Sweet auto mix

[btk1977]

@Tesco Metro Well done on your first grow! Just a couple of things, you don't need to worry about PH when growing in compost so no need to get a ph pen. Based on the timing of your  yellowing it was probably a calmag issue. Worth checking your local water quality report (you can do a postcode search on your supplier's website to get the report), if you've got soft water you will need to add cal mag, but if you have hard water you might find you have high levels of calcium but no where near enough magnesium, in which case you can fix this with some epsom salts. Next time if you have some issues post some photos on here.

[Tesco Metro]

36 minutes ago, growinggold said:

Thanks mate that's very kind. Which one? Cupboard or shed?  My Mrs the same as you layed down the law and cupboard will be decommissioned this week when I move the seedlings into the shed.

 

It always about balance and being honest with loved ones. Which sounds like you are signing to same hymn sheet. 

The cupboard.  Very nicely automated.

 

Yeah, she had her reservations and as long as I took those seriously (which on occasion I haven't) she's cool.  Just has her 'red lines' that I need to be respectful of.  Quid pro quo, this got me off my *rse and ensured she had a proper place to hang our clothes at last

[Tesco Metro]

21 minutes ago, superfruit said:

 it is usually easier to seek forgiveness than permission

Haha!  I live by that rule at work.

 

I've had it battered out of me at home

[Tesco Metro]

44 minutes ago, Ajimango said:

Congrats you got some decent bud an that's what counts. I am using pm oldtimers in my first grow and am running into the same probs as you did, crispy leaves etc. My grow aint gonna win any prizes but like you i will have some decent bud soon. I went with the oldtimers cos its fairly natural and not being salt based, hard to over feed, but next time i will try something else.

I'm going to give it another go next time.  Just to see if I can dial it in correctly (and I'm a skin flint and prefer not to have to buy anything hobby-related that might mean going to a grow shop etc where I can avoid it).  But will eventually try something else as reviews aren't always that good for OT.  I suspect, however, that as with most things in life, the problems start with a lack of expertise on my part rather than the tools I'm working with!

 

Edit: just followed your diary.  Nice grow.  Better than mine; much less crispy   Your setup is great too!

Edited December 10, 2020 by Tesco Metro
Update

[Tesco Metro]

5 minutes ago, btk1977 said:

@Tesco Metro Well done on your first grow! Just a couple of things, you don't need to worry about PH when growing in compost so no need to get a ph pen. Based on the timing of your  yellowing it was probably a calmag issue. Worth checking your local water quality report (you can do a postcode search on your supplier's website to get the report), if you've got soft water you will need to add cal mag, but if you have hard water you might find you have high levels of calcium but no where near enough magnesium, in which case you can fix this with some epsom salts. Next time if you have some issues post some photos on here.

Thanks. I think I'll have more latitude with pictures next time round.

 

I'm in a very hard water area and pulled down the local water supplier reports to confirm it.  I did use epsom salts with feed in second and third bloom feed, as I thought that the high calcium content in the tap water might be locking out Magnesium.  But perhaps not enough as I kept my feeds and ES quite low per litre of water.

[btk1977]

@Tesco Metro you want around a 3:1 cal:mag ratio, what are the cal/mag levels in your report?

[growinggold]

@Tesco Metro yeah I really rate the tropf blumat watering system. It cheap, easy and effective, £5 a carrot a think?I use Canna terra Vega and Flores with them seems okay so far. I may switch to Intense dirt range next just cause the hype on here and helping out a sponsor. 

 

Could you use rain water? Mother nature is best. She is the boss. All hail the fanny.

[Tesco Metro]

19 minutes ago, btk1977 said:

@Tesco Metro you want around a 3:1 cal:mag ratio, what are the cal/mag levels in your report?

140 mg/l calcium

No individual measure for magnesium

350 mg/l total hardness (incl magnesium and other minerals that make up hardness).

 

It's a very hard water area.

[Tesco Metro]

10 minutes ago, growinggold said:

@Tesco Metro yeah I really rate the tropf blumat watering system. It cheap, easy and effective, £5 a carrot a think?I use Canna terra Vega and Flores with them seems okay so far. I may switch to Intense dirt range next just cause the hype on here and helping out a sponsor. 

 

Could you use rain water? Mother nature is best. She is the boss. All hail the fanny.

Yes.  All things going well with work next year we're going to redo the garden, so will have space to set up both a couple of good water butts and a hot composter.  Perhaps a nettle tea tube as well.

[growinggold]

Ohh whats a nettle tea tube, that sounds good.

[Tesco Metro]

1 minute ago, growinggold said:

Ohh whats a nettle tea tube, that sounds good.

Cut a 1-2 metre of PVC water pipe/guttering wide enough to fit a 2 litre pop bottle in it.  Add a screw cap to one end and drill a hole through it in the middle.  Secure it vertically, cap down, to the wall of your shed/garage (not house I think) using guttering clamps.  High enough so you can fit a bucket underneath it.

 

Drill a small hole in the side of the tube at the top.  Put a piece of paracord through through the hole and then through/around the neck of a 2 litre pop bottle filled up with sand.  Shove nettles in the pipe; put the weighted bottle in on top of them to press them down.  Leave the nettles to gradually break down and drip nettle juice into the bucket.  I had a woodstore between two sheds that I placed it in so that rainwater didn't get into the bucket and dilute my nettle juice, but it would be easy enough to use another bottle at the bottom instead of a bucket I imagine.

[Wacky Wardrobe]

On 10/12/2020 at 0:37 PM, Tesco Metro said:

just wanted to drop back in and say thank you

Hey @Tesco Metro. Nice one buddy. Sounds like you had a reasonable first run and I hope (and trust) you'll be getting going again soon. With a bit of experience under your belt and your obvious eye for the finer points I'm sure you'll go from strength to strength.

Hope you enjoy your fruits.

Sounds like I'll be chopping my current run about the same time you'll be trying yours out.

It's been a bit of a disaster run here. Looks like I'll get some reasonably good smoke but it has been a bit against the odds. Looked like I would have to abandon the grow half way through. Plants were moved to a greenhouse for a while. Long enough for one of them to pick up spider mites! Didn't notice them till mid flower. Bit of a fucker but, with a little regular vacuum cleaning, I'm going to limp over the finish line. I have clean clones to run them again after I nuke the wardrobe.

That last run in the picture by the way was 6.3 ounces dry. Just to dangle that carrot of encouragement again :-)

ATB

[Tesco Metro]

On 20/12/2020 at 10:17 AM, Wacky Wardrobe said:

Sounds like I'll be chopping my current run about the same time you'll be trying yours out.

It's been a bit of a disaster run here. Looks like I'll get some reasonably good smoke but it has been a bit against the odds. Looked like I would have to abandon the grow half way through. Plants were moved to a greenhouse for a while. Long enough for one of them to pick up spider mites! Didn't notice them till mid flower. Bit of a fucker but, with a little regular vacuum cleaning, I'm going to limp over the finish line. I have clean clones to run them again after I nuke the wardrobe.

That last run in the picture by the way was 6.3 ounces dry. Just to dangle that carrot of encouragement again :-)

ATB

I hope the final product was good, and that you're on your way to the end of cure!  That's a fine harvest from such a small space, and I'd love to be able to emulate that one day.

 

Cocked up my numbers earlier in the thread.  I pulled 64g dry off the two plants.  Not the biggest grow ever, but the smoke is quite surprisingly good.  Far better than most of what I've had retail throughout my life.  Very sweet and smooth, with a lovely citrus-y flavour that just gets the nicer the longer it sits in jars with bodeva packs in them.  I think I over-dried a touch, but not by much and I'm enjoying it very much indeed.  Still can't work out which SS strains they are, but ruling out anything skunky, and definitely not CBD.  In terms of potency, I ended up with a 'weekday' stash and a 'weekend' stash - both of which necessitate a strong shower in the morning to get my shit together before work - so that turned out nice.

 

Thanks again very much for the advice and encouragement.  It's a cracking hobby and my good lady has been remarkably tolerant and happy with the outcome; particularly once the drobe had been returned to its fully stealth state

[Wacky Wardrobe]

2 hours ago, Tesco Metro said:

I hope the final product was good,

After drying a little too fast and only a short time in jars I'm happy to say it's not bad at all.

Very smooth given the quick dry and short cure with a nice, but not too sickly, sweetness.

I'm reserving full judgement for the second run with it which is well under way now.

I concocted a little space where I kept cuts of the two Wedding Cakes and started a CBD strain from seed for a quick turn around.

It's a crowded three plant run this time with no room at the inn for bloody spider mites !!

ATB