodium thiosulfate is that agent, and it's incredibly cheap if you buy it in dry bulk form. It's much easier to find in an aquarium shop, but is already diluted and far more expensive to use in that form.

Water Treatments - Sodium Thiosulfate - Koi Depot of San Diego - the 2lb. container could last you for YEARS. Literally.

You and your fish!

Here's a picture of my eye for ya. I think I'm going to tell people I had a lobotomy.

LB - Sorry to hear you got beat up by a cab. I know how you feel. car pulled out on me and I went over the handlebars hit my head and got a concusion. All I remember is a middleeasten voice sayin 'are you alright my friend?" I dont recall responding to him. Hopefully you got their number. Again sorry for your discomfort.

As for your plants with the info you gave you may be over nuting them compiled with nute lockout. Like I said your leaves look very green and the ones near the buds look wisted. I agree with seamaiden I dont see pH burn. Honkey may be right too about the light. Check it out as it looks whitish. Only thing usually wrong with tap water is cloramines, TDS and pH. Seamaiden is right, the fish are good for alot of things, sodium thiosulfate is the best and it only takes a little. If you are suppose to use 2 teas instead of 2 tbls that could be it. I dont know about that small of a res with your two plants so Im not going to comment about that.

Your outside grow looks GREAT! THose look like they are almost done. Are the trichs turning cloudy -----> amber yet? Is it getting cooler during the days and cold at night yet? See any purple?

Almost forgot, congrats on the new job. I know you were looking forward to this one. Good job!!!

its not the nutes LB...you do need to keep your ph in check but they look like they are doin fine....sparky is right all the way. do you see any seeds forming on the oudoor ones...?...they seem like they should be a little bigger to me...and they light has to be why the cab plants are so small....it is on the wrong end of the spectrum for flowering.........those girls look good though girl...sorry to hear about the stupid cab...but congrats on the new job yo!

littlebat said:

It's 2 gal and I've been giving it 2 tbsp, is that too much? Also, I figured since the pH of my tap water is usually 6.5 (but sometimes goes up to 7), that was okay too. I've been using it straight out of the tap. Should I change to distilled? Will it shock them too much if I do it right away? Or should I just use a drop of lemon juice to lower the pH of my tap water a bit?

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Well,that would be 1350 PPM w/o adding any other amendments. Mine burn if I go over 850 PPM. Are you adding anything else along with the FloraNova? I would lower the PH, if it was me. How many airstones (and how big) do you have in your rez? Your cab plants look "overwatered" (limp leaves)and in hydro that usually means you need more aeration. Just a thought.

No comment on my avatar?

I'll admit the whole PPM thing confuses me. I did think the pistils had kind of a "burned" look, and I wondered if it was the light, but it's not that hot in there.

I don't have airstones, I have an aeroponic system. Basically there's just a little aquarium pump inside a container full of solution, and the pump constantly mists the roots, but the roots are always hanging in water. They've turned a muddy brown like the nute solution but they look healthy otherwise.

Is your avatar a Connie? Is there anyone here besides myself and Seamaiden who currently has a female Connie going?

So if I go out tomorrow and get distilled water, and put the nutes at 1/2 strength, and adjust the water to a pH of 6 before adding the nutes, am I doing the right thing? Is there anyone who would object to that plan?

littlebat said:

I'll admit the whole PPM thing confuses me. I did think the pistils had kind of a "burned" look, and I wondered if it was the light, but it's not that hot in there.

I don't have airstones, I have an aeroponic system. Basically there's just a little aquarium pump inside a container full of solution, and the pump constantly mists the roots, but the roots are always hanging in water. They've turned a muddy brown like the nute solution but they look healthy otherwise.

Is your avatar a Connie? Is there anyone here besides myself and Seamaiden who currently has a female Connie going?

So if I go out tomorrow and get distilled water, and put the nutes at 1/2 strength, and adjust the water to a pH of 6 before adding the nutes, am I doing the right thing? Is there anyone who would object to that plan?

Click to expand...

I know the misting is supposed to aerate the water sufficiently, but I would still get a small air pump and throw an air stone in there.

Yes, that avatar is one of the three females I talked about earlier in the thread. I also sent you that pic.

NUTES: Ok. First the dosage of your nute soln: went on GHs website and the FlorNova Bloom (http://www.generalhydroponics.com/genhydro_US/product_labels/floranova_bloom_qt.pdf) has a rate/load of 1 tsp/gal (500 ppm) for early bloom and 2 tsp/gal (950ppm) for late bloom and 3 tsp/gal (1350 ppm) for fast growers. Always good to start low and work your way up. I have never grown Connie so I dont know the nute demand so maybe Spark can assist on the ppm range for Connie. Remember 1tbls = 3 tsp.

Res change: You can flush with 2 tbls of H2O2/gal of water to kill all bad bacteria. Do not mix nutes with this if organics are used. When done flushing change H2O2 flush out and add nutes at the desired ppm range.

pH: GH recommends a pH range of 5.0 - 6.5. I would try to keep it between 5.5 and 6.0 if possible (what Spark said). Since you are using a colormetric method of reading pH you wont know the pH once the nutes are added (bad). pH pens are cheap and you can always use them.

Light: I tried the link for your cab to check the light but it wouldnt work. What type of light does it have? I would check it to see what type it is (HPS MH or CFL) and if you have a light meter, how many lumens its putting out. Your tube may be malfunctioning and not putting out the lumens its suppose to. You said the cab wasnt hot so does that mean you have a cool tube?

The first 3 you can correct immediately and see if they respond. The light thing you have the info so I will wait for that.

spark1, I don't remember getting pics from you, am I insane?? At any rate, your icon is awesome!

I've decided to give the cab plants a few more days and then cut 'em and dry 'em. I'm not too sad about this; after all, this first grow was an experiment.

After doing an outdoor soil grow and the indoor aero grow, I've learned a tremendous amount, and the biggest thing I've learned is that I think I'm a soil gal. I just don't see the big advantage to growing hydro unless you're trying to do a large crop. Otherwise, I really think soil is much easier. I also love me some LST; I don't think I'll ever do another grow without bondage. As such, I'm chalking this first cab grow up to science and have just started germing more seeds.

I put two of each of Jillybean, Querkle, and 3rd Dimension into paper towels today. Hopefully out of six seeds I'll get two good females for the winter grow. I realize the tremendous amount of work that has gone into creating these strains, and out of respect for Sub, I want to grow them the way he does -- in soil, organic, with a long veg time (which I can do with LST in soil in a way I can't with the aero system, due to space concerns.)

Here is a link to the soil I used this summer and will be using for this grow:

LESEC Products

It's called "New York Pay Dirt," heh. The ecology center is fabulous and their soil really proved itself on all my plants this summer. I have never seen my roses or other flowers do so well. If you're ever of a mind to order soil online, I highly recommend it, and you'll be helping an excellent cause! So yeah, in a few days I'll scrub out the cab, fix the mylar, and use what I've learned to grow what will hopefully be some very yummy plants.

In totally unrelated news, check out my eye today! Officially swollen shut. I definitely feel like I've earned my stripes as a cyclist now. For anyone reading this who's ever had a black eye, how long did it take to heal?

Okay, kids, we're starting anew in the cab. No hydro this time -- soil all the way! All but two of Sub's seeds popped in 48 hours. The Querkle seeds had particularly big healthy taproots. I went ahead and planted all six. So here ya go -- cab, round two!

LB - I checked that soil out and its some nice stuff. I also see you got the mylar up too, good job! What kind of light does your cab have?

Has your eye opened yet? Hope it feels better.